Chapter 2 Flashcards
Merneptah Stele
Poem which refers to Israel as a people
Joshua
Belonging to “Hexateuch”
Pt 2 of a larger Exodus story
Mirrors Moses
Theme: Be strong & courageous
Ai & Jericho
Jericho successful, Ai was not
Achan took so Israel as a whole is guilty
Jericho: Ex of faithfulness & disobedience
Ai: Ex of unfaithfulness & disobedience
Judges
An alternate account of initial conquest & their life after
Deborah
Woman prophet and first judge
Samson
Last judge
Under Nazarite vow: no cutting hair, eating grapes, or touching dead things
Levirate Law
Law of Redemption: If man died w/out sons, became responsibility of the nearest male relative to marry his widow.
1st Samuel
Israel organized by a loose confederacy of tribes
Tribe of Benjamin almost annihilated
Samuel
Theme in his birth: Bareness
Hannah dedicates him as a Nazarite
Lives in Shiloh w/ high priest Eli
Appoints sons as judges, people ask for king
Israel’s weak leadership
Eli, Hophni, & Phinehas
Samuel’s Role
Prophet: tells Eli about fall of family
Priest: Intercedes on behalf of “All Israel”
Judge: Drives Philistines from Israel; traveling judge
King’s Powers
Conscription Taxation Forced Labor (No aspect of daily Israelite life untouched) Prophets served as a check on the king
Saul
Israel’s first King
Losses Monarchy
David
God anoints David
Youngest, serves Saul
BFF’s with Jonathan & marries Michal (Saul’s daughter)
1st made king of Judah, then king of all tribes
Moves capital from Hebron to Jerusalem the “city of David”
Standard by which all kings are judged
Solomon
Becomes king, line of Bathsheba not Michal
Known for wisdom and builds temple
Shekinah
Dwelling place of the Lord
Civil War
Northern Kingdom: Israel; Jereboam King
Southern Kingdom: Judah; Rehoboam (Hezekiah & Josiah only good kings)
Elijah
Elijah vs Pagan Prophets
Taken up in fiery chariot
Succeeded by Elisha
Jehu
Purges Baal worship & Ahab’s line
Hezekiah
Removes all the high places
Cuts down Ashram pole
Restores Passover
Rehab
Prostitute who houses the spies and gives them info so her house is spared.
What two books detail the return of Jews from exile in Babylon
Nehemiah and Ezra
What book does not mention Moses, David, or God. (Or the exodus?)
Esther
Who do we know most geographically about and known for his laments.
Jeremiah
Who had hot coals placed on his lips?
Isaiah
Prayed over dry bones & they came alive.
Ezekiel
Book of Isaiah
2nd longest book in the Old Testament
Content spans two centuries
1st Isaiah: Glory of God inspires fear and reverence; God’s message to Isaiah: ensure that the people do not repent
2nd Isaiah: Hope for restoration; despite judgement from 1st Isaiah, God has not abandoned them; salvation is not just for Israel.
Ezekiel
27 years as a prophet
Issues with Hebrew canon-> Rabbi’s almost didn’t include it.
HIS LIFE IS HIGHLY SYMBOLIC
Transitions from prophet of doom to hope
Many symbolic visions: Fire, Throne, dry bones, Temple, etc.
Esther
Set in Susa, The Persian Capital
Fights for her people (like Ruth)
Temple, God, prayer, and covenant not mentioned
Importance of community loyalty
Daniel
Written in Hebrew and Aramaic
Interprets dreams
Daniel and others (Shadrach etc) demonstrate loyalty and allegiance to God in a foreign land. -> resistance to assimilation
What books point to the 4 phases of returnees and rebuilding?
Ezra, Nehemiah, Haggai, & Zachariah
Nehemiah
Worked in the court of Artexerses I as a cupbearer
Acquires permission to rebuild walls of Jerusalem
People in Judah mostly supportive but some opposed
Samaritans wanted to help rebuild but denied access
Nehemiah Reforms
Outlawed the charging of interest
Refused to live off the taxes of the people
Reinstituted the festival of Booths: Remembering how God guided them through the wilderness
Reading of law and covenant renewal
Separation from foreigners
Haggai
Very little known
Shortest of the prophets
Works have to do with rebuilding of the temple
Malachi
Last book of the scroll of the 12
Might not be his name -> means messenger
Reveals people still struggling to follow God
Day of the Lord
Day when YHWH, as a divine warrior, will fight against his enemies.
A day of judgement @ end of the world
Psalms
Usually associated with King David
Many worship songs
Author unknown
Divided into 5 parts & each ends with doxology
Types of Psalms
Praise, laments, wisdom, and Royal
More laments than any other type
Poetry vs Prose
Prose= Direct Communication
Poetry= Attempts to transcend normal language
Psalms are Poetry
Hebrew Psalms
Use Simile, metaphor, chiasmus
Parallelism
Synonymous: express same idea
Antithesis: express the opposite
Climatic: builds to complete thought
Sheol
The pit/underworld
Selah
Notation in psalm; a pause
Song of Solomon
Aka song of songs, or canticles
Author: Solomon but not the original author
Came into canon late bc it was too racy
Added bc it was seen as an ALLEGORY & it’s CONNECTION to SOLOMON
Viewed it as God & Israel; Israel is the bride
A celebration of love, no sense of possession or domination
Wisdom literature
How you live a good and ordered life
What is Proverbs?
Anthology of short sayings and poems
Themes in Proverbs
*Wisdom was at creation* Fear/Reverence for the Lord Wisdom is grown Wisdom as a woman Wisdom part of the created order
Ecclesiastes
So pessimistic it almost wasn’t included in canon
Message: Vanity of vanities
Job
A wisdom literature
Set in Uz
Was a righteous and wealthy man who lost everything
Theodicy
Divine justice
Eliphaz
Job’s friend; argued that no human being is ever innocent
Bildad
Job’s friend; focuses on God’s justice
Zophar
Job’s friend; focuses on God’s mystery
How does God Respond to Job?
Whirlwind
Human wisdom can only understand so much
Prophecy
Function to warn against unfaithfulness to law
Major prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
Hosea
Prophet to N. Kingdom
Israel compared to a prostitute
Hosea and Gomer parallel to Israel’s idolatry
Jeremiah
Golden age of Josiah Son of priest Never marries Symbolizes bareness of the land Cuts down Ashera pole
Josiah
Came to throne at 8 years old; good kind of Judah
Finds deuteronomy
Reaffirms the covenant
Destroys Ashera image and high places and stops human sacrifices
He is given his praise
Manasseh
Succeeds Hezekiah
Restores high places, consults wizards, sacrifices son
Broke every law
General Issue
Failure to keep the law
