Chapter Five
1. The identification and
evaluation of the historical content of the Hebrew scriptures is a complex
matter involving much learned scholarly debate. Moreover, the world of
scholarship is not immune from its own version of the tides of fashion.
Currently there is a tendency to place great emphasis on the role of the
editorial formation of the Hebrew canon in the post-exilic period of Persian
influence, when the Jews had returned from Babylon. We believe this to be the
time when the Hebrew Bible was compiled in its present final form.
- Citing examples from Genesis, Judges, 2 Samuel &
1 Kings, what are the challenges of distinguishing that which has symbolic roots
from that which has historical roots?
2. Of course, in
the case of archetypical events such as the Exodus from Egypt, the task of
sifting historical fact from later elaboration and legendary accretion is much
more tricky and difficult, because of continuing reworking and reflection on
these foundational themes. Yet I cannot believe that these accounts are mere
confabulations. Rather it must surely be the case that there is a historical
deposit contained in them, even if its detail has been developed and extended.
Once again we find that different elements are allowed to stand side by side
without the final editors succumbing to the temptation to produce a
smoothed-out harmonization.
- How is this exhibited in Exodus 14, where Moses
parts the Red Sea?
3. In
evaluating such evidence as can be gleaned from the attitudes to Israel
recorded in other Ancient Near Eastern chronicles and then using this in an
attempt to provide checks on the historicity of the Hebrew Bible, we need to
remember that the latter was written from the standpoint of Israel, for whom
Solomon was a great king with a court of cosmopolitan splendour, while from the
general standpoint of the ancient world, Israel must have been seen simply as a
small state sandwiched between the really great nations of Egypt, Assyria and
Babylon, the players of true importance on the international stage. Events in
Israelite history need not be expected necessarily to have attracted the
attention that would have caused a great nation to record them.
- How was this grandiosity contribute to the
exaggeratedly large numbers involved in the Exodus, as well as the incredible life-spans
attributed to people of the patriarchal period?
4. Jewish
thinking divides its scriptures into three sections: the Law, the Prophets and
the Writings. The Law (Torah) is contained in the Pentateuch, the first five
books of the Hebrew Bible, called ‘the Books of Moses’. The section of the Hebrew Bible called the
Prophets contains not only what we today would readily recognize as prophetic
writings, such as Isaiah and Jeremiah, but also the ‘Former Prophets’, the
books of our Bible from Joshua to 2 Kings. The third section of the Hebrew
Bible, the Writings, almost inevitably has something of a miscellaneous
character. It includes much material that was valued for its spiritual
authority, but which did not seem to fit into the Law or the Prophets.
- What did you learn here about Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Isaiah,
and Daniel?
5. The
longest, and surely the most important, book in the Writings is the book of
Psalms. Originating in the worship of the Jerusalem Temple, the Psalter has,
for over a period of at least two and a half thousand years, been a profound
liturgical resource for both Jews and Christians. The range of spiritual
experience and expression to be found in its pages far exceeds that to be
discovered within the covers of any hymn book. The psalmists write with great
frankness and honesty, rejoicing in God’s goodness but not afraid to protest in
times of difficulty and suffering.
- What have you discovered about God and yourself in
the Psalms?
6. The Hebrew
Bible was the scripture that permeated the thought of Jesus and the first
Christians. It has the strangenesses that come from its particular times and
cultures, but it is also full of great riches. I believe that it is very
important that the Old Testament retains its traditionally important place in
the worship and thought of the Christian Church.
- In a world where the Old Testament is easily
dismissed, how would you argue for its relevance and role in nurturing our
faith?
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