Northern prophets Hosea 8th C and Amos 8th C coming fall of northern kingdom variously called Israel, Ephraim, Samaria
Early prophets 8th C Isaiah, Amos, Hosea and Micah
Pre-exilic prophets who prophesied before and during the fall of Jerusalem Jeremiah, Baruch, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Nahum, Habbakuk and Zephaniah
Exilic prophets Daniel, Jeremiah though he didn't go to Babylon, Deutero-Isaiah
Post exilic prophets Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, Obadiah, Trito-Isaiah Re-read Ezra and Nehemiah as additional context for these prophets and re-read 2 Kings for a refresher on Elijah
Prophets who prophesied about the fall of Assyria (Nineveh) in 612 B.C. Jonah
Obadiah might be considered post-exilic and Joel lacks sufficient information to be placed
Assyrian power 800s B.C.
Fall of Samaria at hands of the Assyrians 722 B.C.
Assyria falls, Nineveh 612 B.C.
Babylonions 700s B.C.
Rise of Babylonians 600s B.C.
Fall of Jerusalem 597 B.C.
Final Sacking of Jerusalem 587 B.C.
Showing posts with label Daniel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Daniel. Show all posts
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Monday, April 22, 2013
Maccabees 1, 2
Book Written: 100 B.C. during the reign of John Hyrcanus (a grandson of Mattathias, the Maccabee who first revolted in 167 B.C.). The author is unknown.
Time Period/Setting: 175 to 134 B.C. during the reign of the new Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This is also the time period during which the book of Daniel was written even though the events in Daniel unfold at the time of the Babylonian exile.
Title: Maccabees means 'hammer' and is the name of the priestly family that led the revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The Maccabees were also called the Hasmoneans.
I looked forward to reading Maccabees because I knew it dealt with the Hellenized Jewish world, a time period with which I am not overly familiar but about which I was curious to know more. I gleaned what I could from the notes and background in both HC and Baker, but in the end the books themselves were a little dry and there was so much history with a quantity of unfamiliar names that the actual reading of the books failed to live up to what were my somewhat false expectations. For example, I wrongly assumed the story of Hanukkah to be a central event of the Maccabee reign, but it was just one event among many. Similarly, the ghastly torture of the mother and her seven sons resonates with greater significance when the verses stand on their own as a single reading as opposed to being a chapter in Maccabees 2. In Maccabees 1, God's presence occurs within the first seven chapters.
Why would Maccabees not be included in the Protestant and especially in the Jewish Bibles? Is it of any significance that Baker includes his discussion of the Maccabees books in his section on prophets? In the Catholic Bible, the books follow the book of Esther.
Revisiting Maccabees 1,2 would be a good thing to do at a later time.
Time Period/Setting: 175 to 134 B.C. during the reign of the new Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes. This is also the time period during which the book of Daniel was written even though the events in Daniel unfold at the time of the Babylonian exile.
Title: Maccabees means 'hammer' and is the name of the priestly family that led the revolt against Antiochus IV Epiphanes. The Maccabees were also called the Hasmoneans.
I looked forward to reading Maccabees because I knew it dealt with the Hellenized Jewish world, a time period with which I am not overly familiar but about which I was curious to know more. I gleaned what I could from the notes and background in both HC and Baker, but in the end the books themselves were a little dry and there was so much history with a quantity of unfamiliar names that the actual reading of the books failed to live up to what were my somewhat false expectations. For example, I wrongly assumed the story of Hanukkah to be a central event of the Maccabee reign, but it was just one event among many. Similarly, the ghastly torture of the mother and her seven sons resonates with greater significance when the verses stand on their own as a single reading as opposed to being a chapter in Maccabees 2. In Maccabees 1, God's presence occurs within the first seven chapters.
Why would Maccabees not be included in the Protestant and especially in the Jewish Bibles? Is it of any significance that Baker includes his discussion of the Maccabees books in his section on prophets? In the Catholic Bible, the books follow the book of Esther.
Revisiting Maccabees 1,2 would be a good thing to do at a later time.
Monday, March 18, 2013
Daniel
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| Job, Daniel, Noah Three Righteous Men Poor Man's Bible 13th C Sonia Halliday Photo |
Title: The use of the name Daniel both for the title of book and its protagonist is probably the same reason the name Solomon was used in the Wisdom of Solomon and the Song of Solomon. That is to say that a certain Daniel (not even an Israelite?), along with Noah and Job, were "figures known widely in the ancient Near East" and were seen as exceedingly righteous men (Collins). These three are depicted in the stained glass window to the right. The name Daniel may refer to the Danel or Daniel mentioned in Ezekiel Chapter 14 or it may refer to a judge Danel/Daniel from an Ugarit 14th century BC legend.
So, first question, was there really a Jewish exile who interpreted Nebuchednezzar's dream and the handwriting on the wall? And did this exile have friends Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, renamed in exile respectively as Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego? Did they endure some sort of torture, whether a fiery furnace or other, and emerge unscathed? Did Daniel survive a torture, a lion's den or other?
Regardless of the answers to these (perhaps naive) questions, Baker says that the book of Daniel was written for the purpose of inspiring Jews experiencing the domination if not persecution of a foreign power, the Seleucids. Daniel is an example of a wise (e.g. his Solomonic role in determining the fate of poor Susanna) and a godly man who shows undying faith in the one God of Israel. Daniel's God is more powerful than the pagan's idols and Daniel's faith gives him the wisdom to be clearly smarter than the Chaldean sorcerers and priests (e.g. Daniel can interpret the dreams where they are unable).
As noted earlier, Daniel is deemed the only book in the OT which is truly apocalyptic, though I fail to see why certain chapters of Ezekiel wouldn't qualify.
Chapter 12 of Daniel alludes to the resurrection of the body and both Baker and Eerdmans say, respectively, this is the only (?) such reference in the OT and the earliest reference. However, what about the Wisdom of Solomon, the first five chapters and also the writings in the Books of the Maccabees?
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