Sacred Scripture Exam 2 Guide

What does Athanasius write about the Psalms?

The Psalms serve him who sings them as a mirror, wherein he sees himselfand his own soul, he cannot help but render them in such a manner that their words go home with equal force to those who hear him sing, and stir them also to a like reaction.

a) Psalm 1 gives lays out for us the "two ways" of what called the "deuteronomistic theology." b) What these ways, and how do the Psalms begin to question/critique this theology?

a) Obeying God's law brings material prosperity, and vice versa. b) The psalms notice and ask God why the wicked prosper and lament this reality.

We noted that the Psalms oscillate between what two passions/emotions? What does this indicate about the Israelite nation which is composing these psalms?

ANGUISH/REPENTANCE and PRAISE. This back-and-forth mirrors the pattern/story of the Israelites in the OT.

This back-and-forth between also mirrors the story of the Israelites in the OT (and our own stories today in the NT).

How can we read the Song of Songs allegorically?

The literal sense tells us of a man who is a both shepherd and king and of poor woman who seek each other in love, always missing each other. We can read the SoS as an allegory of God and Israel, for God—who is both shepherd and king—and Israel always seek each other.

How does the Book of Job begin to critique Deuteronomistic theology?

We are given a character who worships God rightly but who endures suffering unjustly.

How does Elihu express the Deuteronomistic theology?

He maintains that because Job is suffering he must have offended God in some way.

What best expresses the character of Job?

He both maintains his own innocence and does not accuse God of injustice; he believes the one who allows him to suffer will also be the one to deliver him from his suffering.

Why does God respond to Job's pleas with a re-telling of the Creation story of Genesis 1?

a) To remind Job that He has made all things good. b) To imply that Job, not being the eternal God, cannot know or see as God does, and so therefore literally could not understand the answer.

What best characterizes the Book of Ecclesiastes?

The author believes that all—the good and the bad—is vanity, and the best anyone can do is enjoy himself—but he also maintains God’s justice and exhorts man to fear God and obey His commandments. In this way, Ecclesiastes is very much like Job.

What historical events surround and inform the Book of Isaiah?

The Syro-Ephramite war, in which the Northern Kingdom of Israel is exiled to Assyria; later, the Southern Kingdom is exiled to Babylon.

We identified two crucial themes/characteristics of the Book Isaiah—what are they?

1) a call to social justice and right worship 2) call to trust in God and not in the power of other nations

What theological explanation can we give for the Northern Kingdom's exile to Assyria?

They put their trust in the might of other nations to protect them from Assyria, rather than in the One God of Israel.

Isaiah oscillates between prophecies—how so?

For every prophecy of doom, the Book of Isaiah prophecies divine deliverance.

Some argue that Second Isaiah (chapters 40–55) was written during the Babylonian Exile—why?

Because Second Isaiah opens with the exclamation: "'Comfort, give comfort to my people!' says your God. 'Speak to the heart of Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her service has ended, that her guilt is expiated, That she has received from the hand of the LORD double for all her sins.'"

In what way are the Book of Ezekiel and the Song of Songs both similar and different?

Both describe Israel as a woman who God loves and seeks; but while the Song of Songs depicts a loving relationship, in Ezekiel, the woman is framed as an adulterous bride.

How is the Book of Ezekiel similar to those of Isaiah and Jeremiah?

All prophesy of and during the Babylonian Exile; all do make prophecies both of destruction and subsequent restoration.

We discussed the theological significance of the Hebrew word ruah—which of the below most fully captures its significance?

It is the word used to indicate the spirit of the Lord which hovered over the waters of creation; the breath of Adam; what moved Cyrus to free the Israelites from their Babylonian captivity; and what revives the dry bones in Ezekiel 37. Therefore, it signifies the breath of God which (re-)creates and gives life.

Ezekiel 47 recalls Genesis 2—how so?

As Genesis speaks of a life-giving river in Eden, so does Ezekiel speak of a life-giving river which flows from the restored Temple in Jerusalem. As such, Ezekiel is indicating that God is to re-create the nation of Israel after their exile in Babylon.

Several times in Ezekiel God says "Then you shall know that I am the Lord, when I ..."—so, how will Israel know the Lord is God?

When God disperses the people of Israel among the nations; when He gathers them after their diaspora; when He opens their graves to live again in the land promised to their fathers.

How is Hosea different from Isaiah and Jeremiah?

Hosea prophesies to the Northern, not Southern, Kingdom pre-exile; Hosea graphically characterizes Israel as an adulterous bride much more strongly than do Isaiah and Jeremiah.

How does Hosea resemble the Song of Songs and Ezekiel 16?

While the Song of Songs portrays a loving relationship, in Hosea God accuses and portrays Israel as an adulterous bride because she commits idolatry with the gods of foreign nations.

How does Hosea resemble Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel?

All prophecy the destruction of Israel because of its idolatry and social injustice (a return to Egypt); all also prophecy eventual restoration (a re-Exodus).

We compared two intepretations of Hosea—what are they?

West believes the metaphor which depicts Israel as an adulterous woman abandonded by her husband is problematic; Dauphinais and Levering show that while the just God allows His chosen people to suffer the consequences of their actions, He also forgives and woos them as a lover.

What might we say is a good moral and allegorial interpretation of Hosea?

Morally: as God approaches the pitiful nation of Israel, marries her, and constantly seeks her out in and delivers her from sin, so too ought we to love. Allegorically, as God intimately constantly approaches and frees the nation of Israel in the OT, so too Christ intimately approaches and frees humanity from its sin.

For Malachi—as the last book of the Old Testament—what is the Day of the Lord?

It is a day of judgment: the oppressors are accused and the oppressed are raised up.

Immediately after Malachi—the last book of the OT—the Lord (Jesus) does come!

What is the heresy of Marcionism, and why is it a heresy?

It contends that the God of the OT who is harsh, cruel, and dark, and a God of the NT, who is loving and merciful. However, we see in the OT that God is loving and merciful even as He is just; in the NT we will see that Christ comes not just to redeem us from our sins but to bring judgment

In Luke 1 we see that Zechariah and Mary react differently to similar pronouncements from the angel Gabriel—how so?

Zechariah demands an explanation he can understand and implicitly does not believe that what Gabriel says can happen. Mary first accepts that Gabriel's words are true and asks how God's will is to unfold.

How does the conversation between Mary and Gabriel in Luke 1 recall and begin to fulfill the Old Testament?

Gabriel says the Holy Spirit will come to dwell within Mary as the Glory of the Lord came to dwell among the Israelites in the Exodus; Mary's poem of praise resembles the words of Samuel's mother, suggesting that Mary's child will be a 'new Samuel,' judging and teaching the Jews of his day.

How does Zechariah's poem of praise Luke 1:67–79 recall and begin to fulfill the Old Testament?

Zechariah proclaims that God is to fulfill the promise to Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to all nations; he also proclaims that God remembers the promise he made to David in 2 Samuel 7, that from David would come an eternal dynasty of kings for Israel.

Why is it significant that Luke pays great attention to the Gentiles—i.e., non-Jews—in his Gospel?

As we see in Luke 1 with Zechariah and Mary, Christ comes to fulfill the promise made to Abram in Genesis 12, that his descendants would be a blessing to all nations.

We noted that in Luke Christ takes a very slow pace journeying to Jerusalem. What conclusions did we draw from this?

Because Luke prioritizes Christ's teaching over geographical location, 1) discipleship is not a quick fix or fast track and 2) discipleship happens best in the shadow of the cross.

In Luke 4, Christ quotes the prophet Isaiah—why does He do this?

To indicate that Christ is the messiah the Jews have waited for: Christ fulfills the messianic requirements Isaiah listed, giving sight to the blind and release to captives.

Christ comes not to lead us out (exodus) from military oppression but from slavery to our sin.

Luke also portrays Christ as God Himself—how does he do this?

1) Christ demonstrates power over creation; 2) Luke characterizes Christ as both king and shepherd, echoing David (and the Song of Songs) and fulfilling the God's promise of 2 Sam 7.

Which set best reads the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15) allegorically and morally?

Allegorically, the father represents God's boundless, merciful love for us, represented by his youngest, wasteful son. Morally, as the younger son, we ought always to seek forgiveness; as the older son, we ought always to rejoice at the conversion of sinners and obey God's commands out of love than mere piety.