Week 12 Exegesis
Activity: What It Meant
This week in our Unit on the Pentateuch (or Torah),
we return to Genesis 34. This time, we are asking ourselves, “What kinds
of meanings would this text have had in its own ancient contexts? How can we
understand the text better by becoming more familiar with those ancient
contexts?” We are NOT (yet) concerned with our personal judgments
about those ancient contexts or meanings, and we are NOT (yet) concerned with
what the text might mean for communities today.
Prepare:
Rapidly, gain access to the following resources
(find and use EACH OF THESE THREE KINDS):
Any and all course materials that might relate
to an understanding of Genesis 34 in its ancient contexts and as part of
the Book of Genesis; do not forget lectures, such as on Prophecy.
The commentary on Genesis is by Terence E.
Fretheim and is in Volume I of the New Interpreters Bible. This is
available in-person on non-circulating reserve in the Styberg Library, or
online via the Styberg Library: https://www-ministrymatters-com.turing.library.northwestern.edu/library/ Click link and select “Biblical
Commentaries” > “The New Interpreter’s Bible” and
navigate to the desired Volume; you may need to log in with NetID.
Any and all relevant essays or videos you may
find by searching Bible Odyssey: https://www.bibleodyssey.org/ . (Bible Odyssey contains short,
peer-reviewed essays on biblical studies.) Search, browse, and have
fun! Just stay on Genesis 34 (or 32-34), focus as much as possible on its
ancient contexts, and don’t wander!
Explore these resources purposefully, staying on the
matter of Genesis 34 in its ancient contexts and as a part of the Book of Genesis.
(Not, for example, how later communities have read Genesis.) Take notes.
Now:
Post:
Write a total of about 500 words, addressing the
following. Follow these prompts in detail!
Typically, your resources will have broad
agreement about what kinds of things one must know in order to
understand the meaning(s) of Genesis 34 in its ancient contexts.
Regarding Genesis 34, in what ways do these resources agree with each
other about what kinds of things one must know in order to
understand the meaning(s) of Genesis 34 in its ancient contexts?
Often, your resources will have some notable
disagreements with one another (about matters of fact, or perhaps
major differences of emphasis). Regarding Genesis 34, what kinds of
disagreements do you find in your resources?
When you engage the realities of the ancient
world that gave rise to the stories of Genesis, do you find that any
“familiar” aspects of Genesis 34 become unfamiliar? Do you find
that any “strange” aspects of Genesis 34 become less strange?
Overall, how do you see Genesis 34 differently,
now that you have engaged scholarly conversation partners in an
exploration of “what it meant”?
