OT Final
Know about the Cyrus edict (or decree).
Allows Jews to return to Jerusalem. Found in the end of Chronicles and the beginning of Ezra. He wanted happy vassals!
539
The exile ends and the restoration begins.
Know the structure of the book of Proverbs and how the first nine chapters relate to chapters 10-31.
1-9: Discourses or lectures from father to son, or from woman-wisdom. There are about 20 of them. 10-31: Proverbs. Not always true. Don't always relate to certain situations. You have to use them in the proper context. Proverbs 1-9 uses the path metaphor. The path leads to a moment of decision in Proverbs 9 before you move on. You must choose woman wisdom or woman folly. Once you've made your choice, you continue reading 10-31 which give you tips of wisdom on how to live based on the path you chose.
Know the outline of Lamentations.
1. Lament for and by Jerusalem 2. The Lord is like an enemy 3. Man of affliction/Hope in the Lord's Faithfulness 4. The luster has faded for the people of God. 5. A final lament and appeal
Know the nine eras of OT history as we described them in class along with the texts that cover them.
1. Primeval History (Gen. 1-11; ?-2000BC) 2. Patriarchal Period (Gen. 12-50; 2000-1750BC) 3. Exodus and Wilderness Wanderings (Ex-Deut; 15th or 13th BC) 4. Conquest (Joshua) 5. Period of the Judges (Judges, Ruth, 1 Sam. 1-12; from conquest to 1050 BC) 6. United Monarchy (1 Sam. 13 - 1 Kings 11, 1 Chronicles 1 - 2 Chronicles 9; 1050-931BC) 7. Divided Monarchy (1 Kings 12 - 2 Kings 25, 2 Chronicles 10-36; North: 931-722, South: 931-586) 8. Exile (Lamentations, Daniel; 586-539BC) 9. Restoration and Diaspora (Ezra-Nehemiah, Esther; post-539BC)
Know the nine principles of interpretation and how to explain them well. Principle 1.
1. Read the Psalm in context. Even though the principle is meant to be applicable to different situations, reading it in context means different things for different types of literature. It's important to know the context to know the formation of the book. The context of a psalm will probably be different than the context of the one before or after that psalm. For example, Psalm 131 is a psalm of ascent of David.
Know the theological themes of the book of Ez-Neh.
1. Shift from leaders to community - goes from charismatic individuals (Abraham, Moses, etc). Ez and Neh are absorbed into the community and it is through the community that things are actually accomplished. 2. Holiness is no longer restricted to certain special places. The book does not end after the temple is rebuilt. It's after temple, city and walls are rebuilt that the opening ceremonies begin. Jerusalem is referred to as the "Holy City". 3. Shift from oral to written authority. Letters from kings are important. The people rededicate themselves to the torah of Yahweh.
Be able to describe the theological themes that were most important to Ezekiel.
1. The holiness and transcendence of God: God is beyond creation and beyond the prophet. Because God is holy, sin was a personal affront to his holiness. A large portion of the book is dedicated to oracles talking about how God will no longer ignore the sin of the nation. Exile would produce a purified remnant, purged of sin, that were ready to live in obedience to God. 2. The grace and mercy of God: God showed mercy to those who survived the exile. They would inherit his covenant and enjoy the fruits of that. They would live again under a Davidic prince (Jesus). The God who had abandoned his temple would return to it again. 3. The sovereignty of God: God rules over the affairs and destiny, not only of Israel, but also of all other nations. "They/you will know that I am the Lord" occurs all over the place. God would vindicate himself and his prophet by fulfilling the words spoken by Ezekiel. The same power that was seen in the destruction of the city could also be trusted for its promised restoration. God rules not only over nations, but also over time. 4. Individual responsibility: While guilt always has a corporate dimension, Ezekiel emphasized the individual consequences of both obedience and transgression. The people had been emphasizing the delayed retribution, but they were shrugging off any need to face their own guilt and sin. Chronicles talks about the immediate retribution.
Principle 2.
2. Identify the genre. Genre is a group of texts that are bound together by similar traits. They depend on different levels of abstraction. What is the genre of Psalm 98? We identify it as poetry, not prose. There are different types of poetry. Job is dramatic poetry, there is persuasive poetry, and lyric poetry is Psalms. Lyric expresses the inner emotions of the poet. There are different types of lyric poetry. Psalm 98 is a hymn. First stanza praises God for what has happened in the past. In the second stanza, all inhabitants of the earth are called on to praise the Lord for being their king in the present. Third stanza calls on even nature itself to join in the praise, and praise the Lord as the judge who is coming in the future.
What is Purim?
A new annual festival, which is one big feast or banquet. It derives from the Akkadian word Pur, which means lot, and refers to the lots cast by Haman when determining the date of the Jews' execution. They held a banquet because they defeated their enemies.
Baruch. Never mind.
Aide to Jeremiah. Baruch is mentioned in Jeremiah 36:1-8. Jeremiah tells him to read his prophecies aloud in the temple on the day of fasting. Jeremiah can't do this task himself because he is restricted from going to the temple. The prophecies are warning the people about every disaster that the Lord plans to inflict upon them, in hopes that they will turn from their wicked ways.
Know the difference between biblical wisdom and a high I.Q.
Biblical wisdom could be called "emotional intelligence". This is the ability to do or say the right thing at the right time. It's the ability to express the proper emotion at the right level that's appropriate for the situation. Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Fear is awe+humility (knock-kneed; open-mouthed).
What theological themes are important to understand the book of Lamentations?
Corporate suffering, judgment, and God's intercedence for his people and restoration of his people. This is a book that laments the destruction of Jerusalem. We specifically looked at Lam. 1 and 3. We saw that the suffering of God's people were communicated through the use of poetic personification. Jerusalem is like a widow in chapter 1 and a man of affliction in chapter 3. The book does not end with resolution, but rather, it starts challenging God. He also pointed to the very middle of the book and talked about how there we see the strongest example of hope. Great is your faithfulness. It's good to endure suffering because it won't last forever.
Know about the significance and content of the Cyrus Cylinder and the Elephantine papyri.
Cyrus Cylinder: a clay cylinder from Cyrus of Persia outlining the policies regarding vassal relationships. It records the events of Cyrus' reign, written in Akkadian. It talks about his foreign policy after he defeats Babylon and there it says that he allows all the vassal people to go back and rebuild their temples. It gives us a broader perspective on why Cyrus is allowing the Jews to return. The Jews aren't even mentioned in the Cylinder. Elephantine Papyri: Letters written from 410-390 BC. Mercenaries in Egypt are writing back to the high priest in Jerusalem because they built a mini-temple in Elephantine, so they asked if they could rebuild it. The high priest said that they could worship there, but not offer sacrifices. These letters give us a date for Ezra-Nehemiah. It says that Nehemiah comes back in the 20th year of Artaxerxes, but there are three Artaxerxes so we're wondering if it's the 1st or 2nd king. Nehemiah is dated to Artaxerxes 2nd, but the letters mention Bagoas who was not governor during the 2nd, so Nehmiah was probably the governor during the 1st.
What are the dates for the missions of Ezra and Nehemiah? What king was ruling at the time?
Cyrus was ruling. Nehemiah is appointed governor and charged with rebuilding the walls.
Know the interpretation of Daniel 7 as presented in class and how it represents apocalyptic.
Daniel has a dream about four sea-beasts and a chaotic churning sea. The four beasts represent four oppressive nations. The first beast is a hybrid and the fourth beast has ten horns with one little horn coming up among the others. There are different interpretations about what nations these beasts represent. One possible reading believes that Daniel was written in the 6th BC and that the beasts represent Babylon, Medo-Persia (Iran), Greece, and Rome, and that the horns represent kings. And the final horn represents the Anti-Christ. Another reading thinks the beasts represent Babylon, Medes, Persians, and Greece. The little horn represents Antiochus Epiphanes who lived in the mid-2nd BC. This interpretation is derived from the idea that Daniel was written in the 2nd BC. It is held by people who don't believe in supernatural prophecy. Therefore, it has to be written at the time of the last event. Therefore, it has to be written at the time of the last event. It's called "prophecy after the fact". It was thought to be written by faithful Jews enduring the persecution of Antiochus. These visions are not inviting us to make connections with specific nations, it's just generally saying that there will be evil nations oppressing the kingdom of God until the end of time when God intervenes to bring them to an end. In Daniel 7:13-14 there is a reference to the son of man approaching the Ancient One. This is a reference to Jesus defeating powers of evil on the cross. This is apocalyptic because rather than being a warning to God's people, it is an encouragement that their oppression from these nations will come to an end. These nations will be destroyed. There will be a future victory. This is similar to Revelation which also has stories about the beasts. There will be judgment (son of man riding on cloud chariot in Daniel).
Know the genres and languages of the book of Daniel.
Daniel is apocalyptic scripture. It is half narrative, telling stories of Daniel in a foreign court. Half the book is written in Hebrew and the other half is written in Aramaic. It stops using Hebrew in 2:4. It also uses Hebrew in 8-12:13.
Know the Hebrew and Babylonian names of Daniel and his three friends and the significance of the name change.
Daniel means God is my judge. His name is changed to Belteshazzar, which means "the goddess defends the king." Azariah: Yahweh is my help. He's changed to Abednego, which means servant of Nego (pagan god). Hananiah: Yahweh is gracious to me. Changed to Shadrach. Mishael: who is like God. Changed to Meshach. They are given new names to Babylonianize them. Their Hebrew names praise the true God.
What is the historical background of the person Daniel?
Daniel was a statesman and prophet who flourished during the 6th century BC. He was an elite member of the Judean court. Jeremiah covers the historical background to Daniel in that it starts with Nebuchadnezzar's besieging Jerusalem in 605 BC and continues through the Babylonian period with Nebuchadnezzar and Belteshazzar into the Persian period. Both Daniel's interpretation of the statue in Neb's dream but even more so with the four beasts rising out of the sea, that they may represent certain kingdoms.
Know how a psalm moved from composition to inclusion in the collection to use in the worship of Israel.
David would write a psalm and go to the Levite and say "put this in with the others". The Psalms were written over a 1000 year period, beginning with Moses and ending with the post-exilic period. It grew over time and eventually came to a close after the Babylonian exile. The author would be inspired and write a psalm about a specific event in a non-specific way so it could later be used for prayer and worship. The book of Psalms functioned as a hymn book for the people of Israel.
Know the historical events connected to E-N.
Ezra 1-6 covers the early post-exilic period from the Cyrus decree to the rebuilding of the temple. The focus is on the return of the exile and the rebuilding of the temple in 515 BC. The Persians defeat Babylon. The king of Persia is Cyrus and he inherits the Babylonian empire including Judah. He issues his decree. Under the leadership of Shesh and Zeru, God encourages the Jews to return to Judah. They rebuild the temple and it is completed in 515 BC. Ezra 7-Neh. 13 covers time period of Ezra restoring the law and Neh restoring the wall. Ezra is sent by Artaxerxes to reestablish the law of Moses in the land of Judah. This is promoting the happiness of the vassals under Persia. King Artaxerxes commissions Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the city walls. This begins the idea of a holy city rather than just a holy temple. At the end of the book, people aren't following the law again.
What are the sources of the book of Ezra-Nehemiah?
Ezra 1-6 is a third person historical account, but it also contains 2 memoirs (one Ezra and one Nehemiah).
What is the theme of the book of Daniel and how do Daniel 1 and 7 illustrate that theme?
God is at war with evil and without doubt will overcome evil. Also, in spite of present circumstances, God is in control and will have the victory. In Daniel 1, they are taken and being Babylonianized and God's people are under the control of Nebuchadnezzar, but the point is that even though they're in these circumstances, God is still in control and will still be ultimately victorious. In Daniel 7, it's apocalyptic, and it's basically just saying that God is going to destroy the evil nations and have victory over them.
What is the significance of the fact that Haman is an Agagite?
Haman is a descendant of Agag, the Amalekite. Mordecai is a descendant of Saul. In 1 Samuel 12, Saul defeats the Amalekites and Samuel kills king Agag. So Esther is a story of unfinished business between these two.
What was Nebuchadnezzar's intention in educating the young men? Also, what did they learn?
He wants to train them in Babylonian ways to integrate them into the culture. This is typical procedure, like in the Amarna tablets when the Canaanites are trained in Egypt. The learned the language and literature of the Babylonians (Aramaic and Akkadian). They learned the myths that praise gods like Marduk, the Enuma Elish and Atrahasis, Gilgamesh. They learned divination - how to read the stars and understand the significance of a sheep liver. They learned how to interpret dreams. They are also made eunuchs and given new names. Nebuchadnezzar is training them to be wise men.
Know the significance of Herodotus, Ahasuerus, and Susa.
Herodotus is a 15th century Greek historian who writes a lot about Persian-Greek relationships. He talks about a big banquet at the beginning of Xerxes' reign that some Esther scholars connect with the banquet at the beginning of the book. If that's true, Herodotus tells us that this is like a pep rally before Xerxes' first campaign against Greece. That emphasizes the problem of Vashte not showing up. If he can't even get his wife to show up, how can he send an army against the Greeks? Ahasuerus is another name for Xerxes. Susa is the place where the action of the book of Esther takes place. It is the capitol of Persia.
Principle 7.
How does the Psalm present Christ? Every psalm anticipates Christ. In Psalm 47, Jesus is depicted as the Messiah. 1. Consider the image of God. Is this image applied to Christ in the NT? Shepherd, king, divine warrior all applied to Christ. Mother of weaned child, not applied to Christ. 2. Think of the Psalm as a prayer to Jesus. Curses of psalms - God already knows how you feel so you might as well pray it and hand your anger over to God. It's venting your emotions to God. 3. Think of Jesus as praying the prayer. For example, it says in Psalm 69 "Zeal for your house consumes me." Jesus is the perfect model for the attitude of Psalm 131.
Know the basic genres of psalms.
Hymns: something that you sing when everything is great. Songs of orientation. Everything in life is oriented. Psalm 98. Laments: More frequent than hymns. Songs you sing when life sucks. Songs of disorientation when life is disoriented. Psalm 69. Someone experiences trouble in his or her life and turns to the Lord for aid. A lament will almost always turn to joy at the end except in a few cases like Psalm 88. The laments give permission to complain to God about God. They are expressions of hope in God because they are communicating to God. Thanksgiving: Psalm of reorientation. Differentiated from a hymn by virtue of the thanksgiving psalm being motivated by the fact that God has answered the lament. Often, there's an allusion to the previous lament. Psalm 30. Confidence: marked by an expression of trust and confidence in the Lord even in the midst of trouble. Psalm 23. Wisdom: share themes and concepts with wisdom books like Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs. Psalm 1 talks about dividing humanity by righteous and wicked. Remembrance: look to the past. Psalm 136 is also a liturgical psalm. First half priest, second half congregation. Kingship: pictures God ascending to the throne. Psalm 2 and 47.
Gedaliah
In Palestine, he comes from a godly family. He is sent to Jeremiah. He was appointed as the governor over Judah by Nebuchadnezzar. He is assassinated by Ishmael. Once Jerusalem falls to the Babylonians, it now becomes a vassal state of Babylon. It's no longer an independent nation. Gedaliah is the first governor of Judah for the Babylonians. He is Jewish himself, but he's appointed by the Persians. He's a friend of Jeremiah's. His assassination creates a trauma for the people wondering if they should flee to Egypt or stay in Babylon. Jeremiah says that God says to stay, but they ignore him and choose to flee.
What is the author, date, composition, purpose, and literary style of Ezra-Nehemiah?
It is post-exilic. Ezra 1-6 describes events from the Cyrus decree in 539 BC to the finishing of the rebuilding of the temple in 515 BC. It's theological history written as 3rd person omniscient narration (Ez. 1-6) and 1st person memoirs. Ezra memoirs are in Ez. 7-10 and Neh. 8-10. Nehemiah memoirs are in Neh 1-7 and 11-13. The author is traditionally cited as Ezra, but this is probably unlikely. The purpose is to give us a picture of the post-exilic period in Palestine.
Know the historical background to Esther.
It takes place during the Diaspora so the Jews are scattered to different nations. The book reflects the intense clash between Judaism and Hellenism in the Hasmonean period.
Hananiah
Jeremiah 28. Was a false prophet. Hananiah claimed that the Lord would bring back his people and the articles from the temple from Babylon (where they were exiled) to Judah. Jeremiah calls Hananiah out and says that all of the other prophets have prophesied war. He says that the prophet who prophesies peace will be recognized as one who truly comes from the Lord only if his prophecy comes true.
Know the pattern of repentance, rejection, and judgment in Jeremiah.
Jeremiah comes with a message of repentance. It's all based on the covenant. He appeals to them on the basis of the covenant. He charges them with idolatry or breaking ethical rules, lying, cheating, breaking the sabbath, entering into unreliable treaty relationships... He's calling them to repentance which they reject. Then Jeremiah starts speaking pure judgment.
Know why Jeremiah is called the "weeping prophet".
Jeremiah expressed more emotion than Ezekiel, or any of the other prophets. We looked at the lament in Jeremiah 20 as an example of that. He displays his emotions more through his writings than the other prophets do.
Know the historical background of Jeremiah's life and prophecy beginning in 626 down to the early exilic period.
Jeremiah takes place from between 626 to 586. In 626, Nabopolassar began to assert Babylonian self-rule against Assyria. In 612, Nabopolassar conquered Ninevah (the Assyrian capitol), and a few of the Assyrians survived and moved east to try to reassert the Assyrian rule. They put in place King Ashur-Uballit (recounted in Nahum). In 609, Neco from Egypt traveled to aid Assyria, but King Josiah tried to ambush Neco. He was unsuccessful and died in battle at Megiddo on Neco's way through Israel/Judah. That same year, Neco went to Carchemish to help the Assyrians battle the Babylonians, but the Babylonians won led by Nebopalassar and his son Nebuchadnezzar. During their retreat, Neco removed Josiah's son Jehoahaz as king in Judah and put in his place Jehoiakim. In 605, Nebuchadnezzar reduced Judah to vassal to Babylon. In 597, Jehoiakim tried to revolt and died. His son Jehoiachin became king at age 19. That same year, Jehoiachin was sent into exile with Ezekiel and Zedekiah (son of Josiah) followed Jehoiachin as king. In 586, Zedekiah revolted and Nebuchadnezzar had all of his sons killed in front of him and carted him off to Babylon.
Be able to contrast the true prophet (Jeremiah) with the false prophets (for instance Hananiah and Jeremiah).
Jeremiah's prophecies were connected to the covenant, while false prophets just made unconditional statements based on the present situation. All of the true prophets are prophesying war and Hananiah prophesies peace and positive outcomes in the near future. Jeremiah 14 and 28 address false prophets. God will punish the false prophets and their followers. Most of the true prophets speak mostly in conditional prophecies. It's not until things are at their absolute worse that he uses unconditional prophecies. Hananiah doesn't do anything but talk about good stuff, and it's all unconditional.
Who is Jerome and how would you describe his approach to the Song of Songs?
Jerome sends a letter to his disciple Paula advising her on how to raise her daughter in the Lord. He talks about the proper order to read the Bible. Reading Song of Songs last. Jerome is an example of the allegorical approach.
What is the author, date, composition, purpose, and literary style of Lamentations?
Lamentations is anonymous, but traditionally attributed to Jeremiah. The date is 586 BC, during the exile. Lamentations is a poetic lament over the destruction of Jerusalem. Every chapter is composed of 22 verses, except chapter 3 which is 66 verses. The chapters are acrostic poems (a-z). The fifth chapter is not an acrostic.
Who is Lady Wisdom and who is Dame Folly and how do they relate to our understanding of the book of Proverbs?
Lady Wisdom is the first-born of creation. She was there when it happened and is very wise because of that. Her house is located at the highest point of the city (the temple) and she stands for Yahweh's wisdom, and Yahweh himself. To dine with her is to enter into a relationship with Yahweh. Dame Folly tries to distract God's people from the true God. She represents false gods.
How does the book of Lamentations communicate judgment and hope?
Lamentations recognizes that God's movement against Israel is a result of their sin. The people of God are pictured as a man of affliction. Most of the book focuses on how Israel is deserving of judgment. The middle of chapter 3 is where the only positive and hopeful expression of Lamentations is given. They turn to God expectantly. They know that his compassion is greater than his anger. It doesn't end in resolution; they are still in the midst of judgment.
Ishmael
Leads the insurgents that destroy Israel, and destroys the temple in Jerusalem. Ishmael was a descendant of David.
Principle 3.
Look closely at the parallel lines.
Know the significance of the Psalm titles.
Most Psalms are given titles. The titles aren't given a verse number in the English translation, but the titles are from the original Hebrew and have a verse number in the original text. The titles will often attribute the Psalm to a particular author. The oldest Psalm (90) is attributed to Moses, and the earliest Psalms are attributed to David (1000 BC). About a dozen psalms contain a historical title, so they link the psalm to a particular event in the psalmist's life. However, the Psalms are written in a historically non-specific way so that others can use it as a model of prayer. Introductory Psalms don't have titles.
Know the historical background of Ezekiel's prophecy. What was the crisis he was facing?
Most of his prophecies derived from the fact that he lived through certain events that evoked the prophecy. He witnessed the political period of instability following Josiah's death when Judah's fortunes shifted with her alliance to Egypt and then to Babylon in turn. Also, when Ezekiel lived in a community of Judaen exiles, he lived in the heart of Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom and that is when he proclaimed the word of God concerning the rise of the Babylonian empire. The rise of Babylon is causing his own nation and the people around them to fall. The crisis he was facing was the fall of Jerusalem.
Know these people and their significance for Daniel: Nabopolassar, Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Cyrus, Jehoiakim.
Nabopolassar Led the Babylonian rebellion against the Assyrians and won. This fulfilled a prophecy anticipated by Nahum. Nebuchadnezzar led Babylon in invading Judah. Babylonianized Daniel and his friends. Belshazzar was a king of Babylon that we didn't talk about in class. Cyrus was the king of the Persians. Issued the Cyrus Decree in 539 BC, signaling the beginning of the restoration and diaspora. Jehoiakim was king of Judah when Nebuchadnezzar took over.
605
Nebuchadnezzar invades Judah where Jehoiakim is king and reduces the people of Judah to vassal status. After being reduced to vassal status, Daniel and his friends are brought to Nebuchadnezzar's court to be trained in Babylonian ways. Recorded in the first few verses of the book of Daniel.
Know what parallelism, imagery, and terseness are.
Parallelism is the echoing effect within a poetic line. For instance, Psalm 2. Scholars wonder what the relationship between the parallel lines is. Robert Lowth puts a big emphasis on the two lines. Some scholars say that A=B. Some think that B intensifies A. So it's A, what's more B. The second line intensifies the first line of the colon. Psalm 6:1 "Lord do not rebuke me in your anger, and do not discipline me in your wrath." A bicolon is a 2 part parallel line. A tricolon is a 3 part parallel line (Psalm 1:1). Imagery is taking two things which are not alike and bringing them together and using the part of the metaphorical equation that you know well to help you understand the part that you don't know well. Psalm 78:65 - describes God as sleeping or comparing him to a drunk soldier waking up from a drunk stupor. He wakes up violent. Psalm 131 - gets you to think about the relationship between a mother and weaned child. Terseness uses a lot fewer words than prose. Poetry is terse. There's more ambiguity in poetry than there is in prose. Poetry arouses emotion, stimulates imagination, and appeals to our will.
Know the role of Qohelet (and who this is) and the second unnamed wisdom teacher (also called the frame narrator) in the book of Ecclesiastes.
Qohelet is the preacher/teacher. He is the first voice. He speaks in the first person from 1:12-12:7. He is describing his search for meaning and then giving advice based on his failure in this search. Frame narrator gives the true, take-home message of the book. He is speaking to his son about Qohelet in the prologue and epilogue. The frame narrator represents the point of view of the author.
What is Qohelet's final conclusion? What does the frame narrator say is the most important thing in life to his son?
Qohelet's message is "life sucks and then you die. And there are three things that renders life meaningless." Death renders wisdom, riches, pleasure, and work meaningless. Injustice renders things meaningless. The inability to discern the proper time renders things meaningless. Qohelet is only looking at things under the sun and he says "Carpe Diem!" The message of the frame narrator is found in the last two verses. It is "Fear God, obey the commandments, and live in the light of the coming judgment." These correspond to justification, sanctification, and eschatology. Each of those statements corresponds to a piece of the Hebrew Bible - the Ketubim, Torah, and Nebi'im. He's saying read the Bible to obtain knowledge.
Why do some people feel Ezekiel was certifiably crazy?
Some people think he's crazy because he lies motionless for protracted periods, is dumb, or mute, does not mourn at the death of his wife, has visionary transports, reports extraordinary stories and visions, and engages in bizarre conduct. Prophets were expected to preach with props and actions. He was taking on the burden of his people because he felt so deeply for them.
Principle 6.
Read the Psalm in order to glean its theological message. What does the Psalm teach you about your relationship with God? C.S. Lewis is wrong when he says that the Psalms don't teach theology. Psalm 23 teaches us God is a shepherd and we are his sheep. Psalm 47 - God is a king. Psalm 98 - God is a warrior. Psalm 131 - God is a like a mother of us, and we are like a weaned child.
Principle 5.
Read the Psalm in the light of its title, or in its OT context. For example, Psalm 120, 124, 131 are songs of ascents of David. They are songs that were sung as people went up to Jerusalem on their pilgrimage.
Principle 8.
Read the psalm as a mirror of the soul. We identify with the 1st person speaker of the psalm. There's a psalm for every season of life. The psalms minister to you, especially if you are struggling in life. They have that "turn toward God" at the end. They articulate what you feel inside.
Know about the author, date, composition, purpose, and literary style of Esther.
Takes place from 486-465 BC. It is a post-exilic book set in Persia. The author is anon. The literary style is historical narrative or novella.
Know the debate over the prophet's location.
The book itself says that Ezekiel was written in Babylon. But there are chapters that assume that the prophet is in Jerusalem to observe the death of Pelatiah, idolatry in the temple, and the departure of God's glory from the temple. The difficulty is in trying to reconcile Ezekiel's presence in Babylon with his knowledge of what's going on in Jerusalem. Some people think he started his career in Jerusalem and moved to Babylon, and others think that he made trips back and forth. Recently, someone suggested that he was in Jerusalem the whole time.
586
The city of Jerusalem is destroyed.
Know why Daniel refused the rich food of the king.
The king thinks he is in control. What he wants to do is make these men look like the ideal wise man in Babylon. Daniel rejects the food and wine because he's leaving room for God to work. In spite of present circumstances, God will have the victory. Just as when God has the victory in Daniel 2. Nebuchadnezzar wants someone to both tell him his dream and interpret it. When the wise men say that no one can tell him his dream, he orders to have them killed. Daniel says that he can and asks for time to pray and ask God. God reveals the dream and the interpretation, which Daniel and his friends pass on to Neb. This shows that not only is God in control of their body shape, but also of their wisdom. True wisdom comes from God, not Babylonian education. In spite of present circumstances, God will have the victory.
What is apocalyptic?
The main function of apocalyptic is to comfort the faithful in the midst of oppression. The audience are the faithful. They are supposed to derive encouragement from this message because the message is that those who are oppressing you will meet their end. This is contrasted with prophecy, in which the purpose is to deliver a message that will elicit repentance. Two examples of apocalyptic are Daniel 7-12 and Revelation.
Know the role that the covenant plays in Jeremiah's prophecy. Don't forget to consider the new covenant.
The new covenant is the one that's in Jesus' blood. The basic message of Jeremiah is "You have broken the covenant, therefore you are liable for the curses. Repent before it's too late." The prophets were covenant lawyers, so they told the people what the consequences were that they had to face for breaking the ten commandments (specifically idolatry and breaking the sabbath). Part of the New Covenant: God gave Jeremiah positive oracles of salvation as well. It becomes clear that Jerusalem won't repent. At that point, God tells Jeremiah to stop praying for the people. Eventually, God tells Jeremiah to speak unconditional prophecies, specifically curses. But after the judgment, it's prophesied that the remnant will be restored by God (specifically in Jer. 30-33). In Jeremiah 31, God says He will make a new covenant with the people of Israel. He will write his law on their hearts. Everyone, from least to greatest, will know him, and he will forgive their wickedness and forget their sins.
626
The political time period: 626 is a monumental year in ancient near-Eastern history because the Assyrians had been the dominant power for 150 years. Babylon, under the leadership of Nabopolassar, rebelled against the Assyrians in 626 BC.
What was the significance of the banquet in Esther 1?
The purpose of the banquet is not given, but it could be preparation for a military campaign against Greece. Banquets appear often in the book of Esther. This is a book that is pointing to the establishment of Purim.
What is the role of irony in the book of Esther?
The role of irony occurs when the author writes about reversal in fortune. Everything that Haman intended for the Jews backfired. Haman's script for his own glory is used on Mordecai. He was killed with his own gallows that he built to kill Mordecai. The enemies of the Jews are destroyed rather than the Jews. Xerxes (or Ahasuerus) tries to show his power over everything but can't even control his own wife.
What is the proper way to understand the significance of the Song of Songs?
There are 3 schools of thought on how to interpret SoS. Allegorical approach. It could be dramatic love poetry which tells a story. It could be two-character drama or a three-character drama. The anthological approach says that it's not telling a story. It's a collection of separate but cohesive poems about intimacy. It is a collection of love poems. It's talking about a man and a woman, an archetypal couple. It is an anthological approach. It's a grouping of love poems that celebrate love, but warn that it's not easy to enter into. SoS is about the redemption of sexuality in an already not yet fashion.
From your reading: what is the text critical problem with the book of Jeremiah?
There are differences between the Masoretic text and the Septuagint. The Septuagint is missing about 2,700 words. These aren't just normal copying mistakes, they are intentionally different. Two distinct editions existed.
Know the basic plot of Esther.
There's a banquet and the king, Xerxes, gets mad at the queen, Vashti, because she refuses to appear at the banquet, and he says he needs a new queen. He holds the one-night stand competition and Esther wins. Mordecai (possibly a spy for the Persian court) discovers a plot to kill the king and tells Esther who warns the king. The plot is found out to be true and the guys are killed. Mordecai refuses to bow to Haman. Haman gets mad and tell Xerxes to destroy all of the Jews in his empire. They throw the Purim (lots thrown to determine the date for the execution of the Jews). Mordecai discovers the date and tells Esther to appeal to the king about it. She invites the king and Haman to a banquet and Haman is excited, but Mordecai is ruining it for him, so his family tells him to build a gallows and hang Mordecai. The king asks Haman what he should do for the man that he wants to honor most in the kingdom and Haman tells him to do all these extravagant things. But then he finds out that the king was talking about Mordecai. The king uses Hamans gallows to kill Haman because Haman was molesting Esther when the king left the banquet. There's still a decree that calls for the execution of the Jews, so the king issues another decree allowing the Jews to arm themselves. Rather than the Jews being destroyed, the enemies of the Jews (including the Amalekites) are destroyed.
Know about the relationship between the books of Ezra and Nehemiah as well as their relationship with the book of Chronicles.
They are one book that was separated. There are memoirs of Ezra in Nehemiah. The books provide two different models of Christian leadership (Ezra tears his hair out and weeps; Nehemiah tears the peoples' clothes and beats them). They are all post-exilic books. Some of the information in Ezra-Nehemiah is also talked about in Chronicles. They're all related to the same topic and time period. The overlap between end of Chronicles and beginning of E-N, and there are linguistic and theological similarities between the two.
How are we to understand the application of Proverbs to daily life?
They aren't always true. Sometimes they contradict each other, so you have to read them and apply them in the right context. Too many cooks spoil the broth; many hands make light work. There are no promises or guarantees. Proverbs 26:4-5 fool thing. You learn how to apply a proverb by observation, trial and error.
How does the book have a theological message (and what is it) without mentioning God by name?
This is a moment when the Jews could have been wiped out, but God in his hidden providence has directed events so that the Jews can survive. The importance of human obedience and faithfulness becomes more important when God's actions and purposes aren't transparent. God wasn't directly referred to, but during the post-exilic period, the people use a lot of circumlocutions (figure of speeches) to refer to God such as "the place" in Esther 4:14.
Principle 4.
Unpack the imagery.
Principle 9.
What does the psalm tell you about God's will for your life? It stimulates language, emotion, and appeals to our will. The way you find how a psalm is trying to move you to action or attitude is by looking at the imperatives in the psalm. Psalm 131 ends in the imperative "hope in the Lord". "I will" is trying to move you in a certain direction. Most of the "I will"s are connected to worship.
Know the significance of Sheshbazzar and Zerubbabel.
Zerubbabel was a descendant of David so he had messianic expectations. He was sent in the beginning of Ezra by Cyrus to go rebuild the temple. God encouraged the Jews to return to Judah under Sheshbazzar and Zeru. In 515 the temple is completed.
