The Land is Mine Essay -- Hebrew Scriptures

The author identifies and analyzes six discrete land ideologies found in the Hebrew Scriptures that have influenced its readers. (preface) In his book land refers to not only as physical realities where there is dirt and rocks, and where plants are growing, and where humans build their cities. Land refers to a social symbol with a range of meanings in which we construct its meanings for ourselves.(p.1) A subtle distinction between theology and ideology can be ; biblical theology is the doctrine and discourse about God expressed within a biblical literary unit that reflect the living faith of a given community, and Biblical ideology is a wider complex of images and ideas that may employ theological doctrines, traditions, or symbols to justify and promote the social, economic, and political interests of a group within society.(p.10) The evidence that they both are closely interrelated can be found in the biblical Prophets such as Jeremiah or Amos The author has taken five basic categories of analysis for exploring the land ideologies. ; Dominant images of the land, Location of God ( what is God’s position relative to the land?), Locus of power in the land (locus of power and interest), Charter justifying entitlement to the land (who is justified in claiming and why?), Rights to/of the land (what rights do people have to the land?) (p.14) Land as the Source of Wealth: A Royal Ideology This justifies the king’s right to control and rule the kingdom and basically â€Å"to this royal land ideology are the concepts of the land as the source of wealth, the divine right of the monarch to appropriate that wealth, and the entitlement of the monarch as God’s representative to have dominion over the whole earth as an empire.†(p.17) The author ... ...tes respect the ownership of the land YHWH holds. YWH is a local landowner and the land is YHWH’s extended sanctuary.(p.99) Land as Host Country: An Immigrant Ideology Abraham immigrated with his household to Canaan to settle down. In the course of Abraham’s journey to the land, he did not have to confront with hostile indigenous people; it is written â€Å"They set forth to go to the land of Canaan, and they came to the land of Canaan.† (Gen. 12:5) (p.118) Abraham shared the land through generous grants, peaceful negotiations, or legal purchase. Abraham found God at sacred sites. Abraham’s rights and responsibilities were not those of a monarch or conqueror, but involve acknowledging YHWH as the host deity, teaching justice to the Abraham household, establishing peaceful relations with the peoples of the land, and dealing justly with the land itself.(p.132)