SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The Babylonian prototype of Job.
Jastrow, in Jour. of Bib. Lit., XXV, Pt. II, 135-91. 2. Comparison of
Job with other great skeptical dramas. Owen, The Five Great Skeptical
Dramas of History. 3. The modern explanations of the problem of evil.
Royce, Studies of Good and Evil.
Section XCIX. The Training and Mission of the True Servant of Jehovah. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the different characteristics of Jehovah's servant in Isaiah 49-53. 2. What was the prophet's purpose in presenting this vivid portrait of Jehovah's ideal servant? 3. Describe the class to whom the prophet appealed. 4. His interpretation of the task of the servant. 5. His training. 6. The different methods whereby he was to accomplish his mission. 7. Did the prophet have in mind an individual, a class, or simply an ideal character? 8. In what ways were his predictions fulfilled? 9. In what sense is his ideal of service of present-day application?
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The meaning and history of the different messianic titles. St. O.T., III, 39, 47; En. Bib., III, 3057-61. 2. Contents and unity of Isaiah 49-55. St. O.T., III, 28-30; Box, Isaiah, 238-83. 3. How far was Jesus influenced by the ideal of the suffering servant?
Section C. Nehemiah's Work in Rebuilding the Walls of Jerusalem. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. What is the historical value of Nehemiah's memoirs? 2. In what way was he informed of conditions in Jerusalem? 3. How did he secure permission to go to Jerusalem? 4. Describe the obstacles that there confronted him. 5. His plan of work. 6. His diplomacy in dealing with his opponents. 7. The task of rebuilding the walls. 8. Their dedication. 9. The significance of the rebuilding of the walls.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. Contemporary events in Greek history.
Goodspeed, Anc. Hist., 141-72; Bury, Hist, of Greece, 336-75;
Botsford, Hist, of Greece, 151-85. 2. The topography of Jerusalem.
Kent, Sib. Geog. and Hist., 64-72; Smith, Jerusalem, I, I-249;
Hastings, D.B., II, 591-6. 3. Recent excavations at Jerusalem.
Jerusalem Vol. of P. E. F. Memoirs; Bliss and Dickey, Excavations at
Jerusalem; Smith, Jerusalem, I.
Section CI. Nehemiah's Social and Religious Reforms. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the cruel oppression of the leaders of the Jewish community. 2. The effect upon the mass of the people. 3. The way in which Nehemiah corrected these evils. 4. The evidence for and against the historical accuracy of Nehemiah 13. 5. Nehemiah's measures to improve the temple service. 6. His emphasis upon Sabbath observance. 7. His opposition to foreign marriages. 8. The importance of his work as a whole.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: I. In what respects was Nehemiah a worthy successor of the earlier Hebrew prophets? 2. The later Jewish laws regarding the Sabbath. St. O.T., IV, 263-4. 3. Regarding marriage with foreigners. St. O.T., IV, 54-5.
Section CII. Traditional Account of the Adoption of the Priestly Law. GENERAL QUESTIONS: 1. Describe the present literary form of the tradition regarding Ezra. 2. Its probable history. 3. Its historical value. 4. The facts underlying it. 5. Origin of the later priestly laws. 6. Their general purpose. 7. Their more important regulations. 8. Their transforming influence upon the Jewish community.
SUBJECTS FOR SPECIAL RESEARCH: 1. The difficulties in accepting the
Ezra narrative as strictly historical. Torrey, Ezra Studies, 208-78;
Smith, O.T. Hist., 390-8. 2. History of the later priestly codes. St.
O.T., IV, 43-8. 3. Income and duties of the priests and Levites according
to the late priestly codes. St. O.T., IV, 187-92, 197-202.