Line #38 YMMV/TheBible


1	* AlternateAesopInterpretation: The Bible is often interpreted to support the message that ScienceIsBad, especially concerning the Tower of Babel.
2	* AlternateCharacterInterpretation:
3	** GodIsEvil and SatanIsGood are probably the most common. For the sake of Administrivia/{{Natter}}, debate this on Headscratchers, not here.
4	** In some versions, especially Sufism, Satan is a {{yandere}} to God.
5	** Generally Lucifer is thought to be the name Satan had before he fell, but some think he is a separate person from him.
6	** Is Leviathan Satan, a crocodile, dragon, dinosaur, submarine or something else?
7	** Is Behemoth a hippo, elephant, dinosaur, or something else?
8	*** Are these 3 merely personification of the untamable elements of land, sea and air?
9	** As sacrificing humans was against the law, some interpretations say that Jephthah's daughter's sacrifice actually meant service to God; she wept over her virginity because dedication to God meant [[CelibateHero she'd never get to marry and have a family]], meaning she'd keep that virginity forever. And family was kind of a big deal for Jewish women back in those days.
10	** Some say ArchangelMichael is Jesus.
11	** Some sources and media love equaling the Pharaoh in Exodus with Ramses II.
12	** The Book of Job: Wonderful explanation of why bad things happen to good people or undeniable proof that GodAndSatanAreBothJerks?
13	* BigLippedAlligatorMoment: Exodus 4:24-26. God attacks and tries to kill Moses prompting Moses's wife to circumcise Moses's son and throws the foreskin at Moses's feet. This act makes God let Moses go. This moment comes out of nowhere and is never mentioned again.
14	* BrokenBase: Easily the most divisive work in the history of literature.
15	* CompleteMonster:
16	** ''Literature/BookOfJudges'': [[EvilOverlord King Abimelech]], the archetypal BastardBastard in literature, [[TyrantTakesTheHelm rose to power]] following the death of his good-hearted father Judge Gideon by [[SiblingMurder having 69 of his own brothers killed]]. As ruler, Abimelech organizes wars of conquest and enacts atrocities to keep the Israelites under his control, most notably having a thousand civilians burned alive to suppress an uprising in Shechem. When the people of Thebez revolt against his cruel rule, Abimelech attempts to raze their shelter to the ground. Vain and petty until the very end, Abimelech, upon being mortally wounded by one of the women he was trying to immolate, orders his aide to impale him with a sword in a futile effort to create the illusion that he died bravely in battle and [[IWasBeatenByAGirl not by the hands of a woman]].
17	** ''Literature/BookOfEsther'': [[ManipulativeBastard Haman the Agagite]], one of the original [[PoliticallyIncorrectVillain antisemites]] in Jewish folklore, is a [[EvilChancellor vizier]] under Emperor Ahasuerus (Xerxes) whose ambition and ego know no bounds. Haman is introduced forcing citizens to [[KneelBeforeZod bow to him]]; when a fellow advisor, Mordecai the Judean, refuses to bow to him--possibly on account of Haman embroidering a graven image into his clothing--Haman plots a [[FinalSolution genocide]] against Persian Jewry as a whole, manipulating the emperor into giving him his signet so that he may write it into law. When Mordecai still refuses to bow to him, Haman builds a gallows on which he intends to hang the latter.
18	* EnsembleDarkHorse:
19	** Melchidezek Only appeared once yet became popular among biblical scholars.
20	** Between both the earthly trio and the demons representing the SevenDeadlySins, [[SeaSerpents Leviathan]] has repeatedly proven to be the most popular, due to the [[RuleOfCool blatantly cool]] prospect of being a fire-breathing sea serpent.
21	%%** The Queen of Sheba
22	* EpilepticTrees:
23	** The Book of Enoch is possibly the ur-example.
24	** There is a medieval legend that the man in the moon is Cain. There is nothing in the Bible to support this.
25	* FairForItsDay:
26	** Look at how women and children were treated in ancient Rome. "Husbands, love your wives" was a revolutionary concept in those days.
27	** Not to mention the book of Leviticus, which nowadays is looked upon as a long list of difficult rules, but when first made, presented what was, for the day, a refreshingly easy code of law.
28	* {{Fanon}}:
29	** Certain passages could be interpreted to mean that the EarthIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse. Historically, though, that interpretation was backed up by Aristotle's postulations.
30	** Many apocryphal texts. Almost the entire academic study of angels and demons that was popular in the middle ages was based on non-canon sources, mostly Enoch I. [[spoiler:In-Universe]]
31	** Lucifer (also known as Satan) and his supporters are considered the UrExample of the FallenAngel, although the Bible itself doesn't directly reference this.
32	** Fanon holds God's name to be 72 or 216 letters long.
33	* FanonDiscontinuity: Several major instances--
34	** Protestants (and Jews) rejected the additional (as in, those not in the Masoretic text of the Tanakh) Old Testament books that came from the Greek Septuagint and call them "apocrypha" (not {{Canon}}), whereas they're considered {{Canon}} by Catholics.
35	** There's the New Testament "apocrypha," some of which are just ''weird''. The Infancy Gospel of Thomas, for instance, is possibly the first example of SuperDickery, featuring a very young Jesus that blinds, kills, and heals people left and right, then proceeds to lecture his teacher on theology. Mainstream Christians reject the Gospel of Thomas, which was widely read by early Christian communities, on the basis of its much later origin and the fact that it was most certainly not written by Thomas or anyone in his general time period. The Nicean council ruled that it wasn't authentic.
36	** The entire New Testament is rejected by the Jews; most Christians reject the Book of Mormon, except for the Mormons. Only the Muslims accept the canonicity of the Koran.
37	* FanPreferredCouple:
38	** A lot of people (and the nation of Ethiopia) believe the Queen of Sheba was one of Solomon's lovers.
39	** Mary Magdalene and Jesus is this to Gnostics and Creator/DanBrown.
40	* HoYay:
41	** David and Jonathan. When they meet, it's stated that their souls were knit together. Jonathan then gives David his robe, armor, and weapons. Later, Jonathan saves David from Saul. They have a final tragic meeting after Saul forbids them from seeing each other, complete with weeping and manly kissing. When Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle. David rends his clothes and mourns Jonathan, and has his people mourn him, too. David even says he loves Jonathan more than any women.
42	--->And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. (1 Samuel 18:1, [=KJV=])
43
44	--->40 And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city. 41 And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times: and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David exceeded. 42 And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, forasmuch as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seed and thy seed for ever. And he arose and departed: and Jonathan went into the city. (1 Samuel 20:40-42, [=KJV=]
45
46	---> 25 How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle! O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thine high places. 26 I am distressed for thee, my brother Jonathan: very pleasant hast thou been unto me: thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. 27 How are the mighty fallen, and the weapons of war perished! (2 Samuel 1:25-27, [=KJV=]
47	** Ruth and Naomi. Ruth is described as clinging to Naomi with the same word used to describe Adam and Eve's relationship. Ruth's declaration of loyalty to Naomi is often used for wedding vows, and even though Ruth eventually marries Boaz, it's clear that the relationship between her and Naomi is still the most important to her.
48	--->16 And Ruth said, Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God: 17 Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lord do so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. (Ruth 1:16-17, [=KJV=]
49	* IronWoobie:
50	** Jesus. He never did anything to really deserve what happened to Him.
51	** Moses:
52	*** Forced to flee his homeland and came back to destroy it
53	*** Abandoned his family to serve God.
54	*** Roamed around with the Isrealies for 40 years and finally died without making it to ThePromisedLand.
55	*** BrickJoke: About a thousand years later, Jesus ascends the Mount of Transfiguration and is seen speaking to Elijah and Moses. Dude finally made it!
56	* IAmNotShazam: John the Apostle is ''not'' John the Divine.
57	* ItWasHisSled: [[spoiler: Jesus was betrayed by Judas and died, but He got better]].
58	* {{Macekre}}: Which translation is best is SeriousBusiness.
59	* MandelaEffect: Many people remember a Bible verse saying that the "lion shall lie down with the lamb". This phrase doesn't appear in any translation of the Bible. The closest equivalent is Isiah 11:6, which starts with "and the '''wolf''' shall dwell with the lamb". As the rest of the verse says "and the leopard shall ''lie down with'' the kid; and the calf and the young ''lion'' and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them" it's possible people are just getting the different animals mentioned in the verse mixed up.
60	* MemeticBadass: Samson, Elisha
61	* MemeticMutation:
62	** "He killed 1,000 men with a jawbone of a donkey" became a minor one.
63	** "Biblically accurate" angels have become a common joke among some modern readers on the internet. In the texts there is a hierarchy of angels, in the lowest ranks they are [[WingedHumanoid more human-like in appearance]], meanwhile in the highest ranks they are {{angelic abomination}}s, the latter is often compared to many monsters originating from Creator/HPLovecraft's works.
64	* MisaimedFandom:
65	** Samson is presented as a flawed figure who abuses his powers, gets screwed over for it, and ends up dying because there's nowhere else to go. Yet, many readers can't look over his RatedMForManly antics and celebrate him as a MemeticBadass who dies in a blaze of glory. He's almost like the [[Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann Kamina]] of the ancient world.
66	** More seriously, Christians who persecuted Jews from the Middle Ages and onward for "killing Jesus". Yes, let's ignore the fact that Jesus was a Jew, shall we?
67	* MoralEventHorizon:
68	** Saul:
69	*** Repeatedly trying to kill David, even after all the kindness and mercy he showed him.
70	*** Killing the priests of Nob who harbored David.
71	*** Almost getting his son Jonathan killed for not keeping Saul's foolish oath that he knew nothing about, and later deliberately trying to kill Jonathan for standing up for David.
72	*** Murdering some of the Gibeonites, whom Israel had sworn to protect. This one also applies to his household. This would come back to haunt the house of Saul when the Gibeonites forced David to hand over Saul's grandsons to be executed as the price of their allegiance.
73	** Joab:
74	*** Killing Absalom (David's son) ''explicitly'' against David's orders.
75	*** Killing Abner, who had defected to David.
76	*** Carrying out the UriahGambit. Joab had been a very naughty boy.
77	** Judas:
78	*** Betraying Jesus (Duh!). According to some, this led to a MyGodWhatHaveIDone, then a suicide.
79	** Antioch:
80	*** [[OverlyLongGag Did you know what he did to seven dudes and their old woman]]? Y-yeah, nothing to see, keep going!
81	* NeverLiveItDown:
82	** "Doubting" Thomas. In reality, all of the apostles needed physical proof before believing Jesus' resurrection; Thomas just got singled out because he came in late.
83	** Judas is always introduced last and his betrayal is always pointed out.
84	* OneSceneWonder:
85	** For being mentioned in all of one line, Methuselah is the subject of a lot of extra-biblical stuff.
86	** Nimrod is amazingly popular in folklore (the Tower of Babel was apparently built on his orders and he tried to have Abraham killed) and pop culture (shares the name as a villain from the ComicBook/XMen).
87	* {{Padding}}: Lots of repetition at points, like with the book of Numbers.
88	* RonTheDeathEater: God gets this a lot, particularly due to his Old Testament behavior, which was before CharacterizationMarchesOn in regards to Him.
89	* TooCoolToLive: Elijah's death, because he was also Too Cool To Die.
90	* ValuesDissonance: A point of contention for many, particularly in regard to the Old Testament. People during those times had much different ideas about what constitutes a "just" punishment and many of them will look [[DisproportionateRetribution completely disproportionate and cruel]] compared to what is a just punishment today, or if a punishment is necessary at all.
91	* ValuesResonance: Even going all the way back to the Old Testament, the Bible repeatedly mentioning its readers to protect and cherish vulnerable members of its society such as widows and orphans - two of the most outcast groups in any society. Its method of doing so is... questionable, but the very idea alone is extreme revolutionary for its day that still resonate to today.
92	* TheWoobie:
93	** Mary. Her Son was brutally tortured and killed right in front of her, and there was nothing she could do.
94	** Leah, Balaam's Donkey, Eli, Tamar, Uriah, Job, Jeremiah, Hosea, Ezekiel, Mary, Abel, Tobit, Sarah...

Context YMMV / TheBible