Final Study Guide
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Job
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What are the three books in wisdom literature
o Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes
What are the two categories of Wisdom literature of the ancient Near East
o Brief proverbial maxims – usually optimistic about life, tend to be instructional or
didactic
o Sages – grapples with life’s most difficult problems, lengthy, not always pessimistic
What word did the Egyptians use instead of wisdom?
o Instruction
o The Egyptians did not have the word wisdom in their language
What was the earliest collection of “Instruction”
o The instruction of Ptahhotep, contains 37maxims given from Ptahhotep to his son
What is Theodicy
o The attempt to justify God’s was in the world
What doctrine did ancient Near Eastern culture accept?
o Doctrine of retribution
Why can calamity happen? (bad things)
o 1. Because evil people harm others
o 2. Persecution
o 3. To drive people back to God
o 4. Because we are part of the created order
o 5. Because people are righteous
o 6. Unexplained
Describe Job’s character
o Blameless
o Upright
o Feared God
o Turned from evil
o Cares about his kids
 All and All he is righteous and blameless
What does Sons of God mean
o Angels
Who accepts responsibility for Job’s trouble?
o God
Who was in the right throughout the story of Job?
o Job
Was Job ever given an explanation
o No
Why is the Book of Job important
o It examines the question of why good people sometimes suffer
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Who is the author of Job
o There is no conclusive information available to identify the author
Who is Satan and what could he do
o Satan is "The Satan" an accuser, not The devil himself
o He had power over evil people
o He could rain down the fire of God
o Power over the weather
o But he needed God’s permission to do certain things like when attacking Job
Who are Job's friends
o Eliphaz
o Bildad
o Zophar
o They arrive to sympathize and comfort Job in his suffering by sitting silently with him for
a week.
o They all place the blame on Job when trying to figure out why these bad things are
happening
Intro to Heb. Poetry
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How much of the OT is poetry
o 28.58%
Where is the highest percentage of poetry found in the OT?
o The prophets
What are some aspects of Hebrew poetry you can’t see/hear in English, no matter what
translation you use?
o Sound devices and meter
What is the organizational structure of acrostics?
o The first word of every line in alphabetical order
What is Parallelism
o Levels  Look for conceptual relationship
Chief features of parallelism
o S
The book says characteristics are
o Meter
o Parallelism
o Chiasm
o Acrostics
What two things are unimportant for bible Hebrew poetry according to Griffin
o Rhyme and Metre
What are levels/types of parallelism according to Griffin?
o Words
o Phrases
o Sections
What are some hints for reading OT poetry including the biggest one?
o Look at structure
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o The vocab
o Parallelism
o And the most important thing to do is SLOW DOWN
Do you lose out theologically/spiritually because you can’t see many aspects of Hebrew poetry?
o NO
What are some problems that arise when translating Hebrew Poetry to English
o Needing to rearrange words because the word order is different
o The word order is often different from narrative
o You can’t pick up on sound devices
According to the book does Hebrew poetry rely more on meter or rhyme schemes
o Meter
What is the most important feature of Hebrew Poetry
o Parallelism
What three types of parallelism occur in Hebrew Poetry
o Synonymous parallelism
o Antithetic parallelism
o Synthetic parallelism
What is Synonymous parallelism
o The repetition of the same thought or a similar thought. Basically, both lines share the
same idea
What is Antithetic parallelism
o Two lines stand in sharp contrast to each other. Usually the conjunction “but” is a hint.
What is Synthetic parallelism
o The second line normally completes a thought the first line left incomplete
What are the poetical books
o Job
o Psalms
o Proverbs
o Ecclesiastes
o Song of Songs
What is Chiasm
o A literary device in which the content of parallel lines of poetry is reversed
 Ex. O Lord, forgive me; blot out my sin; O God of my salvation
o It is also used to refer to larger units of verse such as an entire psalm
Song of Salomon and Ecclesiastes
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What is the purpose of the book Song of Salomon
o To illustrate God’s intimate covenant bond with his people
What is the meaning of the title “Song of Songs”
o The most beautiful and greatest of all songs
What subject does Song of Songs deal
o The sexual love between husband and wife
o The joy of romantic love
What is the intended message of Song of Salomon
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o Sex within a Christian marriage is a blessing from God
What is the overall structure of the Song of Songs
o Repetitive
o Consistent character portrayal and common themes
o Indicating unity
Is Song of Songs Allegory or literal
o Allegory
Does God tell people who to marry
o Usually not, there are very few instances where God has done this in the bible but for
the most part, God will not tell us who we are going to marry.
What topic does Ecclesiastes explore
o The meaning of life and how earthly things are meaningless
What is the other name for the book Ecclesiastes
o Preacher, Teacher
According to the author of Ecclesiastes what is the whole duty of humanity
o To fear God and keep his commandments
Psalms
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What are the most common types of Psalms
o Cry for help (takes up over 1/3 of the psalms)
o Complaint/description of bad circumstances
What percentage of the Psalms is made up of complaints/descriptions of bad circumstances
o 21%
What is the most common action of God in the Psalms
o Destroying bad guys
 Bonus fact God performed 2,761 actions in the Psalms
What has the book of Psalms given us
o Many songs from ancient Israel
How many songs does the book of Psalms contain
o 150
Is Prayer specific or vague?
o A
Hallelu YAH
o ?
Why do we have the Psalms
o Patterns for approaching God
o A
o A
Who are the Major contributors to the book of Psalms
o David, Asaph, Moses, Solomon, sons of Korah, and anonymous writers
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What makes the Psalms such a unique book in God’s scripture
o It provides us with an understanding of Israelite worship and touches on virtually all
aspects of Hebrew life
What are Hymn Psalms
o Focus on individual or corporate praise to God
Penitential Psalms
o Confession and repentance
Wisdom Psalms
o General observation about life
Royal Psalms
o Focus on the King of Israel
Messianic Psalms
o Describe the Messiah
Imprecatory Psalms
o Call on God to judge one’s enemies
Lament Psalms
o Bemoan one’s condition, state trust in God, end with praise
How common is the direct address of God
o Extremely common and it tends to be informal with the most common name being
Yahweh.
o The few times its formal is prayers for the nation
How is the book of Psalms divided
o 1-41
o 42-72
o 73-89
o 90-106
o 107-150
What are the basic classifications of the Psalms
o Hymns
o Penitential
o Wisdom
o Royal
o Messianic
o Imprecatory
o Lament
Proverbs
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Why do we have Proverbs
o It provides us with practical guidelines for living
How many collections are there in Proverbs
o 7
What is the content/themes of Proverbs
o
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Contrasting two ways of living life to either reject or maintain one’s relationship with
God
What areas of life are covered by Proverbs
o Nearly every aspect of faith and life
o Practical advice on holy living
What is a proverb
o A succinct and persuasive saying proven true by experience
What’s the difference between a proverb and a promise or command?
o Proverb is a statement of general truth
o Promises are a cut-and-dry statement
What two things are contrasted in the book of Proverbs?
o Wisdom and Folly
What is the goal of Proverbs?
o Instruction for the young and those who already have wisdom
Who is the target audience of Proverbs?
o The young
What is the first and controlling principle of wisdom?
o The fear of God
Where does one find the pinnacle of the Bible’s view of wisdom?
o Proverbs 8
What is the most powerful unit on the dangers of sexual impurity?
o Proverbs 7:1-27
Which unit may have been based on an Egyptian text?
o The thirty sayings of the wise man (Psalms 22:17-23)
How should one read proverbs
o Slowly and contemplatively due to their condensed language
What are the two types of wisdom literature
o discoursive – grapples with the difficult issues of life
o instructional aka didactic – usually optimistic about life
Prophecy
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Emphasis of prophecy
o Popular view: prediction
o Biblical view: God’s message
What is the purpose of prediction
o Motivation either encouragement to people who are already serving or encouraging
sinners to get back on track with God
Prophecy of judgment and blessing/conditional prophecy/God changing his mind
o Niham = change one’s mind
o If God said something God would happen but people did evil it wouldn’t happen
o If God said something Bad would happen but people repented it wouldn’t happen
What are the Hebrew terms for prophet
o Hōzeh or ro’eh – Seer (of visions)
o NābÎ – called one
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o Eesh Elohim = man of God
o Nah-vee = prophet
o Nah-vee-ah = prophetess
o Meshuggah = crazy person (used to mock)
o Mal-ak = messenger
Can one retract a prophecy
o No, however, If a person or people change and repent then the prophecy can change
Was Jonah ever worried about being thought of as a false prophet?
o No because Jonah knew God’s forgiving character
When did Samuel begin his prophetic ministry
o 1100BC
When did Elijah start prophesying
o 870-860 BC
Who were the three men who significantly helped lay the classical prophecy’s foundation
o Moses, Samuel, and Elijah
What did God order to happen to false prophets
o For them to be killed
How could one tell if a prophet was real
o If what the prophet says doesn’t contradict God
o What is prophesied happens
o If either of these two tests fail, then the prophet is false
What is the name for a prophet who didn’t write down their words
o Nonliterary prophets
What’s the difference between the ecstatics of Mari and the Hebrew prophets
o Hebrew prophets brought messages for all the people
o Mari spoke only to the royal household
Who recorded the prophets’ messages
o The Prophet
o Scribes
o Disciples
What were Prophets not
o Prophets did not babble uncontrollably
o Were not fortunetellers
o Were not religious extremists
What are two things that annoy the Lord
o To condemn the righteous
o Justifying the Wicked
The most important thing you can do for God is what?
o Obedience
What does it mean when the bible brings up Sodom and Gomorrah
o It is referring to a group of people who have done extremely wicked things and deserve
punishment
What are some characteristics that all prophets shared?
o Possessed hearts devoted to God
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Possessed a strong sense of calling
Were messengers
Were forth tellers
Were foretellers
Were creative individuals who used literary and oral techniques to communicate their
messages
What are some common themes of biblical prophecy
o Covenant obligations
o The day of the Lord
o The concept of Messiah
What three major empires formed the historical backdrop for the classical prophets
o The Assyrians
o Babylonians
o Persians
What does Isaiah’s name mean?
o The Lord has saved
Who is “The Suffering Servant”
o It has been interpreted as Isaiah, Jesus, or Israel
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Jeremiah & Ezekiel (A&B book Ch. 27-30)
 Jerimiah and Ezekiel were both priests
 Micah prophesied the destruction of Jerusalem 100 years before it happened
 Why was the book of Lamentations written
o To ponder God’s relationship with his exiled people
 Who prophesied longer Jeremiah or Ezekiel?
o Jeremiah
 True or False Jeremiah is in chronological order
o False
 True or False Ezekiel is in chronological order
o True
 When was Jeremiah prophesying
o 627 – mid/late 580’s
 When was Ezekiel prophesying
o 597 – exiled
 What kind of king was Josiah
o A righteous King
 Kings of Juda
o Hezekiah (? – 700)
o Manasseh (696-644) was evil and longest reigning King
o Anon (641-639) was evil
o Josiah (639-609) was good and was 8 years old when he became king
o Jehoahaz was only king for 3 months
o Jehoiakim (609-598)
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Jehoiachin (598-597) 3 months
Zedekiah (597-586) was 21 when he became king
 Jehoahaz, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah were all half sibs
What does the word “Perhaps” mean in the book of Jeremiah?
o It indicates that the future was not locked in at the time
 Also, this word doesn’t show up often in the book of Jeremiah
What happened in Shiloh in 1100BC
o The Tabernacle and city were destroyed
What does the book of Jeremiah promote?
o God’s Grace
What does Chapter 7 of Jeremiah deal with
o The disobedience of the 10 commandments
Minor Prophets (Online Summaries and A&B book Daniel, Amos, Hosea, Micah, Jonah)
Jonah
Joel
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Manual for disasters
Outpouring of the Holy Spirit in acts is first mentioned in this book
Historic info is so vague that its hard to date
The theme of the book is “The Day of Yahweh”
The three main messages of the book are
o Rectifying natural disasters
o Outpouring of the Holy Spirit prophesied
o Describes a time of wrath against the nations who have exploited God’s people
Amos
Southern kingdom prophet to the Northern kingdom
Deals with
Idolatry
Sexual immorality
Exploitation
Abuse of alcohol
Etc.
Hosea
Prophet at the same time as Amos
Same issues delt with just in a different tone
Micah
Southern kingdom to southern kingdom
Similar issues as Amos
Prophesied about Bethlehem and the Messiah
Blasts false prophets
Speaks on forgiveness
Nahum
Jonah gets his wish for the destruction of Assyria
Thesaurus of violence
Nahum’s name means comfort or compassion
Zephaniah
Descendant of Hezekiah (a King)
There is Hope at the end of the book
Theme of the book is wrath will come upon the wicked and Judah’s enemies
Habakkuk
Constantly is seeing wickedness around him
God says he will use Babylonians but Habakkuk says that the Babylonians are more
wicked than they are.
Obadiah
Judgment against Edom who helped destroy Jerusalem & the temple
Attacked Jewish refugees
Obadiah’s name means servant of Yahweh
Haggai & Zechariah
Encouraged the postexilic community to rebuild the temple
They were a duo their ministries over lapped
Malachi
Deals with people who weren’t tithing and divorce
States that we need to distinguish the righteous from the wicked
Speaks of Elijah coming to the day of the Lord
Malachi’s name means my messenger