Bible Resources
Needless to say there are numerous Bible interpretations ... in many languages ... that have been made and are in use today. Unfortunately quite a number of these translations are not necessarily true to the original inspired Hebrew (Tanakh) and or Greek (B'rit Chadasha) texts ... from a straight forward translation perspective. In other cases the interpretations as well are couched in theological conventions wherein specific words, phrases and grammatical constructs have been introduced to foster translations that better support specific theological propositions and beliefs.
So ... folks ... please be cognizant of the fact that simply because we may be reading a "book" titled the Holy Bible ... may not necessarily mean that we are reading exactly what G_D wanted to reveal to mankind. Ultimately there is no replacement for the original Hebrew and Greek texts ... so optimally it would be beneficial if we have access to and a working understanding of the original texts respectively. Does this mean that we must be professional linguists? Not necessarily ... but if we want to develop a personal understanding of G_D's Word ... and or we desire to "try" the teachings that are handed down to us from various teachers and sources ... then it would seem apparent that we would need to be capable of handling the Word as handed down to us.
Beyond the issues of "translation/interpretation" it is important to note that G_D's Word contains a fundamental Hebraic bias ... by G_D's selection and choice of Israel within the auspices of the Everlasting Covenant. What this means for us is that inspired writings were not written to us people today ... in our languages. Scriptures were handed down to Israel ... the Jewish people ... and as such scribed and handed down within a specific Hebraic framework. We simply can't escape the reality that the use of specific words, grammatical constructs and unique idioms were used and are important to recognize and understand ... so that the real meaning of the words ... in the proper context ... can be ascertained. This Hebraic bias also scales to the Greek text since proper understanding of the Greek is predicated upon an understanding of what specific Hebrew words/idioms were in the minds of the inspired Jewish writers ... and how the specific word use aligns with previous revelation contained within the Tanakh.
The point? Despite the nay saying of individuals and or organizations, we really need to be careful that we initially understand the Hebraic perspective and secondly ... properly utilize the techniques and methods utilized by the Jewish people for thousands of years ... the same people entrusted with G_D's Word by selection! (Please note that in this website's Torah section there is some very useful information regarding the proper approaches to "how to rightly divide G_D's Word")
In any event there are some decent starting point resources provided for download via the left side navigation panel.
The first resource is a fully bookmarked electronic "PDF" Bible. This English translation Bible uses the Jewish Publication Society (JPS) 1917 Tanakh coupled with the King James Version (KJV) 1769 B'rit Chadasha - Renewed Testament. The Bible is a very good literal representation of the original Hebrew and Greek texts with minimal theological bias ... although it should be noted that with respects to the KJV there are a variety of keywords that simply do not exactly capture the richness, context and meaningfulness of the intended Hebrew concepts ... at least this is the personal opinion expressed herein.
The Messianic OJB (Orthodox Jewish Bible) is a wonderful translation of G_D's Word that brings a very rich Messianic Hebraic perspective to the table. Although the PDF is not overly user friendly (lacks bookmarks), the introduction of Messianic commentaries and transliterated Hebraic terms really brings to light some key fundamental Hebraic concepts. The rendering is a great blessing! ...An additional Excel file containing the OJB Hebrew-English transliterations has been provided.
Yeshua the Remembrance is a harmonized rendering of the four Gospel accounts with a uniquely Messianic perspective/delivery ... a beautiful work indeed!
The Biblical Chronology is a straight forward review of major Biblical characters with an approximate timeline. The document also contains some visuals to provide context with respects to the land, events and geo-political dynamics associated with The Bible.
The Biblical names document is just this ... a listing of names appearing in the Bible detailing their specific meanings! This resource could prove useful and if nothing else should provide insights as to how the ancient peoples viewed their relationship with G_D and the world around them.
As we dig into G_D's Word let us keep in mind that there are numerous resources at our disposal that can be leveraged without charge ... some potential sites where you can readily get to the Hebrew and Greek texts with additional contextual support tools:
http://qbible.com/
http://biblehub.com/
http://www.biblegateway.com/
http://bible.ort.org/intro1.asp
http://www.earlyjewishwritings.com/
b/t/w ... there are virtually unlimited sites available with respects to Messianic/Hebraic Roots materials. Some are good ... and some are ... well you can determine this on your own. Additionally there are numerous sites that provide good insights into Judaism and the literature of the sages ... again ... some good and some not so good!
Ultimately however it should be the desire of every believer to really understand what is held so precious to us ... G_D's Word! From a personal experience perspective ... the slate of English language translations available to the masses really do not get the job done ... so why should we settle for some other person's version of G_D's Word when there are tools available to get close and personal on our own. But of course this takes work ... is He worth it? Is your life worth it? Hmmm!
Shalom Aleichem ... P.R. Otokletos