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RLST 145: Introduction to the Old Testament

Lecture 20 - Responses to Suffering and Evil: Lamentations and Wisdom Literature. This lecture begins with the Book of Lamentations, a short book of dirges that laments the destruction of Jerusalem and moves on to introduce the third and final section of the Hebrew Bible - the Ketuvim, or "Writings." This section of the Bible contains three books that exemplify the ancient Near Eastern literary genre of "Wisdom" - Proverbs, Job and Ecclesiastes. Proverbs reinforces the Deuteronomistic idea of divine retributive justice according to which the good prosper and the evil are punished. The conventional assumption of a moral world order is attacked in the Book of Job. The book explores whether people will sustain virtue when suffering and afflicted, and brings charges of negligence and mismanagement against God for failing to punish the wicked and allowing the righteous to suffer. (from oyc.yale.edu)

Lecture 20 - Responses to Suffering and Evil: Lamentations and Wisdom Literature

Time Lecture Chapters
[00:00:00] 1. The Book of Lamentations
[00:08:31] 2. An Introduction to Wisdom Books in the "Ketuvim"
[00:13:19] 3. The Book of Proverbs
[00:19:48] 4. Structure of and Literary Components in The Book of Job
[00:25:40] 5. Prose Prologue in the Book of Job
[00:30:36] 6. Poetic Speech Cycles in the Book of Job
[00:45:26] 7. God's Response in the Book of Job

References
Lecture 20 - Responses to Suffering and Evil: Lamentations and Wisdom Literature
Instructor: Professor Christine Hayes. Handout: Book of Job [PDF]. Transcript [html]. Audio [mp3]. Download Video [mov].

Go to the Course Home or watch other lectures:

Lecture 01 - The Parts of the Whole
Lecture 02 - The Hebrew Bible in Its Ancient Near Eastern Setting: Biblical Religion in Context
Lecture 03 - The Hebrew Bible in Its Ancient Near Eastern Setting: Genesis 1-4 in Context
Lecture 04 - Doublets and Contradictions, Seams and Sources: Genesis 5-11 and the Historical-Critical Method
Lecture 05 - Critical Approaches to the Bible: Introduction to Genesis 12-50
Lecture 06 - Biblical Narrative: The Stories of the Patriarchs (Genesis 12-36)
Lecture 07 - Israel in Egypt: Moses and the Beginning of Yahwism (Genesis 37- Exodus 4)
Lecture 08 - Exodus: From Egypt to Sinai (Exodus 5-24, 32; Numbers)
Lecture 09 - The Priestly Legacy: Cult and Sacrifice, Purity and Holiness in Leviticus and Numbers
Lecture 10 - Biblical Law: The Three Legal Corpora of JE (Exodus), P (Leviticus and Numbers) and D
Lecture 11 - On the Steps of Moab: Deuteronomy
Lecture 12 - The Deuteronomistic History: Life in the Land (Joshua and Judges)
Lecture 13 - The Deuteronomistic History: Prophets and Kings (1 and 2 Samuel)
Lecture 14 - The Deuteronomistic History: Response to Catastrophe (1 and 2 Kings)
Lecture 15 - Hebrew Prophecy: The Non-Literary Prophets
Lecture 16 - Literary Prophecy: Amos
Lecture 17 - Literary Prophecy: Hosea and Isaiah
Lecture 18 - Literary Prophecy: Micah, Zephaniah, Nahum and Habbakuk
Lecture 19 - Literary Prophecy: Perspectives on the Exile (Jeremiah, Ezekiel and 2nd Isaiah)
Lecture 20 - Responses to Suffering and Evil: Lamentations and Wisdom Literature
Lecture 21 - Biblical Poetry: Psalms and Song of Songs
Lecture 22 - The Restoration: 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah
Lecture 23 - Visions of the End: Daniel and Apocalyptic Literature
Lecture 24 - Alternative Visions: Esther, Ruth, and Jonah