The Pros And Cons Of The Hebrew Bible

academically, as well as religiously. Unfortunately, when studying it, scholars must keep in mind the problems involved in the process of studying the Hebrew Bible. One of these issues is the fact that the events being recorded in the Hebrew bible occurred many thousands of years ago, and there are very limited resources or evidence that we can use to verify or compare to what is written in the Hebrew Bible. Another issue that arises is the fact that the original text is written in Hebrew, and was translated many times, as well as simply just transcribed many times. With so many different people looking at the text, and rewriting it, and translating it, it is obvious that the text is bound to be altered in some way, whether it is intentional or an accident. Another issue that scholars …show more content…
A few different things go into this process. One of the things contributing to a book’s status as canon, is if it is developed over centuries, with multiple different versions of the texts (possibly, translated to different languages as well). Another trait of a work that is regarded as canon is that it is referenced back to as the “standard” in it’s field. The Hebrew scriptures are considered canon for Christians, as they consider the Hebrew Bible their “rule of faith”, and have therefore given the scriptures the title of ‘canon’ (Collins, 367). An interesting point that our professor brings up in our lecture videos is how the process of canonization is not inevitable. Many pieces/books may have been left out/kept in the Hebrew Bible simply because the editor wanted to, despite the passages seeming not being very relevant, or “expected” (ex: Qoheleth). The Hebrew Bible that we know today most likely took its final form in the first century C.E., and we know that the process is went through to get to this stage, was indeed a