The Silent 400 Years

Old Testament Jewish Bible:  Written in Hebrew and Aramaic – ancient Jewish book organized in three parts (source:  2023. Religious Studies. Internet Link. https://www.britannica.com/topic/biblical-literature).  It is read in current-day Jewish synagogues.  Translations to English were created using Hebrew and Aramaic writings; not Greek as used in the New Testament. It has not changed over time and is also the very same Bible adopted by Islam.

Torah (Tanakh)-five books:

Jews regard this as the holiest part of the Jewish Bible. The word ‘Torah’ means ‘instruction’ in Hebrew (the oldest Jewish language). The Jewish Bible is mainly written in Hebrew. The Torah is known as the Five Books of Moses and it is within this section that the Ten Commandments are found. The Five Books of Moses are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. It delivers Jewish history, and the laws they should follow in order to live according to God’s will.

 Nevi’im (Prophets) – eight books:

These books describe the history of Judaism after the death of Moses. The prophets explain Jews’ relationship with Yahweh and their history. It records God’s covenant relationship with His chosen people.  The three longer prophetic books are those of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel.

Ketuvim (Writings) – 11 books:

The purpose of this collection, as with the Nevi’im, is to record the history of the Jews and their actions within the covenant relationship with God. The books are very varied and deal with different events and themes. This section also contains the book of Psalm which is a collection of writings in praise of God.

Judaism Old Testament’s Missing Chapter – Isaiah 53

The Old Testament was not written by a single author and is an assortment of diverse books penned by several authors over many years.  Readers of the Hebrew Old Testament may discover that Isaiah 53 is missing and is often referred to as the “Forbidden Chapter”.  One of the mistakes Christians make about Jewish people is to presume they have extensive knowledge of the Old Testament Scriptures. However, the average Jewish person may know little more than what they hear in synagogue each Sabbath.  The Tanakh reveals not only prophecies of the Messiah, but each person’s individual need for what the Messiah offers.  Other Old Testament scriptures also reveal the prophecies of the Messiah: Ezekiel 18:4, Daniel 12:2, Daniel 9, Micah 5, and Isaiah 49. (Source:  2023. The Jewish Voice. Internet Link. https://www.jewishvoice.org/).

The Book of Isaiah, chapter 53, the prophet prophesies about the Messiah that he would be rejected by his people and suffer and die in agony and that God would see his suffering and death as an atonement for the sins of humanity. Isaiah lived and prophesied about 700 BCE. According to chapter 53, the leaders of Israel would recognize they had made a mistake at the End of Days when they rejected Messiah.  Isaiah wrote the prophecy in past tense because he saw himself as part of the people of Israel; he used third-person plural (we). (Source:  2023. One for Israel.  The Forbidden Chapter.  Internet Link: https://www.oneforisrael.org/).

Isaiah 53: (NIV)

¹Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.

¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors

Summary

The Protestant Old Testament (Christian) varies in content and structure from other Bibles and was translated from the original Hebrew and some texts in Aramaic; it excludes the Septuagint.  Judaism reading of the Hebrew Bible often excludes Isaiah 53 – an important prophecy of the Messiah that points to the life and ministry of Jesus. 

Discussion 2:  Timeline of Old and New Testament and Chronological Gap

The Protestant Bible transitions from Fifth Century BCE to First Century CE.  The last book of the Old Testament, Malachi, is separated from the first Book of the New Testament, Matthew, by over four-hundred and fifty years (almost a half of millennium).  Even though the prophetic voice of God was silent, there was a great deal of important history recorded that dramatically changed the Jewish people’s religion, nation, and political environment. Many of those literary writings were saved and they reveal important information that set the stage of Yeshua Ha’Maschiack.

Old Testament (Second Temple Period)

Book of Daniel (604-532 BCE)

Torah/Five Books of Moses (5th and 4th Century BCE

Haggai (525 BCE)

Isaiah Chapter 56-66 (after 515 BCE)

Protestant Old Testament Last Prophetic Writing

Malachi (5^th Century BCE-435 BCE)

Old Testament Writings of the 4^th Century after Malachi

Ezra/Nehemiah (4^th Century BCE) Jewish History- Return of Jews from Babylon and Rebuilding the Temple

1 and 2 Chronicles (4^th Century BCE) Historical Literature and Genealogies

Esther (4^th Century BCE) Historical Literature of the Deliverance of the Jewish People from Persian annihilation

Qohelet/ Ecclesiastes (4th Century BCE) Ancient Jewish Book of Poetry and Wisdom

New Testament and Gospels

Apostle Paul (Circa 50s CE)

The Gospels (Circa 70-100 CE)

Old and New Testament Timeline of Foreign Control and Occupation of the Nation of Israel

Persian Period (539 BCE) Lasted over 200 years.

Hellenistic (Greek) Period (332 BCE) Lasted 168 years.

Maccabean Period-Revolt Against Seleucid Empire(167 BCE) Ended about 160 BCE.

Roman Period (63-313 CE) Greek/Hellenistic Period ended and Roman Period began.

Jerusalem and Temple Destroyed by Romans (70 CE)

Ancient Jewish Literature

The Septuagint (3^rd Century BCE)

The Dead Sea Scrolls (3^rd Century BCE to 68 CE)

Book of the Watchers (300 BCE)

Psalms of Solomon (Post-63 BCE)

Jubilees (Mid-2^nd Century BCE)

2 Baruch /4 Ezra (Late 1^st Century CE)

Sources: 

2017.  Henze, Matthaias.  Mind the Gap: How the Jewish Writings between the Old and New Testament Help Us Understand Jesus. Fortress Press.

1914.  Ironside, H.A. The Four Hundred Silent Years. Loizeaux Brothers, Bible Truth Depot.  New York.

2021. Ironside, H.A. The Four Hundred Silent Years. CrossReach Publications. Ireland.

2019.  Miller III, Robert D. Catholic University of America.  Understanding the Old Testament. The Great Courses.  Chantilly Virginia.

2021. Isbouts, Jean-Pierre. Fielding Graduate University.  The History and Archaeology of the Bible.  The Great Courses.    Chantilly, Virginia.

2019.  Brakke, David. The Ohio State University.   Understanding the New Testament. The Great Courses.  Chantilly, Virginia.

The Silent 450 years were not silent. There are many ancient Jewish literary works that share important information about what happened during the Dark Years of the Bible. Scribes, who were very competent and who played an important role to record Jewish history provide insight into those years. These individuals were well educated and trained in Jewish traditions and religious practices. They took great care to accurately copy and distribute ancient texts and also provided a host of new literary writings. Some scholars describe these texts as a rich resource of valuable Jewish literature. Unfortunately, many of these writings are foreign to Christians and some Jews due to the fact they were never included in the Old Testament books.