The Bible Research Paper

What is the Bible? Is it simply just another book? Or is it something more, something most people undermine? When people consider what the Bible truly consists of, they would be surprised to find out that it isn’t just a book of fairytales, full of rainbows and butterflies, Jesus sitting in the long green grass with a lion and lamb by his side. The honest truth? The Bible contains many gruesome stories, stories that contemporary horror movies would worship and adore. Child massacres, incestuous rape, the destruction of an entire city—even a flood that wiped out the entire earth—one could say that the Bible definitely has it all. But despite the harsh realistic stories the Bible presents, the everlasting love of God is consistent throughout.
Gimpel keeps his mouth shut and takes the insults from the people of Frampol, just as Proverbs 17:28 states: “Even fools are thought wise if they keep silent, and discerning if they hold their tongues.” Another passage also references to Gimpel’s personality: “Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult” (Proverbs 12:16). Even though the townspeople constantly mock Gimpel—for being so gullible, marrying an unfaithful wife—Gimpel continues to “overlook” their insults, never showing his annoyance at the people. Rather, when Gimpel is bothered by the people’s jests, he seeks wise counsel from the priest, just as Proverbs 12:15 claims, that “the wise listen to advice.” Despite other’s opinions, Gimpel is not a fool, because he is holding fast to the ideals of his religion. Even though he may seem foolish to some, he is considered wise in the Lord’s eyes—and that is the only thing Gimpel is concerned about. Like Hosea, Gimpel is considered a fool by others, but considered faithful by God. Isaac Bashevis Singer does not strictly relate Gimpel’s life to only the book of Hosea, but to other biblical passages from the Old and New Testament alike that both Gimpel and Singer would no doubt be familiar
The book of Hosea—more specifically, Hosea’s marriage with Gomer—can be considered a four-part structure. First, God instructs Hosea to take Gomer the harlot as his wife; “the Lord said to him, ‘Go, marry a promiscuous woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness to the Lord’ (Hosea 1:2). Second, Gomer gives birth to children—a son, then a daughter, then another son—and her affairs continue, and Hosea and Gomer are separated for a time. Third, husband and wife reconcile, and Gomer returns—her harlotry continues, even though Hosea is aware of what she is doing. Finally, the book closes with the moral and theological symbolism of the story as a whole