Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible

Expert theology writer Russell Gmirkin has launched a new book, Plato and the creation of the Hebrew Bible. It draws our attention to all those similarities that there are with the Pentateuch, that is, with the first 5 books of the Old Testament.

On the other hand, along with the last work done on Plato, Laws, and characteristics of that Athenian constitution. Much further, we have a collection that is more extensive of those writings that are going to compose that Hebrew Bible: with myths, stories, psalms, sayings of wisdom, Moorish precepts, and religious parts, all this has been presented as an example of great antiquity. This will result in the adjustment of the recommendations that Plato gives us, for the type of literature that is going to form within the national curriculum so that this state is ideal

Thus, the idea that these Jewish writings are going to have the character and existence of that Hellenistic era is a time after those conquests of Alexander in the Near East, thus it will contrast with those opinions that are traditional within the origins from the Bible itself. But the character of Gmirkin is going to show several laws that are important within the Pentateuch, together with the narrative style that he has in the presentation, he is much closer to the Greek ideas that are later, than those that we will find among those Syrian neighbors either Babylonian Israel or Judea.

The key to this link is the Great Library of Alexandria.

The previous studies are in charge of exploring possible contacts that will be cultural between Greeks and Jews before the new Hellenistic era, that is, the period that follows the part of Alexander the Great, about 320 BC, they will show that these exchanges have general were mainly confined to commerce, and the impact was minimal on the literary or philosophical side.

Furthermore, we know that the Jews and that Greek culture is going to be found within Alexandria. Thus, the Athenian history was available in the Constitution of the works of Aristotle, together with the reflections that Plato had on that ideal state and that storage of the laws. In normal conditions, it is said that this Hebrew Bible has been translated into different languages, such as Greek in its day. Along with all this, we have no evidence from outside in that existence of the Pentateuch, before the reference of the Hellenistic Era. But, in a previous book, Berossus, and Genesis, Manetho and Exodus: Hellenistic Histories and that date of the Pateuco, it is possible to see those previous publications of Vrida. On the other hand, Gmirkin has argued that this Pentateuch came to be composed around 270 BC. and he is going to present his new book as that sequel to Berossus and Genesis is.

Thus, the most important stimulus for this new study by the expert Gmirkin is the desire to examine closely some of the parallels that have been presented by another of the experts, Philippe Wajdenbaum in the part of Argonauts of the Desert: Structural Analysis of the Bible Hebrew. To do this, you must consult the previous publications on the Argonauts of the expert Vridar.

According to the part of the Acknowledgments in Plato’s book and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible, it was Thomas L. Thompson, who is the one who suggests this particular study to Russell Gmirkin, and Gmirkin will explain to us about that approach, being in that Wajdenbaum discussion on certain parallels between those laws that come from Plato and the laws of the Pentateuch himself, such as a section that is the most persuasive of the book itself.

While we are inside the Acknowledgments, it is possible to refer to other details that may draw our attention: thanks to expert writers such as Greg Doudns and Daniel Samson for the conviction that there is about that need by disseminating certain results of that research that is outside the academy itself and the outlining of those strategies for it to be carried out.

This feeling is very good. But, there is a long way to go, for this dissemination of that research that is done beyond that academy, due to the high price. It is even worth highlighting an electronic version that costs about half that price and with a printed copy, which keeps us out of this financial range for those who are most interested in all this. Thus, this traditional editorial model will eventually have to be broken.

For me, it is personally worrying that when we pick up a book that advocates a particular point of view, we are biased.

But, what happens if we agree with all of this very quickly, especially with what it has to do with the arguments, due to the partiality that I have and ignore certain problems? It is possible to feel a little dizzy, in fact, I find it very dizzy. In conflict, when we have any free book available for review, as has been done in many cases. Luckily, each of these chapters has a large number of tools at the end for the author to follow smoothly. Within chapter two, there is great detail within the constitutional structure and with the general government that will be implicit in the Pentateuch, and of course, in other sections of the traditional Bible. Also, another section with notes at the end is available, which is much larger, this is due to the count of the words that is done at the end of each chapter to know that content. It is not possible to avoid it in most cases. Thus, we must take all that necessary time to review all the available details. So it will end up being a slow reading and it has only been possible to make a superficial analysis of the remaining chapters to end this specific stage.

With all this, we are going to have a very clear idea about the similarities that the readings and documents written by philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle have for the Hebrew Bible, which would be the traditional one at all times. It is necessary to emphasize the ideas that there are in the ideal state, more or less coincide with what we all think, although it is difficult to carry it out.