Do NowWhat would you expect a story about creation to

include?

Religious TextsThe Old Testament:

Genesis 1-3: The Creation and The FallGenesis 6-9: The Story of the Flood

The Book of RuthPsalms 8,19, 23, and 137

The Qur’an

Middle East

Ancient Israel

GenesisWhen reading these religious texts, remember

to think of them as pieces of literature.

The most important example of Hebrew literature is the Hebrew Bible, known by Christians as the Old Testament.

It has influenced three major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

The Bible’s authorship is a question that has intrigued people over the centuries.Many believe that the Bible is the word of God.

Through the workings of divine inspiration, human beings wrote down God’s message.

GenesisDespite the diversity of the Bible, the text is

unified by a few constant themes or insights into life.These themes include:

The power, goodness, and mercy of a single God.The covenant, or solemn agreement, into which God

enters with the Hebrew people.The tendency of humans to stray from a right, or

moral, path.The forgiveness people can win from God.

GenesisArchetypal setting

A time, place, or landscape feature that has similar significance for different peoples.

This connects people to powerful, universal human experiences.

One example is a paradise like the Bible’s Garden of Eden.

Common archetypal settings have:Opposites.A landscape that comes from watery chaos.A circle that is a symbol for the completion of

something.A great tree that connects heaven and earth.

The Book of Ruth and Psalms 8, 19, 23, and 137

These stories were first told orally and passed down by storytellers and townspeople.

The Book of Ruth is an example of the Hebrew short story.These stories are still relevant today.Many of them teach a universal lesson or contain a

story about a universal human experience, such as loss, love, or forgiveness.

Psalms are religious poems set to music.Psalms are Hebrew songs that praised a single

god, but did not have a single author.

The Book of Ruth and Psalms 8, 19, 23, and 137

Both use parallelism.A biblical style that involves stating an idea in the

first half of a verse and then, using a similar grammatical structure, repeating, negating, completing, or otherwise elaborating on it in the second half.Completion of an idea (Ruth 2:20)

The man is related to us; he is one of our redeeming kinsman.

Repetition with variations (Psalms 8:4) What is man that You have been mindful of him,/mortal

man that You have taken note of him…

Parallelism creates balance, variation, and flowing rhythm in prose and poetry alike.

The Qur’anIn the eyes of Muslims, the Qur’an (sometimes

referred to as the Koran) is viewed as the most important scripture in the world, but not the only one.

Muslims believe that Allah sent a series of heavenly books to the world.The TorahThe PsalmsThe New TestamentThe last of these is the Qur’an, which Muslims

believe to be the final revelation of Allah.

The Qur’anImagery

Language used to create word pictures by appealing to one of the five senses – sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch.

Imagery makes descriptions more vivid and abstract ideas more concrete.

An image is a single instance of imagery.“Hot, dry wind”“Cold, wet rain”

ClassworkComplete classwork worksheet.

HomeworkRead Genesis 1-3: The Creation and The Fall on

pages 44-49 of your literature textbook and answer the corresponding questions.

Do NowLook at your definition from yesterday of the

archetypal setting. How does what we read so far fit in with this definition?

Genesis 1-3:The Creation and The Fall

In what ways did you find this account of the Creation and the Fall interesting?

Why is it significant that man is created in God’s image?

Find four places where God names things. How does the act of naming seem related to creation? What does Adam’s naming of the animals show about him?

What common problems of being a human does this section of Genesis help to explain?

ClassworkComplete classwork worksheet.

HomeworkRead Genesis 6-9: The Story of the Flood on

pages 50-56 of your literature textbook and answer the corresponding questions.

Do NowWith what biblical stories are you familiar?

Genesis 6-9:The Story of the Flood

Why do you think the story of Noah has such universal and timeless appeal? 

What reason does God give for destroying humanity? How is God’s reaction both similar to and different from his earlier reaction to Adam and Eve?

Genesis 6-9:The Story of the Flood

In what ways is Noah different from the rest of humanity in his day? In addition to Noah’s virtues, why do you think God spared Noah and his family?

What is the main moral lesson that readers might learn from the story of the Flood?

ClassworkComplete classwork worksheet.

HomeworkRead The Book of Ruth on pages 66-72 of your

literature textbook and answer the corresponding questions.

Do NowWhy do you think the people who recorded the

Bible included The Book of Ruth?

The Book of RuthWhat happens to Naomi’s family during the time

they live in Moab? How do these events affect Naomi’s attitude toward life?

In what way does Ruth respond to Naomi’s instructions in Ruth 3:1-4? What does Ruth’s response reveal about her?

Do you think Boaz is an honorable man? Why or why not?

The Book of RuthIn what way is God present in the story, even

though he does not appear directly?

Does this story teach an effective lesson against prejudice? Why or why not?

ClassworkComplete classwork worksheet.

HomeworkRead Psalms 8, 19, 23, and 137 on pages 73-76

of your literature textbook and answer the corresponding questions.

Do NowWhy do you think people find comfort in reading

religious texts such as the Bible?

Psalms 8, 19, 23, 137What does Psalm 8: 6-7 say about “mortal

man”? According to Psalm 8, what role do human beings play in the universe?

In Psalm 19, what achievements do verses 2-6 celebrate? What aspect of God do verses 7-14 praise?

To what does the first line of Psalm 23 compare God? Given this comparison, to what can the believer be compared? What do these comparisons convey about the relationship between God and human beings?

Psalms 8, 19, 23, 137In what way are verses 5-9 of Psalm 137 an

answer to the command in verse 3? What is ironic or unexpected about this answer? In what way are verses 5-9 also an answer to the question in verse 4?

Why do you think songs or poetry – like Psalm 137 – are especially valuable to people in captivity? Explain.

ClassworkComplete classwork worksheet.

HomeworkRead The Qur’an on pages 84-86 of your

literature textbook and answer the corresponding questions.

Do NowWhy is it important to learn about different

religions?

The Qur’anWhich of these selections from the Qur’an did

you find most interesting? Why?

Whom does the Exordium address? Who seems to be speaking? Why does the speaker wish to be guided?

What kind of behavior does “Night” equate with goodness? What drives someone to be a good person?

The Qur’anAccording to “Daylight,” what has the Lord not

done? In what ways should human behavior reflect the Lord’s behavior?

What does “Comfort” say comes with every hardship? In what ways does this Surah offer comfort?

“Night” describes the behavior of a good man. In what ways is this description applicable to good people today?

ClassworkComplete classwork worksheet.

HomeworkStudy for test.