Abrahamics Only - Which is the Most Difficult Book?

[Harel13]

You can't just leave it there! Explain, explain, explain!

The Hebrew is hard. What is there to explain? Haven't you ever read a book with hard English? Shakespeare maybe? Old Arthurian legends?

I would really appreciate hearing your take on Robert Alter's

The Wisdom Books:
Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes: A Translation with Commentary

Sorry Jayhawker, I'm not an Iyov expert. I found some parts of the book available to preview on Google Books and for some reason I thought it would be Hebrew and English side by side, so at least I could try to give my amateur opinion, but it's English and English commentary only. I would like to go through his introduction a bit more, when I'll have time.

 

[Deeje]

For JW's, we read the Bible in increments ( a couple of chapters) every week as part of our personal study and prep for our midweek meeting....and then we share whatever research we have personally had time for with our congregation members (over Zoom these days.)

We start at Genesis and when we get to Revelation, we start back in Genesis again. Doing research is always fun for me. If I find something that's difficult, I do a bit of digging to help me make sense of difficult passages. We have an extensive library to help us with our research, but we are free to glean more information from other scholarly sources. I particularly like Strongs Concordance for help with the meanings of original language words.

Some parts of the Hebrew scripture are laborious to read but, its usually very detailed descriptions of things pertaining to the design and decoration of the Tabernacle or the Temple.
We have just finished Exodus and starting Leviticus next week.

My very favorite book is Genesis, followed the prophetic books in the Hebrew scriptures, and I love the gospels as well. Revelation is deep, but not beyond our understanding.

We are starting a new study in Ezekiel in a couple of weeks. I am really looking forward to that. The deep prophetic books need full concentration and a generous helping of God's spirit.

 

[loverofhumanity]

Same faith debates.

For Jews, Christians, Muslims, Baha'is and other believers in Abrahamic scripture, which book do you struggle most with? I'm thinking mostly in terms of the individual books in the biblical canon (whichever books yours includes), but also including Islamic and Baha'i scripture. Is there any book that is particularly hard for you to grasp, study or otherwise read, like, or accept?

I've mentioned to others that I have issues with Esther. I struggle with its historicity.

How about you?

I Love all of the Holy Scriptures of all Faiths and am always seeking to learn and understand them better. No particular Book. But reading independently without bias I was amazed to find that the common knowledge about Books like the Bible and Quran, is so far divorced from what is actually written, proving to me that people are just plagiarising from anti sites, or off priests, and doing absolutely no personal investigation of Their own, which is dishonest and untruthful.

To really learn about any topic, I believe we must use our own minds not those of scholars, priests or clergy. What are we given minds for if we just blindly copy others ideas?

 

[Rival]

The Hebrew is hard. What is there to explain? Haven't you ever read a book with hard English? Shakespeare maybe? Old Arthurian legends?

Yes, I love Chaucer but I meant in what way? Is it archaic or just difficult in general? Is it the poetical aspect? I love languages so I'm kind of a nerd about this

 

[DagonVarunaMitraApolloZan]

For JW's, we read the Bible in increments ( a couple of chapters) every week as part of our personal study and prep for our midweek meeting....and then we share whatever research we have personally had time for with our congregation members (over Zoom these days.)

We start at Genesis and when we get to Revelation, we start back in Genesis again. Doing research is always fun for me. If I find something that's difficult, I do a bit of digging to help me make sense of difficult passages. We have an extensive library to help us with our research, but we are free to glean more information from other scholarly sources. I particularly like Strongs Concordance for help with the meanings of original language words.

Some parts of the Hebrew scripture are laborious to read but, its usually very detailed descriptions of things pertaining to the design and decoration of the Tabernacle or the Temple.
We have just finished Exodus and starting Leviticus next week.

My very favorite book is Genesis, followed the prophetic books in the Hebrew scriptures, and I love the gospels as well. Revelation is deep, but not beyond our understanding.

We are starting a new study in Ezekiel in a couple of weeks. I am really looking forward to that. The deep prophetic books need full concentration and a generous helping of God's spirit.

Are you enjoying the Home Comfort Zoom versions a bit more than the in person ones? Do you find a kind of "ranking" occurs and different levels of dominance in speaking, joking, and opinions between people, where some seem more passive and others more active or forceful even?

 

[firedragon]

Same faith debates.

For Jews, Christians, Muslims, Baha'is and other believers in Abrahamic scripture, which book do you struggle most with? I'm thinking mostly in terms of the individual books in the biblical canon (whichever books yours includes), but also including Islamic and Baha'i scripture. Is there any book that is particularly hard for you to grasp, study or otherwise read, like, or accept?

I've mentioned to others that I have issues with Esther. I struggle with its historicity.

How about you?

When you say struggle what do you mean? You said you struggle with Esther and its historicity. So do you mean the same thing when you say struggle? Or are you asking about which book is difficult to understand because it is complex?

 

[Rival]

When you say struggle what do you mean? You said you struggle with Esther and its historicity. So do you mean the same thing when you say struggle? Or are you asking about which book is difficult to understand because it is complex?

Both. I left it open ended as to what your particular struggle is and why.

 

[firedragon]

Both. I left it open ended as to what your particular struggle is and why.

Historicity wise, the New Testament has many issues I struggle with. In my opinion the OT has similar problems but the NT is a completely different kettle of fish.

Yet this question is way too general and too far wide.

 

[Deeje]

Are you enjoying the Home Comfort Zoom versions a bit more than the in person ones? Do you find a kind of "ranking" occurs and different levels of dominance in speaking, joking, and opinions between people, where some seem more passive and others more active or forceful even?

This is the one aspect of my brotherhood that stood out as different to other denominations and other religions that I was investigating. When I came out of Christendom, I was looking for a spiritual “home” where there were no “popes”, “archbishops”, repetitive rituals, idols or distinctive garments to distinguish the leaders from the rest of the “flock”.....so I was amazed to find none of that, and no hierarchy among JW’s. There were positions of responsibility and accountability in caring for the congregations, but no one big noted themselves or put themselves above their charges. Humility distinguishes true Christians from the fake ones.

It was the equality and love among Jehovah’s Witnesses that set them apart for me. There will always be “personalities” in among the brotherhood, but even Jesus had to contend with such personalities among his own apostles. We learn to keep ourselves in check as far as that goes, but nobody is perfect...just yet.

Jesus set the example, and even though he was “the son of God”, as a teacher he never placed himself above the people he was sent to help. He was humble and compassionate, always mindful of the sinful nature of man and helping them to see how to rise above it and maintain their obedience to God in spite of it.

But as my studies in the Bible itself progressed, I was amazed at what the Bible taught as opposed to what the churches taught. 90% of church doctrine was not based on the scriptures at all. Any wonder not much of it made sense to me. Now it all makes sense.

We are appreciating our Zoom meetings as it keeps us together as congregations and we are doing exactly what we would be doing if there was no pandemic.

We have even suspended our door to door preaching so as to keep everyone safe from the virus as we are to spread the good news of God’s kingdom, not a potentially deadly plague.
We are writing letters and making phone calls, reaching out to offer hope and a better future to those who might be suffering in a depressing lockdown.

 

[Zaha Torte]

Same faith debates.

For Jews, Christians, Muslims, Baha'is and other believers in Abrahamic scripture, which book do you struggle most with? I'm thinking mostly in terms of the individual books in the biblical canon (whichever books yours includes), but also including Islamic and Baha'i scripture. Is there any book that is particularly hard for you to grasp, study or otherwise read, like, or accept?

I've mentioned to others that I have issues with Esther. I struggle with its historicity.

How about you?

The Song of Solomon is a joke.