Jim Parker
Member
Bible 101 Class One
Introduction to the Bible Lesson 1B
Poetry: The Bible contains a lot of poetry. We are probable most familiar with the Psalms but there is much more. Beginning with Lamech’s taunt (Gen 4:23-24), plus ecstatic worship like the Song of Moses (Exod 15:1-18), the song of Deborah (Judges 5:2-31) and the song of the Virgin Mary (Luk 1:46-55), there are many songs among the poetry of scripture. There is the book, “Song of Solomon”.
Another kind of poetry is found in Proverbs. These are didactic couplets; two lines containing a teaching.
Prophecy: Prophecy is often mistakenly thought to be primarily predictions of future events. There is much of that in prophecy. However, the prophetic books have the purpose of calling Israel and Judah to repentance and to keep the Covenant. They contain rebuke, admonition, even examples of God pleading with Israel to turn from their idolatry and sin so that He doesn’t have to keep His promise to punish them. (Isaiah 1:18-20)
There is also the extremely symbolic kind of prophecy called “Apocalyptic” which contain ecstatic visions that require interpretation. The apocalyptic visions are regularly those which arise during times of great national stress and calamity from which there deems to be no escape such as the Babylonian exile and the persecutions of the Church at the time of Roman emperor Nero which present a picture of the catastrophic times preceding the second coming of Christ.
Prophecy also contains a significant amount of foreshadowing of the advent of Christ and His passion. The passage that stands out the most is probably Isaiah 53. This is the passage that Phillip explains to the Ethiopian eunuch at Acts 8 that leads to the Ethiopian’s conversion and baptism.
Wisdom: Wisdom literature is named because it is supposed to make the reader wise by applying what is taught to his life. There are three books which are deemed to be “Wisdom Literature.” They are; Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. These three books provide a broad view of the blessings of living according to the Old Covenant (Proverbs), what is truly of value (Ecclesiastes) and “not putting God in a box.” (Job.)
Proverbs is a teaching tool to aid young people in learning to live according to the Law of Moses with its 613 rules so as to live long and prosper.
Ecclesiastes is a treatise that teaches that the pursuit of prosperity and worldly wealth, although promised in the Covenant, is not the true purpose of keeping the Covenant. The greatest blessing is not wealth but being in intimate relation with God.
Job is almost “anti-wisdom.” Job does everything God requires for blessing and still gets cursed with a multitude of the curses of the Covenant even though he is, according to God, perfect. It is easy for the reader to become confused. Does God keep His promises or not? If not then what is the point of the Covenant? But, perhaps, the book of Job is telling us not to use our faith in God as a tool to become wealthy. Paul told Timothy to not associate with people who taught godliness as a means of gain. (1Tim 6;3-10) And at the end of the book of Job, God tells Job’s friends that they were false witnesses concerning Him for telling Job the falsehood that the cause of his troubles was either sin or lack of faith. (hmmm…sound familiar?) Job’s suffering is used as an instruction to his friends that God is not a vending machine that takes the “coin” of your righteousness and dispenses blessings. God is a living being and His desire for man is that we have life abundantly in His Love, not in goodies.
Drama is also found in the Bible. The stories of Ruth and Esther are stories of deliverance from impending disaster because of the acts of faithful women.
The story of Ruth is the story of a Moabitess widow of a Hebrew man who died childless so that there was no one to provide for his widow. She returns to Israel with her Hebrew mother-in-law (also a widow). There she meets with a wealthy and righteous man who takes her as his wife and redeems her mother-in-law’s property. It’s a romance story. But then, so is our salvation. It is the romance of God who redeemed his beloved bride from death to eternal life.
The story of Esther is a different kind of drama in which the heroine, Esther, puts her life on the line in order to save her people. She is a type of Christ who goes before the King to save the chosen people.
3. The Bible contains all the figures of speech that the best writers of the world have ever used.
It contains every figure of speech that is known to mankind: Hyperbole; Metaphor; Sarcasm; Double Meaning; Anthropomorphism, Symbolism, Onomatopoeia, Repetition, Simile, etc. Therefore: not every word, phrase, or verse is to be taken literally.
For example; we know that God is not a human being. (John 4:24a “God is Spirit”) So when we see an anthropomorphism (talking about something that is not human as if it were human), we know that it is not to be taken literally. For example: Isa 40:5 refers to Gods “mouth.” Does God have a mouth? No.
Or, from Psalm 91: 4 we read about Gods wings and feathers but we do not take that literally either. It’s a metaphor in which the Lord is described as acting like a hen.
>>> Here’s a bit of homework; look up the definitions of: Hyperbole; Metaphor; Sarcasm; Double meaning; Anthropomorphism, Symbolism, and Simile. <<<
4. The writers of the Bible used Literary Conventions that were common to the literature of the time throughout the ancient near east. A literary convention is a commonly used phrase or structure that every reader would recognize or expect. For example, when you read one of Aesop’s fables, you expect to read the moral of the story at the end because that’s what you get with a fable. That’s the “literary convention” of a fable.
One example is that the Old Covenant is in the form of a Vassal - Suzerain Treaty. This is a treaty which, from before the time of Moses, was standard in the Ancient Near East. It was an agreement between a “high” king (Like Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon) who is the “suzerain” and one of the “lower” kings who were under his control. (Like Hezekiah of Judah) Those were “vassals.”
The Vassal - Suzerain Treaty has the following structure:
Preamble: This identifies the parties involved in the treaty, the author, the title of the sovereign party, and usually his genealogy. It usually emphasizes the greatness of the king or dominant party. For the Old Covenant the parties were God and the people of Israel.
Prologue: Lists the deeds already performed by the Suzerain on behalf of the vassal. This section would outline the previous relationship the two groups had up until that point. The suzerain would document previous events in which they did a favor that benefitted the vassal. The purpose of this would show that the more powerful king was merciful and giving, therefore, the vassal should obey the stipulations that are presented in the treaty. God identifies Himself as the one who brought Israel out of the land of bondage with great signs and wonders.
It discusses the relationship between them as a personal relationship instead of a solely political one. Most importantly in this section, the vassal is agreeing to future obedience for the benefits that he received in the past without deserving them.
Stipulations: Terms to be upheld by the vassal for the life of the treaty; defines how the vassal is obligated and gives more of the legalities associated with the covenant. In the Law of Moses, the stipulations include the 613 commandments of the Law and the stipulation that YHWH Elohiym will be Israel’s god and Israel will be His people.
Provision for annual public reading: A copy of the treaty was to be read aloud annually in the vassal state for the purpose of renewal and to inform the public of the expectations involved and increase respect for the sovereign party, usually the king. (the Old Covenant it was every 7 years. Deut 31:10-11)
Divine witness to the treaty: These usually include the deities of both the Suzerain and the vassal, but put special emphasis on the deities of the vassal.
Blessings come if the stipulations of the treaty are upheld and curses come if the stipulations are not upheld. (Deut 28)
Sacrificial Meal: Both parties would share a meal to show their participation in the treaty. (Ex 24:8)
Introduction to the Bible Lesson 1B
Poetry: The Bible contains a lot of poetry. We are probable most familiar with the Psalms but there is much more. Beginning with Lamech’s taunt (Gen 4:23-24), plus ecstatic worship like the Song of Moses (Exod 15:1-18), the song of Deborah (Judges 5:2-31) and the song of the Virgin Mary (Luk 1:46-55), there are many songs among the poetry of scripture. There is the book, “Song of Solomon”.
Another kind of poetry is found in Proverbs. These are didactic couplets; two lines containing a teaching.
Pro 1:22 How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity?
For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge.
For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge.
Prophecy: Prophecy is often mistakenly thought to be primarily predictions of future events. There is much of that in prophecy. However, the prophetic books have the purpose of calling Israel and Judah to repentance and to keep the Covenant. They contain rebuke, admonition, even examples of God pleading with Israel to turn from their idolatry and sin so that He doesn’t have to keep His promise to punish them. (Isaiah 1:18-20)
There is also the extremely symbolic kind of prophecy called “Apocalyptic” which contain ecstatic visions that require interpretation. The apocalyptic visions are regularly those which arise during times of great national stress and calamity from which there deems to be no escape such as the Babylonian exile and the persecutions of the Church at the time of Roman emperor Nero which present a picture of the catastrophic times preceding the second coming of Christ.
Prophecy also contains a significant amount of foreshadowing of the advent of Christ and His passion. The passage that stands out the most is probably Isaiah 53. This is the passage that Phillip explains to the Ethiopian eunuch at Acts 8 that leads to the Ethiopian’s conversion and baptism.
Wisdom: Wisdom literature is named because it is supposed to make the reader wise by applying what is taught to his life. There are three books which are deemed to be “Wisdom Literature.” They are; Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. These three books provide a broad view of the blessings of living according to the Old Covenant (Proverbs), what is truly of value (Ecclesiastes) and “not putting God in a box.” (Job.)
Proverbs is a teaching tool to aid young people in learning to live according to the Law of Moses with its 613 rules so as to live long and prosper.
Ecclesiastes is a treatise that teaches that the pursuit of prosperity and worldly wealth, although promised in the Covenant, is not the true purpose of keeping the Covenant. The greatest blessing is not wealth but being in intimate relation with God.
Job is almost “anti-wisdom.” Job does everything God requires for blessing and still gets cursed with a multitude of the curses of the Covenant even though he is, according to God, perfect. It is easy for the reader to become confused. Does God keep His promises or not? If not then what is the point of the Covenant? But, perhaps, the book of Job is telling us not to use our faith in God as a tool to become wealthy. Paul told Timothy to not associate with people who taught godliness as a means of gain. (1Tim 6;3-10) And at the end of the book of Job, God tells Job’s friends that they were false witnesses concerning Him for telling Job the falsehood that the cause of his troubles was either sin or lack of faith. (hmmm…sound familiar?) Job’s suffering is used as an instruction to his friends that God is not a vending machine that takes the “coin” of your righteousness and dispenses blessings. God is a living being and His desire for man is that we have life abundantly in His Love, not in goodies.
Drama is also found in the Bible. The stories of Ruth and Esther are stories of deliverance from impending disaster because of the acts of faithful women.
The story of Ruth is the story of a Moabitess widow of a Hebrew man who died childless so that there was no one to provide for his widow. She returns to Israel with her Hebrew mother-in-law (also a widow). There she meets with a wealthy and righteous man who takes her as his wife and redeems her mother-in-law’s property. It’s a romance story. But then, so is our salvation. It is the romance of God who redeemed his beloved bride from death to eternal life.
The story of Esther is a different kind of drama in which the heroine, Esther, puts her life on the line in order to save her people. She is a type of Christ who goes before the King to save the chosen people.
3. The Bible contains all the figures of speech that the best writers of the world have ever used.
It contains every figure of speech that is known to mankind: Hyperbole; Metaphor; Sarcasm; Double Meaning; Anthropomorphism, Symbolism, Onomatopoeia, Repetition, Simile, etc. Therefore: not every word, phrase, or verse is to be taken literally.
For example; we know that God is not a human being. (John 4:24a “God is Spirit”) So when we see an anthropomorphism (talking about something that is not human as if it were human), we know that it is not to be taken literally. For example: Isa 40:5 refers to Gods “mouth.” Does God have a mouth? No.
The glory of the LORD shall be revealed,
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken
And all flesh shall see it together;
For the mouth of the LORD has spoken
Or, from Psalm 91: 4 we read about Gods wings and feathers but we do not take that literally either. It’s a metaphor in which the Lord is described as acting like a hen.
He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
And under His wings you shall take refuge;
>>> Here’s a bit of homework; look up the definitions of: Hyperbole; Metaphor; Sarcasm; Double meaning; Anthropomorphism, Symbolism, and Simile. <<<
4. The writers of the Bible used Literary Conventions that were common to the literature of the time throughout the ancient near east. A literary convention is a commonly used phrase or structure that every reader would recognize or expect. For example, when you read one of Aesop’s fables, you expect to read the moral of the story at the end because that’s what you get with a fable. That’s the “literary convention” of a fable.
One example is that the Old Covenant is in the form of a Vassal - Suzerain Treaty. This is a treaty which, from before the time of Moses, was standard in the Ancient Near East. It was an agreement between a “high” king (Like Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon) who is the “suzerain” and one of the “lower” kings who were under his control. (Like Hezekiah of Judah) Those were “vassals.”
The Vassal - Suzerain Treaty has the following structure:
Preamble: This identifies the parties involved in the treaty, the author, the title of the sovereign party, and usually his genealogy. It usually emphasizes the greatness of the king or dominant party. For the Old Covenant the parties were God and the people of Israel.
Prologue: Lists the deeds already performed by the Suzerain on behalf of the vassal. This section would outline the previous relationship the two groups had up until that point. The suzerain would document previous events in which they did a favor that benefitted the vassal. The purpose of this would show that the more powerful king was merciful and giving, therefore, the vassal should obey the stipulations that are presented in the treaty. God identifies Himself as the one who brought Israel out of the land of bondage with great signs and wonders.
It discusses the relationship between them as a personal relationship instead of a solely political one. Most importantly in this section, the vassal is agreeing to future obedience for the benefits that he received in the past without deserving them.
Stipulations: Terms to be upheld by the vassal for the life of the treaty; defines how the vassal is obligated and gives more of the legalities associated with the covenant. In the Law of Moses, the stipulations include the 613 commandments of the Law and the stipulation that YHWH Elohiym will be Israel’s god and Israel will be His people.
Provision for annual public reading: A copy of the treaty was to be read aloud annually in the vassal state for the purpose of renewal and to inform the public of the expectations involved and increase respect for the sovereign party, usually the king. (the Old Covenant it was every 7 years. Deut 31:10-11)
Divine witness to the treaty: These usually include the deities of both the Suzerain and the vassal, but put special emphasis on the deities of the vassal.
Deu 30:19 I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you,
that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing;
therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing;
therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
Blessings come if the stipulations of the treaty are upheld and curses come if the stipulations are not upheld. (Deut 28)
Sacrificial Meal: Both parties would share a meal to show their participation in the treaty. (Ex 24:8)
