Subtle Power of God
God as an intangible entity is best understood through his interact with his creation. He gives society a glimpse into his nature through his relationships to his people and his wrath against his enemies. Taking a closer look into relationships he has had with people in the past, it’s clear that part of God’s character is to promise and deliver. God routinely entered into covenants with his people as the Torah shows us promises made then promises fulfilled. One such relationship that displayed this aspect of God’s character was God’s relationship to Joseph; son of Jacob, son of Isaac, son of Abraham. Joseph came from a long line of “promised men.” The original covenant in this family line was made to Abraham for land and progeny. It was later seen that God fulfilled his covenant with Abraham through his two sons who were dispersed to possess lands outside of Abraham’s space. God continues in the fulfillment of covenant to Abraham through Ishmael and Isaac, and later through Isaac with the arrival of Jacob, then finally and most certainly fulfilled in Joseph’s generation as Jacob had twelve sons. God promised that Abraham’s line would become many nations; in fact the men of Joseph’s generation became the twelve tribes of Israel. But what makes Joseph’s story special were the unlikely circumstances that proceeded Joseph’s ascension to a position of authority in the world ruling Egyptian empire. In this essay I will discuss how the author of Joseph’s story portrays God as a being proving his power to Joseph and Joseph’s brothers.
The first time that God proves his power through the Joseph narrative to Joseph and his brothers begins as Joseph’s brothers plot against him in Genesis 37:18-20 which tell...
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...s 13:8 suggests, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes and forever.”
18. Joseph Telushkin, Biblical Literacy: The Most Important People, Events, and Ideas of the Hebrew Bible (New York 1997) 87
19. Hebrews 13:8
Works Cited:
Kugel, James. The Bible as it Was (The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Cambridge, Mass & London, England) 1997
Swindoll, Charles. Joseph: A Man of Integrity and Forgiveness (Word Publishing, Nashville Tennesee) 1998
Telushkin, Joseph. Bible Literacy: The Most Important People, Events, and Ideas of the Hebrew Bible (William Morrow and Company, Inc. New York) 1997
Genesis 37:18-20
Genesis 37:21-22
Genesis 37:36
Genesis 50:19-20
Genesis 39: 10
Matthew 26:41
Genesis 49:22
Genesis 40:8
Genesis 41:9-13
Genesis 41:25
Genesis 41:33
Galatians 6:7-8
Genesis 41:56
Hebrews 13:8
The Bible: The Old Testament. The Norton Anthology of World Masterpieces. Ed. Sarah Lawall et al. Vol 1. 7th ed. New York: Norton, 1999. 47-97.
The Book of Job is one of the three books in the Hebrew bible whose genre is described as wisdom literature.1 Certainly the Book of Job satisfies the literary conventions that qualify a biblical book for such status. 2 Yet Job may be associated with wisdom in a much more literal sense. The Book of Job attempts to deal with a problematic question that confronts suffering humanity: why do bad things happen to good people? The variety and vehemence of commentators' contemporary responses to this chapter of the Bible is testament to the continued relevance of the Book of Job's wisdom thousands of years after it was written. Although the commentators examined herein arrive at differing and sometimes conflicting conclusions after reading the story of "the holy Arab"3, none are left indifferent.
Robinson, B. A. (2008, March 30). Books of the Hebrew Scripture . Retrieved May 7, 2011, from Religious Tolerance: http://www.religioustolerance.org/chr_otb3.htm
Metzger, B. (1997). The Canon of the New Testament: Its Origin, Development, and Significance. New York.
Harris, Stephen. Understanding The Bible. 6 ed. New York City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2002. Print.
Following the creation story of the book of Genesis is the book of Exodus. In Genesis, God promised Abraham a “great nation from which all nations of the earth will be blessed (Gen 12:1-3)” and in Exodus God completes this promise through the creation of the holy nation, Israel. Exodus tells the story of the God who rescued his people out of Egypt because of the promise he had made to Abraham. God calls to Moses to complete his promise. God’s call to Moses is not only important because he liberates the Israelites but also because God reveals His name(s) along with His true Nature. God calls upon Moses and tells him that He’s back to help the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt and that Moses is to lead them. God then gives him full instructions on what to tell the Pharaoh and, more importantly, the Israelites, who are promised, land “flowing with milk and honey”.
Works Cited Chisholm, Robert B., Jr. Interpreting The Minor Prophets. Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1990. Brown, William P. Westminster Bible Companion: Obadiah Through Malachi. Kentucky: Westminster John Knox Press, 1996. Holy Bible New Living Translation. Illinois: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. 1996. Meyers, Carol L., and Eric M. Meyers. The Anchor Bible: Zechariah 9-14.New York: Doubleday. 1993.
LaSor, W., Hubbard, D., Bush, F., & Allen, L. (1996). Old Testament survey: The message, form, and background of the Old Testament (2nd ed.). Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans
...e Biblical story weighs heavily on Joseph’s divine dream interpreting ability and the story it provides, focusing on the theme of God caring for His people and fulfilling his divine plan. The Qur’an appreciates this but sees it as a means to the end of the spread of faith to non-believers. The Christian and Jewish version of Joseph’s trials serves a greater literary purpose than the Qur’an’s version, advancing belief by showing God’s abilities and the way they may be manifested in others in order to fulfill his divine plan. However, the Qur’an expands upon the Biblical version by including additional plot points and explicitly portraying Joseph’s goals and how they align with Islamic theology. The accounts differ in functionality, but both are crucial to the holistic understanding of the story of Joseph and some of the fundamental differences between the religions.
The New Oxford Annotated Bible. Herbert G. May and Bruce M. Metzger, ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1957.
Henry, Matthew, and Leslie F. Church. Commentary on the Whole Bible: Genesis to Revelation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Pub. House, 1961. Print.
The Book of Nahum is a prophetic book concerned with pronouncing judgment upon the Assyrian capital of Nineveh, and with detailing its coming destruction at the hands of Yahweh. In light of this concern, it is not surprising that the primary image and expression of Yahweh in this piece is one of a vengeful and wrathful deity, expressing judgment in the form of destruction and desolation. These images combine to portray the character of Yahweh within the book of Nahum as a angry and judgmental God, bent on the destruction of all those who stand against Israel, a reality that readers struggle to comprehend in light of other texts, especially among the prophets, which depict Yahweh as gracious and merciful. What this essay will argue is that it is this larger textual context of the exploration of divine character, especially among the Twelve, through which Nahum should be understood, as well as through comprehension of the mythical allusions made by the author in Yahweh’s theophany. To show this, we will focus in on Nahum 1:2-3, exploring how it describes Yahweh, especially in relation to its use of Exodus 34:6-7, as well as how this compares to other prophetic texts and Jonah in particular. We will then explore the mythic qualities of Yahweh, particularly in Nahum 1:4, and how they relate to our reading of Nahum.
The story of Joseph, the prophet is a pivotal cornerstone for two of the three major Abrahamic religions. In it, both Judaic and Islamic followers have crafted a story which establish God’s ability to intervene and protect his resolute followers. Throughout time, both parties have diverged on the fundamentals of this story to benefit their definition of faithfulness. As such, Both Islamic and Judaic faiths have crafted a story in which the view of God, Joseph, and the other characters present a significant example of the power of God and Allah.
Levine, Amy –Jill and Douglas Knight. The Meaning of the Bible: What Jewish and Christian Old Testament Can Teach Us. New York: HarperOne, 2011