The Word Among Us

Terry L. Burden

Description

The Word Among Us: Theologies of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament is a new approach to the study of the Bible. Through some forty topics, this book covers all the major topics that contribute to the theological function of sacred texts. Topics include The Theology of History, Creation, Exodus, Covenant, Moses, Kingship, Prophecy, and many more.

The Word Among Us: Theologies of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament is a topical approach to the study of the Judeo/Christian Bible. Each topic is a survey of the many theological themes we encounter in the Biblical narrative such as the theology of Biblical History, Torah, Moses, Election, Covenant, Land, Kingship, Prophecy, and many more. Special topics include The Theology of the Fall of Israel, Theology of Messianic Expectations, and The Theology of Israel. Of particular interest is The Theology of Story which introduces the story-oriented literary discipline. At the center of Biblical theology is the tragic fall of the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 B.C.E. and the Southern Kingdom of Judah in 586 B.C.E. From these periods many of the theological motifs, such as covenant, law, and prophecy, arise to address and to explain these tragedies in Israelite history. The primary purpose of the present study is a better understanding of the theological function of these motifs or themes. A theological function is the power of a Biblical narrative to constitute and to restore the Israelite people who were struggling to survive the late period of Biblical history. A special feature of my study are the several promptings from Biblical topics of the many discussions that relate to the New Testament and Christian teachings. My approach to the study of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament is unique among other introductions to the Hebrew Bible. This book therefore is very important to both the Jewish and the Christian reader.

Sujets

• Biblical Biography
• Philosophie et théologie
• Hebrew Bible
• Theology
• New Testament
• Religion
• Bible

Informations

• Publié par: WestBow Press
• Date de parution: 19 juillet 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781664268401
• Langue: English

Extrait

THE WORD AMONG US
 
THEOLOGIES OF THE HEBREW BIBLE/OLD TESTAMENT
 
 
 
TERRY L. BURDEN
 
 
 

 
Copyright © 2022 Terry L. Burden.
 
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
 
 
 
WestBow Press
A Division of Thomas Nelson & Zondervan
1663 Liberty Drive
Bloomington, IN 47403
www.westbowpress.com
844-714-3454
 
Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.
 
Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.
 
Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1952 [2nd edition, 1971] by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
 
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6839-5 (sc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6841-8 (hc)
ISBN: 978-1-6642-6840-1 (e)
 
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022910665
 
 
WestBow Press rev. date: 07/14/2022
For Philip and Andrew
Let me stand today
For whatever is pure and true and good:
For the advancement of science
and education and true learning.
John Baillie
CONTENTS
Topic 1 Theology of Sacred Scripture
Topic 2 Theology of the Hebrew Bible
Topic 3 Theology of the Old Testament
Topic 4 Theology of Biblical History
Topic 5 Theology of History: The Deuteronomistic History
Topic 6 Theology of History: Torah and Priestly History
Topic 7 Theology of History: The Chronicler’s History
Topic 8 Theology of Sinai
Topic 9 Theology of the Exodus Tradition
Topic 10 Theology of the Wilderness Traditions
Topic 11 Theology of God
Topic 12 Theology of Covenant
Topic 13 Theology of Election
Topic 14 Theology of Deuteronomy
Topic 15 Theology of Moses
Topic 16 Theology of Land
Topic 17 Theology of Kingship: Beginnings and Saul
Topic 18 Theology of Kingship: David and Solomon
Topic 19 Theology of Kingship: The Divided Monarchy
Topic 20 Theology of Kingship: Kingship Ideology
Topic 21 Theology of Prophecy
Topic 22 Theology of Prophecy: Eight Century Prophets
Topic 23 Theology of Prophecy: Seventh Century Prophets
Topic 24 Theology of Prophecy: Sixth Century Prophets
Topic 25 Theology of Prophecy: Prophets of the Persian Period
Topic 26 Theology of Religion: Ancestral and Mosaic
Topic 27 Theology of Religion: Official Zion Religion
Topic 28 Theology of Religion: Post-Exilic Religion and Judaism
Topic 29 Theology of the Fall of Israel
Topic 30 Theology of Mourning
Topic 31 Theology of Exile and Restoration
Topic 32 Theology of Wisdom
Topic 33 Theology of Story
Topic 34 Theology of the Temple
Topic 35 Theology of Zion
Topic 36 Theology of the Nations
Topic 37 Theology of Worship
Topic 38 Theology of Messianic Expectations
Topic 39 Theology of Apocalypticism
Topic 40 Conclusion: A Theology of Israel
Appendix
TOPIC 1
THEOLOGY OF SACRED SCRIPTURE
The basic understanding of “theology,” as the term implies, is the discipline that engages in the study of the nature of the divine (from the Latin theologia ) and the human experience of the divine. In Middle Eastern religious traditions, we receive a more specific notion of the divine through the common name El as the name became formally “God” (“Elohim”) in the Hebrew culture. And yet, the discipline of theology is not entirely the study of the specific God but the study of several aspects of the divine understood and encountered by the human community. Our study narrows this effort to Biblical texts as our primary source for the development of our specific topics such as history, God, Torah, election, land, kingship, prophecy, and other topics. Studies in theology generally include themes such as these. Christian scholars have attempted to discover a theology of the Hebrew Bible, an endeavor seldom pursued among their Jewish counterparts. 1 The Jewish community shows less concern with systematic approaches, opting often for a more pragmatic use of Sacred Scripture within the life of the community. 2
For our present study, we shall broaden the need for a theology of the Hebrew Bible to include a range of topics under the rubric of theology. Each topic, such as kingship, contributes to the development of a dynamic theological matrix we discover in the Hebrew Bible. Instead of a theology of the Hebrew Bible, we are identifying several theologies. Some theologies stand independent of others, such as wisdom or apocalyptic, while others interrelate or overlap, such as kingship and Zion. Instead of pursuing yet another theology of the Bible, in the narrower sense, ours is a survey of the theological themes in the Hebrew Bible.
The question “What is a Biblical theology?” also applies specifically to religious beliefs in Sacred Scriptures. We are attempting to establish the importance of the Hebrew Bible as a constitutive or theological force in the faith community. This effort would also include insights into the value of the Hebrew Bible in the Christian faith community. The topic of Bible, then, is simply one theme within the broader discipline of theology. A theology of the Bible seeks to understand the uniqueness of writings that are viewed by a faith community as special. Further, what are the fundamental elements a faith community defines as Bible or its Sacred Scriptures? In addition to this, how do faith communities such as the Jewish and Christian, view the Bible, given the notion that both communities have their own beliefs about the same idea called Bible?
THE BIBLE: A DEFINITION
Theologies of the Hebrew Bible represent a range of events and experiences in the history of the Biblical community. The post-Biblical community participates in the evolutionary development of what or which writings come to be accepted as special, authoritative, and sacred. Certainly, the closing years of the Persian period represented a highly productive period in the collection, editing, and completion of writings that became adopted by the faith community. Furthermore, the production of Biblical books was not a simple task, for several influences and beliefs came to bear upon both the need for writings and the content they preserved. First and foremost were the companion topics of God and Israel. The need to preserve the heritage of Israel and her relationship to God certainly served as a primary catalyst. The notion of the Bible is perhaps synonymous with these two major themes. After all, though secular in its subtle implications, the Bible is a collection of religious documents. Beyond these two fundamental concerns, the notion of the Bible includes additional related themes, as our definition below will reveal.
Since our study of Sacred Scripture must be relevant to both Judaism and Christianity, the question of a definition of Sacred Scripture must include a broader view of not only the Hebrew Bible but the Christian Bible which includes the New Testament. At this point, we must clarify most certainly what appears obvious to some: the Hebrew Bible, its content and final canonical form, is identical to what the Christian faith calls the Old Testament.
Any definition of the Bible must consider the discipline and expression of faith held by the individuals who usually associate personal beliefs with a larger special group whether in the synagogue or church. In other words, a definition of Sacred Scripture must be broad enough to include this great diversity of religious beliefs. Consider the following definition as a general understanding of the Bible:
The Bible is the sacred book of Judaism and Christianity, containing the divinely inspired historical record and interpretation of God’s revelation and Israel’s and the Church’s experience of God in history, including for Judaism the books of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament for the Christian) and for Christianity both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament, which provide a theological guide for life in the faith community.
Our definition covers several important topics. We must consider the notion of the Bible as it applies to a faith community that accepts and embraces its writings as having special significance to the life of faith within its social structure as a faith community. To be sure, the Bible suggests its content to be an authoritative theological force that is accepted by its faith community. We look at the relationship of the Bible to the faith community, followed by the topics of sacred, divine inspiration, the Bible as a record and interpretation, and the authority of scripture
The Bible and the Faith Community
Our references to the Bible imply both Sacred Scriptures as understood and accepted in Judaism and Christianity. The Bible is also the equivalent of Sacred Scripture. The Bible is not a collection of writings in a secular sense but a canon of texts that reflect a particular view of both the sacred and the secular—the notion of “canon” implies the acceptance of a certain number of writings as sacred while other writings outside this canonical list are not c