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- Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition) A Panoramic View of the Bible
- (See also THE PENTATEUCH, Book Introduction, and Notes associated
- with Genesis 1:1)
-
- The Bible, incomparably the most widely circulated of books, at once pro-
- vokes and baffles study. Even the non-believer in its authority rightly
- feels that it is unintelligent to remain in almost total ignorance of the
- most famous and ancient of books. And yet most, even of sincere believers,
- soon retire from any serious effort to master the content of the sacred
- writings. The reason is not far to seek. It is found in the fact that no
- particular portion of Scripture is to be intelligently comprehended apart
- from some conception of its place in the whole. For the Bible story and
- message is like a picture wrought out in mosaics: each book, chapter, verse,
- and even word forms a necessary part, and has its own appointed place. It
- is, therefore, indispensable to any interesting and fruitful study of the
- Bible that a general knowledge of it be gained.
- First. The Bible is one book. Seven great marks attest this unity. (1)
- From Genesis the Bible bears witness to \\one God\\. Wherever he speaks or
- acts he is consistent with himself, and with the total revelation
- concerning him. (2) The Bible forms one \\continuous story\\--the story of
- humanity in relation to God. (3) The Bible hazards the most unlikely
- \\predictions\\ concerning the future, and, when the centuries have brought
- round the appointed time, records their fulfilment. (4) The Bible is a
- \\progressive\\ unfolding of truth. Nothing is told all at once, and once
- for all. The law is, "first the blade, then the ear, after that the full
- corn." Without the possibility of collusion, often with centuries between,
- one writer of Scripture takes up an earlier revelation, adds to it, lays
- down the pen, and in due time another man moved by the Holy Spirit, and
- another, and another, add new details till the whole is complete. (5) From
- beginning to end the Bible testifies to \\one redemption\\. (6) From
- beginning to end the Bible has \\one great theme\\--the person and work of
- the Christ. (7) And, finally, these writers, some forty-four in number,
- writing through twenty centuries, have produced a \\perfect harmony\\ of
- doctrine in progressive unfolding. This is, to every candid mind, the
- unanswerable proof of the divine inspiration of the Bible.
- Second. \\The Bible is a book of books.\\ Sixty-six books make up the
- one Book. Considered with reference to the unity of the one book the
- separate books may be regarded as chapters. But that is but one side of
- the truth, for each of the sixty-six books is complete in itself, and has
- its own theme and analysis. In the present edition of the Bible these are
- fully shown in the introductions and divisions. It is therefore of the
- utmost moment that the books be studied in the light of their distinctive
- themes. Genesis, for instance, is the book of beginnings--the seed-plot of
- the whole Bible. Matthew is the book of the King, & etc.
- Third. \\The books of the Bible fall into groups.\\ Speaking broadly
- there are five great divisions in the Scriptures, and these may be con-
- veniently fixed in the memory by five key-words, Christ being the one theme
- (Lu 24.25-27).
- PREPARATION MANIFESTATION PROPAGATION
- The OT The Gospels The Acts
-
- EXPLANATION CONSUMMATION
- The Epistles The Apocalypse
-
- In other words, the Old Testament is the \\preparation\\ for Christ; in
- the Gospels he is \\manifested\\ to the world; in the Acts he is preached
- and his Gospel is \\propagated\\ in the world; in the Epistles his Gospel
- is \\explained\\; and in the Revelation all the purposes of God in and
- through Christ are \\consummated.\\ And these groups of books in turn fall
- into groups. This is especially true of the Old Testament, which is in
- four well defined groups. Over these may be written as memory aids:
-
- REDEMPTION ORGANIZATION POETRY SERMONS
-
- Genesis Joshua Job Isaiah Jonah
- Exodus Judges Psalms Jeremiah Micah
- Leviticus Ruth Proverbs Ezekiel Nahum
- Numbers I,II Samuel Ecclesiastes Daniel Habakkuk
- Deuteronomy I,II Kings Song of Solomon Hosea Zephaniah
- I,II Chronicles Lamentations Joel Haggai
- Ezra Amos Zechariah
- Nehemiah Obadiah Malachi
- Esther
-
- Again care should be taken not to overlook, in these general groupings,
- the distinctive messages of the several books composing them. Thus, while
- \\redemption\\ is the \\general\\ theme of the Pentateuch, telling as it
- does the story of the redemption of Israel out of bondage and into "a good
- land and large," each of the five books has its own distinctive part in the
- whole. Genesis is the book of beginnings, and explains the \\origin\\ of
- Israel. Exodus tells the story of the \\deliverance\\ of Israel; Leviticus
- of the \\worship\\ of Israel as delivered people; Numbers the wanderings
- and failures of the delivered people, and Deuteronomy warns and instructs
- that people in view of their approaching entrance upon their inheritance.
- The Poetical books record the spiritual experiences of the redeemed
- people in the varied scenes and events through which the providence of God
- led them. The prophets were inspired preachers, and the prophetical books
- consist of sermons with brief connecting and explanatory passages. Two
- prophetical books, Ezekiel and Daniel, have a different character and are
- apocalyptic, largely.
- Fourth. \\The Bible tells the Human Story.\\ Beginning, logically, with
- the creation of the earth and man, the story of the race sprung from the
- first human pair continues through the first eleven chapters of Genesis.
- With the twelfth chapter begins the history of Abraham and of the nation of
- which Abraham was the ancestor. It is that nation, Israel, with which the
- Bible narrative is thereafter chiefly concerned from the eleventh chapter
- of Genesis to the second chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. The Gentiles
- are mentioned, but only in connection with Israel. But it is made
- increasingly clear that Israel so fills the scene only because entrusted
- with the accomplishment of great world-wide purposes (Deut 7.7).
- The appointed mission of Israel was, (1) to be a witness to the unity of
- God in the midst of idolatry (Deut 6.5 Is 43.10); (2) to illustrate to the
- nations the greater blessedness of serving the one true God (Deut.
- 33.26-29 1Ch 17.20,21 Ps 102.15); (3) to receive and preserve the Divine
- revelation (Ro 3.1,2); and (4) to produce the Messiah, earth's Saviour and
- Lord (Ro 9.4). The prophets foretell a glorious future for Israel under the
- reign of Christ.
- The biblical story of Israel, past, present, and future, falls into seven
- distinct periods: (1) From the call of Abram (Gen 12) to the Exodus (Ex.
- 1-20); (2) From the Exodus to the death of Joshua (Ex 21 to Josh 24); (3)
- from the death of Joshua to the establishment of the Hebrew monarchy under
- Saul; (4) the period of the kings from Saul to the Captivities; (5) the
- period of the Captivities; (6) the restored commonwealth from the end of
- the Babylonian captivity of Judah, to the destruction of Jerusalem, A.D.
- 70; (7) the present dispersion.
- The Gospels record the appearance in human history and within the Hebrew
- nation of the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, and tell the wonderful story
- of his manifestation to Israel, his rejection by that people, his
- crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension.
- The Acts of the Apostles record the descent of the Holy Spirit, and the
- beginning of a new thing in human history, the Church. The division of the
- race now becomes threefold--the Jew, the Gentile, and the Church of God.
- Just as Israel is in the foreground from the call of Abram to the
- resurrection of Christ, so now the Church fills the scene from the second
- chapter of the Acts to the fourth chapter of the Revelation. The remaining
- chapters of that book complete the story of humanity and the final triumph
- of Christ.
- Fifth. \\The Central Theme of the Bible is Christ.\\ It is this mani-
- festation of Jesus Christ, his Person as "God manifest in the flesh" (1Ti
- 3.16), his sacrificial death, and his resurrection, which constitute the
- Gospel. Unto this all preceding Scripture leads, from this all following
- Scripture proceeds. The Gospel is preached in the Acts and explained in
- the Epistles. Christ, Son of God, Son of man, Son of Abraham, Son of
- David, thus binds the many books into one Book. Seed of the woman (Ge
- 3.15) he is the ultimate destroyer of Satan and his works; Seed of Abraham
- he is the world blesser; Seed of David he is Israel's King. "Desire of all
- Nations." Exalted to the right hand of God he is "head over all to the
- Church, which is his body," while to Israel and the nations the promise of
- his return forms the one and only rational expectation that humanity will
- yet fulfil itself. Meanwhile the Church looks momentarily for the
- fulfilment of his special promise: "I will come again and receive you unto
- myself" (Jno 14.1-3). To him the Holy Spirit throughout this Gospel age
- bears testimony. The last book of all, the Consummation book, is "The
- Revelation of Jesus Christ" (Re 1.1).
-
- Scofield Reference Notes (THE PENTATEUCH)
-
- The five books ascribed to Moses have a peculiar place in the structure of
- the Bible, and an order which is undeniably the order of the experience of
- the people of God in all ages. Genesis is the book of origins--of the
- beginning of life, and of ruin through sin. Its first word, "In the
- beginning God," is in striking contrast with the end, "In a coffin in
- Egypt." Exodus is the book of redemption, the first need of a ruined
- race. Leviticus is the book of worship and communion, the proper exercise
- of the redeemed. Numbers speaks of the experiences of a pilgrim people,
- the redeemed passing through a hostile scene to a promised inheritance.
- Deuteronomy, retrospective and prospective, is a book of instruction for
- the redeemed about to enter that inheritance.
- That Babylonian and Assyrian monuments contain records bearing a
- grotesque resemblance to the majestic account of the creation and of the
- Flood is true, as also that these antedate Moses. But this confirms rather
- than invalidates inspiration of the Mosaic account. Some tradition of
- creation and the Flood would inevitably be handed down in the ancient
- cradle of the race. Such a tradition, following the order of all
- tradition, would take on grotesque and mythological features, and these
- abound in the Babylonian records. Of necessity, therefore, the first task
- of inspiration would be to supplant the often absurd and childish
- traditions with a revelation of the true history, and such a history we
- find in words of matchless grandeur, and in a order which, rightly
- understood, is absolutely scientific.
- In the Pentateuch, therefore, we have a true and logical introduction to
- the entire Bible; and, in type, an epitome of the divine revelation.
-
- Scofield Reference Notes The First Book of Moses called GENESIS
-
- \\GENESIS\\ is the book of \\beginnings\\. It records not only the
- beginning of the heavens and the earth, and of plant, animal, and
- human life, but also of all human institutions and relationships.
- Typically, it speaks of the new birth, the new creation, where all
- was chaos and ruin. With Genesis begins also that progressive
- self-revelation of God which culminates in Christ. The three
- primary names of Deity, Elohim, Jehovah, and Adonai, and the five
- most important of the compound names, occur in Genesis; and that in
- an ordered progression which could not be changed without
- confusion. The problem of \\sin\\ as affecting man's condition in the
- earth and his relation to God, and the divine solution of that
- problem are here in essence. Of the eight \\great covenants\\ which
- condition human life and the divine redemption, four, the \\Edenic\\,
- \\Adamic, Noahic, and Abrahamic Covenants\\ are in this book; and these
- are the fundamental covenants to which the other four, the \\Mosaic\\,
- \\Palestinian, Davidic, and New Covenants\\, are related chiefly as
- adding detail or development. Genesis enters into the very
- structure of the New Testament, in which it is quoted above sixty
- times in seventeen books. In a profound sense, therefore, the
- roots of all subsequent revelation are planted deep in Genesis, and
- whoever would truly comprehend that revelation must begin here.
- The inspiration of Genesis and it character as a divine revelation
- are authenticated by the testimony of Christ (Mt. 19. 4-6; 24.
- 37-39; MK 10. 4-9; LK. 11. 49-51; 17. 26-29, 32; John 1. 5; 7.
- 21-23; 8. 44,56). Genesis is in five chief divisions: I. Creation
- (1. 1-2.25) II. The fall and redemption (3. 1-4, 7). III. The
- Diverse Seeds, Cain and Seth, to the Flood (4.8-7.24). IV. The
- Flood to Babel (8.1-11.9). V. From the call of Abram to the death
- of Joseph (11.10-50.26). The events recorded in Genesis cover a
- period of 2,315 years (Ussher).
-
- [1] {God}
-
- Elohim (sometimes El or Elah), English form "God," the first of the three
- primary names of Deity, is a uni-plural noun formed from El=strength, or
- the strong one, and Alah, to swear, to bind oneself by an oath, so
- implying faithfulness. This uni-plurality implied in the name is
- directly asserted in Ge 1.26 (plurality), 27 (unity); see also Gen 3.22.
- The Trinity is latent in \\Elohim\\. As meaning primarily the Strong
- One it is fitly used in the first chapter of Genesis. Used in the OT
- about 2500 times. See also Gen 2.4, note; 2.7; 14.18, note; 15.2, note;
- 17.1, note; 21.33, note; 1Sa 1.3, note.
-
- [2] {created}
-
- But three \\creative\\ acts of God are recorded in this chapter: (1)
- heavens and the earth, v.1; (2) animal life, v.21; and (3) human life,
- vs. 26,27. The first creative act refers to the dateless past, and gives
- scope for all the geologic ages. [[Typist's note: This is the "GAP"
- theory.]]