Source Criticism
The four sources in the Pentateuch, according to the Documentary Hypothesis.
Yahwist (J), Elohist (E), Priestly (P), Deuteronomist (D)
The major theme of Exodus
The birth of the people of Israel
David
Monarch / King
The category of person that God cares especially according to our reading on Old Testament Laws
Resident alien / immigrant / foreigner living in Israel
The source responsible for the creation myth that begins in Genesis 2
Yahwist
God displays God's superior power and control against the Egyptians through
Any one of the following:
-Plagues
-Drowning the Egyptians in the See
-Raising up Moses as a leader
-Signs and wonders
-Violence
-Hardening Pharaoh's heart
1 Samuel 8:19-22
19 But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; they said, “No! We are determined to have a king over us, 20 so that we also may be like other nations and that our king may govern us and go out before us and fight our battles.” 21 When Samuel heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the ears of the Lord. 22 The Lord said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and set a king over them.” Samuel then said to the Israelites, “Each of you return home.”
The position on monarchy taken by this passage (pro- or anti-)
Anti-monarchy
Amos 5: 21
"I hate, I despise your festivals,
and I take no delight in your solemn assemblies."
A characteristic from Heschel that would describe this verse
Any of the following:
1) Explosive language
2) Confrontation with harsh realities
3) Sweeping allegations (all are responsible)
The God of the prophets often displays this emotion
Anger against oppressors
The type of God portrayed by the Priestly source in the creation myth of Genesis 1
Regal, powerful, or transcendent
The quasi-universalist reading/interpretation of Exodus
Israel must welcome and care for resident aliens (non-Israelites)
2 Claims of the anti-monarchy source
Any 2 of the following:
1) God alone should be king
2) Israel is rejecting their unique relationship with God
3) King adds distance between God and the people of Israel
4) Dynasties don't let God choose virtuous leaders
Amos 1:9-10
9 Thus says the Lord:
For three transgressions of Tyre,
and for four, I will not revoke the punishment,
because they delivered entire communities over to Edom
and did not remember the covenant of kinship.
10 So I will send a fire on the wall of Tyre,
and it shall devour its strongholds.
The form represented in this passage
Oracle against the nations
God's relationship to humans according to the portrayal of the prophets
God is intimately/deeply involved and invested in human history and affairs.
Three major themes found in the Deuteronomist Source
1) Divine punishment and disobedience 2) Importance of the Jerusalem temple 3) Importance of the Davidic covenant/dynasty
Absalom Jones preached that:
"[God] has heard the prayers that have ascended from the hearts of his people; and he has, as in the case of his ancient and chosen people the Jews, come down to deliver our suffering countrymen from the hands of their oppressors."
This represents what type of reading of Exodus (universalist, quasi-universalist, or particular)
Universalist
2 Claims of the pro-monarchy source
Any of the following:
1) Israel's king will be an example to other nations
2) God made a covenant with David
3) God is exalted through a humble king
4) Israel's king will be held to a higher standard of humility
The source from Isaiah that this passage likely comes from
A voice cries out:
“In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord;
make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
and all flesh shall see it together,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Second Isaiah
The characteristics of God that portrayals of God composed/redacted in exile focus on
Any of the following
-God's power
-God's control over chaos
-God as the cause of military defeat
-God as the hope for restoration
The century during which and location from which Second Isaiah wrote
6th c. BCE in Babylon (during exile and the time of Cyrus the Great)
6th century BCE / Babylonian Exile
The sin that follows from Israel's rejection of their particular covenant in choosing a king to rule over them
Idolatry
The 3 developments that happen as a result of exile and are present in Isaiah
1. Monotheism
2. "Intolerant" Universalism
3. Expectation for Davidic King reigning in Jerusalem
Who is responsible for the introduction of sin in the world?
Human choice
Will also except with appropriate defense:
-The serpent
-God