writting religion

Help for Writing Assignment 2

In class and your reading (Chapter 3), we have briefly introduced ‘echoes of empire’ in the Bible. The

goal of this assignment is to read one such text in more detail to understand the comparative method.

1. Pick a Bible text and its parallel, For instance:

The Flood (Gen 6-9) Gilgamesh Flood

The Covenant Code (Exod 20:22-23:33) Hammurabi’s Law

The Words of the Wise (Prov 22:17-24:22) Proverbs of Amenemope

The Creation Stories (Gen 1-2) Enuma Elish

Royal Psalms (Ps 2, 21, 72, 110) Ancient Royal Theology (see texts in Chap 3)

2. Compare the two texts and identify any interesting details that are either similar or different. For

instance:

The Flood Both heroes send the same birds to test whether the water has receded.

The reason for the flood, however, is different in the two stories.

The Covenant Code In both law codes, a miscarriage caused by a blow results in a fine, while

harm to the mother results in eye-for-an-eye.

In both law codes, the lives of slaves are valued in money rather than eye-for-

an-eye (see Exodus 21:28-32).

Both law codes make provisions for a man to have multiple wives (see Exod

21:10).

The Words of the Wise Both sets of proverbs warn against chasing after riches

Both sets of proverbs warn against mistreating the poor and unfortunate

The Creation Both stories assume a primordial water that must be held back by a dome

Genesis 1, however, has no combat myth (or any narrative at all).

Royal Psalms Both sets of hymns declare the king to be the adopted son of the deity

Both sets of hymns encourage ‘social responsibility’ on the part of the king

3. Finally, discuss how these parallels are useful for understanding the Bible.

Begin with specifics. Give some background about your texts and discuss the specifics of your

parallel(s) in detail. Cite the exact words that are parallel, etc. If there are any gaps, try to explain them.

Next, move to the ‘Big Idea’. In what ways do your texts demonstrate the idea that “The Bible

wears the clothes of the cultures in which it was written”? For instance, you may wish to address the

question of whether “biblical” values can change over time. On the other hand, you may wish to discuss

what the contrasts demonstrate about Israelite religion. What do they believe that is different from the

cultures around them?