Intro to Harpers Notes:

1) The New Revised Standard Version is the King James Version of 1611
2) Why was this version selected?
A) the translation is "as literal as possible" and uses the recurrence of certain key words
B) designed to be as "inclusive as possible" in two ways
-it includes most compleate range of biblical books representing the several different canons of scripture than any other English version
-it avoids language that might inappropriately suggest limits of gender
3) In order to understand the Bible readers must sense the peculiarity and integrity of the world in the Bible and realize the multiple worlds of meaning that these texts can reveal
4) "The history of the biblical writings is further complicated by the fact that some of these books speak of still earlier times, before any of them were written. What were the sources for the pictures of the ancient days that these writers passed on?"
5) Scholars try to find "seams" in the text that represent changes in author or a place where older documents had been inserted or two versions of a story had been joined together. These seams are detected by the differences in style, language, or ideas. For example, we talked about the different names of God in different parts of the Bible.
6) There are three major compositions that extend across multiple books.
First, the Pentateuch (a Greek word for five scrolls) or Torah (Hebrew for teaching): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. The second narrative are the books of "Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings and is called the "Deuteronomistic History" because its understanding of the Mosaic covenant and Israel's obligations under it are those expounded in Deuteronomy. The history of Isral's mational life down to the Babylonian exile is explained and judged according to the degree to which each generation, particularly the monarchs of Israel and of the divided kingdoms of Israel and Judah, abided by the laws of Deuteronomy." "The third major composition presents the same history related in the Deuteronomistic account, though from a quite different point of view, and extends it to include the restoration of Israel as a subject people under the Persian Empire. This composition comprises the books of 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. Its unknown author is often called "the Chronicler," though we cannot be certain that a single person was responsible for the composition." Some other narratives have also been isolated in addition that may have existed on their own and were added to the larger narratives later.

I found the Intro very interesting because I am very new to the Bible. Its cultural value alone fascinates me as a representation of ancient times, which we still know so little about. Literature is awsome in that way because many times it is the only representation available, and it can be so much more descriptive and specific than art, ruins, or other artifacts. The documentary hypothesis was really interesting because this whole time, I never knew who wrote it. I guess I assumed it was either Jesus or the person the book was named after.