Old Testament Midterm 1 (Sears)

1. God teaches Moses that he (Moses) was created "in the similitude [likeness or image] of mine Only Begotten," and that this "Only Begotten" has and will have what role?

to be our savior

2. When Satan comes to Moses, he calls him a "son of man," an Old Testament title referring to a mortal human being (in contrast to deity). How does this compare with the title God had given Moses (in v. 4)? What do you think Satan is up to by using this different title?

personal response

3. Moses commands Satan to "get thee hence" or "depart" a total of four times (see Moses 1:16, 18, 20, 21). It only works the final time. What does Moses say that makes a difference that time?

he does so in the name of the Holy God

4. Moses 1:39 famously contains God's own description of His "work" and "glory"—a mission statement for what He does and why He does it. What is it that He works for and glorifies in?

to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man

5. In a sentence or two, summarize Satan's "plan" as described in the Ensign article.

Satan's plan was not just a helpful suggestion in the scriptures it made it clear he was rebelling and being disobedient

6. The ancient Israelites called their God by His name "Yahweh." In English, we pronounce that name as "Jehovah." Although the name Yahweh/Jehovah appears over 6,800 times in the original Hebrew of the Old Testament, the name hardly ever appears in the King James translation in English (just seven times!). Why is that?

because the translators followed the jewish practice of not pronouncing the divine name Jehovah out of respect

7. Grammatically, 'elohim is a masculine plural noun meaning "gods," such as in the commandment, "Thou shalt have no other gods ['elohim] before me" (Exodus 20:3). However, the ancient Israelites would also use this technically plural word in a singular sense (just "God") when referring to which god in particular?

Jehovah the god os Israel

8. Exodus 34:6-7 explains that it is in God's nature to forgive "iniquity and transgression and sin." As Dr. Kugel points out, however, this is no blank check, as He "will by no means clear the guilty." Dr. Kugel suggests that this passage distinguishes between two classes of sinners: the "good" sinners who seek repentance and therefore receive forgiveness, and the "truly wicked" who do not repent. The Prophet Joseph Smith seems to have interpreted the passage in a similar way: in his new translation of the Bible, Joseph changed the word "guilty" to what? (See footnote e at Exodus 34:7 in the Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible.)

rebellious

1. The King James Version of Psalm 8:5 says that God has made humans "a little lower than the angels." The word "angels" is not what it says in Hebrew, but the KJV is reflecting centuries and centuries of Jewish and Christian attempts to soften the language of Psalm 8:5 because people were theologically uncomfortable it. Psalm 8:5 actually says that humans are super close to what/whom? (See the Alter translation above, or footnote a in the Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible.)

Less than the gods

2. The idea of covenant can get colored by our modern experience with contracts. However, the Israelite term for covenant was bĕrît, which they understood in what way?

In terms of a family relationship. A covenant can be best understood as forming a new relationship

3. Dr. Erickson explains that "we are not designed to be autonomous, self-actualized individuals." Instead, we are built and wired in what way?

We are deeply relational beings, designed for radical dependence and connection. We are designed for love

4. Given that we are defined by relationships—relationships with our heavenly parents and with each other—how do Dr. Erickson and the authors she quotes define and explain the concept of "sin"?

Sin is a form of rejection of this relationship with God. Another said "sin is the result of a wounded soul trying to find their own way to manage pain apart from God"

5. Dr. Erickson says that "if there is anything studying family has taught me, it is that development emerges from within strong relationships." One example of this is the physical, mental, and emotional development that is spurred in infants as they establish a bond with their caregivers. In a parallel yet infinitely more profound way, our eternal souls can grow and become like God as we experience relationship with Him. This kind of developmental relationship is offered to us through what means?

Through a covenant relationship

6. In mortal life we experience weakness and sin, pain and loss. Both as we sin and as we suffer, people may feel that God's law exists to accuse and condemn them for falling short, for not being enough. But God's law isn't there to judge what punishment you deserve; it's there to judge what healing you need. As Dr. Erickson explains, God "answers the pain and loss that is woven into the fabric of our mortal experience with the purest form of love—covenant love—entering into it with us. In doing so, He changes its quality, carving out caverns for His healing love." God draws closer to us, "sharing our pain in the most profound form of intimacy and, in the process," does what with our pain?

He draws closer and renders our pain redemptive

7. In endnote #2 of President Nelson's article "The Everlasting Covenant," he defines the new and everlasting covenant as "the fulness of the gospel of Jesus Christ" and teaches that it "includes all ordinances and covenants necessary for our salvation." In what sense is this covenant "new"? Why is it called "everlasting"?

It is "new" whenever the Lord renews or restores it, and it is "everlasting" because it does not change. It existed before the foundation of the world and will remain forever.

8. Latter-day Saints often speak of two covenants: the new and everlasting covenant and the Abrahamic covenant. President Nelson teaches that these two concepts "are essentially the __________ [one word]."

same

9. Adam and Eve entered the everlasting covenant and begin their journey on the covenant path by participating in what ordinance?

baptism

10. President Nelson teaches that when we enter the covenant path, we "create a relationship with God that allows Him to bless and change us." There is a special love, mercy, and loyalty that we can experience with God in the bonds of this covenant relationship. English, unfortunately, has no word to describe this doctrinal idea—but the ancient Israelites had a word for it in Hebrew! What is the Hebrew term for this special covenantal love, mercy, and loyalty?

Hesed

11. "Once you and I have made a covenant with God," President Nelson teaches, "our relationship with Him becomes much closer than before our covenant. Now we are bound together." Because of that covenant, what will we "never exhaust"?

His merciful patience with us

12. Exodus 34:6 describes Jehovah as being raḥum, "merciful" or "compassionate." Hebrew has a related noun, rahămîm, "mercy" or "compassion." Both terms are related to the word reḥem, which refers to what part of a woman's body? These connections lie behind biblical descriptions of God using female or motherly imagery, such as Isaiah 49:15-16, Isaiah 66:13, Hosea 11:1-4, or Matthew 23:37 (see also 3 Nephi 10:4-6).

Womb

1. When reading biblical psalms, you should be able to tell apart the three most basic genre categories—praise, lament, and thanksgiving. If you were shown the examples given in the reading (Psalm 10:1-2, Psalm 30:2-5 and Psalm 33:1-5), could you identify which is which?

psalm 10:1-2 - lament

pslam 30:2-5 - thanksgiving

psalm 33:1-5 - praise

2. "[The covenant] welds a special __________ between covenanters and God, one in which they behave more like God and develop/receive a more godly nature as God aids them in this process. Covenants are about __________s, and the primary __________ is the one we make with God. This is one of the main reasons why the path God has chosen for us is the covenant path, because it has within it the ability to help us become what we need to become by helping us create an exalting __________ with God." (Every blank contains the same key word.)

connection

3. The covenant contains several elements or aspects that are important, and numerous blessings come from the covenant. There is one aspect or blessing, however, that is most important—all other aspects of the covenant hinge on this one and flow from it. What element or aspect of the covenant is the most foundational?

creating a special, binding, intimate relationship with God

4. God revealed to Joseph Smith that "the power of godliness is manifest" through priesthood ordinances (Doctrine and Covenants 84:20). What is the primary way that we draw priesthood power into our lives?

through priesthood ordinances

5. As modern covenant-keepers, we can relate to ancient promises like priesthood or posterity, but sometimes the scriptural emphasis on having a land of inheritance is hard for us to understand. For the Israelites and others who lived earlier in history, why was the promise of land so important?

so they could plant seeds/have their herds graze there as well as protection. It was part of their identity

6. All who keep the covenant will receive in the hereafter "their exaltation" (Doctrine and Covenants 132:19). In the revelations in the Doctrine and Covenants, how has God explained what that means?

They shall be as gods because they have power and glory in all things

7. The most important obligation of covenant keepers has to do with their relationship with God. Prophets have taught that covenant keepers should love God above anything or anyone else, let God prevail in their lives, and not worship any other gods. In the ancient world, worshipping other gods primarily took the form of idol worship. In the modern world, what are some other ways people might be lured into idolatry?

putting other values and ideas before Gods idea and believing in the power of money, fame and fun

8. Dr. Muhlestein writes, "'Keeping' [the commandments] isn't just something we do, it is something we feel; it is part of who we are. It comes not because of a determination to observe a tedious list of dos and don'ts, but because we desire with all our heart to please God and to want the same things He wants. Keeping covenant, or obedience, is a labor of love that happens naturally when our hearts are truly full of love for God, and we fully make Him our God." In your own life, have you ever thought of the commandments as a tedious list of dos and don'ts? (I know I have!) How do you think you can switch from a checklist mentality to instead being obedient as an expression of love for Heavenly Father

personal answer :)

9. The terms of the covenant have built within them a mechanism to help covenant breakers return to being covenant keepers. That mechanism is the covenantal penalties. These penalties do not suggest that God "punishes" covenant keepers, at least in the sense of punishment simply for the sake of punishment. Explain how allowing these natural consequences for bad choices fits into God's purposes for His covenant children.

that cursing are a natural consequence that follow losing Gods protection. Blessings are being withdrawn. Gives us a opportunity to repent

1. Starting next week in this class we're going to read a different psalm as the first item for each day's homework. What has been your personal experience in the past with the book of psalms? Have you ever read through it before? Have you ever had any experiences using the psalms to find the comfort and connection that President Holland talks about—or are those experiences still in your future?

personal answer :)

2. In Psalm 86:8, the psalmist tells Jehovah, "Among the gods there is none like unto thee." What is the Hebrew term behind the English "gods"? A couple of verses later, in Psalm 86:10, the psalmist tells Jehovah, "Thou art God alone." What is the Hebrew term behind the English "God"?

Elohim

3. In the Babylonian Creation Epic (the Enuma Elish), the primordial forces of chaos are represented by the goddess Tiamat, who takes the form of a huge sea monster. How did the god Marduk defeat her and make Creation possible? (See tablet IV, lines 95-102, on p. 398 of the PDF.)

Put wind into her body and so she got bloated and he shot an arrow into her and pierced her belly and heart

4. When the Old Testament describes the chaos monster that had to be defeated at Creation, what is the usual term it uses (starts with an L)? What is the second-most common term (starts with an R)?

leviathan

rehab

5. In the Babylonian creation epic Enuma Elish, Marduk killed the primordial chaos monster by shooting an arrow through her open mouth and into her innards. In Isaiah 27:1, what weapon does Jehovah use to slay the monster?

a mighty sword

6. According to the BibleProject video on the Chaos Dragon, summarize a reason or two why the biblical authors found this sea-monster imagery so compelling.

the monster can be seen as a snake which was found in the Garden of eden.

people also use amor weapons which are snake or dragon like in wars such as Goliath

1. KJV Genesis 1:1-3 reads, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. And God said, Let there be light: and there was light." Describe one insight from biblical scholarship that has helped us understand this passage better. (Just summarize whatever bullet point above you thought was most interesting. You don't need to memorize any of the Hebrew words.)

heaven refers to sky and contrasts the earth. we look up to the heavens which is actually the sky. he is separating the land below them and the sky above them not the heavens in particular

2. Genesis 1 opens by describing the two defects in the universe that Creation will resolve. First, the universe is "without form" (tōhû), meaning "disordered," with no functional environments. Second, the universe is "void" (bōhû), meaning "uninhabited," with no populations living in an environment. The six days of Creation are then presented in two sets of three days. Which problem is solved on days 1-3? Which problem is solved on the corresponding sequence of days 4-6?

1-3 days are used to split apart realms

4-6 days are used to fill the realms with creatures and plants

3. Genesis 1:1-2:4a describes the process of creation in a way that made sense to the Israelites in light of their cosmology, or understanding of the nature of the universe. At each step of creation, God creates order out of chaos through a twofold process. What is the first step of the process? What is the second step? (See Belnap, p. 6.)

1. separate/distinguish

2. naming/identification

4. Genesis 1:1-2:4a describes the process of creation in a way that made sense to the Israelites in light of their cosmology, or understanding of the nature of the universe. When God commands each form of life to reproduce "after his kind," the Israelites understood this as a safeguard preventing the cosmos from returning to what state? (See Belnap, p. 8.)

undifferentiated pre cosmic state

5. In the KJV, Genesis 1:21 says that "God created great whales." The Hebrew word behind "whales" is tannîm, which, according to footnote a in the Latter-day Saint edition of the Bible, more accurately means what? (This word popped up in several verses in our homework from last time, and I translated it in those passages the same way.) The creation account in Genesis 1:1-2:4a seems to be deliberately contrasting itself against the Creation-as-Battle motif we saw in other Old Testament passages. In those passages, the tannîm were the personification of chaos and unorganization, but in Genesis 1 they are rendered simply as what? (See Belnap, p. 9, note 10.)

dragon or serpent

6. For Christians who do not believe God has a body and who do not believe humans are God's literal offspring, the statement that humans were made in God's "image" has often been interpreted metaphorically to mean that humans possess something of God's character or moral attributes. However, the Hebrew word for "image" (ṣelem) actually denotes what? (See Belnap, pp. 10-11.)

an actual physical representation

7. Over the past century, Latter-day Saints and their leaders have found themselves on both sides of debates about evolution. According to this article from the Church's website, what is the Church's official position on this topic?

the church doesn't take a position but focuses on teaching revelation and truth

8. The Old Testament often preserves more than one version of a story, exploring an event or an idea from multiple perspectives. According to Sister Brown, what national crisis increased the need for the Israelites to compile all their different sacred texts and traditions together?

king necuchadnezzar laid siege to Jerusalem and destroyed the city and temple

9. Although this is less common today, for centuries the English language employed a convention in which the word "man" (or "mankind") referred not just to males but to whom?

human or humanity

10. Because the Book of Mormon warns against "the natural man," we might assume that humans are naturally or inherently corrupt. However, in light of other Church teachings, what is a better way to understand the meaning of "natural man"?

the earthly man. we can become the earthly man if we allow mortality's inherent difficulties to tarnish our divine nature

1. In KJV Genesis 2:17, God tells the man, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it." In Joseph Smith's expanded version, found in Moses 3:17, God adds that "nevertheless, thou mayest" what?

choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee

2. The Hebrew word tsēlā' has traditionally been translated as a "rib" in Genesis 2, but everywhere else in the Old Testament it means what? What might this communicate about the relationship between the man and the woman?

side

they are made to be partners and work side by side

3. KJV Genesis 2:20 says that God created the woman because "for Adam there was not found an help meet for him." Explain what the phrase "an help meet for him" ('ēzer kənegdô) was describing in the original Hebrew.

ezer - help (especially divine)

kenedgo - equal to

they are equal partners in balanced unity

4. Although Christians have long identified the serpent in Genesis 3 with the devil, the biblical text does not actually make that explicit. What additional insights do you get about the devil and the serpent from Joseph Smith's expanded version in Moses 4:1-7?

That satan was in the pre mortal life and he chose to rebel against God and he got cast out of God's presence

5. God tells the serpent that He will put "enmity" between "thy seed and her seed; it [the Hebrew word can also mean "he"] shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" (Genesis 3:15). In Christianity, this passage is known as the protevangelium ("first gospel" or "first good news"). How do Christians interpret its meaning?

the prophecy of Jesus coming

6. Eve and Adam's decision to eat the fruit of the tree, and thus forsake their paradise, may be read as an allegory for—or perhaps a counterpart to—what comparable situation of our own?

our own decisions to accept the conditions of mortality in exchange for heavenly paradise

7. Genesis 3:6 reads, "And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat." Terryl and Fiona Givens believe that even though for many centuries Christians have interpreted Eve's choice as perverse rebellion, the potential for a more positive interpretation is right there in the text of Genesis. How can Eve's motivations in Genesis 3:6 be read in a positive light—what things is she pursuing?

the good, the true, the beautiful

8. Genesis 2:17 reads, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die." However, the Joseph Smith Translation expands this to read, "But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, nevertheless, thou mayest choose for thyself, for it is given unto thee; but, remember that I forbid it, for in the day thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die" (Moses 3:17). According to Terryl and Fiona Givens, what does this recasting of Genesis 2:17 suggest about God's "prohibition" not to eat the fruit?

he was giving them a warning and showing the consequences

9. The evolution of honeybees can serve as a parable explaining why we needed to leave God's presence and experience a world of difficulty, opposition, and hardship. In God's eternal plan, why is it necessary that mortal life be so challenging?

we need to evolve and become better, with experiences we can progress

10. Many Christians, such as Augustine in the fourth century or the Protestant Reformers in the sixteenth century, have defined humanity's "sinful nature" as our most fundamental characteristic. In contrast, Terryl and Fiona Givens describe sin as "collateral damage," a painful but necessary by-product of the "trial and testing and growth" we are trying to experience in mortality. In other words, we could not gain the experiential knowledge of good and evil that divine beings require unless we spent some time experiencing the pull of different choices, as well as the sweet and bitter effects of choosing either right or wrong. So "sin has its part to play," they write, but that still does not mean that sin is what?

it's neither our original condition or our inherent nature

11. While living in mortality, our physical bodies provide some of our trials, and the body's desires can sometimes lead us into sin. Why then do Latter-day Saints still see our physical bodies as essential gifts in God's plan—what do they allow us to do?

our bodies enhance our spiritual progression. We will be resurrected and can become like God. Our bodies provide the deepest joy

1. Biblical scholars hypothesize that Genesis contains two originally independent accounts of Noah's flood. However, unlike the two Creation narratives, where someone simply placed one after the other, what do scholars think happened with these two Flood narratives?

they spliced up the 2 stories and merged them

2. Different recollections of the Flood appear from other cultures around the Israelites. The story of Utnapishtim, which was part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, was the most well-known account of a great flood in the ancient Near East. In that story, the annoyed gods decide to destroy humanity because all the noise humans are making is disturbing their peace and quiet. In contrast, Israelite accounts of a flood are consistent in saying that the deluge was a response to what problems? See especially Genesis 6:11-13 (from Account A) and Genesi 6:5 (from Account B).

the people were corrupt/filled with violence

3. The so-called "Curse of Ham" is an idea that originated a few hundred years ago claiming that (1) Noah's son Ham was cursed, (2) Ham is the ancestor of Black people, and (3) Black people today are therefore cursed. This idea arose due to racism and the need to justify the enslavement of Black people, but summarize why it's also a really misinformed interpretation of Genesis.

Canaan was the actual cursed one because they wanted the land and resources. Noah was the one who pronounced the curse not God *

4. In Moses 7:23-40, Enoch sees that the wickedness of humanity is so great that they "shall perish in the floods." According to the depiction here, where will the water come from? (It's subtle, so look for the reference to rain covering mountains; cf. Genesis 7:20.)

God's tears

5. God holds and exercises both the ultimate power to create and the ultimate power to destroy. God's default and preferred orientation, however, is clearly toward the creation and sustenance of life. Latter-day Saint theologian Adam Miller says that God particularly demonstrated His unwavering fidelity to life when He did what?

raising Jesus from the dead

6. A unique feature of Restoration theology is the belief that the spirits of those killed in the flood—and by extension all others who suffer from divine violence—are not only resurrected through the grace of Christ but also given opportunities for what?

repentance and redemption after mortal life

7. Patrick Mason and David Pulsipher suggest that, even if we accept the idea that God occasionally resorts to violence, this does not require us to be happy about it. In fact, if we are troubled by such episodes, it means our sensitive souls are simply a reflection of what?

God's own profound sorrow over the violence he sometimes deploys

8. Enoch is so horrified when he sees his brethren perishing in the flood that he tells God, "I will refuse to be comforted"—this is so tragic, don't even try to make me feel better! What things did God then show Enoch and help him understand that allowed him to once again rejoice?

the day of the coming of christ

when Enoch and all his people walked with God

1. A lot of people make the mistake of assuming Jonah fled from his mission to Nineveh because he was afraid, but the text never says that. Instead, at the end of the book when Jonah finally explains why he fled ("Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish ..."), he says it had been because of what?

Because God is gracious, compassionate and slow to anger

2. Before you watch the video summary of Jonah below, write one or two sentences summarizing what you think is "the point" or "the moral" or "the message" of the book of Jonah. This is just to give you a chance to sort out your own thoughts before you get someone else's.

personal answer :)

3. In the earlier BibleProject video, it said you can divide up the whole Bible into three basic literary styles: narrative, poetry, and prose discourse. Apart from the poetry in the center, the book of Jonah is narrative—it's telling a story. But what kind of narrative is it? In this current BibleProject video, it makes the case that Jonah's distinct narrative style can be classified as what? (It starts with an s.)

satire

4. Write one or two sentences summarizing what the BibleProject video thinks is "the point" or "the moral" or "the message" of the book of Jonah. If this is different than what you wrote for question #2 above, what do you think of this different take on it?

personal answer :)

5. According to Dr. McKenzie, the literary features of the book of Jonah "indicate that the book was never intended to be read as history but was written as a kind of __________." (This should sound familiar!)

satire

6. If reading Jonah as history, the descriptions of Nineveh raise some historical problems. It is not a problem, though, if Jonah is some kind of story, such as a satirical parable, in which the characters represent an attitude or even a larger class of people. The Assyrians were great enemies of Israel, so choosing them for the story of Jonah may have been to make the point that if God cares even for the Assyrians, that means God cares for whom?

everyone

7. Dr. McKenzie makes the case that frequent occurrences of exaggeration, humor, and subverted expectations mark Jonah as a satirical parable, not history. Of all the scenes in the book, which one for him most clearly illustrates the satirical nature of the story with its "ridiculous images and hyperbole"?

animals dressed in sackcloth and refused to eat or drink

8. Why use satire as a teaching tool? (←rhetorical question) Dr. McKenzie suggests that "the humor and exaggeration help the audience to perceive in Jonah" what about themselves?

silliness to their own actions and attitudes

the lengths people to which arrogance and prejudice can lead them

9. "Genre" is a term used to refer to the type or category of a piece of literature. Novel, short story, and science fiction, for instance, are subgenres of fiction. Biography, instruction manual, and catalogue are subgenres of nonfiction. Discernment of genre is an essential part of the process of communication between author and readers. It provides a literary "frame of reference" within which the reader interprets and makes use of a text. Misconstruing the genre of a piece of literature, therefore, can be disastrous. Readers typically make genre identifications subconsciously because genre rules are engrained in them from where?

their culture

10. According to Dr. McKenzie, how often does an ancient literary genre function identically to a modern literary genre?

almost never

11. Rachel Held Evans writes that American Christianity tends to claim that "God would never stoop to using ancient genre categories to communicate. Speaking to ancient people using their own language, literary structures, and cosmological assumptions would be beneath God, it is said, for only our modern categories of science and history can convey the truth in any meaningful way." What is her response to that assertion?

that god stoops. he does this because he is doing everything it takes to show his children they are loved and seen

1. In the Book of Abraham, Abraham records that he "sought for the blessings of the fathers, and the right whereunto I should be ordained to administer the same." In other words, Abraham sought for the blessings of covenant and priesthood that God had given to his righteous ancestors. When Jehovah came and spoke to him, He confirmed that Abraham's covenant blessings were linked with those of earlier generations, specifying that Abraham was receiving the same covenant power and authority given to which famous ancestor? (See v. 19.)

Noah

2. According to Dr. Griffiths, what can Abraham's autobiographical account teach each of us about our potential?

we can become more than what we already are

3. In Genesis 12:1-3, Jehovah outlines the Abrahamic covenant by making two foundational promises. First, He promises Abraham and Sarah and their family, "I will bless __________ [one word]" (verse 2). Second, He promises Abraham and Sarah and their family, "And in thee shall __________ __________ [two words] of the earth be blessed" (verse 3).

thee

all families

4. While Genesis 12:1-3 contains the basics of the Abrahamic covenant, the Book of Abraham gives us more detail. One crucial aspect of the covenant that is not spelled out in Genesis is the explanation in Abraham 2:9 that Abraham and Sarah's family will "bear" (carry or bring) "this ministry" and what else unto "all nations"?

priesthood

5. Genesis 12:3 contains a declaration from Jehovah that through Abraham and Sarah's family "shall all families of the earth be blessed." Unfortunately, Genesis 12:3 does not clarify what this means. Bless how? With what? In the expanded version of this promise, recorded in Abraham 2:11, it explains that "all the families of the earth [shall] be blessed" with what?

with the blessings of the gospel.

with salvation and even eternal life

6. For most Bible readers, the figure of Melchizedek is mysterious, and he is usually assumed to be a pagan king. Summarize what important insights we gain about Melchizedek from the expanded account of Genesis 14 in the Joseph Smith Translation.

Melchizedek was a faithful man who was a high priest. He taught peace and was referred to at times as the "prince of peace". established peace in the land. He also blessed Abraham

7. In Genesis 15, God famously tells Abraham that his seed shall be as numerous as the stars in the heaven. Genesis simply reports that Abraham "believed" God, a description that inspired New Testament authors when they spoke about faith (see Romans 4:3, Galatians 3:6, and James 2:23). However, the Joseph Smith Translation gives an expanded account of that conversation and reveals that Abraham was puzzled about something: "How wilt thou give me this land for an everlasting inheritance?" It was a good question: by the time Abraham died, the only land in Canaan that he owned was Sarah's burial plot. Other promises given to Abraham were similarly unfulfilled or just getting started when he reached the end of his life. Since these promises didn't all pan out in Abraham's lifetime, he wasn't sure how God could fulfill them. What did God say and show to Abraham that helped him see a bigger picture? How can this revelation

you can receive blessing in the after life

8. When God changed Abram's name to Abraham and Sarai's name to Sarah, He didn't drastically alter the meaning of their names, which were still based on the same Hebrew roots. However, what did the act of their receiving a new name symbolize?

a new identity and relationship with God

9. Genesis 17 is one of the chapters that outlines the Abrahamic covenant. While we call it the "Abrahamic" covenant, it is important to notice that the covenant was also made with whom?

Sarah

10. Doctrine and Covenants 132:34 tells us that Hagar's marriage to Abraham was "fulfilling, among other things, the promises." What is meant by "the promises"?

Because Sarah wanted children and God commanded him to do so *

11. President Nelson teaches that "all who accept the gospel become part of the lineage of Abraham.... We can become heirs to the covenant either by birth or by __________."

Adoption

12. President Nelson teaches that "God wants to connect all people to the covenant He made anciently with Abraham." What are the major ways he says that we can participate in gathering Israel today?

missionary work and making covenants *

1. One of the best-known examples of a covenant in the Old Testament is the one God made with Abraham and Sarah—and then renewed with their descendants Isaac and Jacob (also called Israel). We often call this the Abrahamic covenant, although in the Old Testament it was known simply as what?

the covenant

2. In his May 2022 address to young adults, President Russell M. Nelson said that you should know the truth about who you are, including your three most important identifiers—you are a child of God, you are a child of the covenant, and you are a disciple of Jesus Christ. "Child of the covenant" (see 3 Nephi 20:25-26) is perhaps the least understood identifier. The Come, Follow Me manual explains, "You are a child of the covenant. You made a covenant with God when [----------]. You renew that covenant every time you [----------]. And you make sacred covenants in [----------]. Together, these covenants make you a participant in the Abrahamic covenant, the fulness of which is found in temple ordinances.... Through these covenants and ordinances, we become God's people." What are the three ordinances that allow us to become children of the covenant? (You don't need to use the exact words from the manual.)

You were baptized. Take the sacrament. In the temple.

3. After Jehovah appeared to Jacob and reaffirmed the blessings of the Abrahamic covenant, Jacob named the place Bethel, which means what? Why do you think Jacob chose that name?

Bethel: house of God

4. In President Freeman's family, children learn the "five-finger promise" based on Genesis 28:15:

Behold, I am with thee, I am with you.

and I will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, I will keep you safe.

and will bring thee again into this land; I will bring you home again.

for I will not leave thee, I will not leave you.

until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of. I will keep my promise to you.

Jehovah's five promises to Jacob remind us that while the "covenant path" is a way of visualizing our journey back to God's presence, He is not simply waiting for us at the end of the path: He walks with us by our side. How have you seen the Savior acting as your companion on your own journey?

personal answer :)

5. Rachel and Leah each had their own challenges. According to Heather Farrell, why do we need to avoid the temptation to compare and rank different trials?

God knows the circumstances of our lives to be unique and that's intentional. We are given experiences that we personally need.

6. Abraham and Sarah's grandson, Jacob, wrestled all night with a mysterious divine being. In this sacred setting, where Jacob testified that "I have seen God face to face," he was given what new, covenant name? What are some possible meanings of this name?

Israel; one who lets God prevail

7. Rachel Held Evans says that "what both hardened fundamentalists and strident atheists seem to have in common is the conviction that any trace of myth, embellishment, or cultural influence in an origin story renders it untrue. But this represents a massive misunderstanding of the genre [of origin story] itself." Summarize in a sentence or two why she thinks that is—why are stories about our origins more significant than just a recitation of facts?

we are known by the stories people tell. We can know that we belong to a greater being

8. Rachel Held Evans argues that "Christians can learn a lot about Scripture from the people who have had it the longest," meaning Jews. What does she mean by that—how have Jewish approaches to scripture helped her on her own spiritual journey?

Jews have midrash which offer expansion and commentary about scripture. This commentary helped Evans recognize detail in text she'd never noticed before and offered interpretations.

9. Jacob's all-night wrestling match left him with a limp but also won him a new name, Israel, which can refer to God striving/prevailing or can refer to a person struggling with God. "Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for ... thou [hast struggled] with God and with men." According to Rachel Held Evans, what is the significance of Jacob's experience and his new name for all of us today who still seek after Jacob's God?

It demonstrates how the personal relationship with God and His people is embedded in their identity