The hebrew bible

Hebrew Bible as Literature

Instructions: Identify the following passages, providing their full contexts and their significance and meaning.

1. So Bathsheba went to the king in his chamber.—The king was very old, and Abishag the Shunammite was waiting on the king.—Bathsheba bowed low in homage to the king, and the king asked, “What troubles you?”
-The following passage is found in 1 Kings 1:15, in which it entails how Bathsheba is troubled to know that her son will be the next king of Israel. Bathsheba bows low in homage meaning she bows down with respect; her face to the ground, in honor before the king. Because Adonijah is in the throne, she is troubled; Bathsheba asks him why Solomon is not king because of his promise he said. She is worried to know why King David is not aware of this.

2. We cannot do this thing, to give our sister to a man who is uncircumcised, for that is a disgrace among us. Only on this condition will we agree with you, that you will become like us in that every male amongst you is circumcised. Then we will give our daughters to you and take your daughters to ourselves; and we will dwell among you and become as one kindred.
-The following passage is found in Genesis 34:13-16. The brothers of Dinah speak to Schechem, and his father Hamor by proclaiming that their sister Dinah has been dishonored, and refuse to give their sister to a man who is not circumcised, because therefore it will be a disgrace to the brothers. They agree that they will give their sister under the condition that Schechem and all his men become circumcised.

3. By the rivers of Babylon,
There we sat,
Sat and wept,
As we thought of Zion.
There on the poplars,
We hung up our lyres,
For our captors asked us there for songs,
Our tormentors, for amusement,
Sing us one of the songs of Zion.
-The passage is found in Psalms 137:1-3. The Psalms says that besides the rives of Babylon the men sat and cried over the thought of Jerusalem meaning Zion. The lyres is another word for harps, as they put away their harps hanging them. Because their abductors demanded a song from them for a joyful song, as they described them characters of torment. The abductors demand the men who are crying to sing songs of Jerusalem.

4. “Do not urge me to leave you, to turn back and not follow you. For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your G-d my G-d. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. Thus and more may the Lord do to me if anything but death parts me from you.”
-In Ruth 1:16 Ruth replies to her mother in law begging her not to tell her to leave her, and turn back to her home. She shows her humbleness and respect towards her mother in law when becoming a widow. Ruth refuses to leave her and is committed to follow the G-d she follows and where she will live Ruth is to follow her side and never leave her. She tells her that in death she will part away from her side.

5. The making of many books is without limit. And much studying is a wearying of the flesh. The sum of the matter, when all is said and done: Revere G-d and observe His commandments! For this applies to all mankind; that G-d will call every creature to account for everything unknown, be it good or bad.
- The following passage means that people write a lot of books, but reading is a waste of time. All you really need to know is to obey G-d, because everyone is going to have to answer to him for what they did, good and bad. Found in Ecclesiastes 12:12-13 - Young people are being advised to remember their Creator before old age and death kick in, when "the spirit returns to God who gave it. Then they will have to account to G-d for the way they had lived their lives in the flesh. This means not to stick your heads in books all your lives, but to enjoy life intelligently, with reference to G-d as He is the whole duty of man.

6. He took a potsherd to scratch himself as he sat in ashes. His wife said to him, “You still keep your integrity? Blaspheme G-d and die!”
- This is from the Book of Job. After Job has been through extreme misfortune, his wife tells him to just say "screw you, G-d" so G-d will finally finish him off. Found in Job 2:9. Job's wife turned on him. Clearly, Job’s wife thought it was a waste of time living to an honorable G-d. So Job told her, "You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from G-d, and not trouble?" In all this, Job did not sin in what he said. By the end of the book, Job is corrected and G-d restores to him more than what he had lost in the troubles inflicted upon him by Satan. Living for G-d is not dependent on what might happen to us in life.

7. But did G-d really say to you of the fruit of the Tree of Good and Bad you shall not eat?
This is a quote from Genesis, in which the serpent asks Eve if G-d really said they can't eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Found in Genesis 3:1. Satan planted a seed of doubt in Eve's mind. He asked, "Did God really say, You must not eat from any tree in the garden?" He knew that was not what G-d had said at all. Eve almost answered correctly, putting him right in one respect, but wrongly saying they were not to touch one particular tree.

8. . Happy is the man who finds Wisdom,
The man who attains understanding.
Her value in trade is better than silver,
Her yield, greater than gold.
She is more precious than rubies;
All of your goods cannot equal her.
In her right hand is length of days,
In her left, riches and honor.
Her ways are pleasant ways,
And all her paths, peaceful.
She is a tree of life to those who grasp her,
And whoever holds onto her is happy.
- Proverbs 3:13-18 this represents a self-explanatory wise advice from a father to a son. But the point about wisdom being a tree of life to those who embrace her is interesting in connection with Genesis 2 because the Tree of Life was at the centre of the Garden of Eden, and if Adam and Eve had obeyed God, they would have partaken of it. Wisdom is a virtue.

9. But the next day at dawn G-d provided a worm, which attacked the plant so that it withered. And when the sun rose, G-d provided a sultry east wind; the sun beat down on his head, and he became faint. He begged for death, saying, “I would rather die than live.” Then G-d said to him, “Are you so deeply grieved about the plant?” “Yes, he replied, “so deeply that I want to die.”
- This is from the story of Jonah in Jonah 4:8 G-d taught silly Jonah another lesson by means of the plant which sprang up overnight and protected him from the scorching wind and sun. When G-d then caused the vine to shrivel, Jonah complained. He had settled down to watch the destruction of Ninevah, after eventually going there to warn them. But the Ninevite’s had repented and G-d spared the city. Jonah was really angry for he thought that made him out to be foolish. Well, he was foolish, but for another reason. G-d told him, "You have been concerned about this vine, though you did not tend it or make it grow. It sprang up overnight and died overnight. But Nineveh has more than a hundred and twenty thousand people who cannot tell their right hand from their left, and many cattle as well. Jonah just, after pitching this big fit about it, finally went to this city G-d told him to go to and warned the people there if they didn't repent G-d would kill them. They did repent, which made Jonah kind of moody because he wanted them to get blown up. He leaves the city and it's really hot and he's thirsty, so G-d makes this plant grow out of the ground to give him shade, but then kills it shortly afterward. Jonah gets really mad about this and begs G-d to kill him. G-d's whole point is that if Jonah is this worked up about a plant dying he should really not be so psyched for the brutal destruction of an entire city.

10 .The other woman spoke up, “No, the live one is my son, and the dead one is yours!” But the first insisted, “No, the dead boy is yours; mine is the live one!” And they went on arguing before the king.
- This is found in 1 Kings 3:15 from the story in which two women each had a baby and one of the baby’s died and the mother of the baby who died tried to say to the other woman's that the baby who is alive was hers. They bring the dispute to King Solomon, who wisely decides to settle the matter by offering to cut the kid in half and give a half to each women. The woman who's faking is okay with this idea while the woman whose kid it really is relents at this point, figuring it's better for her child to be alive and with another mother than cut in half. Solomon sees this and gives it to the real mother because he knew only she would react that way. It's a story that demonstrates Solomon's wisdom.

11. How have the mighty fallen
In the thick of battle—
Jonathan, slain on your heights!
I grieve for you,
My brother Jonathan,
You were most dear to me.
Your love was wonderful to me
More than the love of women.
- The passage is found in 2 Samuel 1. This passage represents the uniting bond of love that corresponds with the unbreakable, undying love of the anointed king-elect David of the tribe of Judah toward unselfish lovable Jonathan, the son of king Saul. (2 Samuel 1:25-27) Shortly before their final separation from each other, “Jonathan swore again to David because of his love for him; for as he loved his own soul he loved him.” (1 Samuel 20:17) On learning of Jonathan’s death with his father in battle, David was impelled to chant a dirge and to climax it with the words: “I am distressed over you, my brother Jonathan, very pleasant you were to me. More wonderful was your love to me than the love from women.” (2 Samuel 1:26) Their mutual love was a “perfect bond of union.” Only death did them part.

12. When they arrived and he saw Eliab, he thought, “Surely the Lord’s anointed stands before Him.” But the Lord said to Samuel, “Pay no attention to his appearance or his stature, for I have rejected him. For not as man sees does the Lord see; man sees only what is visible, but the Lord sees into the heart.”
- Found in 1 Samuel 16, it interprets how G-d is not impressed by how tall and handsome Eliab is. When warfare broke out between the Philistines and the Israelites, Eliab was in King Saul’s army. He, along with the rest of the men, heard the Philistine champion Goliath’s challenge: “ . . . I myself do taunt the battle lines of Israel this day. Give me a man, and let us fight together!”—1 Sam. 17:8-10. Eliab react didn't display faith in Jehovah’s ability to make him successful in the fight against Goliath. Liab made no effort to take a courageous stand. He evidently shared in the reaction of the rest of the Israelites. The Bible reports: “When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine,they were dismayed and terror-stricken.”—1 Sam. 17:11. G-d’s all-seeing eyes look past outside appearances to where true beauty can be found. It is the heart of the inner person, the source of one’s thoughts, attitudes, and feelings that matters to G-d. So he rejected Eliab as king.

14. But the children struggled in her womb, and she said, “If so, why do I exist?” She went to inquire of the Lord, and the Lord answered her: “Two nations are in your womb, Two separate peoples shall issue from your body; One people shall be mightier than the other, And the older shall serve the younger.”
- The passage explains that with Esau and Jacob, God’s foreknowledge did not fix their eternal destinies but, rather, determined which of the national groups descending from the two sons would gain a dominant position over the other. (Genesis 25:23-26) This points out to the gaining of the right of the firstborn by Jacob, a right that brought along with it the privilege of being in the line of descent through which the Abrahamic “seed” would come. (Genesis 27:29; 28:13, 14). Esau’s disposition showed that satisfying his fleshly desires was more important to him than gaining the future blessings that would have flowed from his inheritance. Esau did not cherish his birthright and evidently did not really love G-d. Esau ignored the effect his action would have on his offspring. In contrast, Jacob deeply appreciated his inheritance, for instance, Jacob acted in harmony with parental instruction in choosing a wife. (Gen. 27:46–28:3) Because Jacob made this choice that required patience and sacrifice, he became a forefather of the Messiah.

15. Then an angel of the Lord came to him from heaven . . . And he answered, “Here I am.” And he said, “Do not raise your hand against the boy, or do anything to him. For now I know that you fear G-d, since you have not withheld your son, your favored one, from Me.”
- In the passage G-d put’s Abraham to a greater test. “Take, your son, your favored one, Isaac whom you so love, and offer him up as a burnt offering.” (Genesis 22:2) For Abraham, Isaac was not just any son. He was the only child of Abraham and his wife, Sarah. Isaac was the son of the promise, Abraham’s only hope that his “seed” would inherit the land of Canaan and be a blessing to many, according to God’s promise. After all, Isaac was the son whom Abraham was expected to have and who was born after a miracle from G-d. Then G-d confirmed the covenant promises about Abraham’s seed, because Abraham fears G-d. Abraham became known as Jehovah’s friend.—Genesis 22:13-18;
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