Welcome! The Old Testament Week 3: POETRY & WISDOM St. David s Episcopal Facilitated by Church Darlene Swanson Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012 The Law Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Old Testament: Class Overview History Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2S Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chron. 2 Chron. Ezra Nehemiah Esther Poetry & Wisdom Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Major Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Minor Prophets Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Old Testament: The Five Books of the Law Old Testament: HISTORY The Law Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Week 1: THE LAW 1. Creation (1-2) 2. Fall of Humanity; Redemption (3) 3. Sin (4-6) 4. Noah and the Flood (7-9) 5. Noah s descendants (10) 6. Babel (11) 7. Abraham and Sarah (11-25) 8. Isaac and Rebekah (25-36) 9. Jacob, Leah and Rachel (25-36) 10. Joseph in Egypt (37-50) w s s History Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2S Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chron. 2 Chron. Ezra Nehemiah Esther Week 2: HISTORY Poetry & Major Minor 1. Wisdom The conquest Prophets of the Promised Prophets Land 2. Job The period of Isaiah the Judges Hosea and Psalms Jeremiah Joel the continuous cycle of disobedience Proverbs Lamen- Amos 3. Ecclesiastes The first three tations kings of Obadiah the Song of Solomon Ezekiel Jonah United Kingdom: Saul, David, Solomon Micah Daniel 4. The 39 kings of the Divided Nahum Kingdom Habakkuk 5. The Assyrian invasion Zephaniah and Fall of Israel Haggai 6. The Babylonian invasion Zechariah of Judah and Exile of the Jews Malachi 7. The return to Jerusalem and Reconstruction of the Temple Old Testament: POETRY & WISDOM y l h Poetry & Wisdom Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Week Major 3: POETRY Minor & WISDOM Prophets Prophets The five Poetry and Wisdom books include Isaiah Hosea hymns, proverbs, Jeremiah Joel poems and dramas. They Lamentations Obadiah illustrate Amos the creative ways the people of Israel Ezekiel expressed Jonah themselves to God and to each Micah other. Daniel Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi JOB Job in Hebrew means The Persecuted One The events of Job occurred in the Patriarchal Age, during the time of Genesis, possibly between Noah and Abraham Date of composition is unknown, possibly late 6 th or 5 th centuries BC Key question: Why do the righteous suffer if God is all-loving and all-powerful? Theme: The sovereignty of God over creation 1
BLAKE S ILLUSTRATIONS FOR THE BOOK OF JOB WILLIAM BLAKE William Blake (1757 1827) English poet, painter, and printmaker The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY 2
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PSALMS 150 poems expressing the full range of Israel's religious faith Psalms is derived from the Greek Psalmoi meaning song The Hebrew Tehillim Tehillim, means hymns or songs of praise The Psalms are organized into five collections or books, thought to be on analogy with the five books of the Torah The setting and date of composition span Israel s early history through post-exilic times (Exact dates are unknown) Authorship: Unknown though attributed to David, Asaph, Korahites, Solomon, Moses, Heman, Ethan, Ezra David Playing the Harp Jan de Bray (1627 1697) 5
An image of Psalm 23 from The Sunday at Home: A Family Magazine for Sabbath Reading, 1880 Edward Evans (1826 1905) London, Religious Tract Society Children Singing and Playing Music, Illustration of Psalm 150 Luca della Robbia (1400 1482) Museo dell'opera del Duomo, Florence, Italy PROVERBS A series of collections whose authorship was traditionally attributed to Solomon, as was the composition of Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon Authors likely included the sages, a social class who served as counselors, bureaucrats and teachers during the Divided Kingdom Key theme: Fear of the Lord which includes the awe, obedience and proper relationship to God that is necessary for garnering wisdom and living wisely 6
Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray. Proverbs 22:6 Stained glass, Christ Church Cathedral, Montreal, Canada ECCLESIASTES Ecclesiastes stems from the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew title Qoheleth, the Teacher who assumes the persona of King Solomon, Israel s s archetypal sage Date of composition: Between 300 200 BC Key word: Vanity (Hebrew hevel ) meaning emptiness, useless, meaningless, absurd; literally breath or breeze Key theme: Real meaning in life cannot be found in the vanity under the sun, but beyond the sun to God Key verse: Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. Ecclesiastes A painting of King Solomon from the original woodcut by Gustave Dore (1832-1883) 7
Fear God, and keep his commandments; for that is the whole duty of everyone. Ecclesiastes 12:13 SONG OF SOLOMON In traditional Jewish understanding, the Song is a religious allegory recounting God s love for Israel and the history of their relationship For Christians it is an allegory of Christ s love for the church These allegorical interpretations enabled the Song to become sacred scripture Authorship is attributed to King Solomon (though uncertain) The date is uncertain; mid 10 th century BC 2 nd century BC 8
The Law Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Old Testament: Class Overview History Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2S Samuel l 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chron. 2 Chron. Ezra Nehemiah Esther Poetry & Wisdom Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Solomon Major Prophets Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Minor Prophets Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Thank You For Attending! The Old Testament Week 3: POETRY & WISDOM St. David s Episcopal Facilitated by Church Darlene Swanson Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012 9