Which Bible(s) Should I Use?

As you’re preparing to join me on this journey, you may be wondering about your options for which Bible or Bibles to use.

The absolute easiest way to follow along will be to use the Chronological Study Bible.

Kindle (Free with Prime/Kindle Unlimited):
https://amzn.to/3popTtj
Hardcover:
https://amzn.to/37Q7EY1

If you have a particular Bible you always use and you want to stick with that, feel free to do so.  I still recommend that you get the Chronological Study Bible so you can learn about the historical context of each section of Scripture, but you can switch back and forth between this Bible and your own.  And if you just aren’t interested in the history part at all, I’ll be announcing the chapters and verses in advance so you can simply look them up.

But what if you’re like me and want to squeeze everything you possibly can out of your reading time?  For the extremists out there, I have a challenge for you: consider using the Chronological Study Bible for the historical sections, and an unfamiliar translation for the Scriptural readings so the words don’t flow right over you.  Just don’t take on so much that you feel defeated and you quit on me.  If you begin to feel overwhelmed, backtrack to one of the easier options mentioned above.

I have two recommendations for the Old Testament and one for the New Testament.

Old Testament: Septuagint

Most of the early Christians did not use a Hebrew text.  After Alexander the Great swept through North Africa and the Middle East, the koine dialect of Greek became the lingua franca of the Empire.  The use of Hebrew had already begun to die out during the Babylonian Exile.  Many Jews in Palestine still spoke another Semitic language, Aramaic, but most Jews in the empire spoke Greek.  The Torah was translated into Greek in the third century BC.  Over time the Prophets and other Writings were added to this collection known as the Septuagint (from the Greek word for 70 alluding to the legend that 70 or 72 holy men produced identical inspired translations).  The Septuagint (abbreviated LXX) became the Bible of the early church.  Frequently when a New Testament author is quoting the Old Testament, he is using the Septuagint.  But almost every modern Bible is based upon much younger Hebrew manuscripts.  [Let me know if you would like resources to read more about these issues.]

So, if you’re interested in reading a version of the Old Testament that’s probably closer to the one that the early Christians used, the Orthodox Study Bible bases its Old Testament translation on the LXX.  With this you’ll also get introductions to each book and study notes throughout which typically follow the writings of the early Church Fathers.  This would give you a traditional, conservative complement to the modern scholarly insights I’ll be endeavoring to bring you.

Kindle (Free with Kindle Unlimited):
https://amzn.to/352E7IS

Hardcover:
https://amzn.to/3rI6Ufm

Old Testament: Friedman

For the crazy scholarly among you, there’s Richard Elliott Friedman’s translation of the Torah/Pentateuch (Genesis through Deuteronomy) in The Bible with Sources Revealed.

Kindle:
https://amzn.to/3hvOmKL

Paperback:
https://amzn.to/3pFx7t6

Although the oral and perhaps some written sources may go back as far as Moses, the Bible as we have it today developed over several centuries.  Speculating on how this process actually occurred is called “source criticism.”  After a 30-page introduction to Pentateuchal source criticism, Friedman offers his own translation of the text with different font styles and colors to designate which sources he believes are behind each section of the text.  I will be drawing many of my insights from my reading of Friedman’s translation.  Please consult my Old Testament Overview for context on what the main sources are and how they developed.

New Testament: Hart

Finally, when we get to the New Testament, I strongly recommend David Bentley Hart’s The New Testament: A Translation.

Kindle:
https://amzn.to/3n2tmMH

Paperback:
https://amzn.to/2Ms0Szz

It’s not quite as readable as some of the others out there, but it clarifies some serious theological errors that people draw from other translations.  If you find it’s not as enjoyable to read, feel free to stick with the NKJV (featured in both our Chronological Study Bible and the Orthodox Study Bible) or my go-to modern translation, the ESV.  But you should never take a strong position on the meaning of a New Testament verse until you’ve consulted Hart’s translation.

Any questions???

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Next Week

Here’s your first reading assignment.  I will note the sources behind each verse as a reference for any of you who may feel like practicing some source criticism of your own.  The rest of you can safely ignore these details.  To follow my weekly commentary, however, you should have at least a cursory understanding of the Jahwist, Elohist, Priestly, and Deuteronomistic sources.  Any time you need a refresher, refer back to my Old Testament Overview.

Days 1-2: Genesis 1:1-4:26
1:1-2:3 is the Priestly account of Creation which serves as an introduction to the whole Torah.
2:4-4:24 is a southern Jahwist account of Creation and the Fall (I’m spelling it with a “J” because this is known as the “J” source after the German spelling of the word, but it is pronounced “Yahwist”).

Days 3-4: Genesis 5:1-6:22
5:1-5:32 is an account of Adam’s descendants from Priestly redactors, although v 29 appears to come from the J account. Both accounts have Noah as the son of Lamech, but the Jahwist seems to have Noah descending from Cain whereas this Priestly source (the “Book of Records” in this case) has Noah descending from Seth.
6:1-6:8 is a Jahwist account of Man’s wickedness.
6:9-6:22 is a Priestly account of Noah building the Ark.

Days 5-8: Genesis 7:1-11:32
-The Jahwist account of the Flood is found in chapters 7 (verses 1-5, 7, 10, 12, 16b-20, 22-23), 8 (2b-3a, 6, 8-12, 13b, 20-22), and 9 (18-27).
-The Priestly account of Noah includes chapters 7 (6, 8-9, 11, 13-16a, 21, 24), 8 (1-2a, 3b-5, 7, 13a, 14-19), and 9 (1-17, 28).
-Chapter 10 records the descendants of Noah with verses 8-19, 21, and 24-30 coming from the Jahwist while verses 1-7, 20, 22-23, and 31-32 are Priestly.
11:1-9 is the Jahwist account of the Tower of Babel.
11:10-11:32 is a collection of Priestly genealogies.