Author: Paul Harmon

Lamentations 1 (day 798) 8 March 2012             Tradition has it that this lament is the work of Jeremiah, and the early Greek translation known as the Septuagint added a line at the beginning of the book attributing it to Jeremiah (“Jeremiah sat weeping and lamented this lamentation over Jerusalem”). Modern scholars debate the authenticity… Continue reading Lamentations (day 798-802)

Jeremiah 1 (day 746) 16 January 2012             1-3: The introduction to the book tells us that Jeremiah prophesied during roughly the same period as Isaiah, from the reign of Josiah until the Exile. Anathoth was a City of Refuge about 3 miles northeast of Jerusalem.             4-10: The description of the Jeremiah’s call is… Continue reading Jeremiah (day 746-797)

Isaiah 1 (Day 680) 11 November 2011        1: We come now to the second longest book in the Bible, and to the first of the purely prophetic books. The book of Isaiah covers a long period of time. The chronology presented in verse 1 has him prophesying in the southern kingdom of Judah for… Continue reading Isaiah (day 680-745)

The Song of Songs 1 (Day 672) 3 November 2011             1: Solomon is said to have composed 3000 proverbs and 1005 songs (1 Kings 4:32). The Song of Songs is a lyrical romantic poem which tells the story of a love affair between a man and a woman, consisting of several encounters described unabashedly.… Continue reading Song of Songs (day 672-679)

Ecclesiastes 1 (Day 660) 22 October 2011             Ecclesiastes is perhaps the most enigmatic book in the Bible. The title is a Greek word that translates the Hebrew word “Qohelet.” The word means “one who leads an assembly.” There was much disagreement in ancient times as to whether Qohelet/Ecclesiastes should be included in the scriptures.… Continue reading Ecclesiastes (day 660-671)

Proverbs 1 (Day 629) September 21 2011             1: The prologue does not apply to the entire book but to the first section of it. We will see that some of the proverbs are attributed to other authors, though Solomon is by far the most prominent among them. Most scholars agree that Solomon is likely… Continue reading Proverbs (day 629-659)

Psalm 1 (Day 479) April 24 2011             The Book of Psalms represents a distinctly different kind of literature from what we have seen thus far in the Bible. Each psalm stands on its own. There is no continuity from one to the next. Each day brings a new and fresh look at life and… Continue reading Psalms (Day 479 – 628)

Day 437: Job 1             The book of Job, in terms of development and structure, is easily the most complicated of all the books of the Old Testament, rivaled only by the book of Revelation in the New. Chapters 1 – 2 and the last 11 verses of the book provide a framework, although a… Continue reading Job (Day 437- 478)

Day 427: Esther 1             The Book of Esther is shrouded in mystery. It does not seem to be intended as a serious historical account but rather a folk tale around which the Jewish people could rally after the Maccabean rebellion gave them a tenuous freedom in the second century B. C. It has numerous… Continue reading Esther (Day 427-436)

Day 414: Nehemiah 1             1-3: The story of Nehemiah is set in the 20th year of King Artaxerxes, or about 445 BC. Ezra had gone to Jerusalem from Babylon, a provincial capital in the Persian Empire, in the 7th year of Artaxerxes (Ezra 7:7). Nehemiah is in the Persian capital city of Susa, and… Continue reading Nehemiah (Day 414-426)