1. Look at Possible Topics for Paper (About 5 pages)
*Observations on topics
*10 Commandments in Deuteronomy 6 and Exodus 20 (variations?)
*Look at different narrations (final editors, different viewpoints?)

2. Revised Standard Version
*New Testament 1946, Old Testament 1952
-Basically a Protestant project, Catholics use it too with minor modifications
-Intended to update King James as a Bible for public reading and use
*New RSV (1989)
-More careful with gender language
-Generic words for "human" no longer translated as "man," etc.

3. Pentateuch
*Genesis through first half of Exodus primarily narrative (some laws)
-Concept of Noahic and Noahite Laws in Gen 9.1-7
-Thought to be minimal laws that everyone in the world should follow
-Acts 15: these minimal laws applied to Gentiles "abstain from blood," etc.

*Exodus 20 through Deuteronomy is mostly laws (some narrative)
-"Covenant law code" in Exodus 20-23

*Leviticus
-Levi, priests, priestly laws
-Function in tabernacle (later, in Temple)

*Numbers
-Narrative and laws
-"Numbers" comes from census

*Deuteronomy ("Second Lawgiving")
-"Rediscovered" under good king Josiah late 7th BCE
-supposed main sources/editors behind the Pentateuch are
(D) Deuteronomist (from Josaiah's time)
(J) Yahwhist (relatively early, uses tetragrammaton)
(E) Elohist (relatively early, uses "Elohim")
(P) Priestly (late strand, after exile and return in 6th c BCE?)

ADDED NOTE (from J. Tigay, "The Evolution of the Pentateuchal Narratives" in

Empirical Models for Biblical Criticism (UPenn Press 1985) 22-23): <quote> A
typical current view would summarize the evolution of the Pentateuch more or
less as follows. The original literary units underlying the Pentateuch were
single narratives about the early Hebrew tribes and their leaders. Such
narratives were for the most part created, and at first transmitted, orally,
some think in poetic form. In the course of time, some of them were gathered
together into cycles dealing with various individuals (e.g., Abraham, Jacob) or
other common subjects (e.g., the Egyptian bondage, the exodus, the conquest);
the cycles were later linked together into lengthier narrative series (e.g., the
patriarchal period), and, later still, these series were linked into
comprehensive historical epics (e.g., the history of Israel from the patriarchs
through the death of Moses or the conquest, or later). Apparently from one such
epic (Noth's "G," for "gemeinsame Grundlage," "the common basis" of the attested
sources) there branched off separate versions which in the subsequent course of
transmission developed their own unique characteristics (at least J and E and,
in some views, P). By this stage the narrative was in prose. Whether G was
already written is debated, but at some point the oral material was put into
written form (although this did not necessarily bring the oral transmission to a
halt); in the view of most critics J and E were written. By this time, certain
older written documents had also been incorporated into the narratives, such as
the Book of the Covenant (Exod. 21-23) and quotations from "the Book of the Wars
of YHWH' (Num. 21:14). Other traditions about early Israelite history were
omitted from these written sources. Some disappeared forever, while others
survived, either orally or in other written forms, for centuries and in some
cases were picked up in postbiblical literature. . . .
After developing independently for a time, the two main offshoots of G (J and
E) were ultimately joined into a single running narrative, one serving as the
basis of the composite, with selections from the other supplementing it. ... The
editor who joined the passages added his own connective and transitional phrases
and often achieved fine artistic effects simpmly by skillful arrangement of the
material. ... Later yet, two other elements were added to the complex. One was a
body of priestly material (P), which most scholars think had already coalesced
into another version of the early history, combined with cultic and legal rules;
according to this view, P was spliced into the combined JE much as the latter
were joined. Others think that the priestly material was not a fully developed
source document, but rather a redactional strand produced by a priestly writer
or school which edited JE and supplemented it with extensive priestly lore. The
fourth element, D, was placed near the end of the account of the desert period.
The relative order in which P and D were composed and added to JE is debated.
Most scholars have considered P the latest element on both counts, while a
minority view regards P as roughly contemporary with D or earlier and thinks
that P and D were joined to JE simultaneously. </quote>

4. Ezra

*Located chronologically 5th century BCE
*Priestly lineage, involved in rebuilding Jerusalem and its Temple
*Popularly credited with priestly reediting of older materials
*Can start talking about "Judaism" as such with Ezra
-Note in many laws, a prohibition on mixing things, destroying purity (e.g.
marrying outside of ethnic boundaries)

5. The Early Narratives
*Can be divided by biographical references and specific key episodes
-"Adam" ("human") as a name, perhaps a play on "adama"=ground
-Enoch: righteous "walked with God"
*From the lineage of Seth
*Major figure in non-biblical Jewish literature
-Noah: Judgment, God makes on evil humans
-Gen. 6.1-4: The sons of God came into the daughters of the sons of men -- a
clip from a broader "mythological" tradition used here to introduce the flood
story (things are so bad that God wants to destroy it all and start again)

6. Various stories about the origins of evil
-from eating the tree in the garden
-from listening to the "fallen angels" or their demonic offspring
*Other references to "sons of God" as angels, or "Nephilim" as giants or demons
*Women are to cover their heads because of the angels --Paul
*Angels and asexuality
- Jesus' in heaven, no marriage -- "they will be like the angels"
- Angelology -- some dead people become angels (medieval thought)

7. Comments on genealogies (common in Genesis, 1 Chronicles, etc.)
-Passages from Letters to Timothy and Titus warn about people who
pay close attention to "genealogies" (of Gods?, of angels?)
*These letters attributed to Paul are called "The Pastoral Epistles."

8. Question on Moses in Exodus 32
*Moses asks God to forgive the people or else remove M's name from "the book."

9. Questions on God

*If God is all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful, why does he make mistakes?
get jealous or angry? change his mind? etc. (Don't assume things about ancient
concepts of deity -- they are in development in these sources.)

*Abraham bargains with God in Sodom and Gomorah; Why does God pick favorites?
(The stories are told in a broader context of the good guys winning, and their
opponents losing; folklore often works that way!)

8. Question on Moses in Exodus 32
*Moses asks God to forgive the people or else remove M's name from "the book."

9. Questions on God

*If God is all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful, why does he make mistakes?
get jealous or angry? change his mind? etc. (Don't assume things about ancient
concepts of deity -- they are in development in these sources.)

*Abraham bargains with God in Sodom and Gomorah; Why does God pick favorites?
(The stories are told in a broader context of the good guys winning, and their
opponents losing; folklore often works that way!)

//end of 3.1//

Religious Studies 015
Class Notes, Week 3.2 (January 30, 2003)
Jacob Canales & Annette Tran

1. Textual Criticism Exercise (sent out on class list)
-How much did you notice? Amounts of $$ differ, locations, Christian/Muslim
* Islamic letter retains Christian signoff line! Thus a botched copy?
-The same sorts of evidence and argumentation relates to study of ancient
materials that show relationships to each other (Samuel-Kings // Chronicles,
Synoptic Gospels in NT, etc.)

2. Important Resource -- "Legends of the Jews" by Louis Ginsburg
*Jewish (and Christian) uses of and reflections on biblical traditions (e.g. who
did Cain and Abel and Seth marry?)

3. Jewish "Pseudopigrapha" as a Source (see the online glossary)
*"Falsely ascribed writings" (e.g. to Moses, Enoch, Jeremiah, Adam/Eve)
* Often called "intertestamental" and grouped with "apocryphal" writings

4. How do we explain the number of years attributed to the ancients?
*Man shall live 120 years (Gen 6.3), but many ancient figures are said
to have lived much longer -- Methuselah for 969 years (Gen 5.27)!
*Theory: The flood will come 120 years from then!

5. The Flood Story
-"Covenant" as a theme in the Pentateuch (see Gen 9.11)
* This is the context of the "Noahic Laws" (again) -- "But you must not
eat meat that has its lifeblood in it" (Gen 9.5)

6. Noahs' sons- Shem, Ham, and Japheth
*Ham is the father of Canaan; later traditions associate them with Africa and
"black people," using this text to justify slavery -- Ham/Canaan was cursed to
be a slave to the others

7. Question: Gen 6.5 and Universal Wickedness
- Judaism later develops the idea of conflicting "inclinations" within every
person (the good inclination vs the evil inclination); Christianity develops
the idea of "original sin" (everyone guilty, and inevitably sinful)

8. Question: Flood Traditions, Effects
- Recent archaeological and scientific work at Black Sea may be relevant
*Flood Stories exist in different ancient cultures
*Egyptian survival/prosperity depended on level of Nile flooding to replenish
fertile soil along the river (e.g. government would adjust taxes based on
good/bad flood year)

9. Etiological Stories
- Rainbow (covenant connection), variety of languages (Babel aftermath)
- Sometimes there are surprises: Why aren't Ishmael and his descendents given a
more negative depiction in relation to Isaac and his descendents?
*Ishmael is blessed like Isaac, is father of 12 sons (Gen 17.20, traditionally
the Arabic tribes)
*Isaac is grandfather of 12 grandsons from whom the tribes of Israel derive

10. Question: "questionable" women in the genealogies?
- Note that the genealogy of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew includes four such:
Tamar (pretends to be prostitute) --> Rahab (prostitute) --> Ruth (widow who
approaches Boaz) --> Bath Sheba (David "steals" her from Uriah) -- perhaps to
contextualize the assumed situation of pregnant "virgin" Mary
*In Matthew's genealogy for Jesus goes back to Abraham
*In Luke's goes back to Adam, and has some significant differences
-Both with regard to Tamar and to Ruth, "Leverite Law" is the background, for
preserving family inheritance rights and succession (if widowed, she is to
make a child with brother in law in order to produce a male heir to her dead husband
*Tamar (Gen 38): Husband dies, brother-in-law refuses to have sex with her to
produce male heir (Onan "spills his seed"), then dies, so she pretends she is a
prostitute and gets pregnant by her father-in-law (Judah), etc.
*Rahab (Joshua 2): Housed in the wall of Jericho, saved because she is friendly
to the Israelite "spies"
*Ruth (see book of): Widow, cousin of Boaz
*Bathsheba (2 Sam [2 Kgds] 11): David has her husband killed and takes her as
one of his wives (she becomes mother of Solomon)

11. Watch for "Doublet" stories
- Abraham and Isaac both deny marriage to their wives in order to preserve
their lives. Both say that their wives are their sisters
- Traditions about Ishmael and Isaak also have "doublet" features

Leftovers for next class: Tower of Babel, Story of Lot

//end of notes to week 3//