Revelations at Mount Sinai
As a Jewish individual, there are some accounts in history that you just remember since there are imbedded into your mind as a staple or the foundation for your religion and even as part of your culture. In the Tanakh, Deuteronomy 6:1 says that "And this is the instruction-the laws and the rules. - That the LORD your G-d has commanded [me] to impart to you, to be observed in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy…"(Deuteronomy 6:1). If you were to read this as a stand-alone statement, you cannot assert any explanation to what this means. However, if you were to use this as a complimentary statement to tie in Exodus 19-24, it would make sense. The reason why this statement makes so much contextual sense is that we are told the story of the Jewish peoples escaping from Egypt as well as their journey to the promise land in Exodus. Through this story, we begin to learn of the laws, the expectations, and the commands G-d gives his people.
The essentials are explained in the next few sentences. On their journey, Moses gets to Mount Sinai and is told by the holy one to climb the mountain. At this time, both he and G-d are supposedly writing the five books. Moses is also given the Ten Commandments. Now, to examine exactly what Moses and G-d did collaboratively is simple. The Torah is simply the account of the Jewish people and imbedded inside of it are six hundred and thirteen laws. Now, if you think of what the ten commandments are, they are the ten golden rules, the "critical ones" perhaps that we are taught to drive into the ground and into our minds what we must do in order to obey the Holy one.
By knowing the details above, we can then analyze this text on a scholarly level. First, it is necessary to dissect this statement. The statement: "And this is the instruction-the laws and the rules. -" says a few things. First, it says, G-d has spoken to Moses and from this conversation, the two of them have come to an understanding and agreement perhaps of what a person is required to obey. It also does not make any differentiation between the word laws and rules. G-d's uses a very definitive voice using the word "law". On the other hand, the mutual decisions made between G-d and Moses using the word "rule" is clearly heard in the text but never mentioned as LAW verses RULE.
Through the Old Testament we begin to understand and learn that Exodus is a book written by Moses a descendent of Abraham. Exodus paints the reader a picture and describes a chain of successions and Gods requests and responses from his people. Approximately, four hundred years had passed since Joseph made the profound decision to pick up his life and move his family to Egypt. Every one of Abraham’s descendants had matured and grown immensely becoming essentially over two million strong. In Egypt there was a new pharaoh ruling, one in which believed the Hebrews to be foreigners with numbers tremendously frightening. The pharaoh decided to take all of the Hebrew people and force them into slavery, hence they wouldn’t upset his balance of power.
Until 1946 there was little assumption that additional knowledge could be uncovered regarding the Holy Scriptures however through the discovery of ancient scrolls excavated in a settlement located near the Dead Sea, more details have become available to historians regarding both the first century Jewish and Christian communities. Uncovered were several hundred scrolls that have now become known as the Dead Sea Scrolls.
The commandments of the Torah provide Jewish adherents with ethical and moral teachings of Judaism. The commandments of the Torah contain: the 613 Mitzvot, Ten Commandments, Oral Torah and the Covenant. The 613 Mitzvot provides the widest administration of Jewish ethical principles, which are regarded as the basis of Jewish ethics. The Ten Commandments are a summary of the 613 Mitzvot. The first five commandments discuss the relationship between God and Jewish people, whereas the next five com...
Recapitulation is a music technique employed by various composers which reiterates a familiar theme with slight embellishments, most commonly found in Sonata-form. A similar concept, of reiterated concepts is also employed by John in the Book of Revelation. While this essay will not discuss music, it will explore the use of recapitulation in the Book of Revelation. Through the use of this literary device, John creates a pattern which accentuates the ________________. There are many theories regarding the entailment of recapitulation in the Book of Revelation spanning form the inclusion of the seals, trumpets and bowls while other theories all include the the presentation of the characters, such as the contrast
This passage from the book of Deuteronomy in the Old Testament is a beautiful command from Moses to the Ancient Israelite people reminding them that they are a chosen people of God, emphasising how they are to live as God’s chosen people and that they are called to honour and love the one and only true God. Just as the Ancient Israelites were not yet “home”, that is, were not yet in the Promised Land, and needed reminding of what was required, we also are not yet “home”. For us because of Christ, this “home” is in eternity in Heaven, and so for us this verse is as relevant as it was for the Ancient Israelites in emphasising
Many scriptures found in Deuteronomy along with several scriptures in the Old and New Testament point to Moses as being the author of Deuteronomy. One main verse that points to Moses as being the author of Deuteronomy is 31:9 which states, “9 Then Moses wrote this law and gave it to the priests, the sons of Levi, who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and to all the elders of Israel. The book of Deuteronomy never clearly states who the author is, but by all viewing all other scripture and the scripture found in the book of Deuteronomy Moses seems to be the only person that could have possibly written the book of Deuteronomy. Moses audiences in this book are the tribes of Israel. Many Jewish scholars who interpret the book of Deuteronomy believe that Moses audience were the elders of each tribe who delivered what Moses had spoke. The starting date of Deuteronomy is 1451 BC. Moses gives three speeches throughout this book, but there are five parts that make up the covenant renewal. The five parts of the covenant renewal that take place in Deuteronomy are the Preamble, Historical Prologue, Terms, Sanctions, and Ratifications. The Ten Commandments are given to people of Israel in the book of Deuteronomy. Deuteronomy is all about renewing the covenant between God and His people. God spoke to Moses and used Moses to speak to the people of Israel. The covenant renewal took place in the desert which was east of the Jordan River. Everything that took place in the book of Deuteronomy was in the Plains of Moab and in the crossing of the Jordan River to the Promise Land. The generation of Exodus was no more and Moses now led the new generation. In order for the people of Israel to enter into the Promis...
The Book of Leviticus genre is law. According to our text Leviticus author is anonymous, but the evidence points to Moses as the writer. (Illustrated bible survey Pg. 62.) The book was written around 1445 BC after the renewal of the Mosaic covenant. The major theme of the book of Leviticus seems to point to holiness and ceremonial cleanness. Leviticus is seen as a worship guide for priest and layman. The purpose of this book was to teach Israel how God expected them to act as the chosen people of God. Some major events that took place in the book of Leviticus are Moses explains that sacrifices are essential for Israel to have access to God. Moses gives the laws of sacrifices which shows how God expected to them to make atonement for their sins. Specific offerings included in the book of Leviticus are the sin offering, the guilt offering, the burnt offering, the grain offering, which was how the Israelites where to pay for their sins. Appointed festival which were to be sacred include the Sabbath day, the Passover and f...
This section of exodus focuses on Moses, an Israelite who was raised as an Egyptian, who has fled from Egypt after the Pharaoh tried to kill him for killing an Egyptian man. By Exodus 3:1 Moses is married to Zipporah daughter of Jethro who gives him a job working as a shepherd. While tending to his animals Moses arrives at Horeb also known as Mount Sinai or the Mountain of God. Here Moses has his first theophany with God in the form of a burning bush. During this passage God talks to Moses telling him what he needs to do: go to Egypt and convince the Pharaoh to let the Egyptians go by performing a series of miracles. What god is asking Moses to do is intimidating. At this time the Pharaoh was the ruler of Egypt who had a powerful army and the Israelite’s weren’t going to be easy to convince that God sent him. Despite the “signs” Moses is reluctant to take the role beca...
This essay will argue that the eschatology of the Book of Revelation forms an integral part of John’s attempt within the pages of his book to form a literary world in which the forms, figures, and forces of the earthly realm are critiqued and unmasked through the re-focalization of existence from the perspective of heaven. It will attempt to show that, in response to the social, political, religious, and economic circumstances of his readers, the Book of Revelation forms a counter imaginative reality. Through drawing upon an inaugurated sense of eschatology and evocative imagery, John is able to pull the reader in and show them the true face of the imperial world and consequences of its ideology, forcing the reader allegiance to fall with either ‘Babylon’ or the New Jerusalem.
No part of the Bible and its interpretation is more controversial than the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is the last profound book in the New Testament. It conveys the significant purpose of Christianity by describing God’s plan for the world and his final judgment of the people by reinforcing the importance of faith and the concept of Christianity as a whole. This book was written by John in 95 or 96 AD. What is, what has been, and what is to come is the central focus of the content in Revelation.
“And Moses brought the people out of the camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mountain quaked greatly. And when the blast of the trumpet sounded long and became louder and louder, Moses spoke, and God answered him by voice. Then the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up.” (Exodus 19:17-20, Macarthur, 1997) In the Sinai wilderness, there lies a holy, sacred mountain, Mount Sinai (Jebel Musa), “the mountain of Moses.” This sacred mountain, once made the Israelites tremble with fear at the site of thick smoke and the loud sound of trumpets at the descending of the Lord. The Lord spoke with Moses at the top of Mount Sinai while this thick smoke created by the hand of the Lord covered the mountain, prevailing the Israelites from gazing upon the holiness of the Lord and anyone who touched the base of the mountain would die. Apart from the graveness of what would happen to the Israelites if they were to disobey the Lord, Mount Sinai became this “sacred” place, a holy ground, where Moses (who was the son of a Hebrew slave, born in Egypt and called by the name of the Lord to deliver the Israelites out of exile to the promised land) was once in the presence of the Almighty, Jealous, Holy and All-Powerful Yahweh. Standing in the presence of the Lord, Moses received the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were two stone tablets, breathed to life by the spoken word of the Lord, a symbolic covenant to the Israelites from the Lord. From a biblical, theological perspective, Mo...
The Book of Exodus encompasses several of the most significant individuals, as well as events. In the Book of Exodus, Moses was a prominent character that was discussed seemingly throughout the text (Harper 's Bible Dictionary 1952, 655). The Book of Exodus is a segment within the Pentateuch, which covers the first five accounts of the Old Testament. There are three noticeable premises that are accentuated in Exodus, which are deliverance, the covenant, and the Promised Land. The opening section of the Book, which is separated into two parts, is the first eighteen chapters, which review Moses’ lifetime, the dilemmas that the Israelites’ met whilst in Egypt, and the events and plagues that drove the Israelites’ to ultimately depart from Egypt.
One translation for the word “Torah” is law (Lawton, 2007). This is because the Torah is largely made up of laws, containing 613 rules for how devout Jews should conduct their lives (Lawton, 2007). The purpose of these laws, or mizvots, is to define the right or ideal relationship, one should have with God.
Revelation identifies itself as “both an “apocalypse”…and as prophecy”, making it distinctly different from the rest of the New Testament. “Jewish apocalyptic literature flourished in the centuries following the completion of the OT canon”, and it is scattered throughout the Old Testaments in books such as Daniel, Ezekiel, and Isaiah. Apocalyptic literature is full of “visions that dramatize the prophet’s admission to God’s heavenly council”, and convey their meaning primarily through symbolism. John brings a “balanced message of comfort, warning, and rebuke” in Revelation, testifying to the end of the world and the second coming of Jesus Christ. Apart from the OT literature, Revelation shows a distinct optimism toward the end of days, for “Christ’s death has already won the decisive victory over evil”, with the Kingdom of God already among believers. This book was written in “approximately A.D. 95 on the island of Patmos”, which is still standing to this day. It was written under the emperor Domitian, with Roman authorities exiling John “to the island of Patmos (off the coast of Asia)”. The events in Revelation are also “ordered
Tarwater explains that even through the small snippet of information how “the God we serve in the New Testament is the same God who worked on behalf of the people of Israel in Exodus.” Through the last chapters, I began to appreciate Jesus’ teachings and the correlation to the commandments of the Old Testament. Before this book, reading through the Old Testament did not bring about the importance within the books of Leviticus or Numbers. However, the author’s strong statement “the laws were meant to demonstrate how obedience and holiness were to permeate every aspect of the people’s lives” highlights the nature of the Bible to be a continual work highlighting God’s mercy and forgiveness. Digging deeper into the context of the stories through the author’s visual narrative that I could see how the theme of each book extended into another. Ultimately, the book of Leviticus is clarified with the realities of how sinful the people are and why God had to ultimately bring to earth His son to take away our