The Ordeals Of Isaac And Jacob

The biblical author had to demonstrate that the founding fathers of the model civilization-envisioned in Mosaic legislation intended as a model for emulation by other peoples and nations-were recognizably human-flawed as all humans are. One can empathize with Isaac or Jacob who are seen to be human with their faults and frailties-which one cannot do with a superhuman being. These stories illustrate dramatically there are no characters of mythic proportions, no superheroes, only normal people living in dysfunctional families, erring, doing acts that are occasionally senseless, and often embarrassing. Yet, these same people passed on an intellectual and spiritual heritage that will ultimately find full expression in the teachings found in the remaining books of the Pentateuch. The Ordeals of Isaac and Jacob focuses on what the biblical texts are telling us-explicitly and implicitly-about these men, the world in which they lived, and how they managed to preserve the covenantal heritage left to them by Abraham. Since biblical texts are not as clear as one might imagine, scholars have struggled for two millennia to comprehend what the texts are actually stating and attempting to convey to the reader. In re-examining these Texts, the author has consulted a wide range of commentaries and studies which approach the biblical narratives from a variety of perspectives, and offers some novel insights of his own.

Henry Charles Lea was one of the first American historians to use what would later be termed comparative and anthropological approaches to history. Under his pen, the study of the medieval ordeal becomes a study in cultural history. Reprinted here from the fourth revised edition of 1892, the book begins by tracing the role of the ordeal in non-Western and ancient societies, showing the mental world to which it belongs: a limited trust in the public order and purely human methods of inquiry, and a larger faith in divine intervention and immanent justice. The work then describes the uses of the institution through the European Middle Ages to its final abolition, and in the process offers a rich typology of ordeals. Additional documents included in this edition present formulas and descriptions of some of the ordeals most frequently used: the ordeal by boiling water, by hot water, by cold water, by hot iron and water, by glowing plowshares, by fire, and the ordeal of the cross.

This short-lived magazine was concerned with politics and literature; it devoted several sections to politics, and also gave attention to reviews of recent publications, poetry, and the theater. Cf. American perioidicals, 1741-1900.

This short-lived magazine was concerned with politics and literature; it devoted several sections to politics, and also gave attention to reviews of recent publications, poetry, and the theater. Cf. American perioidicals, 1741-1900.

This book represents the first comprehensive application to the whole Bible of RenŽ Girard's theories on violence, civilization, and religion.

My Ordeal in Canada is a narration of my tragic plight as a black man in Canada. I have been incarcerated five times by the police force and for no valid reasons whatsoever. I was also condemned to a psychiatric facility, admitted forcibly, without my consents and in violation of my rights as a Canadian citizen. Since I came to Canada in 1985 I have been subjected to many denials and deprivations by the prejudiced Canadian justice system which I have enumerated in my book in greater details. Since 2005 I experienced a number of discriminatory impediments imposed on me by the systemic racism that is prevalent in the Canadian justice system. I was prohibited from having access to my children for a total of more than ten years even though I committed no offense against any of them whatsoever. The Toronto police and the justice system treat black men like myself differently and impose their racially biased verdicts without any repercussions. This book highlights the various racist ordeals I was subjected to especially by the police and the Canadian justice system and by my employers. My deplorable and dismal predicaments, however, are not unique to me alone. They are paramount manifestations of the pathetic and pitiful trends and discriminations black men especially have to endure in racially biased Canada. It is my hope that by writing my story and experiences in Toronto I will influence and bring the required changes and to highlight the discrepancies customary and prevailing in the Toronto police and the Canadian justice system. I feel that I have a story to tell that will make Canada a better place to live in for all its citizens when the required changes are instituted.

In this book, John Morgan-Wynne carefully examines the pivotal figure of Abraham in the Old Testament and Early Judaism. Our earliest literary evidence concerning Abraham is the stream of tradition known as J, the so-called Yahwist source (ca tenth century BCE), and also the Elohist stream of tradition (ninth to eighth century, or perhaps earlier). The subsequent eclipse of the Abrahamic tradition in the south is probably accounted for by the stress on the Davidic monarchy. However, Abraham's profile begins to rise again during and after the Babylonian exile when Jewish theologians had to come to terms with the traumatic events of the fall of the northern and southern kingdoms. He is frequently discussed in many non-canonical, early Jewish writings as he became a figure of identification, a pre-eminently righteous man, and an example to imitate, as Jews came to terms with being a subject people and with persecution.