Book of Esther

These are notes from Sunday, March 23.

The Book of Esther is an extremely important book for understanding the ethos of Judaism. It is the last of five festal scrolls (Megilloth) but first in the hearts of Jewish people (Megillah). Esther contains no explicit religious or ethical teaching, and seems to be indifferent to the theology and institutions of Judaism. It purports to be a chapter from the history of the dispersion, and relates to the intrigues of the Persian court life at Susa, in the kingdom of Xerxes.

There are several major characters: Queen Vashti, Xerxes, Haman, Mordecai, and Esther.

The character-driven story follows this plot: Vashti is deposed; Esther is selected; Haman hatches a plot; Mordecai gives directions; Haman is executed; Mordecai appointed; the Jews saved.

The story is an account of the establishment of the Feast of Purim, instituted as an annual two day festival. The book's purpose is to explain and justify the celebration of the festival, for which there is no basis in the Law; and also to regulate the observance of Purim. There is no real historical evidence of the origin of this festival. It might have been borrowed from the Persians just as the Israelites borrowed agricultural festivals from the Canaanites and nationalized them. As Christians we did the same kind of thing -- for examble borrowed from the Romans and established Christmas.

Around A.D. 200 the Jews officially added the two days of Purim to their calendar. The author is unknown.

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Upcoming: The Book of Isaiah; Apocalyptic literature in the Bible (Daniel, Ezekiel, Revelation); select Minor Prophets. Our course will wrap up on May 18!

Book of Ruth

These notes are from Sunday, March 16.

The Book of Ruth is a romance! Yet another example of the breadth of scope in Biblical literature. Ruth is set in the time of the Judges, but was likely written post-Exile, given a few interesting explanations of what would have become obscure customs in later years. The purpose of the book is clear: since Ruth is a Gentile, and becomes an ancestor of King David, the idea that "pure blooded" marriages are sacrosanct is challenged.

During class we read the whole book together. It is a wonderful story; just sit down and read it start to finish for a satisfying experience. Take to heart the lesson -- God does not see the same barriers of race and nationality between people that people create. And, since Ruth was a Gentile ancestor of King David, she is also an ancestor of our Lord, Jesus Christ, who has broken down the walls of division between all peoples.

Proverbs, Part II

These are notes from Sunday, March 9 class.

We looked at the last five sections of Proverbs:

2) Chapters 10:1 - 22:16 -- Solomon
3) Chapters 25:1 - 27:27 -- Solomon
4) Chapter 30, Words of Agur
5) Chapter 31:1-9, Words of Lemuel
6) Chapter 31:10-31, The Good Wife Poem

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Scholars believe that sections 2 and 3 had their origin in Solomon's writings. Section 2 is considered the core of the book and the oldest composed of short, simple proverbs. They reflect wisdom (ethical and religious correctness) about political, economic, and social situations.

Chapters 10-15 deal with contrast, as the main characters are:
RIGHTEOUS vs. WICKED
RICH vs. POOR
HUMBLE vs. PROUD
THRIFTY vs. LAZY

In Jewish society consideration for parents was regarded as both a mark for wise living and a motive for it. They placed the honoring of father and mother high on their list of values. So it was a 2-way street: wise parents make children glad and wise children make the parent's hearts glad.

Although there is no sequential order to Proverbs, we examined certain concepts by reading key verses. The writers of Proverbs believed that there was something more important than money. Poverty was not to be cherished for its own sake since there are some good things money can provide. Wealth is not to be sought for its own sake since it can bring with it many evils -- a false sense of security and it often damages the character of the possessor.

Even though the writers warn men about evil women, on a whole this book provides the most positive image of women.

Section 4 contains words from an Arab Ruler, Agur, King of the Massa tribe, in 2 parts: 1) Reflections and 2) Numerical insights.

Section 5 is also wisdom from an Arab ruler Lemuel.

Section 6 is an acrostic poem about the "good wife". Each line begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet, all in alphabetical order.

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For this coming Sunday, March 16 -- Read the Book of Ruth!

-- Notes from Harrell Guard

Proverbs

These are notes from March 2nd class:

We discussed the background and purpose of Proverbs and the leadership of the wise men who wrote them in comparison to prophets and priests. We explored the meaning of key words: WISDOM; UNDERSTAND; INSTRUCTION; RIGHTEOUSNESS; JUSTICE; EQUITY. We covered the first nine chapters, and saw that the major purpose was to guide people into ways of profitable living.