Chimbuko la Uislam na Karen Armstrong

Chimbuko la Uislam na Karen Armstrong

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Salam wanaJF!

Mwanamama Karen Armstrong alifanya utafiti wa miaka mingi kuhusu chimbuko na mabadiliko ya dhana ya Mungu [Ieleweke ni dhana ya Mungu sio Mungu - Concept of God and Not God]. Baada ya utafiti huo akaja na kitabu alichokiitwa HISTORY OF GOD: THE 4,000 YEARS QUEST OF JUDAISM, CHRISTIANITY AND ISLAM. Kitabu hiki chenye umri wa takribani miaka takribani 30 sasa, kimeelezea ni kwa vipi dhana ya Mungu imekuwepo toka dunia ya kale, na imekuwa ikibadilika kila nyakati zinapobadilika. Na pili ameelezea chimbuko la dini kuu tatu duniani za Uyahu6, Ukristo na Uislam. Hapa ameelezea mazingira yalipoibukia dini hizi na mapokeo yake.

Katika mfululizo wa makala hizi ni simulizi kutoka kwenye kitabu hicho. Kila siku nitaweka sehemu moja ili tupate kuelewa taratibu na tuweze kujadili. Elimu za falsafa na dini huwa zinahitaji mwendo wa taratibu.

SEHEMU YA I - KUTEREMSHWA QURAN.

Katika mwaka 610 katika jiji la kibiashara lilokuwa na changamoto nyingi wakayi huo la Meka katika mji wa Hijjaz, mfanyabiashara wa kiarabu Ambaye pengine hajawahi kusoma Biblia, wala pengine alikuwa hajawahi kuwasikia kina Yeremia, isaya wala ezekiel alikuwa na mapitio kama yao. Kila mwaka, Muhamad Ibin Abdallah, kutoka kabila la Kureshi alikuwa akiipeleka familia yake kwenye milima ya Hijra iliyopo nje ya mji wa Maka kwa ajili ya kufanya maombi kipindi cha mwezi wa Ramadhani. Huu ulikuwa ni utamaduni wa jamii ya waarabu. Muhamad alikuwa akimuomba Mungu wa Juu wa Waarabu, na kutoa sadaka na chakula kwa masikini waliokuja kumtembelea kipindi hicho. Pengine alitumia muda wake kutafakari juu ya yanayojiri Katika mji wa Meka. Haya yanathibitishwa na maisha yake ya baadae wakati akiwaza jinsi gani ya kuiweka sawa jamii yake ya Maka, ambayo licha ya mafanikio yake ya sasa, imekuwa ikipitia matatizo mengi.

Vizazi viwili nyuma, watu wa Kuresh walipitia maisha ya kuhamahama kutafuta chakula katika nyika za uarabuni kama zilivyo jamii zingine za wabeduni. Katika karne ya sita mwishoni jamii hii ilibadilika na kuwa eneo muhimu kwa waarabu baada ya mafanikio yake makubwa kibiashara. Matajiri wengi walijitokeza na hali ya maisha iliboreka. Lakini mfumo wa maisha wa mila za asili za waarabu, uliondolewa na ubepari. Watu wengi walikuwa na wasiwasi na hatima yao chini ya mfumo katili wa ubepari, hivyo Muḥammad aliona ipo haja ya kuwa na itikadi mpya itakayorekebisha matatizo yanayojitokeza huko Maka.

Kwa mazingira yale, ufumbuzi wowote wa kisiasa ilikuwa ni lazima uwe na asili/sura ya kidini. Muhamad alitambua kuwa pesa ndio inakuwa mbadala wa Dini kwa Wakureshi. Hofu kubwa ya Muhamad ni kuwa, pesa iliyopokwa wakureshi ilipaswa tu iwaokoe kutoka kwenye madhira ya mfumo wa kubangaiza, Magonjwa na vurugu katika ya jamii ya wabeduni, Pesa sasa inageuzwa kuwa ndio 'msingi wa maisha yao'. Jamii imefanikiwa na kujitosheleza vya kutosha, kiasi cha baadhi ya watu kujiona kwakuwa ni matajiri basi wao wanamaisha ya milele (immortal). Kwa mtazamo wa Muhamad hali hii ya jamii ya wakureshi kujitosheleza (Istaqa), italeta utengano katika jamii yao. Miaka ya nyuma wakati wanaishi Nomadic life, mfumo wa maisha ulikuwa ni jamii kwanza, kisha mtu baadae. Jamii hiyo ilitambua kuwa ili kuishi, basi jamii inategemeana. Hivyo jamii ilipaswa kuwasaidia masikini na makundi yasiyojiweza. Kwa sasa umimi umetawala na kuuondoa umoja wa kijamii na ushindani umeondoa mashirikiano ya jamii. Watu walianza kujenga utajiri bila kujali waqureshi masikini. Kila koo ilipambana dhidi ya koo zingine ili kutengeneza utajiri. Koo za hali ya chini kama ya Hashmi yake Muhamad mwenyewe zilijiona ziko hatarini.

Muhamad aliona kama wakureshi wasipopata mfumo mwingine utaofanya wawe wamoja, basi tamaa ya utajiri utaitawanyisha kabila ya Wakureshi. Jamii zingine za kiarabu za kibeduni katika maeneo ya Hijaz na Najad nao zilikuwa kwenye taharuki. Watu waliishi kwa mapambano na kupigana kati yao ili tu kupata mahitaji ya msingi ya kila siku. Katika kujenga jamii moja, waarabu walikuwa na mfumo waliouita Muruwah, ambao ulitimiza majukumu mengi ya dini. Lakini kwa ujumla, waarabu hawakuwa na muda na dini. Walikuwa ni wapagan waliokuwa wakiamini katika miungu kila mmoja wa kwake nyumbani kwake. Haikuwepo Mfumo au imani moja iliyowaelezea waarabu umuhimu wa Mungu na maeneo matakatifu katika maisha. Hakuwa na ufahamu juu ya maisha baada ya kifo, Ila waliamini kuwa Giza (ambayo inaweza kutafsiriwa kama muda au hatma), ilikuwa ni UKUU(SUPREME). Katika jamii ambayo idadi ya vifo iko juu, Mtazamo huu ulikuwa muhimu.

Jamii za magharibi wanamtazamo mfupi kuhusu Muruwah, lakini kiuhalisia ilimaanisha hamasa ya mapambano, Uvumilivu na ustahimilivu kwenye shida na kujitoa kwa kabila. Mila za Muruwah ziliwataka jamii kuwa watiifu kwa kiongozi wa kabila (sayyid) hata kama maisha yake mwenyewe yako hatarini. Iliwataka jamii wailinde jamii na makundi yaliyo hatarini na pia wailipie kisasi jamii yao inapotendewa uovu. Kuhakikisha kuwa kabila linaendelea, Sayyid aliwagawia sehemu ya utajiri wake kwa watu, na katika mazingira ambayo mtu ameuawa, basi naye Sayyid alimuua mwanafamilia mmoja kutoka familia ya muuaji. Hii ilitokana kuwa ilikuwa ngumu wakati mwingine kumpata muuaji halisi, sababu ya mazingira aliweza kupotea na asijulikane, hivyo hakukua na wajibu wa kumuadhibu muuaji bali mwanafamilia wake.

Sababu ya kutokuwepo kwa utawala mmoja, mapigano yalikuwa ndiyo njia ya kuhakikisha usalama wa jamii. Hakukua na mfumo wa ulinzi ambao unaweza ufananisha na majeshi ya polisi wa leo. Kama chief akishindwa kupigana vita, basi hakuna mtu atayemuheshimu na anaweza jichukulia sheria mkononi na chochote kisimtokee. Hivyo kabila moja kupigana na jingine ilikuwa ndio mfumo wa kutafuta haki.

Licha ya mapungufu hayo ya ukatili, mfumo wa Muruwah ulikuwa na faida zake. Ulisisitiza usawa na matumizi sawa na bidhaa. Pengine katika jamik ambayo biadhaa ni adimu, basi usawa wa matumizi ya bidhaa ni muhimu. Mafunzo ya upeo na ukarimu zilikuwa ni mila muhimu na zikawafundisha Waarabu kutozingatia kesho yake. Mila hizi zilikuja kuwa za muhimu sana kwenye uislam, kama tutavyoona huko mbele. Mfumo huu uliwafaa waarabu kwa muda mrefu, ila kufikia karne ya 6, hakuweza kuendana na mazingira ya kisasa. Wakati wa kipindi cha mwisho cha zama kabla ya Uislam, waarabu wanakiita Jahiliyyah (zama za giza), watu wengi hawakuwa na amani pia walikuwa na mashaka juu ya imani zilitawala wakati huo. Kipindi hiki, Waarabu walikuwa wamezungukwa na dola kubwa mbili, Sassanid Persia na Byzantium.

Wafanyabiashara waliokuwa wakienda miji ya syria na iraq ya sasa, ndio waliokuwa chachu ya maendeleo kwani walikuwa wakija na hadithi na mawazo kuhusu ustaarabu waliokuta huko. Lakini vurugu za mara kwa mara, ziliwazuia waarabu kuwa jamii iliyo settle licha ya kuapata ideas mpya kutoka kwenye jamii zilizosettle za wasyria na wairaq. Hawakua na muda wa kuungana na kutengeza maisha yao kwa ujumla. Hivyo hata maeneo yenye rutuba hasa Uarabuni ya kusuni(Yemen ya leo), iliyokuwa na faida ya kijiografia ya mvua za Monson, ikachukiliwa na wapersia. Kuja kwa ideas mpya, kulihatarisha mila za kijama za jamii. Mfano, dhana ya kikristo ya Maisha baada ya kifo ambayo inasisitiza kuwa kila mmoja atawajibika kwa matendo yake, inaashirisha kila mtu kutengeneza maisha yake, na sio jamii kwa pamoja. Muhamad alikuwa ni mtu mwenye akili ya juu sana, (exceptional genius), hadi anafariki mwaka 632 alikuwa amefanikiwa kuziunganisha kabila za kiarabu Kuwa jamii moja iliyoungana (Ummah). Alifanikiwa kuweka imani ambayo kiupekee ilifit mila za waarabu na kuweza kuwapa hamasa kubwa ya maisha na kufanikiwa kutengeneza dola kubwa ya kiislam, Iliyoanzia Himalayas to the Pyrenees.

Na kujenga utamaduni/ustaarabu wa pekeee. Wakati Muhamad akiwa milimani akisali, ni dhahiri hakutegemea kufikia mafanikio makubwa kiasi hicho. Kama walivyokuwa waarabu wengine, Muhamad alimuamini al-Lah, jina la Mungu wa Juu wa waarabu toka kale. Neno hili lilitafsirika kuwa ni Mungu. Na Mungu huyu alikuwa na ufanano na Mungu aliyeabudiwa na wayahudi na Wakristo. Aliamini kuwa Mtume wa Mungu huyo ndiye atakaye wakomboa jamii yake, lakini kamwe hakuwaza kuwa yeye ndiye angekuwa mtume huyo. Jamii za waarabu kwa muda mrefu hakufurahishwa kuwa Mungu wao, al-Lah hajatuma mtume wake kwao wala kuwapa maandiko matakatifu, licha ya kuwa kwa miaka yote toka kale walikuwa na madhabahu wanayomuabudia. Hadi karne ya 7, waarabu wengi waliamini kuwa Kabah, dhabahu kuwa lenye umbo la Mche mraba, lililopo katikati ya mji wa Maka toka kale, lipo pale kwa ajili ya al-Lah, licha ya kuwa mungu wa watu wa Nabate aliyeitwa Hubal ndiye aliyekuwa dhabahu lake.

Kabah lilikuwa ni eneo la ufahari wa watu wengi wa Maka na ndiyo lilikuwa eneo takatifu Muhimu zaidi kwa watu wa Urabuni. Kila mwaka watu kutoka maeneo mbalimbali ya kuzunguka uarabuni walienda pale kwa ajili ya kuhiji. Na kufanya Ibada za kitamaduni kwa siku kadhaa. Eneo lote takatifu la kuzunguka kabah lilikuwa ni marufuku kufanyia mapigano, hivyo maeneo hayo na viunga vyake, biashara zilifanyika sana kwa kujua kuwa Chuki za kikabila maeneo yale zinasitishwa na kuzuia vurugu. Wakureshi walijua, bila maeneo hayo kuwa matakatifu, kamwe wasingefanikiwa kwenye ufanyaji biashara, hivyo ufahari wao ulitokana na eneo hilo hivyo walihitaji kulilinda eneo hilo takatifu la kale. Licha ya kuwa al-Lah amewapa upendeleo maalum wao wakureshi, lakini hakuwatumia mtume kama ilivyokuwa kwa Abraham, Moses au Yesu na Pia waarabu hawakuwa na maandiko matakatifu yaliyopo kwa lugha yao wenyewe. Hivyo walijihisi unyonge mara kwa mara wanapokutana na wafanyabiashara wa kiyahudi au kikristo waliokuwa wakiwadhihaki kuwa Watu washenzi ambao hawajapata ufunuo wa Mungu. Waarabu waliwaheshimu watu hawa kwa kuwa na elimu ambayo wao hawana.

Wakristo na wayahudi walikuwa wameendelea zaidi katika ukanda huo(kwenye masuala ya kidini), Lakini mtazamo wa waarabu ni kuwa ukristo na uyahudi ulikuwa ni bora tu dhidi ya miungu iliyopo maeneo yao huko. Kulikuwa na baadhi ya makabila ya wayahudi waliokuwa na mashaka na ukazi wao huko Yathrib(madina) na Fadak, na baadhi ya waliokuwepo kwenye eneo la kaskazini mwa Mpaka wa Persian na Byzantine Empire walibadili dini kwenye kwenye ukristo. Lakini wabeduni walikuwa na msimamo na waliojitegemea, Na hawakutaka kuwa chini ya utawala wa dola kubwa kama wenzao wa Yemen, na walijua fika dola zote za persian na Byzantine walitumia dini za uyahudi na ukristo kueneza tawala na mila zao kwenye ukanda huo. Pia walikwisha choka na migawanyiko ya kitamaduni, hivyo hawakutaka kabisa itikadi ya kigeni na inayofunzwa kwa lugha na tamaduni za kigeni.

Baadhi ya waarabu walijaribu kubuni imani ya Mungu mmoja ambayo haitakuwa na msukumo wa kibepari ndani yake. Kama ambavyo mwanahistoria wa Kipalestine wa Karne ya tano, Sozomenus anavyoeleza kuwa, Baadhi ya waarabu wa syria waligundua kitu kilichoitwa dini halisi ya Abraham, ambaye aliishi kabla Mungu hajaleta Torati wala Injili, Ambaye kwa hivyo hakuwa Myahudi wala Mkristo. Muda mchache Kabla Muhamad hajapokea wito wake wa kitume, mwandishi aliyemuelezea aitwa Muhamad ibin Ishaq, Waquresh wanne Wa maka, waliamua kutafuta dini halisi ya Abraham (Hinifiyyah). Baadhi ya waandishi wa kimagharibi, wanadai Kuwa suala la Hinifiyyah ni la kubuni na ilikuwa ni ishara ya kutapatapa kwa jamii hiyo ya zama za giza (jahiliyyah) Lakini ina msingi wake.
Mahaniffs watatu, hawa wanajulikana kama ni waislam wa mwanzo. Ubaydallah ibn Jahsh aliyekuwa binamu wa Muhammad, Waraqa ibn Nawfal ambaye baadae alibadili dini na kuwa mkristo, Zayd ibn Amri mjomba wake Umar ibn al-Khattab, washirika wa karibu wa Muhamad na aliyekuwa kiongozi wa pili wa dola ya kiislam(khalifa). Kuna hadithi kuwa siku moja kabla ya ufunuo kwa Muhamad, Zayd alipowakuta waquresh kwenye kaaba, alitamka maneno kuwa '....laiti angejua Mungu anaabudiwa vipi, basi angemuabudu, lakini kwa bahati mbaya hajui'.

Tamanio hili la kupata ufunuo, lilijibiwa usiku wa 17 wa Mwezi wa Ramadhani mwaka 610 katika mlima Hira. Alipokuwa amelala Muhamad alistuka usingizini na kuhisi kuwa amezingirwa na uwepo wa utakatifu katika eneo hilo. Baadae Alilielezea tukio hili lisiloelezeka kwa urahisi. Akitumia lugha ya kiarabu. Alieleza kuwa Malaika alijitokeza na kumpa maagizo kuwa, 'SOMA'[IQRA]. Kama ilivyokuwa kwa mitume ya kiyahudi waliokuwa wagumu kusoma maneno ha Mungu, naye Muhamad alikataa. Akijibu kwa 'Mimi siwezi kusoma'. Hakuwa Kahin, wasoma ushairi wa kikureshi. Anasema Muhamad kuwa malaika alimbana mwili kiasi cha kuhisu Pumzi inamtoka, Na kisha Malaika akamuachia na kumuambia tena IQRA. Alikataa na malaika akambana tena kiasi cha kufika mwisho wa uvumilivu. Mara hiyo ya tatu, Muḥammad alipata maneno aliyohisi tu yanatoka mdomoni kwake akiyatamka.

Soma kwa jina la Mola wako Mlezi aliye umba,
Amemuumba binaadamu kwa tone la damu,
Soma! Na Mola wako Mlezi ni Karimu kushinda wote!
Ambaye amefundisha kwa kalamu.


Maneno ya Mungu yakatamkwa kwa mara ya kwanza katika lugha ya kiarabu na maandiko haya yakaitwa Quran: Usomaji.

Kesho tutaendelea na yaliyojiri baada ya Muḥammad kuteremshiwa Quran.
 
Kitabu hicho kinasema ukiona mambo huyelewi uliza vitabu vilivyokuwepo kabla yake yaani injili, zaburi na torati.I injili hasa ya Yohana iko wazi kuhusu uungu wa Yesu. Kwangu Mimi issa bin Mariam ni distorted explanations of Jesus Christ of the Bible. Ni sawa ikiandikwa Hadith ya Nyerere Nigeria inayosema alizaliwa dar, akafia muhimbili. Ila ukija Tanzania utakutana na maandiko yanasema wazi kazaliwa mwitongo na kafia st Thomas UK. Ntawaamini wayahudi zaidi ya Yesu wa uarabuni.
 
Kitabu hicho kinasema ukiona mambo huyelewi uliza vitabu vilivyokuwepo kabla yake yaani injili, zaburi na torati.I injili hasa ya Yohana iko wazi kuhusu uungu wa Yesu. Kwangu Mimi issa bin Mariam ni distorted explanations of Jesus Christ of the Bible. Ni sawa ikiandikwa Hadith ya Nyerere Nigeria inayosema alizaliwa dar, akafia muhimbili. Ila ukija Tanzania utakutana na maandiko yanasema wazi kazaliwa mwitongo na kafia st Thomas UK. Ntawaamini wayahudi zaidi ya Yesu wa uarabuni.
Na hata hao Wayahudi wameibadilisha sana Biblia na walivyoiandika awali si inavyotafsiriwa leo, Biblia na Quran ni mkusanyiko wa vitabu vilivyoandikwa na watu wakipambana na mazingira yao, hizi habari za Mungu kuwapo ni za kimapokeo zaidi ya ukweli.

Ukisoma wasomi wa Biblia wanakueleza kwamba inavyotafsiriwa na waumini wengi ni tofauti sana na ukweli wa mambo.

Mfano mzuri ni hiki kitabu cha Profesa James L Kugel aliyekuwa anafundisha masomo ya Biblia Harvard, kachambua vizuri sana jinsi Biblia ilivyobadilishwa sana na tofauti kati ya inavyotafsiriwa na ilivyo kiukweli.


How to Read the Bible​

A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now​

READ AN EXCERPT
Scholars from different fields have joined forces to reexamine every aspect of the Hebrew Bible. Their research, carried out in universities and seminaries in Europe and America, has revolutionized our understanding of almost every chapter and verse. But have they killed the Bible in the process?

In How to Read the Bible, Harvard professor James Kugel leads the reader chapter by chapter through the “quiet revolution” of recent biblical scholarship, showing time and again how radically the interpretations of today’s researchers differ from what people have always thought. The story of Adam and Eve, it turns out, was not originally about the “Fall of Man,” but about the move from a primitive, hunter-gatherer society to a settled, agricultural one. As for the stories of Cain and Abel, Abraham and Sarah, and Jacob and Esau, these narratives were not, at their origin, about individual people at all but, rather, explanations of some feature of Israelite society as it existed centuries after these figures were said to have lived. Dinah was never raped — her story was created by an editor to solve a certain problem in Genesis. In the earliest version of the Exodus story, Moses probably did not divide the Red Sea in half; instead, the Egyptians perished in a storm at sea. Whatever the original Ten Commandments might have been, scholars are quite sure they were different from the ones we have today. What’s more, the people long supposed to have written various books of the Bible were not, in the current consensus, their real authors: David did not write the Psalms, Solomon did not write Proverbs or Ecclesiastes; indeed, there is scarcely a book in the Bible that is not the product of different, anonymous authors and editors working in different periods.

Such findings pose a serious problem for adherents of traditional, Bible-based faiths. Hiding from the discoveries of modern scholars seems dishonest, but accepting them means undermining much of the Bible’s reliability and authority as the word of God. What to do? In his search for a solution, Kugel leads the reader back to a group of ancient biblical interpreters who flourished at the end of the biblical period. Far from naïve, these interpreters consciously set out to depart from the original meaning of the Bible’s various stories, laws, and prophecies — and they, Kugel argues, hold the key to solving the dilemma of reading the Bible today.

How to Read the Bible is, quite simply, the best, most original book about the Bible in decades. It offers an unflinching, insider’s look at the work of today’s scholars, together with a sustained consideration of what the Bible was for most of its history — before the rise of modern scholarship. Readable, clear, often funny but deeply serious in its purpose, this is a book for Christians and Jews, believers and secularists alike. It offers nothing less than a whole new way of thinking about sacred Scripture.



Biography​

James Kugel was the Starr Professor of Hebrew Literature at Harvard University for twenty-one years. He retired from Harvard to become Professor of Bible at Bar Ilan University in Israel, where he also served as chairman of the Department of Bible.

A specialist in the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Kugel is the author of more than eighty research articles and fifteen books, including The Idea of Biblical Poetry, In Potiphar’s House, On Being a Jew, and The Bible As It Was(this last the winner of the Grawemeyer Prize in Religion in 2001). His more recent books include The God of Old, The Ladder of Jacob, How to Read the Bible, awarded the National Jewish Book Award for the best book of 2007, In the Valley of the Shadow, and A Walk Through Jubilees. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, and Editor-in-chief of Jewish Studies: an Internet Journal.
Bible Department
Bar Ilan University
52900 Ramat Gan, Israel
telephone: +9722 672-2197
website: www.jameskugel.com
email: jlk@jameskugel.com
1. Born: August 22, 1945, New York, N.Y. I am married and have four children.
2. Education: Yale University, B.A. (1968)
Harvard University, Junior Fellow (1972-76)
City University of New York, Ph. D. (1978)
3. Areas of interest: Hebrew Bible; history of biblical exegesis; Judaism.
4. Positions held: Andrew Mellon Faculty Fellow, City University (1978-79)
Lecturer, Harvard University (1979-80)
Assistant Professor, Religious Studies and Comparative Literature, Yale University (1980-82); Associate Professor (1982)
Starr Professor of Hebrew Literature, Harvard University (1982-2003)
Professor of Bible, Bar Ilan University (1992-2013)
Professor Emeritus, Bar Ilan University, 2014—
5. Memberships and Offices:
Poetry Editor, Harper’s Magazine (1972-4)
Co-founder and associate editor, Prooftexts: A Journal of Jewish Literary History (1981-2000)
Executive Board, Association for Jewish Studies (1983-84)
Chairman, Department of Near Eastern Languages, Harvard University (1987-91)
Director, Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University (1996-2001)
Editorial Board, Jewish Studies Quarterly (1993-2003)
Member, American Academy for Jewish Research (1999-2003)
Founder and editor-in-chief, Jewish Studies: an Internet Journal (2002- present)
Director, Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible, Bar Ilan University (2003-10)
Chairman, Department of Bible, Bar-Ilan University (2006-09)
Editorial Board, Themes in Biblical Narrative – Jewish and Christian Traditions (series, Brill Publications, Leiden)
Editorial Board, פרשנות ובקורת (Bar Ilan)
Editorial Board, שנתון המקרא (Jerusalem)
Editorial Board, Biblische Notizen—Neue Folge (Vienna) (2010-present)
Editorial Directorate, מוסד ביאליק מו”ל
Editorial Board, Journal of Ancient Judaism (2011-present)
6. Awards and Prizes: Phi Beta Kappa (1968), Wrexham Prize (1968), Fulbright Graduate Fellowship (1968), Danforth Graduate Fellowship (1968), Woodrow Wilson Fellow (1968), Bryant Dissertation Prize (1977), A. Mellon Fellow (1977), Ingram Merrill Fellow (1978), S. F. Morse Faculty Fellow (1981-82). The Idea of Biblical Poetry was supported by awards from the F. Hilles and A. W. Griswold Funds, and received the book prize of the American Jewish Committee (1982). Research for In Potiphar’s House was sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (1988-89). The Bible As It Was was supported by awards from the Alan M. Stroock Publication Fund for Jewish Studies and a grant from the Littauer Foundation. It was among five finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award in the category of General Nonfiction. Traditions of the Bible was honored with a special session at the 1999 Society of Biblical Literature convention. The Bible As It Was and Traditions of the Bible were jointly awarded the $200,000 Grawemeyer Award for the best book in Religion, 2001. How to Read the Bible was awarded the prize for the best book in any category by the National Jewish Book Awards, 2007. It was chosen as one of the New York Times “Best Books of 2007, All Categories.” Outside the Bible, coedited with Louis Feldman and Lawrence Schiffman, was just awarded the National Jewish Book Award for Scholarship, 2014.
 
SEHEMU YA II - MAPOKEO YA QURAN.

Mapokeo ya Quran yalimfanya Muhamad ajihisi woga na hofu kubwa. Aliwaza kuwa labda naye amekuwa Kahin. Kahin ni watu katika jamii ya waarabu ambao waliokuwa ni waganga wa kienyeji waliaminika kuwa na majini yaliyowawezesha kupiga ramli na kuona yasiyoonekana. Katika jamii za waarabu waliamini kuwa Maeneo yao yenye matatizo yalikuwa yametawaliwa na majini. Washairi pia wa maeneo hayo waliamini kuwa na majini. Kwamba wanapopata mawazo au utunzi kichwani ni majini ndiyo yenye kuweza na kusukuma kuweza kuyatamka maneno hayo. Mfano wa mshahiri maarufu aliyeamini hilo ni Hassan ibn Thabit wa Madina ambaye baadae alikuja kuwa Muislam. Hivyo kwa fikra za awali Muḥammad alihisi labda naye amevamiwa na majini na kuwa mwenye Majin, (Majnu). Hili lilimtisha pamoja na sababu nyingine wamiliki wa majini hakuwapenda na aliamini ni waongo. Kazi ngumu aliyoiona mbele yake ni kutofautisha Quran na Mashairi mengine ya kiarabu. Alipokuwa pangoni aliona kiumbe kingine ambaye baadae alikuja jua ni Malkia Jibril (Gabriel).

Katika Uislam, malkia jibril ni anatambulika kama mzimu mtakatifu ambao Mungu kupitia yeye Mungu anawasiliana na wanadamu. Huyu hakuwa malaika wa kawaida, bali mwenye nguvu ambaye haiwezekani kumkimbia. Muhammad alipata hisia za utukufu na woga kwa Jibril, ambapo mitume wa kiyahudi hali hii waniitwa Kaddosh, upande unaotisha wa Mungu [Numinous]. Hali hii ya uoga baada ya kukutana na Jibril Mitume wa kiyahudi nao walidai kuipitia, lakini tofauti na Muḥammad, kwake ilikuwa ni hali ambayo hakuwa na maandalizi nayo wala mila za kumfunza nini cha kufanya. Muhamad jambo pekee aliloweza ni kukimbilia kwa mkewe, Khadija.

Akiwa katika hali ya woga na kutetemeka, Muhamad alimlilia Khadija na kulala mapajani mwake na kumwambia, 'nifunike, nifunike' Akimtaka amkingine dhidi ya uwepo wa utakatifu. Alipotulia, Muḥammad alimuuliza Khadija kama amekuwa Majnun. Khadija akamsihi na kumuambia, haiwezi kuwa hivyo kwani yeye Muhamad ni mtu mwema, mwenye kusaidia masikini na wenye shida, na mwenye kupambana kila siku kuhakikisha kuwa jamii ya waarabu inakuwa na mila nzuri na zenye kupendeza. Khadija alimsihi wamuone Waraqa ibn Nawfal, binamu yake Khadija ambaye wakati huo alikuwa ni Mkristo na alikuwa na uwezo ujuzi wa kusoma na kutafsiri maandiko. Waraqa alimuambia kwa uhakika kuwa alichopokea na ufunuo mtakatifu kutoka kwa Mungu wa Moses na mitume wake, Na amekuwa mjumbe mtakatifu kwa jamii ya waarabu. Baada ya miaka kadhaa Muhamad aliamini kuwa ilikuwa ni sahihi sasa akaanza rasmi kuwahubiria Wakureshi, maandiko katika lugha yao wenyewe [kiarabu].

Tofauti na Torah, ambayo Moses alishushiwa yote kwa mara moja kwenye Mlima Sinai, Muhamad alishushiwa Quran kidogo kidogo, Mstari kwa mstari, neno kwa neno, kwa muda wa miaka 23. Muhamad anasema ufunuo wote kwa kwe haukua rahisi, mara zote alihisi kuwa roho inaacha mwili. Anasema ufunuo huo wa maneno haukuwa mwepesi na rahisi wakati wote, kuna nyakati hakuelewa alichoambiwa, Na kuhitaji jitihada kubwa kutoka kwa jibril kuweza kumuelewa. Mara zote Muhamad anasema alikuwa akisistizwa asitamke wala kueleza maneno hadi aelewe maana kusudiwa na maelekezo hayo ya Mungu. Kama ilivyo kazi zote za ubunifu, kupokea Quran ilikuwa ni kazi inayochosha akili na mwili sana. Ndivyo alivyopitia Muhamad, kuna nyakati alikuwa kama ni mtu aliyepoteza fahamu.

Kwa hiyo, Kazi ya Mapokeo ya Quran kwa Muhamad ilikuwa ni pevu, si tu alikuwa akitengeneza Na kufanyia kazi ufumbuzi wa kisiasa wa matatizo ya jamii yake, bali pia alikuwa akiunda andiko ambalo Limedumu miaka yote. Aliamini kuwa alikuwa akiweka maneno ya Mungu katika Quran ambayo ni nguzo muhimu kwa uislam kama ilivyokuwa neno katika Ukristo. Kupitia Quran ambapo kuna sura kadhaa zimemuelezea, Muḥammad amekuwa ndiye mtume aliyeelezewa zaidi na kuonekana ni jinsi gani dira yale ilivyobadilika na kuwa ni ya ulimwengu wote. Alipewa ufunuo kidogo kidogo kadri matukio mbalimbali yalivyokuwa yakitokea. Quran tunayoisoma leo, haikuwa katika mtiririko huu, kwani alikuwa akiteremshiwa bila utaratibu kufuatana na mambo yanayatokea. Na yeye kwa kuwa alikuwa hajui kusoma wala kuandika, alipokuwa akifunuliwa basi alikuwa akiyatamka maneno hayo na watu aliokuwa nao waliyahifadhi maneno hayo mioyoni na waliokuwa wakijua kuandika walikuwa wakiyaandika maneno hayo. Miaka takribani 20 baada ya kifo chake, ndipo yalikusanywa maandiko yote na kutengeneza kitabu kimoja.

Waliokusanya mwanzo, walipanga Sura ndefu mwanzo ma fupi fupi mwishoni. Mpangilio huu licha ya ukosoaji, haukua na shida yoyote kimantiki sababj Koran sio masimulizi au hoja ambazo zinahitaji mfululizo wa upangaji mawazo, bali ni maandiko yaliyogusa matukio/mazingira mbalimbali kama uwepo wa Mungu kwenye maisha ya kila siku, maisha ya mitume na siku ya hukumu.

Wakati Muhamad alipoanza kuhubiri Quran, hakua na ufahamu mpana wala mawazo kuwa anaeneza dini ya ulimwengu, bali alikuwa akiwaeleza wakureshi dini iliyokuwepo muda wote ya Mungu mmoja. Na mpango wake awali haukuwa kuhubiri katika makabila mengine ya kiarabu, bali maka na viunga vyake tu. Muhamad hakuwa na mamlaka yoyote kisiasa, hivyo yeye kazi yake kubwa ilikuwa ni kuwaonya wakureshi juu ya mienendo yao. Alikuwa muonyaji [Nadhir]. Wala hakuwa na wajibu wa kuwathibitishia juu ya uwepo wa Mungu, kwani tayari jamii ile ilikuwa inatambua uwepo wa al-Lah kwa miaka Mungu. Mungu huo al-Lah, waliamini ndiye muumba wa mbingu na ardhi na waliamini ndiye Mungu huyo huyo anayeabudiwa na Wakristo na wayahudi. Ingawa tatizo kubwa kwa Muhamad ni kuwa, uwepo wa al-Lah ulikuwa ukichukuliwa poa na waarabu.

Kama ambavyo Mungu anasema kwenye sura za mwanzo za Quran:

Waulize nani aliyeumba Mbingu na ardhi, jua na mwezi na zikatii sheria zake, hakika wengi watakujibu al-Lah | waulize nani aliyeteremsha mvua na kuleta uhai dunia wakati haukuwepo, hakika watakujibu al-Lah.

Kilichomsumbus Muḥammad ni kuwa wakureshi hawakuwa na fikra na mawazo ya muktadha huo. Mungu amewaumba kutokana na tone la manii, hivyo kama alivyosema kwenye Quran wanamtegemea yeye katika maisha yao, lakini wao wanajiona wanaweza kujitegemea kwa kila kitu (Istaqa). Na hawakujali kabisa chochote kuhusu jamii nzima na kuishi kwa maadili. Kufuatana na hili, sura za kwanza katika Koran ziliwasisitiza wakureshi kuuona ukarimu wa Mungu juu yao wakati wote. Na pia wakati wote ambao licha ya mafanikio yao, bado Mungu anaahidi kuwapa mema zaidi na wautii utegemezi wao kwa Mungu.

[Mara nyingi] mwandamu hujiangamiza mwenyewe: kwa ubishi wake huukataa ukweli!
[Mwanadamu huwaza?] Ni kutoka kwenye kitu gani Mungu amemuumba?

Kutoka kwenye tone la manii ndio amemuumba, na ndiye amepanga asili yake na kuwa rahisu yeye kuishi; na mwisho yeye ndiye huamua mwisho wake na kumpeleka kaburini; na kisha, kwa utashi wake humrudishia uhai.

Lakini mwanadamu bado hajatimiza kile anachofurahia,
Acha mwanadamu, afikirie chanzo cha chakula chake; ni kwa vipi tumeleta mvua, na kwa vipi imepelekea nafaka kumea, kwa ajili ya mwanadamu na wanyama kula.]


Hivyo suala la uwepo wa Mungu sio la mjadala kwenye Koran. Bali asiyeamini, kafir bi na 'mat al-Lah, siye mtu asiye amini Mungu, bali ni yule asiyetambua ukuu na fadhili za Mungu. Hivyo Koran haikuwa inawafundisha wakureshi kitu kipya. Ilikuwa ni ukumbusho wa mambo yote yaliyopo. Ndio maana maneno kama 'Je, hamjaona' ama 'Je, hamjafiria' yametumika sana kwenye Koran. Hii maana yake, Quran haikuwa ikitoa maamrisho bali ilikuwa ikifanya mazungumzo na wakureshi. Iliwakumbusha mfano, Kaaba[eneo ambalo watu wa maka mwa miaka mingi waliliona kama ni takatifu], nyumba ya al-Lah, kuwa ndiyo kitovu chao cha mafanikio ambapo kwa maana nyingine ni deni lao kwa Mungu.

Wakureshi walikuwa na mazoea ya kufanya ibada huku wakizunguka madhabahu, lakini waliweka mbele utajiri wao Hivyo wakasahau utamaduni huu wa kale wa kuzunguka madhabahu yao. Walitakiwa wazisome alama za Mungu (Ayat) za ukarimu wa Mungu na ukuu wake kwenye dunia. Na kama watashindwa kuiga ukarimu wa Mungu katika maisha yao ya kila siki, basi watakuwa wamepoteza Muunganiko wao na maumbile ya dunia. Waliomfuata Muḥammad, aliwapa mafunzo ya kuwa wanainama chini wakati wa kusali (salat) mara mbili kwa siku. Kitendo hiki cha kuinama na kutii, kitawafanya wakureshi wawe na fikra na mioyo ya kuyabadilisha maisha yao kuwa wanyenyekevu. Hivyo kitendo hiki cha kuinama na kutii kilichokuwa kinafanywa na waliomuamini Muḥammad, Kuashiria kuacha kutii utajiri wao na kumtii al-Lah, ndicho kikawamsingi wa waislam. Kwa maana ya watu wanaojikabidhi kwa Muumba wa dunia (al-Lah).

Kitendo hiki cha kuinama na kusali, kiliwashtua wakureshi na kukerwa kwani kabila lao lilokuwa huru, na lenye ufahari, liliona ni kitendo sawa na utumwa. Hivyo waislam hao walianza kusali kwa siri. Mapokeo haya ya wakureshi yalimpa picha halisi ya jamii yake ilivyo. Tafsiri halisi ya uislam ilimaanisha wajibu wa jamii kutengeneza jamii iliyo sawa na yenye kusaidia wenye shida. Ujumbe wa kiimani wa uislam ni kuwa si sahihi kujilimbikizia mali na ni vyema kuwasaidia wenye shida kupitia zaka Na kusali sala ambazo ndio nguzo za uislam.

Tutaendelea na sehemu ya tatu wakati mwingine.
 
Hivyo kaaba, ambayo ni eneo takatifu katika Uislam, na ndio ambapo waumini wote huelekea wakati wa kusali (Kibla), ambapo awali walikuwa wakielekea Jerusalem, ni eneo ambalo lilikuwa takatifu miaka mingi kwa watu wa maka kabla hata Muhamad hajazaliwa wala Uislam kuanza. Kwa Muḥammad pia lilikuwa ni eneo takatifu sana. Na Quran ilipoteremshwa kwake, ilithibitisha umuhimu na utukufu wa Kaaba.
Screenshot_20210526-202631.jpg
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Na hata hao Wayahudi wameibadilisha sana Biblia na walivyoiandika awali si inavyotafsiriwa leo, Biblia na Quran ni mkusanyiko wa vitabu vilivyoandikwa na watu wakipambana na mazingira yao, hizi habari za Mungu kuwapo ni za kimapokeo zaidi ya ukweli.

Ukisoma wasomi wa Biblia wanakueleza kwamba inavyotafsiriwa na waumini wengi ni tofauti sana na ukweli wa mambo.

Mfano mzuri ni hiki kitabu cha Profesa James L Kugel aliyekuwa anafundisha masomo ya Biblia Harvard, kachambua vizuri sana jinsi Biblia ilivyobadilishwa sana na tofauti kati ya inavyotafsiriwa na ilivyo kiukweli.


How to Read the Bible​

A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now​

READ AN EXCERPT
Scholars from different fields have joined forces to reexamine every aspect of the Hebrew Bible. Their research, carried out in universities and seminaries in Europe and America, has revolutionized our understanding of almost every chapter and verse. But have they killed the Bible in the process?

In How to Read the Bible, Harvard professor James Kugel leads the reader chapter by chapter through the “quiet revolution” of recent biblical scholarship, showing time and again how radically the interpretations of today’s researchers differ from what people have always thought. The story of Adam and Eve, it turns out, was not originally about the “Fall of Man,” but about the move from a primitive, hunter-gatherer society to a settled, agricultural one. As for the stories of Cain and Abel, Abraham and Sarah, and Jacob and Esau, these narratives were not, at their origin, about individual people at all but, rather, explanations of some feature of Israelite society as it existed centuries after these figures were said to have lived. Dinah was never raped — her story was created by an editor to solve a certain problem in Genesis. In the earliest version of the Exodus story, Moses probably did not divide the Red Sea in half; instead, the Egyptians perished in a storm at sea. Whatever the original Ten Commandments might have been, scholars are quite sure they were different from the ones we have today. What’s more, the people long supposed to have written various books of the Bible were not, in the current consensus, their real authors: David did not write the Psalms, Solomon did not write Proverbs or Ecclesiastes; indeed, there is scarcely a book in the Bible that is not the product of different, anonymous authors and editors working in different periods.

Such findings pose a serious problem for adherents of traditional, Bible-based faiths. Hiding from the discoveries of modern scholars seems dishonest, but accepting them means undermining much of the Bible’s reliability and authority as the word of God. What to do? In his search for a solution, Kugel leads the reader back to a group of ancient biblical interpreters who flourished at the end of the biblical period. Far from naïve, these interpreters consciously set out to depart from the original meaning of the Bible’s various stories, laws, and prophecies — and they, Kugel argues, hold the key to solving the dilemma of reading the Bible today.

How to Read the Bible is, quite simply, the best, most original book about the Bible in decades. It offers an unflinching, insider’s look at the work of today’s scholars, together with a sustained consideration of what the Bible was for most of its history — before the rise of modern scholarship. Readable, clear, often funny but deeply serious in its purpose, this is a book for Christians and Jews, believers and secularists alike. It offers nothing less than a whole new way of thinking about sacred Scripture.



Biography​

James Kugel was the Starr Professor of Hebrew Literature at Harvard University for twenty-one years. He retired from Harvard to become Professor of Bible at Bar Ilan University in Israel, where he also served as chairman of the Department of Bible.

A specialist in the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Kugel is the author of more than eighty research articles and fifteen books, including The Idea of Biblical Poetry, In Potiphar’s House, On Being a Jew, and The Bible As It Was(this last the winner of the Grawemeyer Prize in Religion in 2001). His more recent books include The God of Old, The Ladder of Jacob, How to Read the Bible, awarded the National Jewish Book Award for the best book of 2007, In the Valley of the Shadow, and A Walk Through Jubilees. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, and Editor-in-chief of Jewish Studies: an Internet Journal.
Bible Department
Bar Ilan University
52900 Ramat Gan, Israel
telephone: +9722 672-2197
website: www.jameskugel.com
email: jlk@jameskugel.com
1. Born: August 22, 1945, New York, N.Y. I am married and have four children.
2. Education: Yale University, B.A. (1968)
Harvard University, Junior Fellow (1972-76)
City University of New York, Ph. D. (1978)
3. Areas of interest: Hebrew Bible; history of biblical exegesis; Judaism.
4. Positions held: Andrew Mellon Faculty Fellow, City University (1978-79)
Lecturer, Harvard University (1979-80)
Assistant Professor, Religious Studies and Comparative Literature, Yale University (1980-82); Associate Professor (1982)
Starr Professor of Hebrew Literature, Harvard University (1982-2003)
Professor of Bible, Bar Ilan University (1992-2013)
Professor Emeritus, Bar Ilan University, 2014—
5. Memberships and Offices:
Poetry Editor, Harper’s Magazine (1972-4)
Co-founder and associate editor, Prooftexts: A Journal of Jewish Literary History (1981-2000)
Executive Board, Association for Jewish Studies (1983-84)
Chairman, Department of Near Eastern Languages, Harvard University (1987-91)
Director, Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University (1996-2001)
Editorial Board, Jewish Studies Quarterly (1993-2003)
Member, American Academy for Jewish Research (1999-2003)
Founder and editor-in-chief, Jewish Studies: an Internet Journal (2002- present)
Director, Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible, Bar Ilan University (2003-10)
Chairman, Department of Bible, Bar-Ilan University (2006-09)
Editorial Board, Themes in Biblical Narrative – Jewish and Christian Traditions (series, Brill Publications, Leiden)
Editorial Board, פרשנות ובקורת (Bar Ilan)
Editorial Board, שנתון המקרא (Jerusalem)
Editorial Board, Biblische Notizen—Neue Folge (Vienna) (2010-present)
Editorial Directorate, מוסד ביאליק מו”ל
Editorial Board, Journal of Ancient Judaism (2011-present)
6. Awards and Prizes: Phi Beta Kappa (1968), Wrexham Prize (1968), Fulbright Graduate Fellowship (1968), Danforth Graduate Fellowship (1968), Woodrow Wilson Fellow (1968), Bryant Dissertation Prize (1977), A. Mellon Fellow (1977), Ingram Merrill Fellow (1978), S. F. Morse Faculty Fellow (1981-82). The Idea of Biblical Poetry was supported by awards from the F. Hilles and A. W. Griswold Funds, and received the book prize of the American Jewish Committee (1982). Research for In Potiphar’s House was sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (1988-89). The Bible As It Was was supported by awards from the Alan M. Stroock Publication Fund for Jewish Studies and a grant from the Littauer Foundation. It was among five finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award in the category of General Nonfiction. Traditions of the Bible was honored with a special session at the 1999 Society of Biblical Literature convention. The Bible As It Was and Traditions of the Bible were jointly awarded the $200,000 Grawemeyer Award for the best book in Religion, 2001. How to Read the Bible was awarded the prize for the best book in any category by the National Jewish Book Awards, 2007. It was chosen as one of the New York Times “Best Books of 2007, All Categories.” Outside the Bible, coedited with Louis Feldman and Lawrence Schiffman, was just awarded the National Jewish Book Award for Scholarship, 2014.
Asante kwa hii. Nitakitafuta hiki kitabu.
 
Kama haujui ulipotoka hauwezi kusema MUNGU HAYUPO.
Na hata hao Wayahudi wameibadilisha sana Biblia na walivyoiandika awali si inavyotafsiriwa leo, Biblia na Quran ni mkusanyiko wa vitabu vilivyoandikwa na watu wakipambana na mazingira yao, hizi habari za Mungu kuwapo ni za kimapokeo zaidi ya ukweli.

Ukisoma wasomi wa Biblia wanakueleza kwamba inavyotafsiriwa na waumini wengi ni tofauti sana na ukweli wa mambo.

Mfano mzuri ni hiki kitabu cha Profesa James L Kugel aliyekuwa anafundisha masomo ya Biblia Harvard, kachambua vizuri sana jinsi Biblia ilivyobadilishwa sana na tofauti kati ya inavyotafsiriwa na ilivyo kiukweli.


How to Read the Bible​

A Guide to Scripture, Then and Now​

READ AN EXCERPT
Scholars from different fields have joined forces to reexamine every aspect of the Hebrew Bible. Their research, carried out in universities and seminaries in Europe and America, has revolutionized our understanding of almost every chapter and verse. But have they killed the Bible in the process?

In How to Read the Bible, Harvard professor James Kugel leads the reader chapter by chapter through the “quiet revolution” of recent biblical scholarship, showing time and again how radically the interpretations of today’s researchers differ from what people have always thought. The story of Adam and Eve, it turns out, was not originally about the “Fall of Man,” but about the move from a primitive, hunter-gatherer society to a settled, agricultural one. As for the stories of Cain and Abel, Abraham and Sarah, and Jacob and Esau, these narratives were not, at their origin, about individual people at all but, rather, explanations of some feature of Israelite society as it existed centuries after these figures were said to have lived. Dinah was never raped — her story was created by an editor to solve a certain problem in Genesis. In the earliest version of the Exodus story, Moses probably did not divide the Red Sea in half; instead, the Egyptians perished in a storm at sea. Whatever the original Ten Commandments might have been, scholars are quite sure they were different from the ones we have today. What’s more, the people long supposed to have written various books of the Bible were not, in the current consensus, their real authors: David did not write the Psalms, Solomon did not write Proverbs or Ecclesiastes; indeed, there is scarcely a book in the Bible that is not the product of different, anonymous authors and editors working in different periods.

Such findings pose a serious problem for adherents of traditional, Bible-based faiths. Hiding from the discoveries of modern scholars seems dishonest, but accepting them means undermining much of the Bible’s reliability and authority as the word of God. What to do? In his search for a solution, Kugel leads the reader back to a group of ancient biblical interpreters who flourished at the end of the biblical period. Far from naïve, these interpreters consciously set out to depart from the original meaning of the Bible’s various stories, laws, and prophecies — and they, Kugel argues, hold the key to solving the dilemma of reading the Bible today.

How to Read the Bible is, quite simply, the best, most original book about the Bible in decades. It offers an unflinching, insider’s look at the work of today’s scholars, together with a sustained consideration of what the Bible was for most of its history — before the rise of modern scholarship. Readable, clear, often funny but deeply serious in its purpose, this is a book for Christians and Jews, believers and secularists alike. It offers nothing less than a whole new way of thinking about sacred Scripture.



Biography​

James Kugel was the Starr Professor of Hebrew Literature at Harvard University for twenty-one years. He retired from Harvard to become Professor of Bible at Bar Ilan University in Israel, where he also served as chairman of the Department of Bible.

A specialist in the Hebrew Bible and the Dead Sea Scrolls, Kugel is the author of more than eighty research articles and fifteen books, including The Idea of Biblical Poetry, In Potiphar’s House, On Being a Jew, and The Bible As It Was(this last the winner of the Grawemeyer Prize in Religion in 2001). His more recent books include The God of Old, The Ladder of Jacob, How to Read the Bible, awarded the National Jewish Book Award for the best book of 2007, In the Valley of the Shadow, and A Walk Through Jubilees. He is a member of the Society of Biblical Literature, and Editor-in-chief of Jewish Studies: an Internet Journal.
Bible Department
Bar Ilan University
52900 Ramat Gan, Israel
telephone: +9722 672-2197
website: www.jameskugel.com
email: jlk@jameskugel.com
1. Born: August 22, 1945, New York, N.Y. I am married and have four children.
2. Education: Yale University, B.A. (1968)
Harvard University, Junior Fellow (1972-76)
City University of New York, Ph. D. (1978)
3. Areas of interest: Hebrew Bible; history of biblical exegesis; Judaism.
4. Positions held: Andrew Mellon Faculty Fellow, City University (1978-79)
Lecturer, Harvard University (1979-80)
Assistant Professor, Religious Studies and Comparative Literature, Yale University (1980-82); Associate Professor (1982)
Starr Professor of Hebrew Literature, Harvard University (1982-2003)
Professor of Bible, Bar Ilan University (1992-2013)
Professor Emeritus, Bar Ilan University, 2014—
5. Memberships and Offices:
Poetry Editor, Harper’s Magazine (1972-4)
Co-founder and associate editor, Prooftexts: A Journal of Jewish Literary History (1981-2000)
Executive Board, Association for Jewish Studies (1983-84)
Chairman, Department of Near Eastern Languages, Harvard University (1987-91)
Director, Center for Jewish Studies, Harvard University (1996-2001)
Editorial Board, Jewish Studies Quarterly (1993-2003)
Member, American Academy for Jewish Research (1999-2003)
Founder and editor-in-chief, Jewish Studies: an Internet Journal (2002- present)
Director, Institute for the History of the Jewish Bible, Bar Ilan University (2003-10)
Chairman, Department of Bible, Bar-Ilan University (2006-09)
Editorial Board, Themes in Biblical Narrative – Jewish and Christian Traditions (series, Brill Publications, Leiden)
Editorial Board, פרשנות ובקורת (Bar Ilan)
Editorial Board, שנתון המקרא (Jerusalem)
Editorial Board, Biblische Notizen—Neue Folge (Vienna) (2010-present)
Editorial Directorate, מוסד ביאליק מו”ל
Editorial Board, Journal of Ancient Judaism (2011-present)
6. Awards and Prizes: Phi Beta Kappa (1968), Wrexham Prize (1968), Fulbright Graduate Fellowship (1968), Danforth Graduate Fellowship (1968), Woodrow Wilson Fellow (1968), Bryant Dissertation Prize (1977), A. Mellon Fellow (1977), Ingram Merrill Fellow (1978), S. F. Morse Faculty Fellow (1981-82). The Idea of Biblical Poetry was supported by awards from the F. Hilles and A. W. Griswold Funds, and received the book prize of the American Jewish Committee (1982). Research for In Potiphar’s House was sponsored by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (1988-89). The Bible As It Was was supported by awards from the Alan M. Stroock Publication Fund for Jewish Studies and a grant from the Littauer Foundation. It was among five finalists for the National Book Critics Circle Award in the category of General Nonfiction. Traditions of the Bible was honored with a special session at the 1999 Society of Biblical Literature convention. The Bible As It Was and Traditions of the Bible were jointly awarded the $200,000 Grawemeyer Award for the best book in Religion, 2001. How to Read the Bible was awarded the prize for the best book in any category by the National Jewish Book Awards, 2007. It was chosen as one of the New York Times “Best Books of 2007, All Categories.” Outside the Bible, coedited with Louis Feldman and Lawrence Schiffman, was just awarded the National Jewish Book Award for Scholarship, 2014.
 
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