Hi Jerry, Well, I hope the moderators will allow this thread. It's a fascinating question.
Many Biblical scholars agree that 2 Timothy 4:13 in the New Testament alludes to individually-owned copies of at least some books of the Hebrew Bible. In the New International Version (1984 ed.) the passage reads: "When you come, bring the cloak that I left with Carpus at Troas, and my scrolls, especially the parchments." The writer, the Apostle Paul, formerly a Jewish rabbi, and a trained scholar, would almost certainly have had some personal copies of Biblical scrolls if anyone did. Most NT scholars would agree that Paul knew both Hebrew and Aramaic as well as the Greek he wrote in, so the scrolls he possessed could have been in any of these languages. As for your first question, there is also some first-century evidence that suggests that the synagogues and at least some individuals had access to the major part of the Hebrew Bible, if not all of it. Luke 4:14-21 shows Jesus reading from the scroll of Isaiah (Isa. 61:1-2) in the synagogue at Nazareth. Jesus taught his early followers that the writers of the Tanakh predicted his life and ministry, referring to "the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms", the 3 divisions of the Hebrew canon, in Luke 24:44. (The Psalms, the longest book in the third division, came to stand for the entire division.) Jesus also assumed that his followers would be familiar with the writings of Daniel, in the Writings, the third division (Matthew 24:15). We also find a reference to the writings of Moses being preached from in the synagogues in Acts 15:21.There is also the intriguing reference in Acts 8:26-35 to an Ethiopian (i.e., Nubian) official reading from Isaiah 53 while traveling home from worship in Jerusalem, evidently from a personal copy. Dewayne Dulaney On 9/2/12, Jerry Shepherd <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi List, > > The moderators, of course, may feel free to consider this to be outside the > list boundaries, but I have two questions. > > With regard to Judea, realizing that the the exact limits of the canon may > or may not have been established in the early first century CE, > > (1) Would every synagogue have had a complete collection of biblical > scrolls? > > and > > (2) Is it possible that there could have been any private ownership of > either individual biblical scrolls, or even a complete collection? > > What is your understanding of the possibilities here? And do you think > there would be a scholarly consensus on these questions? > > Blessings, > > Jerry Shepherd > Taylor Seminary > Edmonton, Alberta > Jerry Shepherd > [email protected] > _______________________________________________ > b-hebrew mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew > -- "In the world you will have trouble. But, be brave! I have defeated the world!" —John 16:33, DDV (Dewayne Dulaney Version) My Bible blogs: http://my.opera.com/Loquor/blog/ and http://hasopher.preachersfiles.com/ Read my translation of the Gospel of John on Let Ancient Voices Speak, http://letancientvoicesspeak.preachersfiles.com (Coming soon). _______________________________________________ b-hebrew mailing list [email protected] http://lists.ibiblio.org/mailman/listinfo/b-hebrew
