Essay: Legends of Noah

I thought this unit on the Legends of Noah was very interesting. It provided accounts from the bible that I have grown up reading and it was great to go back and read some of the stories I had not looked at in awhile. It was great to rad about Noah and the flood and also about the Tower of Babel.

The second part of the unit came from Louis Ginzberg’s Legends of the Jews. I thought these stories were very interesting because they added a lot of extra stories to the biblical stories just read. For example, thePunishment of Fallen Angels section tells the story of God sending angels to kick the fallen angels out of heaven. Each of the stories in Legends of the Jews adds new features that add to the context of the original bible story.

I felt like there were plenty of notes that provided the reader with information on what the two readings in the unit were about and where they were from. My favorite sections were at the beginning of the unit. The accounts of the ark being built and the flood were a great read.

I think reading from King James Version makes the bible seem much harder to read. I went back and read some of this scripture from an English Standard Version bible and I thought it made much more sense. I realize that the King James Version is a classic and traditional version of the bible, but I think adding another version could be a good way to help readers understand what they are reading and not scare away any potential readers.

I’ve enjoyed reading bible stories the past two weeks. I think it is good to read these at the beginning of the semester because these events occurred at the beginning of time. I’m looking forward to what is next!

(from the Nuremberg Chronicles)

Portfolio: The Story of Noah and Joshua

Long, long ago there lived a man named Joshua. He was the younger brother of Noah-you know the man who build the ark! Joshua was an insecure man who was constantly teased for his size. He stood only about five feet tall and weighed no more than 130 lbs. He was small and envious of everyone else.

Noah loved his brother Joshua, but as the two grew older, life got in the way of their relationship. Noah had to move on when he married his wife and left his hometown to find work so he could support his new family. Joshua was left alone with his parents who cared little for him.

When Joshua grew of age to leave his home, he tried to find a job with some local shepherds, but they told him he was too inexperienced. He then tried to find a job with some carpenters, but he was too small to carry the heavy packs of wood and tools. Joshua could not find a job and ended up homeless. He ran away  to the forest to find refuge and lived in a cave, deep in the forest for nearly a hundred years.

Joshua lived off the land in the forest. He became friends with the animals and never saw any humans, ever. Joshua was happy this way, or at least as happy as he could be living with animals. He wasn’t picked on and a lot of the animals looked to him as their leader.

On one particular day, Joshua saw all the animals in his forest migrating north. Bewildered, he asked two mountain goats where all the animals were headed. “We are going to find safety from the flood! Come with us,” said the goats.

“What flood?!” said Joshua.

“THE flood!” said the goats, “The flood that will cover the whole earth! Please come with us so you can be safe.”

Joshua didn't believe this could be happening. The forest had seen very little rain in the past few years, but he realized if he didn't follow the animals, he would again be all alone in the forest. Not leaving the forest in so many years, he was terrified to follow the animals. After a few minutes of contemplating he decided he must follow the herd of animals if he wanted to find safety.

Joshua and the animals of the forest traveled for miles and miles until they finally made it to the giant ark. They sat in a giant line of animals from across the world while a man in the distance counted each animal entering the ark.

“Where are all the humans?” asked Joshua the other animals.

“No humans allowed!!!” said the deer. “Just a crazy man and his family with two of every animal.”

"What? No!" sighed Joshua.

Discouraged, Joshua stepped out of the line and started walking back toward the forest.

"We're sorry, Joshua! We didn't know," said the mountain goats who pleaded with Joshua to follow them.

With all hope lost, he felt someone grab his shoulder. When he turned around he was surprised to find his big brother ready to give him a giant hug.

"My brother! It has been WAY too long. Please follow me onto the ark for safety. Come eat and drink, we have so much to talk about!" Noah gleamed.

Joshua was humbled by his older brother's kinds and generosity. Noah welcomed his brother on the ark as if he was the guest of honor. For forty days on the ark, the brothers caught up on each other’s lives. When they found land, Noah welcomed Joshua to live with his family and work with him.

Joshua was forever thankful for his brother and they lived in peace for the rest of their lives, together.

Noah greets the animals entering his ark.

Photo Cred: LDS

AUTHOR'S NOTE: This story is based on Noah and the Ark. This was one of my favorite Bible stories while growing up. This is one of those stories that just leaves you thinking, "Wow! I can't believe that really happened!"Although Joshua is a fictional character, I thought it was a fun way to add background to Noah and show his love and faithfulness to his family. Joshua is somewhat of a nerd and gets picked on while his older brother Noah is strong and independent. I wanted to show Joshua's insecurities and give him some personality apart from Noah. By giving Noah a younger brother, I wanted to show the tender heart behind Noah. Imagine building a giant ark and bring criticized by all of your peers. It took extreme faith for Noah to do what he did. The original story of Noah and the Ark is found in Genesis, the first book of the Bible. I have read this story many times, but it was fun getting to go back and read over this story again. There is so much hope given in this story and God's heart is revealed through his jealousy and love for his people.

Bible stories are always fun to read, so I am glad I had the opportunity to reread this story. Noah is such an incredible person of the Old Testament. This story is well-known and I hope my version of his "made-up" brother will only add to the glory of this story! 

Bibliography:

The King James Bible

Genesis 5-6

Legends of Noah - Reading Diary B

In the second part of this unit, Legends of Noah, I was able to read from the Legends of the Jews by Luis Ginzberg. This was very interesting because it depicted scripture from the bible in a different way. The text is easier to read and understand it makes it feel as if the story is a fairytale. Ginzberg walks through the story of Noah and the flood all the way to the Tower of Babel.

My favorite story in the second part of the unit is The Inmates of the Ark. This section begins by Noah gathering the hundreds of animals to go inside the ark and the corrupted people who were to be left behind pleading to Noah to let them on the ark. Noah denied their access saying they had turned away from God and just want to turn back so they can survive.

Noah then takes every animal two by two on the ark. I thought it was interesting that Ginzberg says there was an animal that couldn't come inside the ark, the reem. Apparently, the deem was too massive to come inside the ark so Noah tied it to the back of the ark and it ran along with the boat.

Noah also let the giant Og, the king of Bashan ride on top of the ark because he promised he would be his slave.

These extra add-ons to the story are a fun way to make the story even more interesting.

Og and the Reem.

Photo Cred: UnTextbook

Legends of Noah - Reading Diary A

The unit on The Legends of Noah begins with scripture from Genesis and the story of Noah and the ark. The first half of the unit walks through the life of Noah in Genesis and adds some myths and legends such as the story of the Fallen Angels that depicts angels sent to punish fallen angels and corrupt people. My favorite part of the reading was the story of Noah and the ark. This incredible story is known by most people. 

In the story, Noah is a good man who God chooses to use in a big way. God looks down on the earth and is disgusted by the corruption that is consuming people. "I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them," said the Lord.

He decides to flood the earth and wipe out the shameful people. He tells Noah to build an ark for him and his family. He is then to gather two every animal on the earth to rest in the ark for safety during the flood. Noah follows God's commands and he is saved from the flood.

I like this story because it is honestly insane! I mean think about it, water once flooded the entire world because people were so corrupt, God had no other choice. I can't imagine what must have been going through Noah's head while building this ark. It has been cool to see the story passed on from generation to generation through books and movies. I admire Noah's trust and faith in his beliefs.

The ark providing safety to animals during the flood.

Photo Cred: Charlotte Smith

Storybook Brainstorm Topics

Topic: Creation Stories

Comments: Everyone has different beliefs on how the earth was crated. Cultures pass stories down from generation to generation. This fascinates me because people are passionate toward their belief and so many stories are out there about the same topic.

Possible Stories: There are a ton of different stories out there about creation. While just briefly searching, I found several that I am interested in. Plus, there are not just creation stories about the world’s creation; you can also find stories on creation of life and society. Wikipedia and Sacred Texts Archives both have stories about creation ranging from Adam & Eve to beliefs from different religions such as Islam and even agnostics.

Sample Story: On Wikipedia, I found an in depth story on Adam & Eve. Through searching the Genesis creation narrative, the story offers a non-bias perspective on the story. Both Christians and Jews believe that Adam & Eve to be first man and woman to walk the earth. This story has always fascinated me and I would like to get a more in depth perspective on this story.

Bibliography:

Sample Story: Genesis Creation Narrative

Website Name: Wikipedia

Topic: Native American Storybooks

Comments: Growing up in Oklahoma, I’ve had the opportunity to hear a lot of stories about Native Americans. These have always interested me and they play a huge part in our state’s culture. I’d like to dig more into these stories.

Possible Stories: There are various stories from the several Native American tribes. There are a lot of different textbooks about this topic online. I found several stories through Sacred Texts ranging from Native American stories from the U.S. to around the world.

Sample Story: Through sacred text, I found a story called “The Myths of the Cherokee.” This story contains several myths that are interesting to read ranging from the origin of disease and medicine all the way to the origin of strawberries!

Bibliography:

Sample Story:  The Origin of Strawberries

Book Title: The Myths of the Cherokee

Author: James Mooney

Year: 1897-98

Topic: Pirates and Sailors

Comments: I have never done much research on this subject, but I have watched some great movies about it! I’d like to read some old stories about pirates on the ocean!

Possible Stories: You can find several stories pirates and sailors on Wikipedia. I found stories on pirates from different centuries. The website even has a list of famous and notorious pirates and sailors.

Sample Story: I found one story about Awilda on Wikipedia. She was a female pirate that most historians believe is a false person, just a legend. Awida and her female friends would dress up like sailors and command ships.

Bibliography:

Sample Story: Awilda

Website: Wikipedia

Topic: Stories From Other Cultures:

Comments: Like I said in my intro, I love traveling. My favorite part of traveling is learning about different cultures and their way of living. I think reading about stories fro other cultures would be a lot of fun!

Possible Stories: There are several places to find stores online. The online book library through storybook has several for this topic ranging from stories on English folktales to ballads and American folklore.

Sample Story: While searching for stories on this topic, I found The Story of the Three Bears from English literature. This is the famous children’s story about the wee little bear, the middle-size bear and the great big large bear and the little girl, Goldilocks, that found her way into their home! It is a classic.

Bibliography:

Sample Story: The Story of the Three Bears

Book Title: English Fairy Tales

Author: Flora Annie Steel

Year: N/A

The Three Bears from the English tale.

Photo Cred: Wikipedia