Hebrew Bible: prophecy short paper

What is Prophecy?

10/28/2011



Today's class was focused on brainstorming and organizing our thoughts for the paper due NEXT FRIDAY about biblical prophecy.  Remember, you need 900 words and 3 types of prophecy in your papers, and don't forget to include relevant examples and the differences between the Northern and Southern prophets.

• Southern prophets -- textual location in the books named after them
• emphasis on the Exodus
• Isaiah (8th century BCE)
• Zephaniah (7th)
• Nahum (7th)
• Micah (8th and maybe 7th)
• Northern Prophets -- Elijah, Elisha, and Micaiah are found in 1 & 2 Kings; others in own books
• emphasis on the Davidic Kingdom and restoration of Zion (Jerusalem)
• Amos (8th)
• Hosea (8th)
• Elijah (9th)
• Elisha (9th)
• Micaiah (9th)

• Pre-Exilic Prohpets (roughly chronological; Exile meaning during and after 586 BCE)
• Elijah
• Michaiah
• Elisha
• Isaiah
• Amos
• Hosea
  Here is the assignment, copied directly from Blackboard:
  
  
  What is Biblical Prophecy?
  
  
  Much of the text of the Hebrew Bible is devoted to the writings of the Israelite and Judean prophets.  Some of these prophets worked in the northern kingdom and some worked in the southern kingdom; most of them were active in the 8^th and 7^th centuries BCE.  In an essay of approximately 900 words, discuss the social, political, and cultural milieus of biblical prophecy.  You should include both northern and southern prophets in your discussion as well as pre-exilic and exilic prophets.  Your essay should attempt to answer the question, What is the nature of biblical prophecy?  In order to answer this larger, more general question, you will want to think about and address some of the following more specific questions:
  
  
  What was the historical context within which these prophets worked?
  Were northern prophets different from southern prophets?
  Did they have difference concerns?
  What kinds of critiques did the prophets make?
  Did they work for the king or against the king?  Or both?
  Were they only concerned with Israelites?
  Did they work alone or in groups?
  What social and/or cultural roles did the prophets play in ancient Israelites society?
  How would you categorize the different types of prophets? Are these categories related or completely different?
  What kinds of acts did the prophets perform?  Or did they only speak and write?
  For whom do the prophets speak?  Against whom do they speak?  In whose name?
  
  
  You do not need to answer all these questions in your essay, but you should address enough of them to answer our larger question: What is the nature of biblical prophecy?
  
  
  You absolutely MUST quote the biblical text in order to support your arguments.  If you want to argue that some prophets predict the future, you need to offer an example of an Israelite prophet who predicts the future.  If you argue that prophets are culture critics, you need to provide a quotation as an example.  REFERENCING OR SUMMARIZING THE TEXT DOES NOT COUNT AS A QUOTATION.  You may use Collins to help your thinking along and to find ideas, but I want you to refer to the biblical text ONLY in this paper.
  You should, at the very least, address the difference (if any) between northern and southern prophets; the difference (if any) between pre-exilic and exilic prophets; and discuss at least three different types of prophets.  By types I do not mean North vs. South or Pre-exilic vs. Exilic.  By types I mean the ways in which they prophesied and the specific social or political roles they played.
  
  
  You will be graded according to the following criteria:
  
  
  At least FIVE quotations of the biblical text (5 points each) = 25
  At least THREE different types of prophets (15 points each) = 45
  Contrasting southern prophets and northern prophets = 10
  Contrasting pre-exilic and exilic prophets = 10
  Spelling/Grammar/Clarity = 1
• Micah
• Zephaniah
• Nahum
• Exilic Prophets (not yet discussed in class -- next week)
• Habakkuk
• Malachi
• Jeremiah
• Ezekiel
• some others...

Typology

• professional -- paid by kings to speak in their favor; spoke often at the Samaria city gates
• Nahum --spoke against Ninevah
• Michaiah -- yet he spoke against the Israelite king
• Zedekiah -- used horns; see 1 Kings 22
• Isaiah -- often with royalty
• Sons of the Prophets -- performed miraces (e.g. ax head floats, 2 Kings)
• Elisha's disciples
• seers -- future-tellers, messiac prophets
• Amos -- called a seer, meaning not a professional prophet
• the witch of Endor -- see 1 Samuel
• Isaiah -- predicting future of messiah
• several others...
• women
• Miriam (Exodus)
• Deborah (Judges)
• witch of Endor
• previously laymen -- compelled to prophesy!
• Amos -- was a farmer
• Elisha
• culture critics -- of idolatry, social injustice, bad sacrificial system, etc.
• ALL THE PROPHETS
• THIS IS A KEY FEATURE OF WHAT IT MEANS TO BE A PROPHET
• miracle-workers
• Elisha -- resurrection, healing leprosy, endless supply of oil (2 Kings)
• Elijah -- calling down fire, parting the Jordan, etc. (1 Kings)
• symbolic -- symbolic action and symbolic naming of children
• Hosea -- children and marrying a "woman of promiscuity" (Hos 1-2)
• Isaiah -- children; nakedness, Isaiah 20
• Jerimiah -- ox goad (somewhere in Jeremiah...)

Hebrew Bible: biblical prophesy

What is Biblical Prophecy?

today's notes are a courtesy of Jacqueline Miller

10/26/2011

Reading

*Collins, “Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, and Zephaniah”

*Read the introductory material to Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, and Zephaniah in NOAB

*Isaiah 6-9, 36-39

Notes

Amos and Hosea-Northern Kingdom

Isaiah, Micah, Nahum, Zephaniah-Southern Kingdom

Isaiah

·         The most complicated book in the Hebrew Bible because it has a lot of Authors (3-4 authors)

·         Chapters 1-39 (Called “First Isaiah”)

o    The writings of a prophet named Isaiah

o    Isaiah was from the southern kingdom; he worked in Jerusalem

o    Lived in the 8^th century

§  Wrote before the Assyrian invasion in 722 BCE

·         Chapters 40-55 (Called “Duetero Isaiah”)

o    Makes direct reference to the Babylonian exile (586 BCE) and even King Cyrus

o    Gets attributed to isaih because of sematic material

·         Chapter 56-66 (Called “Trito Isaiah”)

o    Roughly comparable with the chapters 40-55

§  Although different author

·         Happy ending is written by editors

“First Isaiah”

·         Isaiah 6

o    His prophetic call

§  Probably began in the year that  King Uzziah died

§  Sees angles with 6 wings that burn his lips; saw the Lord sitting on a throne (when he is in the temple)

·         Only the priests were allowed in the temple, so possibly a priest

§  Isaiah says that he is unclean so the angles push a burning coal onto his lips to purify him

·         The problem with this vision is that according to Exodus, no man can see God and live

·         Different tradition than we see in Exodus

·         When calls a prophet he gives him a mission. Isaiah’s mission is:

o    Tell the people to look but don’t understand and to listen but not comprehend.

§  God says to Moses to tell the pharaoh to let the people go and then God hardens pharaohs heart so that he says no

·         Isaiah 7

o    Verse 10: God speaks to the terrible king (Ahaz)

§  God tells him to ask him for a sign, but he says no

§  God has Isaiah offer Ahaz a sign

o    Verse 12-14

§  The sign is that a young woman is with child and she will call him Immanuel

·         El is with usà”God is with us”

·         Young woman in Hebrew is translated into virgin in Greek

o    Virgin birth

·         Ahaz’ wifeàsign that God was with the Israelites

·         Isaiah 8

o    God says to Isaiah to take a tablet and write “This belongs to Maher-shalal-has-baz”

§  Which means “the spoil speeds, the prey hastens”

§  Names his kid with prophetess Maher-shalal-has-baz

§  Symbolic names as prediction

·         Isaiah 9

o    Verse 6

§  Disputed between Christians/Jews

·         Christians think that this is prophetic about Jesus, Jews do not

o    Jews think it is enthronement liturgy (sung to a king)

·         Isaiah 37

o    Paralleled precisely in 2 Kings 19

§  Word for word the exact same as Isaiah 37

§  Circa 722 BCE

·         Possibly written at the same time, by the same person

·         Someone copied it from Isaiah or Isaiah copied it from 2 Kings

o    Deuteronomists were writing during the exile, so it was probably written after Isaiah; the Deuteronomists got their information from previous books about the kings

o    Isaiah didn’t write this because it is in the 3^rd person, Isaiah wrote in first person and his words were put into it

Micah

·         Younger than Isaiah

·         Prophesying in the south, not connected to the royal court (Isaiah was part of the royal court)

·         Really harsh in condemnations

·         Chapter 3

o    Verse 9

§  Oracles against the southern kingdom

·         “…its prophets give oracles for money”

§  All prophets, kings, etc are corrupt

·         Chapter 6

o    Put people on trials

o    Verse 6

§  The people ask, “What am I going to bring to serve God?”

§  Indication that some Israelites practice child sacrifice (verse 7)

Nahum

·         First prophesying after the fall of the northern kingdom

·         Is one of our only examples of extended prophesies by a professional prophet

o    Only concerned with Nineveh

o    Talks about the places that Assyrians have destroyed

Zephaniah

·         Prophesied during the time of Josiah

·         Two primary concerns

o    Chapter 1 verse 8

§  Idolatry

§  During the reign of Joshiah there was a big push to get rid of idols

§  They have been leaping over the threshold, foreign attire (dress like Assyrians)

·         Not Judean, it was not set apart and the materials were being mixed

Friday

Before Friday, write down as many different kinds of prophets that you can think of with examples

                Magic, worked for king, against king, etc

Hebrew Bible: Amos and Hosea

Prophets:  Amos and Hosea

10/24/2011

Up to this point in the Israelite chronology,

prophecy was usually a profession composed of several groups

which often supported the king and rallied the people around positve predictions.

Amos

        prophesized in the Northern Kingdom during the 8th century BCE.

He was one of the first (if not the first) prophets to have written prophecies.  His main concerns were of social justice, making his words similar to wisdom literature.  Amos was from Tekoa, south of Jerusalem.

       Composition

• chapters 1-2:  oracles about neighboring nations
• 3-6:  oracles for/against the Northern Kingdom
• 7-9:  the encounter with the priest Amaziah

Amos 1-2 -- oracles against Damascus of Aram, Gaza of Philistine, Tyre, Ammonites, etc. 

Their condemnation was wrongdoing done against other nations (e.g. Damascus against Gilead).

The "for three...and for four" phrase is an idiom meaning "several."

Amos 4 -- worship at a high place (vs. 4-5; establishment of Jeroboam)

Amos argues that the people were doing "the right things at the wrong place," thereby arguing for centralization of worship.

Amos 6 -- condemnation on the extravagance at the cost of the poor (vs. 4)

Amos 7 -- encounter with Amaziah, priest at Bethel

Amaziah wanted Amos to return to Judah, his homeland, and prophesy there (vs. 12-13).

Amos replies, "I am no prophet."  His understanding of the prophets as a paparazzi of sorts was not his form of work; he was not a "professional," hired by the king to prophesy in his favor.

Amos 9 -- no consideration of the covenant (vs. 7)

Amos did not see Israel as being a special nation in the eyes of YHWH; rather, the whole earth was subject to Him.

Verse 11 demonstrates the work of an editor, since it references the fall of the "booth of David," which had not happened yet during the period Amos prophesized.

Hosea

       prophesized in the Northern Kingdom during the 8th century BCE.

His concerns were mainly the wickedness of Israel's idolatry, yet social justice is also addressed.  Unique in Hosea's prophecies is the use of symbolic/metaphoric action (like Zedekiah, mentioned in an earlier post; and like Isaiah when he was naked and barefoot, Isaiah 20).

Hosea 1 -- prophetic symbolic action

God commands Hosea to marry a "woman of promiscuity" and to have three children with her, whom he will prophetically name.

       Names

•  Jezreel -- the "summer home" of the kings, symbolizing their decadence and idolatry
• Lo-Ruhama -- meaning "not loved/pitied"
• Lo-Ammi -- meaning "not my people"
 



Hebrew Bible: Buried Secrets, Pt. 2

The Bible's Buried Secrets

Part 2

10/21/2011

1. Whose name appears more than any other in the Hebrew Bible?
2. Where did archeologists discover the "house of David" inscription?
1. In what language was the inscription?
3. When do scholars think David lived?
4. Which is the earliest source, (J) or (E)?
1. Where was this source from (North or South)?
5. Where in Jerusalem have archeologists been able to dig?
6. How do archeologists date old city walls by using pottery?
1. Why is using pottery not always a reliable method for dating archeological sites?
7. Does radiocarbon dating support the biblical narrative and chronology?
8. What is the significance of the six-chambered gates found in Hazor, Megiddo, and Gezer?
9. When did Shishak destroy Gezer?
1. Does this support biblical chronology?
10. What is the name of YHWH's wife?
11. Why does the (P) source emphasize rituals that can be performed at home?

see PBS website for documentary. :)

Hebrew Bible: 2 Kings and its Prophets

Second Kings

10/19/2011

This book, the final of the Deuteronomistic history (Deuteronomy through 2 Kings), was originally part of First Kings.

Topics:

• Prophets
• Josiah's Reform
• Destruction of the Northern Kingdom
• Destruction of Judah

Tasks of the Prophets--

          e.g. the "company of prophets" who accompanied Elisha

1. Reveal God's will at His command
2. Perform miracles
3. Practice divining
4. Raise the dead
5. Engage in political affairs such as anointing kings
6. Critique the culture and/or the king (where the terms diatribe and jeremiad come from)

1 Kings 22 -- 400 prophets, Micaiah opposed king, Zedekiah used sympathetic magic, that is, performed a certain action in the hopes that the action would occur later)

1 Kings 18 -- Elijah verses Baal and his prophets

In a contest between whose god was more powerful, the objective was to produce fire.  All Baal's prophets chanted extensively to no avail.  In the end, God creates the fire.  The moral is that King Ahab was weak and in the wrong for trusting in Baal.

Elijah -- taken up in a chariot of fire rather than dying; he is believed to come back  (Malachai)

Elisha -- an ambassador for Israel, miracle-worker (sounds like Jesus)

Josianic Reforms--

          2 Kings 22-23

verse 2 -- King Josiah reads the found law in front of all the people (treatise-like)

3 -- evidence of (D) history because of the parallel wording to Deuteronomy

4 -- King Josiah brought out all the idols, etc. from the Temple

13-14 -- dead bodies were very impure culturally, so these places would no longer be used

20 -- the pagan priests were all killed

• a scroll, the law, was found while repairing the Temple--was it Deuteronomy?
• a treaty was established to follow the torah and centralize worship
• after a communal cleansing, a huge, corporate Passover was celebrated

Destruction in the North--

          722 BCE by Assyrian army (not Arameans)

These exiled Israelites intermingled with other nations, becoming the Samaritans (17:9).

The editors/redactors must have lived during the exile -- see 2 Kings 25.

Destruction in the South--

          586 BCE by Babylonians (Neo-Babylonians)

Jerusalem was full of fleeing Israelites from the northern country.

The Babylonians raided Judah and collected tribute first.

Deportation.

  

Hebrew Bible: 1 Kings

10/17/2011

1 Kings

last of the Deuteronomistic History...

Four Topics:

1. Rise and Reign of Solomon:  Why and How
2. The Building of the Temple
3. Division of the United Monarchy
4. New Class of People, the Prophets of YHWH

The books of the Kings gives strong evidence that the (D) authors incorporated other sources:

• Books of the Acts of Solomon
• Books of the Annals of the Kings of Judah
• Books of the Annals of the Kings of Israel
• The Annals are different due to the types of formulas given for each of the kings.  See page 486 in NRSV
• e.g. see 1 Kings 15 with Abijam and Nadab

Solomon:

• Illegitimate heir--not the oldest; son of Bathsheba
• Bathsheba wants her son to be king, especially with Nathan's encouragement (godly council)
• Solomon battles his opponents to become king
• What (D) liked about Solomon (and the related issues)
• He built the Temple
• centralization of worship
• not until Solomon's time is a reason given for why David couldn't build the temple--Solomon had "peace on all sides;" David didn't
• The temple's plan is much like the tabernacle, but smaller (and smaller than palace)
• the cedar came from Lebanon, and Solomon gave away 20 cities for the wood
• Solomon conscripted labor form "all Israel" (see 5:13-17)
• Wisdom
• the wisdom genre of literature was popular in the region during Solomon's time
• wisdom literature was written by sophisticated scribes normally in literature schools
• authorship for wisdom literature (Ecclesiastes and Proverbs)
• possible origin of J and E sources 
• Diplomacy
• marrying foreign women brought prosperity and peace
• with foreign women came foreign gods
• Solomon was "evil" because of those gods
• it was his fault that God tore the kingdom in half

Division:  Jeroboam verses Rehoboam

Jeroboam builds two calves to worship the Lord (where He could dwell) at high places in Israel.  In later generations, kings are reprimanded in following after the "sin of Jeroboam."

Rehoboam decides to be even harsher on the conscripted laborers and thus loses most of the kingdom.

The nation was united for about 100 years.

 

Hebrew Bible: The Ark of the God

The Ark of God

I Samuel 4-7

Deuteronomistic History

10/14/2011

Document:  Ark of the LORD, on BlackBoard

Story Synopsis 

At Ebenezer, the Israelites lose a battle to the Philistines.  To gain a victory, they decide to bring the Ark of God to the battle so that they might win having the Name of the Lord on their side.

The High Priest Eli loses his sons, an act which suggests that priestly immorality brought on defeat.  Eli died from shock of the Ark of God being taken by the Philistines, and he fell over and broke his neck, dying instantly.

Meanwhile, the Philistines take the Ark to the temple of their god, Dagon.  The next day the find the statue of the god fallen over.  On the second day, they find it fallen over again, but this time with its hands and head dismembered.  Then the Philistines wanted to get rid of the Ark (plagues also devastated the land), so they crafted golden mice and tumors (plagues) and sent them off with the Ark and cattle back to the Israelites.

Etiologies are present:  1) Dagon's priest always stepped over the threshold, and 2) the Ark ends up in Kireath Jearim for around 20 years.

Key issue:  Whose god is greater?

Deity Capture Traditions

• nations would return captured deities at times; such was the case of Marduk
• in particular, the Hittites and the Assyrians would return gods
• this practice was possibly a form of humiliation to the conquered nations

From Article:

Eli's sons took from the offering and they ate as much as they could of it.  They did not even offer some sacrifices but ate them instead.

*Note:  the Ark acts simply as a placeholder for the hand of the Lord*

Moral Chronology: 

1. Judgment looms over Eli's sons
2. The Ark is lost to the Philistines
3. God's power is displayed against sinful priests
4. A lesson is given to teach the Israelites about God's power

Hebrew Bible: 2 Samuel

2 Samuel

10/12/11

Contents

• chap 1-5:  Rise of David continued from 1 Samuel (chap 5--annexation of Jerusalem, capital)
• 6:  Tabernacle brought to Jerusalem (some congruency with 1 Samuel 4-7)
• 7:  Divine Mandate for Kingship
• 8-2 Kings:  Court Narratives
• 8-10:  David verses Canaan
• 11-12:  Bathsheba
• 13-20:  Revolt of Absalom (kills brother for his rape, wants to be king)
• 21-24:  Appendices   

Monarchy perceptions notes

• Saul dies in battle by falling on his sword to avoid humiliation
• David kills the man who reports to have killed Saul (chap 1)
• Saul's sons slowly die off
• Ishbaal, Saul's son, shows by his name ("son of baal") that Davidic dynasty was surpreme

Davidic Dynasty

David wants to build a house (dwelling place) for the Lord.

The prophet Nathan gives an oracle in chapter 7, laying out blessings of kingship:

• verse 8:  God made David king
• 9:  God's presence, victory, great name
• 10:  land permanent for descendants to live
• 11:  rest from enemies, house (dynasty--reversal of request)
• 12:  kingdom (again, dynasty)
• 13:  next king will build temple (Solomon)
• 14:  next king will be a son of God--adoptive relationship, discipline--kingdom in tact
• 15:  steadfast love to family line will remain; dynasty stays
• 16:  FOREVER

(D) probably used older documents to write this above passage, because:  God gave a major promise, not a covenant; this promise was more like Abraham's than the covenant given to Moses; king more divinely exalted as "God's son"; "forever" = pre-exilic era.

Psalms!

110:  David in the line of "Melchezidek"--Abraham paid tithe to the king-priest of Salem (Jerusalem).  Melchezidek was respected as a holy man; this psalm was probably older, reflecting a more Canaanite-centered culture.

45:  King is considered "god" or at least divine.  Opinion was that the king was related to God.  King praised forever.

Exile:  Quest for a Mashiach (Messiah)

• many people claimed to be a/the Messiah
• how does the dynasty continue with no king?
• the Messiah must bring the kingdom back to power.

Hebrew Bible: 1 Samuel

First Samuel

10/10/11

Structure

• the book was originally of the same book as 2 Samuel
• 1 and 2 Samuel were probably conjoined with 1 and 2 Kings as well
• old material was edited (D) and redacted (R)
• Chapter Topics
• chap 1-4:  Samuel's rise to fame.  Samuel is the transition between judges and kings
• 4-6:  Ark of the Covenant movement and Philistines (discussion on Friday)
• 7-15:  Birth of Monarchy/Saul's rise to power (two versions)
• 16-2 Sam 5:  Rise of David (possibly an independent book)

Key questions:

     Who wrote the book?  When was it written?  Where was it written?  What is the genre?  To whom was it written for?  What is the ideology behind the book?

The role of the Deuteronomist

• (D) put the book together between 586-621 BCE--Babylonian Exile
• Evidence of two (D) strands--pro-Monarchy (before exile) and Monarchy-suspicious (sometime during the exile)
• Ideologies
• centralization (Josiah's reform)
• obedience to the Law

Review of timeline

• 922 BCE--Israel splits into Northern and Southern Kingdoms
• 722--Assyria exiles the Northern Kingdom
• 621--King Josiah's reform in Southern Kingdom (Judah)
• 586--Babylon exiles Judah

King Saul

1. 1 Samuel 13--Saul offers sacrifice
1. the turning point of Saul's reign
2. he did not wait for Samuel for the sacrifice 
3. God rejected him
2. 1 Samuel 15--Saul violates Harem ("to destroy completely")
1. Samuel told Saul to take over the Amalekites following harem
2. however, Saul leaves the king and takes the animals for sacrifice
3. Samuel asserts that "obedience is better than sacrifice"

Saul verses Samuel

Clearly, disobedience was Saul's downfall according to (D).  These passages show a conflict between God's prophet Samuel and tradition and the king Saul and pragmatism.  This reflects a changing society.  Samuel is supported by (D).

Shiloh--centralized cultic center (north of Jerusalem)

Samuel--a nazarite, dedicated by his mom Hannah, who prayed for a son.  This prayer is similar to the virgin Mary's Magnifica.

Views on the Monarchy

1. Fall of Judges led to a rejection of God (ex. 1 Samuel 8)
1. God ought to be king
2. judges and priests govern
3. monarchy was a bad idea
2. God appointed Saul as king to rescue people (ex. 1 Samuel 9)
1. probably a different (D) author
2. in favor the king as God's "son"
3. A "Mashiach" is yet to come; that is, Messiah (anointed one; 1 Samuel 10)

David--also in two stories

1. chap 15-16:13:  the Lord sends Samuel to anoint David as king
2. 16:14-23:  David's musician skills leads David to come onto the scene to sooth Saul's dementia

David can also be seen as a mercenary and traitor, like when Nabal died and David acquired his wife.

Witch of Endor--1 Samuel 28

• witch can contact/conjure the dead
• (D) may show to be fearful of witchcraft powers
• "elohim" out of the ground
• divining apparently works
• afterlife evidence in "sleeping soul"

Hebrew Bible: "The Bible's Buried Secrets"

Alright guys, so today Dr. Hofer showed a documentary on the archeological finds that concern the Hebrew Bible.  He gave us all a worksheet to fill out--not to turn it--so that we can take notes and use it for the Final.  I decided to be really nice to put up the links from YouTube and type out the questions.  I WILL NOT provide answers, but this still should be all you would need to get caught up if you missed (skipped :) ) class today.

The Bible's Buried Secrets -- Nova, PBS, 2008

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BI4N7IO-A2Y
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ3-KeFplmk&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kL-F_MkDyDI&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5XkCio-5HM&feature=related

1. What is the oldest text in the Hebrew Bible?
2. According to archeological evidence, the Exodus would have had to have happened between which years?
3. According to archeologists, why could the Israelites NOT have destroyed Jericho and Ai?
4. Why do archeologists believe that Israelites DID destroy Hazor?
5. What is the new theory of Israelite origins?
6. How did the Israelites forge a new identity in the hill country?
7. The newly emergent Israelites were comprised of a couple of different groups.  Name them.
8. Where did the god named YHWH come from, according to the documentary?
9. How did YHWH come to be associated with the Israelites?

Hebrew Bible: Judges

Judges

Daniel Talent -- 10/05/2011

Content -- a focus on narratives rather than history or teaching.

   -- categorized as a hagiography, a biography of a holy people (but not the judges!)

   -- stories may have been passed down orally, yet they were written around 722 BCE, after the Northern Kingdom fell to the Assyrians

   -- may have been complied by (D) authors (the in-text editing complies with (D))

Background -- post-Exodus; "land and children" not yet fulfilled; kings of other nations ruled over city-states

Themes -- Israel has its own identity!  The judges are constantly wrestling with what this concept means.

   -- people disobey and receive salvation again and again

   -- cycles of sin and redemption!  sin:  worshiping foreign deities; redemption:  victories

   -- Israel has a right to the land

Who were the judges?

"Shophet" in Hebrew

military tribal leaders with judicial authority; not exactly role models... 

possibly only leaders of individual tribes

God's role:  using judges and others as agents for his will

What were the tribes?

mentality of "one big family"; judges and family leaders ruled over each tribe

Some of the Judges

Ehud

   -- a left-handed Benjamite 

   -- antagonist:  King Eglon of Moab (area southeast of the Dead Sea)

   -- assassinated Eglon by sticking a dagger and losing it with him, and he was deceptive because he pretended to be paying tribute

   -- this is quite an interesting read!!

Deborah

   -- name means "bee"

   -- only female judge; prophetess and advisor

   -- sings a traditional song, recorded in the text

   -- probably doesn't actually fight in the battle with Barak (other judge who leads army to battle against King Jabin)

   -- antagonist:  Sisera, commander of Jabin's army

   -- the hero, a non-Israelite woman named Jael, hammered a tent peg into Siser's temple

Gideon

    -- threshes wheat in a wine press, since the Midianites had threatened them and took the land (?)

   -- an angel commanded him to fight against the Midianites

   -- Gideon is famous for "putting out the wool" to test God to make sure he is with him--signs of divine favor

   -- he goes into battle against the Midianites and reduces his army to 300 people, using guerrilla warfare to defeat their army

   -- he refuses kingship but his son Abimelech (whose name meant "song of king") wanted to be king, but he was cursed since he killed all 70 of his brothers and died by a millstone dropped on his head 

   --he sets up an image, but later people would be condemned for worshiping

Samson, a cross-cultural classical hero

   -- although he was not pious, he was a Nazarite (devoted to the LORD)

   -- he probably had dreadlocks, which were the source of his strength (part of Nazarite vow)

   -- he loved foreign (philistine) women

   -- his wife Delilah was mean and deceptive, having him succumb to the Philistines

   -- tears down the temple of the pagan god Dagon by the Spirit of the Lord

Israelite Civil/Tribal War

Tribes allied against Benjamin tribe, and they had no wives.  So they pillaged and took someone else's wives for them.  Anarchy/no king at the end of the book.  Hospitality important, just like Sodom story.