Israelites

Many people like to read the Book of Joel in today’s time. The prophet that wrote the Book of Joel was the prophet Joel. The Book of Joel was written between 835 and 400 B.C. The prophet Joel wrote to the Jews during this time period (Allen). The audience the prophet Joel wrote to was the Jews. Joel was talking to the Jews in the Babylonian Exile. At the time Joel lived the Exile was going on. The Book of Joel in the Bible stressed four main points. Joel wanted to warn the people of Judah, that…

The flood stories of Noah and Utanapishtim have many similarities throughout the stories. Noah was a man who found great favor in God's eyes. The entire population of mankind had become evil and wicked and God decided to bring a flood to the earth to destroy everyone but Noah and his family. God told Noah to prepare an ark big enough to hold one male and one female from every kind of animal and creature. When it started raining, Noah brought his wife and his sons, Shem, Ham and Japheth and…

Once again, Abraham lies in an alien land and uses Sarah to safeguard his life. Similar to the fate of the Pharaoh, the deity threatens King Abimelech’s life because of Abraham’s deceit. However, this time, the deity states that Abraham is a prophet and informs the king that Abraham has the power to pray for him and save his life. King Abimelech gives Abraham sheep, oxen, and male and female slaves just as the Pharaoh had done in Egypt. Thus, from one narrative to the next, as Abraham journeys…

Habakkuk was written around 609 B.C., after the fall of the Northern Kingdom. The King of Judah During this time was Jehoiakim was king of Judah and the nation is one the path to exile. The genre of the book is prohpetic and like all prophetic books, the author uses poetry to convey the message of the Lord. This book, unlike many of the prophets, does not have a direct audience, it is instead a conversation between Habakkuk and God. The oracle(message, load), that Habakkuk saw.. Verses 2-4 The…

The Three Kings During the time of Samuel, why did the people of Israel desire a king? Samuel was a godly man who was judge over Israel. At this particular time Israel didn't have a king, the people of Israel demanded a king. Samuel made a decision to appoint his two sons to become judges. Samuel firstborn was Joel and his second son was Abijah. The sons of Samuel didn't walk in his ways, they were dishonest, unfair, accepted bribes and perverted justice. The elders of Israel went to…

Daniel – Reflection Every biblical character seems to have qualities that are good and bad, we can derive those qualities to apply it in our lives now. We all know Daniel for interpreting the dream of Nebuchadnezzar, and for his faithfulness demonstrated when was thrown in the lion’s den. But we need to understand the underlying qualities of Daniel, which made him the prophet he was. One of the main qualities of Daniel that caught my attention was that: - Daniel knew where to go for answers…

In the first chapter of Micah we read, “Therefore I will make Samaria a heap of rubble, a place for planting vineyards. I will pour her stones into the valley and lay bare her foundations. All her idols will be broken to pieces; all her temple gifts will be burned with fire;I will destroy all her images. (Micah 1:6-7)” We see that God is promising judgment against Samaria and Jerusalem because of their sinful ways. Hays talks about how there were certain people who were, “…defrauding people of…

During the time of the 8th-6th century periods of BCE, Judah and Israel had an ongoing rival lasting for almost two hundred years. Bordered North and South, this rivalry would come to blows and both were dealt with invasions; not only from each other but also from foreign empires. It was also at this time Judah and Israel kingdoms were on opposite directions. Judah had begun to maintain a steady growth and prosperity where Israel was on a path to begin a steady downfall of their reign and…

Judgment, Justice, and Forgiveness The book of Micah is a series of prophetic oracles in the Old Testament. The oracles are warnings against injustice, promises of a new and better future, and proofs of God’s faithfulness to the final covenant: Jesus. A few of the oracles are harsh judgments on Israel and Judah. Most of Micah’s indictment against Israel, Samaria, and Judah are based upon injustices, especially toward the powerless—unfair treatment of women and children, corrupt business affairs…

Jaeyoung Jeon, “The Visit of Jethro (Exodus 18): Its Composition and Levitical Reworking”, Journal of Biblical Literature, 136.2, 2017, 289-306 According to Jaeyoung Jeon Exodus 18 contains redactions by a Levitical scribe/scribal group. He intends to prove this claim by discussing the narrative of Jethro’s visit and how it connects with Exodus 3-4. After that he plans to look at verses 8-11 of Exodus 18 to look at the possibility of a reworking by comparing its language with that of later…