Overview
Here you will apply the skills of observation you practiced with Genesis 1 and 2 to another story. In this activity, you will first gather the evidence from the passages alone and then discuss with another person whether or not this is a crime.
Crimes in the Beginning Narratives
Crime as defined by a society represents a break in the legal, moral, relational codes and practices that help give a society its shape which provide for an ordered social order. As part of our class, we examine ‘crime’ in the Biblical narrative’s context. The ‘crimes’ selected are to be examined from the perspective of the biblical setting that they occur. We will explore how these affect the understanding of the narratives that the author is communicating in the particular books of the Bible.
When examining ‘crime’ in the Biblical context, it is important to distinguish violations in the Biblical context from what we as a ‘contemporary’ reader might think (some situations may or may not be crimes today). The reader should use the interpretive process to look at and attempt to describe the violations that occur within the particular story in their setting. (Note- the ‘crime’ might need to be described as it may not have a modern counterpart).
Instructions
2 Parts
Crime in the Creation(?)
First, individually read Genesis 2:15-17 and Genesis 3:1-24 and do the ‘detective’ work. Make observations about the assigned reading, considering the historical and literary context by gathering evidence from the passages.- make an interpretation about whether this is a crime. NO OUTSIDE SOURCES allowed (Jones text, Bible notes, google, etc) so that students can practice observing contexts and foundational analysis of texts.
1) Post and discuss your observations by Friday to make a case for why this is or why this is not a crime.
2) Discuss with someone who might be interested and able to engage in meaningful discussion (friend, family member, classmate) to decide and come to a conclusion together. Share briefly about the discussion (include who you spoke with) and post a final answer by Sunday.
Crimes of the Patriarchal period
Then Part 2
Group 1- Genesis 4:1-15
Group 2- Genesis 18:16-33; 19:1-25
Group 3- Genesis 34:1-31
Group 4- Genesis 38
Work individually to read the assigned passages and do the investigation using the passage and guiding questions below only without consulting outside references, such as the Jones text, Google, etc.
Discuss the ‘crime’ in that context with your chosen person. Your posts and responses should answer the following questions.
Questions to help the investigation-
What specifically happened? (Give details)
Who’s involved, to what extent? Describe their relationships?
What crime(s) occurred in this context? (Be careful, the Covenant of Sinai hasn’t been given yet AND it’s a long time before US Legal code exists.)
Describe the impact of this crime upon the characters.
How does God deal with the situation?
Why is the story included? How does this crime affect the way the story is understood?
What might the author of the assigned story want the reader to take away from the story?
