Alice's Illustrated Biblical Adventures
Wednesday, February 4, 2015
Saturday, January 31, 2015
Exodus, then and now
Saturday, January 24, 2015
Dreams in the Bible
Sunday, January 18, 2015
Trees in the Bible
Yesterday, I finished my second week of 52 in the Read the Entire Bible in a Year project. Last week, I wrote about creation and about the numerous flood stories that exist around the world. It seems that all religious traditions have a flood story in them.
Today, I am going to write about trees.
Today, I am going to write about trees.
Sunday, January 11, 2015
Reading through the Bible, 2.0
Two years ago, I began a project of reading the entire Bible, from start to finish, with Father Earle King, of Saint Martin in the Fields Church, here in Grand Island, New York. It was my intention to blog my impressions of that experience. Unfortunately, due to computer problems, I was unable to complete the blogging, although I was able to complete the Bible. This year, Father Earle announced that he would read the Bible through from start to finish again, and he issued the invitation that anyone who wanted to read along with him could do so. And so, I saw that as an opportunity to restart the blog and, this time, complete the blogging so that I could share some reflections on my reading. I have now completed my first week of reading and so, I offer this reflection for the week: God's Creative Powers
Genesis 1:1-1:5
The version that I heard in church this morning reads like this: "In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless voice and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters. Then God said, 'Let there be light'; and there was light. And God saw that the light was good; and God separated the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And there was evening and there was morning, the first day." (New Revised Standard Version)
The Bible that I read daily has a somewhat different translation. It sounds like this: "In the beginning, God made heaven and earth. The earth was invisible and unfinished; and darkness was over the deep. The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. God saw the light; it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day; the darkness He called Night; and there was evening and morning, one day." (Saint Athanasius Academy Septuagint)
In today's meditation, I am going to focus on just a few words from the Saint Athanasius Academy Septuagint.
But first, if you want to read this version along with me, the Bible that I am reading is called The Orthodox Study Bible, and it is published by Thomas Nelson, Inc.
The words that I am focusing on are: "The earth was invisible and unfinished: and darkness was hovering over the deep."
As an artist, I like to think of myself as creative. I set the paper or the canvas down in front of me. It is blank, just a plain white surface. It could represent a blinding snowstorm. But, usually, that's not how I want to leave it. I set up a still life or a go outside and find something interesting to paint. By the end of my painting session, I have an image on the paper or the canvas that was not there before. I feel good about having created a little two-dimensional world where there had been nothing.
But my creativity is so tiny. God created the heaven and the earth. He placed animals and plants and seas and dry lands. He did all that on an earth that was invisible and unfinished, basically an abstract concept because nothing was there. God was happy with His creation. The phrase "it was good" is repeated over and over in the first chapter of Genesis, giving Genesis a poetic effect.
God created everything in just six days. They are not necessarily six days as we know them. They are six of God's days, which is beyond my understanding. But still, I can imagine. It seems to me that, when God was creating the earth, he was full of joy, putting something in the heavens that wasn't there. He made suns and moons and stars as well. It was a monumental creation.
So... a few more words: "The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the water." What a beautiful image. I wonder if that is why, as people, we tend to be drawn to the water. Most cities are built of the banks of some sort of body of water, whether it is an ocean, a lake, or a river. The water feels sort of magical to us. It gives us life and nourishment. We can't live any longer than about three days if we are completely deprived of water. The water also takes life. We have floods and tsunamis and the water overwhelms us and drowns us and we are swept away in the power of the out of control water.
Water is a powerful image in the Bible. God creates the world, but He also wreaks destruction. He uses water, from which all life flows, to take life. In fact, God wonders if He made a mistake.
Gensis 6:6-6:7. So God was grieved that He had made man on the earth, and He thought this over. Then God said, "I will blot out man whom I created from the face of the earth, from man to cattle, and from the creeping things to the birds of heaven, for I am grieved I made them. It sounds as if God had become depressed over a creation gone awry. In chapters six through nine of Genesis, which I read this week, the dramatic tale of the flood, which destroyed nearly all life on earth, is told. The only people who survive are Noah and his family. A selection of animals are saved, as well. I guess that the fish would have, in general, survived a flood because they were in their element. In chapter seven, verses 17 through 21, the flood is described as: Now the flood was on the earth forty days and forty nights. The waters increased and lifted up the ark, and it rose high above the earth. So the waters prevailed and greatly increased on the earth, and the ark moved about on the surface of the waters. The waters prevailed exceedingly on the earth, and all the high mountains under the whole heaven were covered. The waters prevailed fifteen cubits upward, and covered all the high mountains. And all flesh died that moves on the earth; birds and cattle, wild animals, and every creeping thing that moves on the earth, and every man."\ Everything. Gone just like that. They died sadly: Thus, all things in whose nostrils was the breath of life, and everything on dry land, died... They were blotted out from the earth. Only Noah and those with him in the ark remained alive." Here is something that I find interesting and I hope that you do, too. There are numerous creation stories throughout the earth, and all of them include the telling of a flood story. The flood was massive and it destroyed all life on earth, except for a few who were seen as righteous, as Noah was. In Wikipedia, I found this segment from a Masai flood story. The Masai live in Africa. Once upon a time the rivers began to flood. Then God told two people to get into a ship. He told them to take lots of seed and to take lots of animals. The water of the flood eventually covered the mountains. Finally the flood stopped. Then one of the men, wanting to know if the water had dried up let a dove loose. The dove returned. Later he let loose a hawk which did not return. Then the men left the boat and took the animals and the seeds with them. Here is a Mayan flood myth, complete with a footnote so you can look up the source: In the first period of the world lived the Saiyamkoob, "the Adjusters," a dwarf race which built cities now in ruins. They worked in darkness, as the sun had not yet appeared. When it did, they turned to stone, and their images can be found in the ruins. Food for the workers was lowered by rope from the sky, but the rope was cut, the blood ran out of it, and the earth and sky separated. This period ended with water over the earth. The Tsolob, "the Offenders," lived in the second period. These, too were destroyed by a flood. The Maya reigned during the third period, but their period was also ended by flood. The fourth and present age is peopled by a mixture of all previous races. [Alexander, 1920, p. 153] Here is a telling of the flood story, from Ecuador: This is a Celtic version: Heaven and Earth were great giants, and Heaven lay upon the Earth so that their children were crowded between them, and the children and their mother were unhappy in the darkness. The boldest of the sons led his brothers in cutting up Heaven into many pieces. From his skull they made the firmament. His spilling blood caused a great flood which killed all humans except a single pair, who were saved in a ship made by a beneficent Titan. The waters settled in hollows to become the oceans. The son who led in the mutilation of Heaven was a Titan and became their king, but the Titans and gods hated each other, and the king titan was driven from his throne by his son, who was born a god. That Titan at last went to the land of the departed. The Titan who built the ship, whom some consider to be the same as the king Titan, went there also. [Sproul, pp. 172-173] The last version that I will share is this one: Many thanks to Mark Isaac for compiling so many flood stories. For more flood stories from around the world, take a look at his website at Flood Stories from All Over the World. It makes for fascinating reading. Check back next week for another Biblical reflection and, until then, have a great week! |
Monday, April 22, 2013
The Philistines
The Philistines are mentioned in several books of the Bible as being the nemesis of the Israelites. There were huge battles and casualties listed in the thousands but I was mystified... who were the Philistines?
So I looked up "Philistine" in my online dictionary because I'm lazy and I didn't want to lug the unabridged (and hence, huge) dictionary up the stairs. One of the definitions was this: "A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them."
Really? The Israelites were fighting wars against people who are just lacking in taste? That doesn't seem to me to be much of a reason to fight a war.
I also found out that the Philistines were an ancient people who lived in Philistia. Really? That's not too informative. I also found out that the Philistines no longer exist. Apparently, they are extinct so there are no books telling the dramatic tales of the Philistines from the Philistine perspective.
I found a good deal of information about the Philistines from this website. So, here are some details about the Philistines. They may have come from Crete in the Aegean Sea. They were considered to be sea people. They had enormous sea battles with the Egyptians. In fact, the Philistines were also known to have been very warlike. They were aggressive, like the Klingons in Star Trek, who went into battle announcing, "Today is a good day to die."
The Philistines seemed invincible because they were able to produce swords and all sorts of weapons in great quantities. They were technologically ahead of the Israelites. The Philistines, when not fighting with the Israelites, helped out the Israelites by sharpening their farm tools. Apparently, the Israelites didn't know how to do that.
I also found out that the Philistines were very musical and they celebrated many occurrences of their lives with song.They also celebrated with copious amounts of alcohol. They were culturally more advanced than the Israelites. They were, however, pagans. So the definition of Philistine as uncultured boor is inaccurate.
But God did not favor the Philistines because they were pagans...
And they are all gone...
without leaving behind any of their folk tales...
So I looked up "Philistine" in my online dictionary because I'm lazy and I didn't want to lug the unabridged (and hence, huge) dictionary up the stairs. One of the definitions was this: "A person who is hostile or indifferent to culture and the arts, or who has no understanding of them."
Really? The Israelites were fighting wars against people who are just lacking in taste? That doesn't seem to me to be much of a reason to fight a war.
I also found out that the Philistines were an ancient people who lived in Philistia. Really? That's not too informative. I also found out that the Philistines no longer exist. Apparently, they are extinct so there are no books telling the dramatic tales of the Philistines from the Philistine perspective.
I found a good deal of information about the Philistines from this website. So, here are some details about the Philistines. They may have come from Crete in the Aegean Sea. They were considered to be sea people. They had enormous sea battles with the Egyptians. In fact, the Philistines were also known to have been very warlike. They were aggressive, like the Klingons in Star Trek, who went into battle announcing, "Today is a good day to die."
The Philistines seemed invincible because they were able to produce swords and all sorts of weapons in great quantities. They were technologically ahead of the Israelites. The Philistines, when not fighting with the Israelites, helped out the Israelites by sharpening their farm tools. Apparently, the Israelites didn't know how to do that.
I also found out that the Philistines were very musical and they celebrated many occurrences of their lives with song.They also celebrated with copious amounts of alcohol. They were culturally more advanced than the Israelites. They were, however, pagans. So the definition of Philistine as uncultured boor is inaccurate.
But God did not favor the Philistines because they were pagans...
And they are all gone...
without leaving behind any of their folk tales...
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
The Bible's Superman!
Samson was very strong, but he had one weakness. If he had his hair cut, he would lose his strength. He was very much like Achilles, who was very strong and who also had a weakness (his heel). Then there was Superman. He too was very strong, until he was exposed to Kryptonite. Samson was to be a Nazirite. A Nazirite is not a priest but is someone who makes a special vow, under certain conditions. He is not to consume grapes in any form, including wine, touch a corpse, or cut his hair.
Samson was so strong that he could tear apart an attacking lion with his bare hands. He could be tied up with the strongest rope and escape by breaking the rope as if it were thread.
Unfortunately, Samson was also very naive, especially when it came to women. He was attracted to women who wanted to take advantage of him and use him, probably because of his enormous strength. He had disastrous relations with two women. The first was identified only as a Philistine woman. She was not named. Samson decided to marry her, over the objections of his parents. He probably should have listened to his parents. This lady was not a good match for Samson. She kept trying to get information out of Samson but failed. However, I am not certain that the marriage ever happened.
Well, Samson's second time around in the area of romance turned out to be an even bigger disaster. He fell in love with Delilah. Unfortunately, Delilah was bribed by the Philistines to find out Samson's secret: what would take away his super powers? Samson thought that Delilah was just teasing him when she kept asking him for the secret. Maybe he thought that her goal was something X rated and between the two of them. Who knows? Anyway, Delilah tied Samson up with ropes, which he broke. She braided his hair and tied the braids together, but he was able to remove those without difficulty. But, eventually, Delilah sweet talked Samson into telling her his secret. She had servants shave Samson's head while he was asleep. He became weak immediately and lost his status as a Nazirite because his vow was considered broken, even if it had not been broken voluntarily.
The Philistines wanted revenge because Samson had killed many Philistines. In fact, he struck down 1,000 men with a donkey's jawbone. That was his weapon of choice because he was strong enough to make that jawbone into a deadly weapon. Anyway, the Philistines did get their revenge. They put Samson into prison and forced him to grind grain. And they put out Samson's eyes, so he was blind.
Samson's fate was tragic but, eventually, his hair grew back and he regained his strength but not his eyesight. He managed to get out of prison to go to the Philistines' temple. There, he leaned on the pillars until they broke, causing the entire building to be structurally unsound. The building then collapsed, killing everyone inside it, including Samson.
After Delilah got her servant to shave Samson's head, she is never mentioned again.
Here is a picture of Delilah cutting Samson's hair: Samson gets an unwanted haircut
The story of Samson and Delilah is very dramatic. In fact, Camille Saint Saens wrote an opera based on this tale. One of the more unusual things about this opera is that the leading lady is a mezzo soprano, not a soprano, although the strong Samson is played by a tenor. Because I am a mezzo soprano, I like the idea of a mezzo soprano leading lady.
More tales later!
Samson was so strong that he could tear apart an attacking lion with his bare hands. He could be tied up with the strongest rope and escape by breaking the rope as if it were thread.
Unfortunately, Samson was also very naive, especially when it came to women. He was attracted to women who wanted to take advantage of him and use him, probably because of his enormous strength. He had disastrous relations with two women. The first was identified only as a Philistine woman. She was not named. Samson decided to marry her, over the objections of his parents. He probably should have listened to his parents. This lady was not a good match for Samson. She kept trying to get information out of Samson but failed. However, I am not certain that the marriage ever happened.
Well, Samson's second time around in the area of romance turned out to be an even bigger disaster. He fell in love with Delilah. Unfortunately, Delilah was bribed by the Philistines to find out Samson's secret: what would take away his super powers? Samson thought that Delilah was just teasing him when she kept asking him for the secret. Maybe he thought that her goal was something X rated and between the two of them. Who knows? Anyway, Delilah tied Samson up with ropes, which he broke. She braided his hair and tied the braids together, but he was able to remove those without difficulty. But, eventually, Delilah sweet talked Samson into telling her his secret. She had servants shave Samson's head while he was asleep. He became weak immediately and lost his status as a Nazirite because his vow was considered broken, even if it had not been broken voluntarily.
The Philistines wanted revenge because Samson had killed many Philistines. In fact, he struck down 1,000 men with a donkey's jawbone. That was his weapon of choice because he was strong enough to make that jawbone into a deadly weapon. Anyway, the Philistines did get their revenge. They put Samson into prison and forced him to grind grain. And they put out Samson's eyes, so he was blind.
Samson's fate was tragic but, eventually, his hair grew back and he regained his strength but not his eyesight. He managed to get out of prison to go to the Philistines' temple. There, he leaned on the pillars until they broke, causing the entire building to be structurally unsound. The building then collapsed, killing everyone inside it, including Samson.
After Delilah got her servant to shave Samson's head, she is never mentioned again.
Here is a picture of Delilah cutting Samson's hair: Samson gets an unwanted haircut
The story of Samson and Delilah is very dramatic. In fact, Camille Saint Saens wrote an opera based on this tale. One of the more unusual things about this opera is that the leading lady is a mezzo soprano, not a soprano, although the strong Samson is played by a tenor. Because I am a mezzo soprano, I like the idea of a mezzo soprano leading lady.
More tales later!
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