Tag: Legends
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Samson, a Hero and a Half (v)
What are we to say about the story of Samson? It’s morally outrageous. It has apparently divinely sanctioned mass murder, revenge killing, cruelty to animals, destruction of property, prostitution, theft, lies and deceit. It’s dramatically over-the-top with repeated displays of unbelievably super-human strength, and incredible instances of blind stupidity on the part of the hero…
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Samson, a Hero and a Half (iv)
In Judges 16, being ‘controlled by the Spirit of Yahweh’ seems to increase Samson’s sexual, as well as physical, prowess. While visiting Gaza “he saw a prostitute and went to her house to spend the night”. No moral censure appears in the text. Perhaps Yahweh was willing to let this go, since his aim (recalling…
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Samson, a Hero and a Half ! (ii)
At the beginning of Judges 14, Samson sees a Philistine woman, and tells his parents, “I want to marry her”. In 1 Kings 11:2 it’s placed on record that “Yahweh had told the Israelites, ‘You must not marry people of other nations’”. Samson’s parents point this out to him – “Those Philistines are pagans. Why…
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The Birth of Moses (ii)
Following on from the previous post, let’s say some more about the legend of the birth of Moses. It’s worth noting that there is a Hebrew word תֵּבָה (tevah) which appears in only two places in the Hebrew Bible. It means a box, or a chest. It’s used, firstly, of Noah’s Ark in the Genesis…
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Exodus : the Birth of Moses
Genesis ended with the descendants of Abraham still not in possession of the promised land of Canaan. That story had told how famine forced their entry into Egypt to buy food, and how the presence there of family member Joseph, who had been made the Grand Vizier, led to their settling down comfortably in that…
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Good Old Abraham
Unlike the beginning of the book, containing mostly myth, Genesis 12-50 is mainly folktale and legend. It focuses on four ‘heroes’ from the past – Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph. From a literary viewpoint, chapters 12-36 contain a series of individual episodes, gathered round each of the first three of these ‘heroes’, and strung together…
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WHY is there a Bible Story about Abraham?
On the face of it, there’s a mystery here! If God were looking for someone to be the ‘father’ of his chosen people Israel, why would he choose Abraham, who lived far away in the city of Ur in Babylonia (modern day Iraq)? Later on, in the Book of Joshua, it’s clearly stated that “Abraham…
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