TENTATIVE MIDTERM II STUDY GUIDE
[Revised March 19, 2022]
Because we didn't finish II Kings, I've combined what were originally study questions four and five.  This means I'll use the same format for the 2nd MT than I did for the first.  In Part II of the exam,  you'll see just one of the essay questions below.  In Part I of the exam, will get 12 potential ideas to chose from (four from from each of the remaining groups).  I'll ask you to identify and explain the significance of eight of those twelve.

Note that, with that fourth question, we've only brought up the story to the fall of the Israel to the Assyrians.  While we've finished the story of Israel, we didn't get to the fall of Judah to the Chaldaeans, and, really, we didn't cover Judah much at all.  I'll have plenty to say about the history of Judah when we move on to the latter prophets.


POTENTIAL ID’s:

JOSHUA, (CALEB), EHUD, DEBORAH, GIDEON, JEPHTHAH, ABIMELECH, SAMSON
 
HANNAH, ELI, SAMUEL, SAUL, JONATHAN, PHILISTINES

DAVID, ISHBOSHETH, ABNER, MICHAL, ABIGAIL, JOAB, ABSALOM

SOLOMON, REHOBOAM, JEROBOAM, AHAB, JEZEBEL, ELIJAH, ELISHA, JEHU


POTENTIAL ESSAYS:

A.    The books of Joshua and Judges gives us “heroes with warts”—and sometimes, “warts with heroes.”  Comment.

B.    I Samuel might rightly be considered one of the first great historical works.  It might also be viewed as a great prophetic work.  But, in some ways, I Samuel is best understood as a series of tragedies or perhaps as parts of one great tragedy, either the Tragedy of Samuel or the Tragedy of the Nation of Israel. Comment.*

[Note that I and II Samuel were originally one book, written (probably) in the time of Solomon, perhaps around 950 BC.  To finish the tragedies of Saul and Jonathan, you might want to talk about some of the material at the beginning of II Samuel.]

C.    II Samuel might rightly be considered one of the first great historical works.  It might also be viewed as a great prophetic work.  But, in some ways, II Samuel is best understood as a series of tragedies or perhaps as parts of one great tragedy, either The Tragedy of the House of David or  The Tragedy of the Nation of Israel. Comment.*

[Note that I and II Samuel were originally one book, written (probably) in the time of Solomon, perhaps around 950 BC.  The tragedy of David begins with events in I Samuel.]

D.   I and II Kings together might rightly be considered one of the first great historical works.  They might also be viewed as a great prophetic work.  But, in some ways, the the books are best understood as a series of tragedies (e.g., the Tragedy of Solomon, The Tragedy of Ahab, and The Tragedy of Elijah)--or perhaps as part of one great tragedy, the tragedy of Israel and Judah. Comment.*

[Note that I and II Kings were originally one book, written (probably) soon after the destruction of the temple, maybe be Jeremiah around 600 BC.  To finish the tragedy of Elijah, you might want to talk about some of the material at the beginning of II Kings.]

You might begin any of the last three questions with a discussion of those elements you think are key to history, prophetic works, and/or tragedy and then discuss the ways in which I Samuel, II Samuel, or  I and II  Kings meet or do not meet these criteria.

Chronological help

Joshua covers the period from the death of Moses [1400? 1350?] to the death of Joshua himself [1350? 1300?]
Judges begins with Joshua's death (1350? 1300?) and concludes with events that took place around 1150 BC]
I Samuel begins with the birth of Samuel [1100 BC?] and finishes with the death of Saul [1020 BC?]
II Samuel begins with the struggle between David and Ishbosheth [1020 BC?] for power and concludes as David is just about to die [960?]
I Kings begins with David's death and Solomon's rise [960?] and concludes with  the death of Ahab [850 BC?]
II Kings begins with the last days of Elijah  [850 BC?], includes the destruction of Israel by the Assyrians [722 BC] and finishes with the Babylonian Captivity [c. 600 BC]

Because I and II Samuel were originally one book and I and II Kings were originally one book, you might find the breaks a bit awkward.  You might break the overall picture into seven parts.  Focus on these big themes, and don't worry about the *many* other kings and prophets mentioned.
. 







.