...Christian theologians have taken part in biblical scholarship for centuries on the qualities of the Old Testament that have changed western civilization forever. Walter Brueggemann is no exception to the enormous contributions theologians have made to these discussions in his respected work, The Prophetic Imagination. Here, Brueggemann proposes the social actions of the prophets Moses, Isaiah, Ecclesiastes, and Jeremiah as revolutionary insofar as each of their ministries provided a radical alternative for the social consciousness for the Hebrew people of their time given the context of their dominant social realities. These prophets provided a new social orientation for the Hebrews away from the power holders of their ever changing social hierarchy to that of a social life and though centered on their God Yahweh. Brueggemann explains this using Biblical citation while also applying this thesis to a theological critique of the modern Judeo-Christian faith and its preaching. Given Brueggemann’s analysis of the prophets’ social criticism, his argument is compelling and sheds new light onto how readers of the Bible ought to review the Old Testament. Brueggemann begins his work by defining the sole task of prophetic ministry, which is meant to introduce an alternative social reality to the dominant structure followers are led to believe in at their own peril (Brueggemann p. 3). With Moses as the prime example of this prophetic movement in the book of Exodus, Brueggemann explains...
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...before everything else. “In the Day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, when no plant of the field was yet in the earth and no herb of the field had yet sprung up-for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was no one to till the ground; but a stream would rise from the earth, and water the whole face of the ground- then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground” (Gen. 2:4-8). In this same paragraph, I noticed that the writers refer to God as “LORD God”, but in chapter 1 God is called, “God.” Also, in the first one God creates everything in 6 days and rests on the 7th, but in the second account there is nothing about how many days it took the LORD God to create everything. In the book, The Old Testement A Historical and Literary Introduction to the Hebrew Scriptures, Coogan states, “ Finally, in the second account no mention is made of seven days, heavenly bodies, or divine rest, just as in the first no...
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...The Kings of the Old Testament Harrold Herring says, "If you have wisdom . . . You can get wealth but without wisdom you will never get nor keep wealth (Herring, 2015)". Being a king is more than what you reap or sue. It's more than what you look like or who is by your side; it's how you lead your people and why you want to drive them. Our King of Kings is all this and more, but the people of Israel didn't see this. They focused more on their wants and needs instead of relying on the real God, his guidance, and direction. During the time of Samuel the people of Israel thought they needed a king. Before the time of Samuel, the people of Israel were ruled by judges. In the book of Judges, we can read about Samson, Gideon, Barack, and Ehud, this reminds us that they all had their flaws. Although they all had their flaws, God used their weakness for his good. But having Judges wasn't enough to stratify the people of Israel they wanted a king and they had forgotten that their true king was the "King of Kings". So God allowed them to have a king, and they appointed Saul. "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king… but warn them solemnly and let them know what the king who will reign over them will claim as his rights" 1st Samuel 8:7-9. God gave the people what they wanted. The people of Israel appointed Saul as their kind despite what Samuel told them. They didn't think about the real characteristics...
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...OLD TESTAMENT BIBLE DICTIONARY PROJECT Jennifer Buchanan 3145700 BIB 104-B73 Sept. 26th 2015 The Book of Job The book of Job is a non-fiction biography of a righteous man described in the opening verse as “perfect and upright, and one who feared God, and eschewed evil”. The main character is a healthy and prosperous man whom the devil is allowed to bring suffering and hardship to in order to test his righteousness. After standing firm in his faith during this difficult hardship including loss of his family, health, wealth, and reputation, the Bible tells us that everything was returned to him in double portion. Other characters include his family and his three closest friends; Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar. Job was such a God fearing man, he rose every morning and offered a sacrifice to God for each of his ten children. “And it was so, when the days of their feast were gone about, that Job sent and sanctified them and rose up early in the morning and offered burnt offerings according to the number of them all: for Job said, it may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts”(Job 1:5/KJV). So this was his morning ritual just in case he needed to make restitution to the Lord by sacrifice for other members of his household. The book of Job has a style that flows from narrative to dialogue, speeches, poetry, more monologue and finally back to narrative (Hindson and Towns, 2013). The author is unknown as well as the date it was written. However...
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...| The Heart of the Old Testament | | BIB220 | | The Heart of the Old Testament | | BIB220 | The Heart of the Old Testament written by Ronald Youngblood is an informative and insightful book. Youngblood identifies the nine themes that form the foundation of the Old Testament. These themes show that the Old Testament is not any different from the New Testament and should not be consider irrelevant when compared to the New Testament. The nine themes include monotheism, sovereignty, election, covenant, theocracy, law, sacrifice, faith and redemption. The first theme of Youngblood’s book is Monotheism. A basic understanding that makes the reader aware that God is ‘…God, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:22). Youngblood sets the foundation that God is the only living God. “The true Christian could never deny the existence of God in theory and ought to never deny the relevance of God in practice.” (Pg. 9) As much as people want to deny God, they all still believe in some existence of a high power. Youngblood’s story further on develops on with Israel’s awareness of God and their temptations. Israel was always tempted to sin and copy their neighbors who worshipped God by acknowledging God as being more than one thing creating things such as idols. But Youngblood states that God is eternal and he created everything and all matter making him above everything. Nothing can be compared to what God is. No theories such as materialism, pantheism or polytheism...
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...The History of Joseph, Jacob’s Favored Son History God made a covenant with Abraham that his descendants would be a great nation and blessed him with Isaac. Isaac had two sons named Esau, the eldest and Jacob. Jacob has to leave home to hide from his brother Esau because Jacob tricked their father into giving him the blessing that was intended for the eldest. Jacob ran to Haran to stay with relative, Laban, to avoid the anger of Esau. While there he falls in love with Rachel, Laban’s youngest daughter and asks for her hand in marriage. Laban agrees that if Jacob will agree to stay and work for seven years he may have Rachel’s hand. Laban does not keep his promise he replaces Rachel with Leah, the eldest daughter, and tricks Jacob into sleeping with her instead. When Jacob discovers what has happened he demands to be given Rachel as promised and so ends up with Rachel as a second wife. Jacob never really shows affection for Leah and makes it known that Rachel is the favored wife. Leah provides Jacob with a firstborn and numerous other sons, but it is late in life when Rachel conceives Joseph, who is the eleventh born son, and then Benjamin. Benjamin’s birth takes Rachel’s life and therefore is the last of her children. Joseph Jacob makes it clear to everyone that Joseph is the favored son (Blank, 1998). Jacob may consider Joseph to be his real firstborn son since Rachel was the chosen wife. Jealousy builds over the years at the obvious favoritism bestowed on...
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...1960s, there has been a strong push for women’s equality. There are many Christians and non-Christians who believe Christianity had a hand in the perpetuation of the patriarchy leading to misogyny. Christians who oppose this idea may argue that it is founded on a lack of theological knowledge, that there is biblical evidence supporting that God desires equality, and that discrimination is not condoned in biblical stories and teachings. It is easy to initially construct the notion of misogyny in the Old Testament when acquiring only a shallow view of scripture. However, when applying a hermeneutical approach, one can see that equality among genders is a common theme. The Bible itself is, without a doubt, patriarchal in nature, but presents evidence of equality. Of note is the theme of religious equality; “that is, equality of the woman as a person before God.” This essay will explore various events in the Bible, beginning in Genesis, to support the claim that the Old Testament, though patriarchal, is not misogynistic and demeaning to women. Equality in Genesis Genesis states, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Gen 1:27, NKJV). This verse provides evidence for equality between women and men and that they are both made in the image of God. Taking a look at Genesis 1:26-28 as a whole shows that the words “image” or “likeness” were used four times and implies significance. Men and women are both Godlike...
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...Josh Bright L26675616 201440 Fall 2014 BIBL 104-B64 LUO 09/21/14 Old Testament Bible project Malachi Malachi is the final book of the Old Testament. His name comes from the Hebrew meaning "messenger.” The authorship of Malachi remains uncertain, but since priests and prophets were called messengers of the Lord, a strong certainty leads towards Malachi. As we take a look at some background of the book Malachi, we see that prophetic movement by Haggai and Zachariah, the exiles that had returned under the leadership of Zerubbabel, finish the temple in 516 BC. In 458 BC, the land was strengthened by Ezra the priest and thousands of Jews. During this time, Artaxerxes king of Persia encouraged Ezra to reconstitute the temple worship (Ezr 7:17) and to make sure the law of Moses was being obeyed (Ezr 7:25-26). In 444 BC, this same king gave instruction to Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild its walls. Nehemiah then took the reins as governor, and led changes to help the poor, (Ne 5:2-13) and he was able to convince the people to break off their mixed marriages (Ne 10:30), to keep the Sabbath (Ne 10: 31) and to bring their tithes and offerings faithfully (Ne 10:37-39). The date Malachi was written is uncertain. The similarities between Nehemiah and Malachi gives us the idea that these two were contemporaries. Malachi may have been written after Nehemiah returned to Persia, or during his second stint as governor. The theme of Malachi can be simply stated. The King will...
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...Summary of the books of the Old Testament Books) Leviticus The genre of this book is law as defined in the Hebrew language for “teaching”. The purpose of this book was like a “handbook” for the priests and Levites that gave direction of their duties and describes how that family line should lead the Israelites in worship. The book provides ceremonial laws as opposed to the moral laws of Exodus, describing five key offerings made to God for their sins to be forgiven, dietary restrictions for consuming fat and blood, and purification rites to remove uncleanliness prior to worshiping God. There were also rules for healthy living which are just as important today and specific standards for people to live a holy life. “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy” (19:2). God also established several holy days and feasts each year for celebration, fellowship and worship which include the Sabbath, Passover, and Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). The family of Aaron, Moses’ brother, is ordained as Israel’s formal priesthood. Leviticus lists several blessings for obedience and many more punishments for disobedience. Joshua The book of Joshua is narrative account of events following Moses’ leading the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt. With Moses and an entire generation of disobedient Israelites dead, God tells Joshua to lead the people into Canaan, their promised land. In Jericho, the first major obstacle, the prostitute Rahab helps Israelite spies and earns protection...
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...Barbara Barton 25406682 BIBL 104-B34 210240 LUO September 20, 2012 Summary of Old Testament Books LEVITICUS The book of Leviticus is a genre of the law. Moses is the author of this book and it is often referred to as the holiness code. “Do this because I the Lord your God am holy” is often mentioned in the book. Three different sacrificial offerings are presented to the Israelites as well. They consist of Consecratory, Expiatory and Communal. Consecratory being offerings of dedication of people or things to God. Expiatory were acknowledgements of sin and Communal were communities expressing thankfulness to God. God also wanted to establish the fact that the laws were not merely arbitrary but was indeed intended to help them understand the holiness nature of God. No longer would the Israelites be known as a group of former slaves they had become an established nation. This is also where we see the priesthood being established and thus creating a mediator between the people and their God. They now had rules and laws of which to live their lives on a daily basis. Joshua The book of Joshua is written in the style of a narrative. In this book we learn how Joshua led the people into the land of Canaan. We see two very well-known battles such as the battle of Jericho and the battle of Ai. The first battle of Jericho the city seemed impossible for man to conquer but with God we would soon learn that it was indeed possible. The next battle in the city of Ai was not as successful...
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..."Narratives are stories- purposeful stories retelling the historical events of the past that are intended to give meaning and direction for a given people in the present (Fee & Stuart, 90)."As the book states, narratives are stories of things that have happened in the past that give meaning. A good majority of the Bible is written in narrative form. Even some of the New Testament is written as a narrative. "All narratives have three basic parts: characters, plot, and plot resolution. That is, most narratives presuppose some kind of conflict or tension that needs resolving (Fee & Stuart, 90). Some of the common mistakes readers make when engaging a Biblical narrative is believing that every narrative speaks directly to their personal, individual life. Also, many people do not take the text for what it is. They look at it as an allegory. Another mistake is being selective with the text. "It involves picking and choosing specific words and phrases to concentrate on while ignoring the others and ignoring the overall sweep of the narrative being studied (Fee & Stuart, 103). People also personalize the narratives too much. They suppose all parts of the narrative apply to them. It's a "self centered" reading of the Bible (Fee &Stuart, 104). Finally, false appropriation is another common mistake readers make in engaging in narratives. "This is another form of decontextualizing. It is to read into a biblical narrative suggestions or ideas that come from contemporary culture that...
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...AWS1(NAC/AW) David M. Leon Evaluation Date Reported to HSC-2: | 07 March 2013 | Period of Report: | 13JAN12 to 13NOV17 | First Report w/HSC-2: | | Designator: | NAC/AW | Physical Readiness: | PP | Date of Mid-Term Counsel: | | Mid-Term Counselor: | | BLK 29 (DUTIES): | JOB TITLE | FRS INSTRUCTOR | 12345 | Managed training and operational qualifications for 35 aircrewmen. COLL: MH-60S Aircrew Instructor. WATCH: ASDO, Duty Inst, CHSCWL Duty Crew84. PFA: 13-1. | PERFORMANCE TRAITS: LAST DH CMC XO CO 33. | Professional Knowledge: | 5 | | | | | 34. | Quality of Work: | 4 | | | | | 35. | Command/Org Climate/EO: | 4 | | | | | 36. | Military Bearing Character: | 4 | | | | | 37. | Personal Job Accomplish & Initiative: | 4 | | | | | 38. | Teamwork: | 4 | | | | | 39. | Leadership: | 4 | | | | | | 40. | Member Overall Trait Average | 4.14 | | | | | PROMOTION RECOMMENDATION: LAST DH CMC XO CO Early Promote: | X | | | | | Must Promote: | | | | | | Promotable: | | | | | | Progressing: | | | | | | Significant Problems: | | | | | | BLK 41: LAST DH CMC XO CO Career 1.Recommendations: 2. | INSTRUCTOCSWTI | | | | | BLK 44 (QUAL/ACHIEVEMENTS): 12 | COMMUNITY:20 Hours Bellamy Woods Elementary, 8 hours Food Bank of America...
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...Furthermore, we see so far in the notes above that the subject of the millennium takes up a larger portion of prophetic scripture developing the nature, conditions and extent than any other subject in the bible. The millennial kingdom is that age in which God’s purposes on earth will be fully realised. Dwight Pentecost comments in his book that “This age will see the fulfilment of all the covenants that God made with Israel” . In this paper, however, the position that will be defended is pre-millennial view. To help us get a grasp of this discussion, let us look at the biblical history of premillennialism in the Old Testament. BIBLICAL HISTORY OF PREMILLENNIALISM IN THE OLD TESTAMENT A good student...
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...Bible Observation After reading Genesis 1-10 my observation of the reading was that this was one of the beginning stories of man. In addition this was when God created the heavens and the earth including the light, water, land, and creatures. It took God six days to make the earth, and on the seventh day God rested. In addition Adam and Eve were the first two humans that God had created they were the first couple, and first to sin. Adam recognized that Eve was his wife by marriage, and has verse 24 suggested this is the basis for marriages today in the present. In the Garden, the myth tells of how God places a serpent within Eden. The serpent knows that God has given all the fruits of the trees except one. The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. This particular tree is forbidden to be eaten by man. The serpent is crafty though and gets Eve to think she will be as knowledgeable as God by eating this fruit. She falls into temptation and eats of the tree. She then convinces Adam to also eat. He follows and the result is the final and horrible downfall of man. After Adam and Eve committed the first Sin this was a disobeying by God, and that’s why they had become ashamed of showing their bodies. The serpent is forced to travel on in belly which explains why they were not created with legs. To women, the explanation of child birth and the extremely horrible pains of labor are answered. Woman is also given a place in society as now having to be under the control of man. Women...
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...Let’s use the proper term for this, henotheism. Polytheists acknowledge many gods and worship many gods; henotheists acknowledge many gods but worship only one. In this view, different gods ruled different territories just as kings did, and tribes owed allegiance to whichever god protected them. I’ve gotten a lot of insight into Old Testament henotheism from Thom Stark’s The Human Faces of God. Some of what follows comes from chapter 4 of that book. The Song of Moses (Deut. 32) is considered to be some of the oldest material in the Bible—dating to the mid-13th c. BCE. We have several somewhat-inconsistent copies, the oldest being from the Dead Sea Scrolls: When Elyon divided the nations, when he separated the sons of Adam, he established the borders of the nations according to the number of the sons of the gods. Yahweh’s portion was his people, [Israel] his allotted inheritance. (Deut. 32:8–9) Here we see Elyon, the head of the divine pantheon, dividing humankind among his children, giving each his inheritance. The idea of a divine pantheon with a chief deity, his consort, and their children (the council of the gods) was widespread through the Ancient Near East. Elyon (short for El Elyon) is the chief god, not just in Jewish writings but in Canaanite literature. The passage concludes with Yahweh getting Israel as his inheritance. We learn more about terms like “sons of the gods” by widening our focus to consider Ugaritic (Canaanite) texts. Ugarit was a Canaanite city destroyed...
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