Austin Bible Church
The Angelic Conflict and the languages of Scripture text
The Angelic Conflict always has a specific object to attack and it changes from time to time. The pre-Abrahamic attack centered on the seed of the woman with the attempt to corrupt the human race. The Post-Abrahamic attack (immediate) was toward the nation of Israel. Rev. 12 mentions the concept of the woman with child.
The pre-Canon completion attack centered on the verbal teaching of prophets, Jesus Christ, apostles, evangelists, etc. The object of the post-Canon completion attack is the completed revelation. God’s Word has to be discredited.
The attack on the authorship of the text came as destructive higher criticism of the 19th Century. The attack on the teaching or teacher of the text is evident in the 20th and 21st Centuries. God’s counterattack to the Angelic Conflict involves the return to the study of the original text. The return to the teaching from the original text. The return to the writing and compiling the exegesis of the text.
Authorship of the text: (Pentateuch)
The authorship of the text then becomes vital in relating the Hebrew peoples, the Hebrew language, and the Hebrew text. To discredit the author of a text is to discredit the content of that text, and to do that, discredits the character of the One who is said to be the Giver of the text, God Himself.
Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch established:
The Pentateuch testifies to its Mosaic authorship. The rest of the Old Testament testifies to the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. The New Testament attests to Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch. Tradition confirms Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch.
Internal evidence bears out Moses’s authorship. It was written in the desert. It was written with the vividness of an eyewitness. It was written by someone who knew Egypt. It preserves archaisms. Elementary nature of doctrines taught, favors early Moses authorship.
Mosaic unity of the Pentateuch was challenged by:
First Documentary Theory: deals with documents that Moses was supposed to use in composing the Pentateuch.
Fragmentary Theory: claims the Pentateuch was composed during times of Solomon. Joins books of Joshua to the Pentateuch. Relates some to the Jehovists and Elohists.
Supplementary Theory: holds to the Jehovist and Elohist designations, but postulates one basic origin.
The Crystallization Theory: modification of the supplementary theory to establish it. This makes the supplementers to appear successively at different periods.
The Modified Document Theory: an interweaving of the four separate documents P., E., J., D. This is held by Boehmer, Schrader, Noeldeke, Dillman, Franz Delitzch, Rudolf Kittel, W.W. Baudissin.
Final Documentary Theory: This pervades Bible histories, encyclopedias, commentaries, dictionaries, exegetical collections and introductions. Partly originated from Babylonian exile, final redaction made by Ezra in 445 BC. Deuteronomy is put in time of Josiah.
Authorship of the Prophets: Nebhiim
The two divisions of the Prophets
Former Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings.
Latter Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, The Twelve.
Authorship of the Former Prophets
Book of Joshua: Name means Jehovah saves, Jehovah is salvation. Written by an eyewitness. Written by Joshua at least in parts. Joshua 24:1-25, Joshua 18:9. Written very early. Rahab still alive at the writing. Conclusion: written by Joshua, but certain sections could not be. Joshua 24:29-30; Joshua 24:31.
Book of Judges: Name means Charismatic Military Leaders. Parallel to the Shufetim of Phoenicia, Sufetes of Carthage, and Consuls of Rome. Written by a single editor/author. Written as a unit. Author was largely a compiler. Written or belonging to the age of Saul. Written by Samuel according to Hebrew tradition.
Book of Samuel: 1 and 2 Samuel were originally one book. They were divided by the Septuagint translators. An old Jewish tradition in Baba Bathra, holds Samuel as the author. Authorship is actually unknown. Probably by a prophet under the kings who made use of documents left by Samuel, Gad, and Nathan.
Book of Kings: Originally a single volume in Hebrew text, “And the Kings.” According to the Talmud, Jeremiah was the author. Stienmuller places the composition in Babylon. Conclusion: Written by Jeremiah or a contemporary prophet of Jeremiah. Author refers to the Book of the Acts of Solomon in 1 Kings 11:41, the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Israel (17 times), and the Book of the Chronicles of the Kings of Judah (15 times).
Authorship of the Latter Prophets
Authorship of Isaiah: name means Jehovah is Salvation. Isaiah’s authorship was uncontested until modern destructive criticism of the 18th century. Much criticism has been leveled against Isaiah’s authorship. Conclusion: “Those who grant the supernatural in Biblical prophecy and comprehend the varied phenomena of its operation will find no valid reason to discard the traditional view of Isaianic authorship of the whole book....” Quote by Dr. Unger.
Authorship of Jeremiah: named for Jeremiah. Jeremiah “the son of Hilkiah, of the priests that were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin,” wrote the book. Jer. 1:1. Internal evidence supports Jeremiah’s authorship. External proof supports Jeremiah’s authorship. Book of Daniel, 2 Chronicles, Josephus, Talmud, New Testament: Matt., Mark, Luke, Romans, Hebrews. Modern critical theories fail to disprove Jeremiah’s authorship.
Authorship of Ezekiel: Author: Ezekiel. Ezekiel means “God is strong.” He was more a writer than a speaker. Emphasis on comfort and exhortation to the captives. Until recently, even the most radical schools of critics haven’t denied the authorship of Ezekiel and the unity of the book. Any rejection of Ezekiel authorship has the same basis as the other authorship rejection, that is unbelief in the supernatural.
The Twelve: part two of the prophetical division of the Hebrew text.
General facts: They had been grouped in the early 2nd Century BC. Josephus says they make up one book. Jewish and Christian tradition refers to them as The Twelve, or “The Book of the Twelve Prophets.”
The Twelve contain: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.
Authorship of “The Twelve:”
Hosea. Hosea means “Salvation:” The entire book is unquestionably the work of Hosea, the son of Beeri. Its unity is accepted even by the critics. Authority of the book is verified in the New Testament in Matt., Luke, Romans, 1 Cor., and 1 Peter.
Joel. Joel was author of the entire book, the son of Pethuel. However, Joel authorship has been challenged as early as 1878 and later again in 1896.
Amos: Author: Amos, a herdsman, or shepherd, or dresser of sycamore fruit. Author was a prophet. Very few critical questions about Amos. Practically all critics concede its integrity. New Testament attests its validity in Acts.
Obadiah: “The Servant or Worshipper of Jehovah.” Author: Obadiah. The greatest problem with this book is the date. Critics ascribe it to Exilic time. Unger puts it 848-41 BC during the reign of Jehoran. E.H.B.C has Obadiah in Exilic times.
Jonah: “Dove.” Was a prophet from north of Nazareth. Jonah was the author in the 8th century BC. Many Aramaisms in the book. Jonah is undeniably a historical person. It is predictive or typical history. It was written as historical.
Micah: “Who is Like Jehovah.” Critics have denied the unity of the book. The expression “hear” strongly suggests the unity of authorship. Micah was the author and was a contemporary with Isaiah.
Nahum: “Consoler, or Comforter.” Since 1880, critics have denied parts of Nahum as to his authorship. Nahum 1:2-2:2. Some have challenged that Nahum was not a prophet. All theories advanced to disclaim the authorship of Nahum are too subjective for a careful student to conscientiously embrace.
Habakkuk: Habakkuk is the author, but not much of him is known. One concluded that Habakkuk was a member of the temple choir or was a Levite. He is said to be the “son of Jesus of the tribe of Levi.” Critics attack the book on the unity basis. There are many technical musical terms in the book.
Zephaniah: “Jehovah Protects.” Zephaniah, a prophet, the author. Critics have questioned various parts. General authorship has not been seriously doubted. No objective reason to deny the Zephaniah authorship.
Haggai: “Festal.” Contemporary of Zechariah: return from exile. No reason to indicate Haggai was not the author of the entire book. Critics challenge not the authorship of Haggai, but that the current book is a resume of his writing and because Haggai is referred to in the third person. Inspiration answers all the objections regarding the authorship of the Latter Prophets.
Zechariah: “Jehovah Remembers.” Zechariah’s authorship of chapters 1-8 is virtually uncontested. Reasons for Zechariah’s authorship of the whole book: This is the universal testimony of Jewish and Christian tradition. Both sections, chapters 1-8 and chapters 9-14 contain numerous quotations from and allusions to the earlier prophets. The historical point of view is given in chapters 9-14. The language of both sections is pure Hebrew and free from Aramaisms.
Malachi: “My Messenger” or “The Messenger of Jehovah.” A Persian governor had been installed in Jerusalem with Nehemiah’s absence. This signifies a late date for the book. The author was Malachi, but very little is known of him.
The Authorship of the Writings: 11 books
Major Poetical Books: Psalms, Proverbs, Job
Nature of Hebrew poetry:
It employs parallelisms: Synonymous parallelism: same thoughts with equivalent expressions. Antithetic parallelism: repetition of a contrasting thought in the second line. Synthetic parallelism: progressive flow of thought in which the second or following lines add something to the first or explain it.
Names given to Parallelism: Distich: Psalms 36:5, Tristich: Job 3:9, Tetrastich: Psalms 1:3, Pentastich, Hexastich, and Octastich.
There are certain types of parallelism as to their hermeneutical function: Emblematic: second or third lines give a figurative illustration of the first. Psalms 42:1. Stair like: repeating part of the first line in the second which carries the thought forward. Introverted: first line and fourth line are parallel and the second and third ones are parallel.
It possesses rhythm: It does not count the syllable, but depends on the number of accents. Lyric metre was found to be two plus two in the Song of Solomon. Dirge or qinah, three plus two in Lamentations. Epic or didactic, three plus three in Job and Proverbs.
Hebrew poetry is divided into stanzas called strophes. Hebrew poetry is highly figurative.
The Psalms:
In Hebrew it is called “Tehillim” - “The Songs of Praise” and “Book of the Psalms.” The title “Psalms” is Greek meaning music of a stringed instrument, or a song adapted to stringed music.
Division of the book of Psalms: five books. Psalms 1-41; Psalms 42-72; Psalms 73-89; Psalms 90-106; Psalms 107-150.
Authorship of David: David was the primary author of the Psalter, Book of Psalms. 73 of the Psalms are stated as David’s Psalms in the Hebrew titles.
David’s credibility as the author of his Psalms: The Old Testament shows David to be a gifted musician and poet. 2 Sam. 1:19-27; 2 Sam. 23:1; 1 Sam. 16:16-18; 1 Sam. 18:10; Amos 6:5.
David was especially endued with the Spirit of God. 2 Sam. 23:1; Mark 12:36; Acts 2:25-31; Acts 4:25.
David’s name is everywhere in the Old Testament connected with the origin, composition and publication of liturgical song. 1 Chron. 16:4; 2 Chron. 7:6; 2 Chron. 29:30; 2 Sam. 6:5-15.
The Book of Psalms provides all kinds of evidence of David’s authorship. Many superscriptions assign David as the author. These are pre-Septuagint superscriptions. Both Old and New Testament establish David as a major writer of the Psalms.
Titles of the Psalms classified, indicating characteristics of the Psalm:
Mizmor: a song to be accompanied on a stringed instrument.
Shir: the common Hebrew term for a song.
Maskil: didactic poem.
Miktam: golden song, or psalm...some uncertainty.
Tephillah: a prayer
Tehillah: a praise
Shiggayon: uncertain