The Library

1:34 AM

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH‌HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! I am being flooded by an angry mob of questions!

Translation: There are too many unanswered questions on the Biblical Hermeneutics Stacks Exchange.

Though, I suppose that would be a good thing, since that may potentially mean less competition for myself in answering these questions. Hee-hee-hee.

Suffice it to say, I am not expert. I am merely an amateur and maybe a Bible enthusiast.

Sometimes, I ask myself, "What is the difference between the Jewish Bible and the Christian Bible?" Then, I realize that one notable difference is that the Christian Bible will have the New Testament and other Christian texts. Duh...

I notice that the Jewish Bible looks freakishly like the Christian Bible's Old Testament.

I mean, there are the Torah, Nevi'im, and K'tuvim books.

It seems to me that chabad.org has a preference for Rashi, a medieval Jewish rabbi. I'm not sure if that is to imply that Jewish theology has not changed in 1000 years or so.

Wow. I never knew that even Jews do Bible Study! chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/63255/jewish/…

I thought Bible Study was exclusively an American Protestant habit.

There are some times when I wonder which bible translation I should use. I confess that I have purchased the NRSV under the impression that it is a scholarly bible version, and I really wish to understand the Bible from a scholarly, academic perspective.

Though, I can't help myself. The more I read, the more questions pop into my head.

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!

I remember consulting the librarian at my local library about the location of the bibles. The librarian told me that all the bibles and bible-related books were located on one division of bookcases and added that I could check out biblical commentaries, annotated bibles, and parallel bibles. Parallel bibles are bibles where there would be multiple translations on two pages, and the purpose would be to compare the translations among themselves.

Wow. I can't believe my words practically filled up the whole page. LOL.

2:26 AM

@Anonymous Rashi was a thorough compiler of earlier commentaries, so makes a good place to start. He's not the only important Jewish source by far, but if you're going to pick one to start with, he's the one.

@Anonymous um, we kind of invented it, so far as I know...

@Anonymous since there's no such thing as a 100%-accurate translation (every language is different, and all translation is in a sense commentary), it's important to consult more than one.

Bible study (Christian)

In Christianity, Bible study is the study of the Bible by ordinary people as a personal religious or spiritual practice. Some denominations may call this devotion or devotional acts; however in other denominations devotion has other meanings. Bible study in this sense is distinct from biblical studies, which is a formal academic discipline. Personal Bible study In Evangelical Protestantism, the time set aside to engage in personal Bible study and prayer is sometimes informally called a Quiet Time. In other traditions personal Bible study is referred to as "devotions". Catholic devot...

Yep, like I thought, Bible Study is a Christian religious/spiritual practice. Before, I have always thought that Bible Study is the time when people can group together and interpret the Bible together, often concluding with some commonsensical discussion about life.

@MonicaCellio and a lot more time-consuming!

2:42 AM

@Anonymous ok, if Christians mean it as a devotional activity then that's different. Text study, for the purpose of gaining insight into God, mitzvot, and the text itself -- not for the purpose of coming up with creative new ideas or finding personal inspiration -- is a long-standing Jewish practice. Very source-heavy, but not for professionals only.

@Anonymous well yes. If you just want to read a text (especially for, say, a whole book), pick your favorite translation and read through it to see what it says. When you want to analyze it more closely, it's time to reach for at least one more, and commentaries.

3:01 AM

@MonicaCellio In that case, I think I am more or less engaging in text study. I am not so religious myself. I sort of like reading the annotations.

3:15 AM

The book of Revelation begins as if it is from the narrator's memory or experience.

It is written in the past tense, surprisingly in first person!

(Sorry, I was reading from the English Standard Version.)

I recognize the name "Philadelphia" in the text. So, that's where Philadelphia, Pennsylvania comes from!

Pennsylvania rhymes with Transylvania. Hee-hee-hee.

I am not sure what is the big deal behind the "seven churches".

I also wonder who the narrator really is for the book of Revelations.

3:29 AM

The seven churches are supposed to symbolize the seven stages of the Church.

Weird...

3 hours later…

Jon Ericson

5:59 AM

@MonicaCellio No doubt!

8 hours later…

2:24 PM

@MonicaCellio i'm not a hebrew scholar, but i was always under the impression that the traditional "case" system was less significant in ancient hebrew and that the stem should be the focus

vis. hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/q/5568/367

2 hours later…

4:17 PM

@swasheck it could be -- I don't know if this is a case of "meh, sometimes that happens" or if there's a real difference in the uses (sometimes small differences do matter). Hence the question. :-)

1 hour later…

5:24 PM

@MonicaCellio it's a good question and i defer to your obvious intellectual superiority in this area

@swasheck I wouldn't go making assumptions about intellectual superiority. Perhaps I'm just more finicky/pedantic/(choose your adjective). :-)

@MonicaCellio i meant the priority of stem over case in hebrew

at any rate ... is this guy drunk?

@swasheck: Your moniker (". . . heck") reminds me of a sermon I heard years ago, given by an obviously intelligent and thoughtful man. His subject was "Minced Oaths," and he came down pretty hard on Christians who employ them. "Heck" may have been one of them, but he certainly disapproved of "Gosh," "Golly," "Gadzooks," "Gee," "Doggone it," "Dagnabbit," and others. Thanks for your cite to Svigel's article on "cussing." Very entertaining, yet informative. Clearly, Svigel's tongue is planted firmly in his cheek, especially in his footnotes, but I can see how some folks might take offense. — rhetorician 4 mins ago

Dan

5:50 PM

@swasheck meta.hermeneutics.stackexchange.com/a/642/423

@swasheck any other free ones out there to avoid or that are good?

unfortunately i dont know, @Dan because i purchased some so that's what i use

sorry

6:11 PM

@swasheck rhetorician has a...unique approach to our site -- lots of stream-of-consciousness ramble, little sensitivity to site norms, but not actively rude or anything. So I guess that comment makes sense in his reality, but I'm scratching my head along with you.

6:43 PM

@MonicaCellio :)

6:58 PM

lots of words but not an answer to the question that was asked, from twolneyl again. I don't think I can help him any more (he's not receptive to me as far as I can tell).

2 hours later…