The standard collection of twenty-seven books of the New Testament, centers on the good news about Jesus the “Christ,” literally “the anointed one,” and his followers. The collected canon of biblical books during the first four centuries is in itself an indication of how the value of these texts developed slowly and emerged over time. These diverse inspired authors of the second half of the first century of the Christian era provide a basic insight into the thought and practices of the primitive Christian communities. Our shared sacred documents also reveal information about the perceived role of the Holy Spirit in the activities and expectations of the newly forming Christian communities.
biblical books
Pseudo epigrams or anonymous writings
The question of authorship or attribution is important. Like many of the books of the Old Testament, some of the books attributed to some authors in the New Testament writings are not the persons mentioned. Moses did not write all the Torah. Paul did not write all the letters attributed to him. The technical scholarly name for this is pseudo epigrams. Sometimes, they are forgeries. These false attributions exist for a number of biblical books. Since we do not know the names of many of the writers of these books in the Bible, we can say that anonymous people wrote these works. However, I have decided to use the traditional attributed names that have been associated with these pseudo epigram works to better identify them.
Oracle against Tyre (Isa 23:1-23:1)
“The oracle concerning Tyre.
Wail!
O ships of Tarshish!
Your fortress is destroyed.
When they came in
From Cyprus
They learned of it.”
Tyre was a Phoenician costal island city that still exists in southern Lebanon. Known for its maritime trade and purple dye, it was actually in the Israelite territory of Asher. The ships of Tarshish are mentioned 24 times in the biblical books, most notably when speaking about the wealth of King Solomon, in 1 Kings, chapter 10. Tarnish must have been someplace where there was a lot of metal, such as silver, probably some distance away, since speculation continues as to its exact location. The fortress or the houses of Tyre would be destroyed. Apparently these Phoenician sailors from Tyre were coming back from the island of Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea, when they learned about this destruction.
Idol food offerings (Sir 30:18-30:20)
“Good things poured out
Upon a mouth that is closed
Are like offerings of food
Placed upon a grave.
Of what use to an idol
Is a sacrifice?
The idol can neither eat
Nor smell.
Thus this one
Is punished
By the Lord.
He sees
With his eyes.
He groans.
As a eunuch groans
When embracing a girl.
So is the person
Who does right
Under compulsion.”
Why would you bring food offerings to the idols? This would be like giving food to someone who does not open their mouth. This would be like bringing food to a grave site. What is the use of this sacrifice? However, the various biblical books often talked about food offerings for Yahweh at the Temple in Jerusalem. Nevertheless, these idols cannot eat or smell. Thus the Lord will punish those who worship at these idols. He sees with his eyes. He groans like a eunuch when he embraces a young woman. Eunuchs were men whose testicles were removed or not working. They were impotent so that they would not be excited about embracing a girl. Sirach has a condemnation of someone who does the right thing because he is forced to do so.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 