The Story Behind The Bible: Book One - The Torah: A Primer for Judeo-Christians and Messianic Jews

By J K Alexander

With facts and information, insightful commentary, and even a few flights of fantasy, The Story Behind the Bible weaves a magnetic journey through the most ancient texts of the Bible for believers and non-believers alike. It’s a journey that could draw you into a universe that is larger and more incredible than you ever thought possible.

Rather than creating a typical Bible study, J.K. Alexander shares his unique perspectives on how and why events in the Bible occurred from Genesis to Deuteronomy. Whether you’re a longtime Christian or a skeptic, you’re sure to glean thought-provoking information from this intriguing read.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Yorkshire Publishing
• Release date: Aug 16, 2019
• ISBN: 9781950034567

Book preview

The Story Behind The Bible

Copyright © 2012 by J. K. Alexander

ISBN: 978-1-947247-40-6 (paperback)

ISBN: 978-1-950034-56-7 (ebook)

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photo copying,recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law.

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, King James Version, Cambridge, 1769. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

For permission requests, write to the publisher at the address below.

Yorkshire Publishing

3207 South Norwood Avenue

Tulsa, Oklahoma 74135

www.YorkshirePublishing.com

918.394.2665

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Holy Bible Content Summary

Genesis

Exodus: the Way Out

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

The Return to Leviticus

To Complete the Story

Endnotes

Photo Credits

Introduction

This book is a product of more than twenty-five years of private biblical, philosophical, historical, and archeological study. The intended purpose of the book is to offer a quick, condensed read that can provide a rich, well-developed background, perspective, and understanding of the biblical scriptures. The hope is that the information herein will help biblical scholars of all levels read the Bible with a greater sense of reality, historicity, and relevance that will, in essence, make the biblical experience a bit more like really being there. Migration, translation, and the irrepressible march of time have created somewhat of a feeling of detachment and futility with regard to reading and understanding the Bible. My goal is to put the readers back into the story as if they are reading their own family history with memories, clear mental images, and a sense of historical authenticity to draw upon as they read and study.

There is very little duplication of biblical texts and relatively few references to chapter and verse as the goal here is almost the opposite of the chapter and verse enthusiasts. I would like to engender a more fluid, anthropomorphic understanding and approach to scriptures similar to that held by all the prophets, disciples, and saints who actually lived the biblical stories and read and learned the early texts long before chapters and verses were added in the sixteenth century. If reference is made that, it is written, I assure you it is contained in the pages of the Bible, but I felt no obligation to provide chapter and verse on all points since the manuscripts did not even contain punctuation, much less numbered chapters and verses.

The reader will have to learn to find some things on their own if they feel the need to confirm such statements at this juncture. I have provided many citations and references in the book; however, most often the deeper revelations of biblical study unfortunately are not as simple as citing chapter and verse. For example, when I write that God will be glorified in bringing all ethnic peoples into the kingdom I could cite Revelation 21: 24-26, but if the reader goes there in the King James Bible they will only find reference to the nations and perhaps believe that either my premise or citation is incorrect or fraudulent.

However, Revelation was translated into English from the very precise and efficient Greek language and nations is a translation of the Greek word ethnos which, in this context clearly refers to all ethnic peoples and their leaders. While the King James says nations, Israel and Judea were also often referred to as the nations but the word ethnos in the Greek manuscripts was used exclusively to refer to the gentile, uncircumcised, or non-Jewish ethnic peoples of the world.

I feel that citations or references that require additional in-depth clarification for linguistic or triangulation purposes are getting into Bible study 201, whereas this book is just a primer or introduction to the material covered. Often, more than one book, chapter, and verse are required to arrive at the full revelation of the truth, yet one can still accurately and honestly state that it is written.

To provide chapter and verse citation and the needed additional explanation for these deeper revelations would make our primary study too long and tedious. Also, taken out of biblical and historical context these citations could be more confusing than enlightening to many.

Much of the valuable information in the book can be gleaned simply by reading and paying attention to the titles of chapters and Hebrew translations. I tried to leave little or no unexplained mysteries regarding names, titles, and origins, but this is not a textbook, so the reader will simply have to identify and absorb useful information on their own recognizance. There are no chapter quizzes or regular recaps of preeminent concepts and information.

While there are many well-researched facts, data, and histories in the book that should simply be committed to memory, there is considerably more commentary, opinion, and perspective. Those are the real thrust and point of the primer. It is these that no doubt will engender faith, hope, understanding, and clarity in part but also disagreement, controversy, and even outrage from some. That is fine.

I have no desire to convert the world to my opinions, perspectives, interpretations, and vision, but I will just about guarantee that these portions of the book will make the reader think and hopefully create a desire to search the scriptures to either confirm and solidify agreement or find a scriptural basis for disagreement. Either way, I will have accomplished my goal to make you look. It is my opinion that no two people, especially dedicated scholars, will ever agree on all points of the Bible until perchance we find ourselves in the presence of the author(s) who can set us straight as to who is right and who is wrong. Until then, let’s agree to disagree and enjoy a lively, friendly discussion and debate.

With regard to the illustrations and art work, I will merely say that I chose images that most closely coincide with my understanding of the people and events depicted, but almost none are exactly as I would have them pictured. They are provided for variety, the reader’s entertainment, and a visual aid for filling in the colors and textures of scriptural events.

This was originally intended to be a series of short booklets, but I found there is just too much to cover to be able to edit to that degree. What I did not want was a long, voluminous, difficult read that would be dry and overly challenging for the average reader, so I included artwork, imagery, and did some serious editing to find what I hope is a happy medium that stays with the essentials and the stated objective of covering the underlying themes as opposed to the well-known and more obvious aspects of the text.

While the Torah is relatively short, books on the Prophets and the New Testament will by necessity be much longer works. Many of the prophetic aspects of the Torah can best be explained from the perspective of later prophets so I was able to condense this primer considerably, opting to explore the prophetic side when I write, appropriately enough, The Story Behind the Prophets if I am fortunate enough to complete the series. Many people have shaped the spirit, knowledge, and motivation that lead me to write this book so here I would like to recognize and thank Pastor Bill Borgman, Pastor Joe Owen, Murry Owen, J. R.R. Tolkien, Patricia McKillip, Pastor Gene Scott, Pastor Herbert Armstrong, Jon Anderson, Chris Squire, Pastor Arnold Murray, Dennis Murray, Jim, Penny, Luke, and Chelsea Caldwell, Ron Wyatt, and Pastor Michael Rood, as well as others too many to name.

This book is dedicated especially to my daughter and to family and friends.

Note: During the writing of this book, great upheaval began in the Middle East with Egypt at the epicenter. This had an effect on the direction and content of the latter chapters, but I must assume that things happen when and as they do for a reason so I have chosen to leave things as I was inspired to write them at the time. While some chapters dealing with Egypt may seem somewhat tangential, I now feel they were meant to be included and have decided not to edit or revise them.

The Holy Bible Content Summary

The Old Testament–(Hebrew: the Tanakh)

1. The Torah (Law)–five books written by Moses known as Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

2. The Prophets – Consists of the Major Prophets, the Minor Prophets, and the Writings: seven Major Prophets: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel; twelve Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zachariah, and Malachi; twelve Writings: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles.

In Hebrew

The Law = Torah

The Prophets = Nevi’im

The Writings = Ketuvim

First letters forming the acronym TNK or TaNaKh also known as the Miqra or readings

The New Testament–(Heb: the Brit Hadasha or New Covenant)

1. The Gospels: Mathew, Mark, Luke, John

2. The Acts of the Apostles

3. The Pauline Epistles (Letters by Paul) to the Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews

4. The Epistles written by James, Peter, John, and Jude

5. The Revelation of John

Genesis

Hebrew:–B’reshiyth (In the Beginning): The First Book of Moses

Myth versus Science

I n the beginning God… This means when the heavens began, God was already there, having actually created the heavens and subsequently the earth. Moses, who penned the Torah, including Genesis, has notated these awesome enigmatic occurrences in proper chronological order: God, heavens, earth, but evidently even Moses didn’t know much more about this remotely ancient cosmology other than the order of occurrence.

But the small period, the first period in the English Bible, is perhaps the most profound punctuation mark ever printed in the English language. This dot represents a vast gulf of time that begins at the completion of the heavens and the earth and ends at the beginning of the second sentence in the Bible. In this case, one period is worth millions if not 4 billion or so years. …and the earth was without form and void is the King James translation; however, the Hebrew can also be translated "the earth became a wasteland and desolate. In fact, this is actually a more accurate translation of the Hebrew tohuw and bohuw than was without form and void."

Both translations are acceptable, and because of this, biblical scholars have long debated what is known as the gap theory, postulating a vast expanse of time between Genesis 1:1 and Genesis 1:2.

Fortunately for us, we live in the scientific age and have accumulated sufficient knowledge and empirical evidence to put this issue to rest. The gap can no longer be considered a theory by the knowledgeable individual. It is a fact, which is actually supported by scripture. There was a long expanse of time between the first two sentences of the Bible. Jeremiah 4:23 wrote of the end of this early age of time. How do we know that Jeremiah’s vision is historical instead of future prophecy? Axiomatically.

No scripture is of isolated interpretation and according to the whole volume of the book i.e. all scriptural prophecies, predictions, hopes, and faith in the future clearly indicate that there will never be a time going forward when there will be no man upon the earth and birds and beasts have fled or been destroyed. Yet, Jeremiah sees a time when no man is on the earth, and all birds and beasts have disappeared, and cities are broken down and abandoned. He also uses the exact same verbiage as the second sentence of Genesis to describe the earth’s condition. Again, the King James says, …without form and void. And again, Jeremiah says there was no light in the sky. This is not an accident of Scripture (Jeremiah 4:23-26).

Jeremiah is describing a vision of the exact same time that Genesis 1:2 is describing, the tragic end of the first biblical age of this earth, meaning prior to Genesis 1:2 there were birds, beasts, cities, and, of course, light from above. This was allegory to the people Jeremiah was speaking directly to, indicating that God had severely responded to rebellion-born violence and destruction before and just might do so again if Jerusalem would not shape up. For it is written in Jeremiah, "Yah said, ‘The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black…’" referring to the destruction of the first age and the time circa Genesis 1:2 (Jeremiah 4:27-28, Jeremiah 4:23-26).

If the Bible is true, there has not been nor ever will be a time from Adam proceeding all the way to the eternal kingdom of God flourishing on earth forever that the earth could be described as Jeremiah saw it. He is describing a time prior to the recreation, restoration, and replenishing we see from Genesis 1:2 on. No one is certain, but the actual time period would probably be anywhere from 50,000 to 15,000 years ago. Let’s look at the scriptures and see where we are here.

The heaven and earth have been created and after a very, very long time the earth has become without form and void or a wasted desolation. Clearly, the earth is flooded out at this time because it says God brooded over the face of the deep and then begins to move on the face of the waters. So when someone asks if you believe in the flood of the Bible, the informed Judeo-Christian should ask which one?

This is not the aftermath of Noah’s flood. We are prior to the creation of Adam here, and yet Jeremiah sees cities broken down and birds and beasts fled away, indicating that there were birds, beasts, cities, and entities to inhabit them prior to the creation story in Genesis. God specifically told man to replenish. One can only replenish what was previously plentiful, not a formless void. This is but one of the very numerous instances in which scripture validates the modern scientific view and vice versa.

To touch briefly on other scriptural