Please answer the following questions with an essay response (400 word minimum and 600 word maximum):
Select a passage from the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and provide a brief interpretation of the text from several angles. First, discuss the passage from a Jewish perspective. Second, discuss the passage from a Christian perspective. Third, discuss the passage from an academic, religiously neutral perspective (i.e., general reading of the text). Fourth, discuss the passage from a personal perspective, or in other words, your personal response/reaction to the passage. Please see the example below for guidance.
Example:
An example of such a reading might be to select Genesis 22, the “akedah”, where Abraham is asked to offer Isaac as a sacrifice. To address the four perspectives above, I might discuss first, how this passage is about the ‘testing’ of Abraham’s commitment to the covenant made in Genesis 12. Here, Abraham is ‘faithful’ and because of this, his covenant with God is solidified as Isaac lives, marries, has Jacob and Esau, and the formation of the ‘Jewish people’ is able to begin. From a “Christian” perspective, I might discuss how this passage is a ‘foreshadowing’ of the ‘resurrection’ from the dead or even the resurrection of Jesus (e.g., see the Hebrews 11:17-20 in the New Testament). From an academic perspective, I might discuss the text within the framework of the ‘sources’ of Genesis. I could discuss the role of the “J Source” in the composition of Genesis 22, and how knowing this might impact our reading (e.g., the interactions between the divine and humans in J are very intimate, personal, etc.). In regard to a ‘personal’ response/reaction to the story, I might discuss how challenging the text is at several levels. How could YHWH ask Abraham to offer Isaac? Is this cruel? How should I read this theologically? I might discuss how this passage feels as a parent of two children (who I could NEVER sacrifice!!!).