OT UNIT 3

Synthetic (or progressive) parallelism

-the second line in some way completes the idea of the first line. (Examples: Psalm 1:3; 2:6; Ecc. 11:1)

What various interpretations of the book exist?

1. Typological approach: this may have been a real psalm through a man and woman expressing their love for one another, really is picture of God's covenant bond with his people. 2. Allegorical approach: text presents a hidden meaning (Jews- love between Yahweh and Israel; Christians- love between Christ and the Church) 3. The book depicts natural sexual love between husband and wife

What is a proverb?

A succinct and persuasive saying proven true by experience; general principle about life

What kind of wisdom literature is Proverbs?

Instructional

Job intro

Job was righteous who soon suffered in everyway possible. Went through 3 cycles of debate with his friends who think his bad times are caused by sin. It wasn't Job's suffering but God's sovereignty

Which books of the OT are typically identified as wisdom literature?

Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes

What is the book of Proverbs designed to teach?

Practical wisdom, discernment, discipline, and discretion

involves a repetition of the same thought or a similar thought.

Synonymous parallelism

Intro to Song of Songs

book shows the intimate love relationship between Solomon and his Shulammite bride. It shows the virtues of physical and emotional love in marriage

What are the issues regarding authorship of Proverbs?

evidence suggests Solomon composed many of them, and may have been responsible for collecting the others. Solomon should not be considered the sole author of the book. It is entirely possible that later editors collected the proverbs of Solomon along with those of others in bringing the book into its final form.

Main characteristics of Hebrew poetry

meter, parallelism, chiasm, and acrostics

What is Ugaritic and how has it helped in studying the poetical books in particular and the Hebrew language in general?

the ancient language of the Ugarit people, who were located north of Israel. Though using a different script than Hebrew, it shares hundreds of words that are similar in meaning to Hebrew.

Who is associated with the composition of the book?

"Son of David" Solomon

What is the motto of the book of Ecclesiastes?

"Vanity of vanities! All is vanity" "Meaningless! Meaningless! Everything is meaningless!"

What question does Job attempt to answer? What theology serves as the background to the book?

1. If God is both all-powerful and all-loving, how can evil exist in the world? 2. How can the wicked prosper if God is just? 3. Why do good people suffer, and how could God let it happen? S0vereignty of God; God is greater; keeping faith is key

2 basic categories of wisdom literature

(1) brief proverbial maxims offering observations about life in general; tended to be instructional or didactic in nature and usually optimistic about life. EXAMPLE: Egyptian wisdom (2) lengthy discourses (discoursive) or essays dealing with life's most difficult questions. Usually taking the form of dialogues or monologues, they were frequently pessimistic about life. EXAMPLE: Mesopotamian wisdom

How does one go about reading and interpreting proverbs as a genre?

1. Because of their terse style, proverbs are not to be skimmed or read quickly. Their condensed language makes it necessary to read them slowly and contemplatively. These time-honored truths take time to fathom. 2. Always be looking for the underlying principle of the statement. 3. Remember their broad and general nature. Take them on their own terms, as general observations about how life works.

What are the different reasons given for the divisions of Psalms? What are the bases for and arguments against each?

1. Five-fold division of the Torah: significance on number 5; no book for book correlation should be made. 2. Divided by authorship: "this concludes David's prayers"; other psalms are linked to him later 3. Grouped according to names used for God: Yahweh (book 1); evidence is inconclusive as to why Psalms is divided into 5 books rather than 2 4. Accorded with the history of the nation Israel around the Davidic covenant

What are the theological themes of the book of Proverbs?

1. Israelite education 2. Presents wisdom for successful living in relationship with God and His creation 3. Wisdom is based on personal knowledge of God 4. Character is emphasized over knowledge 5. Relational knowledge: parents, spouses, and families 6. Some focus on retribution theology: the way of wisdom vs. way of foolishness (folly)

What is/are the definition and characteristics of wisdom in the biblical sense?

1. Scope: universal/international (not limited to liturgy, temple, worship, law, etc.). 2. Definition/focus: practical success for living (common sense); skill in living. This was not a special endowment, but something attainable by all. 3. Origin/foundation: knowledge of God prerequisite for true wisdom/understanding.

Events in Song of Songs

1. The Beginning of Love: A. falling in love, bride needs affection, mutual love, kings visit to bride's home, brides dream of separation, B. united in love, wedding, bridges beauty in praised, marriage is consummated 2. Broadening of Love A. struggling in love, second dream of separation, bridegrooms handsomeness is praised, bride's beauty is praised B. growing in love, bride desires to visit home, journey and homecoming

three benefits of Ugaritic language

1. They help to determine the meaning of Hebrew. 2. They had similar poetic patterns, like parallelism. 3. They give insight into the polytheistic world of those who surrounded Israel. This in turn illustrates the uniqueness of Israel, whose poetry was from a monotheistic perspective, among the nations.

How many books is Psalms divided into?

5

Psalms intro

5 books span from Moses to post-exilic period; covers all human emotions; lament, thanksgiving, praise, ethronement, pilgrimage, etc

What is the book of Psalms?

A collection, songbook of Israel; hymnal

Look at the outline of Proverbs closely: other than Solomon, what other individuals are associated with proverbs?

Agur, Lemuel, the Wise Men, Hezekiah

What is an acrostic? Be able to illustrate such or recognize an illustration of such.

Alphabetic poems. An acrostic is a phenomenon where the succesive lines of text begin with the corresponding letter of the alphabet, line one begins with A, line two begins with B, and so on. The Hebrew alphabet contains twenty-two letters, and the phenomenon occurs in a number of places. The best examples are Psalm 119, Proverbs 31:10-31, and Lamentations 1, 2, 3 (3x), 4.

What is the origin and significance of the name of the book?

Book is "Solomon's Song of Songs"

What is the English name and where did it come from?

English name Ecclesiastes came from Latin and Greek translations of the OT

examples of chiasm

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. 4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. 5 Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. 6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place. 7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. 14 Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. 15 Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 My sacrifice, O God, is[b] a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. 18 May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19 Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

What is the significance and meaning of the Hebrew name of the book?

Hebrew "qohelet" appears to refer to one who led an assembly "preacher"

What are the Hebrew and Greek names and what do they mean?

Hebrew- tehillim "praises" Greek- psalmos "song" or "hymn"

What are the different types of psalms? What are their contents?

Hymns- songs of praise and thanksgiving to God for who he is and what he has done Penitential- Confess sorrow for sin, appeal to God for grace and forgiveness Wisdom- express general observations on life, especially God and our relationship to him Royal- focus on the king as the son of David and as God's special instrument to rule his people Messianic- Describe some aspect of the Messiah's (the anointed one) person or ministry. Imprecatory- Call for God's judgment against God's enemies and/or his people's enemies Lament- Generally 3 elements- Bemoan one's condition, statement of trust in God, and affirmation of praise to him

The five books that make up the Poetical books

Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs

What authorship and date / time-frame questions arise regarding the book?

Mystery surrounds both issues. Technically, the book is anonymous. The book gives no indication of the time or place the events it describes occurred. Linguistics are inconclusive, Job contains both ancient and later Hebrew.

What is a proverb NOT?

NOT promises; NOT commands

Is the book entirely pessimistic?

No, it can be very pessimistic, but the end of the book discusses the solution to the problem. The only hope is to fear God and obey him. True meaning in life is found in relationship with God.

Examples of Synonymous parallelism

Psalm 19:1... The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Prov. 9:10... The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

examples of Synthetic (or progressive) parallelism

Psalm 1:3... That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Psalm 2:6... I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain."

examples of Antithetic parallelism

Psalm 1:6... For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. Prov. 10:2 Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value, but righteousness delivers from death.

What are views regarding the significance and meaning of the psalms of ascent?

Psalms 120-134 are self designated "Songs of Ascent" or "Songs of Degrees" refer to songs that would have been sung while "going up" to Jerusalem (literally and religiously) for the required festivals. the word ascent is a reference to either (1) the rising melody of the psalms, (2) their step-like poetic form, or (3) the steps upon which the Levites performed music in the Temple. Jewish tradition relates the 15 psalms to the 15 steps leading from the court of women to the court of Israel

What individual is most associated with the book?

Solomon

Ecclesiastes intro

The Preacher of Ecclesiastes applied his great mind and considerable resources to the quest for purpose and satisfaction in life. He found that wisdom, wealth, works, pleasure, and power all led to futility and striving after wind. The only source of ultimate meaning and fulfillment is God Himself. One should therefore acknowledge his inability to understand all the ways of God, trust and obey Him, and enjoy His gifts.

Who are the individuals associated with the various psalms? Are authors mentioned with all of the psalms?

The authors of 49 psalms are still unknown David 74, Asaph, The Sons of Korah, Moses, Solomon, Hemen the Ezrahite, Ethan the Ezrahite

Overview of Song of Songs

The book is set within the interplay of the bride (beloved) and the groom (lover) addressing one another in song, with occasional interludes by the guests (friends).

What is the theological theme of Job?

The book of Job teaches that while retribution theology (as the Sinai covenant teaches) is a general rule, it is not a comprehensive rule answering every individual case. God is in control.

Introduction of Proverbs

The book of Proverbs was designed to equip the reader in practical wisdom, discernment, discipline, and discretion. beauty and righteousness will replace foolishness and evil as one walks in dependence upon God.

What format is used to wrestle with the question in job?

Three cycles of dialogue

What is chiasm? Be able to illustrate such or recognize an illustration of such.

Two successive lines of poetry reverse the order in which parallel themes appear. Chiasm comes from the Greek letter "chi", which looks like an X in English. This is reflective of the "criss-crossing" that is evident in Chiasm. Often the pattern is cisplayed as ABB'A'. Some-times it occurs within the scope of only a couple of lines; sometimes over the course of several verses, chapters or (purportedly) even whole books. (Examples: Psalm 51; Psalm 8)

What are the characteristics of the book?

Unity; repetitious character, its consistent picture of the cast, and common themes suggest such a unity

How is OT wisdom contrasted with that of other ancient Near East wisdom?

While the Old Testament shared elements with the ancient Near East (the combination of knowledge and ethics), the OT emphasized monotheism not polytheism.

God's answer to Job's circumstances

Who, not why "I am the Lord"

What question/problem does the book address?

Why is there evil in the world? What is the meaning of life?

What kind of wisdom literature is Job?

discoursive- deals with theodicy- God's part in the realm of seeming undeserving suffering

Antithetic parallelism

involves two contrasting ideas. (Examples: Psalm 1:6; Prov. 10:2; 10:4; 10:7)

What is parallelism?

most important characteristic; refers to the relationship that exists between two lines of poetry; they complement each other in some way.. Most often, it displays itself more so in the form of concepts, thoughts, or ideas rather than in meter and rhyme.

What are the different kinds of parallelism

synonymous, antithetic, and synthetic (progressive)