‘

A’LEVELFAMILY
ANDDRELIGIOUS
STUDIES

STUDYPACK
TH
5 EDI TI
ON

TURN-
UPCOLLEGE
Publ
icat
ionstaff
Publ
ishi
ngDi r
ector
Sam Madzingir
a.

Page1
 Page2

Gener
alEdi
tor
C.Mhuri

Cont
ri
butor
CMhuri,

TextPri
nter
s
ChiedzaMuchena;Cr
yst
abel
lMudzi
ngwa

Publi
sher
Turn-
UpCollege,
Zimbabwe
Off
ice28,N0.131TradeCent
reBui
ldi
ng

13th/
14thAVBul
awayo

I
SBN 9780797445468

Tur
n-UpCol
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tySt
udyPack
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Copyri
ght©2010,byTurn-
Upcol
lege
Fi
rstpubli
shed2004
Re-pr
int
ed2007;2009;2010.

Allri
ght sreserved;Pr int
edi nZi mbabwe, nopar toft hisbookmaybe
reproduced, storedinar etrievalsyst em, ortransmi tt
edi nanyform orbyany
means, el
ectronic,mechani cal ,photocopyi ng,recording,orotherwise,
wi t
hout
priorwr i
tt
enper mi ssionf rom t hepubl isheroral icenseper mitt
ingrest
ricted
copyi ngintheZi mbabweanCopyr ightAct .Thisst udymat eri
alhasbeen
providedingoodf aith.Itisi ll
egaltor eproducei t
.Shoul ditbereproduced, we
willtakelegalact i
onagai nstt hatper sonandanyoneel seconnectedthereto.
Forf urt
herinformat ioncont actTur n- UpCol lege28Tr adeCentre,131For t
Street,between13and14t hSt reet
, P.O.Box2759, Bulawayo.

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udyPack
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For
ewor
d

Ihad t he oppor tuni

ty ofdi scussing t his book wi th sever aleducat i
onists,
teacher sandst udentswheni twasi nt hepr ocessofmaki ng,andIf el
tatonce
thatitwasl ikelyt oproveunusual lyusef ul.Itgat herst oget heragr eatdealof
i
nf ormat i
onwhi chmustot herwi sebedel vedf orinmanybooksandal lthisi s
arranged j udiciouslyand on pr acticall i
nes.Theaut hors’out l
ookmi ghtbe
describedasoneofl i
beralcommonsensecl ari
ty,simpl i
cityofexpr essi
on,and
exami nation–ski l
ls-focused.Ourst udypacksar ether et oof f
eracanvasf or
Zimbabweanst oshowcaset heirbesti deast ohel pt r
ansf or mt hecount r
yint oa
knowl edge-basedsoci etywher eci tizensar ef reet oexpr esst heircreativi
ty,
knowl edgeandi ngenuity.Wehavesetchal lengingobj ectives,butwebel ieve
thatonl ybyst ri
vingtoachi evethehi ghest ,canweel evateour selvesabovet he
element swhi cht endt ohol dourcount r
yback.However ,i fyourseeanyt hing
wher eyouf eelwemayhavef ail
edt odel i
ver,andwher ewemayhavef ail
edon
i
ssuessuchascont ent,depth,relevanceandusabi l
ity,pl easel etusknow by
usingt hecont actnumber s
(09) 61226/ 61247, 0773 247 358; or Box 2759 Byo; emai l at
turnupcollege@yahoo. com.Wear eher et olistenandi mpr ove.

I
nmydaysasat eacherandasast udentIshouldhavewel comedt hisbook
warml
ybecause:
(
i) I tapproachesthesyl labuswhol i
sti
call
y
(
ii
) I tusessimplif
iedexpr ession
(
ii
i) Ithasani n-
depthcover ageofcont ent
(
iv) Itprovi
desexami nat i
onski l
lsattheearl
ieststageofstudying
(
v) I tprovi
deslocal,int ernationalandcommonpl aceexampl es;ill
ustr
ati
ons
andcasest udies.
(
vi) Itprovi
desintell
igentquest i
onsandanswer softheexami nationtypeon
achapt erbychapt erbasi s
(
vii
) Lastbutnotlist,i
tpr ovidesacl earplat
formf orsel
f-
evaluationasone
preparesforthef inal exami nati
ons.

Ihavenodoubtthatl earnersandeducatorswouldaswellf
indt
hisbooktobe
thebest
.Iti
scertainl
yamanualf orsuccess.Ever
yonewoul df
indi
tworthyto
havehis/hercopy.Ishoul dnotbesurpri
sediftheTur
n-upColl
egeStudyPack
becamethebestr esourceinschoolandoutofschool.

Sam Madzi
ngi
ra

Tur
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lege‘
A’LevelDi
vini
tySt
udyPack
 Page5

Tabl
eofcont
ent
s

Chapt
er Page

For ewor d 4
Acknowl edgement s 11
Pref ace 12
Gener ali ntroduct ion 14
‘
A’ l
evelDi vinity, compar ati
vest udy,appli
cati
onandcontextual
isat
ion:anew
syll
abusr equi rement 21
CHAPTER1 22
Bri
efHi st or yof“ theOl dTest amentI srael
it
es” 22
CHAPTER2 27
EARLYPROPHECYI NI SRAEL 27
Whati sapr ophet ? 27
Howdi dpr ophecybegi ninI srael? 28
I
sr ael:f rom t heocr acytomonar chy 31
Seer si nI srael 31
Whatwer ethedevel opment sandchangest hatoccur
redtoprophecyinIsr
ael
?
33
Theor i
esont heemer gencyofpr ophecyinIsrael 34
WhoWasMoses? 38
WasMosesapr ophet? 38
Eli
jah 40
Thecont ri
but ionsofEl ij
ah 40
Exami nat i
ont ypequest i
ons 47
CHAPTER3 48
THEBOOKOFAMOS 48
I
nt roduct ion 48
WhowasAmos? 48
TheTextofAmos. 48
TheOr acl esagai nsttheNat i
ons 49
Quest i
on: 49
Procl amat i
onofdeat hChapt er5:1-
17 51
Thepost script :Amos9: 8-15 52
Clar i
ficat ionont het hemesofdoom andhopei nAmos 52
Exami nat i
ont ypequest i
ons 54
CHAPTER4 55

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THEBOOKOFJEREMI AH 55
WhowasJer emi ah? 55
Hiscal l 55
Hismandat e 56
Jeremi ah`s symbol icact ions 58
Jeremi ah`sconcept ionsofdoom 59
Avi sionofdest r
uct ion:Jer13: 1-11 60
Expr essi onofhopei nt hebookofJer emiah. 60
Thest ruggl eagai nst“ false”pr ophecy 61
Exami nat i
ont ypequest i
ons 63
CHAPTER5 64
THEBOOKOFHOSEA 64
Intr
oduct ion 64
ThemessageofHosea 65
Themar riageandsymbol i
csi gns:Hosea1-3 65
Yahweh’ sf or givingl ove( Hosea3: 1-
5) 67
Propheci esofj udgmentandsal vat i
onHosea4-14 67
Concept ionsofhope:Hosea11and14 69
Exami nat i
ont ypequest i
ons 69
CHAPTER6 70
BOOKOFI SAI AH 70
WhowasI saiah? 70
Hiscal l 70
Comment ar y 70
Themaj orconcept ioni nt hebook 71
Thepr ophet ,kingAhazandt heSyr o–Ephraimi
tewar 73
Shear jashub 73
Immanuel 73
Maher–Shal al–Hash-Baz 74
Finalcomment sonsymbol i
csi gns 74
Exami nat i
ont ypequest i
ons 75
WISDOM TRADI TIONANDTHELATERPROPHETS 75
CHAPTER7 79
ADI SSERTATI ONONTHESCOPEOFPROPHECYI NAZI MBABWEAN
CONTEXT. 79
CHAPTER8 96
GOBBETS 96
Whatar egobbet s? 96
Gener alobser vations 96
Present ati
onofgobbetanswer s 97
Summar ycomment sonsel ectedgobbetareas 97
Nabot h’ sVi neyar d( 1Ki ngs21:1–29) 100
ThePr ophecyofMi caiah( 1Kings22:1–28) 101
CHAPTER9 117
THEFOURGOSPELS 117
Gener ali ntroduct i
ont ot hefourgospels 117

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Thenewt est amentandt heJewi shhi story 117

Whynewt est amentbookswer ewritt
en 118
TheSynopt i
cs 118
TheSynopt i
cQuest i
on 119
Solutionst ot heSynopt icPr oblem 119
Mar canPr ior i
ty 120
Othervi ewsont hesynopt icproblem 121
GELessi ngandJ. GI cchor n 122
F.Schl ei macher 122
J.J.Gr iesbachandC.Lachmann 122
Exami nat iont ypequest i
ons 123
CHAPTER10 123
I
NTRODUCTI ONTOTHEGOSPELS, THEBOOKOFMATTHEW 123
Mat thewi nahi st oricalcont ext 123
Persecut ionoft heChr i
sti
anchur chbyt hesynagogue 123
Whowr ot et hebookofMat thew? 124
Explanat ions 126
Thet extofMat thew–Comment ary 126
Thebi rthnar ratives 127
Thevi rgi nconcept i
on 127
Thevi si toft hemagi :Comment ary 128
TheHer odi angenoci de 128
Thebapt ism andt empt ations 128
Bapt i
sm 129
Thet empt ations:Comment ary 129
TheSer monont heMount( Mt t.5t o7) 130
Structur eoft heser mon 130
Beatitudes 130
Thedeedsofr ight eousnessMt t6:1- 18 133
Thepr act icalmi ni stry 133
Thepar abl edi scour sesi nMat thew 134
Themi ni str yinJer usalem 135
Thedi scour seagai nstt heScr i
besandPhar i
seesMtt23 136
Thepassi onandr esur r
ection 136
Exami nat iont ypequest i
ons 138
CHAPTER11 140
THEBOOKOFMARK 140
Intr
oduct i
on 140
Whowr ot et hebookofMar kandwher e? 140
Whywast hebookwr i
tt
en? 141
Discipleshi pi nMar k 142
ThePr ol oguei nMar k1:1-13 143
TheMi racl esofJesusi nMar k 143
Parabl esandmi ght ywor ks 144
Thepassi oni nMar k 144
Ther esur rect ion:comment aryandi nterpr
etati
on 144

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Examinat ionst ypequest i

ons 145
CHAPTER12 146
THEGOSPELOFLUKE 146
Bri
efhi stor yoft hebookofLuke 146
Whowr ot eLuke? 147
Dateandpl aceofcompi lati
on 148
Purposeandt argetaudi ence 148
SourcesofLuke 149
Thebirthnar rativesi nLuke 151
ThebirthofJesus 152
Thepract i
calmi ni str
y:Heal ingandnaturemiracl
es 152
Parablesi nLuke 152
ThePassi oni nLuke 153
Theresur rect ion 154
CHAPTER13 156
THEGOSPELOFJOHN 156
I
ntroduct ion 156
Whatisdi stinct iveaboutJohn? 156
Whowr ot eJohnandwher e? 157
Theprol oguei nJohn 158
Thesignsi nJohn( mi r
acles) 162
Thepassi oni nJohn 162
Thearr est 162
Thepier cingofhi ssi de. 163
Theempt yt ombandr esurrecti
on 163
Resurrect ion 163
Thepur poseoft hegospel .John20:30-31 164
Examinat iont ypequest ions 168
CHAPTER14 169
APOSTOLI CAGE 169
Generalint roduct iont otheapost oli
cage 169
ActsoftheApost les 169
Authorshi p 170
Str
uctur eofact s 170
Comment aryont heevent sbetweenEasterandPentecost
: 171
Acts1:1- 26 171
Howt hechur chbegani nJer usal
em 171
Thecomi ngoft hespi ritonPent ecost
:2:
1-13 171
Peter
’sspeech:Act s2:14- 36 172
Apor t
raitoft heear lychur ch:Acts2:
42-47 173
Enemiesoft heear l
ychur ch 173
Apostol i
cr esi st ance 173
Thecal lofSaul :Comment s 176
CHAPTER15 187
1CORI NTHI ANS 187
I
ntroduct ion 187

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Backgr oundI ssues 187

Associ ationwi thi mmor almember s(1Cor5: 1-13) 189
Sexualabst i
nence.1Cor7: 1-9 190
Mar ri
ageanddi vor ce:1Cor7: 10- 16 190
Concer ningf oodsacr ifi
cedt oI dol s.1Cor8:1- 13 191
Aboutwomenpr ophet s1Cor11: 2-16 191
Divisionsatt heEuchar i
st1Cor11;17- 34 191
Aboutspi rit
ual gifts:Speaki ngi nt ongues:1Cor12 192
Aboutt her esur rect ion:1Cor15 192
Thef oundat ionofPaul ’
sar gument :1Cor15: 1-11 193
Exami nat i
ont ypequest ions 194
CHAPTER16 195
HEBREWS 195
Precis 195
Whowr otet hel et tert ot heHebr ews? 195
Thedat ewhenHebr ewswaswr itten? 195
Dest i
nat i
on:Forwhom wast hel etterwr i
tten 196
Exami nat i
ont ypequest ions 197
Refer ences 197
CHAPTER17 198
Romans 198
Thel ett erofPault ot heRomans 198
Date, occasi onandpur poseofRomans 198
Whatpr essedPault owr i
te? 199
“TheJer usalem cr isishypot hesi s’ 199
God’ simpar ti
al i
ty 200
Abraham:Rom 4: 1-25 200
Thet hemeofj ust ificat i
oni nRomans 201
Finalexor tations:Rom 13- 16 202
Closingr emar ks 203
Exami nat i
ont ypequest ions 203
CHAPTER18 204
GALATI ANS 204
Thesoci alandr eligi ouscomposi ti
onoft hegal ati
anchur ches 205
Thedat eandpl aceofcompi lationofGal ati
ansar edebat abl
e.Somesuppose
thatGal atianswaswr i
ttenear lyinPaul ’
scar eer .Actuall
yaveryearlydat
ei s
i
mpossi blesi ncet hel etterwasnotwr i
ttenunt i
latl eastfour
teenyearsaf
ter
Paul ’
sconver sion: 205
Thepur poseofGal at i
ans:t hei mmedi atepr oblems. 205
Focusont hef ollowi ngquot ations: 205
Exami nat i
ont ypequest ions 210
CHAPTER19 212
COLOSSI ANS 212
TheSet ti
ngofCol ossi ans 212
Thepr obl emsi nCol ossae:TheCol ossianher esy 213
Comment ar yont heant iher eticalpol emi c:Col2: 6-23. 213

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Thef i
nalexhor tati
on: 214
Exami nat iont ypequest i
ons 214
CHAPTER20 216
1THESSALONTHI ANS 216
Thepr oblem i nt heThessal
oni
ca 216
Text ualdiff i
culti
es 216
Themai nt hemesi n1Thessal
oni
ans 217
Paul ’
sMi nistryinThessaloni
ca 217
CHAPTER21 219
JAMES 219
Preci s 219
Introduct i
on 219
Livingf aithandl ove:James2:
14-
26 220
Friendshi pwi thGod.James3: 13-
4:10 221
Concl usion 221
Exami nat iont ypequest i
ons 221
CHAPTER22 223
PROPHECYANDTHENEW TESTAMENT: 223

Acknowl
edgement
s

Tur
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 Page11

Myspeci al
gratitudegoest oallt
hemember softhepubli
cati
onstafflist
edin
thi
sbook.Par t
icularly,It
hankt hestaf
fofTur n-
UpEnt er
pri
se(Pvt)(Ltd)who
soldi
eredonwi tht hetediouswor kofputti
ngupt hi
sbook.Mor eso,Ithankthe
copytypist
s,Mi ssChi edzaMuchenaandCr yst
abel
lMudzingwaf ortypingupal
l
themanuscr i
ptst hatcamef r
om dif
ferentcontr
ibut
ors.

Iam mostgr at
eful
tot hefoll
owi ngforthei
rper mi
ssiontor eproducecopyr i
ght
mater
ial
s:
TheSocietyofbibl
icalLit
erature,HarperColl
insPublishers(1988)f or
comment arymateri
alsonvar iousbooksoft hebibleandt hebi bli
ographi
esinit
;
TheZimbabweSchoolExami nationsCouncilfort
hedi vi
nitysyllabus
speci
fi
cationsonpages3and4andgobbet st ext
sint heOl dTest ament.

Wehavebeenunablet otracethecopyr
ightholderofA.G.Aul
d’sarti
cleon
Cit
iesofRel
igi
oni
nIsr aelTradi
ti
on(1978);andAndersonB.W.’
sLi vi
ngWor l
dof
t
h
theOldTest
ament(4 edi ti
on)1978andwoul dappreci
ateanyinformati
onthat
wouldenabl
eustodoso.

Thankyou

S.Madzi
ngi
ra
Dir
ect
orofSt
udi
es

Pr
eface

Tur
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A’LevelDi
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udyPack
 Page12

Thenew‘ A’LevelDi
vinit
ysyll
abusbri
ngsupanewcomponentt hatwil
lfeat
ure
i
nt heexaminati
onsupt o2012accor dingt ot
heci r
cularnumber14ofMay3,
2011.Thiscomponentput sZimbabwei nt hecontextofcompar ati
vestudyon
thepropheti
cparadi
gm.Theunder l
yingassumpt ionisthatthephenomenonof
prophecy,whichhassomuchbeenst udiedinthecont extofIsrael
it
ehi st
ory,
mustaswel lbeenvisagedi ntheZimbabweanenvi r
onment ,becausethereis
proofthatpr
ophecyexistedandst
il
lexistsinZi
mbabwe.

Despitethef actthatthereisnotmuchwr i
ttenli
teratureaboutitatt hemoment ,
thecur ri
culum pl annerswi l
lstil
lfeelthatourst udentsshoul dbegi venthe
chance and t he pl ayground t
o exercise t hei
rcompar ati
ve facultyto draw
simi
larit
iesbet weenscenar i
osf rom di
fferentnat i
ons.Onet eachersubmi tt
ed
that
,“ Thegover nmentseekst ot rai
ni tsown peopl et o analyset hei
rown
i
mmedi ateenvironsandappl ytheissuest ocr i
ti
calt hi
nking.Themot i
veisnot
toput-offthestudent s,buttogroom them tobui ldconf i
denceint hemselvesby
expressingwhati snotevenwr i
ttendowni nt hetextbooks.”

Inconcur rencewit
ht heabovesubmi ssi
on,theTurn-UpCollege‘A’ LevelDivinit
y
studypacki sthemostupt odater esourceont hi
saspectasi tchampi onst he
i
niti
alat temptt ogivebot ht eachersandst udent stheinsighti ntot henew
syll
abusr equi
rement.Itgivesinteresti
ng,rel
evantissueswi t
ht hemaj estyof
categor i
sati
onandcl assi
ficat
ionoft heissuesinquestion.Ther eisdef i
nit
elya
needf oreducator
sandl earnerstoacqui rethel at
estediti
onoft heTur n-Up
CollegeSt udyPacksot hatt heycanal lbei ntr
oducedt ot henew syl l
abus
requirement .

Thismodul eispreparedwitht heexami nationi nmi nd.Itappr oachest heOl d

Testamentand New Test ament ,fourgospel s and the apost oli
c age on a
themat i
cbasi s.Themaj ort hemesar et ackled and anal ysed usi ng speci
al
sources.Theanal ysi
sandcomment sar eder ivedfrom themostr ecentscholars
onthesubj ect,whoareexperts’inpart
icularar eas.Thest udypackf oll
owsbot h
Cambr idgeandZI MSECr eportsandeval uationsont heexami nationsthathave
beenwr i
tt
eninDivini
tyinthepastyear s.Nodoubtt hatthestudypackr eplaces
anyot herpersonalorclassroom notest hatt endt olosecoher enceandcl ari
ty
astimel apses.

However ,t
hisbooki snotaver se-by-versecomment aryperse;itissimpl ya
studypack,i.e.acoll
ecti
onofi mportantmater
ial
sonlyt hatenabl
et hestudent
tot acklethe exami nat
ion successful
ly.Whati tcont ai
ns is compul sory.
Thereforeeverystudentneedsi t.Butthestudentiswar nednott ocram t he
answer sorthesampl eessayst hatareinthismodul e.Thesolepur poseof
thesesampl eessaysi st
odemonst r
atetheski
ll
sofquest i
oninter
pretat
ionand
focusing.Theref
orethest udentshouldonlyst
udythesampl eessayswi t
ht he
aim ofcheckingtheappropriat
eapproachestoexaminationquesti
ons.

Tur
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udyPack
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Whi l
ethiswarni
ngcouldapplyalsot ot hegobbetanswersi nthi
smodule,i
tis
sinceretoinf
ormthestudentthatthei nfor
mationthathasbeengi veni
nthese
answer siscompulsor
y.Therefor
et hest udentshouldfamili
ari
zehimsel
fwith
theGobbetanswersthatarei
nt hi
sst udypackwi t
houtchoice.

Thevi si
onoft hestudypackpr ojectistocreateasel f-
suff
ici
entinfor
mati
on
basef orthestudent.Withthi
sai mi nmi ndthisstudypackpr ovi
desal lt
he
necessarytopi
calmat er
iali
nasi mpli
fi
edmanner .Thereaf t
erthestudypack
providesawider angeofexami nati
on-t
ypequestionsatt heendofeacht opic
area.Thecopyr i
ghtowner soft hepubl i
cat
ion,whoi nt hiscasei sTurn-
Up
College,
havethesoluti
onstoalltheexaminat
ionquestionsinthi
sstudypack.

‘
Fai
thi
nYourSuccess’
isourmot
to.

Tur
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A’LevelDi
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tySt
udyPack
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Gener
ali
ntr
oduct
ion

The Syll
abus f
or‘ A’LevelDi vi
nityrequir
es a schol
arly st
udy ofI srael
it
e
prophecyfr
om itsfor
mat ivestagesupt oitslat
erform.I
nt heNew Test ament
componentitisal soexpect edt hatstudentsshoul
dst udycar ef
ull
yJewi sh
hist
oryasitref
lectsont hel i
feandt eachi
ngofJesusChr i
staccordi
ngt othe
fourgospel
sandal sothehi st
oryoft heearl
ychurchandt heapostoli
cer aand
thePauli
nedoctri
nesintheapost oli
cage.

The subj ect of Di vi

nityi s about bi blical i nterpretati
on not t heological
appr eciation.Thi siscer t
ainlyaskil
ls-basedexer cise.Oneschol ar ,EldonJ.Epp,
onceexpr essedt hatbi bli
calinter
pr etationandi tsunder standingcannotbe
achi eved wi t
houtf i
rstofal lunder standi ng t hesoci o-cult
uralnat ureoft he
peopl ei nvol ved.I n view oft hi
sf act ,t he hi storicalci r
cumst ances oft he
Israelit
esatsomespeci fictimeswer ethebasi soft hepr ophets’assi gnment .
Thesepr ophet swer enot“ madmen” ,wi thoutanagenda.Theyal lhadaspeci fi
c
mandat ef rom Yahweh,hencet heywer ecal l
edpr ophet sofYahweh.Si milarly
theChr i
steventwasnotani solat
edeventoccur ringi navacuum.I tmustbe
i
nvest i
gat edf rom thepoi ntofviewoft hehi storicalbackgr oundoft hebookand
i
t s audi ence.Any i nt
erpretati
on done out side t his scope i s obsol et
e and
mi sleading,and so does notmeett he new syl l
abus r equirement st hat:
Candi dat esneedt ohaveabasi coveral lview oft hehi storyofI srael.--
-They
shoul dunder standthecont extoft heevent sandpeopl et heyar est udying- --
-.
Thr oughout ,theyshoul dbeawar eoft hevi ewsofmoder nschol ars.( seeNew
ZimsecSyl l
abus) .
Pages3- 4

InthecaseofOl dTestamentprophet
s,eachpr ophetwasdi vinel
yassi gnedby
Yahweh t o proclai
m God’s wil
loverhi s peopl
ei nthe lightofpr evail
ing
conditi
ons.Itbecomescommoncauset oestabli
shfi
rstthest atusquoi nthe
societi
eswher et heprophetwast opr ophesy.Themessageoft hepr ophet
woul d al
ways be based on orr el
atet ot he soci
o-r
eligi
ous,pol i
ticaland
economi cenvironmentofthetargetpeople.Tot hi
seffectJamesMui ll
enburg
wrotethat:“
Prophetscamewi t
hapar ti
cularwordatapar t
icul
art i
me” .

The met hod ofdel iver

ing the message woul d sometimes depend on t he
vocati
onorexper i
encesoft heprophete. g.Amosusedi mageriesderi
vedfrom
theagro-industry.Hemakesr eferencestofruit
s,sheepandcat tl
einchapters3;
4and8, becausehecamef r
om af ar
mingbackgr ound,“
adr esserofsycamores”
7:14.Simi l
arl
yI sai
ahr ef
lectsont hepol i
ti
caleventsofhist i
meusi ngsymbol i
c
signs,whi le Jeremiah,ar t
icul
ates on t he soci
aldynami cs in Judah using
dramatizations and per sonalexper i
ences e.g.Over holt(1988)says t hat
Jeremiah r efr
ains from mar r
iage because t he land is doomed.( Thomas
Overholt).

I
ntheNewTest
ament
,thehumanandeconomi
cgeogr
aphyofPal
est
inepost
s

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somedeci si
veevent si
nthel i
feofJesuse. g.fishing,andtransport–boatsand
donkeys.On t he poli
ti
calgr ound the pr oblems of t he ear l
y Chri
stian
communi t
iesver suscol
onialinter
estsinPal esti
neandt hethoughtsoftheol d
order( Judaism)l ineup ascenar iothati sspeci fi
cal
lyhistor
ical
.Therefore
bibl
icalint
erpretati
onisapr acti
calexer
cise.Thi sst udypackdemonst r
atesthis
skil
laccordingly.

Syl
labusI
nfor
mat
ion

‘
A’LevelDi vinityisahi gherl evelcoursebasedont heBi ble.Inthissubj ect,
candidatesar eexpect edt odi splayhighl anguageski l
lsandpr ofi
ciency.The
abil
it
yt opr esenti nf
or mation,ideas,descr i
pti
onsandar gument s,clearlyand
l
ogically,withsuppor t
ingevi dence(textualorschol ar l
y)isar equiredabi l
ity.
BothCambr idgeandZI MSECof fertheexami nati
ononl yinNovember .Thus,
ther
ei snodi vinit
yexam i nJune.TheZI MSECexami nationr equir
escandi dates
toregistercarefull
yf oronlyt wopaper s,althought hreepaper sareset.Paper s
9054/1;2;3ar eavail
abl eforZIMSEC, wher euponcandi datesar etochooseany
twofrom thet hree.InCambr i
dgeexams, candidateswoul dat temptallpapers.

Syl
labusAi
ms

Theeducati
onalai msofCambr idgeandZIMSECAdvancedLevelDi vi
nit
yar ef
or
candidat
estogai nbibl
icalknowl edge,
under
standi
ngandtherequisit
eskil
ls.I
n
broadtermsthesei ncl
ude:
1.Gai ni
ngagr eaterknowledgeandunder st
andingofbi
bli
calper
iods,themes,
andthehi
storyoft herelevantpeople.

2.Gai
ninggreaterawarenessofbibli
calconcept
ssuchassimil
ari
tyand
di
ff
erence,f
orm, cont
extual
izat
ion,changeandcont
inui
ty,
causeandeff
ect
,
andhowexeget esexpresst
hem.

3.Appreci
ati
ngt
henat
ureanddi
ver
sit
yofbi
bli
calt
hought
sandhowexeget
es
expr
essthem.

4.Explori
ngavariet
yofappr
oachest
odif
ferentaspect
sofHi
stor
yand
di
fferenti
nter
pret
ati
onsofpar
ti
cul
arhi
stori
cali
ssues.

5.Thi
nki
ngi
ndependent
lyandmaki
ngi
nfor
medj
udgment
soni
ssues.

6. Devel
opi
ngempat
hywi
thpeopl
eli
vingi
ndi
ff
erentpl
acesandatdi
ff
erent
t
imes.

Assessmentobj
ect
ives

TopassCambri
dgeandZI
MSECAdvancedLevelHi
stor
y,candi
dat
esmustbe
abl
etoachi
evet
hefoll
owi
ngcompet
enci
es:

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1.Demonst
rat
eanunderstandi
ngofthecompl
exit
yofbibl
icali
ssuesdur
ing
t
hepre-
canoni
cal
,theChri
st,
andtheApost
oli
chist
ori
calperi
ods.

2.Disti
ngui
shandassessdi
ff
erentappr
oachesto,i
nter
pret
ati
onsof
,and
opini
onsaboutt
heJewishandChrist
ianRel
igi
ons.

NB:Not i
cethatatA-l evel
,analysi
sasopposedt oknowl
edge-
based
descripti
ons,isthekeydet erminantforahighergrade(AorBgrades).
Candidat esneedtor eali
zethatmer edescript
ivewri
ti
ng,nomatterhowful
l
andinf ormati
veitmi ghtbe,willnevergobeyondagr adeCatA-Level.
3.Pr esentclear,concise,l
ogicalandr el
evantargument
s.

NB:Si ncecandi datesareexpectedt oanswerinconti

nuouspr ose,the
qualit
yoft helanguaget heyusewi llbetakenint
oaccounti nmar ki
ng.
Alt
houghagener alunderst
andingt hatcandidat
esarewr i
tingintheir
secondl anguagei smade, noattempti smadebyexami nerstoroundof f
unclearsentencesorposi ti
velyreinter
pretvagueexpressions.Unclearor
vagueexpr essionwi l
lnatural
lydiscredi
tthecandidat
esconcer ned.

AssessmentofAnswer
satadvancedLevel

Candidates’answersshouldbef ocusedont hequesti

onandshowa
depthofbiblicalunderst
anding,analysi
sandevidenceofreading.I
n
addit
ion,answer sshoulddemonst rateahi
ghlevelofconceptual
understandi
ngand/ oranevaluati
onoftheassumpt i
onsimpli
edi nthe
questi
on.

Ananswerwhi chmeri
tsagrade‘
A’atA’Leveladequat
elymeetsthe
requi
rement
sofat hr
ee-pr
ongcri
ter
iawhichcanbebasical
lyrepr
esent
ed
asfol
lowsbelow:

Rel
evancet
othequest
ion

Tur
n-UpCol
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A’LevelDi
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Di
vini
ty

Essay

Expl
anat or
y Adequacyoff
act
ual
or knowledge
anal
yticali
n
approach

Thereforerelevance,adequacy off actualknowl edge and anal ysi

s are al
l
essentialel
ement sofananswerwhi chmeritsan‘ A’grade.I
fanansweri s
highl
yr el
evanttothequest i
on,containsadequatef actualandil
lustrat
ivedet
ail
,
i
tcannotgetan‘ A’ gr
adeifonlythestyl ei
sdescript
ivet onarr
ati
ve.Byt hesame
token,ifanansweri shighl
yanal yt
icalbutbarelyinadequateori ncomplete(i
.e
tosay,twotot hr
eepar agr
aphs)itcannotr i
setothest andardofan‘ A’.

Cambr i
dge and ZI MSEC exami ners have adopt
ed a common pl at
form f or
assessinganswer satthislevelandt hesemar kt
hresholdsar ecal
ledgener ic
markbands.
Examiners willassess which levelofr esponse bestrefl
ects mostoft he
answers.Ananswerwi l
lnotber equi
redtodemonst r
ateallofthedescripti
ons
i
napar ti
cularleveltoquali
fyforaMar kBand.Acl earunderst
andingoft he
Genericmar kbandi sverycrit
icalindeed.Themar kbanddescr i
pti
onsal so
i
ndirect
lyoutli
net hecompetencieswhichmustber eachedbyt hecandidatesas
theyoffert
heiranswers.Thegener icMarkbandsaretherefor
easf ol
lows:

Band1:21-25Mar ks
The approach willbe consistentl
y analyticaland explanat
oryrathert han
descri
pti
veandnar r
ati
ve.
Essayswi l
lbef ul
lyrel
evant
.Thear gumentwi llbestruct
uredcoher
ent l
yand
support
edbyver yappropr
iat
ef actualmaterialandideas(evi
dence)
.Thewr iti
ng
willbeaccurate.Atthelowerendoft heband,t heremaybesomeweaker
secti
ons,buttheoveral
lqual
itywi l
lshowt hatt hecandidat
eisincontrolofthe
argument.Thebestanswersmustbeawar ded25mar ks.

Candidates usually vi
suali
se exami ners as vindict
ive and hard assessors,
alwaysr eadytopenal i
sethem.Not hingcanbef urt
hert hant
hisf r
om thetruth:
these exami ners do appr eci
atethatt he candidates are 16-18 yearol d
youngsterswhoar eundert heseverel i
mitati
onsoft i
me.Bet hatasi tmay,the
tri
angulardiagram ofkeyrequirementswi llbeappli
edt oassessscr i
ptsforthis
l
evel.Answer s oughtt o be consistentl
y explanatory oranalyti
calint heir
approacht othequest i
on.

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Band2:18-20mar ks
Essayswil
lbef ocusedclear l
yonthedemandsoft hequest i
on, buttherewil
lbe
someunevenness.Theappr oachwil
lbemost l
yanalyt
icalorexplanatoryrat
her
thandescri
pti
ont onar r
ative.Theanswerwi l
lbemost lyrelevant.Mostoft he
argumentswillbest r
uctured coherent
lyand supported byl argel
yaccurate
fact
ualandschol arl
ymat eri
al.Theimpressi
onwillbethatagoodsol idanswer
hasbeenprovided.

Itisimpor tantt onot etoothatBands1and2answer sar ewher ethehi gh-f

li
ers
l
and;i .e.wher et heAandBgr adesar elocated.Whatusual lysepar atesBand2
from Band1answer sisthatanswer sinband2l ackthebal ancedappr oachof
thet opbandal thought hestyleofwr i
ti
ngr emai nsexpl anatory.Band1answer s
aremor ethoroughi ntheircoverage.Fori nstance,inaquest i
on,“ -ABand1
answerwi lltendt ofocusonbot haspect softheBer linconf erencet hatitwas
i
ndeedadr ivi
ngf orcetothescramblef orAf r
icaandt hatwheni twasi nsessi on
terri
torieswer ebei ngtakenupi naccor dancewi t
ht he“ Doct r
ineofEf fecti
ve
Occupat i
on.”Theot hersi
dei sthatbyt hetimet heconf erencewashel dmostof
Af r
icahadal r
eadybeent akenupbyEur opeaninvaders, andthatt heconf erence
most lyr ubber-stampedapr ocesst hathadal readyt akenpl ace.Ont heot her
hand,aBand 2 answerwi llbeexpl anat orybutmayf ocuson onel i
neof
argument .

Band3:16- 17Mar ks
Essayswi l
lref lectacl earunder standi ngoft hequestionandaf astatt
emptt o
provideanar gumentandf actualknowl edget oansweri t.Theappr oachwi l
l
containanal ysi sorexpl anati
onbutt heremaybesomeheavi l
ydescr i
pt i
veor
narrativepassages.Theanswerwi llofcour seber el
evant .Essayswi l
lachievea
genuinear gumentbutmayl ackbal anceanddept hinf actualknowledge.Most
oftheanswer swi llbest ructuredsat i
sfactori
lybutsomepar tsmayl ackful
l
coher ence.
Thismar kbandi sbestdescr i
bedasonewher etherei sheavydescr iptionand
narrationofr elevantf actbutanal ysisisint heform ofi
nt ermitt
entcomment sas
opposedt oinvar iableanalysis/explanat i
on.

Band4:14- 15Mar ks
Essayswi l
lindicat
eat t
emptstoarguerel
evantl
yalthoughof teni mplici
tl
y.The
approachwi l
ldependonsomeheavi l
ydescript
iveornar rat
ivepassagest han
on anal ysis or explanat
ion which may be limited toi ntroductions and
conclusions.Fact ualmat er
ial
,someti
mes veryf ul
l,willbe used t oi mpar
t
i
nformat ionordescr i
beeventsrat
herthantoaddressdirectl
yt her equir
ements
ofthe quest i
on.The st r
uctur
e ofthe ar
gumentcoul d be or ganised more
eff
ectively.

I
tisimportantt
oaddt hatBand4answer
sarebasi
call
yheavi
lydescr
ipt
iveand
whatusuallyseparat
est hem fr
om t
hebandbel
ow (Band5)istheamountof
r
elevantf
actualknowledgegiven.

Tur
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Band5:11-13
Essayswilloffersomeappr opri
ateelement sbutt herewi l
lbel i
tt
leat t
empt
general
lytolinkf act
ualmateri
alt other equirementsoft hequestion.The
approach wi
lllackanalysi
sand t hequal i
tyoft hedescr ipti
on ornar r
ative,
al
thoughsufficient
lyaccur
ateandr elevanttot het opicifnotthepar ticular
questi
on,wil
lnotbel i
nkedeff
ecti
velytothear gument .Thest r
uct
urewi l
lshow
weaknessesandt hetr
eatmentoftopi
cswi t
hintheanswerwi l
lbeunbalanced.

Band5isalsoknownforanswerswhichj
ustmakeabasicpass.Thenar
rat
ive
i
sthinbutsuff
ici
entenoughtomakeabor der
li
nepass.Answer
sinthi
sband
ar
eusuall
yther
eforet
ri
ckytoaccur
atel
ypl
ace.

Band6;8-10mar ks
Essayswillnotbeproper
lyfocusedontherequir
ementsofthequesti
on.There
maybemanyunsuppor t
edasser t
ionsandcomment ar
iesthatl
acksuf f
ici
ent
fact
ualsuppor t
.The argument s may be suppor
ted,butbeing ofl i
mited
rel
evancetothetopicandtheremaybeconfusionabouttheimpl
icat
ionsofthe
questi
on.

Band7;0-7mar ks
Essayswillbecharacteri
sedbyi nsi
gnifi
cance,i
rr
elevance,
orargumentsthatdo
notbegintomakesi gnif
icantpoint
s.Theanswer smaybel ar
gelyfr
agment ar
y
andincoherent
.Mar ksatt hebottom ofthi
sBandwi llbegi
venveryrarel
y(i
.e.O
%)becauseevent hemostwaywar dandf ragmentaryanswersusuall
ymakeat
l
eastafewval i
dpoint s.

Bands6and7ar ef ortheveryweakanswer swhi chdonotcont ai

nadequat e
fact
ualknowledget obeelevatedtoabasicpass.
Inconclusi
oni tisimportanttoemphasizethefactthatanyessaybeginswi th
nomar katal landthenbui ldsupthecreditwhichisappropri
ateforwhatever
markband.I tistheref
orei mport
anttopracti
cet heint
egr
ati
onoft herequisi
te
skil
l
sineachandever yassignment.Thi
swi l
leventual
lynurt
urethecandidate
i
ntothe‘A’grade.

St
ruct
ureoft
heExami
nat
ion
 Threepaper
sar
eset.

 Paper9054/
1iscompul
sor
y

 Secondpaper
,chooseei
therpaper2orpaper3.

 Inallcases,answeronl
y4quest
ionsofyourchoi
ceacr
osst
het
hree
sect
ionsA,B,andC.

I
nal
lpaper
s,t
heexami
nat
ioni
sbr
okeni
nto3sect
ionsA,BandC.Youar
e

Tur
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 Page20

expectedtoanswerf ourquestionsinanypaperyouhaver egist

eredf or
.Secti
on
Chasgobbet sorcont extbasedquest i
ons1t o8or9.Thi shappenst obea
compul soryquest i
oni nallthepapers,butyouhavet ochooseonl ysomef our
gobbetsandanswert hem.Pl easenotethatthef ourgobbetsyouchoosef r
om
secti
onC ofanypaperconst i
tut
eonequest i
on.Eachgobbethassi xanda
quart
ermar ks,hencet hef ourwil
lmake25mar ks.Yourthreeot herquesti
ons
canber ai
sedf rom secti
onsAandB, thewayyoul ikei
t.Butnotet hatyouhave
tochooseatl eastaquest i
onf r
om everysect i
on.Al lquesti
onscar r
yequal
marks–at otalof25mar ks.

NB:thatinpaper1,thegobbet st
extsareprescr
ibedbythesyll
abus.TheTurn-
Upstudypackhighli
ghtsalltheprescri
bedt
extsforthi
spaper.Buti
npapertwo
andthree,t
herearenoprescribedtext
s.Gobbetsaresetfr
om anywhereacr
oss
thesyl
labusfort
hatpart
icularpaper.

Thet ot
alscoreofthe2paper sisobtainedasfol
lows:
Studentxinpaper1got90%.I nthesecondpaper( r
egi
steredforpaper3)
,Xgot
90%.Thet otalofthetwopapersi s90%+90%=180%.Di videitby2tofi
ndthe
averagei.
e180%÷2=90%.Thi sisthefinalmarkint
hewhol eexam,whichis
rat
edsymbolA, equi
valentt
o5poi nts.

Wei
ght
ingofanswersinallpaper
s
 Knowledgeconsti
tutes 40%

 Anal
ysi
sandi
nter
pret
ati
onconst
it
utes 30%

 Eval
uat
ionandappl
icat
ionconst
it
utes 30%

Tot
al 100%

Ther
efore,f
oraval
idanswer
,noaspectoft
hewei
ght
ingcr
it
eri
onshoul
dbe
negl
ected.

Whyi
sthi
sSt
udyPackt
hebestr
esour
ce?

Thosewhot eachdivinit
yandt hosewhost udyitat‘A’l
evelwillcert
ainlyagree
withust hatthi
ssubj ectisoneoft hemostdi f
fi
cultA’levelsubject
st oteach.
Actuall
yt her
ei snothinguniqueaboutt hi
ssubject,butperhapst hef ol
lowi
ng
reasonswi l
lexplai
nwhyt hesubjectappearstobediffi
cult
:

1.Ther
eisnocoll
egeorinst
it
uti
ont
hatt
rainsadivi
nit
yteacher
.
2.Ther
eisnotext
bookthati
sspeci
fi
cal
lyan‘A’
LevelDivi
nit
ytext
book.

Tur
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tySt
udyPack
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Therefore an or di
naryt eacherwho pr obabl
y st udied r
eli
gious studi
es at
Universit
yl evelorsomet heologi
anfrom at heologicalcoll
egehast omake
himselfar ealteacher,t
hroughextensi
veteachi
ngoft hesubjectovertheyears,
andsel f–traini
ngf orsuccessasagooddi vini
tyteachercanonl ybepr ovedor
confir
medormeasur edbyyourconst antproducti
onofexcel lentresul
tsinthe
subject.

As aforement i
oned t herei s no speci fi
c di vinit
yt extbook.The t r
adi t
ional
comment ari
est hatareof tenpr escribedforr eadingar enotspeci fical
lymeant
for‘
A’level.Toment i
onsome:Peake’ sBibleComment ary,Thel i
vingwor l
dof
theOldTest amentbyB. W Ander son;Thehi storyofI sr
aelbyJ.Br i
ghtet cthese
comment ari
esdonotaddr essanyspeci f
icsyl labusrequi r
ementwhol i
sticall
y.
Moresincerelytheaut horsoft hesebookswer eperhapspr of
essorsofr eligi
on
atsomeuni versit
ies.Butt heycer tai
nlywer enotdi vini
tyteachers.Ther efore‘A’
l
eveldivini
tymat erialhast obesi f
tedfrom t heenor mousmor assofbi bli
cal
l
iter
atur
eknownascomment ar
ies.Byt hi
sfacti tthenfoll
owst hatthet r
adi t
ional
comment ari
esar eofcour sehel pfulbutonlytoacer tai
next ent
.

Oneoft hepr oblemst hatst udent sencount eri n‘A’leveldivinityi st hatsomeof

ther equi r
ement sthatt hesyl l
abusemphasi zear enoteasi l
yvi siblef r
om these
convent ionalcomment aries.Forexampl ebot ht henewandol ddi vinitysyl
labus
emphasi zed t hatt hroughoutcandi dat es shoul d be awar e oft he views of
moder nschol ars.Neit hert hesyl l
abusi tselfnort hecomment ar i
est hemselves
defi
newhatamoder nschol aris.Isa1950sschol aramoder none?Whatofa
1970’ sschol ar ?Ther easonabl eassumpt i
oni st hatcandidat esar eexpect edto
beabr eastwi t
ht hel atestwor ksf r
om r enowned i nt
ell
ect ual s,f orexampl e,
professor si nt he1980’ supt othepr esentday.I nvi ewoft hisassumpt i
onand
othermat t
ersr elatedt oi ti nthisdiscussi on,theaut horoft his‘ A’levelstudy
packwor kedoutanupt odat eresourcet hatanydynami cexami nerwi l
lnever
disr
egar d.Thest udypacki sacompi lationofcompul soryi
ssuesi nt hesyll
abus.
Ittr
eat smai nt hemesonl yanddr awscomment sf rom wel l
-knownexper tsin
parti
cul artopi cs,notgener alscholarswhot ryever ythi
ng.Thest udypackal so
demonst rateshow di vi ni
tyquest i
onsar einterpretedandhow t of ocusont he
quest i
on.Thi si mpor tantski llisdemonst ratedi nt heshor tmodelessayst hat
areencor porat edint hest udypack.Butt hesear enotmeantt obeexhaust i
ve
essays f orcr ammi ng.A suppl ement aryquest ions and answer s modul eis
availablet ocompl ementt hemai nstudypack.

Finall
y,t hest udypacki ncludesanddemonst ratest het opicongobbets–an
aspectt hatwasnotknownpr i
ort othe90’s.Bot ht eacher sandstudentsare
oftenconf usedbyt he‘gobbets’requir
ement sparticularlyintheOl
dTest ament
paper.I tisonlyinthisstudypackt hattheissueisexpl ai
nedanddemonst rat
ed.
Ourhonestconcl usi
oni stheref
or ethateverydivinit
y;t eacherandstudentwil
l
need t hisr esourceespeci al
lywhen t heypr epar ef ort hei
rexaminati
onsi n
Divini
ty.

Tur
n-UpCol
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‘
A’l
evelDi
vini
ty,
compar
ati
vest
udy,
appl
icat
ionandcont
ext
ual
isat
ion:anew
syl
labusr
equi
rement

Def
ini
ti
onoft
erms

1)Compar
ati
vest
udy

2)Cont
ext
ual
isat
ionandappl
icat
ion

1)Compar ati
vestudyisaconceptofst udythatlooksatt woormor ecase
studiest odrawanysimil
ari
tiesandabi tofcont
rastwherenecessary.I
n‘A’
l
eveldi vinit
y(bydemandoft henew ZIMSEC syllabus)ast udyofear l
y
Israeli
te prophecy shoul
d be done concur r
ently wit
h t he tr
ends in
Zimbabwean i ndi
genous reli
gion t
o dr aw any par al
lel
s between the
par adi
gms.

2)Cont extualisationandappl icationar ebi bl i

calconcept swhi chseekst orel
ate
orbr ingthebi bl
icalstori
esi nt ot her eall i
fesi t
uat i
onsoft hepeopl ein
cont ext.Thisconceptseekst opr otectt hebi blicalst ori
esf r
om bei ngseenas
abstr actandf icti
onalstori
es.Bi bl
icalissuesmustr eflectt heirreal
ityinthe
reallifesituationsoft hepeopl e,sot hatr el
igionhasar ealmeani ng.Thisis
mor esowi ththeconceptof“ appl i
cation”bywhi cht heol ogiansbel i
evethat
theunder l
yi ngsyst em ofthoughtandf ai t
hi nher entint heBi blestori
escan
beappl iedt oday.Whatwast ruet hen,t heyhavebel i
eved,canst i
llbetrue
now.JohnBar t
on( 1988)wr otet hat,“TheBi ble,li
keot hergr eatclassicsof
l
iteratureandr eli
gion,canst imul ateanendl essdi versityofnew t houghts
andi deas.”I nt hel i
ghtofthisvi ew, student sof‘ A’leveldi vini
tymustseekt o
discovert her elevanceofbi blicalst oriest ot hei rownenvi ronment ,thatis,
theZi mbabweancont ext.

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CHAPTER1
Br
iefHi
stor
yof“
theOl
dTest
amentI
srael
it
es”
Chapt
erobj
ect
ives

Af
terstudyingt
hechapter
,st
udent
sshoul
dbeabl
eto:
(a)Explaint
heori
ginsoft
heHebrewst
ory.

(
b)Ref
lectont
hekeyancest
orsoft
heHebr
ewt
ri
be.

(
c)Expl
aint
her
easonsbehi
ndt
heAbr
ahami
cCovenant
.

(
d)Expl
aint
heMosai
cCovenant(
theSi
naiCovenant
).

(
e)Ref
lectont
heset
tl
ementi
nCanaan.

(
f)Di
scusst
het
ransf
ormat
ionf
rom t
heocr
acyt
omonar
chyi
nIsr
ael
.

(
g)Di
scusst
heor
igi
nsofpr
ophecyi
nIsr
ael
.

I
ssuesoft
hechapteri
nbr
ief
1.Theancest
ry.

2.Thesor
jouneyi
nEgypt
.

3.TheAbr
ahami
cCovenant
.

4.Thel
iber
ati
onf
rom Egyptandt
hewi
lder
nesst
radi
ti
on.

5.TheMosai
c(Si
nai
)Covenant
.

6.Theset
tl
ementi
nCanaan.

7.Fr
om t
heocr
acyt
omonar
chy.

8.Theer
aofpr
ophet
ism.

Ancest
ry

TheHebr ew tri
beist r
acedt oAbr aham.TheHebr ew peoplear esometi
mes
cal
ledIsrael
it
es,Judeans,orJews,dependi
ngont hehi st
ori
cperiodonewillbe
deali
ngwi t
h.Abraham isheretr
eatedastheancestoroftheHebrewsi nali
near
genealogy.Thi
sistosayt hatheisviewedi
nt hi
sstudyast heutmostandmost
rel
evantancestoroft heHebr ewsf orpurposesoft hislevelofstudy.This

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start
ing poi ntdeals wi th Abraham and hi s descendant sIsaac,Jacob and
Jacob’ ssons( fr
om Genesi s12) .ThroughAbr aham,humani tywasbl essed.
“Witht hecal lofAbr aham ( Genesi s12:1-
3)t herebeginsa new hi storyof
blessing,”arguesPr ofessorJohnS.Ksel man( 1988)
.TheCl i
maxoft hepoi ntis
thathewaspr omi sedagr eatnati
onandagr eatnameast hesourceofbl essing
forallhumani ty.Ksel manexpoundst hi
svi ew bysayi ngt hat,whathuman
beingsf ail
edt oachi evebyt heirownef fort
scomest othef amilyofAbr aham,
andt hrought hatfami lytoallhumani tyasdi vinegift
.Yahweh’ spromi sedgif t
s
ofland, progenyandear thlyprosper
ityinGenesi s12:1-3posesasar eversalof
thecur sesinEden,i nGenesi s3:16-19,ofahost i
leeart
h,paini nhumanbi rt
hs,
andendl esshumant oil
.

TheAbr
ahami
cCovenant(
Gen15:
1-21)

Yahweh’ sr eit
erati
onoft hepr omi seofanhei randnumer ousdescendant sanda
homel and( Genesi s15: 4-7)camei napr ophet i
cway.Wear guet hi
soutbecause
theexpr essionwhi chsays,“ Thewor dofYahwehcamet oAbr aham” ,whi ch
occurst wice( VV 1 and 4)i sst ereotypi calpr ophet icf ormul a.Thiscan be
compar ed wi th Jer emi ah 1:2,Hosea 1:1 and Mi cah 1: 1.Genesi s 17:1- 27
containst hewhol eessenceoft heAbr ahami ccovenantwhi chpr omiseshi ma
sonandt heet ernalpossessi onoft hel andofCanaan.
Thechi ldoft hepr omi sewasI saac,t heonl ysonoft heol dwi feofAbr aham,
Sarai.Att het imeAbr aham gott hischi ldofpr omi se,at empt ati
oncamef rom
Yahweh hi msel forder ing Abr aham t o per form ar it
ualbysl aughtering that
preci
ousgi ftasanof fer i
ngt oYahweh( Genesi s22: 1-24)atMor i
ah.Abr aham’ s
obedience, t hough not accompl i
shed, r ender ed hi m t he ext raordi
nar y
credentialsoft hemostobedi enthumanf igur etoGod, “
Thef atheroffaith),who
wouldber ewardedwi thanet ernalr oyalpost eri
tyandaper manenthomel and.
ThusAbr aham becamet hefavour iteancest oroft heHebr ewpeopl e.

Thedeat
hofAbr
aham (
Gen23:
1-20)

WhenAbr aham’swi f
eSaraidi
ed, heboughtl
andinCanaanf r
om thef eudall
ord
Ephron,wher ehebur i
edhiswife.Whenhediedalso,Abraham wasbur i
edinthe
samepi eceofl andinacaveknownasMachpel ah.Hewasbur i
edt herebyhis
sons,IsaacandI shmael
.Justbef orehi
sdeathAbr aham gave“ everythi
ng”of
histohishei r,I
saac.Thisactr ef
lect
sthetheol
ogicalpointthatIsaacandhi s
descendant sbearaspecialst
atusandaspecialdesti
ny.

I
mpor
tanthi
stor
icalpoi
ntoff
ami
li
esofI
srael

TheJacobandEsaur el
ati
onships,
oftencalledIsr
aelandEdom,i
smorecrucial
forunderst
andi
ngthesocialandpoli
ticaldynamicsinourst
udyofDi
vini
ty.An
analysi
softhi
sviewi
sattemptedinthet r
eati
sebelow?

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JacobandEsau,
Isr
aelandEdom

Apr
ominentschol aront hebookofGenesi s,
John.S.Kselmanwr otethat:
Thelivesandcar eersofthegreatfiguresoftheOldTest ament ,
suchast hel i
berat orMosesortheancest orsf r
om whom t r
ibesor
nati
onst ookt heirnames, ar
enotsi mplystoriesofi
ndividuals;rat
her
,
suchf i
guresar esomet imesportrayedasl i
vingoutprolepti
callythel
ater
hist
oricalexperiencesofthepeopl e
whosepr ogeni t
or sandsaviourstheyar e.

Ithasal readybeenpoi nt
edoutear l
ierthattheancestorAbr aham, anti
cipatedin
hislifelaterexperi
encesofhi sdescendant s,forexample,thesoj ouneyinEgypt
becauseofdr ought ,oppression byt hePhar aoh becauset hePhar aoh had
affections forSar ah;t he enr ichi
ng oft he ancestorin Egypt ;the di vi
ne
i
nter venti
onofYahwehdescr ibedint hef orm ofplagues,andt hesubsequent
rel
easeoft hepeopl e.SimilarlyMosesunder wentinhi sear lylif
eaki ndof
prophet i
cexodus:endanger edbyt hePhar aoh,hewassavedbyapassage
throughwat er.asr ecordedi nExodus1: 22;2: 1-
10_,andencount eredGodat
Hor ebaf t
erguidinghi sfl
ockt hrought hedesert(Exodus3:1-3)

Whati st rue f
orAbr aham and Moses is equall
y so forJacob and hi s
descendant s(I
srael),andEsauandhi sdescendants(Edom).JacobandEsau
wer etwinsonsofI saac,bornbythewifeRebekah.InGenesis25:23Rebekah
wast oldthattheolderbr ot
her(Esau)woul
dservetheyoungerbrother(Jacob)
.
Thisst at
ementsuggest edthatt
heyoungerbrot
herwoul dbesuperioroverthe
elder,alr
eadyimplicatingasubjugati
onofEdom byI sr
aeli
nther ei
gnofDavi d
(2Sam 8: 14;1Kings11: 15-
16).

Thebr otherhoodandst r
ivebet weenJacobandEsaut hatmar kt heGenesi s
narrat
ivesar ebot hrefl
ectedel sewherei ntheOl dTest ament.Ther el
ationship
betweent heJacob-Esaunar rati
vesandt hetextsdeal i
ngswi tht hepol i
ti
cal
i
nteracti
onofI sraelandEdom i scompl ex.Whi l
et heJacob-Esaust ori
esi n
Genesisincludemat er i
aldrawnf rom theancientsour ces,att
hesamet i
met hey
ref
lectlaternat i
onalet hnicissuesbet weent heki ngdomsofI sraelandl ater
Judah,andEdom i nthet enthcent uryB.C.Ont heot herhanditislikel
yt hatthe
Jacob-Esauci rcleinGenesi shadsomei nf
luenceont heli
ter
aryshapingofOl d
Testamentt ext
sdeal ingwi t
hther elat
ionshipofIsraelandEdom inwor l
daf f
airs

The br otherhood ofI sr

aeland Edom i sr eferred to elsewher ei nt he Old
Testamentt exts.Such language notonl yreflects ethnicr el
ationships but
polit
icalall
iance.InDeuteronomy23: 7theIsraelitesareinstructednott ohate
theEdomi t
ef orheisthei
ryoungbr ot
her.Thelanguageoff rat
ernityisalsoused
i
nNumber s20: 14whenMoseswascommandedbyGodt oannouncet othe
Israeli
testhat ,“
Youar eabouttocr ossintothet erri
tor
yofyourbr others,the
sonsofEsau,dwel li
nginSei r
.”Brother
hoodl anguageal soappear si nAmos
1:11.Inthist ext
,Edom iscasti
gatedforpursuinghi sbrotherhoodwi thaswor d

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anddest
royi
nghi
str
eat
y-par
tner
.Thi
sbr
other
hoodher
eref
erst
oIsr
ael
.

Isr
ael’
shost i
li
tytowar
dsEdom r eachedahi ghpointi ntheexi li
cperiod.Many
comment ator
sconsiderthatAmos1: 11-12,aswel lasObadi ah10; 12,areexili
c
additi
ons.Thesetext
ssuggestthatther easonsfort hehost i
li
tyaforementioned
wasf rom theeventrecordedin1Esdr as4:45,wher eEdom i ssaidt ohave
burnedtheJer usal
em Templedur i
ngt heBabyl onianat tackin587B. C.Other
anti
-Edomitetext
sare:Jeremiah49:7-
22;I sai
ah34: 5-6,Lament ati
ons1:2-5,j
ust
togiveafew.

TheEgypt
ianbondage

Thecomi ngoftheEgyptianoppr essionandt heExodusj our neywer er evealed

toAbr aham byYahwehl ongbackbef oret heyoccur red.Evi dencef ort hisis
foundi nGenesis15:13-
16.
Thebi bli
calst
oryonhowt heHebr ewsbecameser vantsinEgyptst artswi ththe
faminest oryinthelandoft heHebr ews.Thi slef
tthem wi thonl yonechoi ce,
thatwast ogoandseekf oodel sewher e.Sot heywentt oEgyptseeki ngf orfood.
Thewor dinthebf orthiser r
andi s“Sor j
ourney.”Ast heysoughtr eli
eft here,
eventuall
ytheystayedtherelongerandt henbecomesubj ectedtot heEgypt ians
assl aves.Thisespeciallyoccur red aftert hedeath ofJoseph,t hei
rf ellow
tri
besman( afell
ow Hebrew)whohadbecomesopr omi nenti nt heEgypt i
an
government .(
Genesis47-50)

TheHebr ewssuf
feredoppressionandensl
avementforhundredsofyearsunti
l
Godcamet ot
hei
rrescuebyt hehandofMoses.Mosesl edthei
rli
berat
ionfr
om
bondageandwentwi t
ht hem onawi lder
nessjourneythatlast
edf ort
y(40)
year
s,thoughMosesdiedont hewaybefor
etheyreachedthepromisedlandof
Canaan(Deutr
onomy34:1-12).

TheMosai
cCovenant

TheMosai cbi bl
icalstorysayst hathewascal l
edbyGodf orapol i
ti
caland
reli
giousmi ssioninEgyptwher eGod’ speople(Hebrews)wer eenslaved.The
calli
ngoccur redatabur ni
ngbushi nt hewil
dernessofSi naiwher ehewas
herdingsheep.Theot hernamef orSinaiisHoreb.Si
naimeans“ themount ainof
thesene- bush accor ding t
o Deutronomy33: 16.Thecal lofMosesi st hen
foll
owedbyGod’ scommandt ogot oEgyptt oconfrontPhar aoh.Mosest ook
thisupwi ththehel pofhi sbrotherAaronandhi ssist
erMi ri
am.I nsubsequent
narrati
ves,theMosai ccovenantpr oper,dealswiththegivi
ngoft heDecal ogue
(tencommandmentt oMosesbyGod( Exodus19-24:11)
.ThisDecal oguei sa
keyf eat
ureoft heMosai ccovenant.I
tist hi
scovenantwhicht helaterprophets
soughtt orati
fybyur gingtheIsrael
it
estor ememberit.

Theact
ivit
yoflat
erprophetsonthi
si ssuemainl
ytookplaceaft
ert
heIsrael
it
es
hadset
tledinCanaan,thati
s,af
terthewi l
der
nessjour
ney.ItwasJoshuawho

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l
edt hefinalpar
tofthewil
dernessjourney,andtooktheHebr ewsi nt
oCanaan.
Joshuawasami li
tar
yman( soautomat i
call
yaj udge).Hei st hemanwho
di
stri
butedlandtotheIsr
aeli
tesinCanaanusi ngasyst em oflotstodet
ermine
whoshoul dtakewhichpi
eceofl andafterdefeat
ingtheinhabitants(
nat
ivesof
Canaan)inaseriesofwarst
hatwer ebackedbyast rongGod( Joshua10-19)
.

The rule ofjudges remai ned subjugat

ed t o Yahweh.They had t
o consult
Yahweh on al lissues.Thi s suggeststhatt heyhad no autonomytor ule.
Therefor
et heauthori
tywaswi thYahweh, hencewesayt heper
iodfr
om Joshua
toSamuelwasoneoft heocrat
icrule(i
.erulebyGod) .

Theocr
ati
cr uleendedwhenSaulwasannoi ntedthef i
rstkingofI sraelby
Samuelafteravi gorousdemandbyt hepeopl
et ohaveaki ngi nl
inewiththe
tr
endsinthenei ghbouri
ngstates.Alt
houghYahwehallowedt hem aki
ng, i
nthe
fi
gureofSaul,Heneverbl essedthenewor der
.Rulebyaki ngi swhatiscall
ed
“t
hemonar chy.”Thedi ct
um iscorrecttosaythat
,“t
hecommencementoft he
monarchyinI sraelisassociatedwithcommencementofr ealpropheti
sm in
I
srael
.”

Ref
erences
1.McCar t
er.
P.KJr 1SamuelAnchorBi
ble8.Gar
denCi
ty.N.
Y.Doubl
e,
1980

2.GunnD. Thef
ateofKi
ngSaul
.Ani
nter
pret
ati
onofabi
bli
cal
st
ory.

JournalfortheStudyoft heOldTestament
SupplementSeries N0.14,Sheff
iel
d:JSOT
Press,1981.
3.Walt
er.E.Rast
:Art
icl
eonJoshuai nHarper’
sComment ar
y,HarperSan
Fr
ancisco,
1988.

4.LovensonJ.D. Si
naiandZi
on:AnEnt
ryi
ntot
heJewi
shBi
ble.
SanFranci
sco:

HarperandRow1987.
5.Sar
naN.
M. Explor
ingExodus.NewYor
k;Schocken,
1986

6.Ksel
manJ. Ar
ti
cleonGenesi
sinHar
per
’scomment
ary,
Har
per

SanFr
ansco,
1988

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CHAPTER2
EARLYPROPHECYI
NISRAEL
Byt
heendofthischapt
erthestudentshoul
dbeabl
eto:
i
) Defi
net heconceptof“pr
ophecy”usi
ngdef
ini
ti
onsf
rom di
ff
erent
scholars.

i
i) Ident
if
ytheearl
iestf
ormsofprophecyi
nIsraelandsurr
oundingar
eas
andtheirchar
acteri
sti
csandexplai
nthem gi
vingexamples.

i
ii) Tr aceandexpl ainthetransiti
onf r
om t heocracytomonar chyinIsrael
.
vi)Tr
aceandexpl ainthedevel opment sthatoccur redinIsr
aeli
teprophecyuptot
he
t
i i
v )
meof E xamine t
he role ofSeers i
nIs r
ael.
Samuel .
v)
vii
)Discusss
D i
scu t
hs
ecr
di
t
ifi
c
fa
el
r
el
y t
h
ncee
st
bh
ee
to
w r
i
ee
esont
ntr he
ue aneme
df r
ag
se
lenpc
ryo
opf
hp
er
t
so
.phecyinIsr
ael.
vii
i)I
dentif
ythef unctionsoflat erprophets.
ix)Di
scusst hepr eservati
onandcompi l
ationofprophet i
cmat er
ial
s.
(
x)Showhowpr ophetscommuni catedmessages.

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Whati
sapr
ophet
?

Various schol
ars def
ine t
he ter
m “Pr
ophet”with cl
ose r
efer
ence tot he
rel
ationshi
pbet weenGodandapar t
icul
arindi
vidualwhoiscalledtobea
prophet.HermannGunkeldefi
nedapr
ophetasapersonwhohasar el
ati
onship
withthedivi
nit
yorGod.

James Muil
enburg says thata pr ophetwas a covenantmedi at
orwho
repr
esent
edthecovenantdemandst othepeopl
efrom t
heperspecti
veofthe
deit
y.Hefurt
hersaystheprophetusesthemessenger–styl
eofspeech,“
Thus
SaystheLor
d”tolegi
ti
mizehisdivi
nemi ssi
on.

Rober
tWil
sondefinedapr ophetasonewhostoodbet
weenGodandhuman
bei
ngs.Prophet
sar eint
ermediar
ies.Ber
nar
dAnder
sondef
inedapr
ophetas
onewhocommunicatesthedivi
newi l
l.

A prophetcoul
d bedef i
ned asa spokesman ormout hpi
eceofa deityor
someonewhospeaksonbehal fofanot
her.E.
g.whenMosescoul dnotspeak
fl
uentl
ybefor
ePharaoh,Aaronbecamehisspokesperson,
hencepr
ophecy.Thi
s
i
ssuppor t
edbytheuseofthemessengerformul
ar;“t
hussaysYahweh.
”

A commonaspecti nal lt
hesedefini
ti
onsist heemphasisonthe“ mast
er–
servant
”rel
ati
onshi
pbet weenGodandhi sprophet
.Thelatterwoul
dservethe
willoftheformer. Thesedefi
nit
ionswillhelptounderst
andhow andwhy
prophecybeganinI
srael
.

Ear
li
estmani
fest
ati
onsofpr
ophecyi
nIsr
ael

Howdi
dpr
ophecybegi
ninI
srael
?

Theneedf orcommunicati
onbetweenGodandhi
speopleI
sraelnecessi
tated
thecallofpr ophet
s. JohannesLi
ndbl
om l
ist
edt
hefol
lowi
ngast heearli
est
for
msofpr ophecyi
nIsrael
:
1.Visions
2.Dreams
3.Inspirat
ion
4.Divinati
on

Visi
ons
Theyareagi
ftofsecondsi
ghtf
rom God.Godgi
vespi
ctur
est
othei
nner–eye

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ofani ndividuale.g.Godspoket oMosesi navisi

onatMountSi nai(Exodus3).A
pictur
eofaneventorascenei sscreenedtotheindi
vidual.Hehearsavoi ceof
Godspeaki ngtohi m.Theindivi
dualanswers.Aform ofdi
aloguegoesondur ing
thevision.Fr om thatsceneGodasser tshisauthori
tywhiletheindivi
dualmay
show r eluctancet oobey.Fearmayaf f
ecttheindi
vidualandexcusesmaybe
given.Int heearli
estdaysofI sr
aeli
teprophecythi
soccurredtoMoseswhenhe
sawabur ningbushatMountSi nai
.Godcommandedhi mt ot
akeof fhi
sshoes
and listen to him.God i nt
roduced himselfto Moses.Itwast hi
svi si
onary
encount erthatgaveMoseshi smandat etobeapr ophet.

Dreams
Adr eam isaneventthati
sseenbyaper sonwhenhei sasleep.Godcanvisita
personi nadream andspeakwi t
hhim e.g.Samuelwascal l
edintopropheti
c
offi
ceinadr eam (1Sam 3).Dreamswer erespectedfr
om ancientti
mes.Kings
al
so r eli
ed on dreams e.g Joseph inter
preted Pharaoh’
s dreams;Dani el
i
nterpretedNebuchadnezzar’
sdr eams.Inear l
yI sr
ael
it
epr ophecySamueli s
presentedasaprophetwhor ecei
vedhiscalli
nadr eam.

Inspir
at i
on
Itiswhenaper soni smovedorar ousedbyt heSpi r
ittoactorwr i
tei nacer t
ain
way.I nspirationcoul di nf
luenceone` sbehavi or.Ear l
iestformsofi nspirat
ion
i
nf l
uencedpeopl et obehaveecst ati
call
y, hencewehearofecst aticpr ophecyi n
connect i
onwi thSaulwhobehavedecst ati
callyin( 1Sam 10:5- 9) .Ecst asyisa
statewher ebyt hespi ritofagodover shadowst her ecipientsucht hathi sorher
powerofr easoni ngcoul dbesuspended.Onecoul dbei nspiredbyGodt o
prophesyatapar ticulartime.Int histypeofpr ophesyt hepowert opr ophesy
woul d bet empor ar y.I tcould bei nduced bymusi c,vi gorousdanci ng and
cheering.Thesepr econdi ti
onsarecar r
iedoutbyot herpeopl eint hegr oupwho
arenott hemsel vesi nspir
ed.Int hemi dstofhyperact i
vityani ndi vidualis
i
nspi r
edorf il
ledwi tht hespiri
tofGod.Hei scompel ledbyt hespi rittospeakout
certai
nmat ter s.Int hepr ocesst hei ndividualmaybehavest rangel y.Hemay
takeof fcloths, drophi mselfdown, runwi l
dly,scratchhi sbodyal loveret ct othe
amazementofon–l ookers.Anexampl eoft hisiswhenSaul ,thesonofKi sh
j
oinedabandofsi nger sanddancer sandhewaspossessedandpr ophesied
ecstati
cally.(1Sam 10: 5-
9)

Di
vinat
ion

Itwasat echnicalwayofdeduci nginformati

on-usingobject
s.Bonesanddi ce
werecommonl yusedbyexper tswhocl ai
medt obeusi ngGod` spower sto
i
nterpretbehaviorofobject
se.gJoshuausedl otst oal
locat
el andtoIsrael
it
es
atset t
lementin Canaan.Di vi
nerswoul d clai
m t hatwhatt heydid had the
authori
tyofGod;t hatthei
roracleswer esanctionedbyGod.Theycoul dbe
consulted on vari
ous matters ata price.Necr omancers also f
ellintothe
categoryofdiviners.Saulapproachedawomannecr omanceri ndisguiseto
requestadivi
neovert hedeadSamuel .(1Sam 28:3-17).

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Ecst
ati
cpr
ophecyasaf
orm ofi
nspi
rat
ion

Bernar dAndersondefinedecstasyas:anemot ionwhichissopower ful

,whi ch
takescontroloftheself.Ecstat
icpr
ophecywasar ousedbymusi canddanci ng.
Thepr acti
ti
onersofitweremember sofagr ouporaband.Thei rroleswer eofa
social,pol
iti
calandr eli
giousnature.Theyperformedtheiracti
vitiesundera
l
eaderwhom t heycal l
ed“ thei
rfat
her”.Arguablytheychargedf eesf ort hei
r
services.Someschol arsarguethattheseecstati
csdidnotchar gef ares,but
theyacceptedt okensofappreci
ati
on.

ThecaseofSauli sacl assi

cexampl eoftheseearl
yprophet
s.Itisreport
edin1
Sam 10: 9-13thatSaulj oi
nedagr oupofecst at
icswhowerepr epari
ngforwar
againstPhi l
i
sti
nes.Whent hegr oupdancedandsang,Saulgotpossessedand
prophesiedecstatical
ly,“I
sSaulal soamongt heprophet
s?”(
1Sam 10: 12).
Thi
s
questionshowst hat:
(i
)Theso- cal
ledprophetswer eexpectedtobehavethi
sway.
(i
i)
Saulwasnotknownt obel
ongt othisgr
oup

Thef oll
owingsect
ionsshouldbest udi
edcar ef
ull
yint
hebibl
eonecstasyand
divinati
on toacquaintyour
selfwithevidenceforear
lyf
ormsofprophecyin
Israel.
1Samuel10:5- 8,1Samuel20: 18-
24,2Ki ngs2:4and2 Ki ngs4:1;1Sam
19:20;2Ki ngs3:
15;Num 11:25,Num 22: 6;1Sam 28:1–17;1Sam 14: 41;
Sam 20: 35-
41.

Char
act
eri
sti
csofecst
ati
cpr
ophecy

(
1) Itwascat alyzedbyMusi c,vigorousdanci ngandcheer ing( seet heRSV
Bibl
ef ortextualevi denceat1Sam 10: 5)
(
2) Itwaspr acticedbyagr oupofpeopl e.Thegr oupwasal socal ledaband
oragui ldbecauset heyusedmusi calinstrument st oinducet hespi ri
t.
(
3) Itwas al so associ ated wi t
h mi li
tary activiti
es oft he nat i
on t o gi ve
encouragementt owi thstandt heenemy.Theevi dencet hatisi n1Sam
10:5 says t hatt he band whi ch Saulj oined was per formi ng neara
Phil
ist
iniangar rison
(
4) Thebandbel ongedt oal eaderwhom t heyr efer redtoast he“ fat
her.”He
wasnotabi ologicalf atherassuchbutal eaderwhor egul atedt heir
acti
vit
ies,“Andwhoi stheirfather?”(1Sam 10: 12)Thi squest ionpur por ts
toimpl ythatever ygr ouphadal eaderwhoi sr egardedas“ theirfather .
”
Mostschol ar sbelievet hatthisgroupbel ongedt oSamuel .
(
5) Theybehavedi nanawkwar dmannerdur ingt hepr ocessofpr ophesyi ng,
“Whathashappenedt ot hesonofKi sh?”( 1Sam 10: 11).Thi squest i
on
suggest ssurpriseont hewaySaulwast henbehavi ng.
(
6) Thepossessedpr ophetmi ghtonlypr ophesyonceandnomor eagai ni n
hisli
fet i
me.El dadandMedad( t
het woecst aticsment i
onedi nNumber s

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11:25,
prophesi
edecst
ati
cal
lyi
nthecampandt
heydi
ditnomor
e.

Char
acteri
sticsofDivi
nation
1) I tmakesuseofobj ectssuchasbones;di ce;arr
ows.Lot swer ealsoused
i
ndi vinat
ionint hef or
m ofcur vedst i
cksorboneswhi chhaddi fferent
symbol sonitsfacescar ryingcert
ainmeani ngs.Ar cher
y( useofar r
ows)
wasal sousedi ndivinati
on.Thebehavi orofar rowscoul dbei nt
er preted
bysuchexper t
sasJonat hantogi vecer t
ainmeani ngs.Wi t
chcraf tand
necromancewer ealsoformsofdi vinat
ion.
Togetacl earpictureofthepr acti
cesofdi vi
nati
onasawayofpr edi cting
andi nter
pret
ingevent s,youmustr eadt hef ol
lowingsect i
onsfr om t he
bibl
e:1Sam 20: 18-24;1Sam 20: 35-41,1Sam 14: 41and1Sam 28: 1-17.

RolesoftheearlyProphets(Ecstat
icsanddivi
ners)
Ecstati
csanddi vi
nersofI sraelaredepi
ctedperfor
mingrol
esthatwer
eofan
i
ndividualnatur
eandnat ionalnature.Predominant
lytheyf
ocusedonfor
tune
tel
li
ng,fore-
tel
li
ngandf or
th–t el
li
ng.

Fortune-tell
ing-hadt odowi thtel
li
ngaboutone’ schancese. g.Saulwentt othe
seerSamuelt oenqui r
eabouthi sf at
her’slostdonkeys( 1Sam.9) ;Thiswas
personalbusi ness.For t
une-tel
li
ngcoul dalsobedoneonmat tersofnat i
onal
i
nterests,“Shal lIgot oRamot h-Gileadorshal lIforebare?
”I nthiscaseSaul
enqui r
ed on t hechancesofwi nning thebattleifhewer et o confrontthe
Phil
listi
nianenemyatRamot h-Gil
ead.Inanothercaseofanat i
onalinter
estSaul
approachedawomannecr omancert or equestadvicefrom thedeadspi r
itof
Samuel .Thepr essi
ngissuewast henegat ivetur
nofevent si nt hepoli
ti
cal
aff
airsofI sr
ael ,suggest
ingGod’sanger .

Fore-
tell
ing- wasaboutpr edi
cti
ngt hefut
ure.Itwast hedut
yofpr ophetsto
predi
ctthef uture.Thisgi
ftcoul
dcomet othepr ophetbywayofvi
sions,dreams
orbehavi orofobj ect
ssuchasbones,di ceandar rows.Thear
cher
yepi sodeof
JonathanandDavi d(1Sam 20: 14-
24)assuresDavidthathewouldnotdi eor
l
oseGod’ sf avourinthenearfuture.

Forth-
tell
ingwasabouti nterpretingwhatwashappeni ngatt hepr esentt ime.
Thenegat ivet r
endoft hingsi nSaul ’
skingdom wasani ndicat
ionf orGod’ s
disf
avorwi thhim asint
erpretedbyt heseerSamuel.Thecal l
ingupofSamueli n
thehouseoft hehi ghpri
estEl i( 1Sam 3)wasani ndicati
onofGod’ sdi sfavor
withEli.Thi si nter
pret
ati
oni l
lustratesthemeaningoff orth-t
ell
ing,t houghi t
doesnotsuggestt hatthecal lofSamuelwasannouncedbyanypr ophet.The
archeryepi sodeofJonat hanandhi sservanti
n(1Sam 20: 25-41)ill
ust r
atest he
actoff orth-tel
li
ngasJonat hani nterpr
etedthebehaviorofhi sarrowst omean
thatDavidhadsucceededi nget t
ingtheeverl
asti
ngf avourofGodf rom t he
presentmomentonwar ds.

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Rol
esofear
lypr
ophet
sinGener
al

-
Theypredict
edthef uture,i
nterpretthepr esentadvisedindi
vidual
sandKings
-
Theyledthenati
oni nt i
mesofwar
-
Theyencouragedt hespi ri
tofnat ionali
sm andcul t
ivat
edmor aleint
hepeople
tofi
ghtindefenseoft heirnati
on
-
Theycommuni catedthedi vinewi l
l
-
Theywerecustodiansoft henat ionalreli
gion
-
Theywerealsocust odiansofj usti
cee. g.Samuelt heseerwasal soaj
udge.

I
srael:f
rom t
heocr
acyt
omonar
chy

Itisi mpor tantt hatst udent sshoul dunder standt hesyst emsofgover nance
from t heer aoft hef or mat i
onoft henat ionupt ot hetimeoft hepr ophet s.Israel
wasnotbor namonar chi cal( kingshi p)st ate.I temer gedasast aterul edbyGod
himsel f( theocr atic)andonl yt ransf ormedi nt
oamonar chyaf t
erset tl
ementi n
Canaan.Bef oret hemonar chyI sr aelwasl edbypat r
iarchs( fat
her soft henation)
whowor kedcl oselywi thpr iestsasl eader sofr eligionandadvi sorsonGod’ s
wor d.Thehi ghpr iestEl i,towhom Samuelser vedasanassi stant ,isagood
exampl eofsuchpr iest s.Yahwehhadbeenhesi t
antt ogr antI sraelaki ngf or
feart hatsuchasyst em woul dpr obabl ybeabused:Samuelal sohadexpr essed
thesamef ears.Butt heI sraelit
eswhohadsuf feredt hebr untofwaranddef eat
i
nwarbyt hePhi l
istinesvehement l
ydemandedaki ngt oleadt hem,l ikei n
neighbor i
ngst ates.Samuelwhohadj ustbeencal l
edt oseer ship( 1Sam 3: 1-
25)
waspr essedt omedi at ebet weenGodandt hepeopl eint hisdemandf oraking.
Allexcusesandf ear scoul dnotmat eri
ali
zebutonl yr esultedi nGodgr ant
ing
Israelamonar chyt hr ought heki ng-el ectSaulwhowasanoi ntedbySamuelt he
seer .SoI sraelt ransf or medf r
om at heocracyt oamonar chydur i
ngt het i
meof
Samuel .Themonar chicalsyst em al socal ledf oradi stinct i
onofr olesbet ween
priestsandseer s( pr ophet s) . Theki ngwoul dneedt obemoni toredi nthe
i
nt erestofGod’ swi ll
,henceGodgavepr ophet st oI sr ael. Maybet hegreat
philosopher ,Hobbes`f ear swer eal soi nGod’ smi ndt hatpowercor rupt s,hence
aneedf ori t
sconst antcheck.I tist hereforeaval idviewt oar guet hatpr ophecy
i
nI sraelemer gedwi tht hemonar chy.

SeersinI srael
Thephenomenonofseer si
nI sraelformst heearl
iesti deaofGod’ smessenger s
i
nI srael
.Aseercoul dbedef inedas“ achosenone”gi f
tedwi t
hsecondsi ght.
Thegr owthoft het erm“ seer”st er
msf rom t heHebr ew wor d“ roehorhozeh”
whichmeans“ seer”
.J. LMcKenzi ehasr egar dedthet erm“ seer
”asanol dert i
tl
e
ofthepr ophet.Fori nstanceinI srael
,for mer l
ywhenamanwentt oinqui reof
Godhesai d“ Comel etusgot ot heSeer ”forhewhoi snowcal l
edapr ophetwas
formerlycall
edaseer .( 1Samuel9: 9)A seerwi l
lbesomeonewhot ri
edt o
discoverGod’swi l
lbysemi- magi calmeans;muchl ikeamoder nfort
unet ell
er.
Thet erm “roeh”becamer areand a new t er
m “ nabi ”camei nto existence

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meani
ng,
“tocal
l”henceapr
ophet
.

A.GAul dint hear ti

cle“ Cit
iesofr el
igi
oni nI sraeli
tet r
aditi
on”,Jour nalf orthe
studyoft heOl dTest ament10,1978 submi t
tedt hatseer swer evi sionary
ratherthanecstati
c.I nI sr
aeltheyappear edasi ndivi
dualsi ndependentoft he
cult.Itwasaseer ’
sr oletopr ophesyi.e.toactasa“ nabi”
.Forexampl e,as
seeni nAmos7: 12.Theseer sguidedI sr
aelbyt her evealedwi l
lofYahweh.
Yahweh cal l
ed seer sj ustlike “
Nabis”. The mi ssion ofseer s became a
foundationfortheor iginsofpr ophecyinI sr
ael .Rel evantexampl esar eEl i
sha
whohadagi f
tt of orgivesi nsfrom afar;andGi deon,aj udge,whol edt he
Israel
it
esi nt
ovi ctoriesi nwaratJer i
chot hroughpr ayer.Theseseer swer e
respectedmenofGodt owhi chpeoplewentt oi nquireaboutdi ffer
entt hings.A
goodexampl eisSamuel ,t
owhom Saulandhi sser vantwentt oi nquireabout
theirl
ostdonkeys.

TheseerSamuelr ecei
vedavi sionofSaulasGod’ sking-
elect,andtheseer
playedtheroleoft heanoi nt
eroft hefir
stkingofI sr
ael.Samueli ssingl
edout
ast hemostpopul arseerofI srael.J.LMcKenzi ehassaidt hatSamuelwas
probablynotaj udgei nthesenseofr ealjudges.Nei t
herwasheapr ophetin
therealsenseoft helaterprophets,buthewast heear l
iestr
eligi
ousfi
gureaf t
er
Moseswhor esembl esapr ophet(seer)andthepr ophet
icschoolwasnotwr ong
i
nseei nghim astheear li
estrepr
esentativeofprophecyinIsrael.

Whatwer
ethef
unct
ionsofl
aterpr
ophet
s

1. Theywer
ebear
ersoft
hewor
dofGodtothepeopl
ee.
g.Amos“
TheLor
d
cal
ledmefr
om f
oll
owi
ngt
hefl
ock”Amos7:15.

2. Pr
onouncedj
udgementasapuni
shmentf
rom Gode.
g.Amos,
Jer
emi
ah

3. Pr
omi
sedhopeorsal
vat
iont
othepeopl
ee.
g.Hosea,
Isai
ah,
Jer
emi
ah

4. Theyprocl
aimedsoci
alandmor
alj
ust
icet
othepeopl
ee.
g.El
ij
ah,
Amos,
andIsai
ah.

5. Theypreachedaboutr
epent
anceandsal
vat
ionofmene.
g.Hoseaand
I
saiah

6. Advocat
edt
hewor
shi
ppi
ngofoneGode.
g.El
ij
ah,
MosesandJer
emi
ah

7. Cust
odi
ansofGod’
sLawe.
g.MosesandI
sai
ah

8. AdvisedKingsonnat
ionalissuese.g.NathanandSamuel
checkedthepowerofkings.Theyreprimandedki
ngswherevertheywent
wronge.ginSamuelandSaul ’
sconf l
ict
,AmosvsJeroboam I
I,andAhab
vsElij
ah.

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9. Pr
esi
dedoverr
eli
giouscer
emoni
ese.
g.Samuel

10. Covenantmedi
ator
se.
g.Moses,
HoseaandJer
emi
ah

11. Exper
tsi
nint
ercessor
ypr
ayere.
g.SamuelandJer
emi
ah

12. Anoi
ntedki
ngse.
gEl
ij
ahanoi
ntedki
ngHazael

13. Theywer
ecust
odi
ansofGod’
srel
igi
on,
theyadvocat
edmonot
hei
sm.

14. Theypr
edi
ctedt
hef
utur
ee.
gAmospr
edi
ctedaboutt
hef
all
ofSamar
ia.

15. Theyi
nter
pret
edhi
stor
yandpol
it
icsoft
henat
ionse.
gIsai
ahand
Jer
emi
ah

Textualr
efer
encesfort
heabovefunct
ionswi
llbeobt
ainedf
rom t
heBi
blei
nthe
processofStudyi
ngpar
ticul
arpr
ophet
s.

Howpr
ophet
scommuni
cat
edt
hei
rmessages

1)Openpr oclamat i
onsusingt hemessenger -styl
eofspeech,“ Thussayst he
Lord…”
2)Dramatizati
onse. g.Jeremiah’sdramati
cact i
ons(seebookofJer emiah)
3)Symbolicact ionse.g.I
saiahandHosea’ ssymbol i
cnamesofchi ldr
en
4)Wr i
tt
enor aclese.g.JeremiahhiredBaruchashi ssecret
ary
5)Useofar te.g.Jeremiahmol dedacl aypottoshowGod’ smaki ngupofIsrael
.
6)Reportsofvi sionse.g.Amosr eportedseveralvi
sionsofGod’sjudgementon
Isr
ael.
Whatwer ethedevel opment sandchangest hatoccurredtoprophecyinIsr
ael?

Theter
m“ devel
opment”inthi
scontextref
erst
othechangesthattookpl
acein
theear
lyprophet
icfrat
erni
ty.Ther
eforeonehastotr
acet hechangesinst
yle
androl
esoftheprophetssi
nceMoses.

Mosesi sbel i
evedt obet hef i
r stprophetofIsraelal
thoughbyAnder sonand
Muill
enburg’sdef i
nitionsoft hewor dpr ophetAbraham,NoahandAdam coul d
quali
fyt o becal led prophet s( Gen 20 :7). Moses`t ypeofpr ophecywas
i
nspirat
ional.Hepl ayedal eader shi
prole,l
eadi
ngt heIsr
aeli
tesfr
om Egypt.His
rol
ewasmedi ator
yasher eceivedinstructi
onsfrom Godandt ookthem tothe
people–at ypeofpr ophecywi t
hauni tofcommand.Thepr ophetwasbotha
poli
ti
calaswel lasar el
igi
ousl eader.Mosesi sar epr
esentati
veparexcel
lence
oftheearlyprophet s.

From theMosai
ctypeofprophecyI
sraelsaw anew for
m ofprophecyas
repr
esent
edbySamuel
.Al
thoughmostoftherol
esofMoseswer
eretai
ned,t
he

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maj ordevelopmentwast hemul tiplici

tyofrolesvestedont heprophet .Samuel
becameaf atheroft henat i
on;apr iest;ajudge;aseeraswel lasal eaderoft he
propheti
ci nstit
uteofecst ati
c.Hi sf uncti
onswer eami xtureofsoci al
,rel
igi
ous
andpr opheticroles.Her e-organizedt hepropheti
ci nsti
tuti
onsofI srael.Hel ed
the nati
on f rom a t r
ibalconf eder acy undera j udge t o a monar chy after
settl
ementi nCanaan.Samueldemonst r
atedhow apr ophetcoul dcheckt he
abuseofpowerbyki ngswhenher eprimandedSaulwhohadhi jackedt heduties
ofapr i
estt oofferasacrifi
cei nthet emple.Suchadut yhadnopr ecedentint he
Mosai cera.El ij
ahlaterdiditwhenher epri
mandedAhabf orgrabbingNabot h`s
vineyard.Sot heevol ut
ionoft hist askofapr opheti samaj ordevel opmenti n
Israel
it
epr ophetism.

Otherchangesar enot edont het echnicalsi deofpr ophetism.Looki ngatElijah

histypeofpr ophecywasmor er evolutionar ythaneverbef or e.Prophecyhad
becomeconf r
ont ational.Elij
ahf i
ercelyconf rontedKi ngAhabf orbot hmor aland
poli
ti
cali njusti
ces.Mar ryingJezebelwasabet r ayalofYahwei sm andcust om.
All
owi ng Baal ism t o co- existwi t
h Yahwei sm was a mor e serious offence.
Abusingof fi
cef orsel f–enr ichmentatt heexpenseofcommonpeopl ewer e
grossevi lswhi chpr ophetst ookt ochal lenge.Thi swasagr eatdevel opmenti n
Isr
aeliteprophecy.Evenmet hodsofpr ophesyi ngchanged.El i
jahusedmor eof
miraclest oconveyhi smessagese. gt hecont estatMountCar mel–i twasa
miraculousevent ,t hepr ovisionoff oodt ot hewi dow ofZar ephathet c.Such
eventswer efur t
herdevel opment sont het echni cal i
ti
esofpr ophetism.I ti
sal so
worthnot ingt hatt hephenomenonof“ seer s”asmenofGodchanged,“ Hewho
wasf or mer l
ycal ledaseeri snow cal ledapr ophet .“Suchachangei sbest
understoodi nt ermsoft echni calityrathert hanf unct i
ons.Af terSamuel ,t
hegi f
t
ofsecondsi ghtbecamever yr are.Prophet sgott heirmessagesbyi nspirat
ion.
Amosdeni edbei ngaseer .Ther eforet hei ssueofdevel opment sandchanges
i
nI sraeliteprophecyshoul dbr oadlyf ocusonf unctions,roles,met hodsand
str
uctur es.

Theor
iesont
heemer
gencyofpr
ophecyi
nIsr
ael

There are var

ious vi
ews on the emer
gency ofprophecy inIsr
ael.The
fundamentalquesti
on i
s how diditbegi
n? The fol
lowing vi
ews shal
lbe
consider
ed:

1.Thati
tor
igi
nat
edamongstt heIsr
aelit
es.
2.Thati
twascopiedfrom t
heEgypti
ans.
3.Thati
twasborr
owedf rom t
hesurroundi
ngnati
ons.
4.Thati
twassyncret
ical
lyobtai
nedfrom t
heCanaani
tes.

1.Pr
ophecyor
igi
nat
edamongstt
heI
srael
it
es:

Ber
nardAnder
sonnot
esthatprophecywast
herei
nIsr
aelsi
ncet
hecreat
ion
ofthenat
ion. Hi
swidedefi
niti
onof“ apr
ophet
”qual
if
iesAbr
aham asa

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prophet(cfGen20: 7)andevenNoah.JamesMui l
lenburg’sdef init
ionofa
prophetinpar ti
cularquali
fi
esNoahasapr ophet.Butt hi
sf eeli
ngcannotbe
takentoof arinthedebat eonIsraeliteprophet i
sm becausenotmuchi ssaid
aboutpr opheticact i
vit
iesbyNoahi nt her ealsenseofpr ophetism.They
communi cat
edwi t
hGodonbehal foft hepeopl eandnot hingmor e.Butr eal
propheti
sm i nIsraelisattr
ibut
edt oMoses.Hewasf or
mer l
ycal l
edt othe
propheti
cof fi
ceatabur ni
ngbushwher ehewasgi venaspeci ficmandat eto
l
iberatetheHebr ewsf rom Egyptandt oleadt hem throught hewi ldernessto
thePromi sedLand.Ecst ati
cpr ophecyi sal sosaidt ohavest art
ed dur ing
thet i
meofMoses. Thei ncidentofEl dad and Medad who pr ophesied
ecstati
callyint he camp ( Num 11:24- 29)pr oves thateven ecst ati
c
propheti
sm or i
ginatedamongstt heI sraeli
testhemsel ves.
2.Prophecywascopi edf r
om Egypt .

Anotherhypot hesi
spost ulat
esthatt heIsrael
it
eswer eexposedt owor ksof
magi ciansand exorcist
swher esomeoft hem worked themselvesouti nto
ecstaticbehavior
.Possi bl
ytheI sraelit
escopiedfrom suchexper iencesand
practiceditamongstthemselves.Ber nardAndersonhighl
ightsthestoryofWen
Amon,asmal lboywhowaspossessedbyanecst ati
cspi r
itataf esti
valat
Byblos.Suchaneventcoul dpossiblyinfl
uencetheIsr
aeli
teswhosawi t.

3.Pr
ophecywasbor
rowedf
rom sur
roundi
ngnat
ions

Thethrustoft hisviewi st hatt heIsrael

iteswer einf
luencedbyr eligi
onsoft he
surr
oundingnat ions.ThePhi list
inespracticedBaalism,withitspr ophetswho
workedthemsel vesi ntoecst aticbehavior.Thel andofCanaanwasdomi nated
bythereli
gionofBaal .Atsettlementt heIsraeli
tescompr omisedYahwei sm wit
h
Baali
sm (reli
gioussyncr et
ism) . Themar r
iageofAhabt oJezebelbr oughtin
hundredsofpr ophetsofBaali ntotheIsraeli
tesociet
y.Asar esultBaalism and
Yahweism existedinj uxtapositionwitheachot her
.Suchasetupwoul dper mit
acompr omi seofcul tur
es. Thi sscenar i
oal soexplainswhyEl ijahquar rel
ed
wit
hAhabandaccusedhi m ofbei ng“atroublerofIsr
ael”.

Thevi ew thatitwasbor r
owedf rom thesurroundingnat i
onsi ssuppor tedby
Number s22wher eBalaam,aMoabi t
eseercoul ddeclareabl essingoracur se.
Heal soreceivedamessagef rom Yahweht hathecoul dnotcur seI sraelandhe
compl i
edcont rar
yt owhatBal akhadpl anned.Prophecywasal sof oundi nSyria
andEgypt ,assuppor tedbyar cheologi
calevidencedi scoveredbypr ofessor
ParrotatMar i.Akkadiansour cesfrom Mesopotami ashowt hatt heMahhuwas
both a prophetand a pr i
est .(The Mahhu f uncti
oned as a pr ophetwho
speciali
zedinwi ld,ecstat
ictrance-i
nducedbehavi or)
.Thust herewasaki ndof
prophecyatMar iwher eprophet swhower erel
igi
ousf uncti
onar iesandot hers
broughtmessagest otheat t
ent i
onoftheking.

Alt
houghthi
svi
ew i
splausibl
eitisnotconcl
usi
vetosaythatpriort
othis
contactt
her
ewasno prophet
ism i
nIsrael
. Thevi
ew can par
ti
all
yexpl
ain

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t
echnicalaspect
sofI sr
ael
it
eprophetism,butnotthegenesi
sofi t
.Propheti
sm
i
nIsraelemanatedfrom Godparti
cularl
yaftert
hegreattheorphanatMtSi nai
(
Exodus19)when God coul d no l
ongerf acehispeople. Theneed f ora
r
epresentat
ivebecameparamount;hencepropheti
sm begani
nt hewil
derness.

Otherviewsst r
essf urt
herthepossibi
li
tyofIsraelborr
owingfrom otherrel
igi
ons.
Thel egendofWen- Amoni sproposedasoneoft heevent sthatmi ghthave
i
nf l
uencedtheecst at i
ctypeofpr ophecyIsraelpracti
ced.Thelegendt ell
sthe
storyofaPhoeni cianboy,who,att hecityofBybl os,gotpossessedbyaspi r
it
andgaveor acl
es.Thevi ew f
rom Andersoni sthatpossibl
ytheI sr
aelit
estook
experienceofthatevent .

Anotherviewisthatthetr
endi nAsiaMi norcouldhaveal soinf l
uencedI
sraeli
te
prophecy.A populargroupknownast heOrgiesofDi onysusi nAsiaMi nor
practi
cedt hegr
oupt ypeofprophecywhi chdischargedi t
spr opheti
cacti
vit
ies
ecstati
call
y.Theywer epopularf ortheirextr
emel ysever et ypeofprophecy
wher etheycouldcutandscr atchtheirbodiesandt earoffclothesduri
ngt he
practi
ce.Theytr
avell
edextensivel
yperformingpr opheticacti
vit
ies.

Thoughthesehypothesesar epropoundedi nthebibl

icaldebate,theyarenotin
anywayconcl usi
veont hemat t
er.Israelhadauni quet ypeofpr ophecy.What
makesituniqueisthespir
itofYahweht hatinspi
redit
.Ther ef
orethebor r
owing
accusat
ioncanonlybelimitedtothemet hodologi
esofear lyprophecy.

Conservat
ivescholar
sr al
lybehindthet r
adit
ionaltheor
yandt heevoluti
onar
y
theor
ieswhosethrustisthatIsr
ael
’sprophecyorigi
natedwi
ththeexodus.They
focusont heMosai ctypologyofprophecywher eGodactual
lyselected“hi
s
man,”andgavehimt heauthorit
ytospeak.

Theecst atict ypehasitsprecedenti nthewi lderness.Thest oryofEl dadand

Medadi nNumber s11:24-
29showst hatIsraelhadt hi
stypeofpr ophecyf rom
thetimeoft heexodus.Sayi ngthatIsraelborrowedorcopi edi stant amountto
sayingthatGodhi msel
femul atedwhatwasbei ngdonebyf oreigngods.Thi s
wayoft hinkingisunsustainable.Thesemant ictheorywouldper hapst akeus
outofthemessbypr oposingthatmat tersofsemant icsandtermi nologyshould
notbeal lowedt opaintt
hepr opheti
cdebat e”withjustonebrushandonecol our.
Thebr andofpr ophecyinIsraelwasdi ffer
entf r
om thatofotherr eligionsinit
s
ethosandaut hori
ty.

Thedi
sti
nct
ionbet
weent
rueandf
alsepr
ophet
sinI
srael
:TheTr
eat
ise

Thet
reat
isebel
owat
tempt
stosummar
izet
hei
ssuesont
rueandf
alsepr
ophet
s
i
nIsr
ael.

“InIsrael
,as i
n ot
hersociet
ies,peri
ods ofintense pr
opheti
c act
ivi
ty
coi
nci
dedwitht
imesofcr
isi
s.Thus,thedeci
sionabouthowt or
espondtoa

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prophetwasamat terofsomeur gency,andcr i

teriaformaki ngaj udgement
becameanecessi ty”,wroteThomasW.Over holtinhisarti
cleonJer emi ahi n
theHar perBi blecomment ary1988.Thi sst atementunder scor esthegr eat
dif
ficul
ty i n di sti
ngui shi
ng bet ween a t rue and a f al
se pr ophet .
Anthropologicalst udi
es ofcont empor ary soci eti
es may pr ovi
de some
perspecti
veont hepr oblem.I twoul dappeart hattherearebasi call
yf our
cri
teri
a by whi ch audi ences eval uate pr ophetl ike i
ntermedi ar
ies:t heir
behaviorconf ormst otradi
tionalcust omsandbel i
efsandi sadequat et ot he
specialcircumst ancesi nwhi chi tisut t
er ed;theycl ai
mt ohaver eceiveda
specialcommi ssionf r
om adei ty:andt heyar esuccessf ul(Whatt heypr edict
comest opass,t hespeci f
icpr oblem isr esolved.Eval uati
onsofi ndi
vidual
i
ntermedi ari
esdonotnecessar ilyinvolveal lf
ouroft hesecrit
er i
a.

InIsrael,theinterpretationofcr ises,whet hernational ,l

ocal,orper sonali n
scope,t ookpl acewi t
hint her angeofpossi bil
iti
esof feredbyt hepar t
icular
cult
urewi t
hinwhicht hei nter
medi ar
y(pr ophet)functioned.Thi smeanst hat
i
nevitablybot hwor ldvi ew andt hemor emundanef act sofhistory,polit
ics,
andsoci et
ywer ef act
or si nt hejudgement smadeaboutt hem,forexampl e,
i
n Jer emiah`sdays,t hecr ucialdecisions seemedt ohavebeencl osel y
rel
atedt oassumpt i
onsaboutt henat ion’sdest i
nyt hatmi r
roredr eli
gious
convictions and had concr etei mplications forpol it
icalactions. The
j
udgementt hatapar ticul arpr ophetwas“ t
rue”wasasal ways,dependent
upont hevi ewpointandcommi tmentoft heper son(s)maki ngit.

Overhol
tstat
esthatthereisnof ul
lproofmet hodfordist
ingui
shingbetween
them.Theat t
emptt odisti
nguishbet
weent hef ormsinwhi chtherevel
ati
on
camet oapr ophetispr obabl
yexili
c,andi nanycasei snotconsi st
entl
y
appli
ed.Thei mpli
cati
oni sthattheprophets`audiencepossessednosur e
cri
ter
ionbywhichtojudgebet weencompet i
ngcl ai
ms.

Accor dingtot heDeut ronomi cl awanat t

empti smadet odisti
ngui sha“ tr
ue”
fr
om a f alse”pr ophet . In Deut eronomy 13: 1“ i
fa pr ophetwas not
commi ssi
onedt odeliveroracles, hewasaf alseprophet,
“Ifapr ophetar i
ses
amongyou, andgi vesyouasi gnorawonder ,andhesaysl etusgof orother
gods,you shal lnotl isten tot he wor ds oft hatprophet.
”Byt he same
Deut r
onomi cl awamor est r
ictercr i
t eri
oni sused,thatisifapr ophetcl ai
ms
tobeat r
uepr ophetandhi spr ophecyf ail
st opasshemustdi e,“Butt he
prophetwho pr esumest o speakawor di n mynamewhi ch Ihavenot
commandedhi mt ospeak- --t hatsamepr ophetshalldie”( Deuteronomy
18).
Thi s mosai c cri
ter i
on,al though cl early useless forj udgment s on
i
ndividualor acles,isa pr agmat iccr it
eriont oevaluateapr ophet ’
sover al
l
performance.

IntheOldTestamenti
sol
atedcasesoffalseprophecyarerecor
dedbutno
unif
orm cr
it
eri
onhasbeenusedholi
sti
cal
lytodealwiththem.Inthecaseof
Jezebel
’
spr ophet
sofBaal,adeathpenaltywasef fect
edwhent henthey

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wer e proven wr ong by Elijah atmountCar mel . Butwhen Nat han

presumpt uouslyadvisedDavidandGodadvi sedotherwi se,nodeathpenalt
y
wasef fected.Theissuewasmor ecompli
catedinthecaseofJer emi ahand
Hanani ah. Itappearst hattheSoci et
yexpectedapr ophettouphol dthe
statusquo.I fhisact i
vit
iesopposedt hest
atusquohewasi mprisoned.In
theendhecoul dnol ongerproclaim hi
swordspubliclylesthebeki l
led.He
tookhimsel foutofact i
on:Apr ophetwhodoesnotoper atepubli
clyisno
threatbecausehei snopr ophetsaysThomasOver holt.

Inthef i
nalanal
ysi
sitiscl
earl
ynotedthatthet
askofdist
inguishi
ngat rue
prophetf r
om a false pr
ophetcould notobtai
n any holi
stic cri
ter
ion.
Thereforeitwasnoteasytodist
ingui
shthem merel
yfr
om t hewor dsthey
spoke.

Thecont
ri
but
ionsofMoses

Byt
heendoft hi
stopi
cthest
udentshoul
dbeableto:
1.Ident
if
ythefi
gureofMosesandshowhissi
gnif
icancei
nIsr
ael
it
e
prophecy

2.Out
li
nehi
scal
lst
ory

3.Arguewhet
herMoseswasapr
ophetorj
ustast
atesman,
highl
ight
ing
schol
arl
y

vi
ews

WhoWasMoses?
Mosesi si nt
roducedasani nf anthiddenbyhi smotherinther eedsoft heNileto
protecthimf rom Pharaoh’sdecr ee.Phar aoh’sowndaught erf oundhi m,takes
pit
yonhi m,andadopt shi m. Wi ththehelpofhi ssister
,whowassecr etl
y
watchingoverhi m,theEgypt ianpr i
ncessar r
angesf ortheinfantt obebr east
fedbyaHebr ewwetnur se, whoi snoneot herthanthebaby’smot her.Thust he
chil
dMoseswasr escuedf r om deat h,nursedbyhi sownmot her,andr ai
sedi n
theEgypt ianpalace.Thei nf antwhoescapedper ilgrewupt obecameal eader
ofhispeopl e.
HisCal l
Moseswasl eadinghi sf ather -i
n-l aw’ssheept oMtHor eb,wher ehewas
astonishedt oseeabusht hatwasbur ningbutnotconsumed. Hedi dnot
real
iset hatwhathehadencount eredwasamessengeroranangelofYahweh
i
nt hef or m ofaf lameunt ilappr oachi
ngt hebush,hehear dadi vi
nevoi ce

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speakingi
nthefir
e.Knowingthati
tisf
atalf
orahumanbei
ngt
oseeGod,he
coveredhi
sfaceandl
ist
ened.
(Exodus33:
20)

ThemessageMosesr ecei
vedincl
udedanannouncementandacommi ssion
Yahwehhadt akennot
iceoftheaff
li
cti
onoftheIsrael
it
esinEgyptandhesent
Mosest obringthem outoftheland. Bri
efl
ythisi sthel
eadingstor
yt hat
broughtMosestothet
opofthechartofHebr
ewhi st
ory.

WasMosesapr ophet ?
Thequest ionwhet herMoseswasapr ophetornotdependsont hedefini
tion
onegi vesf orapr ophet . Bernar
dAnder sondef inedapr ophetasonewho
communi cat esthedivinewi l
l.JanThompsondef inesapr ophetassi mplya
messengerofGod.Fr om thesedef i
nit
ionst hisdiscussionwillvi
ewMosesasa
prophetwi thawi devarietyofduties.Hi sr esponsibil
it
iescoveredissuesfrom
thesocial,theeconomi c,thepoli
ti
calandt her el
igi
ousr eal
ms.Ther eforetobe
mor epreciseMoseswasal eaderaswel lasapr ophet.

Focusingont henatureofhisi ni
ti
alassi
gnment,onenotesadivinemandate
beingassignedtoMosses– t ogoandconf rontPharaohanddemandt he
l
iberat
ionoftheHebr ewsfrom Egypt.Theor dercamef r
om adei t
y,hencei
t
wasdivine.Thetaskisapolit
icalone.Theapproachi
tsel
fispol
it
ical
.

Lookingattherol
ehepl ayedduringthewildernessj our
ney,Mosesplaysthe
roleofaleaderaswellasapr ophet.Heisr esponsibleforthewel
fareofthe
Hebrewcommuni ty.Heshouldersalll
ogi
sti
caldut i
es.,butheisgui
dedbyt he
divi
nespir
it
.Therefor
ehewasmor eofaninspir
edl eader,
henceaprophet.

Thesi naiti
ccovenantwhi chMosesmedi at
ed( Exodus19)pr esent
shim asan
agent,andr epresentati
veofGodt ohi speopl eandvi cever sa.Hei sgivent he
l
aw and t heaut hori
tyto makef urtheror dinances. Mosesseal stheSi nai
declar
at i
ononbehal fofthepeopl e.I nthiscaseMosespossesasamedi ator
betweenGodandhi speopl e,henceamedi ator– pr ophet. Thepower sthat
werevest edonhi mt omakel awsqual i
fyhim asal egi
slator
.Thecust odianship
ofthet orahthatwasgi venonhi m conf i
rmshi m as“ arealmanofGod. ”Moses
couldbeseenasal egendar yf
igure,consi deringhisescapef rom Pharaoh’s
i
nfernoandhowhewasbr edintheki ng’
spal ace.Consi deri
nghi sdeathwhi ch
remainsamyst ery,heisamanwi thoutagr ave.

Itistheref
orenodoubtt hatMoseswasapr ophet
.Per hapsspeci
alatt
enti
on
canonl ybegivent othetypeofpr ophecythathepracti
ced.Hisdut
ieswereall
round.Hewast hefounderfatheroftheYahwheist
iccul t
,whi
chwassealedat
theSinaideclarati
on.Deut eronomy34: 10hasdescr i
bedhim as“t
hegreatest
prophetIsr
aeleverhad”.

I
nthef
inalanal
ysi
siti
srei
ter
atedt
hatMoseswast
hef
ir
str
ealpr
ophetofI
srael

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al
thoughhiscont
ri
but
ionst
oit
sdevel
opmentmaybemi
nimalcompar
edt
ohi
s
successor
s.

Moses

Prophecydevel
opedf r
om whatMosesl ai
ddown.
Alsot obeconsi deredi sthefactthatt hepassageswhi chmakeMosesa
Prophetwerewr i
tt
enaf tert
heexi
lewhichmakest hem areadbacki
nhi
storye.g
Number s11,ther edactorswantedvindi
cat eecstasy,ot
herwi
sethehi
stori
cal
authenti
cit
yofthiseventcannotbeascertainedwithcert
aint
y.

Godact uall
yraisedMosesandwoul drai
seanotherprophetli
kehimfrom I
srael
.
(Deutr18:18).Therehadneverbeenanyot herprophetli
keMosesbef or
ehi m.
SoMoseswasamodelofI srael
it
eprophets. Arguabl
yMoseswasaseer
trai
nedunderhi sfat
her–i n–Law Jethro,ajudge,aLaw gi veraswellasa
l
eader.Fr om thesecredent
ial
shewasamodelf orSamuel ,Joshuaet
c.

1.Accordi
ngtoJohannesLindbl
om Godr evealedhimselft
oapr ophett
hrough
vi
sionsandinspi
rati
on(theearl
iestformsofpr ophecy).Mosesrecei
veda
vi
sionattheburningbush. Hewasi nspi
redwi ththespir
itofGodi nthe
Wil
derness.Sohewasamodelf orf ut
ureprophets.(
cf.Num.11:24–29)

2.Pr
ophet
sofIsr
aelhar
kedbackt oMosest hef
ounderofYahwei
sm.El ij
ah
wasasecondMoses.Alllaterprophetsdwel
ledontheMosaiccovenant.
SoMoseswasamodelforl
aterprophets.

El
ij
ah

Thecont
ri
but
ionsofEl
ij
ah

Byt
heendoft
hist
opi
cthest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.I
dent
if
ythef
igur
eofEl
ij
ah

2.Highl
ightt
hef
ivemaj
orat
tr
ibut
esofEl
ij
ahandqual
if
ythem wi
thbi
bli
cal
ref
erences

3.Di
scusst
hemaj
orevent
sinEl
ij
ah’
spr
ophet
iccar
eer

InPoi
ntFor
m
-El
ij
ahwasarevolut
ionaryYahwei
st
-Hewasoneoft hefir
stprophet
stoconfr
ontandchal
lengeki
ngsofI
sraele.
g
Ahab.(
butt
her
ewasal soSamuelwhoconfr
ont
edSaul)
.

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-Hi
sprophecyfocusedonrel
igion,poli
ti
csandsocialval
ues.
-Hewasami racl
eworker
.Hepr ovi
dedf oodt
othewi dowofZar
ephat
.
-HewasasecondMoses–ar epresentati
veofal
lprophet
s.

HisRel
igi
ousCont r
ibuti
ons
Thesearenotedinthefoll
owingbibl
icalaccounts-
1.ThecontestatMtCarmel( 1Ki
ngs18:20)
2.TheescapetoHor eb(1Kings19)
3.Theconfront
ati
onwi t
hAhab.( 1Ki
ngs21: 17)

Thecont estbetweent hegods(YahwehandBaal )foll

owsameet i
ngofthet wo
humanant agoni st
s–El i
jahandAhab.Ahabgr eetsEl i
jahas“ thet
roublerof
Israel
”an expr essi
on suggesting the ri
tualpolluti
on ofa communi t
y and,
theref
ore,theinducementofcommunalhar dshi
psbyt hevi ol
ationofanoat hor
sacredvalue.Ahab’ spointi
sthatEli
jahisresponsi bl
ef orthedr ought
,butEli
jah
repli
es thati ti s Ahab who has “ t
roubled Israel
”by vi olati
ng Jehovah’s
commandment s.Ahab’ spaganwivesJezebelbr oughtmor ethan800pr ophets
ofbaalintoIsraelandsohavepol l
utedthelandofI sraelwi t
hf orei
gngods.

Eli
jah’sjourneyt hrought hewi ldernesst oMountHor ebi sthemosti mportantof
aser iesofepi sodest hatpr esenthi m ast henewMoses.Theal t
arhebui l
ton
MountCar melusi ngt welvest ones( accordingt othenumberoft ri
besoft he
sonsofJacob”i sr emi ni
scentofMoses`al terandt welvestandingstonessetup
onMtSi nai.Now hemakesaj our neyof40daysand40ni ghtstoHor eband
entert hecavewhi chmi ghtbet hesamecl eftofrockf rom whichMosessaw
Yahweh’ sback.Li keMosesEl ij
ahwat chesasYahwehpassesby.Aboutt he
j
our neyt oHor eb,manyschol arst hinkthatpi ousYahwei stsmadepi l
gri
mages
toSi naiduri
ngt het imeoft heI sraelitesandJudeanmonar chies.Elij
ahisof t
en
seenasapi lgr
imi nt hisstory.Butt her easonhegi vesisthathewasseeki ng
ref
ugef rom Jezebel ’
st hreat.Thepi lgr
imagei tsel
fi sami racul
ousj ourneyof
for
tydaysandni ghtswi t
houtf oodorwat er,forwhi chhei spreparedbyan
angelwhor equireshi mt oconsumeadoubl eportionofbot hbef orethet r
ek
begins.

“Thest il
lsmallvoice”– Manyschol ar
si nt
erpretthi
saccountasadel iberate
rej
ect i
on of the st orm t heophany i n Yahwi sm because of i t
s speci al
associationswiththeCanaani terai
ngodBaal .Ther ej
ecti
oncomesatt het i
me
whenI sraelwasdi videdbetweent hewor shipofBaalandYahweh,andt he
dangerofsyncr et
ism was gr eat
. I tis clear,however,thatt hi
sincident
representsat ransit
ionfrom thespect aculartheophanieswi t
nessedbyear ly
Israeltothequiettr
ansmi ssi
onoft hedivinewor dtotheprophets.

SACRI
FICALWORSHI
PINI
SRAEL

Byt
heendofthetopi
cthestudentshouldbeabl
eto:
1.Defi
ne“sacr
if
ici
alworshi
p”ingeneralandi
nIsr
aeli
npar
ti
cul
ar.

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2.Tr
aceandexpl
ainhowsacr
if
ici
alwor
shi
pst
art
edandhowi
tspr
eadi
n
I
srael
.

3.Usebibl
icalr
efer
encest
oshowt
hepr
esenceofsacr
if
ici
alwor
shi
pin
I
srael
.

4.Showandprovewhatdi
ff
erentpr
ophet
sinI
sraelhadt
osayabout
sacr
if
ici
alwor
shi
p.

Theaspectofsacr i
fi
cialworshipisamaj orthemei nthewrit
ingsofpr e-
exi
li
c
prophetsAmos,Hosea,I sai
ahandJer emiah.Thet hemeisconsistentl
yli
nked
withthet hemeoft hecovenant .Thepr e-
exi
li
cpr ophetsappar
entlydenounced
sacrif
ici
alwor shi
pwheni nf actitwasdemandedbyYahweh.Thequest i
on
theref
orear i
seswhet herthesepr ophetswereopposi ngwhatGodhadputi n
place.Thequest i
onneedst obeexploredusingt hefol
lowi
ngiti
nerary:

i
)Theoriginsofsacr
ifi
cialworship
i
i)Thepurposeofsacrif
icialworshi
p.
i
ii
)It
sappl i
cat
ion.
i
v)Whatt heprophet
shadt osayabouti
tandwhy.

(
i) Theor
igi
nsofsacr
if
ici
alwor
shi
p.

Unani mousl ytheschol arsl i

stedont hebi bli
ographyaboveagr eethatsacr if
icial
wor shipi nI sraelwasl i
nkedwi ththeMosai ccovenant .Evidencef ort hi
si s
foundi nExodus6;and24.Accor dingt ot heset ext
s,sacr i
f i
cialworshipwasa
wildernesst radit
ion.Thi smeanst hati tor i
ginateddur ingwi ldernessj ourney.
Thepr acticeofsacr i
ficialwor shipi nI sraelwasanaut horizati
onf ordi vine
wor ship.Whent hecovenant alrel
ationshi pwasest abli
shedbet weenGodand
Israel,itbecamenecessar ythatanappar atusbesetupbywhi chtheI sraeli
tes
cani nt er
relatewi tht heirGod.Thi swoul dr equirethemanuf actur
eofcer t
ain
specialobj ect s(thear c,t heal t
aretc)t hatwoul dmakehuman-di vi
necont act
possibl eandt hedesi gnat i
onofaspeci algroupofpeopl e( thepriests)who
woul dbeabl et omani pul atetheseobj ects.Aboveal l, ashrineorsanct uar ywas
to beer ected ( t
het aber nacl eort entofmeet ing)wher eYahweh woul d be
presentamonghi speopl e.Itisstressedt hattheseobj ectswer etobeer ected
exactlyaccor dingtowhatMoseshadseenonMountSi nai(Exodus25: 9,
26:30) .
Int hi
smount ainMoseshadavi si
onofaheavenl ysanct uar yofwhi cht he
earthlyt aber nacle was t o be a r epli
ca.Yahweh hi mselfaut hor i
zed t he
prepar ati
on ofeach i tem and gi vesi t
sspeci f
ication in Exodus25- 31.The
carryingoutofhi si nst r
uctionswasanact ualinaugur ati
onoft hesyst em of
divineser vice.

Thef i
rstpract
iceofsacri
fi
cialworshi
poccursduri
ngtherati
fi
cat
ionofthe
covenantceremonyr
ecordedinExodus24:1-11.Thewhol
eassemblyofI
srael

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tookpartint hisceremonyatt hef ootoft hemount ain.Thecent raleventatt hi

s
occasionwasacovenant almeal .Moseswassummonedt othemount ainalong
withAar on,twosons,andsevent yel ders.Theyat eanddr anklooki ngupont he
GodofI srael.Inanot heraccounti nt hesamechapt er,thecent raleventwasa
rit
ualinvolving “thebl ood oft hecovenant ”.Mosesr ead thel aw and t hen
performed a bl ood ritualwi tht heconsentoft hepeopl e.Int hiscaset he
covenanti smadeef fecti
vebyasacr i
f i
ce.Animalswer esacr if
iced, andhal fthe
bloodwasdashedagai nstthealtarasasymbolofYahweh’ sparticipati
oni nthe
rit
ual.Theot herhal foft hebl oodwasputi nbasi nsandMosesact ingas
covenantmedi ator,readt ot hepeopl et hebookoft hecovenant .Whent he
peopleconsent edhedashedt hebl oodupont hepeopl esayi ng,“ Thebl oodof
thecovenantwhi chYahwehhasmadewi t
hyoui naccor dancewi thallthese
wor ds”
.Int hi
seventi sconf ir
medt heanci entbel i
efthatsacr i
fi
cialbl oodhast he
sacrament alpowert obr i
ngt ogethert wopar t
iesincovenant .Thebel iefinthe
effi
cacyofbl oodf igurespr omi nent lyint het heologyofsacr ifi
cei ntheol d
testament.

(i
i)
ThePurposeandApplicat
ionofSacrif
ici
alwor
shi
p.
Thepurposewas2f ol
d:
(1)ascommunionforpeaceoffer
ing)
(2)asexpi
ati
on(f
orsinandforreparat
ion)

Thel argeblockofPr iestlymat eri

alsinLevit
icuschapt ers1t o7i ndicatesthat
sacrifi
cewasnotunder stoodasameansofappeasi ngdi vinewr athorof
cajoli
ngGodt oshowf avor s.Rather,thesacr
ificeswer eameansofat onement,
thatis,ofheal i
ngt hebr eachoft hecovenantr el
ationshipandr euniti
ngt he
peoplei ncommuni onwi thGod.I twasbel i
evedt hatsacrifi
cewasef f
icaciousin
restori
ngabr okenrelationshi p,notbecausether ewassomet hi
ngmagi calinthe
powerofbl ood whi ch cont ains the pot
encyofl if
e,butbecause God had
providedt hemeansofgr acebywhi chguil
twaspar donedandt hepeopl ecould
l
ivei nt hepr esenceoft hehol yGod.Sacr i
ficewasnotanendi ni t
self
.No
sacrifi
cialri
tei seffect i
vei nthecaseofdel iberat
esi nwi thintenti
on-whi ch
representsadownr ightr evol tagainstGodandt herevealedlaw.Sacr ifi
cemust
beaccompani edbyconf essionandr epent
ance.

(
ii
i)Whatt
hepr
ophet
shadt
osayabouti
tandwhy.

Whatt hepr ophet

sandt hepr i
estshadi ncommonwas,aboveal l
,asenseof
Isr
ael’
sf ai
lureasacovenantpeopl e.I
ntheper iodbeforethef al
loft henat i
oni n
587 B.C.E,thepr ophet
s,speaking with variousaccent s,interpreted Israel’
s
suff
eri
ngundert hewor l
dpower sast heconsequenceofcovenantf ail
ure.A
goodexampl eisthecaseofManassehwhoover t
urnedt her eformst hathi s
fat
herHezeki ahhadcr eated.Manassehr e-openedt hel ocalpaganshr i
nesi n
communi t
iesoutsi
deJer usal
em.Hesponsor edapr ogr
ammet oamal gamat e
thewor shipofYahwehwi t
hbaal’snaturereligion.Yahwehwaswor shippedat
alt
ars ofbaal .Sacred prosti
tut
ion was pr acticed (2 Kings 23:7) .
Thus t he

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paganizationofI srael’sworship,whi
chhadbeenat hreateversincetheti
meof
j
udges,wasgi venf reeveinunderr oyalsancti
onandpat ronagehencet he
prophetshadt histosay:“ Comet oBethelandtransgr ess,toGil
galandmul t
ipl
y
tr
ansgr ession,bringyoursacr if
iceseverymorning,yourt i
theseverythr
eedays,
offerasacr if
iceoft hanksgivingofthatwhichisleavenedandpr ocl
aimfreewill
offeri
ngs,publ i
sht hem, f
orsoyoul ovet odo,Opeopl eofIsrael”
.(Amos4:4-5).

Comment
Theoracl
eissarcast
ic.Iti
smocker
yencouragementwhi
chmeansI
srael
shoul
dgor i
ghtonsinningwit
hhersacr
if
ices,whi
chshel
ovest
ofl
aunt,sot
hat
theymaybeseenbyal l.

Amos5: 21-23
“Ihate,Idespiseyourf east
s,andItakenodel i
ghti
nyoursolemnassembl i
es.
Event houghyouof ferme,yourbur ntoff
eri
ngsandcer ealof
feri
ngs,Iwil
lnot
acceptthem, andthepeaceof fer
ingsofyourfat
tedbeastsIwil
lnotworkupon.
Takeawayf r
om met henoiseofyoursongs,tothemelodyofyourhar psIwil
l
notli
sten”.(
RSVBi bl
e) .

Comment

Yahwehpr ocl
aimshis“hatr
ed”oft
heirsacri
fi
ces,thesacr
if
icestheylovet
o
procl
aim.ThusYahwehhateswhatI
sraell
ovesandloveswhatIsr
aelhat
es.

Hosea9: 4
“Theyshal lnotpourl i
bat
ionsofwinetot
heLord,
andtheyshallnotpl
easehim
withtheirsacrif
ices.Thei
rbreadshal
lbel
ikemour
ner
sbr ead;al
lwhoeatitshal
l
bedef i
led”.(RSVBi bl
e).

Comment
Hoseabeginshisjudgmentagainstf
esti
val
sbyprohibi
ti
ngthecel
ebrati
on,
accusi
ngthepeopl
eofhar l
otr
y,offor
saki
ngthei
rGod,andofsel
f– servi
ng
ceremoni
es.

“ForIdesi
resteadfastl
oveandnotsacri
fi
ce,theknowl
edgeofGodr
athert
han
burntof
fer
ings”.(
Hosea6;6)r
eadtoget
herwithHosea5:3-4.

Forthesamer easonsIsai
ahandJeremiahspokeagai
nstt
hesacr
if
ici
alcul
t
whichhadbeenperver
tedbyfor
eignwor
ship.

Isai
ah2:6-8reads:
“Forthouhastreject
edt hypeopl
e,thehouseofJacob,becausetheyareful
lof
divi
nersfrom t
heeastandofsoot hsayer
sliket
hephil
ist
ines.Thei
rlandisfi
ll
ed
withidol
s.(RSVBi bl
e).

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Comment ary
The leaders ofIsraelhave become so arr
ogantand they have insti
tut
ed
i
dolatrous worshipin God’
sr eli
gion.Ther
ei s al
so heavy dependence on
soothsayer
s,di vi
nersand gr
aven images.God cannotaccepti t
,hencet he
prophetcondemnedi t.

Jeremiah7: 21-
23r eads:“
Thussayst heLor dofhosts,theGodofI srael:
”Add
yourburntof f
eringstoyoursacr i
fi
cesandeatt heflesh.Forinthedayt hatI
broughtthem outoft helandofEgypt ,Ididnotspeaktoyourf at
hersor
commandt hem concer ni
ngbur ntoffer
ingstoyoursacr i
fi
ces”(
RSVBi bl
e).Read
toget
herwi th7:31:
“Andtheyhavebui ltt
hehi ghplaceofTophet h,whichisinthevalleyofHi nnom
andbur ntthesonsandt heirdaughtersinfi
rewhichIdi dnotcommand, nordi
d
i
tcomei nt
omymi nd”.(
RSV)

Comment ar
y
Theaccusationsf
ocusonrel
igiouspract
ices,especi
all
ythewor shi
pofgods
otherthanYahwehandtheof
f eri
ngofsacrifi
ces.Becauseoftheseper
ver
ted
actsYahwehhasr ej
ect
edandf orsakenthechosenpeopl esaysThomasW.
Overholt
.

Conclusi on
Thegener alpointinthischapter(sacrifi
cialwor shipinIsrael)i
st hat
,ofcourse
Godhadal lowedsacr if
ici
alwor shipasdi vineser vicewhileIsraelwasint he
wil
derness.Buton comi ng intot he pr omi sed land,Moses had pr ohibi
ted
sacri
ficialwor shi p(see Deutr18: 1-22)knowi ng very wellthe dangers of
syncretism.Theki ngsofIsraellateroni nsistedonsacr i
fi
cialworshi
pbutt hen
doingi tthef oreignway.Godt herefor
esenthi sprophetst ogoanddenounce
theent i
repr acticeofsacri
fici
alwor ship.Inf inertermsitwasnotamat t
erofa
parti
cularpr ophet ’
satt
it
ude,butGod’ sinstruct i
on.

SAMUEL

Byt
heendofthi
stopi
cthest
udentshouldbeableto:
1.I
dent
if
ythefi
gureofSamueli
nIsrael
it
ehist
ory

2.Showthecredent
ial
sofSamuelandst
resst
hemosti
mpor
tant
cr
edenti
als

3.Expl
ainther
oleofSamueli
ntheTr
ansi
ti
onf
rom Theocr
acyt
oMonar
ch
i
nIsrael

I
ntr
oduct
oryfact
s
Hi
smi ni
str
yisdatedt
othe11th cent
uryBCEaf
terset
tl
ementi
nCanaan.He

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appearedduringaper i
odofwar swi t
hthePhi l
ist
inesandhehel pedpeopleto
chooseaki ng( Saul).ThePhil
isti
nesdestroyedthehol yshri
neofShi l
ohand
captur
ed the arc ofGod.The peopl e ofI sr
aelf el
tthey needed an ar
my
commanderi nsteadoft heoldcharismati
cJudgesl i
keGideontodealwiththe
menace.Saulwaschosent obet hekingandcommanderoft heIsr
aeli
tesbut
Samuelwaspr otest
ing,ar
gui
ngt hatitwasar ej
ectionofGod’srul
einfavourof
ahumanr uler
.

Reli
giousCredential
sofSamuel
1)Samuelservedasaseeri nIsrael.Evi
denceisfoundi n1Samuel19: 20and1
Samuel10:2- 8.Samuelwaspai dasmal lf
eeforhi
sser vicessaysR.A.B
Ewbank.Butot herscholar
s,includingAndersonarguest hathewasnot
chargi
ngfeesassuch, butaccept edtokensofappreciat
ion.Thi
scontroversy
ari
sesfrom theconversati
onbet weenSaulandhi sser vantin1Sam 9:8
“Whathavewe? ”Theservantanswer edSaulagain,“Herelhavewi t
hmet he
fourt
hpartofashekelofsi l
ver,andIwi l
lgi
veitt
othemanofGodt otellus
ourway”.

2)Samuelwasaf at heroft heecst aticsatRamah.Hel edt heent husi ast i

c
prophet si nacampai gnt owi thst andf or eigngods( 1Sam 19: 10) .
3)Her eceivedacal lwhenhewasachi l
d.Thecal lcamei nadr eam.
4)Samuelwasapr iestaswel lasapr ophet .
5)Samuelwasal soaJudge.Af tert hedest r
ucti
onoft henat ionalshr i
neof
Shi l
oh,t heI sraeliteshadnocent r
alshr ineandSamuel ,whol i
vedatRamah,
wentonci rcuitint hecent r
alhi ghlands, tryingandset tli
ngdi sput es.Thet erm
“circuit
”i susedi nj udi cialsyst emst or ef ertoseasonalvi sit
sbyaHi ghcour t
Judget or emot edi strictst ot ryser i
ouscr iminalcasest hatwer ecommi t
tedi n
thosedi str
icts.
6)Samuelpr esidedoverr eligionscer emoni esatt heal t
arsofBet hel
,Gilgaland
Mi zpah.Thi ssuggest st hathewasapr iestasevi dencedby1Sam 7: 15- 17.
7)Samuel advocat ed monot heism and campai gned agai nst idol atr
y.
Monot heism r efer st owor shi ppi ngonl yoneGod.
8)Ononeoccasi onhel edt hepeopl et ovi ctoryovert hePhi li
sti
nes( 1Sam 7: 3-
10)andsokeptal ivet hespi ritofr esi stanceanddevot iont oYahwehdur ing
thePhi listi
neoccupat ion.
9)Samuelopposed t hei deaofaki ng and pr ef
erred theol d systemsofa
conf eder acyoft ribesl edbychar i
smat icj udgesofwhom hewasone.
10)Samuelanoi ntedt hef i
rstki ngofI srael , Saulwhom hedi dnotsuppor t.
11)Samuelwasani nt ercessoronbehal foft hepeopl eofI sr ael,“Farbei tfrom
met hatIshoul dsi nagai nstt heLor dbyceasi ngtopr ayf oryouandi nst ruct
youi nthegoodandr i
ghtway” .(1Sam 12: 23).
12.Samuelquar reledwi thSaulwhenhet ookSamuel ’spr erogat ivebyof feri
nga
sacr i
fi
cei nt heshr inewhen Samuelhad del ayed t o ar r
ive.Of fering of
sacr i
fi
ceswast her esponsi bi l
ityofpr i
est s.(1Sam13: 8- 15).

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13.Samuel
’
slastact
ionwast
oanoi
ntDavi
daski
ngofI
sraeli
npl
aceofSaul
.

Conclusion
Samuelhadt hechar act
erist
icsofat ruepr
ophetbecausehewasempower edto
speaktruewor dsofGodandhadal sothegi
ftofsecondsight.Li
keMoseshe
i
nfluencedthecour seofpubl i
ceventsandactedast heconsci
enceoftheKing,
andi nt
ercededbothf ortheKi ngandpeople.Hewasapat ronoftheecst
ati
cs
whower eent husi
astsforthereli
gionofYahweh.

THECOMPI
LATI
ONOFPROPHETBOOKS

Byt
heendoft
het
opi
cthest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.Def
inewhatapr
ophet
icbooki
s

2.Expl
ainhowpr
ophet
icbookswer
efor
med

3.Expl
ainhowpr
ophet
icmat
eri
alswer
epr
eser
ved

Prel
ude:
Thismater
ialwi
llseektoanswerhowandwhyprophet
icbookswer
ecompi
led.
Butther
eisneedtoresear
chfurt
heront
hist
opi
c

Whati
sapr
ophet
icbook?

A booki sgener al
lyunder stoodtobeasel f– contai
nedproduct i
onbyone
author(veryrarel
ysever al
),publi
shedonaspeci f
icdateandprotectedbylater
hands.Buti nthecaseofpr opheticbookscr i
ti
calst
udyhasestablishedthatthe
sayingsoft heor i
ginalauthorhavei nmanycasesbeenedi tedandampl if
ied
overaper iodofsever alcenturi
es.Propheti
cbooksr eachedt
heirpr esentf
orm
asar esultofacumul ati
veprocessofedi t
ing,adapt
ingandexpanding.

For
mat
ionofpr
ophet
icbooks.

Wr i
ti
ngdownofpr opheticoraclesmi ghthavebeenanemer gencymeasur e,
undertakenwhent hepr ophetwasunabl etodeliverthemessageor ally.Asan
exampl e,Amosmayhavehadr ecoursetowr i
ti
ngaf terbei
ngexpelledf rom the
Kingdom ofSamar ia.(Amos7: 12),Jeremiahwasbannedf r
om speaki ngi nt he
preci
nct softheTempl e( Jer36:4-6)
.Wr i
ti
ngcouldal sohavehadt hepur poseof
authenticat
ingpredicti
vepr ophecye.g.Isaiah30:8,“Andnow, go,writei tbefore
them onat abletandi nscribei
tinabook, t
hatitmaybef ortheti
met ocomeas
awi t
nessf orever
”.

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Theneedtopreser
veprophecieswhenpoli
ti
calormil
it
arydi
sasterthr
eatened
mustalsohavebeenaf actorandmayhelpt oexpl
ainwhywr i
ttenprophecy
dat
esfrom t
heAssyri
ancri
sisintheei
ght
hcentur
yB-C.

Howwer etheprophet icmat erial

spr eserved?
Thef i
rstst aget owar dst hef ormationofapr opheticbookwasmemor i
zing,
coll
ectingandwr i
ti
ngdownofsmal l
ercol lecti
onsofsayi ngs.Somewoul dbe
heldtoget herbyf or malorst yli
sti
cf eaturese. g.t her ecurri
ngrefr
aininAmos
4:6-
12;I sa5:24-25) ,orani niti
alformul ae. g.thewoesayi ngsinAmos5: 18-20.
Othershadi ncommonapar ti
cularthemee. g.Jer23: 9-4orboreonapar ti
cular
hist
ori
calaccur acye. g.Isa7: 1t o8:15.I nt hecour seoft i
met hesecollecti
ons
wouldhavebeenputt ogether,usual l
yi nsomemeani ngfular
rangement ,and
amplif
iedwi t
habi ographicaloraut obiographi calmemoi rwhereavailable.Itis
al
sopossi blethatt heiroriginswer esi mpl yat tachedt oone,ori nsomecases
moret hanone, namedcol l
ect i
one.g.I sa:1-5Mi c4:1-5.

InIsraelaselsewhere,prophet
icact ivi
tytendedtointensi
fyduringperiodsof
poli
ti
cal,mi l
it
ary orculturalcrisi
s.I tisr easonabl
et o conclude t
hatt he
coll
ecti
ngandedi t
ingofthesayingsofAmosandHoseawer eoneaspectoft he
Judeanr esponsetothef al
lofSamar iain722B. C.Aft
erthefallofJerusal
em
onehundr edandt hi
rty-
fi
veyearsl ateramaj oreffor
twasmade,f ort
hesame
reasons,tocoll
ectpropheti
ctexts,adaptingthem totheneedsofcommuni ti
es
i
nt heDiasporaandthehomel and.

Concl
usi
on

Ini
tspresentfor
m, t
her
efor
e,t
helat
terpr
ophetsistheendpr
oductofa
cumulati
veprocessext
endi
ngoversever
alcentur
ies.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions
.

1.Howj
ust
if
iedi
sthevi
ewt
hatSamuelwasat
ruemodelofpr
ophet
s?

2.Examinet
hevi
ewt
hatt
heOl
dTest
amentpr
ophet
ssawki
ngsasanecessar
y
evi
l.

3.Moseswasj ustagoodl
eaderbutl
ateredi
tor
smadehi
mint
oapr
ophet
.’
Assesst
hisstat
ement
.

4.Theiri
nvolvementofYahwehi
nhistor
icalevent
sinthel
if
eofI
sraelwasat
theCentreoft hemessageofIsrael
it
epr ophet
s.Towhatext
entisthis
assert
ionvali
d?

5.“
Ecst
asywasaphenomenonal
sof
oundout
sideI
srael
”(G.Hol
scher
)Show

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howthi
sstatementhasof
tenbeenusedt
odi
sput
ethatpr
ophecywasqui
te
uni
quei
nIsrael.

Ref
erences

1.AndersonB.W TheLivi
ngWor l
doft heOldTestament4thedi
ti
on1978.
2.Chi
ldsB.S.ThebookofExodus:Acr i
ti
calTheol
ogicalCommentar
y,1974.
3.McCarterP.K.Exodusi
n,HarperBibleComment ar
y,1988.
4.Sar
na.N. M.Explor
ingExodus;1986.

CHAPTER3
THEBOOKOFAMOS
Byt
heendofchapt
erthest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:
1.I
denti
fyt
heorigi
nsofthepr
ophetAmos

2.Exami
net
hecal
lst
oryofAmos

3.I
dent
if
yandExpl
aint
het
hreemai
nthemesi
nAmos

4.Cr
it
ical
lyexami
newhyAmosdi
sagr
eedwi
thpeopl
eoft
heSout
h

5.Di
scusst
hevi
ewt
hatAmoswasapr
ophetofdoom

6.Cr
it
ical
lyexami
net
hel
astver
sesofAmos

I
ntr
oduct
ion

ThebookofAmosi sapr opheticbookofonl yninechapt ers.Itscentr

alfocusi s
the proclamation of Yahweh` sj udgement agai nst Israelbecause some
Israel
it
eshadoppr essedt hepoor.Yahweh` sbur ni
ngangeri sdirect
edagai nst
Israelbecausei ttr
eatspeopl evi ol
entlyandunj ustl
y. Yahweh` sangeri s,i n
deedsohott hatthedownf al
lofIsraelisunavoidable. Onl yatt heendoft he
bookcanonef i
ndcl earl
yexpr essedamessageofhope,butt hatexpectati
on
seemst oappl yprimar i
lyt oJudahr atherthantoI srael.Mostschol ar
st hink
thatthi
sar t
icl
eofhopef orJudahi stheproductofl atereditorsofthebookof
Amos.I tdidnotcomef rom Amoshi mself
.

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WhowasAmos?

Thelit
tlethatisknownaboutAmosmustbeder ivedf
rom thebookitsel
f.Amos
camef rom Tekoai nJudah( t
heSouthernstate)
.Heunderstoodhimselftohave
been commi ssioned by Yahweh to prophesy toIsr
aeldur i
ng the rule of
Jeroboam 11( 786-746B.
c).Hedoesnotseem t ohavebeenal ifel
ongpr ophet
butratherashepher danddresserofsycamor etr
ees(
7:14)

TheTextofAmos.
ThebookofAmosconsi
stsoft
hreemajorsect
ionsasf
oll
ows:

1. Anint
roductor
ysuperscri
pti
onandtheMot
to
2. Themainbodyoft hebookchapt
ersonet
ochapt
er9.
3. Aconcludingpostscri
pt(9:
8-15)

Thefir
standthir
dsecti
onspr esupposeJerusal
em t
obet hefocusofdi
vine
act
ivi
ti
es“theLor
droar
sfrom Zion”(Jer
usal
em)hisdwel
li
ngplace.

Thesuperscri
pti
onisast atementoftheauthorofthemessage“ Thewor dsof
Amos”andhi svocati
on-“ whowasamongt heshepher dsofTekoa”.Themotto
cont
ainslanguagetypicaloft heophani
es“TheLor droarsf
rom Zion”.Sucha
mott
osuggest sthewr athofYahweh,whi chi sli
kenedtoar oari
ngl ion.The
mott
oi snotedasthefirstindi
cati
onofAmos`conceptionsofdestr
uction.

Thesecondpartofthebookrevol
vesar
oundthethemeofGod’
spr esence.A
seri
esofjudgementspeecheslaysafoundat
ionforanexhor
tat
iont hatthe
peopleshouldpr
epareforYahwehtoappearinthei
rmidst
. Thecomi ngof
Yahwehmar kst
hedeathofI
srael
.

TheOr
acl
esagai
nstt
heNat
ions

Theor aclesarear epeti

ti
onalcompositi
oncontaini
ngaser i
esofstereot
yped
oraclesagainstvar
iousforei
gnpeoples,concl
udi
ngwi thor
aclesagai
nstJudah
andI srael
. Theyar eint
roducedbyabr i
efaccusati
onandannouncementof
punishment ,“f
orthreetransgr
essi
onsof…andf orfourIwi llnotr
evokethe
punishment ”

Ther ati
onaleforusi ngthisformulai
suncl ear
. Thenumber sthreeandf our
havenocl earr el
evancet otheseri
esofcr i
mescommi t
ted.Thenat ur
eoft he
cri
mesi sclearlyspecifi
ed. Theyar eallviolentabusesofhuman bei ngs.
Yahweh’spuni shmentf orthesecri
mesoccuri ntheform ofanger,whichonce
sentf ort
h,wi l
lnotbe cal l
ed back. “Fir
e”a st er
eotypi
calexpr essi
on for
Yahweh’sangeranddest r
ucti
oniskindledt oeatthest ronghol
dsoft hese
nati
ons’defeat,deathbytheswor dandexil
e.

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Yahweh’ sangerwhi chi sdi r

ectedagai nsthi sownpeopl enamel y,Judahand
especiall
y,Isr
ael,pr ovidest heclimaxi nt hi
sr epeti
ti
onalcomposi ti
on. Whil
e
Judah’smi sdeedsar estatedgener al
lyasdi sobediencetothel awandwal ki
ng
accordingtolies,thecr imesofI sraelinvolveoppr essionofthepoor .“
Theysell
therighteousf orsi l
verandt heneedyf orapai rofshoes( 2:6).Suchsoci al
abusesar eser i
ousvi olationsagainstYahweh,f ortheyprofanehi shol yname
andal t
arsanddesecr atehissacredhouse.Fur ther
mor ealt
houghYahwehhas
graci
ouslydeliveredI srael,t
heIsraeli
teshavedi sobeyedhim, “Iraisedupsome
ofyoursonsaspr ophets…. asNazar ites,”youmadet heNazar i
tesdr i
nkwine
andsay:“ youmustnotpr ophesy”.(Amos2:12. )

BecauseI sraelhasoppressedt hepoor ,prof

anedYahweh’sname,abusedhi s
Nazar i
tes,andsilencedhisprophets,Yahwehwi l
lpuni
shthenationbymi l
it
ary
defeat.Thisdefeatisexpressedfir
stbyt heimageofanoverl
oadedwagont hat
:
“pressesdownwhati sunderneath”.Thent heimager
yshif
tstotheport
rayalof
thefateofwar ri
orsindefeat.

Quest
ion:

1.WhathasAmost
osayaboutGodandt
henat
ions?

Hi
nts
 Amos’ judgment aloraclesinchapters1-2
 Focus on var i
ous f or
eign people who commi t
ted cri
mes against
humani ty.
 Thej udgement sareannouncedi nastereot
ypef
ormula.
 Themeani ngoft heformulaisnotclear.
 I t
semphasi sisonr epeatedoffences.
 Or acl
est oothernationsareapr eambletoAmos’tar
getednat
ionofI
srael.
 The j udgment alexhor t
ati
ons use the imager
y of“ f
ir
e”to markt he
devastativenatureofGod’ spunishment.

 Israelisar ebelliousnationthatmustsufferami l
it
arydef
eatandface
subsequentexi le.
 Israel
’suncheckedi nj
usticespr
ofanethenameofYahweh.
 Theappr opriate-penaltyisadestruct
ionofthenati
onbyforei
gnmil
it
ary
arsenal.
 Theor aclest ot henationsusherthecrucialsent
iment
sofdoom inthe
bookofAmos.

2.Whatwer
ethemat
ter
saboutwhi
chAmosandhi
scont
empor
ari
esdi
sagr
eed?

Amos’contemporari
es wer ethe Israeli
tes ofthe nor
thern stat
e. Amos
announcedf
urt
herjudgementagainstthem inmoresevereterms,accompani
ed
bymockeryofthei
rprivi
legesandluxuries,event
hei
rreli
giousceremoni
esare

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sar
castical
lydenounced. I
sraeli
schargedofmisdeedsandthreat
enedwith
j
udgement .Israeli
scall
edtohearthewordofherowndestr
ucti
on,“Heart
his
word;youonlyhaveIknown…
Theref
oreIwillpuni
shyou…”(Amos3:2)
.

Amosaver sthatelect i
oni snoguar anteeofGod’ sfavour;i tinvol
ves,rather,a
demandingr esponsibil
ityandser vesast hebasisf ordivinej udgementand
punishment. Thi svi ew ofAmoswoul dr uncontraryt oI sraeli
teconcept i
on.
Amos’ proclamat i
onont hethreattohumanl if
einI srael
,whi chhepor t
rayedby
theimager yofat r
umpet ,“I
fat r
umpeti sblowni naci t
ydoesnott hepeopl e
tremble”
?Thi si nvolvest heaudienceper sonall
yandt hreat enstheirsurvival
.
Suchapr oclamat i
onwoul dbemetbyanemot i
onalr eacti
onbecauset hepeopl e
l
eastexpect edanyr eprisalsfr
om theirGod.

The imageri
es i
n Amos 3:
12 fur
therdepi
ctevent
s cont
rar
ytoI
srael
it
e
concept
ion.Amosemployst
woimageri
es:

i
)-Theshepher dwhor escuesnot hingbuttornani malpartsfrom theli
onand
i
i)-ther ecover yofnothingbutf urnitur
ef r
agment sfrom theenemy. Notonl y
willthest rongholdsoft hecapi talbebr oughtlow,nothingbutt hefragmentsof
thef urnishingswi l
lbel eft.Stilltheotherimageofal i
onhavi ngdevouredi ts
prey( 3:12)connect sanimalvi olencet omi l
it
arydefeatofI srael
.Mor eover,the
roaringoft heli
onissai dt obeGod’ svoice,sot heli
on’sat t
ack;theblowingof
thet rumpeti ntheci ty,t heact ivit
yofwi t
nessesi n Yahweh` st r
ialagainst
Samar i
a, andtheenemy’ sdest ructionofthemi ghtystrongholdsofSamar iaand
thedeci mat ionofthefur ni
shingsar eal
limagest hatwor ktogethertodepictthe
totalanni hi
lati
onoft hecity.

In Amos 3:
13-
15 he ext ends the por
trayalofdevast ati
on. Wi t
nesses ar
e
summonedtowitnesst hatthesanctuar
yatBet helandt healtarwi
llbepuni
shed
andthatYahwehwi lldestroythehouses. Thewor shippersaresarcast
ical
ly
summonedtoBet heltocomeandmul t
iplytransgressi
on,“Comet oBethelAnd
tr
ansgr
ess,t
oGil
galandmul t
ipl
ytr
ansgression”.(Amos4: 4)

Suchsacarsm woul dbeani nsultoftheholyrel

i
gion.TheIsraeli
teswoul
dl east
expectsuchmessagesf r
om at r
uepr ophet.Theproclamati
onoft hedeathof
KingJeroboam 11mar kedt heclimax.Hewasi nstantl
yservedwi t
haP.I.order
bythehighpr i
estAmazi ah.
Amos`cont emporari
es woul d notexpectt o heardisfavourorany bad
messagest hatsuggestedGodt akingpunit
ivemeasuresagainstt
hem.

Pr
ocl
amat
ionofdeat
hChapt
er5:
1-17

Amosproclai
msat otaldeathofIsraelusi
ngafuner
aldir
ge,
“Fal
len;nomor e
t
ori
se,i
st heVir
ginIsrael
.”Thepr ophetempl
oystheimageofadeadvi rgi
nand
t
heimpressionofaf unerallamentt oport
rayat ot
alendofI srael
.I tisa

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regret
tabl
elossforawomant odieavir
gin(
Judges11:
29-40)
.Sot ooI
srael
diesprematur
elyandunf
ulf
il
led,l
ikeawomanwhohadbornnochil
d.

Thevi si
onsofj udgementi nchapt er7al sodepi cttheendofI srael.Thefirst
twor eport
snar r
atevisi
onsofdevast at
ingjudgement sagainstIsrael
,inwhi ch
thepr ophetsucceedsthr oughi ntercessorypr ayer,inpersuadingYahweht o
withdrawthepunishment.I nthet hirdandf ourthvisionsYahwehannouncesan
i
rrevocablejudgementagai nstIsrael.
.
“IwillnotagainPasshi m by” ,thisf if
thvisionel aborat
est hejudgement .The
visi
onr eport
sdevelopthet hemeofdeat hpr esentinthemai nthemeofAmos.
Likeawal ltest
edbyapl umbl ineandf oundt obeunf i
t,soIsr
aelf ai
lsthetest
andt heref
oremust,li
kethewal lbet orndown.

The“Summerf rui
t”int
roducesadescri
pti
onofIsrael
’
send.Thisfinalvisi
on
fi
ll
supt hepi
ctureofdeath–nonewi l
lescapet
heswor d.Nomatterhow far
theyf
lee,t
heycannotescapeYahweh`
seyes.Athiscommandtheywilldi
e.

Quest
ion

Howj
ust
if
iabl
eisi
tthatAmoswasapr
ophetofdoom?

Hi
nts
 Anadmi ssionstatementofthefactt hatAmosi ndeedproclai
meddoom.
 Themot toi nchapter1andt het hreatsofdevastati
onoft henati
onsby
fi
reandt hesubsequentdest ructi
onoft hei
rstrongholds.
 Thei mager yofal i
onmoul i
ngal ambi n3:12andt hewagonst hatwas
pressingdownheavi ly.
 Thef uner allamenti nchapter5: 2andt hemocker yofhol ypl
acesat
BethelandGi l
gal.
 Thevi si
onsofj udgementanal ysedonebyoneandt hei
remphasison
devastation.
 Theper sistencewi t
hwhi chAmosat t
acksthenationofIsrael
.

Thepost
scr
ipt
:Amos9:
8-15

ThebookofAmosendswi t
har einter
pretati
onoft hemessageofj udgment.By
disputi
ngt hecl ai
mt hatdel
iverancefrom Egyptexempt sIsraelf
rom judgment ,
theauthorcl aimst hatYahwehwi lldestr
oy“ thesinf
ulkingdom”.Thiskingdom
i
st heIsraeli
temonar chy,whichwi l
ldisappear,but“t
hehouseofJacob”wi l
lnot
becompl et
elydestr oyed.Onl ysinnerswilldi
eandar emnantwillsurvi
ve.The
l
astf ourver ses(11- 15)wereundoubt edlycomposeddur i
ngtheBabyl onexile.
Theyunder standt hesur vi
vingr emnantasl i
nkedtother enai
ssanceoft he
fall
ingDaviddynast y.

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Mostschol
arsat
tr
ibut
ethesel
astver
sest
oal at
eredit
orwhoint
endedt
oput
t
hebookofAmosonacoolendi ng.Theedi
torcoul
dhaveint
endedtor
egai
n
t
hesoulsoft
hehearer
sofAmos.

Cl
ari
fi
cat
ionont
het
hemesofdoom andhopei
nAmos

Of t
ent her ei scont rover syamongt eacher sandst udent sof‘ A’leveldi vini
ty.The
cont rover syi sbasedonwhet herther ei samessageofhopeornoti nAmos’
Prophesy.Butsuch a cont rover sy i s nott here among bi blicalschol ars
especi allyifoner eadscar efull
ymostoft hem’ sviewsonAmos.I nf actthemost
respect edoft heseschol ar sonAmosact ual l
ywar nedt hati tisf ut
ilet oattempt
tof orgeanyhopei nAmos’pr opheci es.I nt hisstudypackweseekt omakea
resolut iononceandf oral lont hisi ssuesot hatthest udentofdi vinit
ywi ll
cor r
ect lyunder standt het ruenat ur eofAmos’messagei nconf ormi tywi tht he
syllabusr equi rementt hatt hroughout st udentsshoul dbeawar eofvi ewsof
moder nschol ar s’’
.Theappar entcont rover syi sbasedonsucht extsasi n3:12-
13;wher easher phar dr etrievedt wol egsandapeaceofanearofasheepf rom
themout hofal ion.Whati simpor tantt onot eherei sthatt hisor aclei snotan
i
sol atedonef rom t her estoft hemessage.I nviewoft hisfactyououghtt otake
not et hatAmosusesi mager i
esofal ife–t hreateni
ngnat ure,thust her emai ns
ofasheepi nt hiscasear eonl yexhi bitst oshowt hattheani malhasbeenki l
led.
J.P.Hyat t
,aspeci ali
stonAmos,comment ingi nPeake’ sBi bleComment ar y,
arguedt hatt her emai nsar et ooi nsi gnificantt or epresentl ife. Heact ual l
y
war nsr eader sagai nstahopef ulnot ion.Ther esentmentwhi chGodmadeaf ter
Amos’i ntercessi on i nt hevi sionsofl ocust sand f iredoesnotsuggestan
alterationofGod’ spl ant odest royIsr ael.Atmostt her esentmentcoul donl ybe
at empor ar yonet hatwassoonsuper sededbyt het hreateningvi si
onsoft he
plumbl ine, thebasketoft hesummerf ruitandt hevisionoft heLor datt heal t
ar .
Thet ot ali mpr essi ont hati scr eatedi scat astrophicandi rr
ever sibl
e.Thati st he
viewwhi cht hest udentmustappr eciate.

Summar
yoft
het
hemeonsoci
alj
ust
ice

Stri
ctl
yspeaki ngt hemainthemei nAmosi st hethemeofGod’ spresence.This
majort hemespl itsint
ot wopar t
s.Thef ir
stpar tbeingaser i
esofj udgment
speechesi sl ayingaf oundationforanexhor t
ation,thatthepeopleshoul d
prepareforYahweht oappeari nthei
rmi dst.Thesecondpar tofthet hemeis
buil
ding upon t hatexhortati
on port
rayi
ng Yahweh’ s pr
esence as an event
resul
tinginIsrael’sdeat
h.Insuccinctter
mst hebookofAmosbasi callydeal
s
withthetwot hemesofsoci alJusti
ce,
andt hedest r
uctionofthenati
on.

Thefi
rstpar
tofthebookofAmosopensupwi t
haser i
esofj
udgmentaloracl
es
agai
nstvari
ousnati
onsincl
udingIsr
aelandJudah.Yahwehhassenthisanger
agai
nstvari
ousforei
gnpeoples.Speci
fi
cal
lythecri
meofal lt
hesenationsis
humanabuse.
(Amos1:3-
4:3)
.

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Thenat i
onshavevi olent
lyabusedhumanbei ngsasf ol
lows:
1)Damascust hreshedGi l
eadwi tht hreshi ngsl edgesofiron.
2)Tyrefail
edt or emembert hecovenantofbr otherhoodanddel iveredawhol eof
peopletoEdom.
3)Edom pursuedhi sbr otherwiththeswor dandcastof fallpit
y.
4)Ammonr ippedt het ummi esofpr egnantwomeni nGilead.
5)Moabbur nedt oashest hecorpseoft heKi ngofEdom.
6)I
srael’
sof fenseisexpoundedext ensi velyasoppr essi
onoft hepoorandt hei
r
enslavement .Theysel ltheri
ght eousf orsi
lverandt heneedyf orapai rof
shoes.Suchsoci alabusesar evi olationsagai nstYahwehf ortheypr ofanehis
holynameandhi sal t
arsanddesecr at ehissacr edhouse.Furthermor e,
althoughYahwehhasgr aci
ouslydel iveredI sraelf
rom Egypt,theI sr
aelit
es
havedi sobeyedhi m becauset heyhaveoppr essedthepoor,pr ofaned
Yahweh’ sname, abusedhi sNazi rit
esandsi lencedhisprophet s.SoYahweh
willpunisht henat ionbymi li
tarydef eat .

Theaccusat i
onsofoppr essi
onareextendedtothewomenofSamar i
a( Amos
4).Speci
fical
lyt hisreferstothewivesoft heruler
sandt hetopcl ass.The
womenur gethei rhusbandst oexpl
oitthepooratt hemarketplacesandt o
chargebribesandbr ingtheproceedshome.From eat i
ngsuchproceedst hese
womenhavegr ownf atandst outt
of i
ttheimageoft hefatbeaststhatwer e
rearedi
nt hef erti
ledistr
ictofBashan:“Hearthi
swor d,youcowsofBashan
whooppr essthepoor ,whocrushtheneedywhosayt othei
rhusbands“ br
ing
thatwemaydr ink”.

Corrupti
on isr ampanti nt he nati
onalcour t
s.Judges acceptbr i
bes and
prejudi
cethepoori nt hecour t
s.Theruler
shavet urnedjusticeint
owor mwood
andcastdownal lr i
ghteousness( 5:7).Falsescal esar eusedatt hemar ket
placestocheatt hepoor .Thesuperpr ofi
tsobt ainedfrom thisrobberyisused
tosponsoral uxuriouslifeatt heexpenseoft hepoor, “……..Yout r
ampl eupon
thepoorandt akef rom hi m exacti
onsofwheat ,youhavebui l
thousesofhewn
stone……..youwhoaf f
lictther i
ghteous,whot akeabr ibe”.(5:
11-12).I
nal l
sectorsofli
fe(poli
tical,economi candsoci al)thereisgrossi nj
usti
ceinIsrael
.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1.Amosbel ievedthatIsr
ael
’sdestructi
onwasunavoi
dable.Di
scuss.
2.Discussthevi ewthatAmos9: 8-
15wasnotwr i
tt
enbyAmos.
3.Towhatext entcanitbearguedt hatf
orAmostheauthori
tyofYahwehwent
beyondIsrael?

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4.WhathadAmost
osayaboutGodandtheNati
ons?
5.ShowhowAmos’
svocat
ioni
nfl
uencedhi
sprophet
iccar
eer

Ref
erences

Hyat
tJ.
P’sar
ti
cleonAmosi
nPeake’
sBi
bleComment
ary.

MaysJ.
L.Amos:Acomment
ary.Ol
dTest
amentLi
brar
y,Phi
ladel
phi
a(1969)

Mel
ugi
an.R’
sar
ti
cleonAmosi
nHar
per
’sBi
bleComment
ary1988.

TuckerG.“
Prophet
icAut
hent
ici
ty,
”A f
orm ofcr
it
icalst
udyofAmos1973.

CHAPTER4
THEBOOKOFJEREMI
AH
Byt
heendofthechaptert
hestudentshouldbeableto:
1.Giveanover
viewofthesocio-pol
it
ico-r
eli
giousenvi
ronment
sinJudah

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i
nthet
imeJer
emi
ah.

2.Expl
aint
hecal
lst
oryofJer
emi
ah

3.Exami
net
henat
ureofhi
spr
ophet
icmandat
easout
li
nedi
nthecal
lst
ory

4.Cri
ti
call
yexami
net
hedynami
csi
npr
ophet
icact
ivi
tyi
nJudahi
nthet
ime
ofJeremiah

5.Exami
net
hevi
ewt
hatJer
emi
ahwasapr
ophetofdoom

6.Expl
aint
hesymbol
ism i
nJer
emi
ah

7.Exami
net
heconcept
ionsofhopei
nJer
emi
ah’
sbookofconsol
ati
on

8.Di
scuswhet
herJer
emi
ahwasapat
ri
otorat
rai
tor

WhowasJer
emi
ah?

Anat t
empttoidenti
fyJeremiahismadei nthesuperscr
ipt
ioninchapterone
ver
sesonetothree.(1:
1-3).Hewast hesonofHil
kiah.Hi
sf at
herwasapr i
est
.
Theyli
vedatAnathothintheout
skir
tsofJerusal
em.Hepr ophesi
edinthedays
ofKingJosi
ahupt otheti
meofcaptivit
yinBabyl
onin587B.C.

Hi
scal
l

Hewascal l
edint he13th yearofKingJosiah`srul
e( 626B.C)i nJudah.He
recei
ved two vi
sions during his call
.The fir
stvisi
on stresses Yahweh’s
deter
minati
ontobr inghiswor ds,utter
edbyt heprophet,tofulfi
ll
ment. The
secondvisi
onsketchesthecont entofthosewordsi.
e.Judahwi l
lbedest r
oyed
byanenemyat t
ackingfrom thenor t
haspunishmentf orit
sunf ai
thful
nessto
Yahweh.

Jeremiah`scalli
sdescr i
bedasaconf r
ontati
onanddi al
oguewi thYahweht hat
proceeds through four st ages viz. commi ssion stage;obj ect
ion stage,
reassuranceandt hesign.Suchacal lr
eportisappr opri
ateforsomeonewhoi s
thoughttostandinspeci alrelati
onshiptoaGod, saysHer mannGunkel.Hewas
orderednottomar ry(16:1),nottojoinsocialgatheringsandnottoparti
cipat
ei n
familygatheri
ngs.Hewast or ef
rainfrom mar riage– becauset hecomi ng
warfarewouldutterl
ydest royf amil
ies.

Ref
rainingfr
om mour
ningrit
es( 16:
5)-meantthatYahwehwouldr
emovepeace
i
nthel andsomuchthatdeathwouldbesowi despreadsucht
hatt
hecust
om of
mourningwouldbemeaningless.

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Ref
rai
ningf
rom f
east
ing(16:8)-meantt
hatYahwehwasgoi
ngt
obr
ingsor
row
i
nthelandi
nst
eadofhappiness.

Hi
smandat
e

Jeremiah`staskwasdescr i
bedasbei ngtwodimensi onali.
e.t opul
ldownand
tor e-
buil
d. To“ pul
ldown”r eferr
edt othecast i
gationoft henati
onfori t
s
apostasyandt oannounceitsdownf al
l.To“ r
e-bui
ld”r ef
err
edt oanassurance
ofrestor
ationafterpuni
shment .Toputacr osstheset womi ssionst
heprophet
used techniques ofdramatizations and symbolisms. Besi des t
hese two
techni
quesJer emiahwouldalsouset emplesermonst oexpr esshismessage.

ThebookofJer
emi
ahi
nit
shi
stor
icalcont
ext

Itisveryi mpor tantthatweputt hebookofJer emi ahini t

shistoricalcontextso
thatcor r
ecti nterpretati
oncanbepossi ble.Thi scont extshallfocusont he
politi
csandr eli
gionofJudahdur i
ngt het i
meofJer emi ah.MuchofJer emi ah’s
oracleshaveani ncli
nat i
onont het wof actorsi .
e.pol i
ti
csandr eligionoft he
ti
me.Unl essoneunder standstheset wof act orsonecannoti nterpretcorrectl
y
thebookofJer emi ah.ThomasW.Over holt( 1988)wr otethat
:“Thebookof
Jer emiahisnott hepr oductofasi ngleper sonoper ati
ngi nacl osely
circumscr ibedt imeandpl ace.Tounder standi t,thereforewemustbeawar enot
onlyoft hecont extinwhi chtheprophetwor ked,butal sothosecont exti
nwhi ch
tradit
ionsabouthi swor kwer eknown, appr eciated,andpr eservedr esult
ingi n
thebookasi thascomedownt ouse.Thet imedur i
ngwhi chthisdevel opment
tookpl acecanbedi videdintotwodi sti
nctper i
ods, i.
e.beforetheexi leandaf ter
theexi l
e.”

Polit
ics
Accor dingt othetradi
tionaldate,Jeremiah’
spr opheti
cactivit
yspannedt hel ast
fourdecadesofJudah’ sexistenceasanat ion(626-587BC) .Thi speri
odwasa
ti
meofi ncr easi
nginternalfacti
onali
sm andshi fti
ngforei
gnal l
iances.King
JosiahofJudah( 640-609)tookadvant ageofAssyr i
a’sgrowi ngweaknesst or e-
establishJudah’ sindependenceandi ntheprocessbr oughtunderhi scontrol
formerI sraelit
elandst othenor t
h.Aspar tofthiseff
ortheunder tookamaj or
refor
m oft henation’
sr el
igi
ousest abli
shment( cf2Chr on34:1-8) .

In609BCki ngJosi ahwaski l

ledbytheEgypt ianpharaohnamedNecoatt he
battleofMegi ddo.Thedeat hofJosiahwasani mpor t
antturni
ngpoi ntanda
profoundembar rassment.Thisdeathbroughtt henewnot ionthatJudah’s
existenceasani ndependentnat i
oncont r
olli
ngPal est
ineasithadbeeni nthe
daysofDavi dandSol omon, wasnowani l
lusion.NotallofJeremiah’s
cont emporari
eshadsuchani nsi
ghtint
ot heirsit
uati
on.Thecont i
nualhopesf or
nationali
ndependencer emainedasour ceofi nt
ernaltensi
onunt i
ltheveryend.
ActuallyJosiah’sfatefal
sif
iedtheassumpt ionofDeut ronomistsandpr ophet
s
ali
ke, t
hatther i
ghteousandGod- feari
ngper sonandnat ionofJudahwi ll

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pr
osper
.

In597BCki ngNebuchadnezzarofBabyl onmount edasi egeagainstJer

usalem
th
(capit
alofJudah)whi chfellonMarch16 .Zedeki ah,t
het hi
rdsonofJosi ah
tookoveraf tert
woot herki
ngsasavassalr ulerofJerusalem pl
acedbyt he
Babylonians.ButtheJudeanscontinuedwi ththecryforindependence.Even
amongt hosewhounder stoodthedefeatasGod’ spunishmentwer esomewho
fel
tthattheirchasti
sementwasnowcompl eteandthatrestorat
ionwouldsoon
foll
ow.

Later,ZedekiahdidrebelagainsttheBabylonians.InJanuar y588BC
Nebuchadnezzarbeganasecondsi egeofJer usalem untilt
hewal l
sof
Jerusalem wer edestr
oyedcompl etel
yin587BC.Judeanswer ecar
ri
edi nt
oexi l
e.
Thistimet hecityanditstemplewer ecompl et
elydestroyed( cf2Ki
ngs25:1- 21)
Thef ewpeopl ewhohadr emainedinJudahwer eputunderanewvassal
governorcal l
edGedaliahwhowasappoi nt
edbyt heBabyl onianstolookaftera
fewthingst hathadremai nedinJerusalem.Af t
erthedeat hofGedaliahthef ew
peoplewhohadr emainedfledtoEgypt.Tradit
ionhasi tthattheycarri
edthe
prophetJer emiahwiththem againsthiswill
.
(Jer43- 44).

Thepol it
icalfat eoft henat iondomi natesthebookofJer emi ah.Oneoft he
notablefeat uresofJudeanpol it
icst enyear sbef ore587BCwast hedi vi
sionof
theleader sintof act i
ons, orpar t
ies.Thebookgi vesnonamesoft hesegr oups,
buttheycanbei dentifi
edbyt heirvi ewsonf or
eignpol i
cy.Onegr oup
compr i
singki ngsJehoi akim andZedeki ah(SonsofJosi ah)andmanyoft he
noblesandr eligiousl eaders,wascommi t
tedtoJudeanpol i
ti
calaut onomy.Asa
practi
calmat terthisgr oupgener al l
yf avouredalliancewi t
hEgyptandot her
stepsdesi gnedt or egainindependencef r
om Babyl on.Theot hergroupmadeup
ofasmal lergroupofnobl esandt heirsuppor t
ersamongr eligiousfunctionaries,
beli
evedt hati nt hepr esentci rcumst ancesitwasnecessar yt osubmi ttot he
suzeraintyofBabyl on.Bot hgr oupswer eabletor ati
onali
zet heirpositi
onont he
basisoft her eligioust r
adi t
ion.Jer emi ahsidedwi ththesecondgr oup.Chapt er
27-29oft hebooksuggestsomet hingoft hebitternessoft hosedi vi
sions.

AmongJer emi ah’sconsist

entsupportersinthisconfr
ontat
ionwithvarious
kingsweremember sofaparti
cularnoblefamilycall
edthehouseofShaphan.
Shaphanhimsel fhadbeenJosiah’ssecretaryandhadhadapr ominentrol
ein
Josiah’
srel
igiousr efor
ms( cf2Kings22: 3-
20)Thisconnectionoftheprophet
Jeremiahwitht hehouseofShaphanal l
owsust otr
acethepedigreeofwhat
somehavecal l
ed“ thepro-
Babyloni
an”par tybacktotheti
meofJosi ah’s
refor
ms.

Rel
igi
on

Asi
npol
it
icst
heof
fi
cialr
eli
gionofJudahdur
ingt
hedecadesbef
oret
heexi
le

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wasdomi natedbyt helegacyofJosi ah,whor el

ati
velyearl
yinhi sr eigncarri
ed
outat horoughgoi nginstit
uti
onalreform.Ther ef
orm’ smainfeat ures, r
emoval
offoreignreligi
ouspr acti
cesfrom bothJerusalem anditsenvironsandf r
om
regi
onsf urthertothenor t
handcent rali
zat
ionofwor shi
pinthet empl eat
Jerusalem fitwellwithJosiah’
spolit
icalprogrammeofgai ningi ndependence
from Assyriaandr e-assert
ingJudeancont roloverformerl
yIsrael i
tet err
it
oryt
o
thenor t
h.

From Jer emiah44: 15-

19wecani nfert
hatt heref
orm wasgener al
lyeffect
ivei
n
bri
ngingcommunalwor shi
pofot herGodsundercont rol
.Buttheenhanced
positi
onoft heJer usal
em templ eanditspriest
hoodalsohadt heeffectofa
prevail
ingconcept ualjusti
fi
cati
onf orf
oreignpoli
cydecisionsthatJeremiahfel
t
compel ledto-oppose(Jer7:1-15)(Jer27-28).

Thel astdecadesbef ore587BCwer et husaper i

odofi ntensepol i
tico-rel
igious
conf l
ictbet weent wogr oupsoft henat ion’selit
eeachcont ainingbot hpr ophets
andmember soft her uli
ngar istocr acy.Readi ngthroughoutt hebookof
Jeremi ahgi vesonet hei mpr essi ont hatwi despreadapost asyamonghi s
count rymenwast hef eat ur eofJudeansoci etythatdistur bedt hepr ophetmost .
(Jer2: 1-4:4)forexampl ei sconcer nedent irelywiththatt opic.Thepeopl ear e
accusedf orforsaki ngt hei rGod, indeed, oft r
adinghi mf orot herlessef fective
gods.I nsomeoft heseor acles, apost asyappear stobebot har eli
giousand
politi
cali ssue.I nt hepr ophet ’sview, theadopt i
ngofnewgodshaddi mi nished
rathert hanenhancedt hechancesf ornat i
onalsur vival(2:14- 19;26-28;36- 37)
.It
i
snotsur prisingt hatt henat ion’sl eader si .
eKi ngs,princes, priestsandpr ophets
aresi ngledoutf orspeci albl ame.Jer emiah’ scentralconcer nwaswhathe
percei vedt obet hel eader s’ unwi lli
ngnesst otakeGodandhi sdemands
seriousl y(chapt er5: 12- 13, 20- 25;6: 10;7: 21-26;8:4-7;15: 5-9)wi l
lbecome
appar entt hatJer emi ah’sopponent smayr easonabl yhaveassessedt heirown
rel
igiousposi tionqui tedi ffer ently.

Jer
emi
ah`
s symbol
icact
ions

In addi ti
on tot he prophet`s wor ds somet i
mes one encount ersr eports of
pr opheticdeedsunusualenought omer i
tspeci alat t
ent i
on. Withi
nt heOl d
Test ament ,such“actsofpower ”canbesepar atedi ntot wocategori
es.Ther e
ar efirstofall,act
st hatarewi thint hecapabi l
ityofanyi ndivi
dualtoper form.
Thesear eoftenreferredtoas“ symbol icactions”. Jer emiah`sbreakingofa
cer ami cpot(19:1–15)andI sai
ah` swal ki
ngi nthest reetsnakedandbar efoot
(Isaiah20)ar eexampl esofact i
onsoft histype.Second, thereareact
ionsof ten
ref er
redt oas“ mi
racles”thatappeart ogobeyondwhatwenor mallythinkit
possi bleforhumanbei ngstodo.I sai ah`scausingt heshadowont hesundi alto
movebackwar d(I
saiah38: 7–8)andt hestoriesofEl ij
ahandEl i
shar ecall
ing
thedeadt olifeareexampl es.(1Ki ngs17: 22)Theat temptt ounderstandt hese
account sdoesnotdependuponbel iefthatsucht hingsact uall
yhappened.

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Althought her earenomi raclesi nJer emi ahtherear eanumberof“ symboli

c
actions”.
Thef oll
owingar esymbol icact i
onsi nJer emiah:
(i
)–Hi srefrainingfrom mar r
iage( 16:1-2)
(i
i)
–Hi srefr
ai ni
ngf r
om mor ningr i
tes( 16:5)
(i
ii
)–Hi srefrainingfrom feast i
ng( 16:8)
(i
v)–Hi sbreaki ngoft hecer amicpot( 19:1)
(v)
-Hi swear ingofyokebar s( 27:6-15)
(vi
)-Hisbuyi ngofaf iel
dinAnat hothandpr otect
ingt hedeed(32:6-
15)
(vi
i)-Hi
sset t
ingofwi nebef oretheRechabi tes(35:1ff)
(viii
)-I
nstruct i
onsthati tber eadal oudandbedest royed(Jer36)
.
Somemi ghtal sowi sht oi ncludet hepr ophet’
s“ eati
ng”ofYahweh`s“ wor
d”
(15:16)andhi scarr
yi nga“ cupofwi ne”ar oundforvar iousper
sonstodri
nk.

Inadditi
on,thebookpr ovi
desaccount sofsymbol i
cacti
onsperformedbyt hree
otherpersons;Hananiahwhobr oketheyoke-barsJeremiahhadbeenwear ing,
PashhurwhobeatJer emi ahandputhi minstocksandkingJehoiaki m whocut
andbur nedt hescrol
lcont ai
ningJer emiah`
sor aclesasi twasr eadt ohim.
Pashur`sactionhasthespecialf eat
urethatitapparent
lyinvol
vedt heexerci
se
oflegalauthori
ty.

Theaccount sofsymbol i
cact si nJer emiahar esi mpleandf air
lyr egularin
str
ucture:theactionisper f
ormedbef or eanaudi enceandisaccompani edby
words. Theacti susuall
yper for
medf i
rst,wi tht hewordsf ol
lowingasan
i
nterpretati
on.Somet imesar esponsei snot ed,andwhent hi
sist hecasei tis
al
waysnegat ive. Thecont extsuggest sthatt heactandt heaccompanyi ng
wordsar eint
egralpartsofar hetor
icalsi tuati
on. Thei raimi sf or
cefuland
convincing communi cat
ion. Symbol i
c act ions have somet imes been
understoodasquasi– magi calact sinwhi cht heprophetsoughtt oseti nto
motiont hatef
fectwhichhiswor dsant icipated.

Others have seen t hem fr

om a mor et heologi
calper specti
ve,namel y,as
symbol i
zingt heguaranteedresultofYahweh`si nt
endedact i
on,whichhadbeen
revealed tot he prophet. Pr ophets wer
e dependentupon publ i
c suppor t
.
Mor eover,continui
ngsuppor tcouldnotbet akenf orgranted.I ntheprophet ’
s
constantstruggl etobeacceptedbyandmakei mpactupont hei
raudiencefluid
acti
onsr einforcingandr ei
nforcedbywor dswoul df or
cear eacti
onandmi ght
predispose some t owards acceptance oft he prophetand hi s message.
Symbol i
cact ionsmaybeseenaspar toftherhetori
calrepertoi
rebywhi cht he
prophetsoughtt ogaintheassentandsuppor tofanaudience.

Jer
emi
ah`
sconcept
ionsofdoom

Jer
emiahi
softenviewedasapr ophetofdoom.Someofhi ssenti
ment
sare
cl
assi
fi
edascatast
rophi
c.Evenhiscri
esoflamentandmour
ningi
nchapt
ers8,
9,and10docreateani mpr
essi
onofdi saster
.Theenemyf r
om t
henorthi
s

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deemedt obr i
ngcat astr
opheovert helandofJudah.Thedomi nanttheme,i n
theabove- mentionedchapt ersiscopyi ngwithdisast er.Nohopei sexpressed
that,ift hepeopl er epentt heycan avoi d catast
rophe. Rat hert henation’s
downf allseemsal r
eadyt ohaveoccur red,thoughper hapsi nt henott oodistant
past .Inal ll
i
kelihood, t
hepoet ryofthesechapt er
sr eflectstheexi l
ebuthasyet
developedel aboraterational
isati
onsofi t,whichisevi dentfrom t herelat
ively
l
ar genumber sofpoet icpassagesi nwhi cheitherthepeopl eort heprophetar e
picturedasst r
ugglingwi thadisasterthatseemsatt hever yleasttobevi rt
ually
compl ete.Themoodi stypifi
edbyt hewai l
ingofthepeopl e.

Avi
sionofdest
ruct
ion:Jer13:
1-11

Jeremiahisinst
ruct
edbyYahweht opur chaseandwearal i
nenunder garment
and,subsequentl
y,t
omaket wot r
ips,onef orthepurposeofr et
ri
evingit.This
accountisavi si
onr epor
t. Theunder gar ment-purchasedandwor n,hidden
awayandspoi l
ed,i
samet aphorf orthei nti
matedr el
ati
onshipthatexi st
ed
betweenYahwehandJudah,whi chJudah` srebel
li
ousactionshavebr oughtto
rui
n.Thef ormerint
imacyi snolongerpossi bleandt henati
onwi l
lbemadet o
sufferasaresult
.Thef ol
lowingsymbol icactionsconveyamessageofdoom
forJudah:

1.Refraini
ngf rom mar ri
age,symbol i
sedthatthecomingwar farewouldutterl
y
destroyfami l
ies.
2.Refraini
ng from mour ning rit
es,symboli
sed thatYahweh woul dremove
peacei nt helandsomucht hatdeathwil
lbesowi despreadsucht hatthe
custom ofmour ningwillbemeani ngl
ess.
3.Refraini
ngf r
om f easti
ng, symboli
sedthatYahwehisgoi ngtobringsorr
owi n
thelandi nst
eadofhappi ness.
4.Breakingoft hecer amicpot ,symboli
sedYahweh` sirreparabl
edamaget o
thenat i
onofJudah.

Expr
essi
onofhopei
nthebookofJer
emi
ah.

One oft he problems encount er

ed by the i
nter
pret
ers ofJeremiah isthe
necessi
tyofaccount ingf ortheincl
usi
onofpassagescont ai
ninganelementof
hopeinacollecti
onat tr
ibutedtoapr ophetwhosemessageseemst ohavebeen
percei
vedasconsi stentl
ynegat ive(cf
.Chapters20;36;38).Inaddit
iontothe
“bookofconsol ation”( Jeremiah 30:-31)thereareovert wo dozen br
ief
er
passagesofthistype.

Onemaybeginwitht
heobservat
ionthatt
heelementof“hope”i
si ncl
uded
wit
hint
hepr
ophet
’sor
igi
nalcommissi
on:Hewastopluckupandbreakdown,

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t
odestr
oyandtooverthrow,tobui
ldandtopl
ant(1:
1).Echoesoft
hist
heme
r
ecuri
noracl
esl
ateri
nt hebooki
nchapter
s12,
24,31and32.

Theexpr essi
onsofhopear esomet i
mesaddr essed toindividualsorsmal l
groups,butmostof t
ent owholepeopl eortoal argergroupr epresentati
veof
them.Fr equentl
yt her
ear eJudeans,butinasurprisi
ngnumberofi nstancesthe
referencei st
othenor t
hernIsraelei
thermenti
onedal oneortogetherwi thJudah.
Theor aclesagainstf or
eignnat i
onsal socontai
noccasi onalpr omi sesofa
brighterfutur
e.(Chapters46,48,49).

Severalthemes recurint hese passages.One notices fi

rstthe prominent
associat
ionsofhopewi thJerusalem,itstempleandi tsroyaldynasty. Both
Zionandt herestor
edDavidicdynastyar eimport
antint hefutur
eofnor thern
Israel
,aswellasJudah.Asecondandcl osel
yrel
atedthemei stherestor
ation
ofJudaht oi
tsland(Chapt
ers24;27;29;32;33).

At hi
rdtheme-dr amati
c,thoughlessf requent,isthatinthefut
ureYahwehwill
make“anewcovenant ”wit
hhispeopl e.I tsful
leststatementmaybef oundi
n
Jer31:31–34, whichcontai
nsthef oll
owi ngelement s:
a)Bothnor t
her nI
sraelandJudahar eincluded.
b)Thenewcovenantwoul dnotbel i
ket heoldSinaicovenant.
c)Obediencewi l
lnow bepossi blebecauset helaw wi l
lnolongerneedtobe
taughtbutwillbewr i
tt
enupont hepeopl e’shearts.
d)Yahwehwi l
lagainbet hei
rGodandt heyar ehispeople
e)Hewi l
lforgivethei
rpastsins,and
f)Byimplicati
onthisnewcovenantwi l
lendur eforever.

Clearl
yt hi
scovenanti snotcompl etely“new”.Iti
sr ather,
ar evi
sionoftheSinai
covenantwhi chdependedupont hepeopl e’
sobediencet oYahweh` slaw and
thecovenant ’
sstipul
ations.Jer emi ahfavouredYahwehandst ruggledagainst
theatti
tudesf ost
eredbyconf idencei ntheunconditionalcovenantthatwast he
foundationstoneoft her oyalideology.Theor aclesofhopear eonepar tofa
l
ivingtradi
tionassociatedwiththepr ophetJeremiah.

Thest
ruggl
eagai
nst“
fal
se”pr
ophecy

Therei s abundantevi dence int he book ofJer emi ah forconflictamong

prophet s(inchapter
s5, 6,8,14,23,etc.Thepointofcont ent
ionseemst obet he
contentoft heprophecies:Somepr edictt
hatthenat ionwi l
ldwellsecurel
yand
atpeace;ot hersconveyamessageofdoom.TheaccountaboutHanani ahand
Jeremi ahi nchapter28hi ghli
ght st hi
sconfli
ctinast r
iki
ngway,si nceont he
surface t he two seem i ndistinguishabl
e exceptf ort he contentoft hei
r
messages.Suchconf l
ictswer enotuni quetoJeremi ah`stime,t
hought heymay
havei ntensif
iedduri
ngt helastdecadesofJudah` sexi st
ence.

I
nIsr
ael
,asi
not
hersoci
eti
es,per
iodsofi
ntensepr
ophet
icact
ivi
tycoi
nci
ded

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withti
mesofcr i
sis.Thus,thedecisi
onabouthowt orespondtoaprophetwas
amat terofsomeur gency,andcr i
teri
af ormakingaj udgementbecamea
necessit
y.Itseemst hattheconfl
ictbetweenapparent
lygenui
neprophet
sgave
ri
setoacr isisinconfidenceaboutpr ophecyit
sel
f.Theimpli
cat
ionisthatt
he
prophet`
saudi encepossessednosur ecrit
eri
onbywhi chtojudgebetween
competingclaims.

Thought heconf li
ctbet weenpr ophet sisamaj orthemei nthebookofJer emiah,
wecandi scernthattherei snof ul
lpr oofmet hodf ordi st
inguishingamongt hem.
Theat temptt odistinguishbet weent heformsi nwhi cht her evelat
ioncamei s
probablyexi l
icandi nanycasei snotconsi stentl
yappl i
ed.I nfact,withr espect
tothenar rati
vedomi natedbypr ophet i
cconf li
ctinchapt er
s27- 29 itiseasi erto
l
istthingst hatarenotaf act
orinthepr ophet ’
seval uationofhi sopponent sas
fol
lows:associ ation wi th cult
icf unct i
onaries,per sonali mmor al
ity and t he
ful
fil
lmentofpr ophecy( Det18:20–22) .Thi siseasi erthant olocateaspeci fi
c
cri
teri
on. Peopl ewer eappar entlyf orcedt or espondt ot hepr ophetsont he
basisofan eval uation oft heirmessage. Thej udgementt hatapar ti
cular
prophetwas “ t
rue” was as al ways,dependentupon t he viewpoi ntand
commi tment soft heper sonsmaki ngi t. Theconf rontati
onofJer emi ahand
Hanani ahinchapt er28i sacasei npoi nt
.
Essay

WasJer
emi
ahapat
ri
otorat
rai
tor
?Cr
it
ical
lydi
scuss.

Thetr
eat
ise:
Pat
ri
otortrai
tor

Jeremi ahi sdepictedi nacl imat eofgr eatpol i

ti
calact i
vity. Thequest ionof
survi
valoft henat i
onofJudahwasatst ake.Thedecl i
ningpowerofAssyr i
a
sawt her iseofEgyptandBabyl onassuperpower s.TheJudeanf orei
gnpol icy
hadt woopt ionsei t
hert oseekal l
iancewi thEgyptandr esistBabyl onort o
submi titsel
ft oBabylon.Suchadi l
emmar esul
tedi nfacti
onal ism betweent wo
i
nfluent i
algroupsi nJudah.Thenobl eswhor al
l
iedbehi ndki ngsJehoi akim and
Zedekiahadvocat edthepol i
ti
calautonomyofJudah;t heygott hesuppor toft he
prophetHanani ah.Theot hergroupwasl edbyt hehouseofShaphanandot her
member soft henobi l
it
ywhosi dedwi t
ht hepr ophetJer emi ahandadvocat ed
submi ssiont oBabyl on.(thepro-Babyl onianPar t
y).Jer emi ahhadani nsight
i
ntot her oleofYahwehi nthewhol ecrisiswhilstHanani ahr eli
edonper sonal
assessmentoft hewhol esituation.Int hiswhol escenar i
ot het askofjudgi ng
whetherJer emi ahwasapat ri
otornotbecomesaver ydif
ficultone.

“Patr
iot
ism”i sanat ional
ist
icnotion.Itrevol
vesaroundone’ sat t
it
udet ohis
nati
on,itswel f
areandsur vi
val
.Pat ri
oti
sm isnotmer el
ysuppor t
ingthestatus
quobuti t
’stodowi ththesurvi
valoft henati
on.Thedi f
fi
culti
nwhi chJeremiah
i
sf ound,ist hi
sthathei sinspir
edandhasani nsi
ghti nt
oGod’ sroleint he
wholecr i
sis,whil
sthiscounter
partsar emerel
yrelyi
ngon per sonaljudgement

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ofthewhol ei
ssue.Onper sonalj udgementi twoul dappeart hatJeremi ahwas
notpat ri
oti
csinceheadvocat edasubmi ssi
onandnon- resistantpolicy.That
soundsl i
keacompr omi seofhi snat ion’
ssover eignty.Onadi ff
erentangl e
Jeremiahi safigur
ewhoact ual l
ysawt hesurvivalofhi snationasapr i
or i
ty.He
weighed chances and saw t he r esi
stance option r esult
ing in a compl et
e
destructi
onoft henat
ion.Sincet hewhol ecri
siswasj ustbutGod’ spuni shment
onhispeopl e,iti
sfat
alist
icforJudaht oat t
emptt or esistGod’spuni shment .It
i
sagai nstthi
sbackgr oundt hatoneshoul djudgewhet herJer emiahwasa
patri
otornot .

Thenar rativesi nChapt ers27t o29oft hebookofJer emi ah,stressar eligi

ous
i
nter pr
etation oft he pol i
t i
calevents.Jer emi ah bel i
eved t hatYahweh had
establi
shedBabyl onast heenemyoverJudah.Theopponent sofJer emi ahsaw
theBabyl oni anexi leasj ustashor t
-li
vedpuni shmentofGodbutf ormi nor
offences.Ther eforet hey opposed Jer emiah’si nter
pretati
on oft he cr i
sis.
ThomasOver hol
tobser vedt hatitisimpor tantt onot et hatther eisadequat e
theologicalj ustif
icationint heJudeanr eli
gioust raditi
onf orbotht heseposi ti
ons.
Jeremi ah’svi ewpoi ntmi r
r orstheSinaicovenanti nwhi chnat i
onalsecur ityand
prosper i
tyar econt i
ngentuponobedi encet oYahweh’ scommandment s.Hi s
opponent s’posi ti
onr efl
ect stheideologyoft her oyalcovenant ,accordi ngt o
whi chthenat i
onmaybepuni shedbyYahwehbutwi l
lnotbef i
nall
yabandoned
byhi m.

Butt hiswasnotsi mplyadi sputeoverpoi ntsofdoct r

ine.Itisast r uggle
betweenpol i
ti
calpar t
ies,eachseeki ngf orit
spositi
onont hepr imefor ei
gn
poli
cyi ssueoft hedayi .e.ther elat
ionshipofJudaht othedomi nantpoweri n
theregion,Babylon.ForJer emi ahandhi sgroup,t
hesurvivalofthoseJudeans
whor emai nedint helandaf terthe597B. Cinvasi
ondependeduponcont i
nued
submi ssion to Babylonian r ule. Forhi s opponent
s who pr ompted f or
resi
stancet oBabyl oni
andomi nationandseeksuppor tfr
om Babyl on’sgreatest
ri
valEgypt ,theissuewast hepol iti
calindependenceofJudahandnotmer ely
survi
val.

Inthef i
nalanalysi
st hispaperviewsJeremiahasonewhol ovedhiscountry
wit
h a sentimental
ism t hatisinspir
ed byGod;one who advocat es publi
c
poli
ciesthatar
edesi gnedi ntheli
ghtofGod’swill
.Heisapr agmaticnati
onal
whoadvocat esanopt i
ont hatwouldnotaggravatet
hecr i
sisandleadt othe
deathofthenati
on.Ther eforeJer
emiahwasapat ri
otr
athert
hanat r
aitor
.

Examinati
ont ypequest i
ons
1.Explainhowtheper
sonalbackgroundofJer emiahinfl
uencedhismessage.
2.WasJer emiahapat
r i
otortr
ait
or?Di scuss.
3.Jeremiahhasbeendescr i
bedast he“ weepingpr ophet”
.Expl
aintheval
idi
ty
ofthisasser
ti
on.
4.Giveanaccountofthesocio–poli
tico-reli
giostat
eofaf fai
rsi
nJudahinthe
ti
meofJer emiah

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5.Jer
emi
ahpr
ophesi
edbot
hdest
ruct
ionandr
est
orat
ion.Di
scusst
hisvi
ew.

Ref
erences

Br
ightJ. Jer
emiah.ANew Transl
ati
onwi
thI
ntr
oduct
ionandComment
ary,
AnchorBi
ble1965.

Over
hol
tT. ar
ti
clei
nHar
per
’sBi
bleComment
ary,
1988

CHAPTER5
THEBOOKOFHOSEA
Byt
heendoft hi
schapterthest
udentshoul
dbeablet o:
1.Discusst
heprophecyofHoseainthesocial
,pol
it
ical
,economi
cand
rel
igi
ous,
hist
oryofIsrael

2.I
dent
if
yandexpl
aint
het
womai
nthemesi
nthebookofHosea

3.Expl
aint
heuseofsymbol
icsi
gnsi
nthebookofHosea

4.Discusst
hei
nnerconf
li
ctofYahwehovert
hecaseofI
sraeli
nthebook
ofHosea

5.Exami
net
het
hemesofj
udgmentandsal
vat
ioni
nHosea.

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I
nfor
mat
ionout
li
ne

 I
dent
if
icat
ionoft
hepr
ophet

 TheMandat
e

 TheMaj
orThemes

 Symbolisms
 Propheciesofj
udgmentandsal
vat
ion
 Conceptionsofhope

I
ntr
oduct
ion

ThebookofHoseai soneoft hemostappealingandmostdi f

ficul
tbooksofthe
Hebrew Bible. In compelli
ng waysthepr ophetemployst helanguageand
real
it
iesoffami l
ylif
e,husbandandwife,parentsandchil
dren,tocommunicate
anunderstandingoft herel
ati
onshi
ps,
past,presentandf
uturebetweenYahweh
andthepeopl eofIsrael(
GeneM.Tucker).

Chri
sti
ancomment ator
soft hel
ate19th centuryand20th cent
ury,i
npar
ti
cul
ar,
consi
deredHosea’sthoughtasoneoft hehi ghpoint
soft heOldTest
ament,
noti
ngespecial
lyhisstressontheloveofGodandt hedeepconnect i
onshe
drewbetweenfai
thf
ulnesstoGodandmor ali
ty.

Hoseapr ophesi edi nt henorthernkingdom ( I

srael)
.Hei stheonl yonewhose
wor dshavecomedownt ousi nasepar atebook.I ncont rasttoJudah,wi t
hi t
s
relat i
vely stable Davi di
c dynast y,I srael ’
st r
adit
ions concer ning Ki ngship
i
nvol veddesi gnat ionbyYahweh’ sspi ritnotj usther edit
arydescent ,andeven
allowedf orrevol tint henameofYahweh( 7:8-16).Duringhi sti
met helit
tlestate
l
ivedundert heconst antthreatofi nvasi onbyAssyr iaandofconf l
ict
swi thi t
s
nei ghbors.Int er
nal ly,thesituati
onwaschaot i
c.Ther ewer econst antstruggles
forpower .Agr icul t
ur alpr
osper i
tybr oughtf orei
gnersi ntothel andofI sraelto
trade.Thest atebecamecosmopol i
tan.I nsuchanenvi ronmentt hecultsoft he
Canaani t
egodst hrived.Thef erti
li
tycul tofbaalcausedapr obl em inI srael.
Whowasr esponsi blef ort
hegoodhar vest s?Godorbaal ?Thi sist hequest ion
const i
tut
ingoneoft hemai nproblemst hatHoseaaddr essed.

ThemessageofHosea

Att heheartofHosea’ smessagest andshisconcern wit

ht her elat
ionship
betweenYahwehandI srael. Dependingheavilyont heancientt radi
tionof
Isr
ael’
ssalvat
ionandelectionthroughtheExodus,herecal
lst
heLor d’ spastand
presentf
aithf
ulnesstot hechosenpeopl eheaccuses,andindictst hepeopl e
notsomuchf orspeci
fi
csi ns,thought hosewerenotedbutforunf aithf
ulness.
Thespecificfor
m ofthisbr eachoff ait
hi sapost
asy,t
heaccept anceofot her

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gods.Fr
om t
hissi
nal
lot
her
sfol
lowi
ncl
udi
ngr
it
ual
,pol
it
icalandsoci
alabuses.

Theunf ait
hfulnessofI sraeljustif
iestheannouncementofj udgmenti nt heform
ofmi l
it
arydef eatanddest r
ucti
on.Al t
hought hatj udgmenti sinaccor dwi t
hthe
l
awandseemsabsol ute,Yahwehst ruggleswi thinhi mself,andt henr enounces
thepuni shmentofI srael( Hosea11: 5-
9). Atcer t
ain pointst hepuni shment
seemsdesi gnedt ocor r
ectI sr
ael’sways,t ore- establi
sht her elat i
onshi pwi th
Yahweh.I nt hi
scont ext,whet herbef ore,dur ing oraf t
ert hepuni shmenti s
renounced,Hosea pr oclaims Yahweh` s cour tshi p ofunf ai
thf ulI sraeland
announcessal vation.Li keJer emiah,Hoseaemphasi zest het wot hemes:t he
covenantr elati
onshi p with God andt heLoveofGod. Wi t
hr espectt o his
emphasi sont hecor eofGod,i tisr emar kablet hatHosea,t houghat tacki
ng
Canaaniter eli
gion,introducedi ntobi bl
icalthoughtsomeofi t
sl anguageand
symbolism.Thr oughouthi sbookHoseahasl eftt heimager yofaGodwhoi s
l
ikeaf ait
hfulhusbandt opeoplewhoar eli
keapr ostit
ute,aGodwhost ruggles
overthatpeopl e’
sf uturelikeapar entagonizingoverawaywar dchi ld.

Themar
ri
ageandsymbol
icsi
gns:Hosea1-
3

Much i nt hese chapters concern Hosea’ sf ami l

yl i
fe,butt he fundament al
messageconcer nst herelati
onshi
pbet weenYahwehandhi sunf ai
thfulpeopl e.
Inlargemeasur ebecauseoft heini
ti
alreportt hatYahwehcommandedHosea
to“ t
akeawi feofhar l
otryandhavechi ldrenofhar lot
ry”
,(1:2),thesechapt er s
havepr esent edseriouspr oblemsforint
erpretersandhaveevokedawi derange
ofexpl anat i
ons. Someear l
yChr i
sti
an and Jewi sh comment atorst ookt he
referencest oHosea’ smar r
iageandf ami l
yasal l
egori
cal,thusavoi dingt he
embar rassmentt hatGodwoul dactuall
ycommandani mmor alact. Ot her s
arguedt hatHoseamer elyreport
sadr eam orvi si
on. Nei therinterpret
ation
seemsr easonablebecauset heaccountsar ewr it
tenasdi r
ectreportsofevent s.

Onet heorysaysthatGomerwasnotawhor ewhenHoseamar r

iedherbuthad
sucht endenci
es.Eventual
lyshet
ookal overorl
over
s,butt
hepr ophetfound
herandbr oughtherback.Thisvi
ew assumesthatt
hewomanofchapt er3is
theGomerofchapt er1andthatt
heorderofthechapter
scor
respondst othe
chronologyofHosea’sl
if
e.

Anothervi
ewsayst hatthesechapters,mor eli
kel
ycontai
nr epor
tsofsymboli
c
act
ionsbyt heprophet,act
ualeventsper f
ormedtoshow thatHoseaknew the
wordofGodbef orehismar r
iageandbef orehegavehischil
drenthei
rsymboli
c
names.(Not-Pi
ti
edandNot -My-Peopl
e, showingGod’
satti
tudetohispeopl
e).

Hosea’
smarriageandf amil
yl i
feresultfrom hisunder st
andingofGod’ sword
anddonotprovideexperi
encethattaughthi m whattobelieveorsay.Gomeras
a“wifeofharlotr
y”repr
esentedunf ai
thfulIsraelandlikemostI srael
it
es,had
par
ti
cipat
edint heCanaani
tefert
il
itycult
.Hosea’ smessagei snotthathi
swife
andfamil
yaresounusualbut ,tothecont rar
y,allIsr
aelhaspr ost
it
utedit
sel
fto

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f
alsegods.

Wi
feandChi
ldr
en:Gomer
,Jezr
eel
;Not-
Pit
ed;Not
-My-
Peopl
e(Hos:
1:2-
9)

Thist hir
d per son narrati
ve repor
ts Yahweh’ s command t o Hosea and t he
prophet’sf ul
fi
llmentofi t
.Thecommandi ncludesar eason.Ther easoni s,
“becauset helandcommi tsgreatharl
otr
ybyf orsaki
ngtheLor d.”Theaccountof
thecar r
yingoutoft hecommandoccur sint hreepar t
scor respondingt ot he
bir
thsoft het hreechi l
dreneachofwhom i sgi venasymbol icname.Al though
thebirthandnami ngofeachchi l
dpresentsacompl et
emessage,t heunitasa
wholedevel opsf rom accusati
onandt hreatofpuni shment( vv4-5),t
otheLor d’s
withdr
awaloff orgiveness(v6),t
hentother adicalprocl
amat iont hatt
heanci ent
covenantbet ween Yahweh and I sr
aeli st erminated (vv8-9).The passage
announcesunqual i
fi
edpunishmentuponI srael.

Meani
ngsofNames

Jezr
eel
:Thenamei sgiveninmemoryofI srael
’ssini
nthevall
eyofJezr
eel
whereJehu,ami l
it
arycommanderi nI sr
aelr
evol
tedandmurdered
Jehoram andtheJudeanKi
ngAhazi ah.Suchacaseisr
ememberedin
God’sPunishmentpl
anagai
nstI
srael.

Not
-My-Peopl
e:Thenamemar ksYahweh’
srej
ecti
onoft
hepeopleofIsr
aelas
thei
rGodbecauseoft hecont
inuedunf
ait
hful
nesstheyhave
shown.Theycont
inuet
osinint
hemannerofbaal
ism.

NotPi
ti
ed:ThenamesymbolizesGod’swi
thdrawalofal
lmer
cyandhi
s
commi t
menttopuni shthepeopleofI sr
ael
.Theanci
entcovenant
ceasestobeofanyforceanymore.

Whenthenameschangedther
elat
ionshi
pscenar
ioi
srever
sed.Anewcovenant
wi
thIsr
aelcomesi
ntofor
ce.

Yahweh’
sfor
givi
ngl
ove(
Hosea3:
1-5)
Hosea’spurchaseofanadul teressinthisunitisnotautobiogr
aphy(personal
histor
y)butapr ophet
icproclamation.OnceHoseapur chasesthewoman,he
placesheri
ni sol
ati
onfrom al
lsexualcont act
.Theinter
pretat
ionfort
hisi
st hat
theLor dwil
ldepr i
vethepeopl eofI sraelofanyl eaders,andanyr el
igi
ous
practi
cessothattheywil
leventuall
yreturntothei
rGod.

Thenewl ypur
chasedwomani snotherenamed.Shemayormaynotbet he
Gomeroft hepreviouschapt
ers.Themeaningoft
hissymbol
icact
ionr
epor
tis
thatal
thoughIsraelactsunfai
thf
ull
y,Yahwehcont
inuest
olovehersomuch

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thathewi l
lbuyherawayf r
om herot herlover s.God’slovei ncl
udesdi scipli
ne,
forhewi l
lwithdr awgover nmentandr eli
gion,inef f
ectremovi ngthest ructur
es
ofcivil
isati
onf rom theland.Asar esult,I
sraelwi l
leventuallyret
urnandseeki ts
Goddi rectl
y.Theul ti
mat er esultoft hisactioni salreadyment i
onedinHosea
2:16-23wher et heemer genceofanew covenanti sher alded.Apr omisef ora
renewaloft hecovenantbyGod’ sowni niti
ativeisalludedt o.Thi
snewcovenant
willi
ncludeal llivingthi
ngst houghtbymanyofHosea’ scont empor ar
iest obe
undert hecont roloff er
til
itydeities.Ther elati
onshi pbet weenGodandpeopl e
willbechar acterisedbydept hofr i
ghteousness,j usti
ce,st eadf
astlove,mer cy,
andf ai
thfulnessandwi l
lendur ef orever.

Thenamesofchil
drenwhi
chprovidedomi
nantmetaphor
swil
leachber
ever
sed
fr
om i
tsi
nit
ialmeani
ngtor
efl
ectthenewscenar
ioasfoll
ows:

Not
-Pi
ti
edwil
lbePi
ti
ed.
Not
-mypeopl
ewil
lbeYouar
emypeopl
e

Pr
opheci
esofj
udgmentandsal
vat
ionHosea4-
14

Virt
uall
yallthemat er
iali
nthesechapt
ersispresent
edast hewrit
tenfor
m of
propheti
cspeeches.Thef ir
stchapt
ers4t o11,andt henchapter
s12t o14
proceedfrom accusat
ionandannouncementofjudgmenttoannouncementof
salvat
ion.

Thef i
rstuni
t( Hos4:1-
3)canbedescr ibedasYahweh’ slawsuit.Thepassage
summonsandpr ovi
desani ndi
ctmentofIsr
ael.Thesect i
onf ol
lowst hepattern
ofat r
ial
.ProfessorGeneTuckersubmi t
sthatt heterm“ contr
oversy”i nverse
one(1)isat echnicalt
ermf oralawsuit.I
tis,howevernotcer tai
nwhet herthe
prophetisfoll
owi ngar i
tualpatter
nforat ri
alagainstthosewhobr eakt he
covenantorsimpl yusi
ngthelanguageofordinarycourt
room procedur es.

The gener ali ndictment states Israel

’sf ai
lur
es as f ol
lows:t herei s no
fai
thfulness,kindness,orknowl edgeofGod.Thespeci fi
cindictmentl i
stsfive
cri
mest hatcorrespondt ohalfofthecommandment sint he Decalogue(insult
,
deceipt,mur der,theft,adul
tery)
.I
ft hecovenantf ail
st hiswillleadt ocrimes
againstper sons,whi chint urnleadst othedest ruct
ionandsuf feri
ngoft he
naturalorderit
self,i
ncludingland,ai
r,thesea,andtheirinhabit
ants.

InHosea4: 4-10,Pri
estsofIsr
aelareal
sot ri
edi nthecour tr
oom ofYahweh.The
priestshavef ai
ledinoneoft hei
rcentralresponsi bil
it
ies,thatis,t
eachingthe
l
awt othepeopl easawhol e.Thustheybearr esponsi bi
lit
yf ort
hedestructi
onof
thepeopl e.Theyar eblamewor thforthis.Thet erm“ knowledge”isamaj or
theologicaltermf orHosea.Inthi
scontextitrefer
st othet eachi
ngandl earni
ng
oft hecontentoft helaw.

I
nshor
t,t
hepr
iest
sar
egui
lt
yofpr
ost
it
uti
on,namel
y,f
orsaki
ngYahweh.Thei
r

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puni
shmentwillsuitt
hei
rcr i
mes,and t
hisi
ncl
udes r
eject
ion by Yahweh;
dest
ruct
ionoft
hei
rfami
li
es,andshame.

IntheunitHosea4: 11-14,t heprophetcondemnst hecor r uptworshipinIsrael

.
Therei s a spiri
tifpr ostitut
ion i
nI sr
ael.They commi tacts ofdivinati
on,
consulti
ngi dolsorotherpagancul t
icobject
satpl acesusual l
yidenti
fi
edwi th
Canaanitegods,suchasBaal ,andtheypar t
ici
patei ncul t
icprosti
tut
ion.The
phrase“ t
opl aythehar lot;doesnotr ef
ert oordinarypr osti
tuti
on,thesaleof
sexualfavour s.Rat
her,i tsymbol i
sesIsrael
’sapost asy.Cul t
icprosti
tuti
oni n
verse14r efersqui
tespeci fi
cal
lytosexualact sper formedasapar toft he
fer
til
it
ycultandt her
eforeconst it
uti
ngonef or
m ofapost asy.

Asacont i
nuat i
onoft hejudgmentt heme,t hepr ophettouchesont hefol
lyof
warbet weenI sr
aelandJudah( Hosea5t o6) .Thehi stor
icalbackgroundofthe
passagealludest othebor derconf l
ictsbetweenI sraelandJudahaswel lasthe
all
ianceswi thAssyria.Probabl ythisisr eferri
ngt otheSyr o-Ephr
ami t
ewarof
733-734BC.Ast heAssyrianar myunderTi glat
h-pil
esserIIIbegant omoveinto
Syro-Pal
estine,Isr
aelandot herstatesint her egi
onf ormedanal l
ianceagai
nst
theinvaders.ButJudahr ef usedtoj oinandI sraelthenmount edacampai gnto
for
ceJudaht ojointherevoltandJudahsuccessf ull
yr esi
sted.

Hoseaiscri
ticalofbothhouses.Heannouncesj udgmentonbothhousesi nthe
for
m ofmili
tarydefeat
.InHosea5: 10-
14healludestothecri
mesofeachnat ion:
Judah’
scrimei st heappropri
ati
onofI sr
aeli
teterr
it
ory(Hosea5:10a).Isr
ael’
s
cri
meisitsjoiningofthealli
ance.TheLorddeclaresthathewil
lwithdrawand
waitf
orthepeopl etot
urntohimi npenit
ence.

Inchapt ers7t o10I sraelisaccusedofcommi t

ti
ngsinthr
oughoutt heland;in
highpl aces;showi ngr ebelli
ousbehaviour;rej
ecti
ngGoodandat tendi
ngt o
pervertfestival
s.Foral lthoseof f
encesjudgmentwi l
lcomeuponI srael
.The
nati
oni sshoul deri
ngasi nfulpastandabar renfutur
e(Hosea9:10-17)ast hey
haveahi storyofunf ait
hfulness.Theyevenscor nattheprophet
sofYahweh
saying,“Thepr ophetisaf ool,
themanoft hespir
iti
smad’?(Hos9:7-
8) .

InHosea10: 9-12,thepr ophetexpl i

cit
lycallsthepeopletor epentandchange
theirwayssot hatt heymaybesavedf r
om destructi
on.Heaccusest henation
ofa hi story ofsi n;announces puni shmentas a means t o di
sci
pli
ne the
waywar dpeopl e.Heal soappeal sforactsofr i
ghteousnessandr epent
ancethat
willleadt osalvation.Readt ogetherwithHosea14:1- 8thereturntoYahwehwi l
l
havet heef fectofl i
fti
ngthedeat hsentencei mposedonI sr
aelatHosea13: 1-
16.
Thisi spossi blegivent henew st ancet hatYahweht akesi nHosea11: 1-11
wher eher etort
st hat,“
hei sGod, notahumanbei ng”.Themet aphorofaparent
andsonatt hebegi nninghasal readysett hebasisforanewout come.Yahweh
i
shear dt oexpr essdoubt s,toquestionhisdecision,andevent ohaveachange
ofhear t
, decidingnott oactont hebasi sofhislegit
imateanger.
Hoseat akeshumanmet aphorsf orGod’ sloveasf arastheywi l
lgoandt hen

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str
esses thatthe dif
fer
ence bet
ween God and human bei
ngs i
nvol
ves hi
s
capaci
tyforradi
cal
, f
orgi
vingl
ove.

Concept
ionsofhope:Hosea11and14

ThebookofHoseai scont rastedwi thAmosont het hemeofdoom.Whi l

ebot h
haveagl oomypi ctur eoft hef ut
ureofI sr
ael,
Hoseat akesar espiteandexpr ess
hopeofr estorationf orIsrael.Ber nar dAndersonhasdescr ibedHosea’ shopef ul
concept i
onas“ anopt i
mi sm ofgr ace” .Hequant if
iest hechancesofsur vi
ving
asver yslim,butar emnantwoul dr eturn“Despitetheecl i
pset hereissti
llaray
oflightshi ningi nt hedi stanthor izon“butt hisr estorationi swel lqual
ifi
edby
Ander sonwhenhenot es t hatr estorati
onofI sraelwoul dbecondi t
ional–
providedt heyr epentandr eturntot heirGod.GeneTuckernot esthattheuseof
metaphor sofpar entandsonbyHoseahaveal readyest abli
shedt hebasisf ora
hopef uloutlook.

InHosea11: 8-9.Yahwehishear
dt oexpressdoubts,toquest
ionhi sdeci
sion,
andevent ohaveachangeofhear t,decidi
ngnott oactont hebasi sofhis
l
egiti
mat eanger.Yahweh’
scareforI
sraelhasalwaysbeenlikethatofaparent
forachi l
d,andhiscompassiongoesbeyondevent hat.Hoseat akeshuman
metaphor sforGod’sloveasfarast heywi l
lgoandt henstressesthatthe
dif
ferencebetweenGodandhumanbei ngsinvol
veshi scapacityforradi
cal,
for
givinglove.

Examinationtypequestions
1.Show how Hoseausedhi sownexper i
enceoff amil
yl i
fetoproclai
m his
message.
2.“An opti
mi sm ofgr ace”(B.W.Ander son)commenti nthis vi
ew with
refer
encetothebookofHosea.
3.Discussthepar tt
hattheExodusandWi lder
nesst r
adit
ionsplayinHosea’s
message.
4.“AttheheartofHosea’smessagest andshi sconcernwiththerel
ati
onship
betweenYahwehandI srael
”Discussthisasserti
on.
5. Eval
uatetheviewthatHoseawasbot hapr ophetofdoom andhope.

Ref
erences

1.Emmerson.G.IHosea:AnIsr
ael
it
eprophetinJudeanperspect
iveJour
nal
fort
hestudyoftheOl dTest
amentsupplementseri
es,N0.28.Sheffi
eld:
I
SOTPress,1984.

2.MaysJ.L Hosea.Ol
dTest
amentLi
brar
y,Phi
ladel
phi
a:West
minst
er,
1969.

3.Tucker.
G.M.Ar
ti
clei
nHarper’
sBibl
eComment
ary
Har
perSanFranci
sco,1988

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CHAPTER6
BOOKOFI
SAI
AH
Byt
heendofthechaptert
hestudentshoul
dbeableto:
1.Giveanover
viewofthepoli
ti
calevent
sinI
saiah’
sti
me

2.Examinethecal
lofI
sai
ahandseehowi
tisami
crocosm oft
he
macrocosm.

3.Di
scussI
sai
ah’
suseofsymbol
icsi
gns

4.Expl
aint
hedynami
csofi
nter
nat
ionalr
elat
ionsi
nthet
imeofI
sai
ah

I
ntr
oduct
ion
WhowasI
sai
ah?

Theaut obi ographicalsect ionsi nchapt ers7and8pr ovideani nt r

oduct i
ont ot he
pr ophetasawel l-
knownpubl icf igur ewi thaf ami l
yandchi ldren.Heappear sas
onepr of oundlywel l-versedi nr eligioust radi t
ionandwor shi p,onewhohas
compassi on,“How l ongOLor d“( 6:11)f ort hosewhom Godhasdest inedf or
dest ruct ion.Li keanyot herhumanbei ng,hedependedonGod’ swar ningand
encour agementr egar di
nghi sact ionsdur i
ngat imeofcr isis.Thi sisevi denced
i
nI sai ah8:11t o15.Theconsi stentel ementi nhi smessageappear stobet hat
right eousnessandt rusti nGod,r athert hani nternati
onalal l
iance,wi l
lpr ovide
Judah’ sonl ysecur i
ty.I nspi t
eofhi sdespai randt heresistancet ohi smessage,
Isaiahf oundt hecour aget o“ hopei nGod”Godand,atGod’ sr equest ,torecor d
hist eachi ng as a sour ce ofhope f orl atergener ations. The pr ophet ’
s
consi st ency,el oquenceand f ear l
essconf rontat i
on ofki ngshasgi ven later
i
nt er pr etersgoodr easont ospecul atet hathewaspr obabl yahi ghlyeducat ed,
stat ely,orevenr oyal–l ikef igur e.Thecont entofI saiah` sor aclessuggest s
someone wi th det ached compassi on, wi thout t he t ype of passi onat e
i
dent ificat ionchar act eri
sticofHosea. Heappear swel lver sedwi thwi sdom
tradi tionsbutwi thoutAmos`zealf orbi ti
ngsat ire.Asar esul tbi bl
icalreader s
easi lysenset hatI saiahhasadi f ferentper sonal ityfrom ot herpr ophets.Thi s
dimensi oncont ributedt ot hei mpr essiont hathei ssubj ectt of amili
arhuman
frailtiesandt hatt hewor dofGodcanbeper ceivedonl ythr ought henecessar y
l
imi tat ionsofi tshumanmedi at ors.

Hi
scal
l
Comment
ary

Theautobi
ogr
aphi
calstatementbyt heprophetinIsaiah6:1-3isproperl
ya
repor
tofhi
scommissi
oningtodel
iveraparti
cularmessageofjudgementtothe
peopl
eofGod.Theaccountofthecal lofI
saiahopenswi t
hIsaiah`
svisi
onof

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Godi nhisTempl e. I
mmedi at
el ytheprophetr ecognizest hathei sahuman
observerofYahweh`sheavenlycouncil.Hepr operlyfearsf orhisli
fe,sincethe
realm oft
heholycanbedanger oust ot
hesi nfulwor l
d.Af terapur i
fi
cationrit
ual,
IsaiahhearsGod`srequestthatsomeonebef oundt or epresenttheheavenl y
onesonear thbyannouncingtheirdecisi
on.Thepr ophethi mselfvolunteersto
bet hemessenger.However ,themessagehehear si shar sh.Mor eover,i
tis
coupledwithacommandt odul lthepeople’ssensessot hattheyar enotabl e,
throughtheheari
ngofit,
tochanget hei
ract i
onsandbeheal edorr edeemed.

Inhi spr opheti

croleasi nt
ercessorforGod’schosenpeopl e,Isaiahpleadswi th
God “ Lord,How l ong? ” Li ke in Amos 7:2 and 5,t he answerof fers no
reassur ance:Everyhousewi l
lbeempt y,
andt helandwi l
lbe,l
iket hevineyardin
chapt ers5:1–7ut terlydesolate.Onlythefinall
ineof f
ersthesl i
ghtesthope–
a“ holyseed”wi l
lsur vi
vei nthestumpoft het r
eet hathasbeencutdownand
burned.Thi spossibilit
yhintsataconcept ,
developedl essambi guouslyl at
erin
thebookofasur vivingr emnantofJudaht hroughwhi chGodwoul drestorethe
nationofI srael
.

Thiscommi ssioni
ngr eporti
mpl i
esthesamef at
ef orJudahasf orIsrael.The
woeor aclesagainstJudean l eadersand t hej udgmentor aclesagai nstt he
Norther
nKi ngdom surroundi
ngt hetest
imonyunder scorethi
sassumpt ion.The
fr
agileoptimism attheendappear sasanaf t
ert houghtwithouti nanyway
amelior
ati
ngt hecomi ngdisaster.Onlyint i
me,wel lafterafullcont empl ati
on
ofthetort
urousevent sofnationaldevastati
onf orbothnat i
ons,canonedet ect
afaintgli
mmerofhopei nthest umpthatisl eft
,agl i
mmert hatwi l
lsomeday
adumbrateagr eatl
ighttothosewhowal kinthedar knessofexil
e( Isaiah9: 2).

Themaj
orconcept
ioni
nthebook

TheLor dissupremeoverhumanaf fai

rs.Hepuni shessever
elythenat
ionof
Israelforit
sseri
oussi
ns,unti
lt heyreali
sethatcompleter
eli
anceandtrusti
n
himi st heonlywaytosalvat
ion.Pol i
ti
caltur
moilformsthebasisofIsrael
’
s
j
udgmentandI sai
ahiscall
edt oelucidat
eoni ttot hekingusi
ngsymbol i
c
figures.

“
Isai
ah”i
nit
shi
stor
icalcont
ext

Mar t
inLutherobser vedthatt
hebookofI saiahdividesintotwobooks.Thef i
rst
bookiscompr i
sedofchapt ers1-
39.Thesecondbooki scompr i
sedofchapt ers
40-66.Thebookt hatiscover
edbyt hiscomment aryisthefirstI
saiah.Itis
organizedar oundacompl exscenar i
oofnar rat
ives-roughlyinchronological
orderaccor dingt othepresumedact ivi
tyofthepr ophetIsai
ah-togetherwith
connectionsoft heprophet’
soracl
esofj udgmentandpr omise.Whenr eadas
scri
pture,thet extofIsaiah1-
39bel ongsf ul
lytothewar pandwoofofhi st
ory.I
n
thi
scont extIsaiah1- 39overl
yrepresentspr ophetictr
aditi
onsagainstthe
backgroundoft hemaj oreventsoftheei ghthcenturyB.C.

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Inthesechapt ers,
onel earnsthatthepeopl eofGodhavef all
enintoiniqui
tyand
haveabusedsanct uarywor shi
p.Zionaboundswi thinj
ust i
celikeSodom and
Gomor ahandal mostexper i
encestheirfate.Ther
ebell
iousinhabitantsof
Jerusalem wil
l bepurgedwi ththefir
eofexi le,
sothat“
af ewsur vi
vors’remain
theonlyhopef orr
estorati
on.Theci tywillbedest
royedbutitwi l
lberestored
l
aterasaci tadelofjusticeandr i
ghteousness.

Howi st hemessageofI sai ahr elatedt ot hepr esent ationoft hepr ophet ’
sl i
fein
thisbook?I mpl icitint hisquest ioni sar ecogni tiont hatt hemessageoft he
prophethasadoubl evoi ce, thehumanvoi ceofapr ophetandbehi ndi t,t
he
voiceofGod.Ar eadingofI saiahasscr iptur eent ailsanef for ttoheart hewor d
ofGodasi tismedi atedt hr ought hehumant est i
monyoft hewor dsanddeeds
oft hepr ophet .Whati nci tesmoder nspecul ationaboutt hehi storicalI saiahisa
recogni tiont hatt hebi bli
calI saiahappear sasabel ievabl e, vital“life”caughtup
i
nt heexi genci esofhi st oricalexper i
ence.I nI sai ah2-39t hebook’ sedi torshave
madesomeef for tt
opr esentt het raditi
onsi nchr onologi calor der, accor dingto
themaj orhi stor icalevent st hatpunct uat edt hemi nistryoft hepr ophet .The
openi ngchapt ersofI saiah2: 5t o5: 7repr esentI saiah’ sear liestper iodof
prophecy, whenhepr onouncedj udgmentagai nstwr ongdoi ngofcompl acent
nat ionall eader si nJer usal em.Thenar rativesi nI saiah6: 1-9:7per taint ot he
l
at erevent soft heSyr o-Ephr aimi tewar( 735- 733BC)dur i
ngt het imeofAhaz.A
consi stentel ementi nI saiah’ smessageappear st obet hatr ight eousnessand
trusti nGod, rathert hani nter nationalal l
iances, wi l
lpr ovideJudah’ sonl y
secur it
y.I nspi teofhi sdespai randt her esi stancet ohi smessage, Isaiahf i
nds
thecour aget o“ hopei n“ God”and, atGod’ sr equest , t
or ecor dhi st eachi ngasa
sour ceofhopef orl atergener ati
ons.Thepr ophet ’sconsi stency, eloquenceand
fear lessconf ront at
ionofki ngshasgi venl at eri nterpr etersgoodr easont o
specul atet hathewaspr obabl yahi ghlyeducat ed, stately, orevenr oyal -
like
fi
gur e.Thecont entofI saiah’ sor aclessuggest ssomeonewi thdet ached
compassi on, withoutt het ypeofpassi onat ei dent i
ficationchar acter isti
cof
Hosea.Hei saf igurewhoi ssubj ectt of ami liarhumanf r
ai l
tiesandpr ovest hat
thewor dofGodcanbeper ceivedonl ythr ought henecessar yl imitat ionsofi t
s
humanmedi ator s.

At
opi
cali
ntr
oduct
ionsummar
izi
ngt
hemaj
ort
hemesi
nIsa1:
2-31

Chapter1summar i
zesandpr efi
gur esthecont entoft hebookofI saiahthrough
ascenarioofGod’ spurgingandr edeemi ngthenat ionofJudah.Thepeopl eof
Judah,broughtupasGod’ sof fspring,havefor gottent heirdivi
nelyappoi nted
heri
tageandgr owni gnorantoft heirrelat
ionshi pwi thGod.Thei rdi sobedience
consist
sofopenr ebel
li
on( vv2;28)andsi nfulact s( vv4;28).Verse3epi t
omises
theprophet’
sindictmentagai nstthem:Anoxr ecogni zesitsowner ;evenanass
knowsitsmast er
’scr i
b.ButI sraeldoesnotr ecogni zeanyt hing:Myownpeopl e
donotunder st
andatal l.
”Ther ei
sr edempt i
onf oronl ya“ fewsur vivors”(v9)
thosewho“ ret
urnt oherZionbyr ighteousness.

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Inthisscenari
oJer usalem as“ Zi
on”appearsasacentralmot
if
.Duetothe
corrupt
ionofitsinhabitants,
thecityi
scal l
ed“Sodom”and“Gomorrah”(
v10)
anda“ harl
ot”(v21).However ,somedayi twil
lbecal
ledtheci
tyof
ri
ghteousness,thef ai
thfulci
ty.

“Theconceptoft heredempti
onandpr eservat
ionofZionplaysahi ghl
y
signif
icantroleinthecomposi t
ionofIsaiah,especi
all
yinIsaiah2-39.
Repeat edl
ythepr ophetassurestheleadersandt hepeopl
et hattheymustnot
beaf r
aid.“Zion”isGod’sspecialhabi
tation,hi
sholymount ai
nt hatwil
lnot
ulti
mat el
yfalltotheenemy.

Thistopi
cali
ntr
oductionsummar
izest
her
ecur
rentt
hemeandsub-
themesi
n
thefi
rstbookofIsai
ah.

Thepr
ophet
,ki
ngAhazandt
heSyr
o–Ephr
aimi
tewar

Inaser i
esofevent sassociatedwi t
ht henamesornami ngofthreechi ldr
en,
Isai
ahisdepictedintheturmoilofsocialunresti
nJudah.( 735–733BC) .The
fulf
il
lmentofhiscommi ssi
oni nChapter6movesf r
om directconversati
onwi th
Ahazi nChapter7t oindir
ectcommuni cat
ionwiththeleadersandt hepeopl e
regardi
ngthewor dofGod.Theki ng’
sandt hepeople`
slackofr esponset ot he
prophet`
smessagehasal readybeen ant ici
pat
ed byt hecommi ssioning in
chapter6.

Occasional
ly,ordi
narypublicact iviti
esofpr ophetscouldcarryext r
a-or di
nary
signi
fi
cance.Besi deprophesyi ngor acles,prophetscoulddr essorbehavei n
wayst hatsymbolizedtheirmessage.JustasHosea` smar r
iageconst itut
eda
symbolicactofpr ophecy,soI sai ah`schi l
dren,bytheirverynames,car ri
eda
messaget hroughouttheirli
ves.TheI mmanuelchi ldinIsaiah7: 14seemst o
belongtosomeunnamedwoman, wher easIsaiah`
ssonMaher–Shal al–hash
–bazi sbornof“ t
heprophetess, ”whoi ssurelyhiswife.Unfor t
unatel
y, not
hing
mor eissaidaboutherandnot hi ngi sknownabouthercont ribut
ion,ifany,to
themessageofI saiah.

Shear
jashub

Intheper iodpr i
ort othesi egeofJer usalem Godinst
ructsIsaiahtomeetki ng
Ahazatapar ti
cularplacewi thamessageofhope. Ki ngAhazf earedt he
coali
ti
onofSyr iaandt henor thernkingdom (Syro–Ephraimitealli
ance).Isaiah
meetst heki ngsoonaf ter,accompani edbyt heprophet`
sson, Shear j
ashub
–meani ng,“ar emnantshal lretur
n“ .Isaiah`
smessagei soneofcomf ortand
assurancet hatGodwi lldestroyEphr aim andSyri
a,butwitht heprovisi
ont hat
theywon’ ttrusti
nf orei
gnnat ionsbutt r
ustinginGodalonetodef endthenation.
Theul t
imat um fellondeafear s(Isai
ah7:9) .Ahazsaw thatt healli
ancewas
weakand coul d notwi thstand themi ghtyofAssyr i
a.Wi tht i
meSyr i
aand

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Ephr
aim att
ackedJudahwher eAhazwaski ngasawayofforci
nghimt ojoin
theSyro-Ephraimi
teAlli
anceandher ef
used.HewantedtojoinAssyri
af or
mil
it
aryprot
ectionbutt
heprophetwasnotcomfor
tabl
ewi
thsuchadecisi
on.

I
mmanuel

In an ef f
ortto convi
nce the fri
ghtened king,I saiah offerst o provi
de any
conf i
rmi ngsignAhazmi ghtbeabl etoi magine.At t
empt i
ngt oconcealhi s
unwi ll
ingnesst oobeyt hepr opheticwor d,inagest ureoff alsepi et
yAhaz
refuses“ t
otestGod”.Thepr ophetassur edAhazt hattheal l
iancewoul dcease
toexi st.Thet i
meoft hedestructi
onoft heal l
ianceistiedt othebi r
thandear l
y
childhoodofaboynamedI mmanuel .Thenamesymbol izedt hatthepresence
ofGodcanbeasour ceoft hegr eat
estcomf orttot her ighteousasi nt hi
s
historicalmoment ,anassuranceofcer t
ai njudgmentt ot hosesubj ecttoGod`s
wr ath( Amos9:2-4).

Maher–Shal
al–Hash-Baz

Asaf urt
hersignoft hei mpendingcollapseofSyri
aandEphr ai
m,theprophet
securedof fi
cial
stowi tnessal argetablethehadpr eparedonbehalfofhi s
futureson,Maher -shalal-hash-
baz. Thoughwhatwasl egall
yaccompl i
shed
remai nsunclear,t
het abletbecameamat t
erofpubli
cr ecor
d.Byt hi
smeans
Isaiahconfrontedever yonewi tht heter
rif
yingnamemeani ng“spoi
lspeeds,
boot yhastes”. Aswi thI mmanuelacer t
ainmomentwoul dnotber eached
beforetheannouncedj udgmentwoul dfal
luponthenorth.

Fi
nalcomment
sonsymbol
icsi
gns

Itcanbenot edt hat,l

ikeHoseaandJer emiah,symbolicsignswer eusedt o
elucidat
eGod` sstancewi t
hinagivensetofci
rcumstances.Thei ssueofGod`s
relat
ionshipwithhi speopleiscentr
alinanycase.Ther eforesymbolicsigns
wer eusedinahi stori
calcontextt
oexpl
ainthestat
eoftherelati
onshipbet
ween
GodandI sr
aelatanypoi nti
nt i
me.

Anexpl anatorytreati
seon“ TheMi crocosm oftheMacr ocosm”( B.W.
Anderson) .
Thest atementwascoi nedbyBer nhar dW.Ander son.Theexpl anatorypurpose
oft hest at
ementwasl inked wi t
ht hevisi
on thatIsaiah experienced i
nt he
Templ eofJer usalem.Isaiah’svisionpr esupposest heancientvi ew thatthe
Jerusalem Templ ewasami crocosm oft hemacr ocosm.Thi smeanst hatwhat
Isai
ahsawi nt heTempl ewasar eplicaoftheheavenlytemple.Thesi gnifi
cance
ofthisi mplicati
onwast hatitenabl edpeopletobelievethatYahwehi strul
y
presenti n mountZi on i
n Jer usalem and att hesamet imeYahweh i sthe

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t
ranscendentGod,
ent
hronedonhi
gh.

Int hepr ophet’

svi si
on,t heear thl
yt emplesuddenl yenlargesand hef inds
himselfstandingi naspaci ousheavenl yTemple.Int hi
sset t
ingt heelementsof
Templ eser vi
cewer et ransfi
gur ed.Thesear et heant i
phonalsi nging,theal t
ar
withi t
sr edhotst ones,t hei ncensesmoket hatfil
ledt hesanct uaryandt he
myst eri
ousdept hsoft heHol yofHol ies.Event hetempl eit
sel fwasf i
ll
edwi th
heavenlygl ory.Isaiahsaw Yahwehseat eduponagr eatthr one,clothedi na
maj est
icrobewhoseski r
tfil
ledt heTempl e.Thehol yanthem t hati ssungt hree
ti
mesi nt heTempl esuggest st hatYahwehi snotonl yIsrael
’ski ngbuttheki ng
ofthewhol ehumanr ace,uponwhosesover ei
gntythedest ini esofal lpeoples
depend.Theunear thlyser aphimt hatsurroundedhist hrone( hal f–humanand
halfanimal)wer epor trayedbyanci entpeopleasat t
endant sofGod’ ssanctuar y.
Sot henar rat
ivesuggest sthatt hepr ophet,enteri
ngt hrought hevesti
buleof
Solomon’ sTempl e,st andsi nYahweh’ sheavenlycounci l.I
sai aht hen,isdrawn
i
nto Yahweh’ s Heavenl y Counci lwher et he divi
ne decr ees oror ders are
announcedandwher emessenger saresentforthtoexecut ethem.

Exami nationt ypequest ions

1.Show how t heprophecyofI saiahofJer usalem wascl oselyrel
atedtot he
poli
ti
calhistoryofhisti
me.
2.Discussthesymbol i
csignsinI saiah.
3.Discussthei deathatIsaiah’scal lint hetempl er epresents“themicrocosm
ofthemacr ocosm. ”(B.
W.Ander son) .
4.Inwhatwaysdi dthepeopl eofIsr aelviol
at ethecovenantagr eementi
nt he
bookofIsaiah?Di scusshowGodwi lldealwi t
ht heoff ence.
5.“ThewordofGodcanbeper ceivedonl ythrought henecessar yli
mitat
ionsof
i
tshumanmedi at
ors.”Discusst hisvi ewwi threferencet oIsai
ah.

Ref
erences
1. Ander sonB.
W, Thel
ivi
ngWorl
doftheOldTest
ament4thEdi
, ti
on,
1978.
2. Sheppar dG.theart
icl
einHar
per
’sBi
bleCommentar
y1988.

CHAPTER8

WI
SDOM TRADI
TIONANDTHELATERPROPHETS
Chapt
erobj
ect
ives

Af
tercompl
eti
ngast
udyoft
hischapt
er,
thest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

a) Expl
aint
heconceptof“
wisdom t
radi
ti
on“i
ntheOldTestamentt
imes.
b) Showhowlaterpr
ophet
sappli
edthewisdom t
radi
ti
oninthei
rpr
opheci
es

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Compet
enci
es
-
theabi
li
tyt
oconcept
uali
zeaconcept
-
theabi
li
tyt
oapplyi
nfor
mati
ontoaconcept

Concept
ualf
ramewor
koft
hewi
sdom t
radi
ti
on

Wi sdom:
James- L.Kugel( 1988)andJamesL.Cr enshaw( 1981)submi ttedthat“ Wi sdom
l
iteratur e”isamoder ncr it
icalterm usedt odescr i
beaki ndofwr i
tingt hat
flourishednotonl yinanci entIsraelbutt hroughoutt heanci entNearEast .Its
hallmar ki ntheBi bl
eist he‘mashal ”or“proverb,”inHebr ew, thatpi t
hy, twopar t
sent encet hatembodi edsomef undament altruthsaboutl ife.Thi swi sdom i s
pr i
mar il
ycont ainedint hebooksofJob, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Psalms, andt he
Wi sdom ofSol omon.Wi sdom wasnotonl yacl assofwr iti
ngsi nancientI srael
;
i
twasf irstandf oremostawayofl if
eandofunder standingthewor l
d.Inanci ent
ti
mest hesage( wiseman)wast heonewhosoughtt ol ookdeepl yi ntot he
meani ngoft hings,andassuchhewasaval uedmemberofsoci ety.Hewas
associ at ed with variouspr ofessionsas:r oyaladvi ser,cour tadviser ,judge,
teacher ,scr ibe.Thesear et hepr ofessionst hatourOl dTest amentpr ophets
foundt hemsel vesi n.

Butact ually whati st hat“ wor l

d ofwi sdom?”Schol ars ask.Among i ts
fundament altenetsisthebelieft hatt hewor ldmakessense;thatunder l
yingal
l
theappar entconf usionandi njusticesanddi sordersofdailyexistenceisa
basicpattern;thisbasic patterni st heorder i
ngbywhi challsuchphenomena
can ult
imat el
y be under stood.Thi s pat ternis some times refer
red to as
“hokmah”i nHebr ew,whichmeans“ wi sdom, ”asi
nPr over
bs3:11.
“Myson, donotdespi setheLor d’sdi scipl
ineorbewear yofthisreproof,f
orthe
Lordreproveshi m heloves,asaf atherthesononwhom hedel i
ghts.”

Bywi sdom t
hel
ordf
oundedt
heear
th;byunder
standi
ngheest
abl
ishedt
he
heavens.

Anout si
dertothewor l
dofwisdom mi ghtsayt hatacquir
ingwisdom wasf i
rst
and foremostan actoff ai
th,a wi ll
ingness to beli
eve despi
t e atti
mes
consider
ableevidencet othecontrar
y,thatallishappeningaccor dingtoplan
andthattheoldver it
iesaboutdi
vinejust i
ce,t
het ri
umphofr i
ghteousnessand
thenecessi
tyforfairandpiousconductwer esti
llthebestgui
deinleadingone’s
l
ife.

Oneoft hecardinalvi
rt
uesint hewor l
dofwi sdom i
spatience.Foronl
ywith
pati
encecanonehol dbackf r
om snapj udgmentsandescapethepri
sonofthe
moment .I
nIsraeli
tewisdom,thepatiencesuggestsnotonlyanabili
tyt
owait
thi
ngsout,butalsoanabi l
it
yt oacceptdiscomfor
tandsuf f
eri
ng.Thesageis
onewhohaspat i
ence,andknowst hat,nomat t
erhow muchatanygi ven

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momentt heworldseemst obei nimbalance, andhowwear eforcedt osufferin

amannert hatappear sunj
ust,soonerorl atertheunder l
yingorderwi llappear.
Thingswi l
lbesetar i
ghtagai
n, oraprevi
ousl yunknownexpl anat
ionwi llbecome
appar ent. Summar i
ly,wisdom says t hat under l
ying t he har dships and
tri
bulat i
onsi nthewor l
dofmanki ndisapat ter
nt hatiscat eringf ort hese
occurr ences,andt hepatt
ernwi l
lsoonerorl aterbri
ngingupasol utiontot hem,
tempor ar
yorf i
nal.Onewhocanper cei
vethepat t
ern,oratleastpartofi t
,issaid
tohavef oundoracqui redwisdom.Under standingoft hi
st rut
hiswhati scalled
wisdom i nthisstudy.

Thepr ophetsofIsrael(
Jeremiah,I
saiah,AmosandHosea)wouldfi
ttoposeas
sagesi nwisdom li
terat
ure.Thesupporti
ngviewi
sthatt
heseprophetsbel
ieved
thatdespitetheseverepunishmentthatGodwouldgi
vehispeopl
e,ther
ewi l
lbe
rest
oration.Wisdom bel
ievesthat
,

“
Betteri
st heendofathi
ngthanit
sbegi
nni
ng,becausei
tisonl
ytheendofa
t
hingthatcount
s”(
Eccl
esi
ast
es7:8)

Jeremi ahbuysaf i
eldatAnat hot htosymbol i
set hi
swisdom ( Jer emi ah32:6-15)
thataf t
ertheexi l
eper secutiont hepeopl ewi l
lber estoredt ot heirhomel and.
Amoswr i
tes,“ButIwi llnotut t
erlydest roythehouseofJacob”( Amos9: 8a-
10).Hosear etor
ts,“ForIam God, andnotman”( Hosea11: 8-
9) .Isaiahinchapt er
29:17-24gi vesavi si
onofpr omise.Thewor dsoft hevi sioncl earl
ysett he
precedingjudgment sofIsai
ahchapt ers28and29wi thinthecont extofadi vine
plani nwhi chthedest ructi
oni sintendedt opur gethenat ionofdi sobedience
andl eadtoat i
meofdi scer
nmentandr estor
ation.Thesesect ionscanbeused
toshowhowt helaterprophet sofIsraelwer econsciousoft hewi sdom tradition.
Accur atel
yspeaki ngal lthepr ophet sofI sr
aelwer e,inonewayoranot her,
i
nf l
uencedbywi sdom tradit
ions.

Jeremiah
Chapters27:1to29: 32areprosenarrati
vesthatdealwitheventsduringtheyear
594BC.Thenar rati
vest r
essesar el
igi
ousinterpret
ati
onoft hepolit
icalevent
s.
Jeremiah beli
eved t hatYahweh had est abli
shed Nebuchadnezzar ’s power
(Babyl
onian king)i nt he r
egion.Jeremiah’s opponents on the otherhand
presumablyaccept eddefeatandexi l
easYahweh’ sdoingbutt houghtofthem
assuffici
entpunishmentf orthepeople’
sbehaviour.TheybelievedthatYahweh
would now r estoret he nati
on (chapter28),and t hey sett hemselves in
oppositi
ontoJer emiah’sint
erpret
ati
on.

Itisimport antt onot et hatthereisadequat etheologicaljusti

fi
cati
oninthe
Judeanr el
igioust radit
ion(whichembr acesthewi sdom tradi
ti
on)forbotht
hese
posit
ions.Jer emiah’ sviewpointmi r
rorstheSi naicovenanti nwhi chnat
ional
securi
ty and pr osper i
ty are contingent upon obedi ence to Yahweh’s
commandment s.Hi sopponent s’posit
ion r
efl
ect sthei deologyoft heroyal
covenant,accor dingt owhi chthenationmaybepuni shedbyYahwehbutwi l
l

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notbefi
nal
lyabandonedbyhim.Inessence,
Wisdom isher
er epresent
edbythe
fundament
alconvi
cti
onthatYahwehisawareofi
tal
l,andwillprovideasol
uti
on.

Isaiah
Chapt ers 28-32,r ead t oget herwi t
hI saiah chapt ers 56:
9- 57:2r evealt he
sent i
mentofdi vi nepuni shment ,f i
rst,tot heleader soft henat i
onandt hent o
the peopl e.This not ion ofdi vine puni shmenti si nl i
ne wi t
ht he wi sdom
tradit
ionsi nPsal ms12;37;49;and73,andJob30:1.Atanyr atet hel eaders
arebl ind,deaf,sl eepy,wi ne-sodden,i ntendingonl yt osharpent hei rappet it
es
andnegl ect
ingther estoft hepeopl ewhoar epoor .Suchanor derdescr i
besan
unjustwor l
dinwhi cht her ighteousper sonsuf fersatt hehandsoft hewi cked,
asonef lamboyantbusi nessper soninZi mbabweoncesai dthatt herei saver y
thinl i
ne bet ween a busi nessman and a cr i
mi nal.“The begi nning i s not
i
mpor tant,butt heendi s,“sayswi sdom.I saiah28- 32at tackst hel eaders
declaring,thattheyar ewi thoutunder standing,thinkingthefut uretobeamer e
repetit
ionoft hepr esent.Theyr ef
uset oseechangeasadi vi
nelyf ashioned
future.“Anyoneel seot hert hanour selveswi l
lselloutiftheyareal l
owedt or ul
e”
sosayst heunwi sei nsomet hirdwor lddi ct
atorships.

Hosea
Thecauseandef fectdi
alecti
ci nHoseai sinherenti nt hewisdom l i
teratureof
theOl dTestamentwher esuf feri
ngoft hepeopl eofGodi sinterpretedasa
resultoft
hesinstheyhavecommi tted.Itcomesasdi vinepunishmentf rom God.
Thel awsui
tinHosea4: 1-3andt heindictmentoft hel eader
sinHosea5: 1-7are
evidencethatHoseawasawar eoft hewi sdom t raditi
onthat,“viol
atingGod’ s
l
aw wi llr
esultinpunishment .
”Si nthroughoutt hel andofI sraelandi nhi gh
places(Hos.6-7:
7)wast antamountt oar ebell
ionagai nstGood.

Amos
Thedoxol ogi
calaccountsi
nAmos4: 13;andAmos9: 5-
6refl
ectont hewi sdom
tr
adi t
ionfoundinsuchOl dTestamentbooksasJob;Pr overbs,Ecclesiasts;
SirachandWi sdom ofSolomon.Amosmakes,i nthesedoxologies,pr
aisest o
Yahwehf orhiscreat
ivepower.Thehymni stpr
aisesYahweh,t hesover eign
creator,
whocont r
olsthewater
s,movestheworl
dandevenmakesi tmour n.

Theeventsofpunishmentandr edempti
onthatar
eprocl
aimedinAmos5: 1-
17,
andAmos9: 8b-
10,respect
ivel
yareindi
cati
onsofhowtheprophetwasawareof
wisdom.Hewasi ndeedasage.

Examinati
ontypequesti
ons
1.Explaintheconceptofwisdom tradi
ti
onasi tisexpoundedint
heOl d
Testament.[
25]
2.Crit
ical
ly eval
uat
et he inf
luence of Wisdom t r
adi
ti
on inthe l
ater
prophets.
[25]
3.Showhowwi sdom t
radi
ti
oninfl
uencedtheprophetI
sai
ah[25]

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Ref
erences

1.Cli
ff
ord R.Ar t
icle on Second I saiah,Har per
’s Bibl
e comment ary,
HarperSanf r
ancisco( 1988)
2.Kugel.J.L,Arti
cleonWi sdom tradit
ionandt helaterprophets,Harper’
s
Bibl
ecomment aryHar perSanf
rancisco(1988).
3.MeluginR. ,Arti
cleonAmosi nHar per’
sBibleComment ary,HarperSan
fr
ancisco(1988)
4.Tucker G, Ar t
icl
e on Hosea, Har per’s Bi bl
e Comment ary,
HarperSanfrancisco(1988).

CHAPTER7
ADI
SSERTATI
ONONTHESCOPEOFPROPHECYI
NAZI
MBABWEAN

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CONTEXT.

Mhur
i.C.
K.

Definiti
onofTer ms
Cont empor ary:Thelengthandbr eathoft hemeaningoft heterm contemporary
i
nt his study pack cover st he period when pr ophetic acti
vit
ies star
ted
mani festi
ngt hemselvesinZimbabweupt othepresentti
me.Thewor dr
efersto
thelife-t
imeoft henat i
onofZi mbabweandt herel
igi
ouspr acti
cesexperienced
duringt het i
mes.TheLongmandi cti
onar yofcontempor ar
yEngl i
shsuggest s
thatthewor d“contemporary’
means, belongi
ngtothepresentt i
me”Thepr esent
ti
mei nourcasei stheeraofpr opheti
cevent sinZimbabwe.

“
Disser
tat
ion”

The Longman Di cti

onar
y of cont emporary Engl
ish, (2010) defi
nes a
“di
ssert
ati
on”asalongpieceofwr i
ti
ngonapar t
icul
arsubjectespeci
all
yone
wri
ttenforauniver
sit
ydegree.Thedi sser
tat
ionmaycont ainviews,opi
nions
andideascomingfr
om bot
hprimaryandsecondarysources.

The li
terat
ure on the phenomenon ofpr ophecy i
n Zimbabwe has t o be
compressed into a dissert
ati
on forpur poses ofthe new ‘A’leveldivi
nit
y
syl
labus.Atthepresentmomentnotmuchexi stsi
ntheform ofwri
ttenl
it
erat
ure
aboutthi
sphenomenon, specifi
cal
lywithrefer
encetotheZimbabweancont ext.
Muchoft heinfor
mat i
oni sintheform oforalt
radi
ti
onwhichsomet i
messuf f
ers
heavil
ythesubjecti
vit
ycr i
ti
cism.

Thisdi ssertati
onmakesachapt ert hatwi l
lopent het entaclesofthoughti nt he
studentsot hatheorshecanexer ciseasmuchofhi smi ndaspossi ble, basing
ont hingst hatheorshehasseenorhear d( oraltraditi
on).Thenew syl labus
componentwant stof r
eet hest udentf rom t hebondageofschol arlybl i
nkers
wher est udent swer econfinedt ovi ewsof“ r
enownedschol arsonl y.I tist he
abil
ityt ouseone’ smi ndper ceptuallyandcr iti
call
yt hati srewar dedi nt he
academi cst udyofsoci alsciencesandar t
s.Ther efore,thisdissertationi sa
wor t
hwhi lesour ceforthe‘ A’leveldi vi
nitycour se.Muchoft heinformat i
oni n
this dissertati
on comes f rom or alt radit
ion and per sonalconcl usions.The
i
ssuesr aisedi nthisdiscussioncomef rom at raditi
onofsour cest hatcanbe
describedashi st
ory,andmedi ainf ormation,t hever acityofwhi chcannotbe
authent i
cated.Butt heissuesopenupt hemi ndsf ordebat e.Theycanst i
mul ate
anendl essdi versi
tyofnewt houghtsandi deasasJohnBar tononcesai d.

Prophet
ism andKi
ngshipinIsr
ael:Aprel
imi
nar
y,compar
ati
veover
view oft
he
rel
ati
onshi
pbetweenprophecy,
societ
yandpol
it
ics.

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Mostoft he phenomena t ypi calofI sraeli

tes prophetism ar e now cl osel y
par al
lel
edi nli
ter
aryandor alsour cesf rom othercul t
ures,f orexampl e,fr om
someanci entNearEast erncul tures.Undervar i
oust i
tl
es,pr ophet sf uncti
oned
asspi ri
tuallysensit
ivechannel st hroughwhom godscoul dconveyvi si
onsand
oraclest ohumanaudi ences.Notsur pri
singly,ki
ngs,rulers,chi efs,fi
guremost
promi nently among t hose t o whom such di vi
ne communi cati
ons wer e
addr essed i n vari
ous sour ces ( let
ters,or acl
es,t estimoni als).In bi blical
traditi
ons,thecorrelati
onbetweenpr ophet i
sm andmonar chi spar ti
cularl
ycl ose.
Israeli
tepr ophecyt husacqui redaspeci alinsti
tuti
onalsi gnif
icance.Pr ophet s
wer eseenashavi ngcent ralresponsi bil
ityindef i
ningthei ntersect i
onbet ween
divineandhumanpol iti
cs.Theywer emor ethani nspiredadvi serstoki ngs,
becauset heywer eempower edt ospeakandactonbehal fohYahweh,I srael’
s
preemi nentsovereign.

Thisi nstit
utionalunder standingofpr ophecymustbeper ceivedi nt heeight y
centuryB. C prophetsofI srael
,namel y,Amos,Hosea,Jer emi ah,Isaiahand
Micah.Li terarywitnessessi teAmoswhoaddr esstheel it
eofnor thernkingdom
duringt heHeydaysofki ngJer oboam I I
’srei
gn(about750BC) .Hi smessage
wasanout rageatI srael’
sper vasionofsoci alj
ustice,abuseofpr osperi
ty,and
rel
igious hypocr isy thatpr edomi nated.Hosea,a nor t
hern,seems t o have
prophesi seddur i
nger aoff r
anticr oyalpoli
ti
csthatpr ecededt henat i
on’stotal
coll
apse.Hi smessage, likeAmos, knowst hecert
aintyofdi vi
nej udgment .

TheZi
mbabweancont
extofpr
ophecyandt
heZi
mbabweani
ndi
genousr
eli
gion.

RobertsJ.J M ( 1985)ar gued t

hatthephenomenon ofpr ophecywasnot
peculi
ar toIsrael
.I thas been t her
ei n many nations;in Asia,i nthe
Mediter
raneanandinAf ri
ca.TheancientEt
hiopi
aissingledoutasoneAf ri
can
nati
onwher ethephenomenonofpr ophecywassomuchacknowl edged,wit
h
theli
kesofHaill
eSelassebeinghonouredasprophetandl i
ber
atorofthenati
on
bypeopleofhiscountry.

Theonei mpor tantf actoraboutt hephenomenonofpr ophecyi nt heAf ri

can
cont inenti sthati twasnotcanoni sed.Byt his,onemeanst hatt hepr ophetic
histor ywasnotwr ittendown.However ,thi
soni tsowncannotdi smi ssthe
phenomenalexi stenceofpr ophecyi nt henat i
onsoft hiscont inent .Zi mbabwe,
i
nt hiscont ext,cancl ai
mt hatthephenomenonofpr ophecywast heretime
i
mmemor ial.From t het imet hatthei nhabitantsofZi mbabweset tledasanat i
on,
thei ndigenousr eligionst art
edshapi ngupaswel l.Thisindigenousr eligi
onwas
distinctlymar kedwi thact sofpr ophet i
sm;di vi
nat i
ons,dr eamsandmagi cal
exor cisms.Al thought hereisnoaut hent icorschol arlywor ksont hisaspect ,oral
traditionhasi t,toacr edibl
eext ent,t hatthepr acticeofi ndigenousr eligi
oni n
Zimbabwehadpr ophet i
cchar acter isti
cst hatcanbeequat edt ot hebi bli
cal
Israelite prophecy.I ti s againstt hi s background t hatwe wi l
lexpl orethe
Zimbabweancont extofpr ophecyf rom unwr i
tt
ent imes.Thecommencementof
ar ealZi mbabweannat i
onf r
om thet i
meofChami nukat ot hispr esentdayi sthe

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wi
destperi
odwer egar
dher
east
he“
cont
empor
aryper
iod”ofZi
mbabwean
pr
ophet
ichi
stor
y.

I
nter
cessi
on:Af
unct
ionofpr
ophecy.

From anci enttimes,t heconceptofi nt ercessioni nreli

gi ousaf f
air
sent ailedan
i
ndividualwhomakespet it
ionst oorpl eadswi t hGodonbehal foft hepeopl e.
MostI sraeli
teprophet s( Samuel ;Moses;Jer emi ah,Amos, I
saiahetc)per formed
theintercessoryf unct ionofei therpr ayingorpl eadingwi thGodonbehal foft he
people.Theear liestexampl ecomesf rom Abr aham,whopl eadedwi t
hGod’ s
angelnott odest royi ndiscriminat elyallt heinhabi t
antsofSodom andGomor rah.
Inasi milarcontextAmospl eadedwi thGoddur ingthevi sionsoft hedest ruction
ofthenat i
onofI sr ael(Amos7) ,whenGodunvei l
edt othepr ophetHi sintention
toanni hil
atethenat ionofI sr aelf orit
ssi ns.Amosi ntercededonbehal foft he
people.Agai nstthi sbackgr ound, theZi mbabweancont extofr el
igi
onhasoni ts
regi
stert hepract iceofi nt
ercessi on,especi al
lyi nvenerat ionwor ship.Anel der,
whomayormaynotbeahor stofanancest ralspiritwillmakepet iti
onst ot he
ancestorsandpl eadt hattheyl iaisewi tht heAl mightytohavei ssuesanswer ed.
Thisrolewoul dnotnecessar i
lyr equirepr opheti
ccr edent ials.Thebot tom linei s
thathehast heaut horitytospeak, pleadorpr ayonbehal foft heother seitherin
afami l
yoracl an.Ther eforeintercessi oni sapr act i
cethati sindeedengr avedi n
theZimbabweanr eli
gion.

Thedef
ini
ti
onofPr
ophecy

Earli
erint hisbookawi dedef i
nitionoft heterm“ pr ophecy”wasgi ven.The
consensusi sthat,ont hebottom l ine, apr ophetisanagentofGod, cal
ledupon
byGodt oannounceHi swi l
lint hepr esentort hefutur eupont hepeopl eoft he
nati
on( B.W.Ander son,1978) .Thecal l
ingcanbewi tnessedbysomeot her
i
ndividualoritcanonl ybewi tnessedbyt hecal ledindividualwhowi l
lintur ntel
l
thepeopl eabouthiscal l
.Int hisr egar dwecanr ecallthecal lofSamuelwhi ch
waswi t
nessedbyt heHi ghpr iestEl i(1Sam 31ff);andt hecal lofMoseswhi ch
wasonl ywi t
nessedbyhi msel f.Amoshi mselfisanot hercasei npoi nt.He
reportsthat,“
TheLor dcal l
edmef rom f ollowingtheflock’ (Amos715) .I
ti swhat
theydi dafterwardst hatcouldonl yconvi ncethepeopl et hatt heywer et r
uly
messenger sofGod.I nsomecasest hepeopl ewouldr ejectthem andevenwhat
theysaid.Jeremiahi sacasei npoi nther e.Hewassoci all
yost racised,rejected
byhi sownpeopl eandevenat tacked( cfJer emiah11:21- 23).Amosal sowas
rej
ected byhi scont empor ariesal though het ri
ed to expl ain and pr ovet he
authenti
cityofhiswor d(cfAmos7: 10-17).

From theabovecaser eferenceswenot i

cethatahol i
sti
cdefiniti
onfort he
conceptofaprophetisnotpossi bl
e.Theonl ybottom l
inetoiti
st hatsomeone
mustclaimtohavebeenvi sit
edandcal ledbyaGod,andt oldwhatt odo,and
thi
sclaim mustbesuppor tedbypr act
icalacti
vit
iesamongt hepeopl e.I
fthere
areverbalpr
edicat
ions,theymustcomet opassatsomememor ableti
me.I n

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thebroadspect
rum oft
hisdef
ini
ti
onalfr
amewor
k,somehist
ori
cfi
gur
esi
nthe
Zimbabweanrel
igi
onshal
lbeconsi
deredaspr
ophet
sofGod.

TheMwar
icul
t,(
Uml
imu)i
nZi
mbabwe

Historyhasi tthatt hepeopleofZi mbabwebeli

evedi naGod, whom t heycalled
“Mwar i,
”“ Umli
mu,”i ntheShonaandNdebel evernacularsrespect i
vel
y.Thecul t
wassuppor t
edbypr i
est s(spi r
itmediums)andani nfrastr
uct ureofshr i
nes
scatteredar oundt henat i
on.I nt hecommuniti
es,cer t
ainindividualsbecame
practit
ionersofheal i
ngs,exor cisi
ng,andannouncingi mpendingcat astrophes.
Amongt heseyouwoul dfindn’ anga/i
nyangas)
,priest
s( Masvikiro/I
zangomaor
Mhondor o)whodi schargedt heirduti
esunderthespi ri
tofnat ionalancestor s,
whot hemsel vesar esubj ecttot heAlmight
yGod.Itwasbel ievedt hatwhatt hey
saidanddi dwast hewi llofGodMwar i/
Uml i
mu),hencetheywer emanofGodi n
aZimbabweancont ext
.

Thenationalshri
neswerehol ypl
acesthatweretr
eat edassacredplaces.These
placeswereassociatedwi thcert
ainmount ai
nswher ei
twasbel i
evedt hata
spiri
tofGodhadadwel l
ing.Someexampl esoft heseshrinesaret heNj el
ele
shrinei
nMat opohi
ll
s,southofBulawayoandt heDef eMount ai
ninGokwe,t he
Buchwashr ineinBuchwaMount aininMberengwa, andpossiblyanothershri
ne
i
nt heNyangamount ainsintheeaster
nhighl
ands.

Thesescenar ioshavever ycl oser esembl ancest ot heshr i

nesofShi loh;Bethel
andGi lgalinI sr
ael ,wher et her eli
giousf uncti
onsofwor shi pping,intercession
andi nquiri
eswer emade.Apr ophet ,suchasAmos,orapr iestsuchasSamuel
couldpr esideatt heshr ine.I ntheZi mbabweancont ext,apr i
estpr esidesatt he
shrineandt hi
spr i
esti ssuppor tedbyat eam ofpeopl e, malesandf emal eswho
doback- upt askssuchasi nterpretati
onofl anguagesandl ogistics.Somet i
mes
theypl ayanddancet ot het radit
ionalmusi cthatappeasest hespi r
itatt he
shrine,forexampl et he Mbonga ( f
emal eattendances)atNj elel
e.Thesear e
femal efunct i
onarieswhor esi
deatt heshrinepr emi sest or eceiveandgui de
visi
torswhovi sittheshr ine.Thi sr emi ndsofSamuelandt hebandofecst at
ics
atShi l
oh.TheZame/ Njeleleshr i
neatMat opohor stsavar ietyofsoci o-r
eli
gio
andpol it
icalissueswhi chi sindeedt heparadigm oft heear lyIsraeliteprophet i
c
reli
gion.Peopl egot heret oconsul tonper sonalmat t
ers;cl eansing,andt oask
forrains,andevennat ionalheal i
ngs.Thi siscloselysi milart oSamuel ’sshrine
atShi l
ohwher eSaulandhi sser vantwentt oinquireaboutt heirlostdonkeys.

ThemosaicandEl i
jahtradi
ti
onsatMountSi
naiandMountHorebrespect
ively
presentascenar
iot hatisver
ysimi
lart
oSamuelMutendi
’slegendar
ycal lat
DefeMountai
ninGokwe

Ingeneralt
erms,theMwar i
/Mli
mucultinZimbabwei sshroudedwi
thel
ements
ofpr ophet
ism thatdraw some startl
ing resemblances wit
hthe I
srael
it
e
prophecy,despi
tethe factthatnot
hing is writ
ten aboutitint
he f
orm of

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pr
ophet
icbooks.

Apossi
blecl
assi
fi
cat
ionofpr
ophet
icf
igur
esi
nZi
mbabwe

Iti
sappropri
atetoputsomeZi mbabweanrel
igi
ousfiguresint
otwobr oad
cat
egor
iesinordert
oaddressthecont
extofpr
ophet
ism inZimbabwe.I
nt hi
s
bookwegroupthem asf
oll
ows:

1.Pr ophet i
cPr i
ests
Thesear efigur eswhoshowedchar acter i
sticsofdi vinei nspi r
at i
onwhi ch
wasr ecognisedbyt henat ionandwhi chi sacknowl edgedupt ot hisdayby
oraltraditi
on.Thesef i
gureshavef eaturedi nnat i
onalaf fairs,pr edi ct
ing,
l
eadingandpr esidi
ngi nkeynat i
onalissues.Thought heircal lst or
iesar e
missing,butt hemani festationsoft heiract ivi
ti
esdoconvi ncef air-
mi nded
personst hatt hesef iguresdeser vetobecal ledpr ophet sint heZi mbabwean
context.Alsot hecomi ng-t o-passoft heirpr edicti
onswhi chwegetf rom
oraltradit
ioni sanot herfact ort hatgivest hem t hequal i
fi
cat ionascl assic
prophets.Thel i
kesofChami nuka,NehandaNyakasi kana,Si ginyamat she,
andUml ugulucanbeconsi der edforourst udy.Al lofthem pr esidedovert he
nati
onalpol iticalcr isi
satt heonsetofcol onialism.Or alt radition int he
MountDar winar eahasi tthatj ustbeforet hear ri
valoft hePi oneerCol umni n
1890,Chami nukaannouncedt hattherewoul dbeagr oupoff oreigner swho
wouldi nvadet hecount ry.Andt hiswasf ulfil
ledbyt headventofCeci lJohn
Rhodesandt hePi oneerCol umn.Anot herpi eceofOr altraditionsayst hat,at
histimeofdeat h Chami nuka announced t hat“ hi
sbones, ”meani ng hi s
posterit
y( t
hepeopl eofZi mbabwe)woul dr esurrectandf ightt heset tlerst o
thebi tt
erend.Thi swasenvi sagedandf ulfi
ll
edi nt hef irstandsecond
Chimur engaof1896- 97,andt he1950’ sto1980- r
epsect ively.Itisthi scomi ng
-t
o-pass of Chami nuka’s wor ds that makes hi m a pr ophet i n our
Zimbabweanvi ew.

Ther ol
espl ayedbyNehandaNyakasi kanaandUml ugulu,amongothers,inthe
earlypol i
ticalst
ruggleiscl osel
ysimi l
artosomeoft her ol
esplayedbysuch
Israelit
epr ophet
slikeIsaiahofJerusalem andJeremiah.Theybasical
lyadvised
theirnat i
onsont heopt i
mum cour seofact i
ontotakedur i
ngthepolit
icalcri
ses
ofI sraelandJudah.I saiahadvisedkingAhazandt hepeopl eduri
ngt heSyro-
Ephr aimiti
ccoal i
ti
oncr i
sis,whil
eJer emiahadvisedJudahi nthewakeoft he

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597B. CBabyl onianat t

ack.Inasi mil
arspiritNehandaandUml ugul uadvi sed
thei
rownpeopl et ost andunr elenti
nglyagainstthei
rcol oni
alf oes.I tisnott he
equati
onoft headvi cest hatmat t
erinthesecases,butt hesimi l
arityoft her oles
eachoft hem pl ayedi nhisorherownnat i
on.Nehandawentsof artosacr i
fice
herownl if
et or esistcol oniali
sm, whi
leIsai
ahwentsof artosacr ificehi sdignity
bywal ki
ngnakedi nt hestreetst oshowhi sunwaver i
ngposi tion( c.fIsaiah20) .
Thecour seofact ionwhi chNehandaandUml ugul
uadvocat edl ateronbor ef r
uit
i
nt hef orm ofpol i
ticalindependencei n1980.Theyf eaturedasi nspi r
ati
onal
l
egendsoft her evolut i
onaryst rugglejustli
keSamuel ’
secst at i
cswhoboost ed
themor aleofr evol ut i
onf ort heI sr
aeli
tesnearaPhi lli
sti
niangar rison( c.f1
Samuel9- 10) .A pr ophet ,inanci enttimes,hadr el
igious,soci alandpol iti
cal
responsibi
li
ties,andt hisweseeal soinChami nuka,NehandaandUml ugului n
theZimbabweancont ext.

2 TheApost ol
icChar i
smat i
cs
Althought herear elotsofpr ophet-
li
keactivi
ti
esamongt hePent ecost
al
sectsi n Zimbabwet oday,t hereisaneed f orastrong argumentt o
classif
yaccur atelypropheti
cf i
guresinthi
sdomai n.Aretheyprophetsin
acl assi
calsense,ort heyaremer elyapostoli
cchari
smat i
cs?Whocal ls
them pr ophets?Whatevi dencei sther
ef orit?Allt
hesequest i
onsar e
stumbl i
ng bl ocks i n the quest f or propheti
c credenti
als among
Zimbabweanr eligi
ousf unct
ionari
es.

Theprevaili
ngopi ni
onamongmostsect sist hatthei
rfounder
sandsome
ofthei
rmember saretruepr ophetscall
edunt othemi ssi
onofGod, whil
e
i
nt hemai nstream chur chesthereisreluctance,ifnotscepti
cism,about
theval
idit
yoft hiscl
aim.Thel it
must estforat rueprophetist
heabi l
it
yto
for
etel
lthef utureandt hesuccessoft hepr edicti
on.Mostoftheso-call
ed
“pr
ophets”i nt he Pentecostalsects have t heirfocus on perf
orming
unusualact sofheal i
ngandexor ci
sms.Theactofpr ophesyi
ngisnotso
muchpubl icisedi nt
heZi mbabweancont ext.

Somepopul arexampl esofourPent ecost alapost oli

c“ prophets”ar e:
th
JohanneMar ange;JohanneMasowewechi samu( 5) ,PaulMwazhaof
theAfricanApost ol
icchur ch,SamuelMut endioft heZCCMut endisect ,
to ment ion justa f ew.These have emer ged as f ounderf ather s of
apostoli
csect s, att
hesamet i
mecl ai
mi ngt hatt heyr eceivedadi vinecall
i
nonewayoranot her.Agoodexampl ei sr ender edbyt heprophetPaul
Mwazha,who wr otet hat
,“Thevi si
on camel iket his, theskywas
poli
shedcl eanbyani nvi
si bl
ehandandt hewor ds“ RECREATI ON OF
AFRICA, ”werei nscri
bed.”Thent hevoi ceoft heunseenGodcommanded
i
nShona:‘ Nyor eravanavarikumauni ver sit
yvakubat sirepabasar ekusi
ka
Afri
cai t
svai yi’(wri
tetouni versi
tystudent st oassistyoui nthiswor kof
therecreationofAf ri
ca!”Thesef igurespr eside( d)overt hewor shi
pi n
thei
rr espectivesect s,and haveper f ormed act swor thyofpr ophetic

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acclaim.Oraltr
adit
ionhasitthattheypronouncewordsofhealingonthe
si
ckand t heywer ehealed;barren couples ar
eprayed forand they
obtainedbabies.Themaj orchall
engetot hesecl
aimsisthattherei
sno
authenti
cit
yoranywr it
tentesti
moniesoftheseacts.

Event hecl aimst hattheymaker emai nper sonaltot heextentt hatt hose
whoar enotwi t
hintheirsectaredoubt ful
.However ,thisdoubt i
ngoni t
s
owncannotdi smissoutrightlyt
hatt hesemenar ereallyprophetsofGod.
For exampl e,t he factt hatt hese men commanded a ver yl ar ge
denomi nat i
onoff oll
owerssuggest sthatthosewhof ollowt hem ar eliving
witnessest ot hemi ghtywor ksthatt heyper for
med,hencet heyar emen
ofGod.I nt hecaseofPaulMwazha, whoi sregardedasapr ophetbyhi s
foll
ower s,hewr otedownt her eportofhi scommi ssioningwhi chwas
thenpubl ishedbyt heBant uMi rrorwhi chwast heonl ypubl i
shinghouse
fortheAf ri
canpeopl eofZi mbabwet hen.Thet hemeofhi scommi ssi on
wast or evivet heZi mbabweanMwar i
/Uml i
mucul tbypr eachingand
bringi
ng peopl etor epentance.Thi si smor esi milart ot heapost oli
c
commi ssi oningofsuchf iguresl i
kePaul ,whower eneverr egar dedas
prophetsbutapost l
es.Someuni dentif
iedsour cer ecentlyclaimedt hat
some uni ver sit
y of Zi mbabwe st udent s“ dug and unear t
hed Paul
Mwazha’ sdocumentatt henat i
onalAr chives”.Thisdi scovery,i
fi tisr eal,
probablypr ovi dedsomeempi ri
calevi dencet oPaulMwazha’ sr ecor dof
events.(Sour ce:Chronicl
eJul y2011) .

Anot herpossibl
elineofthoughti
st hatthesemenmaynothavehadt he
chancet oengageat r
anscri
berorsecr etar
yl iket heBaruchofJer emi ah,
ortheymaynothavebeenabl etowr iteonthei rownl ikeAmosorI saiah.
Other wi
set heycouldhavecompiledt hei
rutter ancesintoabookofsome
sort.Whoknowsandwhocansayt hatsuchat hingwi l
lneverhappen?
Afterall,weunderstandthatthecanoni caltraditi
onoft heear l
yIsraelit
e
prophetsunder wentalotofdevel
opment sbef oret heybecomewhatt hey
aretoday.

Thel aterprophet sofZi mbabwe

Thesear enoti nf actr ealpr ophetsi nt hestr i
ctsenseoft hewor d,but
apost oli
cchar i
smat ics.Suchf iguresl i
keBur ombo,whoi snowl ate,who
featuredpr omi nentl
yi nt heKuwadzanasubur bofHar are,int heear l
y
1990s,Si ziba,whoi sal solatewhof eatur
edpr omi nentl
yi nthesubur bs
ofCowdr yPar k,MakhandeniandLuvevei nBul awayo( int helate90’ s),
Thabi soNgwenyawhoi sst il
lf eat
ur i
ngi nthePumul asuburbsinwest ern
BulawayoandEmmanuelasMakandi wawhoi sf eaturi
ngi ntheHar are
metr opoli
tandi stri
ct( andmanymor eot hers),t heyper formedact sof
wondert hatl eave peopl e witht he i mpression t hatt hey arei ndeed
prophet s.Whatact uallydi scredit
st hem i st heabsenceofacl earcal l
storyandt hepr oofofi ntegrit
y.Howcoul damanofGod( Burombo)end
i
nsuchadi sgr
acefular restforadi sgracefulconduct .Hi
sconvi ctionand

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goingt ojai
lwoul dhavenopar al
lel
.Thoughf iguresl i
keJer emiahand
Eli
jahwer et
hreatenedbyruler
softheirt
ime,theydi dnotf allsolow.The
cl
aimst ocureHI VandAI DSbyBur ombohavenotyi el
dedanyexi sting
evi
dence.Nei t
herarethereanyoralt
radit
ionsthathavel ivedaf tert
hem.
Therefore,t
hesaf estconcl
usioncanbet hatt hesef i
gur esar erather
apostoli
ccharismati
csthanrealpr
ophets.

Di
viner
s;necr
omencer
s,exor
cist
sandmagi
ciansi
nZi
mbabwe

Theaboveel ement swer eal lfeaturesofear lyIsr

aelit
epr ophecy.I
nthe
Zimbabweancont extt heseel ementshaveal sofeaturedasaspect sof
the Afri
can tr
aditionalr el
igion (ATR).Di vi
ners made use ofnat ural
objectssuchasbones;st ones;woodenst i
cks;clubs,spears,oreven
calabashes,orthe di ce.In anci entI sraelUrim and Thummi m were
i
nst r
umentsofdi vination.User softhesemusthavebeent rai
nedtouse
them inconjunctionwi t
hGod’ spermission.Theki ngcoul devengot o
consultadivi
ner.Forexampl eSoulwentt oconsultUrim andThumi mi
m
whent hepoli
ti
calsi tuationinhi scountrybecamesobad.Hei nquir
edof
God’sreasonfrom t heseobj ect s.

I
nt he Zimbabwean contextdiviner
s are a common phenomenon.
I
nyanga/N’angas,andwit
ches,
andmagi ciansal
lpr
act
icedi
vinati
on.But
i
nallcasesatraini
ngofsomesor toraninducti
oni
sdonetopr epar
ean
i
ndi
vidualf
orthecourse.

IntheNdebel ecult
uralreli
giont heconceptofukut hwasisaorukut hwasa
i
sr eminiscentoft hetrainingandi nductionphenomenoni ndi vinat
ion
andmagi calpracti
ce.Butt hist r
ainingwoul dbedoneonl yonhi m orher
whoi senti
tledbytheancest or soramadl ozi/midzimut opracticei t
.Whi l
e
thecaseofSamuel ’
sgroomi ngbyt hehi ghPr iestElionpr iestl
ydut ies
couldbeci tedasapar al
lelphenomenon,t hemaj ordi f
ferencei sthat
Samuelhadbeensetasi def orthatbyGodandnott heancest ors.Buti n
ourZimbabweancasei tisuphel dt hatancest ralspir
it
sarei ntermedi ar
ies
betweenourpeopl eandGod.Ther efor
e,t hepr esentsofanancest ral
i
nfluencewi llhavebeensanct i
onedbyGod.Hencet hesedi vi
ner sare
menofGod( pr
ophets)i
naZi mbabweansense.

Thesedi vinerscan somet imesper f

or m harmfulact si ntheform of
witchcraft,asi scommonwi t
hinyangas/n’angai nZimbabwe.Thishas
i
tspar allelint hebible,i
nt hecaseoft hewi t
cht owhom Saulwentt o
requestt hatsheshoul drai
seforhimt hedeadf igureofSamuel,sothat
hecoul duse“ thespir
itofSamuelsomehow.I nZi mbabweancul t
ure
suchact sar er epor
tedamongwi tchdoctors(n’
angas/ i
nyangawhot urn
deadf iguresi ntoghostsandspooks( Chi
poko/isiphoko).Whendivi
ners
uset heirext r
aor di
narypowerstohar m humanityt heythenceasetobe

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agents ofGod.Butwhen t
heydo good f
ormanki
nd,ar
guabl
ythey
repr
esentthedi
vinewi
ll
.

Or alt
radi
tionhasi tthati nZi
mbabwef i
gur esl ikeChi kanga,(inthe1970’ s)
Mavevur eandGawur aniintheMashonal andeastandcent raltradi tions
featuredpr omi nent l
yi nt hepr acti
ceofdi vinat i
oni nt heyear soft he
armed st ruggleand beyond.Guer i
ll
af i
ght er sand even t heirl eader s
woul dvisitsuchdi vinerstoi nquireoni ndi vidualandgr oupchances.
Thesedi viner scoul dal soper for
m act sofheal ingandexor cismst o
cleansei ndividualsofngoziandevi lspr i
ts.I nt hisr egardt hesemen
per f
ormedGod’ swi l
lt osavet hesanct it
yofl ife.Att imest hesedi viners
woul dvisitt heNj eleleshri
neatMat opos,sout hofBul awayo,t oget
furtherinst r
uct i
on and r e-
invigorat
ion,especi all
y af t
erper formi ng a
deadl yaction,l i
kecl eansingofangozi ’
sspi ritfrom acer t
ainf ami lyor
i
ndi vi
dual.Thi sgi vesahi ntononeoft hemosthi stor
icshr i
nes,i nt he
Zimbabweancont ext( t
heNjeleleshrine)whi chi srenownedasadwel l
ing
ofGod, Mwar i/Uml i
mu.

TheNj
elel
eshr
ine

TheNj eleleshr inei sparalleltot hesanct uar i

esofBet hel ,Gilgaland
Shil
ohi nanci entIsrael
.Zi
mbabweansbel ievet hat,f
rom timei mmemor ial
peoplef rom al loverthecount rywoul dvisitt hisshri
ne, (
evenourpol it
ical
l
eader s),tohonourorseekconsul tationwi tht hespiritatt hatmount ain.
Thedi vinespi r
itisbeli
evedt obeabi dingbyar ockatt heshr i
neandt he
spir
itcanbehear dt ospeakt hrought hatr ock.Thiscoul dbesi mil
art o
such phenomenalcasesl i
keMoses’conver sati
on wi th a voi ceata
burningbushi nthewi l
dernessofSi nai(Exodus5)andEl i
jah’sencount er
witht hest i
llsmal lvoiceatmountHor eb( 1Kings18) .Theseevent s
suggestt hatGodcandwel levenonr ocksandcaves.Sot heNjelele
shri
necanbear guedt obeat ruedwel l
ingofGodi nZi mbabwe.Chi efs
wouldvi si ttheshr inetopr esentmat ter
saf fecti
ngt heirchi efdomsand
seekadvi ceongoodgover nance.Int hiscaseweseet her oleoft hespirit
ofGodi nt hesoci alandpoliti
calaffairsofZi mbabweansj ustasi twerei n
Isr
aeldur i
ngt het i
mesofSamuel ,
Saul ,Davi dandAhaz.

Theseer
sint
heZi
mbabwecont
ext

Thephenomenonofseer shasbeenpr esentinZimbabwef orasol das

histor
y. seer ship was mar ked by a vi sionary st atement,
“Ndavona..
..
..
..
...
..
..
..
.”inShona,or“ Ngibonil
e..
..
..
...
...
...
..
..
...
..
”inNdebel e
l
anguage.Thi swayofspeaki ngsuggestedthatt hei ncumbenthasan
i
nnereyewhi chcanf oreseeevents.Thisisparal
lelt oSamuelwhosaw
thevisionofSaul ’
slostdonkeys,andwhoal sof oresaw t hearri
valand
electi
onofhi m ast hef ir
stkingofI sr
ael(1Sam 9- 10:13).Inancient
Zimbabwe, t
radit
ionhasi tthatChaminukahadt hi
sgi f tofseershi
pashe

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for
esaw the comi
ng oft
he Pi
oneercol
umn and t
hei
rint
ent
ions i
n
Zimbabwe.

Inr ecentti
mes,t heact i
vi ti
esofTsi kamutanda,ambuya/ gogoJul i
ana,
andot hershaver esuscit
at edandconf i
rmedt heexi stenceofseer shi
pi n
theZi mbabweancont ext
.Thesef i
gur es,whohavet ravell
edar oundt he
count r
yi nagroup( thecaseofTsi kamut anda) ,orasani ndivi
dual( the
caseofJul i
ana),isparalleltot hebandsofpr ophetswhowor kedwi th
Samuel ,Eli
shaandt heor giesofDi onysusi nAsi aMi nor.Theycombi ned
element sofseershipanddi vinati
on.Thi sismor esowi thTsikamut anda
who coul d seet hedeepestsecr etsofan i ndividualand pr oceed t o
exor ci
setheevilsecretbycut ti
nglinesont hel owerpar tofthebackofa
witchorwi zardwi thar azorbl ade,orevendest r
oyagobl in.Although
thesef uncti
onarieshavebeendecl ar edil
legal,theiract i
vitiesleavea
permanentmar ki ntheoralpr ophetichi st
oryofZi mbabwe.

Necr
omancer
sanddi
viner
s

The phenomenon ofdi vi

ners and necr omancersi si n exist
ence in
Zimbabwet othisday.Itwasal soinexi st
enceinI sr
aelint hetimeof
Moses,andi nmanyot hernations.Theval i
dit
yoft heclai
msofdi vi
ners
andnecr omancersremai nquest i
onable.Noobj ecti
vecr i
teri
onorany
scienti
fi
cprooffori
tisinexi stence.Hence,Moseshadt obani tinthe
nationofIsr
ael
.Hedeclareditabomi nable.

InZimbabwe, divi
nationandnecr omancyar emost l
ythewor kofspr i
tsof
doublest andards.Ont heonehandt heypurpor tt
odogoodf orhumani ty,
whil
eont heotherhandt heywilldohar mt omanki nd.Theexampl ef or
thi
si st hatone per son who intends t o bewitch hisf ellowman wi l
l
approachadi vi
nerforthej obtobedonef orhim, whileinthel argerclana
seniorf ami l
y membermay do necr omancy,pl eading wi th ancestral
spir
itstocausemi sfortunetoaf ell
owf amilymember .Suchcl andesti
ne
and dubi ous acts di squali
fy the pr act
iti
oners of di vination and
necromancyf r
om ther ankandf i
leoft ruepr ophets.Thi smi ghthave
beent hecasei nIsrael,
resulti
nginMosesdecl ari
ngitabomi nable.

However ,someoft hesediviner

shavecont i
nuedtoposeaspseudo
prophetsorpredictor
sofevent sinZimbabwe.Somehavepr edi
ctedthe
fal
lofgover nments,thedeathofleaders,thecomingorfail
ureofr ai
ns,
butthesepredict
ionshaveneverbeenconf i
rmed.Thet
r ut
hofthemat ter
i
st hatmostofwhatt heydoissensationalandofnoscienti
fi
cscratch.

Butthelegali
sati
onofZINATHA( ZimbabweNat ionalTradi
ti
onalHealer
s
Associ
ationinZimbabwe)impl i
esthatthepeopl eofZi mbabweregard
the works ofdiviner
s and necromancers as vali
dt o some extent.
Nevert
heless,thechall
engeiswhet herthef uncti
oningspiri
tinthese

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paradi
gmsist hetr
uespir
itofGodornot .“
Ifwhatt heysaydoesnot
comet opass,hehasthusspokenpresumptuousl
y,andyoumustnot
beli
evehi
m.Butifwhathesayscomestopassthem heisatruepr
ophet
.”
(cfDeut
r18).

Itseemst hataclear
-cutwayofdet ermini
ngwhatapropheti
snotyet
possible.Onl
ysomemani festati
onsofsupra-
humanquali
ti
esarewhat
we see among some r eli
gious fi
gures.Whet
her t
he supr
a-human
acti
vit
iesarebackedbyt hespiritofGodorbysomet hi
ngelse,that
remainsamyst er
y.

Cont
inui
tyandconsi
stencyi
nZi
mbabweanpr
ophecy

Aqui cksur veyoft hepr evaili

ngt hemesi nIsr aeli
teprophecyf rom Mosest ot he
l
ater pr ophet s wi llshow some cont i
nuity of concer ns.The t hemes of
monot hei sm, soci al j usti
ce, r epent ance and st eadf ast ness r emai n t he
l
andmar ksf ort hepr ophet icf rater nityinIsr ael.Wheni tcomest ot heer aof
prophet i
c event si nt he Zi mbabwean cont ext,this cont i
nui t
y oft heme i s
appar ent ly absent .For exampl e,whi l
et he earliest pr ophet s concer ned
themsel veswi tht hel iber at
iont heol ogy,thepr esentdaypr ophet shavenot hing
i
nt heirmessagesaboutt hesoci o-pol
it
icot hemesoft henat i
on.Thei rpr e-
occupat ioni st heheal ings,exor cismsandpr eaching,andabi toft hecal lto
repent ance.Thatpunchwhi chI sai ahshowedont hepol i
ticalevent sofhi st i
me
i
smi ssi ngher e.Amos’deni grationoft heKi ngandhi swi fehasnopar al
lelin
ourZi mbabweanscenar i
o.Ther oleoft hecour tprophet si nIsraelisabsenti n
theZi mbabweancase.Our“ prophet s”havenosayaboutt hepol i
ti
calevent sof
thenat i
on.Onewonder swhet her“ theGodofourownpr ophet s,”hasaconcer n
forthej usticeorpol iti
calf reedom oft henat ionordoesnothavei tatal l
.Each
prophetdoeshi sownt hinghi sownway.Event hemet hodst hattheyusehave
nouni f ormi t
y.Someusewat er,ot her susest ones, whilesomeusebot tl
es,todo
“prophet i
c-acts”.Thi smi scellanyofmet hodshasnopar allelint hepr ophetsof
Israel.Butt hepowerofpr ayeri nconj unctionwi t
ht hewor dofcommandi sin
commonpr acticeamongsomeoft heprophet sinZi mbabwe,especi all
ythose
who expeldemonsand healt hesi ck.Itwast hepowerofpr ayerand t he
commandoft hewor dt hatEl ij
ahusedatt heMountCar melcont est( 1ki ngs
18:20f f)agai nstt hepr ophet sofbaal .EliasMakandi wa,PaulMwazhaand
othersar erepor tedt ohaveper formedsuchact sofpowerasexor cismsand
healings,butt heydonotuset hecl assicmessenger -styleofspeechwhi chwas
sti
gmat icamongt hepr ophet sofI srael.
“Thussayst heLor d.
...
....
..
...
.”
Theabsenceoft hisf ormul ar aisest heattr
ibut i
onquest i
on:Whoseaut horit
yar e
theyusi ngt odot hei ract i
viti
es?

Typi
calQuest
ions

(
1)How val
idi
sthevi
ew t
hatt
hedomai
nofZi
mbabweanpr
ophet
ism i
s

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shroudedwi t hlackofcl ar i
tyandsuspi cion?[ 25]
(
2)Theabsenceofwr itt
enl i
terat
ureonZi mbabweanpr ophet
ism posesa
seri
oust hr eatt ot hecr edi bi
li
tyofcont empor arypr ophetsinZi mbabwe.
Discusst hisvi ew.[ 25]
(
3)“A crisi
s ofsour ces.”How r elevantist his concer nt ot he studyof
Zimbabweanpr ophecy?[ 25]
(
4)Apost ol
icchar i
smat i
cscaneasi lybemi st akenf orrealpr ophets.Discuss
thi
swi thref erencet oanyt woapost ol
icfiguresi nZimbabwe.[ 25]
(
5)Withoutacl earcal lstory,onecannotval i
dlycl aimt obeat ruepr ophet
.
Discusst hisasser ti
on.[ 25]
(
6)Shortofasoci aland pol i
ti
calconsci ousness,Zi mbabwean pr ophets
remainpseudo-pr ophets.Exami net hi
sal legation.[25]
(
7)By t he t ime of our i ndependence, pr ophecy had al ready been
i
nstit
ut i
onal isedi nZimbabwe.Suppor torr efutet hi
svi ew.[25]
(
8)Acompar ativest udyofI srael
it
epr ophecyt oZi mbabweanpr ophecyi s
possible.Assesst hisview.[ 25]

SAMPLEESSAYS

Quest
ionI
:
ComparethemethodsusedbyAnci
entIsrael
it
eprophet
sindel
iver
ingt
hei
r
messagewit
hthoseusedbycont
emporaryprophet
sinZi
mbabwe.

Quest ionInter
pretation1:
Foryourpr operfocusi ngont hisquest i
on,youneedt oconcent r
ateont he
correctdef i
nit
ionoft heterm“ compar e.”Epi stemologicall
y(Academi call
y)
thisterm means“t odr awsi mi l
arit
ies.Therefor e,watchagainstadel iberat e
delvei nto“contr
ast s.”Contractsar enotneededi nthisquestion.Theot her
key ter m is“ AncientI sr
aelite prophets.”Thi s specif
ical
lyr eferstot he
classicalprophets,andnott hel aterprophet sofI srael.Thereforeyouar e
requiredt ofocusont hesimi l
ariti
esofmet hodsusedbycl assicalprophet s
ofIsraelandt hecont empor aryprophet sinZi mbabwe.“ Method”referstot he
wayorwaysofput ti
ngacr ossorcommuni cat i
ngmessagest ot hepeopl e.
Themodelessaygi venbel owi sbasedont hisi nter
pretati
on.

Questi
onInterpretat
ion2
Anotherl
ineoff ocusingmayt aket hephrase“Anci
entI sr
ael
,”sowidelyto
i
ncludeallt
hepr ophetsofIsraelprescri
bedinthisstudy.Suchafocuswi l
l
ther
efor
econsi dersymbol i
cact ionsasanot hermethodofcommuni cat
ing
God’smessaget othepeopl e,inwhi chtheprophet
sHosea;Jer emiahand
Isai
ahwouldbecompar edwi thanyZi mbabweanpr ophetswhoal soused
symboli
cactions.

ModelAnswer
“Del
iver
ing”and “di
scerni
ng”aretwo di
ff
erentt
hings.Thef ocusoft hi
s
essayisstr
ict
lyondeli
veri
ngandnotdi
scerni
ngofmessages.Theref
ore,
the

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methodsthatwer epr edominantl

yusedbyt heAncientorcl assi
calprophets
ofIsr
aelwere,f
irstl
y, t
hemessengerst yl
eofspeaking,secondly,t
heecst at
ic
composure,thi
rdly,theecstati
coracularmethodandf ourthlythedivi
natory
method.Iti
svalidt osayt hatsomeclosesimilar
it
iesandcommonal i
ti
esdo
exi
stin both,the Zi mbabwean par adi
gm ofpr ophecy and t he Ancient
Isr
ael
itemodeofpr ophecyinthetimeofMosesupt ot
het i
meofEl ij
ah.

Start
ingoffwi t
ht hemosaictypeofpr ophecy,i
tisnoti
cedthatMosesused
themessengerst yl
eofspeaki ngtopr esentGod’smessages.TheMosaic
formulawas“ Thussayst heLor d.
..
”Thi smethodactuall
yattri
butedt
he
wordsoft heprophettoGod.Thepr ophetwasonl yamout hpi
eceofGod.So
whathedel i
veredwast hewor dofGodandt hepeopl
ewoul dunderst
andt
he
authenti
cit
yoft hemessageaccur at
ely.ItwasthismethodthatMosesused
whenhedel iveredhismessaget oPharaohofEgyptsaying,

“
Thussayst
heLord,
Letmypeoplego,
t
hatt
heymayservemeint
hewilder
ness.
”

Thismet hodofdeli
veri
ngGod’ smessaget othepeopl eisal sofoundamong
someoft herenownedpr opheticfi
guresinZi mbabwe.SamuelMut endiof
theZCCapost ol
icsectnarrat
edhi scal
lstoryattr
ibuti
ngt hewor dsoft hecall
toGod,whi l
ehewassomewher enSout hAf r
ica.Tradit
ionsayst hathesai d
thattheLordcommandedhi mt ogotoDef eMount ai
ni nGokwet oreceive
thefullassi
gnmentofhi smi ssi
on.Translat
edi ntothever naculars,Samuel
Mutendiwoul dcertai
nlyuset hemessenger -st yl
espeecht or eportthis
experience.

Anothertradit
ion sayst hatPaulMwazha oft heAf ri
can Apostoli
csect
rel
atedhi
scal lstoryattr
ibuti
ngi tswor dst ot heLord.Themannerheput sit
i
sr emini
scentoft hemosai cmessengerst yleofspeech.Hesayst hatt
he
Lordcommandedhi mt owr i
tet ouni versit
yst udentstoassisthimi nthe
workofre-creati
ngAf ri
ca.Iftranslatedi ntotheEnglishLanguage,hisShona
commandwoul dcer t
ainlycompar ewel lwiththemosai ctypol
ogyofspeech.
Thoughiti sveryr arefort heso- call
edpr ophetsinZi mbabwet ouset he
messengerst yle ofspeaki ng,t he cases ofPaulMwazha and Samuel
Mutendiprovidedevi dencef orthi smet hodofdel iver
ingGod’smessages
wit
hintheZimbabweanpar adi
gm ofpr ophecy.

Itisal sonot eworthythattheecstati

ccomposur ei nAnci entIsraelwas
anotherwayofpr esent
ingGod’saddresstothepeople, andt
hismet hodhas
alsobeenmani fest
edamongsomeoft heprophetsinZi mbabwe.Insi mple
termst heimpl i
cati
onsofthismethodar ethataprophetwast oassumean
ecstati
cst ateinorderforthepeopl
et obel
ievethathewasnowi napr oper
state ofGod’ s messenger .This st
ate was acquired through vigorous
dancingandr owdymobbehavi our.Saul,t
hesonofKi sh,st
andsasacl ear
casef orthis.Whent heincumbentwasar ousedbyt hemusi c,thecheering

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andt hedanci nghewoul df al lintoaf r

enzyst ate( apr ophet i
ccomposur e)
andst arteddel i
veringor acles.Wer egardt hisasamet hod,becausei n
ancienttimest hatcomposur ewasapr e-requisiteforonet or eceiveGod’ s
word,andacondi tionf ort hecr edibili
tyofpr ophet iccr edent ialsont he
i
ndividual.I tcannotbe omi t
ted to ment ion thati n Anci entI srael ,t his
behaviourwasassoci at
edwi thagr ouporabandofpr ophet s.I nZi mbabwe,
asimi l
arscenar i
oisassoci at edwi ththeI zangomaorMasvi kiro, (
inNdebel e
andShonaver nacular srespect i
vely).Thephenomeni oni nvol vest hecomi ng
togetherofmedi um spi ri
ts,n’ angas/ Inyangast opl ayt ot radi t
ionalr eligious
musi c,andthepar t
icipant sevent ual
lyst artshaki ng,shiver i
ng, bellowingand
swinging ar ound bef or
et heyspeakoutor acles.Theywi lli nterpretand
predictfortunesandmi sf ortunes.I nt heZi mbabweancont extofr eligion
thesepr acti
tionersar erever edasagent sofUml i
mu,t hrought heancest ral
spiri
tsthatpossesst hem.Themet hodt hatt heyusedi stheecst aticor acul ar
andt heecst ati
ccomposur est ylethatwasusedi nanci entI sraelbysuch
prophetslikeSaulandt heecst aticsofSamuelandEl isha.

Onemor ecr i
ti
calmet hodthatwasusedbyanci entIsraelitepr ophetswhich
i
sal sofoundamongt hepr ophetsofZimbabwei sthedi vinationmethod.
This method uses obj ect
s ofvar i
ous types t
o convi nce t he consult
ing
personthatther esponsehasact ual
lycomef rom theAl mi ghty.Acasei n
pointhereistheJonat hanstor yi
n1Sam 20:25- 41wher einJonat hanused
thebow andar rowst orepresentthesuccessofDavi d’ski ngdom against
Saul.Jonat
hanusedt hepositionofarr
owst orel
aythesecr etmessage.Thi s
wayofcommuni cati
ngasecr etmessageisdivi
natoryinst yle.

Anot hercase i n pointi st he use ofl otst hatwas used byJoshua t o

determi net heall
ocationofl andt ot hepeopl eofI sraelwhent heyset tl
edi n
Canaan( Jos14- 19;Num 26: 55ff).I
ti stheposi ti
onoft hel otthatconf i
rmsa
message.Ur i
m andThumi mm coul dbecompar edsaf elywi tht hebonesor
sti
cks( lots)thatmostdi vinersi n African tradi t
ionalr eli
gion use.Some
common names oft hese objectsi nt he Shona pr actice are;Mhur uru;
Chirume;Mabwemachena,Chi tokwadzi ma,Chi nengwena and Gat a.The
prevalence oft he Gat a objectwoul d event uallyt ellthe out come ofa
message( goodorbad) .Amongt hemostr ecentoft hepr ophet i
cfiguresi n
Zimbabwear ethosewhouset he“di vi
net ouch”ont hef oreheadofacl ient
andpr onounceawor dofcommand( cfEmmanuelMakhandi waandT. B.
JoshuaofNi geri
a).Thet ri
umphofGod’ spowermustbesi gnifi
edbyt hef al
l
ofthecl ienttothegr oundandasubsequentr esur r
ection.Suchsymbol ic
gesturesar eremi ni
scentoft hedi vinatorymet hod.Hence,wear guet hat
si
mi lari
ties and commonal it
ies do exi stbet ween t he anci entI sraeli
te
prophet sandt hecont empor aryZimbabwepr ophet icpar adigms.

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Question2
“Prot
estonbehal foft
hepoorandt hedi
sadvantagedi
soneoft hemost
signi
ficantrolesofaprophet
.”Examinet
hevalidi
tyofthi
sasser
tionwi
th
refer
encet oIsrael
it
epr
ophet
sandcontempor
aryprophet
sinZi
mbabwe.

Quest i
oni nterpret
at i
on1
Thei nclusionofquot ati
onmar ksont hefir
stpartoft hequesti
onsuggest s
thatthest atementi sanasser t
ion.Somebodyel semayhaveut t
er edthe
assertioni nt hecont extofpropheti
cexegesis.Itistheref
oreimper ati
veto
exami net heval i
dityoftheasserti
oninthelengthandbr eat
hoft het hemeof
socialj usti
ceasi twaspr opoundedbyt heprophetAmosandI saiahand
evenEl ijah.Zi mbabweanpr ophetscanonl ybedi scussedfocusingont hei
r
i
nact i
onorhow t heyneglectthei ssueofsocialj ust
iceintheirt hrustof
prophecy.

ModelEssay

Thepr oponentoft
heasser
ti
onont hi
squesti
onmusthavebeenanar dent
scholarofAmosandIsai
ah,whoalsosharedt
hesympathyforthepoorwith
Eli
jahwhocamet other
escueoft
hewi dowofZar
ephat
h( 1Kings17:8-
24).

Soci alj
usti
ceandaconcer nforthemarginal
isedshouldbeonthetopoft he
prophet i
cagendai ft
her ol
eofanypr ophetistober atedassigni
fi
cant.In
Israeli
teprophecythi
sconcernwaswel lcoveredbytheprophet
sofYahweh
tot he nation ofIsrael.Butin Zimbabwean prophecy ther
ei s a very
disturbi
ngomi ssi
onoft hi
scruci
altheme.

Asur veyofthethemeofsoci alj

usti
ceintheprophecyofAmosshowst hat
hewasmor econcernedwiththepli
ghtofthepoorandthedisadvantagedin
Israel
it
esociet
y.Thecl asssystem pit
iedthepooragainstther i
chr ul
ing
classinIsrael
.Thepoorwer eseverel
yoppressedandexpl oi
ted,withno
represent
ati
oninthecourtsandinthemarketpl
aces.

“
Theysel
lthepoorf
orapai
rofsandal
s.”

Thisoracleexpr essesthemostext remeofoppr essionandexpl oitat

ionasi tis
furt
herr eportedthattheyevendi stortedt hescal esi nordertocheatt hepoor.
Amost akesaswi peatsuchsoci alinjusticeandconf rontsthekingswhol i
ved
i
nl uxuriousmansi onswhi l
et hemaj orit
yoft hepeopl elanguishedi npover t
y.
Thepr ophetpr onouncedj udgmentont hemi sdeedsoft her ul
ingcl ass.Roy
Melugin( 1988)submi tted that,because I sraelhas oppr essed the poor .
..
.
Yahweh woul d punish thenat ion bymi li
tarydef eat.(Amos2: 13-16).Such
presentati
onsbyt hepr ophetact ual
lygi vest hepr ophetbettercr
editasamanof
God.Al thought her i
chdi dnotl ikehi smessage,God’ sconcer nf ortheunder
pri
vil
egedhadi ndeedbeenexpr essedbyapr ophet.

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Elsewher e,theprophetI saiahhadahotpunchont herichwhocont i

nuedto
accumul ate weal t
h and pr opert
y,neglecti
ng the poor wi dows and the
mar ginal
isedinSociety.Heannouncedacur seofthosewhoaddedhousesand
farmst ot hemselveswhi leneglect
ingtheconcernforthesoci alwelfar
eofthe
maj ori
ty( see I
saiah 5:8-14)When God br ings t
he punishmentupon t hese
i
njustices,thepunishmentwi l
lmani f
esti
tsel
finacal ami
tyt hatwi l
lappar
entl
y
affectthewhol enati
on.

“
Thewr athofGodi suponhispeopl
eandhi
shandshal lfal
lupont
hem.”
(I
saiah5:25)
Ifwehad such ent husiast
icprophet
sin Zi
mbabwe,thisi ssueofmat er
ial
aggrandisementbyt het oprul
ingclasswoul
dhavefeaturedi nZimbabwean
propheti
ccircl
es.Butalas!Ther
eisnothi
ngyet
.

The pr opheti
ct r
aditi
on ofAmos and I sai
ah ofI sraeli s mi
ssing f
rom t he
contempor aryprophetsofZimbabwe.Ther ei sabsolutelynodiscourseabout
theplightofthepoorandt heplunderofwealthbyt her uli
ngeli
teinZimbabwe.
Maybei tisoutoff earofvi
cti
misati
onr at
herthanl ackofconsciousnesst hat
Zimbabweanpr ophetsomitt
hisconcern.Therefor
e,theabsenceoft hi
sconcer n
amongourownpr ophetswil
laugurbadlyagainsttheirsigni
fi
canceinoursoci al
context.Thepr oponentofsocialjust
icewi l
lthusr ateZi mbabweanpr ophets
i
nsignificanti
ntheirowncontext.

However ,t he r ecognition of such f i

gures as Chami nuka, Nehanda,
Siginyamatshe, andUml ugul uaspr ophetsorwarpr i
estsgi vessomemi l
eageto
t
h
theconcer nf orsoci alconcer ni nt hecolonialeraoft heear l
y20 cent ury
Zimbabwe.Theupr i
singsandr esistanceagainstlanddepr ivationbyt henat i
ve
peopl eagainstthef oreignset t
lerscanal sobevi ewedasaconcer nf orsoci
al
j
ust i
cebyt hecl assi
cpr ophet sofZi mbabweaf orement ioned.Though i tis
debat abl
eissue,i tist heirst anceagai nstforei
gndomi nancet hatgavet hem
creditashi storicwarpr iestsi n Zimbabwe,hencet heirsi gnifi
cancei n our
rel
igiousher i
tagei sher eunder scored.Althought heysett hepr ecedentf or
socialjust
ice,thel at
erpr ophet sofZi mbabwedi dnot ,andevennow, donotsay
anythingabouti t.Thisrender st hem insi
gnif
icant.

Question3
Discussther
eli
giousandpol i
ti
cali
mpli
cat
ionsofIsai
ah’smessagetoAhaz.
Show how the pr ophet
ic advi
ce may be appr
opri
ated i
n contempor
ary
Zi
mbabwe.

QuestionInt
erpretat
ion
Yourf ocusshouldbeont heexactmessagethatIsaiahgavet oKingAhazof
I
srael.Thei mpli
cati
onsoft hi
smessageshoul dbescr eenedont hemi r
rorof
rel
igi
onandpol i
ticsinIsr
aelatt
hatti
me.Iti
sbasicall
yt hereli
giousandpolit
ical
meaningoft hi
smessagewhi chisimportant
.Themessageshoul dthenbe
rel
atedt ot
hesituati
oninZimbabweinawayt hati
spossi bl
eorappropri
ate.

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ModelEssay

In cer
tai
n quar t
ers ofbi bli
calexegesis,Isai
ah isr enowned as a pr ophet
stat
esman.Thi sattr
ibutionrestsint hepoli
ti
calcredential
sthatat tacht othe
prophet
iccareerofIsaiah.Hepr ophesiedduri
ngaper iodofpol i
ti
calupheaval s
i
nbot hthenorthernandsout hernkingdoms.Foreignpolicyissuesmi smatched
withthereli
giousdispensat i
onoft hechosennat i
on.I tisthisdilemmat hat
Isai
ahfaced,withAhazast hekingofI sr
ael
.Surel
y,theremaybesomel essons
tolearn(orrelateto)f orZimbabwe,f r
om theIsaiah-Ahazdi alecticsint he
peri
od735-733BC.

Pr ofessorGer aldSheppar d( 1988)sai dt hatt hepr ophetI sai ahwaspr ofoundl y

wel l-
ver sedi nr eligioust r
adi ti
onandwor ship,wi t
hacompassi onf ort hose
whom Godhasdest i
nedf ordest ruction.Li keanyot herhumanbei ng,I saiah
dependedonGod’ swar ningandencour agementr egar dinghi sact i
onsdur ing
timesofcr i
sis.Hi sconsi stentconvi cti
ononJudahwast hatr i
ght eousnessand
trustinGod, rat hert hani nter nationalal l
iances, wouldpr ovi desecur i
tyforJudah.
Thi sist hemessaget hatI saiahconsi st entlygavet oki ngAhazwi thoutf ear .
Isaiah’sconsi st ency, el
oquenceandf ear l
essconf rontationoft heki nghasgi ven
biblicali nter pr eter sgoodr easont ospecul atethathewaspr obabl yahi ghly
educat ed,st at el y,orevenar oyal-li
kef igur e.Heconf rontedki ngAhazwi tht he
wor dof“ hope, ”t hatwi thhopeandt rusti nGodJudahwoul dfindr edempt ion
andsecur ityf r om t hethr eatofami l
itaryal li
anceofSyr iaandEphr aim( Israel).
Ahazwast orni nmi nd, betweenchoosi ngt oobeyGodandt oj oi
nt healli
ance.I t
wasatt hehei ghtoft hispol it
icaldi l
emmat hatIsaiahconf rontedt hekingwi th
symbol icsi gnsofhi sownchi l
dr enwhobor enamesofassur ance( Shearj ashub;
EmmanuelandMaher -
Shal al-
Hash- Baz) .Summedupt oget hert hesesymbol i
c
signsassur edki ngAhazt hati fJudahgavei tstrusti ntoGod,asavi ourshal l
sooni ntervenei nt hecr isisandbr i
ngt hedownf allofthemonst rouscoal it
ionof
Syr iaandEphr ai m,whi leJudahwoul demer geundest royed.Thedest ructionof
thecoal i
tionwoul dbewor kedoutbyt hehandofYahwehsi ngsomeot her
super power( Assyr i
a)asGod’ si nstrumentofpuni shment .Ther ef ore,Isaiah’s
messaget ot heki ngwast okeept hecovenant alpromi se( trustinYahweh)even
att hehei ghtofsoci alandpol i
ticalturmoi l.

Ahazhadbeenconsi deri
ngjoiningAssyri
ai nordertogetpr otectionfrom the
thr
eatoft heSyro-Ephrai
mitealli
ance,buttheprophetopposedt heopt i
on.Ahaz
mighthavedoubt edthatYahwehcoul dfi
ndHi mselfi
nami lit
aryt ag-of
-warwith
suchapower fulcoal i
ti
on.Ahazmi ghthavebeenst udyi
ngal sot hef or
eign
poli
cytrendsint heregion.Thati swhyper hapshehadar el
uctancet obelieve
theprophetswor d.Suchadi spensati
onst oodcontrarytothecovenantbond
wherei
nt hepeopl eofGodwer esupposedt oputfullt
rusti
nYahweh.

Thepointt
oappropriat
etoZimbabweistheeconomi
candpol i
ti
caldi
lemma
thatt
hiscount
ryfacedinthe2000s.Theprol
ongeddrought
s,t
heeconomic

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recessi
onandt hewest ernimposedsanctions,allbr
oughtuntoldsuffer
ingto
Zimbabweanssomucht hatpeopleevendoubt edwhethertherewasanyGod
forthem.The l eadershi
p ofthe count
rywas even putt othe dil
emma of
choosingbetweenyi eldi
ngint oforei
gndemands,orst andingsteadfastto
guardthesovereignt
yofthehardwoni ndependence.Otheropti
onssuchast he
Look-easypoli
cycamei ntoplayast henat i
onsoughtr edemptionfrom the
turmoil
.

Withsuchmovesast heexpul si
onofZi mbabwef rom theCommonweal thof
formerBr i
ti
shcoloniesandt heleadershipoft hedr aconi
aneconomi csanct ions,
theimposi ti
oncouldhavebowedi nt oi mper ial
istmechanisedpr essures,but
theyst oodf i
rmt oguar dt heGod-gi venbl essingofi ndependence.Al though
withoutanyi nvol
vementofpr opheti
cf igures, t
heZi mbabweancasef indssome
simil
ar i
ti
eswi ththecrisisinJudahi nt het i
meofAhazasal readydi scussed
above.ByGod’ sdesignZi mbabwehasr emai nedal i
vetothisday.Onemaysay
thatIsaiah’
swor dindeedappl iedt oZi mbabwe,whenf i
nallytheZimbabwean
l
eader shipremained st eadfastin guar ding theirsovereigntybyr efusi
ng to
succumbt oexter
nalpressur es.

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CHAPTER8
GOBBETS
Byt
heendofthechapt
erthestudentshoul
dbeabl
eto:
1.Under
standthenat
ureofgobbetquesti
onsi
ntheol
dtest
amentandhow
t
heymustbeanswer ed

2.Explai
nagobbeti
nthecont
extofal
argert
extandot
herr
elat
edbi
bli
cal
text
s.

3.Identi
fypoi
ntsofi
nter
estordi
ff
icul
tyi
nagi
vengobbetandwr
it
e
explanat
orycommentsonthem.

Gener
ali
ntr
oduct
ion

Whatar
egobbet
s?

These are extract

sf rom a l ong t ext
. The quest i
on seeks an expl anat ory
commentoft heent ir
e` extr
act.Mor eimpor t
antl
ythequesti
ondemandscar eful
explanat
ionofpoi ntsofi nterestandpoi ntsofdi f
fi
cult
yint heext ract.These
extr
actsarecer tai
nlypar t
sofal argetext,whichmayber elatedt osomeot her
text
selsewher eintheBi bl
e.Poi ntsofinterestordi
ffi
cul
tyaret hoseconst i
tuent
part
soft heext r
actwhi chrequi r
especi alatt
enti
on.Anyst udentofDi vini
tywi l
l
know thesear einanyquot ation.Gobbetquest i
onscarryaf ew mar ks.They
carr
y6¼mar ks.Theref or
et heyareshor tquesti
onscall
ingforshor tanswer s.

Gener
alobser
vat
ions

Gobbetsgeneral
lyhi
ghli
ghtthemati
cissues. I
nsect ionA,f orexample,t
he
gobbetswil
lbedeali
ngwi t
ht hephenomenonofear lypr ophecyinIsrael
;It
s
emergenceandit
searl
iestf
orms.Therefor
ecandidatesareexpect edtohavea
widervi
ewofthephenomenonofprophecyinI
sraelandi t
sst r
ategi
cfeatur
es.

Thosegobbet
sthatar
ebasedonpr
e–exi
li
cpr
ophet
sal
sohaveani
ncl
inat
ion

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towar
dsmaj orthemesint heprophet
icbooks. Thereforet
heexplanati
ons
shoul
dtouchontheverythemethatt
hegobbetwi
llberelati
ngt
oe.
g.“Fall
en,no
moretori
seisthevi
rgi
nIsrael…………………”Amos5:2

Thiswillcert
ainlyrequi
ref ocusonAmos`concept ionofdestr
ucti
on,deat
hor
doom.Sucht ermsas:
i
)Fall
en
i
i)
No-mor etoriseand
i
ii
)Vir
gin:arespeci alfeatureswhichr equi
respecialat
tent
ionthustheyare
poi
ntsofi nt
erest.Thereforethegener
alobservat
ionongobbetsist
hattheyar
e
al
waysbasedont heme.
Present
ati
onofgobbetanswers

Asal r
eadyment i
onedearli
er,gobbetanswersmustbeshor t–onl y6mar ksat
most .Butanswer smustdispl ayacert
ainpatt
ern.Itiscorr
ecttosayt hatin
mostcasest hesegobbetsar einquotedspeech.Thisgenerall
ysuggeststhat
they willbe wor ds ofsomeone,obvi ousl
yt o someone else and abouta
part
icularsubjectmatter
.Ther efor
eanswersareexpect
ed,asmuchaspossi ble,
todispl
ayt hefoll
owingaspects:

i
)Theauthorofthestatement
i
i)
Theaudienceorrecipientoft
hemessage
i
ii
)Thecontextinwhichthestat
ementismade,butbr
iefl
y.
i
v)Themeani ngofthest at
ement,asatot
alofmeaningsofpoi
ntsofi
nter
esti
n
t
hestatement .

Generalrefl
ecti
onsonanyot herrel
atedissuesintheBiblecanbemade,but
withoutmaki ng youranswert oo l
ong. Fi r
stand foremostGobbet s must
demonst rat
eknowl edgeofthetextboththegeneralandimmedi at
econt extof
theGobbetmustbei dent
if
ied.Commentof fer
edmustbemeani ngf
ul,accurat
e,
organizedandpresentedcl
earlyandlogi
call
y,usi
ngtechnicalj
argoninthearea.

Iti
salsoimpor t
anttoidenti
fypossibl
esourcesthatareli
nkedt othegobbets.
e.g D-Deutronomic,E-Elol
ist
ic orEphramiti
c source,J-Yahweist
ic and P-
Pri
estl
ysource.Alsoknowledgeofform cr
it
ism andreduct
ioncrit
ism shoul
dbe
demonstr
atedwher ethi
sisobviousornecessary.

Theanswersarenotessayanswer s. Theyar eproseanswersthatarein

cont
inuouswr
it
ing.Noparagraphsareexpect
ed,al
thoughont
reat
ingpoi
ntsof
i
nter
estonemaybreakf
rom theconti
nuouswrit
ing.

Summar
ycomment
sonsel
ect
edgobbetar
eas

1Samuel9and10

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Twot hemesgover nthesechapt ers.Thef i

rstisthesel ectionandappoi nt ment
ofSaulaski ng,engineeredthroughorbySamuelwi t
ht heepi sodeoft hel ost
donkeys.Thesecondt hemeisbasedont herelationshi pbet weenpr ophetsand
seer,andSamuel̀sappar entpossessi onofbot ht heset i
ttl
es,togetherwi tht he
unifyingt i
tl
e“ manofGod” .Thest oryofSaul ,hisser vantandt hel ostdonkey
l
eadst ot hephenomenonofear lypr ophecyandi tsf ormsandf uncti
onsi nI srael.
Ini
tiall
yt heywer ecal l
edseer s,wi thagi ftofsecondsi ght. Theycoul dsee
sit
uat ionsi nvi si
ons. Theywer ebel i
evedt obemenofGod,notmagi cians.
Theyt oldonper sonalf ort
unes,andi nsomei nstancest heychar gedf ort heir
servicesort heysimpl eacceptedtokensofappr eci ati
on.Samueli sachampi on
ofseer shipinIsrael.Her eput
ablyl edagr oupofest ati
cswhost ayedatGi lbeah,
as“ thei rfather”. Thisideaintroducest hephenomenonofgr oupedpr ophet s
whowor kedunderal eader. Thechapt eralsocl ari
fiest heclearr elat
ionshi p
betweenseer sandpr ophets“Hewhowasf ormer l
ycal ledaseeri snowcal leda
prophet ”
.

Thetwochapt ersalsohi ghli

ghtt hei ntr
oductionofthemonar chyi nIsraeland
thesubsequentf unctionsofpr ophet si namonar chi
calsystem.Theadventof
themonar chysyst em usher edt heer aofrealpr ophet
ism inI srael. Kingsof
Isr
aelwoul dbechosenbyGodt hroughhisagent ,theseer– t hepr ophet.
Samuelint hi
scasei sgi venavi sionofSaulast henewki ngandt he“ prophet
”
enthr
onest henew ki ng. Ther oleoft hepr ophetshadel aboratelybecome
nati
onal.Inthi sregardmenofGodhadt heirfuncti
onsextendedf rom amer e
pri
vatepracti
tionert oapubl i
cf igure;f r
om beingst at
icvisionariest omobi l
e
for
th-t
ell
erswi thdevelopedvi sionar yandot herpower sandper hapsuni queto
Isr
ael.F.M Crosssayst hatprophecyar osewiththemonar chy.

1Samuel3

Thet exthi ghlightsont hecallofSamuelt oseership.Samuelwasst ayingwi th

thehi ghpr i
estEl iathishouseasanassi st
ant .Avoi cecalledSamuelt hree
ti
mesi nadr eam.I twast hevoiceofGodcal l
ingupSamuelt ot heof f
iceofa
Seer .Thevoi cet hatcamet oSamuelwhi l
eEliwasasl eepmar kst heshi ft
ingof
God’ sfavourf rom El itoSamuel ,becauseEli’ssonshavedi sgr aced.El iwas
blindtot hemi stakesofhi schildr
enandsoGodhasmadehi m physi callybl i
nd.
Ther eisacomi ct oucht ot hi
sscene:Godspeakswhi l
ehisappoi ntedpr i
est
sleeps.I nchapt er3ver se18El iacceptsGod’sj udgementagai nsthishouse.
Thet exthi ghli
ght s, att
heendt hatthewor doftheLor dwasr areandI sraellived
withdi vinesi l
ence.Butnow Samuelbecomesachannelf ort hewor doft he
Lor dandhi sr eput ati
onspr eadsthroughoutthel and.Soal thoughEl iandhi s
sonsst illl
ive,t heyar enolongerincont rol
.Thecent r
eofgravi t
yhasshi f
tedt o
Samuel .Itisal sonot edthatGodmani f
estedhimsel ft
hroughdr eams.

Thereisami
xtur
eoftwosources,E(becauseoftrai
tsofseershi
p)andDsi nce
thebookofSamuelbel
ongstot heDl i
terat
ure.Thenarrat
iveshowst hefir
st
signsoft
heevol
uti
onfr
om t
heof fi
ceofaseert othatofapr opheti
nIsrael(
in

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t
ermsoft
heor
igi
nsofpr
ophecy)

Int hisaccountSaull earnshisf at e.Samuel̀sdeat hi sreported.ThePhi listi

nes
i
nt ensi fi
edt heirwaragai nstSaul . Saulhasonl ySamuelt oturnt o. Saul
disgui sehimsel fandgoest oanecr omancerst i
llint helandandper suadesher
topr acti
cedespi teherf earoft heki ng.Thi sactgi vesauni quepictureofan
Israel i
teview oft hedeadandgi vesSaulconf ir
mat ionofhi swor stfears.The
spiritofSamueldedi cated disast erupon Saul̀s di sobedienceint hebat tl
e
agai nstAmel ek.Saulmeet shisdownf allandhi sf ami l
ytoo.Saulst arvedand
thewomanadvi sedhi mt oeatandr evivehimsel f. Saulat ethefat t
edcal f
mi ser ablyj
ustani ghtbef orehisexecut i
on.Thet exthi ghl
ightsondivinat i
onas
awayofconsul tingGod.Al thoughMosesf orbadenecr omancyi nDeuter onomy
18, Israelcont i
nuedt ousei t,butwi thdevast ati
ver esul ts–Saulf i
nall
yf ell.But
i
ti sal sonot edt hatI sraelwoul dr esor tt othedisallowedmet hodsoutofdespai r
whent heyfeltthatGodcoul dnotr espondt otheirplightquickly.

2Samuel7

The t extr aises t wo el ementsi .

e.di vine ser vice and dynastic successi on.
Nat han,acour tpr ophet ,i
sintroducedpl ayi ngamedi atoryrol
ebet weenaki ng
andapr ophet( Davi dandNat han) .Nat hanadvi sedDavi dtogoaheadwi tha
planofdi vineser vicetobui l
dahousef ort hearkoft heLor d.“Dowhat everyou
havei nmi nd;f orYahwehi swi thyou” .Butunf ortunatel
yhi sadvicepr ovesl ess
thansound.Thef actt hatYahwehi swi thDavi ddoesnotgi vehi mfr eedom t o
choosewhat everhewant stodo.AndYahwehhast enstot el
lthepr ophett hat
veryni ghtt osor touthi stheol ogy. Ont hecont rary,Yahwehsuggest swi th
somesar casm, thatahousei snotwhatGodact uallywant s.Yahweht urnst he
conver sationar oundandpr omi sest hatr atherYahwehwoul dbuildahousef or
Davi d,referringt ot her oyalhouseordynast y. Godof f
ersthepr ospectofa
peacef ult r
ansf erofpowerwi thasuccessorf r
om amongDavi d’ssonst aking
thet hronewi thYahweh` sblessing.I ti snotcl earatal l
,whati tmeanswhen
Yahwehsays“ Lett hatheirbuildahousef ormyname” .Maybel i
terall
yt hat
referredt oat empl e,ormet aphor icall
yar oyalhouseorper hapst henat ionof
Israel.Thist exthugel yr ei
nforcesDavi d’ssenseofbei ngf avor
ed.Her esponds
enthusi asti
cal l
yi nal ongpr ayer ,acknowl edgingYahweh` sgif
tt oIsraelandt o
him.

Deut
eronomy18:9–22

Thisunitseekstorefor mIsrael’
sat t
emptstol earnaboutdivi newil
l,thef ut
ure
orotherhiddenmyst eri
es.Itsupposedl yintendst oencour ageitsr eadersto
l
istentothoseprophet swhof oll
owi nthetr
adi t
ionofMoses.Asaf irststep,all
divi
nati
onandmagi caltechniquesofinquir
ymustbeel i
minated,inaccor dance
withIsr
aeltr
adit
ionallaw.I mitat
ingCanaanitepr act
iti
onersi
sst ri
ctl
ypr ohibi
ted,
becausetheyareabomi nati
onst hatdest
roythei ntegri
tyofIsrael
’srelati
onship

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wit
hGod.Theonl ypropermedium ofr elationf orIsraeli
sthepr ophet.Moses
warnsont hewaysi nwhichpr ophecyi tselfmi ghtbecomeapr oblem. Both
unheedingaudi
encesandpresumpt uouspr ophet sar ewarned.Pr ophecyinthe
namesofot hergodsiseasil
yr ej
ected,butf al
sepr ophecyinGod’ snamei sa
mor eseri
ousmat t
er. Thi
sdi l
emmar equi rest heappl i
cat
ionofapr agmati
c
cri
teri
onthat
,alt
houghclearl
yuselessf orj udgement sonindi
vidualoracles,i
s
certai
nlyawaytoeval
uateaprophet’sover allperformance.

Number
s11:
14–29

Thetextisadi al
oguebet weenGodandMoses.Mosesl ament stheburdenof
l
eadershipt hatGodhadpl acedonhi sshoul ders.He, i
nt urn,commandsMoses
toselect`seventyelder
sf rom thetwel vet r
ibestoshar et hebur denofleadi
ng
thepeople.Heal socommandsMosest ohavet hepeopl epr eparetoeatmeat
foranent i
remont h,unt
ilitbecomesl oathsomet othem.Thepeopl e’
sdesiref
or
meatandt heiryear
ningf orEgyptar esi gnsoff ait
hlessnessandar ej
ecti
onof
God’sgiftofmanna.Moseshi mselfexpr esseddoubtt hatGodwoul dbeableto
makegoodonhi spromi sest oprovideawhol emont h`ssuppl yofmeatf or600
000peopl e,butsimplyt
ol dhimt owai tandsee.

“Godtakessomeoft hespiri
tf rom Mosesandpl acedi tupont hesevent
yelders
whost oodatt het entofmeet ing”i ntheholycent reoft hecampsot hatthey
mayshar ethel eader shi
poft het ri
bes.Theepi sodei nvol
vingthetwopeopl e
prophesyi
ngi nt hecampi l
lustratest heneedt oal l
ow f orthepossibi
li
tythat
personsoutsidet heinsti
tuti
onall eadershipofGod’speopl emayhavegenui ne
wordsandi nsightsf rom him.Thet exthighl
ight
sont hehumbl ebeginni
ngsof
ecstat
icprophecyamongt heIsr aeli
tes.

Theescapet
oHor
eb(
1Ki
ngs19:1–18)

Manyschol arst hinkt

hatYahwei stsmadepi lgri
magest oSinaiduri
ngthet i
me
oftheI sr
aeli
teandJudeanmonar chies.ThusEl i
jahisoft
enseenasapi l
grimi n
thepr esentpassage.Hi sexpressed r eason,howeveri snotpi l
gri
magebut
refuge.AlarmedbyJezebel ’sthreat,hef l
eesf i
rsttoBeersheba,t
henoneday’ s
j
our neyf ur
theri ntot
hedeser t,wher ehesi tsanddespai rsofhi sli
fe.The
pil
grimagei t
selfisami racul
ousj ourneyoff ortydaysandf ortyni
ghtswithout
food orwat er,forwhi ch hei spr epared byan angelwho r equi
reshim t o
consumeadoubl epor
ti
onofbot hbef or
et hej
our neybegi
ns.

Thest
il
lsmal
lvoi
ce(
1Ki
ngs19:
9-18)
.

Li
keMosesbef or
ehim (Exod33:12-24),Elij
ahwatchesfrom acaveas
YahwehpassesbyatSinai.Thewi
nd,
theear
thquakeandthef
ir
eofExodus19
appear
edagain,butt
hist
imeYahwehisnotpresenti
nthem.I
nsteadt
heword

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ofYahwehcomest oEli
jahinasl i
ghtwhisperi
ngsoundorast il
lsmal lvoice.
Manyschol ar
si nt
erprett hi
saccountasadel i
beraterejecti
onoft hest orm
theophanyi nYahweism,becauseofi tsspeci
alassociat
ionswi t
ht hecanaani te
raingod,Baal.Ther ej
ectioncomesatat imewhenI sraelwasdi videdbet ween
thewor shipofBaalandYahwehandt hedangerofsyncr eti
sm wasgr eat.Itis
cleari
nanycase,t hataccordingt
ot heprophet
icpointofviewf rom whi cht he
Elij
ahst or
yi stoldthisincidentr
epresentsatransit
ionf r
om t hespect acular
theophanieswitnessedbyear lyI
sraelt
ot hequiettr
ansmi ssi
onoft hedi vine
wor dt
ot heprophets.

Verse11to12,t heContextisElij
ah’sFlightt
oMountHor ebinfearofJezebel
whowaspur suinghim afterheslaughteredprophetsofbaal.Theter
m horri
ble
i
s prefer
red f
orMountSi naii nthe D sour ce with Eli
jah we wit
ness a
t
ransmissi
onfrom preclassical
toclassicalpr
ophets.

Nabot
h’sVi
neyar
d(1Ki
ngs21:1–29)

Thecr i
meofAhabi st hathehas“ ki
ll
ed”andal sot akenpossessi on.Hehas
depri
vedani nnocentcitizenofsomet hingthatr ight
fullybelongstohi m.From
theprophet i
cpr ospectiveaccor ding to which thisst or
yi st ol
d,t hisist he
quint
essentialroyalcri
me.Ast hepr ophetSamuelwar nedbef orethef ir
stking
wascr owned,i tisthewayofki ngst ot r
eatpeopl et hisway.Ahab’ spersonal
denunciati
oni sexpandedi n1Ki ngs21:21– 22t oacondemnat ionofhi s
dynastyt hatassoci at
es i twitht he condemned houses ofJer oboam,and
Baasha.Jezebel ’
scont ri
vanceofNabot h’sunj ustexecutionsuggest st hatthe
Phoenicianqueenhasacqui redanext raordinaryknowl edgeofI sr aeli
telaw,
wit
hitsrequirementoft wowi tnessesanddeat hbyst oning(Deutr17:5–6) .

ThePr
ophecyofMi
cai
ah(
1Ki
ngs22:1–28)

Thepr imar yint erestofthest oryisnott heal li

anceofI sraelandJudahoreven
theprepar ati
onsf orwar .I
tisthepr obl em ofaut henticandi nauthenti
cprophecy.
Ahab’spr ophet spr edictbat t
lef
ieldsuccessf orI srael.Thepr ophetZedeki ah
dramat ises t his wi th a symbol i
c actusi ng i ron hor ns.Butt hereis one
disagreeingpr ophet.Mi caiahsonofI mlarr epor t
savi sionofI sr
aelscattered
l
ikesheepwi thoutashepher di.e.hef oreseest hatAhabwi lldieinbatt
le.Itis
Mi cai
ah’ spr ophecyt hati saut hentic.Mi caiah aut henticat
eshi mselfbyhi s
reportofavi sionoft hedi vinecour troom.Hesayst hathesawYahwehsi tt
ing
onhi sthr onesur roundedbycel estialar mies.Mi caiahwat chedas“ aspiri
t”was
commi ssionedt obe“ alyingspir i
tint hemout hofal lofAhab’ sprophets.Thus
thisfavour ableor aclerepor t
edbyt heot herpr ophet si sat ri
cksentbyYahweh
toenticeAhabt ohi sdeath.Theconf lictbet weenMi caiahandZedeki ahi
sof ten
compar edt ot hatofJer emi ahandHanani ah.

THEOLDTESTAMENTPROPHETS

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Shor
tessays

Byt
heendofthistopi
cthestudentshoul
dbeabl
eto:
1.Appl
ythestepsofwrit
inganessay.

2.Exami
nekeyf
act
sinanyoft
heessaysi
nthi
stopi
c.

3.Di
scussor
all
ythemai
nvi
ewsi
neachessay

Gener
ali
ntr
oduct
ion

Thesear eshor tandpr eciseessaysonsel ect edpastexami nati

onquest ions
fr
om t hesyl labusA’LevelDi vi
nit
y.Whati scont ai
nedint hismodul ei snot
everyt
hingt heexami ner swoul dset.Theassur anceisonlyt hatthesel ected
questi
onsar ebasedont hemosti mportantthemesi nanygivenar eaofst udy,
whichexami nerscanneveri gnor
e.Therefor
eyouradvant agei nreadingt hese
essaysi st
hatyouwi llbest udyi
ngmodelessaysont hemosti mpor t
antissues
only.Af ur
theradvant agei sthatyouareavai l
ingyour sel
ftothet echniquesof
compilinganessayi .e.t helanguagetechniques,t hesubjectjargon,quot ing,
paraphrasi
ngandi nferences.Itishopedt hatever ycandidatewi l
lf i
ndt hi
s
modulever yval uabl
e.

Howf
ari
sitj
ust
if
iabl
etor
egar
dMosesasapr
ophet
?

ThequestionwhetherMoseswasapr ophetornotisacont r
over
sialone.But
thepremisesforeitherofthesevi
ewsi st hedefi
nit
ionof“ aprophet”,then
Moses`rolecanbecheckedagai nstt hi
sbackground. Thisessayt heref
ore
consi
dersaf ew defi
nit
ionsof“aprophet”,bef
oreitproceedstodiscusst he
i
ssue.

TheCol l
insEnglishDi cti
onarydef ines“ apr ophet”asaspokesmanofGod.
BernardAndersondefines“ aprophet ”asonewhocommuni catesthedi
vinewi l
l.
Mui l
enburgdefi
nedapr ophetas“ acovenant ”medi at
or”
.Rober tWil
sonl oosel
y
definesaprophetasonewhost andsbet weent hedeit
yandhumanbei ngs.Al l
thesedefini
ti
onsemphasi zear elat
ionshipofser vicebetweenGodandahuman
being. Itshoul
d,however ,benot edt hatthehumanbei ngmustbef ormall
y
call
edeitherinavi si
onar yexper i
enceori nadr eam.Acl oseexami nationof
Moses`hi st
oryshowssaf elythathewasmor eofapr ophett hannot.

ThebookofExodusrecordsthatMosessawavi si
onofabur ni
ngbushwhilehe
washerdi
ngJet hr
o`ssheep. A voi ceproceededf r
om t hebushcalli
ngand
commissi
oning Mosest o God’swor k. Thei ni
ti
alassignmentwast hathe
shoul
dapproachPharaohofEgyptandnegot iateonthereleaseoftheHebrews
fr
om Egypt. Moses`unwi ll
ingness totake up the t ask was di
smissed
vehement
lyandanor derofimmedi at
ecompliancewasgivenbyGod:Whoam I

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thatIshoul d go to Pharaoh ………He said( God)“ ButIwi l

lbe wi th you
………………. andt hi
sshallbet hesignf
oryou…………” Thi
sparti
cularincidentsets
upascenar i
oofacal lbyGodwher eMosesi st oldexactl
ywhatt osayt o
Pharaoh,“
Thussayst heLor d,t
heGodofI srael
,Letmypeopl eGo- --
--
”( Exodus
5:1)
Suchanor derint
roducesthemessenger-st
yleofspeech,whichistypicaloftrue
prophet
sofGod.Suchast yl
eacknowledgesthatthebearerofthemessagesi s
nottheauthorofit
.

Ther eisalsoneedt of ocusont herole(s)thatMosespl ayed. Hemedi ated

betweenGodandhi speopl eovert hecovenant . Ther eforebyMui l
lenburg`s
defini
tionMoseswasact ual
lyapr ophet.Thedut i
eswhi chMosesper formed
during thewi ldernessj ourneywer emai nlyleadershipr ol
es. Buti twasa
l
eader shipinspiredbyGod.Moseswasf i
ll
edwi ththeSpi ri
tofGodwhenhe
performedhi sdut ies.ThebookofNumber s11: 25suggest st hatMoseshad
muchoft hisSpirittotheext entofgivi
ngsomeofi ttothesevent yel ders.Thi s
pointhel ps to ar gue t hatthough Moses per formed l eadershipr oles,he
remai nedapr ophetbecauset hedutieswer ecarri
edoutundert hei nspirati
onof
God.Hewasonl yamessenger .Thedecl arat
ioni nDeut eronomy34: 10,says
thatMoseswast hegr eatestprophetIsraeleverhad.Hewasf ormal lycalled
andgi venamandat ebyGod.Al thoughthenat ureofhi staskswaspol iti
caland
socialitshouldbeunder stoodthatthetaskwasofadi vi
nei niti
ative.

Inconclusi
onthi
sessayreit
erat
est
hatMosesf
it
sverywelli
nthecont
empor
ary
defi
nit
ionsofaprophet
,hencehewasmoreofaprophett
hannot.

WhywasSamuelsuchani
mpor
tantf
igur
einI
srael
it
epr
ophecy?

Thi
seval
uati
onquesti
onseekst
ounveilt
hecredent
ialsandt
hecontr
ibut
ionsof
Samuelagai
nstabackgroundofpropheti
sm inIsrael
. Thefi
rstthi
ngi sto
di
scl
osehiscr
edent
ial
s.

Samuelwast hesonofEl kanahandHannah.Hegr ew upandser vedpriestl

y
servicesasanassi stanttothehighpr iestEl
i.WhenEl idiedSamuelt ookover
andser vedaspr i
estaf t
ersettl
ementi nCanaan.Hebl essedmeal sassociated
wit
hsacr i
fi
cesandsacr ament alduties,administ
eri
ngt henationalshr i
neof
Shiloh. Witht hecr edenti
alsofaseer ,heservedthenat ionofI sraelasi t
s
adviseronsoci alandpol i
ti
calencount ers.Heisgiventhecredit
sofapat r
iarch,
ajudge, aprophetandapr iestbefor
et heintr
oducti
onoft hemonar chyi nI
srael.
Infactheist hemanwhoi ntr
oducedt hemonar chyinIsrael
.

Samuel’simportanceinIsrael
it
eprophecyi sbestunderst
oodinthecontextof
thecontr
ibut
ionshemadet otheshapinganddevelopmentofIsr
aeli
teprophecy.
Fir
stl
y,Samuelemer gedont hepropheti
csceneofI sr
aelas“aseer” -amanof
God,whoser vedpopularl
yatashr i
nei ntheci
ty,“
Beholdther
eisamanOfGod
i
nt hi
scity…”(ISam 9:6)

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Heofferedservi
cesrangingf
rom personaltonati
onalconcerns–Saulwentt o
i
nquir
eabouthi sdonkeys.Hemi ghthavebeenoneoft hel eader
sofprophet
ic
gr
oupsknownas“ r
ovingbands”inI sr
ael. Cr
editi
sgi vent ohi
mt hathere-
or
ganizedtheserovi
ngbandsi nt
oinstit
uti
onsofprophets.Thegr oupt
hatSaul
j
oinedatGibeahall
egedlybel
ongedtoSamuel .(1Sam 10:10)

Af t
ert he i nst i
tut
ionali
zati
on oft he pr opheti
c movementi nI sraelSamuel
focusedmor eoni tsproperor gani
sation.Heemer gedasaspi ri
tualleaderof
Israelandf oggedr edempt i
onofI sraelf r
om syncr eti
sm i .
e.r edeemi ngI sr ael
from wor shipingGodal ongsideBaal.Samuelal soledt henat i
onofI sraelfrom
at ri
balconf ederacyunderaj udgetoamonar chy.Thepr ocessofdemandi nga
kinginpl aceofaj udgewasmedi at
edbySamuelwhodi dnotclingt opowerl ike
moder nr ulers. Samuelal sohandedovert oSault r
anspar entlyalthoughhe
i
ni t
ial
lyexpr essedf earthatamonar chywoul dr esul
tinabuseofaut hor i
ty.But
afterrelinqui shingpowerheassumedyetanot hercrucialrole.Hecheckedon
thepr operuseofpowerandadvocat edadi visionofl abourbet weenki ngand
priest.Her epr i
mandedSaulf oroff
eringasacr ifice-adut ythatwasear mar ked
forapr iest.

Thepol it
icaltransi
ti
onf r
om t heocrati
cr uletoamonar chy,andt her el
igious
resuscit
ation of Israelgave Samuelpr ominence as an i mpor t
antman.
ThereforeSamuelwasbehi nd thedevel opmentofpr ophecyi nI sraelaf t
er
settl
ementi nCanaanpar t
icularl
yonr evivaloft henati
onalshr i
neandt her e-
organisati
onofpr ophet i
cinstitut
es.Rober tLCohnsummar i
esthei mpor tance
ofSamuel asfoll
ows, “Samueldepi ctsthedi f
fi
cultt
ransi
tion
from rulebychar i
smat orulebydynast ickingshi
pbyshowi ngt heinadequacy
ofjudge,pr i
estandpr ophettopr ovi
dethest abil
it
ynecessaryf ornational
development .”

Di
scusstherelat
ionshi
pwhi chthepr
ophet
sNat
hanandEl
ij
ahhad wi
tht
he
ki
ngstheyeachhadt odealwit
h.

Iti
snecessaryt odist
ingui
shNathanfrom Eli
jah.Themaj ordi
sti
nct
ioni
st hat
Nathanwasacour tprophetwhil
eElij
ahwasaf reelanceprophet
. Nathan
ser
vedatDavi d’scourtasanadvisortothemonarchywhi leEl
ij
ahemergedt o
be a revolut
ionary who confr
onted Ki
ng Ahab in defence ofYahweism.
Theref
oretheactivi
ti
esofeachoftheseprophetsmustbeassessedsepar
ately.

Beginningwi t
hNathan,iti
snot edt hatheadvi sedKingDavidont hebui
ldingof
thegr eatt
emple.Whenconsul t
edbyDavi d,headvisedhimt oconti
nuebuilding
thet emple. ButGod r eversed thepl an. Maybet hepr ophethad spoken
presumpt uousl
y. Nathani salsor emember edfort herepri
mandhemadet o
Davidwhenhet ookUriah`swife.Nat hanal soanointedSolomon.Her ecor ded
thedeat hofDavi dandadvocat edt her evi
valoft hecovenant. TheDavi di
c
housewasdecl ar
edther oyalhouseofI sraelduri
ngt heservi
ceofNathan.( 2

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Sam 7).Onei mport

antt
hingtonoteaboutNathan’
srel
ati
onshi
pwi
thDavi
dis
thatt
heirrel
ati
onshi
pwasf ri
endl
yunlikeEl
ij
ahandAhabwhower erival
sto
eachother
.

Eli
jahandAhabhadanant agoni sticrelat
ionship. Theywer eextremer ivals.
Eli
jah blamed Ahab f orper verti
ng Yahweh’ sr eli
gion by al lowing Queen
Jezebel’
sbaalpr ophetstopr acticeinj uxt
aposi ti
onwi t
hpr ophetsofYahweh.
Accordi
ngt oElij
ahthiswast hemostser i
oussi ncommi ttedbyaki ngofI srael.
ButAhabact ual
lysaw Eli
jahas“ t
het roubler”ofI sraelbecauseheact ivated
Isr
aelagainstbaali
sm.Thebat t
lebetweenEl ijahandAhabr esultedinthedeat h
ofhundredsofpr ophetsofbaal ( 1Kings18)af tert hecontestatMtCar mel .
Jezebelthreat
enedtoretal
iat
er esult
inginElijah`sescapet oMountHor eb.

Actual
lyElij
ahser vedasawat chdogofthepeopleagainstsoci al
,pol
iti
caland
rel
igi
ousper versi
onofI sraelby,kingAhab.Someoft hemaj orinj
usticeshe
att
acked included the grabbi
ng ofNabot h`
s Vineyard by king Ahab usi ng
poli
ti
caloffi
ce.Elijahrebukedthekingandaccusedhi m ofbeing“atroubler”of
thenation. I nar el
igiouscontestEli
jahfoughtforthepr eservati
onoft he
MosaicYahwei sm.

On a compar ati
venot eElij
ah al
so anoi
nted ki
ngsjustli
keNat han. Elij
ah
anointedHazelt obet hekingofDamascusandJehut obekingoverI sr
ael,
whil
eNat hananointedSolomon.Thetwoal soshar
edt hesameconcer nsfor
socialjusti
ce-NathanrebukingDavi
dforUriah`
swif
eandEl i
jahrebuki
ngAhab
forNabot h`
svineyar
d.

Final
ly,itisemphasizedthatalt
houghbothprophetsdealtwit
hkingsoft
hei
r
ti
me,t heirrel
ati
onshipswiththem di
ff
eredconsider
ably. NathanandDavi
d
wereinhar monywhileEli
jahandAhabwer equar
rel
li
ng.

Discusst
heor
igi
nsofpr
ophecyi
nIsr
aelandi
tsdevel
opmentupt
othet
imeof
Samuel.

Thisquest
ionr
equir
esaninvesti
gati
onintotheevolut
ionofandchangesint
he
phenomenonofprophecyi
nIsrael
.Thequest i
onalsohasat i
mef
ramefocusi
.e.
uptotheti
meofSamuelorupt othebeginni
ngofthemonar chyi
nIsr
ael.

Thephenomenonofpr ophecyi nIsraelgoesbacki nt

othef ormat i
vestagesof
theHebr ewnation.Althought heissueishighlycontr
oversial
,itisindi
sputabl
e
thatprophecyinI sr
aelhadbeent heresi
nceAbr aham.Per hapsi tisnecessar
y
toattemptanoper ati
onaldef i
niti
onoft het er
m“ pr
ophet”bef orediscussi
ng
furt
her.Ber nar
dAnder sondefinesapr ophetasonewhocommuni cat
esthewill
ofGod,whi leRober tWilsondefinesapr ophetasonewhost andsi nbetween
Godandt hepeople,amedi at
or.Thesedef i
nit
ionsgoal ongwayt ogiveli
ghton
howandwhenpr ophecybegani nI sr
ael
.

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Iti
softenbeli
evedt hatprophecyhadbeent her
esincecreati
on.Undert hisview
peopleli
keAdam,NoahLotet chavebeenvi ewedaspr ophetsbecause,inone
wayoranot her,theycommuni catedwi t
hGodonbehal foft hepeople.Noah
mediated on t
hebui l
ding oft hear k. Butwhatdi scredi
tst hi
sview ist he
absenceofadi vi
necal lorinspirat
iononthepartoftheindivi
dual.However,the
propheti
cstat
usofsuchaf i
gur elikeNoahcanpossi bl
ybededucedf rom the
pentat
euchalsour ce( P)whi cht alksofacovenant almedi ati
onbyNoahi n
Genesischapters6- 9asar guedbyKsel manJ.S.inthear ti
cleintheHar per’
s
Bibl
ecomment aryatpages90- 92.

Anothervi ew hasci tedAbr aham ast hef i

rstprophetoft heHebr ew peopl e.
Bibl
icalevidencef orthisvi
ewi sder ivedf r
om Genesi s20: 7whi chsays- --
-hei s
apr ophet- -
---“.
Therei smer i
tint hisview ont hest r
onggr oundt hatAbr aham
medi atedont heSodom andGomor ahissue.Suf ficetosayt hatAbr aham was
i
nspi redwhenhedeal tdi
plomat ical
lywi thPhar aoht oconcealt hatSar ahwas
hiswi fe.Butt hecr it
ici
sm againstt hisviewi sthatAbr aham wasnotpr acticing
prophecyi nt her ealsenseofit.Hedi dnotshowt hatthesour ceofaut horityto
speakwasf rom God. Evenwhenhemadet hecovenantwi t
hGodhewas
merel yactingasanagentoft hepeopl e,notasGod’ smessenger .However
someschol ar ssayt hatAbraham wasapr ophetbasi ngonGenesi s20: 7whi le
somesaypr ophecydi dnotstartwi t
hAbr aham butwi t
hMoses.Wedonothear
ofhim doingot herpropheti
cdut iesapar tfrom theonest atedinGenesi s20: 7.

Realpr ophecycanpossi blybetr

acedt oMoses.Deut eronomy34: 10saysthat
hewast heprophetofI sr
aelparexcellency.Mostschol arssubscr ibetothi
s
view.E. W.Heat on,Bernard.W.Andersonandmanyot hersconcurt hatMoses
wasapr ophetcall
edunt oGod’smi ssion.Hi spropheticr ecordbeganatt he
visi
onar ycallatabur ningbush;tot heassignmentt ol i
ber ateHebr ewsfr
om
Egyptandt ol eadthenat ionpol
it
icall
y,sociall
y,andr eligiousl
yt hroughthe
wildernesst oCanaan.ThemanMosesper formedhisdut iesunderconstant
i
nst r
uctionfrom Yahweh, “
GointoPhar aohandsayt ohim, t
hussayst heLor
d…”
(Exodus8) .

Thisspeechst yl
eistypi
calofGod’ schosenpr ophet swhohavenoper sonal
authori
ty,butonlythatauthori
tyderived f
rom God. Number s11:14 – 29
recordsthatMoseswasact ual
lyfi
ll
edwi t
hthespiritofGodandhegavesome
ofittotheseventyel
ders.Thesamet extsuggestst hatthesamespi
ritofGod
i
nspiredEldadandMedadwhopr ophesiedecstati
callyinthecamp.Therefor
e
manyschol ar
shaveadoptedthatprophecyinIsr
aelst art
edwit
hMoses.

Anothervi
ew says t hatrealprophecy st ar
ted inthe wi
lder
ness af
tert
he
Hebrewshadl eftEgypt.Butt hever si
onofpr ophecywasacopyofwhathad
beenexperi
encedi nEgypt.Apar ticularcaset hati
scit
edinthisvi
ew ist
he
i
ncidenti
nvolvingt het woecstat
ics,El dadandMedad. Suchaneventwas
comparedtothel egendofWenAmon, aPhoeni ci
anboywhowaspossessedby

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somespi ri
tatareli
giousfesti
valinthecityofByblos.Theboypr ophesiedthe
typeofpr ophecywhicht heIsrael
it
eslaterpract
icedi nthewi ldernesswhi ch
possibl
ywasacopyf rom Egypt.Moreont hi
svi
ew,t hemi raculouspr ophecy
whichMosespr act
icedi nthewi l
dernesshasbeenl i
kenedt ot hewor ksof
magiciansinEgypt.Ther ef
oreadualvi ew hasbeenpr opoundedt hatIsrael
it
e
propheti
sm mayhavest art
edint hewi l
dernessort hatithadbeenbor rowed
from el
sewhere.

Otherscholars suggested thatIsr ael

it
e pr ophecy was bor r
owed f rom the
surroundi
ngnations,parti
cul
arlyfrom thecanaani t
esandt hePhi l
isti
nes.Thi s
vi
ewi sbasedont heclosesimi l
ari
tiesbetweent heecstaticprophecypr acti
sed
byt herovi
ngbandsofI sr
aelandt hepr ophet sofbaal.Al sot heor i
ginsoft he
word“ pr
ophet
”f rom “ pr
ophets”suggest saf orei
gn or i
gin. Samuelhad
practi
sedasaseer ,butwhenSaull efthi
m he( Saul
)practisedadi fferentthi
ng.
Hewasi nagroupofecst at
ics.Thi sist akent omeant hatthe“ seer ”typeof
prophecychangedt ot heecstati
ct ypeofpr ophecy. Thi sfurthersuggest sa
heavyinfl
uenceofIsraeli
teprophecybysur r
oundi ngreli
gions.

Ont hechangesordevel opments,f ocusshoul dbeont henat ureofpr ophecy

andi t
sf unct
ions.Themosai ctypeofpr ophecywasaone- manaf fairandits
disposi t
ionwassober . Thef unct i
onswer emai nl
ysoci alandr el
igi
ous. The
pr ophetwas a soci all eader. Butatset tl
ementi n Canaan,pr ophecyhad
changed i n nature and f unct
ion. I thad become a gr oup phenomenon
(Instit
utionsofpr ophet s)andanel ementofi nducementemer ged. Prophets
becameanoi ntersofki ngs( Samuelanoi nt
edSaul ),
theyalsobecamel eadersof
revolutions(t
hebandwhi chSaulj oinedatGi beahwasencour aginganI sr
aeli
te
upr i
singagai nstPhi li
stines. Pr ophet salsobecamel eader sofr el
igionand
moni t
orsofki ngs( Samuelwasapr i
estwhor epri
mandedKi ngSaulwhenhe
hijackedt hepower soft hepr i
esttoof fersacri
ficesinthetemple.

Whatwerethe mat
ter
s aboutwhi
ch Amos and hi
s cont
empor
ari
es wer
e
di
sagr
eei
ng?

The“ Contempor ari

es”ofAmosshoul dbeunder st
oodt orefertothehearersof
themessageofAmos.Mor epreci
selythesewer et hecit
izensoftheNor thern
Kingdom ( I
srael)towhom Amospr ophesiedin786B. C.Suf f
icet
osayt hatt he
messageofAmost othisnationcausedshock.Themat t
erswhichAmosr aised
i
nhi sprophecyt othisnati
onwer eofanat urethatwoul dcausediscontentand
animocity.Themostser iousoftheseissueswer e:thejudgement;theperverted
rel
igi
on;t hedayoft heLordandt hecredibi
li
tyofAmos, whichAmospr esent ed
contrar
yt oIsraeli
teconception.

Fir
st,iti
scr uci
altoment i
onthatAmos`messageonI srael
’
schosenst atuswas
outrageous. Heat tackedthestatusquoinIsraelasacr i
meagai nsthumani t
y
“Theysellt heright
eousf orsi
lverandt heneedyf orapai rofshoes”( 8:
4-6).
Suchsoci alabusesarenonethelessvi
olati
onsagainstYahweh,fortheyprofane

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hishol ynameandal tarsanddesecr atehissacr edhouse. Pr of essorGene

Tuckeraswel lasBer nar dAndersonar guedt hattheel ecti
onofI sraelwasno
guar anteeofGod’ sfavour .Iti
nvolves,r at
her,ademandi ngresponsi bili
tyand
servesast hebasisfordi vi
nejudgementandpuni shment .WhenAmosr ai
sed
thisnot i
ont otheIsr
ael i
tes,hiswhol emessagebecameunaccept abl e.Whenhe
furthercondemned t he l ucrat
ive trade att he mar ketsi n Samar ia and t he
l
uxur iouslifewhicht heuppercl asspeopl ewer eleadingi nIsrael,t hehear ers
regar ded him as a mi staken str
angerwho coul d notappr eciatet he good
economi ctimesGodhadgi ventot heI srael
ites,thatthef l
our i
shingeconomy
wasasi gnt hatGodwashappywi thhi speopl e,yetAmossai dt heopposi te,
“Woet oyouwhodesi r et hedayoft heLor d.Itisdar kness,andnotl ight.”(Amos
5:18-20)

Thisor acl
esetsupdi ssentingf eel
ingsbetweenAmosandhi shearers.I sr
aeli
te
concept i
onoft hi
sdaywasbr i
ghtandj oyous.Thecompl acentandconcei ted
Israel
itesthoughtoft hisdayasadayoft r
iumph,butAmosputi tingloomy
terms.Suchast ance, accordingtoJ.P.Hyat t,wasputt
ingAmos`cr edibi
li
tyat
stake.Amosal soattackedt hecul tofIsraelinaveryunexpectedmanner .He
attackedt heroyalsanctuar i
esofBet helandGi lgalwi
thgreatbitingsar casm,
“Comet oBet helandt r
ansgress,t oGilgalandmul ti
plytransgression.Iwi l
l
punisht healt
arsofBet hel--
--
---
“(Amos5: 25).

Suchor acleswereleastexpectedfrom aprophetinIsr

ael.WhenAmosmade
such statementshef ound hi
mselfoutoft ouch wit
h hishearers. Itwas
unthi
nkablef oranycredibl
eprophetinIsr
aeltocondemnt hecul
t,alt
houghall
theprophet softhepre-exi
leer
ar ei
ter
atedthesameat tack.(Hosea,Jeremi
ah
andIsaiah).

When Amos cont inued total

kcont r
arytoI sraeli
te expectat
ion he puthis
credibil
it
y on a questi
onable stance. He was a st rangerint he Nort
hern
Kingdom andsopeopl efounditeasyt odi
sownhi m,althoughelsewhereithas
beenar guedt hataprophetisnotwi t
houthonourexcepti nhisownhomear ea
j
ustbecauseofhi snegativeprophecy.Inshor t,t
hef actthathewasf r
om the
Sout hernKingdom madei tdi
ff
icultforhi
shear erstor especthi
swor ds.Amos
wasr ej
ectedinaforei
gnland,“Go,fl
eeawayt ot helandofJudahandeatbr ead
there…”

Inthefinalanalysi
si ti
snotedthatitwasthetoneandcontentofhi
soracl
es
thatputAmosi n perpet
ualconfl
ictwit
ht heIsr
ael
it
es,notnecessar
il
yhis
personalcredenti
als.

Discusstheviewt
hatt
hemosti
mpor
tantr
oleoft
hepr
ophet
swast
omai
ntai
n
socialj
usti
ce.

Thethemeofsoci
alj
usti
cewasver
yrecurrentbot
hint
hepr
e-canoni
calandthe
pre-
exi
li
cera. Pr
ophet
sl i
keSamuel
,Eli
jah;AmosandJeremiah,atdif
fer
ent

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ti
mes, advocatedforsoci
aljust
ice.Theseprophet
swerebothmessengersand
God’swat chdogsoversociety.ThisrolebecamemoreimportantwhenIsrael
becamea monar chicalsystem. Kingshad becomeent r
usted wi
th power.
Powercanbesubj ecttoabusei ftherearenochecksandbal ancesforit.
Hobbeshadt hist
osayi nTheLeviat
han:powertendst
ocorrupt,
andtoomuch
powercor ruptsmor e.Godusedhi spr ophet
st omonit
orjusti
ceinIsrael
it
e
soci
ety.

Althoughi tisnotpr ecisel

ystatedRober tCohnnotedthatSamuelmoni t
oredthe
transi
tionf rom rulebychar i
smat orulebykingshi
p.Suchar esponsibi
li
tywould
certai
nlywat chovert headmi ni str
ati
onofj ust
iceinthepr ocess.Nathan,who
servedasacour tpr ophetatDavi d’
spal acepl
ayedamor er ealrol
eonj ust
ice
whenhecheckedt heabuseofpowerbyDavi dwhenhet ookUr iah’
swife.Ona
mor evi brantnot eEl i
jahconf r
ont edKi ngAhabonsoci alinjusti
ces.KingAhab
forcefullygr abbedNabot h’
svi neyard. Heevenal l
owedhi swi feJezebelto
threat
enEl i
jahwi t
hdeat h.KyleMcCar t
ercomment edthatJezebelwasaf or
eign
queenwhoi nducedanI sr
aeli
teki ngtodowr ong.

Itshouldbenoted,howevert hatmoni t
ori
ngofsocialj ust
icewasnottheonl y
i
mpor tantrol
eoftheseearl
ypr ophets.Itwasequall
yani mport
antrol
efort he
prophetstoguardYahweism andt hesacredcovenant,asevidencedbyEli
jah’s
campai gnatMountCar melagai nstbaali
sm,andJer emiah’
soutcr yagainst
apostasy.

Thepr e-
exilicpr ophetswer ealsovi gorouspr oponentsandadvocat esofsoci al
j
ust i
ce.Not ableamongt hesewer eAmos,I saiahandJer emiah.Amosat tacked
thesoci alevi l
st hatwer eper petratedbyt her uli
ngcl assagai nstt hepoor ,
,
especi al
lyint hemar ketplacesi nSamar i
a.“Theysellthepoorf orsilver”(Amos
8:4-6).Prof essorRoyMel uginpoi ntedoutt hatsocialjusti
cewasoneoft he
maj orconcer nsofAmos.I saiahisal sonot edf orhishi ghconcer nf orsoci al
j
ust i
ce and r ighteousness.“ Learnt o do good;seekj usti
ce”( 1:
17).Ger al
d
Sheppar dcomment edthatI saiahpr onouncedj udgementagai nstt hewr ong
doingofcompl acentnationall eadersj ustli
keJer emiah,inhisfirstcompl ai
nts,
whenhecompl ai
nedaboutt heat temptbyt hemenofAnat hotht ousedeat h
threatstocont rolhisactivit
yasapr ophet( Jer11:18).Socialjusti
cei sapr e-
requisitef orr ighteousness,henceGodi nstruct
edhi spr ophetst opr ophesy
againstal lformsofsoci al i
njusti
cesi nI sr
ael.

Howandwhydi
dpr
ophet
susesymbol
icact
ions?

Symbolic acti
ons were a pr ophet
ict echnique thatwas used in speci
fi
c
sit
uati
onseithertosimplyclarif
yorill
ustrat
et hemessageoft hepr
ophet.The
mostnotableprophetinthi
sr egardwereHosea, IsaiahandJer
emiahwhoused
thesesymbolicact
ionsinveryspecif
icsituati
ons.

ThomasOver
hol
tdef
inedasymbol
icactas“
act
sofpowert
hatar
ewi
thi
nthe

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capabili
tyofanyi ndividualt operform”.Thisdef i
nit
ionput sintocont extthe
mar ri
ageofHoseaandt hesymbol i
csignsofI saiahandt hedramaticactionsof
Jeremiahaspr opheticact ionstoconveyamessage.Themar ri
ageofHosea
hasbeenr egardedasasymbol i
sm toexpl aint henat ureoft herelati
onship
betweenGodandt hechosenpeopl eofIsrael.Themar ri
agewasanact ualevent
performedtoshow t hatHoseaknew t hewor dofGodbef orehismarriageand
beforehegavehi schi l
drent heirsymbolicnames.Pet erAckr oydarguedt hat
Hosea’smar ri
ageandf ami lyli
feresult
edf r
om hi sunder standi
ngofGod’ swor d
anddonotpr ovideexper iencethattaughthim whatt obel i
eveorsay.Gomeras
a“ wifeofhar l
ot r
y”r epresentedunf ai
thfulIsraelwhohadpar tici
pat
edi nthe
Canaanitefert
il
itycult.

Isai
ahwasanot herprophetwhousedsymbol icacti
onst oconveyhi smessage
usinghumanl ivingsymbol s.Thepol it
icalt
urmoilandsoci alunrestinIsr
aelin
735- 733BCi sexpl ai
nedbyI saiahusingsymbol icnamesofhi sownchi ldren.
Geral dSheppar dnotedt hator dinar
ypubl i
cactivi
ti
es,ofpr ophetscouldcar ry
extra-or
dinar
ysi gnifi
cance.Besi desprophesyingoracles,prophetscoulddress
orbehavei nwayst hatsymbol i
zedt hei
rmessage.TheI mmanuelchi ldinI
saiah
7:14,theShear -j
ashubsi gnandt heMaher–shal al-
hash-bazsignssymbol ized,
amongot herthings,Godasapr ovi
derofgreatcomf orttotherighteousanda
sour ceofassurance.

Final
lya consi derat
ion ofJer emi ah wi llshow si mi
larlythathe also used
dramaticact i
onst oconveymessageandmeani ng.Jer emiahperfor
medmany
ofthesesymbol i
cact i
onssymbol izingdoom.Toment ionmostoft hem (i)his
refr
aini
ngf rom mar r
iage(16:1)(ii
)r efrainingfrom mour ningri
tes(16:5)
;f r
om
feasti
ng( 16:8);breakingofthecer ami cpot( 19:1) ;wear i
ngofyokebar s(27:1)
andmanyot her s.ThomasOver hol tcomment edt hattheai m ofusingt hese
symbol i
cact ionsi sforcef
ulandconvi ncingcommuni cat i
on.Symbolicactions
havesomet i
mesbeenunder stoodasquasi -
magi calact sinwhichthepr ophet
soughttogai nt heassentandsuppor tofanaudi ence.

“Pr
ophetscamewi t
hapar
ti
cul
arwor
datapar
ti
culart
ime”.(J.Mui
lenburg).
Expl
ainthi
sst at
ement
.Doesthi
smeanthattheprophet
sneverf or
etoldthe
fut
ure?
Or

“Prophetssaid not
hing new,theyal
waysbased thei
rmessageon exi
sti
ng
tr
aditions”
. Di
scusst hi
sstatementwi
thref
erencetothepr
ophet
syouhave
studied.

Mui lenburg`
sdictum isquiteval
idalthoughi tdoesnotnecessari
lymeant hat
thesepr ophetsneverf or
etol
dthefuture.Inf actthebasisofeveryprophetof
Israel’
smessagewasal waysanexistingtradit
ionorapar t
icul
arscenari
oata
givent ime.Thi sgeneralobser
vati
onwi llbear guedf
urtherinthesubsequent
par agraphsofthisessay.

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Moses,t hepr ophetofIsraelparexcel

lency,deal twithapolit
icalscenarioof
l
iberati
onandt heformat
ivestagesof,t
her el
igi onofYahweh.Themostnot abl
e
predict
ion( pr
ophecy)hemadewast hepr omi seofanotherprophetasgr eatas
himf orIsrael(Deutr18:
15).Elij
ahconcent r
at edontheexist
ingt r
adit
ions.He
wasbat t
li
ngwi t
hthepol l
uti
onofGod’ sr el
igionbyBaal i
sm. Butwi thAmos
prophecyent eredanewer a.

Amosusher edt heeraofcanoni calpr ophet sdwell

ingonspeci f
icissuesatver y
parti
culart imes. Theyal sof oretoldt hef uturewhichhadabear ingont he
presentsi tuati
on. Pr ofessorRoy Mel ugin comment st hatAmos mai nl
y
prophesiedagai nstsocialinjusti
cesandcr imesagainsthumani t
ywhi chwer e
perpetratedbyt herul
ingclassi nIsraeldur i
ngt heprosper
ousyear s ( 788-746
B.c).Ther eli
giousimmor ali
tiesatthenat ionalshri
nesofBet helandGi lgalwere
offencest hatwer eexist
ingont hegr ounddur i
ngthemi ni
str
yofAmos.Butt he
j
udgementofdoom whi chAmospr edictedwasonl ygoingt ocomei nt he
unspeci f
iedf ut
ure. Thisvi ew suggest st hattheprophetAmosf oretol
dt he
future.

IsaiahandJer emi ahar ef urtherexampl est oconsi derinthi

sdi scussion.I saiah
hasbeendescr ibedasapr ophet -
statesmanbecauseofhi spr e–occupat ion
witht hepol it
icalevent soft het ime. Att hesamet i
mehepr ophesiedt he
dest r
uctionoft hecoal i
ti
onwhi chwoul doccuri nthedi st
antfuture,“Withinsixty
-fi
veyear sEphr aim wi l
lbebr oken t o pieces”( I
saiah 7:8)Undert hesame
brackett hepr omi secamet opasshenceI saiahforetol
dt hef ut
ure.Jer emi ah
spentmuchofhi st imepr ophesyi ngagai nstt hestatusquo.Thesoci etywas
deepl ysunki ni nsti
tuti
onal i
zedapost asy.Hi sstruggleagainstfalsehoodwas
j
ustat askatapar t
icul
art ime.Ther eformsofJosi ahwhi chhaveabear i
ngon
thepr opheciesofJer emiahwer eevent sofapar ti
cularti
me.Butt hejudgement
whi chheannouncedwasaneventi nt hef uture.Thedest ructi
onofJer usalem
occur redin587B. Cl ongaf terJer emi ahhadpr edictedit. Thereforethef i
nal
stancet o adopton Mui lenbur g`sdi ctum i st hatwhi l
epr ophet sdeal twi th
existi
ngt radi
ti
ons, t
heyalsof oretoldthef uture.

AmosandJeremiahhavebeencal
ledpr
ophet
sofdoom.Towhatext
entdo
t
heybot
hdeservethi
sti
tl
e?

Itisacommonconcept ioninol
dt estamentstudi
est hatt
heprophetAmosand
Jeremiahwer epr
ophetsofdoom.Theessenceoft hisvi
ew i
sthattheoracl
es
theydeliver
edprocl
aimedmassi vedest r
ucti
onofl ifeinmil
it
arydefeat
.Thi s
destr
uctionwouldbeaf or
m ofpuni shmentfrom Godonhi schosenpeopl e.
BothAmosandJer emiahdeservet histi
tl
ealthoughJer emi
ahputsitinless
severeterms.

TheprophetAmosprophesiedt
hetotaldest
ruct
ionofI
sraelbymil
it
arydef
eat
.
Heproclai
msagloomypi ct
ureofGod’spuni
shment.Strongmetaphor
sdrawn

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from animalviol
enceandnat uralcat ast
rophear eusedbyAmost oannounce
destructi
on.Theover allimpressioni sdeath.I nthefir
stchapt erthemot toof
Amosequat esGodwi thar oari
ngl ion.Usingasi milarmetaphori nAmos3: 12,
heusest heimageryofani malviolencet oil
lustr
atehowGodwoul ddealwithhis
people.I nthi
sverseJ. P.HyattinPeakes` sBibleComment aryst ernl
ywar ned
thattheverseisreferringtocompl etedeath. Thel i
onisabeastofpr eywhich
wi l
lneverspareitsvi ctim.Int hemai nbodyofhi sbook( chapt er5-8)Amos
proclaimsdeathusingpoet icdevi
cesandvi si
ons.Thef uneraldirgeinAmos5
Vs2i sapoeticdevicesuggest ingdest ructi
onoft henati
onofI srael:Fall
en,no
mor etor i
seisthevi rginIsrael
.Fur t
herelaborati
onsassociatet hisdeathwi t
h
thedayoft heLord:“itisdarknessandnotl ight.
”

The vi sion ofj udgementwhi ch Amos saw r evealnat uraldisast erwhi ch

threatened t hewhol eecosyst em. A gr eatfir
e( 7:4-6)would consumet he
vegetationandl eakt hesubt erraneanwat er
soft hel andofI srael
. A gr eat
swar m ofl ocusts( 7:
1-3)woul dinvadet hewhol ecr opanddest r
oyitcompl et
el y.
Thebasketofsummerf rui
t(8:1)suggest edthatI sraelwasr ipefordest ructi
on
andsowoul dnotseet henextseason.Andt hevisionoft hepl umbl i
ne( 7:7-9)
depictedGodi nhi sposi t
ionreadyt odest r
oyIsrael.Amosi salsoquot edsayi ng,
“Igaveyoucl eanlinessoft eeth”,implyingdr oughtf rom whichal otofpeopl e
woul ddi e.Theover al
lpictureisgl oomy.Theseor aclesaccordAmost het itl
e
thathewasapr ophetofdoom.

Thepr ophetJer emiahhasal sobeendescr ibedasapr ophetofdoom.Buti tis

i
mpor tantt onot ethatJer emiahsayst hatt hedest r
uctioncoul dbeaver t
edbya
submi ssionofJudaht ot heenemyr athert hanresistance. Thedest r
uct i
on
couldal sobeaver tedbyr epent ancet oYahweh. However ,ThomasOver holt
arguest hatnohopei sexpr essedt hati ft hepeopler epentt heycanavoi d
catastrophe. Rat hert henat ion’sdownf allseemsal readyt ohavehappened
though per hapsi nt henotdi stantpast( theexi lein 597 Bc) . LikeAmos,
Jeremi ahsaw avi sionoft hi
sdest ructi
onwhenhesaw hewasi nst
ructedby
God t o buy and weara new l inen under garment. The spoi l
ed gar ment
symbol izedt hedest ructionoft her elati
onshi pwi t
hGodandhencet henat i
on
wouldsuf fer.Thef oll
owi ngsymbol i
cact i
onsofJer emi ahsuggest eddoom f or
Judah:Ref raini
ngf rom mar r
iagesymbol izedt hecomi ngofawart hatwoul d
utter
ly dest r
oy fami l
ies. Ref raining f rom mour ning rites symbol i
zed that
Yahweh woul dr emove peace i nt he land so much t hatdeat h willbe so
widespr eadsucht hatt hecust om ofmour ningwouldbemeani ngless. The
breakingoft hecer ami cpotal sosymbol izedYahweh’ sirreparabledamaget o
thenat i
onofJudah.

Thedi f
ferencebetweenthesetwoprophet
sisthatJer emiahi ncludesseveral
expr
essi onsofhopeinhisbook.Thebookofconsol ati
on( chapter30-31)and
theoraclesinchapter
s20,28and36suggestthatthereishopei nJer emi
ahfor
thenationofJudah.Onemaynot et
hattheverybeginningoft hebookmakes
over
tonesofhope: Hewast opluckupandbr eakdown,t odest r
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overthrow,t
obui l
dandt oplant.Amosal so,j
ustl
ikeJeremiahspeaksabout
hopeasevi dencedbyAmos9: 11-15.Verse14tal
ksaboutGodr est
ori
ngthe
fort
unesofhi speopleIsr
ael
.Bet hatasitmaytheabovement i
onedporti
onof
scri
ptureisbeli
edtohavenotcomef r
om Amosbutmayhavecomef r
om some
redactorsoreditors.I
nt hefi
nalanalysisiti
snot abl
ethatbothAmosand
Jeremiahprophesieddoom.

Di
scusst
hepr
ophet
s`at
ti
tudet
osacr
if
ice

Somepeopl ehaveer r
oneousl yvi ewedprophetsoft hepre-exi
li
ceraasbei ng
opposedt osacrificialwor shippinginI sr
ael.Suchavi ew wouldbeanover
simpli
fi
cati
onofthemat ter
.I fsuchavi ewi saccepteditwouldcreatet
heirony
thatGod’sownpr ophet sopposedapr act
icewhi chGodhadal l
owed,“Letmy
peoplegothatthymayser vemei nthewilder
ness.”(Exod7:16).EvenMoses
had per mi
tted sacr if
ici
alwor shipi
ng in Deutronomi ct r
adit
ion when he
author
izedtheoffer i
ngoft urtl
edovesandcat tl
e(Lev1:1-2)

Thepr oblem t hatsurf

acedlaterwast hedi st orti
onoft hepr acti
ce. Sacrif
icial
worshippingbecameassoci atedwithmur der ,e.g.thenot ori
ouschildsacr ifi
ce
i
nt hevalleyofHi nnom,andi tsaff
il
iat
ionwi tht heCanaani tefert
il
it
ycul t.Such
practi
cespr ofanedGod’snameandputhi sreligionindi srepute.Wor sest i
ll
,the
perversi
onr educedthesacrifi
cestoempt ypr act i
cesdevoi doff ai
th.Byt hisfact,
thesepracticeswoul dther
eforebeunnecessar y,“
---t houghyouof fermeyour
burntofferi
ngsandcer ealofferi
ngsIwillnotacceptt hem”( Amos6:22) .

Thecl earfactist herefor

et hatthepr ophet
swer enotmer elyopposed t o
sacri
fi
cialworship,buttheyabhor r
edtheabuseoft hesystem.I nt hecaseof
Amos, hesawt hecultdegeneratingint
oamer eformali
ty.Therulingclasswas
perpet
rati
ng t emple pr ost
it
ution during the moment s of wor shippi
ng.
Sometimest hesacr i
fi
ceswer econductedasact i
vit
iesofluxury.Libati
onsof
winewer eservedtooblivi
on.

Hoseaconf r
ont
edasi milarproblem.Hesawhypocr i
syi
nthesacr i
fi
cialsyst
em.
Peopleoffer
edempt ysacr i
fi
ces,wi t
houtgenuinefai
thi
nGod.Hoseasaw t he
absenceofHesedhi nthesacr i
fici
alsyst
em, hencehecondemnedi t
.I nnoway
coulditbepossibl
et hatthepr ophetcouldbehavingaper sonalproblem wit
h
thesystem.Therewasnopr oblem ofatt
it
udeatall.

Event hepr ophetJer emiahhadal soaquar relwi ththesacr if

ici
alsystem i n
Judah.Hi sall
egationsagainstitwerethati twasper vertedandhypocr i
ti
cal.
His contenti
on was t hatsince Judah had r esorted to apost
asyt he whol e
sacri
fi
cialsystem hadbecomeani nst
it
utionofi dolat
ry,“Yourburntoff
er i
ngs
arenotaccept abl
e,noryoursacr i
fi
cespleasingt ome. ”(Jer6:20).Onasi milar
notethepr ophetIsaiahcondemnedt hewor shipbecausei twasbei ngdoneby
handst ai
ntedwi t
hhumanbl ood.Evenwhent heyof fer
edinnocentsacri
ficesof
animals,theprophetwar nedthatGodwouldnotacceptt hem, “Whattomei sthe

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mult
it
udeofyoursacr
if
ices?Idonotdel
ighti
nthebl
oodofyourbul
ls-
--
--
--
--
--
-.
”
(
Isai
ah1:11-
13)

I
n conclusi
on itisrei
terated thatwhen the prophet
s opposed sacr
if
ici
al
wor
shippingitwasnotamat terofat
ti
tude.Theessenceofthematterwasthat
t
hesystem hadbeenpervert
edandsohadt heef
fectofpr
ofani
ngGod’sname.

Commentonthesi
gni
fi
canceofHosea’sfamil
yli
fei
nhisprophet
icmini
str
y.
Or
Whatef
fectdi
dGomer
`ssexuali
mmor ali
tyhaveonHosea’
sprophecy?

ThebookofHoseapossesoneoft hemostdi f
fi
culttext
si ntheBi bl
e. Itis
cont
rover
sialwhetherthestoryofHoseaandhi smar r
iageisar ealsi
tuati
onor
i
sjustapar abl
e.Mostschol arsseem toregardthest oryasanal l
egoryfacing
thedif
fi
cult
yoft hechallengingquestionwhet heritwaspossi bleforGodt o
i
nstr
ucthisprophettodoadi sgracef
ul,
immor alandembar rassi
ngt hi
ng.

Apparentl
ychapt er
soneandt hr eeseem todescri
bet wodiff
erentmarri
agesby
Hosea.Ber nardAnder sonaswel lasAckroydresolvedthatthetwoepi sodes
repr
esentasi nglemar r
iagewitht hesamewomanGomer .Chapterthr
eemay
besuggestingar emarri
ageafterat emporaryseparati
onwi t
hGomer .Allthese
worri
esasi de,whatcoul d bet hemeani ng ofthismar ri
age?Cont emporary
i
nterpr
etati
on says t he marriage represent
st he st at
e of affai
rsi nt he
rel
ati
onshipbet weenGodandhi schosenpeople.Theanal ogyisthatGodi s
l
ikeaf ai
thfulhusbandt oapeopl eandwhost rugglesoverthatpeople’
sf ut
ure
l
ikeaparentar goni
singoverawaywar dchil
d.

Anot hervi
ewsayst hatthemar ri
agest oryisarepor tofsymbol i
cact i
onsbyt he
prophet,actualeventsper f
ormedt oshow t hatHoseaknew t hewor dofGod
beforehismar ri
ageandbef orehegavehi schi ldrensymbol icnames. The
mar r
iageandt hefami l
ylif
eresultfrom hisunder standingofGod’ swordanddo
provi
deexper iencethattaughthim whatt obelieveorsay.Gomerasawi feof
harl
otryr epresented the unf ai
thfulI sraeland l ike most Israeli
tes,had
parti
cipat
edi ntheCanaani t
ef ert
il
itycult
.Hosea’ smar ri
ageisnott hathiswife
andf amil
yar esounusualbut ,tot hecont rar
y,allIsr
aelhaspr osti
tuteditsel
fto
fal
segods.

Inanutshel lHosea’ smar ri

agewasnotat r
aumat i
cexperi
enceassuch,buti t
provi
dedani nsighti ntothenat ur
eofGodandhi sdeali
ngswithachosenpeopl e
whoar eunf aithful. Thef actthatIsraelwast hechosennat i
onwoul dnot
exonerateherf r
om God’ sj udgement. Thesel ecti
onwasnotar i
ghtbuta
pri
vil
egedr esponsi bil
it
y( B.
W Ander son)Fai l
uretoexerci
set hi
sr esponsi
bil
it
y
wouldr esul
tinawi thdrawaloft heprivi
lege.ButGodi severmer cif
ul.Hecan
“r
e-marry”afterat empor aryseparat
ion.’
’

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“Anopt
imi
sm ofgr
ace.
”(B.
W.Ander
son.
)Di
scusst
hisvi
ewwi
thr
egar
dst
othe
BookofHosea.

Thephr ase“anopti
mi sm ofgrace”isthebrai
nchi
ldofBernardW.Ander son.
Heusedt hi
sphraset oexplai
napoi ntintherel
ati
onshipbetweenGodt he
peopleofIsr
ael.Tobe“ opti
misti
c”istobehopeful
.Thewor d“grace”r
efer
st o
themercyofGod.Ther ef
orethepointisthatt
hehopef orsur
vivalofI
sraelis
onlybasedonthemer cyofGod.

Theel ecti
onofI sraelwasonl yapr ivil
egebasedont heconditi
onofl oyalty,l
ove
andst eadfastness( hesed).Itwasabondsi mil
art oamar ri
age.I fthebondi s
viol
atedt henther elati
onshipcollapses.Gomerdi sobeyedandHoseaexpel l
ed
her.Butonl yont hehopet hatshecoul dreform,didHosear e-marryGomer .
Thust her e-
mar ri
agewasonl ybasedont hemer cyofHosea.Hadi tnotbeen
forthismer cy,ther e-
mar r
iagewoul dbei mpossible.Thest oryispar aboli
cfor
thecasebet weenGodandI srael.Thechosennat i
onhadbeenaf fectedbyt he
deadlyvi r
usofsi n.Godhadnoot herchoi ceexceptt odestr
oyt henat i
on.But
Godi slikeapar entwhoagoni zesoverawaywar dchil
d.Hewi llpunishthechi l
d
andr e-accepthimi nt hehome.Ther e-acceptanceisonl yahopebasedont he
parent’smer cy–anopt imi
sm ofGr ace.

ElsewhereAnder sonhasphi losophi

zedthat“despi
tet heecli
psethereisst i
lla
rayoflightshiningint hedist
anthori
zon”.Thisviewisgener i
ctohisconceptof
anoptimi sm ofgr ace.Despitethebreaki
ngoft hecovenantbyf ait
hlessIsrael
,
Godst i
lllovedIsraelasasonwhom Hebr oughtoutofEgypt .Butthegravit
yof
theoffenceofI sraelwouldotherwisewarrantacompl etedestr
uct
ion.Israeldid
notdeser vetobecal ledthesonsofGodanymor e,butbecauseofGod’ sgrace,
theywilloncemor ebecalled“ Mypeopl
e”,henceanopt imi
sm ofgrace.

Goddi dnotf orgetthepr omisemadet oAbr aham t oincreasehisposterit

yand
tobeaf atheroff aith( Gen.22: 17)( Gen.13;16)I saiahi ndeedpr ophesi ed
reconci l
iati
onandr estorationf orIsrael.Butsuchvi rtueswouldonlycomet o
Israelasact sofGod’ sgrace.Ander sondescr ibest hisasanopt imism ofgr ace.
The f ollowing quot ati
on summar i
zes t he tendermer cy ofGod:“ Ther efore
behol d,Iwi llall
ureherandbr i
ngheri nt
ot hewi ldernessandspeakt ender l
yt o
herandIwi llgiveherVi neyardsandmaket heval leyofanchoradoorofhope”
(Hos2: 14).Thi soracl epr ovest hatGodi sgraci ous.Thr oughhisgraceI srael
woul dber est ored.Hadi tnotbeenf orthisgr ace,I sr
aelwoul dbecompl etely
destroyed. Ber nard Ander son summed up t his nat i
on by t
he phr ase “An
opt i
mi sm ofgr ace.”

How di
dIsai
ahofJerusal
em under
standt
hesover
eignt
yofGod,andhow di
d
t
hisaff
ecthi
smessage?

TheaccountofthecallofIsai
ahopenswithI
sai
ah`
svisi
onofGodinthetemple.
I
mmedi at
elytheprophetrecogni
zedthathewasahumanobserverofYahweh’s

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heavenl ycouncil.Hepr operlyfearedforhi slif

e, si
ncether ealm oft heholycan
bedanger oust ot hesinfulwor l
dasevi dencedbyExod19: 21whi chreads,“ Go
downandwar nt hepeopl e,lesttheybr eakt hrought ot heLor dandgazeand
manyoft hem perish”.Afterapur i
ficat
ionr i
tual,Isai
ahhear dGod’ srequestthat
someonebef oundt or epresenttheheavenl yonesonear thbyannounci ngt heir
decision.I sai
ahvol unteeredt obet hemessenger .However ,themessagehe
hear dwashar sh.Ger aldSheppar dandP.Ackr oydsayt hatIsai ah`sconcept i
on
oft heLor dwast hatt heLor dissupr emeoverhumanaf fai
rs. Godpuni shes
sever elythenationofI sraelforitsserioussi ns,untilt
heyr ealisethatcompl et
e
trustinYahwehi stheonl ywayt osecur ity.Tur moilformst hebasi sofIsrael’
s
j
udgementandI saiahi scalledt oeluci dateoni ttotheki ngusi ngvar ious
techni ques.

Theconsi stentelementinhismessageappear st obet hatr i

ghteousnessand
trusti
n God,r atherthan i
nternat
ionalalli
ance,woul d provi
deJudah` sonl y
securi
ty.Inspi teofhisdespairandt heresistancet ohi smessage, Isai
ahf ound
thecour aget o“ hopeinGod”and,atGod’ sr equest ,torecor dhisteachingasa
sourceofhopef orlat
ergenerat
ions.Thepr ophet ’sconsi stencyandel oquence
and fear l
essconf r
ontat
ionofkingshasgi venl aterinterpretat
ionsgoodr eason
tospecul atethathewaspr obablyahighlyeducat ed,statesmenorevenar oyal
–l i
kefigur e.

Thecont entofIsaiah`sor aclessuggest ssomeonewi t

hdet achedcompassi on,
wit
houtt he t
ype ofpassi onatei dent if
ication characteri
sti
c ofHosea. He
appear swel l
-versedwi thwi sdom t raditi
onsbutwi thoutAmos`zealf orbiti
ng
sati
re. Thewoeor aclesagai nstJudeanl eader sandt hejudgementor acl
es
againstt he Nor t
hern Ki ngdom sur roundi ng the testimony ofdest ructi
on
under scor et
hisassumpt i
on.Bi blicalschol arshavedescr i
bedIsai
ahashavi ng
adifferentper sonalit
yf r
om ot herpr ophet s.Thisdi mensi oncontr
ibut
edt othe
i
mpr essiont hathewassubj ecttof ami li
arhumanf rail
ti
esandt hatthewor dof
Godcanbeper ceivedonl yt hrought henecessar ylimi t
ati
onsofi t
shuman
medi ators.

Hisor acl
eshaveagl oomyout comef orbothJudahandI srael.Onl yaf r
agile
opti
mi sm at the end appear s as an af ter
thought without,i n anyway,
ameliorat
ingthecomi ngdisaster. Onlyintime,wel laft
eraf ul
lcont empl
ati
on
ofthet or
tur
ousevent sofnationaldevastati
onf orbothnations,canonedet ect
afaintgli
mmerofhopei nt hestumpt hatisl eft
,agl i
mmert hatwi l
l,someday,
adumbr ateagreatl
ighttot
hosewhowal kinthedar knessofexi l
e(Isaiah9:
2)

Di
scusst
hesymbol
icsi
gnsi
nIsai
ah

ThomasOverhal
tdefinedasymbol i
cactasanactwi thi
nthecapabi
li
tyofany
i
ndivi
dualt
operform.Ordi
narypubli
cactivit
iesofprophet
scouldcarr
yextr
a–
ordi
narysi
gni
fi
cance. Besidesprophesyingoracl
es,prophet
scoulddressor
behaveinwayst hatsymbolisedthei
rmessage. JustasHosea’ smarri
age

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consti
tut
edasymbol
icactofpr
ophecy,soI
sai
ah`
schi
ldr
en,
byt
hei
rver
ynames,
carr
iedamessaget
hroughoutt
hei
rli
ves.

Thesymbol icnamesofI saiah`schildren appeari n a histori

calcontextof
tur
moilandsoci alunrest.TheSyr o-
Ephr aimit
icalli
ance( 735–733BC)was
thr
eat
eningt heexistenceofJudah. Thi spol i
ti
calturmoilf ormst hebasisof
Isr
ael
’sjudgementandI saiahi scall
edt oeluci
dateoni tt oki ngAhazusi ng
symboli
cfigures.TheI mmanuelchi l
di nIsaiah7:14seemst obelongtosome
unnamedwoman, whereasIsaiah`ssonsShear- jashubandMaher -
shalal
-hash-
buzarebor noft heprophetesswhoi ssur el
yhiswi fe.Unf ortunatel
y,nothi
ng
moreissaidaboutherandnot hi
ngisknownabouthercont r
ibut
ion,i
fany,to
themessageofI saiah.

Intheper
iodpriortothesi egeofJerusal em Godi nst
ructedIsai
ahtomeetki ng
Ahazatapar t
icul
arpl acewi t
hamessageofhope. Ki ngAhazf earedthe
coali
ti
onofSyr i
aandt henor t
her
nki ngdom. I saiahmett hekingsoonaf t
er,
accompanied by the prophet’
s son,Shear j
ashub ( ar emnantshal lret
urn).
Isai
ah`smessagewasoneofcomf or tandassur ancet hatGodwoul ddest r
oy
Ephrai
m andSyr i
a,butwi ththeprovisionthatAhazshoul dnottrustinforei
gn
nati
onsexceptinGodal onetodefendt henation.Thi sulti
matum fellondeaf
ears.

Inanef for
t t oconvi
ncet hef r
ightenedking,Isai
ahof f
eredt opr ovideany
convi ncingsignAhazmi ghtbeabl et oimagine. Attempt i
ngt oconcealhi s
unwi ll
ingnesstoobeyt hepr opheticwor d,i
nagest ureoff alsepiety,Ahaz
refusedt otestGod.Theprophetassur edAhazt hatt
heal li
ancewoul dceaset o
exist.Thet imeofthedestruct
ionoft healli
anceistiedt othebi r
thandear l
y
childhoodofaboynamedI mmanuel .Thenamesymbol izedthatt hepr esence
ofGodcanbeasour ceoft hegr eatestcomf or
ttot her i
ght eousasi nthis
historicalmoment,anassuranceofcer tai
njudgementt othosesubj ecttoGod’ s
wr ath.

Asaf ur
thersignoft hei mpendingcol lapseofSyr i
aandEphr aim,thepr ophet
securedof f
ici
alst owi tnessal arget ablethehadpr eparedonbehal fofhi s
fut
ureson,Maher–shal al–hash–baz( thespoilspeeds,thepr eyhast ens)
.
Thoughwhatwasl egall
yaccompl ishedr emainsunclear ,thet abletbecamea
mat t
erofpubl i
cr ecord( Geral
dSheppar d).Byt hi
sitmeansI sai ahconfronted
everyone witht he terrif
ying name “ Spoilspeeds,boot y hast e”. As wi th
Immanuel ,a certain momentwoul d notber eached bef or
et heannounced
j
udgementwoul df al
lupont henor th.I tcanbenot edt hat,likeHoseaand
Jeremiah,symbol i
csi gnswer eusedtoel ucidat
eGod’sst ancewi t
hinagivenset
ofcircumstances.

Fur
thergobbetquest
ions:Wr
it
eexpl
anat
orycomment
sont
hef
oll
owi
ng:
-

a)‘
ButMosessai
dtohi
m,ar
eyouj
eal
ousf
ormysake?Woul
dthatal
lthe

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Lor d’speopl ewer epr ophet s…. ’(Number s11: 29).

b)‘
----
-----Andher ant oEl iandsai d‘ Her eIam, foryoucal l
edme. ’(
1Samuel3: 4
-5)
c)‘
Itisenough;nowl ordt akeawaymyl if
e, forIam nobet tert hanmyf ather s.’
(1Ki ngs19: 4)
d)Butt hatsameni ghtt hewor doft heLor dcamet oNat han, ’Goandt el lmy
servantDavi d, ‘
Thussayst heLor d.’Woul dyoubui ldmeahouset odwel lin? ’
( 2Samuel7: 4)
e)Thussayst heLor d, ‘
Fort hreet ransgr essionsoft heAmmoni t
esandf orf our .
Iwi llnotr evoket hepuni shment ,becauset heyhaver ippedupwomenwi th
childi nGi l
ead. ’ (
Amos1: 13)
f)‘
Heart hi
swor dyoucowsofBashan,whoar ei nt hemount ainofSamar ia,
whooppr esst hepoor ,whocr usht heneedy, andsayt ot hei rhusbands, bring
thatwemaydr i
nk. ’(Amos4: 1)
g)AndAmazi ahsai dt oAmos,‘ Oseer ,go,f l
eeawayt ot hel andofJudah,and
eatbr eadandpr ophesyt her e- --
---
--
‘ (
Amos7: 12)
h)‘
Behol dt hedaysar ecomi ng’sayst hel ord when t hepl oughman shal l
over taket her eaperandt het raderofgr apeshi m whosowst heseed,t he
mount ainsshal ldr i
psweetwi neandal lt hehi ll
sshal lf l
ow wi thi t
.’(Amos
9:13)
i
)‘Got aket oyour selfawi feofhar lotr
yandhavechi l
dr enofhar l
otryby
forsaki ngthel ord. ’(
Hosea1: 2)
j)‘
Israeli slikeadove,si l
lyandwi thoutsense,cal lingt oEgypt ,goingt o
Assyr ia,’(
Hosea7: 11)
k)WhenI sraelwasachi l
d,Il ovedhi m,andoutofEgyptIcal ledmyson.
(Hosea11: 2)
l
)‘AndnowIwi lltellyouwhatIwi lldot omyvi neyar d.Iwi llremovei t
shedge,
andi tshal lbedevour ed- -
----
---‘
(Isaiah5: 5)
m)ThenIsai d,‘ Her eam I!Sendme. ’Andhesai d,‘Goandsayt ot hispeopl e.’
(Isaiah6: 9)
n)‘
Woet ot hosewhogodownt oEgyptf orhel pandr elyonhor ses.’(Isai ah
31:1)
o)‘
Heart hewor doft hel ordofhost s, Beholdt hedaysar ecomi ng, whenal lthat
i
si nyourhouseshal lbecar riedt oBabyl on. ’(I
saiah39: 5- 6)
p)Jer emi ah,‘ whatdoyousee? ’AndIsai d,‘Iseeaboi lingpot ,facingaway
from t henor th.’(Jeremi ah1: 13-14)
q)Thewor dt hatcamet oJer emi ahf rom t hel ord,‘ Ariseandgodownt ot he
pot ter’shouseandt her eIwi llletyouhearmywor d.’(Jer emi ah18: 1)
r)‘
Thussayst hel or dofhost st heGodofI srael:Ihavebr okent heyokeoft he
kingofBabyl on.’(Jer emiah28: 2)
s)‘
Behol dthedaysar ecomi ng, sayst hel ord, whenIwi llmakeanewcovenant
wi t
ht hehouseofJudah. ’(Jer emi ah31: 31)

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CHAPTER9
THEFOURGOSPELS
Byt
heendoft
hischapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.Expl
ainwhatt
heNewTest
amentmeansi
nrel
ati
ont
otheOl
dTest
ament
.

2.Def
inet
hesynopt
icquest
ionandt
hesynopt
icpr
obl
em

3.Examinet
heschol
arl
ypr
oposi
ti
onsont
hesol
uti
onst
othesynopt
ic
probl
em

4.Di
scusst
het
womai
nsol
uti
onst
othesynopt
icpr
obl
em

Gener
ali
ntr
oduct
iont
othef
ourgospel
s

Thisst udypacki spr eparedt ocovert he‘ A’leveldivinitycur riculum.Thi s

syll
abuscover st hef ourgospel svi z.Mat thew,Mar k,Lukeand John.The
modul et ackl
est hemaj oraspect s–f actsandvi ews,andi nter
pr etst het exts
usingvi ewsf r
om t hemostr ecentandmostr enownedschol ars.I tof fersa
thorough exami nation ofal li mpor tantbackgr ound issues i .e.mat ters of
author ship,dat eofcompi l
ation,pl aceofcompi lati
on,thet ar getaudi enceand
thepur poseofeachgospel .I tiscompul sorythatever ycandi dat eshoul dbe
fami li
arwi thal lthesei ssuesbef or etheycanat t
emptt oi nterpretorcomment
ont het exts.Invi ewoft hi
sf actEl donJ.Epphadt hi
stosay: -“Biblicalliterat
ur e,
l
ikeot herl i
teraturecannotbef ullyunder stoodapartf rom i t
shi stori
caland
culturalcont ext.Eachoft hewr i
tingt hatbecamepar toft heNew Test ament
ori
gi nated wi thin a setofr eal-l
ife circumst ances.To t he ext entpossi ble,
speci f
icci rcumst ancesmustbesoughtf oreachsepar at ewr i
ting………. ”Thi s
extracti sthel ampt hatgi vest hel ightt othewor kofthisst udypack.Ther efore
thi
smodul ewi l
lbegi nbygi vi
ngabr iefhi storyoftheNew Test amentandt he
Jewi shpeopl ebef or
ei ttacklest het ext.

Thenewt
est
amentandt
heJewi
shhi
stor
y

Thehi
stor
yoft
heJewi
sh peopl
ehasbeen ahi
stor
yofcol
oni
sat
ion.Thi
s

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colonisati
onalwayst hreat enedtherel
igious,cul turalandpol i
ti
cali
ndependence
oft heJews.TheBabyl onians,theGreeks,t heSyr i
ansandt heRomanst ook
turnsbet ween587B. Ct o135AD t ocont r
olPal estine.Ber nardW.Ander son
att
r i
butedt heindependenceoft heJewst ot hewarher ocall
edMat tathias.
Mat tat
hiasstartedar evol uti
onofJewi shl i
ber ationi n168B. C.Afterhisdeat h
hissonJudasMat tat
hiasMaccabeast ookovert hel eader shi
poft her evol
ut i
on
againsttheSyr i
ans.Hewont hewarin164B. Candr eclaimedandr ededicated
thet empleont hatyear .TheNewTest amentandr ededi cati
onoft het empleby
JudasMaccabeasmar kedt heabsoluterejectionofHel lenism inJewi shsoci ety
andanewdecl ar at
ion,theHanukkah, camei ntoexi stence.Thi snewdecl ar
at i
on
ofthet empleiswhati sknownast heNewTest ament .

Whynewt
est
amentbookswer
ewr
it
ten

Variousf actorsfavouredt hecr yst all

izationoft heChri
sti
ant r
adi
tionsi naf i
nal
writ
tenf or m.Thepr acticeofr eadi ngi nchur cht helet
tersofanapost le;the
analogyoft heOldTest amentr eadasscr ipture;thespeciali
mpor tancef or
Christi
anf aithoftheor iginalwi tnessesofevent sandthedangert hatt radit
ion
mightbecomedi st
ortedandf actsf or gotten;ther api
dexpansionintot hegent il
e
worldwhi chmadeor altradition,r ootedi nJewi shPalest
inemor edi ff
icultto
maintain,al lthesehavecont ribut edt ot heneedt ohavet heNew Test ament
bookswr it
ten.Asanexampl e,thesayi ngsofJesuswer everycherished.Once
thegospel scamei nt
oexi stencet heyqui cklybecamecent ralinchur chlifeand
werel iturgicall
y emphasi zed.Thei rexi st
ence and t heircentrali
t yi nt urn
probablymeantt hatmostor alt radi tionaboutJesuswoul ddieawayf air
lysoon.

Eachgospelmayatf i
rsthavehadanat tachmentt oapar t
icularcommuni ty;but
thegroupingofthefouri sexplicitanditi sr egardedasnecessar yint hewr it
ing
oftheearlychurchleaderI renaeus( aboutAD180) .Ther earesi gnst hatoft he
fourGospels,
Johnsuf feredmostquest i
oni ng;i ti
sl i
tt
lequot edi nearlysour ces
andmayhavebeenr egar dedasf avouri
ngGnost ici
sm.Wheni twasl aterseen
thatitcouldbeusedagai nstt hatmovement ,itachi evedaccept ance.Mar k,
though doubtless the ear li
est,t ended t o dr op int ot he backgr ound i n
compar i
sonwi ththe“ ful
ler”three.Thei deaofcombi ningt hef ouri nt
oone
narrat
ive was tri
ed outi n Tatian’s diatesaron whi ch was wi dely popul ar,
especial
lyinSyr i
a,butt hef our-Gospelcanonr emai nedof fici
alint hemai n
churches.

Thusthecor eoftheNew Test amentcanonwasagr eeduponqui t

eear ly,but
completeagreementi nallaspect swasonlysl owlyr eached,andi ndeedwas
nevercompletel
yreachedi nallsecti
onsofthechur ch.Thear gumentbywhi ch
canonici
tywasdet erminedaresomewhatbet t
erknowni ntheNew Test ament
thaninthecaseoft heOl dTest ament
.Basical
ly,itcamedownt ot heaut horit
y
oftheopi ni
onofr espectedseni orpersonsint hechur ches.Authorshipwas
natur
allyaconsiderati
on,butt hequestionofwhowast heactualauthorwas

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i
tselfa mat t
erofopinion,sever
alrej
ect
ed booksborethenameofPet er
.
Theologicalcontentwasalsoaconsi
derat
ion,
butagai
nthequest
ionwhethera
bookaccor ded wit
ht hechurch’
sfait
h wasa matterfort
heest i
mati
on of
authori
tati
vepersons.

TheSynopt i
cs
Thisref er
st othet hr
eebooksi .
e.Matthew,Mar kandLuke.Johni sexcluded
from thetit
le.Thet hr
eegospelsrel
atecloselyinverb,
sequenceandcontent.If
readinapar all
elmannerorsynopt i
call
y,asNor manPet er
sonsays,thethr ee
wi l
lshow verycl oseresemblance’
sinver b,sequenceandcontext
.Exegetical
scholarshavedescr i
bedthet hr
eebooksasbei ngsynopti
call
yrel
ated,hence
theyar ecall
edsynopt i
cgospels.

TheSynopt
icQuest
ion

Will
ieMar xseni nhi
sbookI ntroduct
iont
oNew Testamentstatedthesynopt i
c
questionas“ Whyar ethethreebooks,Matt
hew,MarkandLukecl osel
ysimilar
yettheyappeart o havebeenwr i
tt
enbydif
fer
entpeopl
eatdiffer
entplaces,at
dif
ferentti
mes? ”
NormanR.Pet ersonechoedt hesameconcernwhenhei nqui
redonwhyt here
aresuchst artl
ingagreementsi nverbandsequencebet
weenandamongt he
synopt i
c.

Thequest i
onhasevokedananswert hatsomewhatal legesinterdependence
between oramongstt hegospelwr it
ers,reli
anceon common sour cesand
reli
ance on oraltradit
ion.Whi l
et he inter
dependence hypot hesis sounds
plausi
ble,i
tinturnr
aisesamor echal l
engingquestion:Whor el
iedonwhom,or
Whousedwhom?asNor manPet er
sonput sit.Thisquesti
onhasbeencal l
ed
theSynopt i
cPr obl
em.I thasr emained unresolved al
though exegeteshave
suggestedalotofpossiblesol
uti
ons.

Sol
uti
onst
otheSynopt
icPr
obl
em

Beforeaddr essi
ngt heanswer st ot hispr oblem,iti swelltoconsi derwhyt he
questionisr el
evanttor eaders.Thef oll
owi ngr easonsar egiven:( 1)Thecl ose
rel
ationshipbetweent hesynopt i
cgospel si simpor tantbecauset hedi ff
erence
between t hem actuallyi ndi
cat e whati nformat i
on i s pecul
iart o each.( 2)
Regar dl
essoft heanswert ot hequest ionofwhousedwhom,r eadinganyone
ofthem i nasynopsi sori napar all
elfashi ondi sclosesitsdifferencesf r
om
others.( 3)Byexplor i
ngpat ter nsofdi fferencest hroughoutoneoft hem,one
can gai ni nsi
ghtsi nt
oi ts distincti
ve composi t
ion and message.Thus,i f
Mat t
heworMar kdiffersfrom t heot herinamessaget heyhaveincommon, the

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dif
ferencei naword,aphrase,anindexorast oryissomet hi
ngtobeexpl ored
furt
herineachnar rati
ve.Thi
ski ndofcompar ati
vereadingandt hinki
ng,only
answer sthequesti
onofwhysynopt i
cr el
ati
onsareimpor t
antforreaders,not
the question ofwhy the synopti
c problem isimportant.The question of
rel
ati
onshipsi salit
erarymatterwhil
et hatoftheimportanceoft hesynopt i
c
problem i
sahi st
ori
calone–aquest i
onoft emporalpr
ior
ity.

Pr
oposedsol
uti
ons

Moder nschol ast

icism hasconcent rat
edont hebr oadercont oursoft hetwo
mai nsoluti
onsviz.:TheMat theanPrior
ityandTheMar canPr i
ori
tyvi
ews.These
arealsoknownast heTwo- sour ceorthemodi fi
edt wo- sourcehypotheses.The
Mar canPr i
ori
tyview i sthemostwi delyaccept edsol ution.Butinrecentyears
the Mat thean Priori
ty view has been r evi
ved by a numberofschol ar
s
dissati
sfi
edwi ththepr evail
ingopinion.However ,
bot hsol ut
ionsarehypot hesi
s,
notpr ovablesolutions.Thef oll
owingdi agramsr epresenteachsol ution.The
arrow,inallcasespoi ntstotheonewhodependedont heother.

Mat
theanPri
ori
ty
Mat
thew Luke

Mar
k

Sour
ce:Nor
manR.Pet
erson

Matt
heanPri
ori
stsar
guethatMatt
hewwastheearl
iestgospel;thatLukeused
Matt
hew andthatMarkusedbot hMat
thew andLuker educingt hei
rext
ent
abbr
evi
ati
ngandconf
lat
ingthem.

Mar
canPr
ior
it
y
Mar
k Quel
le

M
L

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Mat
thew Luke

Sour
ce:Nor
manR.Pet
erson

Mar canpr i
ori
sts,ont
heot herhand,arguethatMar kwasf i
rsttobewr itt
enand
thatMat thew andLukeusedMar k,pl
usanot hersourceconsi st
inglargelyof
sayingsofJesus, cal
ledQuelle(Q).Thi
sQsour ceaccount
sf orthatcasewher e
Mat thewandLukehavemat eri
alincommont hati snotinMar k.Inadditi
on,in
the modi fi
ed form ofthis hypothesis,mater i
alonlyfound i n Matthew is
attr
ibutedtoanM –sour ce,whilematerial
sfoundi nLukeonlyi satt
ributedto
anL-sour ce.

Mat t
heanpr i
ori
stsf i
ndt heMar canpr i
ori
tyweakenedi
ncaseswher eMat t
hew
andLukeagr eewi thoneanot heragai nstMar kwhi
letheyareal l
egedt obe
foll
owingMar k.e.g.Mt t13: 11andLk8: 10versusMk4:11.Mar canpriori
sts
respondbyhypot hesizi
ngei thert hatMatt
hewandLukehaddi f
fer
entediti
onsof
Mar korthatlat
ercopyi stshar moni zedMatthewandLukeorthatMat t
hewand
Lukecoincident
allyimpr ovedMar kinthesamemanner.Suff
iceit
,tosayneither
hypothesi
shasper suadedt heot her.

Regardl
essofwhi chonepr ef
ers,iti
sappar entthattwooft hewrit
ersradicall
y
alt
eredtheearl
iernarr
ati
ve.Forinstance,byt het i
met hegospelswerewr it
ten
ther
ewasnost rictaut
hori
tytoprohibi
tsignifi
cantchangingofJesus’story,e.
g.
i
tispossibl
ethatLukemusthavedest royedever yt
hingthatischar
acteri
sticof
Matthewe.g.whenhet ur
nedupsi dedownt hegeneal ogi
esofJesus.

Final
ly,
iti
semphasi
zedtothest
udentthattheabovediscussi
oni
sasynt hesis
ofviewsofmoder
nscholarsonthesynopt
icproblem.Viewsfr
om conser
vative
scholar
sandanci
entwri
ter
sarealsoconsi
deredinthenextpar
agr
aphs.

Ot
hervi
ewsont
hesynopt
icpr
obl
em

Thereisgeneralconsensusamonganci
entschol
arst
hatt
hesynopti
cwr i
ters
dependedont hesepossi
blesour
ces(
1)Oralt
radi
ti
on (
2)Wri
tt
enrecords (3)
Personali
nfor
mat i
on.

Or
alTr
adi
ti
on

Inanci
entPal
esti
ne,Jewscommi t
tedtomemor yalltheimport
antinformation
sothatthi
sinfor
mat i
onwouldbet ransmit
tedoral
lyfrom onegener at
iont o
anot
her.Soi
tisbel
ievedt
hatgospelwri
ter
sdependedont hi
soralt
ransmi ssi
on.

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AlthoughJewscoul dbet r
ustedont hi
sskil
l,itisgeneral
lynotedt
hatthe
problem wit
hor alt
ransmissi
oni sthati
tcanbequi t
edubiousorcansuffer
distort
ion. Itwas beli
eved thatthi
s hypot
hesis coul
d go a l
ong way in
account i
ngfort
hesynopti
cquest i
ons.

Wr
it
tenRecor
ds

Thisref
erstodocumentedinfor
mationi nthefor
m ofepi st
lesormanuscr ipts.
Amongt hesewereapostol
iclet
ter
st hatwerecirculat
edamongchur ches;the
Marcanandt heQuell
esour cesandar chaeol
ogicalmanuscr i
ptssuchast he
Murator
ianCanonandDeadSeaScr ol
ls.I
tisbelievedthatthegospelwr it
er s
dependedonsuchrecor
ds.

Per
sonalI
nfor
mat
ion

Aparti
culargospelwr i
tercouldthi
nkoutorsourcesomeinformat
iononhis
own.Thisisexempl i
fi
edbysuchsour cesastheM,andt heL.Suchasource
coul
dbever ysubject
ivedependingontheaut
hor
’sownbias. TheUr-
Markand
thePr
oto-
Lukef al
lint
othisbracket
.

Thef oll
owingscholars’contri
buti
onsar everyimportant :
Tati
an:I n hi
s Diatessaron,he post ul
ated on t he harmonizat
ion hypothesis
whichci t
esharmoni ousrelati
onshipsthatexistedbetweenandamongt heearly
easternchurches;thattheyshar edandci r
culatedChr ist
ianscri
ptur
es,andt hat
probablyt he evangeli
sts had access t ot hati nformati
on.However ,t his
hypothesislackssubst antialevidence.And t hisonl yanswerst hesynopt ic
question“whyar et heysi milar? ”
andnott hesynopt icproblem “whoused
whom? ”
GELessi ngandJ.GI cchorn

Lessing propounded whati sknown as“ t

heor igi
nalgospelhypot hesis”.It
postulatedthatthesynopticgospel sweredif
ferenttranslat
ionsorext ractsf r
om
anoldAr amaicGospeloft heNazar i
neswhichJeromesaysi twasi nexist ence
i
nt hef ourthcenturyB.C.Bi shopPapi asofHieropol i
sconsent edt ot hi
svi ew.
J.GIcchor nproposedthatt herewer esomeni nedi f
ferentgospel sissuedf r
om
theoriginalAramaicgospel.Theywer econsi
deredt obeapost oli
cdr aftsforuse
i
nt he i nstr
ucti
on ofchur ches and so t he synopt i
cs wer et he concl uding
phenomenonoft hisli
terarypr ocess.Thisview assumest hattherewasno
i
nterdependenceamongt hesynopt icgospelsthemsel ves,butper hapstheyal l
dependedonsomeear l
iergospel .

F.Schl
eimacher

Hepropoundedthefragmentar
ytheory.Hesaysthatt
heapostl
eswr otedown
r
ecor
dsoft hewordsofJesusast heywereknownt othewitnesses.Oneof
t
hem perhapscol
lect
edmi r
aclest
ori
es.Theotheronecoll
ect
edt hesayi
ngsof

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Jesus and anot herone col

lect
ed the passi
on stori
es,and probabl
ythe
evangelist
shadaccesst othi
sj oi
ntapostoli
ceffort
.Thisschol
arbasedhis
hypothesisont heprol
oguetoLukewhi chsays,“ I
nasmuchasmanyhave
undertakentocompileanar
rat
ive…..
”(Luke1:1-4)

G.Her
der

Propoundedtheoralt
ransmissi
onhypot
hesi
s.Itst
atedthatt
hesi
mil
ari
ti
esand
dif
fer
ences between and among the gospels werear esul
tof an oral
tr
ansmissionpr
ocessTheviewisbasedonform cr
it
ici
sm.

J.
J.Gr
iesbachandC.Lachmann

Gri
esbachpropoundedont hemut ualdependencehypothesis.Theview i
san
th
18 cent ury proposalbased on t he l
iter
aldependence notion,i.
e.t he
evangel
ist
swer er el
yingoneachot herforthei
rinfor
mation.Theprobl
em with
thi
sview i
st hatitdoesnotdoj usti
ceforMar ke.g.i
tsaysMat t
hew andLuke
dependedonMar k.Whatt henaboutMar k?

I
nthefinalanal
ysi
s,t
heissueofthesynopt
icquesti
onisaver
ydebat
abl
eone,
wit
houtanyabsolutesolut
ionshit
hert
o.Itremainsuncl
earastowhoused
whom betweenoramongMt t,
MarkandLuke.

Examinati
ont ypequestions
1. Showt herel
ati
onshi pbetweentheNewTest amentandtheOld
Test
ament
2. Whyar ethe3gospel s(
Mtt,Mk,Lk)cal l
edsynopticgospel
s
3. Whyar ethe4gospel s(
Mtt,Mk,Lk, Jn)cal
ledgospels?HowdoesJohn
di
ff
erfr
om theother s?
4. Whatdoyouunder standbythe“ synopticproblem”?Whataret
he
pr
oposedsolut
ionst oit?.

CHAPTER10
I
NTRODUCTI
ONTOTHEGOSPELS,
THEBOOKOFMATTHEW

Byt
heendoft
hechapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.Gi
veanover
viewoft
hehi
stor
icalcont
extoft
hebookofMat
thew

2.Di
scusst
heaut
hor
shi
pandpur
posesofMat
thew

3.Di
scusst
hebi
rt
hnar
rat
ivesaccor
dingt
oMat
thew

4.Anal
yzeJesus’
ser
monont
heMountaccor
dingt
oMat
thew

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5.Exami
net
hemi
racl
est
ori
esaccor
dingt
oMat
thew

6.Exami
net
heconf
li
ctbet
weenJesusandt
hesynagogueaut
hor
it
ies

7.Exami
net
hepassi
onst
ori
esi
nMat
hew

8.Di
scusst
hecr
uci
fi
xionandr
esur
rect
ionst
ori
esi
nMat
thew

Mat
thewi
nahi
stor
icalcont
ext

G.E.PCoxwr otethatt heevangel i

stMatthewhadt hechur chofhi sdayinmi nd.
Reginal
dH.Ful l
erwr otethattheevangel i
stwaswr i
ti
ngf orhi schurch.Hewas
writ
ingaftertheper secuti
onoft heJewsbyEmper orNer oinci ca70A. D.The
evangel
istproclai
mst heissuesifright
eousness;Jesusaski ng, l
awgiver,anew
MosesandaJudge.Mat t
hew,i naway,was“ pr
ophesying”t hecomi ngofl ove
andpeaceamongstt heChr i
stiansocietybecauseoft heper secuti
on,whi ch
theysuf
feredi nPalestineundert heRomans.Amongot herthingst heevangeli
st
waswor ri
edaboutt hest ateoflawlessnessinJewishsoci et
y.

Per
secut
ionoft
heChr
ist
ianchur
chbyt
hesynagogue

Judaism wasbasedont hel aw ofMoses.I temphasi zedl egali

tymor ethan
humani t
yi .e.thelaw mustbeuphel df ir
standf or emost ,thenhumani tymust
comesecond.Thi sistheol dr i
ght eousness.Chr i
stiani ty,ont heot herhand, was
basedont henewl awwhi chwasemphasi zi
ngt hathumanl i
femustcomef i
r st
andt hel awaf ter.Christi
anityt henwentonpr ocl
ai mi ngaboutt helawofJesus,
thenew l aw,whi chwasseenasat hr eatt oJudai sm-ar eligionthatdi dnot
permi tanyonewhowasnotaJew t oj oin.Al sot hef r
eedom oft hespi r i
t
proclaimed by Paulhad degener at
ed i nto compl acence,i ndiscipl
ine and
l
icentiousness.Thi spr oblem wasatt hehear tofMat thew.Fai thwasbei ng
under minedbyf reet houghti nJewi shsoci eti
es.TheChr isti
anchur chwas
faci
ng bi tter opposi t
ion f rom t he Jewi sh synagogue. Chr i
stians faced
persecut i
ont othepoi ntofdeat h.Event heRomangover nmentt urnedagai nst
Christi
ansandper secutedt hem aswel le.g.byt axi ngt hem heavi ly.Sucha
backgr oundcal l
edf orawhol e- hear t
eddi scipl
eshi p,agai nstacommonenemy
withdi vi
neassur anceguar anteedbyt hecr ossandr esurrectionofJesus,t hat
the poor ,t he meek and t he per secut ed ar ei ndeed saved.The evangel ist
thereforewr ot
ethegospelaccor dingtoMat t
hewi nvi ewoft hisbackgr ound.
Whowr ot ethebookofMat thew?

General
ly,
ther
ear enoconclusi
veanswerstothi
squesti
ononaut horshi
p.Will
ie
Marxsensaysthattheworkwashandeddownanonymousl y.Theauthori
snot
exact
lyknown.Butt heaut
hormusthavebeenaJewandaChr i
sti
an,whoused
Mark,theQuelle,andhisownmat er
ialknownast heM- Source.K.Stendahl
descr
ibedthisview asTheCommuni tyofMatthew Theoryort heSchoolof

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Mat t
hew,suggestingthattherei
sacommuni t
yofsour cesthatwasusedt o
producet hebookofMat thew.Thebookhasast rongJewi shf l
avour.I
talso
containsvivi
dChrist
iandoctri
nese.g.emphasisonbr otherhood,andlovefor
manki nd.Thebookal so showsa keen inter
esti n Jewish tr
adit
ionsasi s
evidencedinthegenealogiesofJesus.However,i
tisnot edthatthetextdoes
notrendertheexactnameofi t
sauthor
.

ReginaldH.Ful lersayst hatt heaut horofMat t

hew wasanunknownJewi sh
Chri
stianofthesecondgener at
ionwr it
ingaround90ADi nornearAnt i
ochin
Syri
a.Thebi tt
ercr i
ticism ofPhar i
saicleadersofJerusalem i
nChapt er23,and
thedistancef rom whi ch Mat t
hew speaksoft heJewish communi ty,when
Matthew says,“t heirsynagogues” (
4v23)shows t hathe wrote af t
erthe
emergenceoft henew r abbinicinsti
tutionsatJamni ai.e.af
terAD 70.The
Neronianpersecut i
onsi nthe70’ swoul dnat ural
lycauseadelayi nwriti
ngthe
bookf orfearofvi ctimization.Ther ef
oret hebookcoul dpossibl
ybecompi l
ed
somet entotwent yyear saf terhenceadat earound90ADi ssuggested.

Itseemst hatt heChr i

stiangr oupshewasaddr essi ngwer enol ongerpar toft he
Jewi shcommuni ty.Mat thewwr otet oprovidehi scommuni tywithanal t
ernative
tor abinnici nstr
uctions,( t
he mosai ct orah) ,hence Jesus i s present ed by
Mat thew asanew Moses,t hef ounderoft het rueI srael(16:17-19)andt he
messi anicexpounderoft henew andbet terr ighteousness( Mt t5:17– 20) .
Mat thew’schur chhadt henmovedawayf rom t hesynagogue.Asar esultitwas
openi ngitselftothemi ssiont othegent iles( Mt t
24:14;28:19) ,cooper ating
perhapswi thJewishChr isti
ansofadi ff
er entt ypewhohadl ongengagedi nt he
gent i
lemissi on,bri
ngingi ntoi t
sfol denthusi ast i
cpr ophetswhonegl ectedt he
ethicaldimensi onofChr istianit
y.( 7:
15-20) .Mat t
hew isf i
ght i
ngont wof r
ont s,
fir
stlyagai nstlegali
sm ononesi deandsecondl yagai nstant i
nomi anism i .e.
neglectofanewr ighteousness,ont heot herhand.Buti twillbewr ongt ot hink
ofMat t
hewaspr imarilyapol emicalwor k.Theaut hor’
spur posewaspast oralto
protecthi s church f r
om danger st hatt hr eatened f r
om wi t
hin.Ithas been
thoughtt hatMt t13: 52 di sclosessomet hing ofMat t
hew’sbackgr ound and
met hod.Hewasper hapst r
ainedas“ ascribeunt ot hekingdom ofGod. ”

G.E.PCoxsayst hatt heaut horwasaChr i

sti
anofJewi shori
ginwel lversedin
thePhar i
sai
sm ofhi sdayandt hef ierceopposi tiont otheChr istianchur ch
whichhebi tterlyresent ed.Thesuggest i
oni smadei nMt t13: 52wher ethe
authorisportrayedas“ ascr ibeinstructedunt otheki ngdom ofGod, ”at rai
ned
rabbiconver
t edtoChr i
stianitywhoknewandappr eciatedthemor alst rengthof
theoldJewishl awwhi chJesuscamenott odestroybutt of
ulf
ill
(5:17;8: 4)
G.E.P.Coxobser vest hePapi ast heor yont heaut horshipofMat thew.Papi as
wasaBi shopatHi eropolisi nPhyr igia.Hewr ot
et hat:“ Mat t
hew wr otean
orderl
ycompi l
ati
onoft heor acles(loggi a)oft heLor dinHebr ewl anguageand
eachone,i .e.var iousaut hor s,t r
ansl atedt hem ashewant ed.”Papi asalso
agreedthattheaut horofMat thewusedMar kashi ssour ce.

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Therear eser i
ouscr i
ti
cismsagai nstthePapiast heory.Firstl
y,Papi asissai dto
havebeenofweakmi nd.Itisdi sput
edwhet herwhathecal ls“theor acl
es”r eall
y
ref
ertot hisgospelofMat t
hew, buti
ftheydo, twoser iousdi ff
icul
tiesappearvi z.:
(1)Theor i
ginalgospelofMat thewwaswr it
teni nGr eekandshowednosi gnof
tr
ansl ati
onf r
om theAr amai corHebr ew.
(2)Secondl y,ifMat t
hew i st heapost l
eoft hatname,i ti sincredi bl
et hatan
actualeyewi t
nessoft hegospelevent sshoul dhaver eli
eduponMar kwho
wasnotatal laneye- witness.Papiasmadet hemi staket oregar dthegospel
accordingt otheNazar enest hatwasi nHebr ewt obet heoriginalMat thew.
However ,someapol oget i
cshavesuggest edt hattheapost l
eMat thew was
actuallythecompi l
eroft he Q-sour ceandt hi
sdocumenti swhatPapi as
meantby“ t
he logia”.G.E.P.Coxacknowl edgest hati twascommonf orthe
ancientwor ldtoascr i
beabookt osomei mpor t
antname.Thet i
tle“Mat thew”
wasj ustaChr i
stiant raditi
ont hatassoci atedt hegospelwi tht hegr eat
apostleMat thew–Levi .Wi l
lieMarxsenunder scoredthesamevi ew.

Summar
yofpoi
ntsonaut
hor
shi
p

1.Mat t
hewi sananonymouswr it
er
2.Churcht r
adit
ionst
igmat i
zedMat hewtheApost
le
3.Int
ernalevidence i
nMt t9:
9i sconst
ruedtobeevi
dencef
ort
heapost
le
authorship
4.Theaut horwasaJewi shChr i
sti
an
5.Theaut horwasatrainedscribe.
6.Theaut horhadagent i
leint
erest

ThepurposesofMat thew
Inpoi
ntform
1.Thegospelshoul dbeuni versal(28:19)
2.Tohi ghlighttheshortf
all
sofJudai sm.
3.Todi scloseaneccl esi
asticagenda.
4.Towar nont heeschatologyatt heendoft ime.
5.Toser veal it
urgi
calpurpose.
6.Toshowt hehumanor iginsoftheMessi ah.
7.Toshowt heJewishor i
ginsoft heMessi ah.
8.Topr ovideapr agmat i
cgui detothechur ch

Expl
anat
ions

Matt
hew’sgospelopenswi
ththepr ophecyt
hatJesusisEmmanuel ,
Godwi th
us,
anditcl
oseswi t
hthepr
omi sethatthi
ssameJesuswhoi snowtherisen
Chr
ist
,wil
lbewithhisdi
sci
ples,dr
awnf rom al
lnat
ions,
til
ltheendofti
me.

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Therei
sanoteofuni
versal
ism att
hebeginningi
mpli
edint hestor
yoft
hemagi,
whichi
sre-
echoedi
nthecommandwi thwhichthegospelcloses“
togotoal
l
theworl
dandmakediscipl
esofallnat
ions.
”

Wi l
li
eMar xsendescr i
bedMat thewasanevangel i
standat heologi
an.Thebooks
didacti
c charactersuggest st hatthe book was meantt o be a book of
i
nst r
uctionstot heear l
ychur ch ofchr i
sti
ans-a ker gyma.I t
seccl esi
asti
c
characteralsosuggest sthatt hebookwasmeantt obui l
dandst rengthenthe
earlychurch.Amongot herthi
ngsMat thewwant edtopr ovetheChrist
iandogma
thatJesus was t he Messi ah proclaimed int he Old Testament.For mula
quotati
ons wer ef requently used by Mat t
hew t olink Jesus wi t
ht he Old
Testamentpr ophecies.ItisalsoclearthatMatthewwant edt oshowt hehuman
aspectofJesusbypoi nti
ngt ohisDavidicori
gin.

ReginaldFull
eront heotherhandsayst hatt hepurposeofMat thew wast o
produceaf oundati
onbookf orhiscommuni tyl i
kethetorahofMosesi nthe
Synagogue.Thebookwast oserveast
hepr e-eminentgospelf
orthechurchas
awhol e.Theauthorspurposewaspastorali.e.hewantedt oprot
ecthi
schur ch
fr
om danger sthatthreat
enedf r
om wit
hin.Mat thew wrot
et ocombatlegali
sm
andant i
nomianism andalsotoemphasizetheet hi
caldi
mensionofChrist
iani
ty.

G.E.P.Coxsayst hatMat t
hewwr oteforpract
icalpurposesf orthechurchofhis
day.Mat t
hewwr otet ocombatlawlessnessespecial
lywhenhet aughtaboutthe
NewLaw.Mat t
hewal sowr ot
etocallthechurchtothebl essednessofChrist
ian
disci
pleshipandt ot helawofr i
ght
eousnessthatleadst oGod’ ski
ngdom.Itwas
al
soMat thew’spur posethatthechur chmustkeepi nmi ndtheurgencyoft he
ti
meandcer tai
ntyoft hefinalj
udgement .

Thet
extofMat
thew–Comment
ary

Thebestwayofstudyi
ngt
hebookofMat
thew i
stor
e-ar
rangei
tst
exti
nto
sect
ionsasf
oll
ows:

1.
Thebi rt
hnar rat
ives
-
Thegeneal ogy
-
Thevirginconcept ionanddel i
ver
y
-
ThevisitoftheMagi
-
TheHer odiangenoci de
2.
Thebapt ism andt empt ati
ons
3.
Theser monont hemount
4.
Thebapt istmovement
5.
Messi ani
cdeedsi .e.Miracl
esandTeachi
ngs
6.
thePassi on
-
thearrest
-
thetr
ials
-
thepersecut i
on

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-
thecruci
fixi
on
7.Theresurr
ect
ion

Examination questi
ons on Mat
thew wi
llal
ways be based on t
hese br
oad
categori
es.Thereforetheexam-basedappr
oachtoMat thew i
sthebestf or
divi
nit
ystudents.

Thebi
rt
hnar
rat
ives

Birthnar rativesori nf ancyst oriesr elatet ot hechr ist

ologyofJesusi .e.his
humani dent it
y,andhow i tmer geswi thhi sdi vineidentit
y–t heMessi ah.The
fi
rst of t hese nar ratives ist he geneal ogy i n Mat thew 1:1-17.Moder n
comment at orssayt hatMat thew const ruct edt hisgeneal ogyoutoft r
aditi
onal
mat er i
alst oser veaChr ist
ologicalpur posei ndicatedbyt heopeningwor ds“ son
ofDavi d,sonofAbr aham. ”Jesusemer gesf rom Israelandf ulfi
ll
st heOl d
Test amentpr omi seofaMessi anicki ng.Theneatpat ternofthegeneal ogy,
whi chbr eaksi nt
ot hreegr oupsoff ourt eenancest orseach,indicatesGod’ s
caref ull
ypl annedexecut i
onofhi spur pose.Thespeci almentionofdubi ous
womeni nt hegeneal ogy( Tamar ,Rahab,Rut handBat hsheba,wifeofUr i
ah)
foreshadowst hedubi ousci rcumst ancessur roundingJesus’bi r
th.Godwor ked
outhi spur poset hroughscandal ousori r
r egularuni ons.

Itisimportanttonot
ethatthedifferencesbetweent
hegenealogyi
nMatt
hew
andt hatinLukei snotimpor t
ant,becauset heseaccount
sdonotservea
biol
ogicalpurposebutatheologicalpurpose,andLuke’
spurposei
sdi
ff
erent
from t
hatofMat t
hew.

Thevi
rgi
nconcept
ion

Annunciationst oriesintheBi blear enotmeantt oser veasar ecordofhistor ical

factbuttoi nterprettheroleachi ldisdest i
nedt opl ayinsal vati
onhi st
oryandt o
emphasi zet hatthatr ol
eisini t
iatedbyGod.Theappear anceofanangelandt he
announcementoft hechi l
d’sf uturerol eordest i
nyf ormt hecor eoft hest or y.
Usuallyther eisani mpedi mentorsomeabnor mal i
tyr elatingtot hebi r
the. g.
steri
li
tyorol dage.Thesi tuationi nMar y’
sst oryi sthatshebecamepr egnant
betweenherengagementandt heactualmar ri
age,whi chr aisest heimpressi on
ofil
legit
imacy.I nt hiscaset heangelal soservest hef urtherpur poseofi nduci ng
Josepht oadoptJesusashi ssonsot hatt hechi l
dbecomesasonofDavi d.To
theancientwor ldt herewoul dbenoi nconsi stencyher ef oradopt ionprovi ded
one wi t
h ancest ors as assur edly as di d bi ol
ogicaldescent .Thi s st ory’s
i
nsistencet hatt heconcept i
onwasvi rginalandcausedbyt hei nt
erventionof
theholyspi ri
tisnotahi st
or i
calst atementbutachr istologicalaf fi
rmation.I t
assertsthatGodi nit
iat
edt heappear anceofJesusi nt othewor l
d.Theci tat i
on
ofIsaiah7: 14st ressesnotMar y’svirgini
tybutt hef ulfi
llmentoft hepr omi se
thatGod woul d be wi t
h hi s peopl e,a pr omi se thatr eceived its definitive
real
isati
onaf t
ereast er:“….Andl o,Iam wi t
hyoual ways, t
ot hecloseoftheage. ”

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(Mtt28:20).Thevi
rginalconcept
iont
hroughthespir
ithasnot
hingt
odowi t
hthe
pre-
existenceandincarnati
onofthedivi
nebeing.I
tisonlyi
nJohnthatsuchan
understandingi
semphasi zed.

Thevi
sitoft
hemagi
:Comment
ary

Thest oryoft hewi se-meni sl ikea“ haggadah”i.e.astor ymadef rom biblical

mat eri
alstomakeat heologicalpoi nt
.Suchst or
ieshavebeenseeni nNum 24:
17;Psal ms72:10and11andI saiah60:1–7.I nf act,t
heset extscont i
nuedt o
i
nf l
uencet hetradit
ionaf t
erMat thew’sti
mes,sosuggest ingt hatthemagi( wi se-
men) become ki ngs. Coupl ed wi t
h t he memor y of an unusualast ral
phenomenonar oundt het imewhenJesuswasl ikelytohavebeenbor n,the
mat eri
alsquot edabovewer et husathandf orthedevel opmentofMat thew’ s
story.Themagist oryopenst hepossi bi
li
tyofami ssiontot heGent il
es,thereby
reassuring the Jewi sh member s ofMat t
hew’s communi tyt hatt he recent
developmentofgent i
le mission,howeversuspectt o some st r
icterJewi sh
Christi
ans,wasi n-factforeshadowedi nJesus’bi
rth.

TheHer
odi
angenoci
de

Theenqui ryofthemagiatHer od’scour tpr epar edthegr oundforthreeepi sodes

i
nt hi
sst or
y,viz. ( 1)t hef li
ghtt oEgypt ( 2)t hemassacr eoft hechi l
dr enof
Bethl
ehem ( 3)ther et urnoft hehol yf ami lyt oNazar et
h.Theset hreeepi sodes
areboundt ogetherbysever alfactors.Fi rst,eachmoveoft hechi l
dChr istis
undertakenbyJosephast her esul
toft heappear anceofanangeli nadr eam.
Second, eachsect i
oni ncl udesaf ulf
il
lmentci tation.Third,t
hewhol enar rativeis
governedbyacer tai ncor respondencewi tht hest oryofMosesandt heExodus.
Theset hreefeaturesar eint egratedwi thMat t
hew’ soverallt
heologicalconcer ns.
TheChr i
steventr epr esent sthecul minat ionofGod’ splani nsalvati
onhi story.
Thewhol efateofJesusi scont roll
edbyt hedi vineiniti
ati
ve.Thef l
ighti nto
Egyptrecallsthepr ot ectionoft heinfantMosesf rom theplotofawi ckedt yr ant.
Themassacr eoft hei nnocent srecallst hesl ayingoft heHebr ew childrenby
Pharaoh.Ther eturnf rom Egypti sexplicitl
yl i
nkedt oIsrael’
sExodusf rom Egypt .
Tosomeext entMat thewpor traysJesust hr oughoutt hegospelasanewMoses,
thefounderandl aw- gi veroft het r
ueI sraelwhoi nhi scareerrecapitul
at est he
stor
yofMosesandt heExodus.

Thebapt
ism andt
empt
ati
ons

TheMi ni
stryofJesusi spr ecededbyt hemi ni
st r
yofJohnt heBaptist.Fi
rst
,
Matthewcar efull
yavoidssayingthatJohnof fersbaptism forrel
easefrom si
ns.
Thisi ssomet hingreservedf orJesust hroughhi ssacri
fici
aldeath.Second,
John’spr eachingofr epentancei saddressednott ot hecr owdsbutt othe
PhariseesandSadducees.Thus,t heBapt i
st’
spr eachi
ngbecomesawar ningto
theJudaism ofMat t
hew’ sday.Theadher entsoft hesynagoguehaver efusedto

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fl
eefrom thewrat
hofGodbynotr espondingtothegospel
,andGodhasr ai
sed
upchildr
enofAbr aham intheshapeoft heChri
sti
anchurch.Thestrongerone
whowast ocomeaf terJohnhadbyMat thew’
stimepurgedhisgranaryinthe
fal
lofJerusal
em andi sal
readygat
heringthewheatint
ohisbarnandpr epar
ing
toburnthechaffwit
hunquenchablefir
e.
Bapti
sm

Jesuscamef orwar
df orbapt i
sm,andJohn, r
ecogni
zinginhimt hest r
ongerone
whowast obr i
ngagr eaterbapti
sm wi
tht heSpir
itandwi t
hf ir
e,“tri
edt ostop
him.”Jesus,howeveri nsist
edongoingonwi thit
:“Don’tinterpose,letGod’s
planinsalvati
onhistoryt akeit
scour
se.Letitbesonow, forthusi ti
sf i
tti
ngfor
ustof ul
fi
llallri
ghteousness.”Uponthis,Johnconsented“ Letithappen” .The
divi
neplani sthatJesusshoul dinobediencetakeuponhi mselfther oleofthe
sonofGod.

ThedialoguebetweenJesusandJohnwasi nsertedbyMat t
hewtoaddressthe
embarrassingproblem fortheearlychurchi .e.WhywasJesusbapt izedby
John?Doest hisnotmeant hatJohnwasgr eaterthanJesus?Thi
sproblem was
mademor eacutebecauseoftheconti
nuingfollowersofJohntheBapt
ist.

The voice f
rom heaven was nota private communi
cati
on buta publ i
c
procl
amation“Thi
sismybel ovedsonwi t
hwhom Iam wel lpl
eased”.The
Bapti
stmustheari
thimsel
fandhisfol
lowersmustknowthatt
heirmasterreal
ly
point
sthem t
oJesus.

InMatt
hewJesuswasal readyannouncedasthemessi
anicsavi
ourathi
sbirt
h
andconcepti
on.TheBapti
stther
eforemarkedt
hepoi
ntatwhichJesuspubli
cly
commitshimselft
otheroleforwhichhehadbeendest
inedatbirt
h.Thevoi
ce
fr
om heavenfor
mt hecl
imaxofitall
.

Thet
empt
ati
ons:Comment
ary

Thet empt ati

onsoccur r
edsoonaf t
ert hebapt ism butatadi f
ferentplacei.e.“ i
n
thewi l
der ness”wher eJesuswast akent obyt hedevi l(4:1).The spi ri
t
“snatches”Jesus( accordingt oR.H.Ful ler
).Thi sshowst hatMat thewt hought
ofavi sionar yexper ience,liketheseeri n Revel at
ions17: 3,who wasal so
snatchedaway.Thet hreet emptati
onscomef rom alaterstageoft heQsour ce
i
nwhi cht het i
t l
e“SonofGod”whi chwasor i
ginall
yat t
achedt othemomentof
resurrection( Rom 1: 4)hasbeenr etroj
ectedi ntotheear thl
yl i
feofJesus.I n
form,t het empt at
ionsar eascr i
ptur almi drash.Mat t
hew hasr epict
uredt he
mosai ct ypeoft emptat i
onsbyaf ew si gnifi
cantt ouches.LikeMosesi nSi nai ,
Jesusf ast sforf ort
yni ghtsandf ortydays( cfExod34: 28).Jesusi sshownt he
kingdomsoft hewhol ecosmos, l
ikeMoseswasshownt helandofCanaanf rom
mountNebo( Deut34: 1– 4) .Thispr epar est hewayf ortheser monont he
mountandi sr el
evantt otheMat t
heanchur ch’ssi t
uation:i
.e.thesynagoguehas

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Mosesasi tsfounderfi
gure;thet r
ueI sr
aelhasJesus,t
hegiveroft
hemessiani
c
torahthatful
fi
ll
sandsuper sedest heMosaictorah.Al
sothetemptat
ionsshow
Jesust obet het r
uesonofGod,obeyi ngGod’ scommandi nDeuter
onomy
wher einthewi l
derness,Israel;thepredecessorofthesynagoguehadbeen
disobedi
ent.

TheSer
monont
heMount(
Mtt
.5t
o7)

Analysisandcomment ary
Mat t
hew hascar eful
lycomposedt hi
sset ti
ng.Jesussaw t hecr owds,buthe
deli
veredthegr eatser monnott othecr owdsdi r
ectl
ybuti ntheirhear i
ng.He
wentupi ntot hemount ain,aplaceofdi vinerevel
ati
ons,asMoseswentupon
Sinai.Hesatdowni napost ur
eassumedbyaut hori
zedteachersoft helaw.And
his disci
ples came t o hi m.So t he sermon was addr essed directl
yt othe
disci
ples.Finall
y,heopeneduphi smout h,asolemnphr asethattel
lsthatJesus
wast odeliverdiviner evelat
ion.Matthew’ schurchist husassur edt hatthi
s
sermoni samessi ani
ct orahreplaci
ngt heMosai ctor
ahoft hesynagogue.

The ser mon di scloses Mat t

hew’ s eccl esiasti
calagenda and pr ovi
des a
pragmat i
cgui det ot hechur ch( di
dacti
c)hi ghli
ghtingt heuniversali
sm ofthe
gospel .Iti
sachur choft hosewhohaveent eredtheki ngdom andadescr i
pti
on
ofthequal it
yofl ifenowexpect edoft hem ( i.
eessent ialChr
isti
anity)thati
sthe
ethicsoft henew agef ort hosewhopar tookoft henew power .Theser mon
l
ogi callydevel opsabasi ct hemeof“ thequal it
yandconductofl ifeinthe
kingdom”whi chi sr esentedi nt hebeat i
tudes.Someschol arsr egarditasthe
expr essionofanobl ewayoft hinking/t
eachi ng,deal i
ngwi t
hwhatmanshoul d
t
h
ber at herthanwhatheshoul ddo.Some20 cent uryscholarsr egardedthi
s
neitherasani mpr acti
calidealnoraf ullyat tai
nabl epossibi
lit
y.Gi l
mourS. M
regar dsitasanet hicoft hetranscendent alor der.

Str
uct
ureoftheser mon
Thebasi cstructurecomesf r
om theQ sour ce.However ,Matt
hew hasalso
addedhisownmat eri
alsfrom M.Hehascar efull
yor ganizedthi
smateri
ali
na
neatstruct
urei ncludi
ng ninebeat i
tudes,si
xant it
hesesand t hreeworksof
mercy.Ingener althest r
uct ur
ereveal
st hefollowingt hemes:(i
)Loveforthe
enemy( i
i)prohibit
ionofjudgmentonot her
s( ii
i)thetestoft r
uegoodness(i
v)
hearer
sanddoer softhewor d.

Beat
it
udes

The beat i
tudes cont
ain thr
ee elements, f
ir
stl
y, t
he pronouncement of
bl
essedness,second,t he pr
esentatti
tude,stat
e oracti
vit
y oft hose so
pronounced,andthir
d,thepromiseofsalvat
ionattheend.“Blessed”means

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thatt heyalreadynowenj oyt hepr omiseoff uturesal vat ion.Thef uturesal vation
i
sdescr i
bedunderanumberofdi f
ferentmet aphors:possessi onoft heki ngdom
ofheaven,consol ati
on;inher i
tanceoft hel and;t her ecept ionofmer cyand
seeingofGod.Thesepr omi sesar ef i
nalrewar dsf orr adicalobedi encei nt his
presentage.
“Poori nspiri
t”,doesnotsuggesteconomi cpover t
yandpol it
icaloppr essionbut
ar ealizati
onofone’ sspir
it
uali nadequacy.
“mour ning,
”suggest ssorrowf orone’ssi nsandadesi ref ormor alr
ef ormat ion.
“meek, ”suggest shumi l
it
yandki ndness.
“purei nhear t,”denotesunr eservedcommi t
mentt ot hewi llofGodi .e.thenew
ri
ght eousness.
“peace maker s,”i n Matthew’ s sit
uat i
on woul d have meant wor ki
ng f or
har moni ousr elati
onswi t
hint heChr i
stian communi ty.Thi swaspar t
icularly
rel
evanti nacommuni t
ythati ncludedJewi shChr istiansofvar i
oust ypesand
recentgent il
econver ts.Theyhadf acedper secuti
onbyt hesynagogue.They
hadbeenper secutedbecauseoft heiradher encet or i
ght eousnessi .
e.t ot he
Messi anictorahofJesusr atherthant othemosai ctor ah.

Aftert hebeati
tudesMat thew recordst heauthent icwisdom sayingsofJesus
which wer e origi
nal l
y addressed t o Jesus’di scipl
es.They r el
atet he new
ri
ght eousnesstot het orah( Mtt5:17–48) .Thesesayi ngswerer e-appl
iedby
Mat thewt ohischur chunderper secution.e.g.(Thecommuni tyast hesaltand
l
ight).Thechur chisacont rastsociety,dist
incti
vef rom thesurroundingwor l
d,
i
ncludi ngthesynagogue.I tsroleistoshow f or
t hwhati ti
sbyi t
sgoodwor k.
Thesegoodwor ksar enoti tsownachi evement,f ortheywil
lleadt hewor l
dto
praisenott hechur chbutt heheavenl yf at
her.Fort hewayofr i
ghteousnessis
botht aughtandmadepossi blebyJesus.

Theanti
thesesMtt5:17–48
“Thi
nknotthatIhavecomet oaboli
shthel
awandt
hepr
ophet
s,Ihavecomenot
to
abol
isht
hem buttofulf
il
lthem”(v17).

ThisunitservesasMat thew’sint roducti

ont otheant i
theses.Itformsoneoft he
mostdiffi
cultyetmosti mpor t
antpassagesi nMat thewandonewhosemeani ng
i
smostdi sput edamongi nterpreters.Asimpl i
fiedexplanationofthistextisthat
Matthewmadear e-i
nter pr
etationoft het orahint helightoft hereal
iti
esoft he
compositi
onofhi schur ch.Jewi shChr ist
iansi nPal esti
neper hapsl ovedt o
conti
nueobser vingthet or
ahe. g.onci r
cumci sionandSabbat hlaws,butt heir
counter
par t
s,thegent ilesandot herHel l
enisti
ci nthesamechur chcoul dnotbe
for
cedt oobser veJewi sht raditi
onsandcust oms.Ther eforear eint
erpret
at i
on
ofthet orahwoul df ocusandemphasi zeonl oveforanot herandt olerance
towardsgent i
les.Mat thew’schur chwoul dhavei mplement edt hi
si nt
hespi ri
tof
thebetterr i
ght eousnessoft heant i
theses,t hegol den rul
eand t hedoubl e
commandmentofl ove.

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Ther ear esi xant i

t heses.Theyal lhavet hef ol
lowi ngf orm:Fi r st,thet hesi s,
whi chisaci tati
onf rom theoldt orah“ Youhavehear dt hati twassai dyoushal l
notki ll
.”Second,t heant it
hesisproper ,whi chisar adi calreint erpr et
ationoft he
torah, “ butIsayt o you ………. ”Thi rd,a speci fi
ci l
lustration oft her adical
command,of teni npi cturesquei mager iese. g.“I
fyourr ighteyecausesyout o
sinpl ucki tout ……………. ”Thef irstant i
theseswasonmur der( 5:21–26)Jesus
radicalisedt hesi xthcommandmentt oincludet hepr ohibiti
onofanger .Mat thew
addst woi ll
ustrationst hatgi veaposi ti
vef orcet ot hispr ohibition:bel i
ever s
mustst rivet ober econci l
edwi tht heirfell
ow bel i
ever ssot hatt hechur chmay
beacommuni tyofl ove.Thi swasver yr el
evanti nachur chwher el ong-standing
Jewi shChr isti
ansandr ecentgent il
econver tswer et ryi
ngt oset tledowni na
singlecommuni ty.Int hisantithesesMat thew hadi nmi ndr elationshi pswi thin
theChr i
st i
ancommuni ty.Inthesi xthandf inalanti
theses,hewi l
lbeconcer ned
witht her elati
onshi pbet weenChr i
st i
ansandt heout sidewor ld.

The second ant i

thesis was on adul ter
y.Jesus r adicali
sed t he seventh
commandmentt oincludet hepr ohi
biti
onoft helustfulgl ance.Mat t
hew adds
theext r
emeinj uncti
on“ t
opl uckoutt heeye” ,asadvi sei ncar ryi
ngoutJesus’
radicalcommand.Hedoesnotmeani tli
terally.I
tisonl yaf i
gurati
veexpression
fordrasti
cactiontoavoi dsituati
onswher et empt ati
oni slikely.Matthew’sbasic
concer nher
eist opr ot
ectt hemar ri
agesi nt hechur chandal soMat t
hewgi ves
recogniti
ontowomenat hingthatwasmi ssingf rom ther abbi s,
whor ecognized
womenasobj ectsofmal egr ati
fi
cati
on.

Thethirdantit
hesiswasondi vorce.Thi sant i
thesesi stackedontot he oneon
adult
ery.Itappearstoabol i
shr athert hanr adicali
zet het or
ah,“
ButIsayt oyou
thateveryonewhodi vorceshiswi fe,exceptongr oundsofunchast i
ty,makes
heranadul ter
ess;andwhoevermar riedadi vorcedwomancommi t
sadul tery.”
(5:
32).PaulalsoknowsofJesus’ prohi bit
ionofdi vorcein1Cor i
nthi
ans7: 10- 11.
Ithasbeensuggest edthatsexuali mmor al
it
yher ereferstounionswi thki n
whichwasf or
biddenbyt hetorahoruni onscont ractedbypaganspr i
ortot heir
conversi
on.Thiswoul daccor dwi tht hesi tuati
onofMat t
hew’schurch,forsuch
previ
ouspaganmar ri
ageswoul dbeapr oblem i naJewi shchurchopent o
genti
lemission.

Thefourthantit
hesisison“ oaths”
.Thepr ohibit
ionisfi
rststatedingeneral
ter
ms“ Youshal lnotswearf alsel
y”andf ourspecifi
coathsar ementi
oned
concl
uding wi
t h a posit
iveinjunct
ion t
ot el
lt hetrut
hin allci r
cumst
ances
wit
houtinvol
vingthesanct i
onofanoat h.“Donotswearatal leit
herbyheaven
orbytheeart
horbyJer usal
em……. .”

Thefif
thant i
thesisisonr et
ali
ati
on.TheoldTor ahi
njuncti
onwasnoti ntended
toencourager evengebutt orestr
icti
t:onl
yaneye,notal i
fe.Onceagain,the
gener
alinjuncti
oni sfol
lowedbythreespeci
ficexamples(cfExod21:24;Lev24:
20;Deutr19:21).

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Thesixt
hant it
hesisisonl oveoft heenemy.Thi sl astant i
thesi
sf ormsacl i
max
tothe series.Her e above allt he bet t
err i
ght eousness i s expressed.The
commandi tselfisfrom Q,butMat thew hasr eformul atedi tasanant it
hesi sto
Levi
ti
cus19: 18.Thesayi ngissubst ant i
all
yaut hentict oJesus.However ,the
commandt ohat etheenemyoccur snowher ei nt het orah,soMat t
hew must
havealaterJewishint er
pretati
oninvi ew.Mat thewi sper hapsinferri
ngf r
om t he
behavi
ouroft hesynagoguet owar dhi schurcht hatsucht eachingwascur r
ent
ther
etoo.Mat thewhasal ter
edt hewor di
ngoft hei njunctiontopr ayfor“ those
who persecute you” .This shows t hatMat t
hew has i n mind notper sonal
enemiesbutoft hechur ch,whet herJewi shorgent i
lewhower eper secuting
Chri
sti
ansfortheirfaith.

Thedeedsofr
ight
eousnessMt
t6:1-
18

Reginal
dFul l
ersayst hatt hesynagogueacr osst hest r
eethadi tsownl i
stof
deedsofr i
ghteousnessi .e.al ms’gi vi
ngpr ayerandf asti
ng.Mat t
hew pr ovi
des
hiscommuni t
ywi ththesamel i
st,butineachcaset hepiousdeedi sradicali
zed.
Thismakest hedeedsofr ighteousnessi nMat thew ar evisedver siont osuit
Matthew’sneeds.ForMat t hew,t hebetterr i
ghteousnessi ncl udesnotonl ya
radi
cali
zati
onoft hedecal ogueandt heholinesscode,butal sooft heJewi sh
rul
esofpietythatgobeyondt het orah.
Onal msgi
ving(6:2-4)allthr eerulesar eradical
izedi ncontrastt othebehavi our
ofthehypocri
tesi.e.thesynagogueacr ossthest reet.

Onpr ayer
:Jesusherehadpr i
vat
epr
ayerinvi
ew.Buthedi
dnotexcl
udepubli
c
orcor por
ateprayerasshowni nMtt18:19.InJudai
sm,pr
ayerwasclosel
y
connectedwit
hal msgi
ving.

Onfasti
ng,R.Ful
lersaysthatpr
ayerandf ast
ingof
tenwentt
ogetheri
nJewi
sh
pr
acti
ce.Fasti
ngaddedf or
cetotheprayerandmadeitmoreurgent
.

Ont hesayingsont reasur es,anxi etyandj udgingJesuswasnotaddr essi

ng
humani t
yingener alorevenI sraelinpar t
icularbuthi sdi sciples,t
hosewhohad
accept edhismessageoft hecomi ngr ei
gnofGod.Theyar etor enouncet heir
earthlycal l
ingsand possessi onst of oll
ow hi m andpr ocl
aim hismessage.
Theirswast o bet her adicalobedi enceofi ti
nerantchar ismaticpr eachers.
Wi t
houtl osi
ngt hei
rpr i
mar ymeani ngt heyhadf orJesust heinjuncti
onsar enow
treated as convent i
onalwi sdom t eachi ng aboutr iches.You do notgai n
anythingbybei nganxi ous.Ofcour seMat theanChr istiansdi dnothavet ogi ve
upt heirpossessions, buttheywer etogett hei
rpr i
oriti
esst r
aight,
“Butseekf i
rst
God’ skingdom…. .
”( 6:33).Ver se30 not est hattheJesusofMat thew was
addr essi
ngt hoseofl i
ttl
ef aith,“O menofl i
ttl
ef ait
h, ”Thi swasaf avourite
designat i
onf orMatthew’ schur ch.Apunyf ai
thhasmanyconsequences;onei s
thatitleadspeopl etot rustinuncer tainrichesandt her eforemakest hem prone
toanxi et
y.

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TheconclusionoftheSermonont heMountconsi stsoffourunit

s.Eachunit
feat
uresacontrast
:broadversusnarr
owgat e(7:13–14);goodversusbadfr
uit
(15–20) ;lawl
essnessversusri
ghteousness;houseonr ockversushouseon
sand.Choicesmaderightwil
ldet
erminebeli
eversfateatt
heend.

Thepr
act
icalmi
nist
ry

MiracleStories
Thet erm“ miracl
est or
ies”isusedtor ef
ertotheheali
ngsandnat uremiracl
es
thatJesusper formed.Moder n scholar
scalltheseact s“messi ani
cdeeds” .
WhenJesusper for
medt heseacts,t
hemot i
vecouldbet wo-fold (1)maybet o
demonst ratehisauthorit
y,and (2)maybet oshowthehumanpur poseofthe
messi ah,thatthemessi ahwaschampi oni
ngsalvat
ionf ormen.ForMat thew
thepur posecoul dbet ostrengt
hent hebel
iever
sinf ai
th;thattheLor dJesus
Christwhom t heyhadr ecei
vedwasami ght
yGodusher i
ngsal vat
iontothosein
fai
th.

Apparentl
ythesemessi anicdeedsformedt hebasisfortheconfli
ctbet ween
Jesusandt heJewishaut hori
ti
es.Thehealingswereconductedonout casts.
Thenaturemiracl
eswer ecarri
edoutwit
hacl aimformessiani
cpower s.Jewish
author
it
ieswhohadt heconceptionofapureMessiahfounditdif
fi
culttoaccept
af i
gurewhowasi nteracti
ngwi t
hsinnersandout casts.Consequentl
yt hey
vi
ewedJesusasasel f
-procl
aimedMessiah,henceablasphemer.

Themostnotablemi r
aclestori
esi nMat t
heware:
(
1)Theheal
ingoft heleper(Mt t8)
(
2)Heal
ingoftheGadar enedemoni ac(V28)
(
3)Heal
ingofThePar al
yti
cMan( Mt t9)
(
4)Heal
ingofthetwobl indmen( V27)
(
5)Heal
ingofPeter’smot her-
in-l
aw
(
6)Cal
mingthestor m( Mtt8:23-27)
(
7)Thewit
heredfigtree(Mtt21:18)

Theseleadingst or
iesmani f
estsomeexceptionalpowersofJesus.Inal
lcases
themi r
aculousactr ecedesint
othebackgroundandever yt
hingi
sconcentrat
ed
ont hedeclarat
ionoff ait
handt heremissi
onofsi ns.Onthelat
terdecl
arati
on
thePhar i
seesf ound hi m gui
ltyofthechar geofbl asphemy,“Thisman is
blaspheming”(9:3)
.

Accordingt oReginaldFull
er,
twoofthesemi r
aclestoriesar edeemedi mpor t
ant.
Thesewi llbeusedt ocommentont hesi gnif
icanceoft hemi racl
est ori
esf or
Mat t
hew.Thest il
lingofthestor
m( 8:23-27)andt heheal i
ngoft hepar al
yti
c( 9:
1–8)ar eputunderf ocus.Oncalmingoft hest orm,Reginal dFull
errendersthe
foll
owing inter
pretati
on:The journey across t he sea i s a parablef orthe
disci
pleship.The“lit
tl
eboat”isasymbolf orthechur ch, asear l
ychurchf at
her s
oftenputit.Thest ormthatisdescri
bedinapocal ypti
cter msasanear thquake

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becomes a symbolf orthe t

ri
bulati
ons ofMat t
hew’ s community e.
g.i t
s
expulsionf r
om thesynagogue,t
het r
aumaoft headmi ssi
onofgentil
es,andthe
persecution by the Roman aut hori
ti
es.Int he face oft hese t
ribul
ati
ons
Mat t
hew’ s church was notst r
ong enough hence Mat t
hew quotes Jesus
rebukingt hedisci
plesf ort
hei
rpunyorl i
tt
lefait
h.Thi ssymboli
zesMat t
hew’s
church, whichconfessesJesusasthesonofGod.

Aconcludingobservati
onont heset
womi r
acl
estoriesi
sapoi ntofMatthew’
s:
edi
ti
ngt hatJesus’aut hor
itytoremitsinsdevolvesupont hechur chasis
cl
earl
yexpr essedi
nMt t18:18,“
Trul
y,Isaytoyou,whateveryoulooseoneart
h
shal
lbeloosedi nHeaven”.

Thepar
abl
edi
scour
sesi
nMat
thew

Mat
thewf
oll
owsMar k’
sparablesinMark4:1-34.Mat
thewusest
hesepar
abl
es
f
orhi
sedi
tor
ialpur
pose.(
Pleaserefert
oMtt13intheBibl
e)

ForMat thew aswel lasf orLukewhati satst akeint hepar ablesisnott he

messi ahshi pofJesus, butt her eveal edtruthsaboutGod’ spur posei nsal vati
on
history.ForMat t
hew t hese appar entt ruths are:judgmentf orI sraelnow,
salvationf ort hegent il
esnow andj udgmentoft hel awl essmember soft he
chur ch att he end.The l awl ess member s wi t
hinthe chur ch ar et he fal
se
prophet si .
e.t hosecondemnedi nt heal l
egor i
calint
erpr etati
ont ot hepar ableof
thewheatandt hetar es( Mt t13:24) .Therewer edoubt lesspeopl ei nMat t
hew’ s
communi tywhower eopposedt ot hemi ssiont othegent i
lesandpeopl ewho
want edt ooustf r
om t hechur cht hosegent il
eswhowant edt oabandont he
torahal t
oget her .ForMat thew,t heJew andt hegent il
eChr isti
anshoul dbe
all
owedt ogr ow t oget herunt i
lhar vestt i
mei .
e.thef i
nalj udgment .Meanwhi le,
Mat thew’ schur chshoul dr emai nami xedbodyofwheat( t
hosewhol iveupt o
thebet terr ighteousness)and t ares( thosewho f allshor t).Regi nald Fuller
comment st hati nchapt er13t heEvangel i
sti sacti
ngasascr ibet rainedfor
God’ sr eign,“ Therefor eever yscr ibewhohasbeent rainedf ortheki ngdom of
heaveni sl ikeahousehol derwhobr i
ngsouti shistr easur ewhati snew and
whati sol d”( 13:52). Hebr ingsoutofhi scupboar d new t hings( i.
e.the
Mat theanr edact i
onandol dt hings( i
.e.theJesuspar ablesast oldbyhi mself
andaspr eser vedint het radition) .

Finally,onacompar at
ivenot e,iti
snotedt hatMatt
hewportr
aysdi f
ferentlythe
disciplesfrom Mark.I n Markt heyconst ant
lyshowed misunderstanding of
Jesuswher easinMat thew t
heyunder standallthepar
ableswithoutdi f
ficul
ty
(13:51).Simil
arl
yMat t
hewexpect shischurchwil
lbeabl
etocompr ehendGod’ s
purposei nsalvat
ionhistoryoncet heyhavebeenexplai
nedtothem,wher easit
i
st hesynagoguet hatwi l
lbeblinded.

Themi
nist
ryi
nJer
usal
em

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Mat t
hew port
rayst heJer usal
em mi nistr
yasJesus’f i
nalconfrontati
onwi th
torah–Israelanditsfinaljudgment.TheJer usalem mini
stryismar kedbyt he
populart
riumphalent r
y.Theeventr epor tsJesusarri
vinginJer usalem ri
ding
onanassami dstcheers.Theeventdr awspar al
lelswit
h“ t
hemeekki ng”(Zech
9:9)whocomesr i
dinganassandacol t
.Anassandacol tisthepr ogenyofa
beastofburden.Thi ssetsMat hew’
skeynot eoft hepassion:Jesussuf fer
sas
themeekandhumbl eking.

Theparaboli
ct eachingsont hewickedtenantsandt hegreatsupperareboth
all
egori
esofsal vati
onhist
ory.Theearl
ierser
vantsstandfortheOldTestament
prophet
sandt heSoni sequatedwi t
hJesusast helastofGod’semi ssar
ies.
Thehostoft hedi nnerpart
ybecomesaKi ng(i.
e.God);thedinneramar ri
age
feastf
ortheking’sson,repr
esentsthemessianicbanquet.

Thepar ableoft hemanwi t

houtaweddi nggar mentshoul dal
sobet aken
al
legorically.Thepoormancoul dhar dl
yhavebeenexpect edtohaveawedding
garmenti fhehadj ustbeenext r
actedof fthestr
eet.G.
E.P.Coxsaysthatthe
manr epr esentsthosegenti
leswhohavej oi
nedMat t
hew’schurchasaresul
tof
i
tsmi ssion, anditi
sapr ot
estagainsttheiradmissi
onont ooeasyter
ms.Some
ofthem wer esitti
nglooset otherequirementsofthet orahandthewedding
garmentr epresentsthe betterri
ghteousness thatis expect
ed ofal
l,even
genti
leChr i
sti
ans.

Thedi
scour
seagai
nstt
heScr
ibesandPhar
iseesMt
t23

Thet extr ail

sagai nstthePhar i
seesandscr ibes“ Woet oyouscr ibesand
Pharisees…”Somecomment atorstreatt hisdi scourseaspar toft hef inal
apocalyptic discour se that r uns thr ough t he end of chapt er 25.Thi s
denunciationoft hePhar iseesmakespai nfulreadinginthepost-holocaustera.
Itisdiff
iculttodet erminehowmuchofi tbelongst oJesusandhowmuchofi t
couldbet hesent i
ment soft hepost -
Jamni aMat theancommuni t
y.Int hefinal
analysisoft hedi scourse,Mat t
hew isnotant i
-t
orah.Heexpresslyrecognizes
themosai cauthor ityofthescr i
bes( 28:2)andur geshischurcht oobeyt heir
teaching.Inaccusi ngthescr i
besofsayi ngandnotdoi ngheevidentlymeans
theydonoti ntheirbehavi ourobeyt her adicall
yinterpret
edtor
ahasenunci ated
byJesusi ntheSer monont heMount .Toputi tsuccinctl
y,t
heydonotcar ryout
theradicalcommandmentofl ove.

Thepassi
onandr
esur
rect
ion

Thefol
lowingaccountsi
nMat
thewconst
it
utet
heso-
cal
ledPassi
onnar
rat
ives:
Theanointi
ngatBethany
TheLastSupper
TheGethsemaneagony
TheViolentar
rest

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Thetr
ialofJesus
TheCrucif
ixi
on

Basi call
ythesepassi onst or i
esr elatet hesor rowf uleventspr ecedi ngt hedeath
ofJesus.I tisinterest ingt onot et hatMat thew r ecognizest hati twast hehigh
priestandel ders,nott hePhar isees,whower et hechi efinst i
gat orsofJesus’
arrest.Whi lehisant i-Phar isaicconcer nl edMat t
hewt oexagger at et hepolemic
againstt hem,hedi dnotf alsi
fyhi storyandmaket hePhar iseesr esponsi bl
efor
thecr ucifi
xion.Itisnot edt hatint hear restofJesus, Mat t
hewdr opst hescri
bes
from t hecont i
ngentt hatcamet oar restJesus,t husshowi ngonceagai nhis
respectf orpasthi stor yasdi st
inctf r
om pr esentcont r
over sies,“ Whi lehewas
stil
lspeaki ng,Judascame,oneoft het welve,andwi t
hhi m agr eatcr owdwith
swor dsandcl ubs,f rom t hechi efpr iestsandt heel der
soft hepeopl e.”(
Mtt26:
47)
Inal levent soft hepassi on,asFul l
erput si t
,Jesusi sshowi ngt hathei sin
char geoft hesituatione. g.in26:50heor der sJudast odowhathehadcomef or.
Inver se52heor derst heunnameddi sciplet oputhi sswor dawayandi n26:18
also.

Thecr uci
fi
xionstorypossesafew i
nter
estingpoints.Thef i
rstpoi
ntisthatin
theaccountoft hemockeryatthecr
oss,Mat t
hew quotesPsalm 22:
8t oget
her
withtheexpl anat
ion“forhesaidhewast hesonofGod. ”Thisr ecal
lsthe
temptati
onst oryi
nMt t4:3;6,andsopr esentsthecr uci
fi
xionasJesus’last
temptati
on.

Thesecond pointi st hatatthedeath ofJesus“ t

hosewi th him”joi
nt he
cent
ur i
on i
n declari
ng t hatJesus was God’
s son (v54)
.Thi s was nota
confessi
onoffait
hont hepartoftheGent
ileworl
dasi nMarkbut ,asMatt
hew
expl
ains,an expression offearatt he ear
thquake and i
ts accompanying
phenomena.

Inadditi
ont ot heseedi t
orialmodificat
ionsMat t
hew i nsertssomesi xmajor
i
nserti
onsi nt
othepassi onnar r
ati
ve.Thef ir
stinsertoccur satthearrest26:52-
54.Whent heunnameddi scipl
etookupt heswor dtor esist,Jesust ol
dhimt o
puti
tbacki nits’sheath.Thencomesani mportantsayi ngofJesuswhi chis
onl
yattestedinMat thew,“ ……..f
oral lwhot aketheswor dwillperishbyt he
sword”( v52).Thisr emar kable passage por t
rays Jesus as l ivi
ng outt he
demandsoft heSermonont heMount( of5: 39)“butIsayt oyou,donotr esi
st
onewhoi sevil”
.

Thesecondi nsertisin27:3-10.Itconcer
nsthesuici
deofJudas,avari
antof
thestoryfoundinActs1:18-19,“
Nowt hi
smanboughtaf iel
dwithther
ewardof
hiswickedness…..”Thisi
sal egendar
yexplanat
ionofthenameofAkeldama
(Fi
eldofBl ood).Matthew wishest oemphasizethatJudas’endwasasel f
-
i
nfli
ctedjudgment.

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Thet hi
rdinser
tinvol
vesPi l
ate’
swife.Shecamei ntot hecour tandwarnedher
husbandnott ohaveanyt hi
ngtodo“ wit
hthatinnocentman” ,andtol
dhim ofa
baddr eam shehadhadaboutJesus.Asal r
eadyseeni nt hebirt
hnar r
ati
ves,
Matthew regar
deddreamsasamodeofdi viner evel
ation.Thisinsertmeans
thatfortheEvangeli
stt hedoctri
neofJesus’si nlessnesswasnotahuman
assessmentbutamat terofdivi
nerevel
ati
on.

Thef our
thinsertisthesceneinwhichPi l
atewashedhishands(27:24–25)
andpor t
rayshisinnocenceofJesus’
death.Thi
sepisodei
saf ur
therat
temptby
Matthewt oshi
fttheblameforthedeathofJesusuponTorah–Israel
.(t
heHoly
peopleofGod).

Thef i
fthi nsert
ionoccur redatt hemomentofJesus’deat h.Ther ewasan
earthquake,r ockswer espl i
t,graveswer eopenedandmanysai ntswer er ai
sed
bodily.Thi sisast r
angest ory.Onewonder swhatt her esur rect edsaint swere
doing bet ween Good Fr i
dayand East er.Regi nald Fuller,aswel lasWi l
li
e
Mar xsen and G. E.
P.Cox obser ve thatthis st or
yf l
at l
y cont radict
s Paul ’
s
teachingt hatotherresur r
ectionswi l
loccuronl yatthePar ousi a( 1Cor15:23) .
Tounder standitonemustr ecallthati
napocal ypticexpect ationt her esurrect
ion
hopedf orwasagener alone.I tupsetapocal ypti
ccal cul ati
onswhenonl yone
person, Jesus, wasresur r
ectedatEast er.Thi
sl egendwasevi dent l
ydesi gnedto
stressthef actthatther esurrecti
onisessentiallyacor por ateeventandt hatthe
resurrection ofJesus i st he cause ofal lot herr esur rections,si nce his
resurrectionwast hevictoryoverdeat h.

Thesi xthi nser tist hest or yoft heguar datt het omb.I ti
sdi spersedi ntothr ee
separ atei nstallment s:firstthepost ingoft heguar datt her equestoft hehi gh
priestsandPhar isees;second,aser i
esofr emar kableevent swi tnessedbyt he
guar dsont heSundaymor ning,i .e.t heear thquakeandt heappear anceofan
angelwhi ch l eftt he guar d convul sed wi thf earas dead men;t hir
d,t he
concl usi oni nwhi chsomemember soft heguar dr epor ttheirexper iencet ot he
highpr iest s,whobr i
bet hem t osayt hatJesus’di sci pleshadst olent hebody
whi l
et heguar dswer easl eep.Ther ear eanumberofpr oblemswi t
ht hisstory.It
i
sunl ikel yt hatt heJewi shr eli
giousaut hor i
tieswoul dhavegonet oseePi late
dur i
ngt hePassoverSabbat h.Ther eferencet oJesusasan“ I
mpost or ”seemst o
presupposet hechur ch’spost–east erpr oclamat i
onandI srael’
sr eject i
onofi t
.
The cl ai m t hat Jesus had f oret old hi s resur rect i
on pr esupposes t he
devel opmentoft hepassi on/resur rect i
onpr edicti
onsas“ propheci esaf tert he
event .”Ther equestf ort het ombt obeseal edt il
lthet hi rddaypr esupposest he
Chur ch’sEast ermessageandt heconnect i
onoft he“ thir
dday”wi tht heempt y
tomb.Andt her esur recti
oni st reat edasanobser vabl eeventr athert hanasa
revelator y encount ert ot he Phar i
sees’i nvolvementi nt he pl ot ,and t he
statementt hatt he sl ander ous st or y was cur r
entamong t he Jews unt i
l
Mat thew’ sday, betraysi tsor i
gin:i tisanapol ogeti
cl egenddesi gnedt ocount er
theTor ah- Israel’
ssl anderaboutt heor igi
noft heEast erf aith.

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Thelastimport
antaspectoft her esur
recti
onnar r
ati
vesinMat thewi sthegr eat
commi ssi
onin28:16– 20,“ Got heref
oreandmakedi scipl
esofal lnat i
ons,
bapti
zingthem int henameoft heFather,theSonandt heHol ySpi ri
t…..
”( v
19).
Inonewayt hischar gestr
ikest heuniver
salnatureofMat thew andf ur
ther
str
essesthepointagai nstthesynagoguet hatopposedtheinclusionofGent il
es.
Matthew’snewr ighteousnessr estsonthedoct ri
neofloveandbr otherhoodi n
Chri
stthrought
hei mpl ementati
onoft helastgreatcommuni onoft heLor d.

Concl
udi
ngr
emar
ks

The fol
lowing impor t
antaspects have been leftoutint hi
s bookbecause
examinersmaynotr aiseexaminati
onquestionsonthem basingonthebookof
Matthew only.Theycanonl ybeexami nabl
ei nacompar at
ivewayi .
e.tosay,
l
ookingatt hem astheyar epresentedinthe4Gospel s.Theseaspectsare(1)
Thetransfi
gurati
on ( 2)Thebaptism andtemptati
ons (3)Thegreatconf
essi
on
and(4)TheBapt istmovement .

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1.Whowr ot
ethegospelofMatthewandwhy?
2. “
Matt
hewi smainl
ywrit
ingfortheJews.”Howjustif
iedi
sthi
sstat
ement.
3.Onwhatimport
antpointsdi
dJesusconf li
ctwi
ththeJewishaut
hori
ti
es?
4.Examinethecr
ucif
ixi
onandpostr esur
recti
onst
oriesinMatt
hew.

Gobbets:Wr i
teexpl anat orycomment sont hefoll
owi ng:
a)“Thevoi ceofonecr yingi nt hewi lderness:Prepar ethewayoft heLor d,make
strai
ghthispat h.”(Mat thew3: 3)
b)“Areyouwhoi st ocome, orshal lwel ookf oranot her.”AndJesusanswer ed
them, “Goandt ellJohnwhatyouhearandsee- ---“(Mat t
hew11: 3-4)
c)Andhewast r
ansf igur edbef or ethem,andhi sf aceshonel i
ket hesun,and
hisgar mentsbecamel ightl ikesnow.Andbehol d,thereappear edtot hem
MosesandEl ij
aht alkingt ohi m.( Matthew17: 2-3)
d)“Andbehol d,thecur t
ai noft het empl ewast orni ntwo,f rom topt obottom
andt heear t
hshook, andr ockswer esplitandtombswer eopenedandmany
bodiesoft hesai ntswhohadf all
enasl eepwer eraised…”( Matt
hew27: 52-5)
e)“ThinknotIhavecomet oabol i
shthel awandt hepr ophets,Ihavenotcome
toabol i
shthem butt of ul f
illthem” .(Mat t5:17)
f)“Teacherwewi sht oseeasi gnf r
om you” .(Matt12: 38).

Ref
erencesf
orpr
evi
oust
opi
cs

1.Di
bel
ius,
M,Fr
om Tr
adi
ti
ont
oGospel,
(1935)

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2.Full
erR.H,Arti
cleintheHar per’
sBi bl
eComment ary1988
3.KummelW.GI ntroductiont othenewt est
ament,(1975)
4.Mar xsenW.Arti
cleinPeakes’ BibleComment ar
y
5.MeierJ. P.Thevi si
onofMat thew:Chr i
stChurchandMor ali
tyinthe
GospelofMat t
hew, PaulistPr ess,1983.
6.PetersonN.R.Arti
cleinHar per ’
sBi bl
eComment ary,1988
7.Stanton G,The i nterpretati
on ofMat t
hew.I ssues in Rel
igi
on and
Theology,1983

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CHAPTER11
THEBOOKOFMARK
Byt
heendoft
hechapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.Di
scusst
heaut
hor
shi
pandt
het
heol
ogi
calmot
ivesofMar
k.

2.Expl
ainwhyt
hegospel
ofMar
kcanbevi
ewedas“
anact
iongospel
”

3.Di
scusst
het
hemesoft
hehumani
tyofJesusandt
hemessi
ani
csecr
eti
n
Mark

4.Exami
net
her
esur
rect
ionst
ori
esi
nMar
k

Backgr
oundIssues:
(1)Aut
horshi
p
(2)Set
ti
ng
(3)Dat
e
(4)Pur
pose

I
ntr
oduct
ion

ThegospelofMar kistheshor t
estofallthegospel s.I tisgener al
lyt
houghtto
bet heear liestgospel .Matthew andLukear esaidt ohaveusedMar kast hei
r
sour ce.Mar kal
onei sexpli
citl
ycall
eda“ gospel”.Thist ermi susedi nsecond
Isaiah40:9t omeant hegoodwor ksofGod’ ssavingact i
on.InGr eektheter
m
“gospel ”meanst hegoodnewsoft hesi gnif
icantevente. g.t hebir
thofan
emper ort
hati sannouncedbyanemi ssary.Ther eforeinMar ktheterm“gospel
”
referst ot hepr oclamat i
onoft heChristeventi .
e.t hesi gni
f i
cancethatthe
person,l i
fe,mi nistry,passi
on,death,resur r
ectionandascensi onofJesusof
Nazar ethhadandst il
lhasforhumanhi storyandexi stence.

Thismodul ewi l
lfocusont heincorporat
ionofhist
oricalr
ecol
lecti
onsmat eri
al
andor altradi
ti
onmat er
ialalongwi t
hedi t
ori
aladdit
ionsint
ot helit
eraryand
theologi
calcomposi ti
on ofMar k.Itseekst o show how Mar k’skergymatic
narrati
veconfrontsit
shear er
swiththatsamechal l
engeandof ferofgracethat
Jesusof f
eredtohisorigi
nalhearers.

Whowr
otet
hebookofMar
kandwher
e?

ProfessorJohnR.Donahuesaysthatlikeothergospel
s,t
hetextofMarkdoes
noti dent
if
yi t
s aut
hor.Butearly church tr
adi
ti
on orearl
y church f
ather
s
(beginni
ngwi t
hPapias)at
tr
ibut
edthebookt oMar kacompanionofPet eri
n

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Rome( 1Pet5: 13)whoist henidentif

iedwithJohnMar kofActs12:12,and
MarkofPhilemon24;Col ossians4:10and2Ti mothy4:11.Thi
satt
ri
buti
ononly
hasitsj
usti
ficationi
ntheapologeticdesir
etoassoci
ateanon-Apost
oli
cGospel
wit
ht heApost l
ePet er
;andal sobyt hef r
equencyofthename“ Mark”inthe
Romanempi re,andbyt heanci enttendencytoattr
ibut
ewor kstoimport
ant
fi
guresfr
om t hepast.

Churchhi st
oryandpat r
ist
icwr i
ter
si .
e.t heearl
ychur chfathers,andcer tain
i
nternalevidencesett hefinalcomposi ti
onoft hegospelatRomesomet i
me
aft
erthedeat hofPet erdur i
ngt heNer oneanpersecuti
oninAD64.I nr ecent
exegesisMar khasbeensetatorl ocatedinGal i
leeorsout hernSyria.Thi s
opini
oni sbasedont hest r
essi nMar konGal i
leeast heplaceoft hefirstand
expectedrevelat
ionofJesus,alongwi t
hi t
sstr
ongPal est
ini
ancol our
ing.

Someschol arsfeelthatsomei nternalevidencefrom thegospelof f

ercluesto
i
tssi tuati
onandaudi ence.Anexampl eofsuchevi dencei sassociatedwi t
h
Mar k13.Thi schapteri soft
endescr ibedasanapocal ypti
cdiscoursegivenin
thef orm ofpr edi
cti
onsgi venint hepast .I
tisassumedt hatthiscrypti
call
y
depictsupheaval sint heli
vesoft her eader
s.Theci vildi
sturbancesandt he
i
ntensi t
y oft he per
secution described in 13:
7-13,may r efl
ectbot h Nero’
s
persecutioninAD64andt heJewi shwarofAD66–70.

Thel argenumber sofLat i

nisms( Greekt erms)suggestaset t
ingwher ebot h
Lati
nandGr eekwer eused.Thet eachingondi vorcerefl
ectsRomanl aw( 10:10-
12)andt hewi dow’sof fer
ingi n12:42, i
sexplainedintermsofRomancur r
ency.
The communi tyi ncluded large number s ofJews.Fami li
arity wi
th Jewi sh
scri
pturesispr esumedandexpl ici
tcitati
onsandal l
usi
onstot hem aref requent.
Theyar etheaut horitat
iverevelat i
onofGod,andt hecoreofJesus’t eachi ngas
a summar yf rom t he Old Test ament( 12:28 – 34) .Jewi sh customs ar e
expl
ai ned(7:3- 4)Ar amaicphr asesar et ranslat
edanddet ailsofPal est i
nian
geographyar evague( 6:47– 7: 37)
.Thegospelcont ai
nsst rongat tackson
Jewishl awsandi nstit
uti
ons( 7:1–23;11:15- 19)andimpl i
esami ssiont ot he
genti
les,“ …..my house shal lbe cal l
ed a house of pr ayer foral lt he
nati
ons? ”(
11:17).

Mostlikel
ytheaudi encecompr isedofJewsandgent il
econver tsl
ivingoutside
ofPalesti
ne,whower ebr eaki
ngawayf rom tr
aditi
onalJewi shobservances.The
audi
encei salsomostl i
kelyofl owersoci o-
economi cst at
us.Thel anguagei s
notclearGreekbutt hatofor dinarypeoplewi t
hoccasi onalSemiti
ci nfl
uence.
Therichandt hosewhohol dseniorposi t
ionsofpowerar esuspect.Ordinary
i
temssuchast hepal letandt hebasketar eassociatedwi t
hthepoor .(6:
43).
Thoughonecannotest ablishwithcertaint
yi ntheseevi dences,i
tsr easonable
toconcludet hatt hebookwaswr it
tenf oraJewi sh- Christ
iancommuni t
yat
Romeshor tl
yaf terAD70.

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Whywast
hebookwr
it
ten?

Purposeandt heologicalmot i
ves
Mark wr it
es t o pr esenthi s under st
andi ng ofJesus.Thi si s call
ed t he
Chri
stologyofJesus, thehumani tyofJesus, “thegoodnewsofJesus, Messiah,
SonofGod”( 1:1)Mar k’spurposeisnott opr ovethisstatement,buttounfoldits
i
mpl i
cationsforf ait
handdi sci
pleship.TheChr i
stol
ogicalti
tl
esinMar kpr esent
i
mpor t
anti mpl i
cationsofMar k’sunder standingofJesus.Thesear e:( 1)The
Chri
st(2)SonofGodand( 3)SonofMan.TheChr istmeansMessi ah.Int he
Bibl
ethisi susedmai nlyforanointedRoyalf iguresandassoci atedwithIsrael’
s
hopef oraki ng whowoul dr est
oreDavi d’sr ule.Son ofGod,accor ding to
Donahue,doesnoti mpl ydi
vinenat ure,butpr i
ncipal
lyaspeci alrel
ati
onshipt o
God,e.g.inJob38: 7angelicbeingsandr ighteouspeopl earedescr i
bedassons
ofGod.

Sonofman:Thi seni gmat i

cphrasemeans“ humanbei ng”inAramai c.Itderives
fr
om Daniel7:13-27, whereitdescri
bedthegrant
ingofpower , honor,andgl ory
i
nt heheavenlyspher etoonel i
keasonofmanwhohassuf feredper secution
andwhoi sidentif
iedwi t
ht hesaint
softhemosthi gh.Itsuggestsani ndividual
whoalsoi srepresentati
veofal argergr
oup.Jesus,asSonofmanpossesses
poweronear th;willsuffer
,dieandber aisedup.Athi sretur
nasSonofMan,
Godwillsavetheel ectandpunishthewicked.

Mar kr
einterpr
etst heseti
tl
esandusest hem t
oshapehi sChr ist
ology.Jesusis
SonofGodnotsi mpl yasafigureofpowerbutast heobedientSonwhosuf fers,
diesandi svindicatedbyGod.Thet it
le“ SonofMan”,particular
lyunderscores
thevulnerabil
it
yofJesusaswel last hathumanityheshar eswi t
hot hers.It
establ
ishesrappor twit
hreadersandgivesproperunderst
andi ngtoSonofGod.

ProfessorL.W.Hur t
adosummar i
zedt hehumani tyofJesusi nver ypr ecise
ter
ms:Hesayst hatthissameJesuswhoi saddr essedasbelovedSon”bya
voicefrom heaven(1:11,9:7)i
sal sover yhumani nMark.Heshowsst r
ong
emot i
onssuchaspi t
y(1:4)
;viol
entdispleasure( 1:
43)anger(3:
5),andi smoved
atthesuffer
ingofotherswhoar eli
kesheepwi thoutashepherd(6:34).Likethe
Old Testamentpr ophets,Jesus pr oclai
ms t he need forconver si
on and
mani f
estsGod’swil
lthroughsymbol i
cact ivi
ty.Likethem,Jesusembodi esthe
compassionofGod.( Mk6:34)especiallyfort hosewhoar esuff
eringont he
mar gi
nofsociety–lepers,
taxcoll
ectorsandgent i
les.

Themessi ani
csecret
Mar kusestheamazi ngmessi anicsecrettoconveyapr operunder standi
ngof
Jesus’li
fe.Whendemonsaccl aim him SonofGod,hesi lencedt hem.Atot her
ti
mesJesust ell
speopl ewhohaveexper i
encedhispowert or emainsi l
ent
.The
purposeoft hisist wo-fol
d:fir
st,knowledgeofJesus’i denti
tycomesf rom
superhumanpower ,et herthatoft heheavens( 1:11;9:
7)oroft hedemons.
Second,properconfessionofJesus’ i
denti
tyshouldnotbemadeont hebassof

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t
hemiracl
es,butonlyaf
terf
oll
owinghimtothecr
oss.Thef
irsthumanf
igur
en
Mar
kwhocor rect
lyaddr
essesJesusasSonofGodistheCenturi
on,
whoatthe
momentofJesus’deathdeclaredthat“
Trul
ythi
smanwast heSonofGod”
(
15:
39).

Di
sci
pleshi
pinMar
k

Whi l
et hegospelofMar kist hest oryofJesus, i
tisalsothest oryofresponset o
thecal lofJesus.Thedi sci pl
esi nMar kcombi nenegativeandposi t
ivet raits.
WhenJesuscal l
s,t heyf oll
ow i mmedi atelyandt heyaresummonedt obewi th
him andt odot het hingshedoes:t each,healandcastoutdemons.Jesus
teaches t hem pr i
vat el
y,gi ves t hem t he myst ery ofthe ki ngdom ( 4:10-12)
rescuest henandmakest hem pr i
vilegedwi t
nessest ohispower .Thepictureof
thedisciplesi sal sooneofgr owi ngest rangementf rom Jesus.JohnDonahue
all
egest hati nthef i
rstpar toft hegospelt heymi sunderstoodhi smi r
aclesand
teachingse. g.4:40.I nthecent ralsect i
on, eacht i
meJesusst atesthatitisGod’ s
willthathesuf ferand di e,t heymi sunder st
ood this(8:32- 33).Twicet hey
bickeredoverr ankandpr est ige( 9:33)andat10: 32–45.Dur ingthepassi on
narrati
vet hought heyshar eaf inalmealwi t
hhi m,onedi sciplebetrayshi m
(JudasI schar i
ot);ot herssl eepdur inghi sgr eatestagony( 14:32-42) ;allf l
ee
whenhei sar rested;andPet erdeni eseverknowi nghim.

Thisdoubl e-
sidedpor t
r ai
toft hedi scipleshasspawnedheat eddebat eamong
exegetes.Some ar gue t hatt hey r epresentt hose i nt he communi ty,who,
fasci
natedbyat heologyofpower ,pr i
cet hemsel vesi nthei
rspiri
tualgift
s.The
fai
lur
eoft hedi sciplesi sseenasawar ningt hatat heol
ogyoft hecr oss,a
tri
umphalistt heologyofgl orycanonl yendi ndeni alandbet r
ayal.Moder ate
scholarssuggestt hatt hef ail
ureoft hedi scipl
esencour agesthosei nMar k’s
communi tywhohavef ail
edi nthef aceofper secution.ThoughPet erdeniedt he
Lord,theearlychur chknewhi m asar ecipientofar esur r
ect
ionappearanceand
asagr eatmi ssionary.Kel berandWeedenr emarkedt hatJesus,whoconquer ed
deathandempower edPet ertobecomeawi tnessandamar tyr,canconquer
theweaknessandbet r
ayalofhi sfollower s.

ThePr
ologuei
nMar
k1:1-
13

Thepr ol
ogueinMar kannouncest hebegi
nningofthegoodnews.Thepr ologue
setsthestageforthepublicmi nist
ryofJesusandintr
oducest hemajort
hemes
ofthegospel.Thesuperscript
ion( 1:
1)announces“t
hebegi nni
ngofthegospel”.
“Begi
nning”,impli
esnotsi mplyt hestartoft henarrat
ive,butthatit
st otal
messagei sthef oundati
onoft hatgospelthatcont
inuest obeproclai
medi n
Mark’sownt ime;andest abli
shest hecontinui
tyofsavinghistor
y:thegospel
ful
fi
ll
sGod’ spromises.

TheMi
racl
esofJesusi
nMar
k

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Miraclesoccupyaboutat hirdofMar k’swor k.Mar kdescr i

best hemi racl
esof
Jesusasmi ghtywor ks, notsi gnst hataut hent i
catet heministr
yofJesus.Tobe
mor eaccur atethesemi raclescanbet terbecal ledsymbol soft hepowerofGod
mani festinJesus.Thi spoweri sst rongert hant hef orcesofevilandi l
lnessand
respondst ot heneedsofsuf feri
ngpeopl e.Themi raclesinMar kcompr isefour
groupi ngsvi z.(1)heal ings (2)exor ci sms (3)nat ure miracles ( 4)one
resusci t
ation.Thedi fferentgr oupshavesi mil
arf ormalchar acteristi
cs,whi ch
arguef oror alr et
ell
ingpr iort oMar k.Mar kincor porat
est hesest ori
esf ora
vari
etyofr easons:
(1)toshowJesusasapr ophetmi ght yinwor danddeed( 6:1-6)
(2)toexal thim aboveot hercl aimant st odivinepower
(3)toevokewonderandawei nGod’ spower .
Mostoft hemi racl
esar epl acedpr i
ort othef i
rstpassi onpredicti
on( 8:31–32)
andt hebegi nningofJesus’ journeyt oJer usal em.Thi sisdonet osubj ectthem
tothenar rati
vepar adoxoft hisgospel-Jesust hepower f
ulonesubmi t
st o
God’swi llinbecomi ngt hepower lessvi ct i
m whoi sraisedupbyGod.The
resurrectionst oryistheul timat ewor kofpoweri nMar k.
Parabl esandmi ghtywor ks

Thesect iononpar ablescont inuesthet hemeofJesusaspower f

uli nwor dand
deed,butwi thescal
at i
ngopposi t
ion.Mar kconcl udest hepubl i
cmani festati
on
ofJesuswi thtwovi gnettesaboutt wogr oupst hathavemi sunder stoodt he
mi ght
ywor ksofJesust hroughouthi smi nistry.In8:
11-12t hePhar iseesaskf or
asi gnfrom heaveni .e.someconvi ncingmar kofdivineappr oval.Theyar ethe
oppositeoft hosewhoappr oachedJesussi mplywi thfai
th.Deepl yaf f
ect edby
suchar equest ,Jesusr ejectstheiratt
itudesayi ngthatnosi gnwi l
lbegi vento
thisgener ati
on.JohnDonahuecomment st hatJesususedt hesepar ablesbot h
to procl
ai m and to defend hi smi ssion.Theychal l
enget hehear erst o see
themselvesandGod’ sact i
oni nanew l ight.Theexor ci
smsofJesusar ethe
plunderi
ngoft hehouseofSat anandt hebi ndi ngofthepowerofevi l,bytheone
whoemer gedi ntheinit
ialsectionsofthegospelast he“str
ongerone”( 1:7).

Thepassi
oni
nMar
k

Thepassi onaccountcompr i
sedofdet ail
sf r
om thearrest;t
rialandcr ucifi
xion
ofJesus.Theseaccount swer enevernar ratedpurel
yf orhistori
calpur poses.
Theologi calconcer ns perhaps shaped up t he accounts.Fi rst
,apol oget i
c
concer nsshowt hatJesuswasi nnocentoft hechargesagainsthi m andi twas
will
ed byGod and pr edict
ed in scri
ptur
et hatJesusshoul d suff
er;second
stereologicalconcernssayhi sdeathwasr ansom formanybr i
ngingsalvat i
ont o
those who,t hrough fai
th accepti tas an of ferofGod’ s mercy.Thi rd,
chri
st ologicalconcernssayJesus’ t
ruenatureisr
evealedduringthepassi on.

Pl
easeseetextualdetail
softhepassionaccountsshoul
dbeobtainedfr
om t
he
Bi
bleit
sel
f.Thet r
ial
sofJesusshal lbetreat
edonacompar at
iveapproachfor
al
ltheGospels.Thereforenocomment aryisgivenfort
hem i
nt hemoduleon

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Mar
k.

Ther esur
rect
ion:comment aryandi nterpret
ation
Thewhol eissuel i
ngersonthe“ emptytomb” .Thenar rati
veoft heempt ytomb
doesnotpr ovi
def orMarkapr oofoftheresurrect
ion.Mar krejectsanysignthat
wouldfacil
itat
ebel i
ef(8:
12;15: 32)
.Scholarssayt hati nthebi bli
calworl
dt he
tombistheant eroom tother
ealm ofthedead.Theempt ytombi sasymbolt hat
bytheresurrecti
onofJesus’deat hhasbeenempt iedofi tspower .Themessage
oftheyoungmanact ual
lydi
rectstheattenti
onawayf r
om thet omb,“ Hei
snot
here”
,and t ot he procl
amat i
on “he isr i
sen”.Chr ist
ian fait
hr est
s on the
procl
amation,nottheempt ytomb.

Ther eacti
onoft hewomen,t heirf ail
uretodel i
verthemessaget othedi sciples
andt heabsenceofar esurrectionappear anceposemanypr oblems.Some
i
nterpretitasaf inalrejecti
onoft hosediscipleswhof l
edandar guet hateven
thef ai
thfulwomendi sci pl
esul ti
mat elyfail.Thisinterpr
etat
iondoesnotdo
j
usticetot heforceofJesus’ promi seinMk14: 27andt oMar k’
sviewt hatJesus
i
st het r
uepr ophetwhosewor dswi llachi
evet heireff
ect.Bytheabr uptendi ng
Mar kalsol eaveshi sr eader swi t har adicalchal l
enget othei
rf aith.Belief
,
conversion,anddi scipleshipdonotr eall
yrestonr esurrect
ionappearances, but
thewor dofpr omi se,thevi ctoryoverdeat hatt hatver ymomentwhendeat h
seemedsover eign.
Exami nationstypequest i
ons

1.Whowr ot
ethegospelaccordi
ngtoMarkandwhy?
2. “
Mar kwant stoportr
ayJesusasahumanbei ng.
”How j
ust
if
iedisthi
s
statement.
3.“Mar ki
satpainstoshowt heaut
hori
tyofJesus.
”Howdoesheport
rayt
his
4. Discussthethemeofthemessiani
csecreti
nMar k.

GobbetsonMar k
Writeexplanatorycomment sonthefollowing:
a)“Thebegi nningofthegospelofJesusChr i
st,
theSonofGod.”( Mark1:1)
b)Andwhenhi sfamil
yhear dit
,theywentoutt osei
zehim,f orpeopl ewere
saying“heisbesi dehimsel
f’(Mark3:21).
c)FortheSonofManal socamenott obeser vebuttoser
ve,andt ogivehislif
e
asar ansom formany. ”(
Mar k10:
45).
d)“Andt heywentoutandf ledfrom thet omb,fortr
embli
ngandast onishment
hadcomeupont hem,andt heysaidnot hingtoanyone,fortheywer eaf r
aid.”
(Mark16: 8)
.
e)“Thebegi nningoftheGospelofJesusChr i
st,t
heSonofGod. ”(MK1: 1)
f)“Andt heywentoutandf ledfr
om t hetomb,f ortr
embli
ngandast onishment
hadcomeupont hem,andt heysaidnot hingtoanyone,fortheywer eaf r
aid.”
(MK16: 8).

Ref
erences

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(
1)DonahueJohnR.
,Art
iclei
nHarper’sBibl
ecommentary(
1988)
(
2)Hurt
adoL.W, Mark.Agoodnewscomment ar
y(1983)
(
3)MarxsenW Mar
kt heEvangel
ist(1969)

CHAPTER12
THEGOSPELOFLUKE
Byt
heendoft
hechapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.Di
scusst
hebackgr
oundi
ssuest
othegospelofLuke

2.I
dent
if
ythemai
nthemesi
ngospelofLuke

3.I
dent
if
yanddi
scusst
hebi
rt
hst
ori
esaccor
dingt
oLuke

4.Di
scusst
hepar
abl
esi
nLuke

5.Di
scusst
hemi
racl
est
ori
esi
nthegospelofLuke

6.Exami
net
hepassi
onst
ori
esi
nLuke

7.Exami
net
her
esur
rect
ionst
ori
esi
nLuke

Br
iefhi
stor
yoft
hebookofLuke

Maj
orChar
act
eri
sti
cs

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Thi sbri
efhi storywillfocusont heimportantaspectsofthegospelt hatare
relevanttotheneedsof‘ A’Levelcandi
dates.Theref
orethi
shistor
icalaccount
willfocusont hesignifi
canceofLukef ortheNew Testamentandt hechurch.
Amongal lthegospel s,thegospelaccor di
ngtoLukei suniqueinthatithasa
sequel,theAct soft heApost les.ThismeansthatLukeandAct sbelongt othe
sameaut hor. Cr addockF. B saysLuke-Actsisthel ar
gestcontr
ibut
ionbya
singlewrit
eri ntheNewTest ament .

Lukei samajorcont r
ibut
ort othechur ch’
sunder standingofi tsrelati
onshi pto
Judaism.Thei ssueofcont i
nuityordi scont i
nuitywasacr i
ti
calonef ort he
fol
lower sofJesus.Among ot hers,Paul ,Mat thew,John and t heaut horof
Hebrews,areallpr eoccupi
edwi t
ht hequest i
onofcont i
nuit
y,indi ff
erentways.
Luke’saccenti
smor eoncont i
nuitythandi scont i
nui t
y.TheHebr ewscr i
pt ures,
Jerusalem,t
het empl eandt hesynagoguef i
gurepr ominentlyandposi t
ivelyin
theli
feofJesusi nLukeandAct s’accountsoft hechur ch.True,thatmanyJews
rej
ectedJesusandhi smessage,butLuke- Actsmakei tcleart hatGodwas
keepingandful
fill
ingpr omisesmadet oAbr aham andhi sdescendant s.

Luke alone int he New Test amentj oi

ns historicall
yr ather than si
mpl y
theol
ogi
call
yt hemi ni
str
yofJesusandt hebir
thandspr eadoft hechurch.
Accordi
ngtoLuke, Godisnotonl yt
heGodofI sr
aelandt hechur ch,butal
soof
Adam,ofal lcreati
on,andofal lthenat
ions.Luke,ther ef
orewr otenotonlyof
Jesusand t het welve,butalso ofAugustus,Ti beriusand Gal li
o,notonl y
Bethl
ehem andJer usalem,butalsoofAt
hensandRome.

Luke’sdefini
ti
onoft het erm“ gospel
”is“ r
epentanceandf or
givenessofsins
should bepr eached i n hisnamet o al
lnations.”Thisthemeoccur smor e
fr
equent l
yinLuket hani nanyot hergospelwrit
er.Thi
sisthemessaget oI
srael
and to allnations.Thecr ossi snotapr ominentfeat
urein Luke.Whati s
i
mpor tanttoLukei st hatwhathappenedt oChristwasexactl
ywhathadbeen
prophesiedintheLaw,t hepr ophet
sandt hePsalms.Inotherwor ds,God’
swi l
l
was,andi sbeingr eali
zed, eveninJesus’passi
on.

Int hewholeNew Test ament,Lukeisoneoft hethreemaj orwit

nessest othe
presenceandact ivi
tyoftheHol ySpiri
tbesi
desPaulandJohn.Lukepr esents
frequent
lythatJesus’li
fewascharacteri
sedbytheempower ingpresenceofthe
Hol ySpi
ri
tandpr ayer.Accor
dingtoLuke,Jesus’l
astinst
ructi
ontohisdiscipl
es
wast owai tforthegi f
tofthespiri
tbeforetheyatt
emptt ocontinuehiswor k
(Luke24:49)

Finall
y,themostwidelyknowncharacteri
sti
cofLuke’
sgospeli
shi sat
tent
ionto
andevi dentconcernfortheoppressedandmar gi
nal
isedpersonsinsociety.
Thisattenti
ontothepoorandr ej
ectedappearsearlyi
nMar y’
ssongofpr aise;
reappearsinthef avourshowntot heshepherds,andsurfacesagainint he
socialmessageofJohnt hebaptist (3:10– 14);ispubli
clyannouncedby

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Jesus i
nhissermoninhi
shomesynagogue(
4:16-
21)
,andt
henbecomesa
ref
rai
ninhi
steachi
ngs(
14:
12-
14)

Whowr
oteLuke?

Aut
hor
shi
p

Moder nschol ar ssayt hatt het hirdgospel( Luke)i sanonymous.Thi smeans

thattheexactaut horoft hebooki snotknown.Thet extyieldsnoname, neither
doesi tpr ovidesuf ficienti nformat ionf rom whi cht heaut hor’snamemaybe
i
nf err
ed.Howeveri ti spossi blet osket cht hegener alpor traitoft heaut horon
thebasi soft het ext.( 1)Wecanknowf r
om t hegospelt hatt heaut horwasnot
aneye- wi tnessoft hemi nistryofJesusbutr ecor dst hoset hingsdel i
ver edt o
him byt hosewhof rom t hebegi nningwer eeye- wi tnesses( Lk1: 2)( 2)Thewr it
er
i
sast udentofpr evi ousaccount sofJesus’l if
e.( 1.1)Andheassumest hat
reader sar eal readyi nfor medi nt hesemat t
ers.( 3)Thest yleofwr itingindi cates
thattheaut horwasaper sonofeducat ionandt astef ami l
iarwi tht hemet hodsi f
nar r
ativecur renti nt hatcul ture.Thecont entoft hegospelal so r eveal sa
thoroughknowl edgeoft heSept uagi nt( LXX)i .e.aGr eekt ransl ationoft he
Hebr ewBi blewi del yusedi nsynagoguesi nt heHel l
enisticwor ld.I tis,however
notcl earwhet hert hismeanst hatt heaut horwasaconver tf rom Hel l
eni sti
c
Judai sm oragent i
leChr istian.Itisnotcl earal sowhet hert he“ we”passagesi n
Act sar et ober egar dedasevi dencet hatt hewr i
terwasat ravellingcompani on
ofPaulorsi mpl ymaki nguseofsuchar ecor dbyonewhowasi nPaul ’
s
company.Ar gument spopul arint he19thcent uryt hatmedi calt ermi nologyi nt he
gospelest abl ishedt heaut horas“ Luket hebel ovedPhysi cian”( Col .4:14)have
sincebeenl aidt orest .Thet raditi
ont hatt het hirdgospelwaswr i
t tenbyLuke, a
compani onofPaul( Col .4:14;Phi l
.24;2Ti m 4: 11)i satl eastasol dasI renaeus,
aboutAD185.Att hesamet i
mewhent histraditionwaspr evai l
ing, confirmat ion
oft hist radi t
ion,i sf oundi nTer t
ulli
an( NorthAf ri
ca) ,ClementofAl exandr a
(Egypt ),andi nadocumentf rom I talycal l
ed“ TheMur atorianCanon”t hatl i
sts
andcomment sonear l
yChr i
stianwr it
ings.I nr ecentt imesst udent sofbot hAct s
andPaulhaveser i
ousl yquest i
onedwhet herLuke–Act sshoul dbet hewor kof
acompani on i nt hepr esent ati
onsofPauland hi smessagei n Paul ’
sown
wr i
ti
ngsandi nAct s.Howeveri thasbeenar guedi nthef inalanal ysist hatt he
quest ionofaut hor shi pi snotsosi gnif i
canti nunder standi ngt hecont extand
accept ingt heaut hor ityofabi bli
calt ext .

Dat
eandpl
aceofcompi
lat
ion

Ifthepr ol
oguet oLukespeaksofdependenceoneyewi tnesses,sot hedat
eof
Lukecanbenol aterthanthesecondgener at
ionofChr i
sti
ansi .e.Chr
ist
ians
who emer ged afterthe death ofJesus.The authoral so says thatmany
narrat
ivesaboutJesushadbeenwr i
tt
enpr evi
ousl
y,thegospelofMar kmost
l
ikelybeingamongt hem.Sot hi
sgospelcanbenoear l
ierthanMar k.Thosewho
havear guedtoplaceLukebef oreA.D64justbecauseLukeconcl udesActswith

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Paulst i
llunderhousear restinRomewi thnoaccountofhi sdeath( Act
s28:30-
31)havemi stakent heliter ar
yformforahi storicalrecor
d.TheaccountofPaul ’s
deathi s,i n eff
ect ,impl ied inthe farewel lspeech i n Acts 20.Manyhave
reasonabl yarguedt hatLuke’ srecordoft hef allofJerusalem,ismor epr eci
se
thant hatofMat t
hew t heknownf act
soft heRomansi egeandt heref
oreLuke
mustbedat edaf terA. D70.Buthowmuchl ater?ThatLukeknewt hewr i
tingsof
thef i
rstcenturyhi storianJosephusandt her ef or
emusthavewr itt
enaf terA.D
93hasneverbeensat i
sf actor
il
yestablished.Lukewasi ncl
udedi nMar cion’s
canonofChr isti
answr iti
ngsaboutA. D140.Lukeseemsnott ohaveknownt he
l
etterofPaul ,whi chper hapswer ecirculat i
ngasear lyast heendoft hef i
rst
Christi
ancent ury.Hencemostschol arsset tleforat imebet weenA.D80and90.

Thequesti
onsoft heplaceofwr
it
ingisevenmor eopenthant hatofthedate.
Senti
menthassel ect
edRomewi thLuketherewithPaul,servingtheapostle
duri
nghistwoyear sofhousear
rest
.Thet r
adi
ti
onf r
om thet i
meofI r
eaneous
(AD185)i
st hatLukewascomposedinAchaea,(
Souther
nGr eece).

Pur
poseandt
argetaudi
ence

Firstly,ont hetargetaudi ence,itisclearf rom thepr ologuethatt hegospeli s

addr essedt oaper soncal ledTheophi l
usorper sonsalreadyinformedaboutt he
subj ectmat t
ertobedi scussed( 1:
3– 4) .Presumabl y,thent heaudi encei s
Chr i
st i
an,and ver yl i
kely gent il
e Christi
ans,oratl eastpr edomi nant
ly so.
“Theophi lus”isGr eeknotHebr ew.Thepr ologuei t
selfist r
acedupt oAdam,
unlike in Mat t
hew.Ci t
ations f r
om t he Ol d Testamentar e based on t he
Sept uagint.Whenf oll
owingoneofhi ssour cesi .
e.Mar k,theaut horofLuke
omi tssect i
onsdeal ingwi thissuest ot
allyinternaltoJudai sm e.g.theissueof
rit
ualcl eansinginMar k7:1- 23.Theconcl usioni sthatLukewr oteforgenti
les.
Thisi salsoaccount edforbyt hesubst i
tuti
onofGr eekf orHebr ew orAramai c
termsandnamese. g.“Skul l
”forGolgotha;“Lordort eacher”forrabbi.

Someschol arshaveaddedt othear gument sforagenti

leChr ist
ianaudiencethe
factthatbothJesus’mi nistryandt hemi ssionofthechur chmovef avourably
towardgent i
les.Thi
ssameevi dencehasbeenusedt oi dentif
yther eader
sas
Greek-speaki
ngJewsconver t
edt oChr i
stiani
tywhoneedt ounderstandhow a
movementbeguni nPalestineamongJewshasmovedi ntothegent il
ewor ld
and is becomi ng i
ncreasingly gentil
ei ni ts member ship.Buteven i fthe
backgroundoft hereadersi snotcer t
ain,itisclearthatLukeassumedt he
readersrespecttheauthori
tyoft heOl dTestamentandhaveknowl edgeofit.(cf
Lk2:22-40;Lk16:29–31et c).

Ont hepur poseoft hebook,itwouldbeaner r

ortoexpectt ofindasi ngl
e
i
ntenti
on oft he book.One woul d concl
ude f r
om t he pr
ologue thatthe
productionofmanynar rat
ivesaboutJesusandhi sfol
lowershadpr oventobe
confusingandt her
efor
eanor der
ly,wel
l–researchedaccountwouldassur et
he
readers.Or,perhapstheassuranceTheophilusneededwascer t
aintythatt
he

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Chri
stiani
tyofhisdaywast rul
yr oot
edinthecar eerandt eachi
ngofJesus.A
l
ong-standingview saysthatLukewaswr iti
nganapol ogyordefensetot he
Romanwor ldt
hatChrist
iani
tywasnotani nsurrect
ioni
stmovementbutonet hat
deservedtherespectandprotect
ionofthecivi
caut hor
it
ies.

Otherschol ars,taki
ngnot eofthecont i
nui tyLukedr awsbetweenJesusandt he
l
aw andi nst i
tuti
onsofJudai sm,i dentifyLuke’spur poseaspr imaril
yt hatof
answer i
ngsuchquest i
onsas:ifthepromi sesofGodwer etoAbraham (Gen.12:
1-3)whydoJesusandhi schurchembr acegent i
les?HasGodhadachangeof
mi nd?IsI sraelabandoned?Di dJesusbr eakwi t
hhi sherit
age?Certainl
yLuke
givesmaj orat tenti
ont otherel
at i
onshipofJesusandhi sfoll
owerstot helaw,
Jer usal
em,t hesynagogue,andt hetempl e.Finall
yacasecoul dbear guedthat
i
nLuke’ st ime,t hechurchwasbecomi ngest abli
shedi ntheRomanwor l
dand
awar e,thatitnow hadahi st
ory.Thepar ousia,expectedbymanyi nt hefir
st
gener at
ion,hadnotoccur r
edandt hefollower sofJesusneededacl earsenseof
theirpastinor dertomovei nt
ot hefuture.Thepr oponentsofthisviewsayt hat
Luker espondedt othatneed.

Sour
cesofLuke

ScholarsareinconsensusthatLukeusedthef ol
lowingsources:
1.Or alsources.Butsuchsour cesaremostdi ffi
cultf
orr eaderstoi dent
ify.
Infor
mationobtainedbythismethodisprobablythatinformati
onpecul i
arto
Luke (25%).Itconsists pri
maril
yoft he birt
h stor
ies,parables and the
resurr
ecti
onnarrati
ves.Thismateri
ali
softenreferr
edtoasL.

2.Writ
tenrecords:Inthisregardtwowrit
tensourceswer epossi
blyavail
able
forLuke.Thesearet hegospelofMark,whoser ecor
dsconstit
utewellover
onethir
dofLuke.Theot hersourcehasbeencall
edQf rom t
heGer manwor d
Quell
emeani ng“source”
.Itref
erstomater
ialcommonnoti nMar k,e.
g.Lk3:
7-9;Lk4:3-12:3-12(25%).

3.Thethirdsourcewast heSeptuagi
ntoft
enref
err
edtoast heLXX,which
funct
ionedasali
terar
yguideandmodele.
g.Lk1:5–2:52hasthest
yleand
fl
avoroftheLXX.InLk1:46–55, Marysi
ngsasHannahsangi
n1Sam 2:1
-10

Comment
ary:I
ssuesar
isi
ngf
rom t
hepr
ologue

Theprol
ogueinLukehasnoprecedentint
heNew Test ament
,excepti
tsonl
y
si
mil
arit
yinLk3:1–2andActs1:1-2.ThegospelofJohncont
ainsaprol
ogue,

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buti
tisatheol
ogi
calsummar
yandnotatallastat
ementoft
heaut
horabout
sour
ces,
resear
ch,
method,
pur
poseandaddr
essee.

- Lukeemployedthestyleofhist
ori
ansandtechnicalwr
it
ersoftheti
me.In
verse5(aft
ertheprologue)
,Lukei mmedi
atel
yshi f
tst
ot hemoreSemiti
c
for
m writ
inginthemannerofGr eekOldTestamentforthewholeofthe
i
nfancynarr
ati
ve.

- The prologue consists of a single sent

ence,balanced bet
ween an
i
ntroductor
ycl ause,(
theprotasi
s)whichreads“Inasmuchasmany”( V1)
andaconcl udingclausecall
edt heapodosi
s,whichreads“I
tseemedgood
tomeal so”(V3).Moderncomment at
orssaythatsuchfor
malwrit
ingwasa
showofr espectforacult
uredreader,
inthi
scaseTheophil
us.

- Theexpression“mostexcel l
ent”,isusedl aterbyLukei nActs23: 26torefer
totheRomangover norofJudea.Schol ar sar edivi
dedi nt
heirat t
emptst o
i
denti
fyTheophilus.Somet ake,t henameasasymbol– t hewor dmeans
“f
ri
endofGod” .Othersr egarditasar ealper son,perhapsaRomanof f
icial
whoisinfor
medaboutt heChr i
stianfait
h,ifnotaconver t
.Whether,thename
i
sar ealpersonornot,thequal i
tyoft hewr iti
ngishar dl
yofthet ypetohave
ei
theritssourceori t
sdest ination in a Chr i
sti
an communi tyf i
tti
ng the
popul
arimageofadepr i
vedandunl ett
eredl i
st.

- Themanynar rati
vesaboutJesust hatwer ewr i
tt
encoul dhaveexisted,but
scholarscani denti
fyonlyonei .e.Mark.Itisnotcl earwhyLukewi shedt o
addanot her.Perhapst hemanynar r
ativeshadcr eatedconfusi
on.Ther eis
nocr i
ti
cism oftheformeraccount s,
butt het
horoughnessofLuke’ sresearch,
hisrecordi
ngofevent sorderl
yandhi sdesiretogi vethereadercertai
ntyin
mat t
ersaboutwhi chther eaderwasalreadyinformedaboutmaycombi neto
argue thatLuke f ound i nt he earl
iernar r
ati
ves somet hing confusi
ng,
erroneousorincompl ete.

- Ifthe r
eaderis a Roman offi
cialwho maysoon be maki
ng deci
sions
aff
ecti
ngChri
sti
ans,thenget
ti
ngthestor
ystr
aighti
svi
tal
lyi
mport
ant.

- Itisuncl earwhet hert hephr ase“ youhavebeeni nf

ormed” ,(v4)means
havinggot teninformat ionorhavi ngbeeni nstruct
edasaChr isti
an.Whati s
clearisthatsomet imehaspassedsi ncet hemi ni
stryofJesus.WhatJesus
saidanddi dhadal ready, priortoLukebecomeawr it
tenstorypassedal ong
asat raditi
oni.e.“ delivered”,awor dt hatt r
anslatest hespeci altermf or
transmissionbutpr efersnott ocal lhiswor kaGospelasdoesMar k.Rather
Lukechoosesat erm mor ehi st
oricalrathert hantheological:“anAccount ”
aftermaki ngacar efulr esearch.Lukeset st hisaccounti nt
ot helargerrecord
ofwor ldhistor
y.Lukeassumest hatmuchmor eti
mewi llpassbef oreJesus
returns.Elli
sE.submi tst hat,onedoesnotr esearchandwr it
eanor derl
y
accounti foneisconvi ncedt hatthedayoft heLor disathand.

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Thebi
rt
hnar
rat
ivesi
nLuke

Letusi denti
fytheso-call
edinfancyandchi l
dhoodnarrat
ivesinthebookof
Luke.Theseare:
(1)Theannunciati
onoft hebi
rt
hofJohnt hebaptist
(2)Theannunciati
onoft hebi
rt
hofJesusChr i
st
(3)Thevisit
ati
onofMar ytoEli
zabeth
(4)ThegenealogyofJesus
(5)Thebirt
hofJesusatBet hl
ehem andt heviewingbyshepherds.
(6)Thepresentati
oni
nt hetemple,ci
rcumcisi
onandpur i
fi
cationofMary
(7)TheBenedictusorNuncDi miti
s.

In st
udying t
his secti
on candi dat
es shoul
df ocus on the meaning and
si
gnifi
canceofeachnar rat
iveforLuke’
saudienceorLuke’spurpose.Butiti
s
i
mpor t
anttoremembert hatalthoughbothLukeandMat thew haveinf
ancy
narr
ati
ves,t
hesenarrat
ivesrepr
esentquit
ediff
erentt
radi
ti
ons.

Thef ir
stpointtonot eist hatthei nfancynar r
ati
vesinLukei ntr
oducemany
Lucant hemes,viz.
:continuit
ywi t
hJudai sm;t heli
neofDavid,God’sfavouron
thepoorandoppr essedandt hei mpor t
anceofJer usalem andt hetemple,
prayerandt heholyspi r
it.Thef i
rstst or
yi.e.theannunciat
ionoft hebir
thof
Johnper hapshighli
ghtstheimpor tanceoft heTempleandpr ayer
,asthewhole
storyisseti nt het emplewi t
ht hepr i
estZechar i
ah confr
onti
ng hiswife’
s
barrennesswit
hpr ayer.

Thesecondi st heannunciati
onofJesus’bi rt
h.Inthisstorytheannouncement
ofthebi r
thcomesnott othemanasi nMatthew,buttot hewoman.Mar yi
sa
vi
rgin,betrothed,butnotyetmar ri
ed.Betrothal
s,asl egalandbi nding,were
usuall
yar rangedwhenwomenwer equiteyoung.Joseph’ simportanceisthat
heisofDavi d’shouseandt hi
spr ovi
desJesus’ l
egalconnectiontothethroneof
David.Mar yi s port
rayed as favoured ofGod,deepl yt houghtf
ul,obedient
,
bel
ieving,wor shipf
ulanddevot edtoJewishlawandpi ety.

Thevi sitat
ionofMar ytoEl i
zabet hconsi stsoff ourpar t
s:thevi sititsel
f,t he
i
nspi r
edspeechofEl i
zabeth;thesongofMar yandMar y’
sr etur
nhome.Si nce
Mar yhadaccept edGabriel’
swor d“ behold,Iam thehandmai doftheLor d;letit
bet omeaccor dingtoyourwor d,
”ther eisnor easont othinkofthatwor d.Two
women,notonl yki nbutdr awnbyacommonexper i
ence,meeti nanunnamed
vil
lagei nthehill
sofJudea.Theol dwomanandherson( Eli
zabeth)wi llendup
anol der a.Theyoungerwoman( Mar y)andhersonwi llusherint henew er a.
Thel eapingi nthewombofEl izabethr ecall
sthest ruggleinRebekah’ swomb
(Gen25:22) .Mar y’ssong– t hemagni f
icat,whi chdr awsupont hesongof
Hannah,whowaspr omisedandgi venachi ldinherol dage,someschol ars
haveunder st
oodt hesongashavi ngor i
ginall
ybelongedt oEl i
zabethr atherthan
Mar y.Thesi gni
ficantpoi
ntoft hemagni fi
catispraisetoGodwhoact edalways
i
nj usticeandmer cyandwi llcontinuet odosoi nmemor yofthepr omiset o

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Abr
aham andt
ohi
sdescendant
sfor
ever
.

Thebi
rt
hofJesus

Whi l
e Mat t
hew and Luke agr ee t hatJesus was bor ni n Bethlehem,thei r
account softher elati
onoft hehol yf amilyt oNazar et
handt oBet hlehem di
ffer.
LukesaysMar yandJosephwer ei nBet hlehem t ober egi
ster
edf orani mperial
censusandt axation.Someschol ar
shaveagr eedt hatLukecouldbegener ally
butnotexact lycor rectinhishi storicalreferences.Luke’sprimar yaim wast o
placet hebirthint hecityofDavi dbecauseJesus’cont i
nuit
ywi ththeroyal
houseofDavi dwasi mportantforLuke’ schr i
stol
ogyi .
e.hisdepictionofJesus’
i
dent i
ty.Jesusi sbor ninhumbl econdi t
ions;t hepoorar ethefirsttodiscover
him,andadi vinemessagei sbr oughtt ot helowl ybyanangel .Lukepr ovides
throught heangelasummat i
onofhi schr ist
ologyofJesus:Jesusi soft he
houseofDavi d;hei ssavi
our,hei smessi ahandhei sLord.

Asuffi
cientsummaryofthei
nfancynar
rat
ivesi
nLukestr
essest
heopiniont
hat
thesenarrat
iveshi
ghl
ightonthemajorthemesinLuke’
sgospel,whichhave
beenli
stenedbefor
e.

Thepr acti
calmi ni
stry:Heali
ngandnatur
emiracl
es
Lukeincludesacommonl istofmi raclest
oriest
hatar
efoundalsoi
nMat
thew
andMar k.Someoft hesepopul arstoriesare:
(1)Heali
ngofPeter’smot her-i
n-l
aw
(2)Heali
ngoftheleper
(3)Heali
ngofthepar alyt
icman
(4)Heali
ngofJairus’daught er
(5)Heali
ngoftheCent urion’sservant
(6)Heali
ngoftheGer asenedemoni ac
(7)Cal
mi ngofthestorm etc

General
ly,inallcasesallthewi t
nessesar eamazedatt hepowerofJesus’ wor d
and the news spr eads rapidl
y.Al lact s ofcompassi on generated gr eat
popular
ityandaccl aimforJesus.I nthesemi racl
estori
esLuke’smaj orthemes
conti
nuet osurfacee.g.thecommonconceptt hatphysicali
ll
nesswer ear esult
ofevilforces.Themar ginal
isedinsoci etyaresaved.TheGent il
emi ssi
oni s
givenwar rantinJesus’heal ingsandexor ci
sms.Theseact sofcompassi on
becomet hebasi sofconfli
ctandcont r
over si
eswiththesynagogueaut hori
ties.

Par
abl
esi
nLuke

Theparablesi
nLukecanbecl
assi
fi
edasf
oll
ows:
(1)Par
ablesoftheki
ngdom
(2)Par
ablesofjoy
(3)Par
ablesonwealt
h.

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1.Parablesoft hekingdom arefoundi nbothMatthew andMar k.Butineach

caset hemeani ngdependsont hemot i
vesandpurposeoft heauthor.Luke
hast wopar ablesoft heKingdom i.e.thepar
ableoft hegrainofmust ard
seedandt heparableofthel eaven.(Lk13:
18-
21).ForLuket hesepar ables
addresst heproblem ofdi
scouragementanddespai roverapparent.Lackof
success.Themeasur eofkingdom wor kisi
ntheresult
, noti
nthesmal land
obscur ebegi
nnings.

2.Thepar
ablesofj oyinLukear esepar at
edf r
om theparabl
esoft heki
ngdom
bysomesociallessons:-thelessonforguest s;t
helessonforhostsandthe
par
abl
eoft hesupper.(Lk14:7- 24).Thelessonont heparableoft
heguests
i
sthat
,noteti
quet t
ebutki ngdom behaviouri
st hepoint
.Buttheegoiscl
ever
andmaypromptt hechoi ceoflowseat sasawayt omoveup.

3.Ont hel essonforhostsiti

snotedt
hatthehostiscaughti
nacycleofself
-
seeking.Hostingmaybeawayofput t
ingsomeoneinyourdebt,
butwhatis
thepur poseofputtingthosewhocannotrepay?I
nthekingdom,Godi
st he
hostandwhocanr epayGod?

- Thepar abl
eofthesupper( 14:15-24)assumesthecustom ofaninvi
tati
onin
advanceandani nvi
tati
onatt heti
meoft hemealtothosewhoaccept edthe
fi
rst.I
twasan i mpor tantbanquetcompet i
ng wit
h socialand economic
engagement s.Thepar abler efer
stot hemessiani
cbanquet .Theinvi
tati
on
thatwidenstotheout skir
tsoft hecit
yisprobabl
yareferencetogent
il
es.

- Thepar ablesoft hel ostsheep,t helostcoi nandt hepr odigalsonar eal l

aboutj oyfulness.Thet hreepar ablesonj oyfulnesswer eJesus’r esponset o
acr i
ticism byPhar iseesandscr i
best hather eceivedsi nner sandat ewith
them.Thei ssuef orLukei stabl ef el
lowship.Int hepar ableoft hel ostsheep
l
ovef orthelostsheepi ssost rongt hatthe99ar elef tinthewi l
der nesswhi l
e
thesear chison.Suchseeki ngl ovet akesgr eatr i
sks.I nt hepar abl eofthe
l
ostcoi n,thewomanseeksdi ligentlyuntilshef i
ndsi t
.Thej oyoff i
nding
cannotbecont ained:acel ebrat i
onpar tyisappr opriate.EvenJesus’cr i
ti
cs
areinvitedt ocel ebratef orsuchmustbeheaven’ sj oyovert hesi nnerswho
havecomet oJesus.I nt hepar ableoft hepr odi galson,whatt heolder
brothercompl ai
nsagai nstist hej oythatwasgi vent other et
ur ni
ngson.The
feel
ingoft heol derbr otheris,ofcour se,letthepeni tentcomehome,butt o
breadandwat er,notgr ainfedveal ;tosackcl othnotanew r obe;t oashes
notj ewel l
ery;tokneel ingnotdanci ng.Appar entlyf rom thispar ablecr i
ti
cs
viewf orgivenessasver ymuchl ikecondoni ng.

ThePassi
oni
nLuke

Thepassi
onnar rat
ivesmayhavebeent heearl
iestmateri
altobeci r
cul
ated
amongthechurches.Thecent
rali
mportanceofthismater
iali
sforthechur
ch’s
sel
f-
under
standi
ng,aswellasi
tsprocl
amat i
on,
li
turgyanditsi
nstr
ucti
onofnew

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member sisevi
dent.FredB.Cr addocksaysthatthepassionnar rat
ivepr oper
begi
nswi t
hthePassovermealandcl oseswit
ht hebur
ialofJesus.Att helast
supperJesuspredi
ctedhisdeat handhi sbet
rayal
.TheagonyatGet hsemane
markeditscl
imaxwi thaviolentarrest
,whichwasf ol
lowedbyt het r
ialsand
sent
encingofJesus.Thefinalpartofthepassionismarkedbyt hecr ucifi
xion
ofJesus.

Thei mport
antaspectt ocommentoni nt hewhol epassi
oni sprobablythedeath
ofJesus.Luker ecordsthatwhenhedi ed,t
het emplecurtainbet weentheholy
placeandt heholyofhol i
eswassplit.Thiseventcouldmeant hreethi
ngs(1)
thatGodleftthetempl e(2)oraccesst oGodwasnowopen ( 3)orJesuswas
enteri
ng God’spr esence.Lukedoesnothavet hecr yofder eli
cti
on orthe
discussi
onaboutEl ij
ah.Followingthedeath,Luker ecordst hreeresponses
whichimplythat ( 1)i
nt hepersonofthecenturionRomeagai ndecl aresJesus
i
nnocent(2)thecr owdsgohomedeepl ypenitent(3)acquaint
ancesandwomen
from Gal
il
eewi t
nesshi sdeath.

Ther
esur
rect
ion

Although Luke’s accountof t

he emptytomb i s si
mil
ar to Mar k’
s,this
resurrecti
onnarr
ati
veasawhol eisuni
quetoLuke.Allt
heappear ancesofthe
ri
senChr i
star
einornearJerusal
em,andtheyaretol
dasoccur rencesofone
day.Per hapst
heyhadbeensoframedfort
hechurch’
sobservanceofeaster.

Theempt yt ombst or
yi sr epeatedbyLukeatchapt er24:22- 24,aft
ert hef ir
st
mention at24: 1-12.Thi sr epetit
ion,appar ent
ly suggestst hatthe st oryi s
i
mpor tanttohi sresur rectionnar rat
ive.Thekeypoi ntsi
nLuke’ sst oryoft he
resur
recti
onar e:(1)Gal il
eewast hepl aceofJesus’t eaching,butist hesi t
eof
resur
recti
onappear ances.Jer usalem wi llnow bet hecent erbothf orChr ist’
s
appearancesandf orthemi ssionofthechur ch.
(
2)Thewomenar er emi ndedbyacr eedalformulaoft hegospelessent iall
y
repeatedatvv26and46.
(
3)Thewomenar et
reat edasdi sciplesnotasmessenger st othedisciples.
(
4)Thewomendot elltheel evenapost les,butal soallther est.Thatt he
apostlesdi dnotbel ievet hewomenr emindst hereaderwhatabur den
resurr
ect i
on put s on f ait
h,especi al
ly since ther
e had notbeen an
appear ance.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1.Discusstheauthorship,dat
eandpur poseofthegospelofLuke.
2.HowdoesLuker evealt heint
erestsinoutcasts,t
hetempleandprayeri
n
hi
s gospel .
3.Jesuscamet ofulfi
llJewishexpect ati
ons.
’How validisthi
sstat
ement
withref
erencetoLuke’ sgospel.
4.Howval i
distheviewt hatLukewr oteforthegenti
les?

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5.Gobbet
s:Wr
it
eexpl
anat
orycomment
sont
hef
oll
owi
ng:

1.“Andanangelsai d.“Benotbeaf rai

d,forbehold,Ibr i
ngyougoodnewsofa
greatj
oywhi chwillcometoallpeople;fortoyoui sbor nthisdayi
nt hecityof
Davidasavi our,
whoi schri
sttheLord.”(Luke2:
10-12)
2.“Youbr oughtmet hi
smanasonewhowasper vert
ingthepeople,andaf ter
examininghi m beforeyou,behold,Ididnotf i
ndt hi
smangui l
ty--
--
---
“(Luke
23:14-
15)
3.“
Ift
hismanwer eaprophet,hewoul dhaveknownwhoandwhatsor tof
womant hisiswhoi stouchi
nghim, forsheisasinner .
”(Luke7:39)
.
4.Whenhesaw t hem hesaidtot hem,“ Goandshow your sel
ftothepr i
ests.”
(Luke17:14).

Ref
erences
1.CraddockBF–Ar ti
cleint
heHar
per’sBibl
eComment ary,
1988
2.Ell
isE.E.–TheGospelofLuke,London,1994
3.Fit
zmyerJ.A.–TheGospelAccordi
ngtoLuke, 1981
4.Mar xsenW ,
Int
roducti
ontot
heNewTest ament:1969

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CHAPTER13
THEGOSPELOFJOHN
Byt
heendoft
hechapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.I
dent
if
ythe5mai
ndi
ff
erencesbet
weenJohnandt
hesynopt
ic

2.Di
scusst
heaut
hor
shi
poft
hegospelofJohn

3.Di
scusst
he“
signs”i
nthegospelofJohn

4.Compar
etheminist
ryofJohnt
hebapt
istaccor
dingt
othegospelofJohn
andt
hesynopt
ic.

5.Di
scusst
hepr
ologuei
nJohn

6.Di
scusst
he“
Iam”sayi
ngsi
nJohn

7.Di
scusst
her
esur
rect
ionandt
hepostr
esur
rect
ionaccount
sinJohn

I
ntr
oduct
ion

TheGospelofJohnissi gni
fi
cantlydifferentf
rom t
hesynopt
icGospel
s.Buti
tis
al
soaGospel ,anarrat
iveoft hemi nistryandmessageofJesus,andassuch
shar
escert
aincontentandchar acter
isticswit
hthesynopt
ic.

Whati
sdi
sti
nct
iveaboutJohn?

(
1) Firsttonoteist hatinJohnthemi ni
stryofJesusspansat woort hree
yearper i
od.Thr eeannualPassoverfesti
valsarement i
onedinJohn( 2:
13;6: 4;11:55)wher eastheSynopticsment iononlyonePassoverat
whi chJesusmethi sdeath.
(
2) Accor di
ngt oJohnmuchofJesus’mi nistr
yt akesplaceinJudeaor
Jerusalem whileintheSynopt
icsmostofi twasinGalil
eeorit
senvirons.
(
3) Pl acesandnamesunknowni nthesynopti
csplaymaj orrol
esinJohne.g.
Nicodemus;t he woman of Samar ia and Lazarus.These ar e not
ment
ioned
i
nt hesynopt i
cs.
(
4) Somedi sci
ples,who ar eonlynamed i nt heSsynopt i
cswi t
houtany

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i
mpor
tant
rol
es,arementionedinJohnaski
ngquestionsormaki
ngcomment se.
g.
Phil
li
pandThomas.
(
5) Mostofwhati sfound i
n John i
s missing f
rom t
he ot
her
s butan
excepti
onint hisregar
dist henarr
ati
veofJesus’death,whichruns
paral
leli
nal
lthe4gospels.

Inthesynopt i
cst hemi r aclesofJesusar enar ratedi mpr essively,buti n
Johnt heyar ecal led“ signs” ,andonl yi nJohnar et heysetf orthas
demonst r at
ions ofJesus’di vine or igin ormi ssion.Thei rf unction i s
clearl
yt oel icitfaithi nJesus,al thought obel i
evet hatJesusper formed
them isnott ant amountt oat taininggenui nef ai t
handunder standi ng.
Thesesi gnsof tenl eadt oext ensi vedi scussi onsanddebat esabouthi s
i
dent i
tyandsi gnificance,i nt hesynopt icont heot herhand,t herear e,at
most ,briefexpr essi onsofamazementatJesus’poweront hepowerof
thecrowds.
Int hesynopt icgospel s,Jesusgi veset hicalandr eligi
ousi nstruct i
onst hat
fallwithint hef ramewor kofJudai sm.Al thought heycont aindebat esover
whet herJesushasvi olatedt hel aw, itiscl eart hatJesusdoesnott hi
nkhi s
messageand mi ssion i st o abr ogatet hel aw gi ven t oI srael .In John
however ,Jesusspeaksof“ yourl aw”( 8:17),impl yingt hatt hel awbel ongs
toanal i
encommuni ty,namel y,theJews, whi lehei dentifi
eshi msel fwi tha
groupofdi scipleswhohavebr okenawayt ofol l
owhi m.I fthef undament al
quest i
on int he synopt ict radition i s how one shoul d under stand and
respondt oGod’ swi l
lasexpr essedi nt hel aw,t hef undament alquest ions
i
nt hefour thgospeli swhet heronewi l
lunder st andandr espondt oJesus
ast hedef i
ni t
iveexpr essi onofGod’ swi llorr evel ation.
(
6) InJohn,t hemi ssionofJesusandhi smessager evolvear oundhi ssel f-
mani festation and sel f
-pr oclamat ion.The ki ngdom ofGod whi ch i s
promi nenti nt hesynopt icsf all
si ntot hebackgr oundasJesusexpounds
anddebat eshi sownr oleandst atus.
(
7) In John t hesheetcont entofJesus’t eachi ng i sdi f
f erent ;ther ei sno
Ser monsont heMountort hePl ain,noshar pquest i
onsandi nj
unct ions,
andnot ruepar ables.

Whowr
oteJohnandwher
e?

1.TheQumr anandDeadSeaScr ol
lsshowedt hattherel
igiousbackgr
oundof
Johnandhi sthought-
wor l
dshowedsi mil
ari
tieswi t
hsomesect ari
anJewsi n
theholyland.John’skinshipwithJewishthoughti nPal est
ineandbeyond
fi
tswellwiththeview thatthebookwaswr itteninPalesti
ne.Notonlyt
his,
butthescroll
sal sosupportedthetradit
iont hatthefourthgospelwasthe
workofJohnt hediscipleofJesusandt hesonofZebedee.25year searl
ier
thantheendoft hesecondcenturyBishopIrenaeushadsett hist
radi
ti
on.

Al
thoughJohn,t
heSonofZebedee,hassomepr
omi
nencei
nthesynopt
ic,

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hedoesnotappearanywher eearl
ierinJohn’sgospeluntiltheend(Jn21:2)
andi sthennotment i
onedbyname.Thi somissi
oni ssomet imesregarded
asr efl
ecti
ngJohn’ smodest y,andhei ssaidtopresenthi mselfunderthe
guideoft hebeloveddisci
ple,whoappear sonlyinthefour t
hgospel.Yetthe
beloveddi sci
pleisneveri
dentif
iedasJohndespi tethelaterchurchtr
adit
ion
thatdeclareshimt oberesponsibl
ef orthegospel
.Thei dentit
yoftheauthor
ofthefour thgospelr
emainsamyst ery,
perhapsdeli
beratelyconceal
ed.

2.TheJohanni neauthor shi

pt r
aditi
ont hatisshar edbytheletterofJohnand
Revelati
onswasi nanci enttimesr elat
edt oEphesusast hepl aceoft he
ori
ginoft hesewr it
ings.Thechur chofSt .Johnandhi sreputedtomb, aswell
asot herr el
ics,ti
et heJohanni nel i
teraturet oEphesus,theanci entci t
yof
earl
ychr isti
anf ame.Butt hefailurebyI gnati
ust oment i
onJohnwhenhe
waswr i
tingt ot hechur chatEphesusi nA. D 120poseswor ryovert he
Ephesusvenue.ButEphesusper hapsr emai nsasgoodapossi bili
tyascan
bepr oposedf ortheplaceofor igi
n, orpubl i
cation,oft
heJohanni newr i
ti
ngs.
Scholars concl ude thatt he factt hatJohanni ne t
radit
ion originated in
Palesti
neorSyr i
aneednotbedeni ed.

Johnwrotetopersuadefoll
ower
sofJesustoabandont
hesynagogueand
j
oindi
sti
ncti
vel
ytheChrist
iancommuni
ti
es.

Thepr
ologuei
nJohn

The pr ol
ogue in John pr opounds t he doctri
ne oft he incar nation.Thi s
prologueevokest hemesf rom t heNew Test ament,andt heOl dTest ament ,
aswel lasthehistoryofanci entJudai sm andChr i
sti
anity.Thepr ologuef all
s
i
ntot hreepartsdividedbyt hest atementsaboutJohnt heBapt ist.Thef ir
st
partdealswi t
hthecosmi c,cr eati
vewor koft he“Word”andt her el
ationship
oftheWor dt oGodandcr eation.Thesecondpar t,vv.9- 14,nar r
atest he
adventoft he“Wor d”andt her esponseevokedbyi tsummar izest hisadvent
andbegi nstosetf orththei ncar nat
eWor d’snature.Fort hef i
rstt i
met he
authorspeaksconf essi
onally,int hefi
rstpersonplural
.I nthet hirdandf i
nal
partvv.15–18t hecommuni tyofdi sci
plesconfessesbr ief
lyandsucci nctl
y
whot he“Wor d”i
sandwhathi sadventmeans.

Comment ingon“ theWor d”incr eati

oncont empor arywr i
terssuchasPhi l
o
ofAl exandri
a(25B. C–A. D50),thegreatJewi shphi losopherofreligi
on,says
thatt heWor dalsobecomesasemi -i
ndependentent i
ty,mediat
ingbet ween
Godandt heWor d.John’ sinsistenceupont hewor d’
sr ol
ei nallaspectsof
creation(v3)alsopar all
elsthecr eati
ver ol
eofwi sdom i nOldTestamentand
l
aterJewi sh wri
tings.Byassi gning the“ wor d”an i ndi
spensabl erolein
creation,Johnmakescl ear,notonl ythatcr eation,i sgood,butal sothatin
thi
s“ word”creati
onandr edempt ionar elinkedt oget her
.Salvati
onf ulf
il
ls,
ratherthannegates, creati
on.

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Thewor dist hesour ceofl ightand lif

ef orhumani ty(Jn1:4).Wit
ht he
mentionoflightcomest hecont rastwithdar knesst hatist ypi
cali
nt he
four
thgospel.InJohn,l ightanddar knesshavemet aphysicalandethi
cal
overt
ones.Humanl if
eisl i
vedeitherinl
ightordar kness.Ormor eaccur
ately,
l
ifemeanstobei nthelight,whil
etowal kindarknessi sdeath.Thustheli
ght
str
ugglesagainstt
hedar knessbutisnotovercomebyi t
.

JesusandNi
codemus:John3:
1-21
Comments

- Ni
codemusi
spr
obabl
yamemberoft
heSanhedr
incounci
l

- Li
kemanyfi
guresinthegospelofJohnhei
sar
epr
esent
ati
veofan
at
ti
tudet
owardsJesus.

- WhenNicodemususesthepr
onoun“we”itsuggest
sthathespeaksfora
Judai
sm t
hatisopent
oJesus;t
hatheacceptsJesusasonesentfrom
God.

- Jesusi
sindeedat
eachersentf
rom Godwhosesi
gnsaccr
edi
thi
sor
igi
n

- Jesushimselfwasperceivedasami
racl
ewor
ker
,anexor
cistandf
ait
h
heal
er(cfMtt11:2-
6;12:28)

- Mi
racl
esapparentl
ycamet obeexpect
edoft
hepromisedprophetl
ike
Moses(Deut
r18:15-22)
,evenasMoseshi
mselfhadperf
ormedsigns.

- Ni
codemus’eval
uat
ionofJesusseemst
oimpl
ythatJesusi
ssucha
pr
ophet
icf
igure.

- Onemi ghthaveassumedthatNicodemus’saccept
anceofJesuswoul
d
haveeli
cit
edapositi
veresponserathert
hanwhatamountstoasharp
rebukeandchall
enge.

- Fort
hef
ir
stt
imei
nJohnt
hephr
ase“
kingdom ofGod”appear
s

- WhenJesusrefer
st obei
ngbor
n“ anew”hemeantbei
ngbornagainor
“
from al
one”ButNicodemusmi
sinter
pret
shi
mtoleanphysi
calrebi
rt
h.

- Jesusi
mmedi
atel
ymakesi
tcl
eart
hathespeaksonadi
ff
erentl
evel

- Bir
thbywaterandspi
ri
tlooksl
ikeanallusi
ontobapti
sm,perf
ormedin
waterand,
inearl
yChr
ist
ianexpectat
ionaccompaniedbythegif
toft
he
spi
rit
.

- Ther
eal
msoft
hef
leshandspi
ri
tmustbeunder
stoodwi
thr
efer
encet
o

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Chr
istandbel
ieforpar
ti
cipat
ioni
nhi
m.

- Thef
leshi
sther
eal
m ofunbel
ieforsepar
ati
onf
rom knowl
edgeofGod.

- Ni
codemusiscal
leduponnott
oacknowl
edgeJesusbyhi
sol
d
st
andar
ds,
buttobreakawayfr
om t
hem i
ntot
henewreal
m

- Despi
tehi
sini
ti
alposi
ti
ver
ecept
ionofJesus,
Nicodemusi
sst
il
lin
dar
kness

- Jesus’quest
ioninverse12isprover
bialandhi
ghl
ight
sNi codemus
i
gnorance.Thekeytoheavenwhi chNicodemusandhisfriendsdonot
knowisknowl edgeofJesus,par
ti
cul
arlywherei
sfrom andhei sgoi
ng.

- MentionoftheSonofManinver
se13set
sthest
agef
ort
hef
urt
her
exposit
ionofJesus’
wor
k.

- ThereferencetotheactofJesusint
hewil
dernessmeansthatasMoses’
actssavedt hepeopl
efrom deat
hbyser
pentbitesoJesus’Cr
ucif
ixi
ti
ons
havehispeopl efr
om deat
handopensthedoortoeverl
asti
ngli
fe.

- Inver
se15lif
eismadedependentuponf
aithandbel
ievi
ng.Thegivi
ng
andsendi
ngofthesonist
heexpressi
onforGod’
ssavingpurpose.He
doesnoti
ntendtoj
udgeorcondemn

- Rej
ecti
oni
stantamounttojudgmentf
ort
heunbel
ieverandi
sexpl
ained
i
ntermsofl
ightanddarkness

- Theexplanationofwhysomeavoi dtheli
ghtwhil
eotherscometomeans
thatJesusasl i
ghtonlyconf ir
msaprefer
enceforl
ightordar
kness
dependingonpeopl e’
spr eviousdi
sposi
ti
onandconduct.Onlyi
nsucha
confront
ationanddecisionf oroagai
nstJesusmayt hetr
uecharact
erof
one’sput,aswellasthedi recti
onf
orthefut
ure,
beseen.

Jesus’
encount
erwi
tht
heSamar
it
anwoman
Comments

vv1-
6JesusatJacob’
swell
.
- Johnagr
eeswithLukei
nshowi
ngJesushavi
ngcont
actwi
thSamar
it
ans
(Lk9:
52,
10:29-
37)

- I
nbot
hGospel
stheSamar
it
ansar
epor
trayeddoi
nggood.

- Pr
obabl
ythepl
acecal
ledSycharwasnearShechem,
dir
ect
lynor
thof

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Jer
usal
em i
nSamar
ia

- ByHebr
ewt
imet
hesi
xthhourwasnoon,
atmi
dday.Jesuswast
ir
ed

- Thispointi
soneoft
hef
earoccasi
onswhenJesusshowedhi
shuman
quali
ty.

VV7-
15t heConversati
on
- Jesus’ r
equesttot hewomanofSamariai
snotsur
pri
singbymoder
n
st
andards,giventhesett
ing(
v6)butt
hewoman’ssur
prisei
s
underst
andable

- Thereisofcour
senowayt
hewomancoul
dknow.Jesusast
heone
bri
ngingsal
vati
on

- Thelivi
ngwaterheari
salsotherunni
ngwat
er.Jesusmeantt
hewat
er
thatbri
ngssal
vati
onorsulf
uricwater
.

- Thewomant
hinksJesusi
sref
err
ingt
oor
dinar
yrunni
ngwat
er

- V12maysuggestthathemaybeaspeci alper
sonal
it
y.Butherquest
ion
expect
sanegati
veanswer,t
hatJesuscouldnotbegreat
erthanJacob.
Butofcour
seJesusisgreat
er

- Inverses13-14Jesusgi
vesastrai
ghtf
orwar
danswert
hatt
hewat
erhe
givesisradi
cal
lyofadif
fer
entsort

- Thewomanbeginst
ounderstandbuti
sappar
ent
lyst
il
lthi
nki
ngoft
he
quenchi
ngoft
heworl
dlyt
hirst

- Theconversati
onshowsacommonchar act
eri
sti
csJohn’sGospelwhere
Jesuswouldspeakwi t
hful
lauthor
it
ari
anknowledgebutthepeople
respondinthenaturalnor
malbutmi st
akenway.EvenJesusdiscipl
es,
althought
heyar esaidtbel
ievedonotful
lycomprehendhim dur
inghis
l
ife-ti
me(VV32-34)

VV16-
26Jesusr
eveal
sHi
msel
f.

- Jesussuddenl
ytur
nst
heconver
sat
ioni
nanot
herdi
rect
ion

- Under
standabl
yshet
akesJesust
obeat
ruepr
ophet

- Herquest
ionr
efl
ect
stheanci
entt
ensi
onbet
weenJewsandSamar
it
ans

- Themount
ainoft
heSamarit
ansi
smountGerizi
m wher
etheSamari
tan
Templ
ehadbeenlocat
edbef
orei
sdest
ruct
ionbyJohnHyrcanusi
n128

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BC.

- Thequesti
onallowsJesustocontr
asttheol
dfal
sewor shi
p,whether
Jewi
shorSamar i
tanwi
ththenewwor shi
pinspr
itandtrut
h.Thisact
ual
ly
meanstheChristi
anworshipoft
heGodwhor evealshimsel
finJesus
whoisthetrut
handsendsahi sspir
ituponhi
sdiscipl
esaft
erhi
sdeath.

- Jesusall
udestothehourofisdeathandexalt
ati
on.Thatt
hehouri s
comingprobablymeansthatthehouri
sfutur
ef r
om thest
andpointof
Jesus’
mi ni
str
yandpresenttotheJohanninechurchandreader
soft he
gospel
.

- Thestat
ementofJesusi nverse22seemstoendor
seJewi
shworshi
pas
moresuperi
oroverSamar i
tanjustatt
hepoi
ntwhenbot
harebei
ng
decl
arednolongerr
elevant.

- Iti
sunexpectedoft
hefourt
hgospelt
osaythatsal
vati
onsfort
heJews,
becausei
nt hi
sgospelSamari
tansar
evi
ewedmor efavor
abl
ythanJews.

- Never
thel
essfr
om thepercept
ionoftheGospeli
tiscor
rectinthatJesus
i
saJewandr epresent
ingtheJewishMessiani
choperatherthanthe
Samari
tan

- Thewoman’
sresponsetoJesusinver
se25seemst
orefl
ectJewish
Messi
ani
cexpect
ationsButper
hapssher
efer
snott
otheDavidi
c
messi
ahbutt
oapr ophetl
ikeMoses.

- TheSamarit
ansvi
ewedthemselvesast
heheirsoft
heNorther
nKi
ngdom
ofI
sraeli
nwhicht
heroyall
inewasnotdescendedf
rom Davi
d.

- Thesel
f-r
evel
ati
on“Iam”br
ingst
hescenewi
tht
hewomant
oanendbut
theepi
sodeconti
nues.

Vv27-30TheWomenWi tnessestoSamari
tans
- Whendi sci
plesretur
nt heyareamazedbecausebyconventi
ons
standardsconversat
ionsbetweenaman, muchlessarabii
,andawoma
wer eunusual

- Thewomangoesawaytoherpeopl
etomakecl
earhergr
oundsf
or
thi
nki
ngj
esusmaybetheChri
st.

- Becauseofhert
est
imony,
peopl
eoft
heci
tynowcomet
oseeJesus

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VV31-38Jesus’ Conversati
onwithhi sDisci
ples
Thedisciplesfailtounderstandtheriddl
eofever ydaypossibil
itiesor
cir
cumst ances
Jesussol vesther i
ddlebyreveali
ngt hesecretofhissymbol i
clanguagei n
verse34
“Theharvest ”refer
encetothismayhavet woexpl anat
ionsasf ollows:First,
Jesus’ownmi ssionis,i
nJohn’st houghtclosel
ylinkedtohisdi sciples.Second,
thi
sconnect ionnowf i
ndsexpressionthoroughappar entl
ytraditionalsayings
whoser eferentsarenol ongercl
earmayechoMt t9:37andLuke10: 2.
- Thatt heharvestisnotinthefuturebutnow, istypi
calofJohn, forwhom
God’ssal vat
ionispresentinJesus

- Thei dentifi
cati
onoft hesowerandt hereaperi snoteasy( VV36-37)If
theyr epresentJesusandt hedi sciples,asmi ghtseem obvi ous,t
he
“other”whoar erefer
redtoinver se38i sdif
fi
cul tt
ounder standand.The
passagecanbef ruit
ful
lyreadinl ightofActs8: 4-25wher ePhili
p,who
wasnotoneoft het wel
ve,fir
stpr eachest heGospeli nSamar i
a.Only
l
aterdot heapost l
espeterandJohnconf irmthewor k.I
finJohn4: 35-
58
Jesusi saddr essinghisdisci
plesandspeaksofot herswhol aboured
beforet hem (v38)hemayseeasi milarsi
tuation

VV39-
42TheSamar i
tans’Bel
ief
- Al thought
hetesti
monyoft hewomanbroughtmanytof
ait
hthepresence
andwor dofJesushimselfcausesmor
etobeli
evi
ngandmakesher
testi
monysuperflows

- ThatJesuspr
eachedandmadel argenumber
sofcover
tsi
nSamariai
s
att
estedbynootherGospelexceptjohn,
andi
sther
efor
eunli
kel
ytohave
happened.

- Probabl yt
hisbr i
efnarrati
vealsoref
lectsthemi ssionoftheearly
Johanni neChristi
ans,whopr eachedtheGospeli nSamar iainJohn’
s
view, f
ir
sthandexper i
enceofJesusi snotlimitedt ohi
searthlyor
histori
calpresencebuti sful
lyavail
ableonlyafterhisdeathand
exaltati
on.Suchknowl edgeandexper ienceenabl esonetopr ai
sehi
m as
“Saviorsofthewor ld.
”Thistit
lewasusedf orRomanemper ors.

Thesi
gnsi
nJohn(
mir
acl
es)

Themi racl
estor
iesinJohnareref
erredtoas“thesigns”.Thesesi
gnsareal
so
descr
ibed as Jesus’manif
estati
on ofgod’s glory beforethe wor
d.They
const
itutethepr
acti
calorpubli
cmi nist
ryofJesus.Thef i
rstoft
hesewasthe

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winemi racleatCanai nGal il

ee.Jesus’ publicmi nistrybeganataweddi ngf east
i
nCanaofGal i
leewi thJesus’mot herandhi sdi sciplespresent
.Scholarsinsist
thatthest oryhast obei nterpret
edsymbol i
cally.Per hapssomehi ghli
ghtsar e
thatthest oryhassomet hingtosayaboutt hehourofJesus’gl or
ifi
cati
onand
death.Sal vati
on flows f r
om t he cruci f
ied,exal ted Jesus.The “ hour”then
suggestst hat saving event and t hat Jesus suppl yi
ng wine shoul d be
understoodsymbol ically.Mor eover,int heChr ist
iansacr amentoft heLor d’s
Supper,wi nerepresent sJesus’bl oodi .e.hisdeat h.Throughoutthegospelal l
thesignsshoul dbei nterpretedinthel ightoft hevi ewt hatt
heywer emeantt o
beJesus’ mani f
estationofGod’ sglorybef orethewor ld.

Thepassi
oni
nJohn

From t heaccountofJesus’ar restonwards,t hefourthgospel

’snarrat
iveis
closely par
alleltothe synopti
c.Quite possiblythe earl
iestChr
isti
ans put
togethernarrati
vesofJesus’passi on whetheri n wri
tt
en ororalform,that
antedateallthegospel
sandaccountf orthesimi l
ari
tiesbet
weenJohnandt he
synopticaswel last
hediff
erences.

Thear
rest

Thegar dentowhi chJesusandhi sdi scipl

esretir
eisnotnamedi nJohn.I tis
appar entl
yGet hsemane.Onl yi nJohni sJudassai dtobef amil
iarwi ththe
customar y meet ing place.Per haps he bet rayed this knowledge t ot he
author i
ti
es.Onl yi nJohnar et hePhar i
seesinvolvedi nJesus’ar rest.Thei
r
i
nvol vementi st ypicaloftheirhost i
ler ol
ei n John.Int hesynopt ic,Judas
i
dent ifi
esJesuswi t
haki ss,buti nJohnJesusi denti
fi
eshi mself.Although
armedr esi
stanceandt hecuttingof foft heearoft hehi ghpriests’slaveis
ment ionedi never ygospel,onl
yi nJohnar et heswor dsmen( Peter)andt he
victi
m( Malchus)identi
fi
edbyname.Notal lpassionaccountsar eexami nedin
thismodul e.Onlyt hosewit
huniquei ssuesar eexempli
fi
ed.

Thepi
erci
ngofhi
ssi
de.

Thepi ercingcausesanef fl
uxofwat erandbl ood,whichisat t
estedbyan
eyewi t
ness.The bl ood and wat ercame t o have greatsymbolic val
ue for
Christi
ansassi gni
fyi
ngt heeuchar i
standbapt i
sm,whet herornotthecor r
ect
meani ng was under stood ori ntended origi
nal l
y,and comment ators have
pointedt oaseemi nglyrelat
edpassagei n1John5:6–8.Thebl oodandwat er
woul dt hus symbol i
ze the salvation wroughtt hr
ough the deat
h ofJesus,
parti
cularlyasitwasr epresent
edi nt heearl
iestsacraments.

Theempt
ytombandr
esur
rect
ion

Thecommonf act
ori
nallaccountsi
sthatMar
yMagdalenegoest
othetomb
ear
lyonSundaymorningandfindsi
tempty.I
nJohn,MaryMagdal
enealone

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makest hedi scover

y;sheconveyst henewst oPeterandt hebeloveddisciple,
whoqui cklygot othet ombandconf ir
mi t.Thebel oveddi scipl
e,asusual ,
outdoesPet erbyarri
vingfir
statthetomb;heseest hediscardedgr ave-
clot
hes,
butallow Petertoenterfir
standseeal so.Thedi scipl
esr etur
nhomeasMar y
apparentl
yst andsoutsidethetombweepi ng,creati
ngt hei mpressi
ont hatthey
gopastherwi t
houtshar i
ngthegoodnews.Thepoort ransi
tionandl ackof
att
estati
oni nothergospelsrai
sesthequest i
onofwhet hertheepisodeofPet er
andthebel oveddisci
pleisalateri
nsert
ionintoatraditi
onaltext.

Resur
rect
ion

Ther esur rect

ionsceneofchapt er20,culminateinapai rofappear ancesoft he
ri
senLor dtohisdisci
plesonsuccessi veSundayeveni ngsandf indapar allelin
Luke24: 36–43.I nbot htheLucanandt heJohanni nescenes,t her isenJesus’
demonst r
ati
onofhi sidentit
ywi ththecr ucif
iedisadomi nantmot i
f.YetJohn
omi t
sJesus’st ri
kingdemonst rati
onofhi scor porealreali
ty,namel y,theeat i
ng
ofbr oiledf i
sh.InJohn,t heascended,exal tedJesusappear st ohisdi sciples
through cl osed doors( 20:
19)and i sscar celyanor mal,physi calpresence.
Jesusappear ssuddenlyandmyst eri
ously.Heest ablisheshi sidentitywiththe
disciples,whoar eobviouslyconvi nced,sendst hem t ocontinuehi smi ssiont o
thewor ld.(20:21)andequi pst hem wi thhi sspiri
t,t hefulfi
ll
mentofear l
ier
promi ses.Thi sscenemar kst hebeginningoft hechur chasabodyi nspir
edby
thespi ritofJesusanddedi catedtothespr eadingoft hegospel( cfAct s2).

Thomas’skept i
calreacti
ont ot
heotherdi scipl
es’r
eportofthei
rencount erwith
Jesus(20:24–25)set st hest
agef orJesus’nextappear anceandsecur eshis
ownr eputat
ionast heproverbi
aldoubtingThomas.WhenJesusr eappear sand
off
ershimt hepr oofhehasbeenseeki ng( v27)Thomasmaynotact uallytouch
Jesus,alt
houghheconf esseshim asLor dandGod.Jesus’ i
nvit
ati
ont oThomas
totouchhi m pr
obabl ymeanst hathehasnow ascended.Jesus’f i
nalwor dto
Thomasput sevenseei ngJesus,muchl esst ouchi
nghim,inproperper specti
ve
asJesusi neffectpronouncesabl essi ngupont hechurchoft hef uturefor
whichhehasal readyprayed.
Conclusi
on

Thepur
poseoft
hegospel
.John20:30-31

Theevangel
ist
’ssummat i
onsoundsliketheconclusi
onoft hebook,alt
hough
nomanuscriptlacki
ngchapt
er21sur vi
ves.Appropri
atel
ythepurposeoft he
nar
rat
iveisnow stat
ed.Thet
heologi
calthemesoft hegospelar
ebr oughtt
oa
cul
minati
oninchapter20,
asi
sthelit
erarydevel
opment.

ThegospelofJohnandt
hesynopt
ics

Themi
nist
ryofJohnt
hebapt
ist
:acompar
ati
veout
li
ne

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GospelofJohn GospelofMar k
- Johnt heBapt i
stisanemi ssary - Thecomi ngofJohnwas
oftheonecr yi
ngi nt
he prophesi edbyt hepr ophet
wilderness. Isaiah.
- Topr epar ethewayf ort heLord. - Johnwasamessengeroft he
- Deni esbei ngt heLor dhimsel f Lor d,topr epar ethewayoft he
orthepr ophet . Lor d.
- I denti
fiesJesusast hel ambof - Johnappear edi nthe
God. wi l
der nesspr eachingabapt i
sm
- Accept sthathedi dnotknow ofr epent ancef orthe
Jesus. forgivenessofsi ns.
- Hi sbapt ism waswi t
hwat er - Johnbapt izedmanypeopl e
only. from JudeaandJer usalem as
- Johnwi t
nessedt hespiriti
nthe theyconf essedt heirsins.
form ofadovedescendi ngupon - Johnwor eani malski nsandat e
Jesusf rom heaven. wi l
df oodandhoney.
- Johnonl yi dentif
iedJesusaf ter - Johnacknowl edgedt hatt
he
thedove. onecomi ngaf t
erhi m was
- Johnwast oldbyGodt hatthe mi ght i
ert hanhi m.Hewoul d
Chr i
stwillbapt i
zewi t
ht heholy bapt izewi tht hehol yspiri
t.
spiri
t. - Johnwoul dbapt izewi t
hwat er
- Johnhasseenandbor ewi t
ness only.
thatJesusi sthesonofGod. - Johnbapt izedJesus.
- Jesussawt hedovecomi ng
uponhi mself.
- Avoi cewashear df rom heaven
decl aringJesusast hesonof
God.

Compar
ati
vef
act
s:t
hemi
nist
ryofJohn

GospelofMat
thew GospelofLuke

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- Johnwaspr eachi ngi nt he - Johnwasaki nsmanofJesus

wi l
der nessofJudea. throught heirmot hersEl izabeth
- Johnpr eachedr epent ance. andMar y.
- Thecomi ngofJohnwas - Johnwasonl yaf ewmont hs
prophesi edbyt hepr ophet oldert hanJesus.
Isaiah. - Thebi rthofJohnaswel last hat
- Johnappear edi nthe ofJesuswasannouncedbyan
wi l
der nesspr eachi ngabapt i
sm angelofGod.
ofr epent ancef ort he - Johnwasbr oughtupaccor ding
forgivenessofsi ns. toJewi shcust oms.
- Johnbapt izedmanypeopl e - LikeJesus, hisnamecamef rom
from JudeaandJer usal em at God.
ther iverJor danast hey - Hisr olewasannouncedt ohis
conf essedt hei rsins. fatherZechar iahear l
yatbi rt
h.
- Johnwor eani malski nsandat e Hewasapeacef ulprophetwho
wi l
df oodandhoney. woul dpavet hewayf orthe
- ManyPhar iseesandSadducees comi ngoft heMessi ah.
camet obebapt i
zedbyJohn. - Johnpr eachedabapt i
sm of
- Johnconf ront edt hem wi t
ha repent ancef ort hef or gi
veness
messageofwar ningagai nst ofsins.
theircompl acency. - Johncamef rom t hewi l
der ness
- Johnwar nedt hem ofan andbapt izedatJor dan.
oncomi ngdest ruction. - ManyJewscamet obebapt ized
- Johnbapt izedwi t
hwat eronly byhi m.
forr epent ance. - Hisbapt ism wasonl ybywat er .
- Theonecomi ngaf terhi m wil
l - Themi ght i
eronewoul dbapt ize
bapt izewi tht hehol yspi ri
tand withf oreandt hehol yspi rit
.
fir
e. - Thehol yspi ri
tdescendedupon
- Theonecomi ngaf terhi mis Jesusanddecl aredhi m Sonof
mi ght i
ert hanJohn. God.
- Johnr esent edt obapt i
zeJesus.
- Johnsawt hehol yspir i
t
descendi ngonJesus.
- Thevoi cef rom Godwashear d
decl aringJesussonofGod.

Comment
aryonJohnt
heBapt
ist

Allthef ourgospelwrit
ersdealwi t
hJohn,af f
ir
minghi sroleinGod’ spur pose
whi l
ekeepinghim subordinat
etoJesus.Whi l
eJohnannouncedt hecomi ngofa
strongerone,onlyinthef ourt
hgospeldoesJohnhavet herevelat
ionthatt he
personi sJesus(John1:24-34)thoughi
tmaybei mpl
iedinMat thew3: 13-14.In
thef ourthgospel,Johni snevercall
ed“ theBapti
st”.Inthesynopt i
cshei s
envisionedinthewi l
dernessofJudeaatsomepl aceneart heJor danr i
ver.In
thef ourt
hgospelitisnottoldwhereJohnwas.Weonl ylearntthathewassent
from God, t
hathi
snamewasJohn, andthathecametobearwi t
nesst othel i
ght
.

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Unliket hesynopt icsJohn’ sgospelhasnoment i

onofJesus‘ tempt ati
onby
Satan, nori sJesussai dtoopenhi smi nistr ybycomi ngfor war di nGal i
leewi tha
formalannouncementoft heappr oachoft heki ngdom ofGod.Johnt heBapt ist
bearswi t
nesst oJesusbef or eJewi shaut hor i
ti
esatt hesamet imedel ineat ing
hisownr oleandt husexpandi ngont hest atementoft hepr ologuet hat“ hewas
nott helight ”.(Jn1: 8).Hei snotoneoft heant i
cipat edf iguresoft heendt i
me.
Thatt hepr iest sandLevi t
esar esentf rom Jer usalem byt heJews, issi gnificant ,
fortheJews,cent eredi nJer usal em,ar et hechi efopponent sofJesusi nJohn.
The sender s seem al so to be i dentified as Phar isees and t he appar ent
i
dent if
icationofJewsandPhar iseesi st ypi caloft hegospelofJohnf orwhi ch
thePhar i
seesar er epresentat iveoft heJews,par ti
cularlyJewi shl eader shi p.
Perhapst het itl
est hatJohnt heBapt i
str ef usesar ebei ngr eser vedf orJesus.
Whenpr essedhewi llonlycl aimt obeavoi cecr yingi nt hewi lder ness( ofJn
1:3).ThusJohnt heBapt i
stdescr i
beshi msel fwi t
ht hesameI sai ahpassage
(1sai40: 3)t hati sappl i
edt ohi m byMar k.Hei saf orerunnerandwi tnessof
Jesus butcl aims not hing mor ef orhi msel f.Pr obabl yt o est abl i
sh Jesus’
super i
orit
y,t heact ualbapt ism ofJesusbyJohni ssuppr essed.TheBapt ist,
presumabl yl ikeother s,di
dnotknowJesus, andhi sbapt i
zingact ivityissol elya
meansofr eveal i
nghi mt oIsr ael( Jn1:31) .Not hingi ssai daboutr epent ance
andf orgivenessasi nthesynopt i
cs.Signi ficantl
y, Johnt heBapt isti sthef i
rstt o
bearwi tness t o Jesus,and he hi msel fsees and descr ibes t he spi rit’s
descendi ngandabi dinguponJesus.TheBapt istt husconcl udest hisepi sode
bysummar izingandunder scor ingwhathehasdone.Heat testst hatJesusi s
thesonofGod, render i
ngthedef i
niti
vest at ementaboutJesust hati sat tr
ibut ed
byt hesynopt icstot hevoi cef rom heaven.Theuni que,God–di rectedr oleof
theBapt i
sthasnow beenheavenl yunder scored.I nt hever yactofbear ing
witnesssodeci si
velyt oJesus, Johnshar pl ydefinesandl imitshi sownr ole.

Secondappear
anceofJohnt
heBapt
ist

Al soi nJohni sJesussai dtohavebapt i

zed( seeJn3: 26and4: 1-
2).InJohn3:
24ascont rastedwithMar k1: 14wel earnt hatJohnhadnotyetbeenar rested.
Thisst atementseemst oreflectsomeknowl edgeoft hesynopt icaccountof
Jesusmi nistry,whet heront hepar toftheaut hororaver year l
yeditor,“Rabbi,
hewhowaswi thyoubeyondt heJor dan, t
owhom youbor ewi tness,herehei s,
bapt izi
ng,andal laregoi ngoutt ohim” .From t hi
sst atementonewoul dhave
ant i
cipatedadi sputewi t
hdi sciplesofJesusi fnotwi thJesushi msel f.John
himsel fi s notdi sturbed t hatJesus bapt ism i s attracting mul t
it
udes and
cont inuest obearwi tnesst oJesus,r eferr
ingt ohi sownpr eviouswi t
ness.The
fri
endoft hebr idegroom i sobvi ouslyJohnt heBapt i
stwhoknowshi sownr ole
i
nr elati
ont oJesus.( Jn3: 29-30) .Heremai nsaf ai
thf
ulwi tnesseveni nt heface
ofachal lengef rom hisowndi scipl
es.Thef ulfil
lmentofj oyi samar kofJesus’
eter nalfellowshi pwi thhisf ollowers.Thesi gni fi
canceoft hisepisodeofJohn
theBapt i
stbecomescl earthat:Johnt estif
iesagai ntoJesus.

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The“
Iam”sayi
ngsi
nJohn

The“ Iam”sayi ngar et ypi

calJohani
near t
icles.I
nJohnJesususedt hese
art
icl
esi nhisdiscoursesordebateswithhisenemies(thePhar
isees)andhis
owndi sci
ples.Thesear t
icl
eswereusedtodef endhi
sauthor
it
y,t
oaf fi
rmitand
al
sotoassur ehisdiscipl
es.Ther
earebasical
lysevenfamoussayingsofJesus
i
nthegospelofJohn.

“
Iam t
hebr
eadofl
if
e”(
6:35-
51)

Inthelightofthemi sunderstandi
ngsoft hemul t
itudeatt heseaofTi ber
ias,
Jesus ident
if
ies himsel fopenl y as t
he bread ofl ife.This echoes Jesus
rel
ati
onshiptot hef at
her( God)andhi sli
fe-
givi
ngwor k.Thesur esalvat
ionof
thebeli
everisgr oundedi nthewi l
landgiftofGod,asef f
ectedinthewor kof
Jesus,t
heson.Et er
nallif
east heconsequenceofbel i
eforf ai
thi
nJesusi sthe
centr
alandrecur ri
ngt hemeoft hegospel.Thelif
e-givi
ngbr eadfrom heavenis
sai
dt obethefleshofJesus.

“
Iam t
hel
ightoft
hewor
ld”(
8:12)

Whent hePhari
seesaccusedJesusofwi tnessi
ngt ohimself
,Jesusinsi
stedon
thetr
uthofhist est
imony,oncemorestati
nghi srol
eintermsofhi sori
ginand
desti
ny.Whent hePhari
seeslackunder
standing,i
tmeanst hatt
heydonothave
theli
ghttoenablethem t
osee.Theli
ghttoseet hethi
ngsofGod, t
hef at
heri
sin
JesustheLord.

“
Iam t
hegoodshepher
d”(
10:
11)

Thei mageofJesusasaShepher disagainusedtodescr i

behisrole.Jesus
devotiontohis“Sheep”ismat chedonlybyhisknowledgeoft hefat
her.Jesus
woul d guar
d enthusi
asti
call
yt helif
eofhi sbeli
everslikea shepher d who
protectshisfl
ockfrom wolves.Butwhent heshepherddiesthesheepr emain
withoutashepherd.Jesusmedi t
atedonhisowndeathandr esurr
ecti
on.

“
Iam t
het
ruevi
ne”(
15:
1)

Thevinedi scourseisbasedont henecessityandnatur

eoft hedisci
ples’unit
y
withJesus.Themet aphorofvineandbr anchesrepr
esentstheunityofJesus
andthedi scipl
es.Jesushasl i
nkeddi
scipleshi
pwithmut uall
ove.Her ei
terat
es
thathei sasymbolofuni t
y,andmut ualloveisasymbolofuni t
yandhad
mutuallovef orhi
sdisci
ples.

Summar
yoft
he“
Iam”Sayi
ngs

1.“
Iam t
hebr
eadofl
if
e”(
6:35)
.

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2.“
Iam t
hebreadwhichcamedownf r
om heaven”(
6:42;51)
.
3.“
Iam t
hel
ightofthewor l
d”(8:
12).
4.“
Iam t
hegoodshepherd”(10:11).
5.“
Iam t
heresurr
ecti
onandt heli
fe”(11:
25).
6.“
Iam t
heway,thetrut
handt helif
e”(14:
6)
7.“
Iam t
hetruevi
ne”(15:1)
.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1.Whowr otethebookofJohn.
2.Discusstheissuesthatari
sefrom t
heprol
oguei
nJohn’sgospel
3.Compar ethemi ni
str
yofJohnt heBapt
isti
nJohn’
sgospelwit
hthati
nthe
synopti
c.
4.Examinethedi scour
sebetweenJesusandNicodemus
5.Examinethe“ Iam”sayingsinJohn

Gobbet
s

Wr
it
eexpl
anat
orycomment
sont
hef
oll
owi
ng:
-

Thenextdayhesaw Jesuscomi ngtowardhim andsai d,“Behol

d,thelambof
God, whotakeawayt hesinoftheworl
d.”(
John1: 29)
(a)Ashepassedby, hesawabl i
ndmanf rom hisbir
th.Andhi sdisci
plesasked
him,“Rabbi,whosi nned,t
hismanorhi sparent
st hathewasbor nbl i
nd.
”
(John9:1-
2)
(b)Butthesear ewritt
enthatyoumaybel ievethatJesusi stheChr i
st,sonof
God,andt hatbel
ievi
ngyoumayhavel i
feinhisname.( John20:31).
(c)Hesaidt ohim,“Tendmysheep. ”Hesaidtohi mthet hi
rdtime,“Si
mon,son
ofJohn,doyoul oveme? ”(
John21:17)
.

Ref
erences
Smit
hM. D,Ar
ti
clei
nHar
per
’sBi
bleComment
ary,
1988

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CHAPTER14
APOSTOLI
CAGE

Gener
ali
ntr
oduct
iont
otheapost
oli
cage

Inconci set er
mst heApost olicAgei st heeraofapost olicactivi
tiesprecisely
aftertheGr eatDi sper
sion.Thi sper iodf ocusesont heapost oli
cdevel opment s
afterthedeat hofJesus.Enemi esoft heChr i
stmovementhunt eddownhi s
foll
ower s,who,f ortheirownsecur it
yscat ter
edabr oadbutwi t
houtnegl ecting
thespr eadingoft heChr i
stiangospel .Theapost lesofJesusf oundedChr i
stian
churchesandcongr egati
onswher et heyi mpartedChr isti
andoct rinesandt he
gospel .Thesenewl yest ablished chur chest hen had i nternalpr obl
emst hat
result
ed,i nmostcases,i nmi sunder standingsamongstmember s.Whensuch
problemsar oset hecongr egat ionwoul dpr esentt hepr oblemst ot heapost l
e
whof oundedt hatchur ch.Ther elevantapost l
ewoul dmaker esoluti
onsand
sendt hem backbywayofl ettersthatwoul dbecar ri
edbyanemi ssarytot he
church.I nthisregardPaulf eat ur
esast hegreatestapost olicwr i
terofepistles
tothechur chesmost l
yintheGent i
leregi ons.

Wet akenoti
cet hatthebookofAct siscl
oselylinkedwiththeApost oli
cAge
thoughi tisnotanapost ol
icbook.Thesi
gnifi
canceofAct sisthatitgivesthe
histori
calgenesi
soft heapostol
icmovementaf t
erthedeathofJesusChr i
st.I
t
gives compr ehensi
ve accounts of the earl
y chur ch and it
si mmedi ate
challenges.Actstheref
orebecomest hebr
idgingst or
ybetweent heChr i
stera
andt heeraofmi ssi
onarywork.

Act
soft
heApost
les
Byt
heendoft
hechapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.Gi
veabr
iefsummar
yoft
her
elat
ionshi
pofact
stot
hegospel
s.

2.Expl
ainhowt
hechur
chst
art
edi
nJer
usal
em

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3.Hi
ghl
ightanddi
scusst
hepr
obl
emsoft
heear
lychur
chi
nJer
usal
em

4.Discussthecontr
ibut
ionofsuchi
mpor
tantf
igur
esl
ikeSt
ephen,
Pet
er,
James, Paul
,Si
lasandBarnabas.

5.Exami
net
hespr
eadofChr
ist
iani
tybeyondJer
usal
em

6.Di
scusst
het
ri
alsofPaulbydi
ff
erentaut
hor
it
ies

Itmustbenot edf r
om theout
sett
hatAct
sisnotanapostoli
clet
ter.I
twasnot
wri
ttenbyanapost l
eassuch.Butani
mportanti
ssuet
ost at
eearlyist hatt
his
bookbr i
dgest hegospelswit
htheapost
oli
cage.Webegi nbyexami ningthe
backgroundissuesonaut hor
shi
p,dat
epurposeofthebookasi sal wayst he
custom i
nthest udypack.

Aut horship
Inspit
eoft heancientwel l
-establi
shedt r
aditi
onthatt het hi
rdgospelandt he
Actsoft heApost l
eswer ewr i
tten byLuke,t hephysi ci
an,Paul’stravelli
ng
companionandcl oseassoci at
e[ Phil
emon24;Col4: 14;Ti m 4:
11],bothwor ks
areanonymous.Nei t
herthename‘ Luke’ noranunnamed‘ physi
cian-discipl
eis
evenment i
onedi nei
therLukeorAct s.Bot hwor ksar elinkedtogetherbyt heir
commonaddr esseeTheophi l
us.Thesi milar
ityoft heirlanguageandst yleas
wellasthei
runifi
edlit
eraryandt heologicalpurposesl eavelit
tl
edoubtt hatthey
deri
vefrom t
hesameaut hor-
possibly,butnotcer t
ainly,Luke.

Attheearli
est,Actscannothavebeenwr itt
enpr iortotheappoi nt
mentof
Festusasprocurat
or[Acts24:27]whichont hebasi sofindependentsources,
appearst
ohaveoccurredbet weenA.D55and59.I tisal
socommonl ydatedin
thel
astquart
erofthefi
rstcentur
y,af
terthedestruct
ionofJerusalem i
nA.D70.

Thet wo-vol umewor kofLuke-Actsshoul dbeunder st

oodasanar rat
ivewi t
h
differentdimensionsandmul t
iplepurposes.Bot hi t
sform andcont entsuggest
thatt hewor kwasi ntendedtober eadast hecont inuati
onoft heOl dTest ament
biblicalst
or y.Thenarrati
vethr
oughoutconf i
rmst henot i
ont hatthest or
yi stol
d
tost r
engthenf ai
th[Luke1: 4]
.Consequent lyitshoul dber eadasanedi fyi
ng
nar rati
veintendedt oinfor
m,reinforce,andr endermor ecredi bl
ef ait
hwher eit
alreadyexi stsandprobablytocreateandi nstil
lfai
thwher eitdoesnotexi st
.

Structureofact s
InonesenseAct sseemsor ganizedar oundgeogr aphicalconcent r
iccir
cles[1:8]
i
nwhi cht hepr ogressoft hewor dist racedf r
om Jer usalem [ chapters1-7],
throughoutJudeaandSamar ia[chapt er8-12]andf inallytothe‘ endoftheear th’
probablyRome[ chapter
s13- 28].Inanot hersense,t hewor kcompr isest wo
parts:Fi
rstly,chapters1-12,whi chpr esentt hechur ch’sbegi nninginPal esti
ne
andhow i tover t
ookorr eplacedJudai sm ast henew l ocusofGod’ spr esence
withinIsraelandsecondl y,chapt ers13-28whi cht ellhow t hegospelmoves
west wardandhow God’ spr omi sesar eext endedf ullytot hegent il
es.Each

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secti
onhasit
scentr
alfi
gur
e.Thef
ir
stsect
ioni
scent
redonPet
erwhi
let
he
secondi
scent
redonPaul
.

Therear eot hersalientf

eaturesoft hebookofAct s,whichcannotbel eft
unexami ned.Oneconspi cuousf eatureisthesummar i
est hatareprovided
throughoutt hewor k.Thesesummar i
esarefair
lyext
ensi
vetextsdocumenting
thenumer icalgrowthandspr eadofthechurch.Somefewexamplesare2:42-47;
4:32-35;5:12-16;16:5;19:
20;24:44-49;28:
31.

Relatedt othesesummar iesi sthei ssueortheuseoft ypicalexampl es.Thisisa

l
iteraryt echni quet hroughwhi chLukedepi ctsasi nglechar acteroreventt o
i
llustratewhatoccur redt ypically.Theheal i
ngoft hel ameman[ 3:1-11]maybe
regar dedast ypicaloft he‘manysi gns’andwonder sper formedbyt heapost l
es.
Bar nabas’ gener osit
yi spr esentedasaconcr et
eexampl et hattypif
iesthemany
proper tyowner swhosol dt heirpossessi ons[4:34-37].Theepi sodesr eportedin
detaildur ingPaul ’
spr eachi ngmi ssionatPhi l
ippi[16:11-40]ser vet oil
lustr
ate
typicalf eaturesofhi spr eachi ngamonggent i
les.His[ Paul]vindicati
onbef ore
Gal l
io[ cf18:12- 17],concr etelyi l
lustrat
esthewayRomanaut horit
iestypical
ly
treatedChr i
stianmi ssionar i
es.

Anot hermostst r
iki
ngf eat
ur eoft hebookofAct si sthenumberofspeeches
containedi nt hebookandt heamountofspacet heyoccupy-r oughly20%oft he
enti
rebook.Theyoccur -throughoutt hewor k,ineachofi t
smaj orsect i
ons
exhibiti
ngdi fferenttypes:mi ssi onar yspeechesdi rect
edt oJewsandgent il
es
forexampl e 2: 14-36 and 10: 34-43 r espect
ively.Ther e ar e also defense
speechesbyPet erf orexampl e4: 8-12;bySt ephen7: 2-53;andbyPaulf or
exampl e26: 2-23e. t
.c.Therear eal sochur chspeecheswi t
hChr ist
iansspeaking
tot heirChr isti
ans f orexampl e 1: 16-22;11:5-17,especi allyPaul ’
s pastoral
homi lyorf arewelladdr esstot heEphesi anelders[ 20:18-
35]andspeechesby
outsiders f or exampl e 5: 35- 39].I n addi t
ion, numer ous pr ayers and
conver sati
onsar ereportedthr oughoutt hebook.Bypr ovi
di ngvar i
oust ypesof
speechesf i
ttedt othecharact ersandt heoccasion, Lukeisf oll
owingapr acti
ce
wellest abl
ishedamonganci entaut hors-Jewish,Gr eekandRoman.

Comment
aryont
heevent
sbet
weenEast
erandPent
ecost
:

Act
s1:
1-26

Thefir
st8ver sesareacont i
nuati
onofJesus’st ory.From theout set,Actsi s
connectedwi t
ht hethi
rdgospel[Luke]thatgivesacompr ehensiveaccountof
Jesus’deedsandwor dsunt i
lhewast akenuporascendedt oheaven.Bot h
LukeandAct shaveacommonaddr essee‘Theophilus’
,whoi snotment i
oned
anywhere else inthe New Testament .Wher eas Luke 24 cont ai
ns Chr ist
’s
appearancestoasi ngl
eday[ East
erSunday],thisperi
odisext endedt o40days
i
nAct sonever sethree.Jesus’acti
vit
iesincludedmanypr oof s,presumabl y
si
gnsand wonder s,variousappearancest ot heapost l
es,and i nstruct
ions,

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which are,summar i
sed in Luke24 ver ses44-49.Thecont inuati
on oft he
kingdom ofGodi sant i
cipatedi nthegospelofLuke22: 16;18.Pr eciselywhat
thekingdom si gni
f i
edremai neduncl earast heapost l
esquest ioni nAct s1v6
shows.Dur i
ng a mealJesusenj oi
nst heapost l
est or emaini n Jerusalem
echoinghi searli
eri nst
ructiont hattheirpropheticwitnesst ohi m woul dbegi n
from Jerusalem.Johnt heBapt i
sthadant ici
patedt hathi sfor m ofbapt ism
wouldbesuper sededbyamor eimpr essi
veform ofi mmer si
onadmi nisteredby
theMessi ahinwhi chper sonswoul dbesuf f
usedorover shadowedwi ththehol y
spiri
tandconf rontedwitht hef i
reofGod’ sjudgment[ Act s1:5andLuke3: 16]
.At
perhapsanot hergathering[Act s1:6]theapost l
esaskwhenChr istwoul drestore
thekingdom ofI srael.Hisr esponseexposest hei
rmi sunder st
anding.Ent ering
God’skingdom i snotamat terofknowi ngwhent omar kthecal endarbutof
awaiti
ngandr ecei
vingGod’ spr omisedspi r
it.

Howt
hechur
chbegani
nJer
usal
em
Thecomi
ngoft
hespi
ri
tonPent
ecost
:2:
1-13
Thecomi ngoft hehol yspi ri
tonPent ecostwasaf ulfi
ll
mentoft hepr omi ses
madeear l
ierbyJohnt heBapt i
standt herisenLor d[cfLuke3:16andLuke24:
49]ofal lNewTest amentwr i
ters, i
tisonl yLukewhoset sthechur ch’sbegi nning
ont hedayofPent ecost ,fi
ft
ydaysaf t
erPassover[ Luke22: 1].Thenucl eusof
themessi aniccommuni tycer t
ai nlyincludedthespi ritandconcei vablythe120
disciples.Thespi r
it’sarr
ivalispr esent edinawayt hatant i
cipatest hepr ophecy
i
nAct s2: 19;thel oudwi ndf r
om heavenser vesasawonderi nt heheavens
abovewhi lethetonguesoff i
rewr estingont hosegat her edbecamesi gnsont he
earth’sbeneat h.Wi ndandf i
remayr ecallasimi l
arext raordinaryappear anceof
theLor dt oElij
ahin1Ki ngs29:11- 13.Allofthosegat hered, whethert het welve
ort he 120 wer ef i
ll
ed wi t
h Hol y Spirit
.Thi si st he f i
rstofsever alsuch
occur r
encesi nvolvingbot hindi vidualsandgr oupsi nAct s.Whatdi sti
ngui shes
thispar ti
cularinf
usi onoft hespi ritisthatther ecipient sspokei not hertongues
orf oreign languages.Thephenomenon wasr epeat ed att heconver si on of
Cor nel
iusi nchapter10:46.

Thecr owdat tractedbyt hiscacophonyofsoundsar eJewsl i

vingi nJerusal
em
notpilgri
msf r
om abr oad.Theyar estruckbyt hespeaker s’distinct
iveGalil
ean
accent,yett heyunder standwhati sbei ngsai
di nt heirr
espect i
venat ivedial
ects.
Themagni tudeoft hemi r
aclei sunder scor
edast heyl i
stthenat ionsf r
om which
they have emi grated.The emphasi s of this eventi s on t he universal
understandingofbel i
ever s.Butsomet imesthisi ncidentisviewedasar eversal
oftheuni ver salconf usionofBaseli nGenesi s11ver ses1–9.Mor eli
kelyLuke
wantst ost resst hatt heJewi shcommuni t
ywhi chf i
rsthear st hegospelat
Pentecosti sgenui nelyuni versalinscopehencer epresentati
veofwor l
dJewr y.
Hisnar r
ativedescr ipti
onher eant i
cipatesthepr omi seinPet er’
sspeecht hatall
fl
eshwoul dr eceiveGod’ sspi rit[Acts2:17]
.

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Pet
er’
sspeech:Act
s2:14-
36

AmongPet er ’
ssever alspeechesi nActs,theoneinAct s2: 14-36hasspeci al
i
mpor tance.Li keJesusathi sNazar ethinaugur
al,Pet erisi ntroducedasan
i
nterpreterofOl dTest amentscr iptur
e.Henow begi nst ounf oldpubl i
clythe
secret
sofscr iptur
ei nt
erpret
ationexpoundedbyt herisenLor dtot heapost l
es
onEast er[ cfLuke24: 44-
48].Theser monofPet eri ntroducesmaj orLucan
themesdevel oped throughoutt hebookofAct sf orexampl e,out pouri
ngof
God’sspi r
it
;uni versali
tyofthegospel ;aut
henti
cati
ngsi gnsandwonder s,and
salvat
ionint henameoft helord.

Inthef i
rstpar t[2:14-21]Peterinterpretst heeventsofPent ecostasful
fi
ll
ing
Joel2:28-32.Whatwasexpect edi nt hel astdays[ Isa2:
2]hasnow comet o
pass.Adr amat i
cef fusionofGod’ sspi ritisexperiencedbymenandwomen,
youngandol daccompani edbysi gnsandwonder s,bothvisibl
eandaudible
withtr
ulycosmi ci mpact .Thisinterruptionofthenor malcourseofeventsis
seenasapr el
udet othedayoft heLor d,whenhi storywouldend,andat i
me
whenpeopl ewoul dcallouttotheLor df orsalvat
ion.

Inthesecondpar t[
2:22-
36]
,PeterexplainsJesus’
deat handr esurr
ecti
oni nl
ight
oft wo Davidic psalms:16:8-
11 and 110: 7.Hi sintroduction tot hi
s part
summar i
zest heessenti
alf
eaturesoft heJesusstorythathavebeenr ehear
sed
atlengt
hint hegospel:aminist
ryempower edbyGod’ sdeathbyhumanhands
yetaccordingtoGod’ swill
,resurrecti
onbyGod[ Acts2:22-24].Ratherthan
provi
ng these clai
ms,Peterassumes t hem throughoutt he sermon.These
thi
ngstheapost l
eshavewitnessed.[v:32].

Inthelastpart,Peterdi
squal
if
iesDavidast hecandidat
er efer
redtointhe
psal
ms.Hei denti
fi
esJesusast hel
egit
imat
ecandidate.TherisenLordnowis
seenastheonewhopour soutthedi
vinespi
ri
tatthi
sinauguralevent[
ver
se33]
.

Apor
trai
toft
heear
lychur
ch:Act
s2:
42-
47

Init
iall
yt heChr i
stianmovement ’
ssuccessismar kedwi t
hspecif
icimpr essivel
y
l
ar genumber s[ v41] .Event ual
ly,thi
swi llgivewayt ofurt
hergr owt h and
expansi onasi ndi catedinper i
odicsummar ies,thathavebeenal l
udedt oi nthe
i
nt roductiontot hisr esear
ch.Thi sideal
isedpor trai
toft hechurchemphasi zes
aspect sofr el
igiouscommuni tyvaluedi nbot hJewi shandGr eco–Roman
soci et
y:dai l
ydevot i
ont obothpubl i
candpr i
vater eli
giousacti
vit
ies;awesome
respecti nthepr esenceofdi vinepower ,internalhar monyand communi t
y
solidar i
tyexpressedi nconcr et
econcer nforeachot herand,gener ocit
y.The
volunt ary sharing of possessi ons among member s of the communi t
y
distinguishestheear lychurch.Alongwithal msgi vingandshowi nghospi tali
ty,
Lukepr esentsitasonewayt ousepossessionsr esponsi bly.

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Enemi
esoft
heear
lychur
ch

Ascoul dbeevi dencedbyt hearrestofPet erandJohn[ 4:1-

4],thet emple
aut horit
ies[Jesus’earl
ierant agoni
sts],haver emai nedenemi esevent otheear l
y
chur ch.A pr ominentsour ceofr esistancei nt hef ir
standsecondar r
est sof
Pet eraret heSadduceeswhohadopposedPaul .Sincetheydeni edresurrecti
on
i
npr incipl
e,theyspecif i
callycontestt heapost le’
scl aimt hatresurr
ectionhad
begunwi t
hJesus.Event hought heover ni
ghtcust odyofPet erandJohni sa
relati
velymi ldaction,itful f
il
lsJesuspr edicti
onofper secuti
onofapost lesin
Luke 21: 12.Despi t
er esistance and ar r
ests,t he gospelst i
llmeet s wi t
h
significantnumer i
calsuccess[ Act
s4: 4].

Apostoli
cresistance
Despiter epressi
veact i
onsbyt hetempleaut horities,t
heapost l
esr emainedf i
rm
anddef i
antt orestr
icti
veor ders.Peterremai nst hepr ominentspokesper sonof
theapost oli
cmi ssion.Theapost l
esar ecompel ledtospeakwhatt heyhave
seenandhear d,pr esumabl ythedeedsandwor dsofJesusr ecordedi nthe
gospel.Mor eapostoli
csi gnsandwonder soccuri nt hetemple.Thesecond
arrestsawPet ergivingaf ir
m defense[ 5:27-32].Thecounci l’
sviolenceandt he
urgetoki lltheapostlesforeshadowsi tslaterreact i
ont oStephen.Vindicati
onof
the apost les comes t hrough Gamal i
elwho ur ges cauti
on tot he council
authori
ties.

St
ephen’
sar
rest

Resistance to Chr i
stianity now ext ends beyond Sadducees and t emple
authoriti
estoincludedi asporaJewsr esidentinJerusalem andf orthef i
rstti
me
Jewishpeopl e.Whet herSt ephen’sopponentsshoul dbeenvi sionedasasi ngle
synagoguewi t
hdi ffer
entconst i
tuenci
es,Fr eedmen;Cyr enians,Al exandri
ans,
Cil
ici
ansandAsi ans)ormor elikel
y,astwosepar at
egr oups-Af r
icanJewswho
compr isedthesynagogueofFr eedmen,andAsi anJews–t heirloyalt
ywast o
theJer usal
em templeandt hemosai claw.TheyseeSt ephenasat hreattoboth.
Thesecondgr oupl ateropposesPaulont hesamegr ounds( AsianJews) .
Unablet oconf ut
et hepr opheti
cdeedsandwor dsoft hespirit
-fi
ll
edSt ephen,
they resorttof alse wi tnesses and cont r
ived charges thatl ink Stephen’s
preachingtoJesus.

St
ephen’
sdef
ense7:
1-53

Theser monsur veysIsrael’

shist
oryinbr oadsweep,hi ghli
ghtingthreefigures,
Abraham,Joseph and Moses.I tthen t r
eatst he tabernaclet emple and
concludesbyassai l
ing thehearersf ori denti
fying wi thIsrael’
sher i
tageof
resi
stance.Thehi stori
calsurveyisr emi niscentofOl dTest amenthi storical
summar iesthatrehearseGod’sdeali
ngswi thIsrael.Ifanythi
ng, i
trefl
ectsmor e
thecensor i
ousspi r
itofPsal ms78and106whi chst ressIsrael’
spersistent,
cycl
icaldisobedience through it
s history,t han i tdoes t he mor e positive

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udyPack
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doxologicalspir
itofPsal
m 105 whi
ch r
ecal
ls God’
s gr
aci
ous car
e and
del
iveranceofIsr
ael
.

St
ephen’
sdeat
handi
tsi
mpact

Resistancet o pr ophet icwor dsand deedsi ntensi f

ied ast hecounci lwhi ch
earli
eroncoul donl yt hr eatenandi mprisonandwi sht oki l
l(5: 33), f
inallydi dki l
l.
Stephenf i
nalaccusat ionsendst hem int outteranger .Ingr eatcont rastSt ephen
whowasf i
lledwi tht hespi ritbehavedl ikeapr ophet :hegazedi ntoheavent o
seeGod’ sgl or y.Henow seesvi vi
dlywhatJesushadpr omi sedt hissame
councilwoul doccur -i.et hesonofmanexal t
edt oGod’ srighthand( Luke22: 69) ,
alt
hough st andi ng ( see Dani el7: 13)r athert han seat ed ( Psal m 110: 1).I n
reporti
ngt ot hecounci lwhathesees, hebot hconf essesandpr ocl aims, fort he
fi
rsttime, ther isenLor d.Thesesamewor ds( Acts7: 56)at t
estt hei nnocenceof
God’sr ighteousonewhom t heyhavesl ainandt here-byconvi ctt hehear ers.By
rej
ectingyetanot herofGod’ spr ophet s,thenewMosesofwhom t hei rownl aw
spoke( Deut18: 15),theyst andunderGod' ’judgmentandt het hr eatofanot her
expulsionf rom God’ spr esence.Thi sunusualf or m ofpr oclamat ioni smetwi th
mobvi olenceandar ej ect i
ont hatr ecallsJesus’ownr ej
ectionatNazar et h.The
council’sact ionsconf or mt ot hebi blicalr ul
eondeal i
ngwi thbl asphemer s:
deathbyst oni ngout si det heci t
y( Lev24: 13-16)wi thwi tnessesgoi ngf irst
(Deutr17: 2-7) .Onceagai nthecr azedmob’ sf r
enzycont rastswi tht hepr ophet ’
s
(Stephen)cal m conf idence.St ephen’ sdeat hissket chedi nt ermst hatr ecal l
Jesus’ownpassi on.I ti sthedeat hofanot heri nnocentpr ophet .Li keJesus,
Stephenut tersapr ayerofconf idencer ephrasingPsal m 31ver se5,andf i
nal ly
i
nal oudvoi ceof fersapr ayeroff orgivenessf orhi senemi es( c. f
.Luke23: 34;
Acts7: 60).Thedeat hofSt ephenal sof unct i
onst oint r
oduceSaulwhogr adual ly
enterst hest or yandemer gesast hemaj orf i
gur ei nAct s13t o28.Saul ’
s
parti
cipat i
oni nSt ephen’ sdeat hbecomesamaj orr efer
encepoi ntf orLukeas
evidencedi nt hef ollowi ngt exts:Act s9: 1;21;22: 4;20;26: 9-11.Act s9:1,21;
Acts22:4, 20andAct s26:9-11.

Stephen’sdeath becomespi votalinthestor yofAct sand mar ksa maj or

tr
ansiti
on.Thegr eatpersecutioninActs8:1nowwi denstheci r
cleofresistance
beyondt empleaut hori
tiesandJer usal
em residents.I
tssal utaryef
f ecti sto
scatt
ert he church thr
oughoutJudea and Samar i
a,in keeping wi
t h Jesus’
mandat e(Acts1: 8)
.Imagi nedher eisasi ngle,greatcommuni t
yofbel i
evers
now expelled from Jer usalem.The apost les,however ,r emain behi nd to
authenti
catethegospelasi tspr eadsbeyondJerusalem (seeandcompar eAct s
8v1and8v14t oprovethispoi nt.

St
ephen’
sspeech:Fur
therAnal
ysi
s

Carl.R.Holladaysubmit
st hatStephen’sspeechmayber eadasauni fied
defense t
hatdevelops t
hree i
nter
r el
ated t
hemes vi
z:God’
s dwell
ing pl
ace;
promisefulf
ill
ment
;andIsrael’
srejecti
onofGod’sdulyappoint
edemissari
es.

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Stepheni nsi st
sthat ,asear l
yasAbr aham, Israelispr omisedapl acet owor shi p
God( Acts7: 7cfExodus3: 12) ,
thel andofpr omi se, 7:4.Thoughmovedt oEgypt
tol i
veasal iensi nal andbel ongingt oot hers,al lthepat riarchs( f
ather)wer e
returnedf orbur i
alint hepr omi sedl and( 7:16) .St i
ll
,ast het imeoft hepr omi se
drew near ,thepeopl eofpr omi ser emai nedi nEgyptunt i
lGodcommi ssioned
Mosest odel i
vert hem ( v34) .Theyr eject edMoses’l eader shi pandi nt heir
hear t
s,t urnedt oEgypt( v39),thusr efusingt hechancet oobt aint heirpromi sed
place.Asar esulttheywoul dbeexi ledagai nbeyondBabyl on( v43).Event ual l
y
the pat riarchs (fathers ofI srael)t ransf erred t he tentofwi tness from t he
wildernesst othePr omisedLandwher euponDavi dandSol omonsoughtt o
establishamor eper manentdwel li
ngpl acef ortheGodofJacob( v46).Cont rary
tot hepr ophet icwor di nIsaiah66: 1-2,theymi stakenlythoughtGod’ spresence
coul d be conf ined t o a handmade house.Consequent ly,even wi t
ht he
Jerusal em t emple, God’siniti
alpr omi se( Act s7: 76)r emainedunf ulf
il
led(v.v.49-
50).Thepl acewher eGod’ sspi r
itr esi
desandwher ethepr esenceofGodi s
dramat ical l
y atwor k,i s no l ongert he t empl e butt he newl y constitut ed
messi ani ccommuni t
y, whichf inall
yf ulfil
lsGod’ sor i
ginalpr omi se.

Althought her ejectiont hemeemer gesonl yi nthel at terpar tofhi sspeechand

especi all
y wi t
hr efer ence t o Moses,i tisi ntroduced ear li
er .The j ealous
pat r
iarchsar eat tackedf orselli
ngJoseph,onl yt ohavet heirmi sdeedr eversed
bydi vineint ervention.( v9) .Buti twasMoses,aboveal l,whosel eadershipwas
rejectedbyhi sbret hr en,t hesonsofI sr
ael( v23) .First,t heyr efusedt oaccept
hisGod- sentdel i
ver anceofaf ellow I srael
ite( verses25- 28)whi chl edtohi s
exileinMi dian.Second,t heyr eject edhi m ast heGod- sentr uleranddel iverer
(v35)whowoul dbr ingt hem t ot hel andofpr omi se, andt hisinspi t
eofst unni ng
displays of God’ s pr esence t hrough hi m:wonder s and si gns i n Egypt ,
deliverancet hrought heRedSear ecei vi
ngt hel aw atSi nai( vv.35- 38).Instead
theyt hrusthi m aside,t urnedt heirhear tstowar dEgypt ,andbecamei dolaters
(vv.40- 41) .Consequent ly,God r ejected them,t urning t hem overt ot heir
i
dol atrousi nstincts( ver ses42- 43).Thespeechi si nfor medbyt heconvi ction
thatMosespr efi
gur esJesusChr i
st.I freadagai nstt hebackgr oundoft her est
ofLuke-Act s, thespeechpr esent st hecar eerofMoses, andI srael ’
sreacti
ont o
himi nwayst hatpar al leltheChr istst ory.

Ther ejecti
ont hemer eachesitsclimaxintheconcl udingi ndi
ctment(Acts7:51-
53).Wi th vivid met aphors drawn f r
om t heirown past ,the hearers are
charact er
izedasst i
ff–necked( Exodus33:3-5)andunci rcumcisedinheartand
ears( Lev26: 41) .Theyar eassai l
edashi storicallyhavingr esi
stedGod’shol y
spi
ritandst andingint hesuccessionoftheirpr edecessor swhoper secutedand
ki
ll
edt hepr ophet s(1Ki ngs19: 10).St
ephen’ si ndict
menther eechoesJesus’
earl
ieraccusat ion(Luke11: 47-51).Thehear ersar eimplicatedinthebetrayal
anddeat hoft heinnocentprophetJesus, t
her i
ght eousone.

TheChr
ist
ianmovementspreadsout
sideJer
usal
em t
oJudea,Samar
ia,Gal
il
ee
andt
hecoastl
andregi
ons.

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Asaaf or ement i
onedi nthelastpar agr
aphont hear ti
cleont hedeathofStephen
andi tsi mpact ,theChr i
sti
anmovementspr eadtovar iousregionsasar esultof
thegr eatper secuti
on,i nJerusalem.Philli
p,whoi sidenti
fi
edasanevangel i
st
l
ivingi nCaesar ea( Acts21:8)pr oclai
medChr istinSamar i
a.Theapost l
ePet er
then vi sited the region to confirm the Chri
stian mi ssi
on ofPhi l
li
p and t o
establisht hechur ch( vv14-25).ThemovementwentbeyondSamar i
at ot he
mor edi stantr egionoft heCoast l
and,asf arasEt hiopia(Afri
ca)wherethef ir
st
AfricanChr isti
anwasconver t
ed–t heEthiopi
aneunuch(8: 26-
40).Thegospel
spreadf urthertoDamascuswher eSaul(Paul)
,themosti mpor t
antcharacterin
thi
sbook, wasconver ted( 9:
1-31)

ThecallofSaul:Comment s
Saul ’sf ul
lpart
icul
ar sar enotknown.Hei si dentifi
edasanat iveofTar susin
Cili
ci a.Attheageoff ourhemovedt oJer usalem wher ehewasr ear edbyhi s
fami lyandt heneducat edunderGamaliel(Acts5: 34-39).Assuchhebecomesa
Jer usal emi
teformal lyeducatedtoadher est ri
ctl
yandzeal ouslytot hesacred
traditionsofhisfat hers,hencehebecameazeal ousper secutoroftheChr i
sti
an
movementt hatadvocat edfort
heabandonmentoft het r
adit
ionsoft heelders.
Hi scal lcomeswhi lehewasont hesynagoguei nDamascust oarrestthosein
themovement .Thenar r
ati
veimpliesthatt hei ntended vi
ctimsar eJewi sh
Chr istianswhost i
llattendthesynagogue.

Thecal lst or yr esembl esot heranci entaccount swher eenemi esofGod’ scause,
throughdi vinei nter vent i
onar edr amat i
cal l
yhal tedandconver tedi ntoGod’ s
proponent s.Theencount eri spr esent edasat r
ulyext raor di nar yr ever salof
event st hroughdi r
ect ,divinei ntervent i
on.Thebl i
ndingl i
ghtappear i
ngsuddenl y
from heavensi gnifiesGod’ sdr amat i
ci nterruptionofPaul ’sact ivities.Al t
hough
Sauldoesnotseeanyone,cl earlyt her i
senl ordappear edt ohi m pr esumabl yin
avi sion.Mor ei mpor t
anther et hanwhati sseeni swhati shear d:apr ophet i
c
call.Aheavenl yvoi cespeakst oSaulusi ngaf orm ofdoubl eaddr essf oundi n
earlierdi vinecommi ssionse. g.Gen46: 2;Exodus3:4and1Sam 3:4.Thevoi ce
i
ndi ct soraccusesbyi nterpr eti
ngSaul ’
sact ivi
tywi t
hr ef er encet ot henew
realityofChr ist’
sr esur rection:t oper secut eChr i
stiansi st oper secut eChr i
st
(9:5).Thevoi ceat test st hatJesus,oncer ejectedbutnowr isenandvi ndicat
ed,
cont inuest obeact i
vei nhi story.Ear lierChr isthadexer tedheal ingpower( Acts
3:16)now heexer tspowert ocal lnew pr ophet s.Thepr esenceofwi t
nesses,
who al so hear dt he voi ce,conf i
rms t he real i
ty oft he occur rence.They
cor r
espond t ot he company ofI sraelwho can at t
estt he r eal i
ty ofGod’ s
revelat i
ont oMoses.I tisAnani as, theJewi shChr isti
andi scipl ef rom Damascus
whoexper iencesanexpl icitl
ydef inedvi sion( 9:10).Ther isenl ordal sospeaks
tohi m, direct inghi sact ionsf rom heaven.I nthedi alogue, thel or dr eveal sSaul ’
s
wher eabout s;pr edi ctswhati st ooccur ,butmosti mpor tant ly,put si nconci se
terms hi s commi ssion t o Saul( 9:15-16) .These wor ds summar i
ze Luke’ s
theol ogicalunder standi ngofPaulasGod’ schoseni nst rument .Paul ’schief
cont ributiont ot hechur ch’smi ssionwi llbet ocar ryt hel or d’snamet othe

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genti
les.Yethewillal
sowitnesstot
henamebefor
ekingsaswel
lasbef
oret
he
sonsofI srael
.Likethepr ophet
s,hewillal
sosuff
er(9:
23)
.Indoi
ngsohe
fol
lowshisapostoli
cpredecessor
s(5:
41)
.

Wi t
h hisdeepestf earsal l
ayed byt heLor d’scommand Anani asobedi entl
y
proceedst oordainGod’sdesignee( Saul)(vv.17- 19).Bylayi
nghandsonSaul ,
hebest owsGod’ sheali
ngpowerandr estoreshissi ght(vv.
12;17).Thereali
tyof
theheal i
ngisattest
edbyt hescalesfalli
ngf r
om hi seyes.Possi bl
y,hi
sr est
ored
sightistobeunder stoodast hevisiblesignoft hespi rit
spresence,elsewhere
mani f
estedt hr
oughspeaki ngintongues( cf.2:1-4).Hisbaptism removest he
guiltr
esulti
ngfrom hisprevi
ousmi sdeeds( cf.22:16).

Pauli
nDamascusandJer
usal
em:Act
s9:
19-
31.

Sauli mmedi atelybegant ocarryouthi sdi vinel

yappoi ntedr oleofpr eachingt o
thesonsofI srael(v15).Aswasal wayst hecase,pr ophet i
cpr oclamat ionwas
metwi thr esist
ancet hatent ail
edsuf fer
ing.Thust hisbr i
efdescr ipti
onofSaul ’
s
activit
y,firstinDamascus( vv.19-25)andsubsequent lyinJer usalem ( vv.26-29)
i
tsel fbecomesaf ulfi
ll
mentoft heLor d’
swor dstoAnani asinver ses15and16.
Thepor t
rai tofSault hatemer gesher eisami ni
atureoft hepor t
raitthatunf olds
l
ateri nt henar rat
ivei.e.Paulpr eachingJesusassonofGod( v20),t heChr i
st
(v22)andl ord( v29).Thesear et hecentr althemesofhi spr eachi ngtot heJews
i
nt heirsynagogues,cr eat
ingcont roversyandmeet ingr esistance,event ot he
pointoft hreatsagai nsthisl i
feyetal waysdr amaticallydeliveredorvi ndicated
(9:25-30).

Saul ’
simmedi ater emovaltoJer usalem,hisacceptancebyt heapost lest hr
ough
Barnabas’gener ouscommendat i
on,and hi sabsorption intotheJer usalem
chur chr eflectt heLucant endencyt oali
gnPaulcl oselywi thJerusal em..The
Paul i
ne l etters by cont rastr eflectPaul ’
s oppositet endency to st ress his
i
ndependenceofJer usal
em ( seeGal1and2) .Infact
,Pauldeni esbei ngknown
bysi ghtbychur chesofChr istinJudea( Gal1:22)
.Hisopponent sinJer usalem
aret heHel lenists( Acts9:29)possi blythesamegr oupwhoopposedSt ephen.
Later ,Asi an Jewsf igur
epr omi nentl
yi n opposi
ng Pauli n Jer usalem ( Acts
21:27) .Once agai n eff
ortst o ki l
lhim pr ove unsuccessf ul
.Saved by t he
Jerusal em chur ch,Pauli smovedt oTarsus,hishomet own,wher eher emai ned
untilBar nabasf etchedhim( 11: 25).

Paul
’
sMi
ssi
on

PaulandBar nabastakethegospelwestwardstartingoffwit
hAnt i
ochofSyr i
a
wherePeterhadal r
eadypreachedthei
mparti
alit
yofGodandt hejust
if
icati
onof
themissiontot hegentil
es.PaulandBarnabasl abouredinCypr uswher ehe
conf
rontedthemagi cianBar-
jesusandtheconver sionoftheproconsulwhi ch
showsthegospel ’
ssuperiorpoweroverpopularfor msofmagicaswel lasits
powertoat t
r actanintel
li
gentRomanof fi
cial
,consequent l
ytot heChr ist
ian

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movement.Att
hesamet
imePaulget
sst
atusasami
racl
ewor
kerf
ull
yonpar
wi
thPeter
.

PaulatAnt
iochofPi
sidi
a:Act
s13:13–52

AtPi sidiaAnt i
och,Paul’sprophet i
cwor dismetwi thadividedresponse:Jews
resi
standGent i
lesaccept.ThesynagogueatPi sidianAnti
ochlocatedi nGalati
a,
thehear tofAsiaMi nor,someonehundr edmilesNor theastofPer ga,provi
des
theset ti
ngf orPaul’sextensivel
yr eportedsermonorpr opheti
cwor d.Goingf i
rst
tot hesynagoguebecomesPaul ’stypicalmi ssionarypracti
ce.Thi sser mon
whichi si denti
fi
edasawor dofexhor tati
onisgiveni nresponsetot heinvit
ati
on
ofther ulersoft hesynagogue.Theser moni sr oughlyequival
enti nlengtht o
PetersPent ecostsermon.Whi l
ePet er’sPentecostaddr essconsi stsmor eof
explici
tscr i
ptur
alexposi t
iont handoesPaul ’ssynagogueser monher e,bot h
resulti n preaching aboutJesus wi th notable emphasi s on his death and
resurrection.

Broadl yspeaki ng, theser moncompr i

sest wopar ts.Fi r
st, ther eisasummar yof
Israel’
shi storyf rom t het imeoft heExodusunt i
lDavi d( Act s13: 17- 22) .Thi s
const it
ut esat hirdoft hespeech.Thent heexpl icitlyChr istianst orybegi nsi n
verses23- 41wi thChr i
sti si ntroducedasDavi d’ spost erity.Theout linet hen
followsamor econvent ionalpat ter n, simi lart oPet er ’
sCor nel i
usser moni nAct s
10ver ses34- 43.Thepr eachi ngofJohnt heBapt i
st( vv.24- 25)i sessent i
alas
themi ddl elinkbet weenDavi dandChr istwi thnospeci fi
cat tent iongi vent ot he
l
ifeandmi nistryofJesus, t
heser monmovesdi rect l
yt oJesus’ passi on( vv.27-
29)wi th emphasi s on t he f ollowi ng el ement s:f ailure oft he Jer usal em
i
nhabi t
ant sandt heJewi shr uler st or ecogni zeJesusast hef ulfil
lmentoft he
prophet s;ont hemot i
foft heJews’i gnor ancewhi chr esul tedi nJesus’t ri
al;
Jesusi nnocence;Pi lat
es’r ole,Jesus’deat honat r eeandbur i
al( 13: 29) ;God’ s
raisinghi m andhi spostr esur r
ect ionappear ancesf ormanydaysi nJer usal em
tohi sGal i
leanf ollowst her ebyqual ifyingt hem aswi tnesses.Speci alemphasi s
i
sgi vent opr omi sef ulfi
ll
ment( vv.32- 33)byi nter pret i
nghi sr esur rect ionwi th
referencet oPsal ms2and16.Thef or m ofar gumenti ssi mi lart ot hatusedby
Pet erinAct s2: 24- 36.Theser monconcl udeswi thanof feroff orgivenessof
sinsandf reedom f rom theMosai cLaw.Wi tht hisl at erorl astmot i
fLukegi ves
theser monadi stincti
vePaul i
ner ing( cf.Rom 3: 28;Gal3: 23- 25et c)t her eby
prepar ingf ort hesubsequentcont r over sycr eat edbyt hePaul inegospel( esp
Act s15) .Thi sdualof f
erofgoodnewsi spunct uat edbyf inalpr ophet ict hreats
drawnf rom Habbakuk1: 5,whi chant icipat est heJews’r eject i
on.I t
shar shness
i
sr emi niscent of St ephen’ s concl uding accusat ion ( Act s 7: 51- 53) and
ant i
cipat est henot eonwhi cht hePaul inemi ssi onends( 28: 26- 29).I ronical l
y
Paul ’
sser moni nt hesynagoguebecomest heoccasi onf ort hegent iles’hear t
y
recept i
onandt hespr eadoft hegospelt hrought heent irer egion( 13:48- 49) .The
Jews’expul sion ofPauland Bar nabas f rom t he ci t
yand Paul ’sr esponse
conf orm wi thJesus’ownpr edictionsandi nst ruct ionsconcer ni ngappr opr i
ate

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missi
onar
ybehavi our.Di
vineappr
ovalofthePaulinemissi
ont
othegenti
les,
andthusdisappr
ovaloftheJewishresi
stance,i
sindi
cat
edbythepr
esenceof
j
oyandtheHol yspir
itamongthedi
scipl
es(cfActs13:
52)
.

Thest atusofgent i
les.Act s15:1-35)
Paul’s mi ssion tot he gentil
es had been a gr eatsuccess.Wi tht he ini
ti
al
successoft hegent il
emi ssi
oni tnowbecomesappr opriateforLuket oaddr ess
thenet wor kofquest i
onscr eatedbyanemer ginggent ileChr i
sti
anchur ch.If
genti
lesi ncreasingl ybecomeChr i
sti
ansaret heyt ober egardedasf ullequals
wit
hJewi shChr istiansbef oreGod?Ar etheynotobl igedt okeept hel aw of
Moses?I npar t
icular,mustt heynotunder gocircumci si
on, theoner i
tualactthat
symbol izesf ul
ladmi ssi
ont ot hepeopleofGod?Byext ension,aret heynot
obli
gat edt hentol ivebyt helaw?I nawor d,mustnotgent il
esbecomeJews,at
l
easti nsomemi nimalsense,t obet rulysaved?Theser iousnessoft hese
questionsf orLukei sseenbyt hewayher eportst heJerusalem meet i
ng.I ti
sa
watershedevent .

Thecounci
lmeet
ingi
nJer
usal
em:Act
s15:
1-5

Ther easonsrequiri
ngsuchameet ingoftheJerusal
em authori
ti
esar ecarefull
y
outl
ined.Thedi sputi
ngparti
esareclearl
yidenti
fi
edandt heheatoft hedebat e
noted( v.2)
.Itisagenui nethreatwithi
nthel i
feoft hechurchr equiri
ngt he
att
ent i
onofbot htheentireJer
usalem churchandt hehighestechelonsofi ts
l
eader s(apost
lesandeldersarement i
onedfiveti
mesinthechapt er(vv.2;4;6;
22;23) .

Thepi ct
ureisf urt
herf i
ll
edoutbyt heparadeofdi st
ingui
shedf igures,i
ncludi
ng
Barnabas,Paul ;Peter;James,JudasandSi l
as.Peterrepresentstheol dguard,
theapostleswhof igureast hepromi nentleadershi
pstructureinchapt ers1to
14andwhodi sappearaf terchapter15,thoughJames,bycont rast,r
epresent
s
thenew guar d,theel derswhof igureast hepr ominentleadershipstructur
ein
chapters16-28.

Lukerepor
tstwospeeches,onebyPet er(15:7-
11)theotherbyJames( vv.13-
21)andthecontent
softheagreement,formall
ystatedi
nal et
ter(
vv.23-
29).No
ext
ensiver
eportbyPaulandBar nabasi sgivensincet
heiracti
vit
yreport
edin
chapt
ers13-14i
sstil
lfr
eshinthereaders’minds.

Pet
er’
sSpeechatt
heJer
usal
em Meet
ing15:
6-11

Hisremar ksreit
erat
ethreepointsalr
eadyr egisteredinchapters10-
11.First,t
he
decisi
ont opr eachtogent i
leswasGod’ schoi cenotPet er’
s.Second,vi si
ble
evidenceofGod’ sapprovaloccurr
edingi vinggent i
lestheHol ySpi
ri
tjustashe
didtot heapostles.Thi
rd,sinceGodhascl eansedt hegentil
es,t
hedistincti
on
betweencl eanJewsanduncl eangenti
lesnol ongerholds.Thesummar yofhi s
conclusionwast hatgenti
leshadbeenadmi tt
edbydi vi
ne,nothumani ni
tiati
ve.

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Torefusegent i
lesort otur
nt hem awaywouldhavebeent owithstandGod.To
the Jewish r estr
icti
ve tradit
ions Peter f
urther makes two mor e new
consi
derati
ons.Fi r
st,eventheirownJewi shf
athersfoundthel
awbur densome
andimpossi bl
et okeep( 15:10;Gal5:1)andsecond,thereisonlyonewayt o
sal
vati
oni.e.throughthegraceoft hel
ordJesus(15:11;Rom 3:
24).

JamesSpeechatt
heJer
usal
em Meet
ing:15:
12-
21

AfterPeter’sspeechhadcal medt heassembl y,

BarnabasandPaulgavear eport
oft hei
rmi ssionamongt hegent i
les( seeAct s14:27) .ThenJames’speech
fol
lowed,whi ch makes t wo contr
ibut i
ons tot he debate.First,he provides
script
uralwar rantfort
hegentil
emi ssionsi .
e.whatPet erstar
ted(chapter10- 11)
andwhatPaulandBar nabascont i
nued( chapters13- 14).Arguingf r
om t he
Greekver sionofAmos9: 11-12,supplement edbyJer emi ah12:15,andIsaiah45:
21,Jamesi nsist
edthatthegentil
emi ssionwasGod’ sanci entintent
ion,nota
newi dea( v17).

James’ secondcont ri
but i
onwast opr oposeaconcr etesol ution:gent i
lesshould
adher et o some f ourpr ohibiti
ons out li
ned i n scr i
pture( vv.
19- 20).These
i
ncl uded abst aining from pol luti
ons ofi dolsi ncluding eat i
ng meatf rom a
sacr i
fici
albeast ;second,abst ainfrom sexuali mmor aliti
esi ncludingpr ohibi
ted
mar riages;t hi
rd,abst ainf r
om st rangledani mal s;f our t
h,abst ainf rom eating
animalbl ood.Thel ogicoft hisproposali sthatt heser est ri
cti
onsoft heOl d
Test amenti tselfarepl acedont hegent il
es( non- Jews) .Thei mpl i
cationisthat
ci
r cumci sion was meantonl yf orJews i nt he f i
rstpl ace notGent i
les.
Accor dingly,gentileaccept anceoft hesepr ohibiti
onswoul dbef ull
yinkeepi ng
witht heMosai cscr i
pt ur
est hatar er eadweekl yi nt hesynagogues.James’
proposalt huscommendsi t
selfbecausei tisscr ipturalint hest r
ictestsense-i t
bindsonGent il
es.WhatGodt hroughscr ipt
ur ehadbound,andt hatal onei t
succeedsi nsuspendi ngci r
cumci sionasar equirementf orgent il
es.Itt hus
al
lowsgent il
est okeept hel aw ofMosesi nGod’ si ntendedsense,noti nthe
nar r
owsensei nsist
edonbyt heJewi shChr isti
anPhar isees.

Theef
fect
sofJer
usal
em meet
ing

Theagr eementatt hemeet i

ngwasendor sedi nt hel etter( 15:22- 29)t ot he
chur chesatAnt ioch,throughPaulandBar nabas.Thel etterr epeat edt hef our
prohi bi
tions.ItalsoindicatedthescopeofJer usalem’si nfluenceoverAnt i
och,
Syr i
aandCi li
cia(v23).Thel et
terwaspar t
icular l
yaddr essedt oAnt iochofSyr i
a
wher et heproblemshadi ni
ti
all
ysur f
acedpr obablybecauseofi tsreput ationfor
beingt hest r
onghol doft hegent i
lemi ssionandf orsponsor ingt hePaul ine
mi ssiont oeast ernAsi aMi nor( Acts13:1) .Thel ett
eral sochar act erizedt he
Phar iseesasami nori
tywhohadact edwi thoutdueaut hor izat
ionf rom t he
highestaut hori
ties (15:
24) .In addit
ion,i tr e-aff
irms the wor kofPauland

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Barnabasandmakesthem heroes’(v26)andacknowl
edgesthei
mpor
tanceof
Anti
ochbysendingt
wohi ghlyr
espectedmen,Judas,Bar
nabasandSi
las(v22)
toaffi
rmtheaut
hent
ici
tyoftheagreement.

Paul
’
smi
ssi
oni
ntheAegean:Act
s15t
o21

TheAegeanar eacompr i
sesofsever alcit
iesinmai nl
andGr eeceandAsi aMinor
.
Aft
ertheendor sementofPaulandBar nabasont hegentil
emi ssi
onPaulwent
on a widermi ssi
on i n Phil
ippi;Thessal onica,Beroea,At hens,Corint
h and
Ephesusbeforehi sjourneyt oJer usalem agai n.ThePaul i
neact i
vit
iesinthe
ci
ti
escanbesummar izedasf oll
ows:
1.Converti
ngi ndi
viduals
2.Baptizi
ngconver ts
3.Establi
shi
nganef fecti
vemi ssion(churches)
4.Propheti
cdeedsandconf rontati
onwi thpaganmagi c
5.Confronti
ngpaganr eli
gion(Chr i
standAr temis19:23-41).

TheconversionofApol losatEphesushast hesigni

ficanceofill
ustrat
inghow
theearl
ychur ch,
Pauli
neChr i
sti
anit
yi npar
ticular
,dealtwithcasesofi mper
fect
knowledge,orhow independentst reamsofChr i
sti
anitywerebr oughtint
ot he
mainstr
eam ofApost olic Chri
sti
anity.Int hi
si nstance,the issue was an
i
nadequateunder st
andingofChr i
sti
anbaptism.

ThefinalepisodeatEphesus,theri
oti
nthe24000-seattheat
repromptedby
thecompl ai
ntsofDemet r
iusthesil
ver
smit
h–servesasLuke’smostdet ai
led
encounterbetweenthegospelandpaganrel
igi
on(
Acts19:23-
41).Pauldi
rectl
y
confr
ontst heworld-
renownedgoddessAr t
emis(
19:27)
.Sonow t hePauline
gospelbecomesamaj orchall
engetobothther
eli
gionandeconomyofan
enti
recit
yandr egi
on(vv.26-
27).

Paul
’
sser
monatMi
let
usi
nEphesus(
Act
s20:
17-
38)

Theser monf ormsanat uralconcl usi

ontohi sEphesi
anmi nistr
ywher eLuke
especial
lyhasst ressed t
hepast oralaspect
sofPaul ’sministry:preaching;
heali
ng;compet i
ngwi thot
hermi racleworkersandthecompl eteelimi
nationof
pagan,magi calpracti
cesfrom thechur ch;devel
opingfur
thermi ssi
onpl ans,
andfullyengagingthesocial,economi candpoli
ti
calli
feoftheci tyandregion
(19:
8-41).

Inform,thespeechi saf arewellsermonaddressedprimar

yt ot heEphesi
an
el
dersand chur ch,who do notexpectt o seePaulagai n( 20:25;38)
.His
departur
er efer
sost ensi
blyt ohisdeparti
ngEphesus,butcl earl
ymeanshi s
death.ThusPaulher eisbiddingfarewel
ltoallhismissi
onchur chesandthe
churchatlarge.

Thespeech encapsul
atesvar
iousf
eat
uresofPaul
’
smi
nist
ryal
readygi
ven

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above.Onenew el ementi nt hisser moni st hepr ospectoff alset eacherswho

wouldt hr
eatenPaul ’
slegacy( Acts20: 28-30).Theyar edepi ctedaswol ves,a
common,epi t
hetf orher eti
cs( seeMat t hew 7: 15)
.Paulcaut ionsagai nstboth
exter
nalandi nternalthreats.Thisthr eatofher esyechoesot herNewTest ament
senti
ment s, especiall
yint hepast oralletterse. g.Timot hy,ColossiansandTi tus.
Thespeech t hroughoutunder scoresPaul ’
scommi t
mentand f ideli
tyt othe
apostolicpredecessor s( Acts20: 21) .Inhi sconcl udingr eferencet ot hesaying
ofJesus( 20:35)hecal lsf orresponsi blecar ef ortheweak( seeRom 15: 1and
Gal2:10)Pauli sthuspor trayedasf ait
hf ultothemi ssionofJesus, whohi mself
commi ssi
oned Paul( Act s20: 24).Havi ng pr eached and mi nistered in ways
reminiscentofJesus,henowbr ingsJesus’t eachingst ohi schur ches.Hei sa
fai
thfulandhumbl eservantoft helor d.

Pauli
nJer
usal
em Act
s21

Inver se17i tiscl earthatPaulwaswel comedbyt heJer usal em chur ch.Paul’

s
returni sr emi niscentofhi sear li
err eturnt o Anti
och and hi sr epor tatt he
Jerusal em conf erencewher ehedepi ctedt hegent i
lemi ssi onasGod’ sdoing.
God’ sfullapprovaloft hePaul i
nemi ssioni st husexpl i
cit
lyacknowl edgedbyt he
Jerusal em chur ch. In t heir speech ( Act s 21: 20-25) ,t hey r eportt he
dissatisfacti
onofmanyt housandsofJewi shChr i
sti
ans, probabl yst i
llinJudea,
perhapsespeci allyinJer usalem whoar est il
lzealousf ort hel aw.( v20).The
new wave ofopposi tion i s notconcer ned wi th whatwas r esol ved att he
Jerusal em conf er ence( i
.e.admi t
tinggent i
lesi ntothechur ch) .Inst ead, theyare
wor ri
edaboutt hei mplicationsofPaul ’st eachi ngf orthoseChr istianswhowi sh
tor emai nfait
hf ult otheirJewi shwayofl ife.Theyf earPaulasat hr eattothe
cont i
nued vi tality ofJewi sh Chr i
sti
ani ty,especi all
yi nt he di aspor a,and
thereforei nthei rownr egion.Theset or ah- zealousJewi shChr istiansar enot
tryi
ng t o make gent i
le Chr isti
anityJewi sh:t heyar et rying t o keep Jewi sh
Chr i
stianit
yfrom becomi nggent i
le.

Paul
’
sar
rest
:Act
s21:
27-
40

Paulf aces a second sour ce ofr esistance in Jer usalem.Thi s source of

opposi ti
oni stracedtot heJewsf rom Asi a,probablyf r
om Ephesussi ncet hey
recogni sedTr ophimust heEphesian.(21:29)Compl aintssi mil
artothoselevel ed
againstSt ephen,andi nasenseagai nstJesushi msel farenowl eveledagai nst
Paul( 21:28)Hei saccusedofbei ngant i-Jewish,ant i
-l
aw,andant i-t
empl e.So
hei schar gedwi thbeingat hreattoever yoneever ywher e,auniversalmenace
(v28).Lukesayst hattheAsianJewsmi st
akenlyt houghtPaulhadt akent he
gentil
eTr ophimusi ntot heTempl e(21:29) .Theirchar geist husunf ounded.
Neverthel esst heysucceededi ni nci
ti
ngt hewhol ecityagai nstPaul.Themob
hadi ntent ionst omur derhim( v31).Themob’ scryofmur der‘ki
llhim’( v36)

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echoessimil
arshoutsagainstJesus( cf.Luke23:18).Ast heJewsdar edtokil
l
him,theRomanscamet ohi srescue( 21:31-
36).Butevensoi twasaRoman
whoor der
edPaultobeboundwi t
ht wochai ns(21:33)therebyful
fi
ll
ingAgabus’
prophecyinAct
s21:11.From thi
spoi ntoni nActs,
Paulr emainsimprisoned.

Paul
’
s’def
ensebef
oret
het
empl
ecr
owd(
act
s22:
1-22)

Thef ir
stpar tofhisdef ensespeechout li
neshi sst atusasat ruenat i
veof
Jerusal em (22v3) .Hisr ef
erencet ohi svi si
oni nt het emple(22: 17)hast he
char acteri
sti
csofapr opheti
ccall(cf.Isai
ah6: 1-13).Butitisacal lnotfrom God,
butJesushi mself
.Thet emplevisionser vesasar esponset othet hir
dchar ge
thatPauli sagainstthet emple(Act s21:28)ont hecount ary,t
het empl eserves
ast hepl acewherehispr opheti
cser vicetoGodact uallybegins,asdi dIsaiah’s.
AlthoughPaulhadpar tici
patedint hedeat hofSt ephenandhi ssubsequent
terrori
sticactsitwast onoavai l.Hei scl earl
yJesus’chosenpr ophettot he
gent i
les.

Paulbef
oret
heSanhedr
im:Act
s22-23

Thisappear anceaddsmor eexposur eofPaultot heJer usalem Jews.Pauli s

thuspor t
rayedasaf i
gureofincreasingsigni
fi
cancei nthel i
feofJer usal
em and
i
tsJews.Thecur iousexchangebet weenPaulandAnani as( 23:1-5)cont r
asts
thehighpr i
est’
sdisobedi
enceoft helawwi thPaul’
scompl etefideli
tyt othelaw.
Ananias’unexplai
nedact i
oni nbeatingPaulisseent obei ndirectvi ol
ati
onof
thebibli
calrulesf
orimpartialj
udgment( seeLeviti
cus19: 15;Deut r1:16-17).By
contrastPaulbothquotest helaw(Exodus22: 28)andexpr esseswi l
li
ngnesst o
l
ive by it.Ananias’external,visi
ble acti
ons have exposed t he super f
icial
whitewashofhi sownJewi shloyalt
y( cf
.Ezek13:10-16).

Aswast hecasewi t
hPeterear l
ier,t
heSanhedr inhearingser vesasaf orum in
whi chChrist
ianit
yi sheardandsuppor ted.Inspi t
eofsi gnifi
cantl
ydi ffer
ent
proceedingst hatarereported,inbot hcases,Phar i
seesemer geasal li
esof
Chr i
sti
ans.Thescr i
besofthePhar i
sees’par t
ywhodecl arePauli nnocentofany
wr ongdoing( 23:9)andwonderwhet herhemi ghttr
ulybeanagentofsome
divinemessenger ,areechoingthecaut i
ousadvi ceofGamal i
el(5:38-39).Paul
emer gesfrom theSanhedrinvindicated.Thi sisevidencedi ntheni ghtvisi
onof
Jesusi nActs23v11,whor econfir
mst hevalidit
yofhi st esti
monybef orethe
councilandnowal soconfir
mshi smi ssi
onpl ansf or
mul atedear li
erinEphesus
(19:21).

Pauli
str
ansf
err
edt
oCaesar
ea:Act
s23:
31-
26

Al
argegr
oupof40conspi
rat
ors-
chi
efpr
iest
sandel
der
spl
ott
edt
het
ransf
erof

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Pault oCaesar eatost andtrialst herebeforesever alRomangover nors:Felix,

FestusandAgr ippa.Theal l
egat i
onst hatwerer aisedbyt hepubl icpr osecutor,
Tertull
us, werer ui
nousofPauli fthegovernorFel i
xwoul dacceptt hest atecase.
Thet extoft hechar geswer easf oll
ows:Paulisapl aguespot ,aper fectpest;a
dangert ot hepubl icgood.Pauli ssedit
ious–af oment erofdi scor d,incit
ing
ri
ots;causesdi ssensionwher everhegoesamongJewst hr oughoutt hewor ld,a
universalt hreatt o Roman peace and st abil
ity.Ri ng leaderoft he sectof
Nazar enes.Thi sprobablydepi ctshim astheinst i
gatorofanewr eli
gi on.Paulis
portrayedasanout siderandaJewi shrenegadewhopr ofanedt heTempl e.He
i
spr esent edasi nsensiti
vetot hecust omsandi nstit
ut i
onsofawel l
-establi
shed,
l
egal l
ypr otectedreli
gion.

Paul
’
sdef
enseAct
s24

Paul ’
sr esponse( 24:10- 21)isanadr oi t
lycr af teddef ense.Hi spol it
edef erence
toFel ix,whichcont rast sshar plywi thTer tul lus’damagi ngi ntroductionscor es
pointswi t
hinfor medr eaderswhoknowFel i
x’ scandal ousr eput ati
on.Mor eover ,
byl i
mi ti
nghisr emar kst ohisconducti nJer usal em, Paulshr ewdl yr edefinest he
char ge.Butt hemor ei mpor tantel ementofPaul ’
sdef ensei shi sconsi st ent
claimt obeanut t
erlyl oyalJew.Her efusest oadmi tt hathei sthespokesman
foranewr el
igion.Whathi senemi esmi stakenl ycal la‘sect ’
isbet terunder st ood
as‘ theWay’ .Event hough‘ theWay’i sbei ngusedher ei nahi ghlyt echni cal
senset odescr ibet heJesusmovement( 9: 2),i tnever thelesshasacer tain
resonancewi t
hanOl dTest amentexpect ationf ort het rulyobedi entpeopl eof
God( Exodus32: 8).Consequent lyPaul ’
spr efer redt ermf ort hemovementwi th
whi chhegl adl yident ifi
eshi msel f
,mor ecl osel yal i
gnshi m wi t
ht hebi blical
traditi
on.
Anot herl i
neofhi sdef ensei shi ssel f -
por t
rai tasadevoutpi lgri
m whocamet o
Jerusal em nei thert o pr each,nort o cause r i
ot s,butt o wor shi p( vii
).Hi s
almsgi ving(v17)coul donl ybeconst ruedasevi denceofhi sl oyaltytoscr iptur e
andt radit
ion( Ps112: 9)aswel lashi scommi t
mentt ohel pt heweak( Act s
20:35) .Whati sst ri
kingher eist hatt hesef undsar ef or‘ hisnat ion’ whichwoul d
suggestdonat ionst oJewsgener ally.Concei vabl y,thisi sar eferencet ot he
Paul i
ner eli
eff undf ort hepoorJewi shChr i
st iansi nJer usal em, buti fsoi tisan
unusualwayofput tingi t.Hi sment ionof‘ of ferings’i si ntendedt orecal lhi s
participati
onwi ththef ourmenwhohadavow( Act s21: 23-27) .

WhileFel i
xdoesnotdeci defor mallyinPaul ’sf avor
,neitherdoeshesust ain
Tert
ullus’charges.Thathiswasnotanuni formeddeci sioni sindicatedbyhi s
havingar atheraccur
ateknowledgeoft heway( 24:22).Bynotl osing,Paulwi ns.
Thisisalsor efl
ect
edintherel
ativef r
eedom heenj oysasapr isoner(v23) .The
fi
nalmeet i
ngbet weenPaulandFel i
x( vv.24- 27)por t
raysashi fti nLuke’ s
port
rait of Felix.Pault he def ender now becomes Pault he pr eacher.
Accompani edbyhi sJewishwifeDr uscil
la,theyoungestdaught erofAgr i
ppa1,
Feli
xt akest heini
ti
ati
veinsummoni ngPaul .Lukeshowst hegospelact ually
att
ractinganotherRomanof fi
cial.Lukepr esentsFel i
xasacaseoff ail
edf ait
h,

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seenespecial
lyinhisexpressedhopef orabr ibe(Acts24:
26).Fel
ix’
slovef or
moneyfailshiml i
keAnani
asandSapphi r
aandJudasI scar
iot
.Thef i
nalstr
oke
i
nLuke’spor t
raitofFel
i
xishi sexcessi
vef avorfortheJews,whichresul
tedi n
hisdeci
siontoleavePauli
npr i
son.

Bef
oreFest
usAct
s25:
1-27

Thesamechar gesthathadbeenl ai
dbef or
eFelixarenow pr essedbefore
Festus who succeeded Feli
x as pr
ocurat
orbetween A. D 55 and 59.Paul
remainedr esolut
e,sureofhisr i
ght
s,unwill
ingt
obei nti
midatedbyRoman
off
icial
s who ar e wi
ll
ing t
o bend t
o poli
ti
calpressur
e.Fest us’considered
j
udgmenti st hatPaul
’saccuser
shavevastl
yoverstat
edt heseri
ousnessofhi s
off
ense( 25:18) .

Bef
oreAgr
ippaAct
s26:
1-23

Thereisgr eatpersuasioninLukethatPaul
’sser
mont oAgri
ppamadeover t
ures
tent
ativel
yt owar dfaith(24:22-
27).Agri
ppa’sresponsein 26:
28 i
mplieshis
posit
iveness tot he str
ong persuasi
on from Paul.Hisfi
nalverdictis an
unqualifi
edvindicati
onofPaul .

Pauli
nRomeAct
s28:
16-
31

Thepri
mar
yfocusofPaul
’
sacti
vit
yinRomei sonhi
sdeal
ingswi
tht
heRoman
Jewi
shcommunit
y.Twost
agesarerepor
ted:

1.Defensevv.17-
22
2.Procl
amationvv.23-
29.

Ver
ses30to31dealwit
hPaul
’
sbr
oadermi
nist
ryi
nthesubsequentt
woyear
s
asavi
ndi
cat
edapost
le.

As he l odged in an i
nn undert he pr
otect
ion ofone soldier
,Paulhas
considerabl
ef r
eedom,whichall
owshimt osummonl ocalJewishl
eaders.Hi
s
speecht othem isahighlyabbr
evi
atedaccountofthepr evi
ouschargesmade
againsthim andhispr
eviousdef
ensesathisvar
ioustr
ials.

Obviouslyunabl etogot ooneoftheseveralsynagoguesi nRomeatt hist i

me,
aswashi susualpr actice,Paulsummonst heJewishcommuni tytohislodging
andt heycomei ngr eatnumber s(v23).Thebr i
efout l
ineofhi stesti
monyt o
them representsadigestofPaul ’
sprevi
ouslyreport
edpr eachingbeforeJewi sh
audiences.Onceagai n,itconfor
msf ul
lytot heapost oli
cpreachingoft hose
whocamebef orehim, bothJesusandespecial
lyPeter:thebreakinginofGod’ s
new reigni ntheper sonofJesusbot hofwhi chr epresentt heful
fi
llmentof
God’spromi seinscripture.

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Theendofact
s

Thepr esentati
onofPaulattheendofActshastwof undament alel
ements:First
,
thef ulf
il
lmentoft hedivi
nepur poseinPaul,who,asachoseni nstrument,
carri
edGod’ snamet oal
lwhocamet ohi
m, mostli
kelygenti
les,andsecond, t
he
ful
lvi ndicat
ion ofPauland ‘t
heWay’ ,both ofwhom havepr oceeded and
fl
ourishedt hroughoutt
henar r
ativeunderRomanpr otect
ionandar el ef
tt o
proceedbol dlyandunhi
ndered.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1.Whowr oteAct sandwhywasi twrit

ten?
2.Whywer eChr isti
anspersecuted,andbywhom?
3.Showf rom t heearlychaptersofactsPet er
’simportanceasleaderand
spokesmanoft heChristi
ancommuni ty.
4.Whatdi dSt ephendoi nJer usal
em?Whatwer etheaccusat i
onagainsthi
m?
Howdi dt heper secuti
onst hatfol
lowedaf f
ecthi
m?
5.Tracethegr owt hofJewi shopposi t
iontoPaulfrom hisarr
ivali
nCypruson
hisfi
rstmi ssionaryjourneyupt othecouncilofJerusalem.

Gobbet s
1)Andt heybr oughtthem t
ot hemagistr
ates,andsaid,theseman,beingJews
exceedingl ytroubleourcit
y.”(
Acts16:20)
2)“Theref oreletitbeknownt oyoubr et
hren,thatthr
ought hismanispreached
toyout hef orgivenessofsins”(Act
s13:38)
3)“ Butt heyshookof fthedustf r
om theirf eetagai
nstt hem,andcamet o
Iconium.”( Acts13: 51)

Ref
erences

1.Conzel
mann,H.AComment ar
yontheAct
sontheApost l
es,For
tress,1987
2.Haencher
,E,TheActsoft
heApost
les:ACommentary.WestMinister
,1971
3.Holl
adayC.R,Ar
ti
clei
nHarper’
sBi
bleComment
ary,1988.

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CHAPTER15
1CORI
NTHI
ANS
Byt
heneedoft
hechapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.Gi
veanaccountoft
hepr
obl
emst
hataf
fect
edt
hechur
chatCor
int
h.

2.Exami
nehowPauldeal
twi
theachoft
hepr
obl
ems

3.Exami
nePaul
’
sar
gumentont
her
esur
rect
ion

I
ntr
oduct
ion

Backgr
oundI
ssues

El
izabet
hFi
orenzacl
ear
lypoi
ntsoutt
hatt
heaut
hent
ici
tyoft
hel
ett
er,
asal
ett
er

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ofPauli sundisputed.Mostschol arsputitspr obabledat earoundAD54.Rober t

Jewet thadpointedoutt hatt hePaulineletterswereor igi
nal l
ywr it
tentot r
oubled
congr egationst oodistantt ovi si
tatt hemoment .Mostoft hePaul i
nel ett
ers
related directl
yt ot he pr oblems ofi ndividualcongr egations and t ot he
relati
onshipsbet weent hem andt hesender .Thel ett
ert otheCor i
nthiansisa
directr esponse t othe pr oblems t hatbesi eged t he Corinthian church.The
cor i
nthiancommuni tyappear stohavesoughtPaul ’
sadvi ce–andper hapsthat
ofot hers– aboutmor alsexualbehavi our,mar riage,cel i
bacyand di vorce,
slaver yandl it
igati
ons,r ightorderandconductofwomenandmen,pr ophets
andecst at
icsint hecommunalassembl y,t heeatingoff oodsacr i
fi
cedt oidols,
theimmor tali
tyofthesoulandt heresurr
ect i
onoft hedead.

Paul ’sl etterst andsasar esponset ot hesepr obl emswi thint heCor inthi an
Chur ch.Schol arswar nthati tisnotpossi bletocor rect l
yi nter pret1Cor int hians
withoutexami ningf ir
standcar efullyt hehi storical–t heol ogi calenvi ronmentof
theCor i
nt hian Communi t
ies.Thr eemaj orappr oachest o such an hi st or i
cal
reconst ruct ionar egoi ngt obeusedi nt hei nterpr et at i
onoft hisl et t
er.Thef ir
st
schooloft houghtobser vest hatt heunder lyingf actort ot hepr obl emsatCor inth
i
st heexi stenceofacer t
ainsymboloft heol ogi calbel ieforspi ritualit
y. Thi s
beliefsyst em cl aimedt heor iginalpr eachi ngofsomepr omi nentf igur esi .e.
Priscawhohadcomef rom Rome,Apol l
os( conver tedbyPr iscai nCor i
nth)and
even Paulhi msel f,as t heirsour ces ofi nspi rat ion and l egitimat ion.Such
symbol ic bel iefs mani fested t hemsel ves as spi ri
tual ist i
c ascet ism, or
unr est rained ent husi asm,r esul t
ing i n cl uster s orsmal lcamps ofbel ieves
(disci ples)who di splayed some pomposi tyorcl ai m some super i
orityover
anot hercl ust er .Thei rleader swho,l ikePaul ,cl aimedt obespi rit-
empower ed
per sonswer et her eforeunder stoodasadvocat ingf orsomespeci alwi sdom or
i
nci pi entgnost i
cism.Such Cor i
nt hiansbel ieved t hatt heypossessed di vine
wisdom and t heref ore cal l
ed t hemsel ves ‘ pneumat i
cs’orspi ritualper sons.
Sincei nHel l
eni stict hought‘ spirit’isconsi der edt obeaheavenl ysubst ance
thatendowsper sonswi thanew nat ur e,theCor int hianscoul dhavecl aimed
suchspi ritualst at usofper fection.Oncet ransf or medi ntoanew bei ngt he
spiritualper sonnol ongerbel ongst ot hespher eoft he‘ fl
esh’ butt ot heheavenl y
realm.Thi snot i
ont hatt hehi ghersoulormi ndi st het ruesel ft hatbel ongst o
theheavenl yspher eoft hespi ri
tual , i
sbel i
evedt ohavel edt ot heconvi ctiont hat
thebody’ sdomai ni sthe‘ fl
esh’ thecor rupt i
ble, mat er ial,andmor talreal i
tyf rom
whi cht het ruesel fmustbel iberat ed.Thi snot ionofsal vat i
onhasi mpl icat ions
notonl yf orper sonalmor albehavi our ,butal so f orr elat i
onshi ps t ol ess
spiritual lyendowedmember soft hecommuni ty.Theabi li
tyt ospeaki nt ongues
mighthavebeenf ort hem acl earsi gnofsuchspi ritualendowmentandmay
havecausedt hem t oconsi derot herChr i
stiansasi nf eriorbecauset heycoul d
notspeaki nt ongues.Thosewhocoul dspeaki nt onguesr egar dedt hemsel ves
asmor especi alt hant hosewhocoul dnotspeaki nt ongues( apr obl em i n
Cor int h).

Paulassumedt
oar
gueagai
nstsuchi
ndi
vidual
ist
icandent
husi
ast
icspi
ri
tual
it
y

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by under scoring a communaland eschat ologicalper specti

ve.Agai nstt he
Corinthians’understandi
ngoft ransformat i
onandper fectionint hespiritPaul
pointsoutt hattheyhavenotyetachi evedf i
nalsalvat i
onandr esurrecti
on.
Againstt hei
rill
usoryclai
mst ohavebecomei mmor t
albypar taki
ngalreadynow
i
nt hedi vineheavenlysphereoft hespi ri
t,Paulinsiststhattheyar estil
lunder
thepowerofsi nanddeat handt hatt her esurrecti
oni snotyetachi evedi n
baptism butonl yi
naneventoft hef uture.Inthemeant imeChr i
sti
ansmustl ive
undert hesymboloft hecr
ucif
iedChr i
st.

Thesecondschooloft houghtont hei nterpretationofCor inthiansmai ntains

thatt hepr oblemsaddr essedbyPaulshoul dbeunder stoodasar i
singf r
om t he
i
nter act i
onoft heCor inthianChr i
sti
answi t
ht hei rowncul tur eandr eli
gioni n
whi cht heyar est i
lldeepl yr ooted,althought heyhaveconsci ouslydi stanced
themsel vesf r
om i tbybecomi ngChr i
stians.Mostoft hedi f
ficultt i
esi nCor inth
canbestbeunder stoodi nt ermsoft hi sco- existencebet weenChr istianit
yand
pagani sm.Cor i
nthwasacosmopol itanci t
y,aswel lasat radi ngcent er.The
cit
izensofCor inth wer enotonl yRomansand Gr eeksbutal so Jewsand
Orient alsf r
om Syr ia,EgyptandAsi aMi nor.Eachoft hesegr oupsi mpor t
edi ts
own r eligi
ous bel iefs,cust oms and r i
t ual
s.Thus r eli
gious syncr etism was
widespr eadi nCor inth.Pr ophecy,speaki ngi ntonguesandecst asywer ehi ghly
valuedexper i
encesoft het ime.Publ icf eastsandpr ivatemeal sofassoci ati
ons
andcl ubswer ecelebr atedi nt henameoft hegods.I twasvi rt
ual lyimpossi bl
yt o
avoi deat i
ngmeatt hathadbeensacr ificedt ot hepagangodsei theratpubl i
c
festivalsoratpr ivatebusi nessorf uner albanquet si ntempl edi ningr oomsand
homes.Thechur chatCor inthr ai
sedquest ionsabouteat i
ngmeatofani mal s
offeredt oidols.

Thet hirdschooloft houghtori nt erpretat

iveemphasi sseekst oelabor atenot
onlyt her eli
gi ousbutal sot hesoci o-histori
calcont extof1Cor int
hiansi nt er
ms
oft hesoci alor gani
sat i
onandeccl esialself-under standingoft heChr ist
ian
mi ssionar y movement .Tr avel
li
ng mi ssionaries and house-chur ches wer e
cent ralfort hismovement ,whichdependedonsoci almobi l
it
yandpat r onage.
LikeJudai sm andot heror ientalreligi
onssot heChr istiangospelwasspr eadby
travellingbusi nessandt r
adepeopl eli
kePr i
sca( aleat herdealer)orPaul .Such
travellingmi ssi onari
esbr oughtavar i
etyoft heologicalunder st
andingst ot he
chur ches i nt he regions i n Greece and Rome orGr eco-Roman ci ties and
foster ed communi cation among t hem.The exi stence of house- chur ches
presupposest hatsomeci tizensj oinedt heChr ist
ianmovementwhower eable
to pr ovide space and economi c suppor tf ort he assembl y ort he house
congr egationi nt hei
rhouses.Suchconver tsmost l
ycamef rom ther anksof
‘
god- fear ers’ alreadysympat het
icwi thJudai sm

AsChr isti
anit
yspreadinacitysever
alhouse-churcheswerefoundedandt hei
r
i
nteractionwitheachothercouldleadtotensionanddi ssent
ionespecial
lyat
occasionswhenal lhouse-
congregat
ionsi
nt hecit
ymeet .Suchwast henature
ofthepr oblem i
nCori
nth.Thetensi
onsinCorinthhadtheirr
ootsnotonlyinthe

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breakingdownofr it
ualorreli
giousboundar iesbetweenJewsandgent i
les,but
al
soi nt hebreaki
ngdownofest abli
shedsoci alboundari
esbet weenfr
eebor n
andsl avesorbet weendifferentnat i
onaloret hnicgroups.Chr i
sti
anhouse-
churchesquizzedeachot heroveradmi ssionofper sonsirrespect
iveoft hei
r
stat
usest ofullmembershi
p.Shoul dgenti
lesbeadmi t
tedalsoonequalst atus
withtheJewsi ntheChri
sti
anchur chatCorinth?

Inawayt heabovet hr
eeschool sofi nterpret
ati
onexposet hemostser i
ous
probl
emst hataf
fectedtheChr i
sti
anmovementatCor int
hviz:self
-cont entment
amongsomeChr i
sti
anbel ieversonthebasi soft hei
rspir
itual
it
y;speaki ngin
tonguesanddietaryrestr
aints,theevol
ut i
onofhouse- chur
chesandpat ronage
andt hepr
oblemsofsuper i
or i
tyofsomeoverot her
s.Amongot hert hingsPaul
writ
et othe entire cori
nthians audi
ence r espondi
ng tot he problems t hat
bedevil
edtheChrist
ianmovementi nCorinth.

Associ
ati
onwi
thi
mmor
almember
s(1Cor5:
1-13)

Verses1- 5 at t
ackst hecommuni tyf ornotexpel li
ng a man l ivi
ng wi th hi s
stepmot her,(whopr obablywasnotaChr isti
anbecauseshei snotcr it
icized).
Sincesuchamar ri
agewasf or
biddennotonl ybyJewi sh,butal sobyRoman
l
aw,i tispossi bl
et hatthecoupl ewasnotmar r
iedbutonl ycohabi ted.Paul
considersthist obeacaseofgr ossi mmor ali
ty.Ther efore,hear guest hatt he
Corinthi
ansshoul dbef i
ll
edwi t
hasenseofsadnessr atherthanpr ideabouti t
.
Theyshoul dexpelt hemanf r
om thecommuni t
yasPaulhasal r
eadydone, even
thoughhei sabsentf r
om t hecommuni t
y.Paul ’
sf rustrationindicatest hathe
couldnoti ntervenedirectl
yandexpelt hesi nneronhi sownaut hority,because
onlyt heassembl edcommuni tyhadt her i
ghtt omaket hi
sdeci sion.Paul ’
s
concer nispr i
mar i
lyforthepur i
tyoft hecommuni tyandnotsomuchf ort he
fateoftheof fender.Inverses10- 11Paulcl ari
fi
eshi sposi ti
onbyexpl aini
ngt hat
hedi dnothavei nmi ndt heimmor alpersonsoft hiswor ld,forthenChr i
st i
ans
woul dhavet omoveoutoft hewor l
d.Whatheact uallyhadmeantwasnott o
associatewi t
hi mmor alChristi
ans.

Problemsar isingfrom thebapt i

smalf ormulaofGalati
ans3:28(1Cor7:1- 40)
Shouldmar r
iedchr isti
anscont inueorabstainfrom sexuali
ntercourse?Should
unmar ri
edpeopl egetmar ri
ed?Whati stobedonei fone’smar ri
agepar t
neris
anunbel i
ever ,ei
therJeworpagan?Whatshoul dwomendowhoar evir
ginsor
widows?Shoul d one r emai nin an oppressi
ve mar ri
age r
elati
onship?Such
questionscanbeseenaspr act
icalpr
oblemsar i
singfr
om theattemptt oli
vethe
socialrelati
onshipspr ofessed atone’ sbapti
sm,al though Galat
ians3: 28 i
s
neverexplici
tlyment i
onedi nCor i
nthi
anschapter7.

Sexualabst
inence.1Cor7:
1-9

Thear
gumenti
nvv2-
9seemst
oindi
cat
ethatPauladdr
essesher
eaCor
int
hian

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questi
on by introducing quali
fi
cations.I tis cl earfrom t he cli
max oft he
argumentinvv7- 9thatPaulhimselflivedal if
eofsexualabst inenceandthathe
valuedthi
s‘charisma’highly.However ,heinsists,mar r
iageisanecessi t
yifone
cannotl i
vet heasexuall i
f edemandedbyf reedom from t hemar r
iagebond.
Thosewhoar etempt edshoul dnotabst ainf rom i
ntercour se.Bot
hpar tners
havet hemut ualobl i
gati
on t o maritalintercourse,exceptf orsomel imited
celi
bateperi
odssetasi debymut ualagr eementf orworship.Aswast hepractice
i
not heror
ientalcult
s,soalsoPaulr ecognizest empor aryrit
ualchasti
ty.

Mar
ri
ageanddi
vor
ce:1Cor7:
10-
16

WhilePaulcounselst hosewhoar enotboundbymar r

iagetor emainfree,he
commandst hemar riednottoseparat
e.Howeverdespi
tet hi
sinstr
ucti
onoft he
Lord,wives[7:
10-11]stil
lhavethepossibi
li
tyoffreei
ngt hemselvesfrom the
mar r
iagebond.Iftheydosohowever ,theymustremaini nthismarri
age-free-
stat
e.Theymayr eturntothei
rhusbandsbutmaynotmar rysomeoneel se.

A somewhatdi ffer
entpr oblem isr aisedwi t
hr espectt omar r
iagesbet ween
Chr i
stiansandunbel ievers.Inchapter6ver se12- 20Paulhadasked, ‘
Doyounot
knowt hatyourbodi esar emember sofChr i
st?’andi nsi
stedt hatt heref
or ethey
shoul dnotbemademember sofapr osti
tute.Li kewi
sechr isti
ansi nmi xed
mar ri
agescoul dhaveasked,‘ CanI ,asamemberofChr i
st,cont i
nuet ohave
sexuali nt
ercoursewi thsomeonewhodoesnotbel ongtothebodyofChr i
st?Do
Ither ebybecomeconf ormedt omypar tner’
spaganexi stenceandl osemy
standing in Christ?’In additi
on ascan beseen i n Chapt er5,Jewi sh and
chr i
sti
anmi ssionaryt heologyheldt hatconver tshavebecomeanew cr eati
on.
Theywer econsi deredt obel i
kenew bor nchi ldren.Therefor etheCor inthians
mi ghthavebel ievedt hatbapt ism int
oChr istdissolvedal lpr eviousmar r
iage
bonds.

Inr esponse t ot his problem Pauli nsistst hatbecause oft he mi ssionary

sit
uation,t hedeci siontocont inuethemar riager el
ationshipornott ocont i
nue,
shouldbel efttotheunbel i
evi
ngpar tnerbutnott othechr i
sti
an.Iftheunbel i
ever
want stost aymar r
iedthechr isti
anpar tnercanconsi derthemar riagebondas
reconstitutedbyi nter
cour seandt hechi l
drenofsuchamar ri
agear ehol yand
l
egitimat e.However ,Paul’sinsist
encet hatbecauseofmi ssi
onaryr easonst he
unbelievingpar t
nerhadt hefinaldecisionr esult
edi nmanymor edi fficult
iesfor
woment hanf ormen,si ncemenwer eent itl
edbyl aw t ocontrolt her eli
gious
practi
cesoft hemember soft hei
rhousehol ds.Insof arasPaulsacr i
fi
cest he
ri
ghtoft hechr i
sti
anpar tnert odetermi neherorhi smar it
alstatus,hemadei t
i
mpossi blef orchristi
anwoment odi vorcet hei
rnon- chri
sti
anhusbands,al egal
optionthatof tenresultedi ngreaterreli
giousandsoci alf
reedom especi all
yfor
economi callyself
-suffi
cientwomen.

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Concer
ningf
oodsacr
if
icedt
oIdol
s.1Cor8:1-
13

Thecent r
alquestioniswhet herchri
sti
ansarepermi t
tedt oeatfoodsacrifi
cedt o
i
dols.BecauseJewsbel ievedt hatitwasi dol
atroust oeatsuchmeat ,they
obtainedt heprivi
legetoslaughterthei
ranimalsandsel lthei
rownmeatt oJews.
However ,i
twasal mostimpossi blefornewlyconvertedchr i
sti
answhower enot
Jewi shtoavoi dthesocialoccasionsatwhichsuchf oodwasof fered.Moreover,
formanypoorci ti
zensthemeatser vedatpublicfeast swaspr obablytheonl y
meatavai labletot hem,si nce meatwas ver yexpensi ve.Member s oft he
Corinthi
ancommuni tyseem t ohavear guedthatt heycoul dconsumesuch
sacrifi
cialfood,becausetheyal lhadtherel
igi
ousinsi ghtandknowl edgethatan
i
dolhasnor ealexist
encebecauset hereisnoothergodbutone.

Paulagr eeswi t ht het heologi

calcont enti
ont hattheeat i
ngofsuchf oodis
socialandnotr eli
gious.Nor el
igi
ousadvant ageordi sadvantageisengender ed
byeat ingorbynoteat ingsuchf ood.However ,suchr el
igi
ousf r
eedom t oeator
nottoeatsacr ifici
alf oodmustnotbeal lowedtobecomeast umblingblocktoa
weakmemberoft hecommuni tyi.e.t
heconver t
edmember swhohavebeen
eati
ngsacr if
icialf oodf ortherestoft heirli
vesont hef ai
ththatt hemeati s
divi
neaccor dingt ot heiroldrel
igion,l
esttheirnewawar enessandf ait
hmaybe
spoiled.

Aboutwomenpr
ophet
s1Cor11:
2-16

Women pr ophetsand women who wer el eadersoft heircongr egationsare

admoni shedt oweart hei
rhai
rboundupl ikeacrownr athert hanunbound, si
nce
this was in Gr eco-Roman under standing a si gn off renzy and i n Jewish
understandingasi gnofadul t
ery( seeNumber s5:18) .Di sheveledorunbound
hairwasasdi sgracef ulf
orawomanasf orherheadt obeshaven.Formeni n
verses4and14oft hischapt
er ,exegeteshaver ecentlysuggest edt hatmenar e
prohibi
tedt owearl onghair( Ezekiel44: 20)sincet hiscausedsuspi cionof
effeminacyandhomosexual i
ty.However ,whatevercust om orhai r
stylePaul
seekst oadvocat e,itmustnotbeover lookedthathedoesnotpr ohibitwomen
from publi
cityprayingandpr ophesyi ng.

Di
visi
onsatt
heEuchar
ist1Cor11;17-
34

Whi lePaulpr ai
sest hecommuni tyinCor i
nthf orhavi
ngkeptt het radi
ti
onswi t
h
respectt opubl icpr ayi
ngandpr ophesyi
ngofwomenandmen,hesever el
y
reprimands t heirbehavi ouratt he Euchar i
stmeal .He ment ions firstthe
divisi
onsandgr oupingsamongt hem (vv.17-19)andgoesont ocr i
ti
cizethem
fornoteat i
ngt hesupperoft heSonofGod( kyri
os)whencomi ngtoget her.
Insteadofwai t
ingf oreachot hertheyeattheir‘ownmeal s’sothatoner emains
hungr yandt heot herget sdrunk( v21)
.Thi saccusationi sf ol
lowedbyt wo
rhetoricalquestionsi nverse22andaquot ati
onofear l
yChr isti
aneuchar i
sti
c
tradit
ion in verses 23 t o 26.Ver ses 17-23 clearl
y speaks ofsoci alcl ass

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distinct i
ons.Thosewhohumi l
iatet hepooranddespi set heassembl yofGod
aresuf fi
cientl
yweal thyt oownhouseswher etheycansat isfytheirhunger.The
rhetor i
calquest i
on‘Doyounothavehouses- --
?’isbestunder stoodinthesense
thatPaulwant stoi nsistt hatact ualeat i
nganddr inkingofamealshoul dt ake
placei npr ivat
ehomesandnoti nt her i
tualmealcel ebr at
ionoft hecommuni ty.
In hi s cr i
ti
que oft he Cor inthian communi ty Paulunder l
ines the contrast
betweenone’ sownsel fish,individualisti
cmealandt heLor d’sSupper ,between
one’sownsat isf
actionandt hehungerandt hi
rstoft hepoori nt hecommuni ty.
HoweverPaul ’sadvi cet oeatathomedoesnotover comet hisopposi t
ionbut
transposesi tint
ot hedi vi
sionbet weenor di
nary,non- cult
iceat inganddr inking
andr i
tualorsacr ament aleatinganddr i
nking,betweenanor dinarymealandt he
Lord’ ssupper( v34).Inquot i
ngt het raditi
onaboutt helastsupperofJesus, Paul
i
ndi cat esthataccordi ngt othist r
adi t
iont heactualmeal ,t
heeat i
nganddr inking
toget herwasani nt
egr alpar toft heEuchar istcelebration.Thebr eaki
ngoft he
breadandt heshar i
ngoft hecupmar kt hebegi nningandendofamealt hatis
celebr atedinremembr anceofJesus.

Aboutspi
ri
tualgi
ft
s:Speaki
ngi
ntongues:1Cor12

Pauldoesnotdi squali
fyandr epudiatespeakingi ntonguesbuther anksi tas
thelowestofspi ri
tualendowment s.Hi sconcl udingadmoni t
iont oseekt he
highergiftsi
ndicatesthathei si
nterestedinestabli
shingahierarchyofgi ft
s.In
theinterimtime,however ,whenspeaki ngintonguesandot herpr ophet i
cgi f
ts
arei ncomplete,three gift
sr emain:f ai
th;hope,and l ove,butl ove st ands
supremeast hemostexcel lentgi
ft.Therefor
et hewhol eprai
seofl ove( agape)
cli
maxesi nt
heexhor tati
on‘makel oveyourai m’(14.v:1)
,whichisatt hesame
ti
meat ransi
ti
ont othenextsecti
on–chapt er14:16-40.

AlthoughPaulwi shesthatallcouldspeaki nt ongues,hevaluesprophecy

higherbecausei tcont
ri
butesmor etot hebuil
dingupoft hecommuni t
y.Those
who speaki nt ongueshaver ecei
ved t hi
sgiftfort hei
rown spir
it
ualupli
f t
,
wher easthosewhopr ophesyedi f
y,comf ortandt eachthewholeassembl y.
Becauseofi t
scommunal ,communi cativecharacter
,Paulaccordspropheti
c
speakingfir
stplace,‘
seektoprophesy’.(14:
16).

InChapter14: 13-19Pauldownpl aysthegi ftofspeakingintongues.Hepoi nt s

outit
sshor t
falls.Ifsomeonespeaksi nt ongues,thatpersonshoul dalsopr ay
fort
hegi ftofi nterpr et
ati
on.Thr eeconclusionsar edrawnf orChr i
sti
anpraying
andwor ship.Fi rst,prayershouldnotonl ybeecst ati
cbutalsoshoul dbef r
uitful
formindorr eason.Fur t
herthecommuni t
yisf orcedint
other oleof‘t
heoutsider’
bysuchecst aticpr ayer,becausei tdoesnotknow whent or espondandr ati
f y
suchprayer .Final l
y,Paulr efer
sagaint ohisownexampl e.Al thoughhespeaks
morei nt ongues t han any of t he Cor int
hians,he pr eferst o say f i
ve
underst
andabl ewor dsofinstructi
onratherthant housandsofwor dsint
ongues
noonecanunder st
and.

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Aboutt
her
esur
rect
ion:1Cor15

Corint
hiansgotent angledinthequesti
onoft heresurr
ection.Somear guedthat
therei
snor esurr
ecti
onoft hedeadbutar esurr
ecti
onoflivingpeopl
eonl y,
whi l
e
others actuall
yf ocused on the quest
ion oft he f
orm t he dead aret o be
resurr
ected-apr obl
em raisedby‘someone’ whom Paulcallsafool
.

Thef
oundat
ionofPaul
’
sar
gument
:1Cor15:
1-11

Inthissecti
onPaulseekst oest abl
isht hatheisamemberoft heapostoli
c
cir
cleandshar edinitsauthori
ty.Inver ses1-2Pauldr awsat t
ent
iontot he
gospelt
hather ecei
vedbywhi chtheylive,andthr
oughwhi chtheyaresavedif
theyhol
df i
rmlytoit
.HoweverPaulisuncer tai
nwhethert
heirf
aithwasgenuine.

Inver ses3-8Paulr eit

er atesthegospelthathehaspr eachedtot hem byqui t
ti
ng
at radit
ionalcreedalf ormul ainverses3-5‘Aft
ert hathewasseenbyCephas,
thenbyt het welve.--
-‘thatheexpandsi nverses6- 8.Thistradit
ionalgospel
stressest hatChr istdi ed,wasbur i
ed,wasr aisedandwasmadevi sibleor
appear ed.Paulr hetoricallyassert
sthathei sthel eastoftheapost les.Att he
samet imehemakescl eart hatheisthemostdedi catedandhar destwor kingof
alltheapost l
es.Yethepl aysthi
sdownbypoi ntingt othegraceofGod.Paul
thusseekst oshow t hathei samemberoft heapost ol
icgr
oupt owhom t he
gospeli sentr
usted.

Verses12- 19isasegmentt hataddr essest hear gumentofsomewhosayt hat

thereisnor esurrecti
onoft hedead.Theyar econt rastedwi t
htheapostleswho
proclaim Chri
stasr aisedf rom thedead.I tisdebat edwhet her‘some’deniedthe
resurrect
ionoft hedeadassuchoronl yt her esurrecti
onoft hosewhodi ed
beforet he Parousia( glorious return)of1) Chr i
st.Howeveri ftherei s no
resurrect
ionofthedeadf ourconcl usi
onsmustbedr awn:
2)Christhasnotbeenr aised( vv.13;16)
3)Paul’spreachingismi sleadi ngandnul li
fied(vv.14;15)
4)Thef ait
hoft heCor i
nthiansi sinvai n,theyar est i
llinthei
rsinsanddeser ve
pit
y(vv.14;17;19)
5)Thosewhohavedi edi nChr isthaveper i
shed( v18) .

Whereasi nCorinthbotht hegospelwhi chsays‘ Chri

stwasraised’andthe
stat
ementt hat‘
Thereisnor esur
rect
ionfrom thedead’coul
dbeheldalongsi
de
eachother,Paulrel
atesthem asstatementsexclusi
veofeachotherbyadding
thephrase‘fr
om thedead’tothetr
aditi
onalgospel
.

Second,af
terhavingpointedoutt hefat
alconsequencesofthi
sopinionforthe
deadandliving,Paulposi
tivel
ydevelopswhattheresurr
ecti
onofChr i
stmeans
(seevv.20-28).Chri
stisthef i
rstfr
uitofthosewhohavef all
enasleep(died)
.
Chri
st’
sresur r
ecti
onast hef i
rstinawholeser i
esisconsti
tuti
veforallthose

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foll
owi ng( vv.20–22) .Fr
om verses23- 28at empor alorderofeschatol
ogi
cal
eventsi s gi ven.Fi r
st,Christ
’sr esurr
ection and ent hronement,then the
resurrectionoft hedeadathi sparousia,andf inall
y,aft
erhavingovercomeal l
domi nationandevi lpower
s,Christwillgi
veupr eignandpowert oGodwhowi l
l
be‘allinal l
’.Ther esurr
ect
ionofChr i
standt hatoft hedeadar enoti
ndependent
theologicaldat abutar eintegr
atedasani ndissol
ublecausalandt empor al
wholei nt hesal vif
icpl
anofGodf orthewor l
d.

Concl
usi
on

Theconcl udingremar ksinthePauli

nelett
ersgeneral
lyincl
udeexhor tati
onsas
wellasper sonalpl ansand greeti
ngs.Thereisal waysnot hing toi ndi
cate
whetherthecongr egati
onhasr espondedposit
ivelyorotherwise.Anywayt he
object
iveofouranal ysi
soft heselet
ter
sist oexposet heproblems,sol ut
ions
anddoct r
inesthatwer epropoundedbytheapostle.Thesearethevitalissuesin
thesubjectofdivinit
y,whichthi
sstudypackpursues.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1.Di
scusst hedateandpurposeof1Corint
hians.
2.Gi
veanaccountofPaul ’
steachi
ngin1Cor i
nthi
ansand1Thessal
oni
anson
marri
ageandr elat
ionsbet
weenbothsexes.
3.Whatwer etheproblemsatCori
nth?HowdidPauldealwi
ththem?(
Zimsec)
4.Cr
it
icall
yexami nePaul’
sargumentonresurr
ecti
on.
(Zi
msec)

Gobbet
s

1)“ Awifeisboundbyl aw aslongasherhusbandl ives,buti

fherhusband
dies…”(1Cor8: 39)
2)“ Now theset hi
ngsbecameexampl es,totheint
entthatweshoul
dnotlust
afterevi
lthingsastheyalsol
usted.
”(1Cor10:6)
3)“ Buti
fawomanhasl onghair,i
tisaglorytoher
,forherhai
risgi
ventoher
forhercover i
ng.”(
1Cor11:15)

Ref
erences

1. BarretC.K,Thef irstepist letot heCorint

hians,Harper’
sNew Test ament
Comment ari
es.NewYor k, 1968.
2. BratcherR.G.,ATr anslator ’sguidetoPaul’sfi
rstl
ettertotheCori
nthi
ans.
UnitedBibleSocieties,
1982.
3. Fi
or enza,E.Art
icl
ei nHar per ’
sBibleComment ary.Colli
ns1988
TalbetC.H.Readi ngCor inthians:Alit
eraryandTheol ogicalCommentary
on1and2Cor i
nthians, Cr ossroad,1987.

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CHAPTER16
HEBREWS
Byt
heendoft
hechapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto;

1.Discussthebackgr
oundissuesonHebr
ewsi
.e.aut
hor
shi
p,dat
e,
desti
nati
onandpurpose

2.I
dent
if
ythemai
nthemei
nthel
ett
ert
otheHebr
ews

3.Exami
net
hecr
it
icalar
gument
sthatar
erai
sedbyschol
arsonHebr
ews

Pr
eci
s

Thel et
tert
ot heHebr ewsi snotaPauli
nel et
ter.I
tsauthorisuncl ear.Hencei ti
s
placedunderwhatPr of
essorPhemePer kinsdescri
bedas‘ gener allet
terstothe
churches.’Suchlettersmayf oll
owthePaul i
neparadigm, wi t
ht heirdestinati
ons
beingcer t
ainchr isti
anchur ches.Theappr oachoft hisst udypackt osuch
l
et t
ersissyst emat i
call
ydesignedtomeetanypossi bleexami nationquest i
on
thatcanber aisedf r
om Hebrews.Thefollowingtopicalissuesshal lbeanalysed
withf r
equentr ef
erencest opassagesint helett
er:Theaut horshipdebat e;the
dateofcompi lati
on;thedestinati
onoft
hel ett
erandt hepur poseoft helett
er.

Whowr
otet
hel
ett
ert
otheHebr
ews?

ProfessorHar ol
d. W.Attri
dgehassubmi t
tedthatthewor kknownast heletterto
theHebr ewswasnotor igi
nall
yal et
ter;norwer ei tsaddr esseeslikelyt ohave
beenHebr ews.Thoughof tenthoughttobePaul ,t hei denti
tyoft heaut hori s
unknown.Theopi nionthatitwasaPaul i
necomposi t
ionwashel dinAl exandr i
a
(Egypt)from thesecondcount ryon,alt
houghpr omi nentf i
guressuchasOr igen
recognized diff
icult
ies withthatattr
ibution.Or i
gen’ sr emarkt hat‘ onlyGod
knows’ whor eall
ywr otethepieceisoftencited.Int heLat i
nWestt her ewer e,at
fi
rst,doubt s aboutPaul i
ne author
ship.Ter tull
ian,f ori nstance consi dered

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Barnabastheaut hor.Byt hefourt

hcent ur
yt heEast ernopinioncamet obe
acceptedintheWestandPaul ineauthor
shipremai nedunquest i
oneduntilt
he
renai
ssanceandRef ormationages,whenstyli
sti
cconsi der
ati
onsagai ncaused
doubts.Luther,andmanyot herscholar
s,suggest edApol losast heauthor.
Numer ousothercandidat
eshavebeenadvanced, includingPriscil
laandAquil
la,
Sil
asandJude.Nonei ssatisf
actor
y,andOr igen’sj udgementt hat‘onl
yGod
knows’,i
sfull
ywar r
anted.

Thedat
ewhenHebr
ewswaswr
it
ten?

Thegener alr angewi thinwhi chHebr ewswaswr i

ttenr unsf rom aboutA. D.60t o
about95.Theear l
ierdat e(60A. D.)i ssuggest edbyt heaut hor ’
sr eferencet o
himsel fandhi scommuni tyassecondgener ationchr istiansi nHebr ews2:3- 4.
Theadvancedst ateoft het raditionsusedi nthet ext,especi allyi t
schr i
st ology
(thewayi tident ifi
esJesus) ,alsopr esupposessomet imef ordevel opment .Few
criti
csdat eHebr ewsanydat eear li
ert han60A. D.Theupperendoft hedat e
range( 95A. D.)i sof t
enanchor edi nt heuseofHebr ewsby1Cl ement( 1
Clement36) .Al thought hatusei satt imesdoubt ed,iti sobvi ous,especi allyin
chapt er36of1Cl ement .1Cl ementwasal etterf rom t hel eader shipoft he
chur ch in Rome t o Cor i
nth.The l etterwas nor mally dat ed t o A. D.95- 96,
althought hatdat ei shardlysecur e,andt hewor kcoul dhavebeenwr it
tenany
ti
mebet weenA. D.75and120.Thi spr ovidesanupperendf orthedat eof
Hebr ewsofaboutA. D.110.Ther angemi ghtbecompr essedf urtherbyi nternal
consi derations.Manycr it
icsar guet hatHebr ewswaswr ittenpr i
ort oA. D.70
becausei tr efer stot heJewi sht empl ewor shipasapr esentr eal ityanddoesnot
ment i
ont hedest r
uct i
onoft het empl e,butnei therar gumenti spr obat i
ve.Bot h
Jewi shandchr istianaut hor swr i
ti
ngaf ter70r ef ertot het empl ei npr esent
terms.Mor ei mpor tant,Hebr ewsi snoti nterest ed i nt heact ualcul toft he
her odiant empl ebuti nt hedepi cti
onoft hecul toft hedeser ttaber nacle.The
aut horusest hatscr i
pturalpictureaspar tofhi sconst ruct i
vechr istol
ogy, notas
anapol ogi storpol emicist,andt hebasi sofhi sar gumenti sexegesi s,not
history.Ther eferencet oTi mot hyi nHebr ews13: 23,ift oPaul ’scol labor ator,
coul dpusht heupperendoft hedat erangedownt othemi d-ni netiessi ncei ti s
unlikelythatTi mot hywoul dhavebeenal i
ve, wel l,andr eadyt ot ravelmuchl ater.

Dest
inat
ion:Forwhom wast
hel
ett
erwr
it
ten

Thedesi gnati
onoft headdr esseesas‘ Hebrews’seemst obeal atereditorial
i
nferencebasedont hecont entsoft hetext.Manycomment at
or s,bothpatristi
c
andmoder nhavefollowedthet i
tle’
sl ead,assumi ngthatbecauseofi tsconcer n
wit
hJewi shinst
it
utionsandt radi t
ions,thewor kwasaddr essedt oJewsort o
Jewish chr i
sti
ans. I dent
if
icat i
on of t he addr essees is cor rel
ated wi th
hypothesesaboutt heai msoft het ext.Ifwr it
tentoJews,Hebr ewsmi ghtbe
desi
gned asan i nvitat
ion to acceptt hechr i
stian conf
ession.I fto Jewi sh
chri
sti
ans,i tmightai mt opr eventar el
apset otheancest ralreli
gion.Bot h
construaloftheaddr esseesandt heai m oft hewor khavebeendef ended,but

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neit
heris persuasive.The obvi
ous famil
iari
tywi th Jewish i
nsti
tuti
ons and
exegeti
caltr
aditi
onsi sindi
cati
veoft heaut hor’
sbackgr oundbutsaysl i
ttl
e
about his audience. Other Jewi
sh chr ist
ians, such as Paul , address
predominant
lygentilecommuniti
ese.g.Galati
aandCor i
nth,wit
hsophi sti
cated
exegeti
calar
gument sandappeal
stoJewisht radit
ions.Theintendedaudi ence
ofthist
extmayal sohavebeengenti
le.

Thepur
posewhyt
hel
ett
erwaswr
it
ten

Whi l
et heethni cor i
ginoft hei nt
endedr eadersi suncl ear
,Hebr ewsdoesgi ve
somedat aaboutt hem.Theyhadbeenchr ist
iansf orsomet ime( evidencei n
5:12)andbecauseoft hatcommi tment,hadexper iencedper secution( evidence
i
n10: 32- 34)
,whi chi sexpect edt ocontinue( cf12;3-13;13:3).PartofHebr ews’
functioni st
oi nspiret hef ait
hf ulendurancenecessar ytomeetsucht hreats.Of
equali mportance,t he communi t
y seems t o be under going a cr i
sis of
confidence.Somehavebeennegl ecti
ngt hecommuni tyassembl y( cft extin
10:25).Suchbehavi ourmaybear eacti
ont oout sidethreatsorevent ot he
attr
act i
onsoft radit
ionalJudai sm, butitcouldequal lywellderivefrom awani ng
enthusiasm wi thcompl excauses.I tisalsonotcl earhow wel linformedt he
authorwasaboutt hesecauses.Hesenses, however ,thepossibil
it
yofapost asy
andwant stopr eventi tbyr ekindli
ngf ai
th.

Theat t
emptt orekindl
et hef ait
hofacommuni tyf acedwi thpressurefr
om i ts
environmentandwi t
hi nternalfatigueisconduct edi ntwoways.Theaut hor
appeal sdirect
lyt
ot headdr esseesi naser i
esofwar ni
ngs( seechapters6:4-12;
10:26-31;12: 15-
16)and exhor t
ations.The t hrustoft hese exhor t
ati
ons i s
summar isedinchapter4ver se14t o15.Theaddr esseesar eurgedtoholdwhat
they have,especi all
yt heirconf essi on ofChr ist.They ar e also cal
led to
movement sofvar i
ouski nds.Att i
mest hemovement ,basedoncul ti
cimager y,
i
soneofappr oacht oGod( see4: 16;10: 19-
22) .Atot hertimesi tismovement
onwar d( 6:1)orout ward( 11:15;13: 13)t othewor ldinl ovi
ngser vi
ce.Such
hortatoryimageryisconcr etizedint heappeal st ospeci f
icvirt
ues,especiall
yto
fi
delityandendur ance(evidencei nchapt ers11and12) .

Hebrewsi sgroundedi nachr i

stologicalexposi tioni.e.theexposi t
ionofJesus’
i
dentit
y.Thet extinchapt ers7t o10ver se18pr ovidest hecent r
alexpositi
on
anddevelopanewpr esentati
onofChr i
st’
sper sonandwor k.Thatpresentati
on
affi
rmsbot ht
heheavenl ychar acterandf ullhumani t
yoft heSon.Att hesame
ti
me,i tshows how hi s sacr i
fi
cialdeat hi s existenti
all
yr elevantf orthe
addresseesbecausei tinauguratedanewcovenant alr el
ati
onshipwi t
hGod.I ti
s
thevirt
uesoft hatcovenantr el
ationshipt hatt headdr esseesarecal l
edupont o
displ
ay.Theyar eassuredt hattheycanbef aithfulandhopef ul
,forChristi
stheir
exampleandhi sexaltati
oni sasur etyforthei rown.

Exami
nat
iontypequest
ions
1.Di
scusst
heaut
hor
shi
panddest
inat
ionofHebrews.

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2.WhatdoestheauthorofHebrewsteachaboutChr
istasasacr
if
ici
all
amb.
3.Whywasthelett
ertotheHebr ewswri
tt
en?
4.Whataret
hecrit
icali
ssuesthatschol
arsrai
seonHebrews?

Gobbet s:Wr iteexplanatorycomment sont hef ol

lowing:
(a)Fori nt hatHeHi msel fhassuf f ered,beingt empt ed,Heisabl et oaidthose
whoar et empted.(Hebr ews1: 8)
(b)ForHeofwhom t heset hingsar espokenbel ongst oanot hert r
ibe,from
whichnomanhasof fi
ciatedatt heal t
ar .ForitisevidentthatourLor darose
from Judahofwhi chMosesspokenot hingconcer ningpriesthood.( Hebrews
7:13-14)
(c)Ther efore,brethenhavi ngbol dnesst oent ertheHol iestbyt hebloodof
Jesus.Byanewandl ivingwaywhi chheconsecr atedforus, throught hevei
l,
thatis, hi
sf l
esh.(Hebr ews10: 19- 20)
(d)Looki ngcar eful
lylestanyonef allshort,shor toft hegraceofGod,l estany
rootofbi t
ter
nessspr ingingupcauset r
oubleandbyt hismanybecome
defil
ed.( Hebrews12: 15-16)
Ref erences
1. At tr
idgeH. W ArticleinHar per ’
sBi blecomment ar
y,Colli
ns, 1988
2. Br uce, F.
F. Theepi stletot heHebr ews. GrandRai ds,M1:Eer dmans,
1964.
3. Hughes, P.E.AComment aryont heEpi stl
etotheHebr ews.1977.

CHAPTER17
Romans
Byt
heendoft
hechaptert
hestudentshoul
dbeabl
eto:
1.Exami
nethebackgr
oundissuesonRomans

2.Di
scusst
hemat
ert
hatpr
essedPault
owr
otet
hel
ett
ert
otheRomans

3.Exami
nePaul
’
sref
erencest
othef
igur
eAbr
aham andt
heLaw

4.Exami
net
het
hemeof“
just
if
icat
ion”i
nRomans

Thel
ett
erofPault
otheRomans

RobertJewet tinhi sar t

icl
e‘TheRedact i
onof1Cor i
nthiansandt heTr ajectoryof
thePaulineSchool .’JournaloftheAmer icanAcademyofRel igionSuppl ement
46,(1978)poi ntedoutt hatPaul ’
slett
erswer eoriginall
ywr itt
ent ot roubled
congregationst oodi stanttovisitatthemoment .Jewet tgoesont ost atethat
mostoft hesel etter
sr elat
eddirectl
ytotheprobl
emsofi ndivi
dualcongr egat i
ons
andtot her el
ationshi psbetweent hem andthesender .Theletterswer ewr itt
en
byanaut horit
ativeper sonwhof oundedt hechurchort hecongr egati
on.Thi s
observati
onhaspr oblemsorf ailstoapplytotheletterofPault ot heRomans.
Paulwr i
test oachur chhedi dnotf ound.Hedidnotf oundanycongr egationin

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Rome.Mor eover,t
hemot i
foftheletterisnott
osol veanyt r
oubleinthechurch
i
n Rome.Paulher e may also be accused ofvi olati
ng the pol
icy ofnon-
i
nterf
erence adopted atthe Jerusalem council(see Gal2: 7-
9).This pol
icy
prohi
bit
sanapost l
ef r
om i nt
erf
eringwi thcongregationsfoundedbyanot her
apostl
eoranar eaofmi ssi
onaryactivit
yofanotherapost l
e.

Paul. W.Meyerquot ed Phili

p Mel anchthon who descr i
bed Romansas‘a
compendium ofchr ist i
andoct ri
ne, ’andi thasi nfactf uncti
onedassuchf or
mostofi t
slonghi st
or y.ButmostofPaul ’
slett
ersservedassubst it
utesforhis
personalpresence as an apost le and l eaderin si t
uations ofcr i
sisthat
developedinchur cheshehi msel fhadf ounded.Int hosel et
ter
sPaulwr i
tes
becausehehast opr otect,corr
ect ,orst r
engthensomeaspectoft hegospeli n
theli
feofapar ti
cularcongr egationt hati
sunderr i
sk.Romansappeart obean
excepti
ontothispatter n.I
tisaddr essedt oachur chPauldi dnotestabl
ish.

Dat
e,occasi
onandpur
poseofRomans

AD55or56i stheundisputeddateofRomans.Thelettercameintoexist
ence
aft
erthewr i
ti
ngofGalati
ansandt helet
ter
stotheCorinthi
ans.Pauldrawshi s
j
ustif
icati
onforwri
ti
ngt otheRomansandhi srightt
obehear dbyt hem from
hisbeinganapostl
etot hegenti
les(Rom 1:
13-
14)andont hei
rbei
ngagent i
le
chri
stiancommunit
y.

[VERYI MPORTANT]–Schol arssaythatPaulfelthehadnomor espacet ocar ry

onhi smi ssiont otheGent il
esint heeast er
nMedi terr
aneanandwant edt o
extendi ttot hewestandt oSpainandt obespeededonhi sway t herebyt he
churchatRome,t obesuppor t
edbyt hem int hisent erpri
se.SincePaulhopes
forsuchhel pfrom achur chhedidnothi mselfest abli
sh, onemot i
vef orwr i
ti
ng
i
s cl earlyi mpl i
ed:he want st o presentt his chur ch wi th an aut hent i
c
representationofhi smessaget ogaini t
st r
ustandbacki ng.Butbef orehecan
comet oRomehowever ,Paulhast omakeonel asttriptoJer usal
em t odeliver
thecol l
ectionofmoneyhehasr ai
sedf ortheJewi shchr i
sti
anst here(being
contri
but i
onsf ort heSaints).Thi
sf i
xest hedat eandpl acef orthewr i
ti
ngof
Romansf airlywell,t
hatis,duri
nghislaststayi nGr eecepr iortohisfinaltri
pt o
Jerusalem.

Whatpr
essedPault
owr
it
e?

Ithasalr
eadybeenpoi nt
edoutt hatPaulwant edt r
ustandsuppor tfr
om Roman
beli
ever
s.‘TheRomanexi lehypothesis’postulatest hatEmper orClaudius’edict
ofAD49hadexpel ledallJewsf rom Romeduet odi sturbancesi ntheRoman
Jewishcommuni tyoverthemessi ahshipofJesus.Af t
ert hedeathofCl audius
theseJewishChr i
sti
ansr et
urnedt oRome,butt heymetr esi
stancef rom their
fel
low genti
le chr
isti
ans.Enor mous pr oblems ofr econcili
ati
on r esul
ted.A
sit
uati
onfacedearli
erbyPauli nAnt i
och( seeGal2:11- 14)woul dhavebecome
anacutelocalRomanpr oblem butwi t
har everset wist:nowi twoul dbegent ile

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chri
sti
ansagainstjewishchri
sti
ans.Theref
oreaneedwast hereforGentil
e
chri
sti
anstober emi
ndedofthei
rdebttothei
rJewi
shherit
age(Pauldoesthi
sin
Roman11: 18)andtheyhadtobeur gedt
obemor etol
erantofJewishrel
igi
ous
pract
ices.

“
TheJer
usal
em cr
isi
shypot
hesi
s’

Itpostulat
est hatPaulwasver yanxi ousovert heout comeofhi scomi ngvisitto
Jerusalem (Rom 15:30- 33).Thevi sitwasf orPault odel i
vert hemoneyhehad
coll
ectedf ort heJewi shchur chesatJer usalem.Thi smoneyhadcomef r
om
gentil
esandJewsi nGr eece.Suchacol l
ect i
onexempl i
fi
edandact ual i
zedt he
unit
yofachur chcomposedofbot hJewsandgent il
es.Thathadbeenani ssue
attheapost olicconf erencei nJer usalem ( Gal2: 1-10)andt hatconst i
tutesone
oft her unning t hemesofRomans.Whet herPaul ’swhol ecar eerhad been
worthwhi l
eorf utiledependedi ntur nonJer usalem’ srecogni t
ionoft heuni tyof
Jewsandgent iles( Gal2: 2).Paul’
sanxi etyther eforeisnotl i
mi tedt owhatmi ght
occuri nJerusal em,i ti satleasti npar tananxi etytober i
ght lyunder stoodi n
Romenotonl ysot hathemi ghthavet heRomanChr isti
ansasal l
iesbutal so
thathi s ent i
re mi ssion shoul d notbe mi sunder stood as t he i rr
elevant
experimentofaf ree-lancer.Thesi tuati
ont hatoccasi onedRomansi nthisvi ew
i
sacr isisthatl i
esbef orePauli nJer usalem.Ther esourcesf orf acingi tli
ei nhis
expositi
onoft hegospelandhi m asi tsapost le.Asamat teroff act,thet hemes
ofRomansf allsr atherpr eci
selyundert woheadi ngs:
1)Abraham andhi spr omise(Just i
ficationbyf ai t
h)
2)Fait
hfulnessandi mpar ti
ali
tyofGod.

Thismodulewi
llpur
suethesetwot
hemesonl
yandanal
yset
hem i
namanner
thatmeet
sexaminat
ionr
equir
ement
s.

God’
simpar
ti
ali
ty

Paulusest heconceptofi mpar t

ial
it
yt oexpoundGod’ sdealingwi thallhuman
beings.Paulbegi nsbyemphasi zi
ngt hepoi ntofGod’ swr ath.Hesayst hat
humanbei ngshavehadever yoppor tunit
ytoknowGod.Never t
hel ess,i
nspiteof
knowingGod,t heydi dnothonourhi m asGodorgi vethankst ohi m( Romans
1:21).Thati sthecent ralfailur
e.Iti saf ailureofhuman bei ngs,theyar e
responsibl
eandi ndeedwi thoutexcuse.God’ sr esponset othisfai l
uredoesnot
discri
minatehumanki nd.Bot hJewornon- Jewar eli
abletothesamet reatment
orjudgementont hisprovocation.Allpersonswi thoutexempt ion,t heJewf ir
st
andal sotheGr eek,standont hesamef ootingbef oreGodandmustf acethe
consequencesoft hei
ract i
onswhet herforgoodori ll
.Paul ’
smai npoi nthere
standsont heprophetictradit
ionofAmos9: 10, Micah2:6-7andJer emiah2:35.
Allhadt ocount
ert hetendencyofr eli
giouspeopl etoturntrustinGodi ntoaself
i
mmuni zat
ion f r
om hi s judgement , a shi eld behi nd whi ch t o evade

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accountabil
it
y.InRomans2: 24Paulusesat extf
rom Isaiah52: 5t
hatrefer
redto
thescornoft heBabyloniansf ortheIsr aeli
teexi
lesint heirmidst
,Paulturnsto
chargethatthegoalofver yser i
ousr eligiousperson,tobr i
nghonourt oGod,is
i
nf actsubvertedi
ntoitsopposi t
ebyt hosewhopr esumet ojudgethewor l
dbut
themselves evade account abil
it
yt o God by t aki
ng t heirprerogat
ives as
substi
tutesforobedience.Ref err
ingt oci rcumci
sion( 2:25-29)Paulmakest he
pointthatalltheformalt okensofr eligiousidentit
ydependf ortheirmeaning
andval i
dit
yonact ualobedience,thusput ti
ngJewandnon-Jewonceagai non
exactl
ythesamef ootingbef or
eani mpar ti
alGod.

Abr
aham:Rom 4:
1-25

Referr
ingt ooldtestamentscr i
ptur
eswasbel i
evedt obeapower fultoolof
authenti
cati
ng God’smessage.Byappeal ing to Mosesthel awgiverand t o
Abraham ther eci
pientofthepromise,Paulsignalshisownunder standingof
whati s centr
alorpi votalin hi
s own Jewi sh tr
adit
ion and reclaims itto
authenti
catehisgospelf orhisreaders.Abraham wasaher oi
cf i
gur ewhose
storycouldbeusedt osupportavari
etyofends.

InRomans4: 2-8PaulusesAbr aham t oconf i

rmt hatboast i
ngi spr ecludedifa
ri
ghtr elati
onshipt oGodi sdet ermi nedbyf ait
h.InGen15: 6i twasAbr aham’ s
believing God t hatGod r egar ded as r ighteousness.Even Abr aham was
dependentonaGodwhoj ust i
fi
est heungodl y,whodoesnotmer el
yconf i
rmthe
vir
tuesofgoodpeopl ebutt akest hei ni
ti
ativei nrestori
ngawor l
dt hatcannot
savei tsel
f.Reckoni ngrighteousnessi stheequi valentofnotr eckoni ngsin,i
.e.
forgiveness.Abr aham,t he modelof r eligi
ous pr obi
ty( honour ) was as
dependentonGod’ sgraciousi niti
at i
veasDavi d.Ther efor
et hepr ecedentof
Abr aham conf ir
mst hatGod’ sj ustifyi
ngpr oceedsont hebasi soft rustinhi s
undeser vedgr aci
ousnessandl eavesnor oom f orboast i
ng.

InRomans4: 9-
12Paular guest hatGod’sconsi derat
ionofAbr aham’ sfaithas
ri
ghteousness pr ecedes hi s covenant wi th Abr aham, and Abr aham’s
cir
cumci sion(Gen17: 1-27).Theout wardmar ksofAbr aham,theprot ot
ypeJew
arethereforesecondar yt othef aiththatmakeshi m at rueJew.Anot hersideof
Abraham,hi sroleasancest or ,turnsoutt oembr aceal lwhobel ievewi t
hout
cir
cumci sion.Even int her elati
on ofhi sphysi caldescendant st o him,the
control
li
ngf actorinhispat r
iarchalf unct
ioni strustinGod, t
heirsandhi s.Sothe
precedentofAbr aham al soconf i
rmst hatthet ermsoff ai
thestabl
ishedbyGod
forjusti
ficati
onapar tfrom t hel aw meant hatJew andnon- Jew st andont he
samef oot i
ngbeforeani mpar t
ialGod.

InRomans4: 13-17PaulelucidatesthatAbraham wast herecipientofGod’s

promisefort hef ut
ure.I
nGenesi s15:4-
5t hispromisewasf oranhei rand
descendants( Rom 4:18)
.InGenesi s17: 6-
7i twasf ormanynat ionsamong
thesedescendants(Rom 4:17).Paul’
spointnowi sthatt
hetr
ansmi ssionofthi
s
l
egacyi sdeterminednotbyl aw butbyt heright
eousnessoffaith.InRomans

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4:14Paulmakesamor eforcefular gument:Iftheheirsarethosewhom t helaw

definesashei r
s,thenf ai
thi sempt yandt hispr omisehasbeenvoi ded.The
i
ssuei snotwhathumanbei ngsdoatal l,whet hertheyadher etothel aw or
whet hertheybel i
eve.Whati satst akeisthecompet encetodeterminewhot he
heirsar e.Clear
lyt hatcapabili
tydoesnotbel ongt othelaw,whoseef fectis
rathertoevokewr athbymar kinghumanconductast r
ansgressi
onandsot o
disquali
f ypeoplefrom t
heinheritance( Rom 4:15).

Thet
hemeofj
ust
if
icat
ioni
nRomans

Justi
fi
cati
oni sdefi
nedaspeacei none’sr el
ati
onshiptoGod.Peacerefersto
theremovalofenmi t
yt owardGodbyt hereconcil
iat
ioneff
ect
edinJesus’deat
h.
Iti
snotGodwhoi sr econcil
edbuthumanbei ngs,becausetheenmit
yi snot
God’s,i
tishumanopposi t
ionandresist
ancetoGod.Ther emovalofthi
sbarri
er
opensupaccesst othisgrace( j
ust
if
icat
ion)whichisnotahumancondi t
ionbut
theundeservedgraci
ousnessonGod’ spart.

PaulusesAdam t orepr esentsin,t akingi tf r

om t hebi bl
icaldepi cti
onoft he
originaldi sobedi enceofAdam andEvei nGenesi s3.Thi sbi bli
caldepi ction
corr elatest hatdeat hist heconsequenceofsi n.Thi sal lusion af fi
rmst he
univer salpenet rati
onofsi nanddeat ht hroughAdam t othewhol ehumanr ace.
Int heper i
odbet weenAdam andMoses( i
nt heabsenceoft hel aw)si nwasnot
count edi .
e.eachi ndivi
dualwasnothel dr esponsibl eforsin.Butnonet hel ess
ever yonedi ed,showi ngcl earl
ythef atefulreignofdeat hoveral lasar esul tof
Adam’ sactionevenovert hosewhohadnotcommi tt
edt hesameki ndofexpl icit
tr
ansgr essionofacommandasAdams' ’.Int husdet ermini
ngt hef at eofot her s,
Adam pr efi
gur edChr i
st.I nRomans5: 15-17Paular guest hatdeat hpr oceeded
fr
om asi ngl eactbyAdam,butt hegi ftofl ifebegan wi th amul t
itudeof
tr
espasses.By t he l aw,t r
espass,j udgement ,condemnat ion and deat h
emphasi zet hedeser vedgui l
tandr esponsi bil
it
yofever ysi nner.Ont heot her
sidet hef reegi ftofgr ace,extravagantgener osi
ty,andl i
fe,emphasi zest he
displ acementofwhati sduet oallsinner sbyat otallyundeser vedgi ftinGod’ s
actofj usti
fication( thedeat hofChr istasar ansom f ormany) .

In summat i
on,apar tfrom t he l aw,si n and deat h ( f
rom Adam) and
ri
ght eousnessandl i
fe(fr
om Christ)wouldbesi mil
ari mper sonalandi nexorable
orr elent
lessdest i
niesinfl
ict
eduponal lpeoplebyvi rt
ueoft hesoli
dar it
yofal l
,
fi
rstwi thAdam andt henwi t
hChr i
st.In5:20Paulr eturnst otheintr
usi onoft he
Mosai cLawbet weenAdam andChr i
st(vv.13-14)
.Thel awaddst otrespasst he
‘
sting’ofcondemnat i
on(1Cor15: 56).Now thatsini scount ed,magni fiedand
deepenedbyt headdi ti
onofgui lt,deathismor et hananeut r
aldest iny;itis
deser vedbyal l
.Butbyt hever ysamet oken,now t hatsi niscount edagai nst
ever yone,li
fehasbecomesomet hingmor et hananeut r aldesti
ny.Itist hefree
and undeser ved giftofa gr acious God.As perRomans 5:21,Paulhas
summar isedhi sview ofthel aw inaver yremarkabl emannerasf ollows:t he
purposeofGod,ser vedbyt helaw ont hehumansi n,ist hatjustasdeat hhas

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been the sympt om oft he rei

gn ofsin as a poweroverhuman l i
ves,so
ri
ghteousness( j
ust i
fi
cat
ion)mightbecomet hesympt om ofthenew r ei
gnof
grace.Justasthel awturnedthereignofdeat
hi nAdam (5v14)i ntotherei
gnof
si
n, sothatsamel awhast urnedtherei
gnofli
feinChr i
stint
other eignofgrace.
OneofGod’ spur poseswiththemosai claw wast ousei t
s‘increase’ofsi n’
s
powerovermenandwoment oaugmentandr ei
nforcegrace.Ifthatisso,one
mustnecessar i
lyaskt hequesti
on‘Arewet ocontinueinsininor derthatgrace
mightincrease?

Crit
icsofPaulhaveaccusedhi steachingher eofunder mi ningt heJewi shl aw
and i nvit
ed irresponsi blel icense in human behavi our .Butt he theological
i
mpor tanceoft hequest ion‘whynotsi n?’liesinthef actt hati tisinevit
ableand
regularlyraisedwhenevert hecl aimi smade,asher e,thathumanper versity
cannotdeci si
velyf r
ustrateGod’ sbenevol entpur pose.Chapt er5showedt hat
ri
ghteousness,t hemor alupr ightnessandi ntegri
tyr est oredt ohumanl i
fei nits
rel
ationt oGodt hrought hedeat hofJesus, i
samat terofgr ace.ItshowsGod’ s
l
ovef orhumanbei ngswhi l
et heyar estil
lsi nners( 5:8),itisanundeser vedgi ft
,
mani festi
ng t he l avish pr ofuseness orabundantofGod’ s gener osity.I n
chapt ers6and7Pault alksofj ustif
icati
onast hegi ftofar eor deredlife.Her e
Pault urnsthear gumenti ntheopposi t
edi recti
onanswer i
ngt hequest i
on:’shall
wecont i
nuei nsi nt hatgr aceshal labound? ’byshowi ng t hatGod’ sgr ace
i
nvol vesf orit
sr ecipientsanew r ighteousness,ar eor deri
ngandi ntegrit
yt hat
precludeanundi stur bedcont inuationoflif
e’ spreviouspat terns.

Fi
nalexor
tat
ions:Rom 13-
16

Paulmakesexhor t
ati
onst ot her eadersonanumberofsoci alvir
tues.Thef i
rst
exhortati
oni sonl ove( Romans13: 8-10).I
nPaul ’
slet
ter
sl oveofGodi sal
ways
God’sownl ove,humanl ovef orGodi sment i
onedonlyinRomans8: 28,and1
Cori
nthians2: 9and8: 3,inal lthreei nst
ancesonl ytobeover shadowedby
humandebtt oGod’ sgener osityandi ni
ti
ative.ForPault hemor eappr opri
ate
humanr esponsetoGod’ sloveandcompassi onishonourandt hanksgi vi
ngand
tr
ustinGodont heonehand,and,ont heot her,thi
slovetowar dnei ghbourthat
i
snot hingel sethant her eorderingofhumanl ifeinaccordancewi t
hGod’ swill
.
Forthisi sthesubst anceoft hel aw,thenever -endi
ngclaim ofGodonhuman
l
ifeembodi edinGod’ shol y,justandgoodcommandmentt hatPaul ’sgospel
neverunder minesbutonl yconf ir
ms.

Theot herexhortat
ionPaulrepeat
sisthatbot
hJew andgent i
lest
andonan
equalf oot
ingbeforeGod.Theyalldependuponhi svi
ndicat
ionofallhuman
rel
igi
ouspr act
ice.Theyallbenefi
tfr
om Jesusgif
toflifetoallthr
oughthei
r
i
nclusioninChrist’
sownpat t
ernofdeat
handlif
e,andali
keaccountabl
etothe
Godtheymustal levent
uall
yrecogni
ze(Romans14:1-
12)
.

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Cl
osi
ngr
emar
ks

Acl osest udyoft helett

ertotheRomansr evealsthattwomaj orthemesar e
cruciali
.e.Abraham andjusti
fi
cati
onbyf ait
h.Theimpartial
it
yofGodi sperhaps
at hird prominentissue inthe let
ter.Forexami nati
on purposes a careful
analysisofthesethreeissueswil
lbesuf f
ici
entprepar
ati
on.Agr eat
erfract
ionof
mat eri
alint helastchaptersofthel et
terarerecapit
ulati
onsont heseear l
ier
themes.We r ecommend a t horough underst
anding oft he mater
ialint his
modul e.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1.Whowr ot
et helet
tertotheRomansandwhower ether eci
pients?
2. “Forthereisnodest i
nation,si
nceallhavesi
nnedandf allshortofthegl
ory
ofGod. ”(Romans3: 22-23).WhydoesPaulmaket hisstatement ,andwhat
argumentsdoesheuset osupporti
t?
3.HowdoesPauluset hefigureofAbraham i
nRomans?
4.Crit
ical
lydiscusshowPaul deal
swiththethemeof“justi
fi
cation”i
nRomans.

Wr
it
eBr
iefExpl
anat
oryComment
sont
hef
oll
owi
ng:

(
a)Eversincet hecr eati
onoft hewor ld,hi sinvisi
blenature,namely,hi
seternal
poweranddei t
yhasbeencl ear
lyper ceivedinthet hingsthathavebeen
made.Sot heyarewi thoutexcuse.( Romans1: 20)
(
b)Forallhavesi nnedandf allshortoft hegl oryofGod.(Romans3: 22-
23)
(
c)Forthemi ndthati ssetont hef l
eshi shost i
letoGod,i tdoesnotsubmi tto
God’sl aw,indeedi tcannot ,andthosewhoar einthef l
eshcannotpl ease
God.(Romans8: 7-8)
(
d)Sodonotl etwhati sgoodt oyoubespokenasevi l
.Fort hekingdom ofGod
doesnotmeanf oodanddr inkbutr ighteousnessandpeaceandj oyint he
holyspi r
it
,hewhot husser vesChr istisaccept abl
etoGodandappr ovedby
men.( Romans14: 16-18)

Ref
erences
1. Bar rett.C.K.A Comment aryontheEpi st
letot heRomans.New Yor k:
Harper ,1957.
2. Cr anfield,C.E.
B.ACr iti
calandExeget
icalComment aryontheEpist
let
o
theRomans.Edi nburg:Clar
k1975-
79.
3. Donf r
ied,K.P.TheRomansDebat eMinneapolis,MN:Augsburg,1977
4. Kasemann.E.Per specti
vesonPaul.Phil
adelphia:Fort
ress,
1971.

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CHAPTER18
GALATI
ANS

Byt
heendoft
hechapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.Under
standt
hehi
stor
icalset
ti
ngoft
hel
ett
ert
otheGal
ati
ans:

2.I
dent
if
ythei
mmedi
atepr
obl
emsi
ntheGal
ati
anchur
ches

3.Di
scusst
her
esol
uti
onsmadet
othesepr
obl
ems

4.Exami
net
hecompl
exar
gument
srai
sedi
nthel
ett
ert
otheGal
ati
ans

Intr
oduct i
on
Amongt hewr i
ti
ngsofPaul ,noneismor eimportantormor edi ff
icul
tthant he
l
etterofPault ot heGalati
ans( W.Baird,1988) .
Thisletterpresentsimportant
featur
esofPaul ’
sl i
feandannouncessi gnif
icantdoctri
nes.Yetquest i
onsabout
thehistoricalsetti
ngofthel ett
ercannotbeanswer edwi thcertai
nty.However,
i
nterpreterscanbeconf i
dentabouttwoi ssuesviz.:Fir
st,ist
heaut hor(Gal1:1)
andsecond, thelett
erisauni t
y.Thi
smeanst hatinitspresentformt helet
teris
writ
tenasasi ngledocument .

Hi
stor
icalset
ti
ng

Althoughthel ett
erisaddr essedt othechur chesofGalati
a,theexactlocati
onof
thesechur chesi sdisputed.Theor i
ginalKi ngdom oftheGalati
answasi nthe
north-centralareaofAsi ami nor,buti n25BCt heRomansr e-organisedthi
s
region toincludei nt hepr ovinceofGal atiaareastot hesout h.Somet wo
theoriesarepr opoundedont hehi st
oricalsetti
ngofthetargetaudience.These
are( i
)t heSout hGal ati
anor‘ Province’theoryand( i
i)theNor thGal ati
anor
‘
territ
ori
altheory.

TheSouthgalati
ant heor y:
Accordi
ngt otheSout hGal ati
anTheor
y,thechurchesaddressedinGal at
ians
arechurchesoft hesout hernr egi
on– churchesestabl
ishedduringt heso-
cal
ledFirstMissionaryJour neyofPaulrecordedinAct s13:4- 14:28.Paul
normall
yr ef
erstor egionsaccor di
ngtot hei
r‘Pr
ovinci
al’desi
gnatione.g.in
Cori
nthi
ans16:19.

Thenor
thgal
ati
anst
heor
y

Accor
ding t
otheNor
th Gal
ati
an Theor
yorTer
ri
tor
ialTheor
ythechur
ches

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addr essedi nt hel etterar echurchesi nt heor i

gi nalterr
itoryofGal ati
a.TheAct s
oft heApost lesi ncludesnoaccountofami ssi ont othisr egion,butAct s16:6
mayi mpl yat riptot heNor t
hernt erri
tory.‘ Now whent heyhadgonet hrough
Phr ygiaandt her egionofGal at
ia,theywer ef orbiddenbyt hehol yspi ri
tto
preacht hewor dinAsi a’.Af t
erdescr i
bingavi sittoDer beandLyst ra,t
heaut hor
ofAct snot est hatPaulandhi scompani onst raveledthr ough‘ thePhr ygianand
Gal ati
anr egions’ Thus, avi si
ttother egionofGal atiaappeart obedi st
inguished
from andl aterthant hevi si
ttotheci t
iesoft heSout h.InGal ati
ans
3: 1,Pauladdr esseshi sr eadersas‘ f
ool i
shGal at i
ans’.Althought hisdesignat i
on
woul dbeappr opr iatef ort heethnicGal at
iansoft heNor t
h,itscar celyf i
tsthe
residentsoft heSout h.Pauldoesnotal waysr efertoregi onsbyt heirprovincial
name( seeGal1:17) .Accor di
ngt omostschol ars,theNor thGal ati
ant heoryis
tobepr eferred.

Thesocialandreli
giouscompositi
onofthegalati
anchurches
Scholar
s unanimously agree thatthe soci
aland r el
igi
ous make-up oft he
Galat
ianchurcheswascomposedmost l
yofmember swhower egentiles.Paul’
s
missi
oni spri
marilydir
ectedt owardnon-Jews:‘
Tor evealHi
ssoni nme,t hatI
mightpreachHim amongt hegent
il
es’(
Gal1:16).

Thei ssueofcircumci sion,whichi scrucialt othel ett

erofGal ati
ans,woul d
hardlybeaquest ionf orJewi shconverts.WhenPauli mpli
est hathisr eaders
hadnotknownGodi nGal at
ians4:9,hepr obablyreferr
edtot hei
rpr evi
ousl i
fein
paganism.Nevertheless,someoft heGalatiansChr i
sti
ansmayhavebeenJews
orpersonswhohadcont actwi t
ht hesynagogue.Thi sissuggest edbyt het ype
ofargumentPaulempl oysinchapt er3and4wher eheaddr esseschur chese.g.
i
nCor inth,
member soft hecongr egati
onswer epr
obabl ydrawnf r
om avar i
etyof
socialandeconomi cclasses.

Dat
eandpl
aceofcompi
lat
ion

Thedat eandpl aceofcompi lat

ionofGal at
iansar edebat able.Somesuppose
thatGalat
ianswaswr i
ttenear l
yinPaul ’
scareer .Act ual
lyaver yearl
ydat eis
i
mpossiblesincet hel etterwasnotwr it
tenunt i
latl eastfour t
eenyear safter
Paul’
sconver si
on:
‘Thenaf t
er14year sIwentupagai ntoJerusalem wi t
hBar nabas- --
--
-‘.(Gal2: 1)
.
Thosewhof avouranear l
ydat eusual l
yadoptt hesout hGal ati
ant heoryand
i
dent i
fytheJer usalem vi sitofGal2: 1wi t
hthatofAct s11: 30.Accordi ngt othis
view,theJer usalem vi sitofAct s15:4-29tookpl aceaf terGal ati
anshadbeen
wr i
tt
en.Mor el ikely,Act s15andGal ati
ans2r efert othesameevent– t he
Jerusalem conf erence:Assumi ngt henor t
hGal atianstheor yandi nterpreting
Galati
ans4: 13t oimpl yt wovi sit
st oGalati
apr iort othel ett
er,thesecondvi si
t
woul dhavebeent heonement ionedi nAct s18: 23.Paul ’schar get hatt he
Galati
anshave‘ soqui cklyt urnedaway’( Gal1:6)suggest sthatnotmucht i
me
hasel apsedsi ncehi sl astvi si
t.Thus,Gal atianswaspr obablywr i
ttenf rom
Ephesusi naboutA. D55.

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Thepur poseofGalati
ans:theimmediatepr
obl
ems.
Focusonthefoll
owi ngquot
ati
ons:
i
)‘buttherearesomewhot r
oubl
eyouand
wanttoper vertthegospelofChr i
st’
(Gal1:7)
i
i)‘
Icouldwi shthatthosewhot roubl
e
youwoul devencutt hemsel vesoff
’(Gal5:12)

Inthelett
ert
otheGalati
ans,Paulat
tacksagroupthati
stroubl
ingtheGalat
ian
churches.Hechargesthem withpervert
ingthegospelbyinsist
ingthatthe
Galati
ansbecir
cumcisedandkeepthelaw.

Concerningthei dentit
yoftheset roubl
e-makerst hr
eemai ntheori
eshavebeen
advanced:
Fir
st,t
heyar eJudai zersorJewishChr i
stians,whobelievethatgent
il
econver t
s,
mustkeept heJewi shl aw,
Second,t hey arel ibert
ine spi
rit
uali
sts( the morall
y,lax)orgnost ics who
advocateethicalli
censeorsexuali mmor ali
ty,
Thir
d,therearetwogr oupscausingtroubleinGalati
a(Judaizer
sandlibert
ines).

Somevar i
ati
on ofthef i
rsttheoryisprobablybest:thetr
ouble-makersar
e
JewishChri
sti
answhohavei nvadedtheGalati
anchurchesfrom outsi
dewit
h
thei
ntent
ionofcorrect
ingPaul’sshor
tgospel.Theybeli
evethepeopleofGod
needanident
it
ythatisshapedaccordi
ngtoJewishrit
esandpr act
ices.

PurposeofGal at
ians
Thepur poseofGal ati
ansi stocountert heactivi
tyoft hesetrouble-makers.
Paul’
spr i
mar yconcer nist o‘
re-
present
’thetruthofthegospel–t hegoodnews
thatGodhasact edi nChr isttoredeem allpeople(Gal4:4).Thi
sact i
onconveys
thespir
itthatisreceivedbyf ait
handnotbywor ksoft helaw.Thei denti
tyoft
he
peopleofGodi sfoundi nanew cr eat
iont hatshatter
st heolddi st
inct
ions–a
newidentityi
nJesusChr ist(seeGal6:15;3: 28)
.

Comment
aryont
ext
s

TheSalutat
ioni
nGal1:1-5:Thel ett
eri
sbeingsentt
othechurchesofGalatia.I
t
i
st heonlyPauli
neletteraddressedt oagr oupofcongr
egati
onsi nar egion
l
argerthanasingleci
ty.Paulbel i
evedthatthewor
ldwasundert hecontrolof
evi
lfor
ces,butwit
hthecomi ngofChr i
stthenewagehadalr
eadydawned.

Thesituati
oninGalati
a1:6-10
TheGal ati
ansaret ur
ningt oanot hergospel,althoughtherei
snoot her
.The
tr
oublemakersareperverti
ngt hegospelbyi nsisti
ngthatiti
ncl
udethedemand
tokeept helaw andbeci rcumcised.However ,toconceiveofthegospel
,asa
coll
ecti
onofr ul
esandr i
tesisnotsi mplyt odi stor
tit
,itistodest
royit
.The

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tr
oubl
emakersmaysupposet hatPaul’
slaw-fr
eegospeli
stri
mmedt ofi
this
hear
ers,butPaulsayst
hathedoeseveryt
hingfort
hesakeoft
hegospel(
cf.1
Cor9:
23)

Thegospelr ecei vedbyr evel ati

on
Paul’sgospeli snotahumangospel .Henei t
herreceivedi tfrom ahumanbei ng,
norwashet aughti t
.Pr ooft hatGodhasact edi sseeni nt het ransf ormat i
onof
Paul.Hi sf or merl if
ewasdevot edt oJudai sm.Hehadbeenaper secutoroft he
church( see1Cor15: 9)Paulhadadvancedi nJudai sm beyondmanyofhi sown
ageamonghi speopl e,si ncehewassozeal ousf orthelaw andt het r
aditi
ons.
ThewayPauldescr i
beshi sr evelati
oni sreminiscentoft hecal loft hepr ophets
e.g.inJer emi ah1:5andi ndicatest hatPaulispr i
mar ydepi ctingacommi ssion
rathert hanaconver sion.Howeverhi sr ef
erencet o‘myf or merl ifei nJudai sm’
(Gal1: 13)i ndi catest hataconver sionwasi nvolved.Paulsi mpl ydecl aresthat
God’ssonhadbeenr eveal edt ohi m.Thepur poseoft hisr evel ationwast hat
Paulshoul dpr eachChr istt ot hegent il
es;suggest i
ngthatt her evelati
onwas
alsocommi ssion.Hedi dnotgot oJerusalem toconsul twi tht hosewhohad
previousl ybeenappoi ntedapost les.Paulwenti nsteadt oAr abia,orNabat ea,
thear eat otheSout hofDamascus.

ThevisittoJerusal
em 1:18-24
Aft
er3year s,Paulwentt oJerusal em.Hewentonhi sowni nit
iat
ivetomake
acquaintanceofCephasorPet er.CephasorSimonPet erwast heleaderofthe
churchatJer usal
em.Paulst ayedf oronly15days.Duri
nghi sstayhesawonl y
Jamest hebrot
herofJesuswhowasl atert
obecomet heleaderofthechurchat
Jerusalem.Thisisthesamevi sitdescri
bedinActs9:26-30.

TheJerusal em conference2: 1-10

Aft
er14year sPaulagai nvisitedJerusalem.Theconf er
encedescr ibedherei s
thesameast heonedepi ctedi nAct s15: 4-
21.Paulsayshemadet histrip
accordi
ngt or evel
ationi.e.accordingt ot
hewi l
lofGod.I napr ivatemeet i
ngwi th
theleader soft hechur chatJer usalem,hepr esentedt hegospelt hathehad
beenpreachi ng.Hedoesnoti ntendtosuggestt hattheJer usalem leaderswer e
topassj udgementonhi sgospel .Itisnotnegot i
able.Thei ssueist hepractice
ofthemi ssion–t hewayt hemi ssionisf uncti
oningint hePaul inechur ches.
Aboutthis,t heleadersoft hechur chcoul dexerciseadi sruptiveforce,asPaul
showsi nGal ati
ans2:11–21.They, notthegospel ,arebeingjudged.

Along with Barnabas, a r espected di sciple, Paul brought Ti tus, an

uncir
cumcised GreekChri
stian.Titus was pr ooft hata gent i
le could be a
memberoft hepeopl eofGodwi thoutbeingci r
cumci sed.I
ntot heconf er
ence
room sli
pped in some false Christi
ans who want ed t o enslave Paulby
demandingthatTitusbecir
cumci sed.Paulr esolutel
yr ef
usedsot hatt
het ruth
ofthegospelmightbemaintainedf ort
heGal at
iansandot herGent il
econver t
s.
Toturnarit
uali
ntoademandi stodestroythegospel .

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NextPaulsummar i
zesthedel i
ber at
ionsoft hel eaders.Hedescr ibest hem as
thosewhoar ereput edtosomebody( v6)whi leatt hesamet i
mecal l
ingthem
pil
larsofthechur chin(v9).Althought heset ermsar enotder ogative,theyare
givenadisparagi ngorbel i
ttl
ingmeani ngwhenPaulobser vesthatt heleaders’
reputat
ion means not hi
ng to him ort o God.These l eader s demanded no
additi
onalrequirementf orPaul ’
smi ssion.Theyr ecogni sedt hathehadbeen
entrust
edwi t
ht hegospelt ot hegent il
esj ustasPet erhadbeenent rustedwith
thegospeltot heJews.Ther ef
er encet o‘thegospelt ot heunci rcumci sed’and
thegospelt o‘theci rcumcised’doesnoti mpl ytwodi fferentgospel s:theone
gospelispreachedt odi f
fer
entgr oups.

Asasi gnoft hisresolut

ionoragr eementatt heconfer
ence,theJerusal
em
l
eader sextendedtoPaulandBar nabasthe‘ri
ghthandoffell
owship’
,apract
ice
signi
fyingfri
endshipandaccord.Alt
houghthel eader
smadenoot herdemands,
theyrequestedthatPaulcoll
ectanof f
eri
ngfortheeconomical
lydepri
vedofthe
Jerusalem congregat
ion.Thi
she,waseagert odo( see1Cor16: 1-
4andRom
15:25-28).

Theconf rontat i
oni nAnt iochGal atians2: 11-21
Aftert heconf erence,Cephas( Peter )visit
edAnt i
och.Ther eachur chhadbeen
founded wher e gent il
es had been accept ed intot he lif
e oft he chr i
stian
communi t
y( Act s11: 19-26).WhenPet erar r
ivedhepar t
ici
patedi nthemeal sof
thecongr egat ion.Thesewer emeal swher eJewi shandgent i
leconver tsat e
toget herwi t
houtr egardt oJewi shf oodl aws.Lat erwhensomemessenger sof
Jamesar rivedatAnt i
och, Peterwi t
hdr ewf rom t hemeal s,becausehef earedt he
partisansofci rcumci sion.Thesear eper hapst hegr oupidentifi
edwi ththef alse
christiansofGal atians2:4.Butt heunnamedpeopl efrom Jameswer eprobabl y
mor emoder ate.Theyr ecognisedt heJer usalem agr eement ,butbel i
evedt he
peopl eofGodneededani dentityt hatwoul dsett hem apar tfrom thepagans.
Followi ngthel eadofCephas,t her estoft heJewsoft heAnt iochchur chj oi
ned
i
nhi shypocr isy– aki ndofpl ayact ingr athert hanhonest y.EvenBar nabas,
Paul ’
sassoci ateingent i
lemi ssionwascar r
iedawayt oo.PaulopposedCephas
pointbl ank,‘WhenPet erhadcomet oAnt iochIwi t
hstoodhimt ohisf ace.’(Gal
2:11)

WhenPaulchar gedCephaswi t
hcompel li
ngt hegent il
estolivelikeJews,he
i
mpliedthatCephas’ wi
thdrawalwasequi val
entt orequir
ingtheGent i
lest okeep
Jewishr ulesi nordertopar ticipateint hecommuni t
y.Paular guest hatthe
JewishChr ist
iansknow t hataper sonisnotbr oughti ntotherightrelati
onship
wit
hGodby‘ worksofthel aw’ butbyf ait
hi nChr i
st.‘
From thewor ksoft helaw,
noonewi l
lbedecl ar
edrighteous’ (Psalm 143:2) .WhenPaulsayst hattheJews,
i
n being j usti
fi
ed,ar efound t o be sinner s,he means t hatt he f actthat
ri
ghteousnessi sbyfait
hhast heef fectofputtingJews, l
ikegentil
es,outsidethe
l
aw( Gal2:15) .Thisact
ion,whi chi denti
fi
est heJewsassi nners,however ,does

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notmeanthatChristisaminist
erofsin,si
ncet
heJews( bef
orefai
th)wer
e
al
readyi
nactual
it
ysinner
sinneedofGod’sgr
ace(
seeRom 2:
17-24)
.

Argument sformt hescr ipture3: 6-

18
Paulbegi nsbyquot i
ngGenesi s15ver se6.Godpr omi sedAbr aham thathe
woul dbef at
herofmanydescendant s.Inr esponse,Abr aham hadf ait
hi nGod
andsohewasr egar dedasr ighteous.Abr aham wasdecl aredtober ightwith
Godsol elyont hebasi soff aith.Interpret
ingt het ext,Paulconcludest hatitis
throughf ai
tht hatpeopl ebecomedescendant sofAbr aham.Thear gumenti s
suppor t
edbyar eferencet oGenesi s12: 3t ogetherwi t
hGenesi s18:18,whi ch
sayst hatinAbr aham al lthenat i
onswi llbebl essed.Byf ai
thpeopleshar ethe
blessing ofAbr aham.Accor ding t o Paul’sar gumenti n Galati
ans2: 16,one
cannotbej ustifiedbywor ks,andt helawshowst hatt hosewhof ailt
okeepal l
commandment s ar et r
ansgr essor s,undert he cur se thatt he law decrees.
ThroughChr ist’si dentif
icationwi thus,wear eident i
fiedwi t
hAbr aham sot hat
wear enotcur sed, butshar ethebl essing:thepr omi seoft hespir
it
.

Givingoft hel awver sust hecomi ngoft hef aith.

Sincet helawcannotsuper sedet hepr omi se, forwhatpur poset henwasi tgiven?
Itwasaddedbecauseoft ransgressions,i .e.t oi ncr easet respasses,‘ Mor eover
thel aw enteredt hatt heof fensemi ghtabound’( Rom 5: 20) .Mor eovert hel aw
wast empor aryi nf orceunt ilthetrueof fspringshoul dcomeandi nferior,asi t
wasgi venbyangel st hroughani ntermedi ar y.Thei nt er medi aryi sMoses,and
thepr esenceofani nt ermedi aryshowst hatther evel at ionwasnotdi rect.I sthi s
i
nf eri
orl aw agai nstt hepr omises?I nspi teofevi dencet ot hecont r
ar y,Paul
declaresavi gorous‘ No’ .Thel awser vesadi fferentpur posei nt heeconomyof
God.I tcannotdowhatt hepr omisedoes:t ogi vel ife( cfRom 7: 10)i nsteadt he
l
awi mpr i
sonspeopl eundert hepowerofsi n( Rom 3: 9)unt i
lt het i
mewhent he
promi semayber ecei vedt hroughf aith.Bef oreChr istcame( Gal4: 4)
,t hel aw
funct i
onedast hehousehol dslavewhosuper visedt hedi sci plineoft hechi ld.
Butnow t hatf ait
hhascome,wear enol ongerundert hi ssl ave,buthave
becomechi ldr enofGodt hroughf aithi nChr ist( seeGal4: 5- 7andRom 8: 14)
–fullmember si nthehousehol dofGod.Paulr emi ndst heGal atianst hatt hey
hadbeenuni tedwi thChr i
st( Gal2:20).Invi ewoft her esultingr elationshi pwi t
h
God, why, Paulasks, woul dt heGalatianswantt or etur nt othepr evioussi tuation
–t oslaveryundert hepower l
essandwor t
hlessel ement alf orces.ThusPaul
present sast artl
ingar gumentt hatt osubmi tt ot hel aw i st or eturnt ot he
sit
uat i
onofpagani sm.

Theallegoryofthetwosons4:21-31
Paulpr esents a concl
uding argumentf rom scri
ptur
e.He addresses the
Galati
ansast hosewhodesi retobeundert helaw,thati
s,t oyi
eldtot he
teachi
ngoft hetroubl
emakers.Paulref
erstonarrat
ivesfr
om Genesi
schapters
16;17and21,aboutt hetwosonsofAbr aham – onebyasl avewomanand

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anotherbyaf reewoman.I nter

pr et
ingtheallegory,Paulsayst hetwowomen
symbol isetwocovenants.Theslavewoman( Hagar )representsthecovenantat
Sinai–t hecovenantofthelawt hatisobservedint hepr esentJerusal
em (see
Gal4: 25).Thechil
drenofthiscovenantar ebornintoslaveryundert helaw(Gal
5:1).Thesecondcovenant( 1Cor int
hians11:25)isrepresentedbyt heheavenly
Jerusalem thatembodi esthefreedom chr i
stiansalreadyenj oy.Accordi
ngt o
Paul,thiscityis‘Ourmot her
’–itstandsf orthenewcovenantwher ebypeople
becomechi l
drenofAbraham throughf ai
th.

Freedom andt hesl aver yoft heci rcumci sion.5: 1–12

Paulencour agest heGal atianst or esi
stensl avementt ot hel aw,norsubmi tt o
thedemandf orci rcumci sion.I ft heGal atianshavet hemsel vesci r
cumci sed
seriousconsequenceswoul df ol
low.Forone,Chr istwoul dbeofnobenef i
t.If
salvation requi rest hiswor koft hel aw,Chr istwho i st het ruegr ound f or
salvationdiedf ornot hing.Al sot hosewhor eceivecircumci si
onar eobl igatedt o
keept hewhol elaw ( seeRom 2: 25) .Theyputt hemsel vesunderar equirement
thatcannotbef ulf i
lled.Thosewhoar eseeki ngj ustifi
cat i
oni nt hiswayar e
separ ated fr om Chr ist.They have f allen f rom gr ace.The t rue way t o
ri
ght eousnessi st hrought hespi rit,whi cht heGal atianshaver eceivedbyf aith
(Gal3: 2)Thespi r
itist hedownpaymentonl ifeinthef utureandt hebasi sf or
thehopeofacqui ttali nt hef inaljudgement( Rom 2:5).Fr om t heper spect i
veof
fait
hi n Christ,circumci sion isamat t
erofi ndi
fference( 1 Cor7: 19).What
mat tersisfai thcomi ngt oexpr essi oni nl ove-notar equi r
edr itual,butawayof
l
ife.TheGal at i
answer eoncei nther i
ghtwaybutsomeonegoti nthei rway.The
persuasi ontoswer vef rom t het ruthoft hegospeldi dnotcomef rom Godwho
call
edt hem, butf r
om t het roubl emaker s.

Practicalinstructi
onstot hechurches
Maki ng use off amili
arpr overbs,Paulgi ves pract
icalinstr
ucti
ons on how
Christianscanl i
vebythespi r
it(Gal5:
25).Ifoneoft hemember si
scaughtupin
atrespass, per hapsalegalviolat
ion,t
hosewhol i
vebyt hespir
itoughtt
orestor
e
thatper sont ot hecommuni t
yi nanat t
itudeofgent l
eness.Sinceallbel
iever
s
endur edi ff
iculti
es,theyoughtt obearoneanot her’
sbur dens.Thisconcern
fulf
il
lst hel aw ofChr ist– thel aw,oflovet hathasnot hingtodowi thlegal
requirement s( Gal5:
23) .

Althoughbel i
ever
sar eunderobli
gati
ont oot
hers,theyarealsoresponsibl
efor
themsel ves.They mustavoi d arr
ogance (5:26)
,supposi ng thatthey are
somet hingwhent heyarenothi
ng.Eachoneshoul dexamineone’sownwor kto
seei fthereisanygroundforboasting.Ever
yoneshouldcar ryone’sownload.
Att hesamet imethosewhoar etaughtshouldshareprovi
sionswi t
hthosewho
teachthegospel(1Cor9: 4)
.

InGal
ati
ans6:7Paulquotesaf ami
li
arpr
over
b,“What
everonesows,onewil
l
alsor
eap.”Tosow t
ot hefleshmeanstodot hewor
ksoftheflesh;t
oreap

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corrupt
ionmeanst oeff
ectdestr
ucti
onanddeat h.Tosowt othespiri
tmeanst o
producethefrui
tofthespi
ri
t.Toreapeternall
if
emeanst oassumepar ti
cipat
ion
i
nt hecomi ngkingdom ofGod.Thi scause-and–ef f
ectrelat
ionshipshould
encouragepeoplenottogrow wearyindoi nggood,foratthepr operti
met he
outcomewi l
lbereali
sed.I
nt het
imethatr emai
ns,Chr
isti
ansshoul ddogoodt o
al
lpeople,butespeci
all
ytothehouseholdoffai
th–themember softhechurch.

Examinationtypequesti
ons
1.WhydidPaulwr it
et otheGal ati
ans?
2.Giveanaccountoft hear gumentsont hetwomai ntheori
esonthesett
ingof
Galati
ans.
3.Examinetheissuesr ai
sedatt heJerusalem conf
erenceandtheresol
uti
ons
thatwerepassed
4.ExaminePaul’sargumentont helawandf ai
thinGalati
ans.

Gobbet
s

Wri
teExpl anatoryComment sont hef oll
owi ng:
(
a)Afterhi m Judast heGal i
leanar oseint hedayoft hecensusanddr ewaway
someoft hepeopl eaf terhi m,heal soper ished,andal lwhof oll
owedhi m
wer escat t
ered.Soi nthepr esentcase.It ellyou, keepawayf r
om thesemen
andl etthem al one, f
ori fthispl anort hispl anort hisunder t
akingisofmen, i
t
willfail
.(Acts5: 37-38)
(
b)Hehadbeeni nstructedi nt hewayoft heLor d,andbei ngf erventinspir
it,
he
spokeandt aughtaccur atel
yt het hi
ngsconcer ningJesus,t houghheknew
onlyt hebapt ism ofJohn.( Act s18: 25).
(
c)Forbef orecer t
ainmencamef rom James, heat ewi ththegent i
les,butwhen
theycamehedr ew backandsepar atedhi msel f,fearingtheci rcumcisi
on
party.(Galatians2: 12)
(
d)Nowwe, brethren, l
ikeI saac, arechi l
dr enofpr omi se.Butasatt hattime.He
who was bor n accor ding t ot he flesh per secut ed him who was bor n
accor dingtot hespi ri
t,soi tisnow.( Gal at
ians4: 28- 29)

References
1)Baird.
W.Ar ti
cleHarper’
sBiblecomment ary,Coll
ins,1988
2)BetzH. D.– Galati
ans:A comment aryonPaul ’slett
ertot hechurchesin
Galati
ans Hermeneia.Fort
ress,1979.
3)BurtonE.D. – A Cr i
ti
calandExeget i
calComment ar
yont heEpist
letothe
Galati
ans.Int
ernati
onalCrit
icalComment aryEdinburg:Clark1921.
4)Howar dG.– Paul :Cr i
sisinGal at
ia.A studyi nEar lyChr i
sti
anTheology.
SocietyforNewTest amentSt udiesMonogr aphSer i
es,35.London;Cambr i
dge
Universi
tyPress1979.

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CHAPTER19
COLOSSI
ANS
Byt
heendoft
hechapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.Di
scusst
heaut
hor
shi
poft
heCol
ossi
ans

2.Expl
aint
het
hemeofher
esyi
nCol
ossi
ans

3.Under
standt
heant
i-her
eti
calar
gumentofPauli
nCol
ossi
ans.

I
ntr
oduct
ion

ThechurchinCol
ossaewasnotfoundedbyPaul,butbyEpaphr
as,adisci
pleof
theapostl
e,“Asyoualsolear
nedf rom Epaphr
as,ourdearservant
,whoi s

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fai
thfulmi ni
sterofChr i
stonyourbehal f.”Cor1:7Thel ett
erofPault othe
Colossiansmakescl earthattheColossi
ans“havenotseenmyf ace.
”(2:
1)and
thatPaulhasonl yr
eceivedr epor
tsaboutthem f
rom Epaphras,“
Sinceweheard
ofyourf ai
thinChri
stJesusandofyourl oveforal
ltheSaint
s”Col1:4.

Aut
hor
shi
p

Thelettert ot heCol ossianspr esent si t

selfasal etterwr i
ttenbyPaulwhi lehe
wasi npr ison:“Inow r ej
oicei nmysuf feri
ngsforyou- --
---
“Col1: 24.However ,
thelanguageandst yl
eoft helet terstronglysuggesti tspost -Paul ineorigin.
This means t hatt he lett
erappear st o have been wr i
tten af t
erPaul .The
peculi
ar i
ti
esofl anguageandst yl ecannotsi mplybeexpl ainedbyappeal i
ngt o
thespeci alsi t
uat i
ont hatPaulf acesi nhi sdebatewi ththeCol ossi anheretics,
especiall
ybecausePaul ’
stypicalvocabul aryisabsentf rom t hel ett
er.Terms
suchas:( righteousness;j ustif
icat i
onf reedom;l aw,bel i
eve;j usti
fy)whi char e
regul
arlyusedbyPauli npol emi calorar gumentat ivesituat i
onsar emi ssi
ngi n
thisl
etter.Col ossianswasmostl i
kelywr it
tenbyapupi lofPaulwhowant edt o
makesur et hataf t
erPaul ’sdeat hhi sapost ol
icaut hori
tyandpr esencewer e
conti
nuedi nPaul ’
smi ssionaryt errit
oryinAsi aMi nor .Thushewr itesaPaul i
ne
l
etter
,ver ymuchi nthemannerofPaulwhenhecoul dnotbeper sonallypresent
i
nhi schur ches( Col2:1and4: 7).Theaut horshowsacquai nt
ancewi t
hsomeof
Paul’
sl etters,especi al
lywi t
hRomans,( Romans6: 1-11i scompar ablewi t
hCol
2:11-
13)

TheSett
ingofColossians
Col
ossaewasaci tyinAsiaMi nor
,locat
edi nthevalleyoft
heLycusRi ver.It
wasorigi
nal
lyani mportanttradi
ngcent er
.Itwassoonover shadowedbyi t
s
nei
ghbori
ngcit
ies,Hier
opolisandLaodiceaanddi sappear
sfr
om hist
oryafterit
washitbyanearthquakeinaboutA.D.60.

Thepr
obl
emsi
nCol
ossae:TheCol
ossi
anher
esy

Thel et t
erpresupposesacr isissituati
oni nt heCol ossi anchur ch.Fal sechr i
stian
teacher shavei nfi
lt
ratedt hepr edomi nant lygent i
lechr i
stiancommuni t
yand
threatent osubver titsloyal tytoChr ist.Thesi tuationi sformal lyanal ogoust o
thati nGal at
ia,wherePaulal sohadt oi nsistonanexcl usivecommi t mentoft he
Galat i
anst o“ Chri
stalone”agai nstchr i
st i
ant eacher swhodeemedi tnecessar y
tosuppl ementt heconf essi ont oChr istwi t
hobedi encet ot heJewi shtorah.
However ,althoughbot hGal ati
ansandCol ossiansf ocusont heexcl usivit
yof
Chr i
stoveragai nstsuppl ement alr el
igiouspr actices,t heher eti
calf rontint he
twol et t
ersisquitedissimi l
ar .Tobesur e,Col ossi ansgi vesusnopr ecisepicture
oft heher eti
cst eaching.Thedi scussi ononher esyi nCol ossaei sinchapt er2
verse6t o23.I tsnaturesuggest sabl endi ngofvar iousr eli
giousel ement sviz.:
ascet ici
sm andmor alrigorism combi newi thf eaturesofesot ericrit
essi milarto
those pr acticed by myst ery r eli
gious. Thi s t ype of syncr etism was
char acteri
sti
csoft hePhr ygianr egionofAsi aMi nor ,wher eCol ossae, Hier
opol i
s

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andLaudi
ceawerelocat
ed.Schol
arshavetr
acedPhrygi
ansyncr eti
sm fr
om t
he
thi
rdcent
uryB.CtotheChrist
ianmovementcall
edmont anism inthesecond
centur
yA.
D.It
sasceti
cfeat
uresarementi
onedinCol2:16;18,21-23,bei
ng

Food;dr
ink;selfabasement;donothandl
e;donot
Tast
e;donott ouchand‘ri
gorofdevoti
on,sel
f-
Abasement,severit
ytothebody”

-
Ascet i
cism inr eli
gioust er
msr eferstoasever eself– denialf
orrel
igi
ous
purposes.
-
Rigor i
sm inrel
igioust er
msr eferstomoralstr
ictness.
-
Esoter i
cinreli
gioust ermsreferstosecretr
it
es.
-
Syncr eti
sm inr eli
gioust ermsr efer
sto a blending t
ogetherofaspectsof
di
fferentrel
igi
ons

Mor eover,ascet i
cism iscombi nednotonl ywi t
hmyst eryelement sbutal sowi t
h
otherki ndsofobser vance:angelwor ship;visions;festival;new moon and
Sabbat h.Thus,i tseemsl i
kelythatcertainj
ewi sh-hellenisti
cf eat ur
esf ormed
partoft hesyncr eti
sticmi x,alt
houghi tisdiff
iculttobepr eciseont hispoint.
Therei snopol emi cagai nstthetorahinCol ossians.Mor eover ,thewor shipof
angels( Col2:18)mi l
itat
esagai nstaJewi shoriginoftheCol ossianher esy.Iti
s
quit
e possi blet hatt he observance oft he calendari s notdue t o Jewish
practi
ces,butt ot hei nfl
uenceoft hemoon,god,“ Men” ,whowaspopul arinthe
Colossian region.Fi nally,itappear st hattheor igi
n ofCol ossi an heresyis
uncertain,yetitisthemai nproblem thatPaulwasf ight
ingi nCol ossae.

Comment aryont heant ihereticalpol emi c:Col2: 6-

23.
This uni tconst i
tut es t he cent eroft he l ett
er :t he ar gumenti nter t
wines
conf essionalst atement swi thant i-
hereticalar gument s.Thesect ionmustbe
dividedi ntot hreepar agraphsasf oll
ows:
vv.6–7:t hesever sesar eonChr isti
ani mper atives,encour agingt heCol ossian
Christianst or emai nst eadf astinf ai
tht oChr ist.
vv.8- 15:t hesever sesar ei ndicat i
veofGod’ svi ctoryi nChr ist.
vv.16- 23:t hesever sesexpoundont hefut i
lit
yoft heher eticaldemands.
Thekeyt ot heher eticalar gumentcanbesummar izedas“ Chr istalone” .Chri
st
represent snotonl yt het ot alfullnessofGodbutal sot heal l-suf fi
cientf ull
ness
ofl i
feandsal vat
ionf orchr i
stians.The“ Paul i
ne”gospeldoesnotpr oclaima
deficientChr i
st ol
ogy,ast heher eticschar ge.Rat her ,theher eti
cs’insist enceon
suppl ement i
ngChr i
stwi thot herdi vineagenci esconst i
tutesabet rayaloft he
tri
umphofChr i
st,becauset hosesuppl ement stot hegospelhonor ,inf actt hose
angel icpower sandpr inci pali
tiest hatChr i
sthasannul l
edi nhi sdeat hand
resur recti
on,“ Havingdi sar medpr i
ncipaliti
esandpower s;Hemadeapubl i
c
spect acleoft hem, triumphi ngovert hem i ni t
”Col2: 15.Andi fChristal onei sthe
exclusi vebasi sofchr i
stianl ife,thewor shipofpower si naddi ti
ont oChr i
st

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manif
estsar el
igi
ousanxietyanduncertai
ntyont hepar
tofchr i
sti
ansthat
cont
radi
ctst
hejoyfult
hanksgi
vingandknowledgeandwi
sdom ofchr
ist
ianl
if
e.

Therefore,i
mper at
ivesofexclusivecommi tmenttoChr i
staboundi nthissection.
These i mperat
ives are notl egal
ist
ic demands f orper f
ecti
on.Rat hert hese
demandsf l
ownat ural
lyfrom thepuregiftofGod’sl i
ber ati
ngactinChr i
st.Thus,
i
ti scl
eart hatthesect i
ons1: 9t o2:1-23const itutest hebasicdidacticand
thematicunitoft hel et
ter.Itconsist
soft woi nterrelatedparts:theChr i
stian
foundationfortheantihereti
calargumentchapt er1ver se9tochapt er2ver ses
5,andt hebasicanti-
hereti
calargumenti t
selfi
nchapt er2ver ses6t o23.

Thef
inalexhor
tat
ion:

Theexhor t
ationalchapt eremphasizesthequestforaholylif
e, “
Seekt hethi
ngs
thatareabove, setyourmi ndont hi
ngsthatareabove,notont hingsthatareon
earth.
”Theaut horst ressest hatthepresentlif
eofchr i
sti
ans,i n Chr
ist,is
nevert
helessahi ddenl ifethatmustawaiti
tsfullmanif
estati
onatt heparousia,
theend-t
imeappear anceofChr i
stwhenchri
sti
answillbejoinedt ohiminglory,
“WhenChr istwhoi sourl if
eappears,t
henyoualsowillappearwi thhi
mi nglory”
Col3:4.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1.Discussthedateandpur poseofColossians.
2.Whatwer etheprobl
emsi nColossae?
3.Howdi dPauldealwiththethemeofher esyinColossians
4.Discusstheantiher
eti
calargumentandt heexhor
tat
ionsofPauli
n
Colossi
ans

Gobbets
1)“Soletnoonej udgeyoui nfoodorindrinkorregar
dingaf estivaloranew
moonorSabbat hs”(Col2:16)
2)Bear i
ng wit
h one anot her
,and for
givi
ng one another,ifanyone has a
complaintagai
nstanother,evenasChristfor
gaveyou,soyoual somustdo.”
(Col3:
13)
3)“Takehidtothemi nist
rywhi chyouhaverecei
vedint helord,t
hatyoumay
ful
fi
lli
t.
”(Col4:
17)

Ref
erences

1)Bekar.J.C,Ar
ti
clei
nHarper’
sBi
bleComment ar
y,Coll
ins1988
2)Francis.F.OandMeeksW.A.–Conf l
ictatCol
ossaeMi ssoul
a,MT:Schol
ars
press,1975.
3)Lightfoot
.J.B–StPaul’
sEpist
lest
otheColossiansandtoPhilemon.
.Grand
Rapids,1959
4)Moule.C.F.D TheEpistl
esofPaultheApost letot heColossi
ansandt o

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Phi
lemon.Cambr
idgeUni
ver
sit
yPr
ess1957.

CHAPTER20
1THESSALONTHI
ANS
Byt
heendoft
hechapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.I
dent
if
ythemai
npr
obl
emsi
nThessal
oni
ca

2.Exami
net
het
ext
ualdi
ff
icul
ti
est
hatar
isef
rom Thessal
oni
ans

3.Expl
aint
hemayt
hemesi
nThessal
oni
ans

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4.Di
scussPaul
’
smi
nist
ryi
nThessal
oni
ca

Pr
eambl
e

Whatisofimportancei
nst udyingt
heepi
stl
et oThessaloni
ansi stheanalysi
sof
thePauli
net hemesi n 1 Thessal
oni
anst hatarefound el sewherein Paul’
s
epi
stl
es.Examinerswil
lalwayssetquest
ionsofacompar at
ivenat ur
e,r
equiri
ng
anunderst
andingandawar enessoft
hePaul i
nedoctri
nesthatar esharedby1
Thessal
oniansandotherepistl
es.

Intr
oduct i
on
Thef i
rstletterofPault otheThessal
oniansi sprobablytheear l
iestofPaul ’
s
l
et t
ers,wr i
tteni naboutAD50or51.Thessal oni
cawasoneoft hetwomost
i
mpor tanttradingcent ersi
nRomanGr eece.Ithadahar boront heTher mi
cGul f,
l
ayneart hemi dpointoftheViaEgnatia,andwast het erminusoft her oad
l
eadi ngupt ot heDanube.Al t
houghitwast heRomancapi t
alofMacedoni a,
Thessal onicar emai nedafreeGreekci
tywithitsowncounci landcur r
ency.Paul
hadf oundedt hechur cht
hereaf t
erpreachi
ngi nPhilippi(2:2)
.Act s17:1-10
picturesar elativelybri
efmissi
oninThessalonica.

Thepr
obl
em i
ntheThessal
oni
ca

Conf l
ictledt ori
otingandaccusat i
onsbef oretheci t
yof fi
cial
st hatPaulwas
causi ngtroublebypr eachi
nganot herkingt hanCaesar .Paulwr i
testoachur ch
composedofgent il
econver ts,afactthatcoi ncideswi thPaul’sassert
ionthat
hismi ssi
onwast ot hegent i
les(Gal2:9).IfActsi scorrectatleastinreport
ing
thatPaulwas suddenl yf orced outoft he city,the concer n evi
denti n
1Thessal onians2:17-18maybeduet oPaul ’
sunexpect eddepar t
ure.Unableto
return,PaulsentTi mot hynor t
hf rom At hens( 1 Thess3: 1-3).Timothyhas
rej
oinedPaulwi t
hagoodr eport
,atCorinth,aboutt hechurch.Thessaloniansis
thereforewr i
tt
eninr esponset othi
sgoodr epor t
.

Text
ualdi
ff
icul
ti
es

The mostdi f
fi
cultt extualquestion in 1Thessal oni
ans comes f rom t he
suggestionsofmoder nscholarsthat1Thessal onians2: 13-16ar eal at
er
i
nterpolati
on intot he l ett
er.The passage evokes t hanksgiving for the
Thessalonians’receptionofPaul’spreachingandt henl aunchesi nt
oahar sh
condemnat ionoft heJewsasJesus’ki l
lers,asenemi esofGodandGod’ s
prophetsandapost l
es,andasexper ienci
ngGod’ swr ath.AlthoughPaulcan
speakofhi sownsuf fer i
ngsatthehandsofbot hJewsandgent il
ese.g.in2Cor
11:26,and Rom 15: 31,and hasj ustsuff ered atPhi l
ippi(1 Thess2: 2)the
vi
ndicti
vet oneoft hispassagei snotchar act er
isticoftheapost le.Thehar sh
tr
eatmentoft heJewsi nthi
spassage,someschol arsar gue,woul dbel ess
surpri
singinaChr i
stianwr i
ti
ngafterthedest ructionofJer usalem inA.D.70.

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Someschol ar
shavear guedforanon-Paul
ineint
erpolati
onher eont hebasisof
comput eranalysi
softhelanguageofthi
ssecti
on.Theyi ndicat
et hatthesecti
on
ref
lects an amal gamati
on ofdi f
fer
entPauline expressions.Schol ars who
continuetot r
eatthispassageaspartoftheor i
ginallet
terinsistthatitref
lect
Paul’sresponsetoapar ti
cul
argroupofpersecut
or sfamili
artohi mselfandt he
audience.

Themai
nthemesi
n1Thessal
oni
ans

Thefol
lowingt hemesar efoundi nt heepi stletot heThessal oni ans:
1.Dest r
uctionoft hesi nner satt heend-t ime.2: 13-16t heJewi shandgent ile
beli
eversshal lbeexempt edf rom t hevessel sofwr ath,uponwhom t he
Lord’ssent encewoul dbel i
ket hatagai nstSodom andGomor rah.El sewher e
PaulspeaksofJudai zer sasenemi esoft hecr ossofChr istandpr edictsthe
destruct
iont hatawai tst hem ( seePhi l3:18-19) .
2.Sexualimmor al
ity4:1-8
-Paulhast aughtthem t hatChr i
stianl ifer equiresabandoni ngt hesexual
immor al
ityandl ustt hatJewi shmor ali
stsassoci at
edwi tht hepaganwor ld.
Mar ri
agewasnott obeanoccasi onf orl ust .Adulteryiscondemnedi n1
Thess4: 6.
3.Mut uall
ove4: 9-12
-Paul expands on t he t heme of mut ual l ove. He encour ages t he
Thessaloni anst oli
veal if
eofqui etness,mi ndingone’ sownaf fair,foll
owing
theApost les’exampl ebywor king witht hei rhandsso ast o command
respectanddependonnoone.
4.Hopef ort hedead4: 13- 18.
-TheThessal oniansmayhavet houghtt hatt hedeadhadl ostt hepossi bil
ity
ofsalvationwhent heLor dr eturns.ButPauldescr i
besdeat has“ sleep”.The
deceasedhavebeensnat chedf r
om t hewor l
doft hel i
ving;gr i
efshoul dbe
moder atedbyt her ecogni t
iont hatnot hingf rom thiswor l
dcant oucht he
dead.

Paul
’
sMi
nist
ryi
nThessal
oni
ca

Paulremi ndshisr eader

soft heexampl ehehadseti npr eachingamongt hem.
Heusest heimager yofaphi l
osophicpreacher
,whoseconcer ni stonur t
ur ethe
soulsofhumanbei ngsandt urnthem awayf r
om sl averytof alseopi nions,
valuesandpassi onst othetruth.Paulalsowantstor emi ndtheThessal onians
thathismi ssionwasdi ffer
entf r
om otherpopularpreacherswhomi ghtf l
atter
andmani pulatet heiraudiencest omakemoneyf rom suchpr eaching.Paul
preachest hegospelhehasbeengi venbyGodi nthef aceofgr eatopposi ti
on
andhar dship(2:1-5).

Paulusest
heimagesofanur seandafathertodescri
behisworkamongt he
Thessal
oni
ans.Theseimageswer efr
equentl
yusedbyPhilosopher
sofPaul ’
s
daytoshowhowt het
ruephil
osopherwouldvaryhi
sstyl
eofspeechfrom har
sh

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scoldi
ngtogent leencour agementandconsol ati
onast heneedsoft heaudience
changed.Paulhasi ntensif
iedt heseimagesi ntwoways:Hedescr i
beshimsel f
asagent l
enur setakingcar eofherownchi ldr
en,notmer el
ysomeoneel se’s.
Beforeheintroducest hei mageofaf ather,Paulmakesi tcl
earthathislovefor
theThessaloniansgoessof arthathei swill
ingtosharenotjustthegospelbut
“Ourownsel ves”.Paulshar eshi mselfbyl abori
ngathi strader at
hert han
requir
ingthecongr egat i
ont osuppor thi m.Paulconcl udeswitht hekindsof
speechhehadusedi nencour agingtheThessal oni
anst oli
veliveswor t
hyof
God.Inaddi t
iont osuchpr eaching,Paul’
sownl i
feandconduct ,whichishol y,
ri
ghteousandbl amelessismeantt obeanexampl efol
lowedbyhi sconverts.

Exami
nat
iont
ypequesti
ons
1)Whydi
dPaulwri
tethelet
tert
otheThessal
oni
ans?

2)I
dent
if
yanddi
scusst
hef
ourmai
nthemesi
nThessal
oni
ans?

3)Di
scusscr
it
ical
lyt
het
ext
ualdi
ff
icul
ti
esi
nThessal
oni
ans

4)Di
scusshowPauldeal
twi
tht
hef
ourmai
nthemesi
nThessal
oni
ans

Gobbet s
1)“ Fort hiswesayt oyoubyt hewordoft hel or
d,t
hatwewhoar eali
veand
remai nunt ilt
hecomingoft heLordwillbynomeanspr ecedet hosewhoare
asleep.”( 1Thes4:
15)
2)“Butl etuswhoar eofthedaybesober,putti
ngonthebreast
plateoff
ait
hand
l
oveandasahel metthehopeofsalvat
ion.”(1Thes5:
8)
3)“ Donotdespi sepropheci
es,testal
lthings,holdf
astwhatisgood,abstai
n
from ever yfor
m ofevi
l.
”(1Thes5:20-
22).

Ref
erences
1)
Best.E,TheFi
rstandSecondEpistl
est
otheThessaloni
ans,NewYork,1972.
2)
BruceF.F,1and2Thessal oni
ans.Worl
dBibl
icalCommentary,45.Waco,TX,
word1982.
3)
PerkinsP.Ar
ti
cleinHar
per’
sBi bl
ecommentar
y, Col
li
ns1988.

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CHAPTER21
JAMES
Byt
heendoft
hechapt
ert
hest
udentshoul
dbeabl
eto:

1.Under
standt
hatt
hel
ett
eri
stheocent
ri
crat
hert
hanchr
ist
ocent
ri
c

2.Di
scusst
het
hemesoff
ait
handl
ove

3.Expl
aint
her
elat
ionshi
poft
hef
ri
endshi
pbet
weenGodandhumanbei
ngs.

Pr
eci
s

Thel ett
ersofJamesi snotaPaul ineletter
.Thismeanst hatthelet
terwasnot
writ
tenbyPaul .Prof
essorPhemePer kinsclassifi
esthislett
erunderwhathe
call
s,thegener all
ett
erstothechur ches”.Thismodul ewi l
lconcentr
ateonthe
themeoff ait
handwor ksi
nor dertoenablethest udentt
ocompar eitwithot
her
l
ettersont hesamet hemee. g.Hebrews 11;Romans4;andGal ati
ans 3.Any
tentati
vequestionthatexaminersmaysetont hislett
erwi l
lbeacompar ati
ve
onebasedont hethemesoffai t
h,worksandt helaw.

I
ntr
oduct
ion

Thelett
erofJamesi samor alexhor
tat
ionint hefor
m ofagener allett
er.Li
ttl
eis
knownabouti t
si ntendedr
eaders.Thegreetingisdirectedtothet welvetri
besin
thediaspora.Thoughi twouldappeart oindicateaj ewish-christi
anaudi ence,
thepracti
cescondemnedandt heatti
tudespr escr
ibedwoul dnotsui tsuchan
audi
ence.Itsaut horisnotclear.Neit
herar ewecer t
ainwhet hert heauthoris
Jamest hebrotherofJesusorapseudepi grapher

Thet eachi ngofJamesi sgener alratherthanpar t

icular.Iti st r
aditional.Iti s
mor alr athert hant heological.It
semphasi sisonr i
ghtact ingr at
hert hanright
thinki
ng.Hecont rasts‘fai
th’and‘ works’.Heset sempt ybel iefi nopposi ti
ont o
l
ived pr acti
ce.James’per specti
vei st heocentr
icr athert han chr istocentric.
“theocent ri
c”means‘ based on God’ ,whilechristocent ri
cmeans‘ based on
Chr i
st’.Jesus’ nameappear sonl ytwice.Themessi anicconvi ctionsconcer ning
Jesus’deat h and r esurrection arel acki
ng int he l ett
er.Hi s per spect i
ve i s
theocent r
icbecauseexpl i
citstatement saboutt heGod,who cr eat es,calls,
blessesandj udges, suppor tJames’ mor alexhort
at i
ons.Heseest womeasur es
forhumanbehavi our:(one)t hemeasur eofGodwhocr eatesal lthingsand( two)
themeasur eof‘ thewor l
d’t hatresi
st sGod’sclaim oncr eat ion.Jamescal ls
adher encet ot hesetwomeasur es‘ f
ri
endship’.Thismeanst hatonecanei ther

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beaf r
iendoft hewor l
doraf ri
endofGod, andactaccor dingly.James’specifi
c
i
nteresti sthedoubl e–mi ndedpersonwhowant st olivebybot hmeasur ersat
once,conf essi
ngcommi tmenttoGod,butcont radictingiti naction.James
encour ageshi sreaderstomatchaccor dwithconvi ct
ion.Jamesi sremar kabl
e
foritsposi t
iveappropri
ati
onofthetorah,whosesepar at easpectsitmediatesto
themessi aniccommuni t
y.Jamesal soaf f
ir
mst hel aw,cal l
ingit‘thelaw of
l
iberty’(2:12).Hedoesnotmeanr i
tualobservancesbutt hemor alteachi
ngof
torah,summar izedbythedecalogueandt hel awofl ove( Levit
icus19:18).The
l
etterofJames,bei ngamor alexhortat
ionasi tis,emphasi zespr acti
calfait
h
andact ivelove.

Comment ar y
TheLawofGod’ sKi ngdom:2: 1-13.I nt hi
suni tJamescr i
ticizest hepr act iceof
treating di fferentl
yt he rich and t he poori nt he same assembl y.James
condemns t he bl at ant di scr imi nati
on. Member s of t he assembl y gi ve
precedencet ot her ichandsl ightt hepoor( 2:3)
.James’ object i
onhast wobases:
First,abi ast owardt her i
chcont radi ct
st heor i
ginalexper i
enceoft hemember s
oft hechr istiancommuni ty.I nt heirlivesitwast her i
chwhooppr essedt hem by
draggi ngt hem i ntocour tandwhoscor nedt hei
rr el
igion(2:6-7) .Bysodoi ng, t
he
ri
chact edconsi stent lybyt hei rmeasur eofr eali
ty.ButJames’ reader shadbeen
givenanot hermeasur e.Godhadchosent hepoori nt hewor ld’sest i
mat iont obe
‘
rich wi thr espectt of aith,and hei r
s oft he kingdom. ’
(2:5) .How coul d an
assembl ygat heredunderGod’ sr uleacti naccor dwi tht hewor l
d’smeasur e?
James’secondobj ect i
veist hatt heir‘respectf orappear ances’hasl edt hem t o
betrayt hei rf ai
thi nJesusChr i
st( 2:1).Heaccusest hem ofbei ng,asar esult
,
j
udgeswi thevi ldesi gns( 2: 4).Theconst antpr incipl
eshoul dbet hatdeci sions
mustbemadewi t
houtpar tial i
ty.Judgeswer enott obeswayedbyappear ances
butbyt hemer itsofacase.Buti ft her ichar egi venspeci alplacesi nt he
assembl ybecauseoft heirl ordlyappear ance,t hecommuni tyi scorrupt ingi ts
j
udgement .I tbet rays f aithf i
rstofal l,because t he ver y basi sf ort he
communi ty’sexi stencei sGod’ schoi ceoft hepoor ,socommuni tyshoul dhave
thesamepr eferencef orthepoort hatGodhasshown.

Li
vingf
ait
handl
ove:James2:
14-
26

ForJamest hecontr
asti
sbetweenaf ai
ththati
smer el
yverbalandonet hat
showsi tsli
feinacti
on.Thefict
iondi
aloguein2:18-
23stri
kesthepoi ntt
hat
fai
thwi t
houtworksisempty.Deedsrathert
hanspeechcarryconvict
ion.The
examplei sframedonJames2: 14,17byi tsspecif
icappl
icat
ion:thatfai
th
withoutdeedsisdead.

Li
kePauli nGal
ati
ans3verse6,Jamesci
tesGenesis15verses6toshowt hat
Abraham wasdeclar
edr
ighteousf
orhi
sfait
h(2:
23),butheaddshisdist
incti
ve
i
dentif
icat
ionoft
hosewhol i
vebyGod’smeasur
e:Abr aham wascal
led“fr
iend

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ofGod:(4:4).AndasJamesexpl i
cit
lyment i
onst he“sister
”inneed( 2:15),sohe
addsthef emaleexampl eofRahab,whosehospi tali
tytoI srael’
sspi esenact ed
herimpli
citresponseoff ai
thinIsrael’
sGod( cf .Josh2: 9-13) .InJewi shl ore
Abraham andRahabst andassymbol sofhospitali
ty.Somer eadersf indJames
tobeatoddswi t
ht hePaulofGal ati
ans.ButPaulwoul dsur elyagr eet hatwhat
matter
si sfait
hbei ngwor kedoutbyl ove( Gal5:6).Thei rfocus,t obesur e,is
quit
ediff
erent.Jamesi snotdebatingthetheologicalgroundsf orsal vati
on.He
advocat
esat r
uereligi
on,whi chheunder st
andsasef fecti
veact ionf orot her
si n
theworld. InAbr aham’ sofferi
ngofhi ssonI saac( Gen22: 9)f aithcamet o
perf
ecti
oni nacti
on.Hi sactionwast heintr
insi
cexpr essionoff ait
hi tself
.

Fr
iendshi
pwi
thGod.James3:
13-
4:10

Thehear tofJames’wri
ti
ngandt hekeytoitsunderstandi
ngar efoundi nthi
s
unit
.I nthisunitwemeetagainthedouble-
mindedper son(4:8)contr
astedto
thesimplegenerousGod(4:
6);t
herever
salworkedbyGodsot hattheproudare
l
ower edandt hehumblearer ai
sed;andawi sdom from Godopposedt oa
wisdom againstGod(1:
5;3:
15).Inawor d,Jamesput sbeforehisreadersthe
choicebetweent womeasur
esanddemandsoft hem achoice:wil
litbeGodor
theworld?Onecannotbeatt hesametimeaf r
iendoft heworl
dandaf r
iendof
God( 4:
14).

James’specifi
ct argetthroughoutthel ett
eristhedouble-
mindedper sonwho
wantstobe“ fr
iendswi t
heveryone”,t
ol ivebybothmeasur esatonce.James’
i
ndict
mentdemandsoft hispersonact i
ont hatconfor
mswi thknowledge:“do
younotknow? ”(4:4).Hedemandsacl eansi ngofthehandsandpuri
fyingofthe
heart
,whichmeansbecomi ngsingl
e-mindedr at
herthandouble-
minded,li
ving
byGod’sstandardr atherthatt
hewor l
d’s.

In hisf i
nalexhor tati
ons,James makes sever alr emarkabl
e statements
concerningther el
ationshi
pbet weenGodandhumanbei ngs.Byturni
ng,toGod,
the evilspiritcan be r esi
sted and made tofl
ee (4:7)
;God can then be
approachedbyhumans.Mor esur pr
isi
ngl
y,Godr
espondst osuchini
ti
ativeand
drawsnear( 4:8)
.I ndeed,Godanswer sthosewhohumbl ethemselvesbefore
him,givi
ngt hem gif
tsand“ rai
singthem up”
.

Concl
usi
on

Li
fei
ntheCommuni
ty5:
12-
20

TheletterofJamesconcludeswi ththenumberofsepar at
eexhort
at i
onswhose
organi
zingpr i
nci
pleis,l
if
etogetheri nthechurch,withaspecifi
cf ocusont he
soughtofspeecht hatshouldobt ainintheMessi ani
ccommuni tyi.
e.plain
speechwi thoutt
akingofoaths( 5:12).Themessi aniccommuni t
yi salsoone
consti
tutedbyprayer.James’reader saret
herebyr emindedthattheirl
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boundbymor et hanmut ualaff

ectionaboveal ltheirsharedrel
ati
onshipwith
God.Thecommuni tyistheref
oret orespondt ot hreatsofsicknessorsinby
gatheri
nginpr ayer
.Thecommuni tyisthreatenedevenmor epowerf
ull
ybyt he
si
ns ofi ts member s. The confessing ofsi ns,t heref
ore,accompanied by
prayersforeachothernotonlyrestoresthedevi antindivi
dualt
ospiri
tualheal
th
butitalsohealsthecommuni t
yassuch.( James5: 16).

Exami
nat
iont
ypequest
ions

1)Discusstheauthorshi
p,dateandpur poseofJames.
2)WhatdoesJamessayaboutt reat
ingtheri
chandthepoor
?
3)Explai
nthemor alexhort
ationsinJames
4)Examinetheteachingonf ait
h,works,andl
oveinJames.

Gobbets
1)“Ifyour eall
yf ul
fi
llt
her oyallaw accordi
ngt othescri
ptur
e,‘
youshal
llove
yourneigbhourasyour self
’,youdowell”(Jam 2:8)
2)“Andt hetongueisaf i
re,awor l
dofiniquit
y”(Jam 3:
6)
3)“Thusf ai
thwithoutworksi sdead.
”(Jam 2:17)

Ref
erences

1)Dibeli
usM.-James:Acomment ar
yont heepist
leofJames.
Hermenia.Phi
ladel
phia,1976.
2)JohnsonL.T,Art
icl
einHar per’
sBibleComment ar
y,Coll
ins,1988
3)LawsS.Acomment aryont heepistl
eofJames.SanFr ancisco:Harperand
Row, 1980.
4)MayorJ.B.Theepistl
eofSt .James,3rdedi
ti
on..London.Macmi l
lan1910

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CHAPTER22
PROPHECYANDTHENEW TESTAMENT:
THEZI
MBABWEANCONTEXTI
NPERSPECTI
VE.

ADI
SSERTATI
ON,C.
K.Mhur
i

Chapterobject
ives
Aftercompleti
ngastudyofthischapter
,thestudentshouldbeableto:
(a)Exami ne t
he appli
cabi
li
tyoft he phenomenon ofpr ophecyint he New
Testament.
(b)DiscusstheZimbabweanreli
gionsinthecontextofprophechy.

Compet
enci
es
- theabi
li
tyt
osynt
hesi
zei
nfor
mat
ion.

- t
heabi
li
tyt
oputupi
nfor
mat
iont
oget
her
.

- t
heabi
li
tyt
oappl
yinf
ormat
ion.

Int
roduction
Arguably,theout erandt heinneri mpr essionsoft heconceptof“ prophecy”in
theNew Test amenti snol ongerasi twer eintheol dt estament .Int heOld
Testamentt het erm issi mplyappl i
edt osomenamedf igures( e.g.Moses,
Samuel ,Eli
jah;Amos;Hoseaet c),butint heNewTest amentt hetermi susedby
i
nferenceoncer tainf i
gures,particularl
yJesusChr i
standJohnt heBapt i
st.
Thereisani mpl i
edchangeoft heconcept ,especiall
yi nthemet hodol ogyand
practi
ceofpr ophecyi nt heNew Test ament .Paulment i
onst het erm“ prophet”
i
nt hef i
rstepi stl
et otheCor inthi
ans,butdoesnotgi veanypar t
icularnames.
Hencet hefigur eswhomaybeci t
edaspr ophetsint heNewTest amentmaynot
equateeasi l
ywi t
ht hoseintheOl dTest ament .Butnonet helesst herei sneedto
emphasi se thatt he phenomenon ofpr ophecy continued t hrough t he New
Testamentt imesi nanot herform.

I
ntheNew Test
amentcont
ext
,pr
ophecycanpossi
blybevi
ewedasaher
it
age

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thatst artedwi thJohnt heBapt istandJesusChr ist, andthenl at ert ransmi t

tedt o
theapost l
esi nthepost -Christer a,orwhatsomemaycal ltheApost oli
cAge.
Whenpr ophecyi sviewedi nt heapost oli
cAge,i ti sher ewher ewebegi ntosee
thecont empor aryZi mbabweanr eli
gi onfitti
ngi ntot hecont extofpr ophecy.The
par allels of t he pet ri
ne par adi gm of pr ophecy,coul d be f ound among
Zimbabweanapost olicsect sandt hePent ecost alchur ches.Whati swor rying
though,i st hequest i
on ofspi ri
tpossessi on whi ch weseei n someoft he
renownedf igurest heapost olicsect s.Itisnotcl eart othei nvest igat orwhet her
thespi r
itisi nducedori sinher ent ,sincei nsomecases,al otofsi ngingand
danci ngi sdonebef orethef igurest art
sper formi ngmi r
acl es.Fur ther mor e,iti s
notsayt odet erminewhet hert hespi ri
ti sofGodorsomet hingel se.Int he
Pet ri
neandPaul i
nepar adigmst hewhol eat mospher ewassoberandsi mpl e.
Ever yt hi
ngwasdonesi mplei nthenameofJesus.TheApost olicsect sandt hei r
char ismat i
cf iguresbegi nt omaker elevanceatt hatst age.TheZi mbabwean
chapt erofpr ophet i
sm i smesmar isedwi thspi ri
tpossessi on,i nducedbehavi or
andl anguagemachi nati
onst hatwi llper suadet heschol art or egar dt hewhol e
thing asr emi niscentof ,ifnotemul ation f rom t hepr ophet icgui ldsoft he
classi calOl dTest amentt i
mes.I tisevenpossi blet oenvisage“ school soft he
spirit”amongt hePent ecostalchur chesandt heapost olicsect si nZi mbabwe.
Ther ef ore,ourst udyshal lbegi nbyexami ningt hef undament alpr inciplesi n
NewTest amentpr ophecyasevi dencedi nt heNewTest amentcanons.

Pr
ophecyi
ntheNewTest
ament

Therear everyfewt ext

sinbot
hthefourGospel
sandtheApost
oli
cAgeepist
les
thatallude tot he phenomenon ofprophecy i
nthe New Testament
.The
foll
owingt ext
scanbesi ngl
edoutf
ortheatt
enti
onofourst
udy:
Mat t
hew 7:15-23
Mat t
hew 11:9b-14
Mar k 9:38-41
Luke 7:26;28
Acts 2:19
1Cor i
nthians12:3;14:1b
1John2: 22

‘
Prophet s”intheNew t estamentcontextcanpossiblybedef i
nedas“ Manof
Godi nact i
on,ful
fi
lli
ngthewor koftheFat her
.”Pr
ofessorRegi naldFuller(1988)
portraysJesusast heNew Moses.Someschol arsbelievethatwhenMoses
promi sedthecomi ngofanot hergr
eatprophetli
kehimsel f(Deuteronomy18: 18)
hewasact uall
yreferri
ngt othecomingofJesusChr i
st.ButFullersayst hatthe
prophet i
cdimensionofJesuswast obei ntheful
fil
li
ngoft heTor ahofMosesi n
thef orm ofanew r ighteousnessthatisbasedonl oveandbr ot her
hood.Thi s
betterr i
ghteousness woul d make any one a true “man ofGod” ,hence a
“prophet.”

TheNewTest
amentt
exti
nLuke7:
28;andMat
thew11:
9b,however
,impl
ythat

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Christwoul dbet helastpr ophetofgr eat erreputeaf terJohnt heBapt ist.Of

thosebor nofwomenonl yJohnt heBapt istwouldber eputedasapr ophet( Luke
7:26;28).Onl yhewhoi st hesmal lestint heKi ngdom ofGod( JesusChr ist)
woul d beagr eat
erpr ophett han John ( Matthew 11: 11).Prof essorFr ed B.
Craddock( 1988)expressedt hatJesuswasEl ij
ah-li
keascompar edwi tht het ext
i
n 2 Ki ngs1: 18.ButR.H.Ful l
ersaw Jesusasa Moses- l
ikef igur e.Bot h
exegetesconcurt hatJesusi ndeedwasagr eatpr ophetoft het ime.Butf r
om
Jesus’wor ds,Johnt heBapt istwast heEl ij
ah,ashewasi ndeedt hegr eat
prophetwhowaspr ophesiedi nt heOl dTest amenti nMal achi3: 1-
2; 4:5-6,that
hewoul dcomebef or
et hemessi ahtopr eparehisway.

Whatweseef rom theaf

ore-
goi
ngisthatonlyJohnt heBaptistandJesusChrist
aret he prophet
s ofacceptabl
e authenti
cit
yi nt he New Test ament.Their
prophecywasmar kedbyadvocacyandt hepracticeofthenewr ight
eousness.
Inthi
sr egardJohnbaptisedwit
hwat erandpr eachedrepentance,whil
eJesus
bapti
sedwi thfi
rebutperf
ormedmessianicdeeds.

In cont empor ary Zimbabwean r eli

gions we see desper ate eff
ort
si n both
mai nstream and Pent ecost alchur ches and apost ol
ic sectst o preach and
bapt i
seaswast hecasei nthet imeofJesus.Whatt heypr eachisthenewTor ah
ofChr istwhi chemphasi sesl oveandbr ot
her hood.Ther efor
e,byt hedef i
nit
ion
ofpr ophecywhi chwegotf rom t heJohn-Christscenar io,ourardentpriestswho
seekt oadher etot helet
terandspi ritofChristiani
tycanar guablybevi ewedas
“manofGod”( prophets).Itisnol onger“prophet s”int heexactmanneroft he
OldTest ament ,butt heNew Test ament .However ,itisi mportanttonot ethat
thoughchur chandsectpr iestspr acti
cethebapt ismalpr ophecy,itisonlyt he
bapt i
sm bywat er,aswasJohn’ s, butnobapt ism byf ir
easwasJesus’ ,whichis
exper i
encedi nourchur ches.Per haps,thi
sexpl ai
nswhyJesushasbecomea
uniquepr ophet,withnoot herpr ophetexactl
yl ikehi m,afterhim.

Butt he mir
aculous healings and exor cisms t hatare popul aramong t he
apost ol
icsect
scanbear guedt ober emi niscentofthemessi anicdeedsoft he
prophetJesus.I nt heZi mbabwean br oadcasted reli
gions,such f igur eslike
EmmanuelMakhandi wa;BlessingsChi zaoft heEagleLifeAssembl i
es;Andr ew
Wut awunasheoft heFami l
yofGod Fel lowship;Freedom Sengwayo oft he
AfricanApostoli
cFai th,EzekielGut ioft heZAOGA chur chandmanyot hers
whom youcanr emember ,per f
or medsi mi l
armessianicdeedsaswasi nt he
ti
meofJesusandaswasi ntheapost olicera( t
hePaul ineer a).Theref or
e,for
academi cpurposesandf rom ani ntel
lect ualpointofviewt heconcl usioni sthat
i
ft hewor ksofJesusar etobecl assi
fiedaspr opheti
cbyt heirnaturet hesame
att
r i
butecanbemadef orthewor ksoft heaf orementi
onedf i
gur esinZimbabwe.
This,however,isnott osayt hatanyoft heabovef igureswer eMessi ahslike
Jesus.Nohumanf i
gurecanbeequat edt oJesusChr ist
,thesonofGod.

InActsoftheApostl
es2:
19thegif
toft
hespir
itofGodwaspoureduponthe
disci
plesofChr
istandt
heybecameapost
lesofmight
yworks.Tosi
ngleout

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some, PeterandJamesbecamemi racleworkersofr epute.Thef amousheal i

ng
oft hebl indbeggaratt heBeautif
ulGat einJer usalem wasat tri
butedt othe
poweroft heLor d.I ti
st hesamescenar i
owhi chweseei ncasesl ikePastor
Chr is,Makhandi wa;Mwazha;Chi zaandot hers,whoat tr
ibutetheirhealingsto
thenameofJesus.Wemustnot ewi thoutreservati
ont hattheNewTest ament
par adigm ofpr ophecyhasnopar all
elwi t
ht het r
adi t
ionalAfricanr el
igionof
n’angas, izangoma, midzimu,mashavi ;amadloziandwhathaveyou.Tot ryand
relatet heset oChr i
sti
anpr ophet
ism wi llbeaf ar-f
etchedat tempt ,ifnotan
i
nt ellectualmast ur bati
on.Theydonotat tr
ibutetheiractst oJesusChr i
storthe
Hol ySpi r
it.Ther
ef ore,t
heycannotbepr ophetsinaChr i
sti
ansense.

In 1 Corint
hians12: 3 and 14: 1 Paulemphasi sed t heissueofpr ophesyi ng
amongt hebel i
evers.Buthest r
essedt hatt hegi ftofpr ophesyi ngwi llonlybe
foundi ntheHol ySpi ri
t.Whi l
emanyoft hebel i
ever shavenow associ atedt he
gif
tofspeaki ngi ntongues( whichi sver ycommoni nPent ecost alchurchesi n
Zimbabwe) ,withprophesyi ng,Pauldi stinguishest het woandevendown- gr ades
speakingi ntongues.Hear guedt hatpr ophecyi smor epr eferablebecausei t
contri
butesmor etot hebui l
dingupoft hecommuni t
y.Thosewhospeaki n
tongueshaver ecei
vedt hisgiftfort heirownspi r
itualuplif
t,wher east hosewho
prophesyedi fy,comf ortandt eacht hewhol eassembl y.Fi orenzaE. S.(1988)
expounded on Paul ’
sar gumentt hat,int hei nterim time,when speaki ng in
tonguesandot herpropheticgi ft
sar eincompl et
e, threegif
tsr emai n.Thesear e:
fai
th,hopeandl ove.Butl ovest andssupr emeast hemostexcel l
entgift.Thi s
againsumsupt henew r ighteousnesspoi nti nt hepost -Christpr opheti
cer a.
AndPaulbel ievedt hat,becauseofi tscommunal ,communi cativechar acter,
propheticspeakingismor ethanspeaki ngi nt ongues.

Theaboveargumentmustbeexercisedi
nthedichot
omybetweenspeaki
ngin
tonguesincontemporar
yZimbabweanreli
gionandthepr
acti
ceofprophet
ic
actsint
hewiderrel
igi
ouscommunit
y.

Asummat ivepositi
onf ort hi
sdissertat
ionisthatpr opheti
cmani f
est
ati
onsin
theform ofaher i
tagef rom Johnt heBaptistandJesusChr i
standthelat
er
apostl
es,areevidentwi t
hi nthecontemporaryreli
giouspr act
icesi
nZimbabwe,
butthetradit
ionalAfri
canr eli
gionlacksaclearrelati
onshipwi t
htheChri
stand
post-
Chri
stpr ophet
icpar adigm.

EXAMI
NATI ONQUESTI
ONS
1.Prophecyi
ntheNewTest
amenthastakenanewdi
mensi
onf
rom t
heOl
d
Testament
.Howval
idi
sthi
svi
ew?[25]

2.Di
scuss t
he vi
ew thatChri
sti
ans sti
llobser
ve t
he phenomenon of
pr
ophecyasanaspectoft
hei
rrel
igi
on.[
25]

3.Discussthevi
ew thatcontemporaryZi
mbabweanrel
igi
ondoesnotf
all
shortoft
hepropheti
ccharact
erofthebi
bli
calt
imes[
25]

Tur
n-UpCol
lege‘
A’LevelDi
vini
tySt
udyPack
 Page245

4.Apost
leshi
p and pr
ophet
ism may be t
wo faces ofthe same coin.
Exami
net hi
sviewwit
href
erencet
otheZimbabweancontextofr
eli
gion.
[
25]

REFERENCES
1.CraddockF.
B. Luke,
Emor
yUni
ver
sit
y,At
lant
a,Geor
gia,
1988

2.Culpepper.R.A.1,2,3John,Sout
her
nBapt
istTheol
ogi
calSemi
nar
y,
Louisvi
ll
e,Kentucky,
1988.

3.Donal
iueJ.RMar k,Jesui
tschoolofTheologyatBer
kel
eyandGr
aduat
e
Theol
ogicalUni
on,Berkel
ey,Cal
if
orni
a,1988

4.Fi
orenza-
E.S1 Cor
int
hians; Havar
d Uni
ver
sit
y, Cambr
idge;
Massachuset
ts,
1988.

5.Ful
lerR.
H. Mat
thew,
Vir
gini
aTheol
ogi
calsemi
nar
y,Al
exandr
ia,
Vir
gini
a,
1988

6.Holl
adayC.ActsCandl
erschoolofTheol
ogy,Emor
yUni
ver
sit
yAt
lant
a;
Georgi
a,1988.

Tur
n-UpCol
lege‘
A’LevelDi
vini
tySt
udyPack