Bi 117 week 1 ppt the bible as literature

1. THE BIBLE AS LITERATURE

2. WHAT MAKES UP THE BIBLE?
 The Bible in the West includes the Hebraic
and Christian scriptures, respectively the Old
and New Testaments.
 Jews accept the Old Testament as their
foundational text.
 Christians broaden that outlook to include
both the Old and New Testaments.

3. • Accepting the scriptures as the revealed word of
the Lord is a matter of faith, and systematic
analysis of the scriptures is theological
interpretation, which results in a code of beliefs
called religion.

4. 1.WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO READ THE BIBLE
“AS LITERATURE”?
 Even if divinely inspired (“The Word
of God”), the Bible is still a product
of human beings written for human
audiences.
The book is a collection of writings
produced by real people who lived in
actual historical times.

5. THE AUTHORS
Came from a variety of social positions
and professions:
Kings
Shepherds
Doctor
A Tax Collector
Fishermen

6. CONTENTS OF THE BIBLE
--The Bible is the common heritage of us all, whatever our religious beliefs.
--The Bible contains various literary forms written for a variety of purposes:
It contains genealogies, laws, letters, royal decrees,
instructions for building, prayers, proverbial wisdom,
prophetic messages, historical narratives, tribal lists,
archival data, ritual regulations, and information
about personal problems
Poetry-Prayers-Short Stories- Novels- Gospels

7. THE BIBLE EXPLAINS…
 Explains how religious
rites, rituals and
ceremonies came into
existence, such as…
 Marriage
 Bar Mitzvah
 Baptism
 Sacrifice
 Circumcision

8. THE BIBLE INSTRUCTS
 Teaches a community
or individuals how to
behave appropriately
 Obey God
 Obey your elders
 Don’t sleep with your
brother’s wife
 Don’t drink water that
has a dead moose in it

9. 2.WHAT IS THE BIBLE ABOUT?
 The structure
--The Bible as an anthology--a set of
selections produced over a period of
some one thousand years.
*The Old Testament (39 books)
*The New Testament (27 books)

10. *The Old Testament (39 books)
Timeline: Creation of the universe and of
mankind to the end of BC
Subject: History of Israel
Original language: Hebrew
*The New Testament (27 books)
Timeline: AD to the end of the world
Subject: life of Jesus
Original language: Greek

11. AN OVERVIEW OF THE MAJOR PARTS OF
THE BIBLE--EACH WITH ITS DISTINCTIVE
LITERARY FEATURES:
 OLD TESTAMENT
 Pentateuch
 Historical Books
 Wisdom Books
 Prophetic Books

12.  NEW TESTAMENT
 The Gospels (Historical and Wisdom)
 Epistolary Literature (Historical)
 Apocalyptic Literature (Prophetic)

13. THE PENTATEUCH
 Called the Pentateuch, the first five books of
the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, and Deuteronomy), also called the
Torah by the Jews, contain numerous
literary forms:
 In Genesis, the story of Creation is a literary
catalogue distinguished by classification and
division and by incremental repetition.

14.  The Pentateuch, continued: contain
numerous literary forms:
 In Genesis Continued: In the first stage or
day of Creation, the narrator recounts that
God created light, divided it from darkness,
and classified the light as day and the
darkness as night.
 The narrator follows the same pattern in
describing subsequent days of Creation.
Accordingly, God separates the earth from
the sea, then creates the respective
creatures dwelling on land and in the
water.

15. CHARACTERS - OLD TESTAMENT
“Creation” – numbers
“In the Garden”- Adam and Eve
“The First Murder” – Cain and Abel
“The Great Flood” – Noah and symbols
“Babel” – Theme
“Abraham: A Promise and a Test”- Abraham,
Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael, Isaac, Holy
Messenger

16. CONTINUED
“Jacob”- (also known as Israel), Isaac, Esau
“Joseph” – Dreams, Joseph, Coat of many
colors
“Moses: The Calling” – Moses, Aaron,
Burning bush, numbers
“Moses: Challenging Pharaoh” – the Plagues,
Passover, Red Sea, Miracles in the Desert

17. ITEMS
 “Samson”- Samson and Delilah
 “David” – David, Goliath, Bathsheeba
 “Jonah”- Numbers, Symbols,
 “Job”- Theme, Theodicy, Comforters
 “Daniel”- Daniel, Darius, Dreams, Symbols

18. STORY OF ADAM AND EVE IN THE GARDEN
 Remember to use images-
 Do NOT use many words in your
presentation

19. ARCHETYPAL
IMAGES/SYMBOLS/SETTINGS
 Paradise
• Serpent
• The Apple

20. CULTURAL SIGNIFICANCE
 The story of Adam and Eve in
the Garden is Aetiological
helping to explain how sin and
temptation came into the world.
 This is also a story that helps
to explain marriage.
 Finally, the story is
instructional in that it teaches
human beings subservience to
God.

21. “THE GREAT FLOOD”
 Similar to the
Gilgamesh narrative.
 Differs in the
motivation behind the
cause.
 Differs in the
construction.
 The pattern of God’s
judgment and mercy.

22. GENESIS CONTAINS THE RECURRENT
LITERARY THEME DESCRIBING A
TRIAL OR TEST DURING WHICH THE
CHARACTERS EXERCISE THE VIRTUES
OF FAITH AND OBEDIENCE.
 Noah tested in the flood.
 Abraham tested when God commands him to
sacrifice Isaac.
 As protagonists in the stories of Genesis, the
patriarchs by their trials, sufferings, and
eventual triumph resemble heroes in
literature.

23. THE TOWER OF BABEL
 Aetiological- And so
Yahweh scattered them
upon the face of the
Earth, and confused their
languages, and they left
off building the city, which
was called Babel
"because Yahweh there
confounded the language
of all the Earth."(Genesis
11:5-8).

24.  When God speaks in this story, He
uses the phrase, "let us go,"
referencing the trinity (3).
 God says in Genesis 11:6, "If as one
people speaking the same language
they have begun to do this, then
nothing they plan to do will be
impossible for them." (NIV)
 God realizes that when people are
unified in purpose they can accomplish
impossible feats, both noble and
ignoble. This is why unity in the body of
Christ is so important.

25.  Some scholars
believe that this
marks the point in
history where
God divided the
earth into
separate
continents.
•To build, the people used brick instead of stone
and tar instead of mortar. They used "man-made"
materials, instead of more durable "God-made"
materials. The people were building a monument to
themselves, to call attention to their own abilities
and achievements, instead of giving glory to God.

26. ABRAHAM, ISAAC, AND
ISHMAEL
The Child of Promise

27. ABRAHAM
 Known called the father of the Jews
and is considered the founder of the
Jewish religion. He was the first to
believe in one all-powerful God instead
of many gods.
 Christians and Muslims also
honor Abraham and trace their belief in
one God back to him.
 Progenitor of the three major Western
Religions.

28. (These came after Isaac and Ishmael)

29. ABRAHAM, ISAAC, ISHMAEL
ISHMAEL ISAAC
 Son of Abraham and Hagar
 Known as “the Outcast”
 Muslims believed that he is
the ‘sacrificial’ son as he
was Abraham’s only child
for 13 years.
 Becomes the progenitor of
Arabs and is an ancestor of
Mohammad.
 Son of Abraham and Sarah
 His son is Jacob who will
become known as Israel
and whose 12 sons will
become the 12 tribes of the
Jews.
 Because he was born to a
sterile mother (Sarah) he is
seen as an example of
God’s providing for a
savior.

30. “JOB”
 Theodicy- The problem of evil. Why does evil
exist in the world? Why do bad things
happen to good people?
 Job’s ‘comforters’- Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar
 Schadenfreude- taking pleasure in the
misfortunes of others.
 God as judge, and the adversary (satan)

31. THE BOOK OF JOB
 The Book of Job extols an exemplar of
faith and fortitude who is beset by one
misfortune after another.
 Urged by his wife to renounce the Lord,
who is perceived as having unjustly
punished one of his faithful servants,
Job enhances his fortitude and affirms
his faith despite intense suffering.

32.  Urged by friends to accept blame for the
disasters of his life—thus allowing them to
maintain a sense of order in the universe.
 Calls for a conference with God.
 Gets no answer, but is responded to by the
Lord Himself.
 In the course of suffering, Job becomes
humble, learns the limitations of human
intelligence in probing the mystery of God,
and marvels at the higher wisdom of the Lord
that humankind can never fully comprehend.

33. NUMBERS IN THE BIBLE
 Numbers in the Bible have deep spiritual and
symbolic significance.
 Although the books of the Bible have multiple
authors, there seems to be a remarkable
consistency with number symbolism
throughout the Bible from “Genesis” to
“Revelation”
 Numbers reference both Good and Evil.

34. IMPORTANT RECURRING NUMBERS AND THEIR
MEANINGS IN THE BIBLE
 1-Beginning, First
 2- Witness, Separation
 3- The Godhead,
Trinity
 4- Earth, Creation
 6- Man, Beast, Satan
 7- Perfection,
Completeness
 10- Law, Government,
Restoration
 12- Divine government,
Apostles
 13- Rebellion, apostacy
 30- Consecration,
maturity
 40- Trial, Test,
Probation
 75- Separation,
cleansing
 666- Antichrist, Satan,
the damned triplicate

35. IMPORTANT RECURRING NUMBERS
THREE- Trinity,
“Let us go” in Babel,
Noah had 3 sons,
Jonah in Fish, 3
comforters, 3 wise
men, Jesus in tomb
Peter’s denial, 3
patriarchs of
Judaism,
 FOUR- Creation,
(Earth, Wind, Fire,
Water) Horsemen of
the Apocalypse,
Gospels

36. IMPORTANT RECURRING NUMBERS
 SEVEN-
Perfection,
Combination of
God +creation
including mankind.
7 days and nights
in Genesis, in
Noah, in Joseph,7
years of plenty,
(Jesus-77th in line
from Adam).
 TEN- 10
commandments, 10
plagues, (10
generations
between Adam and
Noah; Noah and
Abraham.)

37. IMPORTANT RECURRING NUMBERS
TWELVE- 12
sons of Jacob
(Israel) become
the 12 Tribes of
the Jews, 12
apostles; (12
days of
Christmas).
FORTY- 40 days
and nights of rain,
40 years in the
desert (Israel), 40
days and nights
(Jesus), 40 days
after the
resurrection
before the
ascension.

38. THE NEW TESTAMENT
BIRTH and NATIVITY
 “Where is he who has been born king?”
MINISTRY and MIRACLES
 “Is this not the Carpenter?”
 “The Sermon on the Mount”
 “Parables”
DEATH AND RESURRECTION
 “Last Days in Jerusalem”
 “The Tomb is Empty”

39. CHARACTERS FROM THE NEW TESTAMENT
 Jesus- as Man, as God
 Mary- Mother of God
 Joseph- Jesus’ human father
 Herod- tries to kill Jesus
 Peter- denies Jesus at his death
 Judas- betrays Jesus
 Thomas- doubts the resurrection

40. PARABLES
 Instructional stories meant to reveal a truth or
teach a lesson.
 Sometimes confusing and ambiguous.
 “The Good Samaritan”
 “Prodigal Son”
 “The Great Supper”
 “The Lost Sheep” “The Lost Coin”

41. HISTORICAL BOOKS
 Among the historical books of the Bible, Samuel,
Kings, and Chronicles predominate.
 They are part of the Jewish scripture called the
Nebim (the prophets)
 Officially in the Jewish tradition there are two
subsections
 The former prophets—from the entrance to
Canaan to the Babylonian captivity.
 The later prophets—Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and
the 12 minor prophets.
 They describing the roles of kings and prophets
among the Chosen People and the evolution of a
nomadic community into a political and military
kingdom in the land of Canaan.

42. HISTORICAL CONTINUED
 Emphasized are the first monarchies of Saul
and David, the histories of various kings, and
the grandeur of their temporal realms.
 More important is the role of the prophets as
spokespersons of the Lord.
 Inveighing against monarchs and the
people for their periodic lapses in fidelity to
the Lord, the prophets uphold the
expectations of the Lord in the midst of a
community whose majority, at times,
becomes wayward.

43. LITERARY FORM OF NARRATIVE
 The histories of the kings are presented in
accord with the literary form of the
exemplum, an example or “case study.”
 The kings who are faithful to the Lord thrive,
whereas the unfaithful sovereigns are
punished, even to the extent of being
defeated by their enemies in battle. When
impelled by vainglory and by lusts
(materialistic or carnal), the kings are self-
indulgent.

44. LITERARY FORM OF NARRATIVE
 In line with the literature of didacticism,
these books teach readers clear-cut lessons
concerning one's relationship with the Lord,
the virtues to be imitated and the vices to be
shunned, the importance of fidelity to the
Lord and his heavenly realm, and the
dangers of inordinate attachment to worldly
pleasures and possessions.

45.  Thus, the prophets, in contrast to
the kings, are self-disciplined,
abstemious, and humble. Such a
state of purgation and purity
readies them to accept and
disseminate the word of the Lord.

46. WISDOM BOOKS
 Among the so-called Wisdom Books, the most
often cited are Job, Psalms, Proverbs (also
known as a Book of Wisdom), and The Song of
Songs.
 In the Jewish tradition these are contained in
the Kethubim (the Writings)
 The collective wisdom of these books instructs
people concerning the adversities of life and
the means to withstand and overcome them.
 In short, the Wisdom Books stress fortitude and
faith in the Lord in the present life so that one
may be rewarded.

47.  In doing so, the Wisdom Books adapt
the overt methods of didactic
literature:
 to highlight exemplars who manifest
faith and fortitude during adversity,
 to dramatize a prayerful relationship
between the people and the Lord,
 to cite aphoristic lore derived from the
experience of generations, and
 Aphoristic – “a concise statement of a
principle or a terse formulation of a truth or
sentiment” (Webster.com).
 to use allegory in highlighting the
interaction of the Lord and humankind.

48. THE BOOK OF ECCLESIASTES
 Ecclesiastes 9:11, "I returned, and saw
under the sun, that the race is not to the
swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither
yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to
men of understanding, nor yet favour to
men of skill; but time and chance
happeneth to them all."

49. THE PSALMS
 “Psalm” is based on the Greek word which
represents the sound of a plucked string.
 Hebrew poetry is not based on strict metrical
pattern alone (as in Greek or Latin) or on
metrical pattern and rhyme (as in English and
other modern languages).
 It works by what is known as “parallelism.”
A first statement is repeated or amplified in
a different form--”The statutes of the Lord
are right, rejoicing the heart:the
commandments of the Lord is
pure,enlightening the eyes” (19:8 KJV)
(Berggren).

50. PSALMS PSALM 96

51.  The Psalms, collected into a book or
Psalter, number approximately 150,
including both communal songs and
prayers and individual utterances, often
set to music.
 Like lyrical poetry, which was often sung
or recited to musical accompaniment, the
Psalms manifest a tonal range that
includes primarily praise and gratitude to
the Lord and the self-examination of a
sinner who becomes a penitential
suppliant.
 Since many of the Psalms are attributed to
King David, they are called the Davidic
Psalms (Labriola).

52. THE BOOK OF PROVERBS
 The book is a compilation of gnomes, a word
derived from the Greek “to know.”
 It is presented in the manner of gnomic or
sapiential literature, which is commonplace in
cultures as varied as the Greek and the
Anglo-Saxon,
 the Book of Proverbs provides pithy
summations of wisdom to be imparted to
younger generations.
 As a distillation of the “lessons learned” by
an older and wiser generation, the Book of
Proverbs imparts a philosophy of life, a
perception of one's place in society, and an
outlook on one's relationship to God.

53. THE SONG
OF SONGS
 Also called the Song of Solomon and the
Canticle of Canticles.
 The text features a loving relationship,
including courtship and marriage, between
a bridegroom and his wife.
 Though attributed to Solomon and
interpreted as his wedding song to his
beloved, the Song of Songs is more often
perceived by Christian commentators as
allegorical literature.
 Especially through lyricism, drama, and
dialogue, the work suggest various
interrelationships (Labriola):
 God and His People (or one soul)
 Jesus and His Church
 Christ and his mother Mary

54.  The description of the beloved “to a
company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots”
(Chap. 1).
 Robert Alter clarifies this perplexing
reference: “a mare in heat, let loose
among chariotry, could transform well-
drawn battle lines into a chaos of widely
plunging stallions.”
 The male celebration of female sexuality
as landscape is familiar to readers of later
love poems.
 However, the Song of Songs is also
remarkable for the frequency with which

55. PROPHETIC BOOKS
 The term “prophet” is derived from a
Greek word meaning “to speak on
behalf of” (Britannica).
 The prophets were ancient Israelites
who spoke to the nation on behalf of
God. In other words, they were
preachers.
 Their purpose was not, as is often
mistakenly assumed, to foretell the
future.

56.  The prophets were men who interpreted
Israel's behavior in the light of God's
laws and frequently found reason to
condemn that behavior.
 The prophets also declared that Israel
would be punished for breaking the
laws.
 A series of national disasters that befell
Israel seemed to prove the merit of the
prophetic warnings:
 Israel was conquered or subjugated in
turn by Assyria, Babylon, Persia,
Greece, and Rome over a period of
seven centuries (Britannica).

57. THUS, THESE PROPHETIC BOOKS
RECOUNT THE LIVES AND
ACTIVITIES OF MAJOR AND
MINOR PROPHETS WHO WERE.
. .
summoned by God,
received the divine word, and
preached it to the people.

58.  The literary genre of prophecy,
including the oral traditions and written
narratives of Graeco-Roman and
biblical antiquity, characterizes the
prophets as spokespersons with two
major functions:
(1) to admonish the people against
wrongdoing, usually violations of their
covenant with the deity, and to foretell
punishment if wayward conduct
persisted;
(2) to proclaim the expectations of the
Lord, which the people are urged to
heed.

59.  In the literary genre of prophecy, prophets
typically received communication from God
through dream-visions and trances.
 Unaware of their surroundings and
impervious to external stimuli, prophets
became more attentive to divine
communication.
 Characterized as zealots who were
abstemious and at times ascetic, prophets
renounced the temptations of worldliness
and carnalism, purifying themselves to
become fit vessels to receive and
disseminate the divine word.
 Isaiah, in fact, cleansed his lips with a

60.  As they inveighed against wayward rulers of the
Israelites or against the people at large, the
prophets often jeopardized their physical well-being
while they served as divine spokesmen.
 Whether imprisoned, persecuted, or martyred, the
prophets were resolute in their faith in God and in their
steadfast service,
 This passion derived, in part, from the dramatic manner in
which prophets were summoned to their ministry, which
often led to their ardent zeal reflected in denunciations of
wrongdoing, in dire predictions of the imminent wrath of
the Lord, and in vivid descriptions of the torment of
everlasting damnation.
 The preaching of Jeremiah, notably mournful in his
lamentations and fierce in prophesying the Lord's wrath,
gave rise to the term “jeremiad,” a diatribe often couched
as a sermon admonishing sinners that their souls will be
in the hands of an angry God (Labriola).

61. THE BOOK OF JONAH
 Jonah also spelled “Jonas,” the fifth of
12 Old Testament books that bear the
names of the Minor Prophets, embraced in
a single book, The Twelve, in the Jewish
canon.
 Unlike other Old Testament prophetic
books, Jonah is not a collection of the
prophet's oracles but primarily a narrative
about the man. (similar to the patriarch
narratives).
 Jonah is portrayed as a recalcitrant
prophet who flees from God's summons to

62.  Like Odysseus, Jonah is a reluctant traveler
who takes refuge in sleep.
 Ancient writers use symbolic details like this to
suggest delicate psychological states of mind
(Berggren).
 A clear example of a travel archetype.
 Go a great distance to the edge.
 Come back with a new understanding.
Jonah is willing to obey
Jonah learns that his ways are not
God’s.

63.  According to the opening verse, Jonah is the son
of Amittai.
 This lineage identifies him with the Jonah
mentioned in II Kings 14:25 who prophesied
during the reign of Jeroboam II, about 785 BC.
 It is possible that some of the traditional
materials taken over by the book were
associated with Jonah at an early date, but the
book in its present form reflects a much later
composition.
 It was written after the Babylonian Exile (6th
century BC), probably in the 5th or 4th century
and certainly no later than the 3rd, since Jonah is
listed among the Minor Prophets in the
apocryphal book of Ecclesiasticus, composed
about 190.

64.  Like the “Book of Ruth,” which was written at
about the same period, “Jonah” opposes the
narrow Jewish nationalism characteristic of the
period following the reforms of Ezra and
Nehemiah with their emphasis on Jewish
exclusivity.
 Thus the prophet Jonah, like the Jews of the day,
abhors even the idea of salvation for the Gentiles.
 God chastises him for his attitude, and the book
affirms that God's mercy extends even to the
inhabitants of a hated foreign city.
 The incident of the great fish, recalling Leviathan,
the monster of the deep used elsewhere in the
Old Testament as the embodiment of evil,
symbolizes the nation's exile and return.

65. WORKS CITED
Berggren, Paula. Teaching With the Norton
Anthology of World Literature Vols. A-C. New York:
Norton, 2002.
Cauthron “What the SNU Religion Department
Believes and Teaches” What SNU Teaches.
http://home.snu.edu/~hculbert/dept.htm (13 Sept.
2005).
Fairchild, Mary The Tower of Bable –Story
Summary” About.com Christianity 19 Sept. 2010
<http://christianity.about.com/od/biblestorysummari
es/p/towerofbabel.htm>
"Jonah, Book of." Encyclopædia Britannica. 2005.
Encyclopædia Britannica Online School Edition.
20 Sept. 2005 <http://school.eb.com/eb/article-
9043916>.

66. WORKS CITED CONTINUED
Labriola, Albert “The Bible as Literature”
The Literary Encyclopedia. (16 June
2003)
http://www.litencyc.com/php/stopics.php?r
ec=true&UID=1283 (13 Sept. 2005).
Walton, John H. "Is there Archaeological
Evidence of the Tower of Babel?"
Christians Answers. 19 Spt. 2010
<http://www.christiananswers.net/q-
abr/abr-a021.html>

67. HISTORICALLY ACCURATE?
 "Are the individuals mentioned in the Old
Testament (such as Adam, Eve, Noah, Jonah,
Job, David, and Solomon) real people or just
allegories for teaching principles?"
• Scripture everywhere speaks of them as real
people. Archaeological exploration in the
Middle East have pointed increasingly to many
identifiable parallels (names, places, artifacts,
and texts) with things in the Bible. These
parallels give warrant for accepting the
actuality of persons named in the Old
Testament (Cauthron).
 Remember, however, their importance is not
determined by their historical but spiritual reality.

68. A GOOD WAY TO DESCRIBE THESE TEXTS IS
TO CALL THEM "PRIMEVAL NARRATIVES /
TRADITIONS"
“These stories focus on events that took
place long before humanity began to
document its history and civilization.. . .
These chapters contain narratives about
the world out of which Israel's ancestor
Abraham came to follow God's call."
Discovering the Old Testament 62).

69. "CAN YOU REALLY DIMINISH THE HISTORICAL
LEGITIMACY OF ANY BIBLICAL CHARACTER
WITHOUT ALSO DIMINISHING THE THEOLOGICAL
LEGITIMACY OF THE LESSONS THAT CHARACTER
CONVEYS?"
This question appears to assume that historical
veracity is the complete measure of all truth. To
say it another way: It takes the affirmation "If it is
historical, it is true" and turns it into the statement
"If it is true, it is historical."
Yet, one must ask how we usually understand
Jesus' parables in the gospels. Must we hold that
Jesus referred to a specific, living individual when
he spoke about a farmer, a land owner, a wife
making bread, a pearl merchant, a father who
divided his possessions (see Matthew 13 and
Luke 15)?

70. • The theological truth of a parable is not
lessened, or made any less legitimate,
when we assume that these were stories of
what might happen rather than specific
reports of what actually transpired in
someone's life.
• In fact, Biblical interpreters through the
centuries have argued that the father in the
prodigal son parable would not have been
a real Jewish father in Jesus' day. In that
culture, a father would not be so foolish as
to do what the younger son asked,
because the request was an insult to the
father. Yet, these same interpreters have
spoken at length about the message and
meaning of the parable with regard to
Jesus' emphasis upon God as Father.