Biblical History Old Testament

Contents of Old Testament: embracing every aspect of the social and political life of ancient Israel and post-exilic Judaism - Narrative: three stories—Jonah, Ruth, and Esther—which from our perspective are probably fiction, since they rest on no historically true data at all. Then there are a lot of stories that seem to lie between these two extremes: the stories about the creation, the first human beings, and the ancestors of the Israelites in Genesis, the early history of Israel from Exodus through into the books of Samuel, tales about early prophets such as Elijah and Elisha, an account of the court of David which is almost novelistic, and the retellings of older stories in the books of Chronicles, as well as a very small amount of first-person narration in Ezra and Nehemiah the OT itself shows no awareness of any differences or gradations within this range of material, but records it all in the same steady and neutral style as if it were all much on a level. Sometimes God or an angel makes regular appearances in the narrative, as in Genesis and Judges, sometimes events are recorded without overt reference to divine causation, as in 2 Samuel; but the OT itself does not draw attention to the difference, and we cannot assume that the writers saw any distinction between 'sacred' and 'secular' history - Law: consist of the Pentateuch we find several collections of laws, such as the so-called Book of the Covenant (Ex 21-4 ), the Holiness Code (Lev 17-26 ), and the Deuteronomic legislation (Deut 12-26 ). At the heart of the law lie the Ten Commandments. the laws in the Pentateuch have much in common with the laws of other nations in the ancient Near East, such as the famous Code of Hammurabi. But they also differ from them in striking ways— e.g. in a higher valuation of human life, much more interest in regulations concerning worship, and a greater tendency to lay down general principle - As presented in the Pentateuch, however, the laws are understood as the foundation of the highly distinctive relationship of Israel with its god, YHWH. They are the terms of the solemn agreement, or 'covenant', made between YHWH and the people through the mediation of Moses. The idea of a legislative framework which regulates the relation between a god and his people was unusual in the ancient world. It led in post-biblical times to the idea of Torah, a complete ethical code covering all aspects of life as lived before God, which would become the foundation-stone of later Judaism. This tendency can already be discerned in Deuteronomy, where the laws are not just to be enacted and observed jurisprudentially but are also to be a subject for constant meditation and delight - Hymns and Psalms: The Psalms have sometimes been described as the hymnbook of the temple, though since they are hard to date there is no agreement as to whether they are best seen as the hymnbook of Solomon's Temple or of the Second Temple. Israel clearly had a tradition of writing sophisticated religious poems, and that this continued over a long period - Wisdom: three kinds of wisdom literature: The book of Proverbs preserves many sayings and aphorisms which draw moral and practical conclusions from aspects of daily life second kind of wisdom is more speculative in character, concerned with theological and cosmological questions. Frequently in such passages Wisdom is itself personified as a kind of goddess, and the writer speculates on the involvement of this being in the creation of the world and on its/her relationship to YHWH Thirdly, we find what is sometimes called mantic wisdom, which draws on ancient Near-Eastern traditions about the interpretation of dreams and portents to gain insight into the future. seem to reflect on deficiencies within the traditions of wisdom, and argue for a generally sceptical and non-committal attitude towards the mysteries of life. - Prophecy: is something of a catch-all term covering a wide diversity of material. Its basic form is the oracle [i.e., message]: a (usually) short, pithy saying in which the prophet either denounces some current evil, or predicts what YHWH will do in the immediate future as a response to human conduct. [Additional note: prophet messages usually address a specific issue or situation at the time.] One of the difficulties of studying the prophetic books is that these oracles are often arranged in an order which reflects the interests of the editors, rather than registering the chronological sequence of what the prophet himself said Sometimes the prophets relate visions and their divine interpretations, and towards the end of the OT period this became the normal way of conveying divine revelation, in the form usually called 'apocalyptic'. Daniel is the only book in the OT generally called apocalyptic, but later portions of the prophetic books show developments in this direction

Meta-Narrative: The OT collection of writings was arranged on purpose from very early to produce a long continuous storyline. To understand anything that happens within it, we readers are asked to keep track of what has happened before, and also to track outcome or results. It is the classic method of Middle Eastern teaching story, and this is important because we are reading literature produced by that culture. Also readers need to plug the various writings and episodes and details of the OT into that story in their proper place - Part 1: God creates the universe and humankind seems the climax of creation. Mission or purpose is to "govern" or care for creation on behalf of God. But humans spoil things for themselves. God works with humans, tries to improve them, lift them back up--if they are willing and meet God half way on this. Still, things become so bad that God almost ends the human race, plus creation with it (Noah). Violence is the main problem. But God preserves one family, gives another chance. Downward spiral again. God puts the brakes on vioilent treatment, but does not give up on humanity. - PART TWO: CREATING AN EXAMPLE NATION FROM ABRAHAM AND SARA TO A COFFIN IN EGYPT (Gen 12-50). Call an old couple to have kids who will have lots of kids who will become a society ("nation") to show humanity how to live, in order to save the human race from itself. God calls Abraham and Sara away from civilization in Mesopotamia to an undeveloped area, the Negev semi-desert region of southern Canaan. Even heroes made mistakes: Eventually Joseph, leader of the fourth generation, in a time of drought moves the family from the Promised Land to the apparent security of Egypt. This looks good but it lacks faith and proves to be a mistake which leads to slavery for his people FORMING THE WORLD-SAVER NATION (Exodus-Deuteronomy): God sends Moses to bring this group--now called "Israelites"--out of Egypt to become the chosen nation. The LORD brings them through killer desert to Mt. Sinai and gives them nationhood, putting this in a contract form called the Covenant at Mt. Sinai. Mission. The purpose of all this is to become the special nation expected to save the world by showing it how to live, and hence avert another downward spiral to catastrophe. The main stipulations in the treaty with God require that this new nation establish and maintain social justice, with special emphasis on caring for disadvantaged people. This special emphasis is the difference that will function as an example to the world, what will later be called "a light to the nations" in the words of Isaiah. They still need land. Permission to remain in that land would depend on keeping the main terms of the contract. In the desert, first generation proved not ready => So God keeps the group in the desert while the current generation dies off and a new one grows up to replace them for 40 yrs. The desert period is an opportunity to learn by experience the covenant values which emphasize social justice and caring for the disadvantaged. - PART THREE: CAREER OF THE EXAMPLE NATION. PERIOD OF THE JUDGES: NOT A GREAT START. WE WANT A KING (1 Samuel) God raises up Samuel, a combo super-judge, prophet, and military leader, who amazingly brings the people back on track and repels the Philistine advance for the time being. But when he grows old, they begin to fear for the future and demand that he appoint them a king, "like other nations" (1 Sam 8:5). Problem: to do the mission, they are supposed to be different from other nations. God sighs, gives in, and decides to work with it. GLORY DAYS, DECLINE AND FALL (2 Samuel; 1 and 2 Kings) Kingship seems to start well, especially with the great King David, but it soon goes wrong and so does the nation when human nature plays its role. The destruction of the North is total—it is never heard of again. But the South has survivors, who are taken into exile by the Babylonian Empire. - PART FOUR: IN THE BABYLONIAN EXILE BEYOND THE DAY OF DOOM: AFTER 586 Issues. The exiles are in despair. The homeland is destroyed, the survivors shipped across the map to Babylon. Ezekiel the priest and prophet, in Babylon with the exiles, brings words of guidance and hope. God has fired your previous shepherds (kings) and will Himself lead you for now (vv 11-13), and some day provide another shepherd After a while, life is not bad too for the exiles. They have some freedom live their own way of life and religion. But a real threat to the Israelite/Jewish faith is the dominance and sophistication of Babylonian culture and religion with the lord Marduke. the prophets have already given the key for survival in Babylon by preaching that the LORD was not tied to the Temple in Jerusalem A time of writings. In this period, something very important took place. Many of the writings now collected in the Old Testament were produced in this period, or their final editions were produced in this period. Result: to understand many of the writings now collected in the Old Testament, we need to picture them addressing the issues of the Israelites in exile. - PART FIVE: RETURN TO JERUSALEM UPS AND DOWNS: THE STRUGGLES OF THE EARLY RETURn. Phase I Return: Initial Struggles (538): Cyrus the Persian (Cyrus the Great) defeats the Babylonian empire, passes a decree encouraging displaced people, including the Jewish exiles, to return home and rebuild. Phase II Return: Building the Temple (518). Under a new governor, Zerubbabel (who is a descendant of David), and a new high priest, Joshua, a small temple is rebuilt by 515 despite opposition from local groups, including those in Samaria, which used to be the Northern Kingdom. Opponents are worried about growing nationalism, which is what brought the wrath of empire down on the heads of everyone in the first place. They don't want a repeat. The Temple becomes a center of worship for the community. The general mindset is to restart things as they were before the exile, and do it right this time. Phase III Return: Ezra's Empire-Sponsored Religion Reforms and "The Law of Moses" (458). In 458 a Jewish priest and scribe in Babylon named Ezra, who is highly trained in Torah, is commissioned by the Persian king to investigate and regularize religious affairs in Jerusalem His threefold assignment is: (1) organize the courts and legal system in accord with Mosaic law; (2) instruct the people in this law; and (3) enforce it (Ezra 7:14, 25-26). Restoring the community. Ezra's first act is to take strong measures to purify the community. He requires all the men to divorce any wives who are not of pure Jewish descent, plus the children of those wives. The Prophet Malachi and Violence in Obeying "The Law of Moses." The prophet Malachi responds to Ezra's reforms with a powerful critique and calls those divorces violence Phase IV Return: Nehemiah the Governor and State Religion. (445). Nehemiah as governor, arrives with soldiers to back him up, and makes his highest priority rebuilding the city wall. Nehemiah insists on literal and exact obedience to the Torah, or Jewish law—the Law of Moses.". In particular, he enforces the rules about no working on the Sabbath day, and the rules about supporting the Temple staff with tithes. He can and does enforce this with military power. Isaiah of the Return. Meanwhile, at about this time we get the anonymous prophetic voice collected in Isaiah 56-66, the section of the book commonly called Third Isaiah. We call this unknown prophet Isaiah of the Return. His messages: (a) God opposes the temple as it operates now (Isa 66:1); (b) However, God can work with the temple if things change (60:7); (c) a critique of increasing social injustice and social violence (56:1-2; chapters 58-59); and (d) most importantly, God wants an open, inclusive view of membership in the faith community (56:3-8). Isaiah 56 proclaims that the new community of God's people is open to all, without regard to birth, genealogy, etc., which is specifically the opposite of the reforms enforced by Ezra and Nehemiah. - PART SIX: THE NEW COMMUNITY IN PROPHETIC THOUGHT The intentions of Ezra and Nehemiah are understandable as prevention from getting absorbed into the surrounding world, which has been the danger and the struggle ever since entering the land of Canaan and also in exile in Babylon. (a) However, a question lurks: is the Mt. Sinai covenant even still on? What about the message of Second Isaiah about God starting something new? (b) The gift of Torah as guidance and instruction for well-being is getting turned into legalism, which is obeying a bunch of strict laws or rules. Moreover, its interpreters start adding numerous extra rules for keeping the rules. Two important streams of thought began to unfold in the storyline and in the prophetic voices: Things that didn't work. God goes global. things That Didn't Work. Some things in the divine dealing with humanity appear to have been altered. Expanding Worldview: God Goes Global. From Amos to Third Isaiah we see an unfolding development, a shift in the scope of divine activity from Israelite to international

Post-critical movement: 1. ask further questions not part of the traditional historical-critical enterprise. Others are frankly hostile to historical criticism, regarding it as misguided or as outdated, call biblical criticism to critical questioning. 2. challenges the assumption that critical work should (or can) proceed from a position of neutrality. 3. The text must be read not only in its reconstructed 'original' context but also as relevant to modern concerns: only then will justice be done to the fact that it exercises an existential claim upon its readers, and it will cease to be seen as the preserve of the scholar in his (sic) study. 4. can have the effect of deconstructing conventional commentaries by uncovering their unconscious bias. They are also more willing than critics have often been to 'criticize' the text in the ordinary sense of that word, that is, to question its assumptions and commitments. A second recent development has been an interest in literary aspects of the biblical texts. Where much biblical criticism has been concerned with underlying strata and their combination to make the finished books 5. Thirdly, there is now a large body of work in biblical studies arguing that traditional biblical criticism paid insufficient attention not only to literary but also to theological features of the text.

Biblical criticism, sometimes known as historical criticism of the Bible or as the historical-critical method, is the attempt to understand the Bible by setting it in the context of its time of writing, and by asking how it came into existence and what were the purposes of its authors by acknowledging it as ancient text + arose within a particular historical (and geographical) setting One precondition for a critical understanding of any text is a knowledge of the language in which it is written, and accordingly of what individual words and expressions were capable of meaning at the time of the text's composition A second prerequisite is that the text itself shall be an accurate version of what the author actually wrote (>< Copying by hand always introduces errors into texts, even though biblical texts were often copied with special care because of their perceived sacred status.) In the ancient world it was not uncommon for books to be produced by joining together, and sometimes even interweaving, several already existing shorter texts, which are then referred to as the 'sources' of the resulting single document. .The attempt to discover the underlying sources is nowadays usually called 'source criticism.'

Audience: address a target audience of people in their circumstances and needs

Christians call the Old Testament is the Christian name for the ancient Hebrew Bible

DESERT LIVING: THE TRADITIONAL BEDOUIN WAY OF LIFE The word "Bedouin" refers to people of a certain way of life, not race or ethnic group. Do not need to be Arab. Can become Bedouin by adapting that way of life. Bedouin are organized socially by tribes, each with exclusive rights to its own territory and water sources on which it depends for survival. Crossing the lines may threaten survival and can mean war. - II. MIGRATION A. Constant migration in desert or semi-desert land is the chief characteristic of Bedouin life. The main needs are: 1. Vegetation for their livestock. At survival level, they live off goat's milk and goat's milk products. 2. Water for all (livestock and people). B. Problem. There is not enough water or vegetation in any one place to sustain a group year-round. Migration pattern is annual, based on the twin needs for vegetation and water. Rain comes only in winter, if at all. None for 8 or 9 months of the year. Biggest problem is finding water toward the end of the hot dry summer when the seasonal water sources are drying up for the year. C. Solution. Go to the best, most reliable water source in the territory last, after all the others are used up. Hope and pray it lasts until the rains begin in late autumn or early winter.

DESERT THEMES IN THE BIBLE DESERT. Arid environment hostile to life. In the Bible, desert functions thematically as a place of revelation, and training ground for faith and obedience, in preparation for mission. This article concentrates on those themes. - Negev. The Negev (Negeb) was a semi-desert region was the new home of Abraham and Sara, after they were called away from power civilization. In normal years there is vegetation for grazing in all wadi bottoms and on most hillsides. Thus it was a land of nomadic grazing but unreliable agriculture, becoming a place of high risk in drought years as seen especially in stories about Abraham, Isaac, and Joseph. - Sinai. The Desert of Sinai, location of the Mt. Sinai and covenant stories, remains unknown. - Desert of Paran: between Sinai and Zin. Taking the Israelites safely across this desert provided an extreme example of divine care and power, an image of God as Bedouin leader--the good shepherd of his people. - C. CONDITIONS AND LESSONS Life in the desert teaches important lessons about discipline and faith. Surviving in this unforgiving environment requires both specialized knowledge and the discipline to apply it. At the same time, no amount of skill and discipline will guarantee survival, and desert people realize this, so desert life requires that they help each other, and it also generates more direct trust in God. Many social norms and ethics evolve from desert conditions because they are required by for long-range survival. People must rely on and help each other, with the result that social and economic organization tends toward parity or generous sharing, rather than stratification. Leaders must above all care for their people. The proper, and indeed required, use of power is to facilitate survival and sustain life, activities which demand major efforts by the leader. (This differs from urban hierarchical society where the power of the leader and social stratification provide more opportunities for exploitation.) Finally, the desert seems to facilitate revelation. People hear the voice of God more clearly, unimpeded by civilization or their own rationalizations. Abraham, Moses, Elijah and other prophets, John Baptist and Jesus, and later the Prophet Muhammad, all received revelation in the desert. - 1. Abraham to Joseph. Desert life played a major role in the Abraham-Joseph cycle (Gen 12-50). Abraham and Sarah were called to the desert to learn its lessons and values, in contrast to what they were called away from, namely the wealthy, powerful river valley civilization of Mesopotamia .Divine instructions led them to a new life primarily in the arid Negev region where they lived the nomadic desert lifestyle which provided training and testing in faith and values, and in preparation for their mission. Their flight to Egypt (another wealthy, powerful river valley civilization) for security in face of drought showed a lack of faith, and bringing them back to the Negev required divine intervention. Isaac, who also lived in the Negev did not repeat the error when faced with drought. In remarkable faith, he obeyed the divine instruction, "Do not go down to Egypt. . ." , and not only stayed but planted (at risk of losing the seed grain). He received divine reward in the form of a full crop. As a whole, this cycle of ancestor stories creates a symbolic salvation geography in which the desert fringes of the land of Canaan, not the great civilizations of the day (Mesopotamia and Egypt), functioned as the chosen place for training the ancestors of the nation Israel

Contextual Approach: The Liberationist Approach: its starting point is to be found in two great events in the recent life of the church: the Second Vatican Council, with its declared intention of aggiornamento and of orienting the pastoral work of the church toward the needs of the contemporary world, and the Second General Conference of the Episcopate of Latin America held at Medellin in 1968, which applied the teachings of the council to the needs of Latin America. The movement has since spread also to other parts of the world. One can say that liberation theology adopts no particular methodology. But starting from its own socio-cultural and political point of view, it practices a reading of the Bible which is oriented to the needs of the people, who seek in the Scriptures nourishment for their faith and their life. Liberation theology is not content with an objectifying interpretation which concentrates on what the text said in its original context. It seeks a reading drawn from the situation of people as it is lived here and now. The reality of the present time should not be ignored but, on the contrary, met head on, with a view to shedding upon it the light of the word: - Principle guiding this: God is present in the history of his people, bringing them salvation. He is the God of the poor and cannot tolerate oppression or injustice. exegesis, the way of explaining the text, cannot be neutral, but must, in imitation of God, take sides on behalf of the poor and be engaged in the struggle to liberate the oppressed. it is to communities in the first place that the reading of the Bible has been entrusted. The word of God is fully relevant--above all because of the capacity inherent in the "foundational events" like Exodus from Egypt

Elements of Liberation theory: - the deep awareness of the presence of God who saves - the insistence on the communal dimension of faith - the pressing sense of need for a liberating praxis rooted in justice and love - a fresh reading of the Bible which seeks to make of the word of God the light and the nourishment of the people of God in the midst of its struggles and hopes However, this is still a developing movement because: This kind of reading is centered on narrative and prophetic texts which highlight situations of oppression and which inspire a praxis leading to social change. At times such a reading can be limited, not giving enough attention to other texts of the Bible. It is true that exegesis cannot be neutral, but it must also take care not to become one-sided. Moreover, social and political action is not the direct task of the exegete. Also need clarification of its hermeneutical presuppositions, its methods and its coherence with the faith and the tradition of the church as a whole.

Unfolding the OT: - We need to read it eyes-wide-open, to track the changes, because the message of the OT (that is, what the OT teaches), changes as it goes to make it relevant to new situations and circumstances as they arrive. It portrays a flexible God who works with the human race, and especially with the nation Israel, in response to changing situations.

Garden of Eden story: - The Garden of Eden narrative forms a genuine story, with its own protagonists, other actors, plot, action, and consequences. It assumes that we know the first story (Gen 1:1-2:4a), and it now forms another account of beginnings, with a different focus. The same principle is operating here as in the four Gospels in the New Testament: the subject of beginnings is so important that just one version is not enough. - This is a symbolic teaching story, like a parable. We readers are asked to picture the story taking place but not take it literally - The primary symbolism is that "Adam" and "Eve" represent the entire human race, from origins to the present. It says, "This is what we humans are like." It holds up a mirror in which we see ourselves. - The three big interests in the Garden Story are: Humanity: status and purpose Male/female relationship What happened that things changed, from better conditions at origins to the hard life of humanity now The Hebrew word 'adam is usually treated as a person's name--"Adam"--in English Bibles, but this is a little misleading. It is the generic word for human beings. It usually has the definite article ha- ("the") so it means something like "the human being." If we want to use it as a person's name ("Adam"), we should understand that it is highly symbolic. It means "the human race" or "all humankind." A major feature is God's personal, hands-on involvement - The centerpiece: two special trees in the middle of the garden. The Tree of Life probably means that humans will live forever if they eat fruit from it. The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil means they will lose their innocence if they eat from it. Also, it means "knowing everything." It's a merism. Human status at the beginning: Taking care of the earth--the environment--is an important human purpose and mandate from God. Limitations on humanity. Free to eat from any tree except the Tree of Knowledge of Good and evil. Penalty? Death. God wants a man to have partner => create Eve: The Hebrew phrase `ezer kenegdô "a helper as his partner" (NRSV) is important. The key word is `ezer, traditionally translated "helper" or similar in English Bible. But "helper" is misleading, because it implies a secondary or subordinate status. In fact, the word denotes either (1) someone who is strong; or (2) specifically, a strong rescuer--a hero or champion--who saves someone's life, usually on the field of battle, beyond hope after it seems all is lost Marriage: the husband and wife in all marriages should stick together. This passage contains a good model or basis for marriage: Joint submission to God, rather than one submitting to the other. Purpose is an equal partnership to do the assignment from God - Temptation (3:2-5). The snake contradicts, calls God's motives into question for forbidding the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge. He says (3:5): "You will become like God/gods [elohim], knowing good and evil." The temptation is a form of hubris. The word elohim is the plural form of a standard word meaning "a god." This special plural elohim refers to God and means something like "the great God," or "the God of all gods." - Disobedience (3:6-7). The humans elect to pay the price. The woman picks and eats, and hands some "to her husband, who was with her," and he eats it also. What? Her husband? Apparently he has been standing there all along. Doing nothing. As her partner, he should have said something. But no. Peer pressure. The man simply goes along, with the kind of moral inertia which plagues humans in community because they just do what others do. Results for the woman (3:16). Increased pain at childbirth (3:16a). This part basically means that Eve (representing all women) will have to work harder to do what women traditionally did as a major role of great value, at the time and place of writing, for survival and well-being for family and community. Results for the man (3:17-19). The man will now have to work hard in order to eat and of course to feed his family. Like Eve's punishment, the man will have to work harder to do what men traditionally did as a major role of great value - Aftermath: the theme of human ambition to become divine, and it always gets punished by God or the gods. immortality under the new conditions would be a terrible fate--a fate worse than death-- condemned to hard work for ever and ever. As an act of mercy, God sends the humans out of the garden to protect them from committing a terrible blunder. (Meanwhile, the Israelites in Babylonian Exile would also hear a note of hope in this story. Just as God stayed with Adam and Eve and worked with them after exiling them from the Garden, God might now do the same for them in their own exile from the country now)

Power, Violence, And Salvation Geography In Genesis: - The word "city." In this study the word "city" is not generic. It refers specifically to a powerful capital city of a great urban civilization, a center of power and culture for a major surrounding region—in short, empire - For city and empire ideals in the large Tigris-Euphrates valley (called Mesopotamia), we look at the Ur-Nammu Building Stele and three major texts--the Eridu Genesis, the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Enuma Elish or Babylonian Creation Epic. B. Eridu Genesis. An informative text for the present purpose, written in Sumerian c. 1600 B.C.E., has been titled the "Eridu Genesis" by Thorkild Jacobsen C. Epic of Gilgamesh. In the Epic of Gilgamesh[5] we find the belief that urban civilization is the only worthwhile locus for human endeavor. The poet introduces the mighty Gilgamesh, one-third human and two-thirds divine, not only as he who saw everything, travelled everywhere D. The Babylonian Creation Epic. We come to a third major text, commonly called the Enuma elish (after its opening line in Akkadian) or the Babylonian Creation Epic.[7] The main surface theme of this well-known epic is of course the glorification of Marduk, the great god of Babylon, as he defeats the chaotic ocean forces represented by Tiamat, rises to kingship over the gods, and creates the universe, the earth, the human race as slaves to the gods, and the city of Babylon and its empire. 1st interest: a passage describing the building of Babylon by the gods (En. el. VI.60-65), at the command of Marduk. It reports that they first make a supply of bricks, then build a ziggurat or tower, and go on to raise it to cosmic heights. This sequence is closely paralleled in the Tower of Babel story in Genesis 11 2nd point interest: first security and then prosperity are the goals of Marduk's rule in Babylon and its very reason for existence. Not stated, however, is that this prosperity is only for a small minority--the ruling class--and it is at the expense of everyone else in the Babylonian Empire. The third point of interest is a theme of progress and improvement.[8] As in the Eridu Genesis, the new order is better than the old. It results from planned initiative, and it issues in prosperity for all

III. Egyptian Cities and Civilization: - two major ideas are important for us here. First, the upper class Egyptians thought they were superior. Because they enjoyed a fair measure of security from invasion and relative economic certainty through the abundance of the Nile - Second, the king in his dual role as priest and king became the focus and embodiment of the entire civilization. The king was believed to be a god, and through him flowed the divine power and favor on which the economic security and prosperity of Egypt depended. All blessing came through him and depended on him

Biblical criticism, sometimes known as historical criticism of the Bible or as the historical-critical method, is the attempt to understand the Bible by setting it in the context of its time of writing, and by asking how it came into existence and what were the purposes of its authors One precondition for a critical understanding of any text is a knowledge of the language in which it is written, and accordingly of what individual words and expressions were capable of meaning at the time of the text's composition: The critical reader is always on guard against the danger of anachronism, of reading later meanings of words into their use in an earlier period

In reading any piece of text, ancient or modern, one needs to be aware of the possibility that it may not be a unit. In the ancient world it was not uncommon for books to be produced by joining together, and sometimes even interweaving, several already existing shorter texts, which are then referred to as the 'sources' of the resulting single document

An Ancient Collection. "Old Testament" is actually an ancient collection of sacred writings, more than 2,200 years old.

Language: The national literature of ancient Israel, a small nation on the edge of the Middle East. However, it is centered on the belief that the one God worked with that nation and spoke through it to all humankind, and so it became the basis for the religion called Judaism as a result.

Post Biblical Movement: - ask further questions not part of the traditional historical-critical enterprise. [Note: that's us, in this course.] - challenges the assumption that critical work should (or can) proceed from a position of neutrality because there was often a deeply conservative agenda at work in biblical criticism >< feminist and liberationist - Argue that by distancing the text as the product of an ancient culture, critics managed to evade its challenges to themselves, and they signally failed to see how undermining of established attitudes much of the Bible really was - offer a more engaged style of biblical study in which the agenda is set by the need for human liberation from oppressive political forces, whether these constrain the poor or some other particular group such as women [us also] - The text must be read not only in its reconstructed 'original' context but also as relevant to modern concerns [note: that's us, in this course] - A second recent development has been an interest in literary aspects of the biblical text .The narrative books in particular (the Pentateuch and 'historical' books of the Old Testament, the gospels and Acts in the New) have come to be interpreted by means of a 'narrative criticism', reading of modern novels and other narrative texts - Thirdly, there is now a large body of work in biblical studies arguing that traditional biblical criticism paid insufficient attention. . .to theological features of the text. One important representative of this point of view is the 'canonical approach', sometimes also known as 'canonical criticism', in which biblical interpreters ask not about the origins of biblical books but about their integration into Scripture taken as a finished whole. [Note: in this course we will do both.]

Read the Bible critically because: - Normal the word "critical" is for negative use. But "critical" means analytical because the literary of the ancient history was written very differently from ours. Therefore, we should to research about the context at that ancient time and how symbolic are the stories to understand the real meaning.

Misconception of Force and Violence: - Force is power that makes something happen that otherwise wouldn't happen. It is morally neutral in itself. For example, a police arrest when done right is the use of force but not violence. A storm is force but not violence. - Violence is force used in a way that is morally wrong or that causes harm. For example, police brutality in an arrest is violence, not just force. - Our interest in force and violence in this course is especially the social level rather than the individual. Force, violence, and social justice or injustice are all closely related.

Social Justice: "Faith That Does Justice," that is, faith in action seeking justice for all, especially the poor and marginalized; working for the betterment of society as a whole by preparing students to become change agents in society. Word "social" in the phrase means the society, the community as a whole. Social justice is not defined in terms of individuals or individual efforts or individual rights but rather in terms of social structures and systems. The Old Testament contains important voices on the subject of what we now call social justice and injustice [one of the primary goals of this course.] In the biblical viewpoint, the default situation is fairness and well-being for all. If that is not the situation, something is wrong and needs fixing. In the biblical viewpoint, social justice is making things right. In the biblical viewpoint, making social justice happen is required, not optional. Social justice describes a society whose organization and structure give all groups in the society an approximately equal possibility for basic well-being

common misconceptions about social justice to clear up: it is not charity it is not about individual rights or privileges it is not socialism

Social justice deals with systemic root causes of inequality and social injustice, rather than only providing help to people in need. Social justice is about the actual situation, the reality on the ground as experienced by real people, rather than a concept or a theory. Making it happen is ideas carried into action at the level of systemic social change to make those ideas the reality on the ground for all people.

The Feminist Approach: - its origin in the United States toward the end of the 19th century, took on fresh life in the 1970s, in the sociocultural context of the struggle for the rights of women - several forms of feminist biblical hermeneutics have to be distinguished, for the approaches taken are very diverse. All unite around a common theme, woman, and a common goal: the liberation of women and the acquisition on their part of rights equal to those enjoyed by men. - three principal forms of feminist biblical hermeneutics: The radical form denies all authority to the Bible, maintaining that it has been produced by men simply with a view to confirming man's age-old domination of woman (androcentrism). The neo-orthodox form accepts the Bible as prophetic and as potentially of service. this orientation is adopted as a "canon within the canon," so as to highlight whatever in the Bible favors the liberation of women and the acquisition of their rights. The critical form, employing a subtle methodology, seeks to rediscover the status and role of women disciples within the life of Jesus and in the Pauline churches. At this period, it maintains, a certain equality prevailed. But this equality has for the most part been concealed in the writings of the New Testament, something which came to be more and more the case as a tendency toward patriarchy and androcentrism became increasingly dominant. Feminist hermeneutic has not developed a new methodology. It employs the current methods of exegesis, especially the historical-critical method. But it does add two criteria of investigation. 1. The first is the feminist criterion, borrowed from the women's liberation movement, in line with the more general direction of liberation theology. This criterion involves a hermeneutic of suspicion: Since history was normally written by the victors, establishing the full truth requires that one does not simply trust texts as they stand but look for signs which may reveal something quite different. 2. The second criterion is sociological; it is based on the study of societies in the biblical times, their social stratification and the position they accorded to women. With respect to the New Testament documents, the goal of study, in a word is not the idea of woman as expressed in the New Testament but the historical reconstruction of two different situations: norm in Jewish society and how the disciples of Jesus constructed "a community of equals"

The benefit of feminist exegesis: - They have succeeded, often better than men, in detecting the presence, the significance and the role of women in the Bible, in Christian origins and in the church - new questions are put to the biblical text, which in turn occasions new discoveries. Feminine sensitivity helps to unmask and correct certain commonly accepted interpretations which were tendentious and sought to justify the male domination of women - several studies have striven to come to a better understanding of the image of God. The God of the Bible is not a projection of a patriarchal mentality. He is Father, but also the God of tenderness and maternal love. >< However, this method also run the risk of interpreting the biblical context in a debatable manner. Therefore need ex silentio, or absence of contrary evidence to be solid.

IV. Violence: Dark Side of the City: the greatness was achieved at a substantial human cost. It was enjoyed only by means of a victorious king who conquered the surrounding nations, who enriched it through plunder, tribute, and the "gifts" of frightened neighbors. These are the spoils of empire. To be specific, this is a greatness and prosperity not achieved by honest effort but by robbing others through violence. - Empires then and there, as in all times and places, were created by violence and maintained by violence for the benefit of a privileged few. Moreover, an important role of empire religion was to teach that everyone must accept all this as the will of the gods.

V. The Primeval History (Genesis 4-11) - After life of garden: It continues the story of Adam and Eve, which means it continues the symbolic story or parable of what the human race is like. We are asked to picture that Adam and Eve have 2 sons who, when they grow up, carry out the common custom of bringing a sacrifice or offering to their God. Cain kills Abel: in this story it represents planned violence carried into action by humankind. More specifically, in context, it is the human failure to restrain the impulse to do violence, and in this course we will label this as "the sin of Cain." => punishment by exile. Cain objects that he will be vulnerable to revenge killing (without the normal protections of home and family), so God places a mark on Cain's forehead which means: "Hands off; this man is under my protection or jurisdiction." So the story teaches that violence is NOT to be answered by violence, no matter how much it may seem justified. Cain, a person characterized by violence, founds the first "city." Within several generations he has a descendant named Tubal-Cain "who made all kinds of bronze and iron tools" (verse 22). This means weapons; bronze and iron were literally the cutting edge technology of the ancient world; were used primarily for making weapons; and were mainly controlled by power. So the sequence is: violence, rebellion against God by building a power city, and producing cutting edge weapons. We are asked to picture a moral downward spiral in humanity as violence becomes organized for power. Adam and Eve give birth to another son, Seth, who functions as sort of a replacement for their murdered son Abel (4:25). Seth in turn fathers a son and we are told that "At that time people began to invoke the name of the Lord" (verse 26), which would mean something like worshipping the Lord and living as the Lord wants, specifically in contrast to the unfolding violence of humanity. The result is a symbolic two lines of humanity—the line of Cain characterized by violence, and the line of Seth living as the Lord wants. So the overall sequence in Genesis 4 shows two possible roads for all humanity from its origins (Adam and Eve) onward, and the one we choose makes all the difference - B. The Flood Story (Genesis 6:5 - 9:17). We come next to the famous Flood story, which is the central episode of the Primeval History. It too is a parable, asking us to picture it happening and to learn what it teaches but not to take it literally as fact. The central subject is the problem of human violence. see that the process of the "flood" actually reverses the sequence of creation in Genesis 1. The so-called "flood" is not literal but represents destruction of the cosmos. However, the aftermath, God says some pretty interesting things: "never again," even though "the inclination of the human heart is evil from youth," which actually means the human race leans toward evil from its early origins. The big surprise here is that the story is saying nothing has changed. That is to say, the flood didn't work. The story asks us to picture God using violence to solve the problem of human violence, and then basically saying, "Well, THAT didn't work." This is the central message of the flood story. God goes on to say that He will work with humankind instead. As a sign of commitment to never again destroy the earth with a "flood," God places a "bow" in the sky. This is not just a pretty rainbow. The bow was the weapon of choice for mighty warriors at that time and place. God is hanging up his bow: that is, God is renouncing violence for destroying the human race, and committing to work with humanity instead. - C. Nimrod's "Kingdom" (Gen 10:8-12). We come now to the famous description of Nimrod, the mighty hero and mighty hunter before the Lord, and founder of great Mesopotamian capital cities. The list of cities founded by Nimrod reads like a tour of Great Cities of the ancient Middle East. In the region of Babylonia it includes mighty Babylon itself, the city of Marduk,; Erech (Uruk), the city of Gilgamesh; and Akkad, the empire center of Sargon I. with Nimrod the archetypical ancient Middle Eastern king. That is, Nimrod represents them all. The word gibbôr "mighty warrior" (Gen 10:8) denotes a person with the might or power to exercise tyranny over others by violence if desired. The main points of the story are clear: founding empires is done by violence, it is characterized by expansion, and it is against God's will. The snapshot is realistic. The elements of ruthless force and expansion were characteristic of empires in that region, and have been features of every powerful civilization ever since. - D. Towel of Babel: city of the Enuma elish, home of Marduk, built by the gods, center of the world and source of prosperity for humankind. The goal of the people in the biblical story is collective fame as a way of preventing their being scattered into insignificance, and the means to this end is building a towered city[18] which will reach the sky = to many other tells like---- In more than one text Gilgamesh sets out on a heroic quest because he wants to bring fame to himself and his city as a form of immortality,[19] and he certainly achieves fame for building the wonderful walls and temple of Uruk (Epic of Gilgamesh I.i.9-19). Raising a city or building as high as the heavens is a particular feature of pride in Mesopotamia, and many texts refer to it. For example, the Uruk of Gilgamesh has a "great wall which touches the clouds. - As the story unfolds, the Lord comes down to see what the people are doing, observes their ambitious activity, confuses their language, and scatters them over the earth such that their ambitions are defeated. The main points of the biblical story are: it is a judgment story, yet another in a series of them in the Primeval History in this case the judgment is on the hubris (pride, arrogance, rebellion against God or the gods) which is found in every great civilization or empire instead of using violence (as in the Flood story), God performs a non-violent intervention this intervention is a form of rescue, or deliverance; it saves them from their hubris, that is, it saves them from the consequences of their actions if allowed to play out unrestrained the method is "break it up," rather than destroy. => In this way the story passes judgment on the pride and self-sufficiency that lurk in every civilization, exampled here by Mesopotamia and its vaunted cities

Genesis Introduction, by R. N. Whybray: - Genesis forms part of a series of 'historical' [narrative] books that begin with the creation of the world and end with the destruction of the tiny kingdom of Judah in the sixth century BCE. - The events narrated are all arranged in a single chronological sequence into which the non-narrative material, mainly poems and laws, has been fitted. - Genesis, although it has its own distinctive character—it is the only book in the Pentateuch that is not dominated by the figure of Moses—is intimately linked with the books that follow, and can only be fully understood as part of a more extended history. It is essentially a book of promise, a PREFACE (act as a very general idea) to all that follows in the history of Israel, having specific links to many events narrated in those books. It establishes the identity of the nation of Israel and of its God. In particular, it is a necessary prelude (intro to sth more important) to the great events associated with the Exodus from Egypt, which is the foundation of Jewish history and faith. At the same time it presents the reader with the God who is creator of the world but also [presents] a God who cares for his human creatures and reveals his nature especially in his protection and guidance of those whom he chose to be his special people. Genesis as a prequel to the real story in the OT

Two forms of OT: - HEBREW FORM. This is the original form, and it is used by Judaism to this day. It is called the Tanakh (mainly by Jewish people), or the Jewish Bible, or the Hebrew Bible, or the Hebrew Scriptures Part I: The Torah. First five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) Part II: The Prophets The Former Prophets. The first section of the prophet books, from Joshua to Second Kings. These look like historical books, but they were produced by prophets so their story is considered a message from God through the prophets The Latter Prophets. The second section of the prophet books, from Isaiah to Malachi. These books contain collected messages from the prophets; some have famous names like Amos, Isaiah, Jeremiah. Part III: The Writings These are all the rest, and we can call them "Miscellaneous" because they have great variety and don't fit into any one category. The Hebrew/Jewish arrangement highlights God's ongoing relationship with Israel, and also looks forward to the coming of God's chosen one, the Messiah. Judaism teaches that this hasn't happened yet - CHRISTIAN FORM. Rearranged eventually by Christianity and called the Old Testament. Part I: The Pentateuch. First five books (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy), same as the Hebrew Torah. Part II: The Historical Books. Mainly the same as the Hebrew Part IIA. Former Prophets. Part III: The Poetical Books. Mainly same as the Hebrew Part III: The Writings. Part IV: The Prophetical Books. Same as the Hebrew Part IIB: Latter Prophets. The Christian arrangement places prophetic predictions of the coming Messiah at the end in a way that leads naturally into the New Testament, which says that the Messiah has now come as Jesus of Nazareth.

ra', ra'ah "evil." Second strongest word for wrong actions ("sin") - hamas "violence." Strongest word for wrong actions in the Hebrew Bible. Is used for actions mainly by societies, nations, empires, and rulers, and also but rarely by individuals. It is used mainly of 4 actions in particular: -rape -premeditated murder -robbery using force -social injustice - mabbul "Flood, Floodwaters" with a capital "F." The mythic, cosmic dark forces of Chaos. - tehom rabbah "The Great Deep." Another mythic, cosmic word; means much the same as mabbul. - yigberu "attacked, defeated, and destroyed." To conduct total offensive war by an aggressor. -common English Bible "swelled, increased greatly" is misleading. - "Heart" is an action word. When you see the word "heart" in English in the OT, the Hebrew word means the place where you make decisions and carry them into action, not love or passion, can be either good or evil.

VI. The Ancestor Narratives (Genesis 12-50) A. Abraham and Sarah (Gen 12-13). The Abraham narrative is a quest story, a story of new beginnings, like Vergil's Aeneid, and that is how it is introduced. Abraham has been introduced as a resident of Babylonia, and told to leave because God plans to work somewhere else in order to save humanity. It opens with an important passage often labeled "The Call of Abraham" : "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you [that is, by means of you] all the families of the earth shall be blessed." - leaving behind his own country, clan, and extended family; this means leaving the normal security and meaning of life, and living in trust and obedience to the Lord instead; it's a form of exile - moving permanently to a different land, as yet unnamed, which the Lord will show him - will "bless" him; this word means to cause basic well-being, such as food, water, shelter, family, community—the basics for life on this good earth together under God. protection from the Lord - through Abraham, the entire human race ("all the families [i.e., peoples, nations, races] of the earth") will, or can, or should, find well-being; - D. Joseph (Gen 41-50). Finally, in the Joseph story, Egypt is the scene of action. Again it is famine that drives the brothers to Egypt to buy food, and eventually the whole family moves down in apparent security and comfort under the patronage of the exalted Joseph. In the Genesis cycle, famine represents any threat to economic security and any test of faith. The context would actually imply disapproval of the various trips to Egypt to escape famine in the Promised Land, and certainly disapproval of moving there to stay. This family is supposed to stay in the land of Canaan in order to grow into the mission. It is true that the initial outcome, "the saving of many lives" (50:20), seems to fulfill the promise of blessing through Abraham's line in relation to other nations, and it is certainly portrayed as a gracious saving act on the part of God. Joseph becomes an empire oppressor. Later, the people of Egypt will remember what he did to them, and make his own descendants slaves to Egypt in turn. Now God will need to try again, and call his people out of Egypt just like Abraham out of Mesopotamia the first time around - Overall: Book of Genesis is a salvation geography Mesopotamia is the center of pride and hubris, of ruthless power and tyranny, of false confidence in human achievement. Egypt is the alternate civilization, temptingly near and convenient to the land of Canaan, secure and confident in its blessing from the gods through the divine king, and filled with seductive allure because of the economic security which it seems to offeris a salvation geography Canaan is the land between the two, the place of new beginnings under God, out of the old and far away from it, the place where blessing for humanity will be engendered in spite of all appearances to the contrary in human terms.

Before the biblical books were written, the stories or other units of which they are composed may have had an independent life, circulating orally and being handed on from parent to child, or in circles where stories were told and retold, such as a 'camp-fire' or a liturgical context. The attempt to isolate and study such underlying oral units is known as form criticism, and it has been much practised in the case of the gospels, the stories in the Pentateuch and in the early historical books of the Old Testament, and the prophetic books

Where texts are composite, that is, the result of weaving together earlier written or oral sources, it makes sense to investigate the techniques and intentions of those who carried out the weaving. We should now call such people 'editors', but in biblical studies the technical term 'redactor' tends to be preferred, and this branch of biblical criticism is thus known as 'redaction criticism'. Once we know what were a biblical redactor's raw materials—which source and form criticism may be able to disclose to us—we can go on to ask about the aims the redactor must have had. Thus we can enquire into the intentions (and hence the thought or the 'theology') of Matthew or Luke, or of the editor of the book of Isaiah. Redaction criticism has been a particular interest in modern German-speaking biblical study, but it is also still widely practised in the English-speaking world. It is always open to the critic to argue that a given book is not composite in any case and therefore never had a redactor, only an author. A biblical redactor's raw materials—which source and form criticism may be able to disclose to us

YHWH or Yahweh is Hebrew word for the personal name of God. Conservative Jews tends not to speak this word out loud because it is so sacred

Why Study the Old Testament? - It's practical. The Old Testament has a played major role in forming or influencing a whole series of religions, cultures, nations, empires, and civilizations. understand the world we live in, and function in it more successfully, we want to understand the Old Testament - Avoid doing harm: keep an eye on that problem, especially by identifying things in the Old Testament which have been used wrongly - Understand the New Testament (NT). The NT writers were rooted in the OT and drew upon it heavily, so we will understand the NT far better if we study the OT first.

"Critically" just means "analytically," no negativity here

the "Pentateuch" is a name for the first five books of the OT