Do Now What would you expect a story about creation to include?

Religious Texts The Old Testament: The Qur’an Genesis 1-3: The Creation and The Fall Genesis 6-9: The Story of the Flood The Book of Ruth Psalms 8,19, 23, and 137 The Qur’an

Middle East

Ancient Israel

Genesis When 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.

Genesis Despite 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.

Genesis Archetypal setting Common archetypal settings have: 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’an In 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 Torah The Psalms The New Testament The last of these is the Qur’an, which Muslims believe to be the final revelation of Allah.

The Qur’an Imagery An image is a single instance of imagery. 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”

Classwork Complete classwork worksheet.

Homework Read Genesis 1-3: The Creation and The Fall on pages 44-49 of your literature textbook and answer the corresponding questions.

Do Now Look 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?

Classwork Complete classwork worksheet.

Homework Read Genesis 6-9: The Story of the Flood on pages 50- 56 of your literature textbook and answer the corresponding questions.

Do Now With 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?

Classwork Complete classwork worksheet.

Homework Read The Book of Ruth on pages 66-72 of your literature textbook and answer the corresponding questions.

Do Now Why do you think the people who recorded the Bible included The Book of Ruth?

The Book of Ruth What 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 Ruth In 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?

Classwork Complete classwork worksheet.

Homework Read Psalms 8, 19, 23, and 137 on pages 73-76 of your literature textbook and answer the corresponding questions.

Do Now Why do you think people find comfort in reading religious texts such as the Bible?

Psalms 8, 19, 23, 137 What 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, 137 In 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.

Classwork Complete classwork worksheet.

Homework Read The Qur’an on pages 84-86 of your literature textbook and answer the corresponding questions.

Do Now Why is it important to learn about different religions?

The Qur’an Which 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’an According 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?

Classwork Complete classwork worksheet.

Homework Study for test.