Old Testament Exam #2

List the four divisions in the Christian canon

Pentateuch, Historical Books, Poetry, Prophecy

List the three divisions in the Jewish canon

Torah, Nevi’im, Ketuvim

Three worlds of the text

behind the text, of the text, in front of the text

Approaches for each world

Behind the text= viewing old maps, and other creation accounts to see similarities and differences, Of the text= in class annotations, In front of the text= ethics, what does it mean to us today

What do blessings of land, offspring, and relationship look like in Genesis 1-2?

Adam and Eve are given all of Eden, and all of the world, no offspring yet, but right relationship with God and with each other

Explain how the blessings for Adam and Even change with their disobedience in Genesis 3

Adam and Eve get banished from Eden, have to work the land for food now, promise of pain in childbirth, and a negatively altered relationship with each other and with God

Explain what land, offspring, and relationship mean in the context of God’s covenant with Abraham, and how they are put into jeopardy in the book of Genesis

In God’s covenant with Abraham, he is promised the land of Canaan, a lot of offpsring/descendants, and a continued good relationship with God. Well, there are people living in the land that is promised, Abraham and Sarah are unable to have kids, and the mistakes of the Israelites lead to a bad relationship with God.

Shiphrah and Puah

Hebrew midwives. Pharoah ordered them to kill all male children at birth, but they disobeyed him and showed their allegiance to God. In turn, God blessed them.

Massah and Meribah

During the Israelites’ journey through the wildnerness, they settle in a land without water. Moses cried out to the Lord, who instructed him to strike the rock at Horeb with his staff. When he did so, water gushed out for the people to drink. He named it Massah (testing) and Meribah (quarreling.)

Zipporah

woman who saved Moses and her sons by cutting off her son’s foreskin, and flings it at Moses’ feet, and stops the Lord from killing him

Aaron

Moses’ brother, used magic rod to convince Pharaoh, was Moses’ voice, him and his sons were priests, made the golden calf

Miriam

Moses’ sister, was rebuked when she turned against her brother

Amalek

led in the unprovoked attack on the Israelites during their exodus from Egypt, blocked them from the promise land

Sending of the spies

The Lord sends two men to explore Canaan, to assess the land, some of them are excited and glad; others are afraid. The people are faithless when they are told they can defeat the people living there with the lord, and God punishes them and pronounces the wildnerness wandering for 40 years

Wilderness wandering

A result of disobedience and unbelief, waited for the unbelieving generation to die off, and then they could enter the promise land

Caleb

He was the man who was chosen to be one of the spies to scout out the promise land. He tried to instill confidence in the people by saying that they could surely conquer it. He had faith that God would give them victory.

Joshua

Leader for the Israelites, was with Moses a lot, like at Mt. Sinai, was one of the twelve spies sent by Moses, led the tribes in the conquest of Canaan.

Shion

Part of the inheritance of the tribe of Zebulun, showing God’s faithfulness and fulfillment of covenant.

Og

King of Bashaan, big man defeated by the Israelites, God empowered them to defeat him

Balaam

Wicked man who God used to deliver prophecies, led God’s people into sin, donkey talks to him, because it sees an angel of the lord in the path, and Balaam doesn’t, so he hits the donkey, donkey spares his life. Kept blessing Israel, because God only allowed him to do that, then to still get his reward from his king, he enticed the Israelites with prostitutes and idolatry

Balaam’s Oracles

Series of prophetic declarations that reveal God’s favor and future plans for Israel. God’s people can’t be cursed, God is faithful, those who bless Israel shall be blessed, Messiah reference

Setting of Deuteronomy

waiting on the plains of Moab to enter Canaan

Kadesh-Barnea

Holy place of desert wandering, where Abraham fought the alliance of kinds, it’s where the Israelites refused to possess the Promised Land, complained about not having enough water

List the books of the Torah/Pentateuch in order

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

What is the three categories approach?

Ritual= fulfilled in Christ, and no longer binding for Christians. Civil= applied only to Israelite society. Moral= still binding for Christians.

What is the derived principles approach?

1. Define the objectives of the law in Israelite society, what behavior is the law trying to promote or prevent? What moral values does the law embody? 2. Preserve the objective but change the context- identify comparable situations and behaviors in our society and ask how the objectives of the law can be achieved.

Basic structure and purpose of the tabernacle:

The Israelites needed a place to worship God, whilst they move around so much. God did not dwell in the hearts of humans until after Christ’s death and ressurection, so this is a place for him to dwell. It has a fence surrounding it. There is also a courtyard, between the fence and the tent there is a bronze altar. There is the Holy Place and the Holy of Holies.

Differences between how ritual typically functioned in the ancient Near East and how it functioned for the Israelites

When people of other religions offered up food, they did it because their gods would actually eat it. For the Israelites it is more of a symbolic thing. In general, things are more symbolic for the Israelites.

Are all sacrifices about sin, and getting rid of sin?

Sacrifices were also offered as a way of giving Thanksgiving.

Is ritual purity primarily about hygiene? Is it sinful to be ritually impure?

No, it is also symbolic. If you touched a dead body, or blood you were deemed ritually impure. Not because you sinned. Because God isn’t associated with death, and you were temporarily associated with it. It is not sinful, and is a temporary status.

What are the theological principles underlying the Sabbath and the Jubilee years?

God rested so we rest, and praise Him. It doesn’t have to be a specific day, or practiced in a certain way, much of that stuff is cultural. Jubilee years served as rest for the land, respecting the land that is His.

How was authorship in the ancient world different from authorship today? What does it mean to understand Moses as the authority behind the Pentateuch rather than the author of the Pentateuch?

There were way more authors. Today there is typically one author, and then the text is edited. In ancient times, there was more than one.

Summarize the Pentateuch

God creates and rules the Earth, Adam and Eve come to the Earth. They have reign over the whole Earth, until they sin, and they are to have pain in childbirth. Humans keep sinning so bad they are killing each other. There was one just man though, Noah, and he is guided to make an arc, and he and his family are brought to a new land where they reside. The nations are all dispersed, and there are to be leaders of each nation, Abraham is chosen. God makes a covenant to him, to be with him in right relationship, for him to have many offspring, and promises him eventually the land of Canaan. His offspring, Joseph leads the family to Egypt after there being great famine. So that is where the family remains, and then Pharaoh is jealous of the family. So they get delivered. As they are wandering temporarily, the Israelites do not have faith, so they are wandering for forty years,

What features in the book of Joshua help to show that the book isn’t all about Israelites killing Canaanites with God’s approval?

There are several Canaanites that are spared, such as Rahab. She recognizes the true God, and she and her family are spared. The conquest isn’t about ethnicity, following God vs. not following God.

What is the difference between the books of Joshua and Judges and Ruth?

The book of Ruth is about a woman showing her obedience to God, and is about faithfulness.