The World's Greatest Book: How the Bible Came to Be | Prof. Lawrence Schiffman

After a brief absence, History Valley continues with a returning guest Professor Lawrence Schiffman. Last time, Professor Schiffman joined us alongside with Professor Jim Charlesworth and today he returns to discuss with us a book he co-authored titled "The World's Greatest Book: The Story of How the Bible Came to Be"

It is a captivating story that includes a little bit of everything: adventure and violence, mystery and bravery, and dumb luck or divine intervention -- depending on your point of view.

How in the world did we get this book that some people swear by and other people swear at? You don't have to be a skeptic to have a grocery list of questions about the formation of the Bible, such as:

Who wrote these documents and when?
How were these ancient writings transmitted through the ages?
As scribes made copies of copies, didn't they make mistakes that caused the ancient writings to be changed and corrupted?
How was it decided which writings would be included in the Bible?
What are the Dead Sea Scrolls, and why are archaeological finds like these such a big deal?


Devoted people dedicated their lives throughout time to put this unique book into the hands of people worldwide. Retrace the passion and intrigue behind the Bible's creation.





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✅Twitter: @Jacob56723278

[aaronaragon]

Audio always sucks on History Valley. Why?

[Darisiabgal]

So the issue is the priestly source and whether this is earlier or later.
Here is the badic problem with the Torah. There are sources and sources of sources. For example the song of the sea is a source of a source.

Exodus 6:3 is an attempt to harmonize two sources in Exodus, the Elohimic and the Yahwist. There is no need to harmonize one source, so attempting to harmonize a source means the author is aware of two contradictory opinions and he is trying to reconcile these. But there are two differing opinions for good reason. If you were from the South, say Judah, you may have been calling in the name of some facsimili of Yahweh for a long time. But if you were from the north, maybe most called on the name El, El Elyon or as the bible says El shadai, the god of the high peaks. This contradiction goes deep into genesis as Yahudah is on of the twelve sons of abram, so apparently Abram is respecting some local Yahu god (Abram of legend, not in a real sense). So how could the Israelites, the Hebrews, amorites and hittites not know of YHWH.

So lets think about what people today say our founding fathers were and what they actually were. The christian nationalist are imparting beliefs on the founding fathers that they simply did not have. Thats in a period with reliable history and only 250 years.
So the Yahudah adopted a new arabian version of Yahu and later come to think, hey our guys were special we always knew this hidden side of Yahu. The other guys say what are you talking about, you just followed another mesoptamian god. To harmonize this the priestly source solves the priblem by saying all you guys who followed gods of the Elohim were actually following Yahweh, but then he told you his real name.
What the priestly source doesn't tell you that to get to this unified Yahweh, the Yahudah destroyed all the earthen alters to El and other favored mesopotamian gids so that the Israelites would forget about those gods and whorship only YHWH and only at jerusalem. That the deuteronomist removed effigies of El and Asherah, also to get the people to forget about euphrate/canaanite religions. Who was the high god at that time they did this, was it Yahweh, nope. Was it El Elyon, nope. The high god of Judea was Asshur, the god to whom the Judeans paid tribute. El was a god of the "Akkad and Sumer" tributery system, the Israelites defied the Assyrians and they crushed them. Judea sided with the Assyrians and acted against the northern kingdom. When "Akkad and Sumer" (Neobabylonia) came to power they crushed the Judeans, not once, but twice.
This power struggle is redacted from the source material in the text.

[neilmc]

Any chance you could put your output on Spotify? Great stuff

[andrewgoldstein]

I agree with the others. The audio is so poor as to render the interview useless.

[visionaryventures]

When the text says Moses wrote the words of this torah, I have interpreted it to mean he wrote the words of that instruction (“torah”), not the five books.

[readyfireaim]

[Elohim (God) from Genesis 1 vs
Yahweh (ancient serpent called the Devil and Satan) from Genesis 2]

Compare these two verses:

2 Samuel 24:1
Names of God Bible

David’s Sin—He Takes a Census

24 Yahweh became angry with Israel again, so he provoked David to turn against Israel. He said, “Go, count Israel and Judah.”

and

1 Chronicles 21:1
Names of God Bible

David Counts the People

21 Satan attempted to attack Israel by provoking David to count the Israelites.

🤔

It's important to note that different scholars and theologians have different interpretations of the relationship between Elohim (Genesis 1) and Yahweh (Genesis 2) in the Hebrew Bible, and there is no consensus on whether they are different deities or different names for the same deity.
However, here are five hypothetical reasons some scholars might consider:

1. Different Title/Name: The title and name Elohim and Yahweh are distinct, and they are used in different contexts throughout the Hebrew Bible. Some scholars argue that this suggests that they represent different conceptions of the divine, and that they might have originally been separate deities that were later merged.

2. Different Characteristics: Elohim is often portrayed as a more distant, transcendent deity, while Yahweh is portrayed as a more personal, immanent deity. Some scholars argue that these different characteristics suggest that they are different deities.

3. Different Origins: Some scholars argue that the name Yahweh is associated with the southern kingdom of Judah, while the name Elohim is associated with the northern kingdom of Israel. This difference in origin could suggest that they were originally separate deities worshipped by different communities.

4. Different Roles: Elohim is often associated with creation and judgment, while Yahweh is often associated with salvation and redemption. Some scholars argue that these different roles suggest that they are different deities with distinct spheres of influence.

5. Different Historical Contexts: The use of the name Elohim is more prevalent in the early books of the Hebrew Bible, while the name Yahweh becomes more prominent in later books. Some scholars argue that this suggests that the conception of the divine changed over time, and that Elohim and Yahweh might represent different deities worshipped at different points in history.

[readyfireaim]

Just as "Ruach Elohim" from Genesis 1 is "Spirit of God" and not "Spirit God", "Yahweh Elohim" from Genesis 2 is "LORD of God" and not "LORD God".

As if some Yahu from Edom and Seir (judges 5, deut 33) is the LORD of God...

Seriously, nobody sees the character from Genesis 2 for the usurper/deciever it is?

Is it not obvious?

Here are seven differences between "Ruach Elohim" and "Ruach Yahweh" as they appear in the Names of God (NOG) translation of the Bible:

1. "Ruach Elohim" is first mentioned in Genesis 1:2, where it is translated as "God's Spirit." "Ruach Yahweh" is first mentioned in Judges 3:10, where it is translated as "the LORD's Spirit."

2. "Ruach Elohim" is used throughout the Old Testament to describe the Spirit of God in general, while "Ruach Yahweh" is often used specifically in reference to the Spirit of God acting in a prophetic or empowering way, as in Judges 14:6 where Samson is "filled with the Spirit of Yahweh" to defeat a lion.

3. "Ruach Elohim" is sometimes used to describe the breath of life given to all creatures, as in Job 34:14-15 where it says that if God were to "gather back his breath [ruach], " all life would perish. "Ruach Yahweh" is not used in this sense.

4. In some passages, the two terms are used interchangeably. For example, in Isaiah 61:1, the Spirit of the Lord [Ruach Yahweh] is said to be upon the prophet, while in Ezekiel 11:5, the same phrase is translated as "the Spirit of God [Ruach Elohim] came upon me."

5. "Ruach Yahweh" is associated with the creation of humans in Genesis 2:7, where it says that Yahweh "breathed the breath [ruach] of life into [Adam's] nostrils." "Ruach Elohim" is not used in this context.

6. "Ruach Yahweh" is associated with the work of the Messiah in Isaiah 11:2, where it is said that "the Spirit of Yahweh will rest on him." "Ruach Elohim" is not used in this passage.

7. "Ruach Elohim" is used in the New Testament to refer to the Holy Spirit, as in Luke 3:22 where the Spirit descends on Jesus at his baptism "in bodily form like a dove." "Ruach Yahweh" is not used in the New Testament.

[geraldmeehan]

An interesting take on composition of the Bible. Not one I really agree with but interesting nonetheless.
As always thank you, Jacob and keep up the good work. I may not have $ to contribute but you will ALWAYS have my viewership. Thank you again!

[markj]

I really wanted to hear this but Important key words cannot be understood. Please consider pre presentation outside sound checks and editing your videos. Edited closed caption would be satisfactory in a pinch. Some takes just have to be done over. Thanks for you work.

[petmur]

The sound from the expert is inaudible. Such a shame

[Austria]

I can't understand most of what he's saying

[NomadOutOfAfrica]

The least read greatest book of all time. A mixture of prejudice, misogyny and evil. And everything in it a fantasy.

[marilynsamaniego]

The rabbi needs a better more professional mic

[geofromnj]

Schiffman's microphone is just godawful. He needs to spend a little bit of money to buy a better one.

[optimusg]

Read the Qur'an, an actual book, and the GREATEST book.