Reading Response 4
Welcome back to the CHRTC 100 Discussion Forum.
Students are expected to post responses weekly to two of the posted discussion questions. Responses should be 150 – 250 words in length each.
Please choose two of the following questions to respond to and post your responses by 11:59 pm on Friday, May 30.
1. Why do Ezra and Nehemiah pressure Israelite men to divorce their non-Israelite wives? How would the author of the Book of Ruth have responded to this demand?
2. Choose one of the 150 psalms from the Book of Psalms and categorize the psalm according to Gunkel’s classification. Please refer to the number of the particular psalm you choose in your answer. Provide evidence for your choice of classification from the psalm.
3. Describe the principal differences between the more “conventional” or “practical” wisdom books like Proverbs and the “critical” or “speculative” wisdom books like Job and Ecclesiastes. In what ways do these books differ from other parts of the Hebrew Bible?
4. What are the elements of apocalyptic literature described in the Harris text? What Hebrew Bible text is considered to be an example of apocalyptic literature?
5. What is the political context that may have inspired the writers of Daniel and the books of the Apocrypha to write as they did?
6. Roman Catholic and Protestant communities have situated the texts from the Apocrypha in different relations to the biblical canon. What are some historical understandings and events that impacted this difference?
