Transcript Lesson #5 - St. Mary Magdalen Catholic Church

Bible Blitz
Msgr Ed Thompson
And
Deacon Norm Kazyk
With Technical Assistance
Ray Hosler
Review for Lesson #5
The exile of 587 B.C. and some of its
effects;
• Language (Greek)
• Customs (When in Rome, do as
Romans do)
• Inter-Marriage
• Cult (Religious Practices:
– Temple, Food, Purification)
• Canon of the Hebrew Scriptures
and the Apocrypha (Deutrocanonical)
– Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach,
– Baruch, I & II Maccabees
Ezra
• Ezra and Nehemiah are a
continuation of Chronicles.
• Ch 1-3 Resumes his history with
return of Jews from exile and
attempts to rebuild Temple.
• Ch 1: 1-4 Proclamation of Cyrus,
King of Persia
• Ch 4-6 Work halted – hostility of
Samaritans – finally finished in 515
B.C.
• Ch 6:19-22 Return to Israelite
worship
• Ch 7-10 Mosaic law is strictly
applied.
• Ch 10:10-11 Severe measures taken
against Jews married to foreigners.
Nehemiah
• Except for Ch 8-10 is largely based on
his memoirs: the only example of a
person’s career written in the style of
an autobiography in the Old
Testament.
• Appointed by the Persian king to two
terms as governor of Judah with the
mission of rebuilding Jerusalem and
reverse the dismal conditions there.
• Ch 2 Decides to rebuild the walls
and gates surrounding Jerusalem.
• Ch 3-4 The work begins but is
opposed by various groups and
even threatened with war.
• Who is in charge: “the people of
the land” or the newly returning
exiles?
• Ch 6 The walls completed in 52
days.
• Ch 6 -13 The reforms of Nehemiah.
–Defined membership in the Jewish
community: Birth, loyalty to the
Torah and faithful support of the
Temple.
• Ch 13: 23-27 Required giving up
foreign wives.
• Ch 9 & 10 The renewal of covenant
faith.
–A recounting of the history of
God in the lives of His people,
His gracious initiative and
redemptive activity as contrasted
to their unfaithfulness.
Israel returns from exile not as a
nation, but as a religious
community.
Tobit
• Written in the early second century
B.C. and named after the principle
hero who is a pious Israelite and
trusts completely in God.
• The setting is among the Israelites
living among the captives in
Nineveh after 721 B.C.
• Written in the literary form of a
religious novel it’s purpose for
instruction and edification.
•Chapter 1-2: Tobit’s goodness and
regard for the law gets him in trouble.
(Ch 1:16-20). All his considerable
wealth is confiscated and he is
forced to leave the city. A change of
political administration allows his
return. (Written in first person). vs.910 Tobit’s blindness.
• (Ch 2) His wife works to support
the family. Tobit questions a gift
that she receives.
• (Ch 4) Sends his son, Tobias to
retrieve money he had left in trust.
• Ch. 3: (Written in third person). A
young woman, Sarah is introduced
who is tormented by a demon,
Asmodeus, who has killed her
previous seven husbands on their
wedding night before they were
intimate. Sara is verbally abused
and prays for death.
• Ch. 4: A father’s instruction
including to marry someone who
was part of the family group.
• Ch. 5: The Angel Raphael, in
disguise becomes Tobia’s guide.
• Ch 6: Vs.2-9, The cure for demon
possession and cataracts.
• Ch. 7 Sarah and Tobia meet and
marry.
• Ch.8-14: The demon is expelled;
vs. 8-14 digging a grave. The
money is recovered, Raphael’s
identity is revealed, Tobit’s
eyesight is restored, death of Tobit
and Tobiah.
The Book of Judith
• Judith (and Esther) tell of the
deliverance of God’s people through
the hands of women from a
destruction which humanly speaking
seemed inevitable.
• Written in the second century B.C.
(about events in the eighth century
B.C.), it teaches that God will always
come to the help of his people as
long as they remain faithful to Him.
• The story centers on an assault by
the Assyrians against those
vassals who refused to help the
Assyrians in their war against the
Medes. The immediate scene is at
Bethulia which guards the access
to Jerusalem.
• The Assyrians are warned that the
Jews cannot be conquered unless
they sin.
• The water supply is cut off, and the
exhausted defenders are desperate
and ready to surrender.
• The two heroines stand for the
whole of Judaism putting all their
beauty and intelligence in the hand
of God to win the victory.
•
•
•
•
•
Ch 1:11-12 Setting the stage.
Ch 2: 4-6 The plan
Ch 2:10-13 Further definition
Ch 4: 1-3, 7, 9, 15 The defense
Ch 7:10-32 Despair
• Ch 8
Judith appears, chastises the
Elders for their lack of trust in God.
• Ch 8:4-8 Judith is described.
• Ch 8:32-36 partially discloses her
plan.
• Ch 10:11-17 Judith is captured.
• Ch 10:20-23 She meets Holofernes.
• Ch 11:17-18 She offers him a deal.
• Ch 11:20-21 It pays to be pretty &
smart.
• Ch 12: 2
Will not violate dietary
laws.
• Ch 12:9
Remains purified.
• Ch 12:16-20 Holofernes lust &
drunkenness.
• Ch 13: 2-3
Alone at last
• Ch 13:4-10 Loses his head.
• Ch 14: 1-4
Display of head
leads to panic and victory for
Israel.
The Book of Esther
• This book is associated with the
feast of Purim, a celebration of the
deliverance of the Jews from
destruction through the hands of a
woman.
• Does not contain a single explicit
mention of God or the religious
practices of Judaism.
• It tells the story of a plot to destroy
all the Jews living in the Persian
Empire in a single day.
• (Chapter headings are indicated by
numbers for the for the Hebrew text
and letters for the Greek additions.)
• Ch 1:10-12 The queen Vashti
refuses to show off her beauty at a
party.
• Ch 1:17 Not a good example.
• Ch 1:22 The queen is deposed and
an order issued: The man is boss.
• Ch 2 A beauty contest of virgins to
replace Vashti. Esther, cousin of
Mordecai who adopted her, wins
hands down.
• “B” Jews seen as dangerous;
Haman, an evil advisor to king gets
a decree for their total
extermination (vs 4,6)
• Ch 3-8 Many intrigues. Esther
prevails over Haman who is
hanged in place of Mordecai.
• Ch 8:7-8 A problem: Can’t change
a royal decree. Esther given power
to issue new decree allowing Jews
to defend themselves making the
original without effect.
• Ch 9 The Jews are victorious
• Ch 9:20-23 Purim defined.