Mythology and Folklore UN-Textbook: Biblical Units

Showing posts with label Biblical Units. Show all posts

Myth-Folklore Unit: Bible Women

Overview. This unit focuses on the stories of Bible women in both the Hebrew Bible and also in the Christian New Testament. The first cycle of stories is about women associated with the Jewish patriarchs of the Book of Genesis: Adam and Eve; Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar; Isaac and Rebekah, Jacob, Rachel, and Leah; and also Joseph and Potiphar's wife. The next series of stories is about remarkable women from later books of the Hebrew Bible: Jephthah's daughter, Delilah, Hannah (mother of Samuel), the witch of Endor, Bathsheba, and Esther. I've also included the famous story of Susanna as told in the apocryphal chapters of the Book of Daniel. Then, the final stories come from the New Testament Gospels, with accounts of Mary, Elizabeth, Anna, Herodias, Martha, and her sister Mary. Some of these stories are very well known, others less so, but when taken all together they show you the great range of roles that women play in the Bible's stories.

Language. The stories here come from the King James Version of the Bible. So, if you find the King James Bible hard to read, this is not a good unit to pick. Because the stories of these women are often scattered in pieces throughout a given chapter of the Bible which I have pulled together in a continuous narrative here, it would not be easy to follow along using a different translation.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Bible Women. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit has notes from me on each page, but please feel free to ask questions, too! You can leave comments here just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you are interested in Bible topics, I strongly recommend the Folklore of the Holy Land unit coming up in the Middle East module, which features Jewish, Christian and Islamic folklore, centered on the city of Jerusalem.

Read More. In this unit, you read only about a few of the many women whose stories are found in the Bible. If you want to read more, here is a very long list of Bible women, with links to the Wikipedia articles about them, which in turn provide Bible citations and other references. It's a great topic to explore!

Free audiobook available!

READING A

READING B

(Rebecca at the Well, by Murillo)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Gospel of Mark

Overview. In this unit, you will read to get the Gospel of Mark in its entirety, examining an account of the life of Jesus that begins with his encounter with John the Baptist and ends with the crucifixion and resurrection. While the Gospel of Mark comes second in the traditional arrangement of Biblical books, most scholars agree that it is the first of the gospel narratives to have taken shape in the written form in which we know it. Each of the Gospel narratives has a special character of its own, and the Gospel of Mark is notable for its emphasis on Jesus's deeds as a healer, an exorcist, and a worker of miracles, what the Greeks would have called a "thaumaturge," a wonder-worker. As you will see, I have removed the traditional separation of the Bible story into separate verses (which were not part of the original Greek text), so even if you are familiar with this gospel, I hope you will have a new reading experience as you consider the text in the context of this class.

Language. The translation used here is the King James Version, but you could easily choose to read this in the translation of your choice since the reading consists of the entire Gospel of Mark; nothing has been omitted because the length of this gospel is around 15,000 words, exactly the right length for the reading units in this class. So, if you have a different Bible translation that you prefer to read, feel free to do that!

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Gospel of Mark. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you are interested in these topics, I strongly recommend the Folklore of the Holy Land unit coming up in the Middle East module, which features Jewish, Christian and Islamic folklore, centered on the city of Jerusalem. You might find it intriguing to compare the Life of the Buddha that is coming up in the India module.

Read More. In this unit, you read only the Gospel of Mark, but of course there are three other Gospels, each quite distinct and different from the other.

Additional Resources. For a commentary on Mark, I can highly recommend the very user-friendly Red Letter edition; it's one of those books you can find super-cheap at Amazon: Gospel of Mark Red Letter Edition.

Free audiobook available!

READING A:

READING B:

(6th-century icon)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Women Saints of the Golden Legend

Overview. This unit contains stories from the Aurea Legenda, The Golden Legend, a monumental collection of lives of the saints from the late Middle Ages. The version you will be reading here is a slightly modernized rendering of the English translation published in 1483, making it one of the earliest books to be printed in the English language. I have focused on legends of women saints, arranged according to their holiday in the calendar of saints, starting with Saint Juliana, who is celebrated on February 16 and ending with Saint Eugenia, whose holiday comes on Christmas Day, December 25. You will find stories of martyrs here, along with miracle-working saints, and even several women who lived their lives disguised as men. There is also an amazing story about Saint Martha, who traveled with her sister Mary Magdalene to France after the death of Jesus and gained fame as a dragon-slayer!

Language. Although the language used here has been modernized from the original 15th-century translation, it is still very archaic in style (even more so than the King James Version of the Bible). So, make sure you take a look at a couple of the stories to see what you think of the language. For any of you who are English majors or if you have studied a foreign language, I think you will find this to be a great language adventure, but you should definitely take a look first to see what you think!

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Women Saints. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit has notes from me on each page, but please feel free to ask questions, too! You can leave comments here just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you enjoy reading about these Women Saints, you might want to read Dante's Inferno coming up in the European module at the end of the semester; Dante provides yet another profound perspective on Christianity in the Middle Ages.

Read More. In this unit, you read only a tiny part of the Golden Legend. There are many more saints whose lives you can find there, including many men of course, along with yet more women. If you want to read the whole book, you can find it online in various formats: Voragine's Golden Legend.

Additional Resources. You can also find abundant information about the saints at the Wikipedia Saints Portal.

READING A:

READING B:

(Saint Martha and the Tarasque)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Saints and Animals

Overview. There are literally thousands of Christian saints, and the legends of the saints are an essential part of the Christian storytelling tradition. This unit, based on Abbie Farwell Brown's Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts, focuses on legends of the saints in which animals play a central role. You might be familiar with Saint Francis of Assisi, but the other stories you will read here are probably new to you. There is Kentigern, the patron saint of Glasgow, who was able to bring a beloved bird back to life, and Saint Ailbe (a.k.a. Saint Elvis), who was raised by wolves. Some of the stories are told in the form of ballads, like the Ballad of Saint Anthracta, a sort of fairytale princess who prefers instead to run with the wild things, or the Ballad of Saint Felix, whose life was saved by a kindly spider. These saints come from different time periods and different countries, but they all share a spiritual, even supernatural, connection to the animal kingdom.

Language. This is a modern retelling of the lives of the saints, so the language should give you any problems. Three of the stories are told as poetry, but if you read the poems out loud, you should not find them too difficult. In fact, you might even be inspired to write a story in verse yourself!

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Saints and Animals. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you are interested in animal tales with a religious theme, I strongly recommend Babbitt's Jataka Tales coming up in the India module.

Read More. In this unit, you read only part of the book. If you want to read the whole book, you can find it online in various formats: Book of Saints and Friendly Beasts. For a quick glance at the table of contents, see the online book presented at the Baldwin Project.

Additional Resources. You can also find abundant information about the saints at the Wikipedia Saints Portal.

READING A:

READING B

(Saint Francis, 13th-century fresco)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Adam and Eve

Overview. This reading unit starts by reviewing the story of Adam and Eve as told in the Biblical book of Genesis, and then you will get to see how different storytellers over the centuries have filled in the gaps and also expanded on that story. In the stories from The Legends of the Jews by Louis Ginzberg, you will learn more about Adam and Eve's life in Paradise, including the fall of Satan and also the legend of Adam's first wife, Lilith. Then, in "The First Book of Adam and Eve" (a medieval Christian text, from The Forgotten Books of Eden anthology), you will read about the trials and tribulations that Adam and Eve faced when they left the Garden of Eden and entered into the "Cave of Treasures" which God prepared for them to alleviate their punishment.

Language. This unit consists of three very different types of material, so make sure you check out a few paragraphs from each section to see what you think. The Genesis pages come from the King James Version of the Bible (although you can choose to read a different Bible translation if you want). Next come the Jewish legends collected by Louis Ginzberg and retold in contemporary English; these should not pose any real problem. Finally, there is a modern English translation of the ancient Syriac Book of Adam and Eve.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Adam and Eve. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you are interested in this topic, I strongly recommend the Folklore of the Holy Land unit coming up in the Middle East module, which features Jewish, Christian and Islamic folklore, centered on the city of Jerusalem.

Read More. In this unit, you read only part of Ginzberg's amazing (and enormous!) study of Jewish folklore and the Bible. If you want to read the whole book, you can find it online in various formats: The Legends of the Jews. There is also much more to read in the "Book of Adam and Eve," which you can read online as part of The Forgotten Books of Eden.

Additional Resources. You can find a good overview of extra-Biblical literature of all kinds at Wikipedia: Biblical Apocrypha.

Table of Contents:

Free audiobooks available:

Genesis - Ginzberg - Adam & Eve

READING A:

The Creation (Genesis)
The Fall (Genesis)
The Ideal Man (Ginzberg)
The Fall of Satan (Ginzberg)
Lilith (Ginzberg)
Eve (Ginzberg)
Paradise (Ginzberg)
The Fall of Man (Ginzberg)
The Punishment (Ginzberg)
The Punishment, cont. (Ginzberg)

READING B

Leaving the Garden (Book of Adam and Eve)
Entering the Cave of Treasures (Book of Adam and Eve)
They Die a First Time (Book of Adam and Eve)
The Beasts of the Creation (Book of Adam and Eve)
Want of Water and Light (Book of Adam and Eve)
The Darkness (Book of Adam and Eve)
The Sunrise and the Serpent (Book of Adam and Eve)
Suicide and Salvation (Book of Adam and Eve)
Worship and Blessing (Book of Adam and Eve)

(The Fall, by Michelangelo)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Noah and the Ark

Overview. In this unit, you will read the story of the Flood and also the story of the Tower of Babel from the Biblical Book of Genesis. Then, you will read a wide variety of legends reported by Louis Ginzberg in his monumental collection, Legends of the Jews. There are stories about the creation of the ark as well as about life on the ark during the flood, including strife and intrigue among the animals. The peculiar relationship between Noah and the crow is especially surprising! You will also find out just how Noah got the details he needed to build the ark (a story that begins with some shocking revelations about Adam and Eve), and you will see just what role Satan played in the Biblical story of Noah's drunkenness.

Language. This unit consists of two types of material. The first part comes from Genesis, King James Version of the Bible, but you can choose to use any Bible translation you want. The rest of the unit consists of Jewish legends collected by Louis Ginzberg and retold in contemporary English; these should not pose any real language problem.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Noah. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you are interested in Biblical legends, I strongly recommend the Folklore of the Holy Land unit coming up in the Middle East module, which features Jewish, Christian and Islamic folklore, centered on the city of Jerusalem.

Read More. In this unit, you read only part of Ginzberg's remarkable collection of Jewish Biblical legends; it is a book (four volumes!), that I can highly recommend in its entirety! If you want to read more of this book, you can find it online in various formats: Legends of the Jews.

Additional Resources. Wikipedia has a marvelous article on Noah (including a section on the Noah legend in Islam), and you can also find an informative article there about Flood Myths and Legends from around the world, with a long list of links to articles about specific flood myths.

Free audiobooks available!

Genesis - Ginzberg

READING A:

READING B:

(from the Nuremberg Chronicles)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Infancy Gospels

Overview. In this unit you will read the Biblical accounts of the birth and childhood of Jesus as told in the gospels of Luke and Matthew, and then you will read two of the most influential infancy gospels, The Protevangelion of James and The First Infancy Gospel (both found in Platt's The Lost Books of the Bible), which explore those events in great detail. The extra-Biblical texts build on existing Biblical details to create stories about the marriage of Mary and Joseph, the birth of Jesus, and the many miracles that Jesus performed both as a baby and as a young boy. While these books did not form part of the Bible, they were widely known throughout the Middle Ages and provided the inspiration for many works of art, such as the medieval illustration below which shows the pagan idols toppling to the ground in abject terror at the arrival of the infant Jesus into Egypt.

Language. The first part of his unit consists of selected passages from the gospels of Luke and Matthew in the King James Bible but without too much trouble you could find the same passages in the Bible translation of your choice. The remainder of the unit consists of modern English translation of the ancient apocrypha, and the language used should not pose any particular problem.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on two pages total: Infancy Gospels. Click "Older Posts" at the bottom of that page to see the second page.

Notes. This unit does not have notes on every page yet, so please feel free to ask questions if something is not clear — and your questions will help me write better notes, too! You can ask your question by leaving a comment, just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you are interested in Biblical legends, I strongly recommend the Folklore of the Holy Land unit coming up in the Middle East module, which features Jewish, Christian and Islamic folklore, centered on the city of Jerusalem.

Read More. In this unit, you read only part of the Infancy gospel tradition. If you want to read more, especially about the legends of Mary's earlier life, you can find those books included in Platt's The Lost Books of the Bible online. For a quick glance at the table of contents, see the online book presented at Sacred Texts Archive.

Additional Resources. Be sure to look at the Wikipedia articles on the Protoevangelium of James and the general overview in the New Testament Apocrypha article.

READING A:

READING B:

(The Idol Falls)

Myth-Folklore Unit: Jewish Fairy Tales

Overview. This marvelous collection of stories — Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends by Gertrude Landa — covers a broad range of Jewish storytelling, touching on many different places in the world where the Jewish people have lived. There are legends about characters you will recognize from the Bible, such as Noah, David, Moses, Elijah, and Abraham's irresistibly beautiful wife Sarah. There are also legends from more recent times, such as the anecdote about Godfrey de Bouillon and Rashi, and also the famous legend of Rabbi Lion of Prague, the creator of the "Golem of Prague," a monstrous creature which is referred to here as a "bogey-man." There are some great animal legends too, such as the story of Noah and the unicorn, an explanation of why the cat and the dog are no longer friends, and a delightful fairy tale about a magical, shape-shifting frog.

Language. These stories are told in contemporary English; the language used should not pose any difficulties.

Navigation. You will find the table of contents below, and you can also use this link to see the story posts displayed on a single page: Jewish Fairy Tales.

Notes. This unit has notes from me on each page, but please feel free to ask questions, too! You can leave comments here just like at any other blog. You can also rate each page with the star ratings checkbox at the bottom of each post. Your feedback and questions are much appreciated!

Connecting Units. If you are interested in Biblical legends, I strongly recommend the Folklore of the Holy Land unit coming up in the Middle East module, which features Jewish, Christian and Islamic folklore, centered on the city of Jerusalem.

Read More. In this unit, you read only part of Landa's marvelous book. If you want to read the whole book, you can find it online in various formats: Jewish Fairy Tales and Legends. For a quick glance at the table of contents, see the online book presented at Sacred Texts Archive.

Additional Resources. Another wonderful resource for Jewish folklore online is Ginzberg's multivolume Legends of the Jews. Plus, Landa herself has another volume of stories you can find online: Jewish Fairy Tales and Fables.

READING A:

READING B:

Pages