Irv Jacobs, MD

These prophetic passages, partly poetic but mainly prose, come from the writings of the controversial prophet Ezekiel, known previously to us for hallucinatory flights of fancy. These are dated c. 587 BCE, months before the Babylonian conquest of Jerusalem. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

These mainly poetic passages come from two separate parts of  Isaiah I’s writings. Most are commonly dated ca. 730s BCE, but there are some earlier and many later contributors’ insertions.  This has muddled previous date assignments of these materials. Modern scholars now think a good bit arose from the time of the fall of the Babylonian empire to Persia in 539 BCE. It is arguable that some of what are called predictions actually were formulated ‘after the events.’ [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

This short prose passage can be regarded as King David’s last will and testament, on his death bed. It is given in the form of a statement to his son Solomon, who is about to assume the throne. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

This short prose passage is preceded by Ezekiel’s fantasy of dry bones, becoming miraculously reunited, flesh added, and breath restarted—the metaphor of coming to life of the dead house of Israel, from the grave. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

This short all-prose episode describes a famous story c. 965 BCE attributed to the rule of King Solomon. It is about his wise determination of the rightful mother of a son, for whom two prostitutes competed. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

This short passage, mainly in good ancient poetry, is from minor prophet Amos, who arose from Judea to condemn both Judea’s and, more specifically, the Northern Kingdom’s ethics violations c. 784-748 BCE under King Jeroboam II. The violations, though referencing idol worship, mainly condemn behavioral sins against defenseless and vulnerable poor Northerners.  [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

This single chapter is the only extant writing of the minor prophet Obadiah. Wordage is mainly poetry, its ending in prose. The setting is the Babylonian destruction of the first Judean Temple c. 586 BCE, in which the enemy nation Edom participated.  This time a Hebrew prophet rails against enemy Edom, not his own leaders. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

This literary Prophet’s entirely poetic passages are filled with moral castigation of the priestly class. They are set in c. 740 BCE in the Northern Kingdom. They follow well the literary rules of ancient Hebrew poetry. Scholars note that Hosea’s writings reflect traditions about the patriarchs, which diverge from those in Genesis. [1] As with other prophets, he likely is a composite figure. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

These combination poetry-prose passages from Malachai are from the ‘minor prophet’ Malachai. Malachai is not really a person’s name, but actually means ‘My messenger.’ The writer(s) of these words were post-exilic, 514 BCE, i.e. soon after the second Temple was built. They constitute nearly the last passages of the Tanakh’s Book of Prophets. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

Torah reading is Hayyei Sarah, Genesis 23-25:18; Haftorah is 1 Kings I:1-31. By Irv Jacobs, M.D. This full-episode prose passage is set in a picture of aged, ill, and failing King David, cold, on his death bed. His memory has failed and he is manipulated over the matter of which son will be successor to

This fairly short prose passage from the “Early Prophets” is really a couple of folktales fused together, arguably from ‘annals’ of the early Northern Kingdom of Israel. In those days, storytellers were welcome to insert fantasy miracles into their stories. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

This example of true ancient Hebrew poetry is a metaphor by Isaiah II during the mid-Babylonian exile c. 550 BCE. It repeatedly urges “renewal of strength” through trust in the LORD. As a liturgical teaching, these passages move from the realism of despair to near surreal ‘vision of victory.’ Isaiah assumes the voice of God. [Irv Jacobs, M.D.]

This entirely poetic ancient Hebrew passage is, largely, literally a repeat of Isaiah II speaking previously in the Haftorah of RE’EH a few weeks ago. The text back then was used as a haftorah of consolation. So here, in refrain, we hear the prophet c. 538-530 BCE with promises of God’s forgiveness. [Irv Jacobs, M.D]