1.
Torah
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The Torah is the central reference of Judaism. It has a range of meanings and it can most specifically mean the first five books of the twenty-four books of the Tanakh, and it usually includes the rabbinic commentaries. In rabbinic literature the word Torah denotes both the five books and the Oral Torah, the Oral Torah consists of interpretations and amplifications which according to rabbinic tradition have been handed down from generation to generation and are now embodied in the Talmud and Midrash. According to the Midrash, the Torah was created prior to the creation of the world, traditionally, the words of the Torah are written on a scroll by a scribe in Hebrew. A Torah portion is read publicly at least once every three days in the presence of a congregation, reading the Torah publicly is one of the bases for Jewish communal life. The word Torah in Hebrew is derived from the root ירה, the meaning of the word is therefore teaching, doctrine, or instruction, the commonly accepted law gives a wrong impression. Other translational contexts in the English language include custom, theory, guidance, the earliest name for the first part of the Bible seems to have been The Torah of Moses. This title, however, is neither in the Torah itself. It appears in Joshua and Kings, but it cannot be said to refer there to the entire corpus, in contrast, there is every likelihood that its use in the post-Exilic works was intended to be comprehensive. Other early titles were The Book of Moses and The Book of the Torah, Christian scholars usually refer to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible as the Pentateuch, a term first used in the Hellenistic Judaism of Alexandria, meaning five books, or as the Law. The Torah starts from the beginning of Gods creating the world, through the beginnings of the people of Israel, their descent into Egypt, and it ends with the death of Moses, just before the people of Israel cross to the promised land of Canaan. Interspersed in the narrative are the teachings given explicitly or implicitly embedded in the narrative. This is followed by the story of the three patriarchs, Joseph and the four matriarchs, God gives to the patriarchs a promise of the land of Canaan, but at the end of Genesis the sons of Jacob end up leaving Canaan for Egypt due to a regional famine. They had heard there was a grain storage and distribution facility in Egypt. Exodus begins the story of Gods revelation to his people of Israel through Moses, Moses receives the Torah from God, and teaches His laws and Covenant to the people of Israel. It also talks about the first violation of the covenant when the Golden Calf was constructed, Exodus includes the instructions on building the Tabernacle and concludes with its actual construction. Leviticus begins with instructions to the Israelites on how to use the Tabernacle, leviticus 26 provides a detailed list of rewards for following Gods commandments and a detailed list of punishments for not following them. Numbers tells how Israel consolidated itself as a community at Sinai, set out from Sinai to move towards Canaan, even Moses sins and is told he would not live to enter the land
2.
Book of Genesis
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The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. The basic narrative expresses the theme, God creates the world and appoints man as his regent. The new post-Flood world is also corrupt, God does not destroy it, instead calling one man, Abraham, to be the seed of its salvation. At Gods command Abraham descends from his home into the land of Canaan, given to him by God, Genesis ends with Israel in Egypt, ready for the coming of Moses and the Exodus. The narrative is punctuated by a series of covenants with God, the books author or authors appear to have structured it around ten toledot sections, but modern commentators see it in terms of a primeval history followed by the cycle of Patriarchal stories. In Judaism, the importance of Genesis centers on the covenants linking God to his chosen people. It is not clear, however, what this meant to the original authors, while the first is far shorter than the second, it sets out the basic themes and provides an interpretive key for understanding the entire book. The primeval history has a symmetrical structure hinging on chapters 6–9, God creates the world in six days and consecrates the seventh as a day of rest. God creates the first humans Adam and Eve and all the animals in the Garden of Eden but instructs them not to eat the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. A talking serpent portrayed as a creature or trickster, entices Eve into eating it anyway. Eve bears two sons, Cain and Abel, Cain kills Abel after God accepts Abels offering but not Cains. Eve bears another son, Seth, to take Abels place, after many generations of Adam have passed from the lines of Cain and Seth, the world becomes corrupted by the sin of man and Nephilim, and God determines to wipe out mankind. First, he instructs the righteous Noah and his family to build a huge boat, then God sends a great flood to wipe out the rest of the world. When the waters recede, God promises that he not destroy the world a second time with water with the rainbow as the symbol of his promise. But upon seeing mankind cooperating to build a great tower city, God instructs Abram to travel from his home in Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan. Abrams name is changed to Abraham and that of his wife Sarai to Sarah, because Sarah is old, she tells Abraham to take her Egyptian handmaiden, Hagar, as a second wife. God resolves to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sins of their people, Abraham protests and gets God to agree not to destroy the cities if 10 righteous men can be found. Angels save Abrahams nephew Lot and his family, but his wife back on the destruction against their command and is turned into a pillar of salt
3.
Book of Exodus
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The Book of Exodus or, simply, Exodus, is the second book of the Torah and the Hebrew Bible. The book tells how the Israelites leave slavery in Egypt through the strength of Yahweh, led by their prophet Moses they journey through the wilderness to Mount Sinai, where Yahweh promises them the land of Canaan in return for their faithfulness. There is no agreement among scholars on the structure of Exodus. One strong possibility is that it is a diptych, with the division between parts 1 and 2 at the crossing of the Red Sea or at the beginning of the theophany in chapter 19. On this plan, the first part tells of Gods rescue of his people from Egypt and their journey under his care to Sinai, jacobs sons and their families join their brother, Joseph, in Egypt. Once there, the Israelites begin to grow in number, several generations later, Egypts Pharaoh, fearful that the Israelites could be a fifth column, orders that all newborn boys be thrown into the Nile. A Levite woman saves her baby by setting him adrift on the river Nile in an ark of bulrushes, the Pharaohs daughter finds the child, names him Moses, and brings him up as her own. But Moses is aware of his origins, and one day, there he marries Zipporah, the daughter of Midianite priest Jethro, and encounters God in a burning bush. Moses asks God for his name, God replies, I AM that I AM, God tells Moses to return to Egypt and lead the Hebrews into Canaan, the land promised to Abraham. Moses returns to Egypt and fails to convince the Pharaoh to release the Israelites, God smites the Egyptians with 10 terrible plagues including a river of blood, many frogs, and the death of first-born sons. Moses leads the Israelites out of bondage after a chase when the Pharaoh reneges on his coerced consent. The desert proves arduous, and the Israelites complain and long for Egypt, the Israelites arrive at the mountain of God, where Moses father-in-law Jethro visits Moses, at his suggestion Moses appoints judges over Israel. God asks whether they agree to be his people. Moses is told to ascend the mountain, God pronounces the Ten Commandments in the hearing of all Israel. Moses goes up the mountain into the presence of God, who pronounces the Covenant Code, Moses comes down the mountain and writes down Gods words and the people agree to keep them. God calls Moses up the mountain where he remains for 40 days and 40 nights, at the conclusion of the 40 days and 40 nights, Moses returns holding the set of stone tablets. Aaron is appointed as the first hereditary high priest, God gives Moses the two tablets of stone containing the words of the ten commandments, written with the finger of God. While Moses is with God, Aaron makes a golden calf, God informs Moses of their apostasy and threatens to kill them all, but relents when Moses pleads for them
4.
Book of Leviticus
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The Book of Leviticus is the third book of the Old Testament from the Bible, included in the Christian biblical canons, and the third of five books of the Pentateuch. The Hebrew name of the book of the Jewish Bible. Its Greek name Levitikon, things pertaining to the Levites, and its Latin name Leviticus, are based on the term torat kohanim, instruction of the priests from early rabbinic times. The English name is from the Latin Leviticus, taken in turn from Greek and a reference to the Levites, the book, however, addresses all the people of Israel though some passages address the priests specifically. Most of its chapters consist of Gods speeches to Moses which he is commanded to repeat to the Israelites and this takes place within the story of the Israelites Exodus after they escaped Egypt and reached Mt. Sinai. The Book of Exodus narrates how Moses led the Israelites in building the Tabernacle based on Gods instructions, then in Leviticus, God tells the Israelites and their priests how to make offerings in the Tabernacle and how to conduct themselves while camped around the holy tent sanctuary. Leviticus takes place during the month or month-and-a-half between the completion of the Tabernacle and the Israelites departure from Sinai, the instructions of Leviticus emphasize ritual, legal and moral practices rather than beliefs. Nevertheless, they reflect the view of the creation story in Genesis 1 that God wishes to live with humans. The book teaches that faithful performance of the sanctuary rituals can make possible, so long as the people avoid sin. Scholars debate whether it was primarily for Jewish worship in exile that centered on reading or preaching, or was aimed instead at worshipers at temples in Jerusalem. But they are unanimous that the book had a long period of growth. Instructions for the laity on bringing offerings 1–5, the types of offering, burnt, cereal, peace, purification, reparation offerings B. The various offerings, with the addition of the priests cereal offering 7, institution of the priesthood A. Ordination of Aaron and his sons B. Aaron makes the first sacrifices C, judgement on Nadab and Abihu III. Cleansing of diseases E. Unclean discharges IV, Day of Atonement, purification of the tabernacle from the effects of uncleanliness and sin V. Blasphemy J. Sabbatical and Jubilee years K. Exhortation to obey the law, blessing, redemption of votive gifts Chapters 1–5 describe the various sacrifices from the sacrificers point of view, although the priests are essential for handling the blood. Sacrifices are to be divided between God, the priest, and the offerers, although in cases the entire sacrifice is a single portion consigned to God—i. e. Chapters 8–10 describe the consecration by Moses of Aaron and his sons as the first priests, the first sacrifices, the purpose is to underline the character of altar priesthood as an Aaronite privilege, and the responsibilities and dangers of their position
5.
Book of Numbers
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The Book of Numbers is the fourth book of the Hebrew Bible, and the fourth of five books of the Jewish Torah. The book has a long and complex history, but its form is probably due to a Priestly redaction of a Yahwistic source made some time in the early Persian period. The name of the book comes from the two taken of the Israelites. Numbers begins at Mount Sinai, where the Israelites have received their laws, the task before them is to take possession of the Promised Land. The people are numbered and preparations are made for resuming their march, the Israelites begin the journey, but they murmur at the hardships along the way, and about the authority of Moses and Aaron. For these acts, God destroys approximately 15,000 of them through various means and they arrive at the borders of Canaan and send spies into the land. Upon hearing the spies fearful report concerning the conditions in Canaan, God condemns them to death in the wilderness until a new generation can grow up and carry out the task. The book ends with the new generation of Israelites in the Plain of Moab ready for the crossing of the Jordan River, Numbers is the culmination of the story of Israels exodus from oppression in Egypt and their journey to take possession of the land God promised their fathers. Numbers also demonstrates the importance of holiness, faithfulness and trust, despite Gods presence and his priests, Israel lacks faith and the possession of the land is left to a new generation. God orders Moses, in the wilderness of Sinai, to number those able to bear all the men from twenty years old and upward. A total of 603,550 Israelites are found to be fit for military service, the tribe of Levi is exempted from military service and therefore not included in the census. Moses consecrates the Levites for the service of the Tabernacle in the place of the first-born sons, the Levites are divided into three families, the Gershonites, the Kohathites, and the Merarites, each under a chief. The Kohathites were headed by Eleazar, son of Aaron, while the Gershonites and Merarites were headed by Aarons other son, preparations are then made for resuming the march to the Promised Land. Various ordinances and laws are decreed, the Israelites set out from Sinai. The people murmur against God and are punished by fire, Moses complains of their stubbornness and is ordered to choose seventy elders to assist him in the government of the people, twelve spies are sent out into Canaan and come back to report to Moses. Yahweh decrees that the Israelites will be punished for their loss of faith by having to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, Moses is ordered by God to make plates to cover the altar. The children of Israel murmur against Moses and Aaron on account of the destruction of Korahs men and are stricken with the plague, Aaron and his family are declared by God to be responsible for any iniquity committed in connection with the sanctuary. The Levites are again appointed to help in the keeping of the Tabernacle, the Levites are ordered to surrender to the priests a part of the tithes taken to them
6.
Book of Deuteronomy
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The Book of Deuteronomy is the fifth book of the Torah and the Christian Old Testament. The Hebrew title is taken from the opening phrase Eleh ha-devarim, the English title is from a Greek mistranslation of the Hebrew phrase mishneh haTorah hazoth, a copy of this law, in Deuteronomy 17,18, as to deuteronomion touto – this second law. The book consists of three sermons or speeches delivered to the Israelites by Moses on the plains of Moab, shortly before they enter the Promised Land. Many scholars see the book as reflecting the needs and social status of the Levite caste. One of its most significant verses is Deuteronomy 6,4, the Shema Yisrael, which has become the definitive statement of Jewish identity, Hear, O Israel, the LORD our God, the LORD is one. Verses 6, 4–5 were also quoted by Jesus in Mark 12, Patrick D. Miller in his commentary on Deuteronomy suggests that different views of the structure of the book will lead to different views on what it is about. Chapters 1–4, The journey through the wilderness from Horeb to Kadesh, chapters 4–11, After a second introduction at 4, 44–49 the events at Mount Horeb are recalled, with the giving of the Ten Commandments. Chapters 12–26, the Deuteronomic code, Laws governing Israels worship, the appointment and regulation of community and religious leaders, social regulation, chapters 27–28, Blessings and curses for those who keep and break the law. Chapters 29–30, Concluding discourse on the covenant in the land of Moab, including all the laws in the Deuteronomic code after those given at Horeb, Israel is again exhorted to obedience. Chapters 31–34, Joshua is installed as Mosess successor, Moses delivers the law to the Levites, and ascends Mount Nebo or Pisgah, the narrative of these events is interrupted by two poems, the Song of Moses and the Blessing of Moses. Deuteronomy 12–26, the Deuteronomic Code, is its oldest part of the book and it is a series of mitzvot to the Israelites regarding how they ought to conduct themselves in Canaan, the land promised by Yahweh, God of Israel. The following list organizes most of the laws into thematic groups, The worship of Canaanite gods is forbidden, native mourning practices such as deliberate disfigurement are forbidden. The worship at Asherah groves and setting up of ritual pillars are forbidden, all sacrifices are to be brought and vows are to be made at a central sanctuary. Sacrificed animals must be without blemish, first-born male livestock must be sacrificed. The procedure for tithing produce or donating its equivalent is given, the Pilgrimage Festivals of Passover, Shavuot, and Sukkot are instituted. A catalog of which animals are permitted and which forbidden for consumption is given, the consumption of animals which are found dead and have not been slaughtered is prohibited. Judges are to be appointed in every city, judges are to be impartial and bribery is forbidden. Should the Israelites choose to be ruled by a King, regulations for the office are given, Regulations of the rights, and revenue, of the Levites are given
7.
Nevi'im
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Neviim is the second main division of the Hebrew Bible, between the Torah and Ketuvim. The Neviim are divided into two groups, the Former Prophets consists of the narrative books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings, while the Latter Prophets include the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and The Twelve minor prophets. In Judaism, Samuel and Kings are each counted as one book, in addition, twelve relatively short prophetic books are counted as one in a single collection called Trei Asar or The Twelve Minor Prophets. The Jewish tradition thus counts a total of eight books in Neviim out of a total of 24 books in the entire Tanakh, the Book of Daniel is part of the Writings, or Ketuvim, in the Tanakh. The Former Prophets are the books Joshua, Judges, 1st & 2nd Samuel, after Moses death, Joshua, by virtue of his previous appointment as Moses successor, receives from God the command to cross the Jordan. The book essentially consists of three parts, The history of the conquest of the land, the allotment of the land to the different tribes, with the appointment of cities of refuge, the provision for the Levites, and the dismissal of the eastern tribes to their homes. The farewell addresses of Joshua, with an account of his death, the Book of Judges consists of three distinct parts, The Introduction giving a summary of the book of Joshua. The Main Text, discussing the five Great Judges, Abimelech, the Appendices, giving two stories set in the time of the Judges, but not discussing the Judges themselves. The Books of Samuel consists of five parts, The period of Gods rejection of Eli, Samuels birth, the period of the life of Saul prior to meeting David. The period of Sauls interaction with David, the period of Davids reign and the rebellions he suffers. An appendix of material concerning David in no order. A conclusion of sorts appears at 1 Kings 1-2, concerning Solomon enacting a final revenge on those who did what David perceived as wrongdoing, the Latter Prophets are divided into two groups, the Major prophets and the Twelve Minor Prophets collected into a single book. The 66 chapters of Isaiah consist primarily of prophecies of the judgments awaiting nations that are persecuting Judah and these nations include Babylon, Assyria, Philistia, Moab, Syria, Israel, Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, and Phoenicia. Chapter 6 describes Isaiahs call to be a prophet of God, Chapters 36–39 provide historical material about King Hezekiah and his triumph of faith in God. This section is seen by Jews as describing an actual king, a descendant of their king, David. The prophecy continues with some scholars have called The Book of Comfort which begins in chapter 40. In chapter 45,1 the Persian ruler Cyrus is named as the messiah who will overthrow the Babylonians, the remaining chapters of the book contain prophecies of the future glory of Zion under the rule of a righteous servant. The Book of Jeremiah can be divided into subsections
8.
Book of Joshua
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The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile. Almost all scholars agree that the book of Joshua holds little value for early Israel. Although Rabbinic tradition holds that the book was written by Joshua, transfer of leadership to Joshua A. Joshuas instructions to the people II, entrance into and conquest of Canaan A. Entry into Canaan 1. Reconnaissance of Jericho 2, establishing a foothold at Gilgal 4. Failure and success at Ai 3, renewal of the covenant at Mount Ebal 4. Other campaigns in central Canaan 5, summary list of defeated kings III. Division of the land among the tribes A, cities of refuge and levitical cities D. Summary of conquest E. De-commissioning of the eastern tribes IV, conclusion A. Joshuas farewell address B. Methodist writer Joseph Benson suggests that Gods revelation to Joshua comes either immediately after, God commissions Joshua to take possession of the land and warns him to keep faith with the Covenant. The Israelites cross the Jordan River through the intervention of God. The conquest begins in Canaan with Jericho, followed by Ai, after which Joshua builds an altar to Yahweh at Mount Ebal, the covenant ceremony has elements of a divine land-grant ceremony, similar to ceremonies known from Mesopotamia. The narrative then switches to the south, the Gibeonites trick the Israelites into entering into an alliance with them by saying they are not Canaanites, this prevents the Israelites from exterminating them, but they are enslaved instead. An alliance of Amorite kingdoms headed by the Canaanite king of Jerusalem is defeated with Yahwehs miraculous help of stopping the sun and the moon, the enemy kings were eventually hanged on trees. With the south conquered the narrative moves to the northern campaign, a powerful multi-national coalition headed by the king of Hazor, the most important northern city, is defeated with Yahwehs help and Hazor captured and destroyed. Chapter 11, 16–23 summarises the extent of the conquest, Joshua has taken the land, almost entirely through military victories. Joshua 11,18 asserts that the conquest took a long time - the Amplified Bible, anglican churchman Charles Ellicott thinks the war seems to have lasted seven years. The land then had rest from war, the list of the 31 kings is quasi-tabular, the king of Jerusalem, one, the king of Hebron, one, the king of Jarmuth, one, the king of Lachish, one
9.
Book of Judges
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The Book of Judges is the seventh book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible. Judges can be divided into three sections, a double prologue, a main body, and a double epilogue. The book opens with the Israelites in the land which God has promised to them but worshiping foreign gods instead of Yahweh, the God of Israel, and with the Canaanites still present everywhere. Chapters 1, 1–2,5 are thus a confession of failure while chapters 2, 6–3,6 are a major summary and reflection from the Deuteronomists. Once peace was regained, for a time Israel does right and receives Yahwehs blessings, only to relapse later into doing evil, Judges follows on from the Book of Joshua and opens with reference to Joshuas death. The Israelites meet, most likely at the sanctuary at Gilgal or at Shechem, the cyclic pattern set out in the prologue is readily apparent at the beginning, but as the stories progress it begins to disintegrate, mirroring the disintegration of the world of the Israelites. The stories are not presented in order, but the judges as they appear in the text are, Othniel vs. Chushan-Rishathaim, King of Aram. Some scholars have inferred that the judges were actual adjudicators, whereas the major judges were leaders. The only time a judge is said to have made legal judgments was Deborah. Despite their appearance at the end of the book, certain characters, early in the period of the judges. Judges contains a chronology of its events and it is overtly schematic and, according to biblical scholar Jeremy Hughes, shows signs of having been introduced at a later period. The basic source for Judges was a collection of connected stories about tribal heroes who saved the people in battle. A statement repeated throughout the book, In those days there was no king in Israel implies a date in the monarchy for the redaction editing) of Judges. Since the second half of the 20th century most scholars have agreed with Martin Noths thesis that the books of Deuteronomy, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings form parts of a single work. Noth believed that history was the work of a single author, living in the mid-6th century BCE. After a period of peace, the cycle recurs, further themes are also present, the sovereign freedom of Yahweh, the satirisation of foreign kings, the concept of the flawed agent and the disunity of the Israelite community. Although Judges probably had a monarchist redaction, the book contains passages and themes that represent anti-monarchist views, one of the major themes of the book is Yahwehs sovereignty and the importance of being loyal to Him and His laws above all other gods and sovereigns. Indeed, the authority of the judges comes not through prominent dynasties nor through elections or appointments, anti-monarchist theology is most apparent toward the end of the Gideon cycle in which the Israelites beg Gideon to create a dynastic monarchy over them and Gideon refuses
10.
Books of Samuel
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According to Jewish tradition the book was written by Samuel, with additions by the prophets Gad and Nathan, modern scholarly thinking is that the entire history was composed in the period c. 630–540 BC by combining a number of independent texts of various ages, Samuel begins with the prophet Samuels birth and Gods call to him as a boy. The story of the Ark of the Covenant that follows tells of Israels oppression by the Philistines, but Saul proved unworthy and Gods choice turned to David, who defeated Israels enemies and brought the Ark to Jerusalem. God then promised David and his successors an everlasting dynasty, the childless Hannah vows to Yahweh of hosts that if she has a son, he will be dedicated to him. Eli, the priest of Shiloh, blesses her, and a child named Samuel is born, Samuel is dedicated to the Lord as a Nazirite – the only one beside Samson to be identified in the Bible. Elis sons, Hophni and Phinehas, prove unworthy of the priesthood and are killed in battle during the Battle of Aphek, the Philistines capture the Ark of the Covenant from Shiloh and take it to the temple of their god Dagon, who recognises the supremacy of Yahweh. The Philistines are afflicted with plagues and return the ark to the Israelites, the Philistines attack the Israelites gathered at Mizpah in Benjamin. Samuel appeals to Yahweh, the Philistines are decisively beaten, in Samuels old age, he appoints his sons as judges, but they are unworthy, and so the people clamour for a king. God reluctantly accedes and gives them Saul of the tribe of Benjamin, Saul defeats the enemies of the Israelites, but sins against Yahweh. Yahweh tells Samuel to anoint David of Bethlehem as king, and David enters Sauls court as his armour-bearer, Sauls son and heir Jonathan befriends David and recognises him as rightful king. Saul plots Davids death, but David flees into the wilderness, David joins the Philistines, but continues secretly to champion his own people, until Saul and Jonathan are killed in battle at Mount Gilboa. At this point, David offers a eulogy, where he praises the bravery. The elders of Judah anoint David as king, but in the north Sauls son Ishbaal rules over the northern tribes. After a long war Ishbaal is murdered by Rechab and Baanah, David is then anointed King of all Israel. David captures Jerusalem and brings the Ark there, David wishes to build a temple, but Nathan tells him that one of Davids sons will be the one to build the temple. David defeats the enemies of Israel, slaughtering Philistines, Moabites, Edomites, David commits adultery with Bathsheba and plots the death of her husband, Uriah the Hittite, for this Yahweh sends disasters against his house. The prophet Nathan tells David that the sword shall never depart from his house, for the remainder of his reign there are problems. Absalom kills Amnon, rebels against his father, and is killed following the Battle of the Wood of Ephraim, finally only two contenders for the succession remain, Adonijah and Bathshebas son Solomon
11.
Book of Isaiah
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The Book of Isaiah is the first of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible and the first of the Major Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. While virtually no one today attributes the entire book, or even most of it, to one person, Isaiah 1–33 promises judgment and restoration for Judah, Jerusalem and the nations, and chapters 34–66 presume that judgment has been pronounced and restoration follows soon. It can thus be read as a meditation on the destiny of Jerusalem into. Isaiah speaks out against corrupt leaders and for the disadvantaged, Isaiah 44,6 contains the first clear statement of monotheism, I am the first and I am the last, besides me there is no god. This model of monotheism became the characteristic of post-Exilic Judaism. Isaiah was one of the most popular works among Jews in the Second Temple period, the scholarly consensus which held sway through most of the 20th century saw three separate collections of oracles in the book of Isaiah. God has a plan which will be realised on the Day of Yahweh, on that day all the nations of the world will come to Zion for instruction, but first the city must be punished and cleansed of evil. Israel is invited to join in this plan, chapters 5–12 explain the significance of the Assyrian judgment against Israel, righteous rule by the Davidic king will follow after the arrogant Assyrian monarch is brought down. The oppressor is about to fall, chapters 34–35 tell how Yahweh will return the redeemed exiles to Jerusalem. Chapters 36–39 tell of the faithfulness of king Hezekiah to Yahweh during the Assyrian siege as a model for the restored community, chapters 55–66 are an exhortation to Israel to keep the covenant. Gods eternal promise to David is now made to the people of Israel/Judah at large, the book ends by enjoining righteousness as the final stages of Gods plan come to pass, including the pilgrimage of the nations to Zion and the realisation of Yahwehs kingship. Chapters 56–66 assume an even later situation, in which the people are returned to Jerusalem. Anonymity → Isaiahs name suddenly stops being used after chapter 39, style → There is a sudden change in style and theology after chapter 40, numerous key words and phrases found in one section are not found in the other. These observations led scholars to the conclusion that the book can be divided into three sections, labeled Proto-Isaiah, Deutero-Isaiah, and Trito-Isaiah. Early modern-period scholars treated Isaiah as independent collections of sayings by three individual prophets, brought together at a later period, about 70 BCE, to form the present book. The second half of the 20th century saw a change in approach. The conquest of Jerusalem by Babylon and the exile of its elite in 586 BCE ushered in the stage in the formation of the book. Deutero-Isaiah addresses himself to the Jews in exile, offering them the hope of return, deutero-Isaiahs predictions of the imminent fall of Babylon and his glorification of Cyrus as the deliverer of Israel date his prophecies to 550–539 BCE, and probably towards the end of this period
12.
Book of Jeremiah
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The Book of Jeremiah is the second of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew Bible, and the second of the Prophets in the Christian Old Testament. Of all the prophets, Jeremiah comes through most clearly as a person, Jeremiah is written in a very complex and poetic Hebrew. It has come down in two distinct though related versions, one in Hebrew, the other known from a Greek translation. Scholars have had differing opinions as to how to reconstruct the historical aspects of the Book of Jeremiah due to the differences each version contains when compared with each other. It is difficult to discern any structure in Jeremiah, probably because the book had such a long, the book can be conveniently divided into biographical, prose and poetic strands, each of which can be summarised separately. The poetic material found is found largely in chapters 1–25 and consists of oracles in which the prophet speaks as Gods messenger. Allied to them, and also probably a reflection of the authentic Jeremiah, are further poetic passages of a personal nature. In these poems the prophet agonises over the apparent failure of his mission, is consumed by bitterness at those who oppose or ignore him, and accuses God of betraying him. It is generally agreed that the three types of material interspersed through the book – poetic, narrative, and biographical – come from different sources or circles. Equivalents of both versions were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls, so that is clear that the differences mark important stages in the transmission of the text. Most scholars hold that the Hebrew text underlying the Septuagint version is older than the Masoretic text, the Book of Jeremiah grew over a long period of time. According to its opening verses the book records the prophetic utterances of the priest Jeremiah son of Hilkiah, to whom the word of YHWH came in the days of king Josiah and after. He engages in performance art, walking about in the streets with a yoke about his neck. He is taunted and retaliates, is thrown in jail as the result, the Deuteronomists were a school or movement who edited the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings into a more or less unified history of Israel during the Jewish exile in Babylon. From the Deuteronomistic perspective the prophetic role implied, more than anything else, concern with law, the books superscription claims that Jeremiah was active for forty years, from the thirteenth year of Josiah to the fall of Jerusalem in 587. It is clear from the last chapters of the book, however, that he continued to speak in Egypt after the assassination of Gedaliah, the Babylonian-appointed governor of Judah, in 582. Much of Jeremiahs prophetic preaching is based on the theme of the covenant between God and Israel, Jeremiah insists that the covenant is conditional, and can be broken by Israels apostasy. The people, says Jeremiah, are like a wife and rebellious children, their infidelity
13.
Book of Ezekiel
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The Book of Ezekiel is the third of the Latter Prophets in the Tanakh and one of the major prophetic books in the Old Testament, following Isaiah and Jeremiah. The visions, and the book, are structured around three themes, Judgment on Israel, Judgment on the nations, and Future blessings for Israel. Its themes include the concepts of the presence of God, purity, Israel as a divine community and its later influence has included the development of mystical and apocalyptic traditions in Second Temple and rabbinic Judaism and Christianity. Inaugural vision, God approaches Ezekiel as the warrior, riding in his battle chariot. The chariot is drawn by four living creatures, each having four faces, beside each living creature is a wheel within a wheel, with tall and awesome rims full of eyes all around. God commissions Ezekiel as a prophet and as a watchman in Israel, Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites. Building a new city, The Jewish exile will come to an end, a new city and new Temple will be built, and the Israelites will be gathered and blessed as never before. Most scholars today accept the authenticity of the book. According to the book that bears his name, Ezekiel ben-Buzi was born into a family of Jerusalem c.623 BCE. Josiah was killed in 609 and Judah became a vassal of the new regional power, in 597, following a rebellion against Babylon, Ezekiel was among the large group of Judeans taken into captivity by the Babylonians. He appears to have spent the rest of his life in Mesopotamia, the various dates given in the book suggest that Ezekiel was 25 when he went into exile,30 when he received his prophetic call, and 52 at the time of the last vision c.571. The Jewish scriptures were translated into Greek in the two immediately before the birth of Christ. The Greek version of books is called the Septuagint. The Jewish Bible in Hebrew is called the Masoretic text, ecclesiasticus 49,8 refers to it, so does Josephus. It is mentioned as part of the canon in Melitos catalogue, cited by Eusebius, also in Origen, Jerome, the first half of the 20th century saw several attempts to deny the authorship and authenticity of the book, with scholars such as C. C. Torrey and Morton Smith placing it variously in the 3rd century BCE, the pendulum swung back in the post-war period, with an increasing acceptance of the books essential unity and historical placement in the Exile. The most influential modern work on Ezekiel, Walther Zimmerlis two-volume commentary, appeared in German in 1969. Ezekiel depicts the destruction of Jerusalem as a sacrifice upon the altar
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Book of Hosea
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The Book of Hosea is one of the books of the Hebrew Bible. According to the order of most Hebrew Bibles, it is the first of the twelve Minor Prophets. According to the narrative, the relationship between Hosea and his unfaithful wife Gomer is comparable to the relationship between Yahweh and his unfaithful people Israel. The eventual reconciliation of Hosea and Gomer is treated as a metaphor for the eventual reconciliation between Yahweh and Israel. Hosea prophesied during a dark and melancholic era of Israels history, the apostasy of the people was rampant, having turned away from God in order to serve both the calves of Jeroboam and Baal, a Canaanite god. During Hoseas lifetime, the kings of the Northern Kingdom, their supporters. Forsaking the worship of God, they worshiped other gods, especially Baal, the Canaanite storm god, and Asherah, other sins followed, including homicide, perjury, theft, and sexual sin. Hosea declares that unless they repent of sins, God will allow their nation to be destroyed, and the people will be taken into captivity by Assyria. The prophecy of Hosea centers around Gods unending love towards a sinful Israel, in this text, Gods agony is expressed over the betrayal of Israel. The Book of Hosea contains a number of YHWH prophecies and messages for both Judah and Northern Israel and these are delivered by the prophet Hosea. Chapter 3, Account of Hoseas marriage autobiographically and this is possibly a marriage to different women Chapters 4–14, 9/14,10, Oracle judging Israel, Ephraim in particular, for not living up to the covenant. No further breakdown of ideas is clear in 4–14, 9/14,10 Following this, the prophecy is made that someday this will all be changed and this divorce seems to be the end of the covenant between God and the Northern Kingdom. However, it is probable that this was again an act, in which Hosea divorced Gomer for infidelity. He ends this prophecy with the declaration that God will one day renew the covenant, in Chapter three, at Gods command, Hosea seeks out Gomer once more. Either she has sold herself into slavery for debt, or she is with a lover who demands money in order to give her up, Chapters 4–14 spell out the allegory at length. Chapters 1–3 speaks of Hoseas family, and the issues with Gomer, Chapters 4–10 contain a series of oracles, or prophetic sermons, showing exactly why God is rejecting the Northern Kingdom. Chapter 11 is Gods lament over the necessity of giving up the Northern Kingdom, which is a part of the people of Israel. God promises not to them up entirely
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Book of Joel
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The Book of Joel is part of the Hebrew Bible. Joel is part of a group of twelve prophetic books known as the Twelve Minor Prophets, a more apocalyptic passage comparing the locusts to an army, and revealing that they are God’s army. A call to national repentance in the face of Gods judgment, Promise of future blessings Banishment of the locusts and restoration of agricultural productivity as a divine response to national penitence. Future prophetic gifts to all God’s people, and the safety of God’s people in the face of cosmic cataclysm, Coming judgment on God’s enemies and the vindication of Israel. As there are no references in the book to datable persons or events. The main positions are, Ninth century BC, particularly in the reign of Joash – a position especially popular among nineteenth-century scholars Early eight century BC, 630–587 BC, in the last decades of the kingdom of Judah c. 520–500 BC, contemporary with the return of the exiles and the careers of Zechariah, the decades around 400 BC, during the Persian period Evidence produced for these positions are allusions in the book to the wider world, similarities with other prophets, and linguistic details. Other commentators, such as John Calvin, attach no great importance to the precise dating, the preservation of the book of Joel indicates that it was accorded special status by its contemporaries as “the word of the Lord”. Its history as part of the Jewish and Christian canons followed that of the scroll of the Minor Prophets. The Masoretic text places Joel between Hosea and Amos, while the Septuagint order is Hosea–Amos–Micah–Joel–Obadiah–Jonah. The Hebrew text of Joel seems to have suffered little from scribal transmission, but is at a few points supplemented by the Septuagint, Syriac, while the book purports to describe a plague of locusts, some ancient Jewish opinion saw the locusts as allegorical interpretations of Israels enemies. This allegorical interpretation was applied to the church by many church fathers, Calvin took a literal interpretation of ch.1, but allegorical view of chapter 2, a position echoed by some modern interpreters. Most modern interpreters, however, see Joel speaking of a literal locust plague given a prophetic/ apocalyptic interpretation, mentions in the first half of the book to the day of the Lord were also ascribed to this continuator. 3, 4-8/4, 4-8 could be seen as even later, details of exact ascriptions differed between scholars. The authenticity of 3, 4–8 has presented more challenges, although a number of scholars still defend it, there are many parallels of language between Joel and other Old Testament prophets. They may represent Joel’s literary use of other prophets, or vice versa, in the New Testament, his prophecy of the outpouring of God′s Holy Spirit upon all people was notably quoted by Saint Peter in his Pentecost sermon. The table below represents some of the more explicit quotes and allusions between specific passages in Joel and passages from the Old and New Testaments, plange quasi virgo, the third responsory for Holy Saturday, is loosely based on some verses of the Book of Joel. See also works on the Minor Prophets as a whole, ahlström, Gösta W. Joel and the Temple Cult of Jerusalem
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Book of Amos
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The Book of Amos is the third of the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament and the second in the Greek Septuagint tradition. Amos, a contemporary of Hosea and Isaiah, was active c.750 BC during the reign of Jeroboam II. Amos lived in the kingdom of Judah but preached in the kingdom of Israel. His major themes of justice, Gods omnipotence, and divine judgment became staples of prophecy. Amos prophesied during the reign of Jeroboam II, King of Israel, and of Uzziah of Judah, according to the books superscription he was from Tekoa, a town in Judah south of Jerusalem, but his prophetic mission was in the northern kingdom. He is called a shepherd and a dresser of sycamore trees, scholars have long recognized that Amos utilized an ancient hymn within his prophecy, verses of which are found at 4.13,5. 8–9,8.8,9. 5–6. This hymn is best understood as praising YHWH for His judgment, recent scholarship has shown Amos hymn is an ancient narrative text, has identified a new verse at 7.4, and has compared the hymn to the Genesis Flood account and Job 9, 5–10. The central idea of the book of Amos is that God puts his people on the level as the surrounding nations – God expects the same purity of them all. As it is with all nations that rise up against the kingdom of God, even Israel and Judah will not be exempt from the judgment of God because of their idolatry and unjust ways. The nation that represents YHWH must be pure of anything or anyone that profanes the name of God. Amos is the first prophet to use the term the Day of the Lord and this phrase becomes important within future prophetic and apocalyptic literature. For the people of Israel the day of the LORD is the day when God will fight against his and their enemies, and it will be a day of victory for Israel. However, Amos and other prophets include Israel as an enemy of God, as Israel is guilty of injustice toward the innocent, poor, to Amos the day of the Lord will be a day of doom
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Book of Obadiah
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The Book of Obadiah is an oracle concerning the divine judgment of Edom and the restoration of Israel. The text consists of a chapter, divided into 21 verses. In Judaism and Christianity, its authorship is attributed to a prophet who lived in the Assyrian Period and named himself in the first verse and his name means “servant of Yahweh”. In Christianity, the Book of Obadiah is classified as a prophet of the Old Testament. In Judaism, Obadiah is considered a “later prophet” and this Masoretic Text is chronologically placed in the Tanakh under the section Neviim in the last category called The Twelve Prophets. The book of Obadiah is based on a vision concerning the fall of Edom. Obadiah describes an encounter with God who addresses Edom’s arrogance and charges them for their violent actions against their brother nation, the western half of ancient Edom is the Negev desert all the way to Eilat, all part of modern Israel. The eastern half is possessed by the Hashemite kingdom of Jordan, in the days of Obadiah, the Edomites lived along the cliffs and mountaintops of the arid land south of the Dead Sea, all the way to the Gulf of Aqaba on the Red Sea. There was very little in the way of land, so the Edomites made their living supporting the main caravan route between Egypt and Babylon that passed through their whole land. Throughout most of the history of Judah, Edom was controlled absolutely from Jerusalem as a vassal state, among the regions great powers, Edom was held in low regard. Obadiah said that the elevation of their dwelling place in the mountains of Seir had gone to their head. Though you soar like the eagle and make your nest among the stars, from there I will bring you down, in 597 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar II sacked Jerusalem, carted away the King of Judea and installed a puppet ruler. The Edomites helped the Babylonians loot the city, Obadiah, writing this prophecy around 590 BCE, suggests the Edomites should have remembered that blood was thicker than water. On the day you stood aloof while strangers carried off his wealth and foreigners entered his gates and cast lots for Jerusalem, Obadiah said in judgement God would wipe out the house of Esau forever, and not even a remnant would remain. The Edomites land would be possessed by Egypt and they would cease to exist as a people, but the Day of the Lord was at hand for all nations, and someday the children of Israel would return from their exile and possess the land of Edom. The date of composition is disputed and is difficult to due to the lack of personal information about Obadiah, his family. The date of composition must therefore be determined based on the prophecy itself, Edom is to be destroyed due to its lack of defense for its brother nation, Israel, when it was under attack. There are two major historical contexts within which the Edomites could have committed such an act, the earlier period would place Obadiah as a contemporary of the prophet Elijah as reflected in 1 Kings 18, 1-16
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Book of Jonah
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The Book of Jonah is one of the Prophets in the Bible. It tells of a Hebrew prophet named Jonah son of Amittai who is sent by God to prophesy the destruction of Nineveh, set in the reign of Jeroboam II, it was probably written in the post-exilic period, some time between the late 5th to early 4th century BC. The story has an interpretive history and has become well-known through popular childrens stories. In Judaism it is the Haftarah, read during the afternoon of Yom Kippur in order to instill reflection on Gods willingness to forgive those who repent, unlike the other Prophets, the book of Jonah is almost entirely narrative, with the exception of the psalm in chapter 2. The actual prophetic word against Nineveh is given only in passing through the narrative, as with any good narrative, the story of Jonah has a setting, characters, a plot, and themes. It also relies heavily on such devices as irony. The book calls Nineveh a “great city, ” referring to its size, assyria often opposed Israel and eventually took the Israelites captive in 722–721 BC. The Assyrian oppression against the Israelites can be seen in the prophecies of Nahum. The story of Jonah is a drama between a man and an active God. Jonah, whose name literally means dove, is introduced to the reader in the very first verse, while many other prophets had heroic names, Jonahs name carries with it an element of passivity. Jonahs passive character is contrasted with the main character, Yahweh. While Jonah falls, God lifts up, the character of God in the story is progressively revealed through the use of irony. In the first part of the book, God is depicted as relentless and wrathful, in the part of the book, He is revealed to be truly loving. The other characters of the include the sailors in chapter 1. These characters are also contrasted to Jonahs passivity, while Jonah sleeps in the hull, the sailors pray and try to save the ship from the storm. While Jonah passively finds himself forced to act under the Divine Will, the plot centers on a conflict between Jonah and God. God calls Jonah to proclaim judgment to Nineveh, but Jonah resists and attempts to flee and he goes to Joppa and boards a ship bound for Tarshish. God calls up a storm at sea, and, at Jonahs insistence
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Book of Micah
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The Book of Micah is a prophetic book in the Tanakh / Old Testament, and the sixth of the twelve minor prophets. It records the sayings of Micah, whose name is Mikayahu, an 8th-century B. C. prophet from the village of Moresheth in Judah. The book has three divisions, chapters 1–2, 3–5 and 6–7, each introduced by the word Hear, with a pattern of alternating announcements of doom. At the broadest level, Micah can be divided into three equal parts, Judgment against the nations and their leaders Restoration of Zion, Gods lawsuit against Israel. Samaria and Jerusalem are given prominence as the foci of the prophet’s attention, Judgment against Samaria, Drawing upon ancient traditions for depicting a theophany, the prophet depicts the coming of Yahweh to punish the city, whose sins are idolatry and the abuse of the poor. Warnings to the cities of Judah, Samaria has fallen, Judah is next, Micah describes the destruction of the lesser towns of Judah. For these passages of doom on the cities, the device paronomasia is used. Paronomasia is a device which plays on the sound of each word for literary effect. For example, the inhabitants of Beth-le-aphrah are told to “roll yourselves in the dust. ”Though most of the Paronomasia is lost in translation, it is the equivalent of ‘Ashdod shall be but ashes, ’ where the fate of the city matches its name. Misuse of power denounced, Denounces those who appropriate the land, the context may be simply the amassing wealth for its own sake, or could be connected with the militarisation of the region for the expected Assyrian attack. Threats against the prophet, The prophet is warned not to prophesy and he answers that the rulers are harming Gods people, and want to listen only to those who advocate the virtues of wine. A later promise, These verses assume that judgement has already fallen, Judgment on wicked Zion, Israels rulers are accused of gaining more wealth at the expense of the poor, by any means. The metaphor of flesh being torn illustrates the length to which the classes and socialites would go to further increase their wealth. Prophets are corrupt, seeking personal gain, jerusalems rulers believe that God will always be with them, but God will be with his people, and Jerusalem will be destroyed. Zions future hope This is a passage, almost identical with Isaiah 2. Zion will be rebuilt, but by God, and based not on violence and corruption but on the desire to learn Gods laws, further promises to Zion This is another later passage, promising Zion that she will once more enjoy her former independence and power. Despite their trials, God will not desert his people, the promised ruler from Bethlehem, This passage is usually dated to the exile. Assyria will be stricken, and Israels punishment will lead to the punishment of the nations, Micah then responds by that God requires only to do justice, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God
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Book of Nahum
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The Book of Nahum is the seventh book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Nahum, and was written in Jerusalem in the 7th century BC. According to some, Nahum prophesied in the beginning of the reign of Ahaz, others, however, think that his prophecies are to be referred to the latter half of the reign of Hezekiah. The book would then have written in Jerusalem, where Nahum would have witnessed the invasion of Sennacherib. The scholarly consensus is that the book of vision was written at the time of the fall of Nineveh at the hands of the Medes and Babylonians. This theory is demonstrated by the fact that the oracles must be dated after the Assyrian destruction of Thebes, little is known about Nahum’s personal history. His name means comforter, and he was from the town of Alqosh and he was a very nationalistic Hebrew, and lived amongst the Elkoshites in peace. His writings were written in about 615 BC, before the downfall of Assyria. The subject of Nahums prophecy is the complete and final destruction of Nineveh. Ashurbanipal was at the height of his glory, jonah had already uttered his message of warning, and Nahum was followed by Zephaniah, who also predicted the destruction of the city. Nineveh was destroyed apparently by fire around 625 BC, and the Assyrian empire came to an end, archaeological digs have uncovered the splendor of Nineveh in its zenith under Sennacherib, Esarhaddon, and Ashurbanipal. Massive walls were eight miles in circumference and it had a water aqueduct, palaces and a library with 20,000 clay tablets, including accounts of a creation in Enuma Elish and a flood in the Epic of Gilgamesh. The Babylonian chronicle of the fall of Nineveh tells the story of the end of Nineveh, nabopolassar of Babylon joined forces with Cyaxares, king of the Medes, and laid siege for three months. The Book of Nahum consists of two parts, Chapter one shows the majesty and might of God the LORD in goodness, chapters two and three describe the fall of Nineveh, which later took place in 612 BC. Nineveh is compared to Thebes, the Egyptian city that Assyria itself had destroyed in 663 BC, Nahum describes the siege and frenzied activity of Nineveh’s troops as they try in vain to halt the invaders. Poetically, he becomes a participant in the battle, and with subtle irony, Nahum uses numerous similes and metaphors. Nahums prophecy carries a warning to the Ninevites of coming events. One might even say that the book of Nahum is a celebration of the fall of Assyria, the Assyrians had been used as Gods rod of anger, and the staff in their hand indignation
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Book of Habakkuk
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The Book of Habakkuk is the eighth book of the 12 minor prophets of the Hebrew Bible. It is attributed to the prophet Habakkuk, and was composed in the late 7th century BC. Of the three chapters in the book, the first two are a dialog between Yahweh and the prophet, the central message, that the just shall live by his faith, plays an important role in Christian thought. It is used in the Epistle to the Romans 1,17, Epistle to the Galatians 3,11, a copy of these chapters is included in the Habakkuk Commentary, found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. Chapter 3 may be an independent addition, now recognized as a liturgical piece, the prophet Habakkuk is generally believed to have written his book in the mid-to-late 7th century BC, not long before the Babylonians siege and capture of Jerusalem in 586 BC. Habakkuk identifies himself as a prophet in the opening verse, due to the liturgical nature of the book of Habakkuk, there have been some scholars who think that the author may have been a temple prophet. Temple prophets are described in 1 Chronicles 25,1 as using lyres, harps, some feel that this is echoed in Habakkuk 3, 19b, and that Habakkuk may have been a Levite and singer in the Temple. There is no information on the prophet Habakkuk, in fact less is known about him than any other writer of the Bible. The only canonical information that comes from the book that is named for him. His name comes either from the Hebrew word חבק meaning embrace or else from an Akkadian word hambakuku for a kind of plant. Although his name does not appear in any part of the Jewish Bible, Rabbinic tradition holds Habakkuk to be the Shunammite womans son. The prophet Habakkuk is also mentioned in the narrative of Bel, in the superscription of the Old Greek version, Habakkuk is called the son of Joshua of the tribe of Levi. In this book Habakkuk is lifted by an angel to Babylon to provide Daniel with some food while he is in the lions den. It is unknown when Habakkuk lived and preached, but the reference to the rise and advance of the Chaldeans in 1, one possible period might be during the reign of Jehoiakim, from 609–598 BC. The reasoning for this date is that it is during his reign that the Neo-Babylonian Empire of the Chaldeans was growing in power, the Babylonians marched against Jerusalem in 598 BC. Jehoiakim died while the Babylonians were marching towards Jerusalem and Jehoiakims eighteen-year-old son Jehoiachin assumed the throne, upon the Babylonians arrival, Jehoiachin and his advisors surrendered Jerusalem after a short time. With the transition of rulers and the age and inexperience of Jehoiachin. There is a sense of a knowledge of the Babylonian brutality in 1
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Book of Zephaniah
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The Book of Zephaniah is the ninth of the twelve minor prophets, preceded by Habakkuk and followed by Haggai. The name Zephaniah means Yahweh has hidden/protected, Yahweh hides, or Yahweh is my secret, the books superscription attributes its authorship to Zephaniah son of Cushi son of Gedaliah son of Amariah son of Hezekiah, in the days of King Josiah son of Amon of Judah. All that is known of Zephaniah comes from the text, the name Cushi, Zephaniah’s father, means Cushite or Ethiopian, and the text of Zephaniah mentions the sin and restoration of Ethiopians. Abraham ibn Ezra interpreted the name Hezekiah in the superscription as King Hezekiah of Judah, as with many of the other prophets, there is no external evidence to directly associate composition of the book with a prophet by the name of Zephaniah. Others agree that some portion of the book is postmonarchic, that is, in this historical context, Zephaniah urges Judah to obedience to Yahweh, saying that perhaps he will forgive them if they do. The day of the Lord tradition also appears in Isaiah, Ezekiel, Obadiah, the book begins by describing Yahwehs judgement. The threefold repetition of I will sweep away in 1, 2-3 emphasizes the totality of the destruction, the order of creatures in 1,2 is the opposite of the creation order in Genesis 1, 1-28, signifying an undoing of creation. As is common in literature in the Bible, a remnant survives Yahwehs judgement in Zephaniah by humbly seeking refuge in Yahweh. The book concludes in an announcement of hope and joy, as Yahweh bursts forth in joyful divine celebration over his people, because of its hopeful tone of the gathering and restoration of exiles, Zephaniah 3,20 has been included in Jewish liturgy. Zephaniah served as an inspiration for the medieval Catholic hymn Dies Irae, whose title and opening words are from the Vulgate translation of Zephaniah 1. Attridge, Harold W. Meeks, Wayne A. eds, berlin, Adele, Brettler, Marc Zvi, Fishbane, Michael, eds. Carson, D. A. Hess, Richard S. Alexander, T. D. Moo, Douglas J. Naselli, Andrew David, grudem, Wayne, Dennis, Lane T. Packer, J. I. John, Schreiner, Thomas R. Taylor, Justin, eds, archived from the original on 1 July 2016. Zephaniah, A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary, hirsch, Emil G. & Ira Maurice Price. Old Testament Survey, the Message, Form, and Background of the Old Testament, O. Palmer Robertson — The Books of Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah Sweeney, Marvin A. Zephaniah, A Commentary
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Book of Haggai
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The Book of Haggai is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and has its place as the third-to-last of the Minor Prophets. It is a book, consisting of only two chapters. The historical setting dates around 520 BCE before the Temple has been rebuilt,520 BCE falls between the start of the Achaemenid Empire in 539 BCE and 520 BCE, a period that saw major leaders such as Zerubbabel help lead the Jews in their return to the land. The Book of Haggai is named after its author, the prophet Haggai. There is no information given about the prophet in the Book of Haggai. Haggais name is derived from the Hebrew verbal root hgg, which means to make a pilgrimage, W. Sibley Towner suggests that Haggais name might come from his single-minded effort to bring about the reconstruction of that destination of ancient Judean pilgrims, the Temple in Jerusalem. The Book of Haggai was written in 520 BCE some 18 years after Cyrus had conquered Babylon, Cyrus saw the restoration of the temple as necessary for the restoration of the religious practices and a sense of peoplehood after a long exile. Haggais message is filled with an urgency for the people to proceed with the rebuilding of the second Jerusalem temple, Haggai attributes a recent drought to the peoples refusal to rebuild the temple, which he sees as key to Jerusalem’s glory. The book ends with the prediction of the downfall of kingdoms, with one Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, the language here is not as finely wrought as in some other books of the minor prophets, yet the intent seems straightforward. The first chapter contains the first address and its effects, Haggai reports that three weeks after his first prophecy, the rebuilding of the Temple began on September 7521 BCE
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Book of Zechariah
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The Book of Zechariah, attributed to the Hebrew prophet Zechariah, is included in the Twelve Minor Prophets in the Hebrew Bible. Zechariah’s prophecies took place during the reign of Darius the Great, Ezekiel and Jeremiah wrote prior to the fall of Jerusalem, while continuing to prophesy in the early exile period. Scholars believe Ezekiel, with his blending of ceremony and vision, Zechariah is specific about dating his writing. During the Exile many Judahites and Benjaminites were taken to Babylon, eventually freedom did come to many Israelites, when Cyrus the Great overtook the Babylonians in 539 BC. In 538 BC, the famous Edict of Cyrus was released, after the death of Cyrus in 530 BC, Darius consolidated power and took office in 522 BC. His system divided the different colonies of the empire into easily manageable districts overseen by governors, Zerubbabel comes into the story, appointed by Darius as governor over the district of Yehud Medinata. Under the reign of Darius, Zechariah also emerged, centering on the rebuilding of the Temple, unlike the Babylonians, the Persian Empire went to great lengths to keep “cordial relations” between vassal and lord. The rebuilding of the Temple was encouraged by the leaders of the empire in hopes that it would strengthen the authorities in local contexts and this policy was good politics on the part of the Persians, and the Jews viewed it as a blessing from God. The name Zechariah means God remembered, not much is known about Zechariah’s life other than what may be inferred from the book. It has been speculated that his ancestor Iddo was the head of a family who returned with Zerubbabel. This is supported by Zechariahs interest in the Temple and the priesthood, some scholars accept the book as the writings of one individual. However, most modern scholars believe the Book of Zechariah was written by at least two different people, Zechariah 1–8, sometimes referred to as First Zechariah, was written in the 6th century BC. Zechariah 9–14, often called Second Zechariah, contains within the text no datable references to events or individuals. Second Zechariah, in the opinion of scholars, appears to make use of the books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, the Deuteronomistic History. This has led some to believe that the writer or editor of Second Zechariah may have been a disciple of the prophet Zechariah, There are some scholars who go even further and divide Second Zechariah into Second Zechariah and Third Zechariah since each begins with a heading oracle. The return from exile is the premise of the prophets visions in chapters 1–6. Chapters 7–8 address the quality of life God wants his people to enjoy. Chapters 9–14 comprise two oracles of the future, the book begins with a preface, which recalls the nations history, for the purpose of presenting a solemn warning to the present generation
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Book of Malachi
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Malachi is the last book of the Neviim contained in the Tanakh, the last of the twelve minor prophets and the final book of the Neviim. In the Christian ordering, the grouping of the Prophetic Books is the last section of the Old Testament, the book is commonly attributed to a prophet by the name of Malachi. Although the appellation Malachi has frequently been understood as a name, its Hebrew meaning is simply My messenger. The sobriquet occurs in the superscription at 1,1 and in 3,1, thus, there is substantial debate regarding the identity of the books author. One of the Targums identifies Ezra as the author of Malachi, st. Jerome suggests this may be because Ezra is seen as an intermediary between the prophets and the great synagogue. There is, however, no evidence yet to support this claim. Some scholars note affinities between Zechariah 9–14 and the Book of Malachi, Zechariah 9, Zechariah 12, and Malachi 1 are all introduced as The word of Elohim. As a result, most scholars consider the Book of Malachi to be the work of an author who may or may not have been identified by the title Malachi. The present division of the results in a total of twelve books of minor prophets—a number parallelling the sons of Jacob who became the heads of the twelve tribes of Israel. The Catholic Encyclopedia asserts that We are no doubt in presence of an abbreviation of the name Málakhîyah, nothing is known of the biography of the author of the Book of Malachi, although it has been suggested that he may have been Levitical. The books of Zechariah and Haggai were written during the lifetime of Ezra, although the Ezra theory is disputed, it remains the dominant authorship theory. According to the editors of the 1897 Eastons Bible Dictionary, some believe the name Malachi is not a proper noun. This reading could be based on Malachi 3,1, Behold, if my messenger is taken literally as the name Malachi. Several scholars consider the book to be anonymous, with verse 1,1 being a later addition, however, other scholars, including the editors of the Catholic Encyclopedia, argue that the grammatical evidence leads us to conclude that Malachi is in fact a name. Another interpretation of the authorship comes from the Septuagint superscription, ὲν χειρὶ ἀγγήλου αὐτοῦ, the angel reading found an echo among the ancient Church Fathers and ecclesiastical writers, and even gave rise to the strangest fancies, especially among the disciples of Origen of Alexandria. There are very few details in the Book of Malachi. The greatest clue as to its dating may lie in the fact that the Persian-era term for governor is used in 1,8. This points to a date of composition both because of the use of the Persian period term and because Judah had a king before the exile
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Ketuvim
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Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh, after Torah and Neviim. In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled Writings, another name used for this section is Hagiographa. The Ketuvim are believed to have written under divine inspiration. Found among the Writings within the Hebrew scriptures, I and II Chronicles form one book, along with Ezra, collectively, eleven books are included in the Ketuvim. In masoretic manuscripts, Psalms, Proverbs and Job are presented in a special two-column form emphasizing the parallel stichs in the verses, collectively, these three books are known as Sifrei Emet. These three books are also the ones in the Hebrew Bible with a special system of cantillation notes that are designed to emphasize parallel stichs within verses. However, the beginning and end of the book of Job are in the prose system. The five relatively short books of Song of Songs, Book of Ruth and these are the latest books collected and designated as authoritative in the Jewish canon. These scrolls are read over the course of the year in many Jewish communities. The list below presents them in the order they are read in the synagogue on holidays, besides the three poetic books and the five scrolls, the remaining books in Ketuvim are Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles. Two of them are the books in Tanakh with significant portions in Aramaic. These two also describe relatively late events, the following list presents the books of Ketuvim in the order they appear in most printed editions. It also divides them into three based on the distinctiveness of Sifrei Emet and Hamesh Megillot. The Babylonian Talmud gives their order as Ruth, Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations of Jeremiah, Daniel, Scroll of Esther, Ezra, Chronicles. According to T. Henshaw, as early as 132 BCE some references suggesting that the Ketuvim was starting to take shape, jacob Neusner says something different, he argues that the notion of a biblical canon was not prominent in 2nd-century Rabbinic Judaism or even later. Against Apion, the writing of Josephus in 95 CE, treated the text of the Hebrew Bible as a canon to which. No one has ventured either to add, or to remove, michael Barber, however, avers that Josephus canon is not identical to that of the modern Hebrew Bible. For a long time, following this date, the inspiration of Esther, the Song of Songs
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Psalms
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The Book of Psalms, commonly referred to simply as Psalms or the Psalms, is the first book of the Ketuvim, the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. The title is derived from the Greek translation, ψαλμοί psalmoi, meaning instrumental music and, by extension, the book is an anthology of individual psalms, with 150 in the Jewish and Western Christian tradition and more in the Eastern Christian churches. Many of the psalms are linked to the name of David, over a third appear to be musical directions, addressed to the leader or choirmaster, including such statements as with stringed instruments and according to lilies. Others appear to be references to types of composition, such as A psalm and Song. Many superscriptions carry the names of individuals, the most common being of David, others named include Moses, Asaph, the Sons of Korah and Solomon. A natural way of understanding these attributions is as a claim to authorship, Psalms are usually identified by a sequence number, often preceded by the abbreviation Ps. Numbering of the Psalms differs—mostly by one digit, see table—between the Hebrew and it is generally admitted that Pss.9 and 10 were originally a single acrostic poem, they have been wrongly separated by Massorah, rightly united by the Septuagint and Vulgate. On the other hand, Ps.144 is made up of two songs — verses 1–11 and 12–15, Pss.42 and 43 are shown by identity of subject, of metrical structure and of refrain, to be three strophes of one and the same poem. The Hebrew text is correct in counting as one Ps.146, later liturgical usage would seem to have split up these and not a few other psalms. Zenner combines into what he deems were the original choral odes,1,2,3,4,6 +13,9 +10,19,20,21,56 +57,69 +70,114 +115,148,149,150. A choral ode would seem to have been the form of Pss.14 +70. The two strophes and the epode are Ps,14, the two antistrophes are Ps.70. It is noteworthy that, on the breaking up of the ode, each portion crept twice into the Psalter, Ps.14 =53, Ps.70 =40. Other such duplicated psalms are Ps and this loss of the original form of some of the psalms is allowed by the Biblical Commission to have been due to liturgical uses, neglect of copyists, or other causes. The Septuagint bible, present in Eastern Orthodox churches, includes a Psalm 151, Some versions of the Peshitta include Psalms 152–155. There are also the Psalms of Solomon, which are a further 18 psalms of Jewish origin, likely written in Hebrew. These and other indications suggest that the current Western Christian and Jewish collection of 150 psalms were selected from a wider set, gunkel divided the psalms into five primary types, Hymns, songs of praise for Gods work in creation or in history. They typically open with a call to praise, describe the motivation for praise, two sub-categories are enthronement psalms, celebrating the enthronement of Yahweh as king, and Zion psalms, glorifying Mount Zion, Gods dwelling-place in Jerusalem
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Book of Proverbs
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The Book of Proverbs is the second book of the third section of the Hebrew Bible and a book of the Christian Old Testament. Proverbs is not merely an anthology but a collection of collections relating to a pattern of life lasted for more than a millennium. It is an example of the Biblical wisdom tradition, and raises questions of values, moral behaviour, the meaning of human life, the repeated theme is that the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Proverbs translates the Hebrew word mashal, but mashal has a range of meaning than the short catchy sayings implied by the English word. Thus, while half the book is made up of sayings of this type. The first section consists of an invitation to young men to take up the course of wisdom, ten instructions. Proverbs 10, 1–22,16, with 375 sayings, consists of two parts, the first contrasting the wise man and the fool, the second addressing wise and foolish speech. Chapters 25–29, attributed to editorial activity of the men of Hezekiah, contrasts the just, chapter 30, 1–4, the sayings of Agur, introduces creation, divine power, and human ignorance. It is impossible to offer precise dates for the sayings in Proverbs, the phrase conventionally used for the title is taken from chapter 1,1, mishley shelomoh, Proverbs of Solomon, is likely more concerned with labeling the material than ascribing authorship. The book is a made up of six discrete units. The first, chapters 1–9, was probably the last to be composed and this section has parallels to prior cuneiform writings. The second, chapters 10–22,16, carries the superscription the proverbs of Solomon, chapter 24,23 begins a new section and source with the declaration, these too are from the wise. Chapters 30 and 31 are a set of appendices, quite different in style, Proverbs was almost excluded from the Bible because of its contradictions. The reader is told, for example, both to not answer a fool according to his folly, according to 26,4, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Wisdom is praised for her role in creation, God acquired her before all else, and through her he gave order to chaos. Since humans have life and prosperity by conforming to the order of creation, seeking wisdom is the essence and goal of the religious life. Wisdom, or the person, is compared and contrasted with foolishness or the fool, meaning one who is lacking in wisdom and uninterested in instruction. For the most part Proverbs offers a view of life with few grey areas, life lived according to the rules brings reward
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Book of Job
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The Book of Job is a book in the Ketuvim section of the Hebrew Bible, and the first poetic book in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. Addressing the problem of theodicy – the vindication of the justice of God in the light of humanitys suffering, or more simply, – it is a rich theological work setting out a variety of perspectives. It has been widely and often praised for its literary qualities, with Alfred, Lord Tennyson calling it the greatest poem of ancient. The Book of Job consists of a prologue and epilogue narrative framing poetic dialogues and monologues. Prologue in two scenes, the first on earth, the second in heaven 2, three monologues, A Poem to Wisdom Jobs closing monologue and Elihus speeches 4. Two speeches by God, with Jobs responses 5, the prologue on earth shows the righteous Job blessed with wealth and sons and daughters. The scene shifts to heaven, where God asks Satan for his opinion of Jobs piety, Satan answers that Job is pious only because God has blessed him, if God were to take away everything that Job had, then he would surely curse God. God allows Satan to afflict his body with boils, Job sits in ashes, and his wife prompts him to curse God, and die, but Job answers, Shall we receive good from God and shall we not receive evil. Job laments the day of his birth, he would like to die and his three friends Eliphaz the Temanite, Bildad the Shuhite and Zophar the Naamathite, console him. The friends do not waver in their belief that Jobs suffering is a punishment for sin, for God causes no one to suffer innocently, the dialogues of Job and his friends are followed by a poem on the inaccessibility of wisdom, Where is wisdom to be found. It asks, and concludes that it has hidden from man. Job contrasts his previous fortune with his present plight, an outcast, mocked and he protests his innocence, lists the principles he has lived by, and demands that God answer him. Elihu intervenes to state that comes from God, who reveals it through dreams. His speeches neither explain Jobs suffering, nor defend divine justice, nor enter into the confrontation that Job has demanded. Instead they contrast Jobs weakness with divine wisdom and omnipotence, Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth, Job makes a brief response, but Gods monologue resumes, never addressing Job directly. In 42, 1–6 Job makes his final response, confessing Gods power, previously he has only heard, but now his eyes have seen God, and therefore I retract/ And repent in dust and ashes. God tells Eliphaz that he and his two friends have not spoken of me what is right as my servant Job has done, the three are told to make a burnt offering with Job as their intercessor, for only to him will I show favour. Job is restored to health, riches and family, and lives to see his children to the fourth generation
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Five Megillot
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The Five Scrolls or The Five Megillot are parts of the Ketuvim, the third major section of the Tanakh. The Five Scrolls are the Song of Songs, the Book of Ruth, the Book of Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and these five relatively short biblical books are grouped together in Jewish tradition. An early testimony that these five scrolls were grouped together is in the Midrash Rabba and this midrash was compiled on the Pentateuch and on the Five Scrolls. All five of these megillot are traditionally read publicly in the synagogue over the course of the year in many Jewish communities, in common printed editions of the Tanakh they appear in the order that they are read in the synagogue on holidays. The Song of Songs is read publicly in some communities, especially by Ashkenazim, in most Eastern Jewish communities it is read publicly each week at the onset of the Shabbat. There is also a custom to read it at the end of the Passover Seder. Italian Jews read it at the Maariv of the first and second day of Passover, the Book of Ruth is read in some communities, especially by Ashkenazim, before the reading of the Torah on the morning of Shavuot. Others read it in the Tikkun at night, or not at all, the Book of Lamentations is read on the Ninth of Av in all Jewish communities. Ecclesiastes is read publicly in some communities, especially by Ashkenazim, in other communities it is not read at all. The Book of Esther is read in all Jewish communities on Purim, the public reading is done twice, on the evening of Purim and once again the next morning. When read in the synagogue, these five books are sung with cantillation, in most communities, Esther is the only book accompanied by blessings before and after. But certain communities adopted the custom of the Vilna Gaon to recite blessings before the other four megillot as well, as indicated above, however, only two of the megillot are traditionally read in all Jewish communities, Esther on Purim and Lamentations on the Ninth of Av. The practice of reading the three books on the Three Pilgrimage Festivals is widespread but by no means universal. To read them is a custom among Ashkenazim, but many Sephardic Jews do not associate the three books with the three festivals. The association is thus weaker also among Hasidic Jews who were influenced by Sephardic customs, the term megillah is most widely used for the book of Esther, even though it is applied to the rest as well. The term megillah is also used in a way, in reference to any lengthy story. Eugene H. Petersons Five Smooth Stones for Pastoral Work examines the application of the Megillot to Christian pastoral theology, the actual notes written in the printed texts of the Five Scrolls are the same as the notes in the Humash. However, the tune in which they are read varies depending on the scroll, Esther is read in a happier tune than the sad tune of Lamentations
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Song of Songs
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The Song of Songs, also known as the Song of Solomon, Canticles, or the Canticle of Canticles, is one of the scrolls of the Writings, the last section of the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible. It is also the book of Wisdom in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. The Song of Songs is read on the Sabbath during the Passover, marking the beginning of the grain harvest, scripturally, the Song of Songs is unique in its celebration of sexual love. It gives the voices of two lovers, praising each other, yearning for each other, proffering invitations to enjoy, the two each desire the other and rejoice in their sexual intimacy. The daughters of Jerusalem form a chorus to the lovers, functioning as an audience participation in the lovers erotic encounters facilitates the participation of the reader. Jewish tradition reads it as an allegory of the relationship between God and Israel, Christian tradition, in addition to appreciating the literal meaning of a romantic song between man and woman, has read the poem as an allegory of Christ and his bride, the Christian Church. There is widespread consensus that, although the book has no plot, it does have what can be called a framework, the following schema from Kugler & al. It begins with the expression of desire for her lover and her self-description to the daughters of Jerusalem. She says she is black because she had to work in the vineyards, a dialogue between the lovers follows, the woman asks the man to meet, he replies with a lightly teasing tone. The two compete in offering flattering compliments, the section closes with the woman telling the daughters of Jerusalem not to stir up love such as hers until it is ready. The woman recalls a visit from her lover in the springtime and she uses imagery from a shepherds life, and she says of her lover that he pastures his flock among the lilies. The woman again addresses the daughters of Jerusalem, describing her fervent, when she finds him she takes him almost by force into the chamber in which her mother conceived her. She reveals that this is a dream, seen on her bed at night, the next section reports a royal wedding procession. Solomon is mentioned by name, and the daughters of Jerusalem are invited to come out, the man describes his beloved, Her hair is like a flock of goats, her teeth like shorn ewes, and so on from face to breasts. Place-names feature heavily, her neck is like the Tower of David and he hastens to summon his beloved, saying that he is ravished by even a single glance. The section becomes a poem, in which he describes her as a locked garden. The woman invites the man to enter the garden and taste the fruits, the man accepts the invitation, and a third party tells them to eat, drink, and be drunk with love. The woman tells the daughters of Jerusalem of another dream and she was in her chamber when her lover knocked
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Book of Ruth
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It is named after its central figure, Ruth the Moabitess, the great-grandmother of David. The book tells of Ruths accepting the God of the Israelites as her God, in Ruth 1, 16-17, Ruth tells Naomi, her Israelite mother-in-law, Where you go I will go, and where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people and your God my God, where you die I will die, and there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if even death separates you, the book is held in esteem by Jews who fall under the category of Jews-by-choice, as is evidenced by the considerable presence of Boaz in rabbinic literature. The Book of Ruth also functions liturgically, as it is read during the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, Elimelech died, and the sons married two Moabite women, Mahlon married Ruth and Chilion married Orpah. After about ten years, the two sons of Naomi also died in Moab, Naomi decided to return to Bethlehem. She told her daughters-in-law to return to their own mothers and remarry, the two women returned to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest, and in order to support her mother-in-law and herself, Ruth went to the fields to glean. As it happened, the field she went to belonged to a man named Boaz, Ruth told Naomi of Boazs kindness, and she gleaned in his field through the remainder of barley and wheat harvest. Boaz was a relative of Naomis husbands family. He was therefore obliged by the Levirate law to marry Mahlons widow, Ruth, in order to carry on his familys inheritance. Naomi sent Ruth to the floor at night and told her to go where he slept, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down. Boaz asked her who she was, and she replied, I Ruth thine handmaid, spread therefore thy skirt over thine handmaid, for thou a near kinsman. Boaz blessed her and agreed to do all that is required and he then acknowledged that he was a close relative, but that there was one who was closer, and she remained in submission at his feet until she returned into the city in the morning. Early that day, Boaz went to the city gate to meet with the other male relative before the town elders, the relative is not named, Boaz addresses him as Friend, peloni almoni, literally so and so. The Expanded Bibles editors comment that the man is not named, the unnamed relative was unwilling to jeopardize the inheritance of his own estate by marrying Ruth, and so relinquished his right of redemption, thus allowing Boaz to marry Ruth. They transferred the property and redeemed it, ratified by the nearer kinsman taking off his shoe, Boaz and Ruth were then married and had a son named Obed, who is the father of Jesse, the father of David. The book concludes with an appendix which links Perez, whom Tamar bore to Judah, the book does not name its author. It is traditionally ascribed to the prophet Samuel, but according to Leslie Allen this cannot be correct, a substantial number of scholars date it to the Persian period
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Book of Lamentations
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The Book of Lamentations is a collection of poetic laments for the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiahs authorship is no generally accepted, although it is generally accepted that the destruction of Jerusalem by Babylon in 586 BCE forms the background to the poems. The tone is bleak, God does not speak, the degree of suffering is presented as undeserved, Lamentations consists of five distinct poems, corresponding to its five chapters. Chapter 3 has 66 verses, so that each letter begins three lines, and the poem is not acrostic but still has 22 lines. The purpose or function of this form is unknown, the book consists of five separate poems. In the first, the city sits as a desolate weeping widow overcome with miseries, in Chapter 2 these miseries are described in connection with national sins and acts of God. Chapter 3 speaks of hope for the people of God, the chastisement would only be for their good, Chapter 4 laments the ruin and desolation of the city and temple, but traces it to the peoples sins. Chapter 5 is a prayer that Zions reproach may be away in the repentance. The language fits an Exilic date, and the poems probably originated from Judeans who remained in the land, scholars are divided over whether they are the work of one or multiple authors. Lamentations combines elements of the qinah, a dirge for the loss of the city. It reflects the view, traceable to Sumerian literature of a thousand years earlier, beginning with the reality of disaster, Lamentations concludes with the bitter possibility that God may have finally rejected Israel. Sufferers in the face of grief are not urged to a confidence in the goodness of God, the poet acknowledges that this suffering is a just punishment, still God is held to have had choice over whether to act in this way and at this time. Hope arises from a recollection of Gods past goodness, but although this justifies a cry to God to act in deliverance, repentance will not persuade God to be gracious, since he is free to give or withhold grace as he chooses. In the end, the possibility is that God has finally rejected his people and may not again deliver them, if God is predictable, nevertheless, it also affirms confidence that the mercies of Yahweh never end, but are new every morning. The Book of Lamentations is recited annually by Jews on Tisha bAv, in Western Christianity, readings, chantings, and choral settings of the book are used in the Lenten religious service known as the Tenebrae. In the Church of England, readings are used at Morning and Evening Prayer on the Monday and Tuesday of Holy Week, in the Coptic Orthodox Church, the books third chapter is chanted on the twelfth hour of the Good Friday service, that commemorates the burial of Jesus. In Dunn, James D. G. Rogerson, John William, in McKenzie, Steven L. Graham, Matt Patrick. The Hebrew Bible Today, An Introduction to Critical Issues, hillers, Delbert R. Lamentations of Jeremiah
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Ecclesiastes
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Ecclesiastes is one of 24 books of the Tanakh or Hebrew Bible, where it is classified as one of the Ketuvim. It is among the canonical Wisdom Books in the Old Testament of most denominations of Christianity, the title Ecclesiastes is a Latin transliteration of the Greek translation of the Hebrew Kohelet, the pseudonym used by the author of the book. The author, introducing himself as son of David, king in Jerusalem discusses the meaning of life and he proclaims all the actions of man to be inherently hevel, meaning vain or futile, as both wise and foolish end in death. Kohelet clearly endorses wisdom as a means for a well-lived earthly life, in light of this senselessness, one should enjoy the simple pleasures of daily life, such as eating, drinking, and taking enjoyment in ones work, which are gifts from the hand of God. The book concludes with the injunction, Fear God, and keep his commandments, Ecclesiastes has had a deep influence on Western literature. It contains several phrases that have resonated in British and American culture, Ecclesiastes is presented as an autobiography of Kohelet. Kohelets story is framed by voice of the narrator, who refers to Kohelet in the person, praises his wisdom. Kohelet reports what he planned, did, experienced and thought and his journey to knowledge is, in the end, incomplete. The reader is not only to hear Kohelets wisdom, but to observe his journey towards understanding and acceptance of lifes frustrations and uncertainties, most, though not all, modern commentators regard the epilogue as an addition by a later scribe. Some have identified certain other statements as further additions intended to make the more religiously orthodox. The ten-verse introduction in verses 1, 2–11 are the words of the narrator, they set the mood for what is to follow. After the introduction come the words of Kohelet, as king he has experienced everything and done everything, but nothing is ultimately reliable. The only good is to partake of life in the present, everything is ordered in time and people are subject to time in contrast to Gods eternal character. The world is filled with injustice, which only God will adjudicate, God and humans do not belong in the same realm and it is therefore necessary to have a right attitude before God. People should enjoy, but should not be greedy, no-one knows what is good for humanity, righteousness, Kohelet reflects on the limits of human power, all people face death, and death is better than life, but we should enjoy life when we can. The world is full of risk, he gives advice on living with risk, mortals should take pleasure when they can, for a time may come when no one can. Kohelets words finish with imagery of nature languishing and humanity marching to the grave, the frame narrator returns with an epilogue, the words of the wise are hard, but they are applied as the shepherd applies goads and pricks to his flock. The original ending of the book was probably the words, The end of the matter but the text we have continues, Fear God and keep his commandments, according to rabbinic tradition, Ecclesiastes was written by Solomon in his old age
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Book of Esther
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The Book of Esther, also known in Hebrew as the Scroll, is a book in the third section of the Jewish Tanakh and in the Christian Old Testament. It relates the story of a Hebrew woman in Persia, born as Hadassah but known as Esther, the story forms the core of the Jewish festival of Purim, during which it is read aloud twice, once in the evening and again the following morning. Esther is the book in the Bible that does not explicitly mention God. The biblical Book of Esther is set in the Persian capital of Susa in the year of the reign of the Persian king Ahasuerus. Assuming that Ahasuerus is indeed Xerxes I, the events described in Esther began around the years 483–482 BCE, and concluded in March 473 BCE. The Book of Esther consists of an introduction in chapters 1 and 2, the action in chapters 3 to 9,19. The plot is structured around banquets, a word that occurs twenty times in Esther and only 24 times in the rest of the Hebrew bible. This is appropriate given that Esther describes the origin of a Jewish feast, the feast of Purim, the books theme, rather, is the reversal of destiny through a sudden and unexpected turn of events, the Jews seem destined to be destroyed, but instead are saved. The story begins with Ahasuerus, ruler of the Persian Empire, holding a banquet, initially for his court and dignitaries and afterwards for all inhabitants of the capital city. On the seventh day, Ahasuerus orders the queen, Vashti, to come, furious, Ahasuerus has her removed from her position and makes arrangements to choose a new queen from a selection of beautiful young women from throughout the empire. One of these is the Jewish orphan, Esther, after the death of her parents, she was fostered by her cousin, Mordecai. She finds favour in the Kings eyes, and is crowned his new queen, shortly afterwards, Mordecai discovers a plot by two courtiers, Bigthan and Teresh, to assassinate Ahasuerus. The conspirators are apprehended and hanged, and Mordecais service to the King is duly recorded, Ahasuerus appoints Haman as his viceroy. Mordecai, who sits at the gates, falls into Hamans disfavour. Having discovered that Mordecai is Jewish, Haman plans to not just Mordecai. She invites him to a feast in the company of Haman, during the feast, she asks them to attend a further feast the next evening. Meanwhile, Haman is again offended by Mordecai and, at his wifes suggestion, has a built to hang him. Ahasuerus is informed that Mordecai never received any recognition for this, to his surprise and horror, the King instructs Haman to do so to Mordecai
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Book of Daniel
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The Book of Daniel is a biblical apocalypse, combining a prophecy of history with an eschatology which is both cosmic in scope and political in its focus. In more mundane language, it is an account of the activities and visions of Daniel, in the Hebrew Bible it is found in the Ketuvim, while in Christian Bibles it is grouped with the Major Prophets. Its message is that just as the God of Israel saved Daniel and his friends from their enemies, the book divides into two parts, a set of six court tales in chapters 1–6 followed by four apocalyptic visions in chapters 7–12. The literary structure of the book of Daniel is marked by three prominent features, the most fundamental is a genre division between the court tales of chapters 1–6 and the apocalyptic visions of 7–12. The second is a division between the Hebrew of chapters 1 and 8–12, and the Aramaic of chapters 2–7. This language division is reinforced by the arrangement of the Aramaic chapters. Various suggestions have been made by scholars to explain the fact that the division does not coincide with the other two. It should also be noted that the settings of chapters 1–6 show a progression from Babylonian to Median times. Among them are Daniel and his three companions, who refuse to touch the food and wine for fear of defilement. They are allowed to continue to refrain from eating the kings food, in the second year of his reign Nebuchadnezzar has a dream. When he wakes up, he realizes that he forgot the content of the dream and he then demands that his wise men tell him its content. When the wise men protest that this is beyond the power of any man, he sentences all, including Daniel and his friends, to death. Daniel explains the dream to the king, the statue symbolized four successive kingdoms, starting with Nebuchadnezzar, all of which would be crushed by Gods kingdom, which would endure forever. Nebuchadnezzar acknowledges the supremacy of Daniels god, raises him over all his wise men, Daniels companions Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refuse to bow to King Nebuchadnezzars golden statue and are thrown into a fiery furnace. Nebuchadnezzar is astonished to see a figure in the furnace with the three, one with the appearance like a son of the gods. So the king called the three to come out of the fire, and blessed the God of Israel, and decreed that any who blasphemed against him should be torn limb from limb. Nebuchadnezzar recounts a dream of a tree that is suddenly cut down at the command of a heavenly messenger. Daniel is summoned and interprets the dream, the tree is Nebuchadnezzar himself, who for seven years will lose his mind and live like a wild beast
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Books of Chronicles
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In the Hebrew Bible, Chronicles is a single book, called Diḇrê Hayyāmîm, and is the final book of Ketuvim, the third and last part of the Tanakh. Chronicles was divided into two books in the Septuagint and called I and II Paralipoménōn, the English name comes from the Latin name chronikon, which was given to the text by scholar Jerome in the 5th century. Chronicles present the narrative from the first human being, Adam, through the history of ancient Judah. The Chronicles narrative begins with Adam and the story is carried forward, almost entirely by genealogical lists. The bulk of the remainder of 1 Chronicles, after an account of Saul, is concerned with the reign of David. The next long section concerns Davids son Solomon, and the part is concerned with the Kingdom of Judah with occasional references to the second kingdom of Israel. Originally a single work, Chronicles was divided into two in the Septuagint, a Greek translation produced in the immediately preceding Jesus. Within this broad structure there are signs that the author has used various devices to structure his work. The last events in Chronicles take place in the reign of Cyrus the Great, the Persian king who conquered Babylon in 539 BC and it was probably composed between 400–250 BC, with the period 350–300 BC the most likely. The latest person mentioned in Chronicles is Anani, a descendant of King Jehoiachin according to the Masoretic Text. Ananis birth would likely have been sometime between 425 and 400 BC, the Septuagint gives an additional five generations in the genealogy of Anani. For those scholars who side with the Septuagints reading, Ananis likely date of birth is a century later, Chronicles appears to be largely the work of a single individual, with some later additions and editing. The writer was probably male, probably a Levite, and probably from Jerusalem and he was well read, a skilled editor, and a sophisticated theologian. His intention was to use Israels past to convey messages to his peers. One of the most striking, although inconclusive, features of Chronicles is that its closing sentence is repeated as the opening of Ezra–Nehemiah. The last half of the 20th century saw a radical reappraisal, despite much discussion of this issue, no agreement has been reached. Recent suggestions have been that it was intended as a clarification of the history in Genesis-Kings, the message which the author wished to give to his audience was this, God is active in history, and especially the history of Israel. The faithfulness or sins of individual kings are immediately rewarded or punished by God, God calls Israel to a special relationship
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Old Testament
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Its counterpart is the New Testament, the second part of the Christian Bible. The books that comprise the Old Testament canon differ between Christian Churches as well as their order and names. The most common Protestant canon comprises 39 books, the Catholic canon comprises 46 books, the 39 books in common to all the Christian canons corresponds to 24 books of the Tanakh, with some differences of order, and there are some differences in text. The additional number reflects the split of texts in the Christian Bibles into separate books, for example, Kings, Samuel and Chronicles, Ezra–Nehemiah, the books which are part of a Christian Old Testament but which are not part of the Hebrew canon are sometimes described as deuterocanonical. In general, Protestant bibles do not include books in its canon. The Old Testament consists of translations of many books by various authors produced over a period of centuries. The canon formed in stages, first the Pentateuch by around 400 BC, then the Prophets during the Hasmonean dynasty, and finally the remaining books. The Old Testament contains 39 or 46 or more books, divided, very broadly, into the Pentateuch, the books, the wisdom books. For the Orthodox canon, Septuagint titles are provided in parentheses when these differ from those editions, for the Catholic canon, the Douaic titles are provided in parentheses when these differ from those editions. Likewise, the King James Version references some of these books by the spelling when referring to them in the New Testament. The Talmud in Bava Batra 14b gives a different order for the books in Neviim and Ketuvim and this order is also cited in Mishneh Torah Hilchot Sefer Torah 7,15. The order of the books of the Torah is universal through all denominations of Judaism and they are present in a few historic Protestant versions, the German Luther Bible included such books, as did the English 1611 King James Version. Empty table cells indicate that a book is absent from that canon, several of the books in the Eastern Orthodox canon are also found in the appendix to the Latin Vulgate, formerly the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church. The books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings follow, there is a broad consensus among scholars that these originated as a single work during the Babylonian exile of the 6th century BC. The two Books of Chronicles cover much the material as the Pentateuch and Deuteronomistic history and probably date from the 4th century BC. Chronicles, and Ezra–Nehemiah, were finished during the 3rd century BC. Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments contain two to four Books of Maccabees, written in the 2nd and 1st centuries BC and these history books make up around half the total content of the Old Testament. God is consistently depicted as the one who created or put into order the world, the Old Testament stresses the special relationship between God and his chosen people, Israel, but includes instructions for proselytes as well
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Book of Ezra
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The Book of Ezra is a book of the Hebrew Bible. Originally combined with the Book of Nehemiah in a book of Ezra–Nehemiah. Together with the Book of Nehemiah, it represents the chapter in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible. The theological program of the book explains the many problems its chronological structure presents and it probably appeared in its earliest version around 399 BC, and continued to be revised and edited for several centuries before being accepted as scriptural in the early Christian era. The book contains several documents presented as historical inclusions, written in Aramaic while the text is in Hebrew Chapters 1–61. Decree of Cyrus, first version, Cyrus, inspired by God, returns the Temple vessels to Sheshbazzar, prince of Judah, and directs the Israelites to return to Jerusalem with him and rebuild the Temple. 42,360 exiles, with men servants, women servants and singing men and women, return from Babylon to Jerusalem and Judah under the leadership of Zerubbabel, Jeshua the High Priest and Zerubbabel build the altar and celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. In the second year the foundations of the Temple are laid, the officials of Samaria write to king Artaxerxes warning him that Jerusalem is being rebuilt, and the king orders the work to stop. Thus the work on the house of God in Jerusalem came to a standstill until the year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. Tattenais letter to Darius, Through the exhortations of the prophets Haggai and Zechariah, Zerubbabel, tattenai, satrap over both Judah and Samaria, writes to Darius warning him that Jerusalem is being rebuilt and advising that the archives be searched to discover the decree of Cyrus. The Temple is finished in the month of Adar in the year of Darius. Artaxerxes gives Ezra much gold and directs all Persian officials to aid him, Ezra gathers a large body of returnees and much gold and silver and precious vessels for the Temple and camps by a canal outside Babylon. There he discovers he has no Levites, and so sends messengers to gather some, the exiles then return to Jerusalem, where they distribute the gold and silver and offer sacrifices to God. Ezra is informed that some of the Jews already in Jerusalem have married non-Jewish women, Ezra is appalled at this proof of sin, and prays to God, O God of Israel, you are righteous. We are left this day as a remnant, here we are before you in our guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence. Despite the opposition of some of their number, the Israelites assemble and send away their foreign wives, in the early 6th century BC, the Kingdom of Judah rebelled against the Neo-Babylonian Empire and was destroyed. As a result, the court, the priests, the prophets. The following table is a guide to events in the region during the period covered by the Book of Ezra
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Book of Nehemiah
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The Book of Nehemiah is, along with the Book of Ezra, a book of the Hebrew Bible. The events take place in the half of the 5th century BC. Listed together with the Book of Ezra as Ezra-Nehemiah, it represents the chapter in the historical narrative of the Hebrew Bible. The original core of the book, the memoir, may have been combined with the core of the Book of Ezra around 400 BC. Further editing probably continued into the Hellenistic era, the book tells how Nehemiah, at the court of the king in Susa, is informed that Jerusalem is without walls and resolves to restore them. The king appoints him as governor of Judah and he travels to Jerusalem, there he rebuilds the walls, despite the opposition of Israels enemies, and reforms the community in conformity with the law of Moses. After 12 years in Jerusalem, he returns to Susa but subsequently revisits Jerusalem and he finds that the Israelites have been backsliding and taking non-Jewish wives, and he stays in Jerusalem to enforce the Law. In the 20th year of Artaxerxes I of Persia, Nehemiah, cup-bearer to the King in Susa, Nehemiah returns to Jerusalem, carrying letters of authorisation from the king, he inspects the walls. Nehemiah and the Jews, begin rebuilding Jerusalem, the enemies of the Jews – Sanballat of Samaria, Tobiah the Ammonite, Geshem the Arab, and the men of Ashdod – plot to attack Jerusalem which necessitates the Jews working with weapons in their hands. Sanballat accuses Nehemiah of planning rebellion against Artaxerxes, and he is opposed even by Jewish nobles and prophets, Nehemiah appoints officials and sets guards on the wall and gates, he plans to register the Jews, and finds the Census of those who had returned earlier. Nehemiah assembles the people and has Ezra read to them the law-book of Moses, Nehemiah, Ezra, the Jews assemble in penance and prayer, recalling their past sins, Gods help to them, and his promise of the land. The priests, Levites and the Israelite people enter into a covenant, agreeing to separate themselves from the surrounding peoples, Jerusalem is repopulated by the Jews living in the towns and villages of Judah and Benjamin. A list of priests and Levites who returned in the days of Cyrus is presented, Nehemiah, aided by Ezra, oversees the dedication of the walls and the rebuilt city. After 12 years Nehemiah returns to Susa, he comes back to Jerusalem. He takes measures to enforce his earlier reforms and asks for Gods favour, the book is set in the 5th century BC. Judah is one of provinces within a larger satrapy within the Achaemenid Empire. The capital of the empire is at Susa, Nehemiah is a cup-bearer to king Artaxerxes I of Persia – an important official position. At his own request Nehemiah is sent to Jerusalem as governor of Yehud, Jerusalem had been conquered and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BC and Nehemiah finds it still in ruins
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Major prophet
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The Major Prophets is a grouping of books in the Christian Old Testament. These books are centred on a prophet, traditionally regarded as the author of the respective book, the term major refers to their length, in distinction to the Twelve Minor Prophets, whose books are much shorter and grouped together as a single book in the Hebrew Bible. The books, in order of their occurrence in the Christian Old Testament, are, the Hebrew Bible includes the Books of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel among the Neviim but places Lamentations and Daniel among the Ketuvim. Baruch is not part of the Hebrew Bible, Bible prophecy List of Biblical prophets
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "First and Second Books of Kings". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "