CHAPTER 4
WHY THE NEED TO USE EXTRA-BIBLICAL HEBREW MATERIALS TO IMPROVE UNDERSTANDING?
Because of common misconceptions. Two common teachings heard in many Bible study circles are:
1) You don't need anything other than the Bible to understand the Bible.2) The "Holy Spirit" will guide you to understanding, so nothing else is required.Although it is absolutely true that Scripture is the best source for interpreting Scripture, the fact is that much
of what is written in the Bible cannot be fully understood without turning to extra-Biblical Hebrew texts.
Maintaining a "Sola Scriptura" approach leads to horrific error in understanding of the Hebrew texts, as
everyone is then free to interpret the more difficult passages from their own personal viewpoint, rather than
looking at where the author was coming from culturally and religiously. (Simply reading our Bibles will not
give us full understanding in order to properly interpret) For this reason, it helps to study the Jewish culture of
the first century and learn about their customs and traditions. This is where various books and publications
can be of assistance.
Take the following questions as a simple example:
What is Rome? What is a centurion? What is a legion?Of course, most people might already know what these terms mean, having acquired the knowledge from
their own education. But what if they did not already know? Does the Bible explain what these words
designate? No. You would have to go outside of the Bible to find out. If something as simple this requires
looking into extra-Biblical material for proper understanding, then how much more does this apply to complex
Hebrew religious concepts that are not defined in the pages of the Bible?
People often say they "let the Scriptures speak for themselves‖; unfortunately, they don't practice what they
preach. Typically, meaning is "assigned" to topics and verses in the Bible based on the particular doctrine of
a person's religious denomination (i.e., "The cart is put in front of the horse").
Regarding the "Holy Spirit guiding you to understanding" – though this statement is true, it is not an excuse
for misinterpreting the texts due to your own bias, as will occur if you don't put them back into their Hebrew
context. The Holy Spirit will not contradict what the authors were conveying within their Hebrew
understanding of YHWH's word.
There are many passages in the Bible to which people arrive at completely different and even contradictory
interpretations—all caused by erroneously "believing they are right because the Holy Spirit showed them‖,
rather than using the minds YHWH gave them to dig for the truth.
What additional resources are used in this study?
In order to gain insight into Hebrew interpretation of the Bible's Hebrew texts, this Matthew study made use
of Jewish religious and historical texts including:
Talmud – Scripture commentaries from before and after Y‘shua‘s time, made up of:
Mishnah – Earlier material (much predating Y‘shua) compiled around A.D. 220.
Gemarah – Later material compiled between A.D. 200-500.
Targums – Aramaic language documents that contained Scripture and commentary together. They were
commonly read and discussed in Y‘shua‘s day.
Midrash Rabbah – Includes very old material, compiled between A.D. 600-1000.
Zohar, Bahir, Sefer Yetzirah – Ancient material from the more mystical branches of Judaism
Rabbinic Commentaries – Including those of: Rashi, Maimonides and Nachmanides.
Qumran Texts – Texts of the Dead Sea Scrolls written from around 200 B.C. to A.D. 180.
Historical accounts of Josephus, Eusubius, Philo and others.
Apocrypha – 15 books written between 300 B.C. and Y‘shua‘s time.
Pseudepigrapha – 60 books written from 300 B.C. to A.D. 100. Hellenistic Jewish influences.
Book of Jasher – An ancient Biblical history book, referred to in Joshua 10:13 & 2 Sam. 1:18.
Book of Enoch – Another ancient text, mentioned in the book of Jude.