The Backstory to my Bible Reviews

So here's the irony. I'm all about getting people reading the Bible that Jesus read, the Hebrew Bible. But guess what the number one question is that people ask me. "Which translation do you recommend?" After several years of facepalming I considered the possibility that this wasn't an either/or question. Obviously I'm passionate about teaching Hebrew, but translations are useful too and I consult them on a regular basis myself. Maybe my students really did need me to talk about the pros and cons of the different Bibles out there, especially Jewish versions and these new Messianic Bibles. There were two things that finally pushed me over the edge. One was the chance I'd get to springboard into all sorts of related topics, historical stories, and Hebrew blurbs. The other was seeing people getting messed up by Sacred Name Bibles. So I took the plunge!

Early in 2017 I released my first video introducing the Bible Review series. I talked about why translations are good and bad and why I recommend Hebrew study. I shared the biggest secret of Bible reading in any language and then told my story and why this is such an emotional topic for me. I finished by listing the twenty questions I'd answer in each review and announced the Bibles I was planning to look at. In hindsight I may have used too many memes, but the response I received was overwhelmingly positive so I guess the humour was appreciated.

Shortly after that I came out with the first review introducing my favourite Hebrew/English Bible from an Orthodox Jewish publishing company. The written summary was 7 pages and the video was 1.5 hours. In that one I springboarded into how the Messianic prophecies are interpreted in Jewish tradition. Next in line was a popular Messianic Jewish Bible, which took 10 pages and two 1.5 hour videos. I took that opportunity to talk about the Messianic Jewish movement, Hebrew keywords in the NT, and how the "difficult words of Paul" were interpreted. After that I showcased the first Israeli Tanach, told the stories of several early Jewish Bible translators, and discussed the technical specifications of how Torah scrolls are laid out, all of which took 12 pages and three 1 hour videos. And those were just the first three reviews! I could list more but hopefully that gave you a sense of the breadth and depth of this series.

So back to our story. In the fall of 2017 I went on the war path. The Sacred Name movement was coming out with "Bibles" that were nothing short of bizarre. They all used the "true names" of the Father and Son but couldn't agree on what they were. Some included non-Canonical books. Others avoided words like "God" because they were supposedly pagan. Still others had weird versions of Messiah's name like "Yahawashi" and "Yahusha". I was torn. I didn't want these Sacred Name Bibles in my series for obvious reasons, but when I saw how they were being confused with real Bibles and doing real damage I knew it was time to clear the air. I prepared an ironclad case from Scripture and historical sources and reinforced it with memes. I then presented that as ten short talks addressing the lies behind Sacred Name teachings and exposing their ugly fruits. Those talks caused a firestorm, but they also proved enormously helpful to thousands of people and have become an invaluable resource whenever Sacred Name questions come up. The fight was worth it. If you know anyone who'd find those talks helpful, they're here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL17NV7y1wcPHXNROYOfBejllSB5tD1kSN

And if you'd like to see the Bible Reviews for yourself they're here: https://holylanguage.com/bibles.html The videos are members-only but the written reviews are free. I should warn you too that you won't find some of the reviews there because...I haven't done them all yet! So sign up for emails from me here and I'll tell you as soon as they come out: http://izzyavraham.com.