WEBVTT 00:00.640 --> 00:01.690 Professor Christine Hayes: All right, 00:01.692 --> 00:04.182 let's go ahead and get started; there's a lot to cover. 00:04.180 --> 00:07.300 But I want to try to unite a lot of these disparate parts of 00:07.296 --> 00:10.516 the Bible, the many small books clustered here at the end that 00:10.519 --> 00:11.839 we'll be considering. 00:11.840 --> 00:14.390 I'm going to try to unite them by elaborating certain themes as 00:14.385 --> 00:15.325 we move through them. 00:15.330 --> 00:18.520 But as you can see, from this giant chart, 00:18.518 --> 00:20.228 there's quite a bit. 00:20.230 --> 00:22.620 First, let's begin with the Book of Ruth. 00:22.620 --> 00:25.160 The Book of Ruth is set in the days of the Judges; 00:25.160 --> 00:26.760 that's the opening line of the book. 00:26.760 --> 00:29.300 It tells you that this happened in the days of Judges, 00:29.298 --> 00:31.068 but it was certainly written later, 00:31.070 --> 00:34.870 and whether it was post-exilic or pre-exilic is not certain, 00:34.869 --> 00:39.119 so we're going to be asking the questions of a canonical critic. 00:39.120 --> 00:42.780 Whatever its origin, how did this book function for 00:42.781 --> 00:44.321 Second Temple Jews? 00:44.320 --> 00:47.910 As the story of a foreign woman, whose foreign status is 00:47.911 --> 00:50.851 continually emphasized throughout the book, 00:50.850 --> 00:53.960 (Ruth the Moabite, Ruth the Moabitess)-- as a 00:53.963 --> 00:58.353 foreign woman who acts nobly and enters the community of Israel 00:58.349 --> 01:01.059 by choice, this story would have stood in 01:01.062 --> 01:03.762 opposition to the negative view of foreigners, 01:03.759 --> 01:07.179 the ban on intermarriage and the purely genealogical 01:07.180 --> 01:11.470 definition of Israelite identity that was promulgated by Ezra and 01:11.473 --> 01:14.093 Nehemiah in the post-exilic period. 01:14.090 --> 01:17.790 So in the story you have a famine in Judah and that causes 01:17.789 --> 01:20.899 a Bethlehemite man, Elimelech and his wife Naomi, 01:20.904 --> 01:23.634 and their two children to leave Judah. 01:23.629 --> 01:26.939 They're going to reside in the country of Moab, 01:26.939 --> 01:30.389 where the Moabites live, and their two sons marry 01:30.393 --> 01:32.843 Moabite women, Orpah and Ruth. 01:32.840 --> 01:36.310 You have to consider the effect that these opening verses would 01:36.308 --> 01:39.328 have had on an ancient Israelite listener or reader. 01:39.330 --> 01:43.860 Moab was a hostile neighbor on Israel's southeastern border. 01:43.860 --> 01:47.090 And the Moabites were hated for their ill-treatment of the 01:47.093 --> 01:50.443 Israelites when they were traveling to the Promised Land. 01:50.440 --> 01:53.310 Their lack of hospitality had already led to a prohibition of 01:53.308 --> 01:55.028 intermarriage in the Torah itself. 01:55.030 --> 01:58.420 So the Moabites and Ammonites are two foreign groups that are 01:58.422 --> 02:01.482 explicitly prohibited from entering the congregation in 02:01.475 --> 02:04.565 Deuteronomy 23. The Israelites' low opinion of 02:04.567 --> 02:08.737 the Moabites is also expressed in Genesis in the very degrading 02:08.736 --> 02:12.966 story of Moab's descent from the incestuous relationship between 02:12.973 --> 02:17.383 Lot and one of his daughters, after the fall of Sodom. 02:17.379 --> 02:20.419 And yet here we read, in the opening lines of this 02:20.420 --> 02:23.340 story a man from Bethlehem, who travels to Moab, 02:23.336 --> 02:25.876 and his two sons marry Moabite women! 02:25.879 --> 02:29.239 Then in short order Elimelech and his two sons (who are 02:29.242 --> 02:32.362 appropriately named Sickness and Death, by the way, 02:32.355 --> 02:33.845 in Hebrew) they die. 02:33.849 --> 02:36.999 And the Israelite widow, Naomi, is left now with no 02:37.000 --> 02:39.390 blood relation, no blood male relation, 02:39.394 --> 02:42.044 only her two Moabite daughters-in-law. 02:42.039 --> 02:45.579 And Naomi weepily tells the girls that they should return to 02:45.580 --> 02:46.900 their father's home. 02:46.900 --> 02:50.220 She's poor, she'll never be able to support them as a poor 02:50.217 --> 02:53.067 widow, she has no further sons to give to them, 02:53.069 --> 02:57.899 and clearly they have no legal or moral obligation or tie to 02:57.904 --> 03:00.264 Naomi. And we'll pick up the story 03:00.255 --> 03:02.905 then in chapter 1:11: But Naomi replied, 03:02.914 --> 03:04.234 "Turn back, my daughters! 03:04.230 --> 03:05.710 Why should you go with me? 03:05.710 --> 03:08.780 Have I any more sons in my body who might be husbands for you? 03:08.780 --> 03:11.300 Turn back, my daughters, for I am too old to be married. 03:11.300 --> 03:14.140 Even if I thought there was hope for me, even if I married 03:14.140 --> 03:16.930 tonight and I also bore sons, should you wait for them to 03:16.931 --> 03:19.071 grow up? Should you on their account 03:19.067 --> 03:20.887 debar yourselves from marriage? 03:20.890 --> 03:22.230 Oh no, my daughters! 03:22.229 --> 03:25.399 My lot is far more bitter than yours, for the hand of the Lord 03:25.401 --> 03:26.911 has struck out against me." 03:26.909 --> 03:29.889 They broke into weeping again, and Orpah kissed her 03:29.889 --> 03:31.379 mother-in-law farewell. 03:31.380 --> 03:33.440 But Ruth clung to her. 03:33.440 --> 03:35.430 So she said, "See, your sister-in-law has 03:35.434 --> 03:37.334 returned to her people and her gods. 03:37.330 --> 03:38.960 Go follow your sister-in-law." 03:38.960 --> 03:41.500 But Ruth replied, "Do not urge me to leave you, 03:41.495 --> 03:43.365 to turn back and not follow you. 03:43.370 --> 03:46.770 For wherever you go, I will go; wherever you lodge, 03:46.772 --> 03:49.862 I will lodge; your people shall be my people, 03:49.861 --> 03:51.341 and your God my God. 03:51.340 --> 03:53.680 Where you die, I will die, and there I will be 03:53.681 --> 03:55.861 buried. Thus and more may the Lord do 03:55.864 --> 03:58.234 to me if even death parts me from you." 03:58.229 --> 04:00.189 When [Naomi] saw how determined she was to 04:00.188 --> 04:02.288 go with her, she ceased to argue with her; 04:02.289 --> 04:05.579 and the two went on until they reached Bethlehem. 04:05.580 --> 04:07.730 All of the names in this story are wonderfully symbolic. 04:07.729 --> 04:09.929 Sickness and Death – it's like they walk on the stage with 04:09.932 --> 04:12.212 a big sign saying "I'm in a bit part and I'm ready to die." 04:12.210 --> 04:16.420 Orpah's name means the back of the neck because she turns her 04:16.416 --> 04:18.936 back on her mother-in-law as well. 04:18.939 --> 04:21.599 It's a wonderful story with lots of name symbolisms. 04:21.600 --> 04:24.930 But by the force of sheer conviction, Ruth joins herself 04:24.929 --> 04:27.169 to the people of her mother-in-law. 04:27.170 --> 04:30.140 Back in Judah, Ruth supports her mother-in-law 04:30.142 --> 04:33.582 and herself by gleaning the fallen sheaves behind the 04:33.578 --> 04:35.228 reapers in the field. 04:35.230 --> 04:37.440 Because according to the Pentateuch, the sheaves that 04:37.436 --> 04:40.106 fall behind the reapers must be left for the poor to collect; 04:40.110 --> 04:41.760 you don't go back and collect them. 04:41.759 --> 04:44.669 So Ruth gleans, and she gleans in the field of 04:44.674 --> 04:47.984 a kinsman named Boaz, and he's described as a man of 04:47.977 --> 04:51.467 substance and she's very diligent and she soon comes to 04:51.474 --> 04:54.144 his attention. He's very kind to her, 04:54.136 --> 04:57.796 he looks out for her safety among the rough field workers. 04:57.800 --> 04:59.530 He provides water for her. 04:59.529 --> 05:02.769 He's heard of what Ruth has done for Naomi; 05:02.769 --> 05:05.789 how she left her home and left her family to come to a people 05:05.791 --> 05:08.311 that she really didn't know, and he blesses her. 05:08.310 --> 05:10.020 He says, "May the Lord reward your deeds. 05:10.019 --> 05:12.369 May you have a full recompense from the Lord, 05:12.372 --> 05:14.722 the God of Israel, under whose wings you have 05:14.724 --> 05:17.424 sought refuge!" chapter 2:12. 05:17.420 --> 05:21.770 He increases his generosity; he shares his meal with Ruth 05:21.769 --> 05:25.349 and gives her from the heaps of grain in addition to the 05:25.345 --> 05:27.615 gleanings that she's collecting. 05:27.620 --> 05:30.390 So Naomi is very delighted with Ruth's gleanings, 05:30.386 --> 05:32.746 they more than suffice for their needs. 05:32.750 --> 05:36.630 But she's even more pleased to learn that Ruth seems to have 05:36.626 --> 05:38.856 found favor in the eyes of Boaz. 05:38.860 --> 05:41.860 He's been very kind and generous, and she points out: 05:41.862 --> 05:44.462 you know he is among our redeeming kinsmen. 05:44.459 --> 05:46.889 Now the term here, the Hebrew term is goel. 05:46.890 --> 05:48.850 Goel means redeemer. 05:48.850 --> 05:50.960 In fact, in a lot of the Christian language later, 05:50.960 --> 05:53.290 this is the word they're using when they talk about "my 05:53.285 --> 05:54.185 redeemer liveth." 05:54.190 --> 05:57.240 It's simply this word goel, and the goel 05:57.235 --> 06:00.965 is a person who as the nearest relative or as a close relative, 06:00.970 --> 06:05.280 has certain legal obligations to another person. 06:05.279 --> 06:08.659 Those obligations--the primary obligations are three: 06:08.660 --> 06:12.300 (1)To redeem the person or their property if they've been 06:12.300 --> 06:14.770 sold to a stranger due to poverty. 06:14.769 --> 06:17.849 So to redeem them from debt servitude essentially. 06:17.850 --> 06:19.930 So your goel should do that for you. 06:19.930 --> 06:22.830 (2)To marry a childless widow. 06:22.829 --> 06:26.239 So if a man dies and his wife is childless the goel is 06:26.244 --> 06:28.334 supposed to marry her, provide seed, 06:28.329 --> 06:31.429 and the firstborn son will be named after the name who is 06:31.427 --> 06:33.067 dead. So he's supposed to marry a 06:33.067 --> 06:35.547 childless widow and produce offspring for the deceased; 06:35.550 --> 06:38.010 usually, that falls first to the brother; 06:38.009 --> 06:40.499 And then (3) in the case of the blood redeemer, 06:40.500 --> 06:43.370 also the redeemer is supposed to avenge the blood of a 06:43.370 --> 06:45.490 kinsman. So if you are killed your 06:45.485 --> 06:48.295 redeemer is supposed to seek vengeance for you. 06:48.300 --> 06:51.850 Boaz is a somewhat distant relative, but Naomi believes 06:51.847 --> 06:55.657 he's the answer to their dual problem of poverty on the one 06:55.658 --> 06:57.858 hand, and Ruth's widowhood on the 06:57.863 --> 07:01.483 other hand. So in chapter 3 she urges Ruth 07:01.481 --> 07:03.901 to make a visit to Boaz. 07:03.899 --> 07:07.179 He's winnowing barley on the threshing floor and Ruth is 07:07.180 --> 07:09.940 supposed to bathe herself, anoint herself, 07:09.935 --> 07:13.765 dress up and go out at night to the threshing floor. 07:13.769 --> 07:16.779 You should know that biblically, threshing floors 07:16.776 --> 07:20.656 tend to be places of revelry at the end of the harvest time and 07:20.660 --> 07:23.480 they are often frequented by prostitutes. 07:23.480 --> 07:28.510 But Naomi seems to be planning Ruth's seduction of Boaz. 07:28.509 --> 07:32.189 She instructs Ruth not to reveal herself until Boaz has 07:32.194 --> 07:35.764 finished eating and drinking, and when he lies down, 07:35.759 --> 07:39.189 Ruth is to approach him and uncover his feet--this is 07:39.185 --> 07:42.145 possibly a sexual euphemism--and lie down, 07:42.149 --> 07:44.489 and he will tell her what she is to do. 07:44.490 --> 07:46.960 So Ruth follows these instructions exactly. 07:46.960 --> 07:50.910 In 3:7-11: Boaz ate and drank, 07:50.905 --> 07:54.435 and in a cheerful mood went to lie down beside the grainpile. 07:54.440 --> 07:58.350 Then she went over stealthily and uncovered his feet and lay 07:58.346 --> 07:59.956 down. In the middle of the night, 07:59.958 --> 08:02.638 the man gave a start and pulled back--there was a woman lying at 08:02.639 --> 08:04.479 his feet! "Who are you?" he asked. 08:04.480 --> 08:07.050 And she replied, "I am your handmaid Ruth. 08:07.050 --> 08:09.310 Spread your robe over you handmaid, for you are a 08:09.310 --> 08:10.300 redeeming kinsman." 08:10.300 --> 08:11.710 [a goel] He exclaimed, 08:11.708 --> 08:13.518 "Be blessed of the Lord, daughter! 08:13.519 --> 08:16.699 Your latest deed of loyalty is greater than the first, 08:16.699 --> 08:20.179 in that you have not turned to younger men, whether poor or 08:20.180 --> 08:22.620 rich. And now, daughter, have no fear. 08:22.620 --> 08:24.730 I will do in your behalf whatever you ask, 08:24.729 --> 08:27.559 for all the elders of my town know what a fine woman you 08:27.558 --> 08:30.588 are." So Ruth's request is that Boaz 08:30.586 --> 08:34.196 act as her redeemer and spread his robe over her, 08:34.197 --> 08:38.107 which is a formal act of protection and espousal. 08:38.110 --> 08:41.870 And Boaz assures her that he will redeem her. 08:41.870 --> 08:45.500 He then goes on to point out, however, that there is another 08:45.495 --> 08:48.195 kinsman who is actually a closer relation, 08:48.200 --> 08:50.970 and therefore has the first right of refusal, 08:50.966 --> 08:54.546 and Boaz will settle the matter legally in the morning. 08:54.549 --> 08:57.579 And we're left wondering what transpired in the night. 08:57.580 --> 09:01.440 In chapter 4 we read the legal proceeding by which the other 09:01.437 --> 09:05.027 kinsman is freed of his obligation and his claim to Ruth 09:05.032 --> 09:09.202 and this then clears the way, enables Boaz to marry her. 09:09.200 --> 09:12.950 But the punchline to the whole story is yet to come and that 09:12.948 --> 09:15.298 occurs in chapter 4, verses 13-17, 09:15.300 --> 09:18.440 So Boaz married Ruth; she became his wife, 09:18.440 --> 09:20.440 and he cohabited with her. 09:20.440 --> 09:23.070 The Lord let her conceive, and she bore a son. 09:23.070 --> 09:25.670 And the women said to Naomi, "Blessed by the Lord, 09:25.674 --> 09:28.284 who has not withheld a redeemer from you today! 09:28.279 --> 09:30.649 May his name be perpetuated in Israel! 09:30.649 --> 09:33.499 He will renew your life and sustain your old age; 09:33.500 --> 09:35.410 for he is born of your daughter-in-law, 09:35.412 --> 09:38.132 who loves you and is better to you than seven sons." 09:38.129 --> 09:41.159 Naomi took the child and held it to her bosom. 09:41.159 --> 09:44.099 She became its foster mother, and the women neighbors gave 09:44.098 --> 09:46.468 him a name saying, "A son is born to Naomi!" 09:46.470 --> 09:49.810 They named him Obed; he was the father of Jesse, 09:49.807 --> 09:54.077 father of David. So David, God's anointed king 09:54.083 --> 09:57.463 over Israel; David, with whom God covenanted 09:57.459 --> 09:59.989 that his house should reign forever; 09:59.990 --> 10:03.730 David, from whose line would come the messianic king to rule 10:03.731 --> 10:07.031 in the final age--This David is said to be the direct 10:07.028 --> 10:10.058 descendant, the great grandson of a foreign 10:10.064 --> 10:14.034 woman from a country of idol worshippers, and a Moabitess no 10:14.032 --> 10:16.162 less. So it seems that this very 10:16.155 --> 10:19.625 short and very moving story represents a strand of thought 10:19.632 --> 10:23.172 that stood in opposition to the line of thinking found, 10:23.169 --> 10:25.789 for example, in Ezra's call for a ban on 10:25.787 --> 10:29.677 intermarriage as the only means of insuring faithfulness to 10:29.679 --> 10:31.949 Israel's God. Not only is Ruth, 10:31.952 --> 10:34.482 the Moabitess, not guilty of abominable 10:34.483 --> 10:38.683 practices, she is the ancestress of Yahweh's chosen monarch. 10:38.679 --> 10:41.959 And she's praised in the story by all who know her as a paragon 10:41.958 --> 10:44.938 of hesed, this quality of steadfast love 10:44.944 --> 10:48.404 and covenantal loyalty that binds the members of the 10:48.404 --> 10:51.664 covenant community to one another and to God. 10:51.659 --> 10:55.089 Ruth, the Moabitess, stood by an elderly widow to 10:55.086 --> 10:59.156 whom she had no real legal obligation and she was accepted 10:59.155 --> 11:01.435 into the covenant community. 11:01.440 --> 11:05.760 The acceptance of foreigners is well documented in post-exilic 11:05.760 --> 11:09.370 Judaism, despite Ezra's polemical efforts to exclude 11:09.372 --> 11:11.782 foreigners from the community. 11:11.779 --> 11:15.269 It's important to remember that Ezra's reforms never became 11:15.272 --> 11:17.502 normative for the entire community. 11:17.500 --> 11:20.130 Post-exilic, and later rabbinic Judaism, 11:20.126 --> 11:23.486 never adopted the purely genealogical definition of 11:23.493 --> 11:26.443 Jewish identity. They allowed for the phenomenon 11:26.435 --> 11:29.365 of conversion and marriage into the covenant by persons of 11:29.369 --> 11:31.839 foreign birth who accepted the God of Israel; 11:31.840 --> 11:35.580 a possibility that Ezra completely forecloses. 11:35.580 --> 11:39.140 Ezra's extreme views were popular among sectarian groups, 11:39.138 --> 11:42.308 so Ezra and exclusivism is championed, for example, 11:42.314 --> 11:44.924 in writings that are found at Qumram. 11:44.919 --> 11:47.669 It exerted some influence on early Christian bans on 11:47.669 --> 11:50.689 marriage, absolute bans on marriage between believers and 11:50.687 --> 11:53.627 unbelievers, but it's the Book of Ruth that 11:53.628 --> 11:57.508 features prominently in the Jewish conversion ceremony to 11:57.508 --> 11:59.968 this day. We have a different kind of 11:59.967 --> 12:03.337 acceptance of foreigners that's voiced by prophets of the 12:03.343 --> 12:04.673 restoration period. 12:04.669 --> 12:10.009 So these are prophets, fifth century--late sixth and 12:10.013 --> 12:13.933 fifth century. We're going to look now briefly 12:13.929 --> 12:18.119 at some of the last prophetic books, and these are writings 12:18.119 --> 12:22.239 that date to the time of the first generations of returned 12:22.237 --> 12:24.967 exiles and on. Earlier prophets in the 12:24.970 --> 12:28.580 pre-exilic period--the classical prophets we've already looked 12:28.578 --> 12:32.358 at--they had spoken of a remnant that would be restored and would 12:32.364 --> 12:34.734 be restored gloriously to its land, 12:34.730 --> 12:39.180 but the returned exiles faced a life of great hardship. 12:39.179 --> 12:42.319 The reality of poverty and the difficulties in rebuilding the 12:42.317 --> 12:45.817 temple, and the hostility of the Judeans who had remained behind, 12:45.820 --> 12:49.420 as well as the hostility of the surrounding peoples, 12:49.423 --> 12:53.173 the absence of any real political independence under a 12:53.168 --> 12:56.978 Davidic King--all of these things fell far short of the 12:56.984 --> 13:00.734 early prophets' glorious descriptions of this restored 13:00.729 --> 13:03.439 remnant. So new prophets in the period 13:03.436 --> 13:06.096 of the Restoration have to address the community's 13:06.101 --> 13:08.861 disappointment. The short Book of Haggai 13:08.861 --> 13:11.831 contains the words of the Prophet Haggai, 13:11.830 --> 13:16.360 spoken primarily to Zerubabbel, (Zerubabbel is the governor of 13:16.359 --> 13:19.389 Judea). Haggai prophesies around 520, 13:19.390 --> 13:23.890 and he declares that all of the difficulties the community was 13:23.892 --> 13:26.542 facing, the agricultural setbacks and 13:26.542 --> 13:30.372 the famines, these were all signs of God's displeasure that 13:30.366 --> 13:32.736 the temple hadn't been completed. 13:32.740 --> 13:36.690 Zerubabbel is convinced by this, the people return to their 13:36.692 --> 13:39.212 task enthusiastically, and as we know, 13:39.213 --> 13:42.283 the temple is rebuilt as Haggai promised. 13:42.279 --> 13:45.929 He says it's a humble structure but soon it's going to be filled 13:45.931 --> 13:48.541 with treasures flowing in from all nations. 13:48.539 --> 13:51.099 And the promises of the Restoration that were made by 13:51.098 --> 13:53.508 the prophets of old are just around the corner. 13:53.509 --> 13:56.139 So Haggai longed for a rebuilt temple. 13:56.139 --> 13:58.909 But not only that, also for the re-establishment 13:58.914 --> 14:01.694 of Judah's independence under a Davidic King. 14:01.690 --> 14:05.350 And he held out hope for Zerubabbel, the governor, 14:05.345 --> 14:08.395 who was, after all, a descendant of David, 14:08.403 --> 14:11.913 through the last king that went into exile. 14:11.909 --> 14:14.709 He hoped that he would serve as God's messiah, 14:14.713 --> 14:15.963 or appointed king. 14:15.960 --> 14:20.550 That hope is even stronger in the work of Haggai's 14:20.553 --> 14:22.903 contemporary, the prophet, 14:22.897 --> 14:26.417 Zechariah. Zechariah is 14 chapters long, 14:26.415 --> 14:30.605 and the first eight chapters contain the prophecies of the 14:30.605 --> 14:33.615 historical Zechariah around 520 or so. 14:33.620 --> 14:37.640 The last chapters--chapters 9 through 14, this is known as 14:37.638 --> 14:42.078 Second Zechariah--these chapters contain obscure writings from a 14:42.079 --> 14:46.449 later hand and they are of a very different type or genre. 14:46.450 --> 14:48.580 They are written in the apocalyptic vein, 14:48.582 --> 14:51.412 so we won't talk about those now, we'll consider those 14:51.407 --> 14:53.547 momentarily. I'm going to be talking about 14:53.551 --> 14:55.601 apocalyptic for the last half of the lecture. 14:55.600 --> 14:57.910 So for right now I'm interested, however, 14:57.906 --> 15:01.186 in the first eight chapters which represent the oracles of 15:01.192 --> 15:03.962 the historical prophet Zechariah around 520. 15:03.960 --> 15:07.250 He preached and prophesied for about two years. 15:07.250 --> 15:11.270 He urges in these chapters the rebuilding of the temple. 15:11.269 --> 15:14.699 The first six chapters contain a series of elaborate and 15:14.697 --> 15:17.497 symbolic visions, eight different visions that 15:17.502 --> 15:20.932 are revealed by an angel and/or a divine messenger. 15:20.929 --> 15:24.689 That's a mode of revelation that's going to be standard in 15:24.688 --> 15:27.588 apocalyptic literature, as we'll soon see. 15:27.590 --> 15:30.710 Earlier prophets received a word or a vision but as we move 15:30.712 --> 15:33.622 towards apocalyptic literature and later literature, 15:33.620 --> 15:38.130 prophets often receive messages from God through an angel or a 15:38.132 --> 15:40.992 messenger. These visions focus hope on 15:40.991 --> 15:44.641 Zerubabbel, the governor, and on the priest Joshua, 15:44.641 --> 15:46.541 the high priest Joshua. 15:46.539 --> 15:49.949 And the idea is that they'll rule in a kind of diarchy as 15:49.950 --> 15:51.230 monarch and priest. 15:51.230 --> 15:54.430 At the same time, however, it seems that the 15:54.426 --> 15:56.876 Persians got rid of Zerubabbel. 15:56.879 --> 16:01.669 He was ousted perhaps because messianic hope was starting to 16:01.668 --> 16:03.858 gather around Zerubabbel. 16:03.860 --> 16:07.870 So Zechariah's prophesies seem to be adjusted to refer solely 16:07.868 --> 16:10.058 to Joshua. Although they originally 16:10.056 --> 16:12.826 referred to Zerubabbel, and although chapter 6 in 16:12.830 --> 16:15.950 particular seems to refer originally to Zerubabbel, 16:15.950 --> 16:19.480 it is altered so that it now depicts Joshua as a shoot or a 16:19.475 --> 16:22.085 branch from Jesse's stock--Jesse's stock, 16:22.090 --> 16:23.260 meaning a Davidide. 16:23.260 --> 16:26.330 (David's father was Jesse; so to say a root from Jesse's 16:26.327 --> 16:29.977 stock is to say a Davidide.) It says that Joshua will rebuild 16:29.983 --> 16:32.553 the sanctuary; he will wear the royal 16:32.548 --> 16:35.118 insignia, although he is the priest. 16:35.120 --> 16:38.950 The elevation, however, of the high priest is 16:38.945 --> 16:42.245 a feature of the post-exilic period. 16:42.250 --> 16:46.130 It's a feature of Judah in the post-exilic period, 16:46.125 --> 16:50.865 the high priest coming to take some of the trappings of royal 16:50.870 --> 16:52.880 office. Chapters 7 and 8, 16:52.875 --> 16:56.415 declare God's promise to turn and to do good things in 16:56.415 --> 16:58.815 Jerusalem and the House of Judah, 16:58.820 --> 17:03.200 so long as the people will turn from their unjust and evil ways. 17:03.200 --> 17:06.690 And Zechariah points forward to the glorious day when all the 17:06.688 --> 17:09.998 nations of the world will eagerly come to seek the Lord in 17:10.002 --> 17:12.272 Jerusalem and to entreat his favor. 17:12.269 --> 17:16.339 So we read in Zechariah 8:23, "Thus said the Lord of Hosts: 17:16.335 --> 17:19.345 In those days, ten men from nations of every 17:19.350 --> 17:23.490 tongue will take hold--they will take hold of every Jew by a 17:23.486 --> 17:27.016 corner of his cloak and say, 'Let us go with you, 17:27.022 --> 17:30.132 for we have heard that God is with you,'" and thus this 17:30.132 --> 17:32.262 Restoration period, you can see, 17:32.260 --> 17:36.640 features prophets who envision other nations joining Israel in 17:36.636 --> 17:38.426 the worship of Yahweh. 17:38.430 --> 17:42.820 They will come to rally around and join Israel in the worship 17:42.820 --> 17:44.430 of God in Jerusalem. 17:44.430 --> 17:49.110 The last wave of prophetic writings that we have addresses 17:49.105 --> 17:53.695 the disappointment and the disillusionment of late sixth- 17:53.699 --> 17:56.159 and fifth-century Judeans. 17:56.160 --> 17:58.460 What was the message of these writings? 17:58.460 --> 18:02.440 The basic message was that the earlier prophets, 18:02.440 --> 18:07.610 their promises of future glory for the restored remnant--these 18:07.605 --> 18:12.595 were all true. The future just isn't now. 18:12.599 --> 18:16.089 It's only going to happen in the eschaton, 18:16.087 --> 18:19.077 the final day. Only then will the glory of 18:19.076 --> 18:23.196 Jerusalem and a messianic ruler be restored, and the hope that 18:23.202 --> 18:26.992 has to sustain the community through the bleak present is 18:26.989 --> 18:29.559 therefore an eschatological hope, 18:29.559 --> 18:32.779 a hope that focuses on an ideal account of the end, 18:32.776 --> 18:35.346 (eschatology = an account of the end). 18:35.349 --> 18:38.479 Because in the end of days everything will be set right. 18:38.480 --> 18:42.520 So as we move later into the period, we find increasingly the 18:42.523 --> 18:46.033 hope for the community is thrust off into the future, 18:46.027 --> 18:47.507 in an eschatology. 18:47.509 --> 18:52.849 Parts of Third Isaiah depict the bitter reality of life in 18:52.853 --> 18:57.263 post-exilic Judah and advance in eschatology. 18:57.259 --> 18:59.999 You remember the Book of Isaiah, which is 66 chapters, 19:00.004 --> 19:02.134 we divided into three parts: 1 through 39, 19:02.127 --> 19:05.367 which is the historical Isaiah; then we have Second Isaiah; 19:05.369 --> 19:08.819 and then ThirdIsaiah, we're dealing with now--that's 19:08.817 --> 19:10.167 chapters 56 to 66. 19:10.170 --> 19:14.130 The anonymous prophetic author of these chapters denounces the 19:14.129 --> 19:16.919 failings of the exiles, but does hold out an 19:16.921 --> 19:19.831 eschatology; a doctrine of final things that 19:19.831 --> 19:22.911 depicts what's going to happen in the end of days. 19:22.910 --> 19:26.750 This kind of eschatology differs from the depiction of 19:26.753 --> 19:31.543 Zion's future glory that we had in the early classical prophets. 19:31.539 --> 19:34.759 The earlier prophetic pronouncements generally 19:34.755 --> 19:38.465 referred to a re-establishment of Judah's fortunes in 19:38.470 --> 19:42.160 historical time, but eschatological works like 19:42.158 --> 19:45.428 Third Isaiah look beyond historical time. 19:45.430 --> 19:48.680 They're looking to a time of a new heaven and a new earth, 19:48.675 --> 19:50.835 when Judah's sins will be forgotten. 19:50.839 --> 19:54.079 The land will become an earthly paradise transformed, 19:54.077 --> 19:57.747 and blessed with peace and prosperity and length of days. 19:57.750 --> 20:01.970 This is from Isaiah 65:17-25, For behold! 20:01.970 --> 20:04.520 I am creating A new heaven and a new earth; 20:04.519 --> 20:06.709 The former things shall not be remembered, 20:06.710 --> 20:08.200 They shall never come to mind. 20:08.200 --> 20:10.040 Be glad, then, and rejoice forever 20:10.040 --> 20:11.340 In what I am creating. 20:11.339 --> 20:13.239 For I shall create Jerusalem as a joy, 20:13.240 --> 20:15.170 And her people as a delight; ... 20:15.170 --> 20:19.480 Never again shall be heard there The sounds of weeping and 20:19.475 --> 20:21.465 wailing. No more shall there be an 20:21.466 --> 20:24.476 infant or graybeard Who does not live out his days. 20:24.480 --> 20:27.380 He who dies at a hundred years Shall be reckoned a youth, 20:27.380 --> 20:29.360 And he who fails to reach a hundred 20:29.360 --> 20:30.750 Shall be reckoned accursed. 20:30.750 --> 20:32.260 …For the days of My people shall be 20:32.260 --> 20:36.150 As long as the days of the tree, My chosen ones shall outlive 20:36.150 --> 20:37.580 The work of their hands. 20:37.579 --> 20:39.669 They shall not toil to no purpose; 20:39.670 --> 20:42.220 They shall not bear children for terror, 20:42.220 --> 20:44.470 But they shall be a people blessed by the Lord, 20:44.470 --> 20:46.650 And their offspring shall remain with them. 20:46.650 --> 20:51.060 Before they pray, I will answer; While they are still speaking, 20:51.063 --> 20:54.013 I will respond. The wolf and the lamb shall 20:54.011 --> 20:57.231 graze together, And the lion shall eat straw 20:57.226 --> 20:59.986 like the ox, And the serpent's food shall be 20:59.993 --> 21:03.423 earth.In all My sacred mount Nothing evil or vile shall be 21:03.420 --> 21:06.730 done--said the Lord. See this interesting notion of 21:06.732 --> 21:09.442 a completely new, transformed heaven and earth. 21:09.440 --> 21:12.120 The lion is vegetarian again, the serpent no longer 21:12.119 --> 21:15.339 is--there's not this animosity between the serpent and humans 21:15.335 --> 21:18.385 as was decreed at the end of Genesis with the curse on the 21:18.389 --> 21:21.599 serpent. They're going to just be eating 21:21.596 --> 21:24.366 earth and there will be no danger. 21:24.369 --> 21:27.399 Third Isaiah also sounds this theme of openness, 21:27.399 --> 21:30.489 reassuring foreigners and eunuchs who have joined 21:30.492 --> 21:34.042 themselves to Yahweh that they'll be welcome in the Holy 21:34.037 --> 21:37.257 Temple to serve God and to offer sacrifices. 21:37.260 --> 21:37.950 Now, this is significant. 21:37.950 --> 21:40.930 Again, remember that Deuteronomy 23 right in the 21:40.925 --> 21:44.275 heart of the Pentateuch, bans eunuchs specifically, 21:44.279 --> 21:46.259 and certain foreigners--Moabites, 21:46.263 --> 21:48.993 Ammonites--from entering the congregation. 21:48.990 --> 21:51.910 Remember also that Ezekiel explicitly excluded foreigners 21:51.910 --> 21:55.300 from the restored temple in his visions at the end of the book. 21:55.299 --> 21:58.419 This is also clearly the policy of Ezra and Nehemiah. 21:58.420 --> 22:02.610 They had an Ammonite who had his lodgings or office or room 22:02.608 --> 22:06.728 in the temple--they had him thrown out of that area in the 22:06.725 --> 22:09.355 temple. Third Isaiah seems to oppose 22:09.360 --> 22:10.610 such restrictions. 22:10.610 --> 22:15.000 Isaiah 56:3-7: Let not the foreigner say, 22:15.000 --> 22:16.820 Who has attached himself to the Lord, 22:16.819 --> 22:19.209 "The Lord will keep me apart from his people"; 22:19.210 --> 22:22.670 And let not the eunuchs say, "I am a withered tree." 22:22.670 --> 22:25.770 For thus said the Lord: "As for the eunuchs who keep My 22:25.765 --> 22:27.725 sabbaths, Who have chosen what I desire 22:27.730 --> 22:30.970 And hold fast to My covenant-- I will give them, in My House 22:30.970 --> 22:33.440 And within My walls, A monument and a name 22:33.440 --> 22:34.930 Better than sons or daughters. 22:34.930 --> 22:36.640 I will give them an everlasting name 22:36.640 --> 22:37.940 Which shall not perish. 22:37.940 --> 22:40.390 As for the foreigners Who attach themselves to the 22:40.392 --> 22:41.702 Lord, To minister to Him, 22:41.700 --> 22:42.980 And to love the name of the Lord, 22:42.980 --> 22:45.700 To be His servants-- All who keep the Sabbath and do 22:45.699 --> 22:47.519 not profane it, And who hold fast to my 22:47.520 --> 22:49.200 covenant. …I will bring them to My 22:49.200 --> 22:51.310 sacred mount And let them rejoice in My 22:51.307 --> 22:53.357 house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and 22:53.356 --> 22:56.026 sacrifices Shall be welcome on My altar; 22:56.030 --> 22:58.770 For My House shall be called A house of prayer for all 22:58.766 --> 23:02.086 peoples." So on this issue clearly the 23:02.087 --> 23:05.537 post-exilic community was quite divided. 23:05.539 --> 23:09.319 Now, there's only one biblical book, which pretty much in its 23:09.322 --> 23:12.602 entirety, belongs to the genre of literature known as 23:12.601 --> 23:14.831 apocalyptic. Not in its entirety, 23:14.827 --> 23:18.417 but it is the most significant and through-going apocalyptic 23:18.421 --> 23:19.701 book in the Bible. 23:19.700 --> 23:22.440 The term apocalyptic derives from the Greek word 23:22.443 --> 23:23.673 apocalypsis. 23:23.670 --> 23:27.650 An apocalypsis is a revealing, so something that's 23:27.649 --> 23:29.709 apocalyptic is a revealing. 23:29.710 --> 23:32.680 Apocalypse is a revelation of things to come, 23:32.677 --> 23:36.517 and as apocalypses generally predict the end of historical 23:36.522 --> 23:39.762 time and the beginning of a new world order, 23:39.759 --> 23:42.079 they are generally concerned with eschatology; 23:42.079 --> 23:45.939 so apocalyptic works tend to be eschatological. 23:45.940 --> 23:49.170 That doesn't mean all eschatological work is 23:49.168 --> 23:51.958 apocalyptic. Apocalyptic literature within 23:51.957 --> 23:55.607 the Bible, and then much more significantly outside the Hebrew 23:55.610 --> 23:58.090 Bible, is characterized by certain 23:58.092 --> 24:02.192 distinguishing features which I've thrown up in brief note 24:02.194 --> 24:04.994 form over here. So apocalyptic literature is 24:04.989 --> 24:07.719 always eschatological, deals with the end of time. 24:07.720 --> 24:10.810 But to be apocalyptic a work has to have certain kinds of 24:10.812 --> 24:13.242 features and not all eschatologies have these 24:13.242 --> 24:15.412 features. This is what they are. 24:15.410 --> 24:18.550 Most apocalyptic writings are pseudonymous. 24:18.549 --> 24:21.709 They're generally attributed to important figures of the past, 24:21.707 --> 24:23.257 Enoch or Abraham or someone. 24:23.260 --> 24:26.270 24:26.269 --> 24:29.589 They tend to also feature a revelation by a heavenly 24:29.585 --> 24:33.615 messenger, an angel who comes in a vision or a dream to deliver 24:33.615 --> 24:35.235 some sort of message. 24:35.240 --> 24:38.290 In general, the message is highly symbolic. 24:38.289 --> 24:43.309 It's coded and often the symbolism is quite bizarre. 24:43.309 --> 24:47.949 You'll have surreal images of beasts and monsters and usually 24:47.951 --> 24:50.351 these depict foreign nations. 24:50.349 --> 24:53.349 The visions tend to be chronological. 24:53.349 --> 24:56.279 They tend to be a systematic chronology of past, 24:56.275 --> 25:00.255 present and future events that represent the march of history, 25:00.259 --> 25:03.029 in coded form again, and so it tends to require 25:03.034 --> 25:06.384 interpretation. And that's usually given by the 25:06.384 --> 25:09.464 divine messenger, who reveals the symbolic 25:09.460 --> 25:11.110 chronological code. 25:11.109 --> 25:14.449 Fourthly, apocalypses tend to predict a series of 25:14.454 --> 25:17.184 catastrophes. These are signs of the coming 25:17.179 --> 25:20.539 of the end, that final point in the march of history that's 25:20.537 --> 25:22.997 being laid out. You have motifs from ancient 25:23.000 --> 25:25.740 myths very often used to describe these catastrophes. 25:25.740 --> 25:28.120 I'll come back to that in a minute. 25:28.119 --> 25:31.929 Apocalypses also tend to be what I call morally dualistic. 25:31.930 --> 25:36.400 They tend to divide humankind into two mutually exclusive 25:36.401 --> 25:39.101 groups; the righteous which is always a 25:39.104 --> 25:40.964 tiny minority, and the wicked, 25:40.961 --> 25:43.331 which is always the vast majority. 25:43.329 --> 25:47.759 There's going to be some final public judgment and the 25:47.764 --> 25:52.704 righteous will be saved and the wicked will be destroyed. 25:52.700 --> 25:55.150 In this respect, especially later apocalypses 25:55.151 --> 25:57.381 show the influence of Persian thought. 25:57.380 --> 26:00.210 Persian thought is also quite dualist in nature, 26:00.206 --> 26:03.576 with oppositions of light and darkness, or good and evil, 26:03.575 --> 26:05.555 and life and death and so on. 26:05.559 --> 26:08.839 So there does seem to be some Persian influence and of course 26:08.835 --> 26:11.615 we're well into the Persian period at this point. 26:11.619 --> 26:15.519 A sixth feature is that God generally appears in apocalyptic 26:15.521 --> 26:17.771 literature as an enthroned king. 26:17.769 --> 26:20.379 He brings all of history to a crashing end, 26:20.382 --> 26:22.562 and demonstrates his sovereignty. 26:22.560 --> 26:25.460 He confounds the wicked; he does all of these things at 26:25.460 --> 26:27.830 the same time. He confounds the wicked and 26:27.832 --> 26:30.992 establishes himself as the sovereign and enthroned king, 26:30.994 --> 26:33.054 in control. Seventh, apocalyptic 26:33.046 --> 26:35.596 literature, as I briefly mentioned before, 26:35.603 --> 26:38.973 often incorporates mythological motifs and imagery, 26:38.970 --> 26:42.360 especially the motif of a battle between God and 26:42.362 --> 26:44.602 primordial, chaotic elements. 26:44.599 --> 26:48.709 And that will often be the imagery that's used in depicting 26:48.713 --> 26:52.263 the final battle with the godless or the wicked. 26:52.259 --> 26:56.419 Apocalypses also generally depict a judgment of the 26:56.416 --> 27:00.316 individual dead, followed by everlasting life or 27:00.323 --> 27:03.083 punishment. So again, apocalypses develop 27:03.083 --> 27:06.323 quite substantially outside the writings of the Hebrew Bible; 27:06.319 --> 27:08.819 and in the Bible, we have a few scattered 27:08.821 --> 27:12.511 apocalyptic elements and then much of the Book of Daniel. 27:12.509 --> 27:16.599 And so we don't see the idea of life after death really in the 27:16.602 --> 27:20.832 Hebrew Bible until this very late apocalyptic book of Daniel. 27:20.829 --> 27:25.259 The idea is very influential in the Dead Sea Scrolls (they are 27:25.262 --> 27:29.332 very dualist) and in the writings of the New Testament of 27:29.330 --> 27:31.300 course. So a belief in personal 27:31.298 --> 27:33.988 immortality, a belief in a general resurrection of the 27:33.991 --> 27:36.841 dead--these arise from a negative view of this world as a 27:36.836 --> 27:38.916 place where justice can be obtained. 27:38.920 --> 27:42.130 So apocalyptic writers examined the world they lived in; 27:42.130 --> 27:45.130 they drew the conclusion that reward and punishment were going 27:45.132 --> 27:46.562 to be made in an afterlife. 27:46.559 --> 27:49.159 They were certainly not doled out in this life, 27:49.155 --> 27:50.335 as Israel suffered. 27:50.339 --> 27:53.949 This is a marked break from the general conviction of the Hebrew 27:53.945 --> 27:56.745 Bible that human life is limited to this world, 27:56.750 --> 28:00.040 and that the fundamental concern of humans and God is 28:00.040 --> 28:03.520 morality in this life and not immortality in another. 28:03.519 --> 28:07.659 I think apocalyptic literature can be described as a literature 28:07.660 --> 28:09.130 of hope and despair. 28:09.130 --> 28:12.540 It's a literature of despair or pessimism because its basic 28:12.540 --> 28:15.720 premise is that this world holds out no promise for the 28:15.716 --> 28:18.486 righteous. It's a literature of hope or 28:18.489 --> 28:22.179 optimism because it affirms that God will intervene. 28:22.180 --> 28:24.710 He will intervene in human history, he'll set everything 28:24.711 --> 28:26.691 right, he'll interrupt the natural order, 28:26.690 --> 28:30.110 he's going to destroy this broken world as we know it, 28:30.108 --> 28:33.398 and he'll do so in order to rescue the righteous and 28:33.397 --> 28:36.167 humiliate the wicked, and if you've already died 28:36.173 --> 28:37.963 don't worry there will be a resurrection, 28:37.962 --> 28:39.262 it will all be made right. 28:39.259 --> 28:43.779 But this hope for supreme and ultimate vindication is thrust 28:43.776 --> 28:45.456 off into the future. 28:45.460 --> 28:50.000 So apocalyptic constitutes yet one more response to the 28:49.996 --> 28:53.016 traumatic events, the crises, and the 28:53.019 --> 28:56.379 disappointments of Israel's history. 28:56.380 --> 28:59.290 In a second we'll get to Daniel, but there are a few 28:59.285 --> 29:02.585 apocalyptic passages of varying length in other post-exilic 29:02.590 --> 29:04.270 books. I'll just touch on them very 29:04.272 --> 29:06.232 quickly. SecondZechariah and, 29:06.232 --> 29:08.642 a little bit, the book of Joel, 29:08.636 --> 29:11.276 just to prepare us for Daniel. 29:11.280 --> 29:12.720 Second Zechariah. 29:12.720 --> 29:14.190 Now, these are chapters 9 through 14. 29:14.190 --> 29:17.490 We talked about the historical Zechariah, chapters 1 through 8, 29:17.492 --> 29:20.582 so this is Second Zechariah, chapters 9 through 14, 29:20.582 --> 29:23.302 and it's a collection of diverse oracles, 29:23.295 --> 29:25.665 probably fifth-century or later, 29:25.670 --> 29:29.460 that contain these strange visions and predictions. 29:29.460 --> 29:33.790 Their meanings cannot always be fathomed, but they seem to focus 29:33.791 --> 29:36.931 on the Day of the Lord, and the restoration of 29:36.926 --> 29:40.916 Jerusalem, and the rise of a new and humble king who will reign 29:40.917 --> 29:43.977 in peace, really over a new world order. 29:43.980 --> 29:49.360 Chapter 14 is a vision of this global battle that will bring 29:49.357 --> 29:51.177 history to an end. 29:51.180 --> 29:54.890 God is going to bring all the nations to Jerusalem where they 29:54.887 --> 29:57.837 will plunder the city, they will kill almost all of 29:57.844 --> 30:01.164 the inhabitants and then at the last moment when things look the 30:01.162 --> 30:04.072 most desperate, God will intervene and he'll 30:04.073 --> 30:07.653 fight for Israel and exact revenge on her enemies. 30:07.650 --> 30:11.230 And it's after this final battle that God will transform 30:11.228 --> 30:13.048 the earth into a paradise. 30:13.049 --> 30:16.379 So Israel's enemies will rage against one another, 30:16.383 --> 30:19.993 the surviving nations will pilgrimage to Jerusalem. 30:19.990 --> 30:22.840 Again, Jerusalem now is elevated above all cities, 30:22.839 --> 30:26.329 and these nations will come to Jerusalem to worship Yahweh at 30:26.327 --> 30:28.827 his temple, and Yahweh will be sovereign 30:28.829 --> 30:32.359 over the world. Joel, a very short little book, 30:32.357 --> 30:37.377 probably the latest prophetic book, also contains apocalyptic 30:37.384 --> 30:39.864 material. The versification of Joel 30:39.857 --> 30:42.967 varies tremendously in different English translations, 30:42.967 --> 30:46.837 so I'm using the verse markings that are in the Bible you have. 30:46.839 --> 30:49.529 But if you consult another Bible some of them only have 30:49.529 --> 30:51.519 three chapters, some have four--it can be 30:51.522 --> 30:54.122 confusing. But we can divide Joel into two 30:54.120 --> 30:56.090 parts. Up to chapter 2, 30:56.090 --> 31:01.480 verse 27--that's the first part, from 1:1 to 2:27 (or 1:2 31:01.481 --> 31:04.741 really). And that contains a description 31:04.743 --> 31:06.453 of a military invasion. 31:06.450 --> 31:09.580 It's symbolized by an army of locusts. 31:09.579 --> 31:13.459 And this invasion--this army of locusts--is interpreted as a 31:13.460 --> 31:16.880 divine punishment that is necessary or that must come 31:16.880 --> 31:18.920 before the day of the Lord. 31:18.920 --> 31:23.780 The second part of Joel which begins in verse 28 of chapter 2 31:23.782 --> 31:28.082 is a fully apocalyptic description of the final day of 31:28.078 --> 31:31.748 terror. Reading from chapter 3:3-4, 31:31.750 --> 31:34.950 Before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes, 31:34.950 --> 31:37.530 I will set portents in the sky and on earth: 31:37.529 --> 31:40.519 Blood and fire, and pillars of smoke; 31:40.519 --> 31:42.179 The sun shall be turned to darkness 31:42.180 --> 31:44.850 And the moon to blood. Before the great and terrible 31:44.846 --> 31:47.876 Day of the Lord comes--but the righteous are going to survive. 31:47.880 --> 31:51.150 This is pointed out in chapter 3:5, "But everyone who invokes 31:51.148 --> 31:53.108 the name of the Lord shall escape; 31:53.109 --> 31:56.579 for there shall be a remnant on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, 31:56.578 --> 31:57.988 as the Lord promised." 31:57.990 --> 32:02.450 As we move into chapter 4 of Joel, the Day of the Lord is 32:02.448 --> 32:06.108 envisaged as a judgment day for all peoples. 32:06.109 --> 32:08.309 So this is increasingly the view of the eschaton: 32:08.305 --> 32:10.035 a final battle and also a judgment day, 32:10.044 --> 32:12.564 and that judgment day will then issue in a new age. 32:12.559 --> 32:16.199 This is an idea that the book of Daniel will elaborate on in a 32:16.195 --> 32:19.465 minute, not to mention the apocalyptic writings that are 32:19.472 --> 32:21.382 outside of the Hebrew Bible. 32:21.380 --> 32:24.580 In this judgment day, God will summon all of the 32:24.582 --> 32:27.582 godless nations to the valley of judgment, 32:27.579 --> 32:31.279 Jehosaphat which means "God will judge", so the Valley of 32:31.280 --> 32:33.750 Jehosaphat. And here the final battle 32:33.746 --> 32:37.466 between good and evil will take place, and after that God's 32:37.474 --> 32:41.074 people will be blessed and the Holy City will never again 32:41.074 --> 32:43.004 suffer shame.: For lo! 32:43.000 --> 32:44.660 in those days And in that time, 32:44.660 --> 32:47.180 When I restore the fortunes Of Judah and Jerusalem, 32:47.180 --> 32:49.690 I will gather all the nations And bring them down to the 32:49.693 --> 32:52.473 Valley of Jehosaphat, There I will contend with them 32:52.470 --> 32:56.070 Over My very own people, Israel, Which they scattered among the 32:56.073 --> 32:57.803 nations. Towards the end, 32:57.799 --> 33:00.619 then, of the book we read, Let the nations rouse 33:00.615 --> 33:03.045 themselves and march up To the Valley of Jehosaphat; 33:03.050 --> 33:06.120 For there I will sit in judgment Over all the nations roundabout. 33:06.120 --> 33:08.930 Swing the sickle, For the crop is ripe; 33:08.930 --> 33:11.330 Come and tread, For the winepress is full, 33:11.330 --> 33:12.740 The vats are overflowing! 33:12.740 --> 33:13.800 For great is their wickedness. 33:13.800 --> 33:15.880 … But the Lord will be a shelter 33:15.880 --> 33:17.500 to His people, A refuge to the children of 33:17.501 --> 33:18.751 Israel. … 33:18.750 --> 33:22.000 And Jerusalem shall be holy; Nevermore shall strangers pass 33:22.002 --> 33:23.662 through it. And in that day, 33:23.660 --> 33:25.640 The mountains shall drip with wine, 33:25.640 --> 33:28.930 The hills shall flow with milk, And all the watercourses of 33:28.929 --> 33:31.939 Judah shall flow with water; A spring shall issue from the 33:31.938 --> 33:33.918 House of the Lord And shall water the Wadi of 33:33.920 --> 33:35.120 Acacias. … 33:35.119 --> 33:36.789 But Judah shall be inhabited forever, 33:36.789 --> 33:39.219 And Jerusalem throughout the ages. 33:39.220 --> 33:41.440 So we see a lot of eschatological features in the 33:41.444 --> 33:43.244 Book of Joel. You have, first of all, 33:43.237 --> 33:46.187 the series of disasters; they signal the impending wrath 33:46.186 --> 33:48.916 of God. You have a cosmic battle in 33:48.923 --> 33:52.563 which Yahweh triumphs over Israel's enemy. 33:52.559 --> 33:55.769 And we see in apocalyptic literature in general, 33:55.773 --> 33:59.403 a facile equation of the righteous and the wicked with 33:59.397 --> 34:01.377 Israel and other nations. 34:01.380 --> 34:05.830 Then also we have this outpouring of blessings on God's 34:05.829 --> 34:07.889 people, city, and land. 34:07.890 --> 34:10.890 And finally, God's continued protection and 34:10.885 --> 34:13.065 presence; and nations who are not 34:13.071 --> 34:16.481 Israel's enemies join in the worship of God in that final 34:16.482 --> 34:18.562 time. Again, note the important 34:18.562 --> 34:22.132 difference between classical prophecy and the apocalyptic 34:22.128 --> 34:24.648 literature. Both of them speak about final 34:24.646 --> 34:26.476 things; both of them speak about an 34:26.481 --> 34:28.841 end-time. But the classical prophets did 34:28.844 --> 34:32.474 not in general expect that the course of human affairs would 34:32.473 --> 34:35.253 come to an end. Only that Israel's rebellion 34:35.251 --> 34:38.541 would end or that Israel would live under a perfect king 34:38.535 --> 34:41.555 anointed by God. In the apocalyptic imagination 34:41.560 --> 34:43.830 history itself is a closed process; 34:43.829 --> 34:46.209 it will end, and then a new age, 34:46.211 --> 34:48.671 a new world order would begin. 34:48.670 --> 34:52.700 And the present age and the new age are qualitatively distinct. 34:52.699 --> 34:56.329 The present age is under the dominion of evil powers. 34:56.329 --> 34:59.449 We see it particularly in the apocalyptic writings outside of 34:59.447 --> 35:01.367 the Bible and in the New Testament. 35:01.369 --> 35:04.699 That power that has dominion over the present age is Satan. 35:04.700 --> 35:06.770 Satan is the arch enemy of God. 35:06.769 --> 35:11.019 The age to come will be free of all evil, moral corruption, 35:11.020 --> 35:13.320 and death; Satan will be defeated. 35:13.320 --> 35:15.020 But God himself is the one who has to do this. 35:15.019 --> 35:19.159 God must intervene to bring the present age to a crashing halt 35:19.164 --> 35:21.614 and initiate this new world order. 35:21.610 --> 35:26.000 So let's turn now to Daniel for a full apocalyptic work. 35:26.000 --> 35:30.000 Daniel also can be divided really into two parts and the 35:29.996 --> 35:33.846 first six chapters have often been described as heroic 35:33.847 --> 35:36.127 fiction. They're a bit like the book of 35:36.128 --> 35:38.428 Esther that we'll be talking about on Wednesday. 35:38.430 --> 35:40.180 Just a good story. 35:40.179 --> 35:42.839 (Esther particularly has a lot or irony and is very, 35:42.838 --> 35:45.078 very funny.) But like the book of Esther, 35:45.079 --> 35:49.139 Daniel features a Jew who lives in a Gentile court and he's 35:49.139 --> 35:50.679 saved from disaster. 35:50.679 --> 35:54.319 I've listed the kings who are discussed in the Book of Daniel. 35:54.320 --> 35:59.070 These chapters tell of Daniel's adventures under two Babylonian 35:59.071 --> 36:02.061 kings, Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar; 36:02.059 --> 36:04.489 the text says two Babylonian kings, 36:04.491 --> 36:08.281 Nebuchadnezzar and Belshazzar; a Median king Darius who 36:08.281 --> 36:11.991 happens to be unknown to history, a Persian king 36:11.985 --> 36:14.975 Cyrus--that's a whole lot of years! 36:14.980 --> 36:18.500 The historical inaccuracy of the work, right? 36:18.500 --> 36:21.220 You have the chronology of more than a century being telescoped 36:21.222 --> 36:23.582 here! There're other inaccuracies. 36:23.579 --> 36:25.679 Belshazzar was actually never a king; 36:25.680 --> 36:27.520 he was sort of a prince regent. 36:27.519 --> 36:29.679 He was defeated by Cyrus, not by Darius, 36:29.681 --> 36:32.731 so there are tremendous historical inaccuracies and this 36:32.730 --> 36:35.890 is a sign that this was written at a much later time, 36:35.889 --> 36:39.229 looking back when the history of a period 300 years ago was 36:39.228 --> 36:42.638 very confused. There's no clear historical 36:42.637 --> 36:47.057 knowledge of the Babylonian and Persian period. 36:47.059 --> 36:49.959 So the book, we know, was written quite 36:49.960 --> 36:53.170 late, perhaps the end of the third century, 36:53.166 --> 36:55.376 those first six chapters. 36:55.380 --> 36:58.110 We have a better idea about the remainder of the book. 36:58.110 --> 37:02.110 Chapters 7 through 12 are fully apocalyptic in genre and they 37:02.110 --> 37:05.910 were composed between 167 and 164--I don't know if I wrote 37:05.909 --> 37:10.129 that up there, yeah, 167 and 164 BCE. 37:10.130 --> 37:15.250 This was a time when Jews were suffering intense persecution at 37:15.246 --> 37:20.196 the hands of the Seleucid King of Syria, Antiochus Epiphanes, 37:20.197 --> 37:23.967 Antiochus IV. And so Daniel is the latest 37:23.973 --> 37:26.263 book of the Hebrew Bible. 37:26.260 --> 37:30.740 It was chronologically the latest book, written between 167 37:30.738 --> 37:33.818 and 164 BCE. But the author writes in code. 37:33.820 --> 37:37.600 He writes in code so that some hostile person would not be able 37:37.595 --> 37:40.695 to understand. The author disguises his 37:40.700 --> 37:44.870 references to contemporary historical events and 37:44.872 --> 37:50.352 personalities in these visions, these symbolic visions that are 37:50.348 --> 37:53.518 attributed to a remote era of the past. 37:53.519 --> 37:57.179 Let's go back and look at the contents of these two sections. 37:57.179 --> 38:00.429 In chapters 1 through 6, Daniel is represented as a 38:00.432 --> 38:03.752 loyal Jew who's living in the exile in Babylonia, 38:03.750 --> 38:07.640 sixth-century exilic period among idol worshippers. 38:07.639 --> 38:11.329 He refuses to bow down to any other god. 38:11.329 --> 38:16.179 He observes the dietary laws and he prays facing Jerusalem. 38:16.179 --> 38:20.379 He seems to occupy a position of some honor in the court. 38:20.380 --> 38:23.980 He has the power to interpret dreams and to predict the 38:23.981 --> 38:27.721 future, and although he's severely tested he remains true 38:27.717 --> 38:31.917 to Yahweh and Yahweh aids him in more than one miraculous escape 38:31.919 --> 38:35.269 from danger. The main themes of this first 38:35.266 --> 38:39.706 section of the book of Daniel are Daniel's interpretations of 38:39.706 --> 38:43.326 the dreams of these kings (Nebuchadnezzar) and his 38:43.331 --> 38:45.331 allegiance to his God. 38:45.329 --> 38:48.699 In chapter 2, Nebuchadnezzar has a dream of a 38:48.700 --> 38:51.250 huge statute. It has a head of gold, 38:51.249 --> 38:55.189 has a torso and arms of silver, the belly and the thighs are of 38:55.193 --> 38:56.853 bronze, the legs are of iron, 38:56.849 --> 38:58.839 and the feet are of mixed iron and clay. 38:58.840 --> 39:02.210 I've kind of given you a little grid and in a minute we're going 39:02.211 --> 39:05.421 to have another symbolic dream that's going to use animals to 39:05.422 --> 39:08.582 represent the same things that are being represented here by 39:08.580 --> 39:11.150 the metals. So you have this statue with 39:11.152 --> 39:13.352 these metals and iron and clay feet. 39:13.349 --> 39:18.579 Then a great stone that's uncut by human hands flies from heaven 39:18.581 --> 39:22.071 and smashes the clay feet of the statue, 39:22.070 --> 39:26.580 and the statue crumbles and this stone becomes a mountain 39:26.583 --> 39:28.763 that fills all the earth. 39:28.760 --> 39:32.050 Daniel decodes the dream's symbolism; 39:32.050 --> 39:35.420 and it's a historical symbolism, the march of history. 39:35.420 --> 39:39.100 Each metal represents a kingdom that ruled the Ancient Near 39:39.096 --> 39:41.626 East. Daniel only explicitly mentions 39:41.628 --> 39:44.928 gold as Babylon, but we can figure out the rest. 39:44.929 --> 39:47.179 Silver is Media, bronze is Persia, 39:47.184 --> 39:51.284 and iron is Alexander's Greece, right, Macedonian Greece that 39:51.282 --> 39:54.632 conquered the Ancient Near East in the 330's, 39:54.630 --> 39:57.870 and brought Hellenism, and introduced the Hellenistic 39:57.870 --> 40:00.550 period into Ancient Near Eastern history. 40:00.550 --> 40:04.280 After Alexander's death, his empire was divided into 40:04.275 --> 40:06.535 smaller Hellenistic kingdoms. 40:06.539 --> 40:10.709 The ones of greatest relevance to us are Ptolemaic Egypt and 40:10.708 --> 40:14.948 Seleucid Syria because as you can imagine Palestine is caught 40:14.947 --> 40:17.417 between those two great powers. 40:17.420 --> 40:20.650 So it's going to be fought over by those two great powers. 40:20.650 --> 40:23.290 So you have Egypt ruled by the Ptolemies; 40:23.289 --> 40:25.189 you have Syria ruled by the Seleucids; 40:25.190 --> 40:28.210 they're wrangling for control of the land of Israel that's 40:28.208 --> 40:29.318 lying between them. 40:29.320 --> 40:32.700 So the iron and clay feet of the statue in Daniel's dream 40:32.704 --> 40:35.794 represent these lesser Hellenistic kingdoms of Egypt 40:35.786 --> 40:39.166 and Syria that succeeded Alexander's empire and are a mix 40:39.171 --> 40:41.711 of Hellenistic and Eastern elements. 40:41.710 --> 40:44.700 The stone from heaven represents the future kingdom of 40:44.701 --> 40:46.821 God. It's going to come and destroy 40:46.816 --> 40:50.246 these godless kingdoms and fill all of the earth forever. 40:50.250 --> 40:54.380 Chapter 3 tells the story of Daniel's three companions who 40:54.377 --> 40:58.717 refuse to worship a giant gold statue and they get themselves 40:58.722 --> 41:01.042 thrown into a fiery furnace. 41:01.039 --> 41:05.149 When they emerge unscathed the king is greatly impressed and so 41:05.145 --> 41:07.525 he acknowledges the God of Israel. 41:07.530 --> 41:09.330 In chapter 4 there's a second dream. 41:09.329 --> 41:13.289 It's interpreted by Daniel as a sign that Nebuchadnezzar will be 41:13.294 --> 41:14.934 struck down seven times. 41:14.929 --> 41:18.609 He's going to lose his reason, he's going to lose his throne, 41:18.611 --> 41:22.111 until he realizes that God is the source of all divine and 41:22.108 --> 41:24.808 human power. When this in fact comes to 41:24.814 --> 41:28.664 pass--Nebuchadnezzar seems to suffer a fit of insanity that 41:28.661 --> 41:32.511 drives him from society--the king then praises the God most 41:32.507 --> 41:34.627 high as the universal king. 41:34.630 --> 41:37.850 In chapter 5, Daniel's enemies at court trick 41:37.848 --> 41:41.948 the Median king (now Darius, so we're moving to different 41:41.945 --> 41:44.655 kings). They trick him into issuing an 41:44.662 --> 41:48.042 edict against those who pray to anyone but the king. 41:48.040 --> 41:49.770 This is a problem for Daniel. 41:49.769 --> 41:52.429 Daniel violates the edict, of course, and he's arrested 41:52.428 --> 41:54.298 and he's thrown into a den of lions. 41:54.300 --> 41:56.880 But he emerges unharmed, and the result is, 41:56.880 --> 42:00.320 again, that the foreign king, in this case Darius now, 42:00.320 --> 42:04.460 recognizes the supremacy of Yahweh and orders all in his 42:04.457 --> 42:07.087 kingdom to revere the Jewish God. 42:07.090 --> 42:10.300 There is, of course, no historical merit to these 42:10.299 --> 42:13.979 stories of Babylonian and Persian kings acknowledging or 42:13.977 --> 42:18.187 adopting the God of the Jews who lived in exile among them. 42:18.190 --> 42:22.230 These stories seem to give voice to the hope or the fantasy 42:22.231 --> 42:26.341 that a cruel and impious monarch might be taught humility by 42:26.343 --> 42:29.233 Yahweh. They also provide a model for 42:29.225 --> 42:30.825 life in the Diaspora. 42:30.829 --> 42:35.439 Jews can live in the Gentile world but they must never forget 42:35.440 --> 42:36.900 God and his laws. 42:36.900 --> 42:40.250 Then we move into the second half of the Book of Daniel, 42:40.252 --> 42:41.412 chapters 7 to 12. 42:41.409 --> 42:46.119 As we move into this part of Daniel we switch from the third 42:46.123 --> 42:50.163 person into the first person, so Daniel 7 to 12 is written in 42:50.162 --> 42:52.432 the first person and it's fully apocalyptic. 42:52.429 --> 42:55.969 Here Daniel has a series of visions and dreams that are 42:55.965 --> 42:59.825 interpreted for him by an angel, and again, that's a classic 42:59.827 --> 43:02.247 feature of the apocalyptic genre. 43:02.250 --> 43:05.380 And these visions, again, survey Ancient Near 43:05.377 --> 43:09.427 Eastern history from the sixth to the second centuries. 43:09.429 --> 43:12.479 Chapter 7 again represents the succession of kingdoms, 43:12.484 --> 43:14.734 the Babylonian, the Median, the Persian, 43:14.732 --> 43:17.732 the Macedonian Empires, but this time as beasts. 43:17.730 --> 43:22.040 So you have a lion, a bear, a winged leopard and an 43:22.037 --> 43:24.327 ogre. The ogre has horns and the 43:24.326 --> 43:27.506 horns of this ogre then represent these two lesser 43:27.505 --> 43:30.805 Hellenistic kingdoms, the Ptolemies of Egypt and the 43:30.813 --> 43:32.373 Seleucids of Syria. 43:32.369 --> 43:36.769 The boastful little horn is the Syrian king, Antiochus 43:36.765 --> 43:38.585 Epiphanies, himself. 43:38.590 --> 43:42.140 In a second vision, the "ancient of days,"--this is 43:42.135 --> 43:45.675 the term that's used, it seems to be God in a white 43:45.680 --> 43:49.510 robe and a beard seated on a fiery chariot throne, 43:49.510 --> 43:54.540 but--"the ancient of days" confers glory and kingship on 43:54.543 --> 43:56.743 one like a Son of Man. 43:56.739 --> 43:58.539 Now in Daniel, this phrase, 43:58.538 --> 44:02.478 the Son of Man--which generally means mortal as opposed to 44:02.480 --> 44:05.880 divine in the Bible, but--in Daniel the phrase seems 44:05.875 --> 44:09.065 to refer to a figure that's in human form, but more than a 44:09.066 --> 44:11.626 human. Probably an angel like Michael 44:11.634 --> 44:14.474 or Gabriel. (Both of them are represented 44:14.473 --> 44:18.643 as leaders against the forces of Persia and Greece.) And this 44:18.637 --> 44:22.177 figure establishes an everlasting kingdom to replace 44:22.178 --> 44:25.508 the bestial kingdoms that have preceded it. 44:25.510 --> 44:29.500 So the Son of Man overwhelms the little horn Antiochus, 44:29.495 --> 44:34.065 who is said to be making war on saints (that's a code for loyal 44:34.071 --> 44:36.831 Jews), who is said to have been trying 44:36.826 --> 44:40.926 to change their law and abolish their religion--and we know that 44:40.925 --> 44:44.235 these were parts of the persecution in 167 to 164 by 44:44.244 --> 44:48.254 Antiochus. He tried to stop worship in the 44:48.254 --> 44:50.314 sanctuary and so on. 44:50.309 --> 44:53.489 In a third vision then, the horn that represents 44:53.491 --> 44:57.621 Antiochus is said to trample the land of splendor (Israel), 44:57.619 --> 45:01.029 to challenge the army of heaven, to remove the perpetual 45:01.033 --> 45:04.693 sacrifice (Antiochus did halt the sacrificial service in the 45:04.694 --> 45:08.054 temple) and to set up an "abomination of desolation" on 45:08.045 --> 45:11.765 the sacrificial altar (and we know that Antiochus set up some 45:11.768 --> 45:15.308 kind of pagan altar on the sacrificial altar in the temple 45:15.306 --> 45:18.216 in Jerusalem and erected a statue of Zeus in the 45:18.222 --> 45:21.382 sanctuary). So this depiction of the 45:21.376 --> 45:24.606 persecution under Antiochus is presented here, 45:24.614 --> 45:28.864 but it's presented in veiled form for reasons of safety. 45:28.860 --> 45:32.690 In chapter 9 we have a moving prayer for deliverance. 45:32.690 --> 45:36.220 The Angel Gabriel assures Daniel that the end is near, 45:36.222 --> 45:39.822 and that the end was even predicted by Jeremiah who had 45:39.821 --> 45:43.221 said that Jerusalem would lie desolate 70years, 45:43.220 --> 45:46.240 you will recall. Now, Jeremiah prophesied--I'm 45:46.236 --> 45:49.286 going to do some math now, so this is dangerous. 45:49.289 --> 45:52.319 Jeremiah prophesied in the early sixth century and the 45:52.324 --> 45:55.304 chapters of Daniel were written many centuries later, 45:55.301 --> 45:57.821 someone can figure it out, in the 160's. 45:57.820 --> 46:01.320 So was Jeremiah prophesying falsely when he said that God 46:01.322 --> 46:05.082 would deliver Israel from her enemies and establish a kingdom 46:05.076 --> 46:06.636 in Judah in 70 years? 46:06.639 --> 46:10.069 No, not according to the book of Daniel, because in the book 46:10.069 --> 46:13.269 of Daniel it's said that Jeremiah also was speaking in a 46:13.266 --> 46:16.036 code. Jeremiah meant that 70 weeks of 46:16.040 --> 46:19.960 years, which is to say 490 years, would pass before the 46:19.961 --> 46:22.141 consummation of all things. 46:22.139 --> 46:26.469 And the last week was the reign Antiochus Epiphanes: 46:26.474 --> 46:30.304 we are in the last week of these years now. 46:30.300 --> 46:33.650 So the writer is maintaining that he is living in the last 46:33.653 --> 46:36.893 days, in the final moments of the last week of years, 46:36.889 --> 46:39.799 and this is very typical of apocalyptic literature. 46:39.800 --> 46:42.210 The time is at hand, we are in the final stage, 46:42.206 --> 46:44.766 this is now all the birth pangs of the Messiah, 46:44.769 --> 46:47.339 these terrible things that are being visited upon us, 46:47.341 --> 46:50.311 and God is soon going to win victory through a mighty act and 46:50.307 --> 46:56.347 introduce the Messianic Age, ending Israel's long years of 46:56.346 --> 47:00.146 desolation. So apocalyptic literature sees 47:00.148 --> 47:01.648 history as determined. 47:01.650 --> 47:04.730 It's a closed drama that must be played out, 47:04.725 --> 47:08.725 requiring no action on the part of humans except faithful 47:08.731 --> 47:11.261 waiting. God's kingdom will come solely 47:11.257 --> 47:13.647 by God's power, but it has to be preceded by 47:13.646 --> 47:14.976 this time of trouble. 47:14.980 --> 47:18.380 These troubles are nothing but the birth pangs of the Messianic 47:18.376 --> 47:21.826 Age and the faithful whose names are recorded in God's book will 47:21.828 --> 47:24.058 be rescued. Chapter 12 imagines a 47:24.059 --> 47:28.019 resurrection of the dead as a compensation to those who died 47:28.021 --> 47:30.641 under the persecutions of Antiochus. 47:30.639 --> 47:33.619 It's a clear attempt to deal with the injustice that mars 47:33.620 --> 47:36.390 this world, and it's the only passage of the Bible to 47:36.387 --> 47:39.897 explicitly espouse the idea of an individual life after death, 47:39.900 --> 47:42.330 and as I say, breaks with a longer Israelite 47:42.325 --> 47:45.085 tradition that's vague or silent on this issue. 47:45.090 --> 47:48.350 Not all Jews accepted the idea, but it would be essential to 47:48.350 --> 47:51.170 the rise of Christianity which is deeply indebted to 47:51.168 --> 47:52.548 apocalyptic thinking. 47:52.550 --> 47:55.660 And through Christianity, it came to have a very 47:55.658 --> 47:58.698 far-reaching impact on Western civilization. 47:58.699 --> 48:02.769 The Book of Daniel is a response to specific historical 48:02.765 --> 48:05.655 circumstances. It's a response to the crisis 48:05.663 --> 48:09.113 of persecution and martyrdom that was going on in the second 48:09.107 --> 48:11.597 century. That was a new kind of crisis 48:11.603 --> 48:15.063 that led to a new kind of response, because the earlier 48:15.056 --> 48:18.826 crises of 722 and 586--they could be explained as punishment 48:18.828 --> 48:20.808 for sin and faithlessness. 48:20.809 --> 48:24.009 But now in the second century, Jews were dying not because 48:24.014 --> 48:26.834 they were faithless but precisely because they were 48:26.825 --> 48:29.495 faithful; because they refused to obey 48:29.495 --> 48:32.855 the decrees of Antiochus and to violate their law and covenant 48:32.863 --> 48:34.523 and they were dying. 48:34.519 --> 48:38.149 So this new phenomenon of martyrdom, really for the first 48:38.148 --> 48:42.098 time, required new responses and the book of Daniel provides a 48:42.101 --> 48:44.111 fully apocalyptic response. 48:44.110 --> 48:45.760 Remain faithful, wait, Daniel urges, 48:45.764 --> 48:47.944 know that this will all be set right by God, 48:47.940 --> 48:52.060 not in this world but in an ultimate and cataclysmic triumph 48:52.064 --> 48:54.864 of life and faith over death and evil, 48:54.860 --> 48:56.630 and it will be soon. 48:56.630 --> 49:00.030 Daniel emphasizes God's firm control of history and so 49:00.031 --> 49:03.371 bolsters loyal Jews who are suffering indignities and 49:03.368 --> 49:06.768 torture and even death all around him because of their 49:06.769 --> 49:09.209 faith. So we've seen the zealous 49:09.205 --> 49:12.995 fifth-century response of Ezra and Nehemiah to the fateful 49:13.001 --> 49:15.001 events of Israel's history. 49:15.000 --> 49:18.280 They believed Israel's rededication to God and the 49:18.280 --> 49:20.690 covenant involved as a first step, 49:20.690 --> 49:23.300 cessation of intimate relations with foreigners, 49:23.295 --> 49:25.785 separation from their abominable practices. 49:25.789 --> 49:28.759 We've seen very different views that would integrate foreigners 49:28.757 --> 49:30.047 in the worship of Yahweh. 49:30.050 --> 49:33.460 We've seen also the later emergence of apocalyptic as an 49:33.460 --> 49:37.060 expression of present despair and future hope that entailed 49:37.056 --> 49:40.836 the divinely orchestrated and cataclysmic defeat of the wicked 49:40.838 --> 49:43.068 enemies who persecuted Israel. 49:43.070 --> 49:45.520 And in the last lecture we're going to look at two books of 49:45.518 --> 49:47.838 the Hebrew Bible that take very different approaches, 49:47.840 --> 49:50.000 the Book of Esther and the Book of Jonah.