Announcements 2008-09-24
If anyone would like to take notes every class for
another student in the course, we need one student to
do so. There is remuneration involved! $$
Interested? See me after class.
Michael Morwood: “Reshaping Christian Thought and
Imagination”
Tonight, Sept. 29 - 7:00 pm
Nicholson Hall B20
Agenda for 2008-09-29
Announcements
Recap of Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Sacrificial System in the Hebrew Bible
For next time
Prepare Discussion Session 3 handout
Read
NOAB 309-315
Joshua chapters 1-4; 6-7; 9; 13; 22-24
Write the online quizzes PT2-B Quiz and CH6-B Quiz
Tests
Midterm essay question (October 20):
Tell the story from Creation to the Restoration in terms of one of
the following:
Grace
Trust/Faith/Faithfulness
Covenant
God’s control of history
Review of Exodus
Historicity
Structure of Exodus
God’s Redemption of Israel
God’s Presence with Israel
Message
Focuses on the “land” part of the promise to the patriarchs.
Significant Passages & Themes
Birth of Moses
The Call of Moses (Exod 3:1-4:17)
Excursus: The Covenant Name YHWH
The Deliverance from Egypt (4:18–15:21)
The Hardening of Pharaoh’s Heart
God covenants with his people (19:1–24:18)
ANE Covenants
Significance of Covenant for Understanding Law
Rebellion, repentance, and restoration:The Molten (Golden) Calf (32:1–34:35)
Exodus in a nutshell
Exodus: Begins with a threat to God’s plan: a new Pharaoh reigns
and wants to enslave the people. But in response to the divine
promise to the patriarchs, the Lord delivers his people from
bondage in Egypt in order that he may be their God and they may
be his people (Relationship). This relationship is ratified with the
covenant on Sinai: “you shall be my own possession among the
peoples” (19:5, cf. 6). Like the threats to the promise in Genesis,
the promise is also threatened in Exodus by the people’s grumbling
and lack of faith. Like the almost sacrifice of Isaac in Gen 22, Just
after the covenant was celebrated, the people blew it big with the
idolatry in connection with the golden calf in Exod 32.
Leviticus: Introduction & Title
English Title: Leviticus
Come from the Greek name for the book, leuitikon, meaning
“pertaining to the Levites.”
Hebrew Title: Vayyiqra
Comes from the first word of the book in the original Hebrew
‫“ וַיִּ ְק ָרא‬and he [God] called”
Structure of Leviticus
A. Laws on sacrifice (1–7)
I. Instructions for the laity (1:1–6:7)
(Optional and unscheduled sacrifices)
1. Burnt offering (1)
2. Grain offering (2)
3. Fellowship offering (3)
(Mandated for removal of sin and culpability)
4. Sin offering (4:1–5:13)
5. Guilt offering (5:17–6:7)
II. Instructions for the Priests (6:8–7:38)
1. Burnt offering (6:8-13)
2. Grain offering (6:14-18)
3. Priest’s offering (6:19-23)
4. Sin offering (6:24-30)
5. Guilt offering (7:1-10)
6. Fellowship offering (7:11-36)
7. Summary (7:37-38)
B. Institution of Priesthood (8:1-10:20)
1. Ordination of Aaron and his sons (8)
2. Aaron’s first sacrifices (9)
3.
Judgment on Aaron’s sons (10)
C.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Uncleanness and its treatment (11-16)
Unclean animals (11)
Childbirth (12)
Skin diseases (13–14)
Discharges (15)
Day of Atonement (16)
D. The practice of Holiness: the Holiness Code (17–27)
Leviticus: Message
Puts the Message of Holiness at the Centre of the
Pentateuch
Holiness code (chap 17-27)
“You shall be holy, for I the Lord your God am holy”
(Lev 19:2)
As the shortest of the five books it didn’t need to be
written on a separate scroll; therefore its centrality is
purposeful
Relationship to the theme of the Pentateuch (partial fulfillment of the
Patriarchal promise of posterity, blessing, and land)
Like Exodus, Leviticus focuses primarily on the blessing
or divine human relationship as expressed in the
covenant at Sinai
Leviticus spells out in detail the means by which the
relationship formalized by covenant is to be maintained.
I.e., The means by which Israel can maintain a
relationship with a Holy God: “You shall be holy, for I the
Lord your God am holy” (Lev 19:2)
Significant Passages & Themes
Atonement through Sacrificial System
Sacrifice was designed to make possible the coexistence of the
holy God and his sinful people
The covenant context of sacrifice underscores the fact that
sacrifice was a gracious gift from God.
Meaning and Significance of Sacrifice
Sacrifice common in ANE; meaning was assumed knowledge
(which we no longer have)
Sacrifice “makes atonement” (Lev 1:4); i.e., to make right with
God by satisfying the penalty for breaking relationship
Practice of laying on hands signifies ownership, not transference
Name
Portion
burnt
Other portions
Animals
Occasion or Reason
Ref.
Burnt offering
all
none
male without
blemish; animal
according to
wealth
propitiation for general sin,
demonstrates dedication
Lev 1
Grain, meal, or tribute
offering
token
portion
eaten by priest
unleavened
cakes or grains,
must be salted
general thankfulness for
first fruits
Lev 2
Fellowship/ Peace
offering:
a) Thank
b) Vow
c) Freewill
fat
portions
shared in
fellowship meal
by priest and
offerer
male or female
without blemish
according to
wealth; freewill:
slightly
blemished
allowed
fellowship
a) for unexpected blessing
b) for deliverance for when
a vow was made on the
condition
c) for general thankfulness
Lev 3
Lev
22:18
-30
Sin offering
fat
portions
eaten by priest
priest or
congregation:
bull; king: hegoat; individual:
she-goat
applies to situation where
purification is needed
Lev 4
Guilt offering
fat
portions
eaten by priest
ram, without
blemish
applies to a situation where
there has been desecration
of something holy or where
there is objective guilt
Lev
5–6:7
Significant Passages & Themes
Holiness
“Be holy because I am holy” is the motto for Leviticus
In the OT “holiness” (qadosh ‫ ) ָקדֹוׁש‬conveys the notion of
otherness and separation from the mundane and ordinary for the
service and/or worship of Yahweh
The Holiness Code (17-25), is concerned primarily with personal
ethical conduct, summed up in 19:18 as “Love you neighbor as
yourself”
Four aspects of holiness: (1) Holy Seasons: Sabbath and
Festivals; (2) Holy Personnel: People and Priests; (3) Holy
Space: Tabernacle/Temple
Holiness Continuum
Places
Very Holy
Holy
Clean
Unclean
Very Unclean
holy of
holies
holy place
court
camp
outside the
camp
Levites, clean
Israelites
minor
impurities
major impurities,
the dead
purification (1
day)
purification (7
days)
People high priest priest
sacrifice
Rituals
(not
eaten)
Times
sacrifice
sacrifice (non(priests eat)
priests eat)
Day of
festivals,
Atonem
Sabbath
ent
common days
Numbers: Introduction & Title
English Title: Numbers
Come from the Greek name for the book, arithmoi
(ἀριθμοι), likely refers to the two census lists recorded
in the book (2, 26)
Hebrew Title: Bmidbar
Comes from a word in the opening line of the book in
the original Hebrew ‫“ ְב ִּמ ְדבַ ר‬in the wilderness”
Structure of Numbers
“Since the book has no real unity and was not composed in accordance with any
logical, predetermined plan, whatever outline may be imposed upon it will have
to be recognized as largely subjective and arbitrary” (Dentan)
Outline of the Book of Numbers: The Death of the Old and the Birth of
the New (Olson)
A. The End of the Old (chaps. 1–25)
I. Preparation of the People to Enter the
Land (1:1–10:36)
 First Census (1:1–4:49)
II. Cycle of Rebellion, Death and Deliverance
(11:1–25:18)
1. Repeated Rebellion of the First Generation:
Climaxes with Spy Account (11:1–20:29)
2. The End of the First Generation amid Hope
(21:1–25:18)
B. The Birth of the New (chaps. 26–36)
I. Preparation of the New People to Enter the
Land (26:1–36:13)
 Second Census of the New Generation
(26:1-65)
Stages of the Wilderness Journey
Egypt to Sinai
Exodus
Source
Sinai to Canaan
Numbers
Source
1. Moses and his
father-in-law
18:1-27
E
1. Moses and his 10:29-32
father-in-law
J
2. Murmuring of the
people
16:1-12
P
2. Murmuring of
the people
11:1-6
E
3. Quails and manna
16:13-35
P
3. Quails and
manna
11:4-35
E
4. Water from rock at
Meribah
17:1-7
J and E
4. Water from
rock at
Meribah
20:2-13
E
Relationship to the theme of the Pentateuch (partial fulfillment of the
Patriarchal promise of posterity, blessing, and land)
Numbers focuses primarily on the land aspect of
the promise
Begins with a military census to organize the people
before taking the promised land
The people, however, do not trust Yahweh as Warrior
and a generation dies in the wilderness
The focus on the land comes to the forefront again at
the end of the book where a second census is
performed and the people await entry
Significant Passages & Themes
The Problem of Numbers in Numbers
Issue: Num 1:45 says that there were 603,550 fighting men. Based on
records of other peoples that would be about 20-25% of the population,
giving a total of 2.5 million.
Problems: (1) Sinai couldn’t sustain that great number; (2) Multiplication
to that number from 70 in 10 generations is also difficult; (3) Doesn’t
square with Deut 7:1 that says the seven nations inhabiting Canaan
were each larger than Israel, nor with the Assyrian annals of numbers in
battle or people taken into exile.
Solutions: (1) Misplaced census lists; only solves multiplication
problem; (2) word translated “thousands” means as “clans” (‫)אֲ לָ ִּפים‬. But
no connection between number of clans and totals; (3) Genre effect.
Epic prose narrative intended to emphasize the cumulative wholeness of
Israel and the magnitude of Yahweh’s deliverance. (You get the same
hyperbole in the plague account, etc.); or (4) Unsolved.
Significant Passages & Themes
The Spy Story (Numbers 13–14)
The rebellion in 13-14 has parallels to the other rebellions, but it is also
unique, forming a climax to the whining of the people in the wilderness.
The uniqueness and severity is highlighted by the peoples desire to elect
their own leaders and return to Egypt. This is an overt move to reverse
the Exodus. Yahweh is the God “who brought Israel out of Egypt.” The
rebellion results in rejecting this same God, and to replace him. The fall
of the people is also exacerbated by the height of expectation at this
point in the narrative: they were on the border of the promised land!!
Emphasizes God’s faithfulness to his promise and the consequences of
disobedience.
(http://www.basarchive.org/bswb_graphics/BSBA/29/04/BSBA290403500.jpg)
This inscription found at Deir ‘Alla, in Jordan, begins,
“The sayings of Balaam, son of Beor, the man who was a seer of the gods.”
Deuteronomy: Introduction & Title
English Title: Deuteronomy
Comes from Deuteronomy 17:18 in the LXX, which
refers to a repetition (δευτερονόμιον) of this law. The
actual verse talks about the king making a copy of the
law.
Hebrew Title: ‘elleh haddvarim
Comes from a word in the opening two words of the
book in the original Hebrew ‫“ אֵ לֶּ ה הַ ְדבָ ִּרים‬these are the
words”
Structure of Deuteronomy
1. Preamble (1:1-5)
2. Historical Prologue (1:6-4:49)
3. The Covenant Stipulations
A. General Stipulations (5-11)
Ten commandments (5)
The Great Commandment: the
Shema (6)
Temptation and life in the
covenant (7-11)
B. Specific Stipulations (12-26)
Centralization of worship (12)
Justice, the king (17)
Levite, priest, prophet (18)
4. Curses and Blessings (27-28)
5. Witnesses and Covenant
Renewal (29-33)
6. Epilogue (33-34)
Blessing of Moses (33)
Death of Moses (34)
Relationship to the theme of the Pentateuch (partial fulfillment of the
Patriarchal promise of posterity, blessing, and land)
Deuteronomy focuses primarily on the land aspect of the
promise
The people are poised on the border of the promised land
hearing Moses’ three final speeches before taking the land
The phrases “the land you are to possess” (22 times) and “the
land which the Lord your God is giving you today” (34 times),
both point towards the land
Covenant & Law
Meaning of Law or “torah” (‫ּתֹורה‬
ָ )
Broader than our concept of law
Can be used to refer to covenant stipulations, the Pentateuch, or
even the entire Hebrew Bible
Best translated as “teaching” or “instruction”
Law & Covenant
Covenant presupposes a previous relationship (not salvation by
works)
Law cannot be separated from its covenant context
Law functions as means to maintain relationship, not to establish
relationship
The Legal Tradition in the ANE
The Laws in the OT are part of a larger legal tradition in the ancient
world, and therefore need to be understood within this larger context.
The primary ancient Near Eastern materials for comparison are the
cuneiform legal collections
that range from Sumerian works to Middle
Assyrian and Hittite laws, as well as
texts such as the Edict of Ammisaduqa,
West-Semitic inscriptions curses, and
sundry texts from Mari.
Law Forms in ANE and the Bible, part 1
Case Law (Casuistic/conditional law)
Casuistic law is that which “solves a case”, i.e., it proposes a
hypothetical situation, and then lays down what action must be
taken, and what legal consequences follow
Common to the ancient world
Casuistic laws are therefore retrospective and conditional.
An “If… then” formulation consisting of two components: (1) a
protasis (the “if” or “in the case that…”), describing the situation;
and (2) an apodosis (after the “then”) or the enacting clause,
which stipulates the legal consequence of the act
Examples of Case Laws
Theft:
In the case that a man steals an ox or a sheep and slaughters it or sells it;
then he shall make amends—five oxen for the ox, and four sheep for
the sheep ( Exod 21:37)
If a citizen steals an ox or a sheep from an official of the government or the
temple,
then the fine is thirty times the value of the stolen livestock; likewise if
one citizen steals and ox or a sheep from another,
then the fine is ten times the value (CH 8).
Law Forms in ANE and the Bible, part 2
Commands (Apodictic laws)
Apodictic laws present no case information, and are
prospective, unconditional, and absolute.
They state a positive command or prohibition without
qualification.
“The Israelite law form par excellence” (MacKenzie); while some
parallels are found in ANE law codes and treaty forms, it is
significant that the ANE apodictic laws do not lay down moral
principles like their biblical counterparts
Classic example: the Ten Commandments
Examples of Apodictic Laws
You (sg) shall make altars of earth for me (Exod 20:24).
You (pl) shall each fear his mother and father and keep (sg) my Sabbaths (Lev
19:3).
Honour your father and your mother (Exod 20:12).
You shall not deny justice to your poor (Lev 23:6)
Neither wives of citizens nor [widows] nor [Assyrian women], who go out on the
street [may have] their heads [uncovered] … (MAL A40)
From the hands of a slave or of a slave woman a tamkarum or a sabitum
silver, wool, sesame oil shall not receive (LE 15)
In no case is the field, orchard, or house belonging to a soldier… saleable (CH
36)
The Two Forms of the Decalogue
Exodus 20
Deuteronomy 5
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol….
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord
your God
Remember the sabbath day, and keep it holy. … For in
six days the Lord made heaven and earth….
Honor your father and your mother.
You shall not murder
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not
covet your neighbor’s wife, or male or female slave,
or ox, or donkey, or anything that belongs to your
neighbor.
You shall have no other gods before me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol….
You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord
your God…
Observe the sabbath day and keep it holy, … Remember
you were a slave in the land of Egypt…
Honor your father and your mother….
You shall not murder.
Neither shall you commit adultery.
Neither shall you steal.
Neither shall you bear false witness against your
neighbor.
Neither shall you covet your neighbor’s wife.
Neither shall you desire your neighbor’s house, or field,
or male or female slave, or ox, or donkey, or
anything that belongs to your neighbor.
Development between the Exodus and Deuteronomy
Exod
20:24
21:02-11
21:12-14
Deut
12:1-28
15:12-18
19:1-13
Law in Exodus
Many altars
Slave laws
Refuge in relation to manslaughter
Law in Deuteronomy
Centralized
(more generous)
Cities of refuge
21:15, 17
21:18-21
Cursing/striking parents
Stubborn or rebellious to parents
21:16
22:16-17
22:18
22:26-27
22:30
22:31
24:7
22:28-29
18:10b-11
24:6, 10-13
15:19-23
14:21a
23:01-3
23:04-5
23:06-8
23:10-11
23:10-11
23:14-17
23:19b
19:15-21
22:1-4
16:19-20
15:1-11
24:19-21
16:1-17
14:21b
Kidnapping a man
Seduced virgins
Death to sorceress
Loans
Consecration
Meat from torn animal thrown to
dogs
False witnesses
Enemies wandering ox
False witnesses, bribes
Sabbath for fields
Sabbath for land
Unleavened bread
Boiling kid in mother’s milk
Kidnapping fellow Israelite
Raped virgins
(more developed)
Loans
Consecration of firstborn
Meat from dead animal sold to
aliens
(more developed-2 or 3)
Friends wandering ox
(more developed)
(more developed)
Restrictions on harvesting
(more developed)
Boiling kid in mother’s milk
The Deuteronomic Code as a Casuistic Expansion
of the Ten Commandments
Which Ten?
Jewish Tradition
Catholic Tradition
Protestant Tradition
“no other gods, idols”
“no other gods besides”
1
“I am the Lord…”
2
“no other gods, idols”
“not misuse the name”
“not make an image”
3
“not misuse the name”
“remember the Sabbath”
“not misuse the name”
4
“remember the Sabbath”
“honor father and mother”
“remember the Sabbath”
5
“honor father and mother”
“you shall not murder”
“honor father and mother”
6
“you shall not murder”
“you shall not… adultery”
“you shall not murder”
7
“you shall not… adultery”
“you shall not steal”
“you shall not… adultery”
8
“you shall not steal”
“you…fasle testimony”
“you shall not steal”
9
“you…fasle testimony”
10
“you shall not covet”
“not covet house”
“you…fasle testimony”
“not covet…wife”
“you shall not covet”
What is meant by grace?
Unmerited favour
Does God show unmerited favour in the
Pentateuch?
Election of Abraham
Preservation of the promise despite human failings
(Abraham’s half-truth; Jacob’s schemes; Joseph’s
brothers)
The golden calf (Exodus 30-some)
Election of Moses
What is meant by ‘law’?
In what way is ‘law’ opposed to grace?
God’s favour is earned.
Is following the law a way to earn favour in the
OT?
What commandments involve earning God’s favour?
In Deuteronomy, there are the blessings and curses
for keeping the covenant.
There is no commandment regarding what to do if
one does not have God’s favour.
The covenant is God’s favour. The commandments
are for the nation in covenant with God.
Ancient Jewish Worldview
God is good, and so is his creation;
Evil represents an inappropriate and disruptive
response on the part of moral beings to what is
good;
The triumph of the Good is ultimately assured
by the character of God.
The goodness of God elicits responses from his creatures
God provides life, love, health, and sustenance
Devotion to Him is only fitting
Withholding one’s worship would be perverse
Because God designed the world, it operates by natural
“laws”
Natural “laws” (such as gravity) are not arbitrarily
imposed command curtailing human freedom any more
than are the physical “demands” that people eat,
breathe, and sleep.
We feel no constraint when we respond to these
demands of reality upon us.
We feel constrained only when we insist on our “right”
to choose what we do.
Moral choice must be exercised, but it is possible that
moral codes in current society present the boundary
between good and evil in a distorted form.
How was “law” thought to be “grace”?
A good God can hardly be content to leave human beings in doubt about
what is right (and life-promoting)
Some demands adapt fundamental principles to particular circumstances
(Deut. 15:12-18)
Some demands are arbitrary (Deut. 14:3-21)
God’s people are not to pursue an independent path, but to delight in
submission to the will of their benevolent Lord.
These laws are a means to demonstrate adherence to God’s rule.
God has the prerogative to command his creatures
God’s requirements spell out the terms of their own well being.
The nature of the good is given in divine creation.
The choice is whether God’s people will do the good, thus aligning
themselves with reality.
For next time
Prepare Discussion Session 3
handout on the Will of God
Read in RTOT, and write the
online quiz:
Prologue to the Prophets
PT2-B Quiz
Chapter 6: Joshua CH6-B
Quiz
Read in the Bible:
Joshua chapters 1-4; 6-7; 9;
13; 22-24
Pages 309-315 in your New
Oxford Annotated Bible
See you Wednesday at 2:15!