1. 510--Literary qualities of Biblical text
1. conclusion of Exodus
2. opening--parallels to opening of HV; building up of war fever and patriotism; appetite for fight
3. Moses as leader
2. Numbers 1, 2 9-17
1. Alternate title: "Bamidbar"--In the Wilderness--geography and metaphor--why in the wilderness; where are they going--to cross the river--Jacob's river crossing...between Egypt and Promised Land; Slavery and Freedom; Hell and Heaven--the intervening pilgrimage
2. Organization and strategy
1. Why so many numbers--Why do Canterbury and Ely--archbishops-- mention book of Numbers
2. 603K people "fit for military service"
3. speical provision for the Levites, who are handling the Tabernacle--unqualified person will die--when camp moves, tent of presence moves
4. Lord is commander--cloud is his flag or signal--clear weather move; cloudy weather stay
5. Gods commanding trumpets and shouts--as signals communications, morale raisers--the sounds of the army; the authorization of command
3. Murmuring and rebellion
1. People complain about hardship; God gets angry; Moses intercedes
2. Moses bitterly complaining 11:10-16
3. Lord distributes Moses spirit to the 70 elders--they go into ecstasy 11:25
4. God turns the meat rotten
5. Discontent and distrust of Moses' authority--god lectures Aaron and Miriam
1. God's great speech about Moses
2. Moses is the most humble--jealousy of power and distinction
3. Miriam specially punished--God says--she must be isolated as if father had spat in her face; Moses intercedes
6. Spying expedition 13--beautiful land of milk and honey, but the spies are discouraged and talk of giants in the land--impossible to conquer.
1. Obstacles to victory
7. Israelites want to go back to Egypt--again....they contest righteousness/holiness and they dont want to fight
8. God's mind is again changed, by Moses' cajoling and his manipulation--none of those who challenged him will get to the land--are they capable of it?
9. Ten times challenged me... says God--what is the issue--not respecting or believing ih authority--faith
10. Those who wont fight for the country will die in the wilderness--forty years of wanderings now imposed--except for Joshua and Caleb
11. Rebel groups go out and try to get there to the promised land on their own
12. Specification of tithes--sacrifices and offerings--the priesthood; expiation for the community--tassels in the garments--tzitzit--to remember
13. Once again issue of redemption and sacrifice; Moses taking on himself the sins of the people
1. Transferable guilt
14. Ch. 16--Korah's rebellion
1. another rebellion--like Miriam's and aaron's--why do you set yourselves up above the assembly
15. 16:15--Moses saying to God--dont listen to what these rebels are saying; covering himself
4. Authority confirmed
1. Moses demonstrates to the people that God favors him--the rebels are polluted and will be publically humiliated and punished 16:28--establishment of house of Aaron as the real priesthood against the other Levites
2. Moses tells Aaron to protect people from god's plague with the incense from a censer
3. The flowering staff is sign of Aaron's special distinction; sign to all rebels
3. Deuteronomy 34--Moses' strong hand and terrible deeds
1. --cf Michaelangelo's Moses: <A >href="http://www.kfki.hu/%7Earthp/art/m/michelan/1sculptu/giulio_2/moses.jpg "
4. Joshua
1. Opens with speech: be resolute, not fearful or dismayed--all the warriors must cross--Henry before Harfleur or Agincourt
1. Their answer: anyone who rebels will be put to death
2. [cf. Forms of rebellion in HV--cf. Boy on Poins, etc. cf. William S., cf. Scroop, etc., cf. French king and Dauphin, Scottish rebels
2. Prostitute named Rahab Ch. 2--
1. cf. Tamar and prostitution--she'll sell out; politics over principle--cf. Ehud--ally of the left hand
2. Like Rachel, she hides the spies and lies to give the authorities the slip
1. "our courage failed us; your coming has left no spirit in any of us
2. Oath made to signify hers as safe house with blood red threat, like the passover
3. Adventure story--these spies report the opposite of the previous ones--that the inhabitants are weak 2:24
3. She makes deal with them for after conquest--cf. Katharine and Alice learning English before the battle
3. Morale raising before battle--crossing the Jordan
1. Ark carried by priests
1. Waters of the Jordan are stopped--cf. Red Sea--dry ground
2. Repeated allusion to Red Sea and stones as memorializing the crossing of Jordan
2. Other kings frightened when they hear the news
3. Recircumcision following close--ch. 5--the crossing marked in many ways--rolled away the reproaches of the Egyptians--passover celebrated, manna ceases.
4. Appearance of the captain of the army of the Lord. 5:14 [Compare Jacob and Angel]
4. Capture of Jericho--a grand climax--built up to--the music of trumpets
1. The six circuits, the great shout, the restraint of the ban, the sparing of Rahab
2. Scorched earth policy--kill everybody--they belong to the lord--
1. how natives of the conquered land are treated--Machiavelli--treasury and lives...no slaves
3. Cursing the ground--cf. Vergil--burning Carthage--Scipio salting the ground of Hannibal's empire--Japan and nuclear war
5. Defying the ban--7.10-15--harboring forbidden things--cf. Bardolph
5. Judges
1. Chapters 1-4: The Wild West--like Macbeth?--left handed heros: Ehud, Samson, Jephthah, Jael
1. Brutality of chopping of fingers and toes--Marlowe's Tamburlaine; Achsah--daughter given in victory; sits on ass and makes a noise--the Taliban--cf. Also Jephtah's daughter and the Levite's concubine
2. Canaanites put to forced labor or wiped out
3. Angel condemns them for not tearing down altars
1. Assimilation vs.purity--worshipping the Baalim and Ashtaroth
4. Left handed deliverance from Eglon by Ehud 3:15--tricks Eglon who would expect sword only on left side
1. Godfather assassination--left in the toilet
2. Jephtah is another left handed hero--Alexander the Pig
3. But these judges' victories are always shadowed--Cowboy marshalls--and the order is precarious
5. Deborah the judge--She commands Barak--Ch. 4--he wont go without her, though she says he'll lose glory
1. Then losing general Sisera goes into Jael's tent, she offers him milt and thentreacherously drives a nail into his skull--nice women
2. Victory song celebrating women [ch. 5]--ironically ending with false victory song of canaanite women.
6. Ch. 19-21-The Levite's concubine
1. Cf. Story of rape of Dinah and of Lot
2. Days when no king ruled
3. Levite takes concubine; she leaves in anger and goes back to father--trash family story
4. Father in law convinces Levite to stay five days before taking daughter home, finally Levite insists on leaving
1. Sets out late, storm comes up
2. Go to Gibeah, Benjamite town, nobody takes them in--opposite of hospitality of father in law
5. Old man takes them in courteously
6. Scoundrels come to rape the Levite, old man [like Lot] offers his virgin daughter in his place; Levite pushes out his concubine--and they gang rape her all night
7. He takes her up, cuts her in 12 pieces and sends around to 12 tribes
1. Similar to story of Dinah--rape followed by bloody signal--all the Israelites assemble to take revenge
8. Good guys are no better than the bad guys--rape and war-booty in women; the Trojan war
9. Cf. Williams arms and legs and the dismemberment of the language lesson
10. War between Benjamin and alliance of other tribes; Benjamites are winning; God advises them when to attack (20:31)
11. Benjamites are ambushed and defeated in a lengthy account of battle.
12. Israelits decide they want to repopulate Benjamin tribe so they wipe out all of the tribe of Jabesh -gilead except for the virgins, whom they give to the left over men of Benjamin--great policy decisions
13. Still not enough women in Benjamin, so they encouraged Benjaminites to rape and carry off the girls of Shiloh.
14. "In those days there was no king in Israel and every man did what was right in his own eyes."--examples of this?
1. Behavior of the low life in H5?
2. Henry's discussion with Burgundy about using women in war.
6. Shakespeare and the Bible ch. 3
1. 1. "History" in Bible and Sh.--edited sequences of national heritage
2. 2. Providential history-Deuteronomic and Tudor myth
1. issue of authority vs. rebellion--disobedience
2. God as force of punishment--a plan and purpose for terrible, chaotic events
3. Link at non nobis and te deum--model of slvation
4. Henry's piety
5. Most religious and most warlike--god of battles
6. Synergism--God and human--what's the difference?--Chorus
7. Ritualization in narrative--explains source of ritual in the ritual
8. Audience partiicpation--cheerleading and collaboration
3. 3. Political history--Mach.'s reading of Bible--16th c.
1. credibility and faith--producing belief--relation between political and religious belief
2. legal justification, intimidation--threats/terror--suffering of non-combatants
3. cruelty and mercy
4. ends justify the means
5. dissimulation
1. disorient and confuse, gather intelligence-Henry's disingenuousness re the conspiracy
2. strengthen faith in miracles
3. miracle is spectacle...drama and story--back to theatre and monarchy
4. tricks--dramatic spectacles--playwright and producer--the crystal cathedral
5. state policy--the mystery=Jobs' god's power
6. beyond moral prescription
4. 4. psychohistory--academic discipline begins appropriately with Erikson's study of Martin Luther
1. murmurers--men who "do not truly believe in new things unless they have actually had personal experience of them"--no imagination, limited experience
2. the more Henry shows his true human vulnerability, the more bitter the soldiers become p. 55
3. ceremony is idol, is god
4. turning point--the crisis for Henry--is it like the crisis for Moses in Numbers 11?
5. Setting down the burden of the mystery--is there a way Moses comes back after his murmurings
5. 5. Conflicted view of monarchy--double bind