BS-103
Quiz 2

Handouts #07, #08, #09 & #11

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Week 4

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May 16 - 21, 22
14 15 16 17 18 19 20 quiz
Points 40
Due May 22, 2022

Handout 07

Handout 08

A. In general, what is an OT covenant / ANE treaty?

In brief, a covenant or treaty is a solemn, binding, sworn agreement between two parties. It governs their relationship until one of the parties dies.

The fact that OT uses the same word for covenant and for treaty tells us that, even if there are some differences between a covenant and a treaty, nonetheless, they are generally very similar.

Covenants/treaties were used in the world of the Old Testament, often called “the ancient Near East” (ANE).

The ancient Near East is mainly the nations surrounding Israel during the time of the Old Testament, such as: Egypt, Babylonia, Assyria, Moab, Edom, Philistia, etc.

Covenants and treaties governed the relationship between nations, and sometimes between individuals. To be more precise, a covenant or treaty usually bound one king to another king.

In the modern world …

We find covenants in the Old Testament as well as in the greater ancient Near East. The OT refers to covenants between individuals (Jacob & Laban, Gen 31; David & Jonathan, 1 Sam 20). There are also covenants/treaties between kings (such as Solomon & Hiram, 1 Kings 5:12).

B. Why is it important to understand the nature of Old Testament covenants?

Because in the Old Testament, there are not just covenants between persons or between kings, but between humans and God. These covenants are important for understanding what God is doing, and how He wants us to live and to relate to him.

Covenants are not vague theological ideas. Rather, they provide structure, definition and explanation to the overall question of what is going on in the Old Testament. And they are the key to understanding how the Old Testament applies to Christians.

C. The Major OT Covenants:

The major covenants in the Old Testament are:

For now we are just listing them. We will come back to them in H/O #09.

D. In Specific: What is a “Covenant”? [Hebrew: be·rît’ ]

The lecturer wrote his doctoral dissertation (May, 2000) on this topic.

A good short definition of a covenant is:

A covenant is a life-long unchangeable solemn agreement between two designated parties in which one or both of them make an oath-bound pledge to the other to continue to perform a specified commitment or else suffer the wrath of God.

It is vital to observe that a covenant always involves a promissory oath; promissory oaths have two features:

  1. A solemn pledge sworn before God (the gods) to perform a specified ongoing commitment.

  2. There is a curse invoked upon the person taking the oath. The curse invites the lethal wrath of God (the gods) upon the person taking the oath if he/she should break the oath.

Q: If a covenant always contains an oath, is there any difference between a covenant and an oath?

A: Yes there is. The difference is that a covenant contains a pledge to continue to perform a specified commitment. An oath, in and of itself, does not have a such an ongoing pledge.

The essence of an oath is that …

E. Are all covenants basically alike?

While all covenants share certain common features (a lifelong oath-bound unchangeable commitment, etc.), there are nonetheless meaningful differences among them. In the Old Testament, we find three ‘kinds’ of covenants:

  1. A “Parity” Covenant / Treaty. A parity covenant or treaty was between two parties of essentially equal strength. In parity treaties, both kings take an oath to each other, and the terms are very balanced, often identical. The kings refer to each other as “brothers.”

    A famous ANE parity treaty was between Pharaoh Ramses the Great and the Hittite King Hattusilus III. It was made at Kadesh (in modern-day Syria, near Lebanon), in 1258 BC. Archaeologists have found both the Hittite language and the Egyptian hieroglyphic version of this treaty. In the Old Testament, two examples of parity treaties are: (1) the treaty between Solomon and Hiram, the King of Tyre (I Kings 5:1); and (2) the treaty between Ahab and Ben-Hadad of Syria (I Kings 20:32-34).

  2. A “Vassal” Covenant / Treaty. A vassal treaty is not between to kings who are equals. They are between a stronger king (also called the sovereign, or the great king), and a weaker king. The weaker king is the vassal.

    The general meaning of the term "vassal" is a person who serves and does the will of another, stronger person.

    In a vassal covenant / vassal treaty, the vassal swears an oath to perform specified services to the stronger king. The oath places him under the threat of destruction if he fails to do so. The vassal refers to himself as the servant of the great king. He refers to the great king as his ‘father’; the great king refers to the vassal as his ‘son’. This sort of covenant/treaty is well known from the world of the Old Testament.

    The benefit to the great king was …

    The benefit to the lesser king was …

    If the vassal violated the covenant …

    We have examples of vassal treaties in the Old Testament. Ezekiel 17:11-15 explicitly mentions one.

    Also, such a treaty was almost certainly involved in the plea of King Ahaz (of Judah) to the king of Assyria to rescue him from Aram / Syria (“I am your servant and your son … now save me from the king of Aram …”; 2 Kings 16:7).

  3. A “Promissory” Covenant / a “Royal Grant”. In a promissory covenant, the stronger member freely grants a benefit on behalf of the weaker member. However, such grants are not given at random. Rather, they are given to people who have already served the king well. Nonetheless, they are given freely; the king was not required to do so. It is not part of a deal, so to speak.

    Among the nations which were near Israel in the times of the Old Testament, such promissory covenants are called …

F. Important Clarifications about Covenants: How they do and do not work:

  1.  

    1. They do not expire. But neither are they automatically eternal. Rather, they last until one of the parties dies.

    2. However, they can be broken. This can end the covenant.

      In 1 Kings 15:19, Asa (king of Judah) offers a bribe to Ben-Hadad (king of Syria), to break(!) his existing treaty with Baasha (king of N.# K. Israel), so as to make a treaty with him (Asa).

    3. Even a covenant with God can be broken and come to an end, if the earthly party is disobedient and breaks the covenant.

  2.  

    1. The terms of a covenant do not change. They are locked in. You cannot add to them or subtract from them.

    2. The basic dynamics of a covenant do not change.

      That is, a gracious promissory covenant does not change into a vassal-like covenant; neither does a vassal-like covenant change into a promissory covenant.

  3. The covenant is between the two parties who formed the covenant, so covenants do not ‘transfer’ from one party to another.

    Even when a vassal king dies, and his son succeeds him, the covenant does not transfer to the son. That son must affirm the terms of the covenant himself; he must personally swear the oath.

  4. What binds the parties in a covenant together is the oath.

    The parties might or might not be friends; that does not matter. They are bound, they are obligated, by the oath they took.

  5. Covenants are fundamentally bilateral, or two-sided.

    1. Even in vassal treaties that are heavily one-sided, there is always some element or expectation of responsibility or obligation on both parties.

    2. In the end, they are entered into by agreement; they are not imposed unilaterally.

    3. It is inaccurate to call a covenant “unconditional.” There is always some expectation of response or obligation on the other party.

  6. The covenants in the OT might not line up with ANE treaties exactly; there are some differences. But they are close enough that it makes sense to use the same word for both of them.

G. How do these different types of covenants pertain to the major OT covenants?

We will elaborate on this in H/O #09. For now we just want to state which OT covenants resemble what sort of ANE treaties & covenants.

H. Some Important Conclusions So Far:

Handout 09

A. The Purpose of this Handout:

In Handout #08, we briefly mentioned the five main covenants in the OT. The present handout describes those covenants in more detail, and shows from the OT why we understand them the way we do. Knowing which covenant is which, and knowing who are the earthly parties of each covenant, is the key(!) to understanding how the OT does, and does not, apply to Christians.

Of these five covenants, the two which are the most important for understanding how the OT applies to Christians are:

  1. the covenant with Abraham, and
  2. the Sinai covenant.

B. The Five Major Covenants in the OT :

As mentioned before, the five major covenants in the Old Testament are:

We will now look at each one, in the order that they appear in the Bible.

C. The Covenant with Noah and the Whole Earth [Genesis 8:20 – 9:17]

The main provision of the covenant with Noah is that → God will never again destroy the world with a flood. This applies to all human beings, whether they are Israelites, Gentiles, believers or unbelievers, Christians or non-Christians.

So in terms of figuring out what in the OT does apply to Christians versus what does not, we may move on to the other OT covenants.

D. The Abrahamic Covenant:

Main OT passages:

Genesis chapters 12, 15, 17, 22, also 50:24; Exodus 2:24, 3:15-17, 6:2-8; Psalm 105:7-11, 42; Jer 33:23-26; Micah 7:18-20.

In the NT, see:

Luke 1:55, 72-73; John 8:31-59; Acts 3:24-26, 13:26-48; Rom 4:9-17; 15:7-12; Gal 3:6-14, 15-29; Heb 6:13-20.

By Genesis chapter 11 …

Then in Genesis 12 …

God promises, in general, that He will bless Abraham and his seed, and that his presence will be with them. After that, there are three specific main promises that God makes to Abraham and his seed in this covenant:

  1. God will …

  2. God will …

  3. God will …

This third promise …

Some important observations & clarifications regarding the Abrahamic covenant:

  1. It is often assumed that the Abrahamic covenant is “with the nation of Israel,” but this is not accurate. The Abrahamic covenant is with “Abraham and his seed.” It is never said to be between God and “the sons of Israel,” i.e., Israel-as-a-nation.

    “The sons of Israel” –

    The “sons of Israel” and the “seed of Abraham” do overlap, but the Old Testament never fully equates them with each other. This is why it is important to note that the promises to Abraham are not said to be with the "sons of Israel," but rather, they are to "Abraham and his seed."

  2. The sign of the Abrahamic covenant is __ (Gen 17).

    • It is the sign that there is a covenant between God and Abraham & his seed.
    • It symbolizes the change of heart needed for an individual person to be rightly related to God.
    • Negatively, a person who rejects circumcision has broken the covenant. A person who refuses to be circumcised will be kicked out of the covenant community (Gen 17:14).

  3. This covenant is guaranteed by the oath of God. However, it is possible for individuals to scorn it and therefore to fail to inherit its blessings (see esp. Gen 17, Ps 37 & Ps 50:16-23).

    Genesis 18:19, Gen 22:15–18, and Gen 26:5 refer to the conditions needed to be blessed by this covenant. Therefore it is misleading to call it “unconditional” without explaining what you mean. It is better to say that the covenant has conditions, but that it also comes with a guarantee from God that some people will(!) believe and will be(!) blessed.

  4. This covenant does provide that a remnant (a physical remnant) of Abraham’s physical offspring (i.e., the Israelites) will inherit the promises. So Israel will endure as a nation/people group. And a remnant of them will also be believers (a believing remnant).

  5. However, nowhere does the OT promise that all Israelites will inherit the Abrahamic blessings. Rather, Israelites who scorn God will perish (see e.g. Exod 32:33, Ps 50, Isa 1, Micah 2:5).

    The NT agrees with this; see John 8:31-47, and Romans 9:1-8, 27-29.

  6. Similarly, nowhere does the Old Testament ever state that Gentiles will not share in the promised land; rather, several passages indicate that Gentiles will also inherit it.

    See Ps 37 & 87; Isa 14:1-2; 19:18-25; 49:6; 56:3-7; Ezek 47:22!; Zech 2:10-13; Zech 8:22-23; Mal 3:16-18, 4:1-3.

    Sometimes Christians assume …

  7. This is why God calls Abraham …

    Paul applies this expression directly to believing Gentiles in Romans 4:16-17.

In sum:

The Abrahamic covenant guarantees that God will bless Abraham’s “seed.” That “seed” is all who believe, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. And there will be(!) a believing remnant of Abraham’s physical seed (Lev 26:44; Jer 31:35-37; 33:19-26) who will inherit the blessings promised to Abraham.

E. The Sinai Covenant:

Exodus 19-40 (esp. chs. 19–24); the book of Leviticus, part of Numbers and most of Deuteronomy.

At Mt. Sinai, Israel-as-a-nation enters into a covenant with God for the first time. In this covenant, Yahweh offers Israel that if they worship him alone as God, obey him fully and keep his covenant, then out of all the nations they will be his “special people / special treasure” (Exod 19:5:6), and he will bless them greatly.

The Law (= the 10 Commandments and the rest of the laws) are the stated requirements of this covenant. The sign of this covenant is the Sabbath (Exod 20:8-11; 31:12-17, + also Num 15:32–36).

To be specific: If(!!) Israel honors God and obeys the laws:

Some Clarifications regarding the Sinai Covenant and the Law:

  1. This covenant with its laws was never given to be …

  2. The fundamental laws of God (honor God, love your neighbor, no murder, theft or adultery, etc.) did not originate with the Sinai covenant. They reflect God’s unchanging nature & character. They were true before the Sinai covenant, during the Sinai covenant, and they remain true today.

  3. The Law, by implication, condemns us all as sinners, and shows our need of God’s forgiveness. However, it was not given only for that purpose. When Israel honored God and obeyed the Law (as under Joshua, Solomon, Josiah, etc.), Israel was blessed, just as God had said.

  4. The Sinai covenant is what the Bible refers to as …

    The Outcome of the Sinai Covenant between God and Israel:

    Although there were times when Israel served God well and enjoyed the blessings of the Sinai covenant,

    Israel was generally unfaithful to God. Israel eventually broke the Sinai covenant (Hos 8:1; Jer 11:10, 31:32; Ezek. 44:7). God then executed the curses of the covenant, destroyed Jerusalem & the temple, and kicked Israel out of the land (587 B.C., by Nebuchadnezzar & the Babylonians).

However, the Sinai covenant did not come to an end then. Hebrews 8:13 says the “old covenant” ( = Sinai) is “obsolete, and is passing away”, which means that it had not quite yet passed away as of that that writing.

G. How the Sinai Covenant is Different from the Abrahamic: [Note also Galatians 3 & 4.]

  1. In the Sinai covenant, Israel makes the pledge, and so …

    In the Abrahamic covenant, God takes the oath, and so …

  2. The Sinai covenant is with Israel as-a-nation, collectively. They get blessed, or punished collectively.

    The Abrahamic covenant involves Israel, and guarantees a remnant of Israel, but was not with Israel as an entire nation. It is with the __ , not the __ .

  3. In the Sinai covenant, God explicitly offers to bless Israel …

    The Abrahamic covenant promises to bless “Abraham’s seed’. But nowhere does it say that …

  4. God offers to bless Israel as a nation “right here, right now,” in the Sinai covenant. In contrast, the ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic blessings is clearly in the future.

  5. Since the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant endure forever and are guaranteed by God, the Abrahamic covenant is eternal.

    The Sinai covenant (the book of Hebrews calls it “the old covenant”), on the other hand, can come to an end if Israel breaks it and God invokes the curses.

    Your prof thinks it ended in __ .

H. The Covenant with David and his Son:

2 Sam 7:8-16 = 1 Chron 17:7-14; 2 Sam 23:5; 1 Kings 2:1-4, 6:11-13, 9:3-9; Ps 72, esp. v. 17; Ps 89, Ps 132; Isaiah 9:6-7; 11:1-5; Jer 22:15; chs. 31-33, esp. 33:14-17; Ezek 34:20-24; 37:24-28; Amos 9:11-12

After David became king of Israel (2 Sam 5), God spoke to him through the prophet Nathan. God told him that He was going to “build a house for David” (2 Sam 7:11–16). God promised him that:

Psalm 89 and 132 look back on this and call it God’s covenant with David.

Some Important Observations and Clarifications about the Davidic Covenant:

  1. Like with the Abrahamic covenant, in the Davidic covenant it is God who pledges himself, who “swears” to David; see esp. Ps 89:3-4, 34-35. Therefore the Davidic covenant is …

    But did God fulfill this promise through one of Israel’s wicked kings?

    Therefore, the Davidic covenant has a condition:

  2. Unlike the Sinai covenant, this covenant is not with Israel; it is with …

  3. The covenant is not with David’s sons (plural), but with David’s __ .

  4. The Davidic covenant guarantees an eternal kingdom to David and his son (singular!). But it is entirely possible for there to be …

    See 1 Kgs 2:1-4, 9:3-9; Jer 22:15.

    That is why Amos tells us that God will return and will “restore David’s fallen tent” (Amos 9:11-12).

I. The New Covenant:

Main Passages:

Jer 31:31-34; Ezek 36:25–28; also Deut 30:1-10; Ps 119; Isa 51:1-8, esp. v. 7; Joel 2:28-32.

In the NT:

Luke 22; 1 Cor 11; 2 Cor 3; Heb 8.

The New covenant accomplishes two main things (Jer 31:31-34)

  1. It writes …

    Which means:

    This is sometimes described as … .

    or else as …

  2. It provides …

    It does what Hebrews 10:4 teaches us that the blood of animals could never do: it takes our sin away, once & for all.

    The New Testament teaches that Christ’s death inaugurated the new covenant. In specific, his death was the “blood of the covenant”; i.e., it was the sacrificial death which ratified the new covenant and put it into effect. All genuine Christians, whether Jews or Gentiles by birth, are heirs of the new covenant.

J. How Do these Covenants Apply to Christians?

We will address this question directly in Handout #27, “How does the OT apply to Christians?”

Handout 11

A. How the Pentateuch Sets the Stage for the Historical Books:

In the Pentateuch –

The book of Exodus records the Israelites being freed from their slavery and being brought out of Egypt (“the exodus”) under the leadership of Moses. They then arrived at Mt Sinai, where they entered into a covenant with God (the “Sinai covenant”), and received the Law. This is described in the books of Exodus and Leviticus.

From there, they send spies to spy out the land. But the nation does not trust God, is afraid to enter the land (Num 13 & 14). So God decrees that they will spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness, until the entire generation that did not believe God dies off ( Num 26:63-65). That wandering takes place in the book of Numbers.

In the book of Deuteronomy, the 40 years of wandering has ended, and the new generation of Israelites has arrived at the Plains of Moab, just east of the Jordan river. Moses then speaks to them. He reminds them of what has happened, he repeats many of the laws, and he exhorts them to trust and obey the Lord. God designates Joshua to be the next leader of Israel (Deut 31:14-23, + Deut 34:9). Then Moses dies (Deut 34:5-8).

So as of the end of the Pentateuch –

The nation of Israel is camped on the Plains of Moab, just east of the Jordan River. Joshua is now their leader, and they are ready to enter the promised land.

Q: Will Israel honor & obey Yahweh, and receive the blessings of the Sinai covenant, or will they disobey the law, scorn God, follow other gods, incur his judgment, and be ejected from the land?

B. By Way of Definitions, what are the OT “Historical Books”?

The OT Historical Books –

The OT Historical books are the books that pick up at the end of the Pentateuch. They record the ongoing history of Israel, and what God does with and through and to Israel, until the end of the OT era. They naturally divide into two main groups:

  1. The “pre-exilic” historical books = the books written before the exile to Babylon. These are the books that record the events from the end of the Pentateuch until the exile; and –

  2. The “post-exilic” books = the books written after the exile to Babylon. These are the books that record the events from the exile until the end of the OT era.

C. The Pre-Exilic Historical Books:

The pre-exilic books are: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Your prof sometimes abbreviates them as: “JJ-SS-KK”. Since the book of Ruth falls during the time of the Judges, it is also a pre-exilic book. Here is a summary of the time period and the main events for each of these books covers:

Joshua

The book of Joshua records the entry to the land under the leadership of Joshua. God and the Israelites drive the nations out and take much of the land. Israel is generally faithful to God, and things go well.

Judges

The book of Judges covers the period after the life of Joshua, but before Israel had kings. This is the time when ‘judges’ led Israel. Among them are: Ehud , Deborah, Gideon, and Samson. During this period, things began to go badly; Israel was not faithful to God. There came to be a pattern, a cycle:

Disobedience → leads to judgment → Israel cries out to Yahweh → He raises up a deliverer → they have a time of rest → more disobedience → leads to more judgment.

Judges 2:10-19 summarizes this cycle. Over the course of the book of Judges, things gradually get worse, not better.

Ruth

The book of Ruth takes place during the time of the Judges (Ruth 1:1). An Israelite woman, Naomi, moves to Moab with her husband and her two sons. One of her sons marries Ruth, a Moabite. Before long, Naomi’s husband and her two sons die. When Naomi returns to Israel, Ruth comes with her. In Israel, God provides a husband for Ruth, named Boaz.

The book of Ruth shows us Israelites who are faithful to God (Boaz), and a Moabite woman (Ruth) who embraces the God of Israel. And it looks forward to the birth of King David.

1 Samuel

In 1 Samuel, Israel gets its first king, Saul. Saul starts well (1 Sam 11), but he disobeys God at two significant points (1 Sam 13 and 15). As a result, God rejects Saul. David is chosen and anointed by Samuel (1 Sam 16). Saul tries to kill David (1 Sam 23), but never succeeds (Ps 18). Saul dies at the end of 1 Samuel (ch. 31).

2 Samuel

2 Samuel describes David’s reign over Israel. God promises David that a son of his will reign forever ( = the Davidic covenant, 2 Sam 7). Solomon is born.

1 Kings

Early in 1 Kings, David dies, and Solomon becomes king. In his early years Solomon builds the temple, and presides over its dedication.

But Solomon has too many wives, and they distract him from serving the Lord. As a consequence, right after Solomon’s death, the nation of Israel divides into two kingdoms (1 Kings 11):

The division of the kingdom take`s place in 931 BC.

The rest of the book of 1 Kings follows these two kingdoms for about 80 more years, until the death of King Ahab (he was an evil king of northern kingdom Israel). This is the time of the prophet Elijah.

2 Kings

The early chapters of 2 Kings are the time of the prophet Elisha.

The book of 2 Kings follows the spiritual decline of the northern kingdom until it is judged by God. And so it is defeated by Assyria in 722 BC (2 Kings 17).

The rest of the book records the account of Judah, and its eventual spiritual decline, until it is judged by God. And so it is defeated in 586 BC by the Babylonians under King Nebuchadnezzar. Jerusalem and the temple are destroyed.

2 Kings ends, then, with Judah being dragged off into exile to Babylon. This is what God had warned them would happen if they scorned him, worshipped other gods, violated the laws, and thus broke the covenant.

Summary of the Pre-exilic Books:

JJ-SS-KK & Ruth describe the history of Israel, and of God’s working with Israel –

from → the time Israel entered the land under Joshua (approx. 1400 BC);

until → Judah was kicked out of the land and taken into exile to Babylon (586 BC), because they were unfaithful to Yahweh God / because they broke the Sinai covenant.

D. The Post-Exilic Historical Books:

The post-exilic books are: 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther.

Here is a summary of the time period and the main events which each of these books covers:

1 Chron

1 Chronicles begins with nine chapters of genealogies which trace the lineage of the Israelites from Adam(!) through Noah, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, down to the time of David. The first event recorded is the death of Saul (ch. 10). The last event recorded in 1 Chronicles is the death of David.

2 Chron

2 Chronicles begins with the reign of King Solomon (chs. 1-9), and then the division of the kingdom when Solomon dies (chs. 9 & 10). Like 1 & 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles traces the history of northern kingdom Israel and of southern kingdom Judah until each is defeated.

It records the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians and King Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC.

It ends with Judah being taken into exile for 70 years (2 Chron 36:20-21).

However(!), 2 Chronicles records one more very significant event that occurred near the end of the 70 years in exile. It records the decree of the Persian King Cyrus (who conquered Babylonia) that the Jews may return to Judah, and may rebuild a temple for their God in Jerusalem.

Thus while 2 Kings ends with Judah being dragged off into exile, 2 Chronicles ends with the decree that they may return home.

Ezra

The book of Ezra has two main sections:

Chs. 1-6 record the re-building of the temple. It was completed and dedicated in 516 BC.

Then there is a 60-year gap between chs. 6 and 7.

The book of Esther takes place during this time period, during the '60 year gap'.

Chs. 7-10 resume the action. They begin in 458 BC, when Ezra the scribe returns to Jerusalem from Babylon. The rest of the book deals with the practical and religious problems that Ezra confronted in Jerusalem.

Nehemiah

The book of Nehemiah flows right on from the book of Ezra. It begins in 445 BC, when Nehemiah receives permission from the king of Persia (King Artaxerxes) to return to Jerusalem to help rebuild its walls. There is opposition from the local Samaritans (ch. 4), but eventually the walls are rebuilt (ch. 6). The rest of the book deals with the ongoing moral and religious problems that Nehemiah faced dealing with the Jews in Jerusalem. The story line in Nehemiah ends at approximately 430 BC. Chronologically, Nehemiah is the last of the historical books in the Old Testament.

Esther The book of Esther dates to approximately 480 BC, during the reign of the Persian King Xerxes.

Note: the OT calls this Persian king "Ahasuerus," which reflects the king's Persian name; "Xerxes" is what the Greeks called him, and is what he is usually called in the west.

As mentioned above, chronologically, the book of Esther takes place during the ‘60 year gap’ in the book of Ezra. The story takes place in Susa, the capital city of Persia.

King Xerxes is looking for a new queen, and eventually chooses Esther (ch. 2). He does not know that she is Jewish. There comes to be a plot against the Jews living in Persia, to kill many of them. Esther is able to appeal to Xerxes to help overcome the plot (ch. 7). The events recorded book of Esther are the origin of the Jewish festival of Purim (ch. 9), which celebrates the Jews in Persia being spared.

Summary of the Post-exilic Books:

1 & 2 Chronicles mainly re-trace Israel’s history up to the exile. But then 2 Chronicles adds the very important event that Cyrus, the king of Persia, decrees that the Jews may return to their homeland, to Judah, and may re-build the temple in Jerusalem.

Question:

Why are 1 & 2 Chronicles are considered “post-exilic”? Almost everything they record took place before(!) the exile.

Answer:

They are considered “post-exilic” books because they were written after the exile ended.

Then the other three post-exilic books, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, record significant events and developments that happened with the Jews after the end of the exile, especially, the rebuilding of the temple (Ezra chs. 1-6).

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Lesson 20 • Psalms
Quiz 2
Handouts #07, #08, #09 & #11
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