DOCSLIB.ORG

Torah Toons One Sample

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Torah Toons One Sample 1. Bereshit Genesis 1:1-6:8 At the beginning of God’s creating of the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). [1] BERESHIT starts things. God creates the world. This is done in seven days. On the first day, light is created. On the second day, there is a division of the waters. On the third day, dry land appears and plants begin to grow. On the fourth day, God creates the things which give light—the sun, moon and stars. On the fifth day, birds and fish are created. And, on the sixth day, God creates animals and people. On the seventh day, God rests. [2] Next, the sidrah tells the story of what happens in the Garden of Eden. The garden is described, and Adam then Havva are created. The garden has two trees in its center—the Tree of Life and the Tree of Knowing Good from Evil. Havva and Adam are told not to eat from the trees in the center, but do so at the urging of the snake. God then sends Adam and Havva from the garden. Two angels guard the entrance. 5 [3] Once outside the garden, Adam and Havva have two sons: Kayin and Hevel. Kayin is a farmer and Hevel is a shepherd. Both offer sacrifices to God, but God accepts only Hevel’s offering. The two then fight and Kayin kills Hevel. God then marks Kayin, who heads off into the sunset. [4] The sidrah ends with a list of the ten generations from Adam to Noah. At the end of the list the Torah gives us a preview of COMING ATTRACTIONS: Tune in next week for the Flood. Yhwh = Yhwh, the Lord, ha-Shem (God’s Name) Adam = Human Havvae = Ev Kayin = Cain Hevel = Abel 6 THE BIBLICAL TEXT Here is the way the Torah tells the story of Kayin and Hevel. As you read it, see if you can figure out these two things: [a] Why did God rejected Kayin’s offering? [b] Why didn’t God stop the fight between the two brothers? Genesis 4:1-12 4.1 The human knew Havva his wife; she became pregnant and bore Kayin. She said: Kaniti/I have gotten a man, as has Yhwh! 2. She continued bearing—his brother, Hevel. Now Hevel became a shepherd of flocks, and Kayin became a worker of the soil. 3. It was, after the passing of days, that Kayin brought from the fruit of the soil, a gift to Yhwh, 4. and as for Hevel, he too brought—from the firstborn of his flock, from their fat-parts. Yhwh had regard for Hevel and his gift, 5. for Kayin and his gift he had no regard. Kayin became exceedingly upset and his face fell. 6. Yhwh said to Kayin: Why are you so upset? Why has your face fallen? . 7 Is it not thus: If you intend good, bear-it-aloft, but if you do not intend good, at the entrance is sin, a crouching-demon, toward you his lust— but you can rule over him. 8. Kayin said to Hevel his brother... But then it was, when they were out in the field that Kayin rose up against Hevel his brother and killed him. 9 Yhwh said to Kayin: Where is Hevel your brother? He said: I do not know. Am I the watcher of my brother? 10. Now He said: What have you done! A sound—your brother’s blood cries out to me from the soil! 11. And now, damned be you from the soil, which opened up its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12. When you wish to work the soil it will not henceforth give its strength to you; wavering and wandering must you be on earth! 7 `hw"hy>-ta, vyai ytiynIq' rm,aTow: !yIq;-ta, dl,Tew: rh;T;w: ATv.ai hW"x;-ta, [d;y" ~d'a'h'w> 1 `hm'd'a] dbe[o hy"h' !yIq;w> !aco h[ero lb,h,-yhiy>w: lb,h'-ta, wyxia'-ta, td,l,l' @s,Tow: 2 `hw"hyl; hx'n>mi hm'd'a]h' yrIP.mi !yIq; abeY"w: ~ymiy" #Qemi yhiy>w: 3 `Atx'n>mi-la,w> lb,h,-la, hw"hy> [v;YIw: !h,bel.x,meW Anaco tArkoB.mi aWh-~g: aybihe lb,h,w> 4 `wyn"P' WlP.YIw: daom. !yIq;l. rx;YIw: h['v' al{ Atx'n>mi-la,w> !yIq;-la,w> 5 `^yn<p' Wlp.n" hM'l'w> %l' hr'x' hM'l' !yIq'-la, hw"hy> rm,aYOw: 6 `AB-lv'm.Ti hT'a;w> Atq'WvT. ^yl,aew> #bero taJ'x; xt;P,l; byjiyte al{ ~aiw> taef. byjiyTe-~ai aAlh] 7 `WhgEr>h;Y:w: wyxia' lb,h,-la, !yIq; ~q'Y"w: hd,F'B; ~t'Ayh.Bi yhiy>w: wyxia' lb,h,-la, !yIq; rm,aYOw: 8 `ykinOa' yxia' rmevoh] yTi[.d;y" al{ rm,aYOw: ^yxia' lb,h, yae !yIq;-la, hw"hy> rm,aYOw: 9 `hm'd'a]h'-!mi yl;ae ~yqi[]co ^yxia' ymeD> lAq t'yfi[' hm, rm,aYOw: 10 `^d,Y"mi ^yxia' ymeD>-ta, tx;q;l' h'yPi-ta, ht'c.P' rv,a] hm'd'a]h'-!mi hT'a' rWra' hT'[;w> 11 `#r,a'b' hy<h.Ti dn"w" [n" %l' Hx'Ko-tTe @seto-al{ hm'd'a]h'-ta, dbo[]t; yKi 12 QUESTIONS ABOUT THE BIBLICAL TEXT a. The trouble seems to start when God accepted Hevel’s offering and did not accept Kayin’s offering. Why do you think that God accepted one and not the other? b. Why do you think God started the fight between Kayin and Hevel and then didn’t stop it? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 8 THE MIDRASH ANSWERS THESE SAME QUESTIONS MIDRASH 1. [Bereshit Rabbah 22.8ff] The slaying of Hevel by Kayin wasn’t a total surprise. There had been warnings. The two brothers had been fighting since they were children. This is why Adam, their father, gave them different jobs. He made Kayin a farmer and Hevel a shepherd to keep them apart. This fight started with their sacrifices. Adam told his sons that they had to offer the first of their new crops and herds to God. Hevel selected the best of his flocks, but Kayin just offered the vegetables which were left over after his own meal. That is why God rejected Kayin’s offering. Kayin blamed his brother and told him: “Let’s separate and divide our possessions.” He told Hevel: “Take the sheep and cattle and I will take the land.” Hevel agreed. The next day Kayin told Hevel: “Get yourself and your herd off my land—I own the earth.” Hevel answered: “Your clothing is made of wool—take it off—I own it.” This is the way the fight began. Separating the P’shat from the Drash 1. Underline/Highlight the parts of this midrash which are not told to us in the Torah. 2. What facts from the Torah does this midrash use? Separating the Answers from the Messages 3. According to this midrash, what is the reason that God rejected Kayin’s offering? 4. What other questions about the Torah text does this midrash answer? 5. If you were going to base a D’var Torah (sermon) on this midrash, what would be your major lesson? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ 9 MIDRASH 2. [Ibid] God in this story seems to be acting like a king who is watching two gladiators fight it out. If one of the gladiators is killed, it would be the king’s fault, because he didn’t stop the contest. Kayin asked God: “Isn’t it Your fault, because You did not command me to stop?” God answered: “I made you in My image with a brain and a soul. Were I to direct your every action—you would be just like a puppet. You have a will of your own and you are responsible for your own actions.” Separating the P’shat from the Drash 6. Underline/Highlight the parts of this midrash which can be found in the Torah. Hint: It may not come from this story. Midrashim often use pieces of Torah from other places. Separating the Answers from the Messages 7. According to the midrash—Why didn’t God stop Kayin? 8. If you were going to base a D’var Torah (sermon) on this midrash, what would be your major lesson? ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ BEYOND THIS LESSON: [1] Think about writing your own “Kayin and Hevel” midrash about one of these questions: (a) What arguments did Kayin use in his own defense at his trial? (b) What happened to Kayin’s sacrifice, the one that God rejected? (c) Whom did Kayin marry? (d) Was the end of his life happy or sad? (e) The story ends “At that time they first called out the name of Yhwh.” What is the story behind that verse? What happened? [2] Some other midrashim on BERESHIT which might be fun to write: (a) Where did the light which God created on the first day come from—when the sun, moon, and stars don’t make an appearance until day four? What happens to that light? (b) What did God do on the eighth day? (c) Where was Adam, when Havva and the snake were having their little meeting? Where was Mrs. Snake when her husband was hanging out with Havva? [3] List some other questions about parashat BERESHIT that would be triggers for midrashim.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Strategies –Modern Midrash
    Chapter Nine – Modern Midrash: Movies, Art, Poetry, Literature, Popular Songs #1 - Film as Midrash East of Eden – a novel by John Steinbeck and a movie by Elia Kazan starring Jimmy Dean p. 2 The Prince of Egypt – film by Spielberg p. 22 David and Batsheba starring Gregory Peck and Susan Hayward (1951) p. 25 #2 - Art as Parshanut: p. 36 A Systematic Analysis of Art as Commentary Sample – David and Avigail #3 - Novels and Bible: p. 44 Political Midrash by Stefan Heym on David and Batsheva #4 - Contemporary Poetry and Song as Midrash p. 53 "Adam Raised a Cain" by "The King" Bruce Springsteen "Hide and Seek" by Dan Pagis on Avram "David's Wives" by Yehuda Amichai #5 - Handmade Midrash: Jo Milgrom p. 70 1 #1 - Film as Midrash East of Eden – a novel by John Steinbeck and a movie by Elia Kazan starring Jimmy Dean Advice to the Educator for Analyzing a Movie as a Midrash A Generative Topic Teaching a movie is a large commitment of time and its proper introduction takes even longer and for the movie to be seen as a midrash the Biblical text must have been analyzed in depth with a eye to its gaps. However this is power exercise that achieves many goals: close text analysis; philosophic – psychological- theological exploration of major issues of sibling rivalry, free will and Divine justice; creative contemporary reverberations of the Biblical story that might otherwise be seen as merely Jewish and merely ancient and merely verbal; an alternative medium – a movie that models the principles of midrash and invites students to continue creating in that tradition; modeling close reading of movie etc.
    [Show full text]
  • THE PENTATEUCHAL TARGUMS: a REDACTION HISTORY and GENESIS 1: 26-27 in the EXEGETICAL CONTEXT of FORMATIVE JUDAISM by GUDRUN EL
    THE PENTATEUCHAL TARGUMS: A REDACTION HISTORY AND GENESIS 1: 26-27 IN THE EXEGETICAL CONTEXT OF FORMATIVE JUDAISM by GUDRUN ELISABETH LIER THESIS Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR LITTERARUM ET PHILOSOPHIAE in SEMITIC LANGUAGES AND CULTURES in the FACULTY OF HUMANITIES at the UNIVERSITY OF JOHANNESBURG PROMOTER: PROF. J.F. JANSE VAN RENSBURG APRIL 2008 ABSTRACT THE PENTATEUCHAL TARGUMS: A REDACTION HISTORY AND GENESIS 1: 26-27 IN THE EXEGETICAL CONTEXT OF FORMATIVE JUDAISM This thesis combines Targum studies with Judaic studies. First, secondary sources were examined and independent research was done to ascertain the historical process that took place in the compilation of extant Pentateuchal Targums (Fragment Targum [Recension P, MS Paris 110], Neofiti 1, Onqelos and Pseudo-Jonathan). Second, a framework for evaluating Jewish exegetical practices within the age of formative Judaism was established with the scrutiny of midrashic texts on Genesis 1: 26-27. Third, individual targumic renderings of Genesis 1: 26-27 were compared with the Hebrew Masoretic text and each other and then juxtaposed with midrashic literature dating from the age of formative Judaism. Last, the outcome of the second and third step was correlated with findings regarding the historical process that took place in the compilation of the Targums, as established in step one. The findings of the summative stage were also juxtaposed with the linguistic characterizations of the Comprehensive Aramaic Lexicon Project (CAL) of Michael Sokoloff and his colleagues. The thesis can report the following findings: (1) Within the age of formative Judaism pharisaic sages and priest sages assimilated into a new group of Jewish leadership known as ‘rabbis’.
    [Show full text]
  • THE HUMAN NATURE of ANGELS in GENESIS Kristian Edosomwan
    THE HUMAN NATURE OF ANGELS IN GENESIS Kristian Edosomwan Edosomwan 2 Introduction Genesis often portrays angels in very human ways. The angels described in Genesis 6:1-4 can both copulate and procreate with human women, giving them undeniably human characteristics. In Genesis 18 and 19, angels accept human hospitality and eat human food. And the angel in Genesis 32 uses a human form to wrestle with Jacob on even footing. As these three narratives show, and this paper will argue, angels in Genesis demonstrate an apparently human nature through their interactions with human beings. Genesis 6:1-41 Gen 6:1-4 gives us a window to view how ancient Israelites saw angels. Within the narrative the “sons of God” see the “daughters of men” and choose to marry them and have children (Gen 6:1-2). The “sons of God” are angels while the “daughters of men” are human women. This story has traditionally been looked at as a story of angels transgressing the boundary between heaven and earth and mingling illicitly with human women, such as in 1 Enoch and Jubilees. A common interpretation is that “sons of God” does not refer to angels and instead refers to minor deities under Yahweh. Early Israelite angelology can be seen as an adaptation of the polytheistic system of other Ancient Near Eastern nations.2 The term “sons of gods” was used to signify minor deities on the divine council in Canaanite mythology, but these deities became the angels of Hebrew angelology.3 The angels referenced in Gen 6:1-4 could be deities that the 1 For the sake of my argument I have ignored Gen 6:3, which is a break in the text and seems unrelated to the rest of Gen 6:1-4.
    [Show full text]
  • Eikha: the Book of Lamentations
    YESHIVAT HAR ETZION ISRAEL KOSCHITZKY VIRTUAL BEIT MIDRASH (VBM) ********************************************************* EIKHA: THE BOOK OF LAMENTATIONS By Dr. Yael Ziegler Shiur #13: Eikha: Chapter 1 (continued) Eikha 1:6 וַיֵּצֵֵּ֥א מִ בַת־צִיּ֖ ֹון כָּל־הֲדָּרָָּ֑ ּה הָּיּ֣ו שָּר ֶ֗יהָּ כְּאַ יָּלִ ים לֹא־מָּצְּאּ֣ו עמִרְּ ֶ֔ ה וַיֵּלְּכֵּ֥ובְּ לֹא־כֹּ֖חַ לִפְּנֵֵּ֥ירֹודֵֵּֽ ף Departed from the daughter of Zion1 Is all of her glory Her officers were like stags they did not find pasture And they walked without strength Before the pursuer Exile: Part II For the second time (see also verse 3), Eikha turns its attention to the sights outside of Jerusalem, to the far-flung places where her inhabitants have gone. Bemoaning the depletion of the city’s glory, the verse does not specify what exactly constituted the city’s former glory. The word hadar evokes an association with God’s majesty (e.g. Tehillim 96:6; 145:5), perhaps indicating that God has left the city, taking His splendor with Him. However, the continuation of the verse 1 A phrase that refers to the city as a daughter (“daughter of Zion\Jerusalem\Judah”) occurs thirteen times in Eikha. A similar phrase, “daughter of my nation,” appears five times in Eikha. Berlin offers a short excursus on the possible origins of this expression (Lamentations, pp. 10- 12). suggests that the departed glory refers to the exile of the officers.2 Possibly, however, the departed glory continues the subject of the conclusion of the previous verse – namely, the young children gone into captivity. 3 Taken together, these images blend and merge, as the reader witnesses the depletion of Jerusalem’s grandeur, dignity, and esteemed populace.
    [Show full text]
  • Interview with Cyrus H. Gordon, Conducted by Gary A
    Interview with Cyrus H. Gordon, conducted by Gary A. Rendsburg, at the Center for Advanced Judaic Studies of the University of Pennsylvania, February 3rd, 1998 Video available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=evuQgZhItn4&feature=youtu.be Length: 2 hours. Transcribed by Peter Shamah, Rutgers University, 2018. Annotated by Peter Shamah and Gary Rendsburg. CHG = Cyrus H. Gordon GAR = Gary A. Rendsburg Others who speak are indicated by their initials as well. N.B. The transcription is totally searchable, though we also append an Index of Persons Named and an Index of Places Named, for easy perusal. People present in the room are not included in the index, however. When a person is mentioned by surname only, we include the first name or initials in brackets. [0:00] Gary Rendsburg: Cyrus Gordon, and I’ll introduce Cyrus in just a moment. I first want to introduce Connie Gordon, Cyrus’s wife. Connie is a scholar in her own right, she received her Ph.D. at New York University, we were doctoral students together under Cyrus’s tutelage, and has published a few articles. An important one that I cite all the time in Abr‐Nahrain, sometime 1 in the 80’s I think,1 based on her dissertation on the formation of plural nouns in Hebrew, so I commend her work to you as well, and I thought we’d begin just by quickly introducing ourselves to Professor Gordon, many of you know him through past contacts, and if we just go around the room real quickly, and say a word.
    [Show full text]
  • CASSUTO AS ABIBLICALCOMMENTATOR By
    TRANSLATION CASSUTO AS A BIBLICAL COMMENTATOR by Prof. Binyamin Uffenheimer* The scientific work of David Moshe (Umberto) Cassuto bears very significant testimony to the spiritual perplexities that beset the generation of the Hebrew renaissance. For Cassuto was an orthodox Jew who was yet completely steeped in the spiritual problems of the generation, as befitted a scion of the great Sephardi tradition of the middle ages whose forebears sought to understand their Judaism in the light of the spiritual environment of their times. The spiritual being of Cassuto encompassed three worlds: the culture of Israel as manifested in its various epochs; western humanism which embraced the cultures of Greece and Rome and Italian renaissance literature; and the cultures of the ancient orient. His researches covered a wide and variegated field: the history of the Jews of Italy and their literature, Dante and his influence on Hebrew literature, and, above all, study of the Bible and of the ancient orient,1 His creative work in the last two fields made him world-famous as a research scholar of both the Bible and the an- cient orient. It seems to me that his starting point and the goal of his manifold spiritual activity lay in his intense longing to translate the Bible into the language of our generation: that is, to understand the Bible in the spiritual terms of a Jew of the twentieth century. Consequently his work must be assessed as an effort to pit himself against modern biblical scholarship. He was convinced that this scholarship even in its most liberal discoveries was based upon Christian postulates, without which it was devoid of all basis.
    [Show full text]
  • The Documentary Hypothesis © כל הזכויות שמורות
    © כל הזכויות שמורות The Documentary Hypothesis © כל הזכויות שמורות Contemporary Jewish Thought from Shalem Press: Essential Essays on Judaism Eliezer Berkovits God, Man and History Eliezer Berkovits The Dawn: Political Teachings of the Book of Esther Yoram Hazony Moses as Political Leader Aaron Wildavsky © כל הזכויות שמורות The Documentary Hypothesis and the composition of the pentateuch Eight Lectures by Umberto Cassuto With an introduction by Joshua A. Berman Translated from the Hebrew by Israel Abrahams Shalem Press Jerusalem and New York © כל הזכויות שמורות Umberto Cassuto (1883–1951) held the chair of Bible studies at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. His books include A Commentary on the Book of Genesis, A Commentary on the Book of Exodus, and a treatise on Ugaritic literature entitled The Goddess Anath. Shalem Press, 13 Yehoshua Bin-Nun Street, Jerusalem Copyright © 2006 by the Shalem Center All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews. Originally published in Hebrew as Torath HaTeudoth by Magnes Press, The Hebrew University, 1941 First English edition 1961 Cover design: Erica Halivni Cover picture: Copyright J.L. de Zorzi/visualisrael/Corbis ISBN 978-965-7052-35-8 Printed in Israel ∞ The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of the
    [Show full text]
  • Epigraphy, Philology, and the Hebrew Bible
    EPIGRAPHY, PHILOLOGY, & THE HEBREW BIBLE Methodological Perspectives on Philological & Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible in Honor of Jo Ann Hackett Edited by Jeremy M. Hutton and Aaron D. Rubin Ancient Near East Monographs – Monografías sobre el Antiguo Cercano Oriente Society of Biblical Literature Centro de Estudios de Historia del Antiguo Oriente (UCA) EPIGRAPHY, PHILOLOGY, AND THE HEBREW BIBLE Ancient Near East Monographs General Editors Ehud Ben Zvi Roxana Flammini Alan Lenzi Juan Manuel Tebes Editorial Board: Reinhard Achenbach Esther J. Hamori Steven W. Holloway René Krüger Steven L. McKenzie Martti Nissinen Graciela Gestoso Singer Number 12 EPIGRAPHY, PHILOLOGY, AND THE HEBREW BIBLE Methodological Perspectives on Philological and Comparative Study of the Hebrew Bible in Honor of Jo Ann Hackett Edited by Jeremy M. Hutton and Aaron D. Rubin SBL Press Atlanta Copyright © 2015 by SBL Press All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be expressly permit- ted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed in writing to the Rights and Permissions Office, SBL Press, 825 Hous- ton Mill Road, Atlanta, GA 30329 USA. Library of Congress has catologued the print edition: Names: Hackett, Jo Ann, honouree. | Hutton, Jeremy Michael, editor. | Rubin, Aaron D., 1976- editor. Title: Epigraphy, philology, and the Hebrew Bible : methodological perspectives on philological and comparative study of the Hebrew Bible in honor of Jo Ann Hackett / edited by Jeremy M.
    [Show full text]
  • Southeastern Theological Review            
    SOUTHEASTERN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW VOL. 8, NO. 1, SPRING 2017 Introduction The Curse of Cain Reconsidered: Benjamin L. Merkle 1 A Study of the Translation of min ha’adamah in Genesis 4:11a “Out of Egypt I Called My Son”: Todd Borger 41 Intertextuality and Metalepsis in Matthew 2:15 Rescuing Adam: Three Approaches Charles L. Quarles 3 to Affi rming a Historical Adam Kenneth D. Keathley 55 Sell Your Possessions: Luke 12:33 and the Greco-Roman Utopian Ideal Book Reviews 77 Murray Vasser 21 SOUTHEASTERN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW CONTENTS Michael Kruger, ed. A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the New Testament: The Gospel Realized .......................................................................... 89 ARTICLES Levi Baker Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1 Benjamin L. Merkle J. K. Elliott. A Bibliography of Greek New Testament Manuscripts ................. 91 Charles L. Quarles “Out of Egypt I Called My Son”: Intertextuality and Metalepsis in Matthew 2:15 ................................................................................................. 3 George H. van Kooten and Peter Barthel (eds). The Star of Bethlehem Charles L. Quarles and the Magi: Interdisciplinary Perspectives from Experts on the Ancient Near East, the Greco-Roman World, and Modern Astronomy ..................................... 93 Sell Your Possessions: Luke 12:33 and the Greco-Roman Ari Heinze Utopian
    [Show full text]
  • A Postexilic Reading of the Biblical Flood Narrative
    Studia Antiqua Volume 15 Number 1 Article 5 June 2016 A Postexilic Reading of the Biblical Flood Narrative Kyla Beckstrand Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/studiaantiqua Part of the Biblical Studies Commons, History Commons, Jewish Studies Commons, and the Near Eastern Languages and Societies Commons BYU ScholarsArchive Citation Beckstrand, Kyla. "A Postexilic Reading of the Biblical Flood Narrative." Studia Antiqua 15, no. 1 (2016): 27-38. https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/studiaantiqua/vol15/iss1/5 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Journals at BYU ScholarsArchive. It has been accepted for inclusion in Studia Antiqua by an authorized editor of BYU ScholarsArchive. For more information, please contact [email protected], [email protected]. A POSTEXILIC READING OF THE BIBLICAL FLOOD NARRATIVE KYLA BECKSTRAND Kyla Beckstrand graduated from Brigham Young University in April of 2016. She majored in ancient Near Eastern studies with an emphasis in Hebrew Bible. mong the most widely debated passages in the Old Testament is the flood Anarrative. Scholars have long puzzled over the vagueness, inconsistencies, and outright contradictions in the account of Genesis chapters 6–9, attempt- ing to answer where it came from, what traditions lay behind it, what it means, and how it originally read.1 It may never be possible to know with certainty the answers to many of these questions, but as new discoveries, ideas, and methods come forward we will continue to attempt to answer them in the best possible way. There has been much study on the early development of the biblical flood narrative—its sources and original meaning; but this article will attempt a reading as it would have been understood by the Jews at the time it reached the form in which we now see it.2 The time period emphasized will be from the 1.
    [Show full text]
  • Prof. Nehama Leibowitz Zt”L (1905-1997) Was a Master Teacher of Bible and Commen- Taries to Students, Teachers, Rabbis and Scholars for Close to Seventy Years
    MilinHavivinEng1 7/5/05 11:48 AM Page 108 Prof. Nehama Leibowitz zt”l (1905-1997) was a master teacher of Bible and commen- taries to students, teachers, rabbis and scholars for close to seventy years. Through her legendary classes, weekly study sheets and numerous books on Torah, the Prophets and pedagogy, she had a profound influence on the study of Bible through most of the last century. “ACCEPT THE TRUTH FROM WHEREVER IT COMES” Prof. Nehama Leibowitz zt”l To the Honorable Rabbi Yehuda Ansbacher, It is a great honor for me that you commented on my words on Parshat Pekudei. I don’t recall why I didn’t cite the Tanhuma at the time, and whether I had a reason for doing so, or simply didn’t consider it. But after your comment, I carefully considered your words and the words of the Midrash, and saw that the parallels in the Tanhuma are not of the same type that I wanted to empha- size and of which [Franz] Rosenzweig mentions in his essay. Rosensweig’s intention was to parallel the rise of Moshe and haKadosh Barukh Hu, and therefore “vayera . vayera”, “vayevarekh . vayevarekh...” Verbs are paralleled to verbs. The parallels of the Tanhuma are different, as are their intentions: “vayehi mavdil bein mayim . vehivdilah haparokhet,” “yishretzu hamayim ve’of ye’ofeif ... kenegedan la’asot korbanot, kevasim, ve’ofot,” and in Bereishit, “vayivra et ha’adam, uvemishkan ketiv adam, shehu kohen gadol.” So you see that the inten- tions of the Midrash and its methodology are completely different than what was quoted in my book.
    [Show full text]
  • SARAH's TREATMENT of HAGAR (GENESIS 16): MORALS, MESSAGES, and MESOPOTAMIA Hayyim Angel 211
    Vol. 41:4 (164) October – December 2013 SARAH’S TREATMENT OF HAGAR (GENESIS 16): MORALS, MESSAGES, AND MESOPOTAMIA ALCOHOL AND THE FATE OF NADAB AND ABIHU: A BIBLICAL CAUTIONARY TALE AGAINST INEBRIATION THE PSYCHOLOGY OF BALAAM RUTH AND ELISHA: A COMPARATIVE STUDY SINAI UPSIDE-DOWN: THE THEOLOGICAL MESSAGE OF A MIDRASH FROM NOAH TO ABRAHAM: THE ONOMASTICS OF THE PERIOD WHO KNOWS SEVEN? THE MEANING OF AND HE WENT SHEFI (NUM. 23:3) THE 50th ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL BIBLE CONTEST FOR JEWISH YOUTH 5773 BOOK REVIEW: JPS BIBLE COMMENTARY RUTH LETTER TO THE EDITOR www.jewishbible.org THE JEWISH BIBLE QUARTERLY In cooperation with THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, THE JEWISH AGENCY AIMS AND SCOPE The Jewish Bible Quarterly provides timely, authoritative studies on biblical themes. As the only Jewish-sponsored English-language journal devoted exclusively to the Bible, it is an essential source of information for anyone working in Bible studies. The Journal pub- lishes original articles, book reviews, a triennial calendar of Bible reading and correspond- ence. Publishers and authors: if you would like to propose a book for review, please send two review copies to BOOK REVIEW EDITOR, POB 29002, Jerusalem, Israel. Books will be reviewed at the discretion of the editorial staff. Review copies will not be returned. The Jewish Bible Quarterly (ISSN 0792-3910) is published in January, April, July and October by the Jewish Bible Association , POB 29002, Jerusalem, Israel, a registered Israe- li nonprofit association (#58-019-398-5). All subscriptions prepaid for complete volume year only. The subscription price for 2014 (volume 42) is $60.
    [Show full text]