...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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...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 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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...The Old Testament has several of stories about the time before Christ walked this earth. There have also been a lot of controversy about which is more accurate, the Old or New Testament. Scholars even have said that the Old Testament was written for that time frame and doesn’t apply to today’s society. The following research was conducted to support the Old Testament and elaborate about how God’s mercy and many other incidents from the Old Testament are valid for our current culture and how they also apply to future generations. God has always revealed His grace to humans from the beginning of creation, now and will continue forever. The first book of the Bible expresses Gods love, during the creation of the heavens and earth. “In the beginning...
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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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...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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...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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...Bridget McKenna Professor Alexander Hwang Religion 123 22 March 2013 Covenant in the Old Testament Sense A covenant in its simplest form is a promise. The Bible refers to covenants many times throughout, most often in the Old Testament. Different stories contain different covenants that God has made with various people in the Bible; each of these stories has an underlying theme that is consistent. The theme is simple; a covenant with God is a promise between God and the people of God that can never be broken. Three main covenants in the Old Testament are those between God and Noah, God and Abraham, and God and Moses. In each of these covenants, God is making a promise to a single person, for the good of all people who wish to listen and to follow Him. In each of these three covenants, there is also a new relationship formed, granting redemption to God’s people, a key element that is common among the covenants with Noah, Abraham, and Moses. There are a few different elements of a covenant and by understanding the different elements of covenants, we are then able to fully understand and appreciate the covenants that are found in the Old Testament. Covenant derives in the Old Testament from the Hebrew word be’rith. There are two different concepts of the meaning of be’rith. The first concept is that be’rith means to select or chose and the second concept of be’rith is a bond or joining together. (Ludlow) Upon looking at these two different meanings of one word, it puts the...
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...Marten started chapter 15 by saying “much of the material has been a presentation of salvation in history, where the Old Testament is heavily tilted toward history especially that of Israel.” The canonical order begins with creation, which situates Israel’s role in the broader perspective of God’s universal concern. In addition, as with Martens pivotal texts, therefore, Genesis 1-3 makes it clear that God’s design for the universe involves not only God’s role but also the role which the creation is to be discourse. It is a pattern of parallel divine purpose and human’s faithfulness may be traced through the Old Testament. The creation has two dimensions of that of context and critical, for example, the theme beyond Israel motif are highlighted...
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...Brian Darceuil L25249241 BIBL 104 4/16/2014 Old Testament Bible Dictionary Project Book: Jonah The author of the Book of Jonah was believed to be the Jonah himself. This book was written between 770-750 BC. There has been much debate about the literary style of this book. There are some who believe that this book is a work of fiction that is to be used as a metaphor to understand the will and workings of God. Nothing in the bible itself indicates that we should look at this or any other biblical passage as a fictional piece of work. Every word that is listed in this book should be taken literally as historical narrative events that took place. The book of Jonah is a literary epic of the ages with the main characters being God and Jonah. It deals with the themes of disobedience, redemption, and the supernatural. As a result of Jonah's disobedience to God, he had led himself into danger. He found himself on a ship and thrown overboard into the belly of a beast for Three whole days because he refused to preach God's word in Nineveh. The time he spent in the belly of the fish gave him the opportunity to reflect on his mission that The Lord sent him on. The book of Jonah also showed Gods mercy because he sent a prophet there to preach his word so that the 125,000 people that resided there may be able to have a chance of redemption from their sins. The purpose of this book is to show God’s Grace and to also show that disobedience to The Lord leads us down the path of destruction...
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