HT Bible Project

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BIBLICAL REFERENCES

Ch. 4-6, 14-5, 28, 34, 43

The name Gilead itself --> Geographic place (also some people) in the Bible. The prophet Elijah was from Gilead.

The title Martha --> In the Bible, Martha was the sister who was “worried about the unimportant things,” working hard but ignoring Jesus who was right in front of her (Luke 10:38-42). In HT, Marthas are infertile women who do housework, like how Martha was doing housework in preparation for Jesus' coming.

The Rachel and Leah Center (Ch. 15) --> Jacob was technically related to Rachel, but he liked her because she was pretty. However, Leah was the older sister so after Jacob worked 7 years, he was given Leah. He worked for even more years and was finally allowed to marry Rachel. He loved her more even though he was married to both of them. (Genesis 29) --> Jacob as the Commander in a way, because he has more than one woman.

Loaves and Fish --> Refers to two Jesus miracles

Milk and Honey --> Land of Israel, Promise Land

"Under His eye" (48) --> Phrase with biblical connotations win the vernacular

"Praise Be" (21) --> Phrase with biblical connotations in the

Serena Joy used to be popular for singing Christian songs on TV

"Blessed be the fruit" and "May the Lord open" (19) --> Biblical greeting

“It’s the usual story, the usual stories. God to Adam, God to Noah. lie fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth. Then comes the moldy old Rachel and Leah stuff we had drummed into us at the Center. Give me children, or else I die. Am I in God’s stead, who hath withheld from thee the fruit of the womb? Behold my maid Bilhah. She shall bear upon my knees, that I may also have children by her. And so on and so forth. We had it read to us every breakfast [...]” (102)

“For lunch it was the Beatitudes. Blessed be this, blessed be that. They played it from a tape, so not even an Aunt would be guilty of the sin of reading. The voice was a man’s. Blessed be the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed be the meek. Blessed are the silent. I knew they made that up, I knew it was wrong, and they left things out, too, but there was no way of checking. Blessed be those that mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (102)

CONCLUSION

Margaret Atwood uses biblical references and quasi-Christian phrases to make a statement about the function of religion in a society. She is saying that if religion (especially Christianity) becomes legal code, the society will cease to function fairly or properly. All of the criticism that "non-believers" bring up against Christianity are brought to life in Gilead, for example, multiple women belong to one man. Many kings and important Christian leaders whom God worked through had several wives and the fact that they are not committed to one wife, despite the fact that this violates Christian law, is never directly addressed. Another highly controversial topic, one that people debate over its presence in the Bible, is gay marriage. Many Christian pastors preach against gay marriage; they say it is abnormal and a grave sin. This is mirrored in Gilead when Offred sees two men hung for being gay. The odd living conventions that Offred and the rest of the inhabitants of Gilead must live under, while not exactly causing the society to crumble altogether, clearly inhibit their progess and success, eventually leading to Offred's fate.

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STRUCTURE OF BIBLE

Biblical References in the Handmaid's Tale

Names and Titles: (1) Gilead (2) Martha (3) The Rachel and Leah Center (4) Loaves and Fish (5) Milk and Honey

Greetings and Phrases: (1) Under His eye (2) Praise Be (3) May the Lord open (4) Blessed be the fruit

Direct references to the Bible: (1) Stories during breakfast (2) Beatitudes during lunch

Conclusion