1. Discuss the use of repetition. The evangelist David Ring begins by saying that his wife is going to have a baby. Then, he says that it is only important that the baby is (blank space) . He holds his hand to his ear and waits for the audience to yell "healthy". He does this three times, and by so doing, makes an excellent use of repetition. In a study Bible, listing an outline of each book is not very important if it does not explain the rationale behind the divisions.

2. Discuss the cycle in the Book of Judges. In this book, the cycle is seen in Judges 2:11-16 when it says that the people did evil in the sight of the Lord, that they served Baal and Asherah, and that they forsook God. But despite their ways, God continued to raise up judges to deliver them from their oppressors whenever they cried out to Him for help. Cycles can be constant if they resemble a stretched out spring where they look like a series of concentric circles that rise and fall, rise and fall, always to about the same highs and lows. Deteriorating cycles are more like stairs that start out high and continually drop lower. In the Book of Judges, the cycle is deteriorating.

3. Discuss the use of repetition and book endings. In Judges 17:6 and 21:25, the repetition and book ending is that there was no king and the people did what was right in their own eyes. In Judges 18:1 and 19:1, the verses say that there was not a king in Israel. Repetition is used for emphasis and as a memory aid. In Jonah 1, the same English word for "hurl" is used four times, and this word is an uncommon Hebrew verb. These types of occurrences are good memory aids for people who received God's Word orally. In Psalms 146 through 150, the chapters begin and end with the word "hallelujah" (praise the Lord). In Genesis 32:9-12, Jacob started and ended by quoting a promise from God. Judges is not in a proper chronology. The key verse is Judges 20:28 where it talks about Phinehas, who was Aaron's grandson. The last part of Judges is more toward the end of the conquests and only two generations from Moses. This stuff happened before Judges 1, so the author might be trying to establish the deteriorating cycle. Judges 2:11-16 sets the stage for the deteriorating cycle.

4. Discuss the applications that can be made from the Book of Judges. Several applications are clear from the Book of Judges. First, God takes sin very seriously. Second, this book reminds us to go against the modern world (modernity è (a) looking inward for the answers to life (we should look upward), (b) says that traditions are not that important (do not look backward in time), (c) lacks sequence of our former cultures (now people use things like MTV for their guide), and (d) plurality (each person looks to their own lifestyle and conventions. People can get to heaven in their own way)). Third, the final lesson of Judges is that it teaches the relationship between hardship and apathy.

5. Name some books for this class. Judges and Ruth Commentary, by Tindale Press (good for Old Testament studies).

6. State the case study for Lesson 17. Read about Ahaz and Hezekiah in II Kings and maybe in Isaiah 7.

				Tom of Bethany

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Lesson 17. The Mode of Commentary

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