Gospel of John: Structure (Updated 8.14) I

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Gospel of John: Structure (Updated 8.14) I GOSPEL OF JOHN: STRUCTURE (UPDATED 8.14) I. PROLOGUE [1:1-18] II. THE BOOK OF MINISTRY AND SIGNS [1:19-12:50] A. The Opening Seven Days [1:19-2:12] 1. John the Baptist's Testimony 2. Early Disciples 3. The Wedding at Cana (shmei/on #1) B. In Jerusalem and Judea at Passover [2:13-3:36] 1. The Cleansing of the Temple (Jesus fortells the last, the great, the 7th shmei/on) 2. Nicodemus 3. John the Baptist's concluding Testimony C. In Samaria [4:1-42] D. In Galilee -- Healing of the Official's Son [4:43-54] (shmei/on #2) E. In Jerusalem at a Feast (Pentecost? See 5:45–47) [5:1-47] 1. Healing of the Sick (lame?) Man (shmei/on #3) 2. Disputing with the Jews F. Around the Sea of Galilee at Passover [6:1-71] 1. The Feeding of the 5000 (shmei/on #4) 2. Jesus Walks on the Sea (in my view, not intended by John as a shmei/on, but an epiphanic bridge scene) 3. The Bread of Life Discourse / Disputing with the Jews G. In Jerusalem at the Feast of Tabernacles (Booths) [7:1-10:21] 1. Disputes with his relatives and the Jews 2. Healing the Man Born Blind (shmei/on #5) 3. More Disputes with the Jews H. In Jerusalem the Feast of the Dedication (Hanukah) [10:22-42] 1. Disputing with the Jews I. In Judea [11:1-57] 1. The Raising of Lazarus (shmei/on #6) 2. The Jewish Leaders Plot to Kill Jesus J. Back in Judea at the Passover [12:1-36] 1. Jesus anointed by Mary 2. The Triumphal Entry 3. The Gentiles Seek Jesus K. The Concluding Evaluation and Summation of Jesus' Ministry [12:37-50] III. THE BOOK OF GLORY [13:1-21:25] A. The Last Supper [13:1-17:26] 1. Foot washing 2. Predictions of Betrayal 3. The Last Discourse 4. The High Priestly Prayer B. The Passion [18:1-19:42] 1. Betrayal and Arrest 2. Interrogation and Trials 3. Crucifixion 4. Burial C. The Resurrection [20:1-21:25] (shmei/on #7!!) 1. At The Tomb 2. With the Gathered Disciples 3. At the Sea of Galilee (Tiberias) Jn 1 Eze 44:1-3 44 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. 2 The Lord said to me: This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain shut. 3 Only the prince, because he is a prince, may sit in it to eat food before the Lord; he shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way. Ex 40:34-35 “Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud abode upon it and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.” Lk 1:35 “And the angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you;’” (see Ex 13:21, 24:16) Ex 24:15-16 “Then Moses went up on the mountain, and the cloud covered the mountain. The glory of the Lord settled on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days; and on the seventh day he called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.” 1 Ki 8:1-10 “Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel and all the heads of the tribes, the leaders of the ancestral houses of the Israelites, before King Solomon in Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion. 2 All the people of Israel assembled to King Solomon at the festival in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. 3 And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests carried the ark. 4 So they brought up the ark of the Lord, the tent of meeting, and all the holy vessels that were in the tent; the priests and the Levites brought them up. 5 King Solomon and all the congregation of Israel, who had assembled before him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing so many sheep and oxen that they could not be counted or numbered. 6 Then the priests brought the ark of the covenant of the Lord to its place, in the inner sanctuary of the house, in the most holy place, underneath the wings of the cherubim. 7 For the cherubim spread out their wings over the place of the ark, so that the cherubim made a covering above the ark and its poles. 8 The poles were so long that the ends of the poles were seen from the holy place in front of the inner sanctuary; but they could not be seen from outside; they are there to this day. 9 There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses had placed there at Horeb, where the Lord made a covenant with the Israelites, when they came out of the land of Egypt. 10 And when the priests came out of the holy place, a cloud filled the house of the Lord, 11 so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.” Deut 18:15,18 “The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet[a] like me from among your own people…18 I will raise up for them a prophet[a] like you from among their own people; I will put my words in the mouth of the prophet,[b] who shall speak to them everything that I command.” Mal 4:5 “5 Lo, I will send you the prophet Elijah before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes.” Exodus 12:22, “22 Take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and touch the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood in the basin.” Exodus 12:46, “46 It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the animal outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones.” Isa 11:1-2 “A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. 2 The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.” Zech 2:6-10 “6 Then the angel of the Lord assured Joshua, saying 7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. 8 Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. 9 For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. 10 On that day, says the Lord of hosts, you shall invite each other to come under your vine and fig tree.” Zech 6:12-13 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, ‘Behold, the man whose name is the Branch: for he shall grow up in his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he who shall build the temple of the Lord, and shall bear royal honor, and shall sit and rule upon his throne.” Jn 2 Num 19:11-12 “11 Those who touch the dead body of any human being shall be unclean seven days. 12 They shall purify themselves with the water on the third day and on the seventh day, and so be clean; but if they do not purify themselves on the third day and on the seventh day, they will not become clean.” Amos 9:13 “The time is surely coming, says the Lord, when the one who plows shall overtake the one who reaps, and the treader of grapes the one who sows the seed; the mountains shall drip sweet wine, and all the hills shall flow with it.” Joel 3:18 “In that day the mountains shall drip sweet wine, the hills shall flow with milk, and all the stream beds of Judah shall flow with water; a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord and water the Wadi Shittim.” Exodus 7:19, 19 The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your staff and stretch out your hand over the waters of Egypt—over its rivers, its canals, and its ponds, and all its pools of water—so that they may become blood; and there shall be blood throughout the whole land of Egypt, even in vessels of wood and in vessels of stone.’” Jn 4 2 Ki 17 “5 Then the king of Assyria invaded all the land and came to Samaria; for three years he besieged it.
Recommended publications
  • This Issue As A
    Man of the day: that is the first five books of the Old Testament, The Prophet Elijah and Elijah is credited with writing – nothing at all. Moses brought the children of Israel out of When Jesus took Peter, James, and John to the their slavery in Egypt. He led those many top of the mountain, he was transfigured before thousands of people across the Red Sea and the their eyes, and his robe and his face were desert, to the verge of the Promised Land. suddenly as bright as the sun. And they saw Elijah didn’t do that. Elijah was a prophet in beside him the two great prophets of the Old Israel when almost everyone was worshiping Testament, Moses and Elijah. Jesus was Baal instead of God. The wicked king Ahab speaking with and the worse them, and Peter queen Jezebel did must have caught so too. Elijah some of that could hardly find conversation, more than a because, though handful of men in he didn’t really Israel who did not know what he was want to kill him. saying, he did get Yet when we the persons right. think of each of “Lord,” he said, them, Moses and “it is good for us Elijah, there is to be here!” And something about he said they their stories that should knock should remind us together three huts of Holy to spend the night Communion. in, one for the You may Lord, one for remember that Moses, and one there came a for Elijah. Pharaoh in Egypt You should know who Moses was.
    [Show full text]
  • 2 the Assyrian Empire, the Conquest of Israel, and the Colonization of Judah 37 I
    ISRAEL AND EMPIRE ii ISRAEL AND EMPIRE A Postcolonial History of Israel and Early Judaism Leo G. Perdue and Warren Carter Edited by Coleman A. Baker LONDON • NEW DELHI • NEW YORK • SYDNEY 1 Bloomsbury T&T Clark An imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc Imprint previously known as T&T Clark 50 Bedford Square 1385 Broadway London New York WC1B 3DP NY 10018 UK USA www.bloomsbury.com Bloomsbury, T&T Clark and the Diana logo are trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc First published 2015 © Leo G. Perdue, Warren Carter and Coleman A. Baker, 2015 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or any information storage or retrieval system, without prior permission in writing from the publishers. Leo G. Perdue, Warren Carter and Coleman A. Baker have asserted their rights under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as Authors of this work. No responsibility for loss caused to any individual or organization acting on or refraining from action as a result of the material in this publication can be accepted by Bloomsbury or the authors. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. ISBN: HB: 978-0-56705-409-8 PB: 978-0-56724-328-7 ePDF: 978-0-56728-051-0 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. Typeset by Forthcoming Publications (www.forthpub.com) 1 Contents Abbreviations vii Preface ix Introduction: Empires, Colonies, and Postcolonial Interpretation 1 I.
    [Show full text]
  • From Ark of the Covenant to Torah Scroll: Ritualizing Israel’S Iconic Texts
    Syracuse University SURFACE Religion College of Arts and Sciences 2014 From Ark of the Covenant to Torah Scroll: Ritualizing Israel’s Iconic Texts James W. Watts Syracuse University Follow this and additional works at: https://surface.syr.edu/rel Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, History of Religions of Western Origin Commons, and the Jewish Studies Commons Recommended Citation James W. Watts, "From Ark of the Covenant to Torah Scroll: Ritualizing Israel’s Iconic Texts," pre- publication draft, published on SURFACE, Syracuse University Libraries, 2014. This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts and Sciences at SURFACE. It has been accepted for inclusion in Religion by an authorized administrator of SURFACE. For more information, please contact [email protected]. From Ark of the Covenant to Torah Scroll: Ritualizing Israel’s Iconic Texts James W. Watts [Pre-print version of chapter in Ritual Innovation in the Hebrew Bible and Early Judaism (ed. Nathan MacDonald; BZAW 468; Berlin: De Gruyter, 2016), 21–34.] The builders of Jerusalem’s Second Temple made a remarkable ritual innovation. They left the Holy of Holies empty, if sources from the end of the Second Temple period are to be believed.1 They apparently rebuilt the other furniture of the temple, but did not remake the ark of the cove- nant that, according to tradition, had occupied the inner sanctum of Israel’s desert Tabernacle and of Solomon’s temple. The fact that the ark of the covenant went missing has excited speculation ever since. It is not my intention to pursue that further here.2 Instead, I want to consider how biblical literature dealt with this ritual innovation.
    [Show full text]
  • When Was Samaria Captured? the Need for Precision in Biblical Chronologies
    JETS 47/4 (December 2004) 577–95 WHEN WAS SAMARIA CAPTURED? THE NEED FOR PRECISION IN BIBLICAL CHRONOLOGIES rodger c. young* i. factors that produce wrong chronologies The major factors that continue to produce confusion in the field of OT chronology are (1) the scholar imposes his schemes and presuppositions on the information available from the Scripture texts rather than first deter- mining the methods used by the authors of Scripture and then accommodat- ing his ideas to the methods of those authors; (2) even when the methods of Scripture are determined, the scholar fails to consider all the possibilities inherent in the scriptural texts; and (3) the scholar’s methodology lacks pre- cision and accuracy in the expression of dates and in the calculations based on those dates. The first factor results in the largest amount of confusion, because the chronologies produced are generally very free in discarding the scriptural data that does not agree with the theories of the investigator, and those theories and their resultant chronologies are only acceptable to the narrow group that shares the same presuppositions about which data should be rejected. For the second factor, the scholar may have determined the methods of the scriptural author and then adapted his presuppositions to those methods, but he still can overlook possibilities that are in keeping with his approach simply because he did not think of them. This was discussed in my two pre- vious articles.1 In those articles, examples were given of the consequences when a combination of factors was overlooked, and it was demonstrated that these overlooked possibilities can resolve problems that the original author could not adequately explain.
    [Show full text]
  • Samaria-Sebaste Portrait of a Polis in the Heart of Samaria
    Études et Travaux XXX (2017), 409–430 Samaria-Sebaste Portrait of a polis in the Heart of Samaria A S Abstract: King Herod of Iudaea (37–4 ) was a great master builder of the late Hellenistic and early Roman era. The two most important building enterprises initiated by him were the city and the port of Caesarea Maritima and Samaria-Sebaste. Both cities were named in honor of the Caesar Augustus and in each of these cities he erected temples dedicated to the Imperial cult. Among various public compounds erected in Samaria-Sebaste, such as the forum and the basilica, we fi nd a gymnasium-stadium complex. The very existence of the latter testifi es to the character of Samaria-Sebaste as the real polis populated mainly by the Hellenized Syro-Phoenicians. While the establishment of Caesarea Maritima with its port was a political-ideological declaration, Samaria-Sebaste was above all a power base and a stronghold loyal to the king. Keywords: king Herod of Iudaea, town-planning, Augusteum, public compounds Arthur Segal (Emeritus), Zinman Institute of Archaeology, University of Haifa, Haifa; [email protected] The city of Samaria was named for the geographical region of the Samarian mountains within which it is located. It has been identifi ed with the present-day Arab village of Sebastia, about 10km northwest of Shechem (today Nablus).1 The village name preserves the name Sebaste, which was given to Samaria when it was rebuilt by Herod between the years 30–27 to honor the emperor Augustus. Sebaste, a Greek name derived from the word Sebastos, is a translation from the Latin word Augustus, the title which had been granted by the Roman senate in 28 to Emperor Octavian (Octavianus) as a token of esteem for his actions on behalf of the state.
    [Show full text]
  • The Assumption of Mary - Part II: Typology by Greg Witherow
    The Assumption of Mary - Part II: Typology By Greg Witherow In our previous article we saw that Enoch, Elijah and perhaps Moses were bodily assumed into heaven and as such, provide precedence in our case for M ary’s Assumption. We will now turn our attention to typology1, establishing a link between the Ark of the Covenant and Mary. Once the typological link is established, we will glean from it further evidence for Mary’s bodily Assumption into heaven. But first, a brief background. The Ark of the Covenant was the most holy object in the Old Testament. In the Temple the Ark resided behind the veil in the holy of holies, the inner sanctum, where only the high priest could enter once a year. The Ark contained three objects consisting of manna from heaven, Aaron’s rod that had budded and the tablets of the Ten Commandments. The Ark was a box-like object made of acacia wood covered in pure gold. Two cherubim on each end, facing each other were mounted on the top. The Ark had been designed under specific instructions given by God and was not to be touched by man. As such, it had rings on both sides enabling it to be carried by poles. In the gospel of Luke we read that Mary was given a message by the angel Gabriel, namely that she was to conceive a son by the Holy Ghost. Mary then makes her way to her relative Elizabeth in the Judean hill country. As she approaches Elizabeth she greets her, where upon John the Baptist leaps for joy in his mother’s womb and Elizabeth cries out - for why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? Elizabeth then explains the reaction of her son.
    [Show full text]
  • Sermon: David and Worship God’S Word: 1 Samuel 4:1-22 Text: 1 Samuel 6:1-21 Date: Sunday, May 6, 2018 Preacher: Rev
    Sermon: David and Worship God’s Word: 1 Samuel 4:1-22 Text: 1 Samuel 6:1-21 Date: Sunday, May 6, 2018 Preacher: Rev. Becky Stephens Smithey Some definitions I found this week concerning elements in worship. BULLETIN: Church information, read only during the sermon. PEW: A medieval torture device still found in most churches. HYMN: A song of praise, usually sung in a key three octaves higher than that of the congregation’s range. CHOIR: A group of people whose singing allows the rest of the congregation to lip-sync. AMEN: The only part of a prayer that everyone knows. This morning we are continuing our look at the song, “These Are the Days of Elijah,” to see what we can learn about revival from it. Here’s a quick reminder of what we’ve looked at before. We saw how Elijah declared the word of the Lord not only when it was hard to hear but also when it was hard to preach. No matter what else we do we need to be faithful to the Bible. Then, we saw how John the Baptist prepared the way of the Lord, by urging the people to repent and how we can also prepare the way for God in our lives through repentance. Then, we looked at the year of jubilee. The year of Jubilee is all about forgiveness and restoration. We saw how God wanted to forgive and restore us and how it was our response to forgive and restore others. Last week we looked at Ezekiel in the valley of dry bones and how God can make our dead lives come alive again.
    [Show full text]
  • Jesus & the Tabernacle in John's Gospel
    Jesus & the Tabernacle in John’s Gospel In the Old Testament God told the Jews to build a temple according to a set pattern. The NT book of Hebrews tells us that this pattern revealed heavenly truths about the Lord Jesus which were revealed 1500 years later. Exodus 25:9 “Exactly as I show you concerning the pattern of the tabernacle, and of all its furniture, so you shall make it.” (about 1450 BC) Hebrews 8:5 “They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things. For when Moses was about to erect the tent, he was instructed by God, saying, ‘See that you make everything according to the pattern that was shown you on the mountain.’” The tabernacle & temple pattern came from God as a shadow of heavenly things.. The tabernacle (and later, the temple) represented the presence of God among his people and how they were to approach him. This was the “way to God” in a concrete model, a sort of treasure map for a lost humanity to return to God’s presence. Jesus, in his person and work, was the fulfillment of this pattern. This is made very clear especially in the NT gospel of John… John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt [or, “tabernacled, pitched his tent, dwelt, lived”, same root word as “tabernacle” in the Greek version of the OT] among us, and we have seen his glory, [cf. Ex. 40:34ff] glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. John 2:19-21 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?" But he was speaking about the temple of his body.
    [Show full text]
  • Kebra Nagast
    TheQueenofShebaand HerOnlySonMenyelek (KëbraNagast) translatedby SirE.A.WallisBudge InparenthesesPublications EthiopianSeries Cambridge,Ontario2000 Preface ThisvolumecontainsacompleteEnglishtranslationofthe famousEthiopianwork,“TheKëbraNagast,”i.e.the“Gloryof theKings[ofEthiopia].”Thisworkhasbeenheldinpeculiar honourinAbyssiniaforseveralcenturies,andthroughoutthat countryithasbeen,andstillis,veneratedbythepeopleas containingthefinalproofoftheirdescentfromtheHebrew Patriarchs,andofthekinshipoftheirkingsoftheSolomonic linewithChrist,theSonofGod.Theimportanceofthebook, bothforthekingsandthepeopleofAbyssinia,isclearlyshown bytheletterthatKingJohnofEthiopiawrotetothelateLord GranvilleinAugust,1872.Thekingsays:“Thereisabook called’KiveraNegust’whichcontainstheLawofthewholeof Ethiopia,andthenamesoftheShûms[i.e.Chiefs],and Churches,andProvincesareinthisbook.IÊprayyoufindout whohasgotthisbook,andsendittome,forinmycountrymy peoplewillnotobeymyorderswithoutit.”Thefirstsummary ofthecontentsofthe KëbraNagast waspublishedbyBruceas farbackas1813,butlittleinterestwasrousedbyhissomewhat baldprécis.And,inspiteofthelaboursofPrætorius,Bezold, andHuguesleRoux,thecontentsoftheworkarestill practicallyunknowntothegeneralreaderinEngland.Itis hopedthatthetranslationgiveninthefollowingpageswillbe ii Preface ofusetothosewhohavenotthetimeoropportunityfor perusingtheEthiopicoriginal. TheKëbraNagast isagreatstorehouseoflegendsand traditions,somehistoricalandsomeofapurelyfolk-lore character,derivedfromtheOldTestamentandthelater Rabbinicwritings,andfromEgyptian(bothpaganand
    [Show full text]
  • H 02-UP-011 Assyria Io02
    he Hebrew Bible records the history of ancient Israel reign. In three different inscriptions, Shalmaneser III and Judah, relating that the two kingdoms were recounts that he received tribute from Tyre, Sidon, and united under Saul (ca. 1000 B.C.) Jehu, son of Omri, in his 18th year, tand became politically separate fol- usually figured as 841 B.C. Thus, Jehu, lowing Solomon’s death (ca. 935 B.C.). the next Israelite king to whom the The division continued until the Assyrians refer, appears in the same Assyrians, whose empire was expand- order as described in the Bible. But he ing during that period, exiled Israel is identified as ruling a place with a in the late eighth century B.C. different geographic name, Bit Omri But the goal of the Bible was not to (the house of Omri). record history, and the text does not One of Shalmaneser III’s final edi- shy away from theological explana- tions of annals, the Black Obelisk, tions for events. Given this problem- contains another reference to Jehu. In atic relationship between sacred the second row of figures from the interpretation and historical accura- top, Jehu is depicted with the caption, cy, historians welcomed the discovery “Tribute of Iaua (Jehu), son of Omri. of ancient Assyrian cuneiform docu- Silver, gold, a golden bowl, a golden ments that refer to people and places beaker, golden goblets, pitchers of mentioned in the Bible. Discovered gold, lead, staves for the hand of the in the 19th century, these historical king, javelins, I received from him.”As records are now being used by schol- scholar Michele Marcus points out, ars to corroborate and augment the Jehu’s placement on this monument biblical text, especially the Bible’s indicates that his importance for the COPYRIGHT THE BRITISH MUSEUM “historical books” of Kings.
    [Show full text]
  • “The Ark of the Covenant” Introduction There Are Few Objects in Holy Scripture That Convey a Sense of Mystery and Power Like
    Psalm 19:14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer. 1 Timothy 1:2 …Grace, mercy, and peace, from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. “The Ark of the Covenant” Introduction There are few objects in holy Scripture that convey a sense of mystery and power like the Ark of the Covenant. As a kid, I liked to watch the program, “In Search of” narrated by Leonard Nimoy, which had an episode on the Ark. When I was in middle school the movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was a big success. For those of you who missed those shows, the Ark of the Covenant is a box that contained the stone tablets that Moses brought down from Mount Sinai. It disappeared at some point in Israel’s history and people are always searching for it. It has no relation to Noah’s Ark and the two words are different in Hebrew. Today’s Old Testament lesson talks about Solomon bringing it into the Temple so I decided to teach (maybe more than preach) about it today. Ark and Tabernacle The ark is first described in Exodus 25:10, "Have them make a chest of acacia wood-- two and a half cubits long, a cubit and a half wide, and a cubit and a half high.” Acacia wood is a very hard, durable wood. When it ages, it can grow almost as dark as ebony. It is very resistant to rotting and so it is sometimes called “incorruptible wood.” The acacia tree grows near streams in some of the most arid parts of the Middle East.
    [Show full text]
  • The Queen of Sheba According to the Tradition of Axum
    THE QUEEN OF SHEBA ACCORDING TO THE TRADITION OF AXUM. BY THE EDITOR. DR. E. Littmann has started the publication of an Abyssinian Hbrary called Bibliotheca Ahessinica, in which he proposes to publish studies concerning the languages, literature and history of Abyssinia. The first volume before us contains the legend of the Queen of Sheba, which of all Abyssinian traditions will prove especially interesting on account of its connection with the Solomon and Old Testament traditions, also mentioned by Jesus in the New Testament ;* and it is interesting to notice that the title "The Oueeen of the South," which is the exact name used by Jesus, literally agrees with the Abyssinian term Etiye Aseb. Dr. Littmann publishes the text of an Abyssinian manuscript together with an English translation and dedicates his work to "R. Sundtrom, Missionary and Scholar," who is living in the Colonia Eritrea. To him he owes not only the manuscript, but also much help in the translation. The legend exists, as stated by Dr. Littmann, in two other versions, one published in French by M. E. Amelineau, the other by Dr. Conti Rossini. In all essential points the three translations agree. The story as published by Dr. Littmann is the Tigre ver- sion of the legend and apparently a local tradition of Axum, for one part of the story refers to the ark that is preserved in the Axum church. Briefly told the legend is as follows: King Menelik was the son of Eti^e Azeb, e. g., "the Queen of the South," a Tigre girl who was destined to be sacrificed to the dragon that in the age of fable infested the country.
    [Show full text]