Info from Readings Flashcards
What is the Torah?
The Law
When was the Torah Canonized?
Persian Period
What is the Torah called in a Christian bible?
Pentateuch
TSASS Ch 1
OT, an enemy, stranger of friend:
Main Points
Even if OT can make us uncomfortable, we should see it as a friend
This requires:
- Trust, respect, vulnerability
- Peaceful persistence
- Not ending friendship over difference
TSASS Ch 3
Darkness over the Face of the Deep:
Main Points
Gen 1 - How to read
Reflects ancient understanding of creation, but subverts normal narrative in these ways:
- Human equality
- Violence
- Pantheism, Theism, Atheism
- Humanity
TSASS Ch 2
Our Fleeting Moments in Paradise:
Main Points
Be attentive to Genre
- Some genres in bible not meant to be literal
- Names can be symbolic
- ask: Which interpretation is consistent?
- Hebrew poems have parallelism, repetition, and symbolic language
What is the Ketuvim?
The writings
When was the Ketuvim canonized?
Around destruction of 2nd temple, 70 CE
What does it mean that Genealogies are cultural maps?
Genealogies reflect:
- Who was considered in human family
- How related to others in human family
- Role in family
People sometimes represent people groups
What are the languages in the Bible?
Hebrew
Aramaic
Greek
TSASS Ch 7
Laws of the Bible:
Main Points
different approaches to reading the laws
1) See them as obsolete
2) Divide into categories (Moral, Ceremonial, Judicial) and only follow Moral Laws
3) Stick with them
Note: Differences between ritual impurity and moral impurity
TSASS Ch 8
Do God’s Laws change?
Laws change as the people’s needs and contexts change
Important themes in OT Laws:
- Holiness
- Disgust
- Caring for the poor
- Tabernacle
- Sacrifice
In regards to the Pentateuch, who is “R”?
Editor or series of editors
What is the Nevi’im?
Prophets
When was the Nevi’im canonized?
Late Persian or early Greek period
