Man, it's been a while since I've posted! Next in the traditional Christian ordering of the Old Testament is the book of Ruth. Ruth is a fascinating little book that is one of the few in the Bible that takes place during the time of the Judges. Because of this, it is placed right after the book of Judges in the traditional Christian ordering, although in the Jewish Bible it is typically place it in another section, treating Genesis through Kings as a sort of literary unit.
Ruth is a short book, telling the story of two women, Ruth and her mother-in-law Naomi, who have both been recently widowed. This is a huge deal in their day, and Naomi is particularly upset over it. Ruth, interestingly, is not Jewish, but is a Moabite - a group of people who have a very long and fascinating history throughout the entire Old Testament. (Moabites were said to be descended from Lot). They didn't believe or live like the Jews, but Ruth (who married an Israelite) adopted their beliefs and practices.
The main plot of the story is how Ruth meets and marries a wealthy Israelite named Boaz. According to Jewish law, she was expected to marry a relative of her deceased husband. Boaz ends up being this "kinsman-redeemer", marrying her and rescuing her and her mother-in-law from poverty. Some theologians have used this same phrase to refer to Jesus (Boaz being a Christ-like figure in this story).
Interestingly, Ruth is, of course, not just any Moabite, but the future great-grandmother of King David. It's interesting to see a story like this in the Bible, as Moabites were not generally looked at favorably by the ancient Israelites. It's a fascinating piece of Biblical history.
Tuesday, November 12, 2013
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
Judges
"In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit."
This is a reoccurring phrase in the book of Judges that summarizes the atmosphere of the book quite well. The book takes place after the death of Joshua, but before Israel had a king of their own. Its a time of much fighting and warfare, and a fair amount of chaos in general. Its also a book containing many of the more famous Sunday School stories, such as Samson, Deborah and Gideon. The stories take place over a period of about 300 years.
The book is a series of stories of "judges", people who weren't necessarily official rulers per se, but were none-the-less used by God to lead people during this in-between time. The people described are quite interesting, because many of them seem flawed or are unusual choices for various reasons. There are 12 in total, six who are considered "minor" judges, and six who are considered "major" judges.
The stories in Judges follow a similar pattern to other parts of the Old Testament:
#1. The people of Israel disobey God.
#2. They end up in trouble due to their apostasy.
#3. God divinely appoints a judge to save them from their predicament.
This basic pattern of sin, consequences and divine mercy seems to be one that you see over and over again in both old and new testaments. One of the central themes of Judaism and Christianity.
This is a reoccurring phrase in the book of Judges that summarizes the atmosphere of the book quite well. The book takes place after the death of Joshua, but before Israel had a king of their own. Its a time of much fighting and warfare, and a fair amount of chaos in general. Its also a book containing many of the more famous Sunday School stories, such as Samson, Deborah and Gideon. The stories take place over a period of about 300 years.
The book is a series of stories of "judges", people who weren't necessarily official rulers per se, but were none-the-less used by God to lead people during this in-between time. The people described are quite interesting, because many of them seem flawed or are unusual choices for various reasons. There are 12 in total, six who are considered "minor" judges, and six who are considered "major" judges.
The stories in Judges follow a similar pattern to other parts of the Old Testament:
#1. The people of Israel disobey God.
#2. They end up in trouble due to their apostasy.
#3. God divinely appoints a judge to save them from their predicament.
This basic pattern of sin, consequences and divine mercy seems to be one that you see over and over again in both old and new testaments. One of the central themes of Judaism and Christianity.
Joshua
Joshua is the first book in the Bible that's not considered part of the books of Moses. However, it none-the-less feels quite connected with the first five books preceding it. I can see how they could all be considered part of the same literary unit, although the most important difference is that as far as I can tell, there are no new laws given in this book. It's an immediate sequel to the preceding books, though.
Joshua tells the story of how God used Joshua to lead the people into the promised land, and the various battles that he leads them into battle with (often miraculously). It's kind of a violent book, but the ultimate theme seems to be something of the effect of the importance in trusting in God to give you what he promises. The promised land is often seen to Christians as a symbol for heaven or salvation, so you can see a theological implication in this story. Interestingly, the names Joshua and Jesus are actually the same name in Hebrew (something like "Yeshua"). They just get translated into English differently since Jesus' name was written in Greek (plus various quirks of history of English). Both names mean something like "God saves".
It's at this point in the Old Testament narrative that the Jewish people now have a land of their own. This becomes an important theme throughout the rest of the Old Testament.
Joshua tells the story of how God used Joshua to lead the people into the promised land, and the various battles that he leads them into battle with (often miraculously). It's kind of a violent book, but the ultimate theme seems to be something of the effect of the importance in trusting in God to give you what he promises. The promised land is often seen to Christians as a symbol for heaven or salvation, so you can see a theological implication in this story. Interestingly, the names Joshua and Jesus are actually the same name in Hebrew (something like "Yeshua"). They just get translated into English differently since Jesus' name was written in Greek (plus various quirks of history of English). Both names mean something like "God saves".
It's at this point in the Old Testament narrative that the Jewish people now have a land of their own. This becomes an important theme throughout the rest of the Old Testament.
Monday, October 14, 2013
Torah Summary
So far I've covered the first five books of the Bible. These are sometimes called the Torah, or the Pentateuch, or the Books of Moses (they've got a lot of name!) Here's a set of simple synopses of each book:
Genesis - Origins of the whole world and the Hebrews in particular.
Exodus - The Hebrews are rescued from bondage in Egypt by the power of God, as led by Moses, and established a covenant between them, most particularly symbolized in the 10 Commandments and Ark of the Covenant.
Leviticus - God gives Moses and Aaron a set rules for preists, offerings and other (mostly) ceremonial rules about how to worship, and how to live lives that are distinct from the cultures around them.
Numbers - The journey to the promised land, and the subsequent wanderings in the wilderness for 40 years after the first generation of Israelites rebel about going into the land.
Deuteronomy - The final sermons from Moses about God's will for their lives, with an emphasis on the legal codes they'll need to live in the promised land.
For an even more compact summary:
Genesis: Origins
Exodus: Freedom from slavery
Leviticus: Priestly codes at Sinai
Numbers: Wandering in the wilderness
Deuteronomy: Final legal codes
Next post I'll talk about the sequel to these events, the book of Joshua.
Genesis - Origins of the whole world and the Hebrews in particular.
Exodus - The Hebrews are rescued from bondage in Egypt by the power of God, as led by Moses, and established a covenant between them, most particularly symbolized in the 10 Commandments and Ark of the Covenant.
Leviticus - God gives Moses and Aaron a set rules for preists, offerings and other (mostly) ceremonial rules about how to worship, and how to live lives that are distinct from the cultures around them.
Numbers - The journey to the promised land, and the subsequent wanderings in the wilderness for 40 years after the first generation of Israelites rebel about going into the land.
Deuteronomy - The final sermons from Moses about God's will for their lives, with an emphasis on the legal codes they'll need to live in the promised land.
For an even more compact summary:
Genesis: Origins
Exodus: Freedom from slavery
Leviticus: Priestly codes at Sinai
Numbers: Wandering in the wilderness
Deuteronomy: Final legal codes
Next post I'll talk about the sequel to these events, the book of Joshua.
Friday, October 4, 2013
Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy is the last of the books of Moses, and subsequently, the last narrative with him we will see in the Bible. Its name in Greek means something like "second law", which seems fairly appropriate. The majority of the book is Moses' final words to the Israelite people before they enter the promised land. (The name in Hebrew is something like "words").
Like the three books before it, Deuteronomy is a mix of narrative and law. Like the others, the law is declared from within the narrative, and not directly. I find this characteristic of the Torah very interesting. I'm not sure what the theological significance of this is (if any), but it does seem like something unique to the Bible, although perhaps this was common in other Middle Eastern literature of its era.
The basic outline of Deuteronomy is something like this:
#1. A brief retelling of the events that happened in Numbers.
#2. An expounding of the law of God, with a more ethical emphasis than in Leviticus.
#3. Legal rules for living in the promised land.
#4. Curses and blessings for following or not following the law.
#5. Joshua to succeed Moses.
#6. The Song of Moses and a poem of blessings from Moses.
#7. The death of Moses.
It's often said that Leviticus contains the ritual/priestly laws and Deuteronomy contains the civil and moral laws. There's definitely some truth to this, however just as there was moral law in Leviticus, there is definitely ceremonial/religious laws in Deuteronomy as well. Nothing is ever all that compartmentalized in scripture, it seems. In general, the emphasis of the laws in both books are different, though. Deuteronomy talks much more about the importance of loving God than the previous books had. There is also much more talk about the practical legal aspects involved, including rules about courts and what to do once Israel decided they needed a king at some point.
I found the Song of Moses to be an interesting piece of poetry. It reminds me a lot of the songs found in the Psalms. It describes God as Israel's "Rock", and talks about the great things he had done. It ends by declaring the "nations" to rejoice with his people, something you see again in later passages of scripture. I find this interesting because despite the fact that much of the Torah is about God's particular people of Israel, it is also recognized that he is the God of all the nations as well here too.
Like the three books before it, Deuteronomy is a mix of narrative and law. Like the others, the law is declared from within the narrative, and not directly. I find this characteristic of the Torah very interesting. I'm not sure what the theological significance of this is (if any), but it does seem like something unique to the Bible, although perhaps this was common in other Middle Eastern literature of its era.
The basic outline of Deuteronomy is something like this:
#1. A brief retelling of the events that happened in Numbers.
#2. An expounding of the law of God, with a more ethical emphasis than in Leviticus.
#3. Legal rules for living in the promised land.
#4. Curses and blessings for following or not following the law.
#5. Joshua to succeed Moses.
#6. The Song of Moses and a poem of blessings from Moses.
#7. The death of Moses.
It's often said that Leviticus contains the ritual/priestly laws and Deuteronomy contains the civil and moral laws. There's definitely some truth to this, however just as there was moral law in Leviticus, there is definitely ceremonial/religious laws in Deuteronomy as well. Nothing is ever all that compartmentalized in scripture, it seems. In general, the emphasis of the laws in both books are different, though. Deuteronomy talks much more about the importance of loving God than the previous books had. There is also much more talk about the practical legal aspects involved, including rules about courts and what to do once Israel decided they needed a king at some point.
I found the Song of Moses to be an interesting piece of poetry. It reminds me a lot of the songs found in the Psalms. It describes God as Israel's "Rock", and talks about the great things he had done. It ends by declaring the "nations" to rejoice with his people, something you see again in later passages of scripture. I find this interesting because despite the fact that much of the Torah is about God's particular people of Israel, it is also recognized that he is the God of all the nations as well here too.
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
Numbers
Numbers is the next book in the "Moses series" (aka the Torah or the Pentateuch). Like Leviticus and Exodus, the contents are a combination of law giving and narrative. However, there is much more narrative in Numbers than there is Leviticus. The book takes place where Leviticus leaves off, however, it takes place over a much longer period of time, roughly the forty years the Israelites spend in the wilderness before entering the promised land. It starts off with a census of all the people (while they are in the Sinai Penninsula). This is where it presumably gets its English name. Its name in Hebrew however is perhaps more appropriate, being "In the Wilderness".
As I mentioned earlier, is there are some laws given in Numbers. Most of these seem to have to do with priestly issues, much like in Leviticus. Most of the book is narrative though, including many of the most famous stories associated with Moses and the journey to the promised land (e.g., the bronze snake, Balaam's donkey, the 12 spies, etc). The book describes the events that take place as the Israelites leave the Sinai Penninsula and enter the land of Canaan. About half way through the book the Israelites rebel once they reach Canaan, because they don't trust God that they will be able to conquer the Canaanites. It's at this point that God requires them to wander around for forty years (until the rebellious generation has passed on) before they can enter the new land. Eventually a new generation comes of age, and is less rebellious than the previous one. As the book ends, it describes how Joshua will take Moses' place to lead the people into the promise land. God tells the people additional laws for them to hold to once they are in the promised land.
One thing I've found interesting as I've been going through these books of Moses is how most of the narratives I remember from Sunday school as a child all comes from essentially two books: Exodus and Numbers. Exodus being about the leaving of Egypt, and Numbers being about wandering in the desert. It won't be until we get to Joshua, though, that they actually enter the promised land.
As I mentioned earlier, is there are some laws given in Numbers. Most of these seem to have to do with priestly issues, much like in Leviticus. Most of the book is narrative though, including many of the most famous stories associated with Moses and the journey to the promised land (e.g., the bronze snake, Balaam's donkey, the 12 spies, etc). The book describes the events that take place as the Israelites leave the Sinai Penninsula and enter the land of Canaan. About half way through the book the Israelites rebel once they reach Canaan, because they don't trust God that they will be able to conquer the Canaanites. It's at this point that God requires them to wander around for forty years (until the rebellious generation has passed on) before they can enter the new land. Eventually a new generation comes of age, and is less rebellious than the previous one. As the book ends, it describes how Joshua will take Moses' place to lead the people into the promise land. God tells the people additional laws for them to hold to once they are in the promised land.
One thing I've found interesting as I've been going through these books of Moses is how most of the narratives I remember from Sunday school as a child all comes from essentially two books: Exodus and Numbers. Exodus being about the leaving of Egypt, and Numbers being about wandering in the desert. It won't be until we get to Joshua, though, that they actually enter the promised land.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Leviticus
The book of Leviticus picks up right where Exodus leaves off. In many ways it could be thought of as "Exodus 2: The Sequel". Just like in Exodus, Leviticus is a mixture of narrative and declaration of laws, although Leviticus has much more law and less narrative than Exodus does. In Leviticus, most of the laws given from God deal with offerings, the priests, cleanliness, and other ceremonial issues. In fact, the name in Greek is a reference to the Levites, the tribe who were the priests in ancient Israel. The name in Hebrew means something a long the lines of "and He called", again taken from the opening line of the book (as are apparently all the Hebrew titles of the books in the Pentateuch).
While the majority of the laws in Leviticus deal with offerings, cleanliness and priestly duties, there are other more moral commandments given as well, all though they are heavily surrounded in the text by ceremonial rules. The laws in Leviticus (and all of the Pentateuch) are interesting, in that they are always presented as part of a narrative. ("And God said to Moses..."). They are never directly declared from a first person perspective, but told in an over-arching narrative about what happened with Moses and the early Israelites. In Leviticus, all of the narratives outside of giving the law deal with the ordination of Aaron and his sons as the first priests, and things related to them. The vast majority of the text is the giving of the laws.
The narrative about Aaron and his sons takes place in the middle of the book. Before this narrative Moses enters the Tabernacle (perhaps immediately after the events ending in Exodus) and is told the laws pertaining to offerings and priests. After this he is told to have Aaron and his sons come into the tabernacle to be ordained for a week. After this happens we learn about how two of Aaron's sons perform an unlawful sacrifice, and are immediately killed by God for it. Two of Aaron's other sons also get in trouble with Moses, although are forgiven after they make their sin offering. After this narrative occurs, the rest of the book is the giving of laws about cleanliness and holiness. Some authors see this split between the laws before and after this narratives as being theologically significant, while others apparently do not. I don't know enough about this topic to make any conjectures on it, though. It is interesting to see the narrative about the first priests failing at their duties, because it does follow the common pattern we saw before in Genesis about the people called by God not living up to God's standard. And just like before, some of the sons are shown mercy, while some are not. (Similar to Noah's Flood and other stories, which feature God's wrath and mercy at the same time). I guess you might say a big theme of Leviticus is that God has very high standards, but is merciful to those who are repentant.
While the majority of the laws in Leviticus deal with offerings, cleanliness and priestly duties, there are other more moral commandments given as well, all though they are heavily surrounded in the text by ceremonial rules. The laws in Leviticus (and all of the Pentateuch) are interesting, in that they are always presented as part of a narrative. ("And God said to Moses..."). They are never directly declared from a first person perspective, but told in an over-arching narrative about what happened with Moses and the early Israelites. In Leviticus, all of the narratives outside of giving the law deal with the ordination of Aaron and his sons as the first priests, and things related to them. The vast majority of the text is the giving of the laws.
The narrative about Aaron and his sons takes place in the middle of the book. Before this narrative Moses enters the Tabernacle (perhaps immediately after the events ending in Exodus) and is told the laws pertaining to offerings and priests. After this he is told to have Aaron and his sons come into the tabernacle to be ordained for a week. After this happens we learn about how two of Aaron's sons perform an unlawful sacrifice, and are immediately killed by God for it. Two of Aaron's other sons also get in trouble with Moses, although are forgiven after they make their sin offering. After this narrative occurs, the rest of the book is the giving of laws about cleanliness and holiness. Some authors see this split between the laws before and after this narratives as being theologically significant, while others apparently do not. I don't know enough about this topic to make any conjectures on it, though. It is interesting to see the narrative about the first priests failing at their duties, because it does follow the common pattern we saw before in Genesis about the people called by God not living up to God's standard. And just like before, some of the sons are shown mercy, while some are not. (Similar to Noah's Flood and other stories, which feature God's wrath and mercy at the same time). I guess you might say a big theme of Leviticus is that God has very high standards, but is merciful to those who are repentant.
Friday, September 27, 2013
Exodus
Exodus is the 2nd book of the Bible, and picks up immediately from where Genesis left off, with the descendants of Jacob in Egypt, due to the famine. Each of these 12 sons were the original 12 tribes of Egypt (except Joseph, whose two sons were each tribes of their own). Immediately the story tells us of how the next generations of Egyptian rulers forget about Joseph and what he had done and make these Israelites their slaves.
Of all the books in the Old Testament, Exodus is one of the most well known. Its name in Greek means "going out", and it subsequently tells of how God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to be a people of their own, called by God to be his chosen people. (In Hebrew, the name of the book is actually "Names", because of how the book starts off with the list of names of the sons of Jacob.)
The over-arching structure of the book is something like this:
#1. Israelites are in bondage and early life story of Moses.
#2. God calls Moses to deliver them from Egypt, along with his brother Aaron.
#3. The series of plagues on the Egyptians, culminating in The Passover.
#4. The crossing of the Red Sea, and becoming finally free from the Egyptians.
#5. Entering Sinai, and the giving of the 10 Commandments as well as other laws, both moral, civil and ceremonial (religious), including establishing the priesthood (Aaron and his sons).
#6. People sinfully build a golden calf to worship, breaking God's law (and Moses literally breaks the commandments).
#7. Re-making the stone 10 Commandments, and further reminders of the laws of God.
#8. The building of the Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant, according to the earlier commands God gave (#5).
The action oriented narratives are pretty familiar to most of us from the various movies made about the story. Something those movie depictions don't always make clear, though, is how this event is what really makes the Hebrew people who they are. Before this point, they didn't really have the Jewish religion or practices that we normally think of. While God had already made covenant with Abraham and his descendants earlier in Genesis, it's only at this point where they get a cohesive set of laws and rituals (beyond just circumcision) which really sets them apart. Much of Exodus (especially in the 2nd half of the book) is describing these laws and regulations (some in very exacting detail).
Exodus ends with the people still in the Sinai peninsula. They won't reach the promised land for years to come. But they now are a people free from slavery, and people of their own, with their own laws and religion, distinct from any other in the world.
Of all the books in the Old Testament, Exodus is one of the most well known. Its name in Greek means "going out", and it subsequently tells of how God delivered the Israelites from slavery in Egypt to be a people of their own, called by God to be his chosen people. (In Hebrew, the name of the book is actually "Names", because of how the book starts off with the list of names of the sons of Jacob.)
The over-arching structure of the book is something like this:
#1. Israelites are in bondage and early life story of Moses.
#2. God calls Moses to deliver them from Egypt, along with his brother Aaron.
#3. The series of plagues on the Egyptians, culminating in The Passover.
#4. The crossing of the Red Sea, and becoming finally free from the Egyptians.
#5. Entering Sinai, and the giving of the 10 Commandments as well as other laws, both moral, civil and ceremonial (religious), including establishing the priesthood (Aaron and his sons).
#6. People sinfully build a golden calf to worship, breaking God's law (and Moses literally breaks the commandments).
#7. Re-making the stone 10 Commandments, and further reminders of the laws of God.
#8. The building of the Tabernacle and Ark of the Covenant, according to the earlier commands God gave (#5).
The action oriented narratives are pretty familiar to most of us from the various movies made about the story. Something those movie depictions don't always make clear, though, is how this event is what really makes the Hebrew people who they are. Before this point, they didn't really have the Jewish religion or practices that we normally think of. While God had already made covenant with Abraham and his descendants earlier in Genesis, it's only at this point where they get a cohesive set of laws and rituals (beyond just circumcision) which really sets them apart. Much of Exodus (especially in the 2nd half of the book) is describing these laws and regulations (some in very exacting detail).
Exodus ends with the people still in the Sinai peninsula. They won't reach the promised land for years to come. But they now are a people free from slavery, and people of their own, with their own laws and religion, distinct from any other in the world.
Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Genesis
The name for Genesis in both Greek and Hebrew means "Origins", which is of course a very appropriate title for the book. The origins of the world, humanity, sin, cities, diversity of languages, and the Hebrew people themselves are all told in the book.
This, of all the books in the Bible, might be the most well known. Many of the famous "Bible stories" come from this book (Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Noah, Tower of Babel, Abraham, Sodom and Gomorrah, Jacob and Esau, Joseph, etc.) As different as some of these stories are, almost all of them seem to follow a similar literary pattern (to my eyes anyway). It goes something like this:
#1. God has a plan for people.
#2. The people rebel against him (or act sinfully in some way).
#3. God is angry with them, but graciously has mercy on them in some way. (Although often not without some consequences).
Almost every one of these famous stories fits this pattern. God creates paradise for Adam and Eve, they rebel, God forgives them, but they can no longer live in the garden of Eden. Cain kills his brother Able, God punishes him, but protects him from being killed in revenge. God nearly destroys all life in the Flood, but protects Noah and his family, and promises to never destroy all life like that again. Joseph's brothers sell him into slavery, but God uses that as a way of saving his family.
One strong theme you will almost certainly come away with from reading Genesis is that "People are bad". Even the great "heroes of the faith" (Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc) all come off pretty bad in these stories. In fact, as you read these an adult you might be struck by just how odd this is. I don't know if this is common in other religions, but in the Old Testament, the prophets rarely come across as sinless saints. The theme seems to be again and again, only God is truly good, but he nonetheless uses flawed people (sometimes *really* flawed) for his divine purposes. People often talk about how much wrath there is in these Old Testament stories, but there is also a lot of mercy.
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Introduction
I'm a Christian, but I have to admit that I don't know the Bible as well as I ought. Every time I read my Bible I keep discovering so much about it that I didn't know before. While there are unifying themes across the whole Bible, there are also interesting characteristics unique to each of its books. I decided that a good activity for me would be to attempt to blog about every book of the Bible, giving a quick synopsis about what that particular book is about. That way, I could have a better mental map of the context of each book, and maybe also help others who are trying to dive into these various passages of scripture.
As a caveat, I have to admit I have no special training in the Bible, and I quite possibly will be getting some things wrong during this process. Feel free to correct me in my mistakes, or comment on important aspects of these books that I might be missing.
I am also going to try (if possible) to avoid as much as I can some of the more speculative topics involving some of these books. The synopses I'll be writing should hopefully be useful for people regardless of the denomination they are a part of (or even whether or not they are religious at all).
Oh, and one last thing. I won't be literally reading all of these books straight through while I do this, so I definitely might be missing out on some key points to make while I do this. This will definitely be a high-level "bird's eye view" of these books.
As a caveat, I have to admit I have no special training in the Bible, and I quite possibly will be getting some things wrong during this process. Feel free to correct me in my mistakes, or comment on important aspects of these books that I might be missing.
I am also going to try (if possible) to avoid as much as I can some of the more speculative topics involving some of these books. The synopses I'll be writing should hopefully be useful for people regardless of the denomination they are a part of (or even whether or not they are religious at all).
Oh, and one last thing. I won't be literally reading all of these books straight through while I do this, so I definitely might be missing out on some key points to make while I do this. This will definitely be a high-level "bird's eye view" of these books.
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