The Bible as Lit Quiz 3
How did the Song of Songs get into the canon?
- "All the world is not worth the day the Song of Songs was given to Israel. All the writings are holy, but the Song of Songs is the Holy of Holies. Whoever trills his voice singing the Song of Songs in a banquet hall, as if it were an ordinary song, has no share in the world to come" --> Rabbi Akiva (1st c. CE) - There was originally strong sentiment against the Song of Songs
At what moment do the lovers consummate their love?
- "Awake, O north wind, and come, O south wind! Blow upon my garden that its fragrance may be wafted abroad. Let my beloved come to his garden and eat its choicest fruits" - Seen in SOS 4:16-5:1
When Jesus appeared to the women who left the tomb, what did he tell them regarding where he wanted the disciples to meet him?
- "Go and tell my brethren to go to Galilee, and there they will see me"
The Horror of Siege Warfare
- "Happier were those pierced by the sword than those pierced by hunger, whose life drains away, deprived of the produce of the field. The hands of compassionate women have boiled their own children; they became their food in the destruction of my people" (Lam. 4:9-10) - Jerusalem held out during the Babylonian siege for a year and a half - The purposes of sieges was to starve to city
The Song as Allegory: Christ's Love for the Church
- "His left hand is under my head, his right hand embraces me" - Christians saw themselves as the new Israel - Some say this book is reserved for those so pure in spirit that they don't experience carnal desires - In this allegory, Jesus wants to love the people and vice versa, but society conspires against them.
What refrain is repeated throughout the book?
- "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the hinds of the field: that you stir not up nor awaken love until it please"
The Song as Allegory: God's Love for Israel
- "I will take you for my wife forever; I will take you for my wife in righteousness and in justice, in steadfast love and in mercy" (Hosea 2:19) - Bridegroom is God, Bride is Israel - Under this allegory, God and the Israelites are having trouble because the community of nations around them is against the union
A Call to Patience
- "In those days the sun will be darkened and the moon will turn to blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes" (Joel 2:31) - Apocalyptic trait - Given up on this world and history - Just need to wait for the end to come
Matthew's Nativity
- "Jesus the Messiah, the son of David, the son of Abraham" - Told from Joseph's point of view - Joseph has prophetic dreams - Jesus honored by the Magi (astrologers from the East) - Descends into Egypt while King Herod slaughters babies - Recapitulates the history of Israel
Heaven, Hell and the Resurrection of the Dead
- "Many of those who sleep in the dust of the ground will awake, these to everlasting life. But the others to disgrace and everlasting contempt" (Daniel 12:2) - These themes first appear in the Book of Daniel, ca. 167 BCE -- a new biblical answer to the old question about divine justice - Daniel is the very latest book of the Hebrew Bible
What was the writing on the wall?
- "Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin"
Jonah's Anger
- "That is why I fled to Tarshish... for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love (chesed), and ready to relent from punishing" (Jonah 4:2)
King Solomon's Harem
- "There are 60 queens and 80 concubines, and maidens without number" (SOS 8:6) - His Harem totals 140 - Solomon had a great Harem and was supposed to be a great over as well
What was written above Jesus' head?
- "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews"
What voice was heard from heaven during Jesus' baptism?
- "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased"
Paradise Regained
- "Under the apple tree I awakened you" (8:5) - Promises a redemption of human sexual love - It's as if they wake again in the Garden of Eden
How many generations were there from Abraham to David, from David until the captivity in Babylon, and from the captivity in Babylon until Christ?
- 14 each, 42 total
God has to tell Jonah how many times to go to Nineveh before he listens?
- 2 times
James
- 2nd of Jesus' 3 favorite disciples
How long a journey was Nineveh?
- 3 days - It was an enormous city
When the Spirit took Jesus into the desert, the devil tempted him how many times?
- 3 times
How long did Jesus fast while in the wilderness?
- 40 days and nights
How many times did Jesus predict his betrayal and his death?
- 5 times
How many poems are in the Song of Solomon?
- 7 poems
How many times is King Solomon mentioned in the book?
- 7 times
How may words was Jonah's message to the Ninevites?
- 8 words - "40 days more, and Nineveh shall be overthrown"
Key Dates in Biblical History
- 922 BCE: Death of Solomon; monarchy falls apart; united monarchy divided into two rival kingdoms, Israel (Ephraim) in the north and Judah in the south; northern capital established as Shechem, then Tirzah; Jerusalem remains as the southern capital - 722 BCE: northern kingdom falls to Assyria under King Sargon II; refugees scatter to Judah - 622 BCE: Josiah, king of Judah, discovers "book of the law" while repairing Jerusalem Temple; this becomes the first sacred text to be canonized as scripture - 587/586 BCE: Jerusalem is sacked and Judah is conquered by Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar; destruction of Solomon's Temple; captives deported to Babylon - 586-539 BCE: exilic period of Babylonian captivity, during which members of the Judean elite in exile write down and edit much of the Pentateuch; activity of the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekial and Second Isaiah; first diaspora of Israel - 539 BCE: Babylon defeated by Persians under King Cyrus, who liberates Jews from captivity and permits those who wish to return to Jerusalem
When was the Song of Solomon written?
- 965 BC - During King Solomon's reign
Vicarious Suffering
- A (shocking) new religious idea - "Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases" - The early church found much of their theology here
The Sermon on the Mount
- A collection of Jesus' teachings on many important topics, which the Gospel of Matthew presents as a speech given by Jesus. - "You have heard that it was said... but I say to you..." - Makes the law even stricter by internalizing it - "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly father is perfect" - Teaching against hypocrisy, showing off your piety before others - Absolute, childlike trust in God - This teaching is hard! Jesus is not a get-out-of-hell free card
To what did she compare he love?
- A company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots - A cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi
What covenant does God make with us?
- A covenant of blessing, never to be broken
What did the soldiers of the governor put on Jesus' head when they took him into the Praetorium and mocked him?
- A crown of thorns
The Song of Solomon ends with the bride urging her husband to hurry to her. She asks him to be as fast as which animals?
- A deer
Diaspora
- A dispersion of people from their homeland - Dispersion of scattering of people after their home is conquered
When Jesus was baptized at the Jordan, the Holy Spirit descended on him in the form of what?
- A dove
King Cyrus the Great
- A foreign "Messiah" - Conquered Babylon in 539 BCE - Allowed exiled Israelites to return to Jerusalem; a more benevolent ruler - Called "a victor from the east" (Isa. 41:2) and "the Lord's anointed" or Messiah (45:1)
Nebuchadnezzar's dream
- A historical/political vision concerning four kingdoms - Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of a statue with a head of gold, shoulders and arms of silver, torso of bronze, legs of iron, and feet of iron and clay. - Daniel interprets this to be the succession of kingdoms. - A historical/political vision concerning four kingdoms - The gold head is the Babylonians, the silver the Medians, the bronze the Persians, the iron the Greek/Hellenistic Empire of Alexander the Great and his successors - All of these kingdoms are powerful, but eventually overthrown by the kingdom of God
What does the Lord want us to be?
- A holy nation
John the Baptist said to the people that Jesus would baptize them with what?
- A holy spirit and fire
What did the king set up on the plain of Dura?
- A large, golden image of a man
What kind of song is the Song of Solomon?
- A love song
How should a husband be to his wife?
- A lover and a friend
What did Daniel see by the river Hiddekel?
- A man clothed in linen
What does the groom liken his beloved to?
- A mare
Gentile
- A non-Jewish person
Book of Jonah
- A parable about God's compassion on all people, even non-Jews, in which Jonah represents Israel who sinfully rejected God's call and listened to their own voices. - An example of Comedy in the Bible - Like Ruth, a universal story about God's chesed, which includes enemies and foreigners - Like Ruth, told with great skill and economy of words
What was the fifth chapter all about?
- A prayer of mercy - The prayer for restoration
Why prophets are persecuted?
- A prophet is a preacher, but also a heretic, an iconoclast - They seem like a blasphemer - Priests think they are a threat to religion; kings think they are a threat to the state; the rich think they are a threat to business; ordinary people think they are just gloomy and depressing - No one ever asks to be a prophet
Mark
- A short ride in a very fast machine - First and shortest Gospel - All action - Little dialogue, no parables - No nativity story - No resurrection appearances - Jesus is always in a hurry
4-Source Hypothesis
- A solution to the "synoptic problem" which maintains that there are four sources that lie behind the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and luke - Q = German Quelle, "a source"; a hypothetical collection of sayings of Jesus; now lost - Mark = the oldest Gospel, ca. 70 CE.; in that year, the Romans conquered Jerusalem; Christians began to write their own holy scriptures to separate from Jews; Eyewitnesses were dying out, so it became important to write them down - M = oral tradition known to Matthew (ca. 80-90 CE) - L = oral traditions known to Luke (ca. 80-90 CE) - Q, the sayings of Jesus, and Mark, the deeds of Jesus, were both known by Matthew and Luke
What happened to the statue made from different metals?
- A stone hit the feet and broke them into pieces - The stone then became a mountain and filled the whole earth - Stone, not cut by human hands, thrown at the clay feet, causing the statue to fall
Allegory
- A story in which each aspect of the story has a symbolic meaning outside the tale itself. - A technique of interpretation, which relies on symbolic rather than literal meaning
What was Matthew's profession before becoming a disciple of Jesus?
- A tax collector
What is unveiled in Isaiah 65?
- A vision of a new heavens and a new earth
What has Jerusalem become like when the lamenter of Lamentations grieves over its destruction?
- A widow
Who said to Jesus, "Lord, even the little dogs eat the crumbs which fall from their masters' table" when she came begging Jesus for healing?
- A woman of Canaan from the region of Tyre and Sidon
What killed the plant that God had provided Jonah for shade?
- A worm
Distinctive Characteristics of Second and Third Isaiah
- Absolute monotheism - Universalism - Tender love - Eschatology - Three new agents of God's will on earth: his Word, his Spirit and his Servant
Joseph
- Adoptive father of Jesus - Descendant of David - Raises Jesus as a carpenter in Nazareth
The Actual History (2 Kings 25)
- After the food supply was exhausted, the king and his army breached the walls of their own city and fled by night; this was an act of treason - But the Babylonian army captured the king, slew his sons before his eyes and blinded him - He was then deported in chains to Babylon - King Solomon's Temple, the royal palace and all the great houses of Jerusalem were burnt to cinders - The Temple furnishings were carried off as treasure to Babylon; many were melted down for coin - The whole ruling class was either executed or deported to Babylon - Only the poorest people were left to farm the land for Babylonian profit
How many of the Ninevites obeyed the message of Jonah?
- All of them
What do these women all have in common?
- All of them are sexually irregular in some way
How does a young man determine if he is in love?
- All other women seem like thorns amongst this lily
What in Jerusalem did the Lord destroy?
- Altars, palaces and sanctuaries
What was Jonah's father's name?
- Amittai
To what is the cruelty of people compared?
- An Ostrich
Who was the fourth person in the fiery furnace?
- An angel
Who did Mary Magdalene see sitting on the stone that was rolled away from the tomb?
- An angel of the Lord
What happened to the lions in the den?
- An angel shut their mouths
The Song of Songs
- An erotic love song; passionate love song - The story of a young man and woman who fall in love in the springtime and sing each other songs about their feelings... and desires - Solomon was considered Israel's greatest and wisest king - Taken at face value, it is the story of Solomon's love for a girl who would become his bride, but many Biblical scholars consider it an allegory describing God's love for the people of Israel or Christ's love for his bride the Church - It is about love; tenderness, a picture of a good marriage, love in marriage, God's love for us expressed, and a lesson on how to forgive - No plot in the Song of Songs except for the unions and separations of the two lovers
Who was Simon Peter's brother?
- Andrew
Who told Joseph not to fear taking Mary as his wife?
- Angels of the Lord
Messiah
- Anointed one - Cyrus is the only non-Israelite that is ever called Messiah in the bible
Apocalyptic
- Apocalyptic comes from the Greek word for "revelation" - Prophecy that expects an imminent end to history - Hostility toward the present world order - Scenarios for events of the Last Days - Final punishment for the wicked, reward for the righteous - Resurrection of the dead (first proclaimed within this genre) - Messianic figures - Call to endurance or martyrdom - Otherworldly time ("afterlife") - Otherworldly space (heaven and hell) - Cosmic battles between God and Satan, angels and demons - Deliberately obscure, cryptic language - Pseudepigraphy - Uses very symbolic language
Who followed Herod as the king of Judea?
- Archelaus, the son of King Herod
Thomas
- Asks to feel Jesus' wounds as proof of his resurrection
Priests
- Associated with Torah and Temple worship
Sages
- Associated with wisdom literature and the royal court
Who could not save Babylon from the judgement that would come?
- Astrologers - Monthly prognosticators - Stargazers
What scripture verse did Jesus use to respond to the devil's temptation to fall down before him and worship him in order to get all the kingdoms of the world?
- Away with you, Satan! For it is written, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and him only you shall serve"
Nebuchadnezzar
- Babylonian king who sacks Jerusalem and deports the Judeans - Daniel interprets his dream o the statue - Throws Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego into fiery furnace - Turned into a beast for 7 years due to pride
Who was the notorious prisoner that Pilate released following the people's request, instead of Jesus?
- Barabbas
The Groom
- Basically, this dud is a specimen of masculine animalism - He is majorly assertive - He also has a sensitive side
Why is the language of prophecy obscure?
- Because the message is often politically dangerous
Why was the king going to kill Daniel and the other wise men?
- Because the wise men weren't able to show the king's dream
Who is known as the ruler of the demons?
- Beelzebub
What king had a feast using the gold and silver vessels from the temple in Jerusalem?
- Belshazzar
What other name is Daniel given?
- Belteshazzar
What city was Jesus born in?
- Bethlehem
What example in nature did Jesus give us showing us God's provision?
- Birds
What color does the lady say she is?
- Black
The Song as Allegory: God's Love for the Soul
- Bride lying in bed gazes up longingly at Christ her beloved - The idea is that uniting God's will and the will of the soul is a tricky business that's subject to lots of obstacles
Dramatic Verse
- Broken down into speakers and a chorus - Principle speakers are Bride and Bridegroom - Chorus, Daughters of Jerusalem, like chorus in Greek Dramas
God Sends Jonah to Nineveh
- But Jonah has other ideas - He heads off in the exact opposite direction from Nineveh, to Tarshish in Southwest Spain - Prophets often reluctant to take on their task, but Jonah is the extreme case - He thought it was a suicide mission
In Lamentations 5:12, how were the princes hanged?
- By their hands
Who was the high priest during the time of Jesus' crucifixion?
- Caiphas
After John the Baptist had been arrested, Jesus left Nazareth and made his home where?
- Capernaum
In which city did a centurion come to Jesus pleading to heal his paralyzed servant?
- Capernaum
Nineveh
- Capital of Assyria, Israel's enemy - An exceedingly large city - On the banks of the Tigris river
The crew of the ship discovered that Jonah was the source of the terrible storm by doing what?
- Casting lots
First Isaiah
- Chaps 1-39 - 8th c. BCE, contemporary with Amos
Second Isaiah
- Chaps. 40-55 - Around 539 BCE, near the end of the Babylonian exile
Third Isaiah
- Chaps. 56-66 - ca. 530-510 BCE, soon after the Jews returned to Judea
In which chapter of the Book of Isaiah is the main judgement against Babylon made?
- Chapter 46
Gabriel, Michael and the War in Heaven
- Characters of Angel Gabriel and Archangel Michael are introduced - Reintroduces the concept of the divine counsel: no longer consists of pagan gods; not consists of angels, each of which represents a different nation - War on earth reflects war in heaven - God himself will not intervene until the end of time
What will the redeemed of the Lord do?
- Come with singing to Zion
The Son of Man
- Comes with the clouds of heaven - Represents the Messiah
What food did the starving children of the fallen Jerusalem ask for?
- Corn
Recasting of Creation Theology
- Creation is one vast metaphor for the body of the beloved
How should we show God's people their transgression?
- Cry aloud - Lift up your voice like a trumpet
What should the people do to the Lord?
- Cry out and weep - Pour out their heart to the Lord
What does Jesus say to do if your right hand causes you to sin?
- Cut it off
What was Nebuchadnezzar going to do to all the magicians and astrologers because they could not make known the meaning of his dream?
- Cut them into pieces - Make their houses a dunghill
In what reigns did Daniel prosper?
- Cyrus and Darius
Who was thrown into the den of lions?
- Daniel
Apocalyptic Books
- Daniel (OT; written in Aramaic under Antiochus Epiphanes, 167-164 BCE) - II Esdras (apocrypha) - II Baruch (apocrypha) - Revelation (NT; date contested, probably late 1st century CE) - Many other early Jewish and Christian writings
Which king had Daniel thrown into the lion's den?
- Darius
Who took the kingdom after Belshazzar?
- Darius the Median
Who does the female speak directly to throughout the book?
- Daughters of Jerusalem - Probably refer to the women who were assigned to attend and prepare the Shulammite girl for her wedding day - Tells them to wait for marriage and love to develop on our own - "I charge you by the gazelles and by the does of the field: Do not arouse or awaken love until it so desires"
Who did Jesus say ate the bread which was only for priests?
- David
What does the chapter say love is as strong as?
- Death
Characteristics of Hebrew Prophecy
- Direct speech in the name of God - Intense concern with social and political justice; critique of kings - Critique of Temple and sacrificial system - Orientation toward present and future; set in real time - Threat of divine judgement to particular nations (oracles) - Urgent call to repentance - Conditional quality: judgement may be averted if people repent - Vivid, metaphorical language - Dreams and visions - No matter how horrible the situation is, the people can still prevent it - The goal of prophecy is to prevent the very calamity they predict
What important distinction is made in the second half of Daniel?
- Distinction Between the "Present Evil Age" and the Age to Come, in which God's righteous judgement will be revealed
What question did Jesus ask the blind men to strengthen their faith?
- Do you believe that I am able to do this?
How does he describe her physically?
- Doves' eyes - Hair like a flock of goats
Characteristics of the Song of Songs as Love Poetry
- Dramatic verse - Identity of lovers is ambiguous; we never get their names; social status is also ambiguous - Deeply sensual, synaesthetic metaphors - Recasting of creation theology - Equality and mutuality of the lovers - Paradisal innocence
In Lamentations, which nation does he tell them God will punish for laughing at Zion's destruction?
- Edom
Where did Jesus and Mary go when fleeing from Herod?
- Egypt
What does Jesus say to God?
- Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani - My God, my God, why has you forsaken me?
How do the people of Nineveh react to Jonah's prophecy?
- Everyone, from the king to the humblest person, begins to repent - They turned from their evil ways - They believed God - They proclaimed a fast - They put on sackcloth
Lamentations
- Example of Tragedy in the Bible - The poetry of mourning - Each of the 5 chapters is a separate poem - Chapters 1, 2, 4 and 5 have 22 verses each - Chapter 3 has 66 verses (3 times that number) - Because the Hebrew alphabet has 22 letters and these are acrostics, or alphabet poems - Known as the book of tears - A series of poems all about the destruction of Jerusalem
What did the king do that night?
- Fasted
The silver pieces that Judas threw away were used by the chief priest to buy a potter's field to burry strangers. What name was given to this field?
- Field of Blood
To what are all our righteousness compared?
- Filthy rags
What is the Lord's fury toward the sinful Jerusalem like?
- Fire
What profession were Jesus' first four disciples?
- Fisherman
How many loaves of bread and wish did Jesus have?
- Five loaves and two fish
How is romantic love described?
- Flashing like fire; the brightest kind of flame - Many waters cannot quench love, neither can rivers drown is
In Jonah's prophecy to the Ninevites, how much notice did he give them of the coming destruction?
- Forty days
How many kings would there be in Persia?
- Four
What did the four beasts represent?
- Four kings - The image of savage beasts represents regimes; multiple horns represents multiple kings
What type of animal symbolizes a threat to the development of their relationship?
- Foxes
The Widening of God's Concern
- From one man, to one family, to one nation, to all the world
Synoptic Gospels
- From the Greek for "seeing the whole together," the name given to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, because they are similar in style and content. - "Sharing the same perspective" - Everything Mark says is also said in Matthew or Luke
Jesus said he did not come to destroy the law or the prophets, but to what?
- Fulfill them
Which angel told Daniel the meaning of his vision of the ram and the goat?
- Gabriel
Who touched Daniel while he was praying?
- Gabriel
What did Judas do with the 30 pieces of silver that he was given to betray Jesus?
- Gave them back
Where did Jesus go with his disciples to pray before he was betrayed?
- Gethsemane
The Book of Daniel
- Gives insight into the long years of Babylonian exile and Persian domination - Prophecy and apocalyptic
What little act did Jesus say would be rewarded?
- Giving a cup of cold water
How did God use King Cyrus?
- God empowered Cyrus - This made mighty kings paralyzed with fear
According to Lamentations, why were God's people not consumed?
- God had great love and his compassions were new every morning
What did the writing on he wall mean?
- God has given your kingdom to the Medes and Persians
What does Daniel's name means?
- God is my judge
Rape, Divorce and the Wrath of God
- God is the husband of Israel, but he is a wrathful husband - If his wife is unfaithful, he will abandon her or vent his fierce anger - He will allow her to be abducted and raped, or he will give her a bill of divorce - He has divorced her and given her over to her enemies
What was the interpretation of the writing on the wall?
- God numbered Belshazzar's kingdom, and finished it - Belshazzar was weighed in the balances, and found wanting - Belshazzar's kingdom was divided
Tender Love
- God of Second Isaiah is sweet - God is mother, father, and--especially--bridegroom of Israel - Also go'el - "I have made, and I will bear; I will carry and I will save" - "As the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you" - God now has reconciled with the wife of his youth, in Israel - Combination of divine transcendence with intimacy
What did the king acknowledge about Daniel's God?
- God of gods - Lord of kings - revealer of secrets
The Four Servant Songs
- God praises the Servant as "my chosen, in whom my soul delights" and sends him to "establish justice in the earth"; he fill not faint or be crushed until he succeeds; he's merciful and gentle - The Servant says the Lord has called him from his mother's womb to restore the exiles of Israel and become "a light to the nations". Although he feels that he has spent his strength and labored in vain, he entrusts his cause and his reward to God; predestination seen here; military imagery included - The Servant presents himself as a teacher who sustains the weary with his words, yet the people reject and humiliate him. He suffers scourging, insults, and spitting - "The passion according to Isaiah", the most strikingly "Christian" passage in the Hebrew Bible; the humility and the suffering of the servant are emphasized
What did God promise to those who were left behind in Israel?
- God promised to take care of them from before birth to death, because God makes us and he takes care of what he makes
What is the most important lesson we can learn from Isaiah 40?
- God will be with us in all the difficult circumstances of life
What is the meaning of Emmanuel?
- God with us
According to Jonah, people forfeit what when they cling to worthless idols?
- God's love
The Prophet Wants to be Proven Wrong
- God's plan is not set in stone - Wants the people to repent so God will repent
What will not return void?
- God's words
The wise men gave Jesus gifts of what?
- Gold, frankincense and myrrh
According to Isaiah, what the the Messiah anointed to proclaim?
- Good news and freedom
What did Jonah know were the qualities of God?
- Gracious, merciful, slow to anger, of great kidnness
What was the creature responsible for swallowing Jonah?
- Great fish
What did Jesus say are all numbered?
- Hairs on your head
In the last verse of the first poem Jeremiah acknowledges the sin of Israel but asks God to do what?
- He asks God to punish their enemies
What is one aspect of God that Isaiah mentioned that is different from gods made by man?
- He can declare the end from the beginning
How can a man keep faithful?
- He can symbolically place his wife as a seal over his heart
How does a young woman know she is loved?
- He declares his love for her publicly
Where does God speak and how does he act?
- He doesn't directly speak - His anger is mentioned a lot - He is silent; when the people pray to him, he does not act
How did Daniel react to this vision?
- He felt ill and weak
Why was Daniel not hurt?
- He had done no wrong
What has happened to Jeremiah's flesh and skin?
- He has become old
What does Jonah not do in his prayer?
- He never apologizes for disobeying God
What did Jonah do when he was swallowed by the fish?
- He prayed
What did Jonah do while he waited to see the city's fate?
- He sat down on the East side of the city
How did the king of Nineveh respond to Jonah's message?
- He told his people to turn from their evil ways
Matthew/Levi
- He was a tax collector and tradition says he wrote a Gospel
Why did Daniel do better in studying than the other youths?
- He was eating the Israelite diet
When Solomon arrived at his wedding he was guarded by how many soldiers?
- He was guarded by 60 soldiers
Where was Daniel when the herald told the people to bow to the image?
- He was not there
What happens to King Nebuchadnezzar?
- He went mad and lived as a beast before being restored as king - God made him eat grass as a feast and lose control of his mind
What was the attitude of the writer of this book regarding the punishment of Judah?
- He wept - He was sick inside
What does he say is purer than snow?
- Her Nazarites
When she finds him where does she take him?
- Her mother's house
Which ruler wanted the baby Jesus killed?
- Herod
Who was Herod's brother's wife for whose sake John the Baptist was put in prison?
- Herodias
How does the woman describe him?
- His cheeks are as a bed of spices - His lips like lilies - As beautiful as Tirzah - The roof of is mouth is like the best wine
What was it about the centurion that caused Jesus to marvel?
- His faith
Who plotted to kill Daniel?
- His fellow administrators
What was the appearance of the Ancient of Days?
- His garment was white as snow - The hair of hid head like the pure wool
With what did God promise to uphold his people with?
- His righteous right hand
What praise does Lamentations give God toward the end?
- His throne endures from generation to generation
What does he say is under her tongue?
- Honey and milk
In what physical structure did the wise men find Jesus?
- House
Isaiah
- How the Hebrew bible became the Old testament - Hinge between the two Testaments - "Isaiah" is actually the work of three prophets under one name
What did the Lord say regarding himself?
- I am the first - I am the last - Beside me there is no God - I am the Lord that makes all things; that stretches forth the heavens alone; that spread abroad the earth by myself
Sacred Marriage of Dumuzi and Inanna
- In Ancient Near East, one of the most important religious rituals involved the annual sacred - Enacted every spring with sex between a King and a priestess - Dumuzi represented heaven and Inanna the pagan religion
Where in the Bible have we read about this before?
- In Deuteronomy
Religious Responses to Calamity
- In Job, he is constantly proclaiming his innocence, and saying God is not just - The author of Lamentations constantly admits Israel's guilt; God is just, Israel has sinned, and they deserve this calamity
Where was Matthew sitting when Jesus called him?
- In a tax booth
Judas Iscariot
- In charge of disciples' common purse - Betrays Jesus to authorities, hangs self after Crucifixion
How should be practice charitable works, prayers and fasting?
- In secret
Daughter Zion
- In terms of content, much of the poetry works by personifying the nation of Israel - The fallen city as a humiliated woman - "Jerusalem sinned grievously, so she has become a mockery; all who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans, and turns her face away. Her uncleanness was in her skirts; she took no thought of her future" (Lam. 1:8-9)
In whose name did Jesus ask the disciples to baptize?
- In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
Prophets
- Independent figures, often critical of court and Temple - God speaks through the prophets - Spoke with the Lord and for the Lord - Business was to call for repentance, to threaten divine judgement, and to speak truth to power - Voice of God to the nation's conscious - Speaks with anger, but underneath that is a great compassion to the oppressed
Prophetic Books in the Hebrew Bible
- Isaiah - Jeremiah - Ezekiel - Daniel (in the Writings; counted as prophetic only in Christian Bibles) - Twelve Minor Prophets (Amos, Hosea, Jonah, etc.)
Eschatology: Second Isaiah's Utopian Vision
- Isaiah's exuberance spills far beyond the reality that any historical future could entail; what he really gives us is a Utopian vision - Lots of imagery about pastures and gardens; it's a new creation - Prophecies a future that will be absolutely new - The sun and the moon are no longer needed, because God himself will be the everlasting light of his people - More emphasis on judgement in Daniel, more emphasis on salvation in Isaiah - Uses the word everlasting a lot
Ancient Israel and Superpower Rivalry
- Israel and Judah were small and politically weak nations - Caught between the superpowers of their day: Egypt, Assyria, Babylonia, and later Persia - One concern of the Judean prophets was foreign policy - Judah was first a vassal state of Babylonia --> paid tributes for limited independence
The Actual Setting
- Israel has already fallen, Jerusalem and the Temple have been destroyed, and the people are in exile in Babylon
What does God promise Israel's deserts to do one day?
- Israel's deserts will blossom -- one day they will be as beautiful as Eden - Joy and gladness will be there - Lovely songs of thanksgiving will fill the air
Why is the central poem/chapter of Lamentations different than the others?
- It is told from one representative man
How did Jesus answer the tempter's words, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread"?
- It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God"
The devil took Jesus up into the holy city, set him on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down". How did Jesus respond to this?
- It is written, "you shall not tempt the Lord your God"
What did God predict would happen to Babylon?
- It would fall and never rise again
What does Song of Songs mean in Hebrew?
- It's a Hebrew idiom - Greatest of all songs
Who was the father of Joseph?
- Jacob
Who were the sons of Zebedee?
- James and John
John the Evangelist
- James's brother and 3rd of the three favorite disciples - In Gospel of John, known as "the disciple that Jesus loved"
What led to Daniel's being thrown into the lion's den?
- Jealousy
According to Biblical tradition, who would be the author of Lamentations?
- Jeremiah
Which Old Testament prophet has spoken regarding the thirty pieces of silver?
- Jeremiah
Which prophet had made this prophecy concerning the slaughter of all the male children in Bethlehem who were two years old or under?
- Jeremiah
A Huge Foreign Policy Mistake!
- Jeremiah prophesies: God has decreed Babylonian rule for 70 years, so Israel had better submit, rather than try to rebel - King Zedekiah responds by throwing Jeremiah in prison - The king seeks military aid from Egypt to support a revolt against Babylonia - But the Egyptian army is defeated - Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar besieges Jerusalem
Where did Daniel come from?
- Jerusalem
What was the fourth chapter all about?
- Jerusalem in ruins - The Siege of Jerusalem
Who is mentioned as the brother of James, Joses, Simon and Judas?
- Jesus
Luke
- Jesus' mission the gentiles - Primary audience was gentile readers - Luke was a companion of Paul, the greatest Christian missionary - Emphasizes inclusion of outsiders, especially women and Gentiles - Favorite parables only in Luke: Good Samaritan, Prodigal Son - Luke's Gospel in Part 1 of a two-part work; followed by Acts of the Apostles
John the Baptist
- Jesus's cousin - Son of Elizabeth and Zechariah - Lives in desert, wears animal hair, eat locusts and wild honey - Baptizes Jesus - Executed by Herod
Luke's Version of the Nativity
- Jesus, son of Adam, son of God - Told from Mary's point of view - Mary's childbearing is a miracle; emphasizes the virginity of Mary - Her cousin Elizabeth is a barren woman who has a child - Jesus honored by humble shepherds - Circumcised and presented in the Temple with sacrifice
Isaiah 40:3 talks about "a voice calling 'in the desert to prepare the way for the Lord'". According to Matthew 3:3, who was Isaiah identifying?
- John the Baptist
Of whom did Jesus say there has not arisen a greater born among women?
- John the Baptist
Who baptized Jesus?
- John the Baptist
What did Herodias' daughter ask for?
- John the Baptist's head on a platter
Which prophet did Jesus refer to when some of the Scribes and Pharisees asked for a sign?
- Jonah
Who suggested that Jonah be thrown overboard?
- Jonah himself
The Theology of Jonah
- Jonah is bad at being a prophet, but the Lord uses him anyway - Outsiders appear in a better light than Jonah - Jonah unintentionally converts all the sailors - The people of Nineveh believe Jonah and immediately repent, showing they understand God better than Jonah does - Oracles of doom are always conditional; if the people repent, God will repent, because he is merciful - God is not just the God of Israel, but the whole world
Humorous Features of Jonah
- Jonah is sleeping during the storm - Jonah offering to be thrown overboard - Jonah getting swallowed by the fish - Jonah praying after being swallowed by the fish - Even the animals wore sackcloth - The tree being killed & Jonah's temper tantrum
Why did Jonah originally run away?
- Jonah knew that God would forgive Nineveh for all its terrible sins
What city did Jonah's boat sail from?
- Joppa
Which other biblical feature is Daniel similar to?
- Joseph
Whose tomb was Jesus buried in?
- Joseph of Arimathea
Which disciple betrayed Jesus and turned him over to the chief priest?
- Judas
How did Judas show Jesus to the chief priests and elders of the people?
- Judas went up to Jesus and said, "Greetings, Rabbi!" and kissed him
Daniel
- Judean nobility raised in Babylonian court after deportation from Jerusalem - Has gift of wisdom and dream interpretation - Babylonian name is Belteshazzar
What did Herod do when he saw that the wise men had tricked him?
- Killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under
Which non-believer did the Lord say he would anoint?
- King Cyrus
What did the different metals of the status represent?
- Kingdoms of the world
What killed the children and babies?
- Lack of food
The God of the Bible Cannot be Predicted!
- Lamentations: God in his wrath destroys his own Temple - Jonah: God in his mercy forgives his archenemy
What objects did the ten virgins take with them in the parable?
- Lamps
The Song as Allegory: Christ's Love for the Virgin Mary
- Late Medieval version of the notion of Christ as bridegroom - No one can be on more intimate terms with God than Mary - Not sexual in nature, but is incestuous
When the city was captured, what happened to the young and old?
- Lie on the ground of the street
When the enemy comes in like a flood what will the Spirit of the Lord do?
- Lift up a standard against him
According to Isaiah, what are the wicked like?
- Like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt
What four beasts did Daniel see in a vision?
- Lion, bear, leopard and a terrible beast
What was Peter's prayer when he was sinking in the water?
- Lord, save me
With what was the middle of Solomon's chariot paved?
- Love - The interior was purple
Love is a Feast for All Senses
- Lovers often evoke perfumes or delicious foods - "We will extol your love more than wine" (1:4) - "My beloved is to me a bundle of myrrh that lies between my breasts" (1:13) - "Sustain me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love" (2:5) - "I will hasten to the mountain of myrrh and the hill of frankincense" (4:6)
Isaiah as a Hinge Between the Two Testaments
- Made a deep impression on Jesus - Quoted 250 times in NT (more than any other book except Psalms) - St. Jerome (4th c.): Isaiah was "more an evangelist than a prophet" - Isaiah has been called the 5th Gospel
Thematic Relationship of the Four Gospels:
- Mark covers only one year; the one year of the mission of Jesus, the Messiah; very tightly focused - Matthew looks at Jesus the Messiah as a fulfillment of all the prophecies; the whole history of Israel is the background that leads up to the mission of the Messiah - Luke looks at the career of Jesus as just the beginning, as the prelude to the mission of the church - For John, Jesus is the son of God who is descending to heaven, and when his earthly mission is gone, ascends back up to heaven
Who is generally accepted to be the author of the gospel of Matthew?
- Matthew
In what chapter do you see the Lord's Prayer?
- Matthew 6
Four Canonical Gospels
- Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
Royalty or Shepherds?
- May be two rustic lovers pretending to be a prince and princess, or vice versa - Myrrh and frankincense are expensive spices; this, along with the royal wedding party, points to the couple being royalty - But words about people working in the fields points to a shepherd of shepherdess
What is a Gospel?
- Means "good news", from Greek evangleion - Proclamation of the grace of God through a biography of Jesus - Includes Synoptic Gospels - John is based on independent traditions and presents Jesus in a very different way - Many apocryphal gospels (such as the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Mary) never made it into the NT
Who would stand up for Daniel's people during the time of trouble?
- Michael
Fictional Setting of Deuteronomy
- Moses addresses Israel before the conquest of Canaan and the beginning of their nation
Who were the two people whom the disciples saw talking to Jesus during the transfiguration?
- Moses and Elijah
Themes of Lamentations
- Mourning over Jerusalem's holocaust - A confession of sin and an acknowledgement of God's righteous and holy judgement upon Judah - A note of hope in God's future restoration
Herod
- Name of 2 kings featured in the Gospels - The first instigates the Slaughter of the Innocents after Jesus' birth, forcing Jesus, Mary and Joseph to flee to Egypt - The second imprisons and kills John the Baptist
Types of Literary Material in the Gospels
- Nativity stories - Fulfilled prophecies - Miracle stories - Parables (Matthew and Luke) - "I am" discourses (John) - Passion narratives; stories of suffering and death - Stories of resurrection
After Herod's death, in which town did Joseph make his home?
- Nazareth
Two Fables of Divine Judgement
- Nebuchadnezzar's madness - Belshazzar's feast; "the handwriting on the wall"
Belshazzar
- Nebuchadnezzar's son and successor - Has blasphemous drunken feast where handwriting on the wall appears, foretelling loss of kingdom
Plot of Song of Songs
- Not a linear plot - Two lovers who can't get married because of some pesky familial and social barriers - They pine for each other - In the end, we get an inkling that the lovers will eventually be married
Why is Jonah angry at God?
- Not judging Nineveh - God relented, and spared the people and the city, while Jonah would have preferred for the city to be destroyed - Jonah just cares about himself, and now he looks bad
What advice can I give a young woman?
- Not to awaken love until the time is right
Mary
- Notified of pregnancy by angel Gabriel while engaged to Joseph - Gives birth to Jesus in Bethlehem
What was Jesus talking about when he said you can't make one hair on your head black or white?
- Oaths
Babylonian Exile
- Occurred from 586-539 BCE - The first Diaspora or scattering of the Jewish people - Much of the Bible was written down during this period - Babylonians took stuff from the temples - Scrolls burnt in fire
Simon/Peter
- One of Jesus' 3 favorite disciples - Denies knowing Jesus three times on the night of passion - First pope - Re-named Peter by Jesus
For what was he wounded?
- Our transgressions
Persecution and Martyrdom
- Part of apocalyptic is the call for patience; this takes the form of exhortation to martyrdom - Daniel in the lions' den; caused by a King's foolish vow - 3 youths in the fiery furnace; drama is deliberately heightened through repetition
According to the Lord, there is no what for the wicked?
- Peace
Darius
- Persian king who takes Belshazzar's kingdom the night of his pagan feast - Throws Daniel into lion's den
When Jesus walked on water to reach the boat that the disciples were in, who got out of the boat to go to Jesus?
- Peter
Which disciple disowned Jesus three times before the rooster crowed?
- Peter
Which disciple was told to catch a fish that would hold a coin in its mouth?
- Peter
Jesus asked the disciples, "Who do you say I am?" Who answered this question and what answer was given?
- Peter said "You are the Christ, the son of the Living God"
Whose mother-in-law did Jesus heal from fever?
- Peter's
Which three disciples did Jesus take with him when he went farther to pray?
- Peter, James and John
Which disciples were at Jesus' Transfiguration?
- Peter, John and James
Who did John the Baptist call "brood of vipers"?
- Pharisees and Sadducees
What does Golgotha mean?
- Place of a skull
What did Jesus do on the Sabbath?
- Plucked heads of grain
What's this love song doing in the Bible?
- Poem of passionate dialogue --> similar to Job - Describes radiant, erotic passion - Never mentions God --> one of only two books where he doesn't appear - On the face, it is a totally secular book --> but it may not be - Probably a composite of multiple closely related poems - People have found all sorts of stuff in the Song of Songs; one biggie is the allegory for love between God and Ancient Israel - It's not out of the question that these poems were written in ancient Israel for weddings and festivals
Who was the Roman governor to whom the chief priests delivered Jesus?
- Pontius Pilate
The Language of Sensuality
- Praise each other's beauty endlessly - Express their great desire and their love - Recall incidents from their love affair - Language is strange and exotic = Language of the senses - Thee pleasure of sight, taste, and smell heighten and express the sense of touch - Don't really have any language for sexual experience besides metaphor - Sexual experience can be seen as a metaphor of spiritual experience
What did Daniel do after the decree was signed that anyone who prayed to any god, other than King Darius, would be cast into the den of lions?
- Prayed to God three times a day as he did before
Three Literate Elites in Ancient Israel
- Priests - Sages - Prophets
What did Daniel and his three friends eat instead of the king's meat and drink?
- Pulses and water
What was the third chapter all about?
- Punishment and Hope - The Prayer for Mercy
In the "Sermon on the Mount", who did Jesus say would see God?
- Pure in heart
Why is his most famous sermon preached on a mountain?
- Reminds us of Moses on Mt. Sinai - Moses gives law on mountain, Jesus interprets law on mountain
The Ancient of Days
- Represents God - Eternal God seated on the throne of his glory
To those that labor and are heavy laden and come to Jesus, what did he promise to give?
- Rest
What does God say about righteousness and salvation?
- Righteousness is poured down from heaven - The earth opens wide and salvation and righteousness can sprout up together
Where did John the Baptist baptize the people?
- River Jordan
Literary Features of Prophecy
- Rooted in the present but looks toward the future - "Extrapolates trends" - Speaks in God's name, in the first person; "Thus says the Lord: I..." - Dialectic (back and forth) of judgement and promise - The prophet wants to be proven wrong - Extravagant, metaphorical language; everything is major or extreme for the prophets - Dreams and visions - Oral Tradition: the prophets were preachers, but they had followers--disciples and scribes--who wrote down their sayings - Prophetic books include both oracles spoken by the prophet and stories about the prophet, as well as later sayings by disciples "in his style"
What did the elders of Jerusalem wear as the city was destroyed?
- Sackcloth
Major Themes of Prophecy
- Sacrifice and ritual don't matter to God - What does matter? How the rich treat the poor - How people use religion hypocritically to justify their selfishness - God's emissary - God speaks through the prophets: I don't want religion, I want justice
Which group among the Jews believed that there was no resurrection?
- Sadducees
In the "Sermon on the Mount", what did Jesus say people were?
- Salt of the earth - The light of the world
Kiddush Hashem
- Sanctification of the Name - Jewish martyrdom - Jews were being pressured to adopt the state religioin, which included emperor worship and idolatry - Miracles performed provide comfort and encouragement to stand fast, even in the face of death threats - To die as a martyr is to sanctify the nam of God
Limited Monotheism
- Seen in Torah, Deut. History, and Psalms - Israel should worship only YHWH - Idolatry is forbidden - But other deities ("the gods of the nations") do exist - These are the "council of gods" over whom YHWH presides
Other than putting a stone in front of Jesus' tomb, what measure was taken to guard the tomb?
- Set a guard to watch
How long would Nebuchadnezzar dwell with the beasts and eat grass?
- Seven years
How many weeks were determined on God's people?
- Seventy
What are the name of Daniel's three friends?
- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego
Jesus healed a woman who had a flow of blood for twelve years. What did she do in order to receive healing?
- She came to Jesus and touched the hem of his garment
What dream did the Shulammite woman have?
- She had a terrible dream where she went looking for her beloved, but could not find him anywhere
The Bride (Shulamite)
- She is a young girl in love - She is beautiful, she has a thing for the groom, and her family is less than happy about the whole situation - She has some strange dreams
How does Lamentations describe the city of Jerusalem?
- She who was a queen among the provinces has now become a slave - Judah has gone into captivity because of affliction, and because of great servitude
What animals are humans compared to in Isaiah 53:6?
- Sheep
What did Isaiah liken people to when he said we "have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way..."?
- Sheep
At the judgement, Jesus will separate the people like a shepherd separates what?
- Sheep and goats
A Garden Enclosed, A Fountain Sealed
- Shows that the woman is pure, and had maintained her "purity" and virginity - Body of the beloved is enclosed --> she belongs only to her lover, nobody else
By what name does the husband call his wife?
- Shulamite - Refers to someone from Shulem
Who were the first two people Jesus called to be his disciples?
- Simon Peter and Andrew
What was the name of the man who helped Jesus carry the cross on the way to Golgotha?
- Simon of Cyrene
In whose house in Bethany was Jesus where a woman came with an alabaster flask of very costly fragrant oil and anointed Jesus?
- Simon the leper
Why do people walk away from God?
- Sin leads to straying
What was Jonah doing when the captain of the ship found him?
- Sleeping
Why does God save his people from enemies?
- So pagan nations would be unable to claim that their gods have conquered God. God will not let them have hiis glory
In the parable of the workers in the vineyard, why were some of the laborers unhappy with being paid only one penny?
- Some had worked less hours for the same pay
God causes a plant to grow over his shelter to give him what?
- Some shade from the sun
In his sorrow, Jeremiah does what?
- Sometimes speaks for himself - Sometimes speaks for the captives, some 900 miles away in Babylon - Sometimes speaks for the personified city
In chapter 2, the bride recalls a past visit from her groom at the beginning of which season?
- Spring
What contrasts did Jesus make in the "Sermon on the Mount"?
- Straight and wide gates - Narrow and broad ways - Good and corrupt trees
Why pomegranates?
- Symbol of fertility --> many seeds are a symbol of many children - The color red is the color of passion
Jonah wanted God to respond to his anger in which way?
- Taking Jonah's life
Who are the women in this royal genealogy?
- Tamar and Judah - Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah - Rahab , the Harlot - Ruth - Mary, "with child by the Holy Spirit"
Where was the ship bound for?
- Tarshish
What is a major and specific prediction that Isaiah makes and is actually fulfilled many decades later?
- That a Persian king named Cyrus will take over Babylon and allow Jews to return to Israel
What was the Lord's prayer request?
- That the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers
Absolute Monotheism
- The "gods of the nations" are only idols; they don't really exist - Seen in Second Isaiah - "a light to all nations" "For I am God, & there is no other" - First time it is said other gods just do not exist - No other deities exist at all - There is no divine council - Pseudo-gods are merely idols, the work of human hands - Worshipping them isn't just wrong, it's stupid - God does dark as well - More unity and uniqueness of God are emphasized, the more transcendent he becomes, and the harder he is to understand - Now we have the God of western tradition: omniscient, omnipotent, transcendent and mysterious
What reason does God give for pitying the people of Nineveh, to whom he sent Jonah?
- The 120,000 people could not tell their right hand from their left - They don't understand the difference between right and wrong
Who did Daniel see sitting in a throne in his vision?
- The Ancient of Days
Looking Forward, Looking Back
- The Babylonian captivity as an Exodus in reverse - Cannibalism; the horrors of siege warfare
Which direction did the scorching wind upon Jonah come from?
- The East
What did the Lord do when the writer cried out to him and asked the Lord not to close his ears?
- The Lord told him not to be afraid and redeemed his life
Solomon and the Queen of Sheba
- The Queen of Sheba came and saw Solomon after hearing of him. He answered all of her questions - And King Solomon gave unto the Queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked - Story seen in 1 Kings 10 - Possibly the lovers in Song of Songs - An Ethiopian tradition: the country's royal dynasty is descended from Solomon and the queen of Sheba - Tradition that the Queen of Sheba is Black
How does the figure called "the Servant of the Lord" compare with the messianic "Son of Man" in Daniel?
- The Son of man is presented to the Ancient of Days; he is a figure of glory and a king; he signifies the heavenly reward of Israel - The "Servant of the Lord" is not about heavenly reward, it's about earthly mission - Glory vs. humiliation - Kingship vs. servanthood - Heavenly reward vs. earthly mission
What does he compare her neck to?
- The Tower of David - It was a fortress built to protect Jerusalem - A tower of ivory
According to Isaiah 40:8, "the grass withers and the flowers fall", but what endures forever?
- The Word of God
Temporality and the "Literariness" of the Bible
- The actual setting/time when the book is written often differs from the time/setting of the events portrayed in the text
What names do the couple call each other?
- The bride refers to the bridegroom as "my beloved" - The bridegroom refers to his bride as "my love"
To what does the "seventy weeks" prophecy refer?
- The coming of the Messiah
Who is the chorus in the Song of Solomon?
- The daughters of Jerusalem
What does the book lament about?
- The destruction of Jerusalem
What story were the soldiers to tell to explain how Jesus disappeared from the tomb?
- The disciples stole him
What does Jesus say that the meek shall inherit?
- The earth
Why are the children desolate?
- The enemy prevailed
The Brothers of the Bride
- The first we hear of these guys, they're angry - They are preventing the bride from marrying the man she loves - But they do come around in the end - In their final appearance, the brothers declare that the bride is too young to be married, but acquiesce to her wishes
With what are we clothed?
- The garment of praise - The garments of salvation - The robe of righteousness
John
- The incarnation of the word - The most otherworldly Gospel - Focus on divinity of Jesus - Doctrine of the incarnation ("the word became flesh and dwelt among us") - Jesus descends form heaven and ascends again by the way of the Cross - Time opens onto eternity in his life - He speaks differently -- not in parables, but in "I am" discourses, using the divine Name to reveal who he is
When God showed Daniel the dream, and he told the king, what did the king do?
- The king made him ruler over Babylon
What did the goat represent?
- The king of Greece
How was the den sealed after Daniel was thrown in?
- The king's signet
What is Jesus teaching about in his parable?
- The kingdom of heaven
What did the ram with two horns represent?
- The kings of Media and Persia
Matthew
- The most Jewish Gospel - Most obviously follows from the Hebrew bible - Fulfillment of prophecy is key theme; writing to an almost entirely Jewish audience - Jesus is the Messiah and the new Moses - He's also a rabbi and an authoritative interpreter of Torah - All of Israel's history finds its fulfillment in the life of Jesus
Who asked Jesus to grant that her sons be seated on his left and right in his kingdom?
- The mother of Zebedee's sons
Who will be strong and do great exploits?
- The people that do know their God
What was the city of Jerusalem known as before its fall?
- The perfection of beauty - The Joy of the whole earth
Who would come after the prince of Persia?
- The prince of Greece
What was Daniel also known as?
- The prophet in exile
Jeremiah says that no-one would have believed that Jerusalem would fall. But God allowed it to happen because which people in particular had sinned?
- The prophets and the priests
What was the second chapter all about?
- The punishment of Jerusalem - The anger of Yahweh
What does Jeremiah say the people should wait for?
- The salvation of the Lord
What is the unifying focus of the different servant passages in Isaiah?
- The servant is God's instrument
What sign did Jesus say would be given to the evil and adulterous generation?
- The sign of the prophet Jonah
What was the first chapter all about?
- The sorrows of Jerusalem The destruction of Jerusalem
The Liberation of God?
- The tabernacle in the wilderness; Solomon's temple - When the Babylonians burned the temple, they took Israel, but liberated God - The Lord had been domesticated, and lived in the temple - Free and at large again! - Divine presence could no longer be contained within a building - "A house of prayer for all nations"
The Beatitudes
- The teachings of Jesus during the Sermon on the Mount in which he describes the actions and attitudes that should characterize Christians and by which one can discover genuine meaning and happiness. - "Blessings" - Turn all earthly values upside down
Until when was the book to be sealed?
- The time of the end
What does Isaiah 40:3 say to prepare?
- The way of the Lord
The author was known as what?
- The weeping prophet
What does the bride ask to come into her garden for the pleasure of Solomon?
- The winds
Equality and Mutuality
- The woman speaks almost twice as many lines as the man, which is rare to see in the bible - Woman often takes the initiative - Their desire is mutual
It is good for a man that he bear what in his youth?
- The yoke
What was the reason that the Lord brought them grief?
- Their many sins - God treated his own people like he had treated the nations that blasphemed him and served idols - God is angry at them - For the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions
According to Lamentations, who was responsible for giving them false visions and did not expose their sin to ward off captivity?
- Their prophets
What did Jesus know about the scribes when they accused him of casting out devils by Beelzebub?
- Their thoughts
Universalism
- Therefore the one true God is the savior of all nations, not just Israel - Israel's mission to the world - "The gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising" - "I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations" - "Holy One of Israel" -- new title for God use d in Isaiah - Mission to convert all nations to the faith of monotheism
Twelve Disciples
- They are Simon (peter), James, Andrew, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Thomas, James, Thaddeus, Simon, and Judas
What did all that pass by Jerusalem do?
- They clapped their hands - They hissed - They wagged their heads at Jerusalem
After they threw him overboard and the sea calmed down, what did the crew do?
- They offered a sacrifice to the Lord
What did the guardsmen do to her when she couldn't find her husband?
- They struck and wounded her
What illustration did Jesus use to show that he should eat with publicans and sinners?
- They that are whole do not need a physician
Who shall renew their strength; mount up with wings as eagles; run and not be weary; and walk, and not be faint?
- They that wait upon the Lord - Those who hope in the Lord
What was the fate of the tares in the parable of the tares?
- They were burned
What was done to Daniel's accusers?
- They were thrown into the lion's den
Why were Daniel's three friends thrown into the fiery furnace?
- They wouldn't bow down to Nebuchadnezzar's golden image
What did the chief priests give Judas for delivering Jesus to them?
- Thirty pieces of silver
According to Isaiah 66:2, whoa re the ones that the Lord looks on with favor?
- Those who are humble, contrite in spirit, and who tremble at God's word
How many measures of flour were used to hide the leaven in the parable of the leaven?
- Three
What chapter in Lamentations is Jeremiah's personal cry to God?
- Three
For how long was Jonah "in the belly of the fish"?
- Three days and nights
How long was Daniel mourning and eating no flesh?
- Three weeks
What did the sailors do to increase their chances of survival?
- Threw the cargo overboard
Why did the Lord form the earth?
- To be inhabited
Why did Jesus say he needed to be baptized?
- To fulfill all righteousness
Why should we fast?
- To loose the bands of wickedness - To deal your bread to the hungry - To clothe the poor
For what purpose did Jesus say the Spirit of the Lord was on him?
- To preach good tidings to the meek - To bind up the brokenhearted - To proclaim liberty to the captives - To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord
Why was Jonah sent?
- To warn the people of the city's destruction
How many baskets full of the fragments remained after Jesus fed the five thousands?
- Twelve
David's Messianic Vision
- Two apocalyptic figures: Son of Man & The Ancient of Days - Daniel 7:13-14
What limited Jesus' works in his own country?
- Unbelief
Luke's Interest in Women
- Virgin Mary - Anna the Prophetess - Martha and Mary - Women at the cross - Poor and marginal women are healed by Jesus - Women are the financiers to Jesus - Women are his most faithful companions - Luke pairs stories about men with similar stories about women
What did the fish do with Jonah?
- Vomited him up upon the dry land
What did Jonah say he would pay?
- Vows
What were the qualifications of those chosen to be taught the leaning and the tongue of the Chaldeans?
- Well favored - Skillful in all wisdom - Cunning in knowledge - Understanding science
After Jesus sent the multitudes away, what did Jesus do?
- Went up into the mountain and prayed
What has not the ear heard or the eye seen?
- What God has prepared for him that waits for God
What did Daniel's final vision describe?
- What shall befall his people in the latter days
What question does the writer ask the Lord?
- Wherefore do you forget us forever, and forsake us so long time?
Israel's Fateful Religious Choice
- Which is better, a wrathful God or an indifferent one? - They decide it is better to see God as wrathful, rather than indifferent or unjust
What does the bride tell us her love is better than?
- Wine
When you pass through the waters, I will be ______?
- With you
What was Solomon's chariot made out of?
- Wood of Lebanon
Three New Agents of God's Will on Earth
- Word of God: "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it"; the word is personified; it accomplishes the desires of God - Spirit of God: "God's spirit is on him!" - Servant of God: "Behold my servant, my chosen, in whom my soul delights"
Pseudepigraphy
- Writing falsely attributed to another author - Attribution to famous heroes of the past - The ascription of a book to a famous leader, prophet, or ruler of the past
Circumstances of the Book of Daniel
- Written not in Hebrew but in Aramaic (the language of Jesus), a sign of its late date - Composed during the reign of Syrian tyrant Antiochus Epiphanes (ca. 167-164 BCE) -- infamous among the Jews for setting up a statue of Zeus in the Jerusalem Temple - Fictional setting is the end of the Babylonian exile, so the Babylonian tyrants in the first half and the Hellenistic tyrants in the second half mirror each other - Daniel, the prophet, is the figure who bridges both eras
What did Jesus saw were the two greatest commandments of the law to the Pharisees?
- You shall love the Lord your God with all heart, will all your soul, and with all your mind - You shall love your neighbor as yourself
What did the king say to Daniel as they threw him into. theden?
- Your God will deliver you
Who was the priest murdered between the temple and the altar?
- Zechariah
Anoint
- consecrate; put oil on (in a religious ceremony) - How both kings and priests were consecrated
Eschatology
- study of the end times - The prophetic account of the Last Things (death, judgement, heaven and hell) - Utopian vision of the end times; God's new creation to come soon
Synaesthesia
- the use of one kind of sensory experience to describe another - Using language of one sense to describe the sensation of another sense
How many horns did the ram in Daniel's vision have?
- two
