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Kethuvium
- Highly diverse in content and literary form
- Represented varied responses to life in the post-exilic community
- Judah is no longer a nation, but a theocracy ("God-ruled" state) under an occupying power
- The "restoration" following the exile was the restoration of Jewish religion, not the Jewish state
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The Writings
- Devotional Poetry
- Priestly Histories
- Wisdom Literature
- Short Stories
- Apocalypse
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Devotional Poetry
Psalms and Lamentations
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Psalms
- The hymn book of the Second Temple (515 BC and following)
- Run the gamut of feelings from high praise to bitter complaint
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Lamentations
A series of 5 poems lamenting the fall of Jerusalem to Babylon
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Priestly Histories
- Ezra-Nehemiah and 1&2 Chronicles
- History told and reworked by priests leading post-Exilic Judah
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Ezra-Nehemiah
Rebuilding of Temple and Walls
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1 & 2 Chronicles
- Retelling the story of the Monarchy and divided the Kingdom (Samuel-Kings) from priestly perspective
- With Davidic Monarchy gone, became necessary to retell history emphasizing temple and priests
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Wisdom Literature
- Not dominated by priestly concerns; practical, commonsense advice
- Song of Solomon: An erotic love poem
- Proverbs: An optimistic treatise on "How to Succeed"
- Ecclesiastes: A cynical work questioning conventional wisdom
- Job: Vigorously attacks fairness of Deuteronomic formula
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Sages
Wise men often attached to king's court
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Short Stories
- Ruth, Jonah, and Esther
- All three placed in time earlier than written
- Represent 2 responses to crisis of assimilation
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Universalism
Ruth and Jonah
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Exclusivism
- Esther
- Only book in the bible with no direct reference to God
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Apocalypse
- Daniel is the only full blown Apocalypse in Old Testament
- Highly symbolic language conveys meaning of visions about the end of times
- Things are so bleak that God must intervene directly
- Last book of Hebrew Bible written
- Composed during the period of intense persecution
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