Hidden Book in the Bible ~ review
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Transcript of Hidden Book in the Bible ~ review
8/6/2019 Hidden Book in the Bible ~ review
http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/hidden-book-in-the-bible-review 1/5
Review of The Hidden Book in the Bible
This remarkable book identifies the earliest work of prose literature heretofore hidden in the
Old Testament. It was extracted from Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Joshua,
Judges, I & II Samuel and I Kings. Restored, translated and introduced by Friedman, the
narrative does seem to be the work of one author and was probably written in the time of King
Solomon. Originally a united story, it was cut up by the Bible's editors so that other narratives,
laws and poetry were inserted into and around it.
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In the Introduction, Friedman relates how he discovered this story, the reasons
for considering it one unified work and where it is found in the Bible. He deals
with the different sources called J (this work), E, D and P as used by biblical
scholars plus words, phrases, images and themes that appear in J and nowhere
else in the Bible. In essence it is a tapestry of interactions between God and
mankind. He speculates on the identity of the author, asserting that s/he lived
in the Kingdom of Judah most likely in the latter 9th century BC, was probably
a lay person and may have been female.
Friedman explains his approach to the translation; he stuck close to the original
Hebrew, opting for consistency in the English, retaining idioms when their
meaning is clear and using the Tetragrammaton instead of its substitutes. Some
of the intricacies will be of interest only to the linguist but I found them
fascinating. Footnotes have been kept to a minimum whilst difficult words and
passages are explained elsewhere so that the reader is not distracted.
The narrative itself flows with a remarkable rhythm. It is titled "In The Day"
from its opening words and consists of approximately three thousand
sentences. I am pleased that Friedman keeps it simple in English; reading thetext is quite refreshing compared to the Bible translations one is familiar with.
Critics of the Bible are often confused as to what the Bible reports and what
the Bible teaches. This story is almost pure reportage although in the telling of
the story some interesting lessons come to light. It starts with creation and
ends with the establishment of the Kingdom of Israel.
In the Afterword, Friedman explores the themes and points out how key
elements introduced in the first chapters are resolved in the last two. Themes
include the relationship between the sexes and between fathers and sons,
fratricide, and the positions of king, priest, prophet and military leader. It is
about families in particular and the tension between divine direction and the
human desire for independence. It is both history and a novel. Around it, other
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8/6/2019 Hidden Book in the Bible ~ review
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accounts were added, as well as wisdom literature, poetry and the visions of
the prophets, in order to assemble the Good Book.
The Textual Notes provide further explanation with reference to verses from
Genesis to Kings, whilst the Appendix gives a more detailed treatment of the
evidence for the antiquity and unity of the work. It consists of 4 parts:
(a) evidence for the unity of the work
(b) evidence for its antiquity
(c) response to criticism of recent scholarship that claims a late date of
composition for these texts
(d) a chart demonstrating the distribution of terminology that characterizes
In The Day.
Under (a), Friedman presents proof in the form of terminology, narrative
continuity, allusion, similarity of whole accounts, repeated prose images and
theme, plus a consideration of the implications if this analysis is correct.
Under (b) he returns to a discussion of the aforementioned sources like J, P and
E and the views of biblical scholars on their antiquity. An interesting fact: thehistorical referents in this work (J) overwhelmingly relate to Judah, and those
of E to Israel (the Northern Kingdom). The linguistic-historical research on the
Hebrew language is also considered here.
(d) is introduced by a lengthy analysis of the work of scholars Blum and Van
Seters with reference to Hurvitz, Polzin, Rendsburg, Zevit, Halpern, Kaufmann
and others. A table titled Distribution Of Terms In Prose Narrative provides
comparisons of Hebrew words and expressions in Genesis to Deuteronomy,
Joshua, Judges, I Samuel and II Samuel with the rest of the Old Testament.
The book concludes with 10 pages of bibliographic notes on the Introduction,
Afterword and Appendix.
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A thought-provoking theme of In The Day is the boomerang effect of human
actions and the cyclical or echo-effect of mankind's behavior. There are
repeating patterns from the earliest times. Also the irony in what I would call
the "karmic" nature of this process which applies to good, bad and neutral
actions. It is something like a template built into cosmic law and is humorous in
some instances.
But by far the most important insight that it provided to this reader is about
the nature of God. For better or worse, the God of the Old Testament is often
perceived as vengeful and uncompromising. This core text paints a different
picture, one of a Deity often torn between justice and mercy. In other words,
God gets angry but does not stay angry and forgives upon repentance. This is
just my opinion, but it seems that God gets angry about the evil that mankind
brings upon itself and does intercede when asked, in order to alleviate it.
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Reading this work has greatly piqued my interest in the process of redaction
of the Bible. Who were the editors and when was it done? I say this in light of
having recently read the equally absorbing book by Jeffrey Satinover titled
Cracking The Bible Code, a scholarly work that explores layers of meaning
encrypted in the language and Hebrew letters of the five books of Moses.
I assume that these hidden codes occur right across In The Day (J) as well as
the other aforementioned sources, in other words, cohesively through the final
text. This is most intriguing and a matter that really ought to be investigated
further.
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