Scripture Midterm
Covenant - an agreement made between to parties
Canon - official list of books accepted as Holy Scripture
TaNaK - Torah(law) -Nevi’im(prophets) -Ketuvim(writings)
Magisterium - teaching authority of the Church to interpret the word and tradition of the Church
Literal Sense - what the words in scripture precisely mean,literal or figurative
Spiritual sense - how scripture can be scene as something more profound
Allegorical Sense - hidden meaning behind a story
Moral Sense - teaches how to act in the right way
Anagogical Sense - relate the events of scripture to one’s final destiny; heaven or hell
Primeval history - stories or myths about the origins of earth, humans, cultures languages and creatures
Baal - Canaanite god of fertility and rain
Myth - a story about the creation of earth and of human beings
allegory - one story that represents another
typology - study of prefigured patterns of activity
Reading the Old Testament in light of Christ crucified and risen
critical reading - careful examination and reflection about all information at hand
murmings - complaints of the Israelites against Moses and God
salvation - to be rescued from danger
redemption - to purchase a slave's freedom
Documentary Hypothesis - The Torah has 4 distinct sources
J Source - use YHWH and describe God as very humanlike
E Source - use Elohim until the revelation of the name YHWH and describes God in a distant way
D Source - Found almost entirely in the book of Deuteronomy
P Source - focuses on the priest
Sabbatical - 7th year where the Israelites gave the land a year of rest and freed indentured servants
Jubilee year - 50th year were all land was returned to its original owner
scapegoat - goat who had all of Israel’s sins placed on it and was then cast out into the desert
Day of Atonement - festival in which all of Israel’s sins were forgiven
Holy - to be set apart from
Concepts:
Biblical Literacy
● Three writing styles in the Bible
43% Narrative - characters, conflict, resolution, parables, history, and biography
33% Poetry - links images to help us view the world differently
24% Prose/Discourse - speeches, letters and essays that challenge us to think logically
● Three spiritual senses (name and define)
Allegorical Sense - hidden meaning behind a story
Moral Sense - teaches how to act in the right way
Anagogical Sense - relate the events of scripture to one’s final destiny; heaven or hell
● Define what each of the T,N,K stand for in the TaNaK
Torah - Law
Nevi’im - Prophets
Ketuvim - writings
● Be able to answer why God is portrayed as a strong warrior in the OT
He was acting as the king other civilizations had
Genesis
● Differences in the 2 creation accounts
● Translations of the names Adam and Eve
Adam - man
Eve - to give life to
● Name the questions that the second creation account attempts to answer
Why life is hard
Heterosexual attractions
Why we wear cloths
Why we are afraid of snakes
● 6 truths that the Hebrews believed about God
God’s will is to create people in his image male and female
God’s will is peace no violence
God’s will is trust and truthfulness, not the lies and deceptions of human beings
God’s will is care for creation, not destruction and exploitation
God's will is joyful diversity, not forced unification
God is impressed not with how great our human material accomplishments are but with
how we care for one another and also how we care for creation.
● Important takeaways from the story of Cain and Abel
Land is a reward for God’s people
● Purpose of the story of the Tower of Babel
To explain why people are all around the earth and speak different languages
● Be able recognize examples of the importance of the land
Land is a reward for God’s people
● Key elements in the stories in Chapters 15,16,17, 21, 22, 24
12 - Abram and Saria is Egypt
15-16 - God makes a covenant with Abram promising many offspring, he fathers a child to Hagar, Saria abuses Hagar and Hagar runs bus God tells her to come back and she has Ishmeal
17 - God’s covenant for Abraham and his wife to change their names; God instituted circumcision
21 - Sarah has Issac but tells Hagar to take Ishmael away; in the dessert they are provided for by God
22 - God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son Issac to test his faith
24 - Abraham find a wife Rebbeca for Issac as he dies
Exodus
● The birth story of Moses
Pharaoh ordered all Israelites children to be killed so Moses’s mother put him in a basket on the Nile. He was found by an Egyptian princess who called his mother to take care of him. He was named Moses which means “drawn out”
● The literary arrangement of the first 9 plagues
A B C
● The 4 answers by Moses to his call by God
Who am I
Who are you
How will they trust me
I am not a good speaker
● Name (in order) each of the 10 Commandments (Exodus 20) Leviticus
The Israelites are only to worship YHWH
The Israelites are not to make any idols of God
The Israelites are not to use the name of the Lord in any oaths
The Israelites are to honor the Sabbath day
The Israelites are to honor their parents
Murder is forbidden
Adultery is forbidden
Stealing is forbidden
Israelites are not to lie about others committing crimes
Israelites are not to covet their neighbor's possessions
● The purpose of the book
To show God’s love for his people and how he rescued them from slavery
● Aspirational goals of the sabbatical and jubilee year
Sabbatical Year - every seven years the land is not farmed and indentured servants are freed
Jubilee year - every 50 year (the year after 7 Sabbatical years) when all land is returned to the original owner
Judges
● The purpose of the book
Show Israel’s failings
● 3 roles of a judge
Temporary Military Leader
Arbiter of Disputes
Remind the Israelites of their Covenant
● 4 stories about judges and key takeaways
Deborah tells the Israelite General Barak a plan to defeat the Caananites and their king Jabin. She then goes to the Canaanite general Jael’s tent and kills him in his sleep with a tent peg. She and the community sing the song of Deborah
Takeaway - God humbled the Caananites and their king for the Israelites
Gideon/Jerubaal (“hacker”/”let Baal contend”)leads his people to victory against the Midianites. They want him to be king. He refuses but instead builds an idol. His sons are cursed.
Takeaway - The Lord is the only one who should be worshipped
Jephthah - Born to a prostitute so he is kicked out but is called back to be a judge. He defeats the Ammonites and vows if he is successful to sacrifice the first person who comes to his door. That person is his daughter who he does sacrifice.
Samson is Divinely chosen by birth and is not allowed to cut his hair. He defeats the Philistines but then has sex with non-Israelites. One woman, Deliela, betrays him and cuts his hair so the Philistines can capture him. God helps him to bring down a Philistine building in a final act of Strength but Samson is killed.
Takeaway - Samson’s infidelities result in his loss of strength. In the same way Israel suffers loss when it is unfaithful to the Lord.
1 Samuel
● Birth story of Samuel
His mother Hannah is abused by his father(Elkanah)’s other wife who does have children (Peninnah). She is promises God that if she has a son she will dedicate him to the Lord. She has Samuel.
● Call of Samuel
God calls Samuel in the night and he thinks it is Eli. Eli tells him to go back to bed. The third time this happens Eli tells Samuel it is God calling. Samuel answers God and God tells him he is going to punish Eli for nor stopping his sons from committing blasphemy.
2 Samuel
● The story of King David
David is anointed king after Saul by Samuel. He no longer fights with his army. One day he sees a woman Bathsheba and commits adultery with her. She gets pregnant so David orders her husband Uriah to the front lines of battle to die and then marries Bathsheba. The Lord sends a prophet Nathan to tell David a story and unknowingly have him judge himself. All of Israel hears about David’s sins. He goes to battle again against his son Absalom who is attempting a coup. Joab kills Absalom. David rules for 40 years before dying and is buried in Jerusalem, called the City of David;