Tara M. Bible Blog

A Few Phrases

2006-12-06T19:20:00.000-08:00

There were a few phrases that have been discussed throughout the semester that I know will never leave my mind. The first of these- one which has been etched into our skulls- is my personal favorite, "Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity" Ecclesiastes 1:2. This verse reminds me that I am a single person in an infinant universe as is every other person on this planet. We all lose track of the things that matter in life and end up becoming involved in material objects, trivial arguments, and the now. However, to be quite honest, after a couple more generations have left this earth, no one will remember who we are. Some of our names will remain, but what is a name if there is no personality with which it can be associated? We must enjoy our time here; but, also, we must keep focused on the things that truely matter- hopefully we are all aware of what those may be.

The second verse that has stuck in my mind is that of Proverbs 18:2 where it states, "A fool takes no pleasure in understanding, but only in expressing personal opinion." This is pretty self-explanitory. A truly wise person does not feel the need to express their every opinion. They are wise and understand truth, that is all they need. A fool, on the other hand, feels it necessary to discuss subjects of which they do not understand. They speak simply to hear the sound of their own voice and to, with any luck, fool someone else into thinking they are wise.

The last phrase that has intrigued me is that of Ecclesiastes 8:15 which is translated into "Eat, drink, and be merry. For tomorrow we die." This is also very self-explanitory. We need to enjoy every day to its fullest because we may not wake to see the next. Do not take living for granted, simply do what makes your life worth living.

The Slave, The Beautiful

2006-12-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

There was something about this book that just would not let me set it down. When I first began reading, the time seemed to drag on and it seemed like I got no where. However, once things started heating up between Jacob and Wanda, I began to become more interested. I knew the two were going to end up together, but I could not figure out where the plot was going. So, I read on and became more and more intrigued. Although, I must admit that I was a little disapointed with the ending. I really didn't want Sarah to die, even though her character became very boring, and I became frustrated with Jacob due to his lack of emotion. He seemed as though he was obligated to stay by Sarah's side while she died, and he didn't seem too care about his new born son...I am getting off track. Anyway, the book did intrigue me because of the connections I saw throughout the book with things read in the Bible or discussed in class. Also, I learned so many things about the Jewish religion that I had no idea about before reading this.

I marked a few pages where some connections from class really jumped out at me. One of these includes a passage where Lady Pilitzky and Jacob were having a discussion about society collapsing and the peasants seeing a comet, which was to predict the fall. She states, "It's a sign that we can expect some cataclysm: war, pestilence or flood. The Turks are sharpening their scimitars. Suddenly the Muscovites are a power. The Prussians, of course, are always ready for pillage. 'Eat, drink, and be merry. For tomorrow we die'" (192). As we have mentioned a few times in class, this saying comes from Ecclesiastes 8:15 where it states,"So I commend enjoyment, for there is nothing better for people under the sun than to eat, and drink, and enjoy themselves, for this will go with them in their toil through the days of life that God gives them under the sun". This is basically telling us that we must live each day as if it were going to be our last because each day that we are here is blessing from God in itself. And, when life does get difficult, it will be these good times that will help us through it.

The next passage that triggered my memory was on page 230 where Jacob was waiting outside during Sarah's labor. He is observing the night and thinks to himself, "Roosters began to crow, answering each other. These fowl would be sacrificed on the day before Yom Kippur; there was somethig both solemn and awesome in their recitative as if they already knew what lay in store for them." According to Dr. Sexson, the phrase "both solemn and awesome" would be described as sublime. The definition being that which is both terrifying and beautiful. Solemn meaning something that is grave or sober and awesome being something overwhelming or amazing. The roosters knowing their fate was terrifying, but thier communicating to each other was beautiful.

I believe we were asked to read this book because it, like everything else we have been taught, teaches us to look at the Bible in a different perspective. It really shines a new light on the Jewish religion and I appriciate having that experience.

My Term Paper

2006-12-06T15:03:00.000-08:00

Until recently, women have been stereotyped as having insignificant roles in society. Patriarchy has been the primary arrangement since before written documents and has remained that way until the last century. However, although women have been expected to stay on the side lines, they have never succumbed to these dispositions. They have always managed to slip their way into the intricate workings of the man’s world. And, as we all know, most men have major complexes about allowing women to fill their roles. Therefore, in early writings such as the Bible, women who have succeeded in developing a voice have been characterized as deceitful, infertile, or promiscuous. It is almost impossible to find a truly intriguing story without some sort of woman as a leading character; thus, these females can be found throughout one of the greatest pieces of literature of all time- the Bible. They are also discussed by authors such as Northrop Frye and presented in books such as The Slave by Isaac B. Singer.
In Genesis alone, women such as Sarah, Rebekah, and Tamar play more significant roles than many of their male counterparts. Although they are made out to be treacherous or conniving in most instances, they are still showing their faces in a male dominated society. Sarah, for instance, is not merely the wife of Abraham, but an infertile woman of old age that conceives a child by the will of the Lord. Then, she sees her slave, Hagar, playing with her son Isaac and becomes angered. Although Hagar is the mother of Abraham’s eldest son Ishmael, Sarah wants both of them cast from their family and so it is done. In Genesis 21:12 it states, “But God said to Abraham, ‘Do not be distressed because of the boy and because of your slave; whatever Sarah says to you, do as she tells you, for it is through Isaac that offspring shall be named for you.’” So, not only does Sarah receive her wishes, but she also owns the womb of her slave Hagar. Sarah controlled who Hagar laid with and, thus, managed her fait as well. This is quite astounding considering the patriarchal rule of men obtaining the ownership of all women.
Another example of these powerful women is Rebekah controlling the fait of her favorite son Jacob. She dresses him as his brother Esau and instructs him to approach his father so that he may receive a blessing before his brother. In Genesis 38:1-30, Tamar also uses a disguise to acquire the thing she felt was of the highest priority. Although she was in the right for having done what she did, she was still forced into a sort of prostitution to obtain her child. Her father-in-law did not fulfill his promise of marrying her to his next son; therefore, Tamar used the only thing she could to get what she needed. The women in these stories are made out to be whores and harlots; however, they are using the only tools they are allowed to use. Also, in almost every case, these women perform these acts for the good of their children or their husbands.
Northrop Frye discusses female characters in Chapter Five, which is entitled Sexual Imagery: The Bride and the Bridegroom; The Great Whore and the Forgiven Harlot. He explains how the image of the union of a bride to her bridegroom is Jesus’ impression of an ideal world. However, in this case, the bride is actually a metaphor for the people of God, or Israel, and the groom is Christ (51). Although Jesus was male and the part of the groom seems to fit, the male should be personified by the ruler and the bride should be represented by the subservient, of the follower(s). The counterpart to the bride in the demonic world would be the Great Whore from the Book of Revelation while her bridegroom would be the Antichrist from the New Testament. And, just as the bride is identified with Jerusalem, the Whore is linked with the heathen city of Babylon. “In Revelation 17:2, she is the figure, ‘With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication’”(52). Although the Whore is identified as demonic, her character really is not unlike that of every other female throughout the Bible. She is a mistress, a whore, and is identified as having made the men “drunk” when, in fact, it does take two to tango. These characteristics have been repeated over and over in different women.
Frye’s next topic is the Forgiven Harlot. This woman is usually identified in the New Testament as Mary Magdalene. She has been condemned to be stoned to death because she was a harlot; however, Jesus intervenes and suggests that the person who has never committed a sin may throw the first stone (55-56). Although the woman is purified and her title as a harlot is denounced, she was still identified as the prostitute. This seems to be about the only profession a woman was expected to hold besides that of wife and mother.
The women in Isaac B. Singer’s The Slave have much more complex roles; however, their statuses are the same as those discussed by Frye and those mentioned in the Bible. Wanda, for instance, is identified only as a temptress. Singer writes:
He awoke trembling, opened his eyes, and discovered Wanda lying next to him on the straw. The air in the barn was cool but he felt the burning heat of her body. She caught hold of him, pressed herself against him, and touched his cheek with her lips…When he sought to push her from him, she clung to him with uncanny strength. He attempted to speak to her, but she stopped his lips with her mouth…He lay numb, unable now to deny either her or himself, as if he had lost his freedom of will. Suddenly a passage from the Gemara entered his mind: should a man be overcome by the Evil One, let him dress himself in dark clothing, and cover himself in black, and indulge in his heart’s desire (65-66).
This passage shows how Wanda was identified throughout the character’s entire existence. Jacob does fall in love with the woman, but he makes her seem as if she is wicked for making him have the feelings he does. It is her fault that he can not control himself around her. He even describes her as “the Evil One” because he feels it is demons trying to posses him with lust for her.
Wanda takes on a completely different role once she becomes Sarah. Now, instead of being a temptress that forces him into sin, she is his subservient wife. Although the two converse during the night in the privacy of their home, he expects her to remain silent for as long as he wishes so that they may lead the life he desires. She worships him and becomes satisfied with living her life to serve him. However, he seems to distance himself from her on a regular basis. This is explained in the passage:
In her prayers she told God that she had no one but Jacob. She could never love another. She had joined a community but felt like a stranger. Though she had fled the peasants, she had not become one of the Jews of Pilitz. Jacob was husband, father, and brother to her. The moment the candle was extinguished she called him to her bed. “You gentile,” Jacob said jokingly: “Don’t you know that a daughter of Israel mustn’t be immodest or she’ll be divorced without settlement?”
“What can a daughter of Israel do?”
“Bear children and serve God.”
“I intend to bear you a dozen.”
He would not lay with her immediately…(162-163).
Sarah was expected to become a mute, bear his children, and respect his every wish. It is almost as if Sarah had completely lost every trace of Wanda simply so that her husband would feel more comfortable. However, this is what was expected of the women of this time.
Unfortunately, the female characters in these examples do not represent the woman population efficiently. However, considering the time periods, it is quite an honor to even have leading female roles. Also, the fact that every author is a male may have something to do with the phenomenon. The only author who may have been female, J, was required to write about women in the fashion that she did because it was expected of her to do so in that era- yet another example of the patriarchy pattern of the past.

Women's Role in the Bible

2006-10-02T19:44:00.000-07:00

I think the most interesting topics we have covered in class are women's roles in the Bible. It is easy to see why Bloom would think of J as a woman, because she gives women such fascinating roles. The writing of the Hebrew Bible is patriarchy. Men or fathers rule all, so "others" and people of unimportance are most likely women. However, J tells us stories where the women are tricksters, much like Yahweh. J also gives women important roles in stories of fathers, such as in the stories of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, when only the men should be discussed.

Although the men and fathers are supposed to own these women, the women are making some very essential contributions in J's stories. In J's version, Sarah hears that she will concieve a child and laughs out loud. Thus, her son is named Isaac which means laughter. However, in E's version, Abram falls on his face and laughs because he is overcome with joy and gratitude;therefore, Isaac is named after Abram's reaction. J has clearly given the woman a much more significant role in her version. Some other contributions that women have given to stories include: Sarah telling Abram to send Ishmael and Hagar away, Rebekah dressing Jacob up as Esau so Isaac will bless him instead, and Rachel hiding her father's household gods under her dress. These are just a few examples of women's importance in a presumably patriarchal documentation.

J's stories bring so much more complication to simple patriarchy. The feminine is almost always corrupted or trechorous, but they are being represented during a time where women held very little to no importance in society. It was once believed that there were gods and goddesses; now that there is one male god, the women have to be represented in another way. J does this by telling us funny or ironic stories about how Yahweh's work was done.

My First Impressions

2006-09-13T18:49:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my first time using blogger.com, but it is going well so far. I normally like to write my thoughts down on paper because they seem to flow better with a pencil rather than with a keyboard. However, I will do my best.
My first impression of this class was that it was going to be interesting but also very challenging. I have not read any of the Bible but was excited to hear that I actually had motivation to do so. I was raised a Catholic, but we centered our attention on prayer rather than Bible readings. So, the first couple classes made me feel very intimidated because it seems that so many of the other students know so much more about biblical literature than I do. However, I am catching on quickly. My interest in our topics of discussion grows with each day. I am always up for a challenge!