Philosophy 33
Mark Pursley
 The
Hebrew Bible is a collection of 24
books in three divisions: The Law
(Torah), the Prophets, and the Writings.
 The Torah consists of five books: Genesis,
Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and
Deuteronomy. The Prophets are divided
into the former prophets (Joshua, Judges,
Samuel, and Kings), the latter prophets
(Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the
Twelve.)
 The
12 minor
prophets (Hosea, Joel,
Amos, Obadiah,
Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk,
Zephaniah, Haggai,
Zechariah, and
Malachi) are counted
as one book.
 The Writings
consist
of eleven books:
Psalms, Proverbs, Job,
Song of Songs, Ruth,
Lamentations,
Qoheleth (or
Ecclesiastes), Esther,
Daniel, EzraNehemiah, and
Chronicles.
The Christian OT for
Protestants has the
same content as the
Hebrew Bible but
arranges it differently
 (producing 39 books)
 The former prophets
are placed with the
historical material and
Daniel is placed with
the prophets.

The (Latter) Prophets
are moved to the end
to point towards the
New Testament (so
called because it is
believed to supersede
the Old).
 The Roman Catholic
OT has several
additional books, and
the Greek Orthodox
church adds even
more.

 The
first references to
a fixed number of
books in the Hebrew
Bible occur in the
first century CE
(Josephus; 4 Ezra)
 A Greek translation of
the HB (reportedly
done by 72 elders)
contains a larger
selection of books.
 Centuries
later,
Church Fathers still
differed in their lists
of OT books.
 Eventually, it was
different religious
communities who
decided which books
to include in their
canons of Scripture.
 The
discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in
1947 included fragments of Hebrew
manuscripts more than a thousand years
older than the earliest texts known
before. Previously, the oldest HB texts
were Greek translations. Some of the
Dead Sea texts agree with the HB, others
with the Samaritan Bible and others with
the LXX.
 Historians
date the
emergence of Israel
in the highlands of
Canaan to the period
between 1250-1000
BCE. Abraham is
sometimes dated
around 1800 BCE,
and the Exodus at
1250 BCE
 When
Israel emerges
on the scene in the
Near East the great
civilizations of Egypt
and Mesopotamia
had already
flourished for nearly
1,500 years.
 Mesopotamia
(between the riversTigris/Euphrates): Settled by Sumerians. The
earliest known texts (mid 4th century B.C.E.)
are Sumerian. A polytheistic religion. Creation
myths: Enki and Ninhursag in the pure land of
Dilmun. A struggle between male and female
sources of life. When the male claims preeminence, the female emphasizes her power
by withdrawing her life giving power. Cycle of
creation, death, rebirth.
 Enuma Elish- Apsu (male, fresh water) Tiamat
(female, sea) beget Ea (earth) Anu (sky) ....

Gilgamesh, a mortal with
some divine ancestry, gets
depressed when his friend
Enkidu is sentenced to death.
Sets out to find Utnapishthim
(an immortal). When the gods
decided to destroy the world
by a great flood, Ea realized
that with no people there
would be no sacrifices. So he
tell Utna. to build an ark for
his family and pairs of all
animals.

After the flood, the gods were
grateful to Utna. and
conferred eternal life on him.
Utna.’s wife persuades him to
tell Gilgamesh about a
rejuvenating plant growing in
the sweet waters beneath the
earth. Gil. finds the plant, but
a snake eats it when he stops
for a swim. Gil. gives up his
quest and follows Siduri’s
advice- to enjoy life while he
can.
 Revelation:
Torah as the expression of
the divine will. God speaks to select
individuals in a culture elected to follow
his commandments and receive his
blessings.
 Covenant: Obedience to the divine will
yields national prosperity, disobedience
brings punishment.
 Redemption:
Divine intervention to
deliver his people. Exodus; return from
exile (539); founding of the state of Israel;
Messianic hopes.
 Prophecy: Proclaiming God’s will
through divine inspiration: right worship;
social justice.
 Ethics: Obedience to divine commands.
 The
God of Abraham,
Isaac, and Jacob. The
God who delivered
the Israelites from
bondage in Egypt
and established them
in the promised land.

A God who established a
covenant with his people;
and who raised up alien
powers to punish them
when they rebelled; who
sent his prophets to call
them to repent, so that
they might become a
light to all nations.

My father was a wandering Aramaean. He went down
to Egypt to find refuge there, few in numbers; but there
he became a great nation, great mighty and strong.
The Egyptians ill-treated us, they gave us no peace and
inflicted harsh slavery upon us. But we called on
Yahweh the god of our fathers. Yahweh heard our voice
and saw our misery, our toil and our oppression; and
Yahweh brought us out of Egypt with mighty hand and
outstretched arm, with great terror, and with signs and
wonders. He brought us here [to Canaan] and gave us
this land, a land where milk and honey flow. Here then I
bring the first-fruits of the produce of the soil that you,
Yahweh, have given me. (Deuteronomy 26:5-8)
 The
stories of God’s
interventions in
history are retold in
the synagogue, in
family worship and
rituals, and at the
annual festivals of
Passover, Yom Kippur;
and Rosh Hashanah.




13th Century BCE:
Moses, The Exodus.
End of 13th, beginning of
12th century BCE. Joshua,
Judges, conquest of
Palestine. 1020-1000
BCE Saul. 1000- 961
David.
961-22 Solomon. J
922- Dissolution of the
united kingdom.


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


853- Elijah
842- Elisha
830- E
800- Amos
750- Hosea
740- Isaiah
745- Micah
640- Nahum, Zephaniah,
Habakkuk.
 640
BCE- Jeremiah
 597- First fall of
Jerusalem, Ezekiel.
 587- Second fall of
Jerusalem. P
 587- 39- Babylonian
Exile, II Isaiah.
 539- Haggai,
Zechariah, III Isaiah.







516- Rebuilding of the
temple.
450- Malachi, Mission of
Ezra and Nehemiah
400- Chronicles, Ezra,
Nehemiah.
190- Jesus Ben Sirach
167: Abomination of
Desolation, Daniel.
164- Re-consecration of
the temple.
125- Qumran monastery
 Torah
(Pentateuch), first five books,
traditionally ascribed to Moses. A weaving
together of oral traditions from circles of
priests, prophets, and sages, a redaction of
sources.
 J-- Yahwist, 10th cent. B.C.E.
 E-- Elohist, 8th cent. B.C.E.
 P-- Priestly source, 550 B.C.E.
 D-- Deuteronomy, 622 B.C.E.



Two creation stories:
Gen. 1.1-2.4a(from the
Priestly source) & Gen
2.4b- 25 (from the
Yahwist source).
Revelation of the divine
name to Moses: Ex.3; Ex.
6.
Beersheeba Gen. 21.31;
26.33.



Flood story- a redaction
of two accounts from
Priestly and Yahwistic
sources.
J- flood lasts 61 days,
caused by 40 day rain.
P- 12 months + 10 days,
return to chaos, two
halves of the primeval
sea reunited.


Somewhere between the 4th
and 2nd centuries BCE the
tradition developed that
Moses was the author of the
Pentateuch. This tradition was
accepted by the early
Christian Church. However,
contemporary biblical
scholarship has undermined
this view.
1. The phrase “until this day”
(Deut.3.14; 34.6, etc.)
indicates an author after the
time of Moses.
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

2. In Gen. 12.6 & 13.7 we read: At
that time the Canaanites were
dwelling in the land. This
indicates an author many
centuries after Moses, when the
Canaanites had been assimilated
or driven out- this was not true
during Moses’ life time.
3. Gen. 36.31 mentions a king in
Israel, indicating an author after
the time of Saul.
4. Gen. 50.10ff; Num 22.1; 32.32,
etc. the other bank of the Jordan, is
used for territories east of the
Jordan river. This author was
therefore living in Palestine,
which Moses never entered.


Abraham’s God was El, the high god of Canaan. He introduces
himself to Abraham as El Shaddai (El of the Mountain) And Abram
was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said
unto him, I am the El Shaddai; walk before me and be thou perfect.
(Gen. 17.1) (Cf. El Elyon- Most high God or El of Bethel). El is a
mild deity who appears to Abraham as a friend, sometimes
assuming human form (epiphany, Gen. 18).
Later Israelites view the holiness of god as a terrifying experience.
Come no nearer! Take off your shoes for the place on which you
stand is holy ground. I am the God of your father, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. At that Moses
covered his face, afraid to look at God. (Ex. 3. 5-6)




Gen. 1-11: Primeval History: Eden; Flood; Babel.
J’s creation Story: Man is made from the dust of the
ground (as in the Babylonian myth of Atrahasis) and
animated from the breath of life. Tree of life, tree of the
knowledge of good and evil (universal knowledge or
power of discernment between good and evil?) The
idea that gods jealously guard their superiority over
humans is widespread in the ancient world. (J.C. Collins)
Serpent- talking animals are commonplace in fables.
Eating the forbidden fruit- become self-conscious.
Punished for their hubris- the desire to be like God.
 In
the beginning, God created… or In the
beginning, when God created….
 Seven days of creation:
 1. Light; separation of light and darkness.
 2. Firmament; separation of lower and upper
water.
 3a. Dry land; separation of water and dry land.
3b. Vegetation.
 4. Sun, moon, stars; separation of day and
night.
 5. Water and air creatures.
 6a. Land creatures, human beings. 6b.
Vegetation given as food to birds, animals,
humans.
 7. God rests.
 The
fall in Gen. 3 estranges humans from God
“Adam, where are you?”
 In ch. 4, we find humans estranged from each
other “Cain, where is Abel, your brother?”
 6-9 Flood narrative. Every inclination of the
thoughts of their heart was only evil continually.
And the Lord was sorry that he made humankind
on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 6.56
 11 Babel. Let us build a tower with it’s top in the
heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves.
11.4
 12-50:
The Patriarchs: Abraham; Issac;
Jacob/Israel, 12 sons father the twelve
tribes of Israel.
 Exodus: Hebrew enslavement in Egypt.
Call of Moses, Exodus, 10
commandments, Tabernacle= Ark of the
covenant, throne of the invisible Yahweh.
 Leviticus:
Laws,
offerings, sacrifices.
Burnt offerings, sin
offerings, peace
offerings, cereal
offerings, clean and
unclean, blood
sacrifice.
 Numbers:
Laws of
the camp. Leaving
Sinai, Miriam’s
leprosy.
 Deuteronomy:
Review of Israel’s
history and laws.
Death of Moses.





1. You shall have no other gods
but me. (Ex. 20.3; Deut. 5.7)
2. You shall not make a
sculpture or any image. (Ex.
20.4; Deut. 5.8)
3. You shall not take the name
of Yahweh in vain. (Ex. 20.7;
Deut. 5.11)
4. Remember and keep holy
the day of rest. (Ex. 20.8; Deut.
5.12)
5. Honor your father and
mother. (Ex. 20.12; Deut. 5.16)





6. Do not kill. (Ex. 20.13; Deut
5.17)
7. Do not commit adultery.
(Ex. 20.14; Deut. 5.18)
8. Do not steal. (Ex. 20.15;
Deut. 5.19)
9. Do not bear false witness.
(Ex. 20.16; Deut. 5.20)
10. Do not covet. (Ex.
20.17;Deut. 5.21)
 Archeological
evidence indicates that early
Israelites worshipped Baal, the goddess
Asherah, and another goddess known as AnatYahu, in addition to Yahweh. The prophets who
demanded worship of Yahweh alone in the 8th
and 9th centuries may have inspired the first
commandment. Statues of cherubim were part
of the Jerusalem cult in the kingdom periods.
The date of the commandments, therefore, is
uncertain.



Ex. 21.7 If a man sells his
daughter as a female
slave, she is not to go free
as the male slaves do.
Ex. 21.17 He who curses
his father or his mother
shall surely be put to
death.
Ex. 32.27f Thus says the Lord
God of Israel, put every man his sword
by his side, and go in and out from gate
to gate throughout the camp and slay
every man his brother , and every man
his companion, and every man his
neighbor. And the children of Levi did
according to the word of Moses: and
there fell of the people that day about
three thousand men.



Lev. 19.19 You shall not breed
together two kinds of your cattle,
you shall not sow your field with
two kinds of seed nor wear a
garment upon you with two kinds
of material mixed together.
Lev. 19.28 You shall not make any
cuttings in your flesh for the dead,
nor tattoo any marks on you.
Lev. 20. 14f. If a man marries a
woman and her mother, it is
immorality; both he and they shall
be burned with fire…. If a man lies
with an animal, he shall surely be
put to death; you shall also kill the
animal.
 Joshua
(conquest of Palestine); Judges
(Deborah, Samson); Samuel (Saul, 1st
King, David); Kings (Solomon, divided
Kingdom, Elijah, Elisha, exile).
 Prophet: Nabhi’ “called” 1st= Abraham
(Gen. 20.7); Moses (Deut. 18.15ff; 34.10).
Announcing the word of God through
preaching and symbolic action.



6.21 they devoted to destruction by
the edge of the sword all in the city,
both men and women, young and
old, oxen, sheep, and donkeys.
7. 24-26: And Joshua and all the
Children of Israel with him, took
Achan… and his sons and
daughters, and his oxen and sheep
and his tent, and all that he had
and brought them to the valley of
Achor…. And all Israel stoned them
with stones and burned them with
fire….
10.23-28 They brought forth those
five kings out of the cave….and
afterward Joshua smote them, and
slew them, and hanged them on
five trees; and they were hanging
upon the trees until the evening.



11.6 And the lord said unto
Joshua…I will deliver them up all
slain before Israel: thou shalt
hamstring their horses, and burn
their chariots with fire.
11.14-15. And all the spoil of these
cities, and the cattle, the children of
Israel took for a prey unto
themselves; but every man they
smote with the edge of the sword
until they had destroyed them,
neither left they any to breathe.
“The ambiguities of history
should not blind us to the fact that
the unprovoked conquest of one
people by another is an act of
injustice, and that injustice is
often cloaked with legitimacy by
claims of divine authorization.”
John J. Collins
 You shall have no other gods before me. Ex. 20.3
 2nd Kings 3.26f The power of Chemosh (god of
the Moabites)
 Let us make man in our image. Gen. 1.26
 See, the human has become like one of us,
knowing good and evil. Gen. 3.22
 Bene elohim- the divine council 1 Kings 22. 1922, Psalms 103.21, 148.2’ 89.6f, 82. Job 1-2;
Gen. 6.2,4.
 Elyon, elohim, and Yahweh- Deut. 32. 8-9
 Warnings
about the
future consequences
of sin; Exhortations to
spiritual dedication
to ensure divine
blessing.
 Psychic seers: 2Kings
6.12, Elisha.
 Foretelling
or forth
telling? (Is. 45.21;
46.9)
 Compelled to speak:
Amos; Hosea; Isaiah;
Jeremiah; Jonah, etc.

You may multiply your
prayers, I shall not
listen…. Take your wrongdoing out of my sight.
Cease to do evil. Learn to
do good, search for
justice, help the
oppressed, be just to the
orphan, plead for the
widow. Isaiah 1.15-17.

For the customs of the peoples
are vain; for one cuts a tree out
of the forest…. They deck it
with silver and with gold, they
fasten it with nails and with
hammers that it move not. They
are upright like the palm tree
but speak not…. Be not afraid
of them for they cannot do evil,
neither can they do good….
They are all the work of skillful
men. But the Lord is the true
God; he is the living God, and
an everlasting king. Jeremiah
10.3-10.



Wisdom Literature in Israel (including Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes,
and some Psalms) addresses practical concerns. He who meddles
in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the
ears. Prov. 26.17.
Personal effort and individual initiative are encouraged. Go to the
ant, O sluggard: Consider her ways and be wise. Without having any
chief, officer or ruler, she prepares her food in summer, and gathers
her sustenance in harvest. Prof. 6.6ff.
I commend enjoyment, for man hath no better thing under the sun
than to eat, and to drink, and to be merry, for this will go with him in
his toil through the days of life which God gives him under the sun.
Ecclesiastes 8.15.


Anxiety weighs down the
human heart, but a good word
cheers it up. 12.25
The poor are disliked even by
their neighbors, but the rich
have many friends. 13.20
There are three things that are
too wonderful for me, four
which I know not: The way of
an eagle in the air, the way of a
snake on a rock. The way of a
ship in the midst of the sea, and
the way of a man with a young
girl. 30.18f





Riches do not profit in the day
of wrath, but righteousness
delivers from death. 11.4
The righteous are delivered
from trouble, and the wicked
get in to it instead. 11.8
Those who spare the rod hate
their children. 13.24
Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout
is a beautiful woman without
god sense. 11.22
A continual dripping on a rainy
day and a contentious wife are
alike. 27.15
 70
C.E. Destruction of the Temple in
Jerusalem. Rabbinic Judaism.
 Mishnah: Code of Jewish Law (3 C.E.)
 Talmud: (learning, study) Rabbinic
discussions of the Mishnah.
 Halakha: Legal portions of the Torah.
 Mitzvot: Acts of obedience.

600-1900 C.E.: Classical AgeRise of Islam, Maimonides
(1135-1204). 13 principles
1. To know the existence of the
Creator
 To believe in the existence of the
Creator, and this Creator is
perfect in all manner of existence
 2. The unity of God
 3.The denial of physicality in
connection with God
 4. God’s Antiquity
5. That God, blessed be He is
worthy that we serve Him, to
glorify Him, to make known His
greatness, and to do His
commands.


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


6. Prophecy
7. The prophetic capacity of
Moses our Teacher, peace be
upon him
8. That the Torah is from heaven
[God]
9. The completeness of the
Torah . 10. That God knows
man’s actions and does not
remove His eye from them
11. That God gives reward to he
who does the commandments
of the Torah and punishes those
that transgress its
admonishments and warnings
12 The era of the Messiah
13. Resurrection of the dead
 Modern
Age:
Orthodox: Torah,
traditions, God-given.
 Reconstructionist:
God as unifying
concept.
 Conservative: Torah
is God-given but
some departure from
original requirements
is permitted.
 Reform:
Torah
contains eternal
principles in a
particular historical
setting, as the setting
changes so does the
application of
principles.
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Books.
Armstrong, K. (2007). The Bible. New York: Atlantic Monthly Press
Bright, J. (1959) A History of Israel. Philadelphia: Westminster
Press.
Cohen, A. (Ed.). (1949). Everyman’s Talmud. Ney York: Schocken
Books.
Collins, J.J. (2004). Introduction to the Hebrew Bible.
Minneapolis., MN: Augsburg Fortress.
Dever, W.G. (2001). What did the biblical writers know &when did
they know it? Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans.
Eichrodt, W. (1961). Theology of the Old Testament Vol. 1. (J.A.
Baker, Trans.) Philadelphia: Westminster.
Finkelstein, I & Silberman, N.A. (2001) The Bible unearthed. New
York: Touchstone.
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Fishbane, M.A. (1987). Judaism. San Francisco: Harper Collins
Soggin, J.A. (1974). Introduction to the Old Testament.
Philadelphia: Westminster.
Von Rad, G. (1972a). Genesis. (J.H. Marks, Trans.). Philadelphia:
Westminster.
Von Rad, G. (1972b). Wisdom in Israel. New York: Abingdon
Press.
Westermann, C. (1974). Creation. (J.J. Scullion, Trans.).
Philadelphia, Fortress Press.