Final Blog: An Overview of Religion 375

Walking into Religion 375 on the first day, I thought I knew what to expect.  I was both right and wrong.

I was right in the sense that I knew we were going to discuss women of the Bible, but I had no idea that we were going to focus in such detail on some of them.

I was wrong in the sense that I knew what women we were going to discuss.  Several of the women were new to me, and I did not know that some of them were even in the common Bible, such as Jael, and I had no clue about the apocryphal texts, where the stories of Susanna and Judith are found.

What amazed me is how little information there is in the Bible on some of the female characters.  Jephthah's daughter, for example, doesn't even have a name and there is so much we do not know about her.  On the other hand, some women, such as Ruth, have a whole book dedicated to them.

Being raised in a Christian church, I have noticed that a lot of these women get overlooked, and many that are held in high regard have flaws that get overlooked.  For example, Ruth is known for her modesty, but what does going into where Boaz was sleeping and uncovering his "feet" say about her modesty?  We never discussed that in Sunday School.

Jael was never discussed in Sunday School either.  She is only in a few verses in Judges, and there is no mention of her background, but she is responsible for saving the Israelites.  We were taught about Deborah and how she was a judge and a great woman, but I think Jael takes the cake in that story.

Overall, this class was a great class and really opened my mind to the possibilities of the Bible.  I learned that the Bible cannot be taken word-for-word, it will be always subject to interpretation, and that there is so much that gets overlooked.  I do not regret taking this class at all, and am very glad it got offered as a general education course.  If I had to do it all over again, I would still would take it, and perhaps post longer blogs and be better about posting them on time. :)

The Da Vinci Code

The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown is a book that must be approached with an open mind.  One must not believe that everything that is in the book is true, especially since it can be found in the fiction section of any bookstore that carries it.

Brown really makes the reader think with the many historical legends, facts, etc., that he places in the book, as well as the many plot twists and turns throughout the novel. The reader also has to keep up with several different story lines within the book in the beginning, which can be discouraging and confusing to readers like myself.

The importance of the female sex is also present in this book. There are many references to goddesses and their importance in paganism. There is also the fact that one of the main characters, Sophie, is female, and shares the spotlight with Robert. In fact, he really could not have figured much of anything out without her help, at least in the beginning of the novel.

I thought that The Da Vinci Code was interesting, but I personally do not find it to be one of my favorites. It was a little challenging to follow, but for someone who likes different story lines within a novel, I would recommend it highly.

Why, Why, Why, Delilah?

In the article we read, J. Cheryl Exum discusses the way Delilah is portrayed in art and movies while incorporating the Biblical story of Samson and Delilah, also.

I found her discussion of this painting by Gustave Moreau particularly interesting:

In the article, Exum discusses the fact that she is in white, defying the idea of purity or virginity behind the color, but there are small slivers of red, revealing her "true" identity as a harlot or temptress.

Samson and Delilah

Director Cecil B. DeMille puts a spin on the classic Bible story of Samson and Delilah in his 1949 film, Samson and Delilah.

DeMille puts an interesting spin on the story, adding characters not mentioned in Judges 16, where the story is in the Bible.  Samson's mother is in the story for a short time, but she actually has speaking parts in the movie.  The movie also includes a love interest from his hometown, Miriam, who loves him but he does not love her back.  In the movie one gets a feel for daily life in Dan, where Samson is from, and his interactions with others.

What is really interesting is how DeMille portrays Delilah.  In the book of Judges she is portrayed as a temptress, also in the movie, but the movie almost justifies why she would betray Samson to her people, the Philistines. One of the first reasons for Delilah's behavior is the fact that the woman Samson was to marry in the story is Delilah's sister in the movie, and she is jealous of her because she is in love with Samson, as well.

Another reason behind Delilah's behavior is that Samson burned down the place where they lived after the woman he was to marry was given to another man when he solved the riddle that Samson had given him and his soldiers.  This angered Delilah, but she still loved him so. However, she made a deal with the Philistine soldiers that she would find the secret to his strength and they could capture him.

Even though she did find the secret of Samson's strength and had him captured and made to be a slave, she redeemed herself at the end.  She realized that what she did was terrible and that she still loved him, so she led him to the pillars where the statue of the false god of the Philistines was located.  Samson tore down the pillars and the entire arena was destroyed, and the lives of many Philistines were taken.

DeMille portrays Delilah as a temptress, but gives her reason behind it, filling in gaps from the Bible story.  He almost justifies her actions, but has her redeemed in the end, making things right and doing the work that was necessary to do.

More about Jael

As I said in my last post, my group is doing our poster presentation project on Jael.  In my search for articles that could be helpful for this project, I found one on JSTOR that was rather interesting.  It is called The Blessing of Jael by Edward L. Curtis.

The article starts out with the part in Jael's story where Deborah blesses her (Judges 5:24-27).  It goes on to basically give reason behind the murder of Sisera.  The article also discusses whether or not the murder was divinely sanctioned.

In the article the author states that "a special divine impulse was given Jael; that in good faith she received Sisera and pledged him protection; but afterwards, while she saw him sleeping, God moved her to break her word and slay him...This supposition acquits Jael of wrong."

Another possibility he came to was that Jael may have been a true believer of God, and that she felt herself obliged to kill Sisera for the good of the Israelites.  He says that Jael's loyalty to God was her justification for killing Sisera.

Jael lived in a time when there was not a king in Israel and everyone did as they saw fit.  From a historical standpoint, the murder of Sisera was commendable in Deborah's eyes, and that is why she blessed Jael.

After reading this article, I believe that Jael was in the right, as well.  Based on the time, when there was no king, and if indeed God told her to do it, I think she was right about what she did and deserved to be blessed by Deborah.

Jael Portrayed in Art

My group is doing a project about how Jael is portrayed in art, and there seems to be a common theme among depictions of her, especially in these first four pictures. In all four, Jael has a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other, and Sisera is lying down as if asleep.



What struck me about this first one was how realistic it looks compared to the others. I am not completely sure if it is a photograph or a painting. I also noticed that this tent peg is longer than the one in the other paintings and that the clothing looks more like the time period in which this story took place, whereas the others were based on the time period in which the artist was painting.

       

This third depiction also looks photographed, like the first, but the color scheme gives it a dark undertone, highlighting the seriousness of the murder of Sisera.

In this fourth depiction I noticed that Jael is driving the peg through his left temple as opposed to his right, which is a difference from the others. I have no clue as to whether the temple side is significant or not, or if the artist had seen other depictions and just decided to be different.

In this last one, the artist chose to depict all three people involved in the story: Jael, Deborah, and Barak.  The artist appears to have established a level of importance. We can see most of Jael and she is in the very front with her hammer and tent peg, revealing that the artist considered her to be the most important figure of the story, whereas Deborah and Barak are somewhat hidden. The artist perhaps wanted to include the fact that they played a role, but not as major as that of Jael.  I am thinking that this picture would have taken place after the murder of Sisera, just by looking at Jael's expression. It looks to me to be a look of murderous rage. Deborah could be praying and thanking the Lord for allowing the Israelites to be free, and Barak looks as if he has just come home from war and is reliving what just happened in his head.

What surprises me is that there are not many varying depictions or Jael. I was not sure exactly what to expect, but it seems that nearly every artist depicts her with a tent peg in one hand and a hammer in the other. Many depict her killing Sisera while he sleeps. Seeing as there are no other stories in the Bible about her, artists do not really have much to go on, so it makes sense that many depictions are extremely similar.

Modern Midrash: Adam and Eve

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, which had no form, were empty, and were in complete darkness.  God hovered over the formless earth, said "Let there be light," and, at his command, there was light.  He separated it from the dark and called it 'day' and the darkness 'night'.  There was darkness and then light, the first day.

And then he said, "Let there be an expanse as a separation between waters, and the expanse will be called 'sky'".  Then there was darkness, and then light.  This marked the second day.

On the third day, God created land as a separation between waters below the sky, and those waters would be called seas.  God saw that this was good.  Then he said, "Let the land produce plants of various kinds, that will produce seed and reproduce."  And He saw that it was good.

On the fourth day, God created the seasons, days, and years as signs for the creatures He created on the fifth day.

On this fifth day, the Lord said, "Let the waters be filled with creatures, let birds fly above the water, and other creatures roam around on the land and communicate with man," and he saw that the creatures were good.

On the sixth day, the Lord said, "Let there be created a man in our image, like me, and let them rule over all other creatures of the earth."  So He created male and female in His image.  He told them to be fruitful and multiply, and to rule over the creatures of the earth.  He also told them to take of any green plant for food, except the fruit from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil, planted next to the Tree of Life, for if they even touched it they would surely die rather than live eternally.  And it was so.

On the seventh day, God rested from all of his work.  This day is the Lord's day, and all men are supposed to rest from all of their work from the previous days.

The Lord had formed man from the dust of the land and breathed into the man's nostrils and mouth the breath of life.  He placed him in a garden that he had planted, in Eden, and told him to take care of the land, to name the creatures and to rule over them.

When He saw the man working, he noticed that the man did not have a companion, somebody enough like him to bond and reproduce with, and said "It is not good for man to be alone.  I will make a helper and companion suitable for him."  So He put the man in a deep sleep and took from him a rib.  Then the Lord closed the wound and formed woman from the rib.  When the man woke, the Lord brought the woman to the man, and she was called 'woman', meaning 'of man'.  He taught her everything that the Lord had taught him about taking care of the land, and they did so side by side.

Now the serpent was a crafty creature, being that he could communicate with man.  He asked the woman, "Did God really say that you must not eat from the garden?"  The woman replied,  "We may eat fruit from all of the trees in the garden except that of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil.  The Lord said that if we touch it, we shall surely die instead of living life eternally."  "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "God knows that when you eat of it, your eyes shall be opened and you will be like Him, knowing good and evil."

The woman saw that the fruit was pleasing to the eye, and she ate of it.  Her eyes were opened, and she gave some to her husband, and he ate as well.  Then his eyes were opened, and they both realized that they were naked.  The man said to his wife, "let us cover ourselves, so that the Lord may not see our nakedness."  As he said this, they heard the Lord walking in the garden, and not having time to cover themselves, they hid from the Lord.  "Where are you?" the Lord asked.  "We were afraid because we were naked, so we hid," they replied.  "Who told you that you were naked?" The Lord asked.  "Did you eat from the tree that I commanded that you not eat from?"  "The woman gave me fruit and I ate it," the man replied.  "The serpent told me that I would not die if I ate it, so I ate," the woman said.

And the Lord said to the serpent, "Because you have done this, you are cursed! You will no longer have legs and you will crawl on your belly and eat the dust of the earth all of the days of your life.  I will put distance between you and the woman: you will no longer be able to communicate with her.  Her offspring, who will crush your head, and you will strike his heel."

Then he said to the woman, "I will greatly increase your childbearing pains, and your giving birth to children will be painful.  You will submit to your husband, who will rule over you."

Then he turned to the man and said, "Because you listened to your wife, the ground you work is cursed: you will have to tend to it all the days of your life because it will not willingly and easily produce fruit for you.  You will eat from the ground which you will return to, for you were formed from dust, and to dust you shall return."

The man, who was called Adam by the Lord, named his wife Eve, because she would be the mother of all the living to come.

The Lord clothed them with skins of animals, and then banished them from the garden.  Then the Lord placed angels as guardians of the Tree of Life, so that the neither man nor his descendants could take from the tree and be given eternal life.  Any man who tried to partake of it would be killed by the flaming swords that were the angels' weapons.

Because of what Adam and Eve did, nobody can live life eternally, but they do know good from evil.