The Testament of Judah, like the other Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, is considered to be a Jewish work that was added to by Christians in the Christian era. It is unclear when it comes from, however, fragments of the Testaments of Judah and and Naphtali have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in Hebrew, dating to between 37 BC and 44 AD. Given the number of references to primordial gods, it is unlikely to be the work of a Pharisee, and was likely translated into Hebrew from Aramaic or Greek. As it has some of the same anti-Levitical content as the Testament of Levi, it was likely a text written by the Tobian Jews mentioned in 2nd Maccabees, that lived in Seleucid controlled regions.
The Testament of Levi, like the other Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, is considered to be a Jewish work that was added to by Christians in the Christian era. It is unclear when it comes from, however, fragments of the Testaments of Joseph and Levi have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls in Aramaic, dating to between 135 and 37 BC, implying the rest of the Twelve were compiled at the same time. The Testament of Levi also refers to the Book of Enoch, an Aramaic Second Temple era work that was not included in the Septuagint, which implies it was written around the same time as the Books of Daniel and Enoch, which would date it to anywhere between 300 and 100 BC. The surviving copies of the Testament of Levi contain multiple layers of prophecy that was once accepted as being authentic pre-Christian predictions of the coming of Jesus Christ. This view shifted in Western Europe during the Protestant reformation, and the text was assumed to be a Christian era work, and generally dismissed as a forgery. This view shifted by the 1900s, as an Semitic layer of text was found within it that indicated it was originally a pre-Christian work that was later Christianized, and it was then assumed to be a Pharisee work that the Christians had added all the prophecies to. Since the discovery of fragments of the testament have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, dating to between 135 and 37 BC, and written in Aramaic, the Pharisee theory has been discredited. The Dead Sea Scrolls fragments have also shown that some of the prophecies were present in the Aramaic texts by 37 BC, meaning that the Christians had simply added to the prophecies to indicate they were about Jesus. The original work appears to be an anti-Levitical text, which dismissed the Levitical priesthood, and pointed to an alternative priesthood. As this was not a Samaritan text, it was likely a text written by the Tobian Jews mentioned in 2nd Maccabees, that lived in Seleucid controlled regions.
The book of Chronicles, the last book of the Hebrew Bible and a central historical book of the Christian Old Testament, has in recent decades gone from being “the Cinderella of biblical studies” to being one of the most researched books of the Bible. The anonymous author, often simply called “the Chronicler” by modern scholars, looks back at the old Israelite monarchy, before the Babylonian exile, from his vantage point in the post-exilic early Second Temple Period, and attempts to “update” the older historiographies of Samuel and Kings in order to elucidate their meaning to the people of his own time. In The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah, Yigal Levin does the same for the modern reader. He offers a brand-new translation and commentary on 2 Chronicles chapters 10-36, tracing the “sacred history” of the monarchy from the division of Solomon's kingdom to the final exile and return. Each chapter is translated from the original Hebrew into an English that is both faithful to the original and easy for the modern reader to follow. Extensive footnotes provide full explanations of the translator's choices and of linguistic and literary issues, taking note of alternative versions offered by a wide array of ancient and modern versions and translations. The comprehensive commentary on each section provides historical background and explains the text both on a literary and a historical level, making full use of the most up-to-date research on the text, literature, history, geography and on the archaeological background of the biblical world. The Chronicles of the Kings of Judah is to be followed by The Chronicles of David and Solomon on 1 Chronicles 10 – 2 Chronicles 9, and then by The Chronicles of All Israel on the genealogies of 1 Chronicles 1-9 and including comprehensive essays on the book of Chronicles, its time, purposes, methods and meanings.
"Was there a difference in the portrayal of King Zedekiah in the Hebrew and Greek versions of Jeremiah? Shelley L. Birdsong analyses the two different depictions, highlights their unique characterizations and argues that the cruel and manipulative king in the Greek is edited into a more compassionate king in the Hebrew." -- back cover
Presented here are two volumes of apocryphal writings reflecting the life and time of the Old and New Testaments. Stories told by contemporary fiction writers of historical Bible times in fascinating and beautiful style.
This new study of the Old Testament from trusted scholar Dr. John MacArthur provides thorough insights into a sometimes little-studied portion of the Bible. A widow watches as her dead son is brought back to life. A man is cured of leprosy by simply dipping himself in a river--while another man is struck by leprosy when he accepts an unwarranted gift. The nation of Judah witnessed great miracles and great failures, as her kings vacillated between serving the Lord and following pagan practices. This was a time of decision for God's people--would they serve the Lord with a whole heart, or divide their loyalty between God and pagan deities? Losing the Promised Land: Elisha and the Kings of Judah takes an in-depth look at this historical period beginning with the first kings of Judah, continuing through the ministry of Elisha, and concluding with the nation's exile. Studies include close-ups of Elisha, Naaman, Elisha's servant Gehazi, and others, as well as careful considerations of doctrinal themes, such as "Renewing God's Word" and "Being Wholehearted for God."
The exiles of Israel and Judah cast a long shadow over the biblical text and the whole subsequent history of Judaism. Scholars have long recognized the importance of the theme of exile for the Hebrew Bible. Indeed, critical study of the Old Testament has, at least since Wellhausen, been dominated by the Babylonian exile of Judah. In 586 BC, several factors, including the destruction of Jerusalem, the cessation of the sacrificial cult and of the monarchy, and the experience of the exile, began to cause a transformation of Israelite religion which supplied the contours of the larger Judaic framework within which the various forms of Judaism, including the early Christian movement, developed. Given the importance of the exile to the development of Judaism and Christianity even to the present day, this volume delves into the conceptions of exile which contributed to that development during the formative period.
The ancient House of Israel consisted of 12 families, or tribes, named for the 12 sons of Jacob (Israel). Ten of those tribes were conquered, driven from their homelands, and scattered throughout the world. Although their bloodlines continue, they have lost their identity with the House of Israel. The remaining two tribes have retained their identity, and are now known as the Jewish people, named for the tribe of Judah. Over 2500 years ago, the prophet Ezekiel foretold a day when the spirit of YHWH would stir the scattered remnants of Israel and restore them to life (Ezekiel 37:11-14). He also prophesied of a second scriptural record to come forth from the tribe of Joseph to Judah, in the hand of Joseph’s son, Ephraim. This is that prophesied record. The Stick of Joseph in the Hand of Ephraimis a sacred, first-temple-period, Israelite text, written by a prophetic family from the tribe of Joseph, who fled Jerusalem in 601 BCE. YHWH led them for years in the wilderness and finally brought them “over the wall” to ancient America, in fulfillment of Jacob’s final blessing to Joseph. (Genesis 49:22) For 1,000 years, these ancient Israelites kept sacred records. When their civilization ended in destruction (420 CE), their final prophet, M’roni, hid this record in the ground, to come forth in the future for the prophesied restoration of scattered Israel to its former glory. This record is all of the following unique and extraordinary things: • The shofar sounding to scattered Israel as YHWH’s final attempt to gather His people; • A dire warning to the USA and a cry of repentance to the state of Israel. Any nation that does not honor the God of Israel will not survive; • An independent witness of the prophets, Mashiach, and the covenants given by YHWH to Israel; • A record of the means whereby all mankind can, as Moses, ascend to stand in the presence of YHWH; • An invitation to believe and receive the promises YHWH extends to those who will be His people. This is the only Hebrew Messianic/ascension document in existence that has not been influenced by entanglements with Babylon, Greece, or Rome, because those who kept the record left Jerusalem and the Eastern Hemisphere prior to the Babylonian captivity. It is the most sublime and direct Jewish ascension text available. This annotated Hebrew-roots English edition restores the ancient Hebraic nature of the record, to provide a clear understanding of Israel’s God, His work now underway, and the coming age of Mashiach. Whether you study religion in the Torah, Tanakh, Talmud, NIV Bible, Zohar, New Testament, Book of Mormon, Catholic writings, LDS scriptures, biblical commentary, or other holy books, this volume will inspire you to greater prophetic literacy, gifts in spirituality, understanding of history and theology, and most importantly, immerse your soul in a conversation and relationship with that God who loves, forgives, guides, and reconnects honest searchers with the tree of life. The Stick of Joseph is a greater discovery than the Dead Sea Scrolls or the Nag Hammadi library, though it has received far less attention. It is the preeminent Messianic document in the world, untwisting the false Greek caricature known as Jesus Christ of Nazareth. It restores the basics of the complete ancient Israelite faith and culture largely absent from modern, rabbinic Judaism. The ten commandments, temples, altars, Passover, the law of Moses, patterns, evidence, and much lost understanding all come together in this invaluable journal-record of wandering Israeli Hebrews who founded a great civilization.
Rawlinson chronicles the history surrounding each king, giving account of the politics, warfare, religion, and culture of the reign. With close reference to the Bible throughout, Rawlinson's study has become an essential part of Old Testament studies and is important tool to aid with the examination of The Books of Kings and Chronicles in particular. In addition to this, Rawlinson provides a close look at the lives of the various kings of Israel and Judah: the events of their reigns; the battles fought; and the effect on the kingdoms of the decisions made by the monarchs.
