The importance of biblical literacy in the world of English literature.

Why the Bible?Why the Bible?

Biblical literature is undoubtedly a formative aspect of English literature. For example, one can hardly understand the African American story without a strong grasp of the Exodus: Moses, Pharaoh and the Jordan river stand as archetypal images for the African American experience, both in the oral and written subcultures of the people (not unlike the oral and written law of the Hebrew people). The English Canon’s echoes of biblical themes and phrasing (i.e. valley of the shadow of death) are undeniable, and ought to, therefore, be studied as a means of understanding the connotated dimensions of of English prose and poesy.

Paradise Lost John Milton No one would argue that biblical literacy wouldn’t help the comprehension and appreciation of a text such as Paradise Lost. But, what kind of tangible difference does Biblical knowledge make?

Book I Lines And chiefly thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer Before all temples th’ upright heart and pure, Instruct me, for thou know’st; thou from the first Wast present, and, with mighty wings outspread, Dove-like sat’st brooding on the vast Abyss, And mad’st it pregnant: what in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support; That, to the height of this great argument may assert Eternal Providence, And justify the ways of God to men.

And chiefly thou, O Spirit, that dost prefer Before all temples th’ upright heart and pure 1Cor What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own?

Instruct me, for thou know’st; thou from the first Wast present, and, with mighty wings outspread, Dove-like sat’st brooding on the vast Abyss, and mad’st it pregnant: what in me is dark Illumine, what is low raise and support; (Matt. 3.16) And Jesus, when he was baptized, … he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: (Gen. 1.2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (Gen. 1.3) And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (Gen. 1.9) And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.

While many, not all, of the biblical illusions were show in the previous slides there are still some that have yet to be exposed. For the sake of time we will only discuss one other. The question remains: Why did Milton say of the Holy Ghost “ Dove-like sat’st brooding on the vast / Abyss, and mad’st it pregnant”?

t¶Ea◊w Mˆy™AmDÚvAh t¶Ea My¡IhølTa aâ∂rD;b ty™IvaérV;b :X®r`DaDh y∞EnVÚp_lAo JKRväOj◊w …wh$ObÎw ‹…wh‚Ot h¶Dt◊yDh X®r#DaDh◊w [:Mˆy`D;mAh y¶EnVÚp_lAo tRp™RjårVm My$IhølTa Aj…wêr◊w] MwóøhVt :rwáøa_yIh◊y`Aw rwóøa y∞Ih◊y My™IhølTa rRmañø¥yÅw In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the [Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.] And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

:Mˆy`D;mAh y¶EnVÚp_lAo [tRp™RjårVm] My$IhølTa Aj…wêr◊w Spirit of God [moved] upon the face of the waters. Milton knew his Hebrew. The Strong’s Concordance explains that the Hebrew root from which “moved” comes is: PAj∂r rachaph, raw-khaf´; a primitive root; to brood; by implication, to be relaxed:—flutter, move, shake.