The History of Israel Test

What helps us challenge assumptions and discover the “world” of the Old Testament?

Biblical scholarship

The Bible was written ____ you, but not _____ you.

Written for you, but not to you.

What area served as a land bridge between Africa and Asia?

The land of Canaan

Who were considered the representatives of the divine will over a nation?

Kings

What are the different ways Israel differed from other neighboring nations?

Monotheism, covenant relationship with God, ethical law, and rejection of idol worship.

Was creation completed after day 6?

No, creation continued through God’s sustaining and ordering work. And us to subdue the world.

Difference between young earth creationism, progressive creationism, and theistic evolution.

Young earth: literal 6 days, ~6,000 years ago.

Progressive: long ages with divine acts. Theistic evolution: God used evolution as His creative process.

Can you believe Adam wasn’t historical and still hold to infallibility? → Yes, if Genesis is read as theological truth rather than strict history.

What chapters encompass the “full Fall” narrative?

Genesis 3–11

According to the New Testament, who was the serpent in the garden?

Satan

Why did God use a flood to wipe out humanity?

To cleanse the earth of corruption and symbolically start creation anew.

At what event was the Tower of Babel’s effect symbolically reversed?

Pentecost (Acts 2)

What are the three promises God made to Abraham?

Land, descendants, and blessing to all nations

Who were suzerain covenants between?

A greater ruler (suzerain) and a lesser vassal.

Who was Abraham’s promised heir?

Issac mother to Sarah

Who was Jacob’s/Issac’s older twin brother who attempted to kill him?

Esau

What position did Joseph attain in Egypt?

Second-in-command under Pharaoh (vizier)

Did Moses write every word of Genesis through Deuteronomy?

No, later editors likely added material (e.g., Moses’ death).

What caused Moses to flee Egypt?

He killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew.

When Moses asked, what did God say His name was?

“I AM WHO I AM” (Yahweh)

What were the Ten Plagues a judgment on? 

The Egyptian gods and people

Where was the Law of Moses given to Israel?

Mount Sinai

Which tribe did not worship Aaron’s Golden Calf?

The Levites

Which book’s theme is how to remain set apart and in right relationship with God?

Leviticus

Which book’s theme is that God remains faithful even while His people fail?

Numbers

Which book’s theme is a renewal of the covenant? 

Deuteronomy

What is Deuteronomy 6:4–5 known as?

The Shema(declaration of faith)

Was the conquest of Canaan complete by the end of Joshua?

No, some Canaanite groups remained.

Basic beliefs of four views on the conquest narrative →

Traditional: literal military conquest;

• Partial conquest: incomplete historical conquest;

• War rhetoric: hyperbolic language of victory, like a video game

• Cruciform: read through Christ’s nonviolence.

Which New Testament figure is paralleled to Joshua?

Jesus (whose name is the Greek form of Joshua)

Which book shows Israel’s spiral into evil without a king?

Judges

Who was the left-handed assassin who liberated Israel from Moabite rule?

Ehud

True or false: Some scholars think Jephthah did not sacrifice his daughter by killing her.(First person he saw when coming back home, he would sacrifice)

True

Which prophete led Israel against Sisera?

Deborah.

Which tribe was nearly destroyed for their wickedness?

The tribe of Benjamin.

What nationality was Ruth?

Moabite

Who are the important men descended from Ruth?

King David and Jesus (through David’s line)

Which priest raised the young Samuel?

Eli

Who was Israel’s first king?

Saul

What nation was Goliath from?

Philistia (Philistine)

What sin did Saul commit near the end of his life?

Consulting a medium (the witch of Endor)

True or False: After Saul’s death, Israel immediately united behind David. 

False

What major city did David conquer?

Jerusalem-

Did David build the Temple?

No, his son Solomon did

How long did God promise David’s descendants would sit on the throne?

Forever

Which of David’s sons led a rebellion against him?

Absalom

What two things were special about the spot where David made a sacrifice after the census?

It stopped the plague and became the future site of the Temple(Mount Sinai.

What book outlines the life of Solomon?

1 Kings

What Biblical books (or parts) did Solomon write? 

Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, parts of Psalms (e.g., Psalm 72, 127)

Who led Solomon into sin?

His foreign wives and their idols

Who was prophesied to lead the ten northern tribes after Solomon’s death?

Jeroboam

What was the capital of the Northern Kingdom?

Samaria

Which kingdom occasionally had good kings?

The Southern Kingdom (Judah).

Which prophet prophesied against Ahab(king of north kingdom) and Jezebel(queen who promoted Canaan gods)? 

Elijah

What empire conquered the Northern Tribes?

Assyria

What empire conquered the Southern Tribes and destroyed the Temple?

Babylon

What empire allowed the Israelites to return home?

Persia

In what book was the Temple rebuilt after destruction?

Ezra

Which figure led the rebuilding of Jerusalem’s walls?

Nehemiah(very productive)

Who is the main villain in the book of Esther?

Haman