Reading the Christian Old Testament in the Contemporary World

Drawing Lessons

Arthur Szyk ◽

10.3828/liverpool/9781874774945.003.0012 ◽

2004 ◽

pp. 175-186

Author(s):

Joseph P. Ansell

Keyword(s):

Old Testament ◽

World War ◽

Young Audiences ◽

Book Illustration ◽

Contemporary World ◽

The Bible ◽

Personal Loss ◽

Book Illustrations ◽

Post War

This chapter marks Arthur Szyk's return to book illustrations after the war and the ways in which he created interconnections between his art and contemporary world events. In the years after the war book illustration continued to occupy a significant portion of Szyk's creative time. His next project was a series of illustrations for Pathways through the Bible, an abridged version of the Old Testament intended for young audiences. Here, again, Szyk found ways to connect his work to the recent world war. Both the author, Mortimer Cohen, and the illustrator provided dedications for the volume; Szyk's recalled his personal loss resulting from Nazi atrocities, thus connecting his art to the recent war. After exploring his work in Pathways through the Bible, the chapter also analyses his other works during the post-war period.

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Reading the Christian Old Testament in the Contemporary World

Wisdom, Worship, and Poetry ◽

10.2307/j.ctt1b3t793.8 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 43-66

Author(s):

Daniel L. Smith-Christopher

Keyword(s):

Old Testament ◽

Contemporary World

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Numbers 21–36

10.5040/9780300261134 ◽

2000 ◽

Author(s):

Baruch A. Levine

Keyword(s):

Social Organization ◽

Old Testament ◽

Power Struggles ◽

Near Eastern ◽

Contemporary World ◽

Linguistic Research ◽

The People ◽

The Social ◽

Ten Commandments ◽

Uncertain Future

The Book of Numbers is an account of how the Israelites wandered in the wilderness after receiving the Ten Commandments of Mount Sinai. Through this time of testing, while facing an uncertain future, the people complained repeatedly to Moses and to God. Though fraught with tension and power struggles, their pilgrimage led to the discovery that God is indeed faithful to His promises, regardless of how people behave. In Numbers 21-36, world-renowned Bible scholar Baruch A. Levine unravels the complexity and confusing details in this Old Testament book. His lucid translation, based on thorough textual and linguistic research, including the ancient Deir Alla texts, opens the door for modern readers to understand and appreciate the richness of this intriguing book. Further, Levine examines the route of the wilderness wanderings, the ancient Near Eastern context of the laws, the social organization of early Israel, and the meaning of this biblical book for the contemporary world. Destined to become a classic and to share the same glowing reception that greeted Numbers 1-20 and its publication, Numbers 21-36 also completes the Anchor Bible series' first multivolume commentary on a book of the Torah.

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Scheffler’s autopsy of poverty in the biblical text: Critiquing land expropriation as an elitist project

HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies ◽

10.4102/hts.v75i3.4991 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 75 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Temba T. Rugwiji

Keyword(s):

Rural Communities ◽

Old Testament ◽

Land Reform ◽

Poverty Reduction ◽

Fast Track ◽

Special Focus ◽

Land Expropriation ◽

Contemporary World ◽

The Poor ◽

Reform Programme

The theme of poverty has recently dominated various scholarly platforms, including academic presentations and public debates. Nevertheless, it has emerged that the rhetoric about poverty reduction seems to be the project of the elite who apparently write and speak on behalf of the poor. The plight of the majority of the poor is problematised so that transformation is superficially democratised with the ultimate aim of benefitting the elite. The present study reflects on Eben Scheffler’s contributions on poverty and the poor in the Old Testament books of the Pentateuch, the Psalms and the Proverbs. Although this study refers to Scheffler’s other works on poverty from time to time, particular attention is paid to four of them, namely, (1) ‘The poor in the Psalms: A variety of views’; (2) ‘Of poverty prevention in the Pentateuch as a continuing contemporary challenge’; (3) ‘Poverty in the Book of Proverbs: Looking from above’; (4) ‘Pleading poverty (or identifying with the poor for selfish reasons): On the ideology of Psalm 109’. Scheffler points out that it was the ancient Israelite elite who played the role of writing and speaking on behalf of the poor. It is essential to note that Scheffler’s thrust is not an appropriation exercise, although in some places he makes reference to the ‘contemporary world’. Thus, the present study attempts to explore the land debate in our contemporary world, with a special focus on South Africa’s (SA) land expropriation without compensation (LEWIC) debate and the foiled fast-track land reform programme in Zimbabwe, as elitist projects. The Zimbabwean Fast-Track Land Reform Programme (FTLRP) was a prototype of LEWIC in SA. It is argued that the poor rural communities in Zimbabwe continue to languish in poverty in a country endowed with abundant natural resources, including land. The study argues that land allocation in Zimbabwe benefitted the elite.

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