Puzzling
Instead of encouraging readers to pursue righteousness wholeheartedly, what does Ecclesiastes advise us to do?
Live in moderation moderation
What are does Qoholet (from Ecclesiastes) mean?
Teacher / Preacher / Assembler
To guide our interpretation of the meaning of the books of Job and Ecclesiastes, we should see them as what kind of narrative?
A frame narrative - prologue, epilogue, and story/message
Job is a theodicy. What's that?
An attempt to explain how God can be good and powerful, yet evil and chaos can exist and life is often not fair.
The problem with the book of Proverbs in 21st century America is that it puts a high priority on wisdom coming with this class of people.
Elders / older people
Rabbinic Judaism disliked three things about the book of Ecclesiastes. Name one.
Apparent:
1. Contradictions
2. Nihilism
3. Agnosticism
The most important word to interpret in Ecclesiastes is Hebel / Hevel. What is a possible meaning?
1. Mere breath
2. Meaningless
3. Temporary
4. Vanity
5. Futility
Along with the book's depressing stress on the temporary nature of life, what phrase gives it emotional balance?
Sieze the day!
Carpe diem!
Give a reason why Job seems disconnected from the rest of the Old Testament.
-No reference to Torah
-No reference to Israel
-The family head has the priestly role of offering sacrifice
-Except for the prologue and epilogue, strictly references the Patriarchial (pre-Mosaic) term for God ("El")
The challenge of the 930 sayings of Proverbs is that unlike modern rhyming poetry, ancient Hebrew poetry depends on this.
Repetition / parallelism
What is puzzling about the referenced author of Ecclesiastes?
He is "wiser than all kings of Jerusalem before him" - BUT there would only be two kings if it were Solomon.
What is the New Testament equivalent of the Old Testament phrase "fear of God"?
Faith!
What is Qoholet's source of wisdom?
Experimentation and observation!
Job's friends are big on Retribution Theology. What is that?
God punishes sin. Therefore, if you are suffering, you are being punished for your sin.
Just like the Bible, Proverbs is not just a book it is a _____ of _____
Book of books
The reference to Solomon in 2 Chronicles do not disclose this truth.
Solomon's failings
What does "under the sun" mean in the book of Ecclesiastes?
Everything that occurs on the earth.
In contrast to Qoholet's source of wisdom, what is the primary source of truth for the rest of scripture?
Divine revelation
As time goes on in their discussions, Job and his friends become increasingly _____.
Impatient, rude, and hostile.
There is a third category of person in Proverbs besides the wise and the foolish. What is it?
The naive youth.
Theologically, what is most puzzling about the Song of Songs?
It never refers to God.
The Hebrew word ruah means "spirit" or "breath." Robert Alter chose to interpret hevel / hebel as its opposite. What meaning did he choose for it?
The "merest breath"
What two truths does the phrase "remember your creator in the days of your youth" reveal?
1. We should be mindful of God
2. When are are YOUNG! - The message is primarily to teens and young adults.
In his distress and despair, Job not only wishes he were dead, he curses these two dates.
His birth and his conception
The phrase "fear of the Lord" is this rare type of word combinations, like butterfly that don't mean what the parts imply. This is known as a _____.
Syntagm