Old Testament - Final Exam

Dr. Madden's Old Testament Class; Final Exam; May 3, 2021

1.If you were to select a single primary theme or motif which encompasses the whole of the Old Testament, what would it be?

Martin said “In Aquinas’s mind, there is something called sacra doctrina that is necessary for salvation.” He also states “sacra doctrina is an analagous expression that applies to many facets of the activity by which God manifests and communicates himself and a knowledge of His plan because only in this way can we know the reason why we were created and so set our lives in that direction.” The entire Bible is Salvation history, and the Old Testament is the history of why Christ was sent to redeem us. The Old Testament shows us the many times that God reached out to men in friendship, and the many times which man sinned by turning against God. However, no matter how many times man sinned, God continued to made covenants with man in order to assure our salvation.

Dei Verbum states “The principal purpose to which the plan of the old covenant was directed was to prepare for the coming of Christ, the redeemer of all and of the messianic kingdom, to announce this coming by prophecy . . . and to indicate its meaning through various types.” I take the position that the primary theme or motif of the Old Testament is God’s love for us. God’s continuous reaching out to mankind is a direct result of God's love for us. Surely, God could have cast man aside as he did the fallen angels. Instead, as the Old Testament shows us, He continuously forgave man as He constantly continued to mold us to do his will.  (256 words)

2.How should one interpret various of the “dark passages of Scripture,” of which we read in books such as Joshua and Judges?

In my answer to question 4, I specifically discuss the “herem” warfare against the Canaanites. Bergsma and Pitre ask “How does one explain the presence of the command for the complete annihilation of the Canaanite people peoples dash men women and children dash in scripture?” They respond to by stating that one way to explain the command is to put it in the context of “divine pedagogy.” The actions of Joshua and the Israelites show us they acted in the way that they believe God's will wanted them to act, but that they incorrectly understood the will of God.

Their second explanation, which dates back to the time of Origen of Alexandria,  is that it may be read in the spiritual, or allegorical, sense. Origin argued the Joshua's conquest of the Promised Land foreshadows “the spiritual warfare of the new covenant.” As they further explain, Origen “insists that Joshua's destruction of the Canaanites is ‘not teaching cruelty through this, as the heretics think, but representing the future sacraments in these affairs.’”

Bergsma and Pitre’s third explanation is Divine Judgment. According to this theory, the Israelite armies were carrying out God's judgment upon all of the inhabitants of Canaan. This differs from divine pedagogy in that it suggests that the Isrealites correctly understood the will of God and were acting as his instruments.

The fourth explanation offered by Bergsma and Pitre is a more current one. Referred to as the Deuteronomic Concession Explanation, it states that “from a salvation-historical point of view, the command to pursue herem warfare was... a concession to Israel’s sinfulness and hard-heartedness.” This explanation asks us to consider this incident as “the last in a series of concessions designed to keep Israel from falling prey to their idolatry of the Canaanite peoples.”

Bergsma and Pitre remind us that “ultimately, the theological question of God's justice in permitting the death of persons innocent of actual sin among the Canaanites needs to be referred to as the Cross of Christ, which is the definitive hermeneutical principle for understanding both God's justice and his mercy in salvation history.” (348 words)

3.Choose one of the following books—Ruth, Esther, or Tobit—and outline the working of Divine Providence in the narrative of the book.

We see Divine Providence throughout the book of Ruth. It begins with Elimelech, who with his wife Naomi and their sons leave their home because of famine, and travel to Moab. It is divine Providence that takes the famine, and uses it to bring the result which is to come. Elimelech dies in Moab, and his sons marry Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. Again we see Divine Providence in the sons marrying Moabite, pagan women rather than waiting until their possible return to their homeland to take a bride. Add sometime after their marry, the sons also die leaving the widows without children. After about ten years in Moab, Naomi learns that the famine has abated. We see again here Divine Providence, both in the famine having abated, and that news reaching Naomi in Moab. Naomi. bereft of husband and sons, determines to return through her own homeland. Naomi sets off for Judah, accompanied by Orpah and Ruth. On the road to Judah, Naomi tells both Orpah and Ruth to leave her and return to their own people. At first both say they will remain with her, but ultimately, Orpah sets off for her to her own people, but Ruth refuses to leave Naomi, saying “Wherever you go I will go, wherever you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God. Where you die I will die, and there be buried.” (Ruth 1:16-17) We see Divine Providence through this whole exchange, both in Naomi's decision to return to her own homeland, in Ruth's refusal to leave her, and Ruth’s move to conversion here. There is no indication that Ruth had heretofore forsaken her own pagan gods, but here Ruth specifically accepts Naomi’s God as her own.

Divine Providence continues as they return to Judah, arriving at the harvest. Ruth, seeking food for both herself and Naomi, goes to glean wheat from the fields that have already been picked. One of the fields she gleans belongs to Boaz, a relatives of Naomi's through her marriage to Elimelech. Boaz sees Ruth, and ask who she is. He learns of her history, and her loyalty to Naomi. Ultimately, Boaz, as relative of Elimelech, will exercise the right of redemption of Elimelech’s property, including the right to care for and marry Ruth, as the widow of one of the sons of Elimelech. In the continuing Divine Providence, Boaz and Ruth marry and have a son, Obed. Obed will grow up to marry and have a son, Jesse. Jesse will grow up marry and have many sons, one of whom, David, will become King.

And that's how, in divine Providence, a pagan Moabite named Ruth converted to believe in the one true God, and became the grandmother of King David, and one of only four women directly named in the Matthean genealogy. (474 words)

4.What is the Divine Pedagogy? Give some examples of this that show the progress of this pedagogy throughout Israel’s history.

            The Divine Pedagogy refers to the way God reveals his truth to us, that is, progressive revelation. Bergsma and Pitre give an example of this in discussing the “herem” warfare against the Canaanites. “How does one explain the presence of the command for the complete annihilation of the Canaanite people peoples dash men women and children dash in scripture?” They respond to their question here by stating that one way (although not the only way) to explain the command is to put it in the context of “divine pedagogy.” The actions of Joshua and the Israelites show us they acted in the way that they believe God's will wanted them to act, but that they incorrectly understood the will of God.

Thus, in the Old Testament, we see God “raising up” his people as a parent to a child. The fullness of his revelation of himself to his people happens over time.

Dei Verbum quotes St. John Chrysostom, stating that in Sacred Scripture, “we may learn the gentle kindness of God, which words cannot express, and how far He has gone in adapting His language with thoughtful concern for our weak human nature." Divine Pedagogy progresses from God's covenant with Abraham and, later, the covenant with the people of Israel made through Moses. Dei Verbum states “He so manifested Himself through words and deeds as the one true and living God that Israel came to know by experience the ways of God with men.” For example, Psalm 22, one of the Psalms of David, states at verse 29 “For kingship belongs to the Lord, the ruler over the nations,” while Psalm 95:3 states “For the Lord is the great God, the great king over all gods. Isaiah 2:2 states “In days to come, the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest mountain and raised above the hills. All nations shall stream toward it.” Jerimiah 3:17, while directly speaking of the divided Northern and Southern kingdoms of Israel, also reaches beyond that, saying “At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘the LORD’s throne.’ All nations will gather together there to honor the name of the Lord at Jerusalem, and they will no longer stubbornly follow their wicked heart.” As Dei Verbum states, “Now the books of the Old Testament, in accordance with the state of mankind before the time of salvation established by Christ, reveal to all men the knowledge of God and of man and the ways in which God, just and merciful, deals with men. These books, though they also contain some things which are incomplete and temporary, nevertheless show us true divine pedagogy.” (440 words)

5.What is the function of poetry within the Old Testament, especially in the Psalms and in the Prophets? Why use this particular literary mode?

The function of poetry within the Old Testament is to bring us to deeper understanding. The medium of poetry suggests a type of transcendence, something that goes beyond the plain words of narration. When something is cast in poetry, we can move past the words to a universalism; the words can simultaneously point to past, present, and future.

Poetry in the Old Testament is not necessarily recognized by means of meter or rhyming scheme. Rather, Old Testament poetry refers to a parallelism in structure which adds to the unity and memorability of the content. It is not repetition, but a building sequence.. Alter refers to this as “thought rhymes,” not a rhyme of word sounds but a parallel in word meaning; and not necessarily a synonym, but a similar or larger meaning. So, Isaiah 1:2 parallels Hear/give ear and heaven/earth: “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth.” Old Testament poetry is a dynamic movement from one verse to the next. It’s a semantic modification, where the object is not just the object, but also moves us to the next object. Alter says we move from one standard term to a more literary or highfalutin term – possibly the only time that word has ever been used in a serious piece on Biblical scholarship. But that repetition, that “bigger” word draws us in, and pulls us along, pulls us into the text. Consider Psalm 22:2, “O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer; and by night, but find no rest.” The poetic parallelism here, contrasting day/night and no answer/no rest is more effective, and more moving than if the author had simply said “O my God., I cry to you daily to no avail.” Or look at the intensification of meaning in Psalm 88:12-13, where the psalmist pairs grave with perdition, and darkness with oblivion.

This type of poetry has ramifications for our understanding, especially for finding the spiritual sense of the plain words. The hyperbole of the layering of imagery adds to our overall understanding. As Alter reminds us, the prophets were transmitting urgent ideas and concepts to the people, things they needed to heed for salvation. Using the three principal types of parallelism (synonyms, antithetical, and synthetical) in their work helped them to convey their meaning and urgency. (383 words)

6.What is the primary intention of the Book of Wisdom?

Bergsma and Pitre tell us the author of the Book of Wisdom “sees wisdom, not as simply the personified object sought by the few who are wise, but as the primary divine agent of Salvation present and acting in the history of God's people from creation through the exodus. The Book of Wisdom teaches that wisdom “is only obtained through righteousness or justice,” and seeks to share with us the wisdom that God granted to Solomon. Bergsma and Pitre point out that we need not be skeptic about the afterlife or fall into despair over death because, in the Book of Wisdom, we learn that “death is not the final answer and that righteousness finds its reward in the life to come.” The Book of Wisdom tells us that all of the usual measures of a successful life, such as wealth, children, and long life, are not as important as righteousness. Those measures by which the world measures a successful life are not important to God; what is important to God is living by his command and following his will. The reward of righteousness is eternal life.  (188 words)

7.What are the primary shared themes of Isaiah and Ezekiel?

Isaiah is specifically referred to as comprising an oracle of judgment and an oracle of consolation. Ezekiel is a prophet of woe, who, as Bergsma and Pitre put it, will "be called to enter into the very depths of misery in order to symbolize to his people the desperation to which the exiles will be reduced because of their sinfulness." Both books address the presence of God, the future coming of the Messiah, and the divine community of Israel, as well as a call to repentance. Isaiah specifically predicts the eventual defeat of Judah, because of their sins, while Ezekiel’s prophesy is the total destruction of Jerusalem. Ezekiel also details the conditions necessary to attain a new covenant, while all the mysteries of Christ and the church are clearly stated in Isaiah. Bergsma and Pitre quote Saint Jerome: “Isaiah should be called an evangelist rather than a prophet, because he describes all the mysteries of Christ and the church so clearly that one would think he is composing a history of what has already happened rather than prophesying what is to come .” Similarly, the “chariot-throne” described by Ezekiel is drawn by the four winged creatures, which were equated to the evangelists by Pope Gregory the Great, the man representing Matthew, the lion representing mark, the ox representing Luke, and the eagle representing John. (224 words)

8.What are some of the distinguishing features of the eschatology found in the major prophets? In other words, how do the prophets portray Israel’s future and what they expect to happen, and how are they distinguishable one from the other (i.e. what makes Isaiah’s vision of Israel’s future different/nuanced from Ezekiel’s, or Daniel’s, for example?).

The four major prophets all preach the same message: repent, and return to faith in God. Bergsma and Pitre refer to Isaiah as “the great prophetic book of the Old Testament.” The main themes in Isaiah are judgment of Jerusalem; the problem of hypercritical worship; repentance, restoration and forgiveness of sins; Zion as the bride of Yahweh; and judgment of the wicked. Isaiah points rather specifically to the coming of Christ in Isaiah:30, telling of a teacher at whose coming idolatry will be abandoned. Isaiah contains visions forecasting both divine judgment of wicked nations and prophecies of restoration.

Jeremiah is the longest of the prophetic books, but Bergsma and Pitre that it is second to Isaiah in theological and liturgical influence. Jeremiah's prophetic message shows Israel as an unfaithful bride, who, in her adulterous infidelity, has neglected opportunities for conversion. Jeremiah preaches hope God will enter into a new covenant in which he will write his love within our hearts.

Ezekiel, like Jeremiah, depicts Israel as an unfaithful bride. He writes an allegory of  Jerusalem as a harlot. Ezekiel takes the people and the nation to task for their wicked conduct. After these oracles against the nations, he gives prophecies for the restoration of Jerusalem, Judah and Israel after the exile. This restoration and consolation of Israel is accompanied by judgment on Israel's enemies. Ezekiel ends with the vision of a new temple and liturgy and restored Israel

Daniel, which is dated to about two centuries before Christ, preaches that persecution would end and that those who persevere would be rewarded by God's love. Daniel gives a vision of God’s victory over those who would exploit his people. Daniel's story of Susanna's deliverance from death may be read as an allegory of that victory. Susanna, who spurns the advances of two older and powerful men, is accused by them of adultery. Tried and condemned, she is vindicated when the two men are separated for questioning by Daniel , who finds the stories do not agree. In Susanna’s vindication, we are shown that in the end those who are faithful to God will be rewarded and those who would tempt them to turn from God will be punished. (367 words)

9.What is the relationship between philosophy and biblical exegesis, and how are we to properly integrate the tools of historical-criticism into a faithful exegesis that takes the witness of the Church Fathers and the tradition of interpretation seriously?

The historical-critical approach alone is limited in that it prevents full comprehension, yet if we ignore it completely, we would lose not just the bad but the good in the method. Ratzinger held that biblical interpretation has come to a crisis because there is a crisis in philosophy. Spinoza wanted to separate faith from philosophy, holding that we find truth through philosophy, while faith serves to make us pious and obedient. But if we believe Spinoza, then the Bible is not teaching truth but only teaches obedience, which, on its face, is a ludicrous claim. Spinoza’s position is not to be confused with Aquinas’ separation of scripture and philosophy, for Aquinas was clear that it is Scripture that holds truth, not philosophy. Madden clarifies these positions when he states “Philosophy is to theology what nature is to grace, what reason is to faith.” If we were to read Scripture from the Spinoza viewpoint, we would have no context, for Scripture is God’s revelation of himself to us. To separate Scripture from truth is to separate Scripture from God, and to separate Scripture from God is to have no Scripture remain.

Levering holds that in Scripture, we actually participate in God’s eternal word, by which God reveals his truth to us. If we attempt to read Scripture as holding two intents, that is, the intention of God, and the intention of the sacred author, we can lose the meaning of the text. Madden quotes Levering, stating “Interpreting the texts of the Bible in faith means to encounter, in a radically theocentric fashion, ‘God teaching’… the participatory relationship means that God’s action and human action are not in competition. In Scripture, the centrality of God’s teaching does not displace the human writing, editing, transmission, and interpretation of biblical texts, that is, the human aspects of the text.” If we attempt to separate the human and the divine, we enter into a type of competition where we pit God against the human author. To do so seems to deny that the human authors were divinely inspired, to deny the working of the Holy Spirit.

Modern biblical exegesis must integrate the tools of historical-criticism by utilizing both linear-historical (or horizontal and participatory-historical (or vertical) modes. Only by a combined approach can bring us to our goal of “an interpretive ecclesial, and performative pattern of engagement with sacra doctrina, in which the goal is learning the triune Teacher—learning the Love of the Word of the Father.” (Madden, quoting Levering) (415 words)