Part 19 (2/2)

”For the Lord thy G.o.d bringeth thee into a good land, A land of brooks of water, Of fountains and depths, Springing forth in valleys and hills; A land of wheat and barley, And vines and fig trees and pomegranates; A land of oil olives and honey,” etc. (Rev. Ver.)

5. _Philosophy_, or ”wisdom-literature,” is also found in the Old Testament. The book of Prov'erbs is a collection of the ”sayings of the sages” among the Is'ra-el-ites; while Ec-cle-si-as'tes is a series of connected essays on human life.

6. _Prophecy_ is a distinct form of literature in the Bible. The word ”prophecy” in the Scriptures means not ”foretelling,” or ”prediction,”

but ”_forth_telling,” speaking under a divine power, whether of past, present, or future. It is not to be forgotten that the books of Josh'u-a, Judg'es, Sam'u-el, and Kings were called by the Jews ”the former prophets,” and were all regarded as prophetic, although they contained history. The prophets used freely either the prose form or verse form in their messages. Their writings may be cla.s.sified under:

1.) _Prophetic Discourse_, the message of the Lord concerning nations, often called ”the burden,” the counterpart of the modern sermon, as in Isa. 1. 1-31; Ezek. 34.

2.) _Lyric prophecy_, in the form of song, as in Zeph-a-ni'ah, Isa. 9. 8 to 10. 4, and many other instances.

3.) _Symbolic prophecy_, or the use of emblems, as Jer-e-mi'ah's girdle (Jer. 13), the potter's wheel (Jer. 18), or E-ze'ki-el's tile (Ezek. 4).

4.) _The prophecy of Vision_, of which instances are: I-sa'iah's call (Isa. 6); Jer-e-mi'ah's vision (Jer. 1. 11-16); E-ze'ki-el's vision of the cherubim (Ezek. 1); ”the valley of dry bones” (Ezek. 37); and Zech-a-ri'ah's vision of the candlestick (Zech. 4).

5.) _The prophecy of Parable_, as ”the vineyard” (Isa. 5), also in Ezek.

15; ”the eagle” (Ezek. 17). There are many parables in the Old Testament, but the master in this form of teaching was the Prophet of Gal'i-lee in the gospels.

6.) _The prophecy of Dialogue_, either between the prophet and Je-ho'vah or more frequently between the prophet and the people, as in the book of Mal'a-chi.

7.) _Dramatic prophecy_, in which Je-ho'vah himself is represented as speaking, generally introduced by the words ”Thus saith Je-ho'vah.”

A close a.n.a.lysis will perhaps show other forms of prophetic teaching, as ”The Doom Song” and ”The Prophetic Rhapsody”; but in our judgment these also may be included in the cla.s.sification given above. (See footnote with the opening of this lesson.)

Blackboard Outline

I. =Imp.= The Bible as Hist. Eth. Doc. Dev. Lit. [Ill.u.s.t.]

II. =Diff.= 1. Div. chap. ver. 2. Lit. ming.

III. =Cla.s.s.= 1. Hist, 1.) Prim. 2.) Const. 3.) Nat. 4.) Eccl.

2. Per. Narr. J. B. R. D. E. E. J. E.

3. Poet. Heb. ver. 1.) Od. 2.) Lyr. 3.) Dram.

4. Orat. Sol. Deut. Prov. Proph.

5. Phil. ”Wis.-Lit.” Prov. Eccl.

6. Proph. ”Forthtell.” ”For. proph.” 1.) Pro. Disc.

2.) Lyr. pro. 3.) Sym. pro. 4.) Pro. Vis. 5.) Pro.

Par. 6.) Pro. Dia. 7.) Dram. pro.

Review Questions

Review the questions with PART ONE of this lesson.

What are the first and second cla.s.ses of literature in the Bible? What is the third cla.s.s? Wherein does He'brew poetry differ from Eng'lish verse? What three kinds of poetry are found in the Old Testament? Give examples under each kind. What is the fourth cla.s.s of literature in the Bible? Name some instances under this cla.s.s. Are the discourses of the Bible in prose or in poetry? What is the fifth cla.s.s of biblical literature? By what other name is this cla.s.s known?

Give two examples of this cla.s.s, and state the differences between them. What is the sixth literary department in the Bible? What is the meaning of the word ”prophecy”? In what form, prose or poetry, did the prophets speak? What are the seven kinds of prophecy found in the Bible? Define each kind. Give ill.u.s.trations of each cla.s.s.

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