Old Testament Review Flashcards

Flashcards of key vocabulary and concepts from the lecture notes.

Ark of the Covenant

The box that holds the 10 Commandments.

Babylonian Exile

The Babylonians conquered the southern kingdom and captured every Israelite that lived there. This was God’s punishment to the Israelites due to their disobedience to the covenant.

Commandment

613 rules given to Moses by God on Mt. Sinai; Religious guide that forms a relationship with God; Teaches people good morals.

Contextualist

Type of way to read the Bible. Taking everything into account. Catholics read the Bible this way.

Covenant

An agreement between God and humanity that includes promising to remain faithful to God’s law.

Cycle of Sin

The continuous cycle the Israelites always revert back into, and gets them in trouble with God: Israelites fall into sin; Sin leads to downfall; Israelites repent; God forgives them.

Free Will

God’s gift to humans that allows them to chose to reject or accept God’s love.

Idolatry

The worshipping of an idol/statue/image other than God. This goes against God’s rules.

Judge

Individuals sent to save Israel from their current circumstances and remind them to not worship idols, and keep the covenant.

Levite

A member of the tribe of Levi; Priests.

Davidic Covenant

A promise from God delivered to King David by the prophet Nathan; Promises that David’s royal line will live forever; Most important covenant; Proof for Christians that Jesus was real and on the way.

Literalist

Type of way to read the Bible. Taking everything written literally without thinking twice.

Monotheism

The belief that there is only one true God.

Myth

An imaginative story that uses symbols to speak about a reality that is beyond a person’s comprehension. (Genesis 1-11)

Nazarite

An Israelite chosen by God to be a designated Nazarite; Abstains from alcohol, grapes, and cutting their hair.

Original Sin

The first sin committed by humans (Adam and Eve) when they ate from the tree of knowledge and trusted Satan.

Parallelism

2- line/sentence poem; Hebrew poetry is written in this way; Synonymous, Synthetic, Antithetic

Passover

Jewish holiday that commemorates the Jewish slaves and their liberation from Egypt.

Patriarch

Society where men rule and are in charge.

Pentateuch

Means “five books”. It’s also another name for the Torah.

Polytheism

The belief that there are several gods.

Prophet

Individuals chosen by God to speak on God’s behalf.

Psalm

Religious Hymn; Originally 5 books; Attributed to David; Played on a Psaltery- Harp; Types: Lament- sadness, Praise- praise to God, Thanksgiving- thanking God

Sabbath

A day dedicated to rest and worshipping the Lord; Jewish Sabbath is on Saturday; Catholic Sabbath is on Sunday.

Satan

Demon/devil/Lucifer; Temps humans into sinning; Fallen angel.

Sin

A wrongdoing that offends God; EX: Actions, words, thoughts, etc.

Temple

A place of worship dedicated to God; Sacrifices are performed here.

The 10th Plague

Death of the 1st born male in every generation; The Pharaoh’s son will die as a result.

Yahweh

What the Jews call God; Hebrew translation of “God”; “I am who I am”.

Abel

Brother to Cain; God was pleased with his offering; Murdered by Cain.

Adam

The first man on the earth; Disobeyed God by eating the fruit and listening to Eve; Kicked from the Garden of Eden along with Eve; Blamed Eve for why he ate the fruit.

Aaron

Moses’ brother who journeyed beside Moses all through Exodus. However, Aaron was also the man that created a golden calf for the Israelites to worship.

Amos

Pre Exilic Prophet from the south, but prophesied in the north; Minor; Writing; Audience- Northern Kingdom of Israel; Prophesied with visions and confrontation; Main message- Everyone stinks, the Israelites deserve it, and they need to change their ways.

Bathsheba

Uriah’s wife; Had sexual relations with King David and became pregnant.

Cain

Brother to Abel and becomes jealous of him because he pleased God and Cain didn’t; Cain then murders his brother and gives God attitude; Forced to wander the earth.

David

Captures Jerusalem and makes it the capital which is an ideal location; Got Bathsheba (a married woman) pregnant; David loses control of his children and doesn’t care; United the 12 tribes; Ended the Philistine threat.

Deborah

An Israelite woman who was chosen by God to free the Israelites. She fought against the Canaanites led by General Sisera. The Canaanites are defeated by Deborah and Barak, but Sisera is killed by Jael. The story ends with the Israelites winning and having a 40 year peace period.

Delilah

Judge Samsons wife who betrayed him by alerting the Philistines of Samson’s weakness.

Emmanuel

God is with us

Esau

Hairy redhead; Hunter; 1st born and Isaac’s fav; His birth right is stolen by brother- Jacob; Wants to kill Jacob; Forgives Jacob anyway because he loves him.

Eve

The first woman on the earth; Disobeyed God by eating the fruit; Kicked from the Garden of Eden along with Adam.

Gideon

An Israelite chosen by God to free the Israelites. His enemy was the Midiantes. Gideon and his men startled the Midianites with their trumpets and the Midianites kill each other. The story ends with the Israelites wanting Gideon as their king. Gideon then takes the Israelites jewelry and makes a trophy. The Israelites begin worshiping it.

Gomer

The prostitute Hosea married; She relentlessly cheated on Hosea.

Hagar

Abram impregnates her; Mother to Ishmael; Hates Sarai; Cast out due to Sarai’s command to God.

Isaiah

Pre Exilic Prophet, priest, and royal advisor; Major; Writing Prophet; Audience- The people of Judah in the south; Prophesied through stories and had visions of the future; Main message- The Israelites will suffer because of their actions, but to not fear because a suffering servant (Messiah) will save them. Written by 3 authors over 200 years

Jacob

Shepard; Rebekah’s fav; Steals Esau’s birth right; Marries 2 women and has several children; Promises to God that he’ll be faithful; Dedicates an altar to himself.

Joseph

Rachel and Jacob’s 1st son; Jacob’s fav; Tattle tale and a dreamer; Given a fancy coat; Brothers sell him into slavery, but tell parents that he’s dead; Framed for SA Potiphar’s wife; Goes to prison; Becomes governor; Tricks brothers slightly; Invites brothers to stay with him in Egypt.

Job

Wealthy man from UZ; God took everything from him, so he could win a bet with Satan; Job suffers, but eventually receives all his belongings back.

Joshua

One of the 2 men that told Moses that Canaan was okay. He believed that the Israelites could take the people of Canaan and win. He was a military leader who took control of Jericho. “Chosen leader”.

Hosea

Pre Exilic Prophet; Minor; Writing; Audience- Northern Kingdom of Israel; Prophesied with symbolic actions and by marrying a prostitute; Main message- Israel is unfaithful and stinks.

Major and Minor Prophets

Amman Major prophets have longer books. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel Minor prophets have shorter books. Micah, Hosea, Jonah, and Amos

Micah

Pre Exilic VERY POSITIVE Prophet; Minor; Writing; Audience- Southern Kingdom of Israel (Judah); Prophesied with poetic warnings; Main message- Stop treating the poor badly and believes a savior is coming

Moses

An Israelite chosen by God who freed the Israelites from Egypt.

Rahab

Canaanite; Prostitute Joshua’s spies meet in Jericho; Agrees to hide them if they don’t kill her or her family.

Samson

Samson was a Nazarite and a judge. He was born to free the Israelites from the Philistines. Samson was standing beside two pillars and used his strength to pull the temple down killing all the Philistines and himself. The story ends with the Israelites free, Samson dead, and no idol was involved.

Samuel

A Nazarite priest, the Last Judge and a Prophet; Gives the Israelites a king; God grows mad at Samuel; All of the Israelites become slaves (God was right).

Sarah

Also known as Sarai; Wife to Abram; Barren; Tells Abram to impregnate Hagar so they can havre a child; Demands that Hagar and Ishmael be cast away; Sarah laughs when a visitor says she’ll have a child and God isn’t happy about that.

Saul

Chosen as king by Samuel and God; Becomes jealous of David and his popularity; Becomes paranoid and haunted; Chases David around trying to kill him; Saul prepares to fight the Philistines, but is scared, so he has a witch conjure Samuel’s ghost. He tells David that they’re all goners; Everyone dies in Saul’s army and then he kills himself by falling on his sword.

God created humans in his own image and likeness

Humans have characteristics that demonstrate God’s nature. Humans don’t look like God because no one knows how he looks.

The number seven is symbolic and should not be read literally

Perfection.

Original day of rest and worship

Saturday. This is the day the Jews celebrate Sabbath.

Where God calls Abram to travel to

Canaan.

How God will make Abram into a great nation

God will make Abram famous and soon people will use Abram’s name to bless people. God also promised Abram that he would have many descendants and Canaan would be rightfully theirs to inherit. God promises Abram many descendants and land.

A covenant

God is establishing a special relationship with Abram in which they both promise to do things for each other.

God will give Abram a new name as a sign of their special relationship

Abraham.

Who was the man whose nickname was Israel

Israel’s originally name was Jacob. His brother is Esau and stole his blessing. Jacob married the two women, had kids, and then promised God to be faithful if he was protected. After being protected, Jacob created an altar and dedicated it to the God of Israel (This is why he is also known as Israel).

The most important, core commands can be found in Exodus 20, and are repeated again in Deuteronomy 5

The 10 Commandments.

Why God is choosing the Israelites to be his own special people

The promise dates back to God’s covenant with Abram.

How well did the Israelites actually keep their covenant with God

Not well at all. They continuously break it, fall into idol worship, are enslaved, cry, and eventually come out of it, but soon fall back down.

Hebrew word for “anointed one” which came to mean, “savior” or “ultimate leader”

“Messiah”.

What city was Zion located in?

Jerusalem.

What is the name of the literary device in Hebrew poetry

Parallelism: Synonymous.

Garden of Eden

The place where Adam and Eve fell into temptation and committed the first sin.

Bethlehem

Israel, specifically south (Judea); The place Jesus + King David were born

Jericho

City in Israel; 1st city conquered by Israelites

Mt Sinai

In Egypt; Moses received the 10 Commandments here; Mount Horeb (Exodus 33:6)

Jerusalem

Israel, specifically south (Judea); Capital of Israel and several historical events happened here; The Temple is located there

Israel

Promised Land, Land of Jacob; The land God promised the Israelites

Kingdom was united under Renoboam and Renoboam split into two that land of

South (capital-Jerusalem): Renoboam

Kingdom was united under Renoboam and Renoboam split into two that land of

North (capital- Samaria): Jeroboam Jeroboam

the conquered_ the_ kingdom in the year____

Kingdom was united under Renoboam and Renoboam split into two that land of Northern He was Solomon’s son 721 BC Assyrian king

the conquered the kingdom in the year____

586-537 BC Babylonians Southern

Temple

Place of worship dedicated to God; Jerusalem; King Solomon built it; Only one of them; Sacrifices performed by high priests

Passover

Jews pilgrimage to Jerusalem to see it during Passover