* Moses breaking the tablets of the Law when he sees the Israelites worshipping a certain golden calf.

* Elisha cursing the children who had teased him about his baldness (2 Kings 2:23-24)

* Jesus Christ cursing a fig tree that had not had figs when he had wanted to eat from it (Mark 11:12-14,20)

* Jesus Christ throwing the moneychangers out of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Matthew 16:21-23

"...Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem to suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.
Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. 'Never, Lord!' he said. 'This shall never happen to you!'
Jesus turned and said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.'"

Jeez, Jesus. He just didn't want you to die, is all.

Here's one from the OT, from Judges 19 and 20.

A gang of Benjaminites kill the concubine of an Ephraimite. In retaliation, all the other tribes of Israel form an army and exterminate one of their fellow tribes.

Well, not all of them. Some of the brave Benjaminites fled, so that 600 of them survived. The other Israelites, regretting their tantrum, start looking for wives to repopulate the tribe of Benjamin. Unfortunately, they had all sworn (back when they were angry) that none of their daughters would marry a Benjaminite.

So they sacked a city in the neighboring territory of Gad, and stole enough women to provide mates for the Benjaminites.

Certainly not a lot of clear-thinking going on here -- though the Bible seems to be setting up the necessity for a king to unify these discordant tribes.

You know, philosophically (but please don't move this thread just because I used that word, moderators), I don't think the last one is on the same scale as the other temper-tantrums. Elisha and the fig tree are obviously the most petty and Moses was probably seething when his compatriots quickly forgot his parting of the Sea of Reeds, but ol' Yeshua was trying to keep crass commercialism out of his church.

There is also the consideration that the text may be a misrepresentation of a popular riot that Jesus or his faction were in on. I doubt the scene would be as peaceful as it is presented in the NT...

[This message has been edited by smugg (edited March 16, 2001).]

Moses wasn't half as pissed as God was. A better example of a Mosaic temper tantrum was when he struck the rock with a rod(when God told him to speak to it) and water poured out. For that reason Moses was not allowed to enter the promised land.

Quote:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"> * Elisha cursing the children who had teased him about his baldness (2 Kings 2:23-24)

I get sick of hearing them called kids. The word used meant a "youth" from ages 12-35. They could have been a serious threat, and their words are better taken as a threat(commanding Elisha to "get up from here") rather than a "gentle teasing."

Quote:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"> * Jesus Christ cursing a fig tree that had not had figs when he had wanted to eat from it (Mark 11:12-14,20)

The fig tree symbolises Jerusalem.

And who here really has a bleeding heart for a "fig tree" of all things?

Quote:

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2"> * Jesus Christ throwing the moneychangers out of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Fulfilling a messiahnic mandate. Malachi speaks of "the Lord, the messenger of the covenent" coming to the Temple and being like a "refiner's fire, and a launderer's soap."(Mal3) Which is why the Pharisees asked him what authority he had to do these things.(John 3) Another point is that the moneychanger's were actually taking up the Gentile part of the Temple, which was designed for Gentiles to worship God. The Jews controlling the Temple had forsaken their God-given mandate to be a "light to the Gentiles" and expect both Jew and Gentile to worship God. The position of the money-changers showed contempt for God and the Law and Prophets, and it was Jesus' job to straighten them out.

[This message has been edited by a_theistnotatheist (edited March 16, 2001).]

Very quickly, what is the purpose of this thread?

Nomad

[quote]<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by a_theistnotatheist:

Quote:

I get sick of hearing them called kids. The word used meant a "youth" from ages 12-35. They could have been a serious threat, and their words are better taken as a threat(commanding Elisha to "get up from here") rather than a "gentle teasing."

Who was it who said, "A gentle answer turneth away wrath"? Oh well. Maybe the she-bears mauled the youths gently.

This raises questions about prophecy fulfillment. Did Jesus act against the moneychangers because he wanted to, or because he knew of the statement in Malachi and acted it out, casting himself in the role of the "messenger of the covenant"? I lump that together with the Triumphal Entry as examples of Jesus trying to hard (or the gospel authors, whichever) to fit him into the role of anointed savior.

The purpose of this thread is to discuss examples of famous Biblical temper tantrums, which are generally considered immature behavior. I mean something like Richard Nixon's "last press conference" of 1962, when after losing the race for governor of California, he claimed that the news media had been giving him "the shaft" and he announced that "you won't have Nixon to kick around anymore".

And how is that poor fig tree supposed to symbolize Israel or Jerusalem, as is sometimes claimed?

And although that tossing of moneychangers out of the Temple may well be some sort of invented "prophecy fulfillment", it also looks to me like a temper tantrum.

Finally, I managed to find the Infancy Gospel of Thomas online, and it contains a story of JC as a little boy zapping someone who had bumped into him. Which seems a bit like a temper tantrum.

... even though it was not yet the season for figs. (It would have been far more impressive had Jesus pulled off another one of his miracles and caused figs to miraculously appear!)

... never mind that the moneychangers were only in the outer court, that thier presence there had been authorized by the Temple authorities and was necessary so that faithful Jews could purchase sacrifices with approved Hebrew coinage rather than Roman coinage (which the Temple authorities would not accept).