Throughout the assigned Jewish scriptural texts of Genesis and Exodus, the
scope of water’s symbolism encompasses the powers of destruction, deliverance, and
promise. Its character is dually displayed as it manifests itself to be both a life taker and
a life giver, a life force sustainer and a life force destroyer. As a life taker, water
becomes the destructive force that obliterates the wicked people of Noah’s day, and
punishes the people and land of Egypt during Pharaoh’s unyielding reign. In contrast, as
a symbol of salvation, water provides deliverance to Moses and the Israelites. Equally
important, scenes of water surround events involving covenants, such as with Noah,
Hagar, and Abraham. Water becomes the tool by which God dispenses his judgment,
whether it be a blessing or a curse.
To begin with, water is portrayed as a destroyer when God wields it as an
instrument of devastation to deliverer his condemning judgment throughout Genesis.
Depicting water as a life taker, God sends a flood to destroy the unrighteous generation
of mankind (Genesis 7:1). Only Noah and his family escape the waters of the flood
(Genesis 7:7). Not only did the flood waters obliterate nearly all humankind, but also
virtually all forms of animal life excluding the mated animal companions sheltered within
the refuge of the ark (Genesis 7:21-23). Employed as a tool to dispense God’s
judgment, water becomes the medium by which God transforms from a creator of life to
an eliminator of life.
Once again, when God delivers punishment to a disobedient people, water is
found to play a significant role. As God releases plagues upon Egypt because of
Pharaoh’s refusal to let God’s people go, the plagues source of origin...
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... promised to make a great nation of, can satiate their thirst (Exodus
21:18-19). To continue Abraham’s promised lineage through his son Isaac, God reveals
Isaac’s intended to Abraham’s servant at the well of Nahor (Exodus 24:10-20).
Essential to the carrying out of numerous promises, the presence or lack of water
is required to seal the pledges made by God.
In conclusion, the role of water plays an amazingly complex and vital role in the
lives of the Israelite people within the first two books of the Old Testament. Serving a
two fold purpose, God manipulates water to terminate life or to prolong it, to avert
disaster or to inflict it. Representing devastation, salvation, and assurance, God
brandishes water’s powers to deliver glorious rewards or terrible penalties amongst his
creation .
Works Cited
Genesis
Exodus
Most of us have probably heard the famous bible story about Noah’s Ark and The Flood. What most may not know, is that this story is just one of a great many. A variety of ancient cultures, from the Greeks and the Middle East, to Asia and the Americas, have in their mythologies a story of a Great Flood that drowns the earth. These stories mostly contain the same themes: a god or group of gods becomes angry; they flood the earth but save a small group of people. These people build a boat to survive. After the flood they repopulate the earth.
Back when I was a little girl, I always fascinated over water. I remember that I loved to be able to go down to Lake Chatuge, which is directly behind my house, and sit there, thinking about how my wonderful God is to make such a beautiful thing that we do not appreciate like we should. According to Oxford Dictionary, water is “a colorless, transparent, odorless, tasteless liquid that forms the seas, lakes, rivers, and rain and is the basis of the fluids of living organisms.” Ron Rash used symbolism, which is “something that represents something else” (Mays 205), in his book One Foot in Eden drastically in many different aspects of water. The symbolism of water in One Foot in Eden has many various meanings that are vividly expressed within
How the Properties of Water are Related to Its Roles in Living Organisms and as a Living Environment for Living Organisms
to do. Water in this case refers to life and re-birth. A third piece of
Since the beginning of time, water has been a source of utmost power. In the Bible’s book of Genesis, the story of creation is told. On the third day, God is said to part the waters to give life to men, animals, and vegetation inhabiting the land. This is similar to how Victor Frankenstein gives life to his monster. Later in Genesis, God approaches Noah, who is a righteous man of God. He tells Noah to build an Ark because he intends to flood the Earth to rid it of the evil and corruption. The Bible, written over 3,000 years ago shows the ability and power of water to transcend time. This allusion shows the power which water can have. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, she relates water to her main character, Victor Frankenstein. He gave life to a monster with innocent intentions, yet the monster goes on to kill and destroy. In Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Victor Frankenstein’s actions symbolically relate to water and the antithesis in which it not only creates, but also destroys life.
he provides water - "the voice of a kindly god". Water is seen to be a
First, I would like to examine a story almost everyone is familiar with. This is the story of the Great Flood. When I think of this story, the first response I have is the thought of “divine destruction”, or destruction caused by God. As we know, the amount of destruction in the Great Flood was overwhelming. The entire earth was flooded, killing everyone except Noah, his family, and a male and female of every animal. Is this story, God is the character doing the “killing”. Of course, it is portrayed as a good deed, which is should be. In the long run, it was good for the world. He was get...
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and a rise to a new life as a Christian. Water is used to cleanse and
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