1000 Word Essay needed

User Generated

ryqreqvttf

Humanities

Description

You will write an essay of about 1000 words supporting the following statement:

Biblical literature’s historical, cultural, and literary contexts were far different from our own. However, it can be appreciated for its use of plot structures with parallels in modern texts and for its concerns, themes, and “big questions” that are pertinent to our contemporary situations.

To support the first sentence, you should give specific examples—taken from assigned texts and discussed in class—of 1) how biblical texts portrayed situations for audiences with a quite different view of the world than is typical of most in contemporary American culture or 2) how one biblical text can be interpreted in terms of another—especially when the one provides a quite different viewpoint than the other. For this part of the essay, you should have at least one example from each of at least three different Tanakh texts and at least one from a Christian text. The content of the essay will of course be enriched if you give even more examples from texts we studied and discussed.

To support the second sentence, you should first compare the Exodus story as outlined in class[1] to a contemporary text (story, movie, etc.) of your choice . Be sure to concisely explain the Exodus story in terms of this outline and then show how the modern text you choose has parts that correspond to each part (or most parts) of the Exodus story. 

Thenin further support of the second sentence,give three examples (each taken from a different biblical text) of “concerns, themes, and ‘big questions’” addressed in biblical texts that are pertinent to our contemporary situations (personal, social, political, or other): briefly summarize how this concern, theme, or big question was addressed in a biblical text and then tell how it relates to a contemporary situation.



[1] GOOD SITUATION à OPPRESSION BY A POWERFUL INDIVIDUAL OR GROUP à, UNSUCCESSFUL RESISTANCE à CALL OF A LIBERATOR à RELUCTANCE/RESISTANCE OF THE CALLED ONE à THE LIBERATOR IS ASSURED OF A SOURCE OF POWERà CONFRONTATION OF THE LIBERATOR HERO & THE OPPRESSOR VILLAIN à ESCAPE à CELEBRATION àDESERT/WILDNERNESS WANDERINGS à PROMISED LAND

DirectFileTopicDownload.pdf 

Unformatted Attachment Preview

A Bible Sampler Timothy L. Wilt Copyright © 2014 Timothy L Wilt timwilt.com All rights reserved. ISBN: ISBN-13: ii A BIBLE SAMPLER CONTENTS Hebrew Scriptures 1 The Beginning 3 2 Better a Thick Tongue than a Thick Head 13 3 Add Salt, Save the Fat for Yahweh 17 4 The Divine Warrior 23 5 The Boy, the Giant, & the King 25 6 Pigeon in a Fish 27 7 Praise, Prayer, Protest… 35 8 ABC’s of Grief 47 9 Proverbs 49 Vaporous, Uncertain 51 10 Christian Scriptures 11 Living Well 55 12 The Beginning and Now 61 13 The Beginning and the End 3 iii iv Readings from the Hebrew Scriptures THE BEGINNING The first book of the Bible is called Genesis, from the Greek word for “beginning”, the first word of the book. The book starts out with the two texts translated here, providing a framework for stories about the beginning of the family of Abraham, bitter and sometimes murderous divisions between his descendants, a great flood wiping out most of humanity, an unsuccessful attempt to build a tower up to heaven, struggles for control over land and property, and displacement from one’s homeland. Throughout the portrayal of these dismal situations, there is the continual theme that from “the beginning” God is at work to bring order and goodness out of chaos. Translation Notes on “The Beginning” To indicate how different translations can influence perception of an ancient text, a traditional translation (King James Version) is put with grey background on the even-numbered pages and my own translation of the same text is put on the odd-numbered pages. Much ancient literature was originally communicated orally, then written down, sometimes generations after having been first produced. Some texts may have kept their original form word for word while others may have been reshaped, influenced by the situations and perceptions of later generations. The ancient writers and editors did not have modern printing devices to distinguish between sections of a text or even where one sentence ends and another begins. They did not use titles, sub-titles, or footnotes. But they did have stylistic devices helping the readers to know how different parts of the text were related to each other. In my translation, modern printing devices are used to indicate the function of some of those stylistic devices. For example, what is traditionally rendered “And God said…” combined with “and there was evening and there was morning, the first [second, third, etc.] day” marks the beginning and ending of each section in the first part of the text. I have used the sub-titles “Day 1,” “Day 2,” etc. to represent both the content of the reference to the days and the function of clarifying text divisions. The cursive font, as in the paragraph beginning “This is the record,” represents a text that is part of the canonized biblical text but functions somewhat parallel to modern conventions such as footnotes, boxed inserts, or editorial introductions. In most translations, the supplementary and primary texts are not distinguished. But it is well known that editors and scribes put texts together and sometimes added explanations about them or inserted a text from a different source. The “This is the record…” note separates the first creation account from the second one and provides some background, the next note provides a geographical explanation, and the third note indicates the significance of a name and links the story to a cultural practice. These are typical of the kinds of notes found throughout biblical texts. The distinction between primary and supplementary texts is often uncertain, but so is the sense and relationships of many words and sentences. If one did not translate ancient texts unless there were absolute certainty of their meaning, they would never be translated at all. 3 A BIBLE SAMPLER 1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day. 6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. 7 And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day. 9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. 12 And the earth brought forth grass, and herb yielding seed after his kind, and the tree yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself, after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 13 And the evening and the morning were the third day. 14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: 15 And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth: and it was so. 16 And God made two great lights; the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night: he made the stars also. 17 And God set them in the firmament of the heaven to give light upon the earth, 18 And to rule over the day and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness: and God saw that it was good. 19 And the evening and the morning were the fourth day. 4 THE BEGINNING THE BEGINNING: THE DIVINE ONE CREATES THE UNIVERSE Over dark oceans of chaos, a divine wind stirs. Day 1 The Divine One speaks: “There will be light.” There is light. The Divine One sees how good the light is, keeps it apart from darkness, and names the darkness Lahyelah and the light Yohm. Day 2 The Divine One speaks: “Oceans will be kept apart.” This occurs: The Divine One separates the ocean above from the ocean below. The Divine One names the separating space Shamahyim “Sky”: Day 3 The Divine One speaks: “The ocean under the sky will recede and land will be seen.” This occurs. The Divine One names the ocean Yahm and the land Errets. The Divine One sees how good it is. The Divine One speaks: “Land will produce vegetation that will reproduce through its own seeds, from small plants to trees.” The earth produces the vegetation. The Divine One sees how good it is. Day 4 The Divine One speaks: “There will be lights in the sky to shine on the earth, to keep night apart from day, to make cycles of time: days, seasons, years.” The lights appear. The Divine One makes the largest light to dominate the day, the next largest light to dominate the night, and the stars. The Divine One places them in the sky to shine on the earth, to dominate day and night, to keep darkness from light. The Divine One sees how good it is. 5 A BIBLE SAMPLER 20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. 21 And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 22 And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth. 23 And the evening and the morning were the fifth day. 24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them. 28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. 29 And God said, Behold, I have given you every herb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree, in the which is the fruit of a tree yielding seed; to you it shall be for meat. 30 And to every beast of the earth, and to every fowl of the air, and to every thing that creepeth upon the earth, wherein there is life, I have given every green herb for meat: and it was so. 31 And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day. 2 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. 6 THE BEGINNING Day 5 The Divine One speaks: “All kinds of creatures will swim in the water and fly through the skies.” The Divine One creates all birds and all water life, from the smallest to the sea monsters. They reproduce themselves. The Divine One sees how good they are. The Divine One blesses them: ”You will reproduce, filling the land and sea.” Day 6 The Divine One speaks: “Land will have beings breathing life, from those creeping along its surface to those living in herds, all kinds of life-breathing creatures, and they will reproduce themselves.” This occurs. The Divine One sees how good they are,. The Divine One speaks: “We will make people. They will be like us, very much like us. They will be in charge of Ocean’s fish, Sky’s birds, Land’s animals, all of them.” The Divine One creates the people, making them like divine beings, very much like divine beings: male and female, The Divine One creates them. The Divine One blesses them. The Divine One speaks to them: “Reproduce throughout The Land. Control her and take charge of Ocean’s fish, Sky’s birds, Land’s animals, all of them.’ The Divine One speaks: “Look what I give to you: all of Land’s vegetation, reproducing itself and providing you food. It provides food as well for all of Sky’s birds, all of Land’s animals, breathers of life.” This occurs as The Divine One says. The Divine One sees all he has made, how good it is. Yes, so very good. Sky and Land and all they contain are now complete. Day 7 The seventh day: The Divine One’s work is complete. The Divine One allows all his work to stay as is. The seventh day: for The Divine One, blessed by The Divine One. His work, all he has created, stays as is. 7 A BIBLE SAMPLER 4 These are the generations of the heavens and of the earth when they were created, in the day that the LORD God made the earth and the heavens, 5 And every plant of the field before it was in the earth, and every herb of the field before it grew: for the LORD God had not caused it to rain upon the earth, and there was not a man to till the ground. 6 But there went up a mist from the earth, and watered the whole face of the ground. 7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. 8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. 11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 18 And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. 19 And out of the ground the LORD God formed every beast of the field, and every fowl of the air; and brought them unto Adam to see what he would call them: and whatsoever Adam called every living creature, that was the name thereof. 20 And Adam gave names to all cattle, and to the fowl of the air, and to every beast of the field; but for Adam there was not found an help meet for him. 21 And the LORD God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept: and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof; 22 And the rib, which the LORD God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. 23 And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man. 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh. 25 And they were both naked, the man and his wife, and were not ashamed. 3 Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? 2 And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: 3 But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. 4 And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. 6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat. 7 And the eyes of them both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together, and made themselves aprons. 8 THE BEGINNING This is the record of our universe, from the time of its creation, when Divine Yahweh had brought it into being, when vegetation was scarce because Divine Yahweh had not yet caused rain to fall and humans did not work the soil. Water came up from underground sources throughout the land. Divine Yahweh took some topsoil, shaped it into the form of a person, and blew into his nostrils, enabling him to breathe. A person made from soil was brought to life! Divine Yahweh then made a sanctuary in Eden, east of here. Divine Yahweh picked up the one made from soil and put him in the sanctuary, where he was to stay, taking care of it. Divine Yahweh had enabled trees to grow there, trees pleasing the eye and providing food, including, at the center, the Tree of Life and the Tree of Realizing In Eden, a stream provided water for the sanctuary. It was the source of four rivers: Pishon, forming the boundary of Havilah, the land of fine gold and precious stones; Gishon, forming the boundary of Kush; Tigris, running to the east of Ashur; and Euphrates. Good and Bad. Divine Yahweh instructed the person: “Eat the fruits of any tree, except for the Tree of Realizing Good and Bad. When you eat the fruit of that tree, you die.” Divine Yahweh saw how it was not good for the person to be by himself and decided to provide him with a partner. From the soil, Divine Yahweh shaped all the animals and birds and brought them to the human to see what he would call them. Whatever he called them, that was their name. He named all the animals of earth and sky. But he did not find a partner. Divine Yahweh made him sleep deeply, took out one of his ribs, then, after healing his body, made a woman from the rib, and brought her to him. The person said: “This is the one: a bone from my bones, a body from my body!” The man and woman wore no clothes and this did not bother them at all. ……………….. She was called an Ish-ah “man-ess” since she was taken from an Ish “man”. So the unity of an ish and an Ish-ah is realized when he leaves his parents and joins with her. The snake, the cleverest creature made by Divine Yahweh, said to the woman, “So, The Divine One says that neither of you are to eat anything from the sanctuary’s trees!” She said, “We can eat the fruits of any of them, except for the one in the center of the sanctuary. What The Divine One said was that if we eat that tree’s fruit – or touch it, we’ll die.” “You won’t die. The Divine One realizes that when you eat its fruit, you’ll see things in a new way and be like The Divine One, realizing what is good and what is bad.” The woman saw how good the tree was for food, for beauty, for the mind. She took its fruit and ate, sharing it with the man, who was there with her. They did indeed see things in a new way: they realized they were naked. They tied leaves together to hang down from their waists. ……………….. 9 A BIBLE SAMPLER 8 And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden. 9 And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou? 10 And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself. 11 And he said, Who told thee that thou wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat? 12 And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat. 13 And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. 14 And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: 15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. 16 Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. 17 And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; 18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; 19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. 20 And Adam called his wife's name Eve; because she was the mother of all living. 21 Unto Adam also and to his wife did the LORD God make coats of skins, and clothed them. 22 And the LORD God said, Behold, the man is become as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live for ever: 23 Therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. 24 So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life. 10 THE BEGINNING The two heard the sound of Divine Yahweh going through the sanctuary as the evening wind stirred. They hid among the trees. Divine Yahweh called out to the man: “Where are you?” He replied, “Since I was naked, I hid in the trees, out of respect for you.” “Who told you about nakedness? Have you eaten fruit from the tree that I instructed you not to eat?” He replied, “The person you gave me gave me some fruit from it and I ate it.” Divine Yahweh said to her, “What have you done?” She said, “The snake tricked me. I ate the fruit.” Divine Yahweh said to the snake, “Because of what you have done, you are cursed like no other creature. You’ll move around on your belly, eating dirt, as long as you live. I will assure that you and the woman, your descendants and hers, will be against each other forever. They will strike at your head while you strike at their heels.” To the woman, he said: “I will increase the severity of your suffering when you give birth. And whatever you wish concerning your man, it is he who will dominate.” To the man, he said: “You were persuaded by your partner to eat fruit from the tree that I instructed you not to eat. So the soil from which you were made will be cursed because of you. Thorns and thistles will grow in the fields that produce your food. Only by sweating and suffering will you be able to eat, as long as you live – until you turn back into the soil The man named the woman Eve-ah “Life”. She was the mother of all who live. from which you were taken: you were made from dirt; you’ll turn back into dirt.” Divine Yahweh made tunics from animal skins and clothed them. Divine Yahweh said, “The people made from soil are now like us, realizing good and bad. We need to keep them from taking fruit from The Tree of Life, eating it, and living forever. So, Divine Yahweh took them away from the sanctuary of Eden to work the soil from which they had been taken. After driving them out, he stationed divine, bull-lion creatures at the entrance way, along with a lightening-like sword that could strike in any direction. These would prevent access to The Tree of Life. 11 12 SLAVERY & LIBERATION: A Thick Tongue Is Better Than a Thick Head The book of Genesis ended with the sons of the patriarch Israel (also called Jacob) living in Egypt. They had moved there with their families to benefit from brother Joseph’s powerful position under the pharaoh. Exodus, the second book of the Torah, portrays the later descendants of Israel becoming enslaved by the pharaoh, liberated by Israel’s divinity, instructed in how to relate to the divinity and to each other, and being led through the desert back toward the land of their ancestors. The following translates excerpts from the first part of the book. The numbers at the end of each section indicate the location of the texts in terms of traditional chapter-verse divisions. The italicized sentences in brackets indicate the content of texts that have not been translated. The descendants of Israel became as numerous as insects, filling the land of Egypt. When a pharaoh who had had no relationship with Joseph came into power, he encouraged his people to view the Israelis’ numbers and power as a threat to his regime: “We need a strategy to prevent their joining forces with other who are against us and flying up in revolt,.” So, under the pharaoh’s appointees, the Israelis were put into slave-gangs to build up two cities in the Nile delta. The cities, named after Egyptian gods, would be used to supply and protect the pharaoh’s people. Cruel slave masters. Bitter lives of slaving hard, handling buildings’ stone or slaving in the field, Slaving under cruel slave masters. But the harder the Israelis were made to work, the more they increased in number and vitality. Others were repulsed by the sight of them. 1.6-14 [The pharaoh decrees that all male babies should be killed. This plan is subverted. Moses is born and, through his sister’s clever intervention, adopted by one of Pharaoh’s daughters. When older, he kills an Egyptian for hitting a Hebrew slave. Sentenced to death, he escapes to the north of Egypt and marries a woman in the new land.] Moses was a shepherd for his father-in-law and, one day, led the goats and sheep across deserted land to Barren Mountain, the mountain of the Divine One. There, he was enabled to see a messenger from Yahweh in fire flaming from a bush that did not burn. “What’s this I see? Fire flaming from a bush, yet the bush does not burn! I will leave my path 13 A BIBLE SAMPLER to better see this strange sight, to see why the bush does not burn.” Yahweh saw that Moses left his path to see. The Divine One spoke to him from the bush, “Moses, Moses!” “Yes?” “Don’t come any closer. Respect my territory! I am the deity of your ancestors: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, even your own father.” Moses covered his face, afraid to look at the Divine One. Yahweh said, “I have certainly seen my people’s suffering in Egypt and heard them crying out in pain because of their oppressors. I am well aware of this. I will go down to release them from the Egyptians’ grasp and bring them up out of that land. “I will bring them to a good land, with plenty of room, a land of rich pastures and orchards, the territory now occupied by six other tribes. “So now it’s time for you to go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to represent me and bring my people out of Egypt.” Moses said, “Me? How can I approach Pharaoh or bring the Israelis out of Egypt?” “Your assurance is me. I am the one who sends you and I am with you. When you bring the people out of Egypt, you will come to this mountain and become the slaves of the Divine One.” Moses said, “Well, if it’s me and if I go to the Israelis and tell them that their ancestors’ deity has sent me to represent him, they might ask what your name is. What will I tell them?” The Divine One answered, “Ehweh—‘I am’. That’s what you will say. I Am has made me his representative. You will call the deity of your ancestors Yahweh—‘He Is’. This is the name of Abraham’s, Isaac’s and Jacob’s deity and this is the name to be used by all future generations. “Get going, gather Israel’s leadership, tell them that you were enabled to see the deity of their ancestors and that he told you that he has been closely observing how they are being treated in Egypt. Tell them “I will bring you up out of the suffering in Egypt to a land now occupied by six other tribes, to a land of rich pastures and orchards. “The leaders will respect you and together you will go to the pharaoh and say this: ‘We have been enabled to see Yahweh, the deity of our Hebrew tribe. So please let us go on a threeday journey into the desert so that we can offer sacrifices to him—to our deity Yahweh.’ But I well know that he will not let you go without being squeezed by a strong hand. So I will strike him with my own fist—with all the disasters that I bring into the midst of his land. Then he will send you away….” Moses replied, “But what if they don’t trust me? What if they don’t believe I was able to see you and ignore what I say?” “What’s in your hand?” “My shepherd’s stick.” 14 SLAVERY & LIBERATION “Throw it down.” Moses threw it down. It turned into a snake and Moses ran away from it. Yahweh said, “Now send your hand and grab the snake—by its tail!” Moses did “send his hand” and squeezed the snake’s tail. In his fist, the snake turned back into a shepherd’s stick. “This will get them to trust that you were enabled to see Yahweh, the deity of their ancestors Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. [Yahweh gives two back-up, miraculous signs that Moses can use to authenticate his role.] … “Oh, my master, please,” Moses said, “I’m not a person who can communicate well. I never have been and speaking with you hasn’t changed that! My jaw is thick. My tongue is thick!” Yahweh said, “Who puts a mouth in a person? Who puts muteness, deafness, vision, or blindness? Isn’t it me, Yahweh? Get going! It’s me, I Am, in control of your mouth. I will guide 3.1-20; 4.1-5,10-12 your speech.” [Yahweh says that Moses’ brother Aaron can speak on Moses’ behalf. Moses returns to Egypt, meets with the Israeli leaders, and performs the miraculous signs. The people believe him and worship Yahweh.] So then Moses and Aaron went to Pharaoh and said, “Yahweh, the deity of Israel, has this message for you: ‘Send my people into the desert so that they may perform ceremonies in my honor.” Pharaoh said, “Who is Yahweh? Why should I listen to what he has to say? I don’t know Yahweh and I won’t send Israel. You’re just interfering with their work. Get out of here and carry you part of the load!” 5.1-4 [Pharaoh orders the bosses of the slave gangs to increase the Israelis’ work load. After protesting to Pharaoh, they challenge Moses, pointing out that things have only gotten worse since he has intervened on their behalf. Moses questions Yahweh about this; Yahweh reiterates his promise of deliverance and of displays of power.] Yahweh said to Moses and Aaron, “When Pharaoh tells you to prove that you have special powers, you, Moses, will tell Aaron to throw his shepherd’s stick down in front of Pharaoh. It will turn into a python. They went and did as told and the stick did indeed turn into a python, right in front of Pharaoh and his slaves. Pharaoh assembled his advisors, priests, and specialists in exploiting their deities’ powers. They too threw down sticks. Each turned into a python. Aaron’s stick swallowed theirs. Pharaoh’s mind was rigid. He did not respect Yahweh, in keeping with what Yahweh had said. Yahweh said to Moses, “Pharaoh has a thick head, refusing to send the people. When he goes to the Nile tomorrow morning, meet him there on the bank, with your shepherd’s stick. 15 A BIBLE SAMPLER Say this to him: “Yahweh, the Hebrews’ deity, sent me to you so that you would send his people, his slaves, into the desert. But you have shown no respect. So, now he sends another word to you as proof of his identity. This is what he says: “Watch out! With the shepherd’s stick that is in my hand, I am going to strike the Nile so that it flows with blood rather than water. Its fish will die and its water stink. It will make the Egyptians sick.” Yahweh told Moses to tell Aaron to take his shepherd’s stick and to point it at all Egypt’s waterways and even at the containers used to store water so that the water might turn into blood, everywhere. Moses and Aaron did as told, Pharaoh and his slaves watching them, and all the Nile’s water became blood. The fish died, the water stunk, and the Egyptians could not drink its water. Blood flowed throughout Egypt. Pharaoh’s specialists did the same. Pharaoh’s mind was rigid. He did not respect the Divine One, 7.8-22 in keeping with what Yahweh had said. [This water turning into blood is the first of ten disasters that Yahweh causes to occur in Egypt. After each, Pharaoh appears to allow for the Israelis being “sent” into the desert but then retracts, until the final disaster of the Egyptians’ first-born sons being killed in one night. The celebration of Passover is explained in terms of this night in which the Israelis’ sons were spared from death and the Israelis were “brought out of the land of slavery”.] 16 ADD SALT, SAVE THE FAT FOR YAHWEH In most English translations, the third book of the Torah is called “Leviticus”, a title from the Greek referring to the “Levites”—the priests who were responsible for overseeing the religious and cultural practices prescribed in this book. Here are prescriptions for two sacrifices (Leviticus chapters 2 & 3). Instructions for presenting a grain offering to Yahweh Essential ingredients:  Your best flour  Oil,  Frankincense  Salt. Never use yeast! Permitted preparations:  Baked,  Fried on a griddle (crumble after frying and pour on oil),  Boiled in a pan,  Or, if the offering is from the first grain of your harvest: parch it. Present to: the priests, descendants of Aaron. Priest’s use: 1) A handful will be completely burned on the altar so that it smells good for Yahweh. 2) The rest of the grain offering belongs to Aaron and his sons, remaining part of the offering set apart for Yahweh. Notes: 1) No leaven or honey is to be burnt as an offering for Yahweh. They may be presented to Yahweh, but not as part of an offering to be burnt on the altar. 2) The salt represents your covenant with God. 17 A BIBLE SAMPLER Instructions for a sacrifice of well-being Definition: The sacrifice of well being is a food offering burnt on the altar to make a pleasing odor for Yahweh. Animal that may be offered:  Cow,  Sheep,  Goat. Quality:  The animal may be either male or female.  this sacrifice made in Yahweh’s presence must be without blemish. Here is how it shall be made: Procedure: This sacrifice must be made in Yahweh’s presence! 1. At the entrance of the tent of meeting, lay your hand on the animal’s head while it is killed. 2. The priests, Aaron's descendants, will dash the blood against all sides of the altar. 3. You offer 4.  the animal’s fat around and next to the entrails and on the kidneys;  the two kidneys;  the appendage of the liver, removed with the kidneys;  If a sheep is offered, include the tail, removed close to the backbone. Aaron's sons turn these into smoke on the altar, along with the burnt offering that is on the wood on the fire. Note: All fat is Yahweh's! This is an unchangeable rule, for all generations, wherever you live. And you yourselves must not eat any fat or any blood! 18 ADD SALT, SAVE THE FAT FOR YAHWEH Laws in the book of Leviticus and Deuteronomy (“Second statement of laws”, the fifth and last book of the Torah) are often quoted to put into question just how much “what the Bible says” can be used as proof of proper behavior. Here are some of the Leviticus laws:  Don’t eat ham. (Leviticus chapter 11).  Women must wait for a month after giving birth to be allowed in the area of worship if the baby is a boy—two months if it’s a girl. (Lev. 12).  Consider people with scaly skin to be like corpses: keep them away from others, let them dress only in torn clothing, and make sure they don’t comb their hair. (Lev. 13, in keeping with Jacob Milgrom’s observations)  A woman having her period should be considered dirty for seven days. Anyone touching her during this time should be considered dirty for the whole day they touched her. (Lev. 15. Traditionally “impure” or “unclean” but the Hebrew does not simply add a negative before the word for “impure” or “clean”; it uses a completely different word as an antonym.)  A man should not have sexual relationships with another man (Lev. 18. This is toward the end of a list focusing on incest.  Don’t wear clothing made of two different kinds of material. (Lev. 19)  Don’t trim your beard. (Lev. 19)  If you have sex with a slave engaged to someone else, give a ram to God and you’ll be okay. After all, she’s only a slave. (Lev. 19)  If a man has sex with his neighbor’s wife, kill both of them. (Lev. 20)  If a couple has sex during the woman’s period, banish them. (Lev. 20)  “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth.” (Lev. 24)  Whoever tries to convince you to worship a different divinity should be killed. (Deuteronomy 13).  If in war a city does not surrender but you capture it, kill all the men and take the women, children, and property to enjoy for yourselves. (Deut. 20)  If you have a rebellious son that refuses to be disciplined, have all the town’s men throw stones at him until he is dead. (Deut. 21).  If a man finds out that the woman he married is not a virgin, have all the town’s men throw stones at her until she is dead. (Deut. 22).  If a man is caught raping a virgin, he must pay a fine to the girl’s father and marry her. (Deut. 22)  If a married man dies, his brother must marry the deceased person’s wife. (Deut. 25)  If two men are fighting and the wife of one tries to help him by grabbing the other man’s balls, cut off her hand. (Deut. 25) 19 A BIBLE SAMPLER These books also contain many laws that perhaps all religions and most people, religious or not, would agree with. For example:  Do not have sex with a close relative. (Lev. 18)  Do not have sex with an animal. (Lev. 18)  Don’t steal, lie, or cheat. (Lev. 19)  Love your neighbor as yourself. (Lev. 19)  Treat foreigners well. (Lev. 19)  Do not take advantage of each other (Lev. 25)  Build a wall around the flat roof of your house to keep people from falling off it. (Deut 22  When camping, dig a hole for your poop and cover it up. (Deut 23) 20 The next three texts are taken from the “Books of the Prophets”, the second section of the Hebrew Bible. This section contains books telling stories about the development of Israel as a nation, first under warriors and “prophets”—charismatic leaders communicating the divine will to the people, then under kings. This nation is portrayed as at first being a more or less unified group of several clans or tribes, all viewing Jacob, also named Israel, as their ancestor. After their third king, Solomon, the nation was divided by civil war never to be reunified. Many of the other books in this section are collections of sayings of various prophets who would urge the people to live in keeping with their religious and social ideals. 21 22 THE DIVINE WARRIOR (Joshua 10.1-27) According to biblical narratives, the generation that left Egypt was replaced by a new one before the Israelis (the descendants of the patriarch Israel, whose other name was Jacob) returned to the land that they considered rightfully theirs. The land was under the control of numerous chiefdoms or city-states with whom the Israelites saw no significant ties—except for the people of Gibeon who had tricked the Israelis into being their allies. Moses died in the mountains to the east of the land. Yah-Liberates, whose name is transliterated in English as “Joshua”, replaced him as the leader of the Israelis. The following story takes place soon after they had begun to take over the land. They had entered it from the eastern side, first conquering the city of Jericho on the Jordan river and then making their way up into hillier—and more fertile and populated—areas. Jerusalem at this time was a town in a nice location, inhabited by non-Israelites. In the translation of the following text, from the book named after Yah-liberates Joshua, the cursive script is used for a scribal note that most versions do not distinguish from the rest of the text even though the translators believe it to be an explanation added to an earlier version of the story. The chief of Jerusalem, My Master is Just, received this message: Yah-Liberates has conquered Town of Ruins! As a gift to his deity, he destroyed everything and everyone in it, including the chief, just as he did with Jericho. Gibeon has managed to make a treaty with the Israelis, becoming their ally. He was filled with fear, because Gibeon was a town of great power, equal to any of the towns where chiefs reside. Its greatness surpassed Town of Ruins. All its men were warriors. So, My Master Is Just, Chief of Jerusalem, sent a message to the chiefs of Hebron, Jarmuth, Lakeesh, and Eglon: Hohum, Ass, Rising Star, and Insider were their names. The message was: “Come up and help me to fight against Gibeon because they have allied themselves with Yah-Liberates, leader of the Israelis.” These five chiefs with all their soldiers joined together, went up to Gibeon, bivouacked near it, and began the battle. The people of Gibeon sent a message to Yah-Liberates, who was bivouacked at Rock Circle: “The chiefs of the whole hill country have united against us. Don’t give up control of your slaves’ fate! Come up and liberate us! Help us, quickly!” Yah-Liberates went up from Rock Circle in full military force, with all his elite warriors. Yahweh said to Yah-Liberates: “Do not let them be a source of fear! I’ve already given them to you. Not one of them will stay standing.” Yah-Liberates surprised them, having marched throughout the night to go up to Gibeon. Yahweh made them panic when they saw the Israeli army. He fought against them with great force at Gibeon, and continued the fight as they fled from the Horon pass down to Hedge 23 A BIBLE SAMPLER and to Kneeling Place. From the sky, Yahweh threw stones of great size at them. More died from the hailstones than from the Israelis’ swords. It was at this time that Yah-Liberates spoke to Yahweh. In the hearing of the victorious Israelis, he said: “Shemesh over Gibeon and Yarak over Aylon Valley, silence!” Shemesh the sun was silent. Evidence for this is found in the Scroll of the Honest One. For a full day, the sun stood still, half-way through its course in the sky, unconcerned about continuing. Yarak the moon stood still, while a nation battled its enemy. Never before or afterwards did Yahweh listen to the voice of a human as on that day – a day when Yahweh engaged in battle on behalf of Israel. Yah-Liberates and all the Israelis returned to Rock Circle. The five chiefs had escaped to Kneeling Place and were hiding in a cave. When this was reported to Yah-Liberates, he said: “Roll stones of great size to the mouth of the cave and post some guards there. But don’t stop there: chase down your enemies! Cut them down from behind! Your divinity Yahweh has given them to you, so don’t give them the chance to get back within their town walls!” Yah-Liberates led the Israelis after them and fought them with very great force, devastating their troops, although some managed to escape back to within their town walls. All Yah-Liberate’s army returned safe and sound to bivouac at Kneeling Place, with none daring to say a word against them. Yah-Liberates ordered the cave to be unsealed and the five chiefs to be brought to him. This was done. The five chiefs were indeed brought to him from out of the cave:  the chief of Jerusalem,  the chief of Hebron,  the chief of Yarmuth,  the chief of Lakeesh,  the chief of Eglon. Then Yah-Liberates said to his top officers, in the hearing of the whole army, “Come and place your feet on the necks of these chiefs.” When they had done so, he proclaimed, “Never let fear take hold of you and break you! Stay strong and firm! This is what Yahweh does to any enemy you fight—“ Yah-Liberates dealt a deathblow to each and had them hung, each from a different tree, until sundown. Then, at Yah-Liberate’s command, their bodies were taken down and thrown into the cave where they had been hiding. Stones of great size sealed the entrance to the cave and remain there to this day. 24 THE BOY, THE GIANT, & THE KING According to the biblical texts, Saul was the first king of Israel (about a thousand years BCE), followed by David. The following portrays Saul and David’s early relationship and has one of the Bible’s best known stories. The translated text is 1 Samuel 16.14—17 and excerpts from chapter 17, P. Kyle McCarter’s grouping of verses is followed for the most part.. Yahweh’s wind no longer blew in Saul’s favor. It now beat against him, breaking him down. Saul’s slaves said to him, “Please listen to us. The divine wind is now beating against you. Please let us help you find someone who can play the harp well so that when the divine wind begins to beat against you, his music can make you better.” Saul said to his slaves, “Please find someone who plays well and bring him to me.” One of the younger ones replied, “Well, I know just the one: the son of Jesse from Warland. He’s a warrior as well as a musician. He is strong, eloquent and attractive. Yahweh is with him.” Saul sent messengers to Jesse: “Send me your son David, the shepherd.” Jesse loaded up a donkey with bread and wine and had his son David take it to Saul. David went and presented himself. Saul liked him very much and entrusted him with carrying the king’s weapons and armor when going to battle. Saul sent another message to Jesse: “David has my approval. Please let him stay with me. Whenever a divine wind blew against Saul, David played the harp until he recovered: the bad wind turned away and Saul got better. ………………. Palestinians came together to fight against Israel… They were encamped on one hill and the Israelis on another. One of the Palestinian soldiers, from a town near the coast, was named Goliath. He was nine feet tall. His armor was all in bronze—helmet, chest plate and leg coverings—as was the saber strapped to his back. Just the iron head of his long, thick spear weighed twenty pounds; his chest plate weighed over a hundred. When he would go out ready to fight, someone would carry a shield in front of him. He would go into the valley between the two armies and shout up at the Israelis, “Why risk dying in battle? I am a Palestinian. You are slaves of Saul. Choose someone to fight me. The one who kills the other wins—and those on the side of the loser become the slaves of those on the side of the winner. I challenge you! Let’s get started! Give me someone to fight with!” Saul and the rest of the Israelis cowered, terrified by what the Palestinian said. David said to Saul, “There’s no need to lose heart. I, your slave, will fight this Palestinian.” Saul said, “You can’t do this. You’re just a kid! He’s been fighting since he was your age.” 25 A BIBLE SAMPLER David replied, “I, your slave, was a shepherd for my father. If a lion or a bear came to carry off one of the flock, I would go after it, knock it down, and get the sheep back. If it stood its ground, I would grab it and beat it until it died. Lion or a bear, your slave can knock them down. This Palestinian is like one of those beasts, taunting soldiers of the Deity Who Lives. It is Yahweh who protected me from the claws of the lion and the bear. He will protect me from the claws of the Palestinian.” Saul said, “Go ahead. May Yahweh be with you.” Saul had his own helmet and chest plate put on David and gave him his own sword. But after trying them out, David told Saul that he could not wear these since he was not used to them and he took them off. He then took his shepherd’s stick and went to get five round stones from the stream, which he placed in his shepherds’ bag. His sling in hand, he approached the Palestinian. The Palestinian could hardly believe what he saw—a cute, tender-faced kid coming toward him. “Do you think I’m a dog?” he scoffed. “Is that why you’re coming to me with your stick?” He called on his deities to curse David. He said, “Keep on coming so that I can feed the birds and animals with your corpse. David said, “You are coming toward me with a sword, spear, and saber. I come toward you with the name of Yahweh, the head of heavenly armies and of the army of Israel, whom you insult. Today, Yahweh is handing you over to me. I will knock you down and slice your head off. It is your corpse—and the corpses of others in your army—that will be food for the birds and animals. Then the whole land will know that there is a deity that looks after Israel. All those gathered here will realize that victory depends not on one’s weapons but on Yahweh. This is Yahweh’s battle and he is giving us power over you.” The Palestinian started toward David. David reaching into his bag, took a stone, and slung it. It penetrated the Palestinian’s forehead. He fell face first to the ground. David ran and stood over him, unsheathed the Palestinian’s sword and sliced off his head. Upon seeing this, the rest of the Palestinians fled. Shouting in victory, the soldiers of Judea and the rest of Israel set out after them and chased deep into Palestinian territory those who did not drop along the way. Then they returned to the Palestinians’ camp and looted it. David carried the Palestinian’s head to Jerusalem but kept the giant’s weapons. 26 PIGEON IN A FISH… & IN A CITY The following is a translation of the book traditionally entitled “Jonah” (Hebrew: yonah), the name of the central human character. The meaning of a person’s name is often put in focus in Hebrew texts: for example, “Unloved” and “Not my people” in Hosea and “God with us” in Isaiah. In keeping with its literary genre, the meaning of yonah is represented in this translation. As a common noun, yonah is usually translated either “dove” (e.g. Genesis 8.9ff) or “pigeon” (e.g. Leviticus 1.14). For Christian readers, “Dove” would likely evoke associations such as the well known symbol of the Holy Spirit that are not at play in this story. At least for those knowing pigeons as rather undignified dwellers of parks and sidewalks, “Pigeon” seems the more appropriate way to render the name of the somewhat comical character Yonah. It may also be noted that “Pigeon” is a common name in some cultures. A key theme of the Hebrew book of Yonah is explicitly indicated at the story’s end. But further reflection on its meaning is invited by the book’s distinctive structure, repetition of key expressions, similarities and contrasts between characters, and imagery. I translate it in poetic format and quite literally to encourage a careful, oral reading of the text. So then Yahweh commissioned the prophet Pigeon son of Faithful: “Get going to the great city Nineveh. Call out against it, because its oppression troubles even heaven.” Pigeon got going, in the opposite direction. He was headed far across Chaos Sea, to flee from Yahweh. He went down, from Israel’s mountain to a Philistine port town. He found a boat returning to Tarshish, far across the sea, and paid its fare. He went down, into the boat, to travel with the crew. He was headed far across Chaos Sea, to flee from Yahweh. They set sail. 27 A BIBLE SAMPLER Yahweh hurled a wind of great force into Chaos Sea, causing a storm of great power. The ship saw itself breaking apart. Every sailor, filled with fear, cried out to his divinity. They hurled cargo into Chaos Sea to keep it from dragging them under. As for Pigeon, he had gone down, into the boat’s lowest part, and sunk into a deep sleep. The captain found him and shook him awake: “How can you sleep? Get going! Call out to your divinity: maybe he’ll let us survive!” The sailors decided to use the rite of dropping bones to find out who was responsible for their oppression. They let the bones drop. The marked bone dropped in front of Pigeon. They questioned him: “Please tell us what you have done to bring on this oppression! What is your mission? Where are you from? What’s your country and tribe?” Pigeon answered: “A Hebrew, that’s what I am, and Yahweh, The Divine One of Heaven, creator of the sea and dry land, is the one whom I worship in fear.” He went on to reveal to them that he was running away, from Yahweh. 28 PIGEON The mortals were filled with a great fear. They exclaimed, “How could you have done this!” The storm continued to rage. They asked, “How are we to treat you, to keep Chaos from overcoming us?” He answered, “Pick me up and hurl me into Chaos, and it will not overcome you. I know without a doubt that this storm of such great force is against you because of me.” The mortals tried to get back to dry land. They could not. The storm continued to rage against them. They called out, to Yahweh this time: “Please, Yahweh, we beg of you: let us survive, in spite of this man. Don’t hold us accountable for his death. Without a doubt, Yahweh, you bring about what you wish.” They picked Pigeon up, they hurled him into Chaos’ sea. Immediately its fury ceased. The mortals were filled with a great fear of Yahweh. They offered sacrifices to Yahweh, and made vows. ******* Yahweh provided a fish of great size to swallow Pigeon. The fish had Pigeon in its belly for three full days. Pigeon prayed to Yahweh, his divinity, from inside the fish: 29 A BIBLE SAMPLER “Swallowed by death, I called out to Yahweh: You threw me into the deepest of all waters. While your waves rolled above me and crashed against the shore, your currents pulled me to the bottom of the sea. Chaos’ weeds wrapped around me. I thought, ‘I’ve been banished from your presence.’ In darkest despair, I remembered you, looked toward your temple, and prayed. My prayer reached you there. With songs of praise, I will offer you sacrifices and keep my promises. Adherents of emptiness will leave their commitment. I went down to be buried beneath the mountains. But you, Yahweh, my divinity, giver of life, brought me up from the abyss. Yahweh heard me and responded! Yahweh is a liberator!” Yahweh spoke to the fish; it vomited Pigeon onto the dry land. ******* 30 PIGEON So then Yahweh commissioned the prophet Pigeon: “Get going to the great city Nineveh. Call out to it, in keeping with what I tell you to call out.” Pigeon got going, to Nineveh this time, in keeping with Yahweh’s commission. Nineveh was a city of great size. It took three days to walk from one end to the other. Pigeon had begun to enter the city, walking for a day, when he called out: “Forty more days and Nineveh will no longer be what it used to be!” Those in Nineveh believed The Divine One. They called for a fast. Every one, from the greatest to the least, put on clothes to show that they were in mourning. The news came as a blow to the king. He got off his throne, took off his robe, put on clothes to show that he was in mourning, sat in the dust and called out: “Listen to the decree of the king and his great ones:  –No person and no animal under their care shall have a bite of food or a drop of water.  –All people and their animals are to be covered with clothes to show that they are in mourning, and to do nothing but call out to The Divine One.  –All are to turn away from their oppressive ways. Who knows? The Divine One might feel sorry for us, turn away from the anger which burns inside him, and allow us to survive.” The Divine One saw what they did, that they turned away from their oppressive ways. The Divine One felt sorry for them, not wanting to oppress them. 31 A BIBLE SAMPLER He did not. A great sense of oppression filled Pigeon. He burned within. He prayed to Yahweh: “Isn’t this how it was when I was back home? Isn’t this why I fled for the other side of the sea? Without a doubt, you’re an extremely compassionate divinity, very patient, completely committed, not wanting to oppress any one. Now, here’s my request, Yahweh: Please kill me. My death is a good thing, better than my life.” Yahweh asked: “Does your burning within bring about good?” Pigeon left the city, staying east of it. He made a shelter there, sat inside, in its darkness, waiting to see what would happen to the city. Yahweh, The Divine One, provided a bush. It rose up above Pigeon to increase the darkness, to diminish his sense of oppression. Pigeon felt a great happiness about the bush. The Divine One provided a worm, at dawn the next day. It attacked the bush. The bush dried up. The divinity provided a scorching wind at sunrise, from the desert. The sun beat down on Pigeon. 32 PIGEON He was miserable, and wished himself dead: “My death is a good thing, better than my life.” The Divine One asked Pigeon, “Does your inner burning because of the plant bring about good?” The answer: “It’s good for me to burn until I die.” Yahweh said: “You feel sorry because of the bush, although you did nothing to make it great. It was a plant that could not survive from one night to the next. Might I not feel sorry for the great city Nineveh, with its 120,000 inhabitants – who can’t tell their right hand from their left – and all their cattle?” 33 34 PRAISE, PRAYER, PROTEST, PROVERBS, & PEDAGOGY The last of the Hebrew Bible’s three major sections is “The Writings”, often referred to as the “Poetic” books although there is much poetry in the other sections as well. The best known of The Writings is the book of Psalms, of which several examples are given in the following pages.1 Our other examples of texts from The Writings are the “ABC’s of Grief”, from the book of “Lamentations”, and selections from the book of Proverbs. Other books from “The Writings” are:  “ “Job”, a dialogue concerning human nature and the problem of     1 suffering, prefaced and concluded by the story of a man who loses and regains wealth and family. “ “Ruth” & “Esther”, short stories of loyalty and divine providence. “A Beautiful Song” (“Song of Songs” or “Song of Solomon”), love poetry “Ecclesiastes” (“Qoheleth”), questioning the meaning of life. “Chronicles”, a revised portrayal of the history of Israel’s kings given in the section of the Prophets. My translation of the whole book of Psalms is available through Amazon: Praise: The Book of Psalms Translated from the Hebrew. 35 36 Psalms 1 How wonderful it is – not for those walking where the wicked advise, not for those standing on the sinner’s path, not for those sitting with the cynics, but for those delighting in Yahweh’s teachings, meditating on the Torah, day and night! They are like a tree next to a spring always thriving no fading leaves and bearing fruit at the right time. Not like the wicked—wind-scattered husks. Not like the wicked, the corrupt, who cannot stand at judgment time with those who have lived as they should. Yahweh knows the path of those living as they should. The path of the wicked is being destroyed. –For the priesthood 2 Warlords and petty kings ally themselves and rouse their rabble. “We’ll be no one’s slaves. Let’s break away!” they say, rebels against Yahweh and the one he has chosen to rule over all. Yahweh watches from heaven. He laughs at their delusions, for a moment, then speaks from the holy mountain Zion: “I have enthroned and empowered the one to rule on my behalf.” They freeze, terrified by his anger. Then our king speaks: “Yahweh has said to me: Today, I give birth to you. You are my son. Over any nation you ask from me, wherever it may be, I give you full rights. If you wish, take an iron club and smash their fragile people. “So, swear allegiance to me, Yahweh's chosen representative. And serve Yahweh as subjects a breath away from death, as ones whose slightest offense will rouse his annihilating anger.” How wonderful it is for those who come to Yahweh for protection! –For the Royalty 37 A BIBLE SAMPLER 13 How long will it go on like this, Yahweh? You never think of me; you hide your face... For how long? I try to figure it out; but only come to grief... For how long? My enemy has the upper hand.... For how long? You, Yahweh, my deity, must see my sorry state. Put light back in my eyes so close to closing for the final sleep. My enemies, otherwise, will exult in my demise, saying that it was in their power to dispose of me. I trust in your commitment to me. Confident of your help, I will sing: “Yahweh is good to me.” 38 PSALMS 20 The assembled people to the king: MAY YAHWEH RESPOND when you need help. May Yahweh fulfill all your wishes, make all your plans succeed, protect you with his name as he protected Jacob, send his sacred power from Zion, remember every loaf of bread and every bull you gave for his pleasure and friendship, and fulfill your every desire. Then we'll celebrate your victory and proudly display our deity's name. The king hears the oracle for which he and the people have waited and declares: YAHWEH HAS RESPONDED! I know that Yahweh will give victory to the one chosen to lead his people. The people answer: Yahweh will assure our victory with his sacred weapon: not war horses, not armored chariots, but the name, the divine name: Yahweh. The horses’ legs have given out, the chariots are toppled. We are standing firm. When we call for help, RESPOND TO OUR NEEDS! Victory for the king! 39 A BIBLE SAMPLER 29 Honor Yahweh, you lesser deities! Honor Yahweh’s imposing presence and power! Honor Yahweh for the imposing power of his name! Bow to the ground before Yahweh when you see his robes lit up by lightning! The voice of Yahweh: above the waters of heaven and earth. The deity of the imposing presence thunders. Yahweh, above chaos’ ocean. The voice of Yahweh: power. The voice of Yahweh: lightning. The voice of Yahweh: shattered cedars. Yahweh shatters the thickest cedars and shakes the land. Massive mountains jump like calves. The voice of Yahweh: fire flashes. The voice of Yahweh: the desert shakes. Yahweh shakes the desert of Kadesh. The voice of Yahweh: oaks are split, their leaves are stripped. And in his temple all speak of his imposing presence. Yahweh is enthroned above the floods. Yahweh is enthroned, eternal king. Yahweh gives power to his people. Yahweh will bless his people with peace. 40 PSALMS 53 The perverted brute assumes there is no deity. Nihilism dominates. From heaven’s window, The Divine One leans out to see if there might be one thinker seeking the deity. There are none who do what is good. All are lost. All are corrupt. There are none who do what is good. Not one. There are plenty who do evil. They sit down to dine. They dine on my people. They don't call to The Divine One. They know no dread. ……. There, they are filled with dread. The Divine One drives them away, humiliates those who were taking over the land and scatters their bones. The Divine One turns away from them. ……. Who from Zion will liberate Israel? When The Divine One returns his captive people Israel will rejoice. 41 A BIBLE SAMPLER 58 How genuine, how divine, your speeches on ethical norms, your pursuit of justice. What, you’re only human? Well then, you were born with a genius, nurtured from the womb, for deception. Born with a criminal’s mind, you strive for violence in the land, holding tools of oppression in your hand. ……. They are vipers, deaf to the music of the master charmer who would extract their poison. Divine One, rip out their fangs! They are preying lions. Break their jaws, Yahweh! Let your arrows pierce them and their blood gush out! Let them waste away like snails leaving nothing but their shells! Let their remains be swept away in the wind! Then those who have respected your ethics can happily wash their feet in criminals’ blood, witnesses to justice served. Then a person can say: Ethical behavior is rewarded. There is indeed a deity assuring justice in the land. 42 PSALMS 78 Pay attention, close attention, my people. What I have to tell you is not from me alone but has been passed down from our forefathers through the generations. We in turn will pass it on to those who follow us. Our history is full of puzzles; they are not to be ignored. To reflect on them is to gain wisdom, to better understand Yahweh and to praise him, his power and his amazing interventions on our behalf. It is to our ancestors that Yahweh gave laws and instructions to be passed along to each and every generation, so that we will look to the Divine One and do as he desires rather than forget his great works. That is, we pass along what we receive from our ancestors so that we will not rebel against the Divine One like they did when they refused to recognize him as the center of their lives and even fought against him. They betrayed their agreement with the Divine one, refusing to follow the terms that he had dictated. They forgot his great works, his amazing interventions that he clearly showed were done on their behalf. The descendants of Ephraim had their bows ready for battle, but turned away when the day drew near. Our fathers witnessed his miracles in Egypt’s delta. He split the sea, making a way through walls of water. He led them, using a cloud during the day and a fiery light at night. He split cliffs in the desert, letting the underground water gush out, so that they could drink their fill. Yet they continued to live wrongly, resisting his ways. They challenged him: “We’d like to have him set the table for us here in the desert. If he can get water to come out of rocks, he should be able to give us bread and meat as well!” Yahweh heard and burned in anger against the descendants of Jacob the Trickster, Fighter of the Divine One. They did not trust the Divine One. They did not count on him to be their liberator. He gave the word. Heaven’s doors opened and clouds brought food: manna, celestial grain, rained down on them. Mortals ate the food of the mighty. They ate and ate. Then he released East Wind and South Wind, directing them as well to carry food to those with such great appetites. A dust storm of meat, a sand storm of birds, fell upon those who had so wanted it. They ate and ate. They became full from what they had wanted. Still chewing, they wanted more. The divine anger again broke out, slaughtering the fattened leaders, cutting down the young men. 43 A BIBLE SAMPLER In spite of all this, they continued to live wrongly. They did not trust his amazing interventions on their behalf. Their days came to an end in weakness and worthlessness. He needed to slaughter people in their midst in order to get their attention. That would get them to change a bit, to look for him. They would remember that the Divine One, the One Above All Others, is their source of protection, their guardian. They would speak about him, saying the right things: He is compassionate. He forgives rather than destroys. He frequently suppresses his anger so that his people not suffer from it. He remembers what they are made of: a dying wind enclosed in skin. But their minds were elsewhere. They did not respect their agreement with him. In the barren desert, they rebelled against him, making him grieve like a forsaken parent. They turned against the Divine One who is apart from all others. They did not remember what he had done to free them from their enemies. They had forgotten the divine displays of power in Egypt’s delta: He turned their waterways into blood: they had nothing to drink. He sent swarms of insects that fed on their flesh. He gave the crops they were harvesting to the locusts. He beat down their vines and fruit trees with hail. He let lightning join hail to do as they wished with the cattle, sheep and goats. He sent them his explosive, burning anger: agents of destruction. He did not restrain his anger, did not shield them from death. He let plague do to them as it wished. He struck down the oldest child of every Egyptian family. He drove his people out of there and led them into the desert, like a shepherd with a flock of sheep. He calmed them down, reassured them, kept them from panicking. The chaotic sea covered their enemies. He brought them into the hill country that he had taken and set apart for himself. He drove out the people who were there. He distributed the land to Israel’s tribes. He provided them with homes. They challenged the Divine One, the One Above All Others. They resisted his ways, broke his laws, quit following him and betrayed him, just as the preceding generations had done. They turned away, like arrows from a faulty bow. He seethed in jealousy as they played around with other divinities. The Divine One heard their laughter and burned in anger. He divorced himself from Israel. He left the home where they had lived together, never to return to Shiloh, where the sign of their partnership had been kept. He gave this source of strength and beauty to their enemies. 44 PSALMS He let war do as it wished to his people. He burned in anger against those to whom he had given his land. Fire devoured their young men. The days of marriage feasts were over. Priests fell in war. Their widows had no chance to mourn. Like a warrior who had passed out after drinking wine and then was called awake, the Master struck the enemy’s rear. He gave them unending disgrace. He refused to stay in the home of the descendants of Joseph or any other of Israel’s children except for Judah. He liked Mount Zion and chose to live there forever. He built his residence, to which none other can compare. He made it tower like the mountains, as solid as the earth itself. He chose David to be his slave. He took him away from where he had been keeping sheep so that he could be a shepherd for his people, the descendants of Israel. David was a model shepherd, leading the people with a keen mind and able hands. 137 By the banks of Babel’s canals, we sat in mourning, remembering Zion. The guards amused themselves by taunting us: “What do your songs say? Sing us one of your songs about Zion!” We hung our harps on the willows. How could we sing about Yahweh on foreign soil? I would rather lose my gift of music than forget you, Jerusalem. If I do not keep you in mind, as my source of joy, may my tongue become stuck to the roof of my mouth. Oh Yahweh, keep in mind how those from Edom said, when Jerusalem fell, “Strip her, strip her down to the ground!” Deadly daughter of Babel, how wonderful it will be for the one who pays you back, doing to you what you did to us. How wonderful it will be for the one who grabs your children and smashes them against the rocks. 45 A BIBLE SAMPLER 149 Praise Yah! Sing a new song for Yahweh! Sing his praise, while meeting with the committed ones! Israel will be happy because of its maker. Those of Zion will rejoice over their king. They will praise his name, dancing and playing tambourines and harps because Yahweh is pleased with his people. He brings honor to the oppressed through liberation. His imposing presence makes the committed ones proud. They will celebrate in their homes. Praise is in their throats, double-edged swords are in their hands, to take revenge on the people of other nations, to chain and imprison the kings and nobles, to see justice done against the others, as written, for the glory of his committed ones. Praise Yah! 150 Praise Yah! Praise the Divine One in the place set apart for him! Praise him in the powerful realm of heaven! Praise him for his heroic actions! Praise him for his tremendous greatness! Praise him when the shophar sounds! Praise him with harp and lyre! Praise him in dance to the beat of the hand drum! Praise him with stringed instruments and flute! Praise him when the cymbals call for attention! Praise him when the cymbals call for you to shout! All who have breath, praise Yah! Praise Yah! 46 ABC’s of Grief The is the first of five laments from the book of “Lamentations”, written in response to the destruction of Jerusalem about 600 years BCE. Abject, abandoned widow. This is our city now. No one offers help. Betrayed by those closest to her, she weeps in the night. Her friends have left. Coming into her most holy place, foreigners fondled her precious things: God’s law broken. Deserted roads lead to desolate gates. No festivals in Zion; the priests grieve. Girls are dragged away. Enemies dominate her and are at ease, enemies carry off her children as she grieves: Yahweh punishes her. From Zion, her princes feebly fled, like starving, hunted deer. All splendor is gone. Grabbing at her as they closed in, laughing, the enemy watched her faint and fall. No one helped. Hatefully they treat her now, though once respectful. They have seen her naked. She hides her face in grief. It’s horrible. Stunned, debased beyond thought, she has no one to help her. The foe wins. My God, look at how I suffer! Judah sits in exile, a miserable slave, and recalls golden days long gone. No one offers help. Keeping alive by selling their children for a loaf of bread, everyone grieves. We’re worthless! Look at me, all you who pass by! Is there any anguish or grief like mine, struck by Yahweh in the day of his anger? 47 A BIBLE SAMPLER My body burns, I stagger, nauseous, devastated, rejected, punished from above. No one could stand under this yoke of my sins. My Master shaped it, put it on me and handed me over. I cannot resist. Over these I weep a stream of tears: no comforter near to keep me alive; my children destroyed by the enemy. Proclaiming that all my warriors should be crushed, my Master gathered them in and did so: Judah’s daughter, trampled in a winepress. Queen, once, Zion now does hard labor. At Yahweh’s command, enemies closed in on her. They treat her like dirt now. Rebelling against Yahweh’s word, I deserved his punishment. Please listen, everyone! Look at my anguish! My young men and women are gone, prisoners. Searching throughout the city for a scrap of food, my priests and elders die off. I called to friends; they betrayed me. Turmoil, everywhere. My God, look at me! Outside, they slice up my children. Inside, it is the same as death. Uncomforted, I groan. My stomach churns, My heart fails. Very happy are all my enemies when they hear that disaster has struck, that you did this to me. Wickedness is theirs as well as mine. Let it be brought before you: All of their wickedness! EXact from them, what you have from me! I admit my rebellion against you, and grieve over it. You have declared a day of reprisal. Bring it on our enemies! Let them become like us! Zion begs for help. No one responds. My God, look at me! I’m sick at heart, in constant grief. 48 Proverbs The Book of Proverbs contains many pithy sayings and short lesson concerning wisdom. The selections here indicate the importance attributed to wisdom and some of the ways it was thought to apply to daily life. Wisdom stands on the highest spot in town, where all will pass and hear her call: “Listen, everyone. I’m speaking to each of you… Prefer learning from me over silver and gold… Yahweh produced me before all else. I am the chief of all his works… I am the one who always delighted him I am, and always was, delighted by all he made, the world and the people living in it. 8.1-4,10,22,30-31 Take Wisdom as your partner, committed to the Insight she gives, and you will keep away from the wrong kind of woman, however sweet her words may sound. Looking out my window one evening, I saw a naïve young man pass through the market place, heading toward the house of the wrong kind of woman. The darkness of night was approaching. Dressed as a prostitute, she was waiting outside for one such as him. This was her nature: unwilling to stay at home, eager to go wherever she might find a victim. She latched on to him, kissed him, looked him in the eye, hiding what was in her mind, and said, “I’ve been looking for you! I’m so glad to find you. Come on, my husband’s gone and won’t be back for a long time. We have the whole night to be together. Incense and perfume in my bedroom, smoothest sheets on the bed: “Let’s have fun. Let’s make love!” He went with her, like an oxen being led to the slaughter-house, like a deer heading to where an arrow will pierce its lungs, like a bird flying toward the net that will entrap it, unaware that he was about to die. My child, listen to me. Don’t be tempted by this kind of woman. Don’t stray into her territory. The road to her house is the road to death. Know-it-alls will hate you for correcting them; the wise will love you. Lovers of knowledge love being shown when they are wrong; dummies hate it. 7.1-27 9.8 12.1 Fools insist on their own way; the wise listen to others’ advice. Fools lose their cool quickly; the wise remain calm even if insulted. A calm spirit prolongs life; agitation weakens the bones. 49 12.15-16 14.30 A BIBLE SAMPLER Hasty words wound; wise words heal. 12.18 Watch your mouth and you’ll live well; let it run and you’ll be ruined. Even a fool can be thought wise if he keeps is mouth shut. 13.3 17.28 Don’t spank your children—if you hate them. If you love them, discipline them from an early age. 13.24 (Compare “Spare the rod and spoil the child.”) Yahweh will not let those who live as they should go hungry, but will keep bad people from getting what they want. 10.3 Nothing bad happens to those who live as they should, but those who hurt others will be full of misery. 12.21 Hey Lazybones, How long will stay in bed? Are you going to get up? Or are you going to snooze a bit longer, cling to the comfort of bed, and wait until what you have is gone and poverty imprisons you? You better get up, and give some thought to the ant, who, without being told, works in the fields during the summer and benefits from the harvest. Lazy people are for their boss like smoke for the eyes or vinegar for the teeth . 6.6-11 10.26 The lazy person’s stomach growls but stays empty; the hard worker’s stomach is full of good food. 12.4 The effort of lifting the hand to the mouth keeps the lazy person from eating. 26.15 The ox that dirties the stall enables a bountiful harvest. 14.4 Better a little rightly earned than a lot gained unjustly. 16.8 Ignore the poor person’s cry for help and your own will go unheard. 21.13 The fruit of dishonesty tastes sweet at first, but has the aftertaste of dirt. 20.17 Justice is the joy of those who live as they should, the ruin of the oppressor. 21.15 “Pride goes before…a fall.” (KJV 16.18: “Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.”) The poor ask politely; the rich answer rudely. 18.23 Better to camp out than to share a house with an angry wife. 21.19 Dogs go back to their vomit, fools to their foolishness. 26.11 Don’t boast about tomorrow; you don’t even know what’s going to happen today. 27.1 Trust the fist of a friend, not the kiss of an enemy. 27.6 50 Vaporous, Uncertain The book traditionally referred to as “Ecclesiastes” (Greek for a member of an assembly) is a piece of wisdom literature with a perspective quite different than that of the book of Proverbs. It was one of the last books to be produced (perhaps 200-300 years BCE). Texts of the Gatherer, descendant of David, king of Jerusalem. The Gatherer says: Vaporous, uncertain. Everything: vaporous, uncertain. Wherever the sun shines, people struggle. But what do they gain from their struggle? A generation moves around, then leaves; the earth stands still. The sun rises, then leaves, laboring on to its place to rise again. Moving toward the south, circling to the north, circling, circling, the wind moves around, and returns to its circling. All rivers move toward the sea; the sea is never full. The rivers move on to their place, they keep moving back there. We cannot deal sufficiently with any such topic. Our eyes are not satisfied by what they see, our ears are not filled by what they hear. What has been will be, what has happened will happen: nothing completely new appears under the sun. You hear people say, “Look! That’s new!” 51 A BIBLE SAMPLER Ha! It is a thing of the past. Unnoticed does not mean previously inexistent. What is noticed now, will be forgotten later. 1.1-11 The vaporous, uncertain nature of life puts justice into question. Good people suffer as if criminals and criminals prosper as if good. I call this vaporous, uncertain but recommend being as happy as one can be in life, even if it is just a matter of finding something to eat and drink as one struggles for the bit of time God has given to stay where the sun shines. 8.14-15 Much has been written and there’s no end to that. Much study will lead to getting worn out. 12.12 52 Readings from the Christian New Testament Within the first few centuries of the common era, Christians referred to their Holy Book as consisting of the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Hebrew Scriptures were the “Old” and the texts written in Greek about the life and significance of Jesus were the “New”. “Testament” referred to the covenant, agreement, or contract between God and people. The “Old” was viewed as essential for understanding the “New”. The New Testament is composed of four “Gospels”—from the Greek word for “Good News” or “Important Message”—and several other texts. The Gospels give different perspectives on the life and teachings of Jesus but all agree in his unique stature as a representative of God. The remaining texts are written as letters to followers of the new religion of Christianity. Our Sampler presents a text representing the teachings of Jesus, a philosophical discourse on the nature of Jesus, and excerpts from the book giving rise to the term “apocalypse”. 53 54 Living Well (Matthew 5-7) How wonderful it is for those who are poor to the core of their being, who grieve, who are oppressed. They are citizens of the divine community. They will be comforted and given the world. How wonderful it is for those craving what is right like others crave food and drink. They will have their fill. How wonderful it is for those who are compassionate, have pure thoughts, and work for peace and harmony. They will be shown compassion, see God, and be called children of God. How wonderful it is for those who suffer on behalf of what is right. They are citizens of the divine community. Yes, it is indeed wonderful for you when you suffer — from name-calling or false accusations as well as from physical harm. Those who speak and act on behalf of God have long been treated like that. So you should be very happy for the suffering: it is nothing compared to the benefits you receive as a member of the divine community. ******* You are the world’s salt and light. But, of course, if something is called salt but has no flavor, there’s no reason to keep it. It will be thrown out into the dirt and people will walk over it. And lights are not meant to be covered. Rather, you put them up high so that they can light up the whole house. Think of how plainly one can see a town above the plains. This is how it should be for you: your light is shining, people see what you are doing, and they express in glowing terms their appreciation for your divine parent. ******* Some are thinking that my mission is to put an end to the influence of the Torah and the books of God’s spokespersons. Not at all. My mission is to show what it means to fully follow them. The Torah will endure as long as the universe, until what it points to is fully realized. Trivializing any part of the Torah will result in being trivialized in the divine community. On the other hand, those of the community will hold in high esteem the one acting and teaching in 55 A BIBLE SAMPLER accordance with the Torah. What I tell you is this: Entry into the divine community comes by a commitment to what is right that goes well beyond what is taught by the religious experts and supposed guardians of the Torah. Here are Related Teachings some examples of what you have heard about the Torah— and what I say about how full respect for our ancient teachings will be demonstrated. You have heard Torah’s command “Don’t kill anyone”  If you are about to perform an act of religious piety but remember that someone has a grudge against you, stop! First get back on good terms and that the violator of this command is to be prosecuted. with the other, then perform your But what I say is this: anyone that gets angry at someone pious act. else deserves prosecution! Insulting someone is grounds  for judgment, whether here or in hell. You have heard the command “Don’t have sex with a married man’s wife.” What I tell you is this: anyone who even toys around with the idea has already violated the It’s better to become friends with someone who has accused you of wrongdoing than to go to court and have the judge get you thrown into prison until you have served the sentence. completely command in his mind. It is said that a man who no longer wants to be with a woman he married will, if he respects Torah, give her a document attesting that he sent her away. What I tell you is this: the man who sends the woman away breaks the command against adultery (unless she has been unfaithful)— and so too does anyone marrying her. You have heard the command to keep promises confirmed by invoking heaven, earth, Jerusalem, or even one’s own head. What I tell you is this: don’t make these kinds of promises at all! Who are you to invoke where God sits, where God’s feet rest, where the great king is to reside—or where hair changes color regardless of what you want! If you want to confirm or deny something, simply say “Yes,” or “No.” Going beyond this is destructive. You know the principle “Poke out the eye of one who has caused another to lose an eye; break the teeth of one who has broken another’s teeth.” What I tell you is this: don’t retaliate! If someone pushes you, allow them to push you again. If someone is taking you to court to get your shirt, give them your pants as well. If a soldier tells you to carry his pack for a mile, go beyond this legal requirement and carry it two miles. If someone asks you for something, give it to them. If someone ask to borrow money, don’t refuse. You’ve heard that you should love those near to you— and hate your enemies. What I tell you is this: love your enemies and pray for those who make you suffer. Doing so, you will become children of your divine parent, whose sun rises and rain falls for the bad as well as the for the good, for those who do what is wrong as well as the for those who Related teaching We should get rid of what causes us to hurt others. If it were our eyes or our hands, it would be better to get rid of them than to end up in hell with everything intact! do what is right. There’s no special benefit for loving those who love you or being polite to those in your ingroup. People outside of your own group do the same thing, even the worst of them. 56 LIVING WELL So, those truly following the Torah are not content with sticking to tradition; they strive for the perfection of their divine parent. ******* If you want the benefits that come from your divine parent, make sure you are not doing what is right as a show for other people. If, for example, you give to someone in need, whether at your place of worship or on the street, Related Teachings do not bring attention to yourself. That is, don’t be Avoid repetitive nonsense in your prayers. Don’t be like those wearing the mask of religion, who make like the outsiders, who think that the longer the a public display of their giving acknowledged by prayer the more likely it will be heard. Your divine others in glowing terms of appreciation. They get parent knows what you need before you ask! So let their benefits, I tell you. But as for you, do not let anyone know when you are giving to someone in need. Do not even keep track of what or when you give. Your divine parent, from whom nothing is hidden, will see what you have done and assure you your prayer be something like this: Our divine parent, We want your unique identity to be recognized and revered. We want your community to be fully realized on earth as well as in heaven. benefit from it. The same principle applies to prayer. Don’t be like those wearing the mask of religion who love to be seen praying in places of worship and out in public areas. They certainly get their benefits, I tell you. But as for you, do your praying in a place Help us to live in keeping with your ways. Forgive us when we do not, as we forgive others when their straying from your way hurts us.* Please give us the food we need each day. Please free us from destructive ways rather than test our resistance to them. where the only one seeing you is your divine parent, from whom nothing is hidden and who will assure you benefit from it. *To the degree that you forgive others, the divine parent will forgive you. And when you go without food to express your longing for God’s intervention, don’t be like those wearing the mask of religion. They make themselves unattractive to attract others and be admired for their piety. They certainly benefit from this, I tell you. But you should take care of your appearance so that the only one knowing you are depriving yourself is your divine father, from whom nothing is hidden and who will assure you benefit from it. ******* Your mind is where your goods are. So, don’t amass goods on earth, where moths and worms Related Teaching can make them unattractive or thieves break in The eye is the body’s lamp. The healthy eye brings and steal them. Amass goods in heaven where light for the whole body; the bad eye brings darkness. When one’s light is dark, what a darkness! moths and worms cannot make them unattractive and where thieves cannot break in and steal them. People cannot work like a slave for two masters. If they had two masters, they would devote 57 A BIBLE SAMPLER themselves to the one they liked and ignore the one they disliked. People cannot work like a slave for both God and possessions. So, I tell you that concern for yourself should not be in terms of what you will eat and drink and concern for your body should not be in terms of what you will wear. Isn’t there more to life than food and more to the body than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plants seeds, harvest crops and put them away in barns. But your divine father feeds them. Aren’t you worth more than birds? Which one of you worriers can add a single minute to your lifespan? And why worry about clothing? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They don’t exert themselves and they don’t sew. But I tell you the clothing of the richest king could not compare to one of these flowers. If that is how God clothes plants in the field—here one day and burnt the next, won’t he be all the more concerned to clothe you doubters? So, don’t get caught up in all the things that concern outsiders, worrying “What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?” Your divine father knows that you need them. What you should be searching for above all is God’s rule and the right relationships and conduct that are a part of it. Look for that and all these other things will be given you as well. Don’t worry about tomorrow. Let tomorrow worry about itself. Today has enough troubles of its own. ******* If you don’t want God to condemn you, don’t condemn others. The standards you use and the pronouncements you make will be used against you. How can you examine the speck of sawdust in your neighbor’s eye when there’s a board in your own? Why would you say, “Let me get that speck out of your eye”? Mask-wearer, get the board out of your own eye if you want to take care of the other’s speck! ******* Don’t give what is set apart for God to dogs or pearls to pigs. Otherwise, they’ll walk over them, then turn to attack you. ******* Ask and it will be given. Search and you will find. Knock and the door will be opened. Those who ask receive, those who seek find, those who knock are let in. Would any of you give a stone to your children if they asked for bread? or a snake if they asked for fish? If you who live destructively know how to give good things to your children, think of how much more your divine parent will give good things to those who ask. ******* Always treat others as you would like them to treat you. That sums up Torah and the 58 LIVING WELL messages from God’s spokespersons. ******* The path to life is hard to follow and few find its narrow doorway. But do go through it! There is a wide-open door and a well traveled road. But they lead to destruction. ******* Watch out for those who claim to speak on God’s behalf but, pretending to be part of the flock, are actually wolves ready to tear it apart. You can recognize them in the same way that you can distinguish worthless plants from healthy ones: the worthless ones bear bad fruit if any at all and the healthy ones bear good fruit. Healthy trees do not produce bad fruit, worthless ones do not produce good fruit. Thorns bushes do not produce grapes; brier patches don’t yield figs. Trees not producing good fruit are cut down and burnt up. You can recognize them by the fruit they bear. ******* The ones who will become citizens of the divine community are the ones who go beyond calling me their master and actually do what my divine father wants. When the day comes for deciding who is a member of the community, many will insist that I was their master, claiming to have spoken on my behalf, performed exorcisms, and produced other displays of power. I will say, “What you did was unethical, fraudulent. I was never part of it. Get away from me!” So, those who hear what I have taught and act accordingly are like those who build their house on a solid foundation because they think things through. When it rains, streams overflow, and the winds beat at it, the house does not fall because of its solid foundation. Those who hear what I have taught but do not act accordingly are like thoughtless people building a house on an unstable foundation. When it rains, streams overflow, and the winds beat at it, the house collapses. 59 60 THE BEGINNING AND NOW (Prologue to the Gospel of John) From the beginning, there was divine communication, enabling understanding of God’s ways and participation in them. All was created through this communication; it could be no other way. Communication with God was life, the life that would give light to humanity, the light that would shine in darkness, the darkness untouched by light. One person, named John, was sent by God not to be equated with light but to point towards the light that all can respond to, the reliable light, shining for all humanity, pervading the universe— in the universe, enabling the universe, unknown by it. It came to ones supposed to be bearers of light. They did not take it in. Others did and were adopted into the family of God, relying on the one named to reveal the light, a process not limited by human abilities, efforts, or will but enabled by God. The divine communication was expressed in human form and became a part of us. We have witnessed its beauty, like that of an only child and parent communicating in complete kindness and sincerity. 61 62 THE DISCLOSURE: WHAT GOD HAD JESUS CHRIST COMMUNICATE TO HIS SLAVES TO INDICATE WHAT MUST SOON TAKE PLACE Transmitted by: God’s angel Witness and Reporter of all that he saw: John HOW WONDERFUL IT IS FOR THOSE WHO READ WHAT IS COMMUNICATED ON GOD’S BEHALF AND FOR THOSE WHO LISTEN AND PROPERLY RESPOND. THE TIME IS NEAR. 63 A BIBLE SAMPLER GREETING: For you is the kindness and peace that comes from The One Who Is, The One Who Was, and The One Who Will Come, from The Seven Spirits in front of His Throne, from Jesus Christ, The Faithful Witness, The First to Live after Death, The Ruler of the World’s Kings! RESPONSE: Praise and power is forever for The One Who Loves Us, The One Whose Blood Freed Us from Sin, The One Who Made Us a Kingdom, a people serving God his father. Amen! GREETER: He is coming with the clouds. All, including those who hurt him, will see him. All groups on earth will mourn because of him. God Our Master, The One Who Is, The One Who Was, The One Who Will Come, The Ruler Over All Says this: “I am the first and the last.” RESPONSE: Yes! Amen! 64 A BIBLE SAMPLER To: The seven communities in the east of Rome’s Empire From: John, your brother, sharing with you the suffering, perseverance and kingdom of Jesus One day of worship on Patmos Island, where I was in exile for speaking God’s messages concerning Jesus, my spirit heard a voice behind me loud as a trumpet blast: “Write down what you see and send your report to the seven communities in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.” I turned around to see the voice’s source. What I saw was seven golden lampstands. In the middle of them was a human-like being. He wore a long robe with a golden sash around the chest. His hair was as white as wool, as white as snow. His eyes were like flames. His feet glowed like bronze just taken from the furnace. His voice sounded like chaotic waters. His right hand held seven stars. From his mouth came a sword, both edges sharp. His face shone like the full sun. Here is the interpretation of the seven stars and the seven golden lampstands: “The seven stars that you saw in my right hand are the angels of the seven communities. The seven lampstands are the seven communities.” When I saw him, I fell at his feet as if dead. He touched me with his right hand and said, Don’t be afraid. I am the first and the last. I am the one who lives. Look at me: I was once dead but am now living forever. I have the keys to the realm of the dead. Write down what you see: what is happening now and what will occur after this. Send these messages to the seven communities. To the community in Ephesus The Ruler of the Seven Stars in His Hand, The One Walking Among the Golden Lampstands says this: I KNOW WHAT YOU DO. You are conscientious and persevering. You tirelessly accept the challenges of identifying with me. And you reject those who oppose me, as you did after testing those who falsely claimed to be my special envoys. BUT, I HOLD THIS AGAINST YOU: You are not as committed to me as you used to be. Think back to how you used to express your commitment to me and CHANGE YOUR WAYS so that you are again doing so. IF YOU DO NOT, I WILL COME TO YOU. I will remove your lampstand if you do not change your ways. To your credit, you despise what the Nicolas faction does. I despise it as well. TO THE VICTORS, I will give fruit from the Tree of Life in Paradise. LISTEN WELL TO WHAT THE SPIRIT SAYS TO THE COMMUNITIES! 65 A BIBLE SAMPLER To the community in Smyrna The First and the Last, The One who Died but Lives says this: I KNOW THAT YOU ARE OPPRESSED AND POOR—but rich!—and that you are slandered by those calling themselves God’s people although they are Satan worshipers. Don’t be afraid of what you are about to suffer. The Liar is indeed about to throw some of you into jail, to test you, as you are oppressed for ten days. Be faithful until you die and I will give you ...
Purchase answer to see full attachment
User generated content is uploaded by users for the purposes of learning and should be used following Studypool's honor code & terms of service.

Explanation & Answer


Anonymous
Great content here. Definitely a returning customer.

Studypool
4.7
Trustpilot
4.5
Sitejabber
4.4

Related Tags