A Companion to the Old Testament Writings

Donald W. Haynes

Description

The Jews divided their sacred writ into three sections—the Torah and Histories; the Prophecies; and the Writings. This book is about the writings—Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel. Their content constitutes in a special way God’s Word for our times. This is a companion to one’s reading of the Bible. For each book there is an introduction, a section on “history and setting”; then, “Looking at the Text,” “Eternal Truths in this book,” and “Golden Texts. “Eternal Truths” are essential contributions made in this book to our contemporary idiom and theological situation, especially in American culture

Sujets

• Inspirational
• Philosophie et théologie
• Jews
• Theology
• Religion
• History
• Prophecy

Informations

• Publié par: Xlibris US
• Date de parution: 28 novembre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781669836872
• Langue: English

Extrait

A Companion to the Old Testament Writings


VOLUME 3 OF THREE








Donald W. Haynes



Copyright © 2022 by Donald W. Haynes.

ISBN:
Softcover
978-1-6698-3688-9
eBook
978-1-6698-3687-2

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. [Biblica]

Scripture quotations marked NRSV are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, Copyright © 1989, by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Website

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.
Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.





Rev. date: 11/28/2022




Xlibris
844-714-8691
www.Xlibris.com
838203



With Thanksgiving and Grief






This book is dedicated



To


My beloved wife, Joan Parker Haynes,

who so lovingly supported the many hours spent in all my writings

for the sixty-five years of our marriage



and is now in our Father’s house



Preface
This book was originally the third section of a much longer volume entitled, Reading the Bible Again and Seeing It for the First Time and published by Xlibris in 2017 . This volume is “A Companion to the Old Testament Writings.” T his volume is smaller and is a companion to some of the most familiar and devotionally read books of the Bible—Psalm, Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations and books whose titles introduce us to some of our favorite biblical characters—Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel.
The Jews divided Holy Scripture into three sections—the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings. In this volume, we confine ourselves to the “Writings.” God inspired His revelation through an intriguing variety of literature—poetry, drama, biography, sermons, and philosophy. There is no substitute for reading the Bible as “the Word of God for the people of God.” However, even life long readers of the Holy Scriptures gain new insights from the research and etymology of scholars who open new windows of understanding. Therefore, this volume should be seen as your companion to your biblical reading. It is to help you know the Bible first hand, not just “about the Bible,” but to “search the scriptures as the Word of God for the people of God”—whether you are a seeker or a seasoned Christian.
Your best use of this book will be to read first the biblical texts; then read this book’s insights; then, in the margins of your Bible, note one or more pages in this book that shed light on that passage. I am not a true biblical scholar. Rather I am a retired preacher who since his teen years has studied the insights of scholars whose work made the scriptures more understandable and more instructional. As pastor to more than 10,000 different laity and as a seminary instructor for sixteen years, I have been a student and a colleague of superb biblical scholars. From my notes and sermon preparation, and intensive research, Now at the close of my own journey, I hope to bring you to a deeper insight in your own knowledge of the Bible as God’s Word.
Theologically, most of my teachers have been more liberal than I am. One of them years ago at Duke Divinity School chose me to be the “reader.” In that capacity, I graded the papers of students in the year after I took his course in Old Testament. He had once been a biblical literalist. One day he said to me, “Mr. Haynes, the Bible is an anvil that has worn out many hammers.” He was a devout man of God, but he taught me not to fear scholarly critique of biblical languages, cultures, and exegesis contrary to my own which was sophomoric.
In 1955, I had the privilege of hearing Dr. E. Stanley Jones speak. He was a graduate of Asbury College, and had been a missionary in India since 1907. He was indeed a spiritual giant of the twentieth century. I trusted him. I was twenty years old and had been taught biblical literalism and resisted higher criticism. At the conclusion of Dr. Jones’ address, he lifted his tattered Bible as he stepped to the front of the stage and said, “The Word did not become printer’s ink; the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth.” I went hope and prayed most of the night, but my biblical theology was changed with his statement.
We need to know both the scriptures and the God who inspired the scriptures. The Bible is not an idol to be worshipped, and it came to us through human minds, human languages, and human doctrines that were sometimes biased. Ezekiel rejected Deuteronomy 28 and Jesus said more than once, “You have heard it said of old, but I say unto you….” Paul taught us that grace supersedes law. However, you will see in these page my conviction that the Bible was inspired and it is inspiring. As someone said of Psalm 23, “We need not just to know the psalm but also to know the Shepherd.” The Bible will not be God’s vehicle of salvation if we see it only as a human book. One goal of this book is to lead the reader “to the place of quiet rest, near to the heart of God.”
Four of the “wisdom literature” writings are Old Testament books based on the lives of people in older eras of Hebrew history—Ruth, Esther, Jonah, and Daniel. Memories of them inspired the book of their name.
Donald W. Haynes
2022



CONTENTS
Introduction To Wisdom Literature of the Bible
PART I
The Book of Psalms
Introduction to the Psalms
An Overview of Psalms 1-150
A Thematic Arrangement of All the Psalms

I. Hymns of Praise
II. The Wisdom Psalms counseling us to follow God’s Word
III. Psalms of Trust and Confidence
IV. The Psalms of Individual Lament (“complaint”)
V. Psalms of Community Lament
VI. Imprecatory Psalms
VII. Royal Psalms
PART II
The Proverbs
The Book of Job
The Book of Ecclesiastes
The Song of Songs
The Book of Lamentations
The Book of Ruth—God’s Inspired Response to Ezra
The Book of Esther
The Book of Jonah
Daniel—The Man and the Prophecy

Endnotes Part I
Endnotes Part II



Introduction To Wisdom Literature of the Bible
The Hebrews divided their sacred Scriptures into three categories: Law, Prophets, and Writings. The writings are something of the Hebrew “philosophy of religion.” There is enormous variety and diversity in the writings, but their central focus is more on the moral and spiritual life and conduct of an individual in relation to God and to the faith community. There are a number of memorable heroes in the writings. Dating the writing of most of the wisdom books is virtually impossible. Some are written by one author ; others, anonymously, and some, like Psalms and Proverbs, are collections of inspired writings written over many centuries of time.
In Israel there were three groups of leaders in Judaism—priests, prophets, and “wise men.” The latter had no authority but their writings reflected their response to the mind and questions of the “people of the land.
• The 150 Psalms are the hymnbook of the Jewish Temple. Some are the most precious of all Scripture and have led millions to a God-changed life. Most are for all generations and all cultures, but some are very Zionist and ethnocentrically Jewish; some are complaints; some are “imprecatory,” a word meaning to pray for God to place a curse on their enemies .
• Proverbs is a collection of “wisdom sayings,” not nearly all by Solomon! They are several smaller collections gathered over generations from very early times to the Greek era, mostly advising how to live a good life. Very few proverbs are repeated in the New Testament because they are not Christological. Importantly, the word “sophia” is feminine. When “Wisdom” is the subject of a sentence, it means a wise woman who is urging the simple to embrace wisdom. Others are words from fathers to sons.
• The Song of Songs restores to Christianity the potential beauty of erotic love and the most intimate of all human relationships. Unlike Christian Puritans, the Hebrews considered “the body as the temple of the soul” and therefore what God created as good. The “Song” provides a sensuous, pure Hebrew concept of love and marriage. Here, it is a drama.
• Ecclesiastes was written by a cynical philosopher who bordered on heresy; yet the Hebrews were inspired by God to place this book in the Bible because all of us are tempted to be cynical at times! Perhaps we should be more lenient toward dissenters; God is!
• Lamentations is associated with the prophet Jeremiah. After a long lament of his troubles and suffering, he then writes in 3:21, “But this I call to mind; and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says