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27. Abraham Heschel, The Prophets, 2nd ed. (New York: Harper & Row, 1969), vol. 1, p. x.
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28. Amos 7.10–17. This is one of the most dramatic confrontation scenes between a prophet and the domination system. The priest Amaziah delivers the king’s command in 7.12–13.
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29. Jer. 20.1–6, 26.1–24 (note that a prophet contemporary with Jeremiah is executed by the king), Jer. 36, 37.11–21, 38.1–13 (which also reports his rescue from the cistern).
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30. Heschel, The Prophets, vol. 1, pp. 4, 10, 26 (italics in original).
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31. In the ancient world, there were only two limits on economic exploitation of peasants by the elites: subsistence was not to become starvation, and desperation was not to become so great as to incite revolt. Otherwise, the elites had a free hand.
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32. I owe this way of putting it to Walter Brueggemann, Prophetic Imagination, (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1978), chap. 2. Brueggemann also says that Solomon in effect had become a new pharaoh. Note that this is not a comment on Solomon’s personal morality or immorality; it is a comment about the system that emerged under him.
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33. I Sam. 8.4–22, 10.17–19.
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34. I Sam. 8.11–18.
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35. I Sam. 9.1–10.16.
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36. II Sam. 7.1–17, esp. vv. 12–16. See also Ps. 2, one of the “royal psalms” (so named because it was most likely used as a liturgy for the coronation of a new king). The king, called “son of God” and “anointed one” (messiah), is promised that God will establish his throne forever.
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37. Brueggemann, The Prophetic Imagination, chap. 1.
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38. Isa. 40–55. “Deutero” is Greek for “second.” In the Bible itself, there is of course no I Isaiah and II Isaiah (as there is a I Samuel and II Samuel).
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39. Ps. 137.1–4. The last three verses of the psalm express the anger of exile, beseeching God to avenge the Israelites and blessing those who will smash the children of their enemies against a rock. The psalms were traditionally attributed to King David, just as the Pentateuch was attributed to Moses. However, the Psalms as a collection of hymns, prayers, and liturgies were written over many centuries, including the postexilic period. Other psalms that most likely reflect the experience of exile are 42–44, 74, 77, 80, 85, and 126.
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40. Lam. 1.1–2, 11–12.
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41. Lam. 5.1–5, 11–15, 18.
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42. Isa. 40.1–2, the opening verses of Second Isaiah.
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43. Isa. 40.3–4.
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44. Isa. 40.27.
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45. Isa. 43.1, 4–5.
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46. Isa. 43.5–6.
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47. Isa. 49.14–15.
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48. Isa. 40.27–31.
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49. Isa. 40.11.
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50. Isa. 42.9.
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51. Isa. 43.15–19.
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52. Echoing Isa. 55.11, and quoting 55.12.
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53. I owe this wonderful phrase to Verna Dozier, The Dream of God (Cambridge, MA: Cowley. 1991).
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54. Mic. 4.3–4. The full oracle in Mic. 4.1–4 is almost exactly paralleled in Isa. 2.2–4, suggesting that it was widely known in prophetic circles.
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55. In the contemporary United States, we see this in the naming of high taxes as a (and perhaps the) primary political issue. The anti-tax sentiment of our society is fueled and financed primarily by the wealthy. Can anybody seriously believe that the anti-tax movement serves the interest of the society as a whole, and not simply the narrow self-interest of the wealthy? Unfortunately, many do; elites know how to shape public opinion (and thus the system as a whole).
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56. “Pharaoh’s household” is a metaphor for those who derive benefits from the domination system without being primarily responsible for it or even in favor of it.
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1. The most accessible introduction to Israel’s wisdom literature is Kathleen M. O’Connor, The Wisdom Literature (Wilmington: Michael Glazier, 1988). Other books I have found especially helpful are James Crenshaw, Old Testament Wisdom: An Introduction, rev. ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1998); Roland Murphy, The Tree of Life: An Exploration of Biblical Wisdom Literature, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1996); Roland Murphy and Elizabeth Huwiler, New International Biblical Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999); Leo Perdue, Wisdom and Creation: The Theology of Wisdom Literature (Nashville: Abingdon, 1994).
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2. For a persuasive argument that Israel’s wisdom tradition is centered in God as creator, see Leo Perdue, Wisdom and Creation (Nashville: Abingdon, 1994).
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3. Usually abbreviated as either “Sir.” or “Ecclus.” Note how close the latter is to the common abbreviation of Ecclesiastes: “Eccles.”
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4. Prov. 1.7.
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5. Prov. 3.13–18. She is first introduced in 1.20–33, where she speaks like a prophet.
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6. Prov. 8.22–23. The poem, which continues through v. 31, stresses Wisdom/Sophia’s presence with God at the creation: “When there were no depths, I was brought forth. . . . Before the mountains had been shaped . . . when God established the heavens, I was there,” and so forth.
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7. Prov. 9.4–6; the banquet passage begins in 9.1.
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8. Other primary texts in the Jewish wisdom tradition: Sir. 24; Wisd. of Sol. 7.7–8.16, esp. 7.22–8.1, and chap. 10.
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9. For my chapter-length treatment of Sophia imagery and its application to Jesus, see Meeting Jesus Again for the First Time (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1994), chap. 5.
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10. See the seduction scenario in Prov. 7.6–23. Other relevant texts: 2.16–19, 5.3–14.
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11. For her banquet, see Prov. 9.13–18; the invitation is in 9.16.
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12. Prov. 8.35–36.
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13. Prov. 7.25–27. See also 2.16–19, 5.3–14, 9.18.
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14. The first unambiguously clear affirmation of an afterlife is in Daniel (see chap. 12), a book commonly dated around 165 BCE.
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15. For a masterful exposition of how this proverb works, see John Dominic Crossan, In Fragments: The Aphorisms of Jesus (San Francisco: Harper and Row, 1983), pp. 12–13.
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16. Notably Prov. 22.17–24.22, a collection that borrows freely from an Egyptian wisdom text known as the Instruction of Amenemope.
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17. Prov. 31.10–31. An acrostic poem is one in which each line begins with a successive letter of the alphabet (in this case, of course, the Hebrew alphabet).
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18. Matt. 25.31–46. The major point of the parable: whatever is done “for the least of these” (the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick
, imprisoned) is done to Jesus.
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19. Eccles. 1.2, immediately following the superscription of the book; 12.8, ending Qoheleth’s words and preceding the brief epilogue probably added by an editor.
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20. Eccles. 1.12–2.26.
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21. Eccles. 1.14, 17; 2.1, 11, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 26.
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22. Eccles. 7.15, 8.14, 9.11.
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23. Eccles. 4.1.
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24. Eccles. 4.2–3.
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25. Eccles. 3.19–20.
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26. Eccles. 9.12. See also 8.8: “No one has power over the day of death.”
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27. Eccles. 2.14–17.
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28. Eccles. 9.1–3.
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29. Echoing Eccles. 1.15. Elizabeth Huwiler, New International Biblical Commentary: Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1999), p. 159, comments that for Qoheleth, human experience is not “meaningful, controllable or predictable.” She adds, as I also will, that for Qoheleth human well-being and enjoyment are nevertheless possible.
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30. Eccles. 2.24, 3.12–13, 9.7–10. White garments and the act of anointing one’s head with oil are associated with festive meals. See also 3.22, 5.18–20, and 8.15.
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31. Eccles. 9.10.
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32. Eccles. 3.1–8.
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33. Eccles. 7.2, 4.
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34. Eccles. 12.1–8. Though the first verse is commonly translated “Remember your Creator in the days of your youth,” several commentators note that the Hebrew word translated as “creator” more likely means “grave” or “cistern” (as a metaphor for “grave”).
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35. Eccles. 9.7–10.
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36. Thus I hear Qoheleth’s wisdom as positive and not as unrelieved pessimism. For an equally positive reading, see Kathleen O’Connor, The Wisdom Literature (Wilmington: Micahel Glazier, 1988), pp. 114–33; see her note 6 on p. 123 for a citation of negative readings.
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37. Cited by Samuel Terrien in The Interpreter’s Bible (New York: Abingdon, 1954), vol. 3, p. 877.
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38. Job 1.6–12. Quoted passage is v8.
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39. Job 1.9–10.
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40. Job 1.11.
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41. The first calamities are narrated in Job 1.13–22. Quoted words are from 1.21.
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42. The second stage is described in 2.1–10. Quoted words are from vv. 7, 10.
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43. James 5.11.
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44. His first speech is in chap. 3. Quoted passages are from vv. 3–4, 6–7, 11, 16, 24.
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45. From Job’s second speech, chaps. 6–7. Quoted passages are from 7.4, 13–16, 19–20.
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46. From Job’s third speech, chaps. 9–10. Quoted passages are from 9.21–23, 10.7–8.
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47. From Eliphaz’s first speech, chaps. 4–5. Quoted passages are from 4.7–8; 5.8, 11, 17, 27.
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48. From Bildad’s first speech, chap. 8. Quoted passages are from vv. 5–6, 20.
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49. From Zophar’s first speech, chap. 11. Quoted words are from 11.2–6; subsequent section on repentance and the reversal of fortune it will bring is from vv. 13–21.
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50. Job 13.4, 16.2, 13.12.
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51. Explicitly in Job 42.7.
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52. Job 38.1–41.34. The display is interrupted by a brief dialogue between God and Job in 40.1–5; then it resumes.
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53. Job 40.4–5.
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54. Job 42.5.
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55. Explicitly affirmed in chap. 29, esp. vv. 18–20.
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56. Job 42.6. English translations commonly read “I despise myself” instead of “I melt into nothingness.” But the latter phrase better expresses the meaning. The meaning of the final line, “I repent in dust and ashes,” is difficult to express. It does not mean that Job finally realized he was guilty of great sins after all; minimally, it means that the experience changed Job.
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1. The word “Christian” does occur, but only three times: I Pet. 4.16 and Acts 11.26 and 26.28. Formed from the Greek or Latin word for “messiah,” in this early usage it meant a follower of Jesus as the Jewish messiah. Thus it did not yet mean a member of a new religion. See Michael J. Wilkins, “Christian,” The Anchor Bible Dictionary, ed. David Noel Freedman (New York: Doubleday, 1992), vol. 1, pp. 925–26.
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2. The phrase “the parting of the ways” echoes the title of a fine book by James D. G. Dunn, The Partings of the Ways: Between Christianity and Judaism and Their Significance for the Character of Christianity (Philadelphia: Trinity Press International, 1991).
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3. Rodney Stark, The Rise of Christianity (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1997), chap. 3.
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4. Alan Segal, Rebecca’s Children: Judaism and Christianity in the Roman World (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1986).
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5. Stark, The Rise of Christianity, p. 57.
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6. Typically dated to the early second century are I and II Timothy, Titus, and II Peter, with the last commonly seen as the latest book of the New Testament.
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7. Stark, The Rise of Christianity, chap. 1.
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8. The two shortest documents are Philemon and Jude.
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9. See the illuminating comments of Eugene Boring, Revelation (Louisville: Knox, 1989), p. 6.
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10. Excellent accessible introductions to the gospels include Mark Allan Powell, Introduction to the Gospels (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1998), and W. Barnes Tatum, In Search of Jesus, rev. ed. (Nashville: Abingdon, 1999).
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11. We are virtually certain that none was written by any of the twelve disciples or other eyewitnesses. There is a strong scholarly consensus that Matthew and John were not written by disciples named Matthew and John. With Mark and Luke, a reasonable (though not decisive) case can be made that they were written by people named Mark and Luke, in part because there was no particularly good reason for second-century Christians to name the gospels after these men if they were not the authors. Neither Mark nor Luke was among the twelve disciples, nor was either an eyewitness to the public activity of Jesus.
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12. Moreover, most mainline scholars see the birth stories and the story of Jesus at age twelve as metaphorical narratives. Historically speaking, they are thus legendary, even though as metaphorical narratives they make significant affirmations about Jesus.
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