Guide to the Perplexed II (Final Exam Questions)

Confused about any of the material we've rushed through in recent weeks? Unsure what I am looking for on any of the exam questions or ID's? Want to share exam-study ideas with other students? Post your questions and comments here. Help out ask you can with the questions other students ask. I'll check in from time to time myself to see if there is anything I should clarify.

Apocalyptic Visions of Daniel (Extra Credit)

Read through the visions in the second half of the book of Daniel (Daniel 7-12). Is there anything here that seems key to the survival of the Jewish people? How would having the book of Daniel have helped the Jewish people go through difficult times, e.g., the time of Antiochus Epiphanes?

Malachi (extra credit)

Read all of Malachi. What is the condition of the Jewish people as he writes? What are the particular problems he addresses? How is the situation different from that addressed by earlier prophets, e.g., Isaiah and Jeremiah? What keys to Jewish survival do you see here?

Zechariah (Extra Credit)

Skim through Haggai and/or Zechariah. Note the problems in the Jewish community that these two prophets address. How would their prophetic message have helped in rebuilding Jerusalem and in helping reforms among the Jewish people? What aspects of their teachings might have helped the Jewish people survive even after the temple was destroyed and the Jews were removed from their land again?

You may turn this into two "extra credit" blogs if you like: one entry on each book.

Nehemiah (Extra Credit)

Skim through Nehemiah. Note that much of this book is Nehemiah’s account of his own role in helping the rebuilding of Jerusalem and in restoring the Jewish people. Note the problems he faces. What does Nehemiah seem proud of in terms of his own record/conduct? What obstacles does he face? What seems to be his motivation?

Ezra (extra credit)

Read Ezra Ch. 1 and Ch. 3-7. What difficulties do the Jews face as they try to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple? What helps them overcome these difficulties? Note especially the role of leaders like Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra himself. Also note the contrasting attitudes of Persian leaders, e.g., Cyrus and Artaxerxes.

Daniel (extra credit)

Please read Chapters 1-7 and 12 of Daniel carefully. Skim the rest.

Daniel is a favorite "Sunday school" book, a book filled stories the lend themselves well to teaching children. But Daniel is an adult book as well. What do you think is the most important or most interesting lesson Daniel teaches to adults?

Habakkuk (extra credit)

Please read all of Habakkuk.

The Septuagint translation contains some extra material not in the Hebrew text of Daniel. Daniel Chapter 14 of the LXX (see link below) has a story about a very brief meeting of Daniel and Habakkuk while Daniel is in the lion's den.Suppose Habukkuk really did have a chance to visit Daniel very briefly--long enough only to leave him a verse or two as advice. Cite a couple of verses from Habakkuk that might have been particularly good for Daniel to hear while he was in the Lion's den. Explain why these verses would be good for Daniel, or for others in similar difficulties.

Link: Daniel vs. Bel and the Dragon (and the visit from Habakkuk).

Job

Please read through Chapters 1-5, 19 and 37-42 of the Book of Job. In addition to addressing the problem of evil, what other wisdom does Job offer? Cite a verse or two you think would be particularly good to include in an anthology of ancient wisdom, and explain why you think this verse or these verses are particularly worth including.

Proverbs

Please read the first three chapters of Proverbs and skim the rest of the book. Choose a proverb or two that you think is a particularly good example of Hebrew contributions to human wisdom. Explain why you chose this proverb/these proverbs.

Ecclesiastes

Please read all of Ecclesiastes for Tuesday's class.

For some people, Ecclesiastes is their favorite book in the entire Bible. Others wonder why it is in the Bible at all. What's your reaction? Did you find this book more or less enjoyable/valuable than the other books you've read for this class?

Ezekiel

We are going to visit Temple B'nai Israel on Thursday next week, so we'll do *all* our Ezekiel material next time (Tuesday). For this class, please read my study questions on Ezekiel. Then read Chapters 1-12, 33, and 37 of Ezekiel itself.

What do you find here that suggests that Ezekiel's message was a burden? Are there any passages that particularly well reflect hope, beauty, faith in the triumph of justice, or anything else that makes that burden worth bearing?

Jeremiah II

Please read as much as you can of the last half of Jeremiah. Be sure to read Chapters 31-44. What do you see in these chapters that shows Jeremiah's message to be a burden. Is there anything here to suggest why that burden is worth bearing?

Jeremiah I

Please read through my Jeremiah study questions and then as much as you can of the first half of Jeremiah. Be sure to read Chapters 16, 20, 23, and 28.

Suppose you are asked to help prepare an anthology of great quotations from the ancient world. There are going to be two Jeremiah quotes, and you get to pick two of them. Of all of Jeremiah's many quotable lines, which two would you choose? Why these particular lines?

Isaiah II

Please read Isaiah 36-39 and any five chapters of your choice from Isaiah 40-66. Suppose you are asked to help prepare an anthology of great quotations from the ancient world. There are going to be two Isaiah quotes, and you get to pick one of them. Of all of Isaiah's many quotable lines, which would you choose? Why this particular line? Of the lines already suggested by other contributors to this blog (either on this thread or the Isaiah I thread) which of those lines do you think would be the best to have as the second Isaiah quote? Why?

Isaiah I

Please read again the Amos and Isaiah study questions , and then Chapters 1-11 of Isaiah. What do you find here that suggest that Isaiah's message was a burden? Is there a passage here that particularly well reflects hope, beauty, faith in the triumph of justice, or anything else that would have made this burden worth bearing?

Amos

Please read these study guide questions on Amos and Isaiah and then all nine chapters of Amos. Choose any of the first 13 study guide questions and suggest an answer to that question here.

I would be particularly interested in your comments on Amos' use of imagery. Do you find any of Amos' images particularly effective? Particularly disturbing?

Guide to the Perplexed

Having trouble with some of the MT material? Post your questions here. You can perhaps get some help from other students. Also, I'll check in from time to time and add my advice as well.

II Kings

Please read my I and II Kings study questions, and then as much as you can of I Kings for Thursday, March 6. Please read especially closely the chapters on Elijah, Josiah, and Hezekiah. Does it seems to you that any of the stories in II Kings have the makings of good tragedy? Or is the II Kings account better viewed as history, biography, or prophecy rather than as tragedy. Cite below any passages/verses you think particularly support your view.

I Kings

Please read as much as you can of I Kings for Thursday. Please read especially closely the chapters on Solomon. Does it seems to you that the I Kings account of Solomon has in it the makings of a good tragedy? Or is the I kings account better viewed as history, biography, or prophecy rather than as tragedy. Cite below any passages/verses you think particularly support your view.

II Samuel

Please read my II Samuel study questions and then all of II Samuel. Choose one of the study guide questions and suggest an answer to that question below. Please try to choose a study question not already addressed by another student.

I Samuel

Please read through my study questions for I Samuel and then through I Samuel itself. Which of the many episodes in this book do you find the most tragic? What is the lesson to be learned from this story? Alternatively, choose an episode/incident you find uplifting, and explain why you like this particular passage.

Judges

Please read through my study questions on the Book of Judges and then through the book of Judges itself. Of the approximately twelve judges, which one do you find most interesting? What is heroic about this character? What (if any) are his/her "warts"? What do you think is the most important lesson to be learned from the story of that judge?

MT Questions

Apparently I didn't cover some ID's as thoroughly as I might have. If you have questions, post them here and I'll suggest how you might approach these terms on tomorrow's MT.

Deuteronomy--Discussion II

Please read through the Deuteronomy study questions on my History 413 Web page. Then read through the remaining chapters of Deuteronomy. Choose one or two of the study questions and post your comments on that question/those questions here.

Remember that there is an exam coming up next Tuesday!

Deuteronomy--Discussion 1

In Deuteronomy, as in Exodus, the writer gives us a lot of preliminary material before he gets to the actual “rules and regulations” of the law. Please read through the first part of Deuteronomy (Chapters 1-15). What is there in this preliminary material you find particularly, interesting, important, or worth discussing in class? In what way does this material show Deuteronomy to be a particularly fine law code or something more than just a law code?

Exodus

Please read Chapters 1-20 and 32-34 of Exodus.

Of the stories here, which one seems to you the most interesting or the most important? Explain how that story is particularly appropriate as an example of Torah "law," or explain how that story shows the Torah to be something more than just a law code.

Genesis III

Please read (or at least skim through) the stories in Genesis 25-50. Which of these stories do you find most interesting? Explain how that story is particularly appropriate as an example of Torah "law," or explain how that story shows the Torah to be something more than just a law code.

Many Sons had Father Abraham

Torah" can rightly translated as "law," but the Torah is a lot more than just rules and regulations. "Torah" might also be translated as "rule," "instruction," or "principle," and it is sometimes useful to think of the Torah as simply "the way," i.e., instruction on the way we ought to live our lives.

Please read through as much as you can of the lives of Abraham and Sarah (Genesis 11-25). In what ways do the lives of these two figures reflect "torah" in the latter sense? Cite an instance where either Sarah or Abraham seems to you a particularly good example of how we ought (or ought not) to live our lives.

A Very Good Place to Start (Genesis I)

Please read Chapters 1-11 of Genesis. Remember that I am more concerned with the quality of your reading than the quantity. Once you've read the assignment, pick out a key verse from the assigned chapters and do one of the following:

1. Explain why you think this verse the key to understanding what the selection is about.

2. Explain why you think this verse is the best/most memorable in the assigned reading.

3. Explain why you think this verse is the most difficult/hard to understand in the passage.

Welcome!

How is this blog different from all other blogs? Well, for one thing, it invites you to join in the long tradition that began with the men of the Great Synagogue, continued through the periods of the Tannaim and the Amoraim, (teachers and interpreters), and continues today in churches and synagogues throughout the world. You have here the opportunity to contribute your questions and comments to an ongoing discussion of the most interesting, most important, most studied--and most often misunderstood--books ever written, the books of what Jews call the Tanak and Christians the Old Testament.

To get started, here's a test of the History 413 blog system. If you don't already have one, please create for yourself a "Blogger" account by following the instructions at http://www.blogger.com/. Be sure to create a blogger profile which includes your e-mail address. Otherwise, I can't reply directly to your post.

To make sure your e-mail address is accessible to me, please log on to your blogger account. Click "edit profile" (toward the top on the right). Then click the box that says to make your e-mail address accessible.

When you have created your blogger account and your profile, click the "comments" link below, and answer one (1) of the following questions:

1. Would you rather make comments on a blog, or write a term paper?
2. Which Old Testament figure do you identify with the most, and why?
3. Which is your favorite book of the Old Testament, and why?