Reference links:

Old Testament

We start Isaiah today. It’s been hard reading up on background on a new book everyday, but fortunately Isaiah, at 66 chapters, will last us awhile. We may even end up having to review background info!

Although traditionally regarded as the work of a single prophet, scholars believe that the Book of Isaiah is an anthology of prophetic literature that spans almost the entire era of Israelite prophecy, from the mid-eight to the early fifth century BCE. Most scholars divide the book into three different parts, each representing a different historical period and a different author.

…

Scholars have long wondered what principle guided ancient biblical editors when they combined the work of three different prophets from three different periods of Israel’s history onto a single scroll. Some recent commentators suggest that the editors wished to illustrate the entire spectrum of Israelite prophecy in a book that they placed at the head of the prophetic collection. In its edited form, the Book of Isaiah represents and incorporates the three principal themes or concerns of Israel’s prophets: warnings of divine judgment, promises of forgiveness and reconciliation, and responsibilities of restoration. … The book as a whole thus served as a pattern or model for future generations, illustrating the nature and consequences of covenant-breaking, as well as the willingness of Israel’s God to save and redeem a repentant people.

Let’s just cover the first part for tonight:

Most of Isaiah’s genuine sayings, embedded amid later prophetic and editorial additions, express advice to Davidic kings during the Assyrian threat and warning of judgment against Judah for its sins.

Harris reminds us of the historical context of this part of Isaiah. The historical Isaiah was active during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.  Assyria was powerful. They had taken over much of the region. During Isaiah’s lifetime, Assyria would conquer the kingdom of Israel.

And that’s probably enough for now. On to today’s reading! Since it’s poetry, there’s a pretty low content to word ratio, but I am okay with that. 😉

The content in the first chapter of today’s reading boils down to this: the people of Israel/Judah/Jerusalem have rebelled against God. They live sinful lives and disgust God by donning the clothing of tradition without following its deeper meaning. Isaiah says that the people should:

Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Help the oppressed.
Defend the cause of orphans.
Fight for the rights of widows.

If the people turn to God and live righteously, he will make them clean again.

The second chapter presents a vision of future judgment and world peace.

New Testament

Paul defends himself and his authority.

Psalms and Proverbs

Another proverb about not securing other people’s debts.

Everyone wants their life to have meaning. That much is obvious. 

I promised some thoughts on Ecclesiastes and the idea of everything being meaningless. I now present them to you.

First, let’s look at the way different translations deal with what was, in the New Living Translation, communicated as “meaningless”. We will take Ecclesiastes 1:2 which lays out this idea. Here’s what we get from our comparisons:

• NET: “Futile! Futile!” laments the Teacher, “Absolutely futile! Everything is futile!
• NIV: “Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless.”
• NLT: “Everything is meaningless,” says the Teacher, “utterly meaningless!”
• BBE: All is to no purpose, said the Preacher, all the ways of man are to no purpose.
• NASB: “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher, “Vanity of vanities! All is vanity.”
• NRSV: Vanity of vanities, says the Teacher, vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
• NKJV: “Vanity of vanities,” says the Preacher; “Vanity of vanities, all is vanity.”
• MSG: Smoke, nothing but smoke. [[That’s what the Quester says.]] There’s nothing to anything–it’s all smoke.

The noun הֶבֶל is the key word in Ecclesiastes. The root is used in two ways in the OT, literally and figuratively. The literal, concrete sense is used in reference to the wind, man’s transitory breath, evanescent vapor. In this sense, it is often a synonym for “breath” or “wind”. The literal sense lent itself to metaphorical senses: (1) breath/vapor/wind is nonphysical, evanescent, and lacks concrete substance thus, the connotation “unsubstantial”, “profitless” or “fruitless”, “worthless”, “pointless”, “futile”, (2) breath/vapor/wind is transitory and fleeting – thus, the connotation “fleeting” or “transitory” and (3) breath/vapor/wind cannot be seen thus, the idea of “obscure,” “dark,” “difficult to understand,” “enigmatic”.

I bring this up to point out that, while “meaningless” is a perfectly acceptable translation, it seems to me the author is really trying to emphasize that everything is impermanent. The world is ever changing. Everything you work for in this world will someday be gone. It is futile to grasp it, to try to hold it in place.

Another aspect of this is that the world is uncertain. The future, like the wind, cannot be controlled. Attempts to control the future will result in failure and unhappiness. We do not know which way the wind will blow, so we should not make plans that depend on it behaving in the way we wish.

So where does that leave us. Everything is transitory, uncertain, changing, you could even say meaningless (in so far as meaning implies some sort of absoluteness and stability). But joy can still be found in the present moment. There is joy in what life is even if that is disappearing even as you enjoy it. But that joy comes from seeing things as they are, not as they could be.

When looked at this way, the message of Ecclesiastes is no longer that life is meaningless, in the sense that there it has no value and is not worth living. Instead, the message is much more akin to Buddhist ideas of impermanence and mindfulness. While still not satisfying to those who want their lives to have some sort of fixed cosmic meaning, this interpretation of Ecclesiastes presents its message as liberating rather than depressing.

Reference links:

Old Testament

We finish Song of Songs today. We read more descriptions of love and descriptions of the lovers. Some of this is quite overtly sexual.

One line that stood out to me was this:

But my vineyard is mine to give

Given the context of the line and the subject of the poem as a whole, this line seems like a clear declaration that women have the freedom to choose their love. That choice is not to be made lightly

Promise me, O women of Jerusalem,
not to awaken love until the time is right.

But the love and sexuality of a woman are her property. This is a welcome counter to those who would claim that women cannot be trusted with their own sexuality.

New Testament

Paul continues to encourage the Corinthian church to give money to the church in Jerusalem. What makes that church so much more needy, I wonder. Paul then goes on to talk about how giving generously results in a greater harvest than giving less. I certainly can get behind the concept.

Psalms and Proverbs

This proverb struck a cord. There have certainly been people I have cut out of my life because, despite my best efforts, they consistently brought out the worst in me.

Don’t befriend angry people
or associate with hot-tempered people,
or you will learn to be like them
and endanger your soul.

Reference links:

Old Testament

New book means summary day! According to Harris’s Understanding the Bible

The only erotic poetry in the Bible, the Song of Songs defies easy classification or interpretations.  Its frank celebration of sexual passion challenges interprets to explain the book’s presence in sacred Scripture. Puzzled or embarrassed by the poet’s joyous reveling in physical sensuality, many commentators have labeled the work an allegory — a fictional narrative in which characters, objects, and actions symbolize some higher truth. To Jews, the Song became an allegory of Yahweh’s love for Israel; to Christians, it became an expression of Christs’s love for his “bride,” the church. But to most modern scholars, this collection of love lyrics is precisely what it appears to be: an affirmation of the human capacity for sexual pleasure.

That ancient commentators, both Jewish and Christian, regarded the book as functioning allegorically, however, suggests that the poem’s eroticism may have a spiritual dimension.

In short, even if the author of the poem did not mean it allegorically, it has taken on allegorical aspects in practice.

Despite the traditional attribution of the books to Solomon,

Solomon, nonetheless, is not thought to be the author. Some scholars believe that these erotic poems originated as hymns associated with a Near Eastern fertility goddess, such as Asherah, who was married to the god El (in Ugaritic lore) or Baal (in Canaanite tradition). If so, the Asherah-El-Baal cultic elements have entirely disappeared from the extant texts. Other scholars propose that these verses were intended to be sung at country weddings in ancient Israel.

On to the reading! I don’t have a ton to say about it. The Song of Songs is very much romantic/erotic poetry. Lot’s of lovely poetic imagery, although some of it is less meaningful to the modern audience (such as comparing white teeth to sheep). Given that I am not reading it as an analogy, more something to be enjoyed and commented upon.

New Testament

Today’s reading seems to be Paul’s attempt to convince the Corinthian church that they can trust all the money they donate to the people he is sending.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today’s message from Proverbs: don’t rob the poor or exploit the needy. Always a good point to make.

Reference links:

Old Testament

We finish Ecclesiastes today. That was quick!

The bulk of today’s reading consists of a listing of various pieces advice. As a fan of diversifying your investments, my favorite is this:

Send your grain across the seas,
and in time, profits will flow back to you.
But divide your investments among many places,
for you do not know what risks might lie ahead.

Ruminations on youth and old age follow the words of advice. The old receive the advice to enjoy each remaining day, even while remembering that all is meaningless. Youths receive the advice to enjoy their youth, avoid worry, and keep their body healthy, but again, also remember that the life before them is meaningless. The teacher then advises youths not to forget their creator, especially as their bodies crumble with age.

After that section, we have some postscripts added by one or more later editors. These are reflections on the words of the teacher. The very last statement seems aimed at trying to advise people not to get the “wrong” idea from this book:

That’s the whole story. Here now is my final conclusion: Fear God and obey his commands, for this is everyone’s duty. God will judge us for everything we do, including every secret thing, whether good or bad.

I cannot help but see this as using a finger to stop up a leaking dam.

Overall, I very much enjoyed Ecclesiastes. It contained something of a almost randomly varied assortment of ideas and forms, but it was interesting. And that is certainly a lot more than most of the Bible can say for itself.

New Testament

Paul tries to persuade the Corinthian church to give money to the church in Jerusalem. He is using several standard fundraising techniques.

• Mention that their peers are giving: Paul points out that the church in Macedonia gave beyond their means
• Praise their virtues: Paul points out all of the great things about the members of the Corinthian church and implies that giving more would make them even more virtuous
• Threaten them: Paul claims that he will be comparing their performance to other churches and considers this a test of their love
• Give an example of someone they admire: Paul points out that their generosity makes them more like Jesus
• Appeal to responsibility: They already started this process of giving. Therefore, they should finish it.

Paul knew what he was doing when it came to fund raising.

Psalms and Proverbs

The proverbs contain more introductory material. Apparently, we will be reading sayings filled with advice and knowledge.

Reference links:

Old Testament

Ecclesiastes is very interesting but also very hard to write about. There is just so much going on. It is impossible to comment on everything that is interesting, so I have to choose just one or two things and give a high level scan of the rest.

Today’s reading starts out with a listing of proverbs. As with the book of proverbs, some seem good, others impress less.

The passage I found most interesting in today’s reading:

So don’t be too good or too wise! Why destroy yourself?  On the other hand, don’t be too wicked either. Don’t be a fool! Why die before your time? Pay attention to these instructions, for anyone who fears God will avoid both extremes

This passage implies that one should not be too wicked. Okay, that’s bread and butter wisdom, but it also implies that one should not be too wise. For the author of Ecclesiastes, this seems to tie into the earlier stated idea that wisdom brings sorrow because it reveals how everything is meaningless, but I have a different application for it in this modern world. No one can care about everything. As I read in an unrelated article recently:

Some of us don’t care all of the time, but all of us don’t care some of the time.

In my mind, the modern application of the admonishment against being too wise is summed up by that quote. It is impossible to always care. There is too much to be wise about everything (or even about a significant portion of everything). Trying to do so would lead only to despair. So instead, practice moderation.

After the Teacher rants about the danger of seductive women, he gives this annoying statement:

Only one out of a thousand men is virtuous, but not one woman!

Hmph. I suspect the flaw lies in the Teacher’s attitudes towards women, not in the women themselves. The implication that all women ultimately have no virtue is the same attitude that says a women who dresses provocatively was asking to be raped. Or that a Muslim woman who does not cover herself fully is responsible for the actions men take based on their desires. But that’s wrong. It’s the men’s fault if they think of women as nothing more than their bodies. To imply that all women lack virtue because men are sexually attractive to women shows a vast misunderstanding of half of humanity.

Then we have more thoughts on doing one’s duty, especially to the king, the honor enjoyed by the wicked and the sorrow suffered by the poor, the importance of punishing crimes quickly, the universality of death, and the lack of honor accorded to wisdom.

Yet in the midst of all that, the Teacher states once again that it is good to enjoy life. This attitude reminds me of one of my favorite XKCD comics, which I will close with:

New Testament

Paul talks about a harsh letter he sent the Corinthian church and how he is glad it had good effect.

Psalms and Proverbs

Today’s proverbs reading seem like the opening to a new section. We are asked to listen to the words of the wise.

Reference links:

Old Testament

That which is declared meaningless today:

• Working for success because of envy of others
• Life without companionship
• Political power
• Trying to derive happiness from wealth
• Hoarding riches and living without enjoying your wealth
• Fantasizing about what you don’t have

Today’s list possesses an interesting feature: all of the things on it are things that common wisdom regularly does declare meaningless, or at least not worth the effort they are pursued with. Instead, the author of Ecclesiastes tells people to find companionship, eat, drink, and enjoy the work that they have to do and the wealth that they possess.

The author says to accept your lot in life. I do not interpret that as saying you should not try to change things. Rather, I think that it means to enjoy things in the here and now. What will change will change, but if you keep waiting for change before finding contentment, they you may die without ever finding it.

Really, I do not see why people find Ecclesiastes depressing. I find it to be extremely clear sighted and realistic.

New Testament

Paul cautions believers against pairing themselves with unbelievers. In the process, he implies that we unbelievers are wicked, like the darkness, and of the devil. Paul then goes on to, once again, string together quotations from different parts of the scriptures as if they formed a single continuous passage. I continue to find that dishonest.

Then a bit more about Paul’s relationship with the Corinthian church.

Psalms and Proverbs

It’d be nice if this were true, but it clearly isn’t.

A person who gets ahead by oppressing the poor
or by showering gifts on the rich will end in poverty.

Reference links:

Old Testament

We start Ecclesiastes today. As a side note, Psalms and Proverbs fall between Job and Ecclesiastes in the Christian Old Testament.

According to Harris’s Understanding the Bible:

The Bible’s finest example of skeptical wisdom, the Book of Ecclesiastes is ascribed to King Solomon but is actually the work of an anonymous Israelite sage who calls himself Koheleth (Qoheleth), one who presides over a circle of learners. Delighting in paradox, Koheleth denies the possibility of knowing anything for sure, except the inescapable facts of death and the ultimate futility of all human effort.

… the author of Ecclesiastes adopts an emotionally neutral position of coolly ironic detachment. An aloof observer of human folly, he derives a certain wry amusement from his ivory tower perspective on the human predicament. He is puzzled by Yahweh’s apparent unwillingness to enforce ethical principles, but he simply concludes that God chooses to operate with no coherent moral plan — at least not one that human beings can perceive.

… True wisdom lies in observing everything, knowing how little has genuine value, and refusing to become committed to the hopeless pursuits to which most people blindly devote their lives.  

…The author’s love of paradox is a characteristic of the book that troubles some readers; he seldom makes a statement that he does not somewhere else contradict. … These paradoxic views are among the book’s chief strengths, however, for the writer is not contradicting himself, but is asserting that life is too complex for absolute certainties. 

I love it already. =)

On authorship:

Although the superscription to the book attributes its authorship to Koheleth, “son of David, king in Jerusalem” — presumably Solomon — most scholars regard this as merely a literary device that offers the writer an elevated position from which imaginatively to experience everything enjoyed by Israel’s wealthiest and wisest monarch. 

On date of composition:

Because the author seems familiar with various strands of Greek philosophy, including that of Heraclitus, Zeno the Stoic, and Epicurus, experts end to place the books composition sometime during the Hellenistic era, after the campaigns of Alexander of Macedonia had brought Greek culture to Palestine.  

On to today’s content! The opening sets the theme of the book. The author starts by declaring everything to be meaningless. All that seems to be progress is just part of a cycle that repeats again and again.

It is interesting considering passages like this one from the point of view of someone living in the 21st century:

It has all been done before. Nothing under the sun is truly new. Sometimes people say, “Here is something new!” But actually it is old; nothing is ever truly new.

We have truly done new things since this book was composed. We have made so much progress in knowledge and technology. Humanity experienced more change in the 20th century alone than it did in most of history. And yet, the human problems that we encounter are still fundamentally the same.

The author then goes on to consider different ways that one might find meaning in life. He starts with worldly pleasures and finds them to not be worthwhile. Work is futile because all that is earned from it will be left behind when you die. Yet despite that, the author then says,

So I decided there is nothing better than to enjoy food and drink and to find satisfaction in work.

Despite the fact that the pleasures of food and drink and work are futile, the author can find nothing better than to enjoy them. These things can and should be enjoyed despite the fact that they do not give life any ultimate meaning (more thoughts on the idea of meaning later).

After this, we read a poem. Even if you have never read Ecclesiastes, the poem may sound familiar. The poem was made into a hit song by the Byrds in the 1960s.

This is followed by a nice little statement:

I have seen the burden God has placed on us all. Yet God has made everything beautiful for its own time. He has planted eternity in the human heart, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God’s work from beginning to end. So I concluded there is nothing better than to be happy and enjoy ourselves as long as we can. And people should eat and drink and enjoy the fruits of their labor, for these are gifts from God.

The author then talks about injustice and death. There is clearly so much to say in this book, and I am clearly not going to be able to say it all. How sad. Maybe I should have skipped most of the deuteronomistic history and just spent time studying this book.

New Testament

Paul continues to talk about himself.

Psalms and Proverbs

Proverbs talks about beating children:

A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness,
but physical discipline will drive it far away.