MIDTERM – EL 112 Mythology and Folklore

Content Page
Module 4 39 - 59
Module 5 60 - 73
Module 6 74 - 84

Week Topics Objectives

Week 7 - 8 Hebrew Stories: Creation At the end of the unit,

and First Human students must have:

• How is the biblical story of • differentiated between the

creation like/ unlike other biblical story of creation and
creation stories? other creation stories.
• explained about the
evolution of human’s
moral values through the
texts
discussed.
• criticized texts and excerpts
read.

Week 9 -10 Norse Myth: Creation, At the end of the unit,

Powers and Treasures of students must have:
God 1. identified the different
gods and goddesses of Norse
Adventures of Gods mythology.
Balder 2. understood the difference
Ragnarok between Norse and
Greek
mythology.
3. reflected on the elements
present and write about the
impact of each character.

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 Sumerian and Early At the end of the unit,
Babylonian Myth: students must have:
Origins and Gods 1. identified the deities of
Babylonian Sumerian and Early
Babylonian Myth: Gods Babylonian myths.
and Heroes 2. discussed insights
Week 11- 12 Babylonian Myth: from about these
Gilgamesh cultures.
3. evaluated excerpts and
texts discussed.

Week Critical Analyses

13 Compilation

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Module No. & Title Module 4: Hebrew Stories -- Creation and First
Human

Welcome to Module 4 of EL 112! In this

module, you will be introduced to a comprehensive
Module Overview Lessons in the Module
background of Hebrew stories and the evolution
of religion. One of the most essential tasks is
being able to explore issues of political, racial,
ethnic identity in literary works.

At the end of the module, the students are

Module Objectives/ Outcomes
expected to:
• differentiate between the biblical story of creation
and other creation stories.
• explain about the evolution of human’s moral
values through the texts discussed.
• criticize texts and excerpts read.
This module contains the following lessons: Lesson 1: Biblical Stories from Various
Scriptures
Creation and First Human:

Time Frame 2 weeks

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The Story in Talmudic-Midrashic Literature

The earliest biblical texts include stories, and the telling and retelling of stories
continued in every age of Hebrew literature. The long Talmudic-Midrashic period,
however, from the first Tannaim to the first Geonim is different from previous or later
periods in that the Hebrew story was not regarded as an independent form of
expression, nor were stories written as separate works; they formed part of the
Midrashic literary form, and were subordinate to its didactic and moralistic purposes.
No collections of stories as such were published in that epoch. The Hebrew narrative
of this period, as it reached medieval Jewish culture, was an integral part of the vast
Talmudic Midrashic literature with no special or specific literary standing. A great
part of the narratives preserved in the Midrash developed the biblical story to conform
to the exegetical purposes of the Talmudic scholars. Frequently, the stories are
biographies of early sages to serve as exempla to expound some moral, ethical, or
halakhic doctrine. Other stories were included because of nothing more than a vague
association with the problem under discussion; this connection, however flimsy it
might be, was the only justification for their inclusion.

The subordinate status of the story did not, however, prevent a wealth of
narrative material from being included in the Talmudic Midrashic literature. L.
Ginsberg has shown that this literature contains a complete retelling (in more than one
version) of the biblical narrative from the creation to Ezra and Nehemiah; detailed,
though sporadic, biographies; stories connected with most of the more important
Tannaim and Amoraim; stories based on historical facts and legends covering the
period of the Second Temple to the *Bar Kokhba War and after; and hundreds of
popular stories (usually written in Aramaic, the vernacular of the time). Thus, while
the literary aspect of the narrative was insignificant during this period, the narrative
creative impulse did not disappear – it only lacked intellectual status as a separate,
independent vehicle of expression. The Hebrew story in the Middle Ages opens,
therefore, with the slow process of the genre achieving these aims: a separate status
and an independent literary form.

The Development of Separate Stories Based on Midrashic Motifs

In the early centuries of the Middle Ages, a large group of independent Hebrew
stories based, to some extent, on motifs included in the earlier Midrashic literature
emerged. Their literary form and content, however, developed independently of that
tradition. While Talmudic literature merely described the death of some tannaitic
martyrs at the hands of the Romans, the medieval narrative "Aggadat Aseret Harugei
Malkhut" ("The Legend of the Ten Martyrs," also known as "Midrash Elleh Ezkerah"
in A. Jellinek, Beit ha-Midrash, 1 (19382), 64–72) used the Talmudic stories about R.
*Akiva 's death and that of other martyrs, and developed a new type of story: the
*exemplum for Jewish martyrs in the Middle Ages. Historical truth, evident to some
extent in the Talmudic stories, was absolutely disregarded here, and the death of the
ten Tannaim, who had lived and died in different periods, was described as taking
place at the same time.

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Talmudic eschatology nursed the idea of two Messiahs, one the son of Ephraim
and the other, the final deliverer, a descendant of the House of David. Sefer
Zerubbavel (ibid., 54–57), a medieval tale, developed this idea into an apocalyptic
eschatology. It describes, in biblical language, the visions of the last ruler of the
House of David who was shown by an angel what is going to happen at the end of
time. The main characters in the narrative are the Messiah's mother Ḥefẓi-Bah and
Satan, called Armilus, described as the son of a beautiful stone statue. These are
literary figures unknown to Talmudic legends. The writing shows independence of
form (it is a separate work dedicated to one visionary story) and of content (the
addition of new figures and new heroes not mentioned in older tradition).

Using Talmudic motifs, the medieval writers also developed the arts of
biography and hagiography. They took material from the Talmud about some of the
great sages and wove around them new legends, independent in form from their
original Talmudic setting.

ACTIVITY
I
Activity No. 1
“Then and Now”

I. Directions: This should be filled in after reading the texts below. Think of your
prior insights (stereotypes and learnings) about Judaism and Hebrew
scriptures in general. Write your insights in the box below.
THEN NOW
 41
The Wise Words That Saved a Life

Rabbi Moshe Sofer (Schreiber), known as the Chatam Sofer, was one of the most influential rabbis of the
last three centuries. Studying in the city of Maintz as a youth, he became acquainted with a prince. The
two bright scholars spent much time conversing, and the young aristocrat particularly enjoyed hearing his
friend’s ingenious Torah insights. Years passed and Rabbi Sofer was elected to the chief rabbinate of the
populous city Pressburg (today Bratislava, Slovakia). The prince, meanwhile, had reached a high rank in the
French military.

France was embroiled in a difficult war with its neighbors, and the military was constantly on the lookout
for turncoats who were giving away French secrets or otherwise aiding the enemy. It so happened that an
innocent French Jew was suspected of providing munitions to the enemy and was sentenced to death. In
an effort to save the innocent man from his unjust fate, Rabbi Sofer set out to plead the case before his
old friend.

Although the general was delighted to see the friend of his youth, he was unmoved by the rabbi’s request.
“We are at war,” argued the general, “and so many lives are being lost. Why should I invest my energy in
saving the life of one individual, who may in fact be a traitor?”

Remembering the general's keen interest in the Torah, Rabbi Sofer asked permission to speak. He shared
with the general a puzzling passage where, when discussing the protocols of engaging in warfare, the
Torah interrupts the narrative with the mitzvah of eglah arufah. The law of eglah arufah is that if a person
is found dead outside of a city, the leaders of the city are required to perform a ritual to atone for their
possible wrongdoing in not properly caring for this individual, thereby causing his death. “What is the
connection between this unfortunate event and war?” the rabbi asked.

Seeing the problem had intrigued the general, Rabbi Sofer pushed on: “The Torah put the mitzvah of eglah
arufah in the middle of discussing war to teach us that even in chaotic times such as war, the life of each
individual is precious and must be cared for.” Rabbi Sofer’s words moved the general and he promised to
intervene. Through his efforts, the truth was brought to light and the charges were ultimately dropped.

42
Envoy From Safed
By Asharon Baltazar
With heavy hearts, the small group of Jews watched the ship slip out of sight. On board, a carefully chosen
emissary carried the hopes of their entire community. If successful, he would save his brothers and sisters
from certain ruin. If unsuccessful, they shuddered to imagine...

Nearly 500 years ago, the Turkish Empire stretched throughout the Levant and beyond, including the Land
of Israel. Suleiman the Magnificent held the throne, and his kingdom functioned with the help of numerous
local governors he appointed. Some were benevolent, others tyrants.

Unfortunately, the city of Safed, whose residents awoke one morning to news of a paralyzing new tax
imposed upon them, fell under the jurisdiction of one such tyrant. Refusal or failure to comply, he warned,
would result in the end of the entire Jewish community.

The elders of the community stumbled out of his palace, wondering where to find the money. Raising the
entire sum would prove impossible. After some deliberation, they agreed to send representatives to Turkey
to plead their case before the sultan, hoping he would take pity on them. Among those chosen was Rabbi
Eliezer Azikri, who was one of the foremost kabbalists, a student of Rabbi Moshe Cordovero, and a poet.
Modest and unassuming, few were aware of his virtues. He was widely known simply as the shamash, the
synagogue caretaker.

The delegates set out for the port, but before they boarded the ship to Turkey, Rabbi Eliezer stopped and
requested that they allow him to go alone.

“Pray for me,” said Rabbi Eliezer, “and G-d will help.”

He bade them farewell and turned to board the waiting ship. The moment he cleared the gangplank and
stepped foot onto the deck, sudden winds descended upon the port, wildly churning the seas and rocking
every vessel in sight. Sailors quickly unfurled the sails, and, as though helped by an invisible hand, the ship
scuttled out of the harbor with ease. Rabbi Eliezer watched Israel’s coast shrink until it was just a fine
jagged line, and before long, that too disappeared from view.

Up above, the clouds, which had turned into dark turbulent swirls, unleashed a frightening storm. Winds
tossed the ship in towering waves as sailors scurried across the deck attempting to bring it under control.

“Pray for mercy,” bellowed the captain to anyone within earshot. Through the lashing rain, he noticed
Rabbi Eliezer wrapped in his tallit and tefillin. “Rabbi, do something!”

Rabbi Eliezer answered by holding out a folded note and instructing the captain to place it on the bow of
the ship, warning that he should return it once the city of Constantinople became visible. The effect was
instantaneous—the storm immediately subsided, and the sea returned to its prior calm.

As the marvel of the miracle performed by the Jewish sage circulated among the passengers, the parted
clouds revealed yet another wonder: They were already, impossibly, approaching the coast of
Constantinople.

Once disembarked, Rabbi Eliezer found a local shamash and asked whether he could stay with him. Since
his home was small, the shamash could only offer the attic, but Rabbi Eliezer didn’t mind. Tucking some
books under his arm, he ascended to the dusty niche, where he lit a candle and learned till midnight, when
he stopped to recite Tikkun Chatzot, as was his custom.

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Shortly before Rabbi Eliezer’s arrival in Constantinople, the sultan’s daughter had fallen ill. Her condition
worsened with each passing day, leading the doctors to believe she would not recover. Dread accompanied
the sultan wherever he went, robbing him of any sleep, leaving him pacing his balcony every night.

During one of his sleepless episodes, the sultan noticed an orange glow in the distance. Tall flames shot into
the night, unnoticed by anyone but him. Heart beating frantically, the sultan ordered the palace staff to
locate the blaze and extinguish it before half the city was burned.
When the men returned, they reported no fire, just a lone man reading by candlelight in an attic. When the
sultan looked again and observed the flames raging unabated as before, he demanded the man be brought
in.

Led by the guards, Rabbi Eliezer soon stood before the sultan.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?”

Rabbi Eliezer told the sultan of his departure from Israel and speedy arrival in Constantinople only hours
ago. To corroborate the man’s tale, the sultan found the captain, who heartily swore to the veracity of the
fantastical journey. Satisfied, the sultan requested the sage follow him to the throne room.

“Are you able to heal my daughter?” urged the sultan sadly. “I’m willing to give whatever you wish in return.”

Rabbi Eliezer agreed and asked for a quiet corner in which to pray. He faced the wall, unmoving, deep in
prayer, and the sultan’s daughter slowly opened her eyes. Feebly, for the first time since her illness, she
whispered for something to eat. Rabbi Eliezer asked for permission to move closer. For the rest of the day,
he stood by the girl’s bed and prayed for her health. By the time he put his prayerbook down, the sultan’s
daughter had completely recovered, strong enough even to stand unsupported. The royal household
celebrated.

The sultan turned to Rabbi Eliezer, eager to fulfill his promise. “Anything you want,” he reminded.

Rabbi Eliezer described the unfair decree looming over the Jewish population of Safed. The sultan
immediately called for a quill and a scroll and wrote an order calling for the governor’s prompt removal from
office. The sultan even offered the position to Rabbi Eliezer, but he declined. Nevertheless, in the last lines of
his letter the sultan noted that any official appointed in Safed would be required to heed Rabbi Eliezer’s
wishes.

Laden with gifts from the sultan, and the all-important letter, Rabbi Eliezer boarded a ship back to Israel. To
prevent the delay of good news, he once again placed a note on the bow and accelerated his journey.

When he reappeared in Safed, the pervading miserable sentiment turned into jubilation. The elders decided
to wait until the deadline before presenting the sultan’s letter. When the day arrived and the governor
summoned them, the elders appeared before him. They pointed to Rabbi Eliezer as though he had the
money. Quizzically, the governor turned to him.

“What is that in your hand?”

Rabbi Eliezer removed the sultan’s scroll, unrolled it, and read in a loud, clear

voice. A new governor was soon instated, and the Jews of Safed continued living in

peace. Adapted from Sichat Hashavua #1045

44
The Rabbi Who Rode Lionback
By Yossi Kwadrat

Our story takes us back some 250 years to the city of Fez, today in Morocco. Fez lies in the western part of
northern Africa, known as the Barbary Coast. Rabbi Masoud Alfassi lived in Fez, as his name Al-Fassi
indicates. He and a group of friends longed to live in the Holy Land and one day they finally decided to
travel 3,000 miles, through the Sahara Desert, to the Land of Israel.

Traveling through a desert was done in caravans. A desert, especially one the size and likes of the Sahara,
is home to many dangers: wild animals like the Barbary lions, poisonous snakes, bandits and marauders,
 frightening sand storms, and sweltering heat. A caravan of camel trains was the only way to make it
through alive, and so Rabbi Masoud joined such a caravan and headed out on his journey.

Obviously, they tried to find as many inhabited towns as they could on their way to minimize the danger.
From Fez, they headed through the Algerian Desert to Tripoli, which is part of the Sahara. This was a large
chunk of the itinerary, taking up 1,200 miles of their complete journey.

A large caravan such as the one in our story moves at about the speed of walking, allowing them to cover
between fifteen and twenty-five miles a day. At this rate, the journey would take them quite a few months.

When the first Friday approached, Rabbi Masoud informed his friends that it was time to stop and take a
rest, as the holy Shabbat was approaching. “Rabbi Masoud, we can’t just stop and rest here,” they all
protested. “This place is overrun with the dangerous and frightful Barbary lions! You are endangering your
life! It’s pikuach nefesh; we must continue on our way!”

Rabbi Masoud didn't argue with anyone. He told his attendant to take their belongings off the camels, as he
intended to stay and make Shabbat in the desert so as not to desecrate the holy day.

His friends felt that staying with him would be suicidal, so they had no choice but to leave Rabbi Masoud
to his fate. They continued their journey with broken hearts, certain that Rabbi Masoud and his attendant
would soon be food for the lions. They tore their clothes in mourning.

The caravan moved on while Rabbi Masoud and his attendant stayed behind, finding solace in the silence
and tranquility that such an uninhabited area offers.

As the daylight began to wane, Rabbi Masoud did a curious thing. Scraping his staff along the ground, he
drew a circle in the sand. Remaining within the circle, Rabbi Masoud ushered in the Shabbat, prayed
Maariv, and asked his attendant to prepare the Shabbat meal. He proceeded to recite Kiddush with great
joy.

The attendant was nervous. The danger they had placed themselves in was clear and yet he knew that
Rabbi Masoud was a holy man! He looked on with awe, seeing his master’s strong heart.

As expected, after Kiddush, the calm silence was pierced by the frightening roar of a lion. It wasn’t long
until the attendant saw the lion approaching their very location. The attendant was overcome with fear and
he grabbed his holy master by the shoulder.

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As expected, after Kiddush, the calm silence was pierced by the frightening roar of a lion. It wasn’t long until
the attendant saw the lion approaching their very location. The attendant was overcome with fear and he
grabbed his holy master by the shoulder.

Rabbi Masoud, seeing his attendant’s fear, turned to him in the calmest tone. “What is it you fear? Look how
calm the lion is. Nothing bad will happen to you. We will tread on cubs and vipers, and we will eventually ride
upon the back of this very lion that you see. Hashem sent this lion to protect us on our way until we will reach
inhabited land. Now, please bring a bowl of water so we can wash our hands for the Shabbat meal, and do not
fear!”

With a trembling heart, the attendant began to prepare the bowl, but his eyes locked with those of the fierce
lion who was sitting so close to him just outside the ring in the sand. It was too much to bear and he collapsed
back into his seat.
Rabbi Masoud became agitated and said to him, “Didn't I tell you!? Have trust in G-d! The lion will not enter
our circle. Can’t you see him resting just outside of it?”

His words didn’t calm the attendant very much. It is not hard to imagine how he felt. The Barbary lions were
the biggest of the lion family, and with nothing but a mere scratch in the sand supposedly keeping the lion at
bay, the intense fear of the attendant is quite understandable. Nevertheless, with his hands shaking like leaves
in the wind, he managed to do his job and wash the steady hands of his holy master.

When they finished their meal, Rabbi Masoud recited Grace after Meals as if he were sitting in his own home
at his Shabbat table, safe and secure, and peacefully lay down for the night. Not so the poor attendant. He
couldn't close his eyes all night, staying as close as possible to his master.

When morning came, Rabbi Masoud got up and his attendant washed his hands. He prayed the morning
prayers as usual, made Kiddush, and ate the Shabbat meal. He even managed to take an afternoon nap. He got
up to pray Mincha, followed by the third meal, and then Maariv. He recited Havdalah, escorted the Shabbat
out with a customary fourth meal, and then went to sleep.

Rabbi Masoud rose early the next morning. The request he made following the morning prayers caused the
attendant’s heart to nearly leap from his chest. “Would you please saddle the lion? It is time to continue on our
journey,” asked Rabbi Masoud calmly, as though he were asking to saddle a camel or horse. The attendant
understood what he had been asked to do, but he was frozen in place. He couldn’t bring himself to simply
approach the lion and saddle him up!

Rabbi Masoud told him, “Didn't I tell you? Do not worry and do not be afraid. To us, it is just a beheimah, a
tame animal!”
His master’s words of conviction and the strong faith he had exhibited over the course of the Shabbat found
their way into the heart of the attendant. He mustered up all his courage and gingerly approached the lion. He
fitted it with a saddle, secured their belongings, and the two men promptly made themselves comfortable upon
its back. Unlike other riding animals, the lion moved with incredible speed and dexterity, making its way
through the desert in a very short time, arriving very soon thereafter in the town of Tunis.

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As you can imagine, when a great Barbary lion approached the city, the Tunisians ran and shut themselves in
their houses out of fear. They peered out from the safety of their homes and watched the lion march through
the city until it arrived at the Royal Palace, known as Palace de Bardo [which now houses the Bardo National
Museum]. Hearing the commotion, the Bey (governor) of Tunis approached a window and below he saw an
enormous lion with two people riding it like a camel. He shouted down, “What is it you want? Do you want to
destroy the whole town with this frightful lion you brought into the city?”

“You have my word that he will do nothing to the town, sir,” Rabbi Masoud responded. “He will now return to
his place in the desert!” The attendant unloaded their belongings from the lion and Rabbi Masoud commanded
the lion to return in peace.

“Do not harm anything or anyone,” he instructed the lion. “Nor shall you roar or raise your voice until you
reach your place in peace.” The lion returned home as calmly as if he were a sheep.

Three days passed, and a caravan approached Tunis. The travelers looked awful and travel-weary, their clothes
torn, a heart-rending tale on their lips. They told—with tears and moans—how they had no choice but to leave
their friend, a great rabbi, all by himself in the dangerous desert, and they were sure that by now he had been
torn to death by the sharp teeth of wild lions.

The people of Tunis heard their story. “Three days ago,” they told the members of the caravan, “a rabbi arrived
in our city. He is a man of great wonders. He arrived on the back of a fearsome lion. Perhaps this is the friend
you left in the desert?”

The travelers from Fez could hardly believe their ears. “Where can we find him!?”

The people showed them where Rabbi Masoud was staying, and with great joy and surprise, they were
reunited. Rabbi Masoud and his attendant shared the story about the lion who protected them and brought
them to safety. They embraced each other, thanking G-d who saved them from death.

Rabbi Masoud became acquainted with the Jewish people of Tunis and he quickly realized how little they
knew about the basic laws and practices of Judaism. He decided to cancel his trip to the Holy Land and
remain there, teaching the Jewish people of Tunis the way of G-d and His Torah. He is remembered for
reuniting the people with their faith and the many students he taught there.

Translated and adapted from Shivchei Tzadikim (Djerba, 1919), reproduced with permission from the Kankan
Journal.

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ANALYSIS

In two to three sentences, write an idea about the quotation given

below.

“You can never cross the ocean until

you have the courage to lose the sight
of the shore.”
-Christopher Columbus

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_____________________________________________________________________

Now, reflect on the following questions:

 As a young person living in the 21st century
majoring in English, how Judaism and Hebrew
scriptures appear to you?
Does Hebrew stories credibility lessen
compared of those classics from other culture?
Why and Why not?

The Retelling of Bible Stories

Medieval storytellers continued in the tradition that every period in Jewish culture
retells the biblical story according to its own beliefs, views, and literary convention.
This was also done in the first centuries of the Middle Ages when many anonymous
writers freed the biblical story from its close connection with the exegetical Midrash
and developed an independent literary form. The process took two directions: the
telling of a short biblical episode as a fully developed independent short story whose
plot

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revolved about a biblical hero or a biblical event; and attempts to retell great portions
of the Bible in a new medieval manner.
To the first category belong "Ma'aseh Avraham Avinu" (ibid., 1 (19382), 25–34), a
legend about Abraham; "Divrei ha-Yamin shel Moshe Rabbenu" ("The Chronicles of
Moses," ibid., 2 (19382), 1–11); "Midrash Va-Yisse'u" (ibid. 3 (19382), 1–5), a story
about the battles of the sons of Jacob. Each of these is a short story using most, or even
all, of the pertinent material in the Bible and in the Midrash, but reshaping it into a
coherent independent plot, and usually adding many details with no source other than
the author's imagination. In "Midrash Va-Yisse'u," biblical and fictional wars fought by
Jacob and his sons in the area of Shechem are depicted in terms of medieval war
strategy and medieval military practices. The valor of the sons of Jacob is
characterized by medieval chivalry and knighthood concepts.
Other authors attempted to retell the biblical story in wider scope. The author of
*Josippon (tenth century, Italy) dedicated most of his work to the war against the
Romans and the destruction of the Second Temple. The work, however, starts with a
short recapitulation of Jewish history, told in a medieval, fictional style. The more
ambitious author of Sefer ha-Yashar (probably 11th century, Spain) retells, at great
length, the story from the creation to the time of the Judges, i.e., the whole story of the
Pentateuch. It is the most complete example of this type of medieval writing using
biblical motifs, aggadic material, and fictional innovations to weave a new and
captivating story. The literary scope of the work was unequaled by any later medieval
writing.
The authors of Josippon and Sefer ha-Yashar added another aspect to the medieval
story about biblical times: they attempted, and frequently succeeded, to incorporate
non-Jewish legends, history, and mythology (especially Greek and Roman) into the
biblical story. The Jews of the Byzantine Empire, Italy, and Spain accepted the legends
and history of the people among whom they lived as being part of the history of the
world, and argued that as such they form part of the Bible which was believed to
include all the important events in human history. These authors, and others,
therefore, developed a system of synchronization and analogy to establish a
connection between non-Jewish stories and biblical heroes and chronology. The
medieval Hebrew narrative, therefore, broke away from its cultural isolation which
had prevailed, to a large extent, in the Midrashic story, and it became an open form
which accepted and drew on the wealth of non-Jewish stories that had become
available to the scattered Jewish communities in the East and in Europe.
The Reawakening of the Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha
One of the most significant differences between Talmudic - Midrashic literature on the
one hand, and Second Temple literature and medieval Hebrew literature on the other,
is the attitude toward the literature of the Second Temple, which was not included in
the biblical canon. This literature was preserved in Greek, Latin, and other languages,
and only recently have some Hebrew originals been found. During the long centuries
of the development of the talmudic-midrashic literature, this material was almost
completely ignored. The themes, ideas, and stories in the Book of *Jubilees , in the
different versions of the Book of *Enoch , in *Tobit , in *Judith , and even in the
historical Books of the *Maccabees are hardly mentioned.

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After seven centuries of neglect, these works were again incorporated into the
framework of Jewish culture by the Hebrew medieval writers. The process began in
the early seventh century with *Pirkei de-Rabbi Eliezer , which includes subjects
from the Apocrypha. The author also used the Satan motif from the books of Enoch
and Jubilees; his adaptation of the Bible story is deeply influenced by this long-
disregarded or suppressed literature.
Early medieval Hebrew writers created different versions of the stories of
Judith and Tobit usually stylistically influenced by popular folktales, and of stories
based on the Books of the Maccabees, especially the story of the mother and her
seven sons who were martyred by Antiochus. The story of the fallen angels, vividly
told in the Book of Enoch, became the story of Uzza and Azael in the Middle Ages; it
was transformed into a folktale, and used as a theological motif by kabbalists.
It is very doubtful whether the Hebrew medieval authors of these works had before
them the Hebrew originals of the Second Temple literature, though it is not
impossible. It would seem, however, that they used the Christian versions of the
Septuagint and the Vulgate. It is also probable that some of the writers had no direct
knowledge of the Greek and Latin versions either, but heard the stories from their
non-Jewish friends, since there are some significant variations between the originals
and the medieval versions. Whatever the origin from which medieval writers drew
their material, an important source of Jewish narrative literature, closed during the
talmudic-midrashic period, became a living part of Hebrew medieval writing.

The First Collections of Stories

In the early Middle Ages another new literary form emerged, unknown to Hebrew
literature, and scarcely found in other literatures of the time: collected stories in book
form. The phenomenon indicates that the Hebrew story had taken its rightful place in
Jewish literature. Books, devoted entirely or mainly to stories, began to be written.
Four major works of this type were written between the 8th and 12th centuries:

(1) Midrash Aseret ha-Dibberot (in A. Jellinek, op. cit., 1 (19382), 62–90; "Midrash of
the Ten Commandments"), which is not a Midrash at all but a collection of about 50
stories (in different redactions the number varies) loosely associated with the Ten
Commandments. The stories are interspersed with some midrashic aphorisms, but,
their importance is clearly secondary. The Hebrew story thus completely reversed the
previous situation. The literary aspect of the story, secondary and unimportant in
talmudic-midrashic literature, became the main purpose, while the midrashic elements
became merely ornamental.
Some of the stories included in the collection were taken from talmudic literature;
others are based on the Apocrypha; many of them are new and were written for the
first time in Hebrew, though they might have been previously told as folktales. The
narratives are meant to serve as exempla, but do so in a peculiar way. There is no
intention of teaching man to fulfill the Ten Commandments; this is so elementary, that
it is obviously not the purpose. The aim of the work is to demonstrate the extremes of
obedience demanded by the commandments. The moral expounded is usually
excessive, without any practical didactic value. This tendency shows the first influence
of Moslem ethics in Hebrew literature.

50
(2) "Alfa Beta of Ben Sira" ed. by M. Steinschneider (1858), a pseudepigraphical work
attributed to *Ben Sira , which is in fact a medieval (ninth century?) collection of
stories and epigrams. The aim of the work is a protest against accepted norms of
Judaism. The stories ridicule some of the biblical figures, like David and Jeremiah,
and parody the rabbinic way of learning. Some of the stories carry a bitter note,
protesting against the way God conducts the world. These lively humorous tales
structurally attained the highest artistic form to be found in early medieval Hebrew
storytelling.
(3) Sefer ha-Maasiyyot ("Book of Stories," also Ḥibbur Yafeh me-ha-Yeshu'ah, ed. by
H.Z. Hirschberg, 1954) by *Nissim b. Jacob of Kairouan (11 th century), was originally
written in Arabic. The Arabic original was forgotten; however, early Hebrew
translations made the collection a part of Hebrew medieval literature. R. Nissim used
mainly talmudic-midrashic stories and episodes, but added many medieval folktales,
some of which had their origin in Judaism, others in Moslem and Arabic sources. His
declared purpose was to strengthen the faith in God of a friend who had suffered some
misfortune. The body of the collection, however, is not devoted only to this aim. The
stories fall into all of the main categories of medieval popular narratives, such as
stories about good and bad women, about witches and evil powers, about lust and
repentance. In later Hebrew medieval writings, R. Nissim's stories had a life of their
own, independent of their thematic and plot value in the original collection. They
were told separately, and were included individually in many later collections.
(4) The Exempla of the Rabbis, a collection of stories published from a manuscript by
M. Gaster (1924; 19682), by far the largest to be compiled in the Middle Ages. It
includes more than 200 tales. Most of them are talmudic, but many, especially in the
second half of the collection, are medieval Hebrew folktales told in a captivating
manner, Gaster claims that the collection is extremely old, and even suggests – without
basis – that it was a source for the Talmud. The collection was most probably
compiled in the 11th or 12th century, and shows that some artistic effort had been made
to turn it into an organic and unified literary work by arranging the stories into
different sequences, each connected to the other through the ending of the preceding
narrative.
These four early collections of Hebrew stories mark the beginning of the medieval
Hebrew story as a separate literary form, independent of the Midrash, and claiming its
own place in Jewish culture.

Stories Included in Hebrew Historiographical Works

Simultaneous with the emergence of the Hebrew story as an independent
literary form, Hebrew historiography evolved separately and, in the process, helped to
preserve many Hebrew stories. The dividing line between history and legend, not
clearly defined by the medieval historiographer, led to the literary genre of "fictional
history" which tried to describe the history of a period, but succeeded mainly in
collecting the major stories of it. A classical example is Megillat *Ahima'az ("The
Chronicle of Ahimaaz," ed. by B. Klar, 1945), which was written in rhymed verse in
Italy and describes the history of the Jews in southern Italy from the 8 th to the 11th
centuries. Most of the work is devoted to stories, which might have some historical
foundation, but the writer was mainly interested in telling fables of wonder and
mystery connected with the period: Abu Aaron, an eastern mystic living then in Italy,
is the hero of a collection of these stories in which such things as his supernatural
powers are described.

51
In Abraham *Ibn Daud 's Sefer ha-Kabbalah, a more serious attempt to
distinguish between history and legend is made. Some legends and tales are, however,
included: e.g., the story of the four captives from Babylonia who, after they had been
rescued, spread Jewish culture in many communities; and the legendary material
interwoven in the descriptions of the beginnings of Jewish culture in Spain. The same
situation is found in many other and later historiographical works. A later example of
this kind of "fictional history" is to be found in Gedaliah b. Joseph *Ibn Yahya 's
Shalshelet ha-Kabbalah ("The Chain of Tradition"), written in and influenced by
Renaissance Italy. It is mainly a collection of stories, hagiographies, and exempla
about great medieval scholars, including many demonological and supernatural tales.
The same lack of distinction between fact and fiction is to be found in another
literary genre which developed in the Middle Ages: the peregrinations of great
travelers, who had returned home full of wonderful and strange tales about faraway
countries. Though these travel writings have much important historical data, most of
the writers found special pleasure in telling fabulous stories (e.g., those by *Benjamin
of Tudela , *Pethahiah of Regensburg , and Ḥayyim Joseph David *Azulai ).
Historiography and itineraries, therefore, formed part of the development of the
Hebrew story in the Middle Ages.

The Romance in Hebrew Literature

From the 12th century, Hebrew literature began to include many detailed, long,
and well-developed romantic stories. Most of the romances do not have their origin in
Hebrew culture, but belong to the general medieval stock of fiction. Some are direct
translations from Latin, Arabic, or other languages, while others show special Jewish
adaptation as they passed from the original language into Hebrew. Most of the
romances have more than one Hebrew rendition, and the Jewish elements in them,
therefore, vary from one version to another.
Among the direct translations, to which very few or no Jewish motifs were
added, are the 13th-century Hebrew version of the romance of King Arthur (Artus) and
the Round Table (see *Arthurian Legend ), and the Tales of Sendebar (ed. by M.
Epstein, 1967), the classic cycle of stories about the faithfulness and unfaithfulness of
women and sons, known in the West as the romance of "The Seven Sages of Rome."
Whereas only one Hebrew version of the Arthurian legends is known, the Tales of
Sendebar is found in many manuscripts and in several versions of various length and
number of legends included.
The classic romance, "The Gests of Alexander of Macedonia" (The Book of the
Gests of Alexander of Macedon, ed. and translated into English, by I.J. Kazis, 1962),
exists in Hebrew in no less than five versions; four of them are based on Latin and
Arabic sources in which some Jewish elements were added, the fifth seems to be an
almost totally original work, bearing little affinity to the original classic Greek. The
Jewish elements fuse well into the legends mainly because in the Greek original there
are already a few anecdotes which associate Alexander with the Jews, and in the
talmudic-midrashic tradition there are nearly a dozen stories about Alexander. It is not
surprising, therefore, that in the Jewish version of the romance, Alexander even
encounters the Lost Ten Tribes, is circumcised, and comes to believe in the God of the
Jews.
 52
Another medieval cycle of fables, *Kalila and Dimna (ed. by J. Derenbourg,
1881), which probably originated in India and was transmitted into European literature
via Persian and Arabic writings, has two medieval Hebrew versions, one translated by
a certain R. Joel (probably in the 12th century) and the other by R. Jacob b. Eleazar, a
little later. Ma'aseh Yerushalmi ("The Story of the Jerusalemite," ed. by J.L. Zlotnik
(1946)), a romance about a man who through a miracle had come to the land of the
demons and was there forced to marry *Asmodeus ' daughter, is only known from the
Jewish original, though the motif exists both in Arabic and Latin literatures. Six
Hebrew versions written from the 13 th to the 17th centuries are found in Eastern and
Western Jewish literatures. The differences in the texts are substantial; many,
however, can be explained as a result of the development of the legend within Jewish
literature and thought, and not because of non-Jewish literary influences. This is an
example of a romance, which was probably first written down in 12 th-century Europe,
and was preserved, as well as developed, within Jewish culture, becoming one of the
standard stories in every Hebrew collection.
The Hebrew view of Jesus' life found full expression in a well-developed and
detailed medieval Hebrew romance. The legend, which is the Jewish answer to
Christian versions about the birth, life, and death of Jesus, is of an earlier date; in the
Middle Ages, however, it had grown into an independent, detailed work, Sefer
*Toledot Yeshu . Mary is not unfavorably portrayed, and the author also shows some
understanding of Jesus' deeds. It seems that hate itself could not support the
development of the story, and when it became a romance, some sympathy had to be
shown toward the main characters. Other medieval romances, mainly those originating
in the East, reflecting Indian, Persian, and Arabic influences, were incorporated into
Hebrew literature as tales in verse, mainly in the *maqama form, which in Hebrew is
usually regarded as a poetic rather than a prose genre. The full acceptance of the
medieval romance into Hebrew literature, both in its various forms and independent
development, signifies that from the 12th century onward Hebrew fictional prose
writing became apart of general medieval fiction. It used the stock heroes and plots of
medieval fiction, but infused them with special Jewish motifs.

The Story in Hebrew Ethical Literature

With the development of Jewish ethical literature in the 11 th century, the story
found another major outlet, as well as a wide field for its development. Writers of
ethical works, trying to reach as wide a public as possible and educate it according to
their own ethical ideology, used every literary form which would popularize their
works. This desire for a wider public made the use of stories, fables, legends, exempla,
hagiographies, anecdotes, epigrams, imperative within the framework of ethical
literature. As a result, many ethical works became treasure houses of all sorts of
Hebrew fictional writings as well as the different literary genres devoted to the story
exclusively.
Jewish philosophy, the first movement to develop Hebrew ethical literature
(written mainly in Arabic and later translated into Hebrew), contributed little to the
development of the story. Its authors were hostile toward narrative literary forms,
going so far as to voice contempt for the narratives in the Bible itself. *Baḥya b.
Joseph ibn Paquda in the preface to his Ḥovot ha-Levavot ("Duties of the Heart"), one
of the most famous and influential philosophical-ethical works, explains that the
narratives in the Bible were included by God to distinguish between the wise who will
disregard them and study the wisdom in the Bible, and the fools, who will follow the
narratives and

53
thus reveal themselves as fools. The attitude was widely held by many Jewish
medieval intellectuals, and even the *Zohar used the same fable that Baḥya did to
demonstrate his contempt of the biblical narratives and narrative literature in general.
 Despite their hostile attitude, the medieval philosophers did use the story,
mainly in the form of long and well-developed fables and short anecdotes;
philosophical-ethical writings, therefore, became another means through which the
body of Jewish literature was enriched with anecdotes, epigrams, and fables. Many of
them were taken from Arab philosophical and moralistic writings whose origin, as
often as not, was in Indian literature. Views, too radical to be plainly stated, were
often couched in fables; the wide disparity between the fable and the author's
explanation served as an indication of the real views of the radical thinker. Baḥya
himself often used this method in his work.
While philosophical-ethical literature did not contribute a great deal to the
development of the Hebrew story, the two other main schools of Jewish medieval
thought, the Ḥasidei Ashkenaz and the kabbalists, in their theological and their ethical
works, were the main outlet for the fictional narrative which was to become inherent in
popular Jewish culture.

The Story in Ashkenazi-Ḥasidic Literature

The writings of R. *Judah b. Samuel he-Ḥasid (d. 1217) and his disciples, both
theological and ethical, are one of the main sources of the Hebrew narrative in the
Middle Ages. The reason for this is at least partially theological. The Ḥasidei
Ashkenaz believed that God's will and presence were not to be found in common
phenomena of the everyday world and in laws of nature, but in miraculous wonderful
happenings, If a Ḥasid, therefore, wanted to learn God's ways and essence, he had to
look for unusual phenomena and deduce God's power from them. This attitude,
naturally, caused the Ḥasidei Ashkenaz to write down and preserve stories and
anecdotes about the exceptional, which was to them theological truth.
Most of these stories have some demonological elements and many describe
meetings between men and witches, werewolves, demons, spirits, and ghosts. These
supernatural powers did not represent any evil to the Ḥasidim; they regarded them as a
part, though a dangerous and mysterious one, of the world created by God. Their
theology made the Ḥasidim look for "true" stories which they could believe had
actually happened. This is the reason that the literary element was neglected and most
of the stories are "eyewitness" anecdotes. Consequently also 12th- and 13th-century
German demonology is depicted and not traditional Jewish demonology and
superstition. Many of the stories, told by the Ḥasidim as short anecdotes in the 12 th
century, were collected and developed 700 years later by the Grimm brothers as main
stories of German mythology and folklore.
The second motive for the use of the story in Ashkenazi-ḥasidic literature was
the ethical fanaticism of the Ḥasidim, as it is reflected in Sefer Ḥasidim, the major
ethical work of Ḥasidei Ashkenaz. The extreme demands made by the Ashkenazi
Ḥasidim on their followers were demonstrated in hundreds of exempla in which stories
are told about men who succeeded in achieving the nigh impossible ethical standards
set by the ḥasidic teachers. The latter, in turn, became heroes of cycles of legends (see
*Legend ; *Hagiography ), written in the 13th, 15th, and 16th centuries and translated
into Yiddish, in which supernatural deeds are attributed to them. Some of the

54
later hagiographical legends sprang from original Ashkenazi-ḥasidic stories in which
the heroes were anonymous.
Ashkenazi-ḥasidic ethical literature was one of the main influences on later
Jewish ethics whose exponents made extensive use of Sefer Ḥasidim and other
Ashkenazi-ḥasidic writings. The narratives of the Ḥasidei Ashkenaz were thus
preserved long after the movement had died out (late 13 th century), and this body of
stories became one of the standard sources of later Hebrew fictional writing.

The Narrative in the Kabbalah

 The Kabbalah, which flourished in Provence and Spain in the 12 th century
(reaching its maturity at the end of the 13 th century), developed the medieval Hebrew
narrative in three different forms:
(1) The hagiography. The teachers of the Kabbalah were treated by their disciples and
followers as men of God who possessed secret knowledge and supernatural powers.
Contemporaries of these sages and the following generations created hagiographical
cycles of stories about them. The kabbalistic sages themselves also wrote
hagiographies, often attributing their works to tannaitic sources, and describing the
Tannaim hagiographically. Works like the *Zohar , Sefer ha-*Kanah , and others
include countless stories about the early sages.
(2) The mythological story. By introducing mythological elements into Jewish
theology, the kabbalists opened many new possibilities to the Hebrew story (see
*Kabbalah ). The idea that processes in the divine spheres and the war between the
divine powers of good and evil could be told in a narrative manner led the kabbalistic
imagination to endow the saintly being with power to intervene in the divine spheres.
The literary genre of the mythological story came to the fore only in later centuries,
e.g., the story of R. *Joseph Della Reina (first recorded in 1519, published in 1913),
and the stories and legends about *Shabbetai Zevi , who was regarded as having divine
power by his believers.
(3) The mystical story. Mystical elements in the Kabbalah led kabbalists to describe
their divine revelations and visions, through which they acquired mystical knowledge,
in narrative form (see *Visions ). The characteristics of the narrative were influenced
by the individual kabbalist author: how he viewed his experience and his attitude to
the form, Kabbalistic mysticism thus developed the aspect of the individual visions in
the story.
The Kabbalah, between the 12th and 15th centuries, did not try to reach a wide public,
and its exponents usually kept their knowledge and revelations a secret. Only at the
end of the 15th and in the 16th centuries did the Kabbalah begin to reach wider and
wider circles in the various Jewish communities and, therefore, it is in the later
Middle Ages that the influence of the Kabbalah on the Hebrew narrative became
predominant. It is in 16th-century Jerusalem, Safed, and Italy, and 17th-century Eastern
Europe that the kabbalistic story came into its own.

55
The Hebrew Story in the Italian Renaissance
The Hebrew story in 16th-century Italy was influenced not only by the spirit of
Italian Renaissance art and literature, but also by the catastrophe of the expulsion of
the Jews from Spain and Portugal at the end of the 15 th century. The combination of
these two influences is reflected, for instance, in the dialogues found in Shevet
Yehudah, a fictional-historical work by Solomon *Ibn Verga . It is devoted mainly to
historical descriptions of the various catastrophes which befell the Jewish people since
the destruction of the Temple. The originality of the work lies in the fictional
dialogues between Christian kings, bishops, and scholars, sometimes also involving
Jewish scholars and ordinary persons. Ibn Verga's views as to the causes of the
catastrophes are unusual for his time. He states that the Jews themselves are to blame
for their misfortunes which occurred because of their arrogance, fanaticism, and
intolerance. The shock of the expulsion is fused here with the spirit of tolerance of the
Renaissance to produce a work whose views were not again to come to the fore before
the 19th- century Reform movement in Judaism.
 The shock of the disaster of Spanish Jewry gave birth to messianic literature;
the most famous examples are the autobiography of David *Re'uveni who styled
himself as an emissary of the Lost Ten Tribes to the Pope and kings of Europe, and the
autobiographical sketches and kabbalistic visions of Solomon *Molcho who felt that it
was his destiny to announce the coming of the Messiah. Many more messianic stories
were written in that period.
One of the most important literary contributions of the period to the Hebrew story was
the art of autobiography (see *Biography and Autobiography ). Ḥayyei Yehudah by
Leone *Modena is one of the most intimate and revealing autobiographies written in
Hebrew during the Middle Ages. Abraham *Jagel (Caliko) in one of the stories in Gei
Ḥizzayon ("The Valley of Vision") relates how the spirit of his dead father visited him
in prison and took him to the heavenly spheres. On their way, father and son met
many spirits, good and wicked, who told their stories, and Abraham also told what had
happened to him after his father's death. This literary form bears the mark of the Italian
novella of that age, and the stories themselves were only slightly Judaized.
This period is marked by two conflicting developments in the Hebrew narrative. On
the one hand, there is a closer connection and mutual influence between Hebrew and
Italian cultures which benefited the Hebrew story. On the other hand, the Jewish
situation of the time caused the Hebrew story to reflect the growing messianic hopes,
resulting in a tendency toward isolation from outer influences. The Hebrew story thus
came to express the emotions and tensions of a people torn between catastrophe and
messianic hope.

The Hebrew Story in Palestine in the 16th Century

Concurrent with the Hebrew renaissance in literature in Italy, there was a
Jewish literary and mystic renaissance in Palestine, especially in Safed. Kabbalistic
thought, which prevailed in Safed at the time, filled the hearts of almost all the Jewish
scholars with messianic expectations. At the beginning of the 16th century, from
Jerusalem, came the first version of the story of Joseph Della Reina who tried to bring
about the redemption through magic and Kabbalah. Here attention was focused on
Nevu'at ha Yeled ("The Prophecy of the Child" in Jacob Ḥayyim Ẓemaḥ's Nagid u-
Meẓavveh,

56
Constantinople, 1726), a story about a wonder child who revealed in obscure Aramaic
prophecies the time of the redemption.
In Safed, stories were told about various sages who had performed unusual
deeds and undergone all kinds of torture, in order to repent for the sins of all Israel,
and in this way hasten the coming of the Messiah. In Safed also appeared R. Isaac
*Luria whose teachings revolutionized the Kabbalah and gave it messianic direction;
there the first body of hagiographical stories, preserved in various versions (see
*Hagiography , *Toledot ha-Ari ), was created around Isaac Luria and his school; and
there Luria's foremost pupil, R. Ḥayyim *Vital , wrote his Sefer ha
Ḥezyonot ("Book of Visions") in which he describes his dreams of glory, believing
Luria to be the Messiah who was to be a descendant of Joseph, and himself, the
Messiah who was to be a descendant of David.
Many other kabbalists and non-kabbalists contributed to the development of
the Hebrew story in Palestine at this period, At the beginning of the 17 th century, their
works began to spread to Eastern Europe, where most of the Jews and most of the
more important communities were then located. Unlike the Hebrew literature of the
Italian Renaissance, the literature of Safed had an enormous influence in shaping the
culture of the Jewish communities in Eastern Europe. Therefore, the further
development of the Hebrew story in the 17th and 18th centuries was a direct
continuation of the Safed revival and not of the new forms supplied by the Hebrew
renaissance literature in Italy.

The Hebrew Story in the 17th and 18th Centuries

Two major processes paved the way for the development of the Hebrew
narrative in this period. The first was the spreading of the Lurianic Kabbalah
throughout the Jewish world; the hagiographical cycle of stories woven around Luria
was repeated in many versions, in many works, with similar stories told about other
sages, most of them kabbalists. The second was the Shabbatean movement, which,
although it did not produce much narrative literature, did lay the foundations for a
new kind of legend: the messianic legend about Shabbetai Ẓevi who had styled
himself as the Messiah. Some legendary biographies of Shabbetai Ẓevi and his
prophet, Nathan of Gaza, were preserved, but there was probably much more narrative
material which was either lost or suppressed by the opponents of Shabbeteanism. This
had some delayed influence on ḥasidic literature.
Another change marking the development of the Hebrew story in Eastern
Europe in this period was the wider use of Yiddish which had become the spoken, and
often the written, language of the Jews. While sacred works in the field of halakhah
and Kabbalah were always written in Hebrew, popular works, like stories and ethical
literature, were either written only in Yiddish, or in Hebrew with a Yiddish translation.
From this period on, it is impossible to distinguish between the development of
Hebrew and Yiddish stories. Many originally Hebrew stories were written down in
Yiddish, and many popular stories, which were told in Yiddish, were written down in
Hebrew.
The wide use of printing also affected the field of narrative literature, and old
and new stories were collected and published in small booklets and sometimes in
larger collections. Attempts to collect medieval stories have been made by scholars in
the East and West. Ḥayyim Joseph David Azulai, an eastern rabbi, wrote down and
compiled the stories he had heard throughout his long life and wide travels.
Unfortunately, he usually gave only a short description of the story and seldom went
into details. Other

57
th th
eastern rabbis in the 18 and early 19 centuries collected hundreds of medieval
stories; these, however, have remained in manuscripts until this very day. In the West,
collections of stories were published more often; the largest and most important of
them being the Oseh Pele ("Wonder Worker"). Modern scholars have taken an
interest in this rich mine of narrative literature, and the greatest modern collection,
which includes also a full bibliography of earlier collections, is M.J. Berdyczewski's
Mi-Mekor Yisrael (19662).

The Ḥasidic Story

The Hebrew narrative in its medieval form continued to develop in the modern
period. Haskalah literature did not serve as a substitute for continued creative effort in
the old types and forms of Hebrew narrative writing; on the contrary – the Hebrew
story, in its medieval form, reached its zenith with the emergence of Haskalah
literature. This phenomenon is due to the modern ḥasidic movement, founded by
*Israel Ba'al Shem Tov (late 18th century) from which the medieval narrative drew
new life.
Though Ḥasidism began much earlier, ḥasidic narrative literature as a written
art came to the fore only at the beginning of the 19th century when *Shivḥei ha-Besht
and the stories of R. *Naḥman of Bratslav were published (Berdichev, 1815). Later,
hundreds of Hasidic tales were compiled and published. They very often included not
only Hasidic material but also stories about medieval sages. The sanctity accorded to
the story in Hasidic life and ideology helped to preserve not only the Hasidic story
itself, but countless medieval narratives which would have been lost had the authors of
 Hasidic narrative anthologies not looked for them and saved them from oblivion. The
Hasidic narrative and the medieval stories that were drawn into the body of Hasidic
literature did not use the wide range of literary forms which came into being in the
Middle Ages and have been described above. The modern form almost exclusively
belongs to the field of hagiography, and the stories were sometimes used as exempla.
The other literary forms ceased to be a vehicle of expression; their place and possible
development in Hebrew literature form part of the history of modern Hebrew
literature, and not Hasidic literature. For later developments see *Hebrew Literature.

58
APPLICATION Activity No. 2
“Fill-it-in-the-Box”
Directions: Fill in the matrix below about your insights on the biblical stories of your
religion and that of Hebrew. You may write them in paragraph form.
Biblical Stories of Your Religion Hebrew Learnings and Insights
 You have finished the lesson and this module! Please make sure to submit the Module
Assessment.

MODULE ASSESSMENT

I. Literary Criticism Essay

Directions: Write critical analyses about three literary pieces of your own choice but it
should be from our listed genres in the midterm coverage. (This will be your submissions
for Midterm both Modules 4, 5 & 6.)

59

Module No. & Title Module 5: Norse Myth: Creation, Powers and
Treasures of God

Welcome to Module 5 of EL 112! In this

module, you will be wandering into the peculiar
world of Norse mythology. You will be reading set
Module Overview Vikings' lives. These myths revolved around gods
and goddesses with fascinating and highly
complex characters.

At the end of the module, the students are

Module Objectives/ Outcomes
expected to:
• identify the different gods and goddesses of
Norse mythology.
• differentiate the difference between Norse and
Greek mythology.
• reflect on the elements present and write about
the impact of each character.

This module contains the following lessons:

Lessons in the Module
of religious stories that gave meaning to the Lesson 1: Adventures of Gods, Balder and
Ragnarok

Time Frame 2 weeks

60
The Origins of the Norse Mythology

Norse mythology comprises the indigenous pre-Christian religion, beliefs and

legends of the Scandinavian peoples, including those who settled on Iceland, where most
of the written sources for Norse mythology were assembled.
Norse mythology is the best-preserved version of the older common Germanic
paganism, which also includes the very closely related Anglo-Saxon mythology. The
Norse Gods are the mythological characters from stories shared by Northern Germanic
tribes of the 9th century AD. These stories were passed down in the form of poetry until
the 11th – 18th centuries when the Eddas and other medieval texts were written.
The Poetic Edda (also known as the Elder Edda) was committed to writing about 50
years after the Prose Edda. It contains 29 long poems, of which 11 deal with the Germanic
deities, the rest with legendary heroes like Sigurd the Volsung (the Siegfried of the
German version Nibelungenlied). Although scholars think it was transcribed later than the
other Edda, the language and poetic forms involved in the tales appear to have been
composed centuries earlier than their transcription.
Besides these sources, there are surviving legends in Scandinavian folklore. Some of
these can be corroborated with legends appearing in other Germanic literatures e.g. the
tale related in the Anglo-Saxon Battle of Finnsburgh and the many allusions to
mythological tales in Deor. When several partial references and tellings survive, scholars
can deduce the underlying tale. Additionally, there are hundreds of place names in
Scandinavia named after the gods.
A few runic inscriptions, such as the Rök Runestone and the Kvinneby amulet, make
references to the mythology. There are also several runestones and image stones that
depict scenes from Norse mythology, such as Thor’s fishing trip, scenes depicting Sigurd
(Sigfried) the dragon slayer, Odin and Sleipnir, Odin being devoured by Fenrir, and one of
the surviving stones from the Hunnestad Monument appears to show Hyrrokkin riding to
Baldr’s funeral. In Denmark, one image stone depicts Loki with curled dandy-like
mustaches and lips that are sewn together and the British Gosforth cross shows several
mythological images. There are also smaller images, such as figurines depicting the god
Odin (with one eye), Thor (with his hammer) and Freyr (with his enormous phallus).
 61
ACTIVITY “The Greek and the German”
I

Activity No. 1

I. Look back at your learnings about Greek Mythology. In detail, differentiate Greek
and Norse mythology. Write your insights in the box below.
GREEK MYTHOLOGY NORSE MYTHOLOGY

In the world of Norse mythology, we find gods and goddesses, giants, strange
and powerful creatures, elves, dwarves and land spirits. It is difficult for a
21st century person to conceive of the worldview of the Vikings, brimming as
it was with such a variety of spiritual beings.

Yggdrasil and the Nine Worlds

The center of the Vikings’ cosmos is the ash tree Yggdrasil, growing out of the
Well of Urd. Yggdrasil holds the Nine Worlds, home of gods, man and all
spiritual beings. The gods live in Asgard and Vanaheim and humans inhabit
Midgard. Giants live in Jotunheim, elves in Alfheim and dwarves in
Svartalfheim. Another is the primordial world of ice, Niflheim, while
Muspelheim is the world of fire. The last world comprises Hel, the land of the
dead, ruled by the goddess Hel.

Gods and Goddesses

The gods and goddesses venerated by the Vikings are Odin, Thor, Loki,
Baldur, Frigg, Freya, Freyr and Njoror. There are many other gods and
goddesses in the Norse pantheon but these received the primary attention in
the sagas and eddas.

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• Odin, the allfather, the one-eyed seeker of wisdom, god of magic, war and
runes, hung himself on Yggdrasil for nine days and nights to find
wisdom, brought the runes to mankind
 • Thor, with his magic hammer Mjolnir, protects mankind and his realm of
Midgard, god of warriors
• Loki, a dangerous half-god, half-giant trickster always wreaking havoc
among the gods
• Baldur, son of Odin and Frigg, a beautiful and gracious god, beloved of
all, killed by Loki’s trickery
• Frigg, wife of Odin, practitioner of magic, goddess of the home, mother of
Baldur
• Freya, feather-cloaked goddess of love and fertility but also of war and
death
• Freyr, her brother, god of farming, agriculture, fertility and prosperity •
Njoror, powerful god of the sea

Giants, Elves, Dwarves and Land Spirits

Giant is not a good name for these spiritual beings; think of them as
devourers, out to destroy order and return the world to primeval chaos. They
are the enemies of gods, but also their relatives. Giants are dangerous to
mankind, which is why Thor often hunts them. Elves and dwarves appear in
the sagas, but are different from what we might picture them to be. Dwarves
are miners and smiths and live underground. They are invisible, powerful
spiritual beings, not short humans. Elves are also spiritual beings, demi-gods
who can mate with mankind and have children with them.

Land spirits inhabit everything on the land—trees, herbs, stones and bodies of
water. The land spirits (landvaettir in Old Norse) hold considerable power
over the well-being of the land and those who live on it. People took care to
honor and placate the landvaettir. In the first law of Iceland, Vikings were
told to remove the dragon heads from their ships when approaching land so
they wouldn’t frighten the land spirits.

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THE HEROES AND LIFE IN VALHALLA

Concerning the mighty deeds and the destinies of the gods much has here been recounted; much
less concerning their daily life in Asgard with those of mankind who came into their fellowship.
Both Freyja and Odin made the Heroes welcome: Freyja in Folkvang, and Odin in Vingolf and
Valhalla. We learn nothing, however, as to which of these domains was to be preferred; we have
evidence only as to the manner in which Odin and the Heroes fleeted the time in Valhalla. It
would seem that men generally thought of Valhalla as the resort of the fallen Heroes; there they
passed their days in mirth and gladness. Odin himself chose them through the Valkyries; and the
foremost among them were welcomed by certain Æsir or by doughty elder Heroes who went
forth to meet them. In Valhalla the Heroes amuse themselves day by day with battles and
banquets. In the morning, donning their armor they sally upon the field to fight and kill one
another; yet they rise again unharmed, sit down to eat and drink, and remain the best of comrades.
The Heroes are a great company, constantly increasing; but their number is never so great that
they do not have enough to eat from the flesh of the boar Sæhrimnir.

The cook, named Andhrimnir, each day boils the boar in a kettle called Eldhrimnir; but at evening
the beast is lust as much alive and unhurt as before. The Heroes drink ale and mead poured out for
them by the Valkyries; Odin alone and those whom he desires to honor drink wine. All the mead
they drink runs from the udder of Heidrun, a goat that stands on the roof of Valhalla cropping the
branches of a tree called Lærad. The mead fills a great drinking-crock in the hall, enough of it to
make all the Heroes drunken. Lærad possesses not only the inherent virtue of producing all the
mead; on the roof of Valhalla there stands also a hart named Eikthyrnir, who gnaws at the tree and
from whose antlers drops fall down into Vergelmir; thence flow forth twelve rivers that water the
domain of the Æsir, and in addition thirteen other rivers.

THE TREASURES OF THE GODS

Loki’s malice was in reality the occasion of the acquiring by the Æsir of all the precious weapons and
treasures that served them in such good stead during their warfare with the Giants. Once upon a time Loki
cut off all of Sif’s hair.
When Thor found out what had happened, he seized upon Loki and threatened to crush every bone in his
body; he relented only on Loki’s swearing that he would get the Dark-Elves to fashion for Sif hair from
gold that would grow like other hair. Loki went with his task to certain Dwarfs known as the Sons of
Ivaldi; and they, made not only the hair but also the ship Skidbladnir and the spear Gungnir. Loki
promptly laid a wager of his own head with another Dwarf, named Brokk, that the Dwarf’s brother Sindri
was not craftsman enough to make three other talismans as precious as these. Brokk and Sindri repaired to
the smithy, where Sindri, laying a pig’s hide in the forge, asked Brokk to blow the bellows without pause
until he himself returned to take the hide out again.

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No sooner had Sindri gone than a fly alighted on Brokk’s arm and stung him; he kept the bellows
going nevertheless, and when Sindri lifted his workmanship from the forge, it turned out to be a
boar with golden bristles. Next he laid some gold in the forge, asked Brokk to blow as before, and
went away; at once the fly came back, settled on Brokk’s neck, and stung him twice as hard as the
first time. Brokk notwithstanding held out until Sindri returned and lifted from the forge the gold
ring Draupnir.
Then he laid some iron in the fire and asked Brokk to blow, insisting that the work would be
spoiled if the blowing stopped; but the fly came once more, settled between Brokk’s eyes, and
stung him on the eyelids so that the blood ran down and blinded him. He could not refrain from
loosing his hold on the bellows with one hand to drive the fly away. Just at that moment the smith
returned and declared that his handiwork had been on the very point of coming to naught; he lifted
it from the forge, and it proved to be a hammer.
Giving all three pieces to Brokk, he told him to make his way to Asgard and demand payment of
the wager. The Æsir took their places on the judgment seats and came to the decision that Odin,
Thor, and Frey were to judge between Loki and Brokk. Loki gave to Odin the spear Gungnir,
which never failed of its mark; to Thor he gave the golden hair, which took root as soon as it was
fixed on Sif’s head; and to Frey he gave the ship Skidbladnir, which always found favoring winds
and which could be folded up and placed in a pocket as occasion might befall. Brokk gave to Odin
the ring Draupnir, from which each ninth night there dropped eight other rings as heavy as itself.
To Frey he gave the boar Gullinbusti, who was able to run through the air and over the sea more
swiftly than any horse; no night was so black, no murky region so dark as not to be illumined by
his passage, so powerful was the light that shone from his bristles.

To Thor he gave the hammer Mjollnir; with it he could strike as hard a blow as he pleased at
anything that came in his way, and yet the hammer suffered not the least dent; he could throw it so
as always to hit what he aimed at, and the hammer would return to his hand of its own power;
when he so desired, he could make it small and put it in his pocket; he had but one fault to find:
the shaft was rather short. The Æsir promptly judged that Brokk had won the wager; in Mjollnir
they had acquired the very best defence against the Rime-Thursar. Loki wanted to redeem his
head, but the Dwarf would not consent. “Catch me if you can,” said Loki; and no sooner had he
spoken than he was far away, for he wore shoes that could carry him through the air and over the
seas.

The Dwarf asked Thor to seize him, and Thor did so. Brokk was about to cut off Loki’s head, but
Loki declared that the wager called for his head only, and not for his neck. Brokk then began
sewing Loki’s lips together. He was unable to make an incision with his own knife, but with his
brother’s awl he managed to make openings through which, he could sew the mouth up tight; that
done, he tore out through the lips the thong he had used in sewing them together.

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ANALYSIS

In two to three sentences, write an idea about the quotation given below.

““Did we as humans just make things

up in order to try to understand
where we came from and why we
were here?”

________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

Here are the Main Norse Myths:

•The Creation of the Cosmos – Fire and ice cross a void, meet in the middle, and form a
giant whom the gods then slay to fashion the world.

• The Creation of the First Humans – The gods find two pieces of driftwood on the shore
in the newly-created world, and bring them to life as the first man and woman.

• The Aesir-Vanir War – The two tribes of gods fight the first war that was ever fought.

• The Mead of Poetry – After a series of wild adventures and close calls, Odin obtains the
mead that grants creative and spiritual inspiration.

• The Creation of Thor’s Hammer – Loki stirs up mischief among the dwarves and almost
loses his head, but ultimately gives the gods several priceless gifts, including Thor’s mighty
hammer.

• The Fortification of Asgard – A giant agrees to build a much-needed wall around the
gods’ celestial stronghold, but his price is terrible. Loki saves the gods through a scandalously
lewd act.

• Why Odin is One-Eyed – Odin voluntarily gives up one of his eyes in exchange for one of
the greatest prizes in the universe.

• Odin’s Discovery of the Runes – After “sacrificing himself to himself,” Odin gains
fearsome magical powers.

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• The Kidnapping of Idun – As a result of further mischief from Loki, the gods almost lose
one of their most beloved companions.

• The Marriage of Njord and Skadi – A god and a giantess suffer an ill-fated marriage.

• The Binding of Fenrir – The wolf Fenrir, one of Loki’s dreadful children, is finally
subdued, but only after the god Tyr loses something very dear to him.

• The Tale of Utgarda-Loki – Thor and Loki travel to the land of the giants and engage
their hosts in a series of contests.

• Thor Fishing for Jormungand – Thor tries to pull his arch enemy, the “world serpent,”
out of the depths of the ocean.

• Thor the Transvestite – Thor loses his hammer to the giants, and has to go through a
humiliating ordeal in order to get it back.

• Thor’s Duel with Hrungnir – Thor duels with one of the most formidable giants.

• The Death of Baldur – Baldur, one of the most cherished gods, dies an improbable death
through the wickedness of Loki.

• Loki Bound – Loki is punished in a particularly agonizing way for his murder of Baldur.

• Ragnarok – The gods meet the giants for the final battle that will save or doom the

world. Tales

The body of stories that we today call “Norse mythology” formed one of the centerpieces
of the pagan Norse religion. These are the tales that Viking poets recited in dimly lit halls
to the captivated attendees of grand feasts, and which fathers and mothers told to their
 children around roaring hearth-fires on long winter nights. They are epic myths of war,
magic, love, betrayal, triumph, and ruin. Not only did they provide deep wells of religious
meaning for the Vikings; they also speak to much that is timeless and universal in the
human condition, and so continue to provide modern audiences from around the world
with wonder, entertainment, and even spiritual nourishment for some.
Since the pre-Christian Norse never wrote down their myths – theirs was an almost
exclusively oral culture – the primary sources upon which our current knowledge of Norse
mythology rests were all written while the Norse were converting to Christianity, or
generations thereafter. Thus, we can’t be absolutely certain that the stories as they’ve
come down to us are the same as the tales the pagan Vikings would have told to one
another. But while the myths from the Old Norse Eddas and sagas may not be “pure,”
they nevertheless contain much that certainly is an authentic product of the Viking Age.
The chronology of Norse mythology has a clear beginning in the creation myth, and a
clear ending in the tale of Ragnarok. But most of what happens in between those two
bookends doesn’t occur in any particular order, and certainly doesn’t follow a strictly
linear trajectory. Sometimes, we find that myth A assumes that myth B has already taken
place, yet myth B assumes that myth A has already taken place. This is because Norse
mythology was never a neat, tidy system; the Viking mind didn’t demand the same kind
of strict, rational codification that the modern mind does (or at least thinks it does).
Instead, the Vikings seem to have been much more concerned with how much the myths
spoke to their hearts and imaginations, as well as the degree to which the myths reflected
and made sense of the world as they experienced it. In other words, they were more
interested in the stories’

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existential significance than in fitting them into a doctrinally and chronologically precise
framework.

The Twelve Most Important Gods in Norse Mythology

In the beginning there were only native forests and wasteland. The Aesirs, one main
group of Norse gods, cleared places to stay, both for themselves and the humans. They
named the human’s home Midgard – because it is placed in the middle of the world.
And in the middle of Midgard – so that the humans should not feel lonely and
abandoned – the gods built a place for themselves: Asgard.

Asgard is a huge castle surrounded by thick walls. To get there you have to ride over the
rainbow Bifrost. Strong defenses were built around Midgard as protection against the
wild and unknown outside where dark and sinister forces are raging. There – in Utgard
and Jotunheim – giants and trolls live. Everything is arranged like tree-rings. And
furthest out, in all directions, is the vast world ocean where the Midgard Serpent lives.

There are twelve main gods in Norse mythology: Odin, Thor, Balder, Vidar, Vale,
Brage, Heimdall, Ty, Njord, Froy, Ull and Forsete, – where Njord and Froy are not
Aesirs, but Vanirs living in Asgard. Sometimes, Age and Loki is also considered Aesirs.

THE RAPE OF IDUN

The story has already been told of how the Giantess Skadi was received into the society of the Æsir and of how
Njord was given to her as a husband by way of recompense for the murder of her father Thjazi. Loki’s wiles
provided the direct occasion for these events. Once upon a time Odin, accompanied by Loki and Hœnir, set
forth on a journey that took them across mountains and over wastes where it was no easy matter to find food.
At length, on descending into a valley, they caught sight of a drove of oxen; seizing one of the herd they
kindled a fire, and began to boil the flesh. When they supposed the meat to be cooked, they took it off the fire;
but it was far from done, and they had to let it boil a while longer. The same thing happened a second time; so
they fell to debating the strange occurrence and wondering what might be the cause. As chance would have it,
they were sitting under a tree, and so they heard a voice above their heads saying that he who sat perched in
the tree was to blame for the tardiness of their cooking.

Looking more closely, they saw an immense eagle. The eagle said that if they would allow it to still its hunger
from the flesh of the ox, the meat would be cooked soon enough. They gave their consent, and the eagle
forthwith swooped down and made off with both of the two hind quarters and both fore quarters. Loki became
so angry that he picked up a staff and struck at the eagle. The eagle flew away, and one end of the staff stuck
fast to the body of the bird and the other end remained fixed to Loki’s arms, so that he was dragged over stock
and stone till he thought his arms would be pulled from their sockets.

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 He begged the eagle for mercy, but was not freed until he had given his promise to steal Idun out of
Asgard, and her apples to boot. Not before he had sealed his promise with an oath was he permitted
to return to his companions. When they had come back to Asgard and the appointed hour was at
hand, he told Idun that he had discovered certain apples in a wood lying beyond the bounds of
Asgard; she would no doubt find them worth having, and accordingly she would do well to visit the
spot, taking her own apples along as a means of comparison.

Idun permitted herself to be hoodwinked, and the eagle promptly came and carried her off. The
eagle, none other than the Giant Thjazi in disguise, bore her away to his own estate of Thrymheim,
where he kept her a long while in durance. The Æsir soon noticed that Idun’s apples were gone, for
they grew old and gray and could find no means of renewing their youth. They met in solemn
conclave to inquire into the disappearance of Idun; then some one told that he had seen her walk
forth from Asgard attended by Loki. The gods summoned Loki before the assembly and threatened
him with death or dire tortures. He became so frightened that he promised to bring Idun back again
if Freyja would only lend him her falcon disguise.

His request being granted, he flew off to Jotunheim and arrived at Thrymheim at a time when
Thjazi happened to be out at sea engaged in fishing, and Idun was alone at home. Loki transformed
Idun into a nut and made off with her as fast as he could fly; but just afterward Thjazi returned, and
not finding Idun, assumed the shape of an eagle and set out in pursuit of Loki. Little by little the
eagle gained on the falcon. When the Æsir saw the two birds drawing near in their flight, they
made haste to gather a heap of shavings outside the walls of Asgard, and at the very moment the
falcon came inside they kindled the fire. The eagle was unable to come to a stop before it was
directly above the bonfire; its wings bursting into flame, it was incapable of continuing the flight.
Thus the Æsir got Thjazi into their power and put him to death just within the gates of Asgard.

Thjazi was one of the most formidable of the Giants. His father Olvaldi’s wealth was so great that
when Thjazi and his two brothers, Idi and Gang, were to divide their patrimony, they were
compelled to measure out the gold by mouthfuls. When Thjazi’s daughter Skadi came to demand
payment of a penalty for the death of her father, she was not satisfied with being permitted to
choose a husband1; she required in addition that the Æsir should make her laugh, something she
deemed to be impossible. Loki again was called upon to deal with the emergency; so he played
some vulgar tricks with a goat, and she was compelled to laugh in spite of herself. Odin took
Thjazi’s two eyes and tossed them up into the heavens, where they became two stars.

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BALDER

The son of Odin and Frigg is Balder, the god of innocence and piety. He is so bright and fair that light
shines from his features; he is also wise, eloquent, gentle, and lenient, and righteous to such a degree
that his judgments stand always unshaken. His home and stronghold is called Breidablik; there
nothing impure may find lodgment. His wife is the faithful Nanna, daughter of Nep. His son is the
righteous Forseti. Balder was killed by his brother Hod, but after the destruction of the universe he
will return again.

The cult of Balder is mentioned only in the late, unhistorical Fridthjof’s Saga; from this source we
learn that he had a great sanctuary, Baldershagi, somewhere in Sogn.

RAGNAROK — THE TWILIGHT OF THE GODS

At last the time draws near when the existing universe must perish and the gods must succumb before
higher powers. This period is called in the ancient myths the Dissolution or Destin? (rok) of the gods
or rulers (ragna, genitive plural of regin); a later form is ragnarøkkr, the Darkness of the Gods.

The gods themselves have foreknowledge of its coming, which is foreshadowed by many signs. Evil
and violence increase. The Æsir’s cock with the golden comb (Gullinkambi) crows to waken the
Heroes of Odin’s retinue; the dun cock in Hel’s keeping crows likewise; so also crows the red cock
Fjalar in the world of the Giants; and Garm bays vehemently outside the rocky fastness of Gnipa. For
the space of three years the earth is filled with strife and wickedness; brother kills brother for gain’s
sake, and the son spares not his own father.

Then come three other years, like one long winter; everywhere the snow drifts into heaps, the sun
yields no warmth, and biting winds blow from all quarters. That winter is known as Fimbul Winter
(the Great Winter). The wolf Skoll swallows the sun, and Hati or Manigarm swallows the moon so
that the heavens and the air are sprayed with blood. The stars are quenched. The earth and all the
mountains tremble; trees are uprooted; all bonds are burst asunder. Both Loki and the Fenris Wolf
shake off their shackles. The Midgard Serpent, seeking to reach dry land, swims with such turbulent
force that the seas wash over their banks. Now the ship Naglfar once more floats on the flood. The
ship is made from dead men’s nails, and therefore the nails of all that die should be trimmed before
their burial, to the end that Naglfar may be the sooner finished. Loki steers the ship, and the crews of
Hell follow him.

The Giant Rym comes out from the east, and with him all the Rime-Thursar. The Fenris Wolf rushes
forth with gaping maw; his upper jaw touches the heavens, his nether jaw the earth; he would gape
still more if there were more room. His eyes are lit with flame. The Midgard Serpent, keeping pace
with the Wolf, spews venom over sky and sea. Amidst all the din and clamor the heavens are cleft
open, and the Sons of Muspell ride forth from the south with Surt in the van, fires burning before him
and behind him. His sword shines brighter than the sun. As they ride out over the bridge Bifrost, it
breaks asunder beneath their feet. One and all, the Sons of Muspell, the Fenris Wolf, the Midgard
Serpent, Loki, Rym, and all the Rime-Thursar direct their course toward the fields of Vigrid, which
measure a hundred miles each way. The Sons of Muspell muster their hosts for battle, and the
radiance of their levies gleams far and wide.

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Meanwhile, on the part of the Æsir, Heimdal rises to his feet and sounds the Gjallar-Horn with all his
might in order to rouse the gods. They meet in assembly and take counsel together. Odin rides to
Mimir’s Well to seek guidance there. The ash Yggdrasil trembles, and all things in heaven and earth
are seized with dread. Æsir and Heroes don their panoplies and march upon the fields of Vigrid.
Foremost rides Odin, girt with his golden helmet and magnificent byrnie; brandishing his spear
Gungnir, he presses on against the Fenris Wolf. At his side walks Thor; but as he soon finds himself
in mortal conflict with the Midgard Serpent, he can give no aid to Odin. Frey joins battle with Surt,
and Tyr with the dog Garm, who also has broken from his fetters. Heimdal fights against Loki.

Thor in the end kills the Midgard Serpent but is himself able to walk only nine steps after the struggle
is over; then he sinks to the ground dead, borne down by the venom spewed over him by the Serpent.
The Wolf swallows Odin, and so the god lives no more; but Vidar at once steps into the breach,
thrusts one of his feet into the nether jaw of the Wolf, grasps the upper jaw with his hand, and thus
tears open the Wolf’s throat; his foot is shod with a heavy shoe made from all the slivers of leather
that men have cut from their boots at the toe or the heel; consequently men should always cast such
patches aside in order that they may serve the uses of the Æsir.1 Frey falls at the hands of Surt, no
longer having at his need the good blade he once gave to Skirnir. Tyr and Garm, and likewise Loki
and Heimdal, kill each other. Thereupon Surt hurls fire broadcast over the whole earth and all things
perish. The wild, warlike order passes and a new life begins.
 Out of the sea there rises a new earth, green and fair, whose fields bear their increase without the
sowing of seed. The sun has borne a daughter as beautiful as herself, and the daughter now guides the
course of the sun in her mother’s stead. All evil is passed and gone. On the plains of Ida assemble
those Æsir who did not fall in the last great battle: Vidar, Vali, and the sons of Thor — Modi and
Magni. Thither resort also Balder and Hod, now returned out of Hell, and thither comes Hœnir out of
Vanaheim.

Once again the Æsir make their dwelling on the plains of Ida, where Asgard stood before; in the grass
they find scattered the ancient gold chessmen of the gods, and thus they recall to memory the old days
and speak together of the vanished past. Now that Thor’s battles are done, Modi and Magni fall heir
to Mjollnir. Nor are all among mankind dead. Lif and Lifthrasir have saved themselves from the fires
of Surt at a place called Hoddmimir’s Holt, where they find subsistence in the dews of the morning;
from these two spring forth a new race of men. At Gimle stands a hall thatched with gold and
brighter than the sun. There a righteous generation shall dwell, in joys that never end. “Then shall
come from above the Mighty One, he who governs all things.”

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APPLICATION Activity No. 2
“Thoughts into Words”
Directions: In no more than 250 words, write about your realizations upon reading and
learning the Norse myth of the Old Norse Religion also known as Norse paganism. You
may relate it to your current belief and religion.
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You have finished the lesson and this module! Please make sure to submit the Module
Assessment.

MODULE ASSESSMENT

I. Literary Criticism Essay

Directions: Write critical analyses about three literary pieces of your own choice but it
should be from our listed genres in the midterm coverage. (This will be your submissions
for Midterm both Modules 4, 5 & 6.)
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Module No. & Title Module 6: Sumerian and Early Babylonian
Myth

Welcome to Module 6 of EL 112! In this module, you will

be in awe as your ride the magic carpet around Sumerian
Module Overview about the myths and cultures of these nations and share
your learnings later.

At the end of the module, the students are expected to:

• identify the deities of Sumerian and Early Babylonian
myths.
Module Objectives/ Outcomes
• discuss insights from about these cultures. • evaluate
excerpts and texts discussed.

This module contains the following lessons: Lesson 1:

Lessons in the Module

and Babylonian World. You will be scanning materials
Origins and Gods in Babylonian

Time Frame 2 weeks

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Ancient Mesopotamia
The Ancient Sumerians worshipped many different gods and goddesses. They
thought that the gods influenced much of what happened to them in their lives. Babylonian
and Assyrian religion was heavily influenced by the Sumerians. Each city had its own god.
At the center of the city was a large temple or ziggurat built to that god. This was where
the priests would live and make sacrifices. Some of the ziggurats were huge and reached
great heights. They looked like step pyramids with a flat top.
The Sumerians were the earliest literate people to inhabit the region of
Mesopotamia, although they were not the first people to inhabit the region period, since
they were preceded by the Ubaidians, an earlier illiterate culture about whom very little is
known. The Sumerians lived in city-states in the southern part of Mesopotamia, across the
southeast part of what is now Iraq during the late fourth, third, and early second millennia
BC.
The collapse of the Akkadian Empire was followed by a resurgence of Sumerian
culture that has sometimes been called the “Sumerian Renaissance.” The rulers of the
Third Dynasty of Urim (c. 2112–c. 2004 BC) established great prominence during this
period and the city-state of Lagash flourished under the rule of King Gudea (c. 2144–
2124 BC). Urim was sacked by the Elamites in around 1940 BC during the reign of Ibbi-
Sin. This brought an end to the prominence of Urim and the Sumerian Renaissance. The
Sumerians gradually assimilated into the East Semitic cultures around them over the
course of the next few centuries, but the Sumerian language continued to be used as a
liturgical language, similar to how, in much later times in Europe, Latin continued to be
used for liturgy even after it ceased to be commonly spoken.
The Babylonians were a later East Semitic people who resided in the same region of
Mesopotamia as the Sumerians. Unlike the Sumerians who lived only in city-states, the
Babylonians established several different empires in the region over the course of
Mesopotamian history. The Old Babylonian Empire was the first Babylonian Empire and
it began in around 1830 BC or thereabouts. The most famous ruler of the Old Babylonian
Empire is Hammurabi (c. 1792–1750 BC), who greatly expanded the empire and also
issued the Code of Hammurabi, a highly influential law code that greatly impacted all
Near Eastern law codes written after it.
The Old Babylonian Empire lasted until around c. 1531 BC when Babylon was
sacked by the Hittites and fell under the control of the Kassites, who established a dynasty.
This period of Babylonian history is known as the “Kassite Period” because it is when
Babylon was ruled by the Kassites. The Kassite Empire fell apart in around until around
1155 BC or thereabouts as part of the Late Bronze Age collapse, in which nearly every
civilization in the Near East suddenly all fell apart at around the same time, probably due
to a variety of causes including draught, famine, roving invaders, government and social
collapse, disease, and natural disasters.
There were several centuries of low material culture following this collapse, for
which we have very few records and our knowledge is severely limited. During the Early
Iron Age, the Babylonians were ruled by the Neo-Assyrian Empire (911–609 BC), which
was widely detested by those it conquered due to its particularly harsh policies. As the
Neo
Assyrian Empire was falling apart in the late seventh century BC, the Babylonians
established the Neo-Babylonian Empire, which lasted from around 626 BC until 539 BC,
when it was conquered by the Persian Achaemenid Empire, ruled by Cyrus the Great.

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The Neo-Babylonian Empire is the most famous and best-recorded of the
Babylonian Empires and it is the one that conquered Judah and brought the Judahites into
captivity in Babylon. The most famous king of this empire was probably Nebuchadnezzar
II, who is alleged to have built the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, although we cannot
actually be sure that the so-called “Hanging Gardens” actually existed, since some
scholars think they may be a product of later Greek imagination.

Interesting Facts About Mesopotamian Religion

• The Sumerian gods often had human characteristics in that they were sometimes good and
sometimes bad.
• Although Anu was an important Mesopotamian god, archeologists have yet to find a picture
of him.
• They also believed in genies, demons, and evil spirits.
• The god Shamash was served by scorpion people, a combination of man and scorpion. •
They believed that the Earth floated on an ocean of fresh water.
• Enlil was said to be so powerful that the other gods could not even look at him. •
Greek mythology likely borrowed many ideas from the Mesopotamian gods.

Sumerian Gods
Some of the Sumerian gods and goddesses included:
Anu - Sometimes called An, Anu was the god of the heavens and king of the gods. The
city associated with Anu was Uruk.
Enlil - The god of air, wind, and storms, Enlil held the Tablets of Destiny. These tablets
gave him control over the fate of man and made him very powerful. He wore a crown with
horns. He was associated with the city of Nippur.
Enki - Enki was the shaper of the world as well as god of wisdom, intellect, and magic.
He invented the plough and was responsible for making plants grow. He is drawn holding
Zu, the storm bird. He was god of the city of Eridu.
Utu - The god of the sun as well as justice and the law, Utu is drawn holding a saw like
instrument. Mythology says that Utu travels across the world each day in a chariot.
Inanna - Inanna was the goddess of love and war. Her symbol is a star with eight points.
Her primary city was Uruk, but she was also prominent in the city of Babylon.

Nanna - Nanna was also called Sin. He was god of the moon. His home was the city of Ur.

Babylonian Gods
Marduk - Marduk was the primary god of the Babylonians and had Babylon as his main
city. He was considered the supreme deity over all the other gods. He had as many as 50
different titles. He was sometimes pictured with his pet dragon.
Nergal - God of the underworld, Nergal was an evil god who brought war and famine on
the people. His city was Kuthu.

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Tiamat - Goddess of the sea, Tiamat is drawn as a huge dragon. Marduk defeated her in
battle.

Shamash - The Babylonian version of Utu

Ea - Same as Enki

ACTIVITY
I
Activity No. 1
 “Born in the Wrong Century”
I. Imagine you were born during the ancient times. Which era of the past myths
(discussed) would you prefer to live and why? Cite the exemplary qualities of
the people, the culture and the literature that made you fond of them.

Enuma Elish (The Seven Tablets) – Babylonian History of Creation

An Excerpt

The First Tablet And the primeval Apsû, who begat them, And chaos,
When in the height heaven was not named, Tiamat, the mother of them both,—
And the earth beneath did not yet bear a name, Their waters were mingled together,

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And no field was formed, no marsh was to be seen; He had no rival […]
When of the gods none had been called into being, (Thus) were established and [were … the great gods
And none bore a name, and no destinies [were (?)].
ordained]; But T[iamat and Âpsû] were (still) in confusion
Then were created the gods in the midst of […],
[heaven], They were troubled and […]
Lahmu and Lahamu were called into being […]. In disorder(?) … […]
Ages increased, […], And Tiamat roared […]
Then Anshar and Kishar were created, and over Apsû was not diminished in might […] She smote,
them […]. and their deeds […]
Long were the days, then there came forth […] Their way was evil … […] …
Anu, their son, […] Then Apsû, the begetter of the great gods,
Anshar and Anu […] Cried unto Mummu, his minister, and said unto
And the god Anu […] him:
Nudimmud, whom his fathers [his] begetters “O Mummu, thou minister that rejoicest my spirit,
[…] “Come, unto Tiamat let us [go]!”
Abounding in all wisdom, […] So they went and before Tiamat they lay down,
He was exceeding strong […] They consulted on a plan with regard to the gods
[their sons].
Apsû opened his mouth [and spake], And unto
Tiamat, the glistening one, he addressed [the word]:
“[…] their way […],
“By day I cannot rest, by night [I cannot lie down
(in peace)].
“But I will destroy their way, I will […], “Let there
be lamentation, and let us lie down (again in
peace).”
When Tiamat [heard] these words, She raged
and cried aloud […]. [She …] grievously […],
She uttered a curse, and unto [Apsû she spake]:
“What then shall we [do]?
“Let their way be made difficult, and let us [lie
down (again) in peace].” Mummu answered, and
gave counsel unto Apsû,
[…] and hostile (to the gods) was the counsel
Mu[mmu gave]:
“Come, their way is strong, but thou shalt
destroy [it];
“Then by day shalt thou have rest, by night shalt
thou lie down (in peace).” Apsû [hearkened unto]
him and his countenance grew bright,
[Since] he (i.e. Mummu) planned evil against the
gods his sons.
[…] he was afraid […],
His knees [became weak(?)], they gave way
beneath him,
[Because of the evil] which their first born had
planned.
[…] their […] they altered(?).
Lamentation […] they sat in [sorrow] ‘

Babylonia, ancient cultural region occupying southeastern

Mesopotamia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (modern southern Iraq
from around Baghdad to the Persian Gulf). Because the city of Babylon was
the capital of this area for so many centuries, the term Babylonia has come to
refer to the entire culture that developed in the area from the time it was first
settled, about 4000 BCE. Before Babylon’s rise to political prominence (c.
1850 BCE), however, the area was divided into two countries: Sumer in the
southeast and Akkad in the northwest.

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ANALYSIS

In two to three sentences, write an idea about the quotation given below.

“The palace is a slippery place which catches

those who do not know it.”
- Sumerian Proverb

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The origins of Sumerian civilization in Mesopotamia are still debated today, but
archaeological evidence indicates that they established roughly a dozen city-states by the
fourth millennium B.C. These usually consisted of a walled metropolis dominated by a
 ziggurat—the tiered, pyramid-like temples associated with the Sumerian religion. Homes
were constructed from bundled marsh reeds or mud bricks, and complex irrigation canals
were dug to harness the silt-laden waters of the Tigris and Euphrates for farming. Major
Sumerian city-states included Eridu, Ur, Nippur, Lagash and Kish, but one of the oldest
and most sprawling was Uruk, a thriving trading hub that boasted six miles of defensive
walls and a population of between 40,000 and 80,000. At its peak around 2800 B.C., it
was most likely the largest city in the world.

The Sumerians practiced a polytheistic religion, with anthropomorphic gods or goddesses

representing forces or presences in the world, in much the same way as later Greek
mythology. According to said mythology, the gods originally created humans as servants
for themselves but freed them when they became too much to handle.

Many stories in Sumerian religion appear similar to stories in other Middle-Eastern

religions. For example, the Biblical account of the creation of man as well as Noah's flood
resemble the Sumerian tales very closely, though the Sumerian myths were written many
centuries earlier than the Tanakh. Gods and Goddesses from Sumer have distinctly similar
representations in the religions of the Akkadians, Caananites, and others. A number of
stories and deities have Greek parallels as well; for example, it has been argued by some

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that Inanna's descent into the underworld strikingly recalls (and predates) the story of
Persephone.

Myths and legends of Babylon have been always a subject of curiosity and study, but only
recently important historical information about this Mythical civilization is been better
discerned. Thanks to the discovery of a digging in which more than 3,000 clay tablets
coming from this region are emerging from the sands; some hope is shedding for better
understanding the real history and evolution of the Babylonian city.

Reasons for which the Babylonian were so found of Myth, cults and legends

The Babylonians had the same needs of subsistence as other ancient peoples, they were
conquered by others as the same they conquered other peoples, their protection needs
ranging from defense against the enemy, the injustice against the weak people, favors
from deities asking for appropriate weather conditions to develop their farms and all the
other reasons why humans worship a deity or heroic figure; were present in Babylon and
contributed to create and encourage those cults spreading them around the world. The
Babylonian worldview, idolatry and mysterious symbols, which were incorporated in
other religions in the rest of the world, gave much importance to the worship of demons
and that is probably why Babylonia is considered the origin of the pagan religions.

But the answer about the reason for which the Babylonians were so fond of this cults and
dedicate great importance to the myths and legends; that other countries also adopted from
them, can be found in the fact that religious rites established a link between the human and
the divine, exacerbating the collective imagination that needs them for using those beliefs
to get protection and justice, and to explain the occurrence of natural phenomenon and
general life itself. Their gods have multiples characteristics they have good character and
violent ones, for instance the violent outbreaks need to be appease with offers or even
sacrifices, for them wasn’t a choice it was more an imperative and surviving need that
have to be fulfilled with responsibility and devotion.

Epic of Gilgamesh - Sumerian Flood Story 2750 This account of a great flood is from Tablet 11 of the
- 2500 BCE Epic of Gilgamesh
[1] Gilgameš spoke to Ut-napištim, the
Faraway:
"I have been looking at you,
but your appearance is not strange - you are like
me!
You yourself are not different - you are like me!
My mind was resolved to fight with you, but
instead my arm lies useless over you. Tell me,
how is it that you stand in the Assembly of the Gods,
and have found life?"
[8] Ut-napištim spoke to Gilgameš, saying: "I will
reveal to you, Gilgameš, a thing that is hidden,
a secret of the gods I will tell you!
Šuruppak, a city that you surely know, situated on
the banks of the Euphrates, that city was very old,
and there were gods inside it.
[14] The hearts of the Great Gods moved them to
inflict the Flood.
Their Father Anu uttered the oath,
Valiant Enlil was their Adviser,
Ninurta was their Chamberlain,

Ennugi was their Minister of Canals.
[19] Ea, the Prince, was under oath with them so he
repeated their talk to the reed house: 'Reed house,
reed house! Wall, wall! O man of Šuruppak, son of
Ubar-Tutu [i.e., Ut-napištim]
Tear down the house and build a boat! Abandon
wealth and seek living beings! Spurn
possessions and keep alive living beings!
Make [the seed of] all living beings go up into the
boat.
The boat which you are to build,
its dimensions must measure equal to each other:
its length must correspond to its width.
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I will go down to the Apsu to live with my lord,
Ea,
and upon you he will rain down abundance, a
profusion of fowl, myriad fishes He will bring to
you a harvest of wealth, in the morning he will let
loaves of bread shower down,
and in the evening a rain of wheat!"'
[48] Just as dawn began to glow
the people assembled around me.
The carpenter carried his hatchet,
the reedworker carried his flattening stone, [two
lines destroyed]

Roof it over like the Apsu.' [i.e., the firmament in the
primordial waters]
[32] I understood and spoke to my lord, Ea: 'My lord,
thus is the command which you have uttered
I will heed and will do it.
But what shall I answer the city, the populace, and the
Elders?'
[36] Ea spoke, commanding me, his servant: 'You,
well then, this is what you must say to them:
"It appears that Enlil is rejecting me so I
cannot reside in your city,
nor set foot on Enlil's earth.
[54] The child carried the pitch,
the weak brought whatever else was needed. On the
fifth day I had laid out her exterior. It was a field in
area,
its walls were each 10 times 12 cubits in height,
the sides of its top were of equal length, 10 times
12 cubits each.
[58] Then I designed its interior structure as
follows:
I provided it with six decks,
thus dividing it into seven levels.
The inside of it I divided into nine
compartments.

Sumer, or the ‘land of civilized kings’, flourished in Mesopotamia, now modern-day

Iraq, around 4500 BC. Sumerians created an advanced civilization with its own system of
elaborate language and writing, architecture and arts, astronomy and mathematics. Their
religious system was a complex one comprised of hundreds of gods. According to the
ancient texts, each Sumerian city was guarded by its own god; and while humans and gods
used to live together, the humans were servants to the gods.
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Marduk
According to Babylonian myths ...

Marduk was not always the head god. At one time, all the gods were equal. But there was fighting
amongst the gods. One in particular, Tiamat was evil and hated the rest of the gods. Now Tiamat was
very powerful and the other gods were afraid of her.

One of the other gods developed a plan. Ea, the water god, knew that Marduk could defeat Tiamat. So
Ea went to Marduk and asked if he would be willing to fight Tiamat.

Marduk thought about it. While he figured he could beat Tiamat, what if something went wrong? What
if she captured him or even killed him? It had to be worth his efforts. So Marduk came back to Ea with
a deal. He would fight Taimat if the rest of the gods would make him the head god forever.

Ea could not make that deal on his own. He had to get the rest of the gods to agree and he knew that
some of them would oppose this idea, some because they were afraid of what would happen if Tiamat
won and others because they didn't want another god to be able to boss them around. But Ea was a
very smart god. He had a plan.

Ea called all the gods together in an assembly. Ea provided the food, entertainment, and most of all the
sweet, strong date wine so many of the gods loved. After allowing the rest of the gods to feast and
drink lots of date wine, Ea put the idea to them. They agreed. So Ea went back to Marduk and let him
know that if Marduk defeated Tiamat he would be the head god forever.

Marduk took a bow and arrows, his thunder club, his storm net, and his trademark - a lightning dagger
- and set out to defeat Tiamat. The fighting that followed was stupendous. The battle raged for days
with Marduk killing monster and demon left and right. Finally, he got close enough to Tiamat that he
was able to throw his net over her. Trapped, Tiamat turned to destroy Marduk with a magical killing
scream. Marduk was faster and shot an arrow down her throat killing her. He then cut her body in half
and put half of it in the heavens guarded by the twinkling lights we call stars and made sure that the
moon was there to watch over her. The rest he turned into the earth.
Now that Tiamat was dead, Marduk was the leader of all the gods.

It is interesting to note that Marduk had to get the consent of the assembly of gods to take on Tiamat.
This is a reflection of how the people of Babylon governed themselves. The government of the gods
was arranged in the same way as the government of the people. All the gods reported to Marduk just
as all the nobles reported to the king. And Marduk had to listen to the assembly of gods just as the
king had to listen to the assembly of people.

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APPLICATION Activity No. 2
“Let Your Mind Wander”
Directions: In 2-3 paragraphs, describe and make a narrative of your ideal deity or the
perfect qualities of a hero that appeal to you. This activity is not intended to disregard our
monotheist belief, rather to internalize in-depth the previous lessons we had.
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You have finished the lesson and this module! Please ensure to submit the Module
Assessment.

MODULE ASSESSMENT

I. Literary Criticism Essay

Directions: Write critical analyses about three literary pieces of your own choice but it
should be from our listed genres in the midterm coverage. (This will be your submissions
for Midterm both Modules 4, 5 & 6.)

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