I have
been contemplating ideas about what I want to do regarding devotions and study.
Retirement would seem to open up time to do things you have always wanted to do
and to some extant that has been true. There have been a number of things that I
am doing that provide enjoyment. Yet, there are still times that I seem to
waste time. So, I have decided to try something ambitious and hopefully will
stimulate me to not only study, but to share some of my opinions and thoughts. Don’t
worry this will not be a political rant, but there are some things that we need
to reflect on regarding our communities, nation, and world.
So what
is this project. I plan to read a couple of chapters from scripture and then
comment on them. Most of the commentaries, I have either given away or turned
in to outlets to sell. I have kept some that I have in the past enjoyed and
hope to continue to study those. My first thoughts about reading the chapters
was to start with the gospels. I have re-thought that. The scripture that
informs our beliefs as Christians and certainly of Jesus was not those
scriptures but the Hebrew scriptures. So, I plan to start there. As I do that, I
will be using not the traditional Christian translation but from the Jewish
Study Bible, the Tanakh published by the Jewish Publication Society 2004. The Tanakh
is composed of the Torah, History, and Wisdom literature. These contain the
same books that appear in the Christian bibles but are not in the same order. I
will be using some of the information from that and my own opinion. A disclaimer,
what I write is my opinion and my insights. Feel free to disagree. The spirit
of Wisdom moves all of us to differing understandings, which in my opinion, are
what we need for our journey. I am more progressive in my understanding of God
(I might even say though I am more informed by liberation theologians, I am
also informed by process theology) and thus may have a bias to the way I understand
scripture. Be warned.
I plan
to start with the Torah or the first five books of both the Hebrew and
Christian scriptures. While I was in seminary, I have a rabbi teach us about
the Torah and presenting some of the differences between Jewish reflections as
compared to Christian. So what is the Torah and what does that mean? Torah has
been interpreted in many ways. Some have seen these books about being the law
despite the amount of narrative found in all five books. Some have seen these
books as teachings and instructions. The root of Torah in Hebrew is y-r-h which
means to shoot ( an arrow.) the Torah hits the mark. There are likely many
authors that have contributed to the thoughts and writings. Likely, the books
came together from a variety of scrolls to form one large scroll during the
Babylonian exile. So the books came to be all of the above, law, narrations, teachings,
and instructions. Proverbs 1.8 “My son heed the discipline of your father and
do not forsake the instructions [Heb torah] of your mother.”
As you
read through the Tanakh, you will notice particularly in the Torah several
duplicates of the narrative. It has long been believed that there are several
different sources that have contributed which have been identified as the JEPD.
The J source earliest connection was to David and Solomon around 10 BCE. It is
translated in scripture as Lord. In reading, it presents a highly anthropomorphic
God who has a close and intimate relationship with humankind. The E source
connection was to the Northern kingdom and is translated as God or Elohim. This
view of God is more distant and speaks through dreams or messengers, angels. The
P is for the priestly voice that likely came together during the exile. It has
a strong interest in order and boundaries. The D is the Deuteronomist and
likely came about during King Josiah’s reform. This was likely the scroll of
Deuteronomy. Recently there has been suggestion of yet another source the R for
the redaction source which integrated all the variant sources into one scroll
during the exile.
Be that as it may be, it can be
helpful to have some understanding of why the differing sources and to what
purpose might be had because of that. If you want to follow along choose your
favorite translation while I will be using the translation of the Tanakh. I wanted
to start first at the beginning. So I will be diving into Genesis chps 1-2. When
people talk about literally that God made the world in seven days, I asked
which creation story are they talking about as there are two very distinct narratives.
First, let me back up to Genesis which is Greek. In Hebrew, the title
translated is in the beginning. Genesis is a book of beginnings that are broken
up in four major arcs, primeval history, Abraham, Jacob, and Joseph. We are going to start with the primeval
history and with the creation stories. Read Genesis chapters 1-2. These creations
stories have some affinity with Babylonian myth of Marduk in the Enuma
Elish. The main difference is that it was not done through killing but
through the work of God. The first creation story, which lays out the creation occurring
in seven days, is likely from the P source. On page 12 of the Jewish Study
Bible had a diagram like the following:
Day
1 light Day
4 lights (sun, moon, stars)
Day
2 Sky (separating waters) Day
5 fish and birds
Day
3 Land and plants Day
6 land animals and humans
Day
7 Sabbath
This starts with generalities and
pairs with the specifics, accumulating with the sabbath. The number 7 has often
been interpreted literally. 7 has significance throughout the middle east as a
symbolic number of completion. I believe that it was never meant to be taken
literally but is seen as completion. Also, I like that way the Tanakh starts
with verse one “when God began to create heaven and earth”. In many of our
bibles, Genesis begins with God created out of nothing. Somehow that idea of
something already existing seems more troublesome that there was a moment of
nothingness. Yet, for many in the middles east nothingness was not as frightening
as the concept of chaos. God brought order to chaos. The other thing about the
first creation story that stands out for me is that God created humans, both
male and female, in God’s image. Another part of the creation that appears, is
the command to be fruitful. And what they could eat was the fruit of the trees
to eat and the animals all that is green plants. Not even vegans or carnivores.
The second creation story begins
with 2.4b. There is no seven day sequence. There is no water but the earth was
dry. Here the Lord God created man from the dust of the earth. The Lord planted
the garden and Adam (a play on the Hebrew word Adamah or dirt) was to tend it. This
is likely from the J source as God creates Adam and blows into him the breath
of life. Notice Adam is not made in God’s image. With the creation of Eve, has
led to centuries and millenniums of the notion that women are supposed to be
submissive to men. To me this is a complete misinterpretation of these
scriptures. God created Eve to be equal to caring for the creation.
So, what should we take from the
beginnings? What would this say to us in the 21st century about the
environmental crisis we live in? If we are created in God’s image, should we
not be concerned about tending what God did and is doing in creation? I believe
the continued destruction of our planet is not a political problem but is a theological
problem. We are called to action more than just words but also in deeds.
Eldon
No comments:
Post a Comment