Describe in detail Ezekiel's call vision and explain how it introduces and summarizes the message of the entire book.

Details of the call vision: Ezekiel sees four living creatures that have four faces each with four wings each and they appeared to be in human form.  These living creatures are coming down from heaven in a Chariot that is surrounded with a fire substance.  Each of the four creatures had a wheel to go along with them and a dome shining like crystal over their heads.  Above the dome was a throne and the "appearance of the likeness of the glory of the Lord" sat here in what looked like a human form but that was fiery and dazzling in appearance.  Ezekiel saw this and fell on his knees, hearing the Lord's voice.

Explain how:  The glory was the symbol of the presence of God in the Priestly tradition.  Ezekiel is at pains to emphasize the transcendent, surpassing nature of this God, who cannont be perceived clearly by human eyes.  Throughout the book, Ezekiel is addressed as "son of man," meaning "mortal human being."  The emphasis on the prophet's humanity contrasts with the awesome majesty of God.  The vision of the prophet is not an end in itself.  As in the case of Isaiah, it is the occassion of a commissioning. (This is followed by the five commissions and five prophetic actions!)

"The word of the Lord came to me: What do you mean by repeating this proverb concerning the land of Israel, ‘The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge’? As I live, says the Lord God, this proverb shall no more be used by you in Israel. Know that all lives are mine; the life of the parent as well as the life of the child is mine: it is only the person who sins that shall die.

If a man is righteous and does what is lawful and right— if he does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbour’s wife or approach a woman during her menstrual period, does not oppress anyone, but restores to the debtor his pledge, commits no robbery, gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, does not take advance or accrued interest, withholds his hand from iniquity, executes true justice between contending parties, follows my statutes, and is careful to observe my ordinances, acting faithfully—such a one is righteous; he shall surely live, says the Lord God.

 If he has a son who is violent, a shedder of blood, who does any of these things (though his father does none of them), who eats upon the mountains, defiles his neighbour’s wife, oppresses the poor and needy, commits robbery, does not restore the pledge, lifts up his eyes to the idols, commits abomination, takes advance or accrued interest; shall he then live? He shall not. He has done all these abominable things; he shall surely die; his blood shall be upon himself.

 But if this man has a son who sees all the sins that his father has done, considers, and does not do likewise, who does not eat upon the mountains or lift up his eyes to the idols of the house of Israel, does not defile his neighbour’s wife, does not wrong anyone, exacts no pledge, commits no robbery, but gives his bread to the hungry and covers the naked with a garment, withholds his hand from iniquity, takes no advance or accrued interest, observes my ordinances, and follows my statutes; he shall not die for his father’s iniquity; he shall surely live. As for his father, because he practised extortion, robbed his brother, and did what is not good among his people, he dies for his iniquity.

 Yet you say, ‘Why should not the son suffer for the iniquity of the father?’ When the son has done what is lawful and right, and has been careful to observe all my statutes, he shall surely live. The person who sins shall die. A child shall not suffer for the iniquity of a parent, nor a parent suffer for the iniquity of a child; the righteousness of the righteous shall be his own, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be his own.

 But if the wicked turn away from all their sins that they have committed and keep all my statutes and do what is lawful and right, they shall surely live; they shall not die. None of the transgressions that they have committed shall be remembered against them; for the righteousness that they have done they shall live. Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, says the Lord God, and not rather that they should turn from their ways and live? But when the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity and do the same abominable things that the wicked do, shall they live? None of the righteous deeds that they have done shall be remembered; for the treachery of which they are guilty and the sin they have committed, they shall die.

 Yet you say, ‘The way of the Lord is unfair.’ Hear now, O house of Israel: Is my way unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair? When the righteous turn away from their righteousness and commit iniquity, they shall die for it; for the iniquity that they have committed they shall die. Again, when the wicked turn away from the wickedness they have committed and do what is lawful and right, they shall save their life. Because they considered and turned away from all the transgressions that they had committed, they shall surely live; they shall not die. Yet the house of Israel says, ‘The way of the Lord is unfair.’ O house of Israel, are my ways unfair? Is it not your ways that are unfair?

 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, all of you according to your ways, says the Lord God. Repent and turn from all your transgressions; otherwise iniquity will be your ruin. Cast away from you all the transgressions that you have committed against me, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone, says the Lord God. Turn, then, and live."

Author:  Ezekiel 18

Approximate date: 593-571

Genre: Oracle of Judgment

Explain the details and meaning:  In this passage, Ezekiel develops his own thoughts on individual responsibility as far as punishment and reward goes.

Compare to Jeremiah 31: The same proverb is cited and refuted in Jeremiah 31. ("The parents have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.")  Jeremiah takes this proverb as the children are punished for the sins of their parents and Ezekiel develops it further and argues that everyone is punished or rewarded for his or her own sins.

"I will take you from the nations, and gather you from all the countries, and bring you into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean from all your uncleannesses, and from all your idols I will cleanse you. A new heart I will give you, and a new spirit I will put within you; and I will remove from your body the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. I will put my spirit within you, and make you follow my statutes and be careful to observe my ordinances."

Author:  Ezekiel (36:24-27)

Approximate date: 593-571

Genre: Oracle of Salvation for Israel

Explain the details and meaning: Addresses some of the presuppositions of this transformation.  YHWH is primarily concerned with the sanctity of his holy name.  In order to be restored, Israel must be purified.  A new heart and a new spirit will be given.  The old creation had failed and the new creation give people a better disposition, it would remove hazards of free will, by making poeple obey the laws.

Compare to Jeremiah 31: As in Jeremiah's concept of a new convenant, we find the totalitarian tendency of utopian thinking.  Human nature as we know it inclines to evil.  Only by radically redesigning human nautre can good behavior be guaranteed.

"The hand of the Lord came upon me, and he brought me out by the spirit of the Lord and set me down in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me all round them; there were very many lying in the valley, and they were very dry. He said to me, ‘Mortal, can these bones live?’ I answered, ‘O Lord God, you know.’ Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to these bones, and say to them: O dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord God to these bones: I will cause breath to enter you, and you shall live. I will lay sinews on you, and will cause flesh to come upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and you shall live; and you shall know that I am the Lord.’

So I prophesied as I had been commanded; and as I prophesied, suddenly there was a noise, a rattling, and the bones came together, bone to its bone. I looked, and there were sinews on them, and flesh had come upon them, and skin had covered them; but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, ‘Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, mortal, and say to the breath: Thus says the Lord God: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.’ I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood on their feet, a vast multitude.

Then he said to me, ‘Mortal, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, “Our bones are dried up, and our hope is lost; we are cut off completely.” Therefore prophesy, and say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am going to open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people; and I will bring you back to the land of Israel. And you shall know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves, and bring you up from your graves, O my people. I will put my spirit within you, and you shall live, and I will place you on your own soil; then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken and will act, says the Lord.’ 

 The word of the Lord came to me: Mortal, take a stick and write on it, ‘For Judah, and the Israelites associated with it’; then take another stick and write on it, ‘For Joseph (the stick of Ephraim) and all the house of Israel associated with it’; and join them together into one stick, so that they may become one in your hand. And when your people say to you, ‘Will you not show us what you mean by these?’ say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I am about to take the stick of Joseph (which is in the hand of Ephraim) and the tribes of Israel associated with it; and I will put the stick of Judah upon it, and make them one stick, in order that they may be one in my hand. When the sticks on which you write are in your hand before their eyes, then say to them, Thus says the Lord God: I will take the people of Israel from the nations among which they have gone, and will gather them from every quarter, and bring them to their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all. Never again shall they be two nations, and never again shall they be divided into two kingdoms. They shall never again defile themselves with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions. I will save them from all the apostasies into which they have fallen, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be my people, and I will be their God.

 My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes. They shall live in the land that I gave to my servant Jacob, in which your ancestors lived; they and their children and their children’s children shall live there for ever; and my servant David shall be their prince for ever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary among them for evermore. My dwelling-place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations shall know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is among them for evermore."

Author:  Ezekiel 37

Approximate date: 593-371 BCE

Genre: Vision (Oracle of Restoration)

Explain the details and meaning: Vision of the Valley of the Dry Bones... The kingdom of God is not just in this world but in a world to come... This is a vision of resurrection but used only metaphorically (not suggest that the individual dead will come back to life) but that the whole house of Israel will be restored... The vision is followed by a symbolic action (prophet writes on a stick and the restoration must include all Israel and would last forever.

"Comfort, O comfort my people,
   says your God.
Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
   and cry to her
that she has served her term,
   that her penalty is paid,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
   double for all her sins.

A voice cries out:
‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord,
   make straight in the desert a highway for our God.
Every valley shall be lifted up,
   and every mountain and hill be made low;
the uneven ground shall become level,
   and the rough places a plain.
Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed,
   and all people shall see it together,
   for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.’

A voice says, ‘Cry out!’
   And I said, ‘What shall I cry?’
All people are grass,
   their constancy is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
   when the breath of the Lord blows upon it;
   surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades;
   but the word of our God will stand for ever.
Get you up to a high mountain,
   O Zion, herald of good tidings;
lift up your voice with strength,
   O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings,
   lift it up, do not fear;
say to the cities of Judah,
   ‘Here is your God!’
See, the Lord God comes with might,
   and his arm rules for him;
his reward is with him,
   and his recompense before him.
He will feed his flock like a shepherd;
   he will gather the lambs in his arms,
and carry them in his bosom,
   and gently lead the mother sheep."

Author:  2nd Isaiah (40:1-11)

Approximate date: 539 BCE

Genre: Salvation Oracle

Explain the details and meaning:  Provide the theme of the whole book... Opening oracle is set in the divine council and the author is thought to be a member of the divine council, a heavenly or angelic being... the first voice said that you have been in exile and paid double for your sins and God will take you home (first idea that YHWH is excessive, suffering may have a purpose other than punishment for sin)... the second voice sets the motif of the highway suggests that the return will be a triumphal procession of YHWH to his city... the third voice proclaims the transcendent power of God and then the last move casts Zion and Jerusalem in the role of heralds, passing on the good news to the cities of Judah from their perch on Mt. Zion

"Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,
   whose right hand I have grasped
to subdue nations before him
   and strip kings of their robes,
to open doors before him—
   and the gates shall not be closed:
I will go before you
   and level the mountains,
I will break in pieces the doors of bronze
   and cut through the bars of iron,
I will give you the treasures of darkness
   and riches hidden in secret places,
so that you may know that it is I, the Lord,
   the God of Israel, who call you by your name.
For the sake of my servant Jacob,
   and Israel my chosen,
I call you by your name,
   I surname you, though you do not know me.
I am the Lord, and there is no other;
   besides me there is no god.
   I arm you, though you do not know me,
so that they may know, from the rising of the sun
   and from the west, that there is no one besides me;
   I am the Lord, and there is no other.
I form light and create darkness,
   I make weal and create woe;
   I the Lord do all these things."

Author: 2nd Isaiah (45:1-7)

Approximate date: 539BCE

Genre: royal/messianic oracle

Explain the details and meaning: God is sending a messiah who is not Jewish to deliver Israel. This indicates that God is working in the nations and events outside Israel to accomplish God’s will. God is the One who has the final word in all things and is accomplishing God’s will which will ultimately prevail.

"Thus says the Lord:
   Maintain justice, and do what is right,
for soon my salvation will come,
   and my deliverance be revealed.

Happy is the mortal who does this,
   the one who holds it fast,
who keeps the sabbath, not profaning it,
   and refrains from doing any evil.

Do not let the foreigner joined to the Lord say,
   ‘The Lord will surely separate me from his people’;
and do not let the eunuch say,
   ‘I am just a dry tree.’
For thus says the Lord:
To the eunuchs who keep my sabbaths,
   who choose the things that please me
   and hold fast my covenant,
I will give, in my house and within my walls,
   a monument and a name
   better than sons and daughters;
I will give them an everlasting name
   that shall not be cut off.

And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord,
   to minister to him, to love the name of the Lord,
   and to be his servants,
all who keep the sabbath, and do not profane it,
   and hold fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain,
   and make them joyful in my house of prayer;
their burnt-offerings and their sacrifices
   will be accepted on my altar;
for my house shall be called a house of prayer
   for all peoples.
Thus says the Lord God,
   who gathers the outcasts of Israel,
I will gather others to them
   besides those already gathered.^"

Author:  3rd Isaiah (56:1-8)

Approximate date: post exilic (6th-5th century)

Genre: eschatological oracle (?)

Explain the details and meaning: the purpose is to reveal that the restoration of the Jews will include those once considered outside of the covenant, this passage points to universalism of the restoration.  Points also to keeping Shabbat which should lead to justice and righteousness.

"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me,
   because the Lord has anointed me;
he has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed,
   to bind up the broken-hearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
   and release to the prisoners;
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour,
   and the day of vengeance of our God;
   to comfort all who mourn;
to provide for those who mourn in Zion—
   to give them a garland instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
   the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit.
They will be called oaks of righteousness,
   the planting of the Lord, to display his glory.
They shall build up the ancient ruins,
   they shall raise up the former devastations;
they shall repair the ruined cities,
   the devastations of many generations."

Author:  3rd Isaiah (61:1-4)

Approximate date: Post-exilic (6th-5th century)

Genre: Messianic oracle similar to servant songs in 2nd Isaiah

Explain the details and meaning: Text presents a liberator, one who is anointed and proclaims good news, and upon whom the spirit of the Lord rests.

"The word of the Lord came a second time to Haggai on the twenty-fourth day of the month: Speak to Zerubbabel, governor of Judah, saying, I am about to shake the heavens and the earth, and to overthrow the throne of kingdoms; I am about to destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the nations, and overthrow the chariots and their riders; and the horses and their riders shall fall, every one by the sword of a comrade. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will take you, O Zerubbabel my servant, son of Shealtiel, says the Lord, and make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you, says the Lord of hosts."

Author:  Haggai 2:20-23

Approximate date: Postexilic (530BCE  ~Estimated)

Genre: Salvation Oracle

Explain the details and meaning: Haggai’s hope was that Zerubbabel would restore the Davidic Messiah.  The temple got re-built and beacme a foundation for Judean restoration.  Zerubbabel disappears from the scene, fate unknown.  Signet ring is a seal, if pressed into a document it was a guarantee of authenticity.

"Then he showed me the high priest Joshua standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him. And the Lord said to Satan, ‘The Lord rebuke you, O Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this man a brand plucked from the fire?’ Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before him, ‘Take off his filthy clothes.’ And to him he said, ‘See, I have taken your guilt away from you, and I will clothe you in festal apparel.’ And I said, ‘Let them put a clean turban on his head.’ So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him in the apparel; and the angel of the Lord was standing by.

Then the angel of the Lord assured Joshua, saying ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my requirements, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here. Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the Lord of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. On that day, says the Lord of hosts, you shall invite each other to come under your vine and fig tree.’"

Author:  1st Zechariah (3)

Approximate date: Post-exilic (520-518 BCE)

Genre: Vision

Explain the details and meaning:  This is 1st Zechariah's fourth night vision.  It includes Joshua, (Zerubbabel), and the satan.  Ha-sah-ton--it means test, the prosecuting attorney, one of the angels (not talking about an earthly court but a heavenly one)... Symbolically they are cleaning up the corrupt priest hood... Mention of Zerubbabel is "the branch" because what they envisioned is co-rule by Zerubbabel (head of state) and Joshua (head of temple).  This passage addresses an issue that was internal to the Jewish community with the prophet seeing the high priest, Joshua, standing before the angel of the Lord and "the satan."  This is only the third case in the Hebrew Bible that satan comes into play and satan doesn't equal the devil like we think today.  There is a two fold promise to Joshua... 1. if he observes the Lord's requirements, he will be confirmed in the high priesthood... 2. God is about to restore the Davidic line.

"The angel who talked with me came again, and wakened me, as one is wakened from sleep. He said to me, ‘What do you see?’ And I said, ‘I see a lampstand all of gold, with a bowl on the top of it; there are seven lamps on it, with seven lips on each of the lamps that are on the top of it. And by it there are two olive trees, one on the right of the bowl and the other on its left.’ I said to the angel who talked with me, ‘What are these, my lord?’ Then the angel who talked with me answered me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ He said to me, ‘This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring out the top stone amid shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’

Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this house; his hands shall also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel.

‘These seven are the eyes of the Lord, which range through the whole earth.’ Then I said to him, ‘What are these two olive trees on the right and the left of the lampstand?’ And a second time I said to him, ‘What are these two branches of the olive trees, which pour out the oil through the two golden pipes?’ He said to me, ‘Do you not know what these are?’ I said, ‘No, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the two anointed ones who stand by the Lord of the whole earth.’"

Author:  1st Zechariah (4)

Approximate date: Post-exilic (520-518 BCE)

Genre: Vision

Explain the details and meaning:This is the fifth vision that Zechariah sees and it includeds a menorah and two olive trees... 

Two olive tress=Joshua and Zerubbabel (one anointed king and one anointed priest)... menorah (7 with 7 lips)=the eyes of the Lord that range through the whole earth... weird insert in the middle about Zerubbabel affirming that he will not rule by human might or power but by the spirit of the Lord (Like Isaiah 11).

"The word of the Lord came to me: Collect silver and gold from the exiles—from Heldai, Tobijah, and Jedaiah—who have arrived from Babylon; and go the same day to the house of Josiah son of Zephaniah. Take the silver and gold and make a crown, and set it on the head of the high priest Joshua son of Jehozadak; say to him: Thus says the Lord of hosts: Here is a man whose name is Branch: for he shall branch out in his place, and he shall build the temple of the Lord. It is he that shall build the temple of the Lord; he shall bear royal honour, and shall sit and rule on his throne. There shall be a priest by his throne, with peaceful understanding between the two of them. And the crown shall be in the care of Heldai, Tobijah, Jedaiah, and Josiah son of Zephaniah, as a memorial in the temple of the Lord.

Those who are far off shall come and help to build the temple of the Lord; and you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. This will happen if you diligently obey the voice of the Lord your God."

Author:  1st Zechariah (6:9-15)

Approximate date: Post-exilic (520-518 BCE)

Genre: Vision

Explain the details and meaning: In this verse, crown is really thought to be crowns (which is wrong then in the NRSV) because the prophet would be collecting the precious metals to make a crown for Joshua and a crown for Zerubbabel.  Zerubbabel was edited out of the text.  The idea of crowning the governor was probably too explosive.

"See, I am sending my messenger to prepare the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. The messenger of the covenant in whom you delight—indeed, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. But who can endure the day of his coming, and who can stand when he appears?

For he is like a refiner’s fire and like fullers’ soap; he will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver, and he will purify the descendants of Levi and refine them like gold and silver, until they present offerings to the Lord in righteousness. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem will be pleasing to the Lord as in the days of old and as in former years."

Author:  Malachi 3:1-4
Approximate date: 465-445 BCE
Genre: Eschatological oracle
Explain the details and meaning: Part of the fifth oracle in the book of Malachi, which predicts the coming of the Lord to his temple in judgment in response to the people’s complaint, “Where is the God of justice?”  God’s Messenger will purify the priesthood.  The focus of the passage is on the terror and danger associated with the coming of the Lord.

"Hear this, O elders,
   give ear, all inhabitants of the land!
Has such a thing happened in your days,
   or in the days of your ancestors?

Tell your children of it,
   and let your children tell their children,
   and their children another generation.

What the cutting locust left,
   the swarming locust has eaten.
What the swarming locust left,
   the hopping locust has eaten,
and what the hopping locust left,
   the destroying locust has eaten.

Wake up, you drunkards, and weep;
   and wail, all you wine-drinkers,
over the sweet wine,
   for it is cut off from your mouth.
For a nation has invaded my land,
   powerful and innumerable;
its teeth are lions’ teeth,
   and it has the fangs of a lioness.
It has laid waste my vines,
   and splintered my fig trees;
it has stripped off their bark and thrown it down;
   their branches have turned white.

Lament like a virgin dressed in sackcloth
   for the husband of her youth.
The grain-offering and the drink-offering are cut off
   from the house of the Lord.
The priests mourn,
   the ministers of the Lord.
The fields are devastated,
   the ground mourns;
for the grain is destroyed,
   the wine dries up,
   the oil fails.

Be dismayed, you farmers,
   wail, you vine-dressers,
over the wheat and the barley;
   for the crops of the field are ruined.
The vine withers,
   the fig tree droops.
Pomegranate, palm, and apple—
   all the trees of the field are dried up;
surely, joy withers away
   among the people."

Author:  Joel 1:2-12
Approximate date: 5th-4th Centuries BCE
Genre:
Explain the details and meaning: Announcement of judgment on Judah through the locust plague, and a call to lamentation.  The prophet calls for the people to assemble in the Jerusalem temple to appeal to YHWH for deliverance from a locust plague, which threatens to destroy Judah’s crops and livelihood.  The plague of locusts metaphorically describes an enemy invasion.

"Then afterwards
   I will pour out my spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
   your old men shall dream dreams,
   and your young men shall see visions.
Even on the male and female slaves,
   in those days, I will pour out my spirit."

Author:  Joel 2:28-29 (Hebrew 3:1-2)
Approximate date: 5th-4th Centuries BCE
Genre: Eschatological oracle
Explain the details and meaning: The Day of the LORD will be salvation for Judah and Zion but judgment on the nations.  Joel’s view as prophecy is coming to an end.  Prophecy morphs into universalized prophecy, as the spirit will be poured out on all flesh so that all have the gift of prophecy.  This is cited in Acts 2 in connection with the outpouring of the spirit at Pentecost.
Compare to Zechariah 13:2-6: In Zechariah prophecy dies, but in Joel prophecy changes such that it is universalized.  Zechariah 13:2-6 says that the prophets will be ashamed of their calling and refuse to acknowledge it.  Joel 2:28-29 says that the spirit will be poured out on all flesh so that all have the gift of prophecy.

"On that day, says the Lord of hosts, I will cut off the names of the idols from the land, so that they shall be remembered no more; and also I will remove from the land the prophets and the unclean spirit. And if any prophets appear again, their fathers and mothers who bore them will say to them, ‘You shall not live, for you speak lies in the name of the Lord’; and their fathers and their mothers who bore them shall pierce them through when they prophesy. On that day the prophets will be ashamed, every one, of their visions when they prophesy; they will not put on a hairy mantle in order to deceive, but each of them will say, ‘I am no prophet, I am a tiller of the soil; for the land has been my possession since my youth.’ And if anyone asks them, ‘What are these wounds on your chest?’ the answer will be ‘The wounds I received in the house of my friends.’"

Author:  2nd Zechariah (13:2-6)
Approximate date: after 518 BCE
Genre: Eschatological Oracle
Explain the details and meaning: Prophecy dies.  Prophets will be ashamed of their calling and refuse to acknowledge it.  The shame surrounding the profession of prophecy probably arose from the conflicts between the prophets in the time of Jeremiah and the discrediting of prophecy because of failed predictions.
Compare to Joel 2:28-29: In Zechariah prophecy dies, but in Joel prophecy changes such that it is universalized.  Zechariah 13:2-6 says that the prophets will be ashamed of their calling and refuse to acknowledge it.  Joel 2:28-29 says that the spirit will be poured out on all flesh so that all have the gift of prophecy.

"On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples
   a feast of rich food, a feast of well-matured wines,
   of rich food filled with marrow, of well-matured wines strained clear.
And he will destroy on this mountain
   the shroud that is cast over all peoples,
   the sheet that is spread over all nations;
he will swallow up death for ever.
Then the Lord God will wipe away the tears from all faces,
   and the disgrace of his people he will take away from all the earth,
   for the Lord has spoken.
It will be said on that day,
   Lo, this is our God; we have waited for him, so that he might save us.
   This is the Lord for whom we have waited;
   let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.

For the hand of the Lord will rest on this mountain.
The Moabites shall be trodden down in their place
   as straw is trodden down in a dung-pit."

Author:  The Isaiah Apocalypse (25:6-10)
Approximate date: Early 6th Century BCE or later
Genre: Eschatological Oracle
Explain the details and meaning: The universal “Messianic Banquet.”  This is the first text that references an afterlife (the kingdom of God will be complete in the afterlife).  This passage has mythic themes:  mythic conflicts often end with a triumphal feast; in Ugaritic myths, Death swallowed up Baal.

"The way of the righteous is level;
   O Just One, you make smooth the path of the righteous.
In the path of your judgements,
   O Lord, we wait for you;
your name and your renown
   are the soul’s desire.
My soul yearns for you in the night,
   my spirit within me earnestly seeks you.
For when your judgements are in the earth,
   the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.
If favour is shown to the wicked,
   they do not learn righteousness;
in the land of uprightness they deal perversely
   and do not see the majesty of the Lord.
O Lord, your hand is lifted up,
   but they do not see it.
Let them see your zeal for your people, and be ashamed.
   Let the fire for your adversaries consume them. O Lord, you will ordain peace for us,
   for indeed, all that we have done, you have done for us.
O Lord our God,
   other lords besides you have ruled over us,
   but we acknowledge your name alone.
The dead do not live;
   shades do not rise—
because you have punished and destroyed them,
   and wiped out all memory of them.
But you have increased the nation, O Lord,
   you have increased the nation; you are glorified;
   you have enlarged all the borders of the land.

O Lord, in distress they sought you,
   they poured out a prayer
   when your chastening was on them.
Like a woman with child,
   who writhes and cries out in her pangs
   when she is near her time,
so were we because of you, O Lord;
we were with child, we writhed,
   but we gave birth only to wind.
We have won no victories on earth,
   and no one is born to inhabit the world.
Your dead shall live, their corpses shall rise.
   O dwellers in the dust, awake and sing for joy!
For your dew is a radiant dew,
   and the earth will give birth to those long dead.^"

Author:  The Isaiah Apocalypse (26:7-19)
Approximate date: Early 6th century BCE or later
Genre: Apocalyptic
Explain the details and meaning: Resurrection of the Righteous Dead.  This passage is the first clear statement of bodily resurrection.  Justice comes after death (the wicked people die and do not rise).  This passage affirms that God can raise the dead; death is not necessarily final.
Compare to Daniel 12:1-4: In the book of Daniel, we find an unambiguous affirmation of the hope that individual righteous people would not languish forever in the netherworld (Sheol) but would be raised to eternal life.  Daniel does not say that everyone will be raised, only the righteous and the wicked.  Neither does he say that the resurrection will involve a body of flesh and blood.  The wise are lifted up from Sheol to heaven. 

"In the first year of King Belshazzar of Babylon, Daniel had a dream and visions of his head as he lay in bed. Then he wrote down the dream: I, Daniel, saw in my vision by night the four winds of heaven stirring up the great sea, and four great beasts came up out of the sea, different from one another. The first was like a lion and had eagles’ wings. Then, as I watched, its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a human being; and a human mind was given to it. Another beast appeared, a second one, that looked like a bear. It was raised up on one side, had three tusks in its mouth among its teeth and was told, ‘Arise, devour many bodies!’ After this, as I watched, another appeared, like a leopard. The beast had four wings of a bird on its back and four heads; and dominion was given to it. After this I saw in the visions by night a fourth beast, terrifying and dreadful and exceedingly strong. It had great iron teeth and was devouring, breaking in pieces, and stamping what was left with its feet. It was different from all the beasts that preceded it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, when another horn appeared, a little one coming up among them; to make room for it, three of the earlier horns were plucked up by the roots. There were eyes like human eyes in this horn, and a mouth speaking arrogantly.

As I watched,
thrones were set in place,
   and an Ancient One took his throne;
his clothing was white as snow,
   and the hair of his head like pure wool;
his throne was fiery flames,
   and its wheels were burning fire.
A stream of fire issued
   and flowed out from his presence.
A thousand thousand served him,
   and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him.
The court sat in judgement,
   and the books were opened.
I watched then because of the noise of the arrogant words that the horn was speaking. And as I watched, the beast was put to death, and its body destroyed and given over to be burned with fire. As for the rest of the beasts, their dominion was taken away, but their lives were prolonged for a season and a time. As I watched in the night visions,
I saw one like a human being
   coming with the clouds of heaven.
And he came to the Ancient One
   and was presented before him.
To him was given dominion
   and glory and kingship,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
   should serve him.
His dominion is an everlasting dominion
   that shall not pass away,
and his kingship is one
   that shall never be destroyed.

As for me, Daniel, my spirit was troubled within me, and the visions of my head terrified me. I approached one of the attendants to ask him the truth concerning all this. So he said that he would disclose to me the interpretation of the matter: ‘As for these four great beasts, four kings shall arise out of the earth. But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever—for ever and ever.’

Then I desired to know the truth concerning the fourth beast, which was different from all the rest, exceedingly terrifying, with its teeth of iron and claws of bronze, and which devoured and broke in pieces, and stamped what was left with its feet; and concerning the ten horns that were on its head, and concerning the other horn that came up, and to make room for which three of them fell out—the horn that had eyes and a mouth that spoke arrogantly, and that seemed greater than the others. As I looked, this horn made war with the holy ones and was prevailing over them, until the Ancient One came; then judgement was given for the holy ones of the Most High, and the time arrived when the holy ones gained possession of the kingdom.

This is what he said: ‘As for the fourth beast,
there shall be a fourth kingdom on earth
   that shall be different from all the other kingdoms;
it shall devour the whole earth,
   and trample it down, and break it to pieces.
As for the ten horns,
out of this kingdom ten kings shall arise,
   and another shall arise after them.
This one shall be different from the former ones,
   and shall put down three kings.
He shall speak words against the Most High,
   shall wear out the holy ones of the Most High,
   and shall attempt to change the sacred seasons and the law;
and they shall be given into his power
   for a time, two times, and half a time.
Then the court shall sit in judgement,
   and his dominion shall be taken away,
   to be consumed and totally destroyed.
The kingship and dominion
   and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven
   shall be given to the people of the holy ones of the Most High;
their kingdom shall be an everlasting kingdom,
   and all dominions shall serve and obey them.’

Here the account ends. As for me, Daniel, my thoughts greatly terrified me, and my face turned pale; but I kept the matter in my mind."

Author:  Daniel 7

Approximate date: before 164 BCE but around there

Genre: Vision

Explain the details and meaning: This is the first of Daniel’s visions. 
    4 beasts (empires—Babylonians, Media, Persia, Greece)   Last beast has 10 horns, the Grecian descendants of Alexandria became the Seleucid dynasty, it had 10 princes…
    ·      Antiachus who had big mouth, tried to wipe out Judaism. 
    ·     This is what produces the Macabean Revolt. A family “the hammers” 
    ·     There were intense stories of persecution.

"‘At that time Michael, the great prince, the protector of your people, shall arise. There shall be a time of anguish, such as has never occurred since nations first came into existence. But at that time your people shall be delivered, everyone who is found written in the book. Many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever. But you, Daniel, keep the words secret and the book sealed until the time of the end. Many shall be running back and forth, and evil shall increase.’"

Author:  Daniel 12:1-4

Approximate date:  Around 167 BCE about the time of the Maccabean revolt

Genre: Apocalyptic

Explain the details and meaning: The stories of Daniel 1-6 are shadowed in 7-12.  Verse 2  of this passage is the first clear biblical reference to a resurrection, final judgment, and afterlife.  Angels now are taking on personalities and fighting for us.  Much of this section is Daniel’s view of the afterlife.

Compare to Isaiah 26:7-19: The Isaiah passage is also apocalyptic literature and talks about the resurrection of the righteous dead.
    Verses 12-15 is the main part of the lament, on account of foreign domination, with a brief glance at the national history

Write an essay defining apocalyptic literature and its context and explaining how it is different from Hebrew prophecy (naviism).

Apocalyptic- written in persecution to offer hope to those who are persectured
                    -   The world is evil and God lets the world go and once destroyed then God puts it back together
                    -   Get rid of the old world and get a new one
                    -   “Have faith, persevere, God will react”
                    -   All is determined, the saved are only names written in the Book of Life
                    -   Supernatural creatures are used in apocalyptic literature

Naviism- the prophet calls the hearer in to repentance and accountability (God is not giving up)
            -   in this prophesy, real people will do the punishing (foreign nations)
            -   Sometimes there is grace attached to the punishing

"Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
   my chosen, in whom my soul delights;
I have put my spirit upon him;
   he will bring forth justice to the nations.
He will not cry or lift up his voice,
   or make it heard in the street;
a bruised reed he will not break,
   and a dimly burning wick he will not quench;
   he will faithfully bring forth justice.
He will not grow faint or be crushed
   until he has established justice in the earth;
   and the coastlands wait for his teaching."

Author:  2nd Isaiah (42:1-9)

Approximate date: 539 BCE

Genre: Servant Song (#1)

Explain the details and meaning:  Task is to bring forth justice beyond Israel... Quiet man but faithfully goes forth in his mission... They wait for his teachings... Coastlands are the farthest way--metaphor for way out there... Mission to liberate the people from captivity (could refer to Cyrus)

"Listen to me, O coastlands,
   pay attention, you peoples from far away!
The Lord called me before I was born,
   while I was in my mother’s womb he named me.
He made my mouth like a sharp sword,
   in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me a polished arrow,
   in his quiver he hid me away.
And he said to me, ‘You are my servant,
   Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’
But I said, ‘I have laboured in vain,
   I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity;
yet surely my cause is with the Lord,
   and my reward with my God.’

And now the Lord says,
   who formed me in the womb to be his servant,
to bring Jacob back to him,
   and that Israel might be gathered to him,
for I am honoured in the sight of the Lord,
   and my God has become my strength—
he says,
‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant
   to raise up the tribes of Jacob
   and to restore the survivors of Israel;
I will give you as a light to the nations,
   that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’"

Author:  2nd Isaiah (49:1-6)

Approximate date: 539 BCE

Genre: Servant Song (#2)

Explain the details and meaning:  This servant has been called since he was a fetus (like Jeremiah)... A dual mission... Bring back the Jews to God (to Israel)... Mission to all the Gentiles as well--to be a light to the nations... Many scholars would delete Israel and leave it as an un-named servant because how can Israel be a servant to itself... Kings and princes would be startled because of what the Lord would do.

"The Lord God has given me
   the tongue of a teacher,
that I may know how to sustain
   the weary with a word.
Morning by morning he wakens—
   wakens my ear
   to listen as those who are taught.
The Lord God has opened my ear,
   and I was not rebellious,
   I did not turn backwards.
I gave my back to those who struck me,
   and my cheeks to those who pulled out the beard;
I did not hide my face
   from insult and spitting.
The Lord God helps me;
   therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like flint,
   and I know that I shall not be put to shame;
he who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me?
   Let us stand up together.
Who are my adversaries?
   Let them confront me.
It is the Lord God who helps me;
   who will declare me guilty?
All of them will wear out like a garment;
   the moth will eat them up."

Author:  2nd Isaiah (50:4-9)

Approximate date: 539 BCE

Genre: Servant Song (#3)

Explain the details and meaning: This one stands apart from all the others because it doesn't use the word servant in it.  The figure, who speaks in the first person, is a teacher or prophet, who listens faithfully to the word of the Lord and endures much resistance and abuse.  Reference is probably to the servant himself!

"See, my servant shall prosper;
   he shall be exalted and lifted up,
   and shall be very high.
Just as there were many who were astonished at him
   —so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance,
   and his form beyond that of mortals—
so he shall startle many nations;
   kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which had not been told them they shall see,
   and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.

Who has believed what we have heard?
   And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
   and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
   nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by others;
   a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
   he was despised, and we held him of no account.

Surely he has borne our infirmities
   and carried our diseases;
yet we accounted him stricken,
   struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
   crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
   and by his bruises we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
   we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
   the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
   yet he did not open his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
   and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
   so he did not open his mouth.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
   Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
   stricken for the transgression of my people.
They made his grave with the wicked
   and his tomb with the rich,
although he had done no violence,
   and there was no deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him with pain.
When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days;
through him the will of the Lord shall prosper.
Out of his anguish he shall see light;
he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge.
   The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous,
   and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great,
   and he shall divide the spoil with the strong;
because he poured out himself to death,
   and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
   and made intercession for the transgressors."

Author: 2nd Isaiah (52:13-53:12)

Approximate date: 539 BCE

Genre: Servant Song (#4)

Explain the details and meaning:  Suffering has become his identity.  Everyone thinks that he is being punished by God but in fact (new idea) it is God's will that he suffers in order to help the will of the people (Vicarious Atonement--Accepting his yoke from God)... Who is the servant?  The author is probably talking about someone that is from this lifetime, Maybe the prophet himself, Clearly for us who has the end of the story and it gains it fullest fulfillment in the life and death of Jesus