The Bible as Literature: Old Testament

What is the Significance of Hannah's Story? Hannah presents Samuel at the temple. Part of the Nevi’im , 1 Samuel provides an historical account of the narrative of the Hebrew people. Hannah, one of the two wives of Elkanah, is introduced as the book begins. We are told little about her, other than that she is barren but still loved and cared for by her husband ( 1 Samuel 1:5 ) and that she is a woman of faith, as evidenced by her prayer in later verses. Hannah’s story, like that of many other women in the Hebrew Scriptures, is significant for reasons more prolific than those evident during an initial reading of the text. Hannah’s story is significant not only from a cultural perspective, but also from the significance of her role as the mother of a future leader, when considering her relevance in Judaism, and as a character foreshadowing Mary, who is presented as the mother of Jesus, the Son of God, in the New Testament. During the time of the ...

  As the book of Deuteronomy closes, Joshua is named as the successor of Moses. This passing on of responsibility, so to speak, sets the stage for the book of Joshua. Joshua is the first book of the Nevi’im , or prophets. It is also the first book of the Hebrew Bible to be named for its main character. Throughout the Torah, books were named for content or action, such as Genesis and Exodus. Joshua is the first book to present a focused, detailed character study of its namesake. Joshua is characterized as a hero through Jewish literature, his actions as a leader, the etymology of his name, and his family’s tribal background. Christianity presents a viewpoint that somewhat contradicts the epic hero role Judaism assigns to him; therefore, I will be including this perspective as an opposing viewpoint. The protagonist speaks to Joshua in Joshua 1:2 , telling him to take the Hebrew people across the Jordan River into the Promised Land. This makes ...