Christian Scriptures Exam 2

other Ancient Near Eastern erotic poetry

1. The Love Song of Shu-Suen

2. Dumuzi-Inanna Love Songs

The Love Song of Shu-Suen

• inscribed on a small clay tablet in SUmerian cuneiform script

• 29 lines w/no title

• addressed to the king

  • fourth ruler of the third dynasty of Ur

• variety of euphemisms

• religious ritual facet

• temple prostitute would have sexual intercourse with the king in place of the goddess Inanna

Inanna and Dumuzi Love Songs

• series of erotic nuptial poems — the king and the goddess Inanna

• Dumuzi was a prominent ruler of the Sumerian city of Erech (3rd millennium BCE)

• Inanna was the goddess of sexual love, fertility, and procreation, also national prosperity

• all kings would take on Dumuzi’s role

Purpose of erotic poetry

• individual celebration of sensual love

• sensual love as a means of symbolizing greater social good

alternate titles for Song of Songs

1. The Song of Solomon

• traditional attribution of the text to author

1. The Canticles of Canticles

2. The Song of Songs

• meaning the greatest of all songs

structure of Song of Songs

• series of smaller songs voiced by the Lover (bridegroom/king), Beloved (bride), or “Daughters of Jerusalem” (Greek chorus of sorts)

• collated ~25 lyric poems

  • some in entirety, some are fragments of songs in a chain

• some translations mark the speaker in the margin (B for bride, D for Daughters, G for bridegroom)

• no other overarching literary structure

euphemism and symbolism in Song of Songs

every object is an analogy, or uses another phrase to refer to something that might otherwise be impolite to speak of

relating Sumerian poetry to Song of Songs

• thought that Song of Songs took the idea of erotic poetry from the Sumerians — possibly even older songs used here in a new context

• even if there is no direct relationship, the Song is drawing on traditional material in the same vein as Sumerian poetry does

The Superiority of Pre-Critical Exegesis

• essay by David Steinmetz

• univocal approach — a text has only one legitimate meaning

• equivocal approach — a text maintains numerous legitimate meanings

• ancient and medieval world were more accepting of the equivocal approach

literal sense of scripture

• straight-forward historical meaning of the text which was intended by the original author for the original audience

• Aquinas thought this was the most important sense

spiritual sense of scripture

• additional meanings to a text that aren’t explicitly expressed

• allegory, typology, mystical, anagogical

allegorical sense of scripture

• Greeks found gods’ behavior to be crude and immoral, searched for a deeper meaning below the surface

• allowed for the stories to live on with contemporary meanings

• Jews and Christians found some material to be inconsistent with morality in later ages, so they used an allegorical interpretation ot explain unpalatable literal ideas

• acknowledges the literal sense and uses it as a symbol

tropological sense of scripture

• examines the moral lessons the text conveys

• allegorical = virtue of faith, tropological = virtue of charity/love teaching the reader HOW to act morally or ethically

• Israel’s past is an example of what not to do (disobey God, etc)

anagogical sense of scripture

• theological virtue of hope

• directs the reader towards the future, anticipation of events to come

equivocality and the Song of Songs

• Jerusalem

  • historical city

  • allegorical Church of Christ

  • anagogically as the heavenly city of God

  • tropologically as the soul of man

• Beloved

  • Israel

  • Church

  • Soul

  • Heavenly City

Spiritual reading is so much more important than the literal meaning of sensual pleasure

why the title “Psalms”

• tehillim = praises

• greek word psalmos = song

• sometimes called the Psalter

what is the book of Psalms

• diversified collection of sacred poems

  • not in the same historical time/context/purpose/origins/interpretations

  • a gathering into one place/text

  • purpose of these texts is to engage in rituals of worship and the spiritual life of the community/individual

  • Hebrew poetry is loosely defined, but these are certainly different from many other forms of Hebrew writing

Tanakh

• Torah (law)

• Nabi’im (prophets)

• Ketuvim (writings)

mizmor levidad

“a song of David”

Talmud

• central text of Rabbinic Judaism

• claims all the Psalms were written by David

titles of the Psalms

originally thought insignificant bc of later addition

• When were titles added

• Who added the titles

• What was the intended purpose of the added title

author titles of Psalms

indicate who the Psalm was composed or dedicated to

historical titles of Psalms

13 Psalms

genre titles of Psalms

literary or musical suggestions/notations

miktam/maskil are untranslated

shir

song

mizmor

psalm

tefillah

prayer

lamenatstseakh

to the choir master

binginoth

stringed instrument

organization of the Psalms

• five-fold division

• illustrates the idea of receiving a collection

Psalms of praise

confession and exhortation that God is the creator of the universe and redeemer of the world

Psalms of lament

express the sorrows encountered in life, contains emotion from joy to sadness

Psalm of thanksgiving

report the existence of a crisis and adds that the crisis has passed and God has delivered

Psalms of trust

depict the psalmist amidst the uncertainty and proclaiming trust in God’s deliverance

Psalms of the earthly king (Royal Psalms)

divine ordination of of the Israelite monarchy

• use the term “king,” “anointed,” and make direct reference to David or the activity of the monarchy

Psalms of the heavenly king (Yahweh Psalms)

proclaim the kingdom of God within the context of the failure of the Davidic monarchy

Wisdom Psalms

meditate on the themes present in other books considered “wisdom literature”

focus on the ill effects of foolish behavior and the benefits of living an upright life

Imprecatory Psalms

contain extremely harsh condemnation and judgement of the enemies of the Psalmist

“curse psalms”

Sagacious Literature of the Old Testament

wisdom literature — sought to inform the student of the practical and intelligent way to live life

books of Sagacious literature

• Proverbs

• Job

• Ecclesiastes

• Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)

• The Book of Wisdom

what is “wisdom”

• hokma — a gift given by God and a skill that is learned or developed

• could be synonymous with “excellence”

Proverbs

clear rulebook of moral and religious instructions as given to a Jewish youth

• Proverbs of Solomon — Son of David and King of Israel

• Proverbs of Solomon

• Proverbs of Solomon — which the men of Hezekiah king of Judah copied

• The words of Agur son of Jakeh of Massa

• The words of Lemuel, king of Massa, which his mother taught him

characters of Proverbs

Lady Wisdom, Dame Folly, righteous (those who abide by what is right and just), wicked (those who deal in violence)

Job

sustained narrative which addresses God’s justice in light of moral worth

Satan within Job

a prosecutor in service of Yahweh, evaluating people and brining them forth for judgement

two phases of testing in Job

1. Yahweh allows Satan to strike Job’s wealth

2. Bodily affliction

primary history

Genesis—2 Kings

tragic

secondary history

1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah

comic

structure of the Chronicler’s History

• genealogies of I Chronicles 1-9

• reign of David in I Chronicles 10-29

• reign of Solomon in II Chronicles 1-9

• reigns of Judean kings to Zedekiah in II Chronicles 10-36

end of II Chronicles blends/overlaps beginning of Ezra

Ezra-Nehemiah divided

• Ezra 1-6: return of the exiles and reconstruction of the Temple

• Ezra 7-10: “Ezra Memoir” describing Ezra’s activity and is written in the first person

• Nehemiah 1-7: the coming of Nehemiah to the city and the trouble concerning the building of the wall of Jerusalem

• Nehemiah 8-10: reading of the Law by Ezra and ratification of the covenant

• Nehemiah 11-13: various misc. matters (dedication of the walls and Nehemiah’s second visit to the city)

Authorship and editing of the Chronicler’s History

• Rabbinic Judaism and Christian medievals believed Ezra wrote all 4 books

• 19th century scholarship argued a separate Chronicler had written/edited the material from disparate sources

• recent scholars maintain that a single author composed these 4 books

source criticism of the Chronicler’s History

• I and II Chronicles used other Old Testament books as source

• Ezra-Nehemiah has no clear citation of other sources

purpose of Ezra-Nehemiah

set forth the theological significance of all things rebuilding Jerusalem, provide the restoration community with a clear identity

apocrypha

uncanonical

Septuagint

Greek version of the Hebrew bible

• pentateuch

• historical writings (Tobit, Judith, Esther additions, and Maccabees)

• Major and minor prophets

Jesus knew and quoted THIS

Deuterocanonical

• Tobit

• Judith

• Baruch

• Sirach

• Wisdom

• I and II Maccabees

• Additions to Esther and Daniel

Gospel

old english: god “good” and spel “story”

latin: eu “good” and angelion “message”

Number of Gospels

35-50+ noncanonical gospels

Gospel of Thomas, Mary, Infancy Gospel of Thomas, and Judas

Synoptic gospels

gospels that report largely the same material

Johannine Gospel

Gospel of John — only similar in passion narrative

Jesus’ childhood

1. birth

2. visitation by shepherds and magi

3. presentation at the temple

4. flight to egypt

5. teaching in the temple at 12

Galilean ministry

the bulk of Jesus’ ministry

• teaching

• healings

• concern for the poor and afflicted

Passion week

• Triumphal Entry (Palm Sunday)

• spent time teaching in the temple

• celebrating passover meal with disciples

• garden of Gethsemane

• arrest and trial before Sanhedrin

• Interrogated by Pilate

• executed via crucifixion

• resurrection

• ascension

kerygma

oral traditions

Mark’s gospel

passion account with a prologue

deeds over teachings

Jesus the SUFFERING Messiah

Matthew’s Gospel

infancy→baptism/temptation→teachings/healing/miracle→execution

Jesus as the New David and New Moses

Luke’s Gospel

chronology is important

orderly account

Christ the Universal Savior

John’s Gospel

~80-110 CE

John the son of Zebedee is the author

didn’t use the same sources, or drastically reshaped them

gentile or mixed audience

prologue of creation/cosmos, then signs/discourses, passion account

Jesus as the Incarnate Logos

Two genealogies

• Matthew

  • names in descending order

  • traces back to Abraham

  • Joseph is incidental

  • Jewish Messiah

  • spoke towards the Jews

  • 42 ancestors back

  • sets of 14

• Luke

  • ascending order

  • traces back to Adam

  • Joseph is the "connection” not Mary

  • Savior to all

  • minimize Jewish-specific narratives

  • 77 ancestors back

  • No explicit divisions

Emphases in Matthew’s genealogy

• Jesus as the “New Abraham”

• Jesus as the “New David”

• Women in the Genealogy

• 3 sets of 14 — David’s name is symbolized by #14

• 5 women included

  • Tamar

  • Rahab

  • Ruth

  • Bathsheba

  • Mary

contradiction of names in two genalogies

• natural descent vs legal descent

• genealogies could be in different orders just like other things to add to thematic emphasis

• only an issue for modern readers

Nativity account/Infancy account

nativitas “birth”

• annunciations

• nativities

• purification

• flight to Egypt

“Synthetic Approach”

blends Matthew and Luke’s gospels together and adds/alters elements

The Infancy Gospel of Thomas intro

a look into non-canonical gospel traditions to see some parallels and contrasts between (non)canonical gospels in theme and composition

Agrapha

sayings and stories of Jesus which are outside of the canonical Gospel

Protoevangelium of James

• Mary’s birth and marriage

• after the normal nativity narrative, Herod seeks to kill John the Baptist

• Herod kills Zechariah

Gospel of Pseudo-Matthew

normal nativity in Bethlehem, flight to Egypt, animals worship Jesus, in egypt 365 idols fall down into broken pieces before Jesus

Infancy Gospel of Thomas

• seeks to describe the doings of Jesus in boyhood

• infant prodigy at school

• astounds his family and playmates with miracles

• not to be confused with the Gospel of Thomas (a collection of sayings of Jesus)

• authorship is unknown

• mid to late 2nd century

• even as a child, Jesus was a vessel of divine mysteries

Organization of Infancy Gospel of Thomas

• series of stories about child Jesus

• Chiastic Structure