1:18 More Literary World Symbols

All the "Who is Jesus" videos (including some new ones) in one clip:

Remember that next Monday's quiz will consist of the 8 symbols from last class (see Friday's post).
We didn't yet cover the last two..so we do today

7.DIVISIONS:
 see diagram on Friday's post
This simply means that the best way to catch the flow/hinges/shift of a book/text is to look for the obvious "divisions" or sections.  It is best to ignore chapters and verses, for as you can see in this example, the key divisions of Matthew start at 4:17 and 16:21.  In 4:17, we read "From this time on, Jesus began to...preach THE KINGDOM."
In 16:21, "From this time one, Jesus began to..teach about his death."  So the K represents KINGDOM, which is the topic of the major division of Matthew.



#8 ON THE QUIZ WILL JUST SAY "Give one example of any of the first seven symbols/literary devices above being talked about in  Hauer and Young textbook, pp. 269=272, even if he doesn't use the names/titles we do.

Here are five more symbols, which you'll need to know for the midterm and class discussion., but they will also be on the quiz MON. for extra credit.

9  INTERTEXTUALITY/HYPERLINKING
10  INTERCALATIION/SANDWICHING
11  ELLIPSIS/HEMISTICHE
12 DOUBLE PASTE
13 SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION/SOCIAL NETWORKING.

Details below:
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9)INTERTEXTUALITY  or "Hyperlinking"
(when one text quotes another text):
One of Chris Harrison's projects is called "Visualizing the Bible":

"Christoph Römhild sent me his interesting biblical cross-references data set. This lead to the first of three visualizations. Intrigued by the complexity of the Bible, I derived a new data set by parsing the King James Bible and extracting people and places. One of the resulting visualizations is a biblical social network. The other visualization shows how people and places are distributed throughout the text."  Chris Harrison-

But why should I tell you when I can show you?::

The bar graph that runs along the bottom represents all of the chapters in the Bible. Books alternate in color between white and light gray. The length of each bar denotes the number of verses in the chapter. Each of the 63,779 cross references found in the Bible is depicted by a single arc - the color corresponds to the distance between the two chapters, creating a rainbow-like effect." .More info about this chart, and charts of the Bible as a social network  here.





10)"Intercalation" is a "sandwiching" technique. where a story/theme is told/repeated at the beginning and ened of a section, suggesting that if a different story appears in between, it too is related thematically.  We looked at  this outline of Mark 11:


CURSING OF FIG FREE
CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE
CURSING OF THE FIG TREE

We discussed how the cursing of the fig tree was Jesus' commentary of nationalism/racism/prejudice, because fig trees are often a symbol of national Israel.  That the fig  tree cursing story is "cut in  two" by the inserting/"intercalating" of the temple cleansing, suggested that Jesus action in the temple was also commentary on prejuidice...which become more obvious when we realize the moneychangers and dovesellers are set up in the "court of the Gentiles," which kept the temple from being a "house of prayer FOR ALL NATIONS (GENTILES).

This theme becomes even more clear when we note that Jesus  statement was a quote from Isaiah 56:68, and the context there (of course) is against prejudice in the temple.
When a text reference is made to another text/Scripture, this is called INTERTEXTUALITY.  Will explain that next,.

Summary:

Most think Jesus' "temple tantrum" was due to his being ticked off about folks "selling stuff in church.". But he didn't say "Quit selling stuff in church" , but "My house shall be a house of prayer for all nations," quoting Is 56:6-8, whose context is all about letting foreigners and outcasts have a place..hmmm. He was likely upset that not that Dovesellers and money changers were doing business selling and changing , but that they were doing so in the "outer court,"  (AKA the "Court of the GENTILES"), the only  place where "foreigners" could have a pew at "attend church." They were making the temple area "a den of thieves" not (just) by overcharging for doves and currency exchange, but by robbing folks..'all nations'... of a place to pray..and to "access access" to God.

Could it be that Jesus' temple anger was targeted at racism/prejudice more than (instead of) commercialism? 
(I think you'll enjoy next month's  readings from Kraybill's "Upside Down Kingdom"  on this passage; he has a chapter called "Fumigating the Temple,"....which you might skim now, to help supplement today's discussion....Yeah, right..like you have TIME (:..)

Maybe better to read this short article I wrote on the topic for Salt Fresno Magazine:

“Temple Tantrums For All Nations"

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11)ELLIPSIS/HEMISTICHE:

Biblical verses of two or more parallel hemistiches will very often omit a word, a term or an idea already found in a previous hemistich (less common is the omission of content in the first hemistich).  The reader is of course supposed to fill in the blank on her own.  In other words, the first hemistich (or the fuller hemistich) is integral to one’s understanding of the deficient hemistiches in the same verse. This drawing of syllogisms or analogies between parallel hemistiches is of course one of the basic tools used in the analysis of biblical poetry-one used unconsciously by most readers of the Bible.  From "From the verse to the complete work"

I have always felt that Mark's fuller quotation of Jesus ( "house of prayer for all nations")
was an intentional emphasis for many and multiplex reasons, and that (thus) the mere quotation of "house of prayer" (without for all nations) in Matthew and Luke (compare all four gospel accounts here) made it all the more emphasized and underlined... conspicuous by its absence.

Of course in Matthew's overarching Jewish context and audience, all the more need to emphasize
the inclusivity of the invitation.

Of course in Matthew's overarching Jewish context and audience, all the more need to emphasize
the inclusivity of the invitation.

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12 "DOUBLE PASTE"
 Double Paste:
This represents hitting the "CONTROL V" button, "pasting" two scriptures together, or "splicing" two scriptures into one new one.  Classic example is Jesus in the temple tantrum.
ISAIAH 56:6-8 + JEREMIAH 7:11=MARK 11:16


13) SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION/SOCIAL NETWORKING.


This simply means that we are all more interconnected/interrelated than we think.
We'll see this in Matthew's text several places..beginning with the genealogy of chapter 1.

"A documentary on networks, social and otherwise"
 " (part 1):
 

Parts 2, 3,  4 , 5, (not 6)  are also online
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Kraybill, in  your  "Upside Down Kingdom," book, says,

"The Kingdom of God is a collectivity--a network of persons....more than a series of

individualized email connectionslinking the King to each subject...[It] infuses the web of relationships, binding King and citizens togeter" -Kraybill (emphases mine)

Check out  New Testament Social Networks
by clicking here.  To see chart below, click it, then click again to enlarge:

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Do you and I have any surprising common Facebook friends?  Click here 

to find out

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Don't forget to check the reading assignments..
(like the pages in Hauer and Young that were due today
and the paper due Friday)
in the class schedule tab at top of page.