2006-01-04

Parallel Guide 9 - The Abraham Saga (Part Two)

Learning Objectives

Read Gen 15-18, 21:1-21, 22:1-19, 23:1-20, 25:1-20
  • significance of name change from Abram to Abraham


    • no lexical significance, as the longer form is just a dialectical variation of the shorter one
    • great symbolic significance because God give Abraham his new name and presents the covenant to him for the second time.

  • circumstances surrounding the ritual importance of circumcision


    • in the P (or J) version, circumcision (originally thought to be necessary for marriage) becomes a way to distinguish the Israelites. As surgery, it is a self-sacrifice to become cut.
    • It is the sign to indicate the eternal covenant that God established with Abraham and his descendants
    • The rite of circumcision was given to Abraham as a sign of separation from his pagan past (Gen. 17:10-14). As a literal cut into the reproductive organ of flesh, it was meant to (intimately) put the mark of the LORD at the point of contact with the lower “reproductive” nature.

  • importance of announcement that Sarah is pregnant


    • nothing is too difficult for God
    • God delivers on his promises
    • Sarah is the matriarch of the nation of Israel

  • Abraham makes community responsibility in the story of Sodom and Gomorrah


    • he bargains with God. He wants to spare many of the righteous for the sake of the few
    • A, as inheritor of the land, feels compassion for the people and wants God to spare if possible for the sake of the righetous

  • near-sacrifice of Isaac


    • important because it was his only true child through Sarah, his boy that he thought would never be born, to sacrifice him would be to give up his lineage

  • chesed


    • lovingkindness in modern Hebrew, the word for grace


      • Micah 6:8He has shown you, O man,
      what is good;
      And what does the LORD
      require of you
      But to do justly,
      To love mercy, [chesed]
      And to walk humbly with your God?
    • usually translated using the English words "kindness," "loving kindness," or "mercy."


      • "his mercy is everlasting," Psalm 100:5.
      • "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life," Psalm 23:6.
      • "I am the Lord which exercises loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness." Jeremiah 9:24.
      • "With everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee." Isaiah 54:8.
      • "I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving kindness." Hosea 2:19

  • mysterium tremendum et fascinans like the Roman Catholic notion of mystery. Mysteries of Christ.
  • analogy circumcision : Jews :: _?_:Christians

    • baptism
    • reception/confirmation/ministry
  • is it right to do something contrary to ethical standards?
  • justify answer in context of Isaac's son near-sacrifice and necessary moral laws
  • do the ends justfy the means?
Notes

  • Nation, numerous people self-identifying as a politically independent social group
    • Gen 12:3 by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves
    • vs. and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed
  • bitumen pit = tar pit
  • Melchizedek, king of Salem (Jerusalem) was interpreted eschatalogically by Qumran and typologically by early church fathers.
    • eschatology
      • The branch of theology that is concerned with the end of the world or of humankind
      • A belief or a doctrine concerning the ultimate or final things, such as death, the destiny of humanity, the Second Coming, or the Last Judgment.
  • righteousness - Gen 15:6 "...and the LORD reckoned it to him [Abraham] as righteousness"
    where righteousness is truthfulness to one's social obligations and commitments (tsadiq)
  • holy (Rudolf Otto) = mysterium tremendum et fascinans = the fascinatingly attractive yet overwhelmingly powerful and terrifying mystery
    belief in God(s)
  • henotheism = one (of a few) gods
  • monotheism = one and only one god
  • polytheism = many gods
  • circumlocution = indirect/roundaout reference to God, common in Bible
    Gen 18:14 - "Is anything too wonderful for the LORD?"
  • movement into the unknown is the challenge God has for Abraham and mankind
  • fear of God is the response to the mysterium tremendum et fascinans
  • Abraham shows radical obedience, Adam shows moral autonomy
  • chesed = steadfast love (NSRV); loyalty, trust, truthfulness to self-nature, unsentimental love, concern; lovingkindness (KJV)
    cf Gk. charis (grace) or agape
  • amphictyony = confereration of tribes for maintaining a central tribe.

References and further reading

Seminar discussion highlights

  • From wikipedia
    The First Council of Nicaea in 325 debated the terms homoousios (same substance) and homoiousios (similar substance), ultimately condoning the former and condemning the latter.
    (Gr. homoousion - from homos, same, and ousia, essence; Lat. consubstantialem, of one essence or substance)
    The Nicene Creed, which is a classic formulation of this doctrine, uses "homoousia" (Koine Greek: of same essence). The spelling of this word differs by a single Greek letter, "one iota", from the word used by non-trinitarians at the time, "homoiousia" (Greek: of similar essence): a fact which has since become proverbial, representing the deep divisions occasioned by seemingly small imprecisions, especially in theology.

  • our contemporary emphasis on individualism and a separation from community (doing your own thing) is a non-Christian tendency
  • large corporate churches tend to market religion and make the congregant as a customer of services
  • we derive value and worth as a part of a community of believers
  • Greek philosophy: the logos became flesh

Theological reflection

Issues method

  • I like to be on time AND I like to do something else
  • Biblical passage - Lk 12:35; Mt 25 (bridesmaids and lamps of oil)


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