Old Testament Midterm Study Set

Thousand-year span of Hebrew Bible texts

12th to 2nd Century BCE

Three major world religions regarding Hebrew Bible as Scripture

Christianity, Judaism, and Islam

Rhetorical end of creation stories in Psalms

God is wholly triumphant over chaos, such as the Leviathan and Sea Dragons, and God alone is sovereign, there is no pantheon at war.

Two similarities between Enuma Elish and chaos-battle passages

1. Water/the sea being figures of chaos, 2. The end of the chaos battle is the creation/establishment of the earth and the heavens.

Names of primordial sea-dragon in biblical texts

Leviathan and Rahab

Difference between Israelite monotheism and paganism according to Kaufmann

Monotheism is a radically new conception of a god who is himself the source of all being—and not subject to a metadivine realm like in paganism

Original characters in Enuma Elish and their symbolism

Tiamat (Saltwater) & Apsu (Freshwater)

Character celebrated in Enuma Elish and his accomplishment

Marduk, defeats Tiamat and creates the world from her body.

Three ways of interpreting the opening lines of Genesis 1

1. The two step process (1:1, 1:2-31), 2. a title or 3. a when/then option (when he created, then God said).

Structural relationship between days 1 through 6 in Genesis

Days 1-3 are forming the earth and days 4-6 are filling the earth; they are a mirrored structure where day 1 relates to 4, 2 to 5, and 3 to 6.

Source of Genesis 1 according to source criticism

The priestly source, because it is using Elohim for God and it is written in a very organized & blessing focused way.

Difference between mythology and myth according to Hayes

Mythology deals with the lives of gods, while a myth is a story that relates events in historical time, explaining a custom, institution, religious rite, or belief.

Hebrew linguistic connection between man and ground

Man is the word Adam while the ground is the word Adamah (they are almost the same word).

Ingredients God uses to create the first human, and what happens to them when a person dies

The dust of the ground and the breath of God; dust goes to dust and breath to God when a person dies.

Two text-based arguments for Adam & Eve being created mortal

The ground is the subject of the post-fall curse, not the mortality of man, they came from the ground and to the ground they will return, or, God was being literal in 2:17 about their morality and then gave them grace

The two trees in the garden represent what two potential "achievements" or statuses for humankind

One represents 'knowledge' and the idea of having a personal morality/being like God, while the other represents immortality.

The most important difference between Genesis 2-3 and the Epic of Gilgamesh according to Hayes

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Enkidu's sexual experience makes him wise and godlike, at the cost of his life with the beasts; in Genesis, the earthling's transformation occurs after an act of disobedience.

Why did the gods create humanity in the Epic of Atrahasis

To be their servants because they did not want to have to work as much.

Parallel between the Epic of Gilgamesh and the Garden of Eden

Both have the fruit of life and a relationship between a snake and the loss of the fruit/the chance of immortality.

Two distinguishing characteristics of the two flood narrative sources

1. J uses Yhwh for God instead of Elohim and anthropomorphizes God 2. P uses 'Generations' formulas, has specific directions, and uses the word 'remembers.'

The scholarly explanation (mentioned in Hayes) for why the Cain & Abel story includes details seemingly incongruent with the story in Genesis up to this point, such as Cain finding a wife or being fearful of other people

The story includes details seemingly incongruent with Genesis up to this point because it was originally from a different source about a nomadic Kenite incorporated later.

Similarity between Epic of Gilgamesh flood story and Genesis flood story

In both, the survivor of the flood offered up a burnt offering when they exit the boat that God/the gods smell and are pleased by.

One difference between Genesis 1-11 and Genesis 12-50

Genesis 1-11 is about God's relationship to all humanity (universal), while Genesis 12-50 is about God's relationship to a specific family (particular).

Two future blessings of God's covenant with the patriarchs

Land & Lineage.

Significance of smoking fire pot and flaming torch passing between animal corpses in Genesis 15

It signifies that God, appearing as a fire pot and flaming torch, is choosing to take on all of the consequences of his covenant with Abraham alone.

Difference between Kant's and Kierkegaard's interpretation of Genesis 22

Kant thinks that Abraham failed the test because God can not command something unjust so Abraham should have questioned the voice and whether it was actually God, while Kierkegaard thinks that Abrham passed the test because relationship with God is the most important thing which may demand a teleological suspension of the ethical

Two examples of theophanies in Genesis 12-50

God wrestling with Jacob, God taking on an oath as a firepot/torch

Two stories that have Jacob as a trickster

He pretends to be his brother by dressing up and covering himself with fur to trick his father into giving him the birthright and he breeds his uncles livestock in a tricky way to be able to take as many animals as possible from his uncle when he leaves

Yahweh's action against tradition according to Hayes

He goes against primogeniture, the traditional practice of favoring the eldest son.

Two of the four interpretations of the revelation of the divine name

The title interpretation, which states that this is a title that shows God as eternally self-existing and independent, and the revelation interpretation, which states that this is God saying he is what he does, and his identity will be revealed through his actions not his words

One example of how the plagues seem to be directed at specific Egyptian gods

The sun was darkened for 3 days in the 9th plague, which shows YHWH's power over the Egyptian sun god Ra

Purpose of Israel's deliverance according to Hayes

Making Israel into a holy nation that is devoted to YHWH alone.

Seven components of the covenant structure seen in Ancient Near Eastern treaties, and also seen in the biblical covenants

1. Identification of the treaty maker, 2. Historical prologue, 3. Stipulations, 4. List of witnesses, 5. Sanctions, 6. Depositing of the covenant, 7. Ratifications

What are the two main differences between typical laws in the Ancient Near East (such as the Laws of Hammurabi) and the biblical laws

1. Biblical Laws are equal, meaning no one gets better/easier treatment because of class, and 2. All laws have an underlying moral theological framework that corresponds to purity/sin

In the framework of biblical law, every crime is also a what

A sin.

Three contrasting characteristics of Moral/Ritual impurity

1. Ritual impurity isn't sinful while moral impurity is, 2. Ritual impurity is temporary while moral impurity is permanent, and 3. Ritual impurity is contagious while Moral impurity cannot spread.

The 3 aspects presented in class for the concept of "holy" in Leviticus

1. Set apart, 2. infinitely valuable, and 3. dangerous to humanity.

What two central differences between humans and God lie at the heart of the Israelite laws around purification and worship in the tabernacle

God does not participate in sex or death, so these things must be purified to imitate him.

According to Hayes how is it preferable to view the relationship between JDEP

It is preferable to view the relationship between these sources as unique and complex sources that co-exist to create contemporaneous story strands that form one story.

Role of the Nephilim in the biblical storyline according to Ron Hendel

Nephalim's name means that fallen ones which mean their role is to die, and the Israelites should have known this and therefore should have killed them instead of running away

Why does the book of Deuteronomy repeat much material that is already found in Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers? What is Deuteronomy's perspective?

It is a retelling of the original story in these books that is highlighting new themes, particularly by telling it in first-person perspective as if it is a sermon or a speech

How is the rhetorical tone in Deuteronomy different from that of the narratives

It is presented as a speech instead of a 3rd person story, which makes the tone more personal and more explicitly addressed to the audience

Three themes from Deuteronomy

1. Covenant faithfulness, 2. Love (Israel to God and God to Israel), and 3. the centralization of the cult.

Century Deuteronomy was written

7th BCE.

What is one way in which Deuteronomy rewrites the laws from Exodus to make the treatment of slaves more humane

The laws around the treatment and release of slaves becomes equal for men and women, raising women up and treating them more like people.

Pentateuch

The collection of books that includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy (first 5 books)

Enuma Elish

Babylonian creation epic

Marduk

King of the Babylonian gods, creator of the earth, protagonist in Enuma Elish

Tiamat

Saltwater goddess of Babylon, antagonist in Enuma Elish

Apsu

Freshwater god of Babylon, killed by Ea in Enuma Elish

Chaos-battle

A battle used to explain creation in many ANE texts

Leviathan

Sea monster that represents chaos in the Bible

Creation ex nihilo

Creation from nothing

tohu va vohu

Formless and void

Gilgamesh

Babylonian King, founder of Uruk, protagonist of the Epic of Gilgamesh

Enkidu

Man made to oppose Gilgamesh who becomes his best friend and then dies for helping to kill the bull of Heaven

Tree of the knowledge of good and evil

A tree only seen in the Biblical stories that allows humanity to have knowledge like God

Documentary Hypothesis

The Pentateuch is written by 4 independence sources, JDEP

JEDP

Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, and Priestly sources

Primogeniture

Favor for the firstborn child

Aqedah

Term Meaning "The Binding" that refers to Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac

Self-maledictory oath

An oath that invites a curse or penalty upon the people entering it if said oath is broken

Teleological suspension of the ethical

Moral codes must be set aside in the pursuit and following of God

Theophany

God's manifestation on earth, like in the burning bush

Yhwh

The name for God presented in Exodus and translated as LORD, meaning "I am"

Monotheism

Belief in only one God

Monolatry

Worship of a single, supreme God without the denial of the existence of other gods

Suzerain

A ruler of a great county

Vassal

A ruler of a lesser country

Hammurabi

A king of Babylon who wrote the Laws of Hammurabi

Awilu

Property-owning upper-class citizens in Babylon

Apodictic

Categorical laws that start with "you shall not"

Casuistic

Hypothetical imperative laws that have an "if/when...then..." structure

Ritual impurity

Bodily impurity that is temporary and has to do with sex & death

Moral impurity

Internal impurity that is largely permanent and has to do with sin, it can affect the land

Qadosh

Holy in Hebrew

Nephilim

"Fallen ones", creatures appearing in the flood, Numbers, and Ezekiel

Shema

Means "hear" in Hebrew, central theme of Deuteronomy