#oldtestament

[walkthroughtheword]

Prayer for October 1st

Heavenly Father, please protect our children from harm. There are evil people intent on taking away their innocence and causing them damage. Protect them from this danger and give people the courage and strength needed to keep them safe. Lord, we pray that a revival would occur in our children and that they would be a growing testimony to the goodness of Jesus Christ. It’s in his mighty name we pray. Amen.

[ptseti]

The Catholic Church didn't like the Moors, so they rejected the Old Testament. They whitewashed biblical imagery, legalised slavery and kicked off the Renaissance.

[orthodoxydaily]

PSALMS: 28 (29)

1 A psalm by David; the final day of the Feast of Tabernacles.

Bring to the Lord, O you sons of God, Bring to the Lord the sons of rams; Bring to the Lord glory and honor. 2Bring to the Lord the glory due His name; Worship the Lord in His holy court. 3The voice of the Lord is upon the waters; The God of glory thundered; The Lord is upon the many waters. 4The voice of the Lord is strong; The voice of the Lord is full of majesty. 5The voice of the Lord shatters cedars, And the Lord shall grind to powder the cedars of Lebanon; 6And He shall grind them fine like the young bull, and like Lebanon, But His beloved shall be like a son of unicorns. 7The voice of the Lord cuts through fiery flames; 8The voice of the Lord shakes the desert, And the Lord will shake the desert of Kadesh. 9The voice of the Lord causes deer to calve, And uncovers the thickets; And in His temple, everyone speaks of His glory. 10The Lord shall dwell in the deluge, And the Lord shall sit as King forever. 11The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.

NOTES: 28 Ps 28 is a prophecy concerning the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River, celebrated in the services of Theophany (Epiphany). Both words, epiphany and theophany, mean “manifestation” or “revelation,” and theophany has the additional meaning, “revelation of God.” The God who is revealed in Christ’s Baptism is God the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thus this event also reveals that Jesus Christ (the Son) is one of the Trinity. Ps 28 reveals the Father as the voice speaking from heaven at Jesus’ Baptism (vv. 3–5, 7–9; see also Mt 3:17; Mk 1:11; Lk 3:22). It also reveals the Son (His beloved, v. 6) and the Holy Spirit (fiery flames, v. 7; see also canticles four and five of Compline in the Forefeast of Theophany). Unicorns (v. 6) are often symbols of purity. Verse 3 is used as the prokeimenon in the following places in the services of Theophany: before the Isaiah readings in the First, Third and Sixth Royal Hours; before the Gospel reading in the Great Blessing of the Waters; after Ps 37 and within the first canon of canticle four in Orthros; and before the Gospel reading in the Divine Liturgy. And in addition to this, vv. 1–11 are read as one of the psalms in the Third Royal Hour.

Thomas Nelson. The Orthodox Study Bible: Ancient Christianity Speaks to Today's World

[whencyclopedia]

Book of Genesis

The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Jewish scriptures and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Genesis takes its name from the opening line in Hebrew – beresit, ("in the beginning") – later translated into Greek as genesis ("origin"). Genesis is the first text of what eventually became designated the Pentateuch, the Jewish Torah ("teachings"): five books of the Laws of Moses.

The Documentary Hypothesis

Genesis consists of a variety of literary details: myth, hymns, prayers, sacrifices, rituals, oracles, folk tales, and historical narratives. Tradition claimed that the first five books were written down by Moses, who passed them to his general Joshua when the Israelites arrived in Canaan from Egypt. In the 19th century, the social science disciplines of archaeology, anthropology, and sociology emerged and were utilized to study ancient civilizations and ancient texts. What is noteworthy in Genesis is that several of the stories are repeated, but with varying details. At times, the God of Israel is referred to as "Lord," but at other times as "God almighty." When this occurs we also find theological differences, as well as indications of changing historical contexts that included politics.

After the period of the united monarchy under King David and his son, Solomon (c. 900 BCE), two separate kingdoms were created: the Northern Kingdom of Israel and the South Kingdom of Judah. A way to explain the formation of the text was proposed by Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918), who taught at the University of Göttingen in Germany, in what became known as the Documentary Hypothesis. As we do not know who actually wrote the biblical texts, the various elements were assigned to a source:

J, the Jahwist, or Jerusalem source The Hebrew name of God (revealed in the book of Exodus) consisted of four consonants, YHWH ("I am that I am"), described as the tetragrammaton. We have the German J, for the pronouncement of the Y sound. The later Masoretic version added vowels, which gives us the English version, Jehovah (which does not appear in the Bible). The J source utilized anthropomorphic portraits of God; "the face of God," "the hand of God." In these texts, God often visits the earth.

E, the Elohim source The E comes from a form of the Canaanite el, pluralized as representing several aspects of the godhead, but also from the tribe of Ephraim, settled in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. The E source portrays God as a more abstract being who does not come to earth, but communicates through angels.

P, the Priestly source The P source is a collective term for priestly concerns. This includes the sacrifices, rituals, hymns, prayers, and the begats of Genesis. The Hebrew begat ("brought forth") was the term for procreation. All ancient cultures emphasized bloodlines in detailed genealogies. This validated concepts and practices handed down through the generations. In oral cultures, the repeated lists of the begats may have been a way to memorize oral traditions.

D, the Deuteronomist source This source was named after the last of the five books assigned to Moses (Deuteronomy). It is a collective term for the final form of the traditions that were written down. In 722 BCE, the Neo-Assyrian Empire invaded the Northern Kingdom, and refugees from the North migrated to Judah. This may be when northern traditions were first joined to southern traditions, combining the J and E sources.

In 587 BCE, the Babylonian Empire invaded Judah and destroyed the Temple of Solomon. At that time, some Jews were taken captive to the city of Babylon. This period is known as the Babylonian exile." The theory is that the "Deuteronomist," either a person or school of scribes, completed the final redaction, or editing, of all the combined sources while in Babylon, beginning c. 600 BCE, but with further editing over the next several centuries (in a range from 538-332 BCE).

Jews Mourning the Exile in Babylon

Eduard Bendemann (CC BY-SA)

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[portraitsofsaints]

Saint Hannah, Mother of Samuel

12 C. BC

Feast Day: December 9

Patronage: Childless and infertile women, and poverty

Saint Hannah is an Old Testament (1st Book of Samuel) wife, whose marriage to Elkanah was barren. Even though Elkanah loved her dearly, he married Peninnah, who bore him many children. Hannah grieved bitterly and prayed fervently in the temple over her misfortune. The priest Eli learned of her story, gave her a blessing and she conceived and bore Samuel. (meaning; Asked from God, or God heard) Samuel served Eli and became one of the greatest of the Judges in the Old Testament.

Prints, plaques & holy cards available for purchase here: (website)

[minkoffpictures]

[stefanzl]

Another one of my old maps that I made, Twelve Tribes of Israel according to the Bible

[russianicons]

The given icon of the Theotokos of the Unburnt Bush was painted circa 1600-1633 at the Church of the Intercession on Luza in Russia. This famous type of image is also known as the Burning Bush icon. Its plot revolves around the miracle witnessed by Moses in the Old Testament. Now, take a look at the composition. Traditionally, it consists of two overlapping diamonds: the red one features the four Evangelists, and the green one usually depicts the archangels at its corners. As of today, the featured icon is in the collection of the notable Andrey Rublev Museum.