UC Berkeley History-Social Science Project
UC Davis Jewish Studies Program
Cultural Histories of the Hebrew Bible Summer Institute
Alison Waterman
Lesson Topic: Torah as Artifact
Lesson Focus Question: How can examining the Torah as a primary source help us learn about the way the Torah was produced and its teachings?
Lesson Teaching Thesis: Examining the Torah as an artifact enables students to consider questions about the production of the Torah and the beliefs of those who created it, rather than reading it as either a literal historical account or as a sacred text with a particular religious meaning.
History-Social Science Content Standard: (6.3) Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the Ancient Hebrews.
2. Identify the sources of the ethical teachings and central beliefs of Judaism (the Hebrew Bible, the Commentaries).
History-Social Science Analysis Standard (4) Students assess the credibility of primary and secondary sources and draw sound conclusions from them.
Common Core Standards:
6-8 Reading Standards for Literacy in History: Key Ideas and Details
1. Cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of primary and secondary sources.
6-8 Writing Standards for Literacy in History: Text Types and Purposes
1. Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content.
a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue and organize the reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources.
Reading Strategies: (1) Retell a story in chronological order. (2) Compare and contrast two Biblical texts which tell a similar story in order to consider each text’s message(s) and the implications regarding the formation/canonization of the Hebrew Bible.
Primary Source: Genesis 1:1 – 2:24, 1962 JPS translation, New Jewish Version (NJV), as excerpted in Learning Torah, a Self-Guided Journey Through the Layers of Jewish Learning, 1990, by Joel Lurie Grishaver, pp. 47-51.
Primary Source Analysis: Students will read, retell, analyze, and cite evidence from the text. See worksheet.
Writing Instruction: After comparing and contrasting the reading, discussing, and analyzing, students will write a short paragraph in which they make a claim and support it with evidence from the texts.
Writing Question: Why do you think the Torah contains different stories about how people were created? Cite evidence from the book of Genesis to support your answer.
Writing Strategy: The writing response is a structured thesis and evidence paragraph.
Name: ______Date:______Class______
The Torah: An Artifact
Activity 1: Understanding the Stories
Directions: You and your partner will each read one of the attached stories from the book of Genesis, the first book of the Torah. As you read, answer the questions for your story below. When you finish reading, share and compare your answers with your partner’s. Then complete the chart on the back.
1. Circle the story you read:
· Story #1 is from Genesis 1:1-2:4 (Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 1 through Chapter 2, Verse 4).
· Story #2 is from Genesis 2:5-24 (Genesis Chapter 2, Verses 5 through 24).
2. What name is used for G-d in your story? ______
3. What exists before creation begins? ______
4. What method does G-d use to create things in your story? ______
5. If you read Story #1, list the things G-d created on each day:
Day 1:______Day 2:______
Day 3:______Day 4:______
Day 5:______Day 6:______
6. If you read Story #2, list the order in which G-d created the following things:
a. ______earth and heaven
b. ______the garden of Eden
c. ______trees
d. ______animals, including birds
e. ______man (“Adam”)
f. ______woman (“Eve”)
7. When you finish reading your story, compare your answers to questions #2-6 with your partner’s. Then use this information to complete the chart on the back.
______
Notes about the Hebrew Bible:
· The Hebrew Bible consists of the Torah (Law or Teachings), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings). In Hebrew, the Bible is called the Tanakh, which is an acronym for its three parts.
· Genesis is the first book of the Torah; the other four are Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These books are also known as the Five Books of Moses
Activity 2: Comparing the Stories.
Story Element / Genesis 1:1 – 2:4 / Genesis 2:5 – 24 / This is important because…What name is used for G-d?
What exists before Creation begins?
What method does G-d use to create things?
What does G-d create first?
When and how are human beings created?
What happens at the end of the story?
What is the story’s message or teaching? (Explain AND provide evidence from the story.)
Activity 3: Writing a Thesis and Evidence Paragraph
Lesson Focus Question: What can historians learn by comparing the two different stories about how people were created that appear in the book of Genesis?
Writing Instructions: Suggest a reasonable explanation, and use at least two examples from the book of Genesis as evidence to support your claim.
By comparing the two different creation stories in Genesis, historians can learn that ______. For example, in Chapter 1 of Genesis, it says ______. In contrast, Chapter 2 says ______. This shows that there were differences in the details of the stories and perhaps in their messages as well. Specifically, Chapter 1 presents ______, while Chapter 2 suggests that ______. In conclusion, by comparing the stories in Genesis, historians may learn ______
______.
Genesis 1:1 – 2:24, 1962 JPS translation, New Jewish Version (NJV), as excerpted in Learning Torah, a Self-Guided Journey Through the Layers of Jewish Learning, 1990, by Joel Lurie Grishaver, pp. 47-51.
Activity 4: Using Secondary Sources
Directions: After writing a paragraph to answer the focus question, find out what the “experts” think by reading the excerpts from the secondary sources below. Then answer the following questions:
1. How does reading these secondary sources change your thinking? ______
______
2. What would you add to (or remove from) your paragraph if you were revising it? ______
______
______
The Hebrew Bible
Many of the events in the Hebrew Bible are far older than the written text itself. Scholars believe that many sections were passed down by word of mouth for centuries before they were put into writing. Historians use the Torah to understand the history of the Jewish people and the development of Judaism. In addition to the Torah, historians look for a variety of other sources of information to learn about early Jewish history. To help them understand the events and ideas of the time period, they examine archeological artifacts, as well as other written records.
Adapted from Ancient Civilizations, Prentice Hall, 2006, and The Ancient World, TCI, 2004
Biblical scholars and historians now believe the Bible was written by many people rather than by one person or by God. Their goal is to understand how the Bible was written and how it can be used as a historical artifact. The scholars use clues, such as the writing style and the names for God, to understand how the different texts within the Bible reflect the historical periods in which they were written. By studying these clues along with archeological and historical evidence, Biblical scholars try to understand the people who created the Torah.
Adapted from Learning Torah, Joel Lurie Grishaver, UAHC Press, 1990
KEY: The Torah: An Artifact
Directions: You and your partner will each read one of the attached stories from the book of Genesis, the first book of the Torah. As you read, answer the questions for your story below. When you finish reading, share and compare your answers with your partner’s. Then complete the chart on the back.
1. Circle the story you read:
· Story #1 is from Genesis 1:1-2:4 (Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 1 through Chapter 2, Verse 4).
· Story #2 is from Genesis 2:5-24 (Genesis Chapter 2, Verses 5 through 24).
2. What name is used for G-d in your story? Story #1: G-d Story #2: LORD G-d
3. What exists before creation begins? Story #1: darkness over the deep, a wind over the water
Story #2: a flow would well up from the ground and water the surface of the earth
4. What method does G-d use to create things in your story? Story #1: G-d speaks; Story #2: hands-on
5. If you read Story #1, list the things G-d created on each day:
Day 1: Day and night Day 2: Sky
Day 3: Earth, seas, plants Day 4: Sun, moon, stars
Day 5: Creatures of sea and air Day 6: Land animals and man (incl. woman)
6. If you read Story #2, list the order in which G-d created the following things:
a. earth and heaven (1)
a. the garden of Eden (3)
b. trees (4)
c. animals, including birds (5)
d. man (“Adam”) (2)
e. woman (“Eve”) (6)
7. When you finish reading your story, compare your answers to questions #2-6 with your partner’s. Then use this information to complete the chart on the back.
______
Notes about the Hebrew Bible:
· The Hebrew Bible consists of the Torah (Law or Teachings), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings). In Hebrew, the Bible is called the Tanakh, which is an acronym for its three parts.
· Genesis is the first book of the Torah; the other four are Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. These books are also known as the Five Books of Moses.
KEY: The Torah: An Artifact
Directions: You and your partner will each read one of the attached stories from the book of Genesis, the first book of the Torah. Answer the questions for your story on the chart below. When you and your partner have both finished reading, compare notes so you can complete the information for your partner’s story.
Circle the story you read:
· Story #1 is from Genesis 1:1-2:4 (Genesis Chapter 1, Verse 1 through Chapter 2, Verse 4).
· Story #2 is from Genesis 2:5-24 (Genesis Chapter 2, Verses 5 through 24).
Story Element / Genesis 1:1 – 2:4 / Genesis 2:5 – 24 / Why this mattersWhat name is used for G-d? / G-d / LORD G-d / Different groups of people may have referred to G-d by different names
What exists before Creation begins? / darkness
water (“the deep” -- may be the sea?)
wind (“a wind from G-d over the surface of the deep”) / dust
a river? (“a flow would well up from the ground and water the surface of the earth”) / More water before Creation in Story #1
More land before Creation in Story #2
Stories may come from diff. places?
What method does G-d use to create things? / G-d speaks, saying, “Let there be _____, and there was _____” / Hands-on: G-d formed the man, blew into his nostrils, planted a garden / Creation method focuses on G-d’s powers: language in Story #1,
hands & breath in Story #2
What does G-d create first? / light and darkness
(Day and Night) / Earth and heaven (or man, depending on how you read the first verse) / What is created first may be considered most important by storytellers
When and how are human beings created? / · G-d creates people last, after creating everything else
· He says, “Let us make man in our image”
· G-d creates both male and female simultaneously / · G-d creates man from dust
· creates everything else (garden of Eden, trees, animals)
· creates woman last, from man’s rib / · The relationship between man & woman seems more equal in Story #1
· In Story #2 woman was created so man would have a helper and companion
What happens at the end of the story? / G-d rests on the seventh day, after completing the work of Creation / G-d punishes the snake, Eve, and Adam for eating the forbidden fruit, then exiles them from Eden / Story #1 focuses on G-d’s Creation
Story #2 focuses on humans, and the consequences of their disobedience
What is the story’s message or teaching? (Explain AND provide evidence from the story.) / The world is a good place (“G-d saw all that He had made, and found it very good”)
People are good, with divine qualities or potential (“And G-d created man in His image”)
G-d makes people to rule over/care for the earth (“Fill the earth and master it; and rule the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and all the living things that creep on earth.”) / Knowledge of good and bad is dangerous (“but as for the tree of knowledge of good and bad, you must not eat of it; for as soon as you eat o fit, you shall die.”)
Labor is a punishment for disobeying G-d; men must work to get food; women must work to give birth (“…To the woman He said, ‘I will make most severe your pangs in childbearing’…To Adam He said, ‘Because you did as your wife said…by the sweat of your brow shall you get bread to eat’”) / Story #1 emphasizes G-d’s role in creating the world by speaking, shows humankind’s responsibility to rule over the world, suggests that man and woman are equal, and establishes the reason for the Sabbath (G-d rested on the seventh day)
Story #2 focuses on the creation of man and woman, suggests that man’s job is to tend the Garden of Eden, while woman’s role is to help man and be his companion, and emphasizes
the importance of obeying G-d, and the consequences for disobedience
Lesson Focus Question: What can historians learn by comparing the two different stories about how people were created that appear in the book of Genesis?