Daniel and the Problem of Evil

Please read Chapters 1-7 and 12 of Daniel carefully. Skim the rest.

Daniel is a favorite "Sunday school" book, a book filled stories the lend themselves well to teaching children. But Daniel is an adult book as well. What do you think is the most important or most interesting lesson Daniel teaches to adults?  How does the book add to human wisdom?

The Book of Job

Please read through Chapters 1-5, 19 and 37-42 of the Book of Job. In addition to addressing the problem of evil, what other wisdom does Job offer? Cite a verse or two you think would be particularly good to include in an anthology of ancient wisdom, and explain why you think this verse or these verses are particularly worth including.

Ezekiel

I am planning on covering *all* of Ezekiel in one easy class on on Thursday, April 10.  Please read my study questions on Ezekiel. Then read Chapters 1-12, 33, and 37 of Ezekiel itself. 

What do you find here that suggests that Ezekiel's message was a burden? Are there any passages that particularly well reflect hope, beauty, faith in the triumph of justice, or anything else that makes that burden worth bearing?

Jeremiah Chapters 1-28

Please read through my Jeremiah study questions and then as much as you can of the first half of Jeremiah. Be sure to read Chapters 16, 20, 23, and 28.

Suppose you are asked to help prepare an anthology of great quotations from the ancient world. There are going to be some Jeremiah quotes, and you get to make suggestions.  Of all of Jeremiah's many quotable line, suggest two or three you think particularly worth including.

Readings from Isaiah

Please read Isaiah 1, 6-9, 36-39,  and any two or three chapters of your choice from Isaiah 40-66.

Suppose you are asked to help prepare an anthology of great quotations from the ancient world. There are going to be several Isaiah quotes, and you are asked for your suggestions.

Of all of Isaiah's many quotable lines, what *two* would you single out as the best for inclusion in the anthology?  What would you say to the other compilers to persuade them that these are the quotes to include?

Amos

Please read these study guide questions on Amos and Isaiah and then all nine chapters of Amos. Choose one or two of the  first 13 study guide questions and suggest an answer to that question/those questions here..

I would be particularly interested in your comments on Amos' use of imagery. Do you find any of Amos' images particularly effective? Particularly disturbing?

II Kings 1-10, 17

Please read Chapters 1-10 of II Kings.  Please read also Chapter 17.  We'll be focusing on two themes: whether or not the story of Elisha has the makings of tragedy and whether or not the story of the nation of Israel as a whole has the makings of tragedy.

Greek tragedies stand out, not only for their overall message, but also for the many "gems" of wisdom and beautifully phrased insights into the human condition included in the choral passages.  Please cite here one or two lines from the assigned chapters that seem to you equivalent in function/form to the choral sections of Greek tragedies. If you don't think it particularly useful to view II Kings as tragedy, cite instead a line or two that you consider a good example of historical/biographical insight, or that reflects the prophetic character of the book.