Biblical Heritage Center Blog

  In my previous email, There is a Limit to Evil Actions , I described “ humans being like clouds of flies swarming to do violent and evil things .” For the exiles from Judea living in Babylon in the 6 th and 5 th centuries BCE, “ swarming like flies ” had a special meaning. They were familiar with a famous Babylonian myth called the Epic of Gilgamesh . It was very popular and part of public celebrations that they would have seen annually. T he history of the Babylonian story begins with five Sumerian poems dating from the Third Dynasty of Ur (c. 2100 BCE) . [i] It was being told three hundred years before Abraham was born.   It also contains a “ Flood Story .” In this story, the flood happened because the “ council of gods ” simply decided to destroy mankind for no particular reason. They swore each other to secrecy and didn’t want people to know what was going to happen. But Ea , the god who made humans, warned a man from Shuruppak (a city on the Euphrates River). Ea ...

  The first five stories in Genesis identify God in different ways. They also record interactions between God and people, and between people and people. These stories make it clear that there is a limit to how far people can stray from the path God created for them to follow. Below is a quick review of the stories.   In the first story (Genesis 1:1-2:4a), God is “ ruach elohim . ” He empowered humans fulfill this vision. Humans will reveal His image on earth by doing things that measure up to His TOV Standard ( things that protect lives, preserve lives, make lives more functional, and/or increase the quality of life ).   In the second story (Genesis 2:4b-3:24), God is “ yhvh elohim .” He gave humans a commandment to protect their lives by not eating fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of TOV and RAH . They disobeyed, were driven out of the Garden in Eden, lost access to the Tree of Life , and became mortal.   In the third story (Genesis 4:1-27), God is “ yhvh...

  Judaism has never been a religion of fixed doctrines or dogmas. It is, and has been, a complex system of evolving ideas and beliefs. This has created a diversity of Jewish views, but there is within those views an overarching rubric that unites Jews of every persuasion, from the most Orthodox to the most liberal or secular. This rubric, at once so dynamic and so compelling in its possibilities – it consists of Judaism’s “sacred narratives (stories).” The first two stories in Genesis are cornerstones of “ the rubric .” There is no one authoritative Jewish conception of God, although all Jewish thinkers agree on this:   God is one and invisible .   However, the Book of Genesis opens with two sacred stories about God that seem to be a paradox. A paradox is a seemingly absurd or self-contradictory statement or proposition that when investigated or explained may prove to be well founded or true. This paradox is revealed in their references to God -- “ ruach elohim...

  The stories behind words provide their meanings . Knowing the stories behind the words of Jesus reveal his meanings , if you do not know his stories your brain will link your meanings to his words . Those are facts !   The stories of Jesus were “ Hebrew stories ,” not “ English stories ” ( see previous email ). A person’s language affects “ the way a person thinks .” I not only speak American English; I think in American English too.   Jesus not only spoke Hebrew; he thought in Hebrew .   How are they different? There is an arc to English stories and English translations of the Bible. They have a beginning, followed by a storyline, and a clear ending. Often a problem is involved, the storyline deals with how to solve it, and by the ending the problem is solved. One thing many Christian stories have above all is certainty .   Hebrew readers rarely find tidy stories with logical A to Z progressions in the Bible. Biblical Hebrew is be...

  Two of the primary sources of Sacred Narratives in Rabbinic Judaism are the Torah ( Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy ) and the Siddur ( Prayerbook ). The Siddur establishes the order of Jewish worship at synagogues. It was developed during the first four or five centuries CE, although the components of that worship were drawn from earlier periods – including the times sacrifices were offered at the Second Temple . The structure for Jewish worship was developed during the Talmudic period (3rd to 6th centuries) . The morning service ( Shachrit ) is the most complex of the three daily services . The two main focal points are:   (1) The Shema , a selection of three paragraphs from the Torah ( Deuteronomy 6 ; 11 and Numbers 15 ) affirming God’s unity and associated blessings before and after.   (2) The Amidah is the oldest prayer in the Siddur and it was written over 2000 years ago -- seven blessings (on the Shabbat ) and 19 blessings ...