The Books of the Tanakh (Old Testament)
The people of ancient Israel
(the Hebrews) were, in most respects, an insignificant people
during most periods of their history, but they had more impact
on subsequent history than any other Ancient Near Eastern
people. This almost entirely because of one single contribution,
what Jews call the Tanakh and Christian the Old Testament. The Tanakh is the basis of
Christianity, Judaism, and (to some extent) Islam--the religions
(at least nominally) of half the world's people. Because
religion is so important in people’s lives, this means that
Tanakh ideas end up reflected in just about every area of life.
One sees this perhaps most clearly in law, but it’s also true in
fields like philosophy, art, music, and literature. Philosophers
from Justin Martyr to Augustine to Aquinas to Descartes to
Bergson, and artworks ranging from the Medieval cathedrals to
the paintings of Raphael and Rubens
to the sculptures of Bernini and Michelangelo show Tanakh
influences.
Beyond this, The Tanakh has had
a lasting influence about way we think about fundamental issues
of life. It give us much of the
framework within which we think about all sorts of different
issues. Each book of the Tanak,
then, is important in terms of its influence on subsequent
civilization. I emphasize five
representative books in class, but many of you will be able to
discuss other Tanakh books, and those of you who are art and
music majors especially may have much to say about Tanakh
influence far beyond the brief notes here.
[Tanakh, by the
way, is short for the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible by
Jewish reckoning: the Torah (law), the Neviim (prophets), and
the Kituviim (writings).
The Torah includes the five books of Moses
(also called the Pentateuch). Genesis
and Deuteronomy are both part of the Torah. Isaiah
is part of the Neviim, the prophets, a section which, by
Jewish reckoning, consists of the “former prophets” (Joshua
through II Kings) and the “latter prophets” (books like
Isaiah). Psalms and Daniel are
among what Jews call the Kituviim (writings).
Note that while Christians group Daniel with the
prophets, Jews put Daniel amid the writings.]
GENESIS
The book of Genesis is great
example of the lasting influence of the books of the Hebrew
Bible. It reflects a fundamental change about the way
people thought about the universe and our place it it. The
archaeological discoveries of the last 150 years have helped us
see even more clearly just how major a change the book of
Genesis results. There are some similarities in the
Genesis account to the Sumerian and Babylonian creation myths,
and I suppose on might look at the first chapters
of earliest part of Genesis as the Hebrew creation myth. I
think it's more useful, though, to view Genesis *not* as a
creation myth but as an anti-myth. It
is a direct challenge to the polytheistic world view that
dominated the Ancient world when the book was written.
Genesis starts at the very
beginning--a very good place to start, as the Sound of Music
tells us. "In beginning, God created the heavens and the earth,"
says Genesis. Note that the writer
could have simply said “God created
everything” and left it at that. But
the writer goes on to specify each of the things God created. Why such detail?
It’s important to note that many
of things mentioned in Genesis one were regarded by the peoples
of Mesopotamia as gods. The writer
is here affirming the monotheistic world view: the sun is not a
god, it is a creation of the one God. The
moon is not a goddess: it is a creation of the one God. The sky is not a god, nor is the
earth. Both are creations of the
one God.
Note also the delineation of
creative days. Here too is a
challenge to polytheistic practice, and, really, to the whole
pattern of human life. Most ancient
societies associated each day of the week with one of the seven
“planets” (the sun, moon, and five visible planets), and
associated those planets with particular gods.
This is still reflected in the names we give the days of
the week! Notice how careful the writer his here to make
it clear that that things like the sun are *only* created
objects. The writer could have just said God created the
sun. But, in Hebrew, the word for sun is "shemesh," and if
the writer isn't careful readers might think the passage is
saying God created Shemesh/Shamesh, the sun god. But,
instead, the writer uses the somewhat awkward term "greater
light." That's to make it clear God has not created any
subordinate gods.
Since there is only one God, we
should set aside Sunday to honor the sun, Monday to honor the
moon, etc. Instead, all days honor the one
god who created all things. Note also that the writer
talks about the importance of a day
of rest: here, the 7th day (Saturday),. The day
of rest tradition is reflected not only in the Jewish Saturday
Sabbath, but in the Christian Sunday (Lord’s Day) Sabbath, and
the Moslem Friday Sabbath. Here's a major "pattern of life"
change stemming from the Hebrew Bible.
Note also that Genesis affirms
the goodness of all created things, and especially the
goodness/worth of human beings. A particularly important
as a contrast to other ancient peoples is the idea that *women*,
not just men, are created in God’s image—an idea we take for
granted, but certainly not universal in the ancient world. And note that there is a particular
high view of mankind: we are not just the dust of the ground,
but we have the spirit of God as well.
So, if God created all things
good, what happened? The writer of
Genesis insists that the evils of this world come through human
choices. The temptation for Adam
and Even is that they would “know” good and evil.
What this means is that they would *decide* what’s good
and evil for themselves. The writer
suggests that this very plausible idea (everyone chooses for
themselves what’s good and evil according to their own
standards) is potentially very destructive.
Adam and Eve see no reason not to eat: but they soon find
unexpected consequences of their actions.
1. Hardship,
death, a broken relationship with nature, and a broken
relationship with God.
2. A distorted relationship
between men and women. “Your desire
will be to your husband” means what *you* want, he will have.
Men will have power over women and women won't like it.
3. Eve is told that God would
greatly multiply her sorrow “in her conception.”
Most translators take this to mean the pains of
childbirth, but I don't think this is right. The sorrow is not
so much in child-bearing (which would be a different Hebrew
word) but in the *children* she conceives--child-rearing won't
be nearly as happy as it should be (cf. Cain and Abel).
Genesis also suggests a remedy
for the evils of the world around us: obedience. This is
particularly clear through the contrast of Abraham and Adam.
Adam disobeys in a simple thing, while Abraham obeys in
progressively more difficult things--leaving his native country
and his goods, sacrificing Isaac. Christians, of course, see in
this foreshadowing of their own teaching on aith--faith
as obedience to God no matter what.
One sees
also the influence of Genesis in the many familiar stories in
the book, stories of Noah, Sarah, Jacob and Esau, etc.
DEUTERONOMY
“Deuteronomy” is Greek for
“second law” or, rather, the repetition of the law. It is actually the fifth book of the
Torah. It is set toward the end of Moses’ life.
Moses has gathered his people together, given them a
synopsis of their history, and then goes through the law again,
at the end asking for the people of Israel to commit themselves
to following the law and renewing their covenant with God.
Among the laws repeated are the
Ten Commandments, originally given in Exodus 20. These
commandments are an excellent example of Tanakh influence. While the laws of Hammurabi were lost
for 2000 years, the Ten Commandments were remembered. Not
so long ago, they were posted on most classroom walls in America
and learned by heart by many/most people. Unlike
Mesopotamian laws (and laws later in Deuteronomy) there are no
specific penalties attached—possibly indicating that these laws
are universal principles meant for all societies.
Also especially important in
Deuteronomy are a couple of verses in Deuteronomy 6, verses Jews
call the Shema, “Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is one. And
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and all thy
soul, and all the strength, and all they might.”
Jews (including Jesus) regard this as the greatest
commandment.
There's a systematization of law here we don't
see in other ancient law codes. We have ten "most important"
laws to focus on, and one general principal (the idea of love)
standing behind all other law. Deuteronomy is the first law
code to give us a philosophy of law, and, in many ways, that
philosophy still guides are thinking about law today.
[There’s lots more interesting/important stuff
here. Use
your own observations on Deuteronomy 5-6 when preparing for
the exam.]
ISAIAH
The book of Isaiah is part of
the Neviim, the Prophets, and it too shows the influence of the
Tanakh.
Isaiah lived in a very troubled
time in the history of his people. When
he began his mission (c. 740 BC), the Northern kingdom of Israel
was just about to be destroyed by Assyria.
The southern kingdom, Judah, was in trouble as well. Another problem was social and
economic. A change in agriculture
(moving from grain crops to olives and grapes for oil and wine
for export) meant a great increase in trade, and wealthy
landowners and tradesmen were doing quite well.
But small farmers were going into debt and losing their
lands—and often their freedom. Isaiah
talks of the poor being sold for the price of a pair of shoes:
small debts one couldn’t pay often meant slavery.
Isaiah takes the problems his
people face and addresses them very differently than would the
religious leaders of other nations. The
general rule when trying to ensure societal success was
sacrifice. Religious rituals were
the key to getting the gods on your side. Isaiah
says no. God doesn’t care about the
rituals: He cares how we treat one another, and, especially, how
we treat widows and orphans—those who can’t protect themselves. Much concern about social justice even
in today’s society goes back to Isaiah and the prophets.
Isaiah is also important because
of his affirmation of the idea that, even in the bleakest of
circumstances, there is hope. Isaiah
is a *very* difficult book because it alternates bleak passages
with joyful ones. This is
deliberate: Isaiah can see the awful things that are going to
happen to his people, but he promises also future hope. Passages like Isaiah 9 talk of a
messiah, one anointed by God to deliver his people. Christians take such passages as
references to Jesus, especially the passage in Isaiah 53 which
looks like a prediction of the sacrificial death of Christ. Jews, of course, don’t agree with this
interpretation, but note that the very idea at the heart of
Christianity (a messiah who would pay for the sins of the world)
comes out of Isaiah.
PSALMS
In Jewish reckoning, the Psalms
are part of the Kituviim, the writings. What
we
have are 150 songs, prayers, prophecies, historical
summaries—essentially the Jewish hymnal. The
Psalms are likewise used by Christians in worship: the first
book published in America was the Bay Psalm Book, English
translations of these Psalms.
Worship affects people’s hearts
deeply, and the Psalms shows Tanak influence, not just on how we
think about things, but on how we feel about things. The 23rd Psalm, for
instance, is one that many turn to for comfort in the face of
death.
Within the last hundred years,
we have rediscovered many of the songs from Ancient Egypt:
beautiful songs. But the Hebrew
Psalms didn’t have to be rediscovered: these songs have been in
constant use since the time they were written.
[Again, use your own observations on the Psalm
you read or other Psalms you know while preparing your essay.]
DANIEL
Daniel is regarded by the Jews
as part of the writings, and by Christians as part of the
prophets.
Daniel deals with a very
important question, the problem of evil. Why is there evil and
suffering in world?
Didn't Genesis already address
this? Yes, but the answer in Genesis is only partial. Genesis
says people suffer because they do something wrong. Often
enough, this is true. Someone downs
a bunch of beers, gets in a car, shoots off at 80 miles, and
ends up in an accident that paralyzes them for life.
We wish it was always true that
people only suffer when they do something wrong. But,
unfortunately, it just isn't. Perfectly innocent people suffer. The guy that downs the beers walks
away without a scratch, but wipes out a family of five in a
station wagon. Good people suffer—sometimes more than bad
people. This is central question that concerns author of Daniel:
why do bad things happen to good people? This
is a vital question, and, unless it can be answered, monotheism
has very little chance. How can one
believe in a good, loving, all-powerful God when such horrible
things happen to good people in this world?
Daniel suggests an answer.
The beginning of the books of
Daniel is absolutely shocking. The
Chaldaeans, the most corrupt of ancient peoples, conquer God’s
people, the Jews. The destroy
Jerusalem. They destroy the temple. The
do horrible things to their captives (remember the kind of
things they Assyrians did). Daniel
and his friends have lost everything. They’ve
been castrated, made into eunuchs. They’ve even lost their
names. Each of these men had had a
name honoring the God of Israel. Daniel
= my God is judge, Mishael = who is like God? Azariah = Jehovah
is my strength, Hannaniah = God is gracious.
There names are changed: Belteshazzar honors the
Babylonian god Baal, Abnego honors the Babylonian god Nebo, and
Shadrach honors the god Aku. Mishach
= who is like Aku? For the rest of
their lives, these young men will be addressed by a name
equivalent (in our terms) to “Satan is strong,” or “Lucifer’s
son.”
Very bad things have happened to
good people! So what do you do in such circumstances?
1. Obey
god anyway. Daniel and his friends
follow Jewish dietary laws—and are blessed for it.
2. Be
patient. The story of
Nebuchadnezzar's (lost) dream shows that God can give wisdom no
other source can, but it also has the important message that,
though cruel and corrupt kings may rule now, in the end, God
will establish his own kingdom.
3. Don’t
give in. Never give up, never surrender. Note
the story of Nebuchadnezzar's image. When threatened with the
fiery furnace Daniel’s friends affirm God’s ability to deliver
them, but insist that, even if God doesn’t deliver them, they
won't bow down.
4. Remember that earthly powers
aren’t what they seem. In the story
of Belshazzar’s party, Belshazzar mocks God, he and his party
friends drinking out of the cups that had been dedicated to the
God of Israel. God writes on the
wall: Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin.
Daniel interprets: “mina, mina,
shekel, half-a-shekel.” Coins
commonly used in the ancient world. In other words, “nickel,
dime, quarter” or “two bits, four bits, six bits, a dollar.”
Daniel interprets this as a series of puns, the idea being that
Belshazzar is nothing more than a joke as far as God is
concerned.
After Belshazzar’s defeat, the
Persians take over, a people far more sympathetic to Hebrews,
people who even let the Jews go back and rebuild their temple. But even here, Daniel runs into some
trouble (cf. the story of Daniel and the lions Den). Even good
earthly rulers are not the ultimate answer!
Now all this pretty clear and
straightforward. The next section of Daniel far more difficult,
a very complicated series of visions. What’s happening is that
Daniel is searching for an answer to problem of evil. He fasts
and he prays, and gets a series of visions. But these visisions
aren’t at all reassuring: mostly are predictions of worse things to come. But mixed with
these, there is a promise of something else, the eventual
establishment of a righteous kingdom where everything is done in
the way it should be. But what good does this do for those who
live in meantime? Daniel persists, and finally gets the answer
in Daniel 12.
Daniel is told that there will
eventually be time of trouble worse than anything that had come
before. But after that,
deliverance. And something more: a
resurrection where the righteous would be rewarded and the evil
punished.
This a partial answer to the
problem of evil. Certainly in an eternal kingdom, God can make
up to you anything that's gone wrong in your life. Even the
worst of things aren't so bad from this perspective: watching
your friends and family killed, being taken to a foreign land
and castrated isn't going to look quite so bad after a million
years of nothing but happiness. But still, the answer is not
quite satisfying. Why did god allow the evil in the first place?
Daniel's answer is in Chapter 12
vs. 3 and 10. The righteous will be
purified. They that turn many to righteousness shine as the
stars forever and ever.
There is something in all the
things that he has gone through that makes Daniel a better
person. Enormous amount of pressure changes a lump of coal into
a diamond. God's answer to Daniel-- I'm turning you into a
diamond. I'm turning you into pure gold--into something
beautiful that will last forever and ever.