OUR QUEST FOR HOME

 

Two significant events occurred on Friday, June 23, 2023. The day marked fifty years of marriage for Launa and me. Secondly, Amazon Books notified us that our memoir, Our Quest for Home, was available for customers to purchase. The publication captured a few high-points in our fifty years of marriage.

In less than 100 pages we interwove stories of romance, laughter and courage. The subtitle contends that the book contains stories of faith, family and friendships. You can expect to read truthful stories of people. People who lived at and visited some of the fourteen places we lived during our marriage. Read about people who endeared themselves to our joy of entertaining and shared their stories of pain and warmth.

In describing the good, the bad and the ugly, pseudonyms were used at times to protect the identities  and reputations of family members, colleagues and friends. Our intention was to show how God worked through positive and negative events in our lives to hone our characters. In addition, God used our quest for homes to stretch our faith and provide opportunities to testify of His faithfulness.

In his Foreword to our first published work, Dr Clyde Bailey said – “Let me invite you to not put this book  down, because you are entering the world of the Corbins, and this book is more, so much more that the title suggests. You hold in your hand the chronicles of life that this delightful Caribbean couple has chosen to share with you. It reads like an anthology of fiction, make-believe, unbelievable, fantasy, but it is all truth.”

Dr Bailey went on to contend that the book “transcends the boundaries of your imagination, and you’ll soon realize that the literary genius of the quintessential storyteller, and the encyclopedic recollection of the other, pull you into a feast of delightful tales. You will hear of miracles and unusual blessings found only in this book. The compelling stories deny you the option to put the book down, and when it is over, you’re going to be glad you took the time to read Our Quest for Home”.

In the final chapter, we mentioned that we do not foresee the need for another move in the immediate future. However, we see the need to live with a perspective of a final move. A final move that prepares us for the home Jesus has gone to prepare for those that love Him.

In preparing His disciples for his pending departure, Jesus said to them that he was going to prepare a place for them, before returning for them (John 14:2). Jesus made it very clear that his return would include his disciples and others who shared their faith in him as Saviour. That message of his return was echoed by the angels to those who witnessed the ascension of Jesus (Acts 1:11). Like the angels, writers of the New Testament believed that Jesus would return, having left earth to prepare a home for those who love him.

If Jesus does not return as he promised, he would be considered to be a failure, in that he would not have kept his promise. In addition, the promise of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee of his return would be a hoax (Ephesians 1:13). Furthermore, the credibility of New Testament writers would be ruined – they strongly vouched for the return of Jesus. Honestly, the chances of his return far out-way those of his failure to return.

Hence, Our Quest for Home, is both stories of God’s faithfulness and stories of Jesus’ promise to prepare a home for those who love him. Our memoir is available through Amazon Books, but the Jesus of our faith is available through a personal commitment. Of this Jesus, his disciples Peter and John said, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

WHO WROTE THE KING JAMES VERSION OF THE BIBLE?

 

“I thought Jesus read the King James Version.” That was one of the more hilarious responses I got to my last blog on “Which Bible Did Jesus Read”. The humorous response reminded me of a cautious response I got as a young man. “Remember now,” said my senior colleague, “the King James Version was authorized by God, that is why it is referred to as the Authorized Version.” Like me, I am sure you have had your list of reactions to the use of the King James Version of the Bible.

It is in light of those varied reactions we need to take a serious look at the history of the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible. In examining the literature, I found Bruce Metzger to be most helpful. More specifically, his volume, The Bible in Translation – Ancient and English Versions.

It is important to establish that when the KJV was printed in 1611, it was not the first English Bible to be printed. As a matter of fact, there was serious religious contention in England, because of the variety of English translations. In order to reconcile differences among the various groups, the king called for a conference to be held in January 1604.

Religious leaders were to consult together on the subject of religious toleration. After much inconclusive debate, the leader of the Puritan Party raised the subject of the imperfections of the existing English Bibles. He went on to propose that a new, or at least a revised translation of the Bible be made.

Although the conference itself arrived at no conclusion on the Bible or any other subject, King James I of England intervened. Because of his personal interest in biblical study and translation, he endorsed the idea of a new translation, stating that none of the existing English versions was well written. The king supported the project so vigorously that by July 1604, a translation committee of some fifty men had been in place.

The rules of procedure specified that the existing Bishops’ Bible was to be followed and “as little as the truth altered as the truth of the original will permit”. Beginning some time in 1609, and continuing daily for nine months, reviewers met to examine the first draft of the Bible as it came from panels in the universities and at Westminster. The team of reviewers was strong. It included professors of Hebrew and Greek from major British universities, along with many of the leading scholars of the day.

The work begun in 1607 and had taken less than three years of strenuous toil to prepare for the printing press. Beyond the royal authority under which it was made and the statement on the title page “Appointed to be read in churches,” the Bible had never been officially authorized by the church or the legislature. However, unlike other English Bibles, the King James Version received such public affirmation, it was “authorized” in the national mind. The final product was certainly the best English Bible that had thus far been produced.

The style of English used was widely recognized as superb. The purpose of the publication was clear – “to deliver God’s book unto God’s people in a tongue which they could understand”. Although usually called a translation, some believe the KJV is in fact a revision of the Bishops’ Bible. Actually, the intent of the revisers was not to make “a new translation, nor yet to make a bad one a good one, but to make a good one better”.

The KJV of 1611 was an adequate translation of the Greek and Hebrew texts, as they were then known to scholars, and the common people eventually came to find that its language appealed to them with greater charm and dignity than that of the other Bible versions with which they were familiar.

A few of the primary challenges of the translators were inherited. There was no standard edition of the Hebrew Masoretic text of the Old Testament used. In the New Testament, translators used the Greek text of Erasmus. Many scholars would agree that that source was popular, but was used because nothing better was available. For this reason, the KJV has undergone many revisions and updates, allowing us to access a reasonable translation today. For a more in depth and balanced study of the KJV, I wholeheartedly recommend James White’s volume, The King James Only Controversy – Can You Trust the Modern Translations?

Knowing the impact of the Scriptures, I must pray that today’s blog would encourage dialogue, stimulate further study and strengthen faith. “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:11 KJV).

 

 

WHICH BIBLE DID JESUS READ?

 

Jesus never read the New Testament. He had access to what was known as the Hebrew Bible and years later as the Old Testament to Christians. Jesus would also have had access to the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible.

With the growing Jewish diaspora from the exile of the Jews to Babylon and neighboring regions, the Hebrew language lost its place of prominence among the Jews. Many Jews, born outside of their homeland, did not know Hebrew. They knew Aramaic and Greek, the languages of their captors. With time, Greek became more widespread and more acceptable, especially in North Africa, where thousands of Jews lived.

About 250 years before Jesus was born, the Septuagint was birthed among the North African Jews in Alexandria. This was the first translation made of the Hebrew Scriptures. This Greek translation allowed the Scriptures to be spread throughout the Greek-speaking Mediterranean. According to the late Professor Bruce Metzger, “The Septuagint was the Bible of the early Christian church, and when the Bible is quoted in the New Testament, it is almost always from the Septuagint version”.

Historians believe that the compilation of the Septuagint took at least seventy years. As the book expanded, it began to include material written by persons other than Jewish prophets. Many of these collections were designated as Apocryphal literature, or literature with secret or hidden meanings. So for centuries, the Septuagint was known to contain the Hebrew Bible, the Apocrypha and also other writings not included in either set of books.

When Jesus was born, there were three versions or translations of the Old Testament. There was the original Hebrew Bible, the Greek Septuagint and the Targumim (singular, Targum). The Targumim were paraphrases, translations, free renderings and interpretations of the Hebrew Scriptures in Aramaic and other languages. This variety was compatible with the variety of languages spoken during the time of Jesus.

Latin was also spoken, but limited to Roman officials. Roman officials would not have known Hebrew, but were fluent in Greek and less so Aramaic. From Pilate’s conversation with Jesus, it is obvious that Jesus would have known Greek. He would also have known Aramaic. For example, in one of his seven statements from the cross, Jesus said, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani”. Here Matthew records two languages. “Eli” is Hebrew for “my God” while “lama sabachthani” is Aramaic for “why have you left me?”

From the Gospel of Luke, we know that Jesus read the scroll in his hometown. This scroll would likely have been written in Hebrew. Interestingly, many historians concur that Galilee contained a comparatively high proportion of literate, educated scholars. Sages from Galilee were educated, and among them, Jesus was exceptional. From my studies, it is very likely that Jesus was tri-lingual. As a rabbi, he would have known Hebrew. As a teacher, he would have communicated to the masses in Aramaic – the language with which they would have been most familiar. And, as a leader among the people, he would have known Greek, as he demonstrated in his trial with the Governor Pilate.

With such a variety of translations, Jesus chose to quote more often from the Hebrew Bible. Following his resurrection, he said to his disciples, “Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms” (Luke 24:44). Here Jesus is referencing to the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible – the Torah, the Prophets and the Writings. Jesus contended that the Hebrew Bible spoke prophetically about him.

It is important to note that the Septuagint differs from the Hebrew Bible both in the order of the biblical books and in the number of books included. The books are arranged differently. Instead of the Law, the Prophets and the Writings, the Septuagint has the Law and the Historical Books, the Poetical and Sapiential Books and the Prophetic Books.

In addition, the Greek form of the Book of Esther, which in Hebrew contains 167 verses, has six extra sections, an additional 107 verses in the Septuagint. Noticeable adjustments can be seen in the book of Daniel and Job. Some of the books not included in the Hebrew Scriptures are Greek translations of Hebrew originals from the Apocrypha.

What is most interesting, although Jesus had access to the Septuagint, he never quoted the Apocrypha, which was included in the Septuagint. Also, following his Ascension, the Jewish community canonized the Hebrew Bible, and, like Jesus, excluded the Apocryphal books. Those and other reasons influenced the Reformer Martin Luther, to exclude the Apocrypha from his translation of the German Bible. It was in response to Luther’s Reformation, the Roman Catholic Church chose to canonize and include seven books of the Apocrypha into the Bible. This was done at the Council of Trent in the 16^th century.

So, when most Protestant Christians choose to revere canonized texts, excluding the Apocrypha, they are continuing a tradition Jesus practiced.