Apocalyptic Visions of Daniel (extra credit)

Read through the visions in the second half of the book of Daniel (Daniel 7-12). Is there anything here that seems key to the survival of the Jewish people? How would having the book of Daniel have helped the Jewish people go through difficult times, e.g., the time of Antiochus Epiphanes?

Malachi (extra credit)

Read all of Malachi. What is the condition of the Jewish people as he writes? What are the particular problems he addresses? How is the situation different from that addressed by earlier prophets, e.g., Isaiah and Jeremiah? What keys to Jewish survival do you see here?

Haggai and Zechariah (extra credit)

Skim through Haggai and/or Zechariah. Note the problems in the Jewish community that these two prophets address. How would their prophetic message have helped in rebuilding Jerusalem and in helping reforms among the Jewish people? What aspects of their teachings might have helped the Jewish people survive even after the temple was destroyed and the Jews were removed from their land again?

You may turn this into two "extra credit" blogs if you like: one entry on each book.

Nehemiah (extra credit)

Skim through Nehemiah. Note that much of this book is Nehemiah’s account of his own role in helping the rebuilding of Jerusalem and in restoring the Jewish people. Note the problems he faces. What does Nehemiah seem proud of in terms of his own record/conduct? What obstacles does he face? What seems to be his motivation?

Ezra (extra credit)

Read Ezra Ch. 1 and Ch. 3-7. What difficulties do the Jews face as they try to rebuild Jerusalem and the temple? What helps them overcome these difficulties? Note especially the role of leaders like Zerubbabel, Jeshua, Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra himself. Also note the contrasting attitudes of Persian leaders, e.g., Cyrus and Artaxerxes.

Daniel (Assignment for April 24)

For Thursday, April 24, please read Chapters 1-7 and 12 of Daniel carefully. Skim the rest.

Daniel is a favorite "Sunday school" book, a book filled stories the lend themselves well to teaching children. But Daniel is an adult book as well. What do you think is the most important or most interesting lesson Daniel teaches to adults?

Job (assignment for April 22)

For Tuesday, April 22, please read through Chapters 1-5, 19 and 37-42 of the Book of Job. In addition to addressing the problem of evil, what other wisdom does Job offer? Cite a verse or two you think would be particularly good to include in an anthology of ancient wisdom, and explain why you think this verse or these verses are particularly worth including.

Proverbs (assignment for 4/17)

For Thursday's class (4/17), Please read the first three chapters of Proverbs and skim the rest of the book. Choose three proverbs that you think is a particularly good examples of Hebrew contributions to human wisdom. Explain your choice, and note what makes the Proverb particularly memorable.

Ecclesiastes

Please read all of Ecclesiastes for next Tuesday (4/15/14).

For some people, Ecclesiastes is their favorite book in the entire Bible. Others wonder why it is in the Bible at all. What's your reaction? Did you find this book more or less enjoyable/valuable than the other books you've read for this class?

Ezekiel

I am planning on covering *all* of Ezekiel in one easy lecture/discussion on Thursday. Please read my study questions on Ezekiel. Then read Chapters 1-12, 33, and 37 of Ezekiel itself.

What do you find here that suggests that Ezekiel's message was a burden? Are there any passages that particularly well reflect hope, beauty, faith in the triumph of justice, or anything else that makes that burden worth bearing?

Jeremiah--Discussion II

Please skim through Chapters 31-44 of Jeremiah, then go back and read more closely three or four chapters that seem to you particularly interesting.  What do you see in these chapters that shows Jeremiah's message to be a burden. Is there anything here to suggest why that burden is worth bearing?

Jeremiah 1-28

Please read through my Jeremiah study questions and then as much as you can of the first half of Jeremiah. Be sure to read Chapters 16, 20, 23, and 28.

Suppose you are asked to help prepare an anthology of great quotations from the ancient world. There are going to be two Jeremiah quotes, and you get to one of them. Of all of Jeremiah's many quotable lines, which two would you choose? Why this line? Of the other verses suggested by students in this class so far, which would you choose for your 2nd Jeremiah quote?

If you are one of the first three or four posters, you can choose an extra quote from Jeremiah on your own rather than commenting on another poster's verse.

Isaiah 36-66 (Extra Credit)

Please read Isaiah 36-39 and any five chapters of your choice from Isaiah 40-66. Suppose you are asked to help prepare an anthology of great quotations from the ancient world. There are going to be two Isaiah quotes, and you get to pick one of them. Of all of Isaiah's many quotable lines, which would you choose? Why this particular line? Of the lines already suggested by other contributors to this blog (either on this thread or the Isaiah I thread) which of those lines do you think would be the best to have as the second Isaiah quote? Why?