Zechariah

1:7-6:8: We may be able to read the first six chapters of Zechariah as having a roughly chiastic structure. As with many chiasmi, however, deciding whether this is a chiasmus is a matter of judgment rather than fact.

If this analysis is correct, the chiastic structure helps us understand better some of the more difficult parts of Zechariah’s vision. Earlier parts of the chiasm help “define” later, more obscure parts. Notice that each step in the chiasm narrows the scope: from the widest scope, that of the Lord; to the next widest, the international; to Jerusalem; and to Joshua (Jeshua) and the temple. The focus of the vision is clearly on priesthood and on the temple standing at the “center” of the world.

The return to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the temple were of critical interest to the Jews. Why? Many had become quite settled and successful in Babylon. What would be the appeal of returning to the Jerusalem area? What part might prophecies like Zachariah’s have played in the return of the Jews and the rebuilding of the temple?

Prior to the exile, there had been several temples in Israel. Those Israelites who escaped into Egypt built a temple there. Why hadn’t the Jews built a temple in Babylon? Why did they rebuild only one?

6:9-15: What purpose do the three men mentioned in verse 10 (and again in verse 14—Heldai is probably the same person as Helem) serve? What is Joshua’s significance? To understand this prophecy fully, it is important to remember that Joshua is Jesus’s name in Hebrew. What is the significance of the crowns? What might they represent?

10:6-8; 12:3-5; 14:6-9: How would these prophecies have been important to Jews at the time of the return from exile in Babylon? Why would Messianic prophecies be important to them? How are they important to us today?

The book of Zechariah is an excellent prophecy for seeing how prophecy can have multiple fulfillments. Was this prophesy fulfilled during the lifetime of Zechariah? If so, how? If not, what meaning did it have for the people of his time? How was it fulfilled with the First Coming of the Savior? How will it be fulfilled with the Second Coming?

Malachi

1:6-8, 11-14: What is the Lord’s complaint against the priests? What does this tell us about Malachi’s day? How do these verses apply to us?

2:1-9: These verses give more details of the complaint. What does it mean to “cause many to stumble at the law” (verse 8)? How might the priests have corrupted the covenant?

3:1-4: What must happen before the Levites can again offer a righteous offering? Compare these verses to D&C 13. How are these two passages of scripture related to each other?

3:5, 7-8, 14-15: What is the connection between the sins listed in Malachi 3:5 and those listed in verses 7-8? Why does tithing come up in a complaint about Israelite failure to keep the ordinances? Can you think of contemporary equivalents to the sins described in verses 14-15?

4:5-6: How would Israelites listening to or reading Malachi’s prophecy have understood verses 5-6? How is their understanding related to our latter-day understanding of those verses?

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The rough chronology below will help place this week’s material in its historical context.

Outline of the lesson material

The facts about the return of the Jews from exile are not clear. There are a number of difficulties created by the different versions of the return story in these documents. In fact, many scholars believe that the records have been purposefully altered. So the following reconstruction of the events of the return are a good guess, but they remain hypothetical.

1.         Cyrus, king of Persia, allows the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem (Ezra 1:1-4).

2.         Under the direction of Zerubbabel and Joshua, a group returns to rebuild the temple. Zerubbabel was a Jewish political leader appointed governor of Palestine by Cyrus, and one of Jesus’s ancestors. (See Matthew 1:12 and Luke 3:27.) Jeshua was the High Priest (Ezra 2:2; 3:2-8; 5:2; Nehemiah 7:7; 12:1; see also Haggai 1:1-14; Zechariah 4:6-10).

3.         In the first year, Zerubbabel and Jeshua build the altar of burnt offerings and reinstitute the Mosaic sacrifices (Ezra 3:2-6).

4.         In the second year, they begin to build the temple itself (Ezra 3:8-13).

5.         The Samaritans—descendants of those left behind when Israel and Judah were carried into captivity—offer to help build the temple. However, because the Jews reject their offer, they cause the work to cease temporarily (Ezra 4:1-24; 5:1-4).

6.         Haggai and Zechariah persuade the Israelites to continue building the temple (Ezra 5:1-2; Haggai 1:1-14).

7.         The temple is completed following an edict from Darius, the king of Persia, to allow the work to go forward (Ezra 5:3-15).

8.         Ezra, a scribe, leads a second migration from Babylon and becomes a teacher for his people (Ezra 7).

9.         Nehemiah, the Jewish leader of those remaining in Persia and the king’s cupbearer, travels to Jerusalem from Babylon with the blessings of king Artaxerxes, and supervises the rebuilding of the protective wall around Jerusalem despite opposition from the Samaritans, Ammonites, and Arabs (Nehemiah 1, 2, and 4).

10.       Ezra teaches his people the law of Moses and leads them to renew their covenants (Nehemiah 8). (Some contemporary scholars believe that this may be one of the occasions when the scriptures were edited.)

11.       Nehemiah returns to Babylon for a while, and then once again comes back to Jerusalem. He finds the people already beginning to renege on their covenants. Nehemiah initiates a religious revival (Nehemiah 13:6-31).

Study Questions

Ezra

Ezra 1:1-6 and 2:64-65: Why does Cyrus allow the Jews to return to Jerusalem? (See also Isaiah 44:28.)

1:3-6: To what two groups does Cyrus address his proclamation? What does he expect of each group?

3:2: The priesthood leader who leads a major group from Babylon to Israel was named Jeshua—or “Joshua” or “Jesus,” each is a different way of spelling the same name in English. The name “Joshua” means “Yahweh saves.” Is it significant that for both the first return to the Promised Land (coming from Egypt) and this one (coming from Babylon), the children of Israel are led by a man named “Jesus”? What do you make of that?

4:1-5: Why wouldn’t the Israelites accept help from the Samaritans in rebuilding the temple? Does this story have anything to do with the hatred of the Samaritans that we see in the New Testament (for example, in the story of the Good Samaritan)? Can we trust the reason given in Ezra to be accurate? In other words, is it free from self-justification? If not, what might the real reason for refusing their help have been?

7:6-8: What was a scribe in ancient Israel? The Anchor Bible Dictionary says this of the scribes:

In Ezra 8–10, Ezra the scribe functions as the leader of the returnees in conjunction with leading priests, Levites, and families. Though Ezra is of high priestly stock, he does not officiate at the cult [i.e., in the temple rituals] but is a religious leader, while Nehemiah is governor (Nehemiah 8–9). As such he exercised the office of teacher and priest by reading from the Law to the people while a group of Levites helped the people understand the law and led the people in prayer and sacrifice (Ezra 8).

. . . [Ezra] was certainly a recognized authority in the Jewish community because he was of high priestly descent and also learned in the law. He had enough access to the Persian court to obtain a favor from the king and enough community standing to lead a group to Jerusalem and establish himself there. The continuing problems with intermarriage and the opposition to Ezra indicate that he was one of a number of influential and powerful forces in the Jerusalem community but that his views did not immediately predominate.

One other scribe appears in Ezra and Nehemiah—Zadok, who was appointed with a priest and Levite to be a treasurer of the storehouses where the tithes were brought (Neh 12:12–13). This text suggests that scribes were part of society and its leadership in Jerusalem. In the postexilic Jewish community the roles of priests, Levites, scribes, and other Jewish leaders overlapped. Ezra was a priest, scribe, and community leader, and possibly a government-appointed leader (Ezra 7).

How has Israelite worship changed from what it was prior to the exile? After the return from exile, who seems to have the most authority and what seems to have become the most important aspect of worship? What implications does this have for people at the time of Christ?

Nehemiah

1:5-11: Can you put Nehemiah’s prayer in your own words? Why does he begin with a confession of sin? Why does he confess that his father has sinned? What is he suggesting in verses 8-10? What is he asking for in verse 11?

2:11-16: Why does Nehemiah keep his travels around Jerusalem secret?

4:7-8: Why would non-Israelites have been opposed to rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem?

5:1-10: Why are some Jews in bondage to others? Why is Nehemiah angry? Our economy could not function without “usury,” in other words, if those who loaned money did not receive interest, money a lender charges another person for using his money. (“Use” and “usury” have the same root.) Are there kinds of economic bondage into which we place each other? If so, how can we free those whom we have placed in that bondage?

8:1-8, 9, 12-14: Compare this meeting to that organized by King Benjamin (Mosiah 2-5). How are the two similar: content, audience, how the message is made clear to all, response, etc.? Why do the people weep when they hear the law? What does verse 14 tell us about their knowledge of the law? This is the second time we have seen the people of Israel discover that they have not been keeping the law and have mourned in response. The first was during the reign of Josiah. (See 2 Chronicles 34:14-35:6.) What do these stories suggest about how we should understand Israelite worship during most of the Old Testament times? How does our response to scripture compare to that of Ezra’s people? How is scripture important to us?

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Verses 10-12: What did it mean to be a wise man in Babylon? Why was the king angry? Why do you think that the gods of Babylon are never mentioned in this story, not even negatively?

Verse 24: Why does Daniel save the other wise men of Babylon?  Verse 28: Why would a king living hundreds of years before Christ’s birth be interested in what would happen at the age when the end of the world would come? (“Latter days” is probably better translated “at the end of days.”) Why should anyone but those who live in the latter days care about them? Books about the last days and prophecies of them were not uncommon during the time after the Jewish exile in Babylon, but why? Why are they important to us?

Verse 32: The Greek poet Hesiod uses the image of world history as having four parts, each less happy than the last, and each designated by a metal of decreasing value: gold, silver, bronze, iron. The Persians had a similar understanding of the ages of human existence: gold, silver, steel, and iron mixed with clay. Nebuchadnezzar’s dream is a mixture of the two traditions. Why would a revelation to the Lord come to Nebuchadnezzar in those terms?

Verse 34: What is the stone cut from the mountain without hands? Why do you think that? How does your identification of that stone fit with your identification with the parts of the image in the next verses?

Verses 36-45: It appears that the Jews before Christ’s time understood world history to be encapsulated in the reigns of the Babylonians, Medes, Persians, and Greeks. So, it was probably in those terms that the prophecy was understood up to the time of Christ. The traditional Catholic interpretation was that the four parts of the image represent the Babylonian, Persian, Greek, and Roman empires, culminating in the birth of Christ. Joseph Smith didn’t seem particularly interested in discussing those kingdoms. (See Dean Jesse, comp., Personal Writings of Joseph Smith 106-107.)

Verses 41-44: Joseph Smith was, however, interested in the feet and toes:

The feet of the image, is the government of these United States, other nations & kingdoms are looking up to her, for an example, of union freedom and equal rights, and therefore worship her, like as Daniel saw in the vision, although they are beginning to loose confidence in her, seeing the broils and discord that distract, her political & religious horizon; this Image is characteristic of all governments and institutions or most of them; as they begin with a head of gold and terminate in the contemptible feet of iron & clay: making a splendid appearance at first, proposing to do much more than they can perform, and finally end in degradation and sink, in infamy; we should not only start to come out of Babylon but leave it entirely lest we are overthrown in her ruins. (Personal Writings of Joseph Smith 106-107; spelling and capitalization modernized)

How did Joseph Smith understand the prophecy of Daniel? What import does it have for us today? How did Joseph Smith understand what it meant to come out of Babylon? How ought we to understand it?

Verse 44: What kingdom will consume all other kingdoms? What is the relation of the Church to that kingdom? Given these biblical and prophetic teachings, why does the Church require our obedience to earthly governments?

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There is considerable material in the readings for this lesson, so I am going to focus the study questions on the book of Esther (the entire book rather than only the parts assigned for Sunday School). I want to focus on Esther because it is one of the books of the Old Testament with which I believe Latter-day Saints are least familiar. That lack of familiarity is ironic, given that Esther is perhaps the Old Testament book best known among the Jews outside the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament. Esther is the only book that is still usually read from a scroll on ceremonial occasions, and Jews often publish beautiful editions of it.

Esther is the last of five books gathered together as a collection and called “The Five Megilloth,” meaning “The Five Scrolls.” These books—Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther—are a sub-collection within that part of the Old Testament called “The Writings.” These are books read at each of the Jewish religious feasts:

Song of Songs at Passover (approximately the same time as Easter, a celebration of the angel of death passing over the children of Israel in Egypt)

Ruth at Pentecost (an agricultural festival held fifty days after Passover, in May or June)

Lamentations on the Ninth of Ab (commemorating the destruction of the temple by Nebuchadnezzar on the ninth day of the fifth month—July or August on our calendar)

Ecclesiastes at the Feast of Booths or Feast of Tabernacles (in Hebrew, sukkoth—a feast, usually in October, commemorating the Exodus: people built huts of branches and lived in them for five days)

Esther at Purim (a celebration of Esther saving Israel from annihilation in Babylon, in April or March)

What do you make of the fact that four of the five Jewish religious feasts have something to do with destruction or exile? Why would a people put those events at the heart of their worship? What might it say about their self-understanding? About their relation to God? Does that suggest anything about our religious practices, our self-understanding, or our relation to God? Why do you think the book of Esther and the event that it commemorates is so important to the Jews? What does it mean to them? How might its meaning for them be relevant to us? What event or events in our history might be comparable in meaning? Is there a danger in comparing their experience and ours?

One of the most striking things about the book of Esther is that it never uses any of the names of divinity, though it is clearly about how God saves his people: an entire book of scripture that never mentions God. In fact, in places the book seems to go out of its way not to do so. (See, for example, Esther 4:14.) Since that can hardly be an accident, what do you think the best explanation for the omission would be?

In the material that follows, I give an outline of the story, with some comments about the material, and I give some study questions. I have put the study questions in italics so that they are easier to find.

Chapter 1

Verses 1-8: We learn about the festivals of Ahasueras (485-464 B.C.). His Greek name is “Ataxerxes,” and he was the king of Persia. Since “Ataxerxes” is easier to remember and say, I will use that name in the rest of these materials.

We are not sure who this king was. The ancient historian Josephus identifies him with Cyrus. Eusebius, a later ancient historian argues that he must have been king after Darius.  The word translated “feast” means, literally, “a drinking,” since that was the main activity at the feast.

We know that the king was drunk (see verse 10), but there is a good chance that everyone else was also drunk, including Vashti, the king’s wife who is overseeing another feast at the same time.

Verses 9-12: Vashti refuses to leave the feast she is overseeing to appear at the king’s feast. Many argue that the command in verse 11, “to bring the queen before the king with the crown royal” means “wearing only the crown.” Whether or not that is true, since the king had absolute power, Vashti’s refusal was dangerous.

Verses 13-22: Ataxerxes consults with his wise men—those who know the law (“the times,” verse 13)—about how to deal with Vashti’s refusal. One of them, Memucan, suggests that Vashti has not only insulted the king with her disobedience, he has insulted the whole country. She has set a dangerous precedent, he argues, for if the king allows her to get away with her refusal, then other wives will also refuse to do what their husbands tell them to do. Memucan advises Ataxerxes to exile Vashti permanently, and he does.

This tells us a great deal about how the Persians thought of their wives. Can you think of anything in our own culture that is comparable to the way that Memucan thinks of women and, in particular of wives? What does the story of Esther tell us about attitudes like Mumucan’s? As you read the story of Esther, ask yourself what the story teaches about the role of women.

Given that this is such a petty matter, do you think the writer is making fun of the Persians when he refers to the wise men in verse 13 or when he speaks of the rebellion that may arise as a result in verse 18?

In Word Biblical Commentary (9:355), Frederic W. Bush quotes one writer:

[T]he opening chapter has set a tone that cannot be forgotten, conditioning the reader not to take the king, his princes, or his law at their face value, and alerting the reader to keep his eyes open for ironies that will doubtless be implicit in the story that is yet to unfold. Without the rather obvious satire of the first chapter we might well be in more doubt over the propriety of ironic readings in the body of the book. Chapter 1 licenses a hermeneutic of suspicion (Clines, The Esther Scroll, 33).

Of what things might we be suspicious as we read the book?

Chapter 2

Verses 1-4: It seems that Ataxerxes was remorseful. (That he “remembered Vashti” cannot simply mean that he had forgotten about her.) But since his decree had been made into law, it was irrevocable.

Why would an ancient kingdom have a practice that made the legal decrees of the king irrevocable? What was being avoided with the decree of such a law? What might the revocation of a decree suggest about a king?

Since he cannot revoke his decree, his ministers suggest that he search the kingdom for someone to replace Vashti.

What does this suggest about the general status of women in Ataxerxes’s kingdom?

The phrasing of the language in verses 3 and 4 is very similar to the phrasing of Genesis 41:34-37. The person who wrote the book of Esther may be trying to draw a parallel between the story of Joseph and the story of Esther.

What kinds of parallels can you think of between Joseph and Esther? Why would the writer of Esther want to make the stories parallel? What does Esther teach us that we may also see in the story of Joseph?

Verses 5-7:

Though Mordecai is a Benjamite, he is described as a Jew. Why?

Mordecai has raised the orphan daughter of his uncle whose Hebrew name seems to be Hadassah (“Myrtle”) and whose Persian name was Esther (either “Star” or a variation of the name of Persian goddess, Ishtar).

Verses 8-11: Esther is one of those chosen as a candidate for the king’s wife. Some believe that when verse 8 says that she was “taken” it means that she was taken by force, against the wishes of Mordecai. Esther conceals the fact that she is a Jew from the king because Mordecai told her to do so, and Mordecai paces back and forth in front of the king’s harem trying to find out how Esther is doing.

Verses 12-14: Each of the women chosen is taken to sleep with Ataxerxes by turns. If the king sends her back to the harem, she remains his wife, but will not see him again unless the king calls her by name to come back to the palace. In all probability, she will spend the rest of her life in the harem, a concubine (a wife with secondary status) of the king living as if she were a widow.

Verses 15-18: When Esther’s turn comes, the king falls in love with her and makes her his queen (his primary wife).

Verses 19-23: Still Esther does not reveal to the king that she is a Jew because Mordecai has told her not to do so.

Compare Esther’s behavior to that of Daniel and his companions. They live in the court of the king, but they refuse not to do the things that Jews do, so they are immediately noticed as different and those differences create problems for them. In contrast, Esther is married to the king and no one has yet noticed that she is any different than other Persians. It seems that she was not living any differently than those around her. There are times when it is important that we insist on our differences from others, as with Daniel, and there are times when it is important that we not insist on them, as with Esther. How do we differentiate those times?

Mordecai learns of a plot to assassinate the king and tells Esther of the plot. In turn, she tells the king and tells him that she has learned this from Mordecai. The king’s scribes record what Mordecai has done in the royal chronicles.

Chapter 3

Verses 1-5: The king chooses Haman, a descendent of Agag, king of Amelek (see 1 Samuel 15:9) as his prime minister. Mordecai and Haman are from families that have traditionally been enemies. When the other servants bow down to Haman, Mordecai refuses to do so and Haman becomes angry with him.

Verse 4 tells us that Mordecai had told the other servants that he was a Jew, presumably as his explanation for why he wouldn’t bow down. But it wasn’t forbidden for the Jews to bow down to a ruler (see Genesis 42:6 and 43:28, for example), so why do you think Mordecai refused to do so? If he is willing for the other servants to know that he is a Jew, why did he tell Esther that she ought not to reveal that she is a Jew?

Verses 6-11: Haman knows that it will look bad if he merely takes revenge on Mordecai. He will obviously be acting arbitrarily and he doesn’t want to seem arbitrary. So, he plots to have all Jews in Persia killed!

What is it about the Jews that offends Haman? What is comparable today to having a large group of people living spread throughout the country with a different culture? What does Haman’s reasoning tell us about his character? Though few of us would be as evil as Haman, do we ever do what he did here, try to avoid appearing to do some smaller evil by doing a great evil? Is taking revenge against a whole group because of a problem with one person something that we see in our own day? Is it something that is sometimes done to us? Is it something that we sometimes do to others? How do we avoid falling into this behavior unconsciously?

Haman tells the king that there are people in the kingdom who have their own laws (which is true) and who do not obey the laws of the land (which is probably not generally true, for it would be contrary to the teachings of Jeremiah; see Jeremiah 29:7). Haman adds a bribe to his lie about the Jews: 10,000 talents of silver. The weight of a talent varied, but in the late Old Testament period, it seems to have been about 20.4 kg. So, if the number recorded is accurate and not exaggerated (and it may be exaggerated to make a point), Haman offered the king 204,000 kilograms (448,800 pounds) of silver! Verse 11 may seem to suggest that the king did not accept the bribe or that he paid Haman instead. However, Esther 4:7 tells us that King Ataxerxes accepted the bribe. Ataxerxes tells Haman to do what he wants to with these people and he gives him his seal as a sign of the king’s authority.

Verses 12-15: The decree is made in the city and, immediately, letters go out to all of the provinces of the Persian empire instructing officials there to kill all the Jews and to seize their property and assigning a particular date on which the slaughter was to occur.

Notice the literary power of verse 15: Haman orders the slaughter of tens of thousands of people and then he and the king sit down to feast; the people of the city of Shushan are perplexed by the decree, and perhaps the verse also means that they were perplexed by the nonchalance with which Haman and the king could order such a thing.

Chapter 4

Verses 1-3: On hearing of the decree, Mordecai and all of the Jews go into deep mourning.

Verses 4-8: In the palace, Esther is unaware of the decree and seems to be unaware that the Jews as a whole are mourning. But she does hear of Mordecai’s mourning and she sends him clothing, for when he is wearing the sackcloth of mourning he cannot enter into the palace to talk with her. Mordecai won’t accept the clothing, so he cannot come into the palace. She sends a servant, Hathach, to ask Mordecai why he is mourning. Mordecai tells Hathach everything, including telling him about the bribe, and he gives Hathach a copy of the decree. Mordecai tells Hathach to tell Esther that she must go to the king and beg him for the lives of his people.

Verses 9-12: When Esther hears Mordecai’s demand, she responds by reminding him that if she appears before the king without being summoned, she will be executed unless the king chooses to spare her—and she hasn’t been summoned to the king for a month.

Verses 12-17: Mordecai reminds Esther that, because of the decree, she will be killed if she does not appear before the king. Esther asks Mordecai to have all of the Jews of the city to fast with her and her maidens. Then she will appear before the king.

What does Esther mean when she says, “If I perish, I perish”? Compare this to Daniel 3:17-18. What kind of attitude does this reveal and how can we emulate that attitude? Should we emulate it? If not, why not? If so, when?

Ambrose (337 A.D – 497 A.D.) points out that we see a number of unusual acts in this story:

1. Esther exposed herself to death when she could have avoided it.

2. Ataxerxes honored Mordecai, though Mordecai had revealed the weakness of his kingdom.

3. Ataxerxes had the second most powerful person in his kingdom executed, probably his best friend, because he had given him bad counsel.

What things might we learn from these aspects of the story?

Chapter 5

Verses 1-4: Esther appears before the king in her royal robes. Notice the parallel between Vashti and Esther: Vashti refused to appear when she was summoned to appear naked and Esther appeared clothed when she was not summoned.

What do you think this parallel suggests (though it is reversed)?

The king not only spares Esther’s life, he offers her anything she wants, up to half of the kingdom (which is probably not a serious possibility, but a formal exaggeration intended to let her know that she can ask for a great deal).

Verses 5-8: Esther asks only that the king and Haman come to a banquet that she has prepared. In verse 6, at the banquet, the king repeats his offer. He seems to know that she hadn’t risked her life only to invite him to a banquet. But Esther requests the same thing again: let Haman and the king come to another banquet.

The king wants to know what Esther’s request is and she keeps putting him off. Why? What is the point of this elaborate plan? Mordecai has instructed her to tell the king that she is a Jew so that he will not kill her people, but she goes far beyond merely doing that, inventing an ingenious plan for saving them. What does her ingenuity teach us?

Verses 9-14: Haman is happy to be invited, but his happiness turns to anger when, once again, he feels that Mordecai is slighting him. He tells his wife and friends how he has been elevated in the kingdom and he is rich and he has been invited to the queen’s special banquet for only Haman and the king, but none of that is enough as long as Mordecai is sitting at the king’s gate.

In what ways are we sometimes like Haman?

His wife and friends tell him that he should build a gallows and hang Mordecai on the gallows before the banquet.

Chapter 6

Verses 1-11: Unable to sleep, the king has his servants read from the royal chronicles. They read to him about how Mordecai saved him from assassination by reporting the plot. When the king asks what reward Mordecai was given, he discovers that he was given no reward. Asking who was available in the court, the king was told that Haman was. Haman, waiting outside to visit the king in order to arrange for Mordecai’s execution, is summoned before the king and asked what the king should do for someone he wants to honor. Thinking that the king wants to honor him, Mordecai suggests that the king should honor such a person by putting royal clothing on him, mounting him on the royal horse, and parading him through the city as if he were the king. The king thinks this is an excellent idea and commands that Haman, Mordecai’s enemy, clothe Mordecai in royal clothing, put him on the king’s horse, and parade him through Shushan saying “Thus shall it be done unto the man whom the king delighteth to honor.”

What can we learn from this story? Why do you think this part of the story is so popular with those who read it?

Verses 12-14: Humiliated, Haman returns to his house where his wife and friends tell him that, because Mordecai is a Jew, Haman cannot win against him.

What do they mean by what they say? Is what they say true in spite of what they mean?

With that advice, Haman leaves for the banquet.

Chapter 7

Verses 1-6: The king once again repeats his bequest: “name what you want and it is yours.” She says, “Spare me, spare my people.” Angry at the idea that someone would threaten his wife and her people, Ataxerxes demands to know who it is and Esther tells him: wicked Haman.

Verses 7-10: In a fury, the king goes into the garden. Terrified, Haman throws himself on the queen’s couch (like the Greeks and others, the Persians ate lying on couches rather than sitting in chairs), but when the king comes back in and sees Haman on Esther’s couch he thinks that Haman is trying to rape her, and he has Haman hanged on the gallows that Haman had prepared for Mordecai.

Chapter 8

Verses 1-2: Esther is given Haman’s property (it was normal for the property of an executed criminal to become the property of the king). The king makes Mordecai the prime minister and Esther makes him the steward over Haman’s property.

Verses 3-7: Esther asks the king to revoke the decree calling for the extermination of the Jews.

Verses 8-14: Ataxerxes tells Esther and Haman to decree whatever they wish concerning the Jews, though we know already that they cannot reverse the previous decree. They have to find a way of saving the Jews with a decree that doesn’t reverse the previous decree.

This is the second time that the irrevocability of the king’s decrees has been a problem in this story. Do we learn anything by comparing the two instances and how they were dealt with?

Mordecai sends out a decree granting the Jews in Shushan and all of the provinces the right to defend themselves against attack on the day that they are to be slaughtered. They are only granted the right of self-defense, not the right of attack, but as was customary, they are granted the right to seize the property of all those whom they destroy.

What does this show us about Mordecai?

Verses 15-17: The Jews rejoice at this turn of events by feasting, and many who were not Jews are converted.

Chapter 9

Verses 1-10: The Jews slay those who sought to destroy them (their understanding of self-defense didn’t require that the other person attack first, only that he be someone whom one expects to attack), and they are aided by many of those in the Persian government. They kill 500 people in the capital, Shushan, as well as Haman and his ten sons. But they do not take any of the property of those they kill.

Verses 11-17: The king once more tells Esther that she can asks for whatever she wishes and he will give it to her. She asks for one more day for the Jews to be able to kill their enemies and he grants her request. She also asks that the ten sons of Haman be hanged. Since they had been executed by hanging earlier in the day, this seems to be a request that the sons (or their heads) be impaled publicly, a common way of continuing punishment after death and making an example of wrong-doers. The Jews kill 300 more of their enemies in Shushan on the next day. We learn that in the provinces they slew 75,000 of their enemies. Again, the Jews refrained from taking the property of those they killed.

Why would they refrain from taking the property when it was legal and customary to do so? What do they show by not taking it? Is there anything comparable to this in our own lives?

Verses 18-19: The Jews celebrate their salvation with a feast.

Verses 20-23: Mordecai institutes the feast as an official feast: Purim (“Lots”—see Esther 3:7).

Verses 24-28: The writer gives a summary of the story.

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In Ezekiel 37:26-28, the Lord promised the temple as part of the covenant of peace that he will make with Israel. You may wish to review those verses to prepare for this lesson. What is the covenant of peace and why does the Lord call it specifically a covenant of peace? What kind of peace? Peace with whom? For whom? How is the temple relevant to that covenant? What do the end of verse 26 and the end of verse 28 suggest about the purpose of the temple?

The temple worship that Ezekiel describes in these chapters speaks of different sacrifices and different numbers of sacrifices than are mentioned in the Mosaic law. (Because of this, at one time the Jews considered excluding the book of Ezekiel from the Bible.) What do you think this shows?

Chapter 43

2-4: In Ezekiel 10:19, the Spirit of the Lord abandoned the temple by way of the east gate and took up his residence on the Mount of Olives. Here, the Spirit returns to the temple from the east, presumably from the Mount of Olives. What do you make of that?

7: The former temple was described as the footstool of God (e.g., 1 Chronicles 28:2). This temple is described as “the place of my throne, and the place of the soles of my feet.” How is that different? Where do we find God’s throne otherwise? (See, e.g., Psalms 132:7.) What does the difference between the former temple and this temple teach us? Does this prophecy explain the prophecy of 1 Kings 9:5? If so, how?

10: Ezekiel is commanded to show Israel the plan of the temple so that they will be ashamed of their sins. Why would seeing the plan of the temple have that effect on them? Does this teach us anything about our own lives and our relation to the temple?

22: This is one of the differences between the offerings of the first temple and the offerings of this one: the dedication of the first temple didn’t include the sacrifice of a “kid of the goats,” in other words, a he-goat. (See also verse 25.) Why would the temple of the future offer a he-goat as a sin offering? What might the significance of this offering be?

Chapter 44

1: Why is the east gate to be permanently shut? Of what is its closure a symbol?

4: Why is the ruler of Israel referred to as a prince (nasi) here rather than as a king (melech)? Who is now the king?

4-14: The Lord speaks of the requirements for temple service. What problem is he speaking of in verses 7 and 9? What would a comparable problem be for us and how do we guard against it? In verse 10, the Levites are told that they will have to bear their iniquity. What was that iniquity? Verse 11 assigns the Levites temple work that previously had been assigned to others, including non-priests; this verse describes a demotion. Verse 13 continues to describe this demotion: the Aaronic priesthood will not be allowed in the inner courts of the temple. Think about where we see a type or shadow of this exclusion in our own temple ritual.

15-27: In Numbers 25:11-13, Phinehas was given the covenant of an everlasting priesthood. Zadok, the high priest in Solomon’s temple, was a descendant of Phinehas and by Jewish law only a descendant of Zadok could be the high priest at the temple. Of what or whom, then, do you think “the sons of Zadok” are a type? Notice some things about these verses: Verse 19 says that the priests must not wear their temple clothing in public, but keep it within the temple. Verse 21 says that the priests of the temple should have medium-length hair: they should neither shave their heads nor let their hair grow long since those were both customs of the idolaters. What does verse 22 tell us about whom the sons of Zadok should marry? How does this apply to us? What does verse 23 mean? What does it mean to us?

Chapter 47

Verses 1-12: Notice that the prophet is guided to what he sees (verse 1). He was previously in the outer court (Ezekiel 46:21-24), where the cooking was done for the temple. Is his change of place in the temple significant for understanding this vision? Is it significant that he was led? For both questions: if so, how so? At each thousand cubits from the temple, the stream that comes from underneath the temple is deeper until, at 4,000 cubits it can only be crossed by swimming. Of what might the stream that grows into a river by a symbol? What might the trees on the sides of the river teach us? When the waters enter the Dead Sea, they heal it (verses 8-12). Of what do you think that is a symbol? Try to think of more than one symbol in each case. Which makes the most sense and why? Which group of symbols—for the river, the trees, the Dead Sea—makes the most sense as a group?

Verses 13-23: The Lord describes the future borders of Israel. The maps in your Bible can help you see what those borders will be. How would this have been important to the Jewish captives living in Babylon? Is it important to us? How?

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Chapter 18

Verses 1-4: The people of Israel seem to have used the proverb of verse 2 against the Lord. Can you explain how the proverb works as a complaint? Why might that complaint have arisen in Babylon? Why does the Lord speak here of his ownership of all souls? What point is he making when he speaks of the soul of the father and the soul of the son? How is he responding to the criticism of him implicit in the proverb?

Verses 5-9: In the Old Testament, what does it mean to be just (verse 5)? Does it mean perfect obedience to all the commandments? Can you explain why you answer that question as you do? What does it mean to walk in the statutes of God (verse 9)? To “deal truly”? Why does verse 9 end by repeating what was said in verse 5? What does that suggest about the material in between?

Verses 10-20: What is the point of these verses? How do they apply to Israel in Babylon?

Verses 21-24: What has been the Lord’s point in the chapter so far? What does the Lord mean when he asks, “Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die?”

Verses 25-29: What complaint is the Lord responding to in verse 25? Do we ever make a similar complaint? When? What is the Lord’s answer? Explain the last half of verse 29.

Verses 30-32: Why does this section begin with the word therefore?

Chapter 34

Verses 1-10: How does this describe the shepherds—leaders—that Israel has had? (Clearly Ezekiel is using Jeremiah 23 as his model.) How is the Babylonian captivity related to these verses? It is easy enough to think of ways that these verses may apply to others, especially those who lead earthly governments. But how might they apply to us? (Remember that Nephi says “I did liken all scriptures unto us, that it might be for our profit and learning.” He doesn’t say, “I did liken all scripture unto others.”)

In verse 3, the correct translation is probably milk rather than fat: “Ye eat the milk, and ye clothe you with the wool.”

Here is an alternate translation of verse 10: “Thus says the Lord GOD: I swear I am coming against these shepherds. I will claim my sheep from them and put a stop to their shepherding my sheep so that they may no longer pasture themselves [i.e., feed themselves instead of the sheep]. I will save my sheep, that they may no longer be food for their mouths.” (New American Bible).

Verses 11-22: How does the Lord’s leadership contrast with that of the leaders of Israel? Can you list the different things that the Lord does as shepherd and explain what each of those might model for us? Consider the context and the theme of these verses and the previous 10 verses: What do you think the rams and the he-goats in verse 17 might represent? What about the lean cattle and the fat cattle in verse 22?

Verses 23-31: Why does the Lord use King David to represent the ideal shepherd who will govern Israel? For us, who is that shepherd? Is he someone who has already come? Someone with us? Someone yet to come? Do you see the ways in which these verses promise to fulfill the covenant made to Abraham (Genesis 17:2-8 and Genesis 22:16-18)? Does it fulfill the restatement of that covenant that the Lord made through Moses (Exodus 19:4-6)?

Verses 25-30: In these verses we don’t see the shepherd theme that has previously dominated this chapter. Why not? What is the Lord talking about? What is he promising? Compare these verses to Leviticus 26:3-7. What’s the connection?

Chapter 37

Rather than a “mere” prophecy, we have here the record of a prophetic vision.

Verses 1-14: Can you think of different ways to understand this prophecy of the resurrection? For example, what might the dry bones have meant to the Israelites in Babylonian captivity, those to whom Ezekiel delivered this prophecy? What might the resurrection represent to them? Many contemporary Jews read this chapter as something other than a prophecy of resurrection. How do you think they do so? Are we forced to choose between the various possible, reasonable interpretations? Why or why not? What do you make of the fact that Ezekiel brings about the resurrection of these bones by preaching “the word of the Lord” to them? What might “word of the Lord” mean here? In verse 11, “we are cut off for our parts” can also be translated “we are clean cut off.” What is Israel saying in verse 11? What does verse 14 promise?

The word “spirit” could also be translated “breath.” How does that connect verse 14 to verses 5 and 9? Does this give us any clue as to different ways of understanding the resurrection described here?

Verses 15-23: What is the overall theme of these verses? (Notice that verses 15-20 describe an “object lesson” that is used in Ezekiel’s preaching in verses 21-23.) In that context, how would those in Babylon have understood the stick of Judah and the stick of Joseph? How do we understand those two sticks? How are those two understandings related to each other?

Most Old Testament scholars—though not all—understand the sticks to be exactly that, sticks, rather than scrolls (as in Isaiah 8:1) or wooden writing tablets (as in Habakkuk 2:2). They appear to understand the sticks as the scepters of the nations’ rulers. (See, for example, Walter Zimmerli, Ezekiel 2: A Commentary on the Book of the Prophet Ezekiel, Chapters 25-48, translated by James D. Martin [Philadelphia, PA: Fortress, 1983], 273-74.) Consider each possible interpretation as if it were true. What understanding of the prophecy does each interpretation yield? Must we insist on the truth of one interpretation to the exclusion of the others?

Are we supposed to see a parallel between the coming together of the bones and the coming together of the sticks? What is the significance of the sticks being “in thine hand before their eyes” (verse 20)?

Verses 24-28: Is there a difference between a king and a shepherd (verse 24)? Why is David used as a figure of the Messiah? What promises does the Lord make in these verses? (As I read them, there are four, marked by the words “for ever” and “everlasting”—which translate the same Hebrew word.) How do those promises correlate with the Abrahamic covenant and its Mosaic clarification? How do these promises relate to the new covenant that Jeremiah promised (Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:8)? Do they relate to us in any way? If so, how?

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As you read, also think about Jeremiah’s situation. We know that he was reluctant to serve as a prophet. (See Jeremiah 1:6-8 and 17.) He probably knew Lehi, and it isn’t difficult to imagine him wondering “Why me? I’ve been called to remain unmarried and without children, and to be persecuted for prophesying, whereas Lehi has been called to prophecy and then, after relatively brief persecution, to take his family with him to a promised land. That doesn’t seem fair.” Whether Jeremiah wondered something like that or not, what was his response to his call? See Jeremiah 1:18: “I have made thee a defenced city, an iron pillar, and brasen walls [i.e., walls of brass] against the whole land.” What does this image suggest about what Jeremiah can expect his relation with Judah to be like? What particulars of Jeremiah’s biography bear out this image? (Read about Jeremiah in your Bible Dictionary.) How does the Lord strengthen him for his task?

Because of Jeremiah’s personal sufferings and because of the horrific nature of Nebuchadnezzar’s siege of Jerusalem and her defeat, we often focus on the woes that he pronounces. In fact his name has become a word we use for any lamenting and denunciatory complaint: a jeremiad. But if we are to understand Jeremiah’s prophetic message, it is crucial to remember that he does not only prophesy woe; he also prophecies restoration. Of course, the story of woe and restoration is the story that the scriptures tell over and over again, in a very real sense the only story they tell: though Israel was blessed and in covenant with God, it gave up its blessing and renounced its covenant, falling into sin and error; because of that, woe will come; nevertheless, there will be a restoration of the blessings and the covenant—Israel will return to her former state of grace. That story is the story of every individual human being as well as the story of Israel.

Chapter 16

Verses 1-4: The family lives of other prophets have also been used symbolically, sometimes in ways that we find shocking (Genesis 22; Hosea 1-3; Isaiah 7-8; Ezekiel 24:15-27). What did failure to have children mean in ancient Israel? Does the Lord’s use of the prophets in this way teach us anything about how he teaches? Not marrying was so unusual in Israel that ancient Hebrew had no word for bachelor. Why, specifically, does the Lord command Jeremiah not to marry? What might that have meant symbolically?

Verses 5-7: Why shouldn’t Jeremiah mourn for Judah or join in their mourning?

Verses 8-9: Why shouldn’t he join in their rejoicing at the wedding feasts?

Verse 10: How will the people of Judah respond to these signs and prophecies?

Verses 11-13: What does it mean to forsake the Lord? Does that add to the meaning of these verses? Why is exile thought by the Jews to be a harsh punishment? My family is originally from Missouri and we have been “exiled” in Utah, but we don’t mind that and have no plans to return. Though we love our family there, we have homes and family here, and with each generation the connection to Missouri is weaker and weaker. I doubt that my children have anything but a kind of theoretical connection to Missouri: “My father / grandfather was born in Missouri.” Having living their whole lives here, the connection the feel is to Utah. I would bet that is what happens with most exiles, connection to the “home country” becomes very quickly attenuated. So why was the threat of exile in Babylon, where those exiled appear to have prospered and lived reasonably well, a serious threat? To Judah and Israel, what does the promise of a homeland signify? What meaning does that have for us? In other words, how can we understand the homeland literally? How symbolically? We have had our own ideas about a homeland, first Missouri and then Utah. How did the Church make the change from understanding the homeland—the gathering place—as literal (Missouri or Utah) to understanding it as symbolic (the stakes of Zion, wherever they are)?

Verses 14-15:

“The Lord liveth,” which occurs two times in these verses, should probably be translated “as the Lord liveth.” This was a phrase used at the beginning of oaths. What is the significance of the Lord making this prophecy in terms of an oath?

Before this, what has been the sign that the Lord watches over Israel? Now what will be the sign? Does this sign describe the events at any other time periods than the return from Babylon? For example, does it describe events at the time of Christ? At the time of the latter-day Restoration? Is there any sense in which might we say that we have been brought back into the land that the Lord gave to our fathers, particularly if we live outside of the “Mormon corridor”?

Verses 16-18: What did the image of fishers and hunters mean to Judah at the time of Jeremiah? (The fisherman images appears to have been a well-known metaphor. Compare Ezekial 12:13; 29:4-5; Amos 4:2; Habakkuk 1:14-17.) Who are being hunted and fished? Who will do that hunting and fishing? Does this image have meaning for us today? Notice the order of ideas in these verses: “I will hunt them out because they cannot hide from me and because I know their iniquity.” What point is the Lord making? How does that point help us understand the fishing and hunting of verse 16? Why do you think that the sin the Lord singles out for mention in these verses is the profanation of the temple with sacrifices to other gods? How is that sin related to the sin of forsaking the Lord (verse 11), and how are the profanation of the temple and forsaking the Lord related to the sins of injustice among neighbors and the oppression of the stranger, the orphan, and the widow, as well as to idolatry (Jeremiah 7:5-7)? Do we ever profane the temple today? How is our profanation of the temple related to injustice? To oppression of the stranger, the orphan, and the widow? Are we ever guilty of idolatry?

Verses 19-21: What promise does the Lord make in these verses? To whom is the promise made? How is that promise relevant to what was prophesied in verses 16-19? How does the promise of these verses relate to us in the latter-days?

Chapter 23

Verses 1-9: What is the job of a shepherd? What do these shepherds do? These shepherds were probably the kings of Judah. What were they doing to scatter their people? Who are our shepherds? What might one of them do to scatter the flock? What promise for the future is held out for God’s people? Who will eventually bring them back to their own homes? Who is the “righteous Branch”? To whom to you think those who heard Jeremiah prophesy would have understood him to refer? Why refer to this person as a branch? A branch of what?

The Brown-Driver-Briggs Hebrew lexicon gives the first meaning of the Hebrew word translated branch as “sprout, growth.” The third meaning is “future ruler, under fig. of sprout from David tree.”

What does Jeremiah mean when he talks of the return of judgment and justice? How are the two related? In what way is the gathering of Israel in the last days akin to the deliverance of Israel from bondage in Egypt? How different?

Verses 9-40: In reading these verses, remember that Jerusalem was full of self-appointed prophets who opposed Jeremiah. How are Jeremiah’s times like Christ’s in this respect—though we have no evidence that Jerusalem was filled with self-appointed prophets during Jesus’ life? Are there false prophets today? Where do we find them? How do Jeremiah and the Lord describe these prophets and priests? What makes someone a false prophet? (Remember that the primary duty of a prophet is to preach the gospel, not to foretell the future.) Why the reference to Samaria, the capital of the northern kingdoms? In what way is the reference to Sodom and Gomorrah applicable? Why would the false prophets’ message of peace have been confusing to people such as Laman and Lemuel?

Chapter 29

Verses 1-3: Jeremiah writes a letter to the Jews already in Babylon, those deported in 597 B.C. (The final deportation will occur in 586.) Why are they described as “the residue”? In other words, why would those who have been deported be the residue rather than those who remained behind?

According to Brown-Driver-Briggs, the word translated residue means “remainder,” but it also means “excess” (as in Jeremiah 27:19; 39:9; and 52:15) as well as “pre-eminence” (as in Genesis 49:3).

Verses 4-7: What is the substance of Jeremiah’s letter? Why did the Lord give this commandment rather than a commandment to rebel and escape? How does Jeremiah’s instruction compare to the 12^th Article of Faith? Are there any important differences?

Verses 10-14: Note that “seventy years” probably isn’t intended to denote a specific period of time. More likely it means “a long, indefinite time.” What does the Lord promise them at the end of that time? (In verse 11, “expected end” is probably better translated “hopeful future.”) On what condition will the promise be fulfilled? What does it mean to seek the Lord with all one’s heart? What indication do we have in these verses that this promise refers to more than just a return from Babylon?

Verses 8-9, 15-32: Note that the false prophets had also arisen in Babylon. What does the Lord decree for them? Note the reference to their being burned in a fiery furnace. What had they been doing wrong in Babylon? Notice that some the false prophets such as Shemaiah vilify Jeremiah even after they have been taken captive into Babylon. Why might they do so?

Chapter 31

This chapter consists of an introduction, verse 1, and four poems: verses 2-6, 7-14, 15-22, and 35-37.

Verse 1: Of what time is the Lord speaking here? Is it significant that he speaks of being the God of all the families of Israel rather than all the individuals of Israel? If so, how?

Verses 2-6: What does the Lord promise for the future of Israel? Of what is the wilderness or desert a symbol in verse 2? What does he mean by the term “everlasting love” (verse 3)? In what sense is his love everlasting? Why is it everlasting? In what has the Lord shown his love for Israel?

The word lovingkindness in verse 3 translates the Hebrew word hesed, “goodness, kindness.” With the word love (hb), hesed is a word used in covenants.

Usually watchmen keep intruders and thieves out. What do these watchmen do (verse 6)?

Verses 7-14: In Israel’s history, where have we previously seen this event? When will those taken into Babylon see it? What does it mean to us? In verse 8, why does the Lord emphasize the return of those who are physically disadvantaged? How will this journey in the wilderness differ from the earlier one (verse 9)? Why are the islands of the sea and distant nations called as witnesses (verse 10)? Compare and contrast the scene of this poem to that of Jeremiah 6:26, and 16:1-9. What do you learn?

Verses 15-22: Ramah (verse 15) was the home of Samuel and near the burial place of Rachel. (Compare Genesis 35:18-19.) Jeremiah 40:1 tells us that Ramah was a stopping off place for those on their way from Jerusalem to exile in Babylon. How is it relevant to this poetic prophecy? How did Matthew use this verse from Jeremiah (Matthew 2:18)? What does that tell us about ancient biblical interpretation? Does it suggest anything about how biblical writers understood what they were doing? Compare verse 18 to Hosea 4:16 and 10:11. What does that comparison reveal? What does Jeremiah mean by comparing Ephraim to a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke (verse 18)? Keep in mind that the bull (or calf) is sometimes used as the symbol of Ephraim—for example, in the construction of the golden calf by the northern tribes after their break from Jerusalem. What is the yoke in the analogy? How does the Lord feel about the tribe of Ephraim? Is this one of the reasons that only Joseph and his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh will be given a home in the New Jerusalem, while all the other tribes will be headquartered in Jerusalem? In verse 22, perhaps the word “compass” should, instead, be translated “protect.”

Verses 23-40: What blessing does verses 23-25 describe? Recall that Jeremiah’s call (Jeremiah 1:19) was two-fold: to pull down and to build. Where have you seen him doing this? What does Jeremiah mean when he says “the fathers have eaten a sour grape, and the children’s teeth are set on edge” (verse 29)? How are the sins of the fathers visited upon the children? Why does the Lord change this (verse 30)? What does the Lord mean by a new covenant (verse 31—note that the covenant will be made with both north and south, in other words, all of the house of Israel)?

To make a covenant in the Old Testament is literally to cut a covenant. Why? How might that be relevant?

How is this covenant different from the first covenant? What does the Lord mean when he says that the covenant will be a “law in their inward parts” and “in their hearts” (verse 31)? What will happen to proselytizing in that day (verse 34)? Why? What might he mean by the term “know” (verse 34) in this context? Does it mean simply an awareness of? This is the same word used in Genesis 4:1. Does that suggest anything about what it means to know the Lord? (Compare Hosea 8:1-2.) How is the event described in verse 34 related to the prophecy of verse 33? The word “ordinances” could also be translated “order” (verse 35). What does verses 35-36 mean? How is what it means relevant to what the Lord has been saying previously in this poem? What is the point of verse 37? Verses 38-40 are an apocalyptic vision of the sanctification of Jerusalem. The places mentioned seem to be ones surrounding Jerusalem, recited in a clockwise direction if we are looking at a map. However, not all of them are identifiable.

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Historical Background

Like Isaiah, the book of Jeremiah is a collection of prophecies edited into a book after the fact rather than one, extended prophecy. It describes itself as a history rather than as a prophecy, though obviously it contains a number of prophecies. But the word history doesn’t mean the same for ancient Israel as it means today. It is closer to our word “story” or “account.”

Much of the background for Jeremiah is covered in the last chapters of 2 Kings and the last chapters of 2 Chronicles. Understanding a rough outline of the history behind the readings in Jeremiah should help make it more understandable. Remember that for a while we have not been studying materials that are chronologically ordered. Below is a chronology cobbled together from various sources. It covers the period from the time of Solomon to the time of Jeremiah. Perhaps it will help you understand better how the things we have been reading are related to one another. In this chronology, kings’ names are in bold and prophets’ names are in italics.

As is often the case, when I created the table that made the above chronology possible, some oddities turned up in the result. But they are relatively minor–issues of spacing–so though I apologize, I think they don’t make the chronology unusable.

Study Questions

Jeremiah 1

Verses 1-3: These verses are roughly equivalent to the title and title page of the kind of book that we are accustomed to.

Note that in Hebrew words can be understood to mean “message.”

Why is Jeremiah’s ancestry significant to his prophecy? Why does it matter where he came from? Do his place of origin and his ancestry perhaps tell us something about his relations with the priests in Jerusalem?

FYI: the fifth month would have been August of 597 BC.

Verses 4-5: As in some other prophetic books, such as in much of Isaiah, the words of the Lord in the book of Jeremiah appear in poetry and those of the prophet are in prose. Why do you think that was a standard way of writing prophesy? What is the significance of putting the Lord’s words into poetic form? Compare Jeremiah’s calling to Isaiah’s. How are they similar? How are they different? The word translated “formed” in verse 5 is the word usually used to speak of molding pottery. What does that language suggest? What does it mean for the Lord to sanctify a person? The word translated “sanctified” could also be translated “dedicated.” What contemporary LDS language might be equivalent in meaning? What does it mean to be dedicated by the Lord?

Verses 5-10: What indication does the Lord give Jeremiah about the nature of his calling? If the prophet is the prophet to Judah, why does the Lord say that he has been set over all nations? What does it mean to say that the prophet has been called “to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant” (verse 5)?

Verses 11-14: What is the significance of the symbols Zedekiah is shown in the two visions that he recounts? To what is Jeremiah compared by the Lord? What do these symbols connote? Why would the Lord use symbols like these in calling a prophet?

The first vision (verses 11-12) depends on a word play in Hebrew: shaqed means “almond” and shoqed means “watching.”

What do you understand the first of these two visions to mean? The second vision (verses 13-15) is the image of a large pot for boiling food.

Note that this was the most advanced cooking technology for several thousand more years, a large pot on an open fire, into which one put in to boil whatever one had. Soup/stew is one of the oldest foods.

In this vision, the pot is tipped toward the north and, because of a hard northerly wind that increases the heat of the fire, it is boiling over. How is the vision relevant to the meaning that the prophet explains in verses 15-19?

Verses 15-19: Do verses like these, of which there are many in Isaiah and Jeremiah, have anything to teach us today?

Jeremiah 2

Verses 1-9: When the Lord compares early Israel to Israel in Jeremiah’s time, what differences does he note? Why might he compare the beginning to the end? What does the Lord intend when he describes himself as remembering his youthful love (verse 2)? Who are the pastors if they are not the priestly leaders (verse 8)? Whom does the Lord hold responsible for Israel’s apostasy?

Verses 10-19:

Chittim is Cyprus, to the west; Kedar, the name of a tribe living to the east; Noph is Memphis in Egypt, and Tahapanes, a city on the eastern edge of the Egyptian delta. It may be the city where the Israelites lived during their captivity.

Explain the metaphor in verse 13.

The United Bible Societies’ Handbook on Jeremiah says:

What is Judah’s central problem (verses 11 and 13)? Are we ever guilty of the problems mentioned in verse 13? Compare verse 14 with verse 3, and explain the contrast and what it tells us. What does the Lord teach when he says, “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee” (verse 19)? Do we often see this in our own lives?

Verses 20-25: To what does God compare Judah (verses 20, 21, and 23-25)? How do each of these comparisons fit?

Verses 26-37: Again, who bears the burden of guilt in Israel (verse 26)? If we apply the same principle to ourselves, what does it suggest about us? What are God’s symbols for the false gods? What new symbolism does he add to the idea of the unfaithful beloved?

Jeremiah 15

Verse 1: Why might God have chosen Moses and Samuel as examples of those who have successfully pled with God in times past? (Cf. Exodus 32:11-32, Numbers 14:13-19; and 1 Samuel 7:8-9 and 12:19-23.) When did they do so? Does the prophet plead for us today? If you say yes, what is your evidence? If you say no, why not? Does it matter that he pleads for us? How?

Verses 2-4: What in store for Israel’s future? Whom does the Lord hold responsible for Judah’s problems? To what event is the Lord referring?

Verses 5-9: What might the Lord mean when he says “I am weary with repenting”?

One modern translation renders this “I can no longer show compassion.”

Why had he instructed Jeremiah not to pray for this people (Jeremiah 14:11-12)? Are there limits to his compassion for his people? How could there be? If there are, how do we avoid reaching those limits ourselves? If there are not, what do these verses mean?

Verses 10-21: If Jeremiah was called while he was still in the womb, what does it mean for him to curse the day of his birth (verse 10)? What do you make of Jeremiah’s “proof” of his righteousness at the end of verse 10? What does it tell us about Israel? What is his complaint (verses 10 and 15-18)? What is the Lord’s response to Jeremiah’s lamentations (verses 11-14 and 19-21)? Why does the Lord require Jeremiah’s repentance (verse 19)? How does this event compare to the Prophet Joseph’s experience in Liberty Jail (D&C 122)? How is the Lord’s response similar? How different? How does it relate to Job’s lamentations? What can Jeremiah’s experience tell us about our own times of depression?

Jeremiah 20

Verses 1-6: Pashur appears to have been the officer in charge of the temple guards. Why would he have arrested Jeremiah? What does Jeremiah tell Pashur will happen to Jerusalem and to Pashur personally (verse 4)? The name “Magormissabib” that Jeremiah gives Pashur probably means “terror on every side.” Is he the terror or is he going to be surrounded by terror? What does it mean to be a terror to oneself (verse 4)? Why is it a curse to be a terror to one’s enemies? Why would Pashur have thought it a curse to be buried in a strange land (verse 6)?

Verses 7-18: What evidence do we have of Jeremiah’s suffering by this time in his life? What do verses 14-18 tell us about his feelings? If being the prophet was so hard on him, why didn’t he just quit preaching (verse 9)? What do you make of his demand for vengeance on his enemies (verse 12)? Is that the way you think of a prophet? If not, how do you explain Jeremiah’s demand?

Jeremiah 26

Verses 1-7: What message was Jeremiah to take to the people in Jerusalem? Where was the message to be delivered? Why there?

Verses 8-16: These verses contain the accusations made against Jeremiah. Review the trial of Abinadi before the priests of Noah (Mosiah 11-17). What similarities do you see, both between the priests in each group and the prophet in each? How do you understand the phrase, “the priests and the prophets and all the people” (verse 8)? Doesn’t “all the people” include the priests, and if it does, then why bother to name them?

Verses 17-24: What type of defense did some of the elders in the land bring in support of Jeremiah? What do we learn about their legal system from this defense–especially in the use of precedent? Note also the reference to the prophet Micah, whose works we studied earlier. What difference do they point out in the case of righteous Hezekiah and that of his wicked descendant Jehoiakim? Concerning Ahikam the son of Shaphan, see 2 Kings 22:3-10, and Jeremiah 36:10, 36:25, 39:14, and 40:5-10.

Jeremiah 36

Verses 1-8: How does this process of receiving and disseminating scripture compare to that during the Restoration? What task was Baruch assigned to do? Why to the temple? To whom can we compare him in the days of the Prophet Joseph?

Verses 9-32: What was the result of the second reading of the Jeremiah scroll in the temple? What was the reaction of the princes (or elders)? What was the reaction of the king? Why does verse 24 tell us that neither the king nor his servants were afraid? Afraid of what? What does their lack of fear show? What did the Lord instruct Jeremiah to do because of the king’s actions? What information was put on the second scroll? Do we have that scroll today?

Chapter 37

Verses 1-11: With this chapter we move to the reign of Zedekiah. According to the Book of Mormon, Lehi is now in the picture, though he is not mentioned by Jeremiah. What seems to be Zedekiah’s feelings about Jeremiah? How are those feelings tempered by the feelings of the people? Note also that the army of Babylon is moving through the streets of Jerusalem and that they flee before the armies of Egypt. Lehi tells us nothing of this, but must have been aware of these armies, unless he had already left. How do the things we have read so far help us understand the first part of 1 Nephi?

Verses 12-21: What charge was made against Jeremiah that caused him to be returned to Jerusalem, beaten, and imprisoned? Why did Zedekiah take him from the prison? How do you account for Zedekiah’s conflicted behavior toward Jeremiah?

Jeremiah 38

Verses 1-6: Why was Jeremiah again returned to imprisonment in the dungeon? What was the condition of the dungeon (it seems to have been a cistern) into which Jeremiah was placed? What were his chances of survival in that place?

Verses 7-13: How did Jeremiah escape from the cistern? Why would Hezekiah have sent such a large body of men to remove Jeremiah from the pit? Did he fear an attempted escape?

Verses 14-28: This meeting between the king and Jeremiah suggests the king’s real feelings and the fear he harbored of his own people. What must have been Zedekiah’s state of mind upon hearing Jeremiah’s message?

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Speaking of scripture study, Brigham Young asked, “Do you read the Scriptures, my brethren and sisters, as though you were writing them a thousand, two thousand, or five thousand years ago? Do you read them as though you stood in the place of the men who wrote them?” His questions suggest that this should be our starting place. Then, when we are reading writings such as those of Isaiah, we should ask ourselves “What else could this represent or refer to?”

So here are some descriptions of what is happening in the chapters for this week’s lesson, followed by questions about the reading.

Chapter 54

According to Baltzer, chapter 54 takes the form of a description of part of a wedding: the bride arrives (verse 1); there is rejoicing over her arrival (verse 1); those who celebrate build a tent for the marriage (verses 2-3); the husband’s messengers arrive with their announcements (verses 4-5, 6, 7-8, 9, and 10); and the husband arrives and is crowned (verses 11-14) (Klaus Baltzer, Deutero-Isaiah: A Commentary on Isaiah 40-55, translated by Margaret Kohl [Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2001], 430-31).

According to Watts, this is a drama: first a dialogue between the heavens (verses 1, 2-3, and 5) and the earth (verses 2, 4, and 6), then speeches directed at Zion by the Lord (7-10 and 16) and by Darius (11-15 and 17) (John D. Watts, Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 25: Isaiah 34-66, Bruce M. Metzger, David A. Hubbard, and Glenn W. Barker, eds. [Dallas, TX: Word Books, 1987], 233-35).

The moral of that comparison? If you have difficulty figuring out what is going on when you read Isaiah, don’t feel alone.

I’m more persuaded by Baltzer than by Watts—though I don’t have anything more to rely on than my intuitions. Scholars who know what they are doing might find Watts much more persuasive. But given my intuitions, I will assume that Baltzer’s overview is better: this is a dramatic description of a wedding ceremony. Using that as background, I’ve given the following description of how one might understand the chapter as a whole symbolically.

Verses 1-3: The prophet has a vision of the rejoicing of those who return from exile like brides coming to a wedding: they will fill up the place of their habitation and they will be more numerous than they were before they were cast off.

Verses 4-6: Though Jerusalem has been like a forsaken wife, she will forget the shame and humiliation she suffered, because she will be redeemed by the Creator.

Verses 7-8: Her status as a forsaken betrothed (exile) will have been only a small moment; the marriage (redemption) will be forever.

Verses 9-10: The Lord compares Jerusalem’s captivity and return to the flood and the Noahic covenant: his promise never to flood the earth again is comparable to his promise to no longer be angry with Jerusalem and to shower kindness on her.

Verses 11-12: The beauty of the wedded bride (redeemed Zion).

Verses 13-14: The blessings of redemption: the Lord will teach their children and protect Jerusalem and her children.

Verses 15-17: Expanding on the last of these blessings, the Lord promises that, though Zion may have enemies, they will not succeed.

Chapter 55

Baltzer and Watts see this chapter in ways that follow on their understanding of chapter 54. For Baltzer it begins with a crier inviting people to the wedding feast (465). For Watts it is a point in the drama when the crowd is addressed (245-46).

Verse 1: Those who hunger and thirst will be satisfied at no expense to them.

Verse 2: Why do they spend money and energy on things that do not fulfill them? Instead, they should listen to the Lord and they should delight in the things that fatten the soul.

Verses 3-5: The Lord will make an everlasting covenant with those who listen to him, the covenant with David. And David will be a witness to and leader of the people, not only the people of Israel, but also the people of nations that Israel doesn’t know. Those nations will see what the Lord has done for Israel and come to it.

Verses 6-7: Given such a great blessing, those addressed should repent and return to the Lord who will pardon.

Verses 8-11: Though pardon may seem impossible to human beings, the Lord’s ways are not our ways and his thoughts are not our thoughts. The difference is that his word always comes to fruition. As a result, we know that his promise to redeem and prosper Jerusalem will be accomplished.

Verses 12-13: When Jerusalem leaves Babylon, the earth itself will rejoice; it will be transfigured.

Chapter 56

Many biblical scholars see a break between the content and tone of the previous chapters and this chapter (and those that follow). In Isaiah 56-66, the prophet seems concerned primarily with the question of whether redeemed-and-expanded Zion will be able to continue to stand after the return from Babylon. Though the answer will be “yes” (Isaiah 66:12-14), the need for repentance and the danger of God’s judgment ought not to be taken lightly.

Verses 1-8: The reward of those who live justly, keeping the Sabbath: whether Israelite or convert, they will come to the mountain of the Lord and worship joyfully in the temple.

Verses 9-12: Isaiah stops to reflect on the condition of the people as he prophesies: they are led by blind and greedy leaders who think that nothing is going to change, but Jerusalem will be devoured because of them.

Chapters 63-64

Verses 1-6: The Lord’s vengeance on Edom, one of Israel’s traditional enemies. (As you read these verses, remember that the word “edom” means “red.”)

From Isaiah 63:7 through Isaiah 64:11 is a prayer of confession of Israel’s sin and of thanksgiving for the Lord’s deliverance.

Chapter 65

This chapter is the Lord’s answer to the prayer of chapters 63 and 64.

Verses 1-7: Israel’s rebellion and disobedience brought it suffering: the Lord “measured their works to their bosom” (verse 7), in other words, he paid them according to the desires of their hearts.

Verses 8-12: Though the Lord would be justified in destroying Israel as a whole, for the sake of his servants he will not. But he will destroy those individuals who forsake him.

Verses 13-16: Those who have been faithful will be fed, their thirst will be quenched, and they will rejoice, but the unfaithful will remain hungry, thirsty, and sorrowful. In fact, the name of those who have been unfaithful will become a curse, and those who have been faithful will receive a new name.

Verses 17-25: The marvelous transformation that will occur to the earth and the inhabitants of the earth when Israel is redeemed: the heavens and the earth will be renewed, there will be a new Jerusalem, God and humanity will rejoice together, there will be neither infancy nor old age, people will live peacefully and fruitfully in their homes, their prayers will be answered before they ask, and the animals will live peacefully together.

Questions

Here are some particular study questions that you may wish to consider, in addition to thinking about other ways to interpret the chapters in question.

Isaiah 55-56: Try using the idea that this describes a wedding as the key to understanding these verses. What kind of interpretation does that metaphor allow you?

Isaiah 54:2: How does the command “Enlarge the place of thy tent” apply to us today? Why is the image of the tent, with its ropes and stakes, so important to us?

Isaiah 54:4-10: How do these promises have meaning today? To whom do they have meaning? To ancient Israel? To the Jews today? To the LDS Church? To individuals?

Isaiah 54:13-14: How do these promises have meaning today? To whom do they have meaning? To ancient Israel? To the Jews today? To the LDS Church? To individuals and families?

Isaiah 55:3-4: Of whom was David a symbol to those in Jerusalem listening to Isaiah? To those at the time of Christ? To us? How can David serve as a symbol of these things? How do you square David’s sins with the fact that he is so frequently used as a positive symbol in the Hebrew Bible. What might that teach us?

Isaiah 55:1-7; 56:3-8: Who can partake of the Lord’s promises to Israel? What did this mean to those in Jerusalem as they listened to Isaiah and contemplated the coming captivity in Babylon? What do you think it might have meant to those who heard Christ’s message during his earthly mission? What did it mean when the gospel was restored in the nineteenth century?  Does it mean the same today that it meant at the beginning of the Restoration?

Isaiah 56:1-8: Why does the Lord use Sabbath-keeping as the symbol for all obedience and just living?

Isaiah 65:17-25: Why would millennial promises have been of interest to the people at Isaiah’s time? Can we understand them as anything but millennial promises? Why were these particular verses of interest to those at the time of Christ? Why are they of interest to us today? Are there differences in meaning depending on which audience is reading these verses? If so, what does that tell us about scripture and prophecy.

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As I have done with the previous chapters of Isaiah, I’ll outline how the people of Jerusalem might have understood these prophecies. Doing that will help us understand better the ways in which those prophecies are also about later events. As you read the outline, ask yourself how to understand the verses in question as applying to us—first individually and then as a church? It seems reasonable to assume that the chapter had meaning for the Israelites at the time it was given, as well as it has meaning for later people, for example Abinadi (Mosiah 14:2-12) , who quotes from Isaiah 53, and for example, Jesus speaking to the Nephites, who quotes from Isaiah 52 (3 Nephi 16:18-20). What meaning might these prophecies also have for us today that they didn’t have for others? I will provide a few questions to help generate others.

For those interested in chiasms, biblical scholars identify one in Isaiah 50:4-51:8:

Chapter 50

This chapter continues the theme of chapter 49, indeed, the last verses of chapter 49 (verses 24-26) are certainly part of the thought of the first verses of chapter 50. They are part of the Lord’s rhetorical question directed at Jerusalem in Isaiah 49:24: “Shall the prey be taken from the mighty or the lawful captive delivered”? In our terms, “Can anyone take away the booty of the victor, or can the slave who has been taken lawfully be saved”? The division into chapters and verses, a modern innovation, has created an artificial division in the text.

In these verses we see the answer to the Lord’s rhetorical question: the coming captivity of Babylon, that Jerusalem (Zion) will complain that it has been forgotten (49:14-16), and that, nevertheless, the Lord will not have forgotten it.

Verse 1: The children of Israel appear to have complained that the Lord has abandoned his people for no reason and that they didn’t know what was happening. (See Isaiah 40:27 and 49:14.) He responds to that complaint. Though Zion has been exiled, no divorce decree was given and no bill of sale was made to the Lord’s creditors (after all, he owes nothing to anyone): the exile will be only temporary. Divorce at the time Isaiah was writing appears to have required that the husband write a writ of divorcement. One solution to poverty at the time was to sell one’s children into temporary slavery to pay off creditors. Isaiah uses those images to explain the Lord’s relation to Zion.

The metaphor of slavery and being redeemed from slavery is important in the Old Testament and even more important in the New, especially in the writings of Paul. Since slavery was part of ancient Near Eastern culture, the metaphor of redemption—being bought out of slavery—was obvious to those hearing these prophecies. But it may not be as obvious to us today (for which we should be deeply grateful). How might we translate that metaphor into a metaphor that makes sense in our culture today?

When do we accuse the God of abandoning us? Why might we do so? Do these verses address us in such times, or are they directed at people in a different circumstance? Why do biblical scriptures use slavery so often as the metaphor for sin?

Verses 2-3: Those who have not listened to the Lord’s message are rebuked and reminded of the Lord’s power. Another translation of verse 2a might be “Why, when I came in, was no one there? Why, when I called, did no one answer?” The second part of the verse identifies, with rhetorical questions, what might explain why no one received the Lord or answered his call. The third part, with verse 3, gives example of his power.

In what kinds of situations might we be able to use these verses? What, for example, might it mean not to receive the Lord? What might it mean for us not to answer this call? Does the word call refer here to his call to service or to the call to repentance (or either)? What does it mean to say that the Lord’s hand is not shortened?

Verses 4-6: The Lord’s Servant speaks for himself: though the Lord taught him to speak eloquently and he sustained those who were weary, he was smitten and spit on. The word weary translates the same word that was used in Isaiah 28-29 to describe the condition of Israel.

Why does this verse emphasize the Servant’s eloquence and the fact that he has helped the weary? Why is it important that the Servant’s teacher—the one who has given him “the tongue of the learned”—is the Lord? In the Old Testament, “to hear” often means “to obey.” Does it have that sense in verses 4-5? If so, what do those verses say? If the Servant of God receives the kind of treatment described in verse 6, how ought we to respond to rejection and even persecution? Do we actually experience persecution in today’s world? If not, why not?

Verses 7-9: Though the Servant was abused, he was not ashamed to teach what he had been sent to teach. He trusted in God’s protection. (Compare Isaiah 42:1-4, 49:1-6, and 52:13-53:12 to verses 4-9.)

Verse 7 begins with the word for: what follows in verse 7 is a consequence of what has just been said in verse 6, or verse 7 explains verse 6. How would you describe the relationship between the two verses? For example, why would the Servant say “I didn’t hid my face from shame and spitting because God will help me”? Does that word because teach us anything?

Verses 10-11: The voice switches back to that of the Lord: those who fear the Lord should listen to his Servant, though they walk in darkness, but those who make their own light will be burned up by that light. In verse 11 “compass yourselves about with sparks” is literally translated “gird on sparks (or flames).” Oswalt suggests that this may refer to someone tying a torch to themselves to have their hands free in night battle, which would put them in danger of burning themselves (John N. Oswalt, The Book of Isaiah: Chapters 40-66 [Grand Rapid, MI: Eerdmans, 1998] , 330).

When do we walk in darkness? If we have the Holy Ghost and the words of the prophets, is that ever the case? (Notice that this verse is not addressed to the unrighteous, but to those in Israel who do fear the Lord and obey what comes to them through the Lord’s Servant.)

Chapter 51

There are three poems in this chapter, verses 1-8, verses 9-16, and verses 17-23. In theme, the speaker uses the stories of the creation and the first patriarchs to make his point: the creation, the Patriarch’s, Israel’s history and destiny, all come together in the promise of salvation. Nevertheless, Israel remains sleepy and must be roused to attention.

Verses 1-2: Consolation is once again the theme: those who follow the Lord should remember their ancestors, Abraham and Sarah, as the Lord remembers his covenant with those ancestors. Baltzer suggests that Deutronomy 32:18 is an interpretive key here (Klaus Baltzer, Deutero-Isaiah: A Commentary on Isaiah 40-45, translated by Margaret Kohl [Minneapolis, MN: Fortress, 2001], 346): “Of the rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.” Balzer sees that verse as bringing the themes of verses 1 and 2 into a unity: the Lord is still the rock, but now in these verses Abraham and Sarah have given birth to Israel rather than the Lord.

Is the reference to the rock and the well (“hole of the pit” in the King James translation), both of which gave Israel water, a reference to Moses? (Also see Deuteronomy 31:10.) If so, what point is the speaker making? How might a reference to Moses fit with the obvious reference to the covenant with Abraham?

Verse 3: Speaking as if the fulfillment of prophesy has already occurred, the prophet says that the Lord will comfort Zion just as he comforted Abraham and Sarah: they were barren, as Zion will be barren, but they were made fruitful, and Zion too will be fruitful, like the Garden of Eden.

In what ways will Zion be fruitful? On the one hand, Zion is compared to Abraham and Sarah, who were promised many descendants. On the other hand, Zion is compared to the Garden of Eden. Is this a promise of many descendants, many heirs, or is it a promise of material comfort?

Verses 4-5: Israel is called to listen to the Lord who will himself provide instruction (law) and judgment for all people. The people of Israel would have understood this to refer to the Law of Moses. On that interpretation what do these verses teach? What might a Christian understand “law” to refer to? In verse 4, the Hebrew word translated judgment is mishpat and it suggests more than just the decision of a judge in a court case. It suggests an act that restores a community to wholeness after it has been disrupted by something. To what act or judgment do you think the Lord is referring?

Verse 6: Though the world and human life are transitory, the salvation the Lord offers is permanent, as is his righteousness.

Verses 7-8: These verses begin with another call to Israel to listen to the Lord, this time however, specifically to those who “know righteousness.” (The word translated righteousness is tsedeq, one of the roots of the name “Melchizedek.”) Since the Lord’s salvation and righteousness are forever, those who have his law in their hearts need not fear the taunts and reproach of human beings. What does the phrase “know righteousness” mean? How do we come to know righteousness? Malachi 3:18 describes the righteous person as the one who serves God. Does that definition differ from our usual understanding of the term as one who obeys the commandments? How are those definitions different? How are they the same? Ultimately, does anyone but Christ serve God?

Verses 9-10: A desperate prayer asking God to awaken and defend Zion, as he did in the past when he defeated Egypt (Rahab = “stormy” or “arrogant”) and killed the pharaoh (the dragon) by parting the Red Sea and allowing the recently freed children of Israel to pass through it unharmed.

Verse 11: Comparing the return of Judah from Babylon to the return of Israel from Egypt, the prophet says that those whom the Lord has ransomed will return with singing and joy. In verse 10 the inhabitants of the new Israel are described as “the ransomed.” Here they are described as “the redeemed.” We know how those words are used when we think of Christ’s atonement, but how will those who know righteousness be ransomed and redeemed in the last days?

Verses 12-16: The Lord reminds Jerusalem of who he is, namely the Creator. He will not allow captive Israel to die in captivity, and he will make Israel his messenger to all other nations, the foundation for his redeeming work. In verse 12, he asks Israel, “Who are you that you are afraid?” rather than “Why are you afraid?” What do you make of that difference? What is the Lord asking Israel when he asks “Who are you?” What is he saying when, in verse 16, he says “Thou art my people”? What does that imply about them? About their future?

Verses 17-20: The Lord calls on Jerusalem (Judah) to awaken from the drunken stupor and the consequent destruction and degradation into which sin has brought her, and portrays her as a widow whose sons are too weak to help her. Baltzer points out that the word Jerusalem is a feminine word in Hebrew, so verse 17 portrays Jerusalem as a drunken old woman—rather than as the virtuous young goddesses that personify other cities, as Athena personifies the city of Athens (365-66). Why does the Lord make this implicit comparison of Jerusalem to other cities in the way that he does?

Verses 21-23: Jerusalem’s troubles will be transferred to those who oppress it. If Jerusalem is not drunk with wine, with what is she drunk?

Chapter 52

Verses 1-12 continue the drama in a poem, in this case an enthronement hymn: Jerusalem is portrayed as taking the throne. Isaiah 42:13-15 and 53:1-12 are another poem about the suffering Servant. As before, the modern divisions in the text have artificially broken that poem.

Verses 1-3: The prophet calls on Jerusalem to awaken (compare 51:9) and to prepare for her redemption by putting on new clothing, getting up from her seat on the ground, and taking her proper place on a throne. The Lord will redeem her, but will not pay to do so (compare 50:1) because those who took Jerusalem captive paid nothing for it. Recall that the metaphor of redemption is a metaphor of being purchased from slavery: a person redeemed a slave by paying the slave’s owner for the slave and then setting him or her free.

Verses 4-6: Just as when Israel was captive in Egypt, the Assyrians have oppressed the Lord’s people and they have blasphemed the Lord’s name, presumably by boasting that they have overpowered his people and, therefore, must be stronger than he. But the Lord’s people will know that they can trust in his name. (Compare Mosiah 5:7-8.)

Verses 7-12: The return of Israel from exile: a messenger with beautiful or appropriate feet will go before them, announcing their return and their salvation; the watchmen of Jerusalem will see them coming and announce their arrival with joyful singing of praise; so those in exile are to leave Babylon and to do so without defiling themselves because they will carry the Lord’s vessels; unlike the departure from Egypt, this departure will not be in haste, though as in that departure, the Lord will guard them back and front. If we think of the Exodus from Egypt and the return from Babylon as the two end points of a chiasmus, what might be its middle point? Obviously, Isaiah and other scriptures take the two as parallel to one another. To what else might they be parallel?

Verses 13-15: The word translated “deal prudently” (“prosper” and “succeed” in other translations) suggests an act done wisely, with understanding, intelligently. The Lord’s Servant will not only succeed, he will be lifted up, in fact he will be lifted up very high. He will triumph. In spite of that, people will be astonished because the intensity of his suffering will deform him. He will shed his blood on the nations, and their rulers will be amazed, seeing and learning what they had never imagined.

Chapter 53

Though this is part of the same poem we have been reading in chapter 52, the speaker changes. Now the Gentiles speak.

Verses 1-9: What the kings would never have imagined: the Servant hadn’t seemed like anyone to be admired, but he came forth like a tree growing miraculously in the desert (verse 2); though he was despised, it was not because of his sins, but because of our sins: he suffered on our behalf, we who had all gone astray (verses 3-6); though he suffered, he did not complain (verse 7); in the end he was executed and buried with the wicked and the rich (verses 8-9); all this in spite of the fact that he had done nothing violent or deceitful (verse 9). Suppose you were an Israelite living several hundred years before the coming of Jesus as the Messiah. How might you have understood these verses?

Verses 10-12: This suffering was the will of the Lord: having offered his soul as a sacrifice for sin, the Servant will see those who are his seed, and his life will be lengthened so that he can fulfill the purposes of the Lord. This will satisfy him, and the knowledge he gains by this sacrifice will allow him to justify many before God. Because he will have suffered death for sinners, God will give him his reward and he will conquer his enemies. How do these verses fit the life of the Savior? In particular, was his life lengthened for the Lord’s purposes?

Overall

It is not difficult to see that these chapters are prophecies of the Savior. They give us a beautiful description of the need for the Atonement and of its accomplishment. As you read them, however, see if you can also understand them in other ways: of what other persons and events is the Atonement a type? Look at particular groups of verses and ask yourself what ways you can understand them. For example, think about various ways to understand 50:4-9 and 10-11; 51:1-3, 9-11, and 17-20; 52:1-6 and 7; and all of chapter 53. How many ways can you reasonably understand 52:7-12? Do verses 10-12 of chapter 53 say anything to us about our suffering?

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