Introduction and Forward

I guess I've decided to read the Bible all the way through, again, and decided to include you on my journey.  The Bible I'm going to use is one I bought undergrad for a class about Middle Eastern Apocalyptic literature.  It's a good one, more readable than King James and plenty of annotations.

In addition, I'm going to use a separate comprehensive annotation written for the lay reader by Isaac Asimov.  The two volumes are:

The New Oxford Annotated Bible with the Apocrypha, Expanded Edition, Revised Standard Version, Oxford University Press, New York, 1977.

Asimov's Guide to the Bible, Isaac Asimov, Weathervane, New York, 1981.

Today's entries are the first passages in both volumes.  The Forward to the Bible states that this volume includes not only the Old and New Testaments, but also Old Testament Apocrypha volumes that some Christian sects accept and others don't.  They are being included in the interests of completeness and because some of them offer insights to the development of prophecies of the Messiah.

The Asimov annotation's Introduction makes the case for putting the Bible in context and its influence, specifically giving the example that millions know who Nebuchadnezzer is than don't know Pericles, based solely on the fact that the former is mentioned in the Bible and the latter isn't.  Yet the Athens governed in the time of Pericles was a cornerstone of Western Civilization.

Asimov also breaks up the eras of the Bible as follows:

* 4000 B.C. - 2000 B.C. Primeval period
* 2000 B.C. - 1700 B.C. Patriarchal period
* 1700 B.C. - 1200 B.C. Egyptian period
* 1200 B.C. - 1000 B.C. Tribal period
* 1000 B.C. - 900 B.C. Davidic period
* 900 B.C. - 600 B.C. Assyrian period
* 600 B.C. - 540 B.C. Babylonian period
* 540 B.C. - 330 B.C. Persian period
* 330 B.C. - 90 B.C. Greek period
* 90 B.C. - A.D. 100 Roman period


In addition, I intend to keep a running tally of each of God's and Jesus' commandments, my and our society in general's ability to keep them and a running death toll of those that run afoul of the Old Testament God.  Each post will have:

GOD'S COMMANDMENT(S):
DIFFICULTY OF FOLLOWING COMMANDMENT(S):
GOD'S DEATH TOLL THIS CHAPTER:
GOD'S RUNNING DEATH TOLL:

More introductory material tomorrow.  There's quite a bit of it in this version, so we won't get around to creation for a few days.  Hold tight, hopefully it will be worth it.