Joshua 6:15-21: Exploring the Deeper Meaning of the Herem
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Why the Walls of Jericho Came Tumbling Down
WHY THE WALLS OF JERICHO CAME TUMBLING DOWN SHUBERT SPERO What follows is an attempt to give a rational explanation for the fall of the walls of Jericho following the siege of the city by the Israelite forces led by 1 Joshua. The theory I wish to propose is designed not to replace the textual account but to complement it. That is, to suggest a reality that does not contradict the official version but which may have been behind it and for whose actual occurrence several hints may be found in the text. The fall of the walls of Jericho was indeed a wondrous event and the text properly sees God as the agent in the sense that it was He who inspired Joshua to come up 2 with his ingenious plan. Our theory suggests a connection between the two outstanding features of the story: (1) The adventure of the two Israelite spies in the house of Rahab the inn-keeper, before the Israelites crossed the Jordan, and (2) the mystify- ing circling of the city by the priestly procession for the seven days preceding the tumbling down of the walls. Let us first review the salient facts involved in the incident of the spies. We are told that Rahab's dwelling was part of the city wall and that in the wall she dwelt (Josh. 2:15) with a window that looked out on the area outside the city. The spies avoid capture by the Canaanite authorities through the efforts of Rahab and, in gratitude, they promise the woman that she and her family will not be harmed during the impending attack, and instruct her to gather them all into her house and hang scarlet threads in the window. -
Moses Hayim Luzzatto's Quest for Providence
City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 10-2014 'Like Iron to a Magnet': Moses Hayim Luzzatto's Quest for Providence David Sclar Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/380 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] “Like Iron to a Magnet”: Moses Hayim Luzzatto’s Quest for Providence By David Sclar A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty in History in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy The City University of New York 2014 © 2014 David Sclar All Rights Reserved This Manuscript has been read and accepted by the Graduate Faculty in History in satisfaction of the Dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Prof. Jane S. Gerber _______________ ____________________________________ Date Chair of the Examining Committee Prof. Helena Rosenblatt _______________ ____________________________________ Date Executive Officer Prof. Francesca Bregoli _______________________________________ Prof. Elisheva Carlebach ________________________________________ Prof. Robert Seltzer ________________________________________ Prof. David Sorkin ________________________________________ Supervisory Committee iii Abstract “Like Iron to a Magnet”: Moses Hayim Luzzatto’s Quest for Providence by David Sclar Advisor: Prof. Jane S. Gerber This dissertation is a biographical study of Moses Hayim Luzzatto (1707–1746 or 1747). It presents the social and religious context in which Luzzatto was variously celebrated as the leader of a kabbalistic-messianic confraternity in Padua, condemned as a deviant threat by rabbis in Venice and central and eastern Europe, and accepted by the Portuguese Jewish community after relocating to Amsterdam. -
The Book of Judges Lesson One Introduction to the Book
The Book of Judges Lesson One Introduction to the Book by Dr. John L. May I. The Historical Background - Authorship Dates of the events of the book are uncertain. It is a book about and to the children of Israel (Judges 1:1). Since the book is a continuation of history following the book of Joshua, many scholars believe that it was written after the death of Joshua (after 1421 BC). However, others think that it was written even later than this, for Judges 18:1 and 19:1 imply that there was a king in Israel at the time of writing. That would necessitate a date of 1095 BC or later. If you base your belief upon Judges 1:21, 29, a date of approximately 1000 BC would be a date that would place its writing during the time of Samuel and the reign of the kings. This would tie in nicely with the Jewish tradition that the author was Samuel. There is neither an inspired statement nor an implication as to the place of composition To determine the time span involved in this book, it is unlikely that the years each judge is said to have ruled could be added together, for the total would exceed 490 years. However, Wesley states in his notes on the Book of Judges that the total is only 299 years. The reason for this is that their years of service may coincide or overlap with the years of some or other of the judges and this allows Wesley to arrive at his figure. -
Faith and Conflict in the Holy Land: Peacemaking Among Jews, Christians, and Muslims
ANNUAL FALL McGINLEY LECTURE Faith and Conflict in the Holy Land: Peacemaking Among Jews, Christians, and Muslims The Reverend Patrick J. Ryan, S.J. Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society RESPONDENTS Abraham Unger, Ph.D. Associate Professor Department of Government and Politics Wagner College Ebru Turan, Ph.D. Assistant Professor of History Fordham University Tuesday, November 12, 2019 | Lincoln Center Campus Wednesday, November 13, 2019 | Rose Hill Campus 3 Faith and Conflict in the Holy Land: Peacemaking Among Jews, Christians, and Muslims The Reverend Patrick J. Ryan, S.J. Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society Let me begin on holy ground, Ireland. In 1931 William Butler Yeats concluded his short poem, “Remorse for Intemperate Speech,” with a stanza that speaks to me as the person I am, for better or for worse: Out of Ireland have we come. Great hatred, little room, Maimed us at the start. I carry from my mother’s womb A fanatic heart. Ireland is, indeed, a small place, and it has seen great fanaticism and hatred, although the temperature of Ireland as a whole has subsided dramatically since the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, despite Boris Johnson. The whole island of Ireland today occupies 32,599 square miles. British-administered Northern Ireland includes 5,340 of those square miles. Combined Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland approximate the size of Indiana. The total population of the island of Ireland is 6.7 million people, about a half a million more than the population of Indiana. There is another place of “great hatred, little room” that I wish to discuss this evening: the Holy Land, made up today of the State of Israel and the Palestinian autonomous regions of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. -
Judges 1–3:Beginnings
UNN1 11/18/2004 11:41 AM Page 17 Beginnings 1–3: Judges The story begins, after Joshua’s death, with the Israelites asking God which tribe will begin fighting the Canaanites. Judah, chosen, defeats King Adoni-bezek (Adonibezec) and cuts off his thumbs and big toes, as he had earlier treated 70 kings. Coming to Debir, or Kiriath-sepher (Cariath-sepher), Caleb offers his daughter Achsah (Axa) to the man capturing it. Othniel (Othoniel) succeeds, and also gains land given to Achsah by her father as well as the upper and lower springs she further requires of him. But despite some military success, Judah cannot drive out the inhabitants of the plain with their iron chariots. A man of Bethel (formerly Luz) betrays his city to the house of Joseph, but many Canaanites (Chanaanites) remain, either undefeated or subject to forced labor under the Israelites. An angel announces that the Lord has left the Canaanites as adversaries because Israel failed to tear down the altars of their gods; and Israel indeed proceeds to worship these gods, to be plundered by its enemies, and then saved by judges raised up by the Lord, the first being Othniel. The sparse account of Othniel (3:7–11) encapsulates a framework repeated, and varied, in Judges. The people turn from the Lord. He brings upon them UNN1 11/18/2004 11:41 AM Page 18 18 Judges 1–3: Beginnings foreign oppressors. They cry for help. He then raises up a deliverer who defeats the oppressors, and the people enjoy “rest.” This pattern of reward and punishment is often viewed as the book’s dominant theme, though some, especially recently, see already in chapter 1 the suggestion that life rarely comes so neatly packaged. -
The Law Knows No Heresy”: Jewish Communal Autonomy and the American Court System
Hindsight Graduate History Journal Vol. VI (Spring 2012) “THE LAW KNOWS NO HERESY”: JEWISH COMMUNAL AUTONOMY AND THE AMERICAN COURT SYSTEM By Jason Schulman Emory University On 15 April 1844, Judge David Lewis Wardlaw of Charleston, South Carolina’s Court of Common Pleas presided over a trial between two factions of synagogue Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim.1 The so-called “Organ Congregation” represented the temple’s more liberal group, which called for an abridged service, English sermon, and, most controversially, accompanying organ. The other group in the rift—the “Remnants”—was composed of the more traditional members of the congregation that ardently resisted these changes. The predominantly American-born reformers made the case that the more conservative congregation members were “intruders who had exercised the privileges of membership without right.”2 Although the in- fighting in Beth Elohim would later be recognized as paradigmatic of the tensions of Jewish life in America, it was hardly clear at the time that the rupture that had formed in the Charleston community was irreconcilable. Nor, as we shall see, was it a foregone conclusion that the resolution would be found in an American civil court. The schism, between the “Organ Congregation” and the “Remnants”, had developed several years before the court case in the 1840s.3 After the destruction of their synagogue in the Great Fire of 1838, Charleston’s Jews rebuilt Beth Elohim, laying the cornerstones in January 1 State of South Carolina ex relatione Abraham Ottolengui et al. v. G.V. Ancker et al. (1844), cited in James William Hagy, This Happy Land: The Jews of Colonial and Antebellum Charleston (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1993), 254. -
Konkel-OT-3XJ3-Joshua-F19.Pdf
Syllabus McMaster Divinity College Fall 2019 Course Designation OT 3XJ3 Joshua Specializations Biblical Studies Pastoral Studies Those students not yet committed to a program with a selected specialization will need to register the course in one of the two specializations. Check the assignment requirements to decide which of the specializations you may prefer. Course Schedule Tuesday 6:30 p.m. – 8:20 p.m. Classes begin Tuesday September 10. No class on Tuesday Oct. 15 (intensive hybrid week) Final class is Tuesday Dec. 10 Instructor August H. Konkel, Professor of Old Testament (Ph.D.) [email protected]; 905 525 9140 x 23505 https://mcmasterdivinity.ca/faculty-and-administration/august-h-konkel/ Joshua Course Description The book of Joshua is challenging in various ways. It is difficult to bring coherence to apparently contradictory assertions: all the land was conquered yet much land remains to be taken; all the Canaanites are to be destroyed yet Israel lives amongst the Canaanites. Joshua is a challenging book theologically, as the promise of redemption comes about through war and conflict. The goal of this course is to provide a guide in understanding the book of Joshua in its literary intent and its theological message in dealing with the concepts of judgment and redemption. It is to provide guidance for living in a world that is torn by strife. Course Objectives Knowing Content and structure of the versions of Joshua (Masoretic, Greek, and Qumran) Questions of textual history and the process of composition Relationship of Joshua -
Abrahamic Alternatives To
UNiteD StateS iNStitUte of peaCe www.usip.org SpeCial REPORT 1200 17th Street NW • Washington, DC 20036 • 202.457.1700 • fax 202.429.6063 ABOUT THE REPO R T Susan Thistlethwaite and Glen Stassen* Eight Muslim scholar-leaders, six Jewish scholar-leaders, and eight Christian scholar-leaders met from June 13 to 15, 2007, in Stony Point, N.Y., at a conference sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace and the Churches’ Center for Theology and Public Policy. Conference participants specified practices abrahamic alternatives within each of the three faith traditions that could lay the groundwork for nonviolent alternatives to resolving conflict and addressing injustice, while also identifying roadblocks in the sacred texts of their traditions to creating such processes. The to War scholars ’ teachings found that these ancient religious teachings on peace and justice are often consistent with modern conflict- resolution theory. This report examines passages that support violence in each tradition’s scripture, presents definitions of Jewish, Christian, and Muslim “just peacemaking” in each tradition, summarizes places of convergence that might create the foundation for a program perspectives on Just peacemaking offering an Abrahamic alternative to war and presents a joint statement and series of commitments reached at the end of the conference. Summary • Jewish, Muslim, and Christian sacred texts all contain sections that support *With contributions by Mohammed Abu-Nimer, violence and justify warfare as a means to achieve certain goals. In particular Jamal Badawi, Robert Eisen, and Reuven Kimelman. historical circumstances, these texts have served as the basis to legitimate violent campaigns, oftentimes against other faith communities. -
1-And-2 Kings
FROM DAVID TO EXILE 1 & 2 Kings by Daniel J. Lewis © copyright 2009 by Diakonos, Inc. Troy, Michigan United States of America 2 Contents Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 4 Composition and Authorship ...................................................................................................................... 5 Structure ..................................................................................................................................................... 6 Theological Motifs ..................................................................................................................................... 7 The Kingship of Solomon (1 Kings 1-11) .....................................................................................................13 Solomon Succeeds David as King (1:1—2:12) .........................................................................................13 The Purge (2:13-46) ..................................................................................................................................16 Solomon‟s Wisdom (3-4) ..........................................................................................................................17 Building the Temple and the Palace (5-7) .................................................................................................20 The Dedication of the Temple (8) .............................................................................................................26 -
The Book of Psalms “Bless the Lord, O My Soul, and Forget Not All His Benefits” (103:2)
THE BOOK OF PSALMS “BLESS THE LORD, O MY SOUL, AND FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS” (103:2) BOOK I BOOK II BOOK III BOOK IV BOOK V 41 psalms 31 psalms 17 psalms 17 psalms 44 psalms 1 41 42 72 73 89 90 106 107 150 DOXOLOGY AT THESE VERSES CONCLUDES EACH BOOK 41:13 72:18-19 89:52 106:48 150:6 JEWISH TRADITION ASCRIBES TOPICAL LIKENESS TO PENTATEUCH GENESIS EXODUS LEVITICUS NUMBERS DEUTERONOMY ────AUTHORS ──── mainly mainly (or all) DAVID mainly mainly mainly DAVID and KORAH ASAPH ANONYMOUS DAVID BOOKS II AND III ADDED MISCELLANEOUS ORIGINAL GROUP BY DURING THE REIGNS OF COLLECTIONS DAVID HEZEKIAH AND JOSIAH COMPILED IN TIMES OF EZRA AND NEHEMIAH POSSIBLE CHRONOLOGICAL STAGES IN THE GROWTH AND COLLECTION OF THE PSALTER 1 The Book of Psalms I. Book Title The word psalms comes from the Greek word psalmoi. It suggests the idea of a “praise song,” as does the Hebrew word tehillim. It is related to a Hebrew concept which means “the plucking of strings.” It means a song to be sung to the accompaniment of stringed instruments. The Psalms is a collection of worship songs sung to God by the people of Israel with musical accompaniment. The collection of these 150 psalms into one book served as the first hymnbook for God’s people, written and compiled to assist them in their worship of God. At first, because of the wide variety of these songs, this praise book was unnamed, but eventually the ancient Hebrews called it “The Book of Praises,” or simply “Praises.” This title reflects its main purpose──to assist believers in the proper worship of God. -
On Robert Alter's Bible
Barbara S. Burstin Pittsburgh's Jews and the Tree of Life JEWISH REVIEW OF BOOKS Volume 9, Number 4 Winter 2019 $10.45 On Robert Alter’s Bible Adele Berlin David Bentley Hart Shai Held Ronald Hendel Adam Kirsch Aviya Kushner Editor Abraham Socher BRANDEIS Senior Contributing Editor Allan Arkush UNIVERSITY PRESS Art Director Spinoza’s Challenge to Jewish Thought Betsy Klarfeld Writings on His Life, Philosophy, and Legacy Managing Editor Edited by Daniel B. Schwartz Amy Newman Smith “This collection of Jewish views on, and responses to, Spinoza over Web Editor the centuries is an extremely useful addition to the literature. That Rachel Scheinerman it has been edited by an expert on Spinoza’s legacy in the Jewish Editorial Assistant world only adds to its value.” Kate Elinsky Steven Nadler, University of Wisconsin March 2019 Editorial Board Robert Alter Shlomo Avineri Leora Batnitzky Ruth Gavison Moshe Halbertal Hillel Halkin Jon D. Levenson Anita Shapira Michael Walzer J. H.H. Weiler Ruth R. Wisse Steven J. Zipperstein Executive Director Eric Cohen Publisher Gil Press Chairman’s Council Blavatnik Family Foundation Publication Committee The Donigers of Not Bad for The Soul of the Stranger Marilyn and Michael Fedak Great Neck Delancey Street Reading God and Torah from A Mythologized Memoir The Rise of Billy Rose a Transgender Perspective Ahuva and Martin J. Gross Wendy Doniger Mark Cohen Joy Ladin Susan and Roger Hertog Roy J. Katzovicz “Walking through the snow to see “Comprehensive biography . “This heartfelt, difficult work will Wendy at the stately, gracious compelling story. Highly introduce Jews and other readers The Lauder Foundation– home of Rita and Lester Doniger recommended.” of the Torah to fresh, sensitive Leonard and Judy Lauder will forever remain in my memory.” Library Journal (starred review) approaches with room for broader Sandra Earl Mintz Francis Ford Coppola human dignity.” Tina and Steven Price Charitable Foundation Publishers Weekly (starred review) March 2019 Pamela and George Rohr Daniel Senor The Lost Library Jewish Legal Paul E. -
The Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem's Islamic and Christian
THE HASHEMITE CUSTODIANSHIP OF JERUSALEM’S ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIAN HOLY SITES 1917–2020 CE White Paper The Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought THE HASHEMITE CUSTODIANSHIP OF JERUSALEM’S ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIAN HOLY SITES 1917–2020 CE White Paper The Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought THE HASHEMITE CUSTODIANSHIP OF JERUSALEM’S ISLAMIC AND CHRISTIAN HOLY SITES 1917–2020 CE Copyright © 2020 by The Royal Aal Al-Bayt Institute for Islamic Thought All rights reserved. No part of this document may be used or reproduced in any manner wthout the prior consent of the publisher. Cover Image: Dome of the Rock, Jerusalem © Shutterstock Title Page Image: Dome of the Rock and Jerusalem © Shutterstock isbn 978–9957–635–47–3 Printed in Jordan by The National Press Third print run CONTENTS ABSTRACT 5 INTRODUCTION: THE HASHEMITE CUSTODIANSHIP OF THE HOLY SITES IN JERUSALEM 7 PART ONE: THE ARAB, JEWISH, CHRISTIAN AND ISLAMIC HISTORY OF JERUSALEM IN BRIEF 9 PART TWO: THE CUSTODIANSHIP OF THE ISLAMIC HOLY SITES IN JERUSALEM 23 I. The Religious Significance of Jerusalem and its Holy Sites to Muslims 25 II. What is Meant by the ‘Islamic Holy Sites’ of Jerusalem? 30 III. The Significance of the Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic Holy Sites 32 IV. The History of the Hashemite Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic Holy Sites 33 V. The Functions of the Custodianship of Jerusalem’s Islamic Holy Sites 44 VI. Termination of the Islamic Custodianship 53 PART THREE: THE CUSTODIANSHIP OF THE CHRISTIAN HOLY SITES IN JERUSALEM 55 I. The Religious Significance of Jerusalem and its Holy Sites to Christians 57 II.