The gospels belong to the ancient genre of biography. These ancient biographies were concerned with providing examples for readers to emulate, while preserving and promoting the subject’s reputation and memory. Thus, they were about kerygma or preaching. They were not biographies in the modern sense. The biographies of Jesus are more like apocalyptic history, depicting Jesus as caught up in events near the end of time. Despite this, scholars are confident that the gospels do provide a good idea of the public career of Jesus. There is no guarantee that the gospels are precisely historical in our modern sense of history. These are faith documents, not eyewitness accounts. Modern scholars are cautious of relying on the gospels uncritically, but nevertheless they do provide a good idea of the public life of Jesus.
scholars
What language did Jesus speak?
The languages spoken in Galilee and Judea during the first century included Semitic Aramaic and Hebrew, as well as Greek. However, Aramaic was the predominant language. During the early part of the first century CE, Aramaic was the mother tongue of virtually all natives of Galilee and Judea. Most scholars support the theory that Jesus spoke Aramaic, but he may have known and also spoken Hebrew and a little Greek.
The early orthodox apostolic writings
The 2nd century apostolic writers had a loose connection to the original apostles. Some of these early 2nd century writings were occasionally considered part of the canonical biblical writings. This post-apostolic group lived after the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple in 70 CE. These authors included Clement of Rome (40-101 CE) and his writings, as well as the so-called Second Letter of Clement, a 2nd century sermon, but not from Clement. There also was Ignatius of Antioch (50-117 CE) with his letters, and the 2nd century Pseudo-Barnabas letter. From the late 1st century, the Didache, the Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, has intrigued scholars. The 2nd century Shepherd of Hermas, has an apocalyptic document that included visions, commands, mandates, and parables or similitudes. Theophilus of Antioch (115-180 CE) and Melito of Sardis (+190 CE), an important bishop of Asia Minor, were writing apologists for Christianity. Clement of Alexandria (150-215 CE) and his pupil Origen (185-254 CE) played an important role in the developing Christian theology in Alexandria. Justin the martyr (100-165 CE) gave a great description of the Christian activities. Irenaeus (140-202 CE), a disciple of the martyr Bishop Polycarp of Smyrna, wrote against various early Christian heretics.
The Apocryphal books
Over seventy different versions of gospels, acts, and epistles by various Christians appeared in the 2nd and 3rd centuries, but they did not make it into the official canonical Bible. They are often referred to as the apocryphal, hidden, or lost books of the Bible. Scholars have been interested in these books to help them understand what some Christian people were thinking about at that time. These writings tell us more about the author’s attitude about Jesus.
Jeremiah brings the Rechabites to the Temple (Jer 35:3-35:4)
“So I took Jaazaniah
The son of Jeremiah,
The son of Habazziniah,
With his brothers,
As well as all his sons,
With the whole house
Of the Rechabites.
I brought them
To the house of Yahweh,
Into the chamber
Of the sons of Hanan,
The son of Igdaliah,
The man of God.
This was near
The chamber of the officials,
Above the chamber of Maaseiah,
The son of Shallum,
Keeper of the threshold.”
Jeremiah went out and got the whole house of the Rechabites. This included Jaazaniah, who apparently was the head of this clan, since Jeremiah lists his father and grandfather. He and his brothers with their sons also came with Jeremiah. This seems to be the whole house of the Rechabites, a small group. There was no mention of their wives or daughters. When they got to the Temple, Jeremiah brought them to a special room or chamber that belonged to the sons of Hanan, whose father was Igdaliah, a man of God or a prophet. Thus some of the prophets may have had a room at the Temple, but Jeremiah does not seem to have one for himself. They were near the chamber of the other Temple officials or scholars. They were above where Maaseiah, the son of Shallum, the same name as King Jehoahaz (609 BCE), lived. Maaseiah was the keeper of the threshold or keeper of the door, a high ranking priest. Thus this episode explains something about what was going on in the Temple.
The library of Nehemiah (2 Macc 2:13-2:15)
“The same things are reported in the records
And in the memoirs of Nehemiah.
He also founded a library.
He collected the books about the kings and prophets,
And the writings of David.
He collected the letters of kings about votive offerings.
In the same way Judas also collected all the books
That had been lost on account of the war
That had come upon us.
Now they are in our possession.
So if you have need of them,
Send people to get them for you.”
We do have the book of Nehemiah. Whether there were other records or memoires that is mentioned in a library, we are not sure. Nowhere else is there a mention of a library, but Nehemiah and Ezra were 5th century BCE scholars who worked with the law. They may have been the first to have what might be called an unofficial canon of the Bible. He may have been the one who collected the works of the prophets and the books about the kings together with the Pentateuch to create the Hebrew Bible. Judas Maccabeus may have done the same thing. He may have gathered all the biblical books into a library since that is what the Bible means, a library of books. The other biblical moment would have been under King Josiah in the 7th century BCE, when they discovered the book of the law. These Jewish people were willing to lend them out. Alexandria was a major world library at this time. It was there in the 2nd and 3rd century BCE that the translation of the Hebrew Bible into the Greek Septuagint Bible took place. This is one of the few biblical occasions where someone is vaguely talking about the makeup of the Bible itself.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 