In this course, we explored the theological structure of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament, focusing on four of the five main Marriage and Betrothal/Bridegroom themes, motifs, and messages that are woven throughout these sacred texts. By briefly touching on the historical context, literary styles, and cultural influences, we gained a deeper understanding of the theological foundations of the structure of the Bible, how these concepts are interconnected, and how they shape the theological structure of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament to point to the Messiah, the Bridegroom, and King of Israel. By studying the narratives, teachings, and prophecies within these texts while understanding how the Biblical writers employed Midrashic techniques, you can uncover the unmistakable theological connections and significance behind the stories and verses.

Key Lesson Concepts:

• Exploration of underlying themes, motifs, and messages
• Analysis of key concepts such as covenant, redemption, sacrifice, and salvation
• Overview understanding of the theological Jewish Marriage structure of the Hebrew Bible and New Testament

Course References

[1] Pitcher, John David, Jr. Finding The Oldest Midrash: The Identity of the Messiah Paperback. Albuquerque, NM: Independently published. (2020).

[2] Talmud, Shir Hashirim Rabbah 5:5

Ezra 7.1-5

[3] Ezra 10.44

Kelley, T. ‘The Men of the Great Assembly.’ Men of the Great Assembly, Preparing the Way, Ami Yisrael. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/2836143/jewish/Anshei-Knesses-Hagdolah-The-Men-of-the-Great-Assembly.htm.

[4] Talmud, Kiddushin 69b

Ezra 2:62-63

[5] Ezra 7:7-26; Nehemiah 2:1-8

[6] Grabbe, L.L. 2007. A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period: Yehud, the Persian Province of Judah. London: T&T Clark, 153-155.

Hanson, P.D. The dawn of apocalypticism: the historical and sociological roots of Jewish apocalyptic eschatology. Minneapolis: Fortress Press (2012), 113-120.

Dever, W.G. What did the biblical writers know and when did they know it? Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (2001), 230-240.

[7] Adelman, Mendel. ‘Ezra the Scribe.’ Chabad.org. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4166669/jewish/Ezra-the-Scribe.htm.

[8] Talmud, Sanhedrin 93b

Talmud, Baba Batra 15a

Talmud, Megillah 15a

[9] Talmud, Yerushalmi

Talmud, Taanit 4.2

Talmud Bavli

Talmud, Moed Katan 18b

[10] Talmud, Sukkah 20a

[11] ibid

[12] ’Vol. 1, No. 3/4, JULY/OCTOBER 1919 of Journal of Jewish Lore and Philosophy on JSTOR.‘ 1919 Www.jstor.org. Accessed March 8, 2023. https://www.jstor.org/stable/i40114302. p.1.

Pakkala, Juha. ‘Ezra the Scribe: The Development of Ezra 7-10 and Nehemiahh 8.’ Helsinki: Helsinki University Press, (2015).

[13] ‘In order to see how canonical theology may provide a viable and compelling way forward after modernism in this and other respects, we must first understand the basic approach, hermeneutical commitments, and methodology of canonical theology.a Canonical theological method is a particular step-by-step method for mining and utilizing the common canonical core (shared by the vast majority of Christians), which is approached as a unified corpus that is (collectively) the uniquely infallible, trustworthy, and sufficient source and rule of theological doctrine and interpretation. Here, the entire canon is employed as the formal and functional rule of theology against which all interpretations thereof should be continually brought, without neglecting engagement with the wider Christian community, past and present, and without overlooking that there are other sources of revelation and knowledge and that all interpreters are fallible and unavoidably bring their own conceptual framework to interpretation. Canonical theology thus rests on treating the canon as ‘canonical’ in: (1) the basic sense of the term ‘canon’ as rule or standard of theology, the norm over which there is no norm (under God), hermeneutical or otherwise; (2) approaching and reading the canon as a unified (but not uniform) corpus; and (3) recognizing the canon as divinely commissioned (revealed and inspired) Scripture consisting of spiritual things that are spiritually discerned.b Put simply, employing Scripture as ‘canon’ entails recognizing it as the divinely commissioned and thus unified corpus of writings that God has given as the rule or standard of theology, to be understood in subjection to the guidance of the Holy Spirit’.c

a.           For a more thorough presentation, see Peckham, John C. Canonical theology: The biblical canon, Sola scriptura, and theological method. William B Eerdmans Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI (2016), 196–259.

b.          That is, ‘canon’ is the (1) divinely commissioned (2) rule, which is therefore a (3) unified corpus. As Kevin J. Vanhoozer puts it, there is a ‘properly theological unity implicit in the idea that God is the ultimate communicative agent speaking in Scripture,’ the ‘divine author’ of the canon (The Drama of Doctrine: A Canonical-Linguistic Approach to Christian Theology, Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2005, 177, 181. Accordingly, ‘we must read the Bible canonically, as one book. Each part has meaning in light of the whole (and in light of its center, Jesus Christ)’ (ibid., 178). Nevertheless, those who do not share this conviction might approximate some procedures of this approach by way of something like a new literary criticism approach to the final-form canon as a unified corpus, perhaps alongside the view that the final form of the canon was redacted in a way that the community saw as a single unified corpus.

c.           As David Yeago puts it, recognizing ‘the biblical canon as inspired Scripture’ means to approach ‘the texts as the discourse of the Holy Spirit, the discourse therefore of one single speaker, despite the plurality of their human authors’ such that ‘the church receives the canon, in all its diversity, as nonetheless a single body of discourse’ (‘The Bible: The Spirit, the Church, and the Scriptures,’ in Knowing the Triune God, ed. David Yeago and James Buckley (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, (2001). 70.). In this regard, precisely because humans are skilled at self-deception (Jer 17.9), spiritual discernment in communion with God is needed toward the cultivation of a sanctified mind (cf. 1 Cor 2). (Peckham, John C. ‘The Rationale for Canonical Theology: An Approach to Systematic Theology After Modernism.’ Andrews University Seminary Studies, Vol. 55, No. 1 (2017): 83-105, section "Canonical Theology as a Way Forward After Modernism: A Canonical Approach," 11-12.

Adams, Heather. ‘Ezra Prophet and Priest Bible Story - Lessons and Book of Ezra Meaning.’ BibleStudyTools.com. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/who-was-ezra-and-why-is-his-book-significant.html.

·   The Targums are Aramaic translations and paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) that were used by the Jewish communities in the early centuries of the Common Era. The exact origins of the Targums are uncertain, but there is evidence to suggest that they existed prior to the first century BCE. Ref. J.W. Etheridge, The Targums of Onkelos and Jonathan ben Uzziel on the Pentateuch, with the Fragments of the Jerusalem Targum from the Chaldee (London: Longman, Green, Longman, Roberts, and Green, 1862, vi.) The Targums are based on an Aramaic dialect known as ‘Palestinian Aramaic,’ which was the language spoken in Judea and Galilee during the Second Temple period (516 BCE - 70 CE). This suggests that the Targums were likely created in this region and during this period. There are references to Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible in ancient Jewish literature. For example, the Babylonian Talmud (compiled in the 3rd - 5th centuries CE) refers to ‘the Targum of Onkelos’ as an authoritative Aramaic translation of the Torah. Onkelos is believed to have lived in the first century CE, but the fact that his Targum was considered authoritative suggests that Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible were already in use before his time. (Ref. Neusner, Jacob. The Babylonian Talmud: A Translation and Commentary, vol. 9, Tractate Megillah (Part 1). Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, (2011), 18.) There are fragments of Targumic texts that have been found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date from the second century BCE to the first century CE. These fragments indicate that the Targums were already in use during this time period. Ref. Emanuel Tov, ‘The Biblical Texts from the Judaean Desert: An Overview of Findings and their Significance,’ in The Dead Sea Scrolls at 60: Scholarly Contributions of New York University Faculty and Alumni, ed. Leonard J. Greenspoon and Michael E. Stone (Atlanta: Society of Biblical Literature, (2010), 37. Additionally, Michael L. Klein writes in The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls that ‘the roots of Aramaic biblical interpretation can be traced back to the early Second Temple period, at least as early as the third century BCE, as evidenced by the earliest Aramaic portions of the Book of Daniel.’ Ref. Michael L. Klein, ‘Aramaic,’ in The Oxford Handbook of the Dead Sea Scrolls, ed. Timothy H. Lim and John J. Collins (Oxford: Oxford University Press, (2010), 373.

[14] "Targum. ’The Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature,‘ edited by James Strong and John McClintock. New York: Harper and Brothers, 1880.

[15] ’Synagogue, The Great.‘ JewishEncyclopedia.com. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14162-synagogue-the-great.

Grabbe, L.L. A History of the Jews and Judaism in the Second Temple Period: Yehud, the Persian Province of Judah. London: T&T Clark, (2007), 153-155.

[16] The Scriptures are clear that Moses wrote the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 4:14; 5.1–2; 1 Kings. 2:3; 8:9; 2 Kings. 14:6 Ezra 7:6; Nehemiahh 1:7; 8:1; Psalms 103:7; Daniel. 9:13; 2 Chron. 23:18; 25:4; Mal. 4:4; Matt. 19:7–8; 22:24; Acts 3:22; 7:37–38; Romans. 10:19; 1 Cor. 9:9; Heb. 9:19; Rev. 15:3). 

[17] Sailhamer, John H. The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation. Downers Grove, IL: Inter-Varsity Press, (2009).

Postell, Seth D. (2011) Adam as Israel: Genesis 1-3 as the introduction to the Torah and tanakh. Wipf & Stock, Eugene, OR.

[18] Baden, Joel S. The Composition of the Pentateuch: Renewing the Documentary Hypothesis. 1st ed. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, (2012).

[19] Dever, W.G. What did the biblical writers know and when did they know it? Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (2001), 260-270.

[20] Deuteronomy 33.1-29, 34.1-12

[21] Genesis 1-11

[22] Ps(s) 1.1, 3.1, etc.

[23] McDonald, Richard. ’Did Moses Write All of the Pentateuch? (Even His Own Obituary?)‘ Southern Equip. Southern Seminary, June 6, 2020. https://equip.sbts.edu/article/moses-write-pentateuch-even-obituary/.

[24] ‘The Bible's Formation: An Overview’ Bible Study Tools, accessed January 19th, 2023, https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-basics/bible-formations/overview.html.

[25] Missler, Chuck. ’Midrash Hermeneutics: Pattern, not Just Prediction.‘ Koinonia House. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.khouse.org/articles/2001/341/.

[26] Missler, Chuck. ’Midrash Hermeneutics, Pattern, not Just Prediction.’ Koinania House. Accessed February 18, 2023. Link: https://www.khouse.org/articles/2001/341/#notes

[27] Miller, Merrill P. ’Targum, Midrash, and the Use of the Old Testament in the New Testament.’ Journal for the Study of Judaism 2, no. 1 (1971): 29-82. doi:10.1163/157006371X00037.

[28] See previous note on Ezra as leader of the Great Assembly for a more thorough explanation.

[29] Neusner, Jacob. The Mishnah: Social Perspectives. University of South Florida Press, (1991), 12.

[30] YouVersion. New Messianic Version Bible. Bible.com. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.bible.com/versions/2135-nmv-new-messianic-version-bible.

[31] Talmud, Shabbat 31a

Talmud, Eruvin 13b

[32] Brettler, Marc Zvi. ’The Order and the Ordering of Biblical Books.‘ My Jewish Learning. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-order-and-the-ordering-of-biblical-books/.

[33] ’The Order and the Ordering of Biblical Books.‘ My Jewish Learning. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-order-and-the-ordering-of-biblical-books/.

[34] ibid

[35] ibid

[36] ’Character Sketch+ Jeopardy Template.‘ Accessed February 18, 2023. https://jeopardylabs.com/play/character-sketch.

[37] Strack. Volume 1, Matthew. Edited by Jacob N. Cerone. Translated by Andrew Bowden and Joseph Longarino. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife Corporation, (2023).

Strack. Volume 2, Matthew. Edited by Jacob N. Cerone. Translated by Andrew Bowden and Joseph Longarino. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife Corporation, (2022).

Strack. Volume 23, Matthew. Edited by Jacob N. Cerone. Translated by Andrew Bowden and Joseph Longarino. Bellingham, WA: Faithlife Corporation, (2021).

[38] The phrase ‘the Word of the LORD’ is used throughout the Old Testament to refer to God's self-expression, creative and redemptive power, and presence in the world. The Targum Jerusalem, a translation of the Hebrew Bible into Aramaic, equates the Word of the LORD with the invisible GOD Himself, as in Deuteronomy 4.7.1 This Targum also identifies the Word of the LORD as the Creator of the universe, as in Genesis 1.27.2 In Ps(s) 33.6, the Word of the LORD is linked to God's creative power.3 In Genesis 6.6-7, the Word of the LORD is said to have caused God to feel regret for having created humans.4 The New Testament identifies the Word of the LORD with Jesus Christ, who is called ‘the Word’ and God in John 1.1.5 According to the Gospel of John, Jesus Christ is the incarnate Word of God, through whom God's self-expression and creative power is made visible to humanity.6 In Exodusus 3.14, the Word of the Lord identifies Himself to Moses as ‘EHEYEH,’ which is traditionally translated as ‘I am that I am’ (Jerusalem Targum).7 The Soncino Talmud, a collection of rabbinic teachings, explains that ‘Eheyeh’ is a name for God that emphasizes His essential nature, while ‘I am’ refers to God's existence and being (Soncino Talmud, Berakoth 9b).8 The phrase ‘the Word of the Lord’ has a rich and complex history in Jewish and Christian theology, encompassing God's self-expression, creative power, and presence in the world. In the New Testament, the Word of the Lord is identified with Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who is the incarnate Word through whom God's self-expression and creative power is made visible to humanity.9 The first century concept of God, as interpreted by New Testament authors and ancient Jewish literature, did not believe in more than one God.10 While Deuteronomy 4.7 is an example of the Targumic way of interpreting Scripture, which identifies the Word of the LORD with God himself, rather than as a separate entity, the New Testament authors associated the Word of the LORD with Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In passages such as Col 1.15-20 and Heb 1, the author(s) describe(s) Jesus as the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and as the perfect expression of the Father's will. The Gospel of John, meanwhile, describes Jesus as the Logos (Word) of God, through whom all things were made (John 1.1-14), 11

1 Hirsch, E. The Pentateuch and Haftorahs. London: Soncino Press, (1994), 93.

2 ibid, 95.

3 ibid, 102.

4 ibid, 107.

5 Brown, R. E. The Gospel According to John I-XII. Garden City: Doubleday, (2006), 49.

6 ibid, 53.

7 Soncino Talmud, Berakoth 9b

8 Ibid

9 Brown, R. E. The Gospel According to John I-XII. Garden City: Doubleday, (2006), 49.

10 ibid, 53

11 Sommer, Benjamin. ‘The Bodies of God and the World of Ancient Israel, Part I,’ podcast audio, Haberman Institute for Jewish Studies, Accessed March 5, 2023, http://podcast.habermaninstitute.org/the-bodies-of-god-and-the-world-of-ancient-israel-part-i.

11 Ronning, J. The Jewish targums and john’s logos theology. Baker Academic. (2010).

[39] Ryan, Joel. "What Is Chiasmus? Definitions and Examples of Chiastic Structure in the Bible." Professor Writing and Communications, Life Pacific University. Accessed [insert date accessed]. https://www.christianity.com/wiki/bible/what-is-chiasmus-definitions-and-examples.html.

[40] The Twelve were originally one book

[41] Isaacs, Ronald H., Every Person's Guide to Shavuot (Every Person's Guide Series), Jason Aronson, Inc., (1999).

[42] ‘Why We Read The Book of Ruth on Shavuot.’ My Jewish Learning. Accessed February 18, 2023 https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/why-do-we-read-the-book-of-ruth-on-shavuot/.

[43] Golinkin, David. ’Why and When Do We Read The Book of Kohelet (Ecclesiastes) In Public?‘ Excerpted from Responsa In A Moment – Halakhic Responses to Contemporary Issues, Schocken-JTS Press, 11/10/2006. Source: https://schechter.edu/why-and-when-do-we-read-the-book-of-kohelet-ecclesiastes-in-public-responsa-in-a-moment-volume-1-issue-no-2-october-2006-orah-hayyim-6632-1/.

 ‘The Huppah or Wedding Canopy.’ My Jewish Learning. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-huppah-or-wedding-canopy/.

[44] It appears that the New Testament authors may have been aware of the Midrashic reasoning written down by later rabbinic authors, for example: ‘R. Shemuel bar Nahmani said in the name of R. Yohanan: 'May the bones of those who calculate the time of the coming of the Messiah at the time of the end, be blown away! For as soon as the time [calculated by them] arrives and the Messiah did not come, they say that He will no longer come at all. Rather, wait for Him, for it is said, ‘Though He tarry, wait for Him’ (Hab. 2.3),'‘ (Talmud, B. Sanhedrin, 97b). What do the stone in Daniel 2 and the Son of man coming with the clouds in Daniel 7 represent? ‘The kingdom of God which will be ruled by the Messiah’ (Rashi in Miqraoth Gdoloth ad loc.). ‘It is the Messiah King who will come one day and reign over the world from one extremity to another, as it is said in Daniel 2.35, 'the stone that struck the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth'‘ (Pirkei Rabbi Eliezer, Per. 11). Who is the person in Daniel 9 who ‘will bring everlasting justice’? ‘It is the Messiah King’ (Bereshit Rabbati, 14.18). Daniel was a man of prayer. What lessons about the practice of prayer might we learn from him?  ‘We would think that the institution of daily prayer started when he went into exile; therefore, it is said about Daniel that he 'prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days'‘ (Berachot, 31a).

[45] "NMV Bible." Bible.com. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.bible.com/versions/2135-nmv-new-messianic-version-bible.

[46] ibid

[47] ’Shavuot - Jews and God Marry at Sinai.‘ Sefaria. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/166255?lang=bi.

[48] This could also be an example of Parasiopesis, a figure of speech used to express a rhetorical question in the form of an assertion (Cameron, 2016, 167). The term is derived from the Greek words ‘para’ (‘beside’) and ‘siopesis’ (‘interpretation’), and is also known as ‘erotesis’ or ‘hypophora’. It is often used for dramatic effect to draw attention to an important point and give an air of authority. It creates a vivid mental picture of the situation, as if it were playing out right in front of the reader or listener.

Bullinger, E. W. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 1968. (Original work published 1898).

Cameron, F. Figures of Speech in Language and Literature. Bloomsbury Academic, (2016).

[49] As a Levitical priest, the Apostle Matthew was intimately aware of the symbolic link between letters and numbers, manipulating the genealogy of Jesus of Nazareth as a technique of Jewish Midrash to reflect the significance of the Hebrew gematria of King David's name which was the number 14 and the significance of number symbolism in his division of the 42 generations from Abraham to David to Jesus the Messiah.  Matthew's manipulation of the genealogy is reflected his dropping the names of the 3 Judahite kings: Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim and Zedekiah [see 2 Chron 36.1-13], doubled the use of the name of both King David in verse 6 and King Jeconiah in verses 11 and 12 in the beginning of his 2 and 3 sets, and added the name of Tamar's other son Zerah (not in the line of descent) to make his list reflect the symbolism he desired in the total number of names/ males, and to produce 3 sets of 14 generations for a total of 42 generations from Abraham to Jesus of Nazareth. It appears Matthew is using the technique known as Toledot such that the gematria for Abraham's name is 808, for David's name is 14 (double spiritual perfection). It is possible the author was not ignorant of the Greek gematria for Jesus' name 888 (8 equals salvation trippled), Abraham's name is mentioned 7 times the Gospel of Matthew, which is the gamatria for spiritual perfection, with the number three being fullness and completion and representing the trinity. David's name is mentioned 5 times in Matthew's toledot, with five being the number of grace.

[50] Holladay, Carl R. Hellenistic Jewish Literature and the New Testament: Collected Essays. Edited by Jonathan M. Potter and Michael K. W. Suh. Tubingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2021.

[51] The history of Judeo-Greek falls into several distinct periods: Hellenistic, Byzantine, Ottoman and Modern, and Post-Modern. ’Judeo-Greek.‘ The Jewish Languages Project. Accessed February 18, 2023. https://www.jewishlanguages.org/judeo-greek.

[52] The ancient Greeks reduced these new and peculiar forms to science and gave names to more than two hundred of them. Although ‘Figures of Speech Used in the Bible ‘is claimed to be an extensive reference book and study guide for serious Bible scholars written by famous theologian E.W. Bullinger. Although documentation of Paul’s use of Hebrew figures of speech in the New Testament are ongoing. See: Bullinger, E. W. Figures of Speech Used in the Bible. Illustrated edition, Cosimo Classics, 2012. (Original work published 1898).

[53] Pukko, A. F. ’Paulus und das Judentum.’ Studia Orientalia, vol. 64, Helsingfors, 1928.

[54] RABBI DAN COHN-SHERBOK, P AUL AND RABBINIC EXEGESIS (Scot. Journ. of Theol. Vol. 35,), (119)

[55] ’Institute for Midrashic Studies of the New Testament.‘ NTMidrash.com Accessed February 18, 2023. https://ntmidrash.com.