Mobile Ed: Michael Heiser How We Got the Bible Bundle (2 courses)

by Michael S. Heiser; Logos Mobile Education

Publisher:

Lexham Press

, 2014–2020

Overview

Learn how we got the Bible we read today with these two courses by Dr. Michael Heiser. Dr. Heiser looks at what went into composing and transmitting both the Old and New Testament. He explores the role of scribes, different manuscript types, and the role of textual criticism. You’ll come away from the courses with a deeper appreciation of God’s Word and a fuller understanding of how it came to be.

Product Details

• Title: Michael Heiser How We Got the Bible Bundle
• Instructor: Michael S. Heiser
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Product Type: Logos Mobile Education
• Resource Type: Courseware, including transcripts, audio, and video resources
• Courses: 2
• Video Hours: 9

NT281 How We Got the New Testament

• Instructor: Michael S. Heiser
• Publication Date: 2014
• Video Hours: 4

In this course, Dr. Michael Heiser explains the story of how we got the New Testament—he guides you from the process of inspiration to the discovery and transmission of manuscripts. Dr. Heiser describes the role of scribes throughout time and discusses significant Greek New Testament manuscripts upon which modern translations are based. Because most students of the Bible read it in their own language, he also examines translation philosophies and controversies.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker and the Course

Unit 1: Preliminary Issues

• What Is the New Testament?
• The Term “New Testament”
• Exploring “Covenant” Using the Topic Guide
• The Scope of the New Testament
• Number of New Testament Books
• Order and Structure of New Testament Books
• Titles of New Testament Books
• The Authority of the Testaments
• Creating a Custom Guide to Study 2 Timothy 3:16
• Road Map for this Course

Unit 2: Inspiration

• Two Sides to Inspiration
• Flawed Conception of Inspiration
• Coherent Conception: Major Verses
• Coherent Conception: Textual Phenomena

Unit 3: The Composition of the New Testament Books

• Preview
• Researching Important Dates with the Timeline Tool
• The Language of the New Testament
• Defining “Autograph”
• Producing Documents in a Graeco-Roman World
• Understanding Technical Terms
• Amanuenses
• Use of External Source Material
• Exploring Ancient Texts Relevant to the Text of the New Testament
• Literary Intent and Occasion

Unit 4: Canonical Recognition of the New Testament Books

• Concept of Canon
• Early Development
• The Impact of Canon on Copying and Transmission

Unit 5: Manuscripts of the New Testament

• The Copying Enterprise
• The Innovation of the Codex
• Manuscript Types and Discoveries
• Papyri
• Uncials and Sinaiticus
• Using Textual Apparatuses in Logos
• Uncials: Alexandrinus
• Viewing Codex Sinaiticus in Logos
• Uncials: Vaticanus
• Uncials: Codex Bezae
• Minuscules
• Lectionaries
• Quotations from the Fathers
• Searching for New Testament Citations in the Early Church Fathers
• Early Versions of the New Testament
• Archaeological Factors in Dating Manuscripts
• Dating and the Forms of Manuscripts
• Dating and Paleography
• Carbon-14 Dating
• Manuscript Families
• Alexandrian Family
• Byzantine Family

Unit 6: The History of the Text’s Transmission

• The Early Centuries (1st–4th)
• The Byzantine Era (400–1516)
• The “Received Text” (1516–1633)
• Erasmus’ First Edition (1516)
• Erasmus’ First and Third Editions
• Later Editions of Erasmus’ Text
• The Period of Critical Research (1633–1881)
• Important Scholarly Work
• Westcott and Hort
• Positive Reaction to Westcott and Hort
• Negative Reaction to Westcott and Hort
• H. von Soden’s Text (1913)
• Eberhard Nestle (1898–1963)
• UBS First Edition
• UBS Third Edition and Nestle-Aland Edition
• Modern Majority Text Editions
• SBL Greek New Testament
• Comparing Major Editions of the Greek New Testament

Unit 7: The Impact of Textual History

• Pre-20th Century
• Evaluating Modern Translations
• The American Standard Version
• The Revised Standard Version
• The New American Standard Bible
• The New International Version
• The New King James Version
• The New Revised Standard Version
• The New English Translation
• The English Standard Version

Unit 8: Textual Criticism of the New Testament

• Preview of the Process
• Determining Variants
• Gathering Evidence: The Specialist
• Gathering Evidence: The Nonspecialist
• Using Digital Tools for Conducting Text-Critical Research
• Evaluating Evidence: Types of Variants
• Unintentional Variants: Word Division
• Unintentional Variants: Letter Confusion
• Unintentional Variants: Eye Skipping
• Unintentional Variants: Haplography
• Unintentional Variants: Dittography
• Unintentional Variants: Transposition
• Unintentional Variants: Faulty Hearing
• Intentional Variants: Clarifying the Text
• Intentional Variants: Conflation
• Intentional Variants: Harmonization and Smoothing
• Evaluating Variants
• Evaluating Variants: Internal Considerations
• Evaluating Variants: External Considerations
• Evaluating Variants: Logical Considerations
• Investigating the “Johannine Comma” with Various Tools
• Textual Criticism, Inspiration, and Inerrancy

Unit 9: The “King James Only” Controversy

• Preview of the Issue
• The Merit Argument
• The Providence Argument
• The Satanic Argument
• The Heresy Argument
• A Personal Note

Conclusion

• Course Summary

OT281 How We Got the Old Testament

• Instructor: Michael S. Heiser
• Publication Date: 2014
• Video Hours: 5

In this course, ancient-language expert Dr. Michael Heiser gives a thorough background of the Hebrew Bible’s writing, composition, canonicity, and transmission through the ages. This course also surveys text criticism—what are Hebrew scholars today doing with these ancient manuscripts? How does their work affect English translations of the Bible? By understanding criticism, your personal Bible study will be richer, even with little knowledge of the Hebrew language.

Contents:

Introduction

• Introducing the Speaker
• Introducing the Course

Unit 1: Preliminary Issues

• The Term “Old Testament”
• The Scope of the Old Testament
• The Number of Old Testament Books
• The Order and Structure of Old Testament Books
• Titles of Old Testament Books
• The Authority of the Old Testament
• A Roadmap for the Course

Unit 2: Inspiration

• Two Sides to Inspiration
• A Flawed Conception of Inspiration
• A Coherent Conception of Inspiration
• Inspiration Is Not Dictation: Ezekiel
• Inspiration Is Not Dictation: The Synoptic Gospels
• Inspiration Is Not Dictation: Borrowed Material
• Searching Ancient Near Eastern Literature for Old Testament References
• Inspiration Is Not Dictation: Changing Laws
• Summary of Inspiration

Unit 3: Scripts and Writing

• Summary and Preview
• The Development of Writing
• Scripts
• Early Alphabets
• The Semitic Alphabet
• Writing Materials
• Writing Instruments
• Searching Images for Information on Ancient Writing

Unit 4: The Process of Composition

• Preview of the Composition Process
• Oral Tradition
• Literary Techniques
• Known Sources
• Lost Sources
• Speculative Sources
• Original Material
• Collecting Material
• Editing
• Inspiration as a Process
• Inspiration and Inerrancy

Unit 5: Canon and Canonicity

• The Concept of Canon
• Complicating Factors for the Canon
• The Canon through History

Unit 6: Early Transmission of the Hebrew Bible

• Manuscript Evidence Prior to 1947
• The Aleppo Codex
• The Leningrad Codex
• Exploring the Leningrad Codex
• The Cairo Genizah
• Summary of Manuscript Evidence Prior to 1947
• The Dead Sea Scrolls
• Textual Evidence from Qumran
• The Hebrew Bible in the Exile
• The Old Testament from 586–400 BC
• A Book in Transition
• The Old Testament from 400 BC to AD 100
• The Rise of a Scribal Class
• The Rise of Multiple Textual Traditions
• The Local Texts Theory
• The Masoretic Text in the Local Text Theory
• The Surviving Texts Theory
• Scribal Practices at Qumran, Part 1
• Scribal Practices at Qumran, Part 2
• Viewing Biblical Dead Sea Scrolls in Logos and Online

Unit 7: A Period of Ancient Translations

• The Septuagint
• Comparing the Septuagint and the Hebrew Bible
• Aramaic Targums
• Later Translations
• Creating a Layout of Ancient Translations

Unit 8: The Hebrew Bible from AD 100–1000

• The Importance of AD 100
• The Role of the Scribes
• Scribal Innovations
• Marking Problems in the Text
• The Masorah
• Viewing and Searching for Ketiv-Qere Readings
• Vocalization System
• Variation in the Masoretic Tradition
• Important Manuscripts

Unit 9: The Hebrew Bible since AD 1000

• Transition to Modern Editions
• Pre-Reformational Editions of the Old Testament
• Editions of the Old Testament from the 1500s
• Editions of the Old Testament from the 18th and 19th Centuries
• Editions of the Old Testament from the 20th Century
• Editions of the Old Testament in the 21st Century

Unit 10: Textual Criticism of the Old Testament: Overview

• Preview of the Process
• Determining Variants
• Gathering Evidence: The Specialist
• Gathering Evidence: The Non-Specialist
• Examining Textual Variants with the NET Bible
• Evaluating Evidence

Unit 11: Textual Criticism of the Old Testament: Variant Types

• Unintentional Variants: Letter Confusion
• Unintentional Variants: Word Division
• Unintentional Variants: Vowel Pointing
• Unintentional Variants: Eye Skipping
• Unintentional Variants: Haplography
• Unintentional Variants: Dittography
• Unintentional Variants: Graphic Transposition
• Unintentional Variants: Faulty Hearing
• Intentional Variants

Unit 12: Principles for Evaluating Variants

• Determining the Best Reading
• Internal Considerations
• External Considerations
• Using Favorites to Collect Key Resources on Textual Criticism
• An Example
• Studying a Text Critical Problem in Isaiah 8:11
• Revisiting Inspiration and Inerrancy

Unit 13: The Hebrew Bible and English Translations

• English Translations
• Evaluating English Translations

Conclusion

• Summary of the Course

About Michael Heiser

Michael S. Heiser is a former Scholar-in-Residence for Faithlife Corporation, the makers of Logos Bible Software. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Awakening School of Theology and Ministry at Celebration Church in Jacksonville, Florida. His varied academic background enables him to operate in the realm of critical scholarship and the wider Christian community. His experience in teaching at the undergraduate level and writing for the layperson have both directly contributed to Logos’ goal of adapting scholarly tools for nonspecialists. He is the coeditor of Old Testament Greek Pseudepigrapha with Morphology and Semitic Inscriptions: Analyzed Texts and English Translations and can do translation work in roughly a dozen ancient languages. He earned his PhD in Hebrew Bible and Semitic languages and holds an MA in ancient history and Hebrew studies. In addition, he was named the 2007 Pacific Northwest Regional Scholar by the Society of Biblical Literature.