KNOW IT

Question 1

Prophetic Call Narrative

Answer 1

divine confrontation
word
commission 
objection
reassurance, sign

Question 2

Four on Prophets

Answer 2

• Poetry (again) - the power of language-image-word. prophetic poems = oracles
• Persuasion (rhetoric) - persuasive intent (oratory) > preaching. rhetorical situation = history and/of prophecy
• Politics/Politicians -
  historical context (“death in 722/587 and “resurrection” in 538)
  political audience - kings, nation, nations
  messenger language - politics & oracles, prophets as intermediaries
  the rise and demise of prophecy + kingship
• Preaching/Preachers – Theology, not just politics; revelation not just observation

Question 3

Four on Poetry

Answer 3

• Poetic Function - describes “how” poetry means/the message and how it’s expressed. For example, jarring.
• Parallelism - the way of enforcement/emphasis. See Enthroned on the Praises slide 12. Robert Lowth(synonymous/affirming, antithetical/opposing, synthetic/advancing) and James Kugel - seconding/intensifying what Lowth said (A is true and what’s more, so is B - Kugel)
• Imagery/Metaphor
• Episodicity/ Lyricism - the snapshot nature of what we have, in contrast to a narrative. A whole world of meaning squeezed in.

Question 4

Mari Prophetic Texts

Answer 4

• ANCIENT CITY OF LOCATED ON THE BANKS OF THE EUPHRATES
• 20,000 CUNIFORM DOCUMENTS
• 1800 - 1760 BC
• DESCRIBE THE LIVES OF THE NOMADIC PEOPLE WHOSE NAMES ARE SIMILAR TO PEOPLE IN GENESIS
• ALSO DESCRIBE MALE AND FEMALE PROPHETS WHO MAKE PRONOUNCEMENTS AGAINST THE KING
• PROPHETS UTTER COUNCIL TO THE KING, BUT LACK THE STRONG MORAL BASE OF BIBLICAL PROPHETS

Question 5

Fall of Assyria

Answer 5

• A transition era in the ancient Near East that brought the rise of Babylon.
• It signified the beginning of the Babylonian era, in which major prophets Jeremiah and Ezekiel prophesied.

Question 6

Duhm

Answer 6

• German theologian who lived in the late 19th and early 20th century
• Significant because of his work of dividing the book of Isaiah into three different parts.

Question 7

Lament Psalms

Answer 7

• A type of Psalm, i.e. Psalm 13, that could either be communal or individual, that exhibits the lack of hope and the present despair in the life of the psalmist or the community
• Part of the cycle of praise in Judeo/Christian worship that goes from lament to praise.

Question 8

Gunkel

Answer 8

• Hermann Gunkel was the founder of “form criticism.” who lived in the late 19th and early 20th century.
• Significant because he argued that the psalms weren’t spontaneous prayers but reflect fixed forms transmitted from generation to generation.

Question 9

Brueggemann

Answer 9

• 20th century American OT scholar. Significant because of the work he has done on the theology of Psalms and the Type/form/function of the Psalms- Orientation, disorientation, reorientation and the work he has done on the prophets

Question 10

Deutero-Isaiah

Answer 10

• Also known as Second Isaiah. The writer/redactor of Isaiah 40-55 dated in the 6th century.
• Significant because of his message of comfort and hope for the Babylonian exiles.

Question 11

Cyrus

Answer 11

• King of the Persian Empire who defeated Babylon.

- Significant because he was the one who issued the edict that allowed the exiles to go back home and rebuild.

Question 12

Tiglath-Pileser III

Answer 12

• a Neo-Assyrian king that took payment from Israel for protection thereby creating a vassal state of Israel.
• Significant because Israel looked to Assyria for protection when they should have looked to YHWH, this is part of the marriage metaphor in Hosea.

Question 13

Amos

Answer 13

• shepherd who became a prophet dated in 8th century BC.
• Significant because he prophesied in the Northern Kingdom about the destruction of Samaria which eventually came true.