Answering Your Questions on 1 Kings

A big thank you to instructor Cathryn Torgerson-Wade, for these great answers to your questions on the Bible and 1 Kings!
 
Q: When Isaiah talks to the King of Judah, he says the sign will be a “young maiden” who will give birth to a child named Immanuel.  How does this become a “virgin” in the NT?

A: This comes about through translation!  In our last class of the year, we will talk about how the Greek translation of the OT came about.  When the OT was translated into Greek, the Greek word for “virgin” was used in place of “young maiden.”  In biblical culture, a young maiden most likely references an unmarried woman, who would be considered a virgin.  So the Greeks used “virgin.”  When Matthew was writing his Gospel, he quoted the Greek translation of Isaiah’s prophecy. 
 
 
Q:  What are these other books referenced in Kings, e.g. “written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel/Judah” or “the book of Jashar”?
 

A: The Bible – in both Old and New Testaments – references works that have been lost to time.  In this case, there were other books about the history of this time period, written by the ancient Israelites.  These are different from 1-2 Chronicles that we have in our Bibles.  We trust the information in them is not a part of God’s inspired Word, and that is why they are not included in our Bibles. 

 
For fun: the satirical Babylon Bee suggested how books of ancient times could have gone missing here.  (Some of us might be able to relate to that reason!)
 
 
Q: We hear a lot about “jealousy” in the Bible – God is jealous for His people, people are jealous for right worship – what is this?  


A: We can think about “jealous” as “zealous” – a burning desire.  The Hebrew word can be translated either way. Going deeper – in 21st C American English, we tend to think of “jealous” as sinful, yet there is a distinction between jealousy and envy.  Envy is about wanting what someone else has or is.  Jealousy is about protecting what we have.  Jealousy can be negative if it involves fear, rivalry, clinging to something we need to put down (e.g. our pride!), etc.  God’s jealousy/zealously is always for the good, for our protection.  In a way, Saul exhibits both of these traits – he jealously tries to hold on to his power while he envies the acclaim David receives from the public.  

 
Q: Why specifically a lion bringing destruction to the prophet who disobeyed God (1 Kings 13)?


A: There is a natural and a symbolic meaning to the lion.  Lions are common in the ANE, and they are a well-known predator.   So we have to think of lions as National Geographic lions, not zoo lions.  They were used by some empires to kill enemies – think of the lion in the Roman Colosseum or the biblical narrative of Daniel in the Lion’s Den.  

 
Symbolically, lions represent leadership; we’ll see how a lion is used in Babylonian art this coming week.  The prophet Amos, who preaches to the Northern Kingdom, talks about God “roaring” from Jerusalem – a reminder the true Divine Leader is at the true Temple in the Southern Kingdom, not the false shrines of the North.  A lion references God’s power and strength, and Jesus is described as the “Lion of Judah.”  In the Narnia series, Aslan the Lion represents Jesus.  When one character asks if the lion is safe, another responds, “No, but he’s good.”  A very apt description of God – He is not a safe lion in a cage in a zoo, He is not domesticated, He is free to do what He wants and we depend upon His goodness (jealousy?) for us to protect us when He goes to take down His/our enemies.
 

Q: What is the Church’s stance on using God’s personal name YHWH? 

 

A: Great question that draws a distinction between liturgy/worship vs study/personal prayer.  As we mentioned back in Exodus, the ancient Jews so honored God’s Name and feared dishonoring it, they replaced YHWH with the word LORD.  Fast forward a couple thousand years, and Pope Benedict said we should follow this practice in our Liturgy, our public worship. Thus, the lyrics to some hymns were changed and replaced Yahweh with Lord.

 
Within the realm of scholarship and personal prayer, that same restriction does not apply.  Some people will only use LORD out of respect; others will use YHWH to bring out the more personal, original meaning.  You may have noticed, I use both in class!   As do your classmates in their responses to the reflection questions.  This is an area where we each discern which is our preference for deepening our relationship with God – am I being called more reverence or to more personal intimacy?  Similarly, I have a friend who always prays to the Father as “Daddy,” a common translation of Abba that is more intimate than “Father.” 
 

Q: What is the difference between Syria and Assyria? 

A:  Syria is a small kingdom, whereas Assyria is an Empire that has authority over many of these smaller kingdoms.  When Israel is fighting Syria, it is more like a regional battle of equals.  When Assyria goes on the march, it brings an overwhelming force.  We will be talking more about the powerful Empires that impact the ancient Israelites at our next class.