Tying the books of scripture together

[anonymoususer]

Happy New Year!

I feel like I have a somewhat decent understanding of the 14 periods of salvation history. What I don’t have a good sense of is how to read the prophets. For example, I’d really like to find a resource that would tell me which parts of 1 + 2 Samuel, or 1 + 2 Kings I should read before I read Jeremiah, or Isaiah, or Ezekiel. I’d also like a resource that would lay out in a nutshell the primary reasons for the Prophetic writing, whether it would be idolatry, sexual immorality, etc. Typology between the new and old testaments would be great too.

It seems like 99% of the scripture studies I see are on specific books, like the book of Genesis, or the book of Romans, or the book of Isaiah. How does one study a specific book, without taking the context of the historial period, and other books of the bible, into perspective?

THANKS!

on earth as it is in heaven

 

[Orchanian]

Two books that you might find helpful:
You Can Understand the Bible, by Peter Kreeft (an overview of each of the books)
An Introduction to the Prophets of Israel by Richard T A Murphy, OP

 

[Jesus_123]

**Lectio Divina (Divine Reading). . . **

While careful Biblical scholarship is an excellent and sound intellectual pursuit . . . for my pilgrim soul the foreward to the Oblate Formation Booklet by Archabbot Douglas R. Nowicki , O.S.B., of the Saint Vincent Archabbey in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in the United States has been an absolute treasure of insight re reading** Scripture**.

The Archabbot shares that **Sacred :bible1: Scripture **and the Holy Rule of St. Benedict are to be considered as **“Lectio Divina” **. . . which is a literary level of **holy **writings in Christendom believed to be especially inspired, blessed and anointed of **God **. . . and as such . . . when prayerfully read . . . **the Holy Spirit **. . . **Wonderful Counselor of Our God **. . . is abundantly available to help regarding the reading and understanding of same . . . The Archabbot recommends that we . . . slow down radically . . . when reflecting on Sacred Scripture which is the highest order of “Lectio Divina” and The Holy Rule of St. Benedict. . . so as to . . . *open up freely *. . . to the treasury of insights contained therein . . . he goes on further to share:

:coffeeread:
“It is the monastic insight that reading, if it be authentic, cannot be undertaken simply with the eyes and the mind. Rather it must involve the whole person:

+mind, heart

, body and spirit + It is reading not so much for information as for formation, that is, for encounter with the living God in this moment in such a way that one’s heart catches fire and one’s life is transformed … In St. Benedict’s day reading a sacred or spiritual text was practiced NOT so much for the sake of “information”,’but rather in order to be ‘formed’: that is, to be inwardly changed or shaped. … If we are to rediscover St. Benedicts insights, we must read [Sacred :bible1: Scripture] [and] his Rule in a spirit of Lectio Divina …”

Thus the aim of “reading” the Holy Bible and the Holy Rule of St. Benedict (i.e., pondering the verses in a slow , prayerful way) is to dispose ourselves to welcome God’s ever-present grace and His efforts to conquer our hearts and transform us more and more into a holy people as children of** God** . . . below is a review of a relatively new book on the market today on this subject:

:coffeeread:
The purpose of
Christianity
is communion with God,
and the language
of this communion is
PRAYER

Prayer is the very foundation of the Christian life. Through our dialogue with God, we deepen our relationship with Him and tap into the superabundant source of divine love and life.

As St. Augustine notes,

** “When we pray**

, we speak to God;
when we read Scripture, God speaks to us.” The key to enriching our prayer is learning the language of Christianity, and the most effective way to learn the language of Christianity is an ancient technique known as Lectio Divina (“divine reading”). In this succinct book, Catholic theologian and Biblical scholar Dr. Tim Gray walks the reader through the :bible1: Bible and the wisdom of the saints to reveal the practical steps of this great treasure of our Tradition.

In these pages, you will learn:* The Language of Christian Prayer.

• How God speaks directly to each of us in **His **Word.
• How to overcome the biggest obstacles to a regular and fruitful prayer life.
• Why the fourfold method of Lectio Divina is like the four rungs of a ladder, which if ascended one rung at a time in the proper order, lead us directly into the heart of contemplative prayer.
• Strategies for reading – and praying – the :bible1: Bible fruitfully.
• What Christian meditation is and how it differs from non-Christian approaches.
• How everyone – not just saints and mystics – can truly practice contemplative prayer.

Link: catholiccompany.com/catholic-books/1033331/Praying-Scripture-Change-Introduction-to-Lectio-Divna/

all for Jesus+
thank You Sweet Spirit of our Holy God+​

 

[Fidelis]

To answer your question directly, I don’t know of a book or series of books that might specifically meet your needs. I think that probably your best bet is to do an overview program such as Jeff Cavin’ “The Great Adventure.” Not only will you get a glimpse of the sweep of salavation history, the program is taught in such a way that, primarily, you read the historical biblical books, and then are shown where each of the prophets (both major and minor) fit into each book.

After that, you may find the Navarre Bible Commentary series helpful. The major prophets run over several volumes in the series, but the minor prophets, I think, are all in a single volume. Regardless, the real value in this series are the intoductory articles that come in each volume. They include not only good general information on the prophets in general, but also the historical context of each prophetic book, as well as some interpretive keys to reading them.

 

[anonymoususer]

Thanks a lot for the tips. I understand that the prophetic writings cover the historical bookins of 1 + 2 Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah. However, take the book of Obadiah for example; my Jeff Cavin’s bible timeline puts the time of writing at roughly 850 BC; my Catholic Book Publishing Company St. Joseph Medium Size edition NAB puts the book of Obadiah at 5th century BC.

!!??

There has got to be a book that does this (sorry if this is overly elementary):

Prophetic Book (Ezekiel, for example)
Date written
Historical period - divided kingdom, exile, or return
Historical book and applicable chapters to read in conjunction with prophetic book
Primary sins Prophet warned against
Typology / relevance to New Testament

 

[NHInsider]

Thanks a lot for the tips. I understand that the prophetic writings cover the historical bookins of 1 + 2 Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah. However, take the book of Obadiah for example; my Jeff Cavin’s bible timeline puts the time of writing at roughly 850 BC; my Catholic Book Publishing Company St. Joseph Medium Size edition NAB puts the book of Obadiah at 5th century BC.

!!??

Only a few of the OT books include any details that allow us to place them definitively in time. Most have hints or details that are vague enough to require some interpretation. Obadiah is one such - which attack on Jerusalem is referenced? Different scholars draw different conclusions and so place the book at different dates.

 

[Fidelis]

Thanks a lot for the tips. I understand that the prophetic writings cover the historical bookins of 1 + 2 Kings, Ezra, and Nehemiah. However, take the book of Obadiah for example; my Jeff Cavin’s bible timeline puts the time of writing at roughly 850 BC; my Catholic Book Publishing Company St. Joseph Medium Size edition NAB puts the book of Obadiah at 5th century BC.

!!??

There has got to be a book that does this (sorry if this is overly elementary):

Prophetic Book (Ezekiel, for example)
Date written
Historical period - divided kingdom, exile, or return
Historical book and applicable chapters to read in conjunction with prophetic book
Primary sins Prophet warned against
Typology / relevance to New Testament

I’m afraid you’re not going to find a scholarly consensus (let alone a definitive of magisterial statement) on the dating (and thus the conextual significance) of most of the books in the Bible. Generally speaking, more modern scholars tend to prefer later dating for biblical books, while more traditional ones accept earlier dates, or tend to at least accept at face value the time period the books purport to be written in (FWIW, I throw my lot in which the latter). This in turn, of course, colours the interpretation that each group winds up with.

The best you can do is decide which approach you feel is the correct one and then primarily stay with that approach (at the same time being open to other, alternate, interpretions since no one is wrong all the time).

To this end (and you know where my sympathies lie) I would second the suggestion of a previous poster and check out Peter Kreeft’s book. I’d also recommend another small, single volume introduction to the Bible by Antonio Fuentes (editor of the Navarre Bible Commentary series) called "A Guide to the Bible.’ And finally, if you don’t mind spending a little, I can also recommend Scott Hahn’s “Dictionary of the Bible.”

Any of these volumes will give you the information you are looking for about all of the prophetic books --maybe not in the neat, simplified form you might want them, but definitely there and accessible.

 

[anonymoususer]

Again, thanks so much for the feedback. Maybe I am making an incorrect assumption; my assumption is that every prophetic book refers to to a period / situation in one of these books; 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Ezra, or Nehemiah.

Is this incorrect?

on earth as it is in heaven

 

[Fidelis]

Again, thanks so much for the feedback. Maybe I am making an incorrect assumption; my assumption is that every prophetic book refers to to a period / situation in one of these books; 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Ezra, or Nehemiah.

Is this incorrect?

No, you are correct. And as I said, if you have a preferred Bible study resource (or one of the ones recommended above), it should tell you the setting in which each prophet lived and preached.

For example, in Fuentes book "Guide to the Bible,: he tells us (in the section about the prophet Obadiah), that Obadiah, though not much is known of him, was probably a contemporary of Ezekiel.

If you look in the section in that same book that dicusses the book of Ezekiel, it tells you that “Ezekiel was a member of a priestly family, and was taken to Babylon in the first deportation of the Exile (597 B.C.), along with his wife, King Jehoiachin, and all his court (**2 Kings 24:16).” **Thus, that would also place the Book of Obadiah at the end of 2 Kings, at the time of the Exile in the Southern kingdom of Judah, and in the 590’s BC.

Going back to the book’s section on Obadiah, it tells us that “Obadiah’s prophecy operates on two levels–that of the chastisement of Edom and that of the ultimate triumph of Israel on “the day of Yahweh.” The Edomites incurred the prophet’s anger because they had foolishly applauded the destruction of Jerusalem and had gone to play a part in the sacking of the city and the persecution of its refugees (Jer. 49:7-22. Ezek. 25:12ff). Parallel with the punishment of Edom, Judah will receive the reward of being restored and of recovering its treasures. All this should be understood in terms of its ultimate messianic restoration.”

You may also find this chart somewhat helpful, although it doesn’t tell you what the message of each prophet was.

Even if all the information wasn’t all on one neat little chart, it took me about five minutes to find out all this. You also learn a lot more and have more satisfaction when you are able to do a little research.