Questions tagged [five-scrolls]
Also known as the "Five Megillot" - a collective term for the books of Ruth, Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, and Esther.
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How did Ecclesiastes come to be associated with Sukkot?
The five scrolls are noted for their liturgical use, being traditionally read on various holidays. Some of the connections seem rather straight forward (e.g. Esther on Purim or Lamentations on the ...
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Does Song on Songs 6:13 refer to "the perfect one" or "the Shulammite"?
Song of Songs 6:13a (ESV) reads:
Return, return, O Shulammite,
return, return, that we may look upon you.
Most translations have some version of “the Shulammite [woman/maiden],” (a near ...
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Did the Preacher apply his heart or his mind to the task?
Ecclesiates 1:13 I applied my mind to study and to explore by wisdom all that is done under the heavens. What a heavy burden God has laid on mankind! [NIV]
Ecclesiates 1:13 And I gave my heart to seek ...
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Does the acrostic structure of Lamentations indicate a composition from 5 separate psalms?
It's not noticeable in many English translations, but Lamentations makes heavy use of the acrostic technique of Hebrew poetry. As a note in the NET Bible mentions:
Chapters 1-4 are arranged in ...
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How can Ruth "return" to a place she had never been?
As Naomi sets out to go back to her homeland, her daughters-in-law Ruth and Orpah set out with her. They are native Moabites, and it is unlikely that they have ever been to Israel. However, several ...
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Does Song of Songs 8:6 contain a reference to YHWH?
It has been pointed out that Song of Songs is one of only two books1 among the canonical Hebrew scriptures without direct reference to God. However, there is an enigmatic יָה- (-yah) at the end of 8:6 ...
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Why did Haman build so tall an instrument of death?
Related to: How did Haman intend to kill Mordecai?
Haman's wife suggested that Haman have Mordecai executed on an 'etz 50 cubits high. Using the standard cubit, that comes to 75 feet.
Esther 5:14 ...
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When was Ruth written?
The setting of Ruth is in the time of the Judges:
Ruth 1:1 During the time of the judges there was a famine in the land of Judah. So a man from Bethlehem in Judah went to live as a resident foreigner ...
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How did Haman intend to kill Mordecai?
In Esther 5:14, Haman makes plans to kill Mordecai.
Esther 5:14 Haman’s wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, "Have a gallows seventy-five feet high built, and in the morning tell the ...
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"Black but beautiful" or "Black and beautiful" in Song of Songs?
Song of Songs (or "Song of Solomon") 1:5 begins as follows in the Hebrew:
... שְׁחוֹרָ֤ה אֲנִי֙ וְֽנָאוָ֔ה בְּנ֖וֹת יְרוּשָׁלִָ֑ם
šĕḥôrâ ʾănî wĕnāʾwâ bĕnôt yĕrûšālāyim ...
And is often ...
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What is the gender of the verb "to say" in Ecclesiastes 7:27?
In Ecclesiastes 7:27, there is a brief phrase, "says Qohelet" (ʾāmĕrâ qōhelet). In the rest of the book, it seems like masculine verbs are used with Qohelet, despite Qohelet itself having a feminine ...
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Who wrote Lamentations?
As part of the Meta Call for questions related to the Five Scrolls.
Traditionally, Lamentations has been attributed to Jeremiah, the reason it follows Jeremiah in the Christian ordering of the Old ...
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Does the narrator share Naomi's viewpoint in Ruth 1:20-21?
When Naomi returns to her hometown at the beginning of Ruth, she addresses the women:
"Don’t call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very ...
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