The Book of Genesis is all story, with perhaps, a bit of history. Genesis has multiple authors, but Moses and God are not among them. Adam and Eve and Noah are fictional. Abraham and Sarah and the other patriarchs and matriarchs are at best historical fiction. No artist has adequate material to paint a portrait of any of them, or of Moses or David or any biblical character.
Multiple documents have been sewn into the scroll giving The
Five Books of Moses a seamless quality. Ezra (w)rote the Five Books, not Moses.
Rather than a black cover with gilded edges the bible should use scarlet letters on its spine with a red warning sign rather than “Holy Scripture”
Exodus is also, at best, more historical fiction. An exodus took place but we are not sure of the script.
Most of Leviticus is gristle, palatable to true believers alone. Of course their are parts that are portions that are Grade A Prime.
The fictions continue in Numbers. Deuteronomy contains the greatest teaching, bravo, but is tainted by the holy war, precursor to the jihad. I think no text of Deuteronomy should be printed with out a warning of its toxic waste. Also, Scholars as well known as Joseph Campbell have stumbled over this text. His mumblings indicate an ignorance of the fact that the Rabbis considered the holy war of Deuteronomy and Joshua a scandal and by exegesis transmuted the two books into pacifist texts. Even scholars must beware!
Moreover, the Bible in not a Book.
The Bible is a library. Fiction and non.
Great poetry and weak poetry.
Who expects all the books in a library to be in agreement? Ezra and Ruth cannot be harmonized. The various authors in the five books speak in different voices with variant worldviews.
Still, the scroll containing the five books may be seen as the work of a single mind or school of scribes led by Ezra.
We call this redactor R. We agree with Rabbi Franz Rosenzweig that R also refers to rabbenu, our Rabbi, who reads with Rosenzweig’s “unitary consciousness”.
The Bible requires a reference librarian. One may learn truth from fiction and many books in non-fiction require a check of facts. Those who assume scriptural inerrancy will be forever lost in the stacks.
Remember, to learn a religion one must master how to interpret text. Rabbis are readers always ready to teach others how they read. This is the reason for our discussion.
The Seder or order of study is essential: See
The Seder of Torah
Text
Translations (Targum)
Rashi
Ramban
Seferno
Medievalists.
Modern
Your insights.
Our model is traditional, A Mikraot Gedolot.
Unorthodox comments are welcome. All heresy will be considered hearsay.
