Introduction to the Old Testament
If all the trees in the earth were pens,
and if the seas eked out by seven seas more were ink,
the Words of God could not be written out unto their end.
The Koran, Surah 31.27
Preamble: three ways of knowing |
| produces inspiration, scripture, prophecy, prayer |
| produces philosophy, logic, pure mathematics |
| manipulates resources and produces material goods |
| the eye of the spirit and the eye of the mind together |
| the eye of the mind and the eye of the body together |
| produce science, history and philology |
| to examine the products of the spirit from the perspective of the mind and body |
| the perspectives of history and philology |
A key moment in time: Ezra and the Torah |
| The Torah is the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible |
History: the primary mode of the Bible |
| Western sense of history inherited from the Bible during the Middle Ages |
| original home of Abraham's family |
| Deities associated with natural phenomena or processes |
| a Sumerian story from Sippur: |
| primeval ocean (Nammu) engendered the cosmic mtn. |
| An 'heaven' and Ki 'earth' who engendered Enlil |
| who separated them, and then, with Ki 'earth' |
| engendered all living creatures |
| Enuma Elish Babylonian creation epic |
| Out of watery chaos (Apsu, Tiamat & Mummu) emerged: |
| horizons of earth and sky, who begot Anu, |
| Other gods born from Apsu and Tiamat |
| turbulent and noisy, they "troubled Tiamat's belly" |
| Apsu & Tiamat's plan to destroy them foiled by Ea |
| a cosmic conflict results |
| Marduk (=Enlil) son of Ea defeats Tiamat (=chaos) |
| splits her skull, placing the halves above and below the earth as sky |
| creates humankind from the blood of Kingu, a son of Tiamat |
Canaanites in Palestine (from 4th millenium BCE) |
| fortified city-states in valleys |
| chief god El (el generic term for 'god', also used in the Torah) |
| Baal (cf. Enlil and Zeus) |
| Wind (Spirit) and Chaos (waters) mate, moved by Desire |
| produce Mot, the father of all creatures |
| other gods follow (cf. Theogony) |
| social structure: more egalitarian |
| Abram: from Ur to Haran to Palestine |
| musters 318 men to rescue Lot (Gen. 14) |
Exodus and return to Canaan (13th c BCE) |
| Judges: no centralized government |
United monarchy (c. 1025 BCE) |
| made Jerusalem religious and political center |
| moved the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant from Shiloh |
| alienated northern tribes |
Divided kingdom (926-722 BCE) |
| South: Judah (line of David) |
| first written sources of the Torah |
Babylonian captivity and aftermath |
| fall of Babylonia to Cyrus, king of Persia |
| return to Palestine 538 BCE |
| Ezra (458) and Nehemiah (445) |
| The Torah is a combination of several sources |
| E (for 'el'), a text from the north |
| J (for 'Jehovah'), a text from Judah |
| P (for 'Priestly'), a text reflecting the interests of the Aaronid priests of Jerusalem |
| D (for 'Deuteronomist'), a text reflecting the interests of the priests of Shiloh |
| Story of the Fall (3:1-24) is a continuation of the J creation story |
When and why was the Tanakh (= OT) assembled? |
| major prophets: Isaiah part 1, Micah, Hosea |
| J and E combined as JE (722-586 BCE) |
| P written as alternate account (reign of Hezekiah? 727-698 BCE) |
| Exile (including period just before and after) |
| Jeremiah (d. 587) and Ezekiel, Isaiah part 2 |
| D (Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings) |
| reign of Josiah? (639-609? BCE) |
| 'discovery' of the 'book of the law' in the Temple in 622 |
| an attempt to restrict sacrifice to the temple |
| exile in Babylon? (586-538 BCE) |
| to preserve all the traditions and restore the religion of the Hebrews |
| to help ensure that the Babylonian exiles have control of religion/state |
| to restore the temple (cf. 1 Kings 6-7), or |
| produce a text that replaces the temple |
| to centralize worship in the hands of the Temple priests in Jerusalem |
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