Malka, one of the last living eyewitnesses to many of the events he relates, documents the lives of the Sephardic Jews in the Sudan through the 20th century. Part one details the development of a prosperous Jewish community in the Sudan--from its origins as an isolated group in the turmoil of the Mahdi's revolt in 1881, through the community's most vibrant years in the 1930s and 1940s, to its final demise in the 1960s. Part two contains the author's autobiography. Annotation copyrighted by Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
To study the nature and role of material possessions in the Jacob-cycle will result in a deeper understanding of the Jacob-story itself within the wider context of Genesis and the Pentateuch.
The very suggestion that there may be homoeroticism in Hebrew narrative may seem odd given the supposition that the religion and culture of ancient Israel resolutely opposed same sex erotic relationships. The apparent prohibition of homosexuality in Leviticus and the story of Sodom from Genesis have been made to speak for the whole Hebrew Bible. The oddity of this situation has not been lost on some interpreters who have recognized that the story of Sodom tells us no more about attitudes toward what we call homosexuality than the story of the rape of Dina tells us about attitudes toward heterosexuality. Prof. Jennings says that the well-known eroticism of the Hebrew Bible is not confined to heterosexuality but also includes an astonishing diversity of material that lends itself to homoerotic interpretation. In Part one, Jennings examines saga materials associated with David. It is no innovation to detect in the David and Jonathan's relationship at least the outline of a remarkable love story between two men. What becomes clear, however, is that the tale is far more complex than this since it involves Saul and is set within a context of a warrior society that takes for granted that male heroes will be accompanied by younger or lower status males. Thus the complex erotic connections between David and Saul and David and Jonathan play out against the backdrop of a context of "heroes and pals." The second type of same sex relationship explored has to do with shamanistic forms of eroticism in which the sacral power of the holy man is both a product of same sex relationship and expressed through same sex practice. This section deals with Samuel and Saul and Elijah and Elisha. These are not warriors but persons whose sacral power is also erotic power that may find expression in erotic practices with persons of the same sex. The third type of same sex relationship discusses we now call transgendered persons, especially males, and their erotic relationship to (other) males. Here the book explores the transgendering of Israel by several prophets who use this device to explore the adultery and promiscuity that they wish to attribute to Israel, as well as the story of Joseph.
Jacob's Dozen is a study of the biblical history and prophecies associated with each of the tribes of Israel. It is based on Jacob's deathbed prophecies concerning each of his twelve sons found in Genesis 49. The remarkable manner in which each prophecy was fulfilled in that tribe's history is clearly explained. Other fascinating subjects, such as the lost tribes of Israel and the role of the tribes in the end times, are explored. You will be amazed and blessed by this scholarly, yet readable prophetic look at the tribes of Israel.
Rife with incest, adultery, rape, and murder, the biblical story of Jacob and his children must have troubled ancient readers. By any standard, this was a family with problems. Jacob's oldest son Reuben is said to have slept with his father's concubine Bilhah. The next two sons, Simeon and Levi, tricked the men of a nearby city into undergoing circumcision, and then murdered all of them as revenge for the rape of their sister. Judah, the fourth son, had sexual relations with his own daughter-in-law. Meanwhile, jealous of their younger sibling Joseph, the brothers conspired to kill him; they later relented and merely sold him into slavery. These stories presented a particular challenge for ancient biblical interpreters. After all, Jacob's sons were the founders of the nation of Israel and ought to have been models of virtue. In The Ladder of Jacob, renowned biblical scholar James Kugel retraces the steps of ancient biblical interpreters as they struggled with such problems. Kugel reveals how they often fixed on a little detail in the Bible's wording to "deduce" something not openly stated in the narrative. They concluded that Simeon and Levi were justified in killing all the men in a town to avenge the rape of their sister, and that Judah, who slept with his daughter-in-law, was the unfortunate victim of alcoholism. These are among the earliest examples of ancient biblical interpretation (midrash). They are found in retellings of biblical stories that appeared in the closing centuries BCE--in the Book of Jubilees, the Aramaic Levi Document, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, and other noncanonical works. Through careful analysis of these retellings, Kugel is able to reconstruct how ancient interpreters worked. The Ladder of Jacob is an artful, compelling account of the very beginnings of biblical interpretation.
Immigrants are vital to America's economy and national security. They make our food. They care for the ill, injured, and elderly in our healthcare system. They contribute to our country's technological might. And yet, our immigration system is fundamentally broken. Millions of immigrants live lives of uncertainty and fear. Meanwhile, businesses are baffled by convoluted hiring practices. Worst of all, scores of DACA kids contribute faithfully to their adopted country without any clear path to citizenship. In The Sons of Wetbacks, Texas attorney and third-generation Mexican-American Jacob Montilijo Monty offers a compelling conservative case for immigration reform. While many on the right oppose immigration reform because of a belief that all Latinos are liberals, this couldn't be further from the truth. Rather, Latinos put great value on faith, family, and private enterprise, making them a natural fit for the GOP. The author lays out a clearly articulated approach to reform immigration in a manner that is pragmatic, fair and in line with the principles of conservatism. Monty says, "We're not talking about amnesty. The bad hombres should be sent back. But, Latino immigrants are here to work. Let's vet them and get them working with legitimate papers. It would go a long way to making America great again."
Jacob is all too often underappreciated in works on biblical theology. He nevertheless stands squarely in the line of promise and is the man who becomes Israel. His blessings come not because he is virtuous but because God remains faithful. In this, his story contributes to the themes of Genesis and of the Pentateuch as a whole, and extends into the life of the church. Jacob’s Story as Christian Scripture begins with a reading of Genesis 25 to 35, and then moves beyond the boundaries of Genesis to track the words he pronounces over his twelve sons. Jacob’s blessings give shape to Balaam’s oracles and ultimately to subsequent prophecies concerning the lion of the tribe of Judah. Prophetic appropriation of Jacob’s story, presented here via a fresh investigation of OT passages from Jeremiah, Obadiah, Micah, and others, includes troubling elements of Jacob’s character to indict the nation—in the hope that God’s people, like the patriarch, will stop being Jacob and become Israel.
