by
Randy Felton
Potter's Clay Ministry
shalom2@home.com
by
Randy Felton
Potter's Clay Ministry
shalom2@home.com
There is a whole body of Jewish literature, some familiar, much unheard of by the average Christian. Many pastors and evangelists are not aware, or at least not well versed in the writings of the Jews. Although I do not claim to be an expert, I will share the knowledge I have and, hopefully, spur you on to your own search for what is recorded by the Jews.
The main body of scripture is the Torah. The Torah contains the five books of Moses; Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. This, however, is not all of the Jewish Bible. The Jewish Bible is called the Tanakh. The Tanakh is composed of three parts; Torah, Nevi'im and Kethuvim. As discussed above, the Torah contains the five books of Moses. Nevi'im are the books of the prophets, nine major and twelve minor. The major prophets are: Joshua, Judges, I Samuel, II Samuel, I Kings, II Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The minor prophets are: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi. The Kethuvim are The Writings. They consist of: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, The Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, I Chronicles and II Chronicles. This makes up the Jewish Bible. Although the order is changed a little, this also comprises our Bible, at least what we call the "Old Testament." These are the scriptures with which Jesus and the Apostles were familiar. These are the writings that they so often quote and the basis of our faith as taught to us by Jesus and the Apostles. Yet, there were other written sources that contain some of the concepts and ideas presented to us in our "New Testament."
The Talmud is one such book. This is composed of the oral law of the Jews. God gave Moses the written law on tablets of stone. The oral law which explained the written law was handed down along with the written law. This oral law was written down beginning about 200 B.C. and generally considered finished about 500 A.D. There are two schools of Talmud, the Palestinian Talmud, finished shortly after 400 A.D. and the Babylonian Talmud, completed about 500 A.D. The Talmud may also be described as a commentary on the Mishnah of R. Judah, the patriarch, which was composed about 220 A.D. This Mishnah can be separated into two parts; Halakah and Haggada. Halakah is the body of Jewish law and it is comprised of two parts; rules of ritual and religion, and rights and obligations of men in civil society. The Haggada contains whatever has been excluded from Halakah. Halakah is enforceable in Jewish courts, Haggada is unenforceable in courts but is required by society. One example is often found in the shelves of book stores. This is the Passover Haggada, a book of order for the Passover celebration. The order of ritual is not law itself, but the Passover Haggada is a useful book of observed practice. Different books will vary in the ritual, prayers or order of service, but will guide you to a meaningful observance. Haggada can be compared to custom. Many customs are a way of remembering and will give meaning to an observance or holiday but are not lawfully binding.
There is also a
commentary on the Mishnah which is called the Gemara. The Jewish
writings can be broken down as follows:
It has only been in the recent years that the Palestinian
Talmud has been studied with any seriousness. It has
always been regarded as inferior, due to the idea that
the genuine scholars were carried off to Babylon and only
minor men of letters were left in Israel. It is now
believed that the men left in Israel or Palestine have
left a record of life and interpretation that has some
valuable insight into life among the Jews of Israel at
that time.
Teaching Trips to Israel with Randy Felton
Teaching Articles by Randy Felton
