Not a Religious Text, but a Historical One.

What if, Dear Loved Ones, we ask people to view the Bible as the historical text it actually is?

The 'Old Testament'—also known as the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh—is, after all, a history. A history of a family, of a people, of relationship.

Relationship with one another, humanity as a whole, and Adonai the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. A compilation of said history, family, people, events, individual and shared experiences of many people over the course of many, many years.

Part of what makes the Tanakh fascinating is that while it absolutely contains religious/theological material, it also holds history, poetry, wisdom, law, genealogy, etc., and prophecy. This is very different from how modern Western readers often separate these subjects.

These books also contain wonderfully rich, culturally significant, enduring literary elements, with personal accounts of and from dynamic figures.

The 'New Testament'—also known as the Christian Bible—is much the same.

It is a compilation of books and letters written by people bearing witness to what they experienced, saw, heard, received, investigated, believed, participated in, and observed happening within these early communities. First-, second-, and even thirdhand testimonies—personal experiences alongside those received and passed down through others.

A continuation of events deeply rooted in Jewish/Hebrew life and culture, but with more than one significant nuance.

The long anticipated Messiah had been crucified, and while He was Jewish—as were many of the earliest followers and believers—it was a movement of Jewish AND Gentile disciples.

The New Testament, once again, also contains genres that otherwise might be neatly separated into different books. Knowledge and comprehension of the history that came before this text from the Old Testament is vital to better understanding this one.

It provides context.

Context of the times—the world, their people, customs, beliefs, laws, etc.—as well as those who wrote it, their purpose for doing so, and the One the Bible in its entirety can be argued to be about... Yeshua—aka Jesus.

Not to mention who the authors were writing to and for—not only for their own kin, but Gentiles—aka outsiders—as well.

Like any other historical record written from someone's perspective, additional resources are always helpful in providing a fuller understanding of what occurred, its significance, and the cultural barriers that might otherwise obscure deeper connections.

Might I suggest we choose to read this incredible text simply to gain perspective, understanding, insight, and information?

While none of us can actually approach a text without preconceptions...

—can we temporarily put down what we think we already know and simply encounter the material?

We cannot become blank slates, and I'm not certain we should, but we can become aware of what we're bringing with us and make adjustments along the journey.

Let's better understand the material we are deciphering.

We begin doing this by asking questions.

Questions like what do we know or need to learn about the world surrounding the text, about the people writing it, and the nuances or significance of each?

If nothing else, the Bible is a living record of a people—and one family in particular...

It records marriages, births, deaths, migrations, wars, governments, betrayals, reconciliations, famine, prosperity, slavery, liberation, laws, failures, worship, rebellion, cultural practices, neighboring civilizations, generational consequences... growth and regression of a nation of peoples.

And, throughout all of that, relationship.

Despite all odds, these books of the Bible, and other generational resources that help us understand what we're encountering, have persevered. For that reason alone, I think they are worthy of study and even stewardship.

Even with as little as I have learned in my life, I know that history has a way of being destroyed through various methods.

Methods of deliberate destruction, as well as the ordinary loss of ancient documents to time, weather, war, persecution, and general deterioration.

And perhaps therein lies part of the gift of this living word that has not only survived, but even thrived.

We still have the blessed opportunity to appreciate it, question it, study it, and even better relate to it by bridging historical, cultural, and language barriers.

Something pretty incredible, really—and unique to the age we live in now—is how much access we have to insightful resources like Rabbinic and Talmudic texts that have also been translated!

Regardless of why we choose to study it, what might become possible when we approach these persevering texts with curiosity?

Can viewing the Bible historically, with unabashed curiosity, reveal new depths of understanding... perhaps even lead a believer to a deeper faithful relationship with Adonai, Yeshua, and the Ruach Ha-Kodesh?

What doors can it open for us?
Individually... Societally...

I'd like to believe, Dear Loved Ones, that a deliberate curiosity of the historical and cultural context of the Bible could illuminate the message and purpose of the Bible for us all, regardless of our beliefs.

That it can bring what the Jewish people call Shalom—something that means much more than just 'peace'—into the world.

Oh, how I long for that day.

The day where we learn, understand, and practice something sacred.

LOVE.