Musings on biblical studies, politics, religion, ethics, human nature, tidbits from science
As per the previous posts, the table here is a simplified summary of some of the points Russell Gmirkin discusses in Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible. It is far from being a complete representation of his discussion. It is best read as an easy reference guide in conjunction with the detail covered … Continue reading “Plato’s Influence on the Bible’s Property and Agricultural Laws”
As per the previous posts, the table here is a simplified summary of some of the points Russell Gmirkin discusses in Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible. It is far from being a complete representation of his discussion. It is best read as an easy reference guide in conjunction with the detail covered … Continue reading “Slavery and Social Welfare (if any) Legislation in the Biblical and Neighbouring Worlds”
As per the previous posts, the table here is a simplified summary of some of the points Russell Gmirkin discusses in Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible. It is far from being a complete representation of his discussion. It is best read as an easy reference guide in conjunction with the detail covered … Continue reading “Comparing Biblical Laws on Marriage, Inheritance and Sexual Relations with Other Ancient Codes”
As per the previous post, the table here is a simplified summary of some of the points Russell Gmirkin discusses in Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible. It is far from being a complete representation of his discussion. It is best read as an easy reference guide in conjunction with the detail covered … Continue reading “Biblical assault and theft laws compared with Mesopotamian and Greek counterparts”
The table here is a simplified summary of some of the points Russell Gmirkin discusses in Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible. It is far from being a complete representation of his discussion. It is best read as an easy reference guide in conjunction with the detail covered in the book. The table … Continue reading “Table Comparing Homicide Laws: Biblical, Mesopotamian and Greek”
The Ten Commandments are a strange mix. They proscribe not only stealing and even the craving to have any property belonging to your neighbour. (And neighbour’s property includes his wife.) The command not to kill is certainly not meant to be interpreted literally as a general law since God elsewhere commanded lots of killing of … Continue reading “Ten Commandments: Where Did they Really Come From?”
We have covered five of the six chapters in Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible. The final chapter covers a topic that for me is the most interesting of all, but before going there Gmirkin outlines what he has covered so far. He has presented “substantial new arguments for viewing the Primary History of … Continue reading “The argument so far: Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible”
This post continues the discussion of Russell Gmirkin’s Plato and the Creation of the Hebrew Bible. All posts in the series can be accessed in the archive. –o0o– After discussing the popularity of Greek foundation stories and the appearance of the same genre in the Pentateuch, Gmirkin looks at one more type of narrative that is … Continue reading “Plato and the Hebrew Bible: Political Evolution in Literature”
I should follow up my previous post with a clarification of Weinfeld’s argument as he presented it in his 1993 book, The Promise of the Land. The bolding is mine for the benefit of those who don’t want to read lots of text but just hit the highlights. As is well known, most of the … Continue reading “Postscript on Rome’s and Israel’s foundation stories”
Weinfeld compared the Abrahamic promises that prompted his emigration from Mesopotamia to Canaan with the similar destiny prophesied for the legendary Trojan hero Aeneas at the outset of his travels: much as the descendants of Aeneas would someday found Rome (Homer, Iliad 20.307; Virgil, Aeneid 3.97-98), so Abraham’s descendants would become a great nation and … Continue reading “Comparing the Rome’s and Israel’s Foundation Stories, Aeneas and Abraham”
[Greeks] are very fond of hearing about the genealogies of heroes and men, Socrates, and the foundations of cities in ancient times and, in short, about antiquity in general . . . — Hippias speaking to Socrates in Plato, Greater Hippias, 285d –o0o– Greek foundation stories provide the closest correspondence with the Pentateuchal narratives that … Continue reading “Plato and the Hebrew Bible: Greek Foundation Stories and the Bible”
Continuing from Plato and the Hebrew Bible: Legal Narratives (esp. Panegyrics), continued . . . . There is one more Greek comparative illustration I wanted to look at before picking up with Gmirkin’s main example as I promised at the end of the previous post. I had meant to look at a section in Plato’s Timaeus before … Continue reading “Plato and the Hebrew Bible: Legal Narratives continued . . . Solon and Atlantis”
Continuing from Plato and the Hebrew Bible: Law-Giving Narratives as Greek-Inspired Literature . . . . The historical narratives of both Herodotus and Thucydides contain narratives explaining the origins of Athenian laws of three notable lawgivers in both myth and history: Theseus, Solon and Cleisthenes. (Russell Gmirkin appears to say that both historians address the latter … Continue reading “Plato and the Hebrew Bible: Legal Narratives (esp. Panegyrics), continued”
The previous post, How Does One Date the Old Testament Writings?, was a step back for a broader look through a discussion by Niels Peter Lemche at the kind of literature we find in the Pentateuch, how it compares with literature expressing similar interests and ideas found in other ancient literature, and the relevance of this … Continue reading “Plato and the Hebrew Bible: Law-Giving Narratives as Greek-Inspired Literature”