THL 201
Study Guide – Test 3
You will need to know the major concepts from the text book (Called to Be God’s People), the main
points of the lectures, and the major events in the biblical texts that we have studied. To do well on the
test, you should be familiar with the following:
• Job – major characters (Job, Job’ s friends, Elihu, and God) and their positions in the debate;
what does the book say about human suffering?
• Ecclesiastes – key terminology (vapor of vapors; under the sun; chasing after wind)
• Song of Solomon – allegorical, literal, and typological interpretations
• The two primary messages in the prophets: woe and weal (a.k.a. judgment and restoration OR
Law and Gospel)
• The major features of Israelite prophecy, including:
o Literary vs. non-literary prophets
o Insider vs. outsider prophets
o Day of the Lord
o Oracles against the nations
• The historical context of each of the prophetic books
o Hard-to-date prophets – Joel and Obadiah
o 8th century Israelite prophets – Jonah, Amos, and Hosea (Israel’s fall to Assyria)
o 8th century Judahite prophets – Isaiah and Micah (threat of Assyria)
o 7th century prophets – Nahum, Habakkuk, and Zephaniah (threat of Babylon)
o Exilic prophets – Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel (the exile and return)
o Post-exilic prophets – Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi (rebuilding)
• Joel – The Day of the Lord = locusts; pouring out of the spirit (see Acts 2)
• Obadiah – oracle against Edom
• Jonah – basic plotline; the mercy of God vs. the unforgiving nature of Jonah/Israel
• Amos – southerner active in the north; concerned with social justice; restoration of David’s line
• Hosea – Hosea’s marriage to Gomer is like God’s relationship with Israel; Israel is God’s son
• Isaiah – Part focuses on present day (Assyria) and part on the future (Babylon, Messiah);
Immanuel; Cyrus as God’s messiah; Suffering servant; God’s plan of total restoration
• Micah – concerned with social justice and false prophecy; points to the Messiah born in
Bethlehem as the solution
• Nahum – oracle against Nineveh (Assyria)
• Habakkuk – questions God’s justice; the humbling of the prophet
• Zephaniah – God is the only one who can save you from the Day of the Lord
• Jeremiah – weeping prophet; conflicts with other prophets; new covenant/testament
• Lamentations – mourning for Jerusalem; acrostics
• Ezekiel – prophesies to the exiles; apocalyptic visions; bizarre action prophecies
• Daniel – 1st half = stories of Daniel’s life in the Babylonian court; 2nd half = apocalyptic visions of
the Messiah and of the resurrection
• Haggai – encouraged Judah to rebuild the Temple
• Zechariah – 1st half = series of visions about postexilic Israel/rebuilding the Temple; 2nd half =
apocalyptic visions of the Messiah
• Malachi – last Old Testament prophet; promise of a prophet like Elijah (John the Baptist)
