Exodus 32-34

Please read Exodus 32-34.  How do the main stories here (the Gold Calf story and Moses in the "cleft of the rock") tie in to the theme of Exodus as part of one of the finest of all law codes and something more than just a law code?  What does the writer here suggest about the way religious worship is tied to questions of law and justice?  What's attractive about Golden Calf worship?  Why is it a danger to building a just society?

Exodus--Discussion I

Please read my Exodus study questions and then Chapters 1-20 of Exodus.

Your third midterm study question asks you to address the idea that Exodus is an example of the Torah being the finest law code that the ancient world produced because it is more than just a law code.  We finally will get to "statute" law in Exodus, but, first, we've got 20 chapters that give more background to the law.  Please comment here on one or two things you see in these chapters that strike you as particularly important as background to a law code or things that show the Torah to be something more than just a law code.

Genesis 25-50

"Torah" can rightly translated as "law," but the Torah is a lot more than just rules and regulations. "Torah" might also be translated as "rule," "instruction," or "principle," and it is sometimes useful to think of the Torah as simply "the way," i.e., instruction on the way we ought to live our lives.

Please read (or at least skim through) the stories in Genesis 25-50. Which of these stories do you find most interesting? In what way does this story give as an example of the way we ought (or ought not) to live our lives?

Remember that on the midterm study guide, I've listed FGS I, FGS II, and FGS III as potential ID's.  FGS = Favorite Genesis Story.  You can use the story you pick out (or one of the stories other students comment on) for "FGS" ID's.

Genesis Discussion II

"Torah" can rightly translated as "law," but the Torah is a lot more than just rules and regulations. "Torah" might also be translated as "rule," "instruction," or "principle," and it is sometimes useful to think of the Torah as simply "the way," i.e., instruction on the way we ought to live our lives.

Please read through as much as you can of the lives of Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 11-25). In what ways do the lives of these two figures reflect "torah" in the latter sense? Cite one of the stories in this section where either Sarah or Abraham seems to you a particularly good example of how we ought (or ought not) to live our lives.

On the midterm study guide, I've listed FGS I, FGS II, and FGS III as potential ID's.  FGS = Favorite Genesis Story.  You can use the story you pick out (or one of the stories other students comment on) for "FGS" ID's.

Genesis 1-11

Please read through my Genesis Study Questions and then read Chapters 1-11 of Genesis. I am more concerned with the quality of your reading than the quantity, and if this material is difficult for you, I'd much prefer that you read carefully the first four or five chapters than struggle though the whole assignment.  If you are familiar with this material and find it relatively easy, read through the whole thing.

Once you've read the assignment, pick out a key verse from the assigned chapters and do one of the following:

1. Explain why you think this verse the key to understanding what the selection is about.
2. Explain why you think this verse is the best/most memorable in the assigned reading.
3. Explain why you think this verse is the most difficult/hard to understand in the passage.

If you would prefer, you can take whatever study question you find the most interesting and add your answer to that question here.

Welcome!

How is this blog different from all other blogs? Well, for one thing, it invites you to join in the long tradition that began with the men of the Great Synagogue, continued through the periods of the Tannaim and the Amoraim, (teachers and interpreters), and continues today in churches and synagogues throughout the world. You have here the opportunity to contribute your questions and comments to an ongoing discussion of the most interesting, most important, most studied--and most often misunderstood--books ever written, the books of what Jews call the Tanak and Christians the Old Testament.

To get started, here's a test of the History 413 blog system. If you don't already have one, you can create for yourself a "Blogger" account by following the instructions at http://www.blogger.com/.   You can also post as an anonymous blogger, but be sure to add your name to any post you make so I know who should get credit.

If you have trouble posting, you might try switching browsers.  Safari in particular tends not to work well the Blogger.

To get started, here's a test post. Please answer one or more of the following questions:

1. Would you rather make comments on a blog, or write a term paper?
2. Which Old Testament figure do you identify with the most, and why?
3. Which is your favorite book of the Old Testament, and why?