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"The Styles of the Pentateuch" Worksheet Read the following passage from Biblical Criticism by Jean Steinmann and answer the questions.
It was the diversity of styles that first led literary critics to suspect the diversity of tradition in the Pentateuch. Clearly it is difficult to appreciate this in a translation, where the style all the way through is the translator’s … The Bible is liable to turn into a sort of grey porridge, in which everything has the same insipid taste and the same dull, indeterminate colour. But if we go back to the original, the differences in style between the first two chapters of Genesis are clearly perceptible. The first chapter is written in vague, technical, heavy language. It is the work of a lawyer and a priest. The majesty of the subject is even enhanced by the poverty of the style. The second chapter is the work of an author with a vivid, precise, lively and humorous style, a poet to his finger-tips. The characters really come to life, and no effort is spared to make a lasting impression on the reader’s mind. Anyone who goes on to read the rest of Genesis cannot fail to distinguish these two opposing styles: that of the poet with an eye for the picturesque, the striking detail and the majesty of characters on the heroic scale, and that of the jurist (lawyer) obsessed with figures and dates who stuffs his text with theological implications and symbolic meanings. Modern criticism has found a name for each of these writers. The author of chapters 2 and 3 of Genesis is known as the Yahwist (J) and the author of chapter 1 as the Priest or Author of the Priestly Code (P). As early as the beginning of the nineteenth century a third hand was traced. A work parallel to the Yahwist’s begins with the account of the calling of Abraham; its author was christened the Elohist (E), because he refers to God as Elohim. Finally, Deuteronomy (Deuteromist - D) was clearly an autonomous entity. Its enthusiastic, redundant style, full of exhortations and prophecy, is quite different from the Yahwist, Elohist and Priestly styles. It was soon recognized that the Yahwist, Elohist, and Priestly narratives were present in Exodus and Numbers; and the hand of the author of Deuteronomy was also traced in the later historical books. 1. What initially led scholars to suspect that more than one person had written the Pentateuch?
2. Complete the following table:
The Documentary Hypothesis: Worksheet Using Harper’s Bible Dictionary, you are to complete this sheet on the sources of the Pentateuch. The J Document: When and where was it written and under what circumstances? What is the style and tone? The E Document: When and where was it written and under what circumstances? What is the style and tone? How does God reveal Himself to humans? Provide an example of E’s stress on the cult. The D Document: When and where was it written and under what circumstances? What passage in II Kings tells of the discovery of the Deuteronomic Code? Explain the story of its discovery. What is the style and tone? The P Document: When and where was it written and under what circumstances? What is the style, tone and purpose?
Extra Credit: Geneologies in Genesis Genealogies contain significant information about successive generations of a family (including names, birth, marriage, offspring and age at death). The genealogies of the book of Genesis serve organizational and thematic purposes. Organizational Purpose: They divide the story of the first people (Adam and Eve and their immediate children) from the story of Noah and his descendents. They also divide “primeval history” (everything in Genesis from the beginning up through the Tower of Babel; Gen 1-11) from “ancestral history” (the story of Abraham and his descendents; Gen 12-50). Thematic Purpose: You will have to determine the thematic purpose, but the following task will help you. 1. graph/chart the age at death of all the people included in the following verses: Gen 5; 9:29; 11:10-32 You may use any graph that can chart the x and y axis (names horizontally) 2. Examine the chart. Are there any trends that you recognize? On an attached sheet of paper, write down your observations and speculate about what purpose the trend might indicate about the thematic purpose of the genealogy. You might consider the interpretations of the scripture you have been given in your textbook. You will be graded on the accuracy and clarity of your chart and on your attempt to arrive at a thematic explanation.
Genesis 6-9: The "Envelope Structure" of the Flood Story Introduction: The biblical scholar B.W. Anderson identified an envelope structure that underlies the story of the flood in Genesis. In the typical envelope structure, what happens at the beginning of a story is reflected at the end, what happens second is reflected second to last. Sometimes the element that is reflected is simply a repeat of the earlier occurrence, in other cases it is an "undoing" of the earlier element. Assignment: You are to fill in the blanks in the envelope structure that has been reproduced below, then answer the questions at the bottom of the sheet Structure of the Flood story: a. 6:11 - "everyone was evil in God’s sight and violence had spread everywhere"
a1. ______ - "God blessed Noah…‘Have many children so that your descendents will live all over the earth.’"
Questions: Usually the central element in an envelope structure is the most significant. The author has chosen to emphasis it though the structure of the story. It should reveal an important point the author chooses to make. 1. Who is the author, J, E, P, or D? (note the last blessing and 7:16) 2. What is the central point the author is making in this story?
Comic Book Assignment: The Joseph Story 1. You are to create a comic book-style depiction of the story of Joseph. 2. You must include material covered in the following chapters of Genesis: 37, 39, 40-41, 42-43, 44-45 3. You should devote about a page to each of the five passages, with from four to six panelsper page. This length is a suggestion, not a requirement, but realize that you will be graded on your ability to depict the story with some depth and accuracy. 4. This assignment will count as a test grade (at least 50 points). 5. Grading: (see below for the actual "Content" grade sheet)
What I expect to see from each chapter: 37: Favorite of Jacob, coat, dreams, jealousyà sold, the bloody coat, Potiphar 39: (Potiphar’s wife) Success in P.’s house, attempted seduction, J. resists, loses coat, rape charge, arrest, jail 40-41: J. interprets dreams, dream come true, wine steward forgets, Pharaoh has dreams, steward remembers, J. interprets, made governor 42-43 Famine in Canaan, Ben. remains, J. recognizes but hides identity, bros. must prove not spies, Simeon, $, Judah/Reuben must convince Jacob to let B. go, bros. bring gifts, Joe leaves room when he speaks to B. 44-45 J. "frames’ his bros., J. confronts bros., bros. plead for B., J. reveals himself, Pharaoh responds, bros. sent back to retrieve Jacob, Jacob’s response.
Comic Book Assignment: Grade Sheet Check list for essential items: Missing up to two elements = 90’s Missing six to nine elements = 70’s Missing three to five elements = 80’s Missing ten to 15 elements = 60’s
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