25
Oct
In several cases we find in the Hebrew Bible stories use repetitive motifs to illustrate the ideas and messages of the stories. These motifs are used in a scheme which the author uses to move the story forward, and comment on different ideas. In Genesis 4:1-16, we find the story of the struggle between Cain and Abel, which led to the death of Abel and Cain’s expulsion. When comparing the story with the act of sin and punishment of Adam and Eve in Genesis 2:4-3:24 we find analogous points that could indicate dependency between the stories.
17
Aug
A Biblical text can be a field of land mines which can create many arguments over what is actually being said. This has been the main issue in biblical interpretation for the last 2500 years, and has created many interpretations to text which can be read in different ways. One of the mechanisms used is a very close reading of what is being said, and when the text does something unexpected we look for a reason. In some cases the reason can be very simple, and in some complex. The approach depends on what the reader is seeking, and how they want to read the text. The following is an example of such a case where someone proposed an idea, and I presented a different way of reading.