Interpreting Hebrew Bible 2 Cts

Front 1

Tanakh

Back 1

• The Hebrew Bible (written in Hebrew for Hebrew people/Jews)
• Made up of Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim
• Torah is first five books (Pentateuch)
• Neviim is made up of the prophets
• Ketuvim is the writings

Front 2

Apocrypha

Back 2

• From Greek for “hidden things” or “hidden away”
• About 20 Jewish writings from Secont Temple Period
• Non-Canonical in Jewish tradition mostly due to lateness
• Is part of the canon in the Roman Catholic tradition
• Includes Ben Sira, Tobit, Judith, 1 Maccabees

Front 3

Septuagint

Back 3

• Usually abbreviated LXX
• Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible
• Tradition says that 70 (or 72) Jewish scholars made this translation
• Name Septuagint comes from the Latin word for 70
• Oldest copy we have of the Hebrew Bible

Front 4

Shephelah

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• Hebrew geographical term
• Refers to Judean foothills between Philistine and highlands of Judah
• Battleground for Israel and Philistia during late Judges and early Monarchy periods
• Joshua 15: 33-41 lists about 30 villages in the area

Front 5

Covenant Lawsuit (riv)

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• Riv is the Hebrew word for “lawsuit”
• Very specific court-like construction of a complaint
• Seen in the prophets when the Lord lodges a formal complaint

Front 6

Hezekiah

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• Son and successor to Ahaz as King of Judah (727/715 - 698/687).
• Started his reign at the age of 25 during the Assyrian Empire rise to power.
• Instituted a series of religious reforms (he did right in the eyes of the LORD).
• Would not bow to Assyrian power.
• Removed idols from the temple and re-opened the temple for righteous sacrifice.
• Fortified the city of Jerusalem and built tunnel to transport water the Spring of Gihon to the Siloam pool inside Jerusalem walls.
• Hezekiah was able to save Jerusalem from destruction at the hands of Sennacharib of Assyria. Sennacharib had Hezekiah trapped in the city (like a bird in a cage) however a plague wiped out Sennacharib's army and they returned to Assyria where Sennacharib was killed by two of his sons.
• Hezekiah was succeeded by Manasseh, his son, who did evil in the eyes of the LORD.

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Zion Theology

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• Jerusalem perceived as the eternal home of God
• If God is all powerful, no other god can defeat the divine housed in Jerusalem
• Belief that the Temple and kingdom will not fall; people won’t be destroyed
• Primary requirement for Zion theology is trust in the Lord
• Isaiah has a Zion theology

Front 8

Syro-Ephraimite War

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• 735 BCE
• Aram, Gaza, Ashchalon, and Israel decide to unite against Assyria, but Judah (under Ahaz) won’t join.
• Ahaz is king of Judah who won’t join fight against Assyria
• War waged against Ahaz in favor of a king who will be more cooperative
• Ahaz turns to Assyria for help, and Judah becomes a vassal state.

Front 9

Nineveh (and Assyria)

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• Nineveh is the capitol of Assyria
• In the book of Jonah, the Ninevites are a wicked people
• In Nahum, Nineveh portrayed as lion’s den, as woman
• Destroyed in 612 BCE

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Josiah

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• A theologically ‘good’ king
• Institutes religious reform
• Killed by an Egyptian pharaoh
• Writer of Chronicles was troubled by fact that he was killed
• Great-grandson of Hezekiah, grandson of Manesseh
• Some scholars think book he found during temple repair was some version of what we know as Deuteronomy

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Temple Sermon

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• Delivered by Jeremiah
• Called temple sermon because Jeremiah is standing at the at the gate of the temple
• Criticizes Zion theology
• Points to idolatry, injustice, and oppression of the marginalized
• After the Temple sermon, Jeremiah is seen as hostile to the court

Front 12

Johoiachin

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• Son of and successor of Jehoiakim
• Becomes king of Judah in 597
• 18 years old when he became king
• Reigned for 3 months before being taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
• Exiled along with many leaders, spends many years in prison
• Momma’s boy, son of Nehushta, she influenced his reign heavily
• Never returned to Judah

Front 13

Babylonia (and Nebuchadnezzar)

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• Reigns 605-562 BCE
• Lays siege to Jerusalem
• Brilliant military strategist
• Defeated Egyptians at Carchemish in 605 BCE to complete Babylonian conquest of Palestine

Front 14

galut

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• Could be translated as “exile”
• Hebrew term that expresses feelings of a nation uprooted from homeland and subject to alien rule
• Usually applied to Jewish people from destruction of Second Temple to creation of State of Israel

Front 15

Deutero-Isaiah

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• Isaiah 40-66
• Dates to roughly 538 BCE at end of Babylonian Exile and early postexilic period
• Includes the servant motif
• Speaks of the fall of Babylon through early stages of return
• Chapters 40-55 speak to exilic community; 56-66 are in post-exilic context

Front 16

Second Temple Period

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• Second Temple rededicated in 167 BCE and fell in 70 CE
• Scripture becomes increasingly authoritative and familiar for the 2nd temple community
• There were many Judaisms by the time we read the late Second Temple Period
• Priesthood rebuilt in this period
• Jesus understood as a reformer of the Second Temple period

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Persian Empire (and Cyrus)

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• Captured Babylon and got Judah as a ‘perk’
• Allows Judah to continue worshiping YHWH & to rebuild the temple
• Allowed existence of native cults
• A massive empire under Cyrus the Great
• Cyrus is only non-Judean to be called the “anointed one”

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Suffering Servant

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• Christians sometimes believe the suffering servant to be Jesus
• Jews may consider Christians commandeering Jewish scripture
• Original context does not directly fit with Christian perspective but knowing the story, it is a good fit
• SEE BRUEGGEMANN

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Wisdom/Wisdom Literature

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• Genres include poems, prayer, narrative
• Books include Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Psalms
• Themes include concern with justice, theodicy, etc.
• Probably in first or second century BCE; toward the end of Second Temple Period
• Wisdom of Ben Sira and Ecclesiasticus also important for our thinking about WL
• Purpose is to ensure well-being and well-doing; how to live a good life

Front 20

Qohelet

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• Translates roughly to “one who gathers”
• Thought to be the author or author’s mouthpiece in Ecclesiastes
• Feminine in form, though a presumed male speaker
• Never claims to be Solomon, bud does describe himself in Solomon-esque terms (“king in Jerusalem,” “son of David”)
• Key word for Qohelet is “futility” (hevel) which appears 32 times in the original translation

Front 21

hevel

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• Key word for Qohelet in Eccclesiastes
• Appears 32 times in the original text of Ecclesiastes
• In English translation of the JSB it appears as fleeting, frustration, nothing, etc.
• Actually translates to futility, but also to vanity, incomprehensible, absurd, etc.
• The range of possible tranlations helps us understand some of the thickness of this concept

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Woman of valor (eshet chayil)

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• Found in the Book of Proverbs
• Proverbs 31:10-31
• Poem displays an acrostic arrangement

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The “forbidden/strange” woman

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• In Proverbs 2, this woman is used to help teach that wisdom is a way to protect yourself
• The woman is a smooth-talker who wants to trick and/or seduce the learner
• She’s foreign, but women who are active in Tnkh are frequently foreign (Rahab) so foreignness in itself is not an evil thing==identifies her as marginal but not necessarily bad
• Her house sinks down into Death and she’ll take the learner with her
• Since this is wisdom literature, the woman could be metaphorical or hypothetica

Front 24

Wisdom of Ben Sira/Sirach/Ecclesiasticus

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• Wisdom of Ben Sira, Sirach and Ecclesiasticus are important for our thinking about Wisdom literature
• Try to integrate wisdom theology with Deuteronomic theology
• Ben Sira was redacted around 180 BCE
• Ben Sira manuscripts were found in Cairo with large sections of the Hebrew texts, other parts were found in Qumran and elsewhere
• Ben Sira was cited by the Rabbis explicitly, and mostly positively

Front 25

Diatribe

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• Genre of conversation/argument/discussion between multiple perspectives
• Diatribe genre is not a great example of dialogue, because voices talk over each other a lot
• Part of the diatribe mode is that it has bookends in the form of prologue and epilogue
• Job is a philosophical diatribe
• Diatribe also appears in book of Romans

Front 26

Hapax legomenon

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• Greek term that means “once said”
• Plural is hapax legomena
• Refers to a word that is only said once in the body of a work
• Job has 110 of these words that are only mentioned once (in the entire Bible)
• We turn to other languages and other texts to determine what these words mean

Front 27

The satan/adversary

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• Character in the book of Job
• Not the serpent in the garden of Eden, nor Satan of the New Tesament
• Not a fallen angel because he walks right up to the door of the divine council
• Seems to be a member of the divine council, though not eqal with YHWH
• JSB calls the adversary a “prosecuting attorney”

Front 28

Polyphony

Back 28

• Means “multi-vocal”
• Job as we have it is a polyphonic text because many voices speak in the story
• In the case of Job, the polyphony is made up of 3 friends, Job, Elijhu, Satan, YHWH
• Polyphony provides an opportunity for dialogue
• The book of Job also dialogues with the whole wisdom tradition

Front 29

chesed

Back 29

• Translates to loving kindness/loyalty
• In the context of this class, it comes to us from the book of Ruth
• In Ruth, chesed is mentioned explicitly many times: Naomi praises God for it, blessing in 1:8, etc.
• Also demonstrated less-explicitly via Ruths’ return with Naomi, Naomi’s eventual reciprocation, Boaz in acting as the redeemer
• Chesed is a critical part of the story in Ruth

Front 30

Period of the judges

Back 30

• Biblical period depicting transition between the conquest of Canaan under Joshua and the start of the monarchies (kings) with Saul and then David
• Part of Deuteronomic History for Christian Bible and Former Prophets for Hebrew Bible
• Principle characters and leaders of Hebrews were governors, or Judges
• Period of heroes, ordained by God who demonstrate strength of character in achieving great feats for God
• Judges ended up doing evil in the eyes of the LORD and Hebrews started to assimilate into the Canaanite culture
• Hebrew people believed they needed a king to keep them straight

Front 31

Bethlehem

Back 31

• Means “house of bread”
• A Christian reading of Ruth might identify the man, Elimelech, from Bethlehem can be read as Christ
• Located 5 miles southwest of Jerusalem
• Birthplace and place of anointing of David
• Micah 5:2 indicates Messiah, like David, would be born in Bethlehem
• Scene for the story of Ruth

Front 32

Moab

Back 32

• Narrow strip of cultivable land directly east of the Dead Sea
• Country of Moab is home to Moabites, at one point bitter enemies of Israel (story of Balaam and talking donkey, think Eddie Murphy)
• High rolling plateau about 4,000 feet above Dead Sea that gets rain from weather patterns off the Mediterranean Sea
• In story of Ruth, Elimelech, Naomi, and their two sons emigrated to Moab for food
• Home of Ruth

Front 33

Naomi

Back 33

• Found in the book of Ruth
• Name actually means “pleasantness” though she calls herself bitterness
• Emigrated to Moab with her husband Elimelech due to draught and famine in Judah
• Returned home to Bethlehem after the death of her husband and two sons
• Accompanied by Ruth, her faithful daughter in law
• Conspired with Ruth for the favor of Boaz

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Ruth

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• Main character in book of Ruth
• Name means “friend”
• Originally from Moab
• Faithful daughter in law of Naomi
• Returned to Bethlehem with Naomi and won the favor of Boaz (I think slept shamelessly with him on the threshing floor)

Front 35

go’el

Back 35

• Word found in book of Job
• Indicates a kinsman redeemer
• If a man dies, he needs a kinsman redeemer (a go’el) to buy his property so that the family can be saved
• This word can also reference someone who avenges your death, especially if foul play is involved
• In Job, the character Job neds someone to step in and be his defense; he needs someone to take up his cause and be a vindicator

Front 36

Festrival scrolls/megillot

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• Literally means “scrolls”
• Ruth, Esther, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (read at Passover), Lamentations
• Associated with a particular religious events/festivals in the Jewish religious year
• Song of Songs read at Passover
• Lamentations read at Ninth of Ab, a day of lament

Front 37

Vashti

Back 37

• Found in the book of Esther
• Vashti is one of the more well-known characters of Esther’s story to Jewish children
• Name means “once desired, the beloved”
• Wife of King Ahasuerus and Queen of Persia
• Refuses to parade before her drunken husband and royal court naked (wearing only her crown)
• Replaced by Esther as queen due to refusal to give in to her husband’s ridiculous order

Front 38

Esther/Hadassah

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• Contained in the book of Writings
• Esther, named Hadassah, means myrtle
• Orphaned during childhood
• Raised by cousin Mordecai during period of Persian exile
• Selected as queen due to her beauty after king rejected Vashti
• Esther and Mordecai saved the Jews from extermination at the hands of Haman

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Mordecai

Back 39

• Character from the book of Esther
• Mordecai is the wise courtier and his agenda is Esther
• When he arrives at the gate in sackcloth and ashes, Esther sends him clean clothes
• Hated by Haman, in part because of Jewish identity
• Honored by king because he reveals an assassination plot

Front 40

Diaspora literature

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• Teaches that personal courage is required
• Identification with one’s people, even in assimilated context, is important
• Heroes in Diaspora literature are committed to values, piety, and integrity, but not norms
• Diaspora literature is ripe for queer analysis
• Esther, Daniel can be thought of as Diaspora literature

Front 41

Hellenistic Period

Back 41

• Begins with Alexander the Great in 332 BCE
• Has a major influence on Judea as a vassal but independent state
• Proverbs, Esther, some of Daniel come from this period
• Part of Hellenistic worldview shows religious identity replacing ethnic identity

Front 42

Intertextuality

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• Indicates deliberate relationship to language and motifs from other books/writings
• Intertextuality is found in Esther when common conventions from Greek literature appear
• Torah and Nevi’im would have been recognizable for Esther, so we see comparisons to the Joseph stories and others as well
• Intertextuality helps us recognize the artistry of biblical texts—it’s literature, not just religion
• Intertextuality gives us permission as scholars, interpreters, and teachers to reimagine the ancient stories in new ways and for new contexts

Front 43

Apocalypse

Back 43

• Apocalyptine is Greek for “uncovered” or “revealed”
• As a genre, apocalypse is a revelatory with a narrative framework; has to do with eschatological salvation and a supernatural world
• In TNKH, the only apocalyptic text is Daniel 7-12
• In New Testament, the only apocalyptic text is Revelations
• There is a good deal more apocalypse text in Pseudepigrapha

Front 44

Additions to Daniel

Back 44

• Addtions to Daniel are found in Apocryphal editions
• The Prayer of Azaria is a prayer of atonement/litany of praise
• The Narrative of Suzanna has to do with a falsely accused married woman
• Belle and the Dragon is about a Persian god
• Qumran stories of Daniel have additional legends that aren’t in Apocrypha or Hebrew Bible legends

Front 45

Maccabees

Back 45

• Probably redacted between 134-63 BCE
• Not necessarily familiar to the rabbis or known to those who wrote the rabbinic materials
• Judaism is at risk; there is pressure to renounce the faith and assimilate
• Maccabees sees the story it’s telling as a god-guided salvation of the Jewish people
• Glorifies the Maccabean dynasty and leadership

Front 46

Antiochus IV Epiphanes (and the Seleucid Empire)

Back 46

• Invades Egypt and Israel
• Raids the temple, kills lots of people, decides all people should have one pagan religion
• Tries to completely politically control the population in the land of Israel—forbids offerings in Temple, circumcision, Sabbath, under penalty of death
• Rebellion against Antiochus led by Madathais
• Established the last independent Jewish kingdom before the destruction.

Front 47

Pseudepigrapha

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• From Greek for “false inscription”
• Written in Hebrew
• From Hellenistic period
• Body of literature that includes books not in bible or apocrypha
• Includes Enoch, Jubilees, Letter of Aristeas, Ezekiel the Tragedian

Front 48

Philo

Back 48

• Philo can be dated to 20BCE-50CE
• Diaspora Jew; read the bible allegorically
• Wrote in Greek, lived in Alexandria
• We have a number of writings from Philo—biblical commentaries, exegesis, general philosophy, description of events
• He represents a acculturated but not assimilated culture of Jews who saw Judaism and Hellenism as worth and compatible

Front 49

Allegory

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• Philo is an important model for reading the bible allegorically
• Literary story in which a story or narrative is used to convey truths about reality
• Conveys something other than its literal meaning
• Sometimes defined as an extended metaphor
• Example: Song of Songs may be interpreted as the love of God for Israel instead of romantic, passionate love songs

Front 50

Dead Sea Scrolls/Qumran

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• Discovered by chance in a cave in 1946
• Over 900 manuscripts
• Mostly in Aramaic, a few in Greek
• Include an enormous amount of biblical material as well as some other Jewish material
• Biblical scrolls (excluding Esther and Nehemiah) are all represented in part