Wisdom & Songs
71 study questions and answers, quoted from the Revised Version (1885/1895).
What question drives the book of Job?
Whether a man will serve God for nothing — that is, whether faith is genuine apart from reward.
Job 1:9-11
What did Job confess after losing everything?
"The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."
Job 1:21
What hope did Job express in the midst of suffering?
"I know that my redeemer liveth... yet from my flesh shall I see God."
Job 19:25-26
How did God finally answer Job?
Not with explanations but with questions out of the whirlwind about creation's vastness.
Job 38-41
How many psalms are there, and into how many books are they divided?
150 psalms, in five books, each closing with a doxology.
Ps 41:13; 72:19; 89:52; 106:48; 150
What is the longest chapter in the Bible, and what is its theme?
Psalm 119, 176 verses — an acrostic celebrating the word of God.
Ps 119
Which psalm is quoted from the cross?
Psalm 22 — "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"
Ps 22:1; Matt 27:46
Which psalm is the most quoted in the New Testament?
Psalm 110 — "The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand."
Ps 110:1; Matt 22:44; Heb 1:13
What are the "Songs of Ascents"?
Psalms 120-134, sung by pilgrims going up to Jerusalem for the feasts.
Ps 120-134
What is an imprecatory psalm?
A psalm calling down God's judgment on enemies, entrusting vengeance to God rather than taking it.
Ps 69; 109; 137
What is the stated purpose of Proverbs?
To know wisdom and instruction, and to give subtlety to the simple and discretion to the young.
Prov 1:2-4
What is the "beginning of knowledge" according to Proverbs?
The fear of the LORD.
Prov 1:7; 9:10
What does Proverbs 3:5-6 counsel?
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart, lean not on thine own understanding, and he shall direct thy paths.
Prov 3:5-6
What seven things does the LORD hate, per Proverbs 6?
Proud eyes, a lying tongue, hands shedding innocent blood, a wicked heart, feet swift to mischief, a false witness, and one who sows discord.
Prov 6:16-19
How does Proverbs personify wisdom?
As a woman calling in the streets, present with God before creation.
Prov 1:20; 8:22-31
What does Proverbs 31 describe?
The virtuous woman, an acrostic portrait praising a woman who fears the LORD above charm and beauty.
Prov 31:10-31
What Hebrew word opens and closes Ecclesiastes, and what does it mean?
"Hevel" — vapour, breath, fleeting; rendered "vanity."
Eccl 1:2; 12:8
What phrase marks the limited horizon Ecclesiastes examines?
"Under the sun" — life reckoned without reference to God.
Eccl 1:9
What is the conclusion of the whole matter in Ecclesiastes?
"Fear God, and keep his commandments; for this is the whole duty of man."
Eccl 12:13
What does Ecclesiastes 3 famously teach about time?
There is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven.
Eccl 3:1-8
What has God set in the human heart, according to Ecclesiastes?
Eternity ("the world") — so nothing temporal can satisfy.
Eccl 3:11
How does the Song of Solomon describe the strength of love?
"Love is strong as death... many waters cannot quench love."
Song 8:6-7
Which canonical book never names God directly besides Esther?
The Song of Solomon.
Song 1-8
What three readings of the Song have circulated since antiquity?
A literal celebration of marital love; an allegory of God's love for Israel; and an allegory of Christ's love for the Church.
Song 1:2; Eph 5:25-32
Who challenged God concerning Job, and under what limits?
Satan, permitted to touch Job's possessions and body but not his life.
Job 1:12; 2:6
How did Job's latter end compare with his beginning?
The LORD blessed his latter end more than his beginning, doubling his substance.
Job 42:12
What does Psalm 1 contrast?
The blessed man rooted like a tree by rivers of water, and the ungodly like driven chaff.
Ps 1:3-4
What does Psalm 8 ask about humanity?
'What is man, that thou art mindful of him?'
Ps 8:4
Which psalm begins 'The heavens declare the glory of God'?
Psalm 19, which then turns from creation's witness to the perfect law of the LORD.
Ps 19:1,7
What does Psalm 23 say the LORD prepares?
'A table before me in the presence of mine enemies.'
Ps 23:5
What does Psalm 46 counsel amid upheaval?
'Be still, and know that I am God.'
Ps 46:10
What sacrifices does Psalm 51 say God will not despise?
'A broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart.'
Ps 51:17
What does Psalm 90, attributed to Moses, ask?
'So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.'
Ps 90:12
What promise does Psalm 91 give to the one who dwells in the secret place?
He shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty, covered with God's feathers.
Ps 91:1,4
How far has God removed our transgressions, per Psalm 103?
'As far as the east is from the west.'
Ps 103:12
Which psalm verse does the New Testament apply to Christ's session?
'The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand.'
Ps 110:1
What does Psalm 119:105 call God's word?
'A lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.'
Ps 119:105
What does Psalm 133 praise?
How good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity.
Ps 133:1
What does Psalm 139 say about God's knowledge of us?
He searched and knew us, beset us behind and before, and formed us in the womb.
Ps 139:1-16
How does the Psalter close?
With Psalm 150 — 'Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD.'
Ps 150:6
What does Proverbs say about a soft answer?
'A soft answer turneth away wrath: but grievous words stir up anger.'
Prov 15:1
What goes before destruction, per Proverbs?
'Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.'
Prov 16:18
What friend does Proverbs describe as sticking closer than a brother?
A true friend, contrasted with many nominal companions.
Prov 18:24
What does Proverbs say about training a child?
'Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.'
Prov 22:6
What happens where there is no vision?
'The people perish' — literally cast off restraint, where there is no prophetic revelation.
Prov 29:18
What two things did Agur ask of God?
Remove falsehood far from him, and give him neither poverty nor riches.
Prov 30:8
What does Ecclesiastes say about two being better than one?
They have a good reward; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Eccl 4:9-12
What does Ecclesiastes counsel the young?
'Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth.'
Eccl 12:1
What refrain warns against awakening love prematurely?
'Stir not up, nor awake my love, till he please.'
Song 2:7; 3:5; 8:4
How does the Song describe the mutual belonging of the lovers?
'My beloved is mine, and I am his.'
Song 2:16
What does the Song say many waters cannot do?
They cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it.
Song 8:7
What is the structural problem the book of Job sets up?
The reader knows what Job never learns — that his suffering is not punishment.
Job 1-2
What is the accuser's actual charge in Job?
Not that Job is wicked, but that piety is self-interested — 'Doth Job fear God for nought?'
Job 1:9
What does Job say about his Redeemer?
'I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth.'
Job 19:25
How does God's speech from the whirlwind answer Job?
With questions about creation rather than explanations of suffering.
Job 38-41
What does God say about the friends at the end?
That they had not spoken of him what is right, as his servant Job had.
Job 42:7
What are the five books of the Psalter, and how does each end?
Each of the five books closes with a doxology, the last being all of Psalm 150.
Ps 41:13; 72:19; 89:52; 106:48; 150
What are the royal psalms, and how are they read?
Psalms about the Davidic king, read messianically after the monarchy's failure.
Ps 2; 45; 72; 110
What is a lament psalm's typical structure?
Address, complaint, petition, and usually a vow of praise or statement of trust.
Ps 13
Which psalm ends without resolution?
Psalm 88 — its last word is 'darkness,' with no turn to praise.
Ps 88:18
What is the theological claim of Psalm 22 for Christians?
It describes pierced hands and feet, parted garments and casting lots, centuries before crucifixion.
Ps 22:16-18
What does Psalm 51 ask God to create?
A clean heart, and a right spirit renewed within.
Ps 51:10
What is the acrostic structure of Psalm 119?
Twenty-two stanzas of eight verses, each stanza beginning with a successive Hebrew letter.
Ps 119
What does Proverbs mean by 'the fear of the LORD'?
Reverent submission to God as the starting point of all real knowledge.
Prov 1:7; 9:10
How should the promises of Proverbs be read?
As general patterns of how life usually works, not as unconditional guarantees.
Prov 22:6
What role does Lady Wisdom play in Proverbs 8?
She was with God before creation, rejoicing in the habitable earth.
Prov 8:22-31
What does Ecclesiastes mean by 'hevel'?
Vapour, breath, mist — the fleeting and ungraspable rather than the merely worthless.
Eccl 1:2
What is Ecclesiastes' repeated positive counsel?
Eat your bread, drink your wine, and enjoy your labour as God's gift.
Eccl 2:24; 5:18; 9:7
How does Ecclesiastes describe old age and death?
In an extended allegory of a failing house, ending with the silver cord loosed.
Eccl 12:1-7
Why is the Song of Solomon in the canon?
It affirms embodied married love as good, and has been read as picturing divine love.
Song 1:2
What does the Song say love is stronger than?
Death; and jealousy is cruel as the grave, its coals a most vehement flame.
Song 8:6