The Sacred Scrolls of the Scriptures
THE OUTSIDE OF THE SCROLLS
GOD has given titles to His books; He has put plain directions on
His letters, but the addresses on His epistles are unheeded; the inspired names on the
outside of the scrolls have been mostly changed to others of human invention.
Solid progress cannot be made in the
apprehension of Gods revelation unless we first restore His mutilated
superscriptions and take heartfelt heed of the plain instructions which precede each
On the shelf before me stands a bulky
volume with the following inscription on its back:
were in English instead of Hebrew it would read something like this:
LAW, SPOKESMEN, AND LITERATURE
you say, it is a Hebrew Old Testament! I beg pardon: it contains
the old covenant which Yahweh made with Israel at Sinai, but it also contains the new
covenant which He will make with them (Jer.31:31-34) in the days of their restoration. Why
should we call Gods books testaments as though He were about to die,
when they hardly ever touch on such a subject from one end to the other?
They do contain contracts or
covenants, yet these are but a small part of their burden. If we had written a book and
someone insisted on substituting one of the minor chapter headings for the whole volume we
would not tolerate it. Why should we stand by and allow such liberties with the Book of
books? We have become so accustomed to speaking of the Old and New Testaments
that it will be hard to break ourselves of the habit. Why, the very apostles who wrote
some of its contents would not understand us if we used this phrase.
But what shall we call the whole
Bible? We must have some name with which to handle it. We will never be able to improve on
the inspired title used by the apostle Paul in his second epistle to Timothy (3:15):
THE SACRED SCRIPTURES.
Here is an ideal
name. It is comprehensive enough to include all. It is exclusive of all else, for no other
writings are sacred. In the Greek language the word GRAMMA
means a writing of any kind, hence the adjective sacred is needed to distinguish
this from profane literature. In English we have the special term Scriptures,
which carries in itself the sense of sacred, hence we are well in line with God
when we use the term scriptures (Matt.22:29; Mark 12:24; Luke 24:32; John
5:39; Acts 18:28; 2 Peter 3:16).
It is already evident that the
Bible, as we have it, and the Scriptures, as it exists in the
original tongues, are often quite different. Hence it is wise to distinguish between the
two, leaving Bible for the human, mutilated translations and preserving
Scriptures for its sacred use of indicating the inspired originals. We are
interested in the Bible only so far as it agrees with the Scriptures. So, if the title
page reads Holy Bible let it stand, but endeavor to conform your copy of it to
the Scriptures. If the title in your Bible is Old Testament or New
Testament, ignore it, for it is a misnomer, even if a customary designation.
From the sacred lips of our Lord
Himself we learn the Hebrew and Chaldee Scriptures were divided into three groups: the Law
of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:44), the latter including all of the
literary scrolls as well as the book of Psalms itself.
Instead of calling one part of the
Scriptures Old and the other New, it will be of great advantage to
us to think of them as one. The fact that the later Scriptures are written in Greek should
not place such a gulf between the two parts. Some portions of Daniel are in Chaldee. Do we
therefore cut it off from the rest of the book? The accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John and the Acts are concerned with the same people, the same nation, the same land, the
same ritual which is brought before us in the Prophets. The advent of Messiah was a
fulfillment of these, not a new departure. When we find it necessary to distinguish
between the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures it were well if we simply indicate their
difference in language and forbear insinuating differences in subject and purpose which do
not exist. We will find, as we grow in the knowledge of the truth, that there is a much
wider gulf between Pauls epistles and the rest of the Greek Scriptures than can
possibly be found between the other Greek books and the Hebrew Scriptures. The Unveiling
of Jesus Christ, usually called the Revelation of St. John, has numerous points of contact
with Daniel and the Prophets while it has hardly one with Pauls epistle to the
In their earliest form the books of
Scripture were in the form of scrolls. If we find it necessary to mark the covers of our
books to identify their contents, how much more necessary was it to mark the various
scrolls which made up the Scriptures of those days, seeing that it was far more difficult
to glance through them than a modern book. We understand, moreover, that they were given
divine titles which were inspired quite as much as the text itself. In some cases the
caption consists of the opening line. Then it has usually been repeated, as in the Song of
Songs and in Isaiah.
Only those who have carefully
considered the titles and addresses which precede the various scrolls of Scripture and
have taken their message to heart can realize their importance and profit. It is because
Christendom has deliberately ignored or basely perverted or suppressed these titles, that
a great measure of the present day confusion exists. Let it be our pleasant and profitable
task to examine the outside of the scrolls before delving into their contents. Then
we will not go astray, because we have not refused the divine directions.
In our study we will take each divine
division of the Scriptures, and each book in it, in divine order, when this is known. For
man has not only touched the titles of the scrolls but has dared to displace them too.
After a cursory glance at the Hebrew titles we will spend most of our endeavors in reading
and digesting the addresses to the epistles of the apostles. There, we believe, is the
greatest profit for all who sincerely wish to understand their Bibles aright.
THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES
It hardly seems
necessary to inquire To whom were the Hebrew Scriptures written? Yet there are
few indeed who fully realize the exclusiveness of that revelation. Speaking on this
subject, Paul is insistent that to them only were the divine oracles entrusted (Rom.8:2).
He speaks of the other nations as being without law (Rom.2:14) and the law, covenants and
promises as the peculiar heritage of Israel (Rom.9:4). We must read them then, as, first
of all, for them, and ours only in the sense that, through them, we may learn to know
their God Who has now become our God.
No satisfactory excuse has ever been
offered for the fact that our English Bibles differ from the usual Hebrew Scriptures in
the number and order of the books. That the Hebrew text as it is printed today is far more
correct than ours is beyond dispute, for it has the books in such an order as will allow
the grouping into the Law, the Prophets and the Literature.
The Law, the Prophets, and the Literature
|I. THE LAW
| 1. In the
2. These are the Names (Exodus).
3. And He Called (Leviticus).
4. In the Wilderness (Numbers).
5. These are the Words (Deuteronomy).
|II. THE SPOKESMEN, OR PROPHETS
|III. THE LITERATURE, OR PSALMS
||The Song of Songs
|The Assembler (Ecclesiastes)
|Esther (A Star)
||Ezra (including Nehemiah)
||Commentaries, or, Words of the Days (Chronicles)
the accompanying list we have the books in order, by groups, with their true titles as
well as the usual name for the sake of identification. It will be seen that our versions
have the Law as it should be (except titles) but we have thrust most of the Literature in
between the Former and the Latter Prophets instead of leaving these scrolls at the end
where they belong. The Literature itself has been thrown into disorder. The Commentaries
(Chronicles), which close the Hebrew canon have been placed after Kings, probably to keep
a sort of chronological sequence. Ezra (Ezra and Nehemiah), the second from the last,
follows for the same reason, as does Esther. Daniel is taken from the Literature and
thrust in between the Major and the Minor Prophets.
Four scrolls, Samuel, Kings, Ezra and
Chronicles, following the lead of the later Greek translators, have since each been split
into two parts. There remains no real reason to maintain those divisions, save for current
usage. In substance they are not divided, but are single books.
This name was not
only applied to the ten commandments, but to all of the five books of Moses. This is its
force in the oft repeated phrase the law and the prophets (Matt.7:12; 22:40;
Luke 16:16; Acts 24:16). Any passage in these books is referred to as being in the Law.
The priests profanation of the Sabbath (Matt.12:5; Num.28:9,10), the consecration of
the firstborn (Luke 2:23,24; Ex.13:2; 22:29; Num.8:17; Lev.12:8), the testimony of two
witnesses (John 8:17; Deut.17:6)all these are in the Law, though they
are not in the decrees of Sinai.
Instead, then, of calling the five
books of Moses the Pentateuch, or five-volume, which gives us no clue
to its contents, let us call it, in fellowship with our Lord and His apostles, by the
divinely sanctioned name, the Law.
The Law comprises the five books of
Moses. Not only has the collection as a whole lost its real name, but the title to each
book is practically unknown. To restore them now seems a hopeless task from the human
standpoint. But we are conscious that such an attempt will please our God far more than if
we were sure of success. The significance of some of the names may not dawn upon us at
first. This only shows how far we are from understanding the purport of the books. The
divine title is a talisman which will disclose our own ignorance and show us the way to a
true understanding of each of the sacred scrolls.
The title to four of the Mosaic
scrolls consists of the opening words of the text, In the Beginning for
Genesis, And These are the Names for Exodus, And He Called for
Leviticus, and These are the Words for Deuteronomy. The title of Numbers is
taken from the first sentence, In the Wilderness. The usual names are taken
from the Greek version, commonly called the Septuagint, or LXX, from the tradition that it
was translated by seventy scholars.
IN THE BEGINNING
The first book is
fitly called In the Beginning. The ordinary name, Genesis,
suggests a birth, rather than a creation, a renewal, rather than a beginning. It
transcends and offends the human intellect to go back to a definite commencement, which
involves the idea of God. Man much prefers to lose himself in a misty past without any
God. He has no objection to genesis, but refuses creation. Hence he has given this book,
which refutes his philosophy, a name which harmonizes with it. He corrupts the Word of God
at its very start.
The creature can generate; God alone
originates. Apart from the revelations concerning the heavens given through the apostle
Paul, this book begins everything concerned with the human race on the earth. Not only are
the heavens and the earth traced back to their true source, God, but the whole human
family is traced back to Adam and to the sons of Noah. The chosen nation is seen in
Abrahama perishing Syrian (Deut.26:5), and in Israel, with his twelve sons.
Genesis is rightly named by its great Author In the Beginning.
AND THESE ARE THE NAMES
Gods names go
to the heart of things; mans touch the surface. We have a sample of this in the book
before us. It deals with the sons of Israels sufferings in Egypt, the call of Moses
and Aaron, the judgment of Egypt, the exodus from Egypt, the defeat of Pharaoh, the
wanderings in the wilderness, the laws of Sinai, the building of the tabernacle, etc., Why
should we take one incident out of all these for the title of the book?
In the book of the Beginning we had
many names, many nations. Now God is confining Himself to one nation, the names of the
sons of Jacob. The book deals not only with their separation from the other nations (of
which the exodus was the climax) but their communion with Himself. This is the real object
of His dealings with them. Why did He deal so harshly with the Egyptians? Why did He bring
them into the wilderness? That they might be His and become acquainted with Him. You
have seen, He says, what I did to the Egyptians, when I bore you on
vultures wings, and brought you to Myself (Ex.19:4). And again,
you will become Mine, a special possession, above all of the peoples, for Mine is
all the earth. As for you, you shall become Mine, a kingdom of priests, and a holy
nation (Ex.19:5,6). He has redeemed a nation for Himself. The redemption and the
exodus were the means by which He brought them into His presence and blessing. And what
better way than to acknowledge the names of those whom He so highly honors? Our friends
are known to us by name; strangers do not know our name, nor we theirs. So, while the
world wanders away from Him, He calls those by name whom He has chosen for His own. What
better name can we find for Exodus than These are the Names?
AND HE CALLED
The third book of
Moses (for their order is undoubtedly divine as well as their titles) is headed And
He Called. This is the first word in the Hebrew text, the name Yahweh, or the
LORD, coming at the end of the clause. In These are the Names He chose
Israel and brought them to Himself in the wilderness. Now He calls them into still
closer fellowship and worship.
Nearness to Him demands that sin be
put away. Holiness unsullied becomes those who answer His call. Hence the initial offering
of all is the korban, or oblation, sometimes called the approach offering. And,
indeed, what are all the offerings and ritual for but to make it possible for them to
respond to His call? Some fondly nurse the dream that men have the will and the way to
find Him without a divine call or sacrifice. But, alas, it is only too true that not
one is seeking out God (Rom.3:11). and He would still dwell solitary if He had not
called and equipped those He has invited for the unsullied light of His presence.
IN THE WILDERNESS
The name of the
fourth book is so apt that it seems strange that anyone should think of changing it.
Unlike the other books, it is not the very first word of the text but a phrase in the
first sentence. Throughout the book we are In the Wilderness and the moment we
approach the promised land the book ends. Here it is not the presence or worship of Yahweh
which is the subject, but the trials and dangers of the wilderness, as well as the will of
their own hearts. All who come out of Egypt, except Caleb and Joshua, die in the
There are, indeed, two numberings of
the sons of Israel in this book, but there is little to be learned from that fact alone.
When we find that the second numbering included none of those numbered at Sinai except
Caleb and Joshua, the significance of this book begins to dawn upon us. The carcasses of
those who came out of Egypt were strewn along the way in the wilderness. This is
the keynote of the book. The personal relation to Yahweh found in the scrolls of the Names
(Exodus) and the Calling (Leviticus) is no longer before us. The very numbering of the
people shows this, for it suggests confidence in numbers rather than in Yahweh. But
numbers can only hinder Him, so they are laid aside. He was vexed with that faithless
generation. If they had believed Him there would never have been such a book as this. A
few days would have brought them to the land of promise. So that the very name implies
apostasy and defection. If the two previous books show their relationship and nearness to
Yahweh, this scroll dilates on the distance of their hearts in spite of all His mighty
acts and glorious presence.
THESE ARE THE WORDS
Both the title and
the contents of the fifth book of Moses remind us of Chronicles, so-called, which is
properly named Words of the Days. These two books are divine commentaries.
They are Gods Words concerning events which have already been related from the
historical standpoint. In contrast with These are the Names (Exodus) which
tells us how Yahweh brought them out of Egypt, this book tells us much of His
bringing them in to the promised land. But our greatest profit will come if, in
accord with its title, we read this book as Yahwehs comments on the way of
the wilderness and the laws of the land.
Back to Table of Contents - Forward
to Chapter 2
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