Paper Topics | Fall 2020 | Paper 2
Due Saturday, October 17, 5:00 p.m., in your conference leader’s Eliot Hall mailbox.
Target length: 1,500 words
1. Focusing in particular on three stories of the Hebrew Bible concerning Abraham – the Lord’s promise that Sarah will have a son (Genesis 18:1-15), Abraham’s discussion with the Lord about the fate of Sodom (Genesis 18:22-3), and the binding of Isaac (Genesis 22:1-19) – how does the Book of Genesis describe the relationship between the human and the divine? Is the account consistent from one story to another? Are there other stories in Genesis that might problematize the account? What, more generally, is the teaching of Genesis with respect to the nature or character of what is variously called God or the Lord or the Lord God?
2. In Exodus, God appears to humans many times and in many forms: as a burning bush, as plagues, as death, as a pillar of fire, as a cloud, etc. Choose three episodes of God’s manifestation. Explain the narrative and theological significance of each, in terms of the occasion, the audience, and the nature of God’s form, as well as their roles in conveying the evolving relation between God and the Israelites.
3. The fighting in the fifth book of the Iliad involves both gods and humans. Compare and contrast divine and human actions and motivations in the battle. How does direct speech (including boasting, exhortation, insults) elucidate similarities and differences between human and divine agents? What inter- and intra-group structures and norms control the events?