by Doug Mason 16 Replies latest watchtower bible
I am so deeply indebted to you all for your expertise and for your freely given help and advice. Thank you.
I note with interest that Albertz sees the LXX of Jer 33 "represents a more ancient tradition". I understand he means the LXX represents more reliably the ancient ("original") Hebrew text.
Doug
Bobcat,
I too am very conscious of context. I am trying to unravel the information from scholars regarding the formation, editing, re-editing and assimilation of texts such as the Hebrew and Greek versions of Jeremiah.
Whose words are we reading at a particular point? What were their ambitions and intentions?
I only wish I was aware of and studying such things at the early part of my life, not at its ending.
Doug
Doug:
Thanks for your comments. I hope I didn't convey the idea that you don't consider the context. The responses you got seemed to miss that aspect so I thought I'd add that part.
I have two full commentaries on Jeremiah - NAC and NICOT. I also have some that cover larger sections of the Bible including Jeremiah. I notice in the NAC and NICOT there is a lot of discussion on the possible sources of various sections of Jeremiah. Apparently the LXX leaves out completely vss.14 - 26 of chap.33 (as an example). So, you got your work cut out for you.
I spent my first couple of decades as a JW simply taking in the 'food' handed down from Brooklyn. Several things triggered my 'independent' study of the Bible. I naively thought Brooklyn loved truth. I found out they love only their version of it. And they resent any attempt on the part of others to find out more than what they know (or think they know).
I wish I had started a more determined study of the Bible earlier. But if I had, I probably would have been branded an apostate by now. My growing independent study sort of parallelled my growing awareness that it wasn't appreciated. At present I am careful about what I am learning, but I can forsee a possible collision with the powers that be at some point.
Take care.
Doug! Are you reading Albertz' Israel in Exile: The History and Literature of the Sixth Century B.C.E.??? I think that's such an incredible book....definitely one of the best on my bookshelf. And Albertz had already impressed me with his work on the book of Daniel, which changed how I understood the history of that book.
Israel in Exile: The History and Literature of the Sixth Century B.C.E.
This looks interesting. . . available at the university library! I'll pick it up this week.
Leo, Yes that is the amazing book I am referring to.
I will look for his book on Daniel; I am not aware of it.
BOF, Don't go to the Uni library for it -- buy it! I got mine through Amazon.
Leo, I want to raise an issue that arises from Albertz' book, and I shall do so in a new Thread.
Doug
Bobcat,
All strength to you. Make your own decisions, but if I may be so bold to make a suggestion: treat and analyse the Bible as you would any piece of literature.
It did not fall out of the sky like a magic pudding. Each piece, subsequent editing, amendments, and the canonisation process did not exist in a vacuum. These processes took place within their respective cultures.
So many divergent cultures exist today, and how different were their cultures from each of ours. We must never fall into the trap of impressing our culture on to theirs. They were not writing to us.
Doug
