The title Ecclesiastes comes from the Greek translation of the opening line, “The words of the Preacher…” The word preacher is qoheleth in the Hebrew or ekklesiastes in Greek. The Hebrew term appears in the feminine form, which shows “…that divine Wisdom herself speaks through the inspired king Solomon” (Fausset Bible Dictionary). It is fitting…
Tag: survey
PROVERBS
After Solomon rose to the throne, the LORD appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Ask! What shall I give you?’ Solomon responded, ‘…give to your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and evil’ (1 Kings 3:5, 9). It took a measure of wisdom to ask this…
PSALM
A Psalm is a poem which is typically set to music. In fact, some of the psalms give instructions for the musician (ie. Psalm 4:1, “To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.). There are 150 psalms in the book of Psalms. Several of them are labeled as psalms of David (73),…
ESTHER
The book of Esther is a historical record falling in the period of the return from the Babylonian captivity. There were three phases to the return: the first under Zerubbabel (536 BC) who oversaw the rebuilding of the temple; the second under Ezra (458 BC) who re-established worship; and the third under Nehemiah (444 BC)…
EZRA | NEHEMIAH
The books of Ezra & Nehemiah pick up where 2 Chronicles left off (compare 2 Chronicles 36:22-23; Ezra 1:1-4). They record the restoration of the Jews to their land after the captivity in Babylon. The return to Judah happened in three phases. The first was led by Zerubbabel, the second by Ezra and the third…
SAMUEL | KINGS | CHRONICLES
Our Bibles list 6 books (1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, 1 & 2 Chronicles), but originally each pair was a single book. These books record just over 500-years of Israel’s history beginning with the birth of Samuel (the final judge in Israel) and culminating with the destruction of Jerusalem and the Babylonian…
JUDGES
The book of Judges is the second of the history books in the Old Testament. The name of the book comes from 2:18, “…the LORD raised up judges who delivered them out of the hand of those who plundered them.” The word judge is from the Hebrew jps {shaphat}, which refers to “…a magistrate or…