SBL 2010: LDS and the Bible, Session 1

To conclude my notes from SBL, I want to present the material I took down from the two “Latter-day Saints and the Bible” sessions that were held Monday and Tuesday mornings. Because I want to share my notes on these in greater detail, this will be divided into two posts.  The theme was the same for both sessions: the legacy of Hugh W. Nibley.  Most of the presentations from both sessions focused on the work of renowned LDS scholar and Brigham Young University professor Hugh Nibley and how his research has influenced the succeeding generation of LDS scholars and students.   There were some insightful presentations given and survival of Nibley’s legacy among current and future scholars seemed well assured.

Session 1

The first session was presided over by John Welch, BYU Professor of Law and religious scholar. I will present a summary of my notes from each of the speakers.  As always, I am responsible for the content of these notes — they may not reflect fully and/or accurately what the speakers actually said.

Click on the link below for my notes:

"God Reveals His Secrets to His Prophets" (OT Lesson 35)

Amos 3; 7-9; Joel 2-3

Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

This week’s Sunday School lesson covers parts of the writings of two more of the “minor prophets” (see last week’s post for details): Amos and Joel.

Background

In the actual order of books in the Old Testament, Joel comes right before Amos, although in the SS lesson plan, they choose to talk about Amos first (I’m saying this just in case you went looking for the book of Joel after Amos!).  But because the lesson emphasizes prophecy, the writers of the curriculum likely chose to start the lesson with Amos to emphasize the above quoted passage, Amos 3:7.  I’ll follow the lesson plan’s order to avoid confusion, however, in order of the biblical books, at least, Joel comes first.

Amos served as a prophet in the Northern Kingdom of Israel from approximately 765 – 750 BC, before the Assyrian Conquest of Israel and the Babylonian Exile of Judah.  While we don’t know exactly when this took place, it is said (Amos 1:1) that he began his role as prophet “two years before the earthquake” that occurred during the reigns of Uzziah of Judah and Jeroboam of Israel.  This great earthquake is also mentioned in Zech 14:5. 

Amos was from Tekoa, just ten miles south of Jerusalem.  Before his ministry, he had worked as a farmer and shepherd.  Unlike Isaiah, he was not familiar with the royal court, nor of prominent priestly circles like Jeremiah. He was a man of humble origins called by God (see Amos 7:14-15) to fulfill an important role — to be the mouthpiece of God to call King Jeroboam and the northern tribes to repentance and thus avoid an imminent doom.  Amos leaves his village in Judah to preach in Bethel, a holy site in the North that had become a royal sanctuary for the kings of Israel.

Regarding Joel, we aren’t told much about him in the biblical record.  Because of this lack of information, scholars have widely debated when Joel served as prophet, and dates range from a hundred years before the Assyrian Conquest (722 BC) to 100+ years after the Babylonian Exile (597 BC).  So the placement of the book of Joel before Amos in our Bibles is based more on tradition and thematic elements than on any exact dating.   Due to the foregoing reasons, there’s not much we can say about Joel besides the statement that his father’s name was Pethuel (Joel 1:1).  Joel’s name (alternatively: Jael, Jah-El, Yahoel, etc.) means “Yah(weh) is God”.   

"I Will Betroth Thee unto Me in Righteousness" (OT Lesson 34)

I have to begin this post by apologizing for missing a lesson! My schedule last week didn’t allow me to comment on OT Lesson 33, covering the book of Jonah and sections from Micah.  It’s not that there is nothing interesting to say about these books — there certainly is — it’s just that I didn’t make time for it last week.  If your ward has not yet done this lesson, here are a couple of internet posts that I’ve seen on it:

• Yom Kippur and the Symbolism of Jonah’s Spiritual Journey — by Bored in Vernal (who wouldn’t be! Hey, I have family in Vernal!) — beautiful post with a stimulating and refreshing take on the topic
• OT Lesson #33: Sharing the Gospel with the World — by Nancy W. Jensen — more straightforward, but very well put-together commentary on the whole lesson
• Joel’s Monastery — Although his post on this lesson is not up yet, Gerald Smith’s site is always a good one to check for thorough and insightful treatments of the SS OT lessons

OT Lesson 34 — Hosea 1-3; 11; 13-14

Background

The Book of Hosea is placed first in our Bibles in a collection of twelve short books known as “the Minor Prophets” — called “minor” not because they were any less important or influential, but simply because what we have of their writings is much less than the writings of the “major” prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel.  The books of the Minor Prophets are supposed to be, traditionally, ordered chronologically, but an analysis of the texts reveals that this is not likely the case.  For example, although Hosea is placed first, this is likely due to an erroneous reading of the Rabbis of Hosea 1:2 (RSV): “When the LORD first spoke through Hosea”, which they took to mean that Hosea was the first of these prophets who was called to speak for the Lord. ((John J. Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible, 296))  However, the text of Hosea (Hosea 1:1) puts the prophet in the days of Jeroboam, Uzziah, and up to King Hezekiah’s time.  Chronologically, then, his book should be placed after those of Obadiah, Joel, Jonah, and Amos. Hosea was a younger contemporary of Amos, ((Ibid.)) and also served as prophet at roughly the same time as Jonah, Isaiah, and Micah.

Hosea was a prophet of Israel, the Northern Kingdom (while Isaiah and Micah were in Judah), before the destruction and exile of those northern tribes.  We can’t be sure if he witnessed that destruction, as it is not mentioned in his book, but some of the turmoil of the times leading up to that event is evident.  Hosea’s name in Hebrew, Hoshea, means “salvation.”

The book of Hosea presents an overview of the history of Israel, how they were loved as God’s chosen people (his bride/children), how they proved unfaithful by loving other gods more than the Lord, how they consequently fell into error, apostasy, and destruction, but how they would finally repent and return to their true God and be restored to the blessed state of abiding in his everlasting love.

Woodcut Illustration. Hosea, Gomer, and three children. From Zurich Bible, 1531.