this is a document of questions/discussion elements to use along side biblicaltraining.org's excellent OT survey course (by douglas stuart).
it's assumed that you are listening to the lectures (or reading the transcripts), reading all of the biblical text in question, and hopefully
also reading lasor's old testament survey book (again, the relevant sections).
this document is to store additional questions useful for discussion.
1. origins
gen 11 - why is this story here?
do some reading about gen. 15 and treaty patterns. you may want to do some reading on suzerain-vassal treaties as
they're relevant for other places in the
what are the various views on creation and the flood?
what are the origin stories in genesis? i.e. what origins are there in genesis.
who is melchizedek?
who are the nephalim? gimme some views.
themes in genesis? what are they? (belief, blessing, patience, etc)
what are the conditions of the covenent in gen 12? 15? 17? 26? 28? 35?
what is the protoevangelion, and do you buy it?
where do you see forgiveness in genesis?
why is lot afraid to live in Zoar?
2. the law
how long was israel in egypt? what verses can you base this on?
ex 4:24-26. explain.
were the plagues directed at specific egyptian gods?
know some examples of other suzerain-vassal treaties, and be ready to talk hammurabi.
make sure you know what happens in the following chapters: ex 12, ex 19, ex 20, lev 16, lev 19, deut 6
what is going on with ex 32:7-18? is god changing his mind?
the scapegoat and azazel. ?
know the offering types - burnt (lev 1), grain (lev 2), peace (lev 3), sin (lev 4), guilt (5:14-6:7, 7:1-8)
what is the flow/story/organization of exodus...
the story of redemption, covenant, failure (ex 32, 33:1-6), and restoration (ex 33,34ff)
what are the rebellions?
- pre red sea (ex 14:10-14)
- water (ex 15:22ff)
- manna (ex 16:2,3)
- meat (ex 16 as well)
- golden calf (ex 32)
- grumbling and the quail (numbers 11)
- miriams whining (numbers 12)
- kadesh-barnia (numbers 14)
- korahs rebellion (num 16)
- whining about korahs punishment (num 16)
- meribah (num 20)
- grumbling, and snakes (num 21)
- baal of peor (num 25)
what is going on with num 20:8-13?
how long was israel in the desert (from egypt to canaan)? how long did it take israel to get to kadesh barnia? how long were they there?
compare genesis 12 and exodus 20-40
what is the point of numbers 22:22-41
deut 31:14-22. know it.
what happens on mt ebal and mt gerizim?
know the jewish holidays.
what are the main themes/messages of each book?
bonus round: talk the red heifer (num 19)
3. the promised land (joshua / judges / ruth)
how old is joshua in joshua 1?
well...caleb is 85 when he conquers hebron (josh 14)
caleb was 40 at kadesh-barnea...45 years have passed since. 38 in the desert...
who is the commander of the army of the lord?
is the method uses to destroy jericho arbitrary? (josh 6)
are the consequences / punishments for aachans sin fair? (josh 7)
was israel wrong to accept the gibeonites? was bgibeah wrong to deceive? (josh 9)
israel killed all the inhabitants of cities...fair? unfair?
what's the home base for israel in joshua?
why is israel's territorial allocation scripture? as in, why does it need to be in the bible?
make sure you know the cycle of the book of judges.
who is your favorite judge and why?
how much time is covered by the book of judges (warning...you'll want to do some comparative reading on this one)
who are the kenites? (judges 4, but other places as well in the bible)
draw 5 biblically valid, universally true statements from the story of gideon.
what went wrong with gideon?
samson is kind of a...less than excellent role model. what does this tell us about god, about sin, about sexual ethics, etc?
what do you know about how god interacts with people from samson?
who wrote joshua?
if you missed that judges ends with a sodom/gomorrah parallel, go directly to jail (do not collect $200)
ruth uncovers boaz's feet. go and find the innuendo some say is here.
catch the women in david's/jesus' family tree...
documentary hypothesis. start learning it.
4. the united monarchy
1 sam 3 - what are the potential reasons/benefits for the method of god's call to samuel?
validated to eli, especially shown as being loyal to eli and not seeking his role (see the end of 1 sam 2)
what does ichabod mean?
1 sam 4:21, "no glory". named because the glory had departed.
what does ebenezer mean?
1 sam 7:12, "the stone of help". named because 'thus far the lord has helped us'
did israel sin in wanting a king? (1 sam 8) don't miss deut 17:14-20...
well...god says that they have rejected him - 1 sam 8:7.
1 sam 12:17 is even more direct
be able to tell the story of sauls life, with key chapters.
israel wants a king, 1 sam 8
saul chosen quietly, while looking for donkeys, 1 sam 9
saul chosen publicaly, but kinda rejected 1 sam 10
saul kicks ammonites, gets popular support, 1 sam 11, more confirmation in 12
saul sacrifices his own deal. 1 sam 13 (philistine fight in 13,14)
saul spares agag. busted, 1 sam 15
is saul also among the prophets?
1 sam 10, 1 sam 19
be able to tell the story of davids life, with key chapters.
annointed by samuel, 1 sam 16
goliath, 1 sam 17
saul vs david, 1 sam 18-24 (saving his life in 24)
note david's respect for 'the lord's annointed' and how that (seems to) plays out in the stability of his rule (esp vs later kings)
david among the philistines:
deceit in 27, right or wrong?
offer to fight in 29 - right or wrong?
consider the deceit of 21 (quoted by christ - mt 12:3,4)
saul consults the urim and thummim in 1 sam 28. what are they? how did they work?
is it fair that jonathan dies with saul? (2 sam 31) any principles from this?
note the parallel between 1 sam 30 and 15...
note that 'all' the amalekites weren't killed...
note that this readies david to return to israel (his city was burned)
the men of jabesh-gilead take saul's body back - why them?
uzzah. who is he, what did he do, why is it important?
poor guy - 2 sam 6. killed for unknowning disobedience.
violating the commands of god means guilt, even if you don't 'intend' to. uh oh...
promises to david / solomon: where are they (the big ones), and which are conditional and which aren't?
2 sam 7:8-17 - a place for israel, eternal house/kingdom, descendent who will rule forever, no conitions.
note that david says that god is talking about "the distant future" (1 sam 7:19)
1 kings 9
two interesting things in 2 sam 12:
v5,6 (this man deserves to die - he shall pay 4 - fold),
then in v14, nathan says, "by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the lord to blaspheme."
2 sam 12:31. read it in a few versions (
this makes that easy), then
check the brooha.
2 sam 16, 19 - ziba and mephibosheth. what happened, what would have been fair?
noticed all the people joab kills? yeah, kind of a lot.
2 sam 21 - the gibeonite revenge. does this seem fair to you?
2 sam 24:1 - "Now again the anger of the LORD burned against Israel, and it incited David against them to say, 'Go, number Israel and Judah.'"
what's that mean?
adonijah (1 kings 1,2) - what was his claim to be king, and why did he get offed?
solomon unites a few bits of scripture into a quote in 1 kings 8:12,13. thoughts on what that says about canon...
also, note that the nt does it a lot too.
describe the different approach to history between samue/kings and chronicles.
5. poetry and wisdom
what were the beliefs about the afterlife at this point? you'll want to research this a bit to find the various views.
be able to identify the relevant scripture.
1 sam 28 (witch of endor)
2 sam 12
psalm 37
job 18/19 one of those chapters
psalm 49 (v15)
when was job written?
try here: http://bible.org/article/introduction-book-job
be able to summarize the arguments and flow of job... (outline stuff)
job in peace
calamity
friends come and sit for 7 days
eliphaz opens, friends talk to job (4-32)
god talks in 38
leviathan and behemouth. huh?
also leviathan in ps 74:14, 104:24-26...and apparently isaiah 27:1
thoughts on counseling based on jobs friends? what did they do right? what did they do wrong?
psalms you need to know: 1, 8, 23, 27, 51, 73, 90, 103, 110, 119, 137, 139, 145, the hallel, the songs of ascent
hallel is 113 - 118, a section of praise
the ascents are 120-134
shout out for 95...
what does selah mean? higgaion?
nobody knows for sure. but.
selah == pause
higgaion == meditation, or solo (where david has a long guitar riff with tapping)
do you agree or disagree with stuarts interpretation of ecclesiastes and song of solomon?
stuff to note:
reputation of god affected by his people - see the philistines feeling they have conquered god after their fear in 1 sam 4.
note that god defends himself just fine 1 sam 5.
limits of revelation in 1 sam 6 and the mysteries of the ark (from the start, not all is shown/revealed; people don't like this)
6. the divided monarchy
covering hosea, amos, and jonah
who were they?
when did they write?
who did they talk to?
what did they say?
gimme an outine.
hosea:
who was he?
a northerner, prophesying in the north (israel). maybe the only northern native prophet...
when did he write?
written during jereboam 2...towards the end of israel. 780-722 bc.
what did he say?
he predicted judgement from assyria for israel.
notable for marrying a prostitute named gomer who would run away...while he stayed faithful. it's a picture see...
outline:
1-3 : marriage to gomer
4-13 : judgement is coming
14 : restoration
also :
what are his kids names?
jezreel, a boy...after the valley of jezreel where jehu killed joram the son of ahab (2 kings 9)
also, god says that israel will be defeated there.
no mercy (lo-ruhama), a girl...cause god's not gonna have any
not my people (lo-ammi), a boy.
note the following verses:
hosea 6:6
hosea 8:7
hosea 11:1
hosea 13:14
amos:
who was he?
a shepherd (1:1), and a fig grower (7:14)
he was from judah, but preached in israel.
as dr beyer, my OT survey prof said...a southern boy in yankee territory.
when did he write?
around the time of hosea, to jereboam 2 in israel.
so...760ish bc. based on jereboam 2's rule...
what did he say?
he has this neat organization where he spirals around geographically before hitting judah, then israel finally.
it's your basic, "god's gonna judge your evil selves" message.
outline:
1:1 : intro
1:3-2:15 : everyone's in trouble
1:3-5 against damascus
1:6-8 against philistia
1:9,10 against tyre
1:11,12 against edom
1:13-15 against the ammonites
2:1-3 against the moab
(
2:4,5 against judah
2:6-15 against israel
3:1-9:10 : israel is is going to be judged
3:1-6:14 : condemnation for evil, and judgement coming
7:1-9 : amos intercedes for israel
7:10-17 : narrative break! amos accused by the 'priest' amaziah of being a conspirer against jeroboam.
8:1,2 : summer fruit (ripe, ready to pick...and a pun between 'summer' and 'end')
8:3-9:10 : condemnation, judgement
9:11-9:15 : restoration!
also :
a pattern of "for three sins....and for four"
verses to know:
amos 5:21-24
amos 8:11,12
jonah:
who was he?
the son of ammitai, a guy from the north. apparently a bit north of galilee.
he's in 2 kings 14
when did he write?
again, during the reighn of jereboam 2. so 760ish.
assryia is the worry at this point.
what did he say?
he was told to go warn ninevah, but he didn't want to - he didn't want them to repent and avoid judgement.
outline:
jonah 1: jonah flees from god, ends up fishy
jonah 2: jonah prays, ends up on land
jonah 3: jonah preaches to ninevah, they repent
jonah 4: jonah pouts
also :
you should know about how bad the assyrians were.
7. judah (and israel)
when jeroboam introduced his golden calves (2 kings 12) (in which cities?), was he introducing a new religion or a new form of worship?
cities: dan and bethel
likely, he was still having them represent 'god'.
possibly true of the high place worship that was in judah as well?
we do know how important it is to worship in the appropriate way already.
what is the point about the prophet and the lying prophet in 1 kings 13?
was asa wise or unfaithful to buy off ben hadad (the arameans)?
know all the kings (judah and israel) well enough to:
talk about the important ones
recognize all of them, say if they were good or bad, and what (if anything) happened during their reign.
you might want to review the map a bit:
learn your assyrian history a bit. you should know:
basics about the neo-assyrian empire
who the major rulers were
when israel/samaria were captured.
be able to explain the syro-ephriamite war
israel, aram/syria, moab, and edom wanted to fight assyria.
they asked judah to join them.
ahaz, king of judah, listened to isaiah and said 'no'.
then israel and aram said, "fine, we'll force you and attacked judah"
judah called to assyria for help, who defeated israel and aram (732 BC).
most of israel is annexed to syria; the capital and some territory is left.
key passages: isaiah 7, 2 kings 16, 2 chron 28
note hezekiah's prayer in isaiah 37 - great stuff.
gehazi...who was he?
2 kings 5 - elishas servant, lied and took some money from naaman.
2 kings 5:15-19 - what are the implications from this story?
can you worship god in your heart (acceptably) while externally worshipping another?
how does this reconcile with the problem of the high places?
2 kings 8:7-15 - note how god works his plan through the depravity of man...
prophecy to hazael about ben-hadad...
2 chron 30:13-25 - note the emphasis on correct worship
do you like kings or chronicles more? who wrote which?
chronicles...ezra?
kings...not sure. some say ezra, but then he didn't do chron
i like the prophet sections of kings a ton. i like the history detail of chron though...
isaiah:
who was he?
a prophet to judah.
a member of the royal family likely, as he's in court.
jewish tradition has him as a member of the royal family (his uncle was king amaziah)
when did he write?
a prophect during uzziah, jotham, ahaz, ahd hezekiah.
likely he was martyred during manassah's reign.
what did he say?
1-39...you are going to be judged for your evil.
40-66...god is going to restore you.
outline:
see http://www.breadandcircuses.com/bible/isaiah/isaiahOutline.html
also :
know the following chapters...
1 (nice overview), 6 (isaiah's commissioning), 7 (immanuel), 9 (prince of peace), 11 (reign of the branch),
14:12-21 (king of babylon), 19:23-25 (highway), 40:8 (grass withers)
what does maher-shalal-hash-baz mean?
swift is the booty, speedy is the prey. isaiah 8:1-4
micah:
who was he?
a prophet...from a small town called moresheth
when did he write?
during the reigh of jotham, ahaz, and hezekiah
what did he say?
you are going to be judged for your evil...god has a plan, etc
outline:
israel and judah destroyed (1-3)
destruction coming (1)
against the evil (2)
against the rulers (3:1-4)
against the false prophets (3:5-12)
restoration (4,5)
long term good (4)
messiah / bethlehem (4)
what god wants (6)
summary (7)
god will judge evil (7:1-6)
god save the righteous (7:7-20)
also :
know 4:1-5, 5:2, 6:6-8.
check into puns in chapter 1
chapter 1:10-16 is a long pun stream (in hebrew).
nahum:
8. the last days (jeremiah, joel, obadiah, habakkuk, and zephaniah)
know the history, events, and dates from josiah's death to jerusalem's final fall.
jeremiah:
who was he?
a prophet to judah. a priest.
when did he write?
josiah - zedekiah. and beyond
what did he say?
you're going to fall to babylon
god will bring you back
outline:
1 jeremiah's calling
2-25 prophecies about the end
26-29 against the false prophets
30-33 consolation
34-38 narrative (slaves free, then not, rechabites, jeremiah persecuted)
39-45 the fall / exile
46-51 against the nations
52 summary/review
also :
know the following chapters...
29, 31
who was baruch? who was hananaih? who are the rechabites?
who was the ethipian who helped him, who had the great prophecy?
ebed-melech - promise in jer 39
joel:
who was he?
1. The son of Pethuel (v1).
2. A Prophet To Judah.
- he addresses the priests and discusses temple sacrifice (1:13)
- speaks of zion and the holy mountain (2:1)
- speaks of judah and jerusalem (3:1)
when did he write?
- old (josiah as king, 800BC-ish?) (placed early in the 12 minor prophets)
quoted by isaiah (?)
isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
joel 1:15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
quoted by amos (?)
amos 1:2 He said, "The LORD roars from Zion And from Jerusalem He utters His voice;
And the shepherds' pasture grounds mourn, And the summit of Carmel dries up."
joel 3:16 The LORD roars from Zion And utters His voice from Jerusalem, And the heavens
and the earth tremble. But the LORD is a refuge for His people And a stronghold to the sons of Israel.
- new (post exile)?
no mention of king...
what did he say?
the judgement of god is coming on israel (the day of the lord)
god will judge the nations (the day of the lord) and restore israel.
outline:
see http://www.breadandcircuses.com/bible/minorProphets/saltAndLight/joel.html
also :
study a bit on the day of the lord, as used by joel and the new testament (acts 2:16ff, peters sermon)
obadiah:
who was he?
unsure. jewish tradition is that he was a godly edomite.
it's the shortest book of the ot though.
The rabbis associated obadiah with the obadiah of Israel in 1 Kings 18 who was over Ahab's household.
(babylonian talmid, see http://www.come-and-hear.com/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_39.html)
1 Kings says that Obadiah "feared the Lord greatly" (he hid 100 prophets in 2 caves and provided food for
them when Jezebel wanted to kill them all).
Not sure how likely any of this rabbinic tradition is as the prophecy is set against the Edomites behavior towards Jerusalem, not Israel.
when did he write?
unsure - see above section...either around 850 BC or 586 BC
845 BC: Arabians and Philistines
2 Chron 21:8-19 (regarding Jehoram)
8. In his days Edom revolted against the rule of Judah and set up a king over themselves.
9. Then Jehoram crossed over with his commanders and all his chariots with him. And he arose by
night and struck down the Edomites who were surrounding him and the commanders of the chariots.
10. So Edom revolted against Judah to this day. Then Libnah revolted at the same time against his rule,
because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers.
11. Moreover, he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of
Jerusalem to play the harlot and led Judah astray.
12. Then a letter came to him from Elijah the prophet saying, "Thus says the LORD God of your
father David, `Because you have not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat your father and the ways of
Asa king of Judah,
13. but have walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and have caused Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem to play the harlot as the house of Ahab played the harlot, and you have also killed your
brothers, your own family, who were better than you,
14. behold, the LORD is going to strike your people, your sons, your wives and all your possessions
with a great calamity;
15. and you will suffer severe sickness, a disease of your bowels, until your bowels come out because
of the sickness, day by day.' "
16. Then the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines and the Arabs who bordered
the Ethiopians;
17. and they came against Judah and invaded it, and carried away all the possessions found in the
king's house together with his sons and his wives, so that no son was left to him except Jehoahaz,
the youngest of his sons.
18. So after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable sickness.
19. Now it came about in the course of time, at the end of two years, that his bowels came out
because of his sickness and he died in great pain. And his people made no fire for him like the fire
for his fathers.
advantages:
obadiah makes no mention of babylon
hebrew in obadiah may be earlier (less influence of other languages)
obadiah makes no mention of babylon
disadvantages:
was this as bad as what's described in ob. 10-14?
586 BC: Babylonians
Babylon's final sack of jerusalem
advantages:
total destruction like ob 10-14
edom is mentioned as rejoicing here (ps 137:7, ez 35:1-15)
this was definitely as bad as what's described in ob. 10-14
disadvantages:
no mention of babylon?
what did he say?
woe to edom for their crimes against their brother israel!
outline:
http://www.breadandcircuses.com/bible/minorProphets/saltAndLight/obadiah.html
also :
know that jeremiah and obadiah have some strong similarities:
Ob 1:1-4 and Jer 49:14-16
Ob 1:5,6 and Jer 49:9,10a
Ob 1:8 and Jer 49:7
Ob 1:9a and Jer 49:22b
not sure who copies who or if they're both copying someone else; many argue that jeremiah is pulling from obadiah.
habakkuk:
who was he?
when did he write?
what did he say?
outline:
http://www.breadandcircuses.com/bible/minorProphets/saltAndLight/habakkuk.html
also :
verses to know
hab 2:14, 3:17,18
zephaniah:
who was he?
when did he write?
what did he say?
outline:
http://www.breadandcircuses.com/bible/minorProphets/saltAndLight/zephaniah.html
also :
what is the day of the lord?
9. the exile (lamentations, ezekiel, daniel, esther)
lamentations:
who was he?
jeremiah
when did he write?
at the fall
what did he say?
he describes the terribleness of the fall. but remembers god's faithfulness.
outline:
also :
know chapters 3,4
ezekiel:
who was he?
a priest in exile (1:3)
when did he write?
exile!
what did he say?
god's not done judging israel.
god will restore israel
outline:
1 - ezekiels visions (4 figures, divine glory
2,3 - ezekiels calling
4-9 - against judah/israel
10 - the glory departs
11-24 - against judah/israel
25 - against ammon
26-28 - against tyre
29-32 - against egypt
33 - the watchman (like ezekiels calling)
34 - against israel's shepherds
35 - against mt seir
36,37 - israel restored
38,39 - against gog
40-48 - the future jerusalem/israel
also :
know chapters 1-3, 10, 16, 18, 23, 28
what do you think about the king of tyre passages (26-28)? is 28 speaking of satan?
bonus: what section is quoted in pulp fiction? (25:17)
please note the consistent phrase, "then they will know that i am the lord". what does this say about the motives of god?
eze 36:22-32 ! 37!
daniel:
who was he?
jewish aristocrat.
becomes 'wise man' to babylon (to cyrus actually)
when did he write?
during the exile
what did he say?
narrative (god is powerful over other nations)
apocolyptic prophecy (god is going to rule the world)
outline:
http://www.breadandcircuses.com/bible/daniel/outline.html
also :
notice patterns:
book divides in half - 6 and 6
2,4,5 - the kings wise men fail, daniel doesn't (same as joseph)
the power of the king/country/enemies is demonstrated, but god is greater (god is over foreign nations)
contrast the use of the term 'son of man' between ezekiel and daniel
what's up with balshazzar?
review this: http://www.breadandcircuses.com/bible/daniel/5.html
why all the detail in 9-11?
major win for chapter 11...http://www.breadandcircuses.com/bible/daniel/11.html
esther:
who was she?
a jew in persia
when did she write?
she didn't (probably)!. someone did around then though.
what did she say?
a story of god's delivery - the origin of purim.
outline:
1 - we need a new queen
2:1-18 - esther becomes queen
2:19-23 - mordecai foils an assassination plot
3 - haman's plot to kill the jews
4-9 esther and mordecai save the jews
10 yippee
also :
note that god isn't mentioned.
wait. daniel is a eunech and esther is a concubine?
10. the return
haggai:
who was he?
prophet to judah
when did he write?
520bc
what did he say?
build the temple, don't give up
outline:
1 - the temple
1:1-1:11. oh...nice houses. say, god doesn't have one of those
1:12-1:15 - they work on the temple
2:1-2:9 - new temple will be better than the former
2:10-2:19 - promise of blessing
2:20-2:23 - zerubbabel is god's guy
zechariah:
who was he?
prophet after the exile
when did he write?
520-490ish
what did he say?
whoa. weird stuff.
outline:
1:1-1:6 setting
1:7-6:15 night ranger (judah prophecies, horses and watchmen)
7:1-8:23 bad religion (good fasting)
9:1-14:21 slayer (apocalyptic prophecy)
malachi:
who was he?
the last prophet. to judah.
when did he write?
460ish
what did he say?
he answers the question...does god love us? does he have a plan for us? does this stuff matter?
outline:
1:1-1:5 - how have you loved us?
1:6-2:9 - how have we despised your name?
2:10-2:16 - for what reason (are our offerings no longer accepted?) (actually stated in 2:14)
2:17-3:6 - how have we wearied him?
3:7 - how shall we return?
3:8-3:12 - how have we robbed thee?
3:13-3:18 - what have we spoken against him?
4:1-4:6 - (day of the lord)
also :
stewart takes jacob i loved, esau i hated as national. your thoughts? what about romans 9, genesis)
ezra:
who was he?
post-exilic priest
when did he write?
458 ff
what did he do?
dude shows up, finds a city without walls.
lots of secular marriages to women worshipping foreign gods.
outline:
I. Rebuilding the Temple (Ezra 1-6)
1 The Decree to Rebuild the Temple
2 The Returning Exiles
3 The Temple Restoration Begins
4 The Adversaries Halt Restoration
5 The Resumption of the Restoration
6 The Temple is Completed
(gap of some period)
II. Purifying the People ( 7-10)
7 is Appointed by King Artaxerxes
8 Leads the Exiles to Jerusalem
9 Intercedes on Behalf of Israel
10 Purifies the People
also :
nehemiah:
who was he?
governer of judah
when did he write?
440ish
what did he do?
rebuilt the walls.
fought corruption.
supported religious reform
outline:
1-7 - the walls get built
8-10 - law read, sin denounced
11-13 - jerusalem straightened out
also :
discussion:
syncretism and modern politics. nehemiah related to the king. the people prayed for the persian king.
