Tag: 4th Quarter 2003

Background Considerations: The nature of prophecy. The popular definition of prophecy is almost always tied to predictions of the future. But the future is only part, in fact a small part, of the prophets’ arena...

Continue reading →

Background Considerations: Structure of the book of Jonah. As we enter chapter 3, something becomes apparent upon a close reading of the story: chapters 1 and 3 begin the same way (the command to Jonah...

Continue reading →

Background Considerations: Poetry in the Old Testament. A high percentage of the Hebrew Bible comes to us in the form of poetry. The most important feature of Hebrew poetry is parallelism, which defines the way...

Continue reading →

Background Considerations: Notion of the Ocean. The ancient world did not have positive feelings toward the ocean, and with good reason. Water out of control was a serious threat, not only due to floods, but...

Continue reading →

Background Considerations: Jonah’s name means “dove.” Check this out in a good Bible dictionary to see how the prophet’s name functions in the story. His father’s name, Amittai, is tied in some way to “truthfulness”...

Continue reading →

Background Considerations: The role of biblical prophets appears primarily to have focused on judgment, on calling people to accountability, to responsible living. How one relates to God (avoid idolatry) and how one relates to fellow...

Continue reading →

Background Considerations: Prophets. Review a good Bible dictionary’s article on “prophet” and think about how Jonah fits the role and where he is historically. Among other early prophets, we know of several in the northern...

Continue reading →

Background Considerations: The prophets. Who were these people and what tasks would best describe their job? The major word used for “prophet” in the Hebrew Bible was nabi, which derives from an Akkadian word meaning...

Continue reading →