Old Testament Final Flashcards
What are the 2 characteristic features of Hebrew poetry?
Parallelism and Meter
What is parallelism?
the relationship between ideas expressed within the phrases of a poetic line
What are the 3 major types of parallelism?
- synonymous parallelism
- Synthetic Parallelism
- Antithetic
Explain how meter/rhythm impacted Hebrew poetry.
Its distinctive metrical patterns was used to express intense emotion and urgency. It’s also used in laments(grief prayers and songs)
Why were most of the psalms probably composed?
to accompany acts of worship in the temple
Why is Psalms divided into five books/divisions/sections?
To imitate the Pentateuch
What type of psalm appears most often in the book of Psalms?
Laments
How many of the psalms have superscriptions/annotations?
116
How many of the psalms contain the name “David” in their superscription?
73
Song of Songs (Solomon): The NOAB describes the content of the book as a collection of what?
25 lyric poems or fragments of poems about human love and courtship
Why is the Song of Songs traditionally associated with Solomon?
he was the composer of many proverbs and songs
How has Song of Songs been interpreted in Christian tradition?
as allegory for Christ’s love for the church or individual believer
What significant name does not appear in Song of Songs?
GOD
What does the book of Lamentations consist of?
the laments of Jeremiah over the destruction of Jerusalem
To whom is Lamentations traditionally ascribed?
Jeremiah
What is distinctive about the first four of the five poems/chapters in Lamentations?
They are alphabetic acrostics (with Stanza for each of the 22 letters of the Hebrew alphabet)
For what occasion was Lamentation composed?
for public recitation on days of fasting and mourning
How can wisdom be simply defined?
“the search for successful living”, or
“the quest for a quality life”
What are the 2 types of wisdom literature in OT?
Practical
Reflective/Speculative
What is the key to wisdom according the OT wisdom literature?
Faith and the fear of GOD
What are the four main parts of Proverbs?
Book 1 (1.1-9.18) Prologue: Invitation to wisdom Book 2 (10.1-22.16) A collection of miscellaneous maxims Book 3 (22.7-24.22) Teacher's ambitions to his pupil in training for responsibility Book 4 (25.1-29.27) Second collection of "Proverbs of Solomon"
How many appendixes are attached to the book of Proverbs?
Five
Which parts of Proverbs are connected to Solomon?
Book 2 and Book 4
Book 3 of the collection (Proverbs) shows similarities to the wisdom tradition of what other nation?
Egypt
Why is Proverbs traditionally associated with Solomon?
he was the most famous of all Israel’s
wise ones, he was looked upon as the
originator of Israelite wisdom & author of all
wisdom literature in Jewish tradition
Proverbs is an example of what type of wisdom literature?
practical wisdom literature
How can Proverbs be described simply?
- the wise, the one who followed wisdom, would prosper
- the fool, the one who deliberately ignored wisdom, would fail
(no middle ground)
What is the aim of Job?
To probe the depths of faith in spite of suffering
What does the Job of the poem demand from God?
justice
Job is an example of what type of wisdom literature?
speculative/reflective wisdom
Give a description of Job based on Job 1-2.
He was a righteous and upright man that suffered loss but did not complain
Who were Job’s three friends who sought to comfort him?
Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar
How many rounds of speeches are contained in Job’s dialogue with his friends?
3 rounds of debate
Who is Elihu?
a brash young man who makes four speeches ignored by previous characters and by YHWH in epilogue
What does the author seek to understand in Ecclesiastes?
the meaning of human existence and the good which man can find in life
How does the speaker in Ecclesiastes characterize all of life?
As the natural world is in constant movement without real change, so man’s expenditure of effort achieves nothing
What is the pen-name of the speaker in Ecclesiastes?
Qoheleth
What word best captures the meaning of the Hebrew term Qoheleth?
To assemble
Ecclesiastes is an example of what type of wisdom literature?
reflective or speculative wisdom
Why is Ecclesiastes traditionally associated with Solomon?
Because of the inclusion in the Jewish canon of Scripture of a work so much at variance with its dominant teachings
What is the theme of Ecclesiastes?
“Vanity of vanities! All is vanity”
Why was Ecclesiastes almost left out of the Old Testament?
Because of its humanistic, skeptical perspective and its departure from traditional belief
The story of Ruth is set in the days of the ____________.
Judges
What is Ruth’s ethnic heritage?
Moabitess
How are Ruth & Boaz related to King David?
they are the great-grandparents of David
Key Characters of Ruth
Elimelech; Naomi; Ruth; Orpah; Boaz
What are the Megilloth?
the five scrolls
Megilloth is read at what Jewish feast?
Purim
Why was Megilloth’s reception into Scripture long disputed by Jewish rabbis?
It didn’t have any reference to GOD or the most precious things in Jewish religion
What is the setting of Megilloth?
during the Persian period
What significant name does not appear in Megilloth?
GOD
Identify these key characters of Esther: Ahasuerus; Vashti; Mordecai; Esther; Haman
Ahasuerus: King of Persia
Vashti: Former queen of Persia
Mordecai: Esther’s cousin and legal guardian that saves the king from assassination, help Jews defend themselves from Haman’s edict
Esther: heroine of story, becomes queen, helped Jews defend themselves from Haman’s edict
Haman: prime minster that wants to kill Mordecai and all Jews
What is the significance of the 13th, 14th and 15th days of the month of Adar?
In Susa Jews kill 500 foes on Adar 13
Esther asks for another day to kill
in Susa thus 300 more killed on Adar 14
Jews rested & feasted on Adar 15
Daniel is an example of the first great work of _____________________.
apocalyptic
Does apocalyptic literature attempt to convey actual history?
No
Where else does the name Daniel or Dan’el appear in Jewish literature?
Ezekiel
What are the purposes of the 6 stories, and the 4 visions in Daniel?
The 6 stories were to encourage his suffering fellow believers
The 4 visions were to interpret current history and predict the coming consummation when the “saints” will have ultimate victory
What is the theme of Daniel?
The Rule / Kingdom of YHWH will
prevail over the kingdoms of the world
What are two possible dates for the composition of Daniel?
ca. 600-500 BCE or 167-164 BCE
Who were the three young men exiled with Daniel?
Hanani’ah, Mish’a-el, and Azari’ah
Be able to summarize the stories in ch. 3 & 6 as to characters and action
3 – Shadrach, Meshach & Abednego protected in the fiery furnace (see 3.25-28)
Daniel protected in the lion’s den (see 6.21-26)
