Introduction to the Old Testament in 24 Lectures from Yale University

May 202013
 

Yale University offers some amazing free courses online, not the least of which is this one on the Old Testament. I’m adding this to the NC Necessary Books page (which, megalomaniac that I am, I am considering turning into a treasure trove of literary and cultural history). In any case, this lecture series is a brilliant introduction to the Old Testament. Christine Hayes, the lecturer, is the kind of person you could listen to all day and long into the night, sharp, amiable, clear and engaging. What she teaches is just surprise after surprise.

If you want to, you can also go to the Open Yale site and download audio files of all the lectures.

dg

1 The Parts of the Whole

2 The Hebrew Bible in Its Ancient Near Eastern Setting: Biblical Religion in Context

3 The Hebrew Bible in Its Ancient Near Eastern Setting: Genesis 1-4 in Context

4 Doublets and Contradictions, Seams and Sources: Genesis 5-11 and the Historical-Critical Method

5 Critical Approaches to the Bible: Introduction to Genesis 12-50

6 Biblical Narrative: The Stories of the Patriarchs (Genesis 12-36)

7 Israel in Egypt: Moses and the Beginning of Yahwism (Genesis 37- Exodus 4)

8 Exodus: From Egypt to Sinai (Exodus 5-24, 32; Numbers)

9 The Priestly Legacy: Cult and Sacrifice, Purity and Holiness in Leviticus and Numbers

10 Biblical Law: The Three Legal Corpora of JE (Exodus), P (Leviticus and Numbers) and D (Deuteronomy)

11 On the Steps of Moab: Deuteronomy

12 The Deuteronomistic History: Life in the Land (Joshua and Judges)

13 The Deuteronomistic History: Prophets and Kings (1 and 2 Samuel)

14 The Deuteronomistic History: Response to Catastrophe (1 and 2 Kings)

15 Hebrew Prophecy: The Non-Literary Prophets

16 Literary Prophecy: Amos

17 Literary Prophecy: Hosea and Isaiah

18 Literary Prophecy: Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum and Habbakuk

19 Literary Prophecy: Perspectives on the Exile (Jeremiah, Ezekiel and 2nd Isaiah)

20 Responses to Suffering and Evil: Lamentations and Wisdom Literature

21 Biblical Poetry: Psalms and Song of Songs

22 The Restoration: 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah

23 Visions of the End: Daniel and Apocalyptic Literature

24 Alternative Visions: Esther, Ruth, and Jonah

New analysis of Genesis reveals ‘death sandwich’ literary technique

Feb 212013
 

Researchers at Keele University, UK, and Amridge University, USA, have discovered that Genesis uses an early example of a technique known as ‘bracketing’, which sandwiches one theme between two mentions of another theme. The technique is commonly used today, such as when bad news is sandwiched between two bits of good news. The new analysis of Genesis reveals a striking pattern between the two key themes of ‘life’ and ‘death’. The opening and closing verses of the book contain frequent mentions of life, whereas mentions of death are only found in clusters in the middle.

via New analysis of Genesis reveals ‘death sandwich’ literary theme.

From Genesis; In haste, something I adore

Apr 172010
 

I started rereading the Bible yesterday; it seems quite different from the last time. Now I recognize favourite passages or structural elements that organize the stories. But the recognition of familiar bits also frees me up to appreciate new things. More on that later. Right now here is one of my absolute favourite verses from Genesis.

There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after
that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men,
and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men
which were of old, men of renown.

Read it out loud for the sonorous rhythms. This passage describes the era after Adam and Eve and before Noah, God’s little temper tantrum starts in the very next verse. What’s interesting to me, besides the poetry, is the claim that before the Flood there were giants and also that the “sons of God” (whoever they were) had sex with human women who bore a race of heroic men. This is stirring stuff, but it somewhat clashes with conventional biblical readings. I never learned about the giants in Sunday school, though I would have enjoyed hearing about them. (Also mentioned in Deuteronomy 2:11.) And, of course, in the New Testament, Jesus is God’s only begotten son–apparently, the author forgot all the others; either that, or we have here a little Orwellian rewriting of history. But, really, I don’t mean to trivialize the passage by descending into simple-minded textual comparisons. The verse about giants and the sons of God is one of those bits that slipped into the Old Testament from some more ancient myth cycle–there are lots of these textual erratics: I still keep puzzling over the famous “incident of the bloody husband”–something about a demonic apparition and a hasty do-it-yourself circumcision (Exodus 4:24),  for example.  But I love the words and the feel of an ancient speaker speaking to me.

This is written much in haste, first thoughts. I almost forgot Og of Bashan (if I ever have another son, I will name him Og).

Deut. 3:11 For only Og king of Bashan remained of the remnant of giants;
behold his bedstead was a bedstead of iron; is it not in
Rabbath of the children of Ammon? nine cubits was the length
thereof, and four cubits the breadth of it, after the cubit of
a man.

dg