No. 35
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Brief Outline of
Ancient Jewish Theological Literature
Part 1
The arrangements of the synagogue combined a remarkable fixedness of
order with liberty of the individual.
There were the different seasons and times of public services.
These were to be ordered, prayer were to be offered at set times, and
there were to be fixed portions of the law that were to be read.
On
the other hand, between the eighteen "benedictions" that were said on
ordinary days, and the seven that were repeated on the Sabbaths, the
people could insert prayers that were personal to them. Also, the
public reading that was read from the prophets (the Haphtarah), seems to
have been originally left to individual choice. In the hands of
the "rulers of the synagogue", though was the determination of who would
read, conduct the prayers, or address the people.
These "rulers of the synagogue" were probably members of the local
Sanhedrim, because they would have naturally had charge of the public
worship, as well as of the government and discipline of the synagogues.
These "rulers" were men who were learned in the law and ones who had a
good reputation. They were voted on by the people, and were
regularly set apart by the "laying on of hands". This "laying on",
or Semichah, was done by at least three people who
themselves already received ordination. After the ceremony, then
the candidate had the formal title of Rabbi bestowed on him and he was
declared qualified to administer the law.
The Divine Majesty was supposed to be in the midst of each Sanhedrim,
and even if they only had three members it could still be said that
Elohim (God) was in their midst.
Special Qualifications of a Sanhedrist
The special qualifications for this office are mentioned in Rabbinical
writings. This may have been where Paul got his instructions to
Timothy about the same subject.
A
member of the Sanhedrin was to be : wise, modest, God-fearing,
truthful, not greedy of filthy lucre, given to hospitality, kindly, not
a gambler, nor a usurer, not one who traded in the produce of Sabbatical
years, nor yet one who indulged in unlawful games.
They were called elders, overseers, or shepherds of the flock.
They were under the presidency and supreme rule of the "head of the
synagogue". This designation occurs frequently in the New
Testament. Then the inferior functions in the synagogue devolved
on the "chassan", or minister, according to Luke 4:20.
In
the course of time, though, the "chassanim" became the minister and the
schoolmaster. At the present time, they lead both the singing and
the devotions of the synagogue. This duty was originally not given
to any fixed person, but just whoever was chosen for a time.
Alms were collected at regular times every week. There were at
least two people employed in collecting, and three in distributing
charity, so as to avoid that suspicion of dishonesty or partiality.
The collectors of charity were required to be "men of good repute, and
faithful".
In
describing the conduct of public worship in the synagogues, reference
was made to the "meturgeman" (who read the Targum), and the "darshan"
(who spoke from the Midrash). The first translated the
scriptures that had just been read, and the second was more like a
preacher who expounded on them.
The Targum was basically intended to be a translation of the Hebrew
Scriptures into Aramaean. Some of the translations were literal,
and some of them were just paraphrases of what the original Hebrew
scriptures said. Every Targum basically represented the views of
its translator. Reading the ones that are available gives one an
insight into the ideas at the time they were written, and the manner in
which they understood the Scriptures.
Although some of them have been found, one has not been found that dates
from the time of Jesus, nor even from the first century. It is
believed that such a Targum did exist, though, during the time that
Jesus lived on the earth.
The Targums that have been found are, from
oldest first:
Targum of Onkelos, on the five books of Moses (3rd Century)
Targum of Jonathan, on some of the prophets (4th Century)
Jonathan on the Pentateuch
Jerusalem Targum, of which only a fragment has been found
These last two may have been intended to be supplemental to the Targum
of
Onkelos.
In
many respects, the Midrash are more interesting than the Targum. They
date from the first or second century, but contain parts that are much
older. Only three of them have been found so far. They are,
from oldest:
"Siphra",
(the book), a commentary on Leviticus
"Siphri",
a commentary on Numbers and Deuteronomy
"Mechiltha",
a commentary on certain portions of Exodus.
There are also other works that have been found that contain the views
of the ancient Pharisees and their Scriptural interpretations. One
of the works has a title called "Lesser Genesis", and is written in the
Ethiopian language.
The work dates from the era of Jesus, and covers the same ground as the
Book of Genesis, hence the name of "Lesser Genesis". It gives the
Biblical narrative from the creation of the world to the institution of
the Passover, in the spirit in which the Judaism of that period would
view it. One of the main objects of the writer seems to have been
the chronology of the book of Genesis. All events are recorded
according to Jubilee periods of 49 years, of whence came another name of
"Book of Jubilees" for the same book.
These "Jubilees" are again arranged in weeks, each of seven years, with
a day for a year; and events are classified as having taken place in a
certain month of a certain year, of a certain "week" of years, of a
certain Jubilee-period. Another tendency of the book is that is in
common with all similar productions and can be traced to patriarchal
period.
Besides the above works, there is another class of theological
literature that has been preserved to us. There has been much
controversy that has surrounded these books, though.
These works are called the "pseudo-epigraphic writings". Their
subject-matter may be described as mainly dealing with unfulfilled
prophecy, and they contain language and figures borrowed from the Book
of Daniel as well as some of the other books.
This class of literature is larger than one might expect for this
particular period. One must remember about the troubles of the
times, and the feverish expectations of a coming deliverance, though,
that would have been the particular mind-sets of those who wrote these
books. When you look at them with this particular mind-set, it is
easy to see why there would be so many of them that would be written
from different angles and with such fervor. Also, it was a
terrible time for the people, because they had some terrible, harsh
rulers, and they wanted deliverance from them.
The next part of the Ancient Jewish Literature will be covered next
month. For more information from this book, go to the
Archives Page at my site
www.cathydeaton.com
There are other articles of interest there also.
This text is taken from the book Sketches of Jewish Social Life written
by Alfred Edersheim. This book has been used by permission.