THL 237 - Midterm Exam Study Guide

History of Israel Timeline

History of Israel Timeline

Before 1300 BCE- Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and 12 Sons
*~1275 - Exodus (Moses leads Israelites out of Egypt)
~1235-1200 - Israelites enter the land of Canaan for 40 years and Moses receives the Torah on Mt. Sinai
~1200-1000 - Period of the Judges (Military Leaders; 12 Tribes of Israel)
~1025-1000 - Saul was King (Pentateuch and Torah)
*~1000-970 - David was king
~967-931 - Solomon was King (~900 - Builds the First Temple and David's Monarchy)
~922 Divison of Kingdom in NK (Israel) and SK (Judah)
~722 Assyrians conquer the North
*~586-539 Babylonian Exile
Babyloanians defeat the South (destroy the First Temple and the People of God (Judah) now called Jews/Judeans)
*~539 Persians defeat the Babylonaians (Edict of Cyrus, King of Persia; The Jews could return home and just pay him)
~539-430 Second Temple Period Begins
Rebuilding the Temple under Ezra and Nehemiah
~333 Judea is under the rule of Alexander the Great
~323 Judea under the rule of the Ptolemies in Egypt (South)
~198 Judea under the rule of the Seleucids of Syria (North)
~175-164 Rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes (Hellenization and persecution of Jews)
*~167 Book of Daniel is written
~167-164 Maccabean Revolt (Dead Sea Scrolls - oldest manuscripts of HB)
*~63 Judea under the rule of the Romans (Herod reconstructs the Second Temple; many uprisings, with Jesus in this context)

*~30 CE Jesus is Crucified
*~50's Paul's Letters
*~70 Romans destroy the Second Temple; Gospel of Mark
~90 Gospel of John
~70-100 Gospels are written

The difference between the terms Scripture and Bible is

Having a Bible (a collection of books) assumes a canon, whereas Scriptures (text that has authoritative status in a particular community) can exist without a canon

What does it mean "to assume a canon"?

A set of recognized books in the Bible

The books included in the Jewish Bible/ Christian Old Testament were written during which time span?

Appoximately 1000-150 BCE

The books included in the New Testament were written during which time span?

Approximately 50-70 CE

All of the books included in the New Testament were written _________ the life of Jesus.

After

The Old Testament was originally written mostly in _________

Hebrew

The New Testament was originally written in _________

Greek

Which of the following is NOT true in regard to the Jewish Bible?

The Jewish Bible was originally written primarily in Aramaic

What is the difference between a scroll and a codex?

Scrolls are rolled up from both edges, whereas codices are stacks of paper bound on one end

Many of the texts that were later gathered into the Bible were originally written on _______, which is a piece of specially prepared animal skin

Parchment

Prior to 1947, the earliest known manuscripts of the Hebrew Sciptures were those produced by the Masoretes in the 9th century CE. After the discovery of the _________, scholars now have access to manuscripts of the Hebrew Scriptures dating from the late Second Temple Period.

Dead Sea Scrolls

Codex Sinaiticus and Codex Vaticanus are the oldest extant manuscripts of the Bible as a whole. When were they produced?

4th century CE

When did the Catholic Church draw up an official list of the canon (list of books in the Bible)?

1546 CE, during the Council of Trent

Which of the following is NOT a criterion of canonicity for texts in the New Testament?

Written by Moses

The difference between the Protestant Bible and the Catholic Bible is

The Catholic Old Testament has seven more books than the Protestant Old Testament

What components make up the Jewish Bible?

TaNaK
Torah (Instruction)
Nevi'im (Prophets)
Ketuvim (Writings)

The Septuagint is the _________ translation of the _________ Scriptures.

Greek; Hebrew

Most scholars believe that the oldest tradition in the entire Bible is

Miriam's song in Exodus 15

In Genesis 12, God promises Abraham

Land and offspring

FwhiIn Fwhch 17, Gods coveant with Abraham
In Genesis 14, Abraham and all his descendents covenant with God

-You will be the father of man nations, the whole land of Canaan will be yours
-Every male among you shall be circumcised

God's choice of Abraham is an example of unmerited election. Within the Genesis narrative, before God makes the promise to Abraham described in the previous question, what has Abraham done to deserve to be chosen by God?

Nothing/ none of the above

What event happens BEFORE God establishes a covenant with Israel at Sinai, which serves as the basis for the coveant?

God saves the Israelites from slavery in Egypt

While the temple was standing in Jerusalem and thus sacrifice was possible, on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur),

the priest sacrificed one goat and sent a second goat away, bearing the sins of the people

In the book of Daniel, Daniel refuses to eat the royal rations and asks for vegetables and water instead. Eisenbaum demonstrates that in this text Daniel is concerned with _________ in order to support her claim that Jews in the Second Temple Period were generally not obsessed with the details of specific commandments.

Idolatry

In ancient Israel, the pimary role of the prophet was

to serve as an agent of accountability, reminding Israel of their covenant with God

The propht Amos pronounces woe upon those who
trample of the needy, and bring to ruin the poor of the land, saying, "When will the new moon be over so that we may sell grain; and the sabbath, so that we may offer wheat for sale? We will make the ephah small and the shekel great, and practice deceit with false balances, buying the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals, and selling the sweepings of the wheat. (Amos 8:4-6)
In this passage, which of the following commands from the Torah does Amos NOT accuse the Israelites of breaking?

"When either men or women make a special vow, the vow of nazarite, to seperate themselves to the Lord, they shall separate themselves from wine and strong drink" (Num 6:2-3)

When the prophet Jeremiah says, "If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's wife, will he return to her? Would not such a land be greatly polluted? You have played the ***** with many lovers; and would you return to me? says the Lord" (Her 3:1), to which commandment is he holding Israel accountable?

"You shall have no other gods before me" (Exod 20:3)

Who was anointed in ancient Israel?

prophets, priests, and kings

The difference between the terms messiah and christ is

a messiah comes into English from Hebrew whereas christ comes into English from Greek

In Psalm 2, which is an enthronement psalm, the titles "messiah" and "son of God" are applied to

kings

When the Israelites say to Samuel, "appoint for us, then, a king to govern us, like other nations" (1 Samuel 8:5), how does Samuel respond?

Samuel warns them that the king will take their sons, their daughters, and the produce of their land

In 2 Samuel 7, when David wants to build a temple of God, what is God's response to David?

God says that David will not build a house for God, but rather God will build a house for David

Because of God's promise to David in 2 Samuel 7, when the Babylonain Exile brought an end to the monarchy in Israel, many Jews hope that

God would raise up an annointed Davidic king to rule the Jews

The Davidic monarchy comes to an end when

the Babylonians destroy Judah and exile the Jews to Babylon

Which of the following is NOT a way that 1st century Jews understood the phrase basileia too theou?

post-death reward in heaven

The Septuagint, the _________ translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, was necessary becuase _________

Greek; many Jews outside the land of Judea spoke only Greek

The Second Temple Period began _________ and ended _________

after the exiles returned from Babylon; in 70 CE

Which foreign powers ruled over Judea during the Second Temple Period?

Persians, Greeks, Ptolemies, Seleucids, and Romans

Which of the following is NOT something that most Jews had in common during the Secind Temple Period?

Most Jews expected two messiahs, one priestly and one royal

What is the difference between synagogue and temple in the Second Temple Period?

Jews had only one temple, in which sacrifices were made by priests, while they had many synagogues for prayer and Torah reading "instructed" by Rabbi's

The book of Daniel was written in response to which historical event?

Antiochus IV Epiphane's Reforms

The author of 1 Maccabees refers to Jews who adopt Antiochus's Hellenizing reform (built a gymnasium, removed circumcision, abandonded the Covenant) as

"Renegades"

In the book of 1 Maccabees, Mattathias and his sons (the Maccabees) respond to Antiochus IV Epiphanes's reforms by

tearing down the altars of the Gentiles and fighting against the Seleucids

What does 1 Maccabees reveal about how the so-called renegades respond to Antiochus IV Epiphanes's reforms?

The Renegades built a gymnasium and educated their children according to Greek customs

The author of the book of Daniel responded to Antiochus IV Epiphane's reforms by

encouraging the Jews with the message that God would soon intervene and destroy Antiochus IV Epiphanes

The most important dates of Seleucid Rule

175 BCE - Antiochus IV Epiphanes
167 BCE - The book of Daniel written
164 BCE - Maccabees revolt and push Seleucids out of Judea

What does it mean by an "Apocalyptic View"?

An adjective used to describe ways of thought that look forward to a cataclysmic end of the world and the coming a new and better creation

Most scholars of Second Temple Judaism agree that the Qumran Community lived in the wilderness by the Dead Sea, separated from the Jewish community in Jerusalem, becuase they

disagreed with the temple leadership in Jerusalem, likely including the Maccabees

Isaiah 40:3 says, "A voice creies out: In the wildreness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God." In its original context (539 BCE), this passage is about

Isaiah exhorting the exiles to leave Babylon and return to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple

According to this passage from The Community Rule at Qumran, what is Isaiah 40:3 about?
"Ande when these have become a community in Israel in compliance with these arrangements, they are to be segregated from within the dwelling of the men of sin to walk to the desert in order to open there His path. As it it written (Isa 40:3): 'In the desert, prepare the way of ****, straighten in the steppe a roadway for our God.' This is the study of the law which he commanded through the hand of Moses ..."

Those Jews who lived at Qumran and studied the Law of Moses

"he should swaer by the coveant to be segregated from all the men of injustice who walk along the path of wickedness. For they are not included in his coveant since they have neither sought nor examined his decrees in order to know the hidden matters ..." (1QS V, 10-11).
This passage from the Rule of the Community demonstrates that the members of the Qumran community ...

Belived that they alone were correctly following God's law

Whom did the Jews who lived at Qumran expect God to send at the end of time?

a prophet, a priestly messiah, and a kingly messiah

In general, Jews in the Second Temple Period associated non-Jews (Gentiles) with

Idolatry

Historical criticism and an example

-Historical criticism refers to two different activities
The text's historical context -- understanding the world in which the text was produced helps us understand the text --> The Text

"So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." In comparison with Jewish interpretations of the Sabbath indicates Jesus is interpreting the Sabbath command, not breaking it

Textual criticism and an example

-To determine the text's history of transmission (Why are things added to the original text) and to reconstruct the most likely oiginal readings(finding out the correct translation of the original text

1 Corinthians 14:34-35 does not sound something that Paul would write, but it does sound like church teachings from a generation or two after Paul --> likely a later scribe added these lines in the margin; explains why it shows up in two different places

Source criticism and an example

-Two different stroies from two different sources

Genesis 1 (Babylonaian Exile) and Genesis 2 (Agricultural Period) come from two different periods in Israel's history

Redaction criticism and an example

-Editing, Revising, Reshaping

How has the redactor (editor) put his sources together --> Once source criticism is complete, need to know sources before you can understand how they are woven together
Genesis 1 and 2: One follows the other
Elsewhere: Two or mor sources are woven together --> How are two sources shaped together in the Bible

Narrative criticism and an example

-Situate a passage within the text's narrative structure (What is the basic narrative structure, and how does it fit in this narrative structure?)
-Determine how the passage functions within the narrative structure (How does this passage function in the narrative structure?)

Structure of Mark's Gospel/Ring Structure

Title [Prolgue (1st Appearance of Jesus [First Half] [Central Section] [Passion] Last Appearance of Jesus ) Epilogue]

Major Themes in Mark's Gospel

Title (1:1): Good news (Gospel) of Jesus Christ (anointed; Messiah) Son of God (political underline = kings)
-Setting: ~29-30 CE; Galilee 1-10; Jerusalem 11-16
Prologue (1:2-8): John the Baptist; Elijah (prophet) and the road up to heaven in a carriage (does not die) --> preparing the way of the Lord
1st Appearance of Jesus (1:9-11):
-God = "You are my Son"
-Heavens torn - dividig God and humans (interaction)
-Spirit descends - spirit was a moving air
First Half (1:12 - 8:26):
-Temptation by Satan
-"Repent and believe in the good news"
Central Section (8:22-26 - 10:46-52):
-Gradual Illumination
~Healing in two tries represents the disciples and their understanding of Jesus; seeing is used as understading (Peter knows who Jesus is, but does not fully understand)
~Responds to restored vision and follows Jesus on the way to the cross (suffering)
Passion (11-15): Opening says that he truly is the Messiah
Last Appearance of Jesus (15:33-39):
-"Truly this man was God's Son"
-Curtain was torn
-Breathed his last
Epilogue (16:1-8);
-No resurrection appearance and the women ran away and told no one

Exampes of Jesus Silencing people

-Exorcism: Demons know who he really is and not everyone else will understand
-Post Miracles: People becuase he doesn't want to much attention becuasehe could be killed faster

Difference of the Four Canonical Gospels

Jesus's Last Words of the Cross:
Matthew: "My God , my God, why have you forsaken me?"
Mark: "My God , my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Uses Psalm 22)
Luke: "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit" (Uses Psalm 31:1-5)
John: "It is finished"
Chronology of the Crucifixion:
Mark
-Jesus is alive to eat the Passover Meal and can institute the Lord's Supper
-Lord's Supper and Passover Meal celebrate God's saving acts (Act of Deliverance)
John
-Jesus is crucified at the same time the Passover Lambs are slaughtered
-Jesus is identified as the Passover Lambs whose blood is salvific

New Testament texts as historical and theological sources

Theological
-make theological claims
-primay interest is in explining who Jesus is
Historical
-Earliest and most reliable sources about Jesus and early church
-But sometimes there are contradictions

Historian Evidence of Jesus' Death

-Becuase Pilate received Jesus to be a threat to the Roman order (thought Jesus was causing to much chaos to the stability of the Roman Empire)
-Penalty: Crucifixion is a Roman penalty; it was unlikely that the Jews had authority to carry out capital punishment

Why dies Mark construct the trial before the Sanhedrin as he does?

-Mark's trial scene aims to show
~The unjustness of Jesus's death
~Jesus's acceptance of titles in context of his death

In Matthew 5:17, Jesus says, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill." The word translated "fulfill" in the NRSV translation is from the Greek word pleroò. Considering that Matthew's Hypertheses begin a few verses later in Matthew 5:21, the word pleroò, in Matthew 5:17, is best translated as

To proclaim fully

Which of the following ideas appears in Hillel's formulation of the Golden Rule and Matthew's formulation of the Golden Rule (in Matthew 7:12), BUT NOT in Luke's formulation of the Golden Rule?

The Golden Rule is a summary of the Law of Moses

Each of Matthew's Hypertheses follows this pattern: "You have heard that it was said, ____, but I say to you, ____." What does this pattern convey about who Jesus is according to Matthew's Gospel?

Jesus is a rabbi who teaches and interprets the Torah

In Matthew 5:31-32, Jesus says, "It was also said, Whoever divorces his wife, let him give her a certificate of divorce.' But I say to you that anyone who divorces his wife, except on the ground of unchastity, causes her to commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery." Which of the following Jews interpreted the law on divorce in a way that serves as useful historical context to interpret this passage from Matthew?

Rabbi Shammai

When read in light of the historical context identified in the previous question, Matthew 5:31-32 presents a Jesus who

interprets the Law of Moses in ways similar to those of other Jews of his time period

The Gospel of Matthew is the only canonical Gospel that uses the word ____, which means "assembly" and is usually translated "church" in English New Testaments.

ekklesia

The narrative within Matthew's Gospel is set around ___; Matthew wrote his Gospel for his community, which existed in the ___.

30 CE, 80s CE

In Matthew's Gospel, what does Jesus say about the church?

"You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church."

In Matthew's Gospel, the Pharisees are described as _______, but according to the Jewish historian Josephus, they are described as ________.

hypocrites, the most accurate interpreters of the Torah

Based on the evidence of the Nahum Commentary, ________ rejected the teachings of the Pharisees and feared that the Pharisees were leading many Jews astray.
Josephus

the Qumran Community

In Luke 4, Luke greatly expands upon Mark's pericope of Jesus's visit to the synagogue in his hometown of Nazareth. Which of the following elements does Luke add to Mark's text? Select ALL that apply.

-the claim that the words of the prophet Isaiah are being fulfilled in Jesus
-examples of the Israelite prophets Elijah and Elisha helping those beyond the borders of Israel

According to Luke 4:16-30, Jesus's opening sermon in Nazareth, what has Jesus been anointed to do?

proclaim good news to the poor and release to the captives

In Luke 7, John the Baptist sends his disciples to Jesus to ask, "Are you the one who is to come, or are we to wait for another?" What does Jesus say in response to this question?

"Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have good news brought to them."

The Gospel of Luke concludes with Jesus's ascension to heaven. By including this in his Gospel, Luke emphasizes the parallel between Jesus and

Elijah

Luke is the only canonical Gospel that includes the parable of the rich man and Lazarus. Tormented in Hades, the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers to warn them about his (i.e., the rich man's) fate. In response, Abraham says to the rich man:

"They have Moses and the prophets; they should listen to them."

Which of the following does Matthew ADD to his source in Matthew 12:9-14?

"Of how much more value is a human than a sheep!"

Why would Paul's letters have been considered Jewish in their first-century CE context?

Paul divides the world into Jews and Gentiles.

In Galatians 2:16, when Paul writes that "a person is justified," the Greek verb translated as "is justified" is dikaioō. How else could this verb be translated?

is put in right relationship with God

In 1 Corinthians, Paul's position on marriage and celibacy is that

whereas marriage is permissible, celibacy is preferred because it allows a person to be devoted to the Lord.

Paul's letters are occasional. This means that

each letter was written in response to a specific situation.

The word ekklesia means __________ and is usually translated in the New Testament as __________.

assembly, church

Paul wrote his undisputed letters in the _______.

50s CE

Select the list that includes ONLY Paul's Undisputed Letters.

1 Thessalonians, Galatians, Romans, 1 Corinthians

Some of the Jesus-followers in the ekklesia at Corinth think they should NOT eat meat sacrificed to idols. Which of the following is a reason Paul gives for why Jesus-followers should not eat idol meat?

Those who eat the Lord's Supper should not also eat the meals of idols.

What advice does Paul give to the ekklesia at Corinth regarding the issue of meat sacrificed to idols?

Paul instructs the wealthier members to avoid eating meat sacrificed to idols in any situation in which the meat is identified as having been sacrificed to an idol.

In 1 Corinthians 12:2, Paul writes, "You know that when you were ethne, you were enticed and led astray to idols that could not speak." This demonstrates that Paul's letter is directed toward

those who were born as Gentiles but had started worshiping the God of Israel.

According to Paul's first letter to the Corinthians, women must wear a veil

when they pray and prophesy.

According to Paul, a person is justified by

the faithfulness of Jesus in dying on the cross.

According to Paul in his letters to the Galatians and the Romans, who are the children of Abraham?

those who believe God

What prompted Paul to write to the ekklesia at Corinth?

He heard that there were divisions, with some members thinking they were better than others.

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways that Paul, in Galatians and Romans, argues people are justified?

through listening to Jesus's sermons

Which of the following prompted Paul to write 1 Thessalonians?

The members of the ekklesia in Thessalonica were concerned because some of their number had died before Jesus's return, and they were concerned that these believers would not be joined to Jesus.

In his letters to both the Galatians and the Romans, Paul quotes Genesis 15:6, "Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness," to argue that

Abraham is the ancestor of both the uncircumcised and the circumcised.

Which of Paul's letters contains this quotation: "Listen! I, Paul, am telling you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no benefit to you."

Galatians