Saturday, February 26, 2011

The Second Half of Leviticus - The Holiness Code

Leviticus chapters 17-26 contain several distinctive features that set it apart as a distinctive unit, which scholars call the "Holiness Code" because it repeatedly employs the phrase: "Be Holy because I, the Lord your God, am Holy" (19:2; 20::7, 26; 21:6, 8). Walter Kaiser, Jr., in his New Interpreter's Bible commentary on Leviticus (Abingdon Press, 1994) notes that in addition to the the holiness theme, tone, and subject matter addressed, Leviticus 17-26 "focuses almost entirely on the Israelite people (as opposed to Aaron and the priests).

Leviticus is a book of the Law for the people - addressing everyday concerns and outlining a plan of daily life to keep them in harmony with God.

Chapter 18 (the reading for Friday, Feb. 25) contains a long list of prohibitions against specific forms of incest, explaining most of them as a form of dishonor for the male committing the incest (assumed by the second personal pronoun "you") or for the male husband or close relative of the woman with whom "you" are committing incest. An interesting topical study might involve tracing the other uses in Leviticus of the concept of honor and dishonor. But you won't get far by searching on the word "honor" or "dishonor". If you read the Jewish translation of Leviticus 18:8 (or the accurate but clunky New American Standard) you can see that the Hebrew employs a colloquialism, which modern translators have rendered into more understandable English (a translation tactic called dynamic equivalency).

In the TNIV (a modern English translation), translators have dynamically rendered Leviticus 18:8 as follows: "Do not have sexual relations with your father's wife; that would dishonor your father." The Tanakh (a Jewish translation into English, translates the phrase word-for-word): "Do not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is the nakedness of your father." This euphemism sheds some light on why Noah was so angry that his son, Ham, "saw his father's nakedness" in Genesis 9:22, while his father was drunk.

Chapter 18 begins and ends by negatively comparing the customs of the Canaanites (and the Egyptians) with God's Laws. The chapter opens with this command: "You shall not copy the practices of the land of Egypt where you dwelt, or of the land of Canaan to which I am taking you; nor shall you follow their laws" (Lev 18:3 TNK). The final verse in chapter 18 summarizes the rationale for these prohibitions: "Keep my requirements and do not follow any of the detestable customs that were practiced before you came and do not defile yourselves with them. I am the LORD your God.'" (Lev 18:30 TNIV).

Later, when we begin reading about the Israelite military conquest of Canaan, we will want to remember this justification (particularly Leviticus 18:25).

Of course, Leviticus 18:22 contains the scriptural justification of the Jewish and Christian condemnation and mistreatment of homosexual persons. I have written extensively about interpretations that question the validity of that understanding of Leviticus 18:22, if you care to find out more about other ways to understand this particular verse (you can go directly to the bottom of page 13 and 14 to read my commentary on this passage). My strategy involves asking the question, "What is going on here?" or "What customs and practices of the Canaanites do these verses (21-23) presume?"

I encourage you to immerse yourself in this sometimes strange world of Leviticus in order to hear and respond to that ancient call to live a holy life, as our God is holy!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Exodus 25-28: A Tour of the Tabernacle

The details can get a little frustrating, because they differ so much from nearly everything that has gone before. In the whirlwind of detail about fabric colors and measures, poles and sockets, planks, loops and clasps, we wonder what is going on. How is this "scriptural"? Even the verse like Exodus 25:40 (Note well, and follow the patterns for them that are being shown you on the mountain) does little to contextualize this laundry list of excruciating detail.

We have talked some about the scriptures as a portable Temple in the wake of the destruction of the first and second Temple in Jerusalem (in 586 BCE and in 70 CE). The description in Exodus 25-28 paints a vivid picture of the Tabernacle, a movable Temple for the children of Israel while they journeyed in the wilderness for 40 years. It's layout and design anticipates the design of the Temple in Jerusalem, with its altar, inner space for the table and the bread of presence and the light, and inner sanctum, or Holy of Holies, shielded from all by the high priest (and even from him on all days but the Day of Atonement), where the Ark of the Covenant was kept.

The Ark itself is described as the throne of God, between the extended wings of Golden Cherubim. The dark rich colors of blue, purple, and crimson, and the rich smells of the anointing oil and heavy smoke of incense, make for a feast for the senses. Everything about the Tabernacle bears a load of meaning and promise. Here is a storehouse of memories of God's goodness and provision in the past and promise of eternal presence among the people.

The priests, too, wear vestments designed to bring to life their belief in the God they could not name or sculpt. Their tribal names were represented by precious stones worn over the heart of the priest, set in precious gold. Even the undergarments were holy - set apart for the Lord, as the children of Israel were set apart to bless the world. Later, we will read much about the complex sacrificial system of meat and grain offerings overseen by the priests.

Like the intricate system of laws we read from Exodus 20 through 24, this detailed picture of the Tabernacle invites us into the lives of an ancient family - our family - who practiced an intentional and intricate walk with God in every action, every heartbeat. Clearly, this is a stylized account - but it reflects a deep longing to order abd to orient our every breath around a conscious expectation and awareness of God's presence among us, and of our special place in God's heart.

As you read all the exquisite details of this portable Temple, perhaps you will realize that ths is your home as well, and that wherever you go, you will always be home and among family.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

OYB Reflections - The Children of Israel (Jacob) - January 14, 2011

Michael Williams told me Sunday that he decided to read some of the scriptures in Genesis prior to the January 14th reading (Genesis 30) which picked up in the middle of the birth of the twelve sons of Jacob (whom we learned in the January 17 reading got his name changed to Israel). These children figure prominently throughout the rest of the Christian Old Testament.

In the January 17 reading (Genesis 35:1-36:43), you find a brief synopsis of the twelve sons of Israel:
 23 The sons of Leah were Reuben (Jacob’s oldest son), Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar, and Zebulun.
 24 The sons of Rachel were Joseph and Benjamin.
 25 The sons of Bilhah, Rachel’s servant, were Dan and Naphtali.
 26 The sons of Zilpah, Leah’s servant, were Gad and Asher.

Leah and Rachel were Jacob's two wives (as for how this marriage to these two sisters, Jacob's nieces, came about, see Genesis 29). Bilhah and Zilpah were their respective maidservants. When each of the sisters ceased or could not conceive children, they offered Jacob their maidservants in a kind of fertility war. These twelve sons become the Twelve Tribes of Israel (there will actually be 13, because instead of a tribe of Joseph, Israel/Jacob gives this honor to Joseph's two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh - see Genesis 48:5-6).

Besides the names of these important tribes (the tribe of Jesus is Judah), you may also want to take particular notice of the various mentions of God's covenant, or eternal promise, to Jacob/Israel, to his father, Isaac, and to his grandfather, Abraham/Abram. The first of these covenant statements is found in God's call to Abram in Genesis 12:1-3. The covenant is restated several times: Genesis 13:14-17; 15:5; and 22:17-18. The God renews the covenant with Abraham's son, Isaac in Genesis 26:2-5, and with Abraham's grandson, Jacob, in Genesis 28:13-15; 35:11-12; and in 46:2-4.

I hope you are enjoying the Joseph saga, which begins in Genesis 37 (we started yesterday). But don't let your eyes glaze over when reading chapters like Genesis 36, which recount the genealogy of families and tribes which are part of the story of God's people in the Christian Old Testament. One strategy I like to use is to meditate on the names, which are transliterated from the Hebrew (almost all of which is accented on the final syllable). These long lists of names are the only places you can hear the ancient sounds that first carried the message of Good News of God's presence among human communities. Don't run from them - revel in the fact that you are reading Hebrew!

I hope transitioning from the story of the patriarchs to the stories of Jesus in Matthew aren't too bracing for you (at least Matthew likes to quote the Hebrew prophets often). Today, we got to read the first of many parables recorded in Matthew. I'd love to hear what your take is on these ancient forms of teaching spiritual realities in a hostile world - particularly your thoughts when reading Matthew 13:10-16, which can seem a little harsh for Jesus. What do you think it means?

Thanks for sharing this journey of faith with me and with each other.

Peace,
Bo

Thursday, March 11, 2010

Genesis 19 - A Case Study of How the Bible Provides Interpretive Keys for Itself

Blogger's Note: some of you may have read parts of this material in my booklet, "How Are We to Live Together?" In what follows, I have expanded and added to a section entitled "Sodom and Sodomy: How We Got from There to Here", as I believe that this outlines a profoundly important example of ways in which the Bible guides us in the process of interpretation (and the ways which we ignore this guidance). Read on...

Sodom and Sodomy: How We Got from There to Here

Genesis 19 (paralleled in many ways in Judges 19) tells the story of God’s angels destroying the city of Sodom (prefaced in Genesis 13-14 and 18:16-33). Because of this story, sodomy has come to mean anal intercourse, even though what Genesis reports does not match this cultural assumption. Beyond the Book of Genesis, there are at least 20 references to Sodom and Gomorrah in the Old and New Testaments (see below). Two of these provide explicit scriptural interpretation of the sins for which God destroyed the towns. The first is Ezekiel 16:49 (NAS): "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy.” The second is Jude 1:7 (NAS): “Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire.

The Jude passage reads like a mystical trance or science fiction literature, filled as it is with “angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode” and men who “by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties.” The “strange flesh” reference makes sense when you consider that the men of Sodom wanted (perhaps) to gang rape two angels (see Genesis 19:1). There is another precedent, in Genesis 6:4, for this kind of human-angelic coupling. The Jewish Publication Society translation reads: “It was then, and later too, that the Nephilim [giants] appeared on earth – when the divine beings cohabited with the daughters of men, who bore them offspring. They were the heroes of old, the men of renown.” Getting from angelic gang rape to a blanket condemnation of all homosexual relationships is more than a stretch – the Jude interpretation does not support it – and the prophet Ezekiel does not mention sex or homosexuality at all.

Take a closer look at Ezekiel 16 and you begin to wonder why virtually every commentator on Sodom and Gomorrah ignores this explicit statement of the sins of Sodom. And Ezekiel is speaking or writing as God’s mouthpiece (see vs. 36: “Thus says the LORD God…”). Look again at the list God apparently put together: pride, indulgence, laziness, and refusal to help the poor (stranger?). Why doesn’t the word Sodomy mean these offenses, for which God explains through the prophet the city suffered the ultimate punishment?

Why indeed? Did Ezekiel (or God) not get the memo? I suppose it goes without saying that (from a heterosexual perspective) it’s far more fun to make scapegoats out of homosexual persons than to accept responsibility for and repent of our own pride, gluttony, laziness, and rape of the poor (ouch!). A good offense is the best defense.

Jesus Christ implies that the sin of Sodom involved refusing hospitality to the stranger, or at least the itinerant (traveling) healer/missionaries he was sending out in Matthew 10:14-15 (“And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet. Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city” NAS) and its parallel in Mark 6:11 ("…any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake off the dust from the soles of your feet for a testimony against them" NAS). This interpretation is supported in the related story in Judges 19 (especially verses 15-19).

Take a look at the outline below of parallels between Genesis 19 and Judges 19. To read through them is to enter into a different kind or morality, where hospitality to strangers trumps all other concerns (particularly concern for your daughter’s safety and honor). Look again at the rationale each host uses for refusing to give up the stranger(s) to the mob: “they have come under the shelter of my roof” (Genesis 19:8); “this man has come into my house” (Judges 19:23). Conservatives may reject interpretive efforts to take Jesus Christ seriously as “politically correct”, but the Middle Eastern Code of Hospitality was and is real, even if not in Europe or America. Think of the Afghan villagers recently who refused to surrender to the Taliban soldiers several wounded American (alien) special forces commandoes they had taken under their roof, even though the Taliban fighters threatened to destroy their village (the Taliban fighters respected the Code and spared the village).

How we got from God’s condemnation of pride, gluttony, prosperity, and stinginess (according to Ezekiel 16:49) and inhospitality (Matthew 10:14-15) to creating a new English word for anal sex points to a powerful cultural fear at work in this traditional Christian teaching. True Biblical “literalists” would define “sodomy” as selfishness or inhospitality. That it means something else reveals the ways our cultural context colors (and blinds) our interpretation of the Bible. As on the Road to Emmaus on Resurrection Sunday, consulting the Law and the Prophets around a Table where strangers are welcome to share a meal are the keys to opening our blind eyes.

Parallels between Genesis 19 and Judges 19

1. Visitors arrive at the town in the evening

        a. Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening (Genesis 19.1)
        b. So they passed along and went their way, and the sun set on them near Gibeah (Judges 19.14)

2. They intend to spend the night in the square

        a. They said however, "No, but we shall spend the night in the square." (Genesis 19.2)
        b. When they entered, they sat down in the open square of the city, for no one took them into his house to spend the night. (Judges 19.15)

3. The man who provides the travelers hospitality is himself an alien (not originally from the town)

        a. Furthermore, they said, "This one came in as an alien, and already he is acting like a judge (Genesis 19.9)
        b. Now the man was from the hill country of Ephraim, and he was staying in Gibeah, but the men of the place were Benjamites. (Judges 19.16)

4. They share a feast in the man’s home

        a. so they turned aside to him and entered his house; and he prepared a feast for them, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate. (Genesis 19.3)
        b. So he took him into his house and gave the donkeys fodder, and they washed their feet and ate and drank. While they were celebrating, (Judges 19.21-22a)

5. The men of the city surround the house and speak to the host

        a. the men of the city, the men of Sodom, surrounded the house, both young and old, all the people from every quarter; and they called to Lot (Genesis 19.4-5a)
        b. the men of the city, certain worthless fellows, surrounded the house, pounding the door; and they spoke to the owner of the house, the old man (Judges 19.22)

6. They demand that the host surrender his male guest(s) so that they may sexually abuse the guest

        a. "Where are the men who came to you tonight? Bring them out to us that we may have relations with them." (Genesis 19.5)
        b. "Bring out the man who came into your house that we may have relations with him." (Judges 19.22)

7. The host pleads with the men of the city not to violate his guest (who is under his protection) and offers them the women in the house to sexually abuse instead

        a. "Please, my brothers, do not act wickedly. Now behold, I have two daughters who have not had relations with man; please let me bring them out to you, and do to them whatever you like; only do nothing to these men, inasmuch as they have come under the shelter of my roof." (Genesis 19.7-8)
        b. "No, my fellows, please do not act so wickedly; since this man has come into my house, do not commit this act of folly. 24 "Here is my virgin daughter and his concubine. Please let me bring them out that you may ravish them and do to them whatever you wish. But do not commit such an act of folly against this man." (Judges 19.23-24)

8. The men of the city refuse the offer – but do not harm the (male) visitor(s)

        a. So they pressed hard against Lot and came near to break the door. (Genesis 19.9)
        b. But the men would not listen to him. (Judges 19.25)

9. The behavior of the men of the city results in the total destruction of the people and the city (by fire)

        a. …for we are about to destroy this place, because their outcry has become so great before the LORD that the LORD has sent us to destroy it. …Then the LORD rained on Sodom and Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven, and He overthrew those cities, and all the valley, and all the inhabitants of the cities, and what grew on the ground. (Genesis 19:13, 24-25)
        b. So the sons of Benjamin saw that they were defeated. When the men of Israel gave ground to Benjamin because they relied on the men in ambush whom they had set against Gibeah, the men in ambush hurried and rushed against Gibeah; the men in ambush also deployed and struck all the city with the edge of the sword. Now the appointed sign between the men of Israel and the men in ambush was that they would make a great cloud of smoke rise from the city. But when the cloud began to rise from the city in a column of smoke, Benjamin looked behind them; and behold, the whole city was going up in smoke to heaven… The men of Israel then turned back against the sons of Benjamin and struck them with the edge of the sword, both the entire city with the cattle and all that they found; they also set on fire all the cities which they found. (Judges 20.36-38, 40 and 48)

References to “Sodom” in the Bible (beyond the book of Genesis)

1. Deuteronomy 29:23 'All its land is brimstone and salt, a burning waste, unsown and unproductive, and no grass grows in it, like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the LORD overthrew in His anger and in His wrath.'

2. Deuteronomy 32:32 "For their vine is from the vine of Sodom, And from the fields of Gomorrah; Their grapes are grapes of poison, Their clusters, bitter.

3. Isaiah 1:9-10 Unless the LORD of hosts Had left us a few survivors, We would be like Sodom, We would be like Gomorrah. Hear the word of the LORD, You rulers of Sodom; Give ear to the instruction of our God, You people of Gomorrah.

4. Isaiah 3:9 The expression of their faces bears witness against them. And they display their sin like Sodom; They do not even conceal it. Woe to them! For they have brought evil on themselves.

5. Isaiah 13:19 And Babylon, the beauty of kingdoms, the glory of the Chaldeans' pride, Will be as when God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah.

6. Jeremiah 23:14 "Also among the prophets of Jerusalem I have seen a horrible thing: The committing of adultery and walking in falsehood; And they strengthen the hands of evildoers, So that no one has turned back from his wickedness. All of them have become to Me like Sodom, And her inhabitants like Gomorrah.

7. Jeremiah 49:18 "Like the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah with its neighbors," says the LORD, "no one will live there, nor will a son of man reside in it.

8. Jeremiah 50:40 "As when God overthrew Sodom And Gomorrah with its neighbors," declares the LORD, "No man will live there, Nor will any son of man reside in it.

9. Lamentations 4:6 For the iniquity of the daughter of my people Is greater than the sin of Sodom, Which was overthrown as in a moment, And no hands were turned toward her.

10. Ezekiel 16:46-58 46 "Now your older sister is Samaria, who lives north of you with her daughters; and your younger sister, who lives south of you, is Sodom with her daughters. 47 "Yet you have not merely walked in their ways or done according to their abominations; but, as if that were too little, you acted more corruptly in all your conduct than they. 48 "As I live," declares the Lord God, "Sodom, your sister, and her daughters, have not done as you and your daughters have done. 49 "Behold, this was the guilt of your sister Sodom: she and her daughters had arrogance, abundant food, and careless ease, but she did not help the poor and needy. 50 "Thus they were haughty and committed abominations before Me. Therefore I removed them when I saw it. 51 "Furthermore, Samaria did not commit half of your sins, for you have multiplied your abominations more than they. Thus you have made your sisters appear righteous by all your abominations which you have committed. 52 "Also bear your disgrace in that you have made judgment favorable for your sisters. Because of your sins in which you acted more abominably than they, they are more in the right than you. Yes, be also ashamed and bear your disgrace, in that you made your sisters appear righteous. 53 "Nevertheless, I will restore their captivity, the captivity of Sodom and her daughters, the captivity of Samaria and her daughters, and along with them your own captivity, 54 in order that you may bear your humiliation, and feel ashamed for all that you have done when you become a consolation to them. 55 "And your sisters, Sodom with her daughters and Samaria with her daughters, will return to their former state, and you with your daughters will also return to your former state. 56 "As the name of your sister Sodom was not heard from your lips in your day of pride, 57 before your wickedness was uncovered, so now you have become the reproach of the daughters of Edom, and of all who are around her, of the daughters of the Philistines-- those surrounding you who despise you. 58 "You have borne the penalty of your lewdness and abominations," the LORD declares.

11. Amos 4:11 "I overthrew you as God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah, And you were like a firebrand snatched from a blaze; Yet you have not returned to Me," declares the LORD.

12. Zephaniah 2:9 "Therefore, as I live," declares the LORD of hosts, The God of Israel, "Surely Moab will be like Sodom, And the sons of Ammon like Gomorrah-- A place possessed by nettles and salt pits, And a perpetual desolation. The remnant of My people will plunder them, And the remainder of My nation will inherit them."

13. Matthew 10:11-16 "11 "And into whatever city or village you enter, inquire who is worthy in it; and abide there until you go away. 12 "And as you enter the house, give it your greeting. 13 "And if the house is worthy, let your greeting of peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your greeting of peace return to you. 14 "And whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake off the dust of your feet. 15 "Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for that city. 16 "Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves; therefore be shrewd as serpents, and innocent as doves.

14. Matthew 11:20, 23-24 “Then He began to reproach the cities in which most of His miracles were done, because they did not repent… And you, Capernaum, will not be exalted to heaven, will you? You shall descend to Hades; for if the miracles had occurred in Sodom which occurred in you, it would have remained to this day. Nevertheless I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for you.

15. Luke 10:3-12 3 "Go your ways; behold, I send you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. 4 "Carry no purse, no bag, no shoes; and greet no one on the way. 5 "And whatever house you enter, first say, 'Peace be to this house. 6 "And if a man of peace is there, your peace will rest upon him; but if not, it will return to you. 7 "And stay in that house, eating and drinking what they give you; for the laborer is worthy of his wages. Do not keep moving from house to house. 8 "And whatever city you enter, and they receive you, eat what is set before you; 9 and heal those in it who are sick, and say to them, 'The kingdom of God has come near to you.' 10 "But whatever city you enter and they do not receive you, go out into its streets and say, 11 'Even the dust of your city which clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you; yet be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come near.' 12 "I say to you, it will be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than for that city.

16. Luke 17:28-29 "It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; but on the day that Lot went out from Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven and destroyed them all.

17. Romans 9:29 And just as Isaiah foretold, "Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left to us a posterity, We would have become as Sodom, and would have resembled Gomorrah."

18. 2 Peter 2:4-11 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast them into hell and committed them to pits of darkness, reserved for judgment; 5 and did not spare the ancient world, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, with seven others, when He brought a flood upon the world of the ungodly; 6 and if He condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah to destruction by reducing them to ashes, having made them an example to those who would live ungodly thereafter; 7 and if He rescued righteous Lot, oppressed by the sensual conduct of unprincipled men 8 (for by what he saw and heard that righteous man, while living among them, felt his righteous soul tormented day after day with their lawless deeds), 9 then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from temptation, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment for the day of judgment, 10 and especially those who indulge the flesh in its corrupt desires and despise authority. Daring, self-willed, they do not tremble when they revile angelic majesties, 11 whereas angels who are greater in might and power do not bring a reviling judgment against them before the Lord.

19. Jude 1:5-9 Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe. 6 And angels who did not keep their own domain, but abandoned their proper abode, He has kept in eternal bonds under darkness for the judgment of the great day. 7 Just as Sodom and Gomorrah and the cities around them, since they in the same way as these indulged in gross immorality and went after strange flesh, are exhibited as an example, in undergoing the punishment of eternal fire. 8 Yet in the same manner these men, also by dreaming, defile the flesh, and reject authority, and revile angelic majesties. 9 But Michael the archangel, when he disputed with the devil and argued about the body of Moses, did not dare pronounce against him a railing judgment, but said, "The Lord rebuke you."


20. Revelation 11:8 And their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city which mystically is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified.

Friday, February 26, 2010

Seminal Stories of the Bible - for Sunday Feb 28 and Wednesday Mar 3

After a grueling round of relentlessly narrowing down profoundly important passages of the Bible, I have settled on seven passages from the Old Testament and seven passages from the New Testament for us to focus on this Week.

Seven Seminal Passages from the Old Testament:
  1. Covenant - Genesis 12 - God's Covenant with Abram
    key verses: Genesis 12:1-3
  2. Deliverance - Exodus 15 - God's salvation of Israel through the Red Sea
    key verse: Exodus 15:21
  3. Worship - Deuteronomy 6 - The Shema
    key verse: Deuteronomy 6:4-5
  4. Dynasty - 2 Samuel 7 - God makes covenant with King David's Dyansty
    key verse: 2 Samuel 7:16
  5. Oblivion - 1 Kings 19 - Elijah stands (with God) against King Ahab's Omri Dynasty
    key verse: 1 Kings 19:11-12
  6. Messiah - Psalm 110 - Messianic Hymn most often quoted in the New Testament
    key verse: Psalm 110:1
  7. Redeemed - Isaiah 42:1-9 - First of the four Servant Songs reinterpreting Israel's (and God's) place among the nations in the wake of exile
    key verses: Isaiah 42:6-7
Seven Seminal New Testament Passages
  1. Fulfillment - Matthew 5:1-20 - Preamble to the Sermon on the Mount
    key verses: Matthew 5:17-18
  2. Abundance - Mark 4:1-20 - Parable of the Sower
    key verse: Mark 4:20
  3. Companion - Luke 24: 13-35 - The Resurrection Walk to Emmaus
    key verse: Luke 24:26-27
  4. Light - John 1:1-14 - Prologue of John
    key verses: John 1:4-5
  5. Power - Acts 15 - The Jerusalem Council integrates the Gentiles
    key verses: Acts 15:28-29
  6. Way - Philippians 2:1-18 - the Christ Hymn
    key verses: Philippians 2:8-9
  7. Faith - Hebrews 11 - Roll call of Faithfulness
    key verse: Hebrews 11:13
I chose these passages for several reasons:
  1. These passages form a framework for the narrative thread in the entire Bible
  2. Each passage forms a crucial moment in the life of God's people
  3. Taken together, the passages represent a sampling of the various kinds of literature styles in the Bible
  4. Many of the passages are either referenced in other parts of the Bible, or themselves reference other parts of the Bible
I'll update this post to include the very important passages that did not make my cut!

Major Divisions of the 66 Books of the Bible

The basic division of our Bible designates 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament. 

So here are two basic divisions (Jewish and Christian) of the collection of what Christians call the Old Testament and a division of the books of the New Testament. Wiki includes a helpful chart of these divisions, including Catholic and Eastern Orthodox divisions (which include extra books!).

The Jewish people use three major divisions for the Hebrew Bible (what we call the Old Testament):

Jesus often cited two major divisions: the Law (Hebrew: Torah) and the Prophets (see Matthew 7:12 or Romans 3:21). Later, Judaism sanctioned a third major division, the Writings.
  1. 5 books of the Law (Torah)
  2. 8 books of the Prophets (Nevi'im) including four Early and four Later Prophets (counted as 21 books in the Christian Old Testament)
  3. 11 books of Writings (Ketuvim) counted as 13 books in the Christian Old Testament

1. The Law (Torah, in Hebrew) is the heart of the Hebrew Bible, sometimes also called the Pentateuch (a Greek word meaning "Five Books"). Traditionally ascribed to Moses, it includes the books of:
  1. Genesis, 
  2. Exodus
  3. Leviticus
  4. Numbers, and 
  5. Deuteronomy. 
    Most of the Sunday School stories you know (if you went to Sunday School as a child), are from the first two of these books, which narrate the saga of the children of God from the creation of the world to the Exodus from slavery in Egypt to the Promised Land in Canaan.

    2. The next major division of the Hebrew Bible is the Prophets (Hebrew: Nevi'im). The Jewish tradition combines books that have two parts (because one scroll would not contain them) as well as the 12 "Minor" prophets to come up with eight "books", although in the Christian Old Testament, they are divided into 21 of the 39 total books. They include:

    The Early Prophets (which relate the history of Israel from the time of Moses to the time of the Babylonian exile (approximately 1200 - 586 BCE)):
    1. Joshua, 
    2. Judges (two scrolls), 
    3. Samuel (two scrolls) and 
    4. Kings (two scrolls)
      The Later Prophets:
      1. Isaiah
      2. Jeremiah
      3. Ezekiel
        these Later Prophets include the Twelve Minor Prophets (counted as one book: Trei Asar or "Twelve")
        1. Hosea
        2. Joel
        3. Amos
        4. Obadiah
        5. Jonah
        6. Micah
        7. Nahum
        8. Habbakuk
        9. Zephaniah
        10. Haggai
        11. Zechariah
        12. Malachi

          3. Jewish people call the third division the Writings (Hebrew: Ketuvim). They include:

          The "Books of Truth":
          1. Psalms (the hymnbook of the Israelites), 
          2. Proverbs (a scriptural "Poor Richard's Almanac"), and 
          3. Job; 
             The "Five Scrolls":
            1. Song of Songs (called Song of Solomon in the Christian Old Testament)
            2. Ruth
            3. Lamentations
            4. Ecclesiastes
            5. Esther
              and the remaining Writings:
              1. Daniel (an example of apocalyptic literature in the Hebrew Bible, this book was probably written only a couple of centuries before Jesus Christ, in Hebrew and in Aramaic)
              2. Ezra-Nehemiah (divided into two books in the Christian Old Testament - these are the only historical accounts of the post-exile period)
              3. Chronicles (two scrolls which cover the same historical period covered in the scrolls of the Kings, and which were written much later)).
                Christians adopted the Hebrew scriptures as their own, calling the collection the Old (ancient) Testament. The order of the 39 books that follows mirrors the order in the Bibles we use in worship and for study:
                1. 5 Books of the Law
                2. 12 History Books (the 7 Early Prophets and 5 books from the Writings)
                3. 5 Wisdom Books
                4. 17 Books of Prophecy (5 Major and 12 Minor Prophets)
                1. They retain the first division of the five Books of the Law:
                1. Genesis, 
                2. Exodus
                3. Leviticus
                4. Numbers, and 
                5. Deuteronomy
                  2. The Old Testament creates a separate category called the "Historical Books", which includes twelve books culled from the Jewish Prophets and Writings divisions:

                  From the Jewish Early Prophets
                  1. Joshua
                  2. Judges
                  3. Ruth
                  4. 1 Samuel
                  5. 2 Samuel
                  6. 1 Kings
                  7. 2 Kings
                    From the Jewish Writings
                    1. 1 Chronicles 
                    2. 2 Chronicles
                    3. Ezra
                    4. Nehemiah
                    5. Esther
                      3. The Old Testament retains a truncated version of the Wisdom Books, which includes:
                      1. Job
                      2. Psalms
                      3. Proverbs
                      4. Ecclesiastes
                      5. Song of Solomon
                        4. The Old Testament adds two Writings books to the Books of the Prophets, and divides them into two major divisions:

                        The Major Prophets
                        1. Isaiah
                        2. Jeremiah
                        3. Lamentations (from the Jewish Writings division)
                        4. Ezekiel
                        5. Daniel (from the Jewish Writings division)
                          and the 12 Minor Prophets:
                          1. Hosea
                          2. Joel
                          3. Amos
                          4. Obadiah
                          5. Jonah
                          6. Micah
                          7. Nahum
                          8. Habbakuk
                          9. Zephaniah
                          10. Haggai
                          11. Zechariah
                          12. Malachi
                            The 27 books of the New Testament divide into the following main collections:
                            1. 4 Gospels
                            2. 1 History
                            3. 21 Epistles or Letters
                            4. 1 Apocalypse
                            1. The four Gospels, or the Good News of Jesus Christ:
                            1. Matthew
                            2. Mark
                            3. Luke
                            4. John
                              2. One book of Apostolic History
                              1. Acts of the Apostles (also written by Luke)
                                3. The 13 Pauline Epistles (or Letters) - in order of their length (note that this collection includes nearly half of the 27 books of the New Testament):
                                1. Romans
                                2. 1 Corinthians
                                3. 2 Corinthians
                                4. Galatians
                                5. Ephesians
                                6. Philippians
                                7. Colossians
                                8. 1Thessalonians
                                9. 2 Thessalonians
                                10. 1 Timothy
                                11. 2 Timothy
                                12. Titus
                                13. Philemon
                                  The eight "General" Epistles:
                                  1. Hebrews
                                  2. James
                                  3. 1 Peter
                                  4. 2 Peter
                                  5. 1 John
                                  6. 2 John
                                  7. 3 John
                                  8. Jude
                                    4. and one Apocalypse (Greek word that means "Revelation")
                                    1. Revelation
                                      Now you know all 66 books of the (Christian Protestant) Bible!

                                      Reading the Bible - Where to Start

                                      We had a great conversation Wednesday evening, Feb. 24 (our first Wednesday session of the study, which continues on Sunday mornings through March 21). I'm impressed at how often the question "Where do I start?" comes up. And related to that question is the experience of having read a portion of the Bible and feeling more confused and alienated that before you started reading!

                                      I've been roller skating for about a year now. When I began, I fell a lot. After suffering from many nasty encounters with the floor, I realized that I had to wear protective gear and take it easy on the things I was trying to accomplish if I were going to be able to continue skating. Everyone around me seemed to be skating with ease. I got advice from people (not all of it helpful or welcome), and experienced the reality of the old saw: "It's going to get a lot worse before it gets better."

                                      Getting into any new practice comes with that kind of cost. For one thing, you have to make time for reading scripture in a schedule already too crowded for such reflection. And if you can balance the time, so much of the vocabulary and "culture" of scripture feels foreign and ill-fitting to you. People like me (pastors and teachers) make it seem easy, and our advice about how to go about reading the Bible can sometimes make you feel inadequate and ignored.

                                      Relax. You're trying something new and this kind of break-in (steep learning curve) is normal and appropriate. So take it easy and realize that continuing to show up, adjusting your approach when appropriate (when you have a pretty good idea of how a certain approach is trending - in either a helpful or unhelpful way), will bear fruit in your life. My skating got better - and it continues to get better, because I practice and enjoy it a lot. Your experience of reading scripture and encountering the God to which scripture bears such eloquent witness will get better too!

                                      In the meantime, I'm planning a series of helps to get you better acquainted with the lay of the land in scripture. A great place for Christians to begin is in any one of the Gospel accounts of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John. Or read all four! But take it slowly, and be prepared to go where the Spirit of God leads you in your reading. I like to suggest reading with a journal in hand, so that you can write down notes and reflections. And don't be afraid of writing some of those notes and references in your Bible. (Don't own a Bible? Take one of the pew Bibles in the sanctuary! We'll also discuss approaches to purchasing a good study and devotional Bible).

                                      One of the best ways to get aquainted with the lay of the land - the culture of the Bible - is to learn about the way the Bible is structured. More a library of 66 books than a single volume, the Bible contains many different forms of literature (law, history, poetry, wisdom sayings, prophetic writings, genealogies, stories, parables, letters, gospels, apocalypses, morality tales, collections of sayings, and commentaries). Knowing where you are and what to expect (these different literary forms require different reading strategies) is more than half the battle of getting comfortable in the culture of scripture.

                                      Stay tuned for an explanation of the structure of the Bible in the next Blog installment!