Bible Test #1

1. Sources of Revelation

What is revelation?

Revelation = God making Himself known to humans.

4–5 sources of divine revelation

Know these:

1. Creation/Nature — God reveals Himself through what He created.

2. Conscience / Universal Moral Law — humans have an awareness of right and wrong.

3. Human reason — we can reason about God's existence and attributes.

4. Personal experience/history — God has acted in human history.

5. Special revelation / Scripture — God specifically reveals Himself through the Bible.

Important: Special revelation, especially Scripture, is foundational for knowing God's specific will and interpreting the other forms of revelation.

Aristotle's Unmoved Mover

Aristotle argued that everything that moves/changes is caused by something else. There must ultimately be a first cause that itself was not caused/moved by something else — the Unmoved Mover.

Lewis' Trilemma

C.S. Lewis' argument about Jesus:

• Liar — Jesus knew He wasn't God but claimed to be.

• Lunatic — Jesus genuinely believed He was God but was mistaken.

• Lord — Jesus really is who He claimed to be.

Pascal's Wager

Pascal argued that believing in God is the rational "wager" because:

• If God exists and you believe → potentially eternal gain.

• If God exists and you don't → potentially eternal loss.

Universal Moral Law

The idea that humans have a basic understanding of right and wrong and that moral standards point toward a moral source beyond individual preference.

The Bible is a collection of ______ experiences.

God's people's experiences / religious experiences.

Earliest Christian statement of faith with 12 agreed-upon points

The Apostles' Creed.

📜 2. Reliability of Scripture

What role did God play? What role did humans play?

God: Inspired and guided the biblical writers.

Humans: Actually wrote the books using their own personalities, vocabulary, experiences, and writing styles.

➡ Think: Divine inspiration + human authorship.

How did Luke write about Jesus without personally knowing Him?

Luke was not one of the original Twelve disciples. He gathered information from eyewitnesses and earlier sources and carefully investigated the events before writing his Gospel.

Why does Bart Ehrman doubt the Bible's reliability?

Ehrman points to the large number of textual variants among biblical manuscripts and argues that some original wording cannot always be known with certainty.

Important: A textual variant doesn't automatically mean the Bible's message or theology has changed.

What are the 2 main Hebrew Bible manuscripts?

• Masoretic Text

• Dead Sea Scrolls

Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS)

The Dead Sea Scrolls take us back roughly 2,000 years.

They are extremely important because they contain ancient copies of biblical texts, including Isaiah, allowing scholars to compare them with much later manuscripts.

How do the Dead Sea Scrolls compare with the current Isaiah text?

They are remarkably similar, although there are some differences in wording, spelling, and individual passages.

3 earliest and most complete New Testament manuscripts

Know these:

• Codex Sinaiticus

• Codex Vaticanus

• Codex Alexandrinus

Differences in NT manuscripts

Most differences are:

• Spelling

• Word order

• Small wording differences

• Copying mistakes

Most do not change major Christian theology.

What 2 assumptions are needed to affirm biblical inspiration?

Generally:

1. God exists and communicates/reveals Himself.

2. The biblical writings accurately communicate that revelation/inspiration.

📚 3. Intro to the Bible & Pentateuch

Fill in:

These five books narrate history from its beginning to Israel's people's relationship with God and their journey to enter a promised land.

The five books are:

1. Genesis

2. Exodus

3. Leviticus

4. Numbers

5. Deuteronomy

What is the Pentateuch?

Pentateuch = "five books."

It refers to the first five books of the Old Testament.

Who traditionally wrote the Pentateuch?

Moses is traditionally considered the author.

Modern scholarship also recognizes that the Pentateuch contains multiple sources, traditions, and stages of composition.

🌎 4. Genesis

Genesis = beginning of what 4 things?

Think:

1. Creation
2. Humanity
3. Sin
4. God's plan of redemption/blessing

Genesis explains the beginnings of the world, humanity, sin, and God's relationship with humanity.

Ancient Creation Myths

3 common traits of ancient creation myths

Ancient creation stories often:

1. Involve multiple gods/gods battling or interacting

2. Explain the origins of the world and humanity

3. Connect creation with the gods' purposes/order

Babylonian creation myth

The major Babylonian creation story is the Enuma Elish.

It features the god Marduk, who defeats Tiamat and establishes order in the cosmos.

Genesis vs. ancient creation stories

A major difference:

Genesis = one God creates intentionally and peacefully through His word.

The Babylonian story involves multiple gods, conflict, and violence.

🗓 7 Days of Creation

Day 1

Light / darkness

Day 2

Sky / waters

Day 3

Land / plants

Day 4

Sun, moon, stars

Day 5

Fish / birds

Day 6

Land animals / humans

Day 7

God rests

Easy pattern to remember:

Days 1–3 = God forms things

Days 4–6 = God fills those things

Day 7 = Rest

🧠 Important Terms

Polemic

A strong argument against another belief/system, often showing that it is wrong.

Apologetic

A defense or explanation of a belief.

Naïveté

A lack of experience or sophistication; being innocently unaware.

👨‍🦱👩‍🦱 Ish & Ishah

Ish

Hebrew for man/husband.

Ishah

Hebrew for woman/wife.

Genesis 2 connects the two terms.

What does this teach about identity and marriage?

Man and woman are presented as corresponding partners who are connected to one another. Marriage involves a deep unity/relationship, with the two becoming "one flesh."

🐍 The Serpent

What 3 qualities of God does the serpent attack?

The serpent challenges:

1. God's goodness

2. God's truthfulness

3. God's authority

Basically, the serpent gets Eve to question:

"Can I really trust God?"

🌊 Noah & the Flood

Why did God preserve the world through Noah? — Genesis 6:5

Because humanity had become extremely wicked and sinful, with the intentions of people's hearts continually evil.

Noah, however, found favor with God and was described as righteous/blameless among his generation.

What was the sign of the covenant after the flood?

🌈 The rainbow

It represents God's covenant/promise that He would not again destroy the earth with a flood.

👨‍👦 Noah's Sons

Noah had three sons:

• Shem

• Ham

• Japheth

Shem's descendants

Shem's descendants include the Semitic peoples, and Abraham comes through the line of Shem.

Ham's descendants

Traditionally associated with peoples/lands including:

• Egypt

• Canaan

• Cush

• Put

🏗 Tower of Babel

What unified the people at Babel?

One language.

Genesis says everyone had the same language and words.

What happened?

The people attempted to build a tower reaching heaven.

God confused their language, causing them to scatter.

Main idea:

Humanity's attempt to achieve greatness apart from God results in division and scattering.

✨ God's Plan of Salvation / "Blessing"

God's plan begins taking a major shape through Abraham.

God promises to bless Abraham and ultimately use his family to bless all nations.

Key idea:

Abraham → Israel → Messiah → blessing to the nations

👴 Abraham

Why did God choose Abram?

God chose Abram to establish a covenant relationship through which He would create a people and bring blessing to the nations.

What 3 promises did God give Abram?

Remember:

LAND — DESCENDANTS — BLESSING

1. Land

2. Many descendants

3. Blessing to others/nations

👑 Melchizedek

Who was Melchizedek?

Melchizedek was the king of Salem and a priest of God Most High.

He blessed Abram, and Abram gave him a tenth.

👨 Abraham & Sarah

Abraham

Originally called Abram.

Sarah

Originally called Sarai.

God changed their names as part of His covenant promises.

✂ Sign of Abraham's Covenant

What was the sign on Abraham's body?

Circumcision.

It became the physical sign of God's covenant with Abraham and his descendants.

☪ Muslims & Abraham

Who do Muslims claim to be descended from?

Muslims traditionally trace their ancestry through Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar.

🏜 Moab & Ammon

Where did Moab and Ammon come from?

They were the sons of Lot.

• Moab → descendant of Lot and his older daughter

• Ammon → descendant of Lot and his younger daughter

🔥 Isaac

Why did God tell Abraham to sacrifice Isaac?

God was testing Abraham's faith and obedience.

God ultimately stopped Abraham and provided a ram as the sacrifice.

Who did Isaac marry?

Rebekah.

👬 Jacob vs. Esau

Esau

• Older twin

• Hunter

• Isaac's favored son

• Received/was associated with the birthright as firstborn, though he sold it to Jacob

Jacob

• Younger twin

• More closely associated with staying around the tents

• Obtained Esau's birthright

• Later became Israel

What is a birthright?

The special rights and inheritance belonging to the firstborn son.

Esau famously sold his birthright to Jacob for food.

👰 Jacob's Wives

Jacob married:

• Leah

• Rachel

He also had children through their servants Bilhah and Zilpah.

Why 12 tribes?

Jacob/Israel had 12 sons, whose descendants became the 12 tribes of Israel.

Why was Jacob renamed Israel?

After wrestling with God/a divine being, Jacob received the name Israel.

The name is commonly understood as relating to striving/wrestling with God.

⭐ SUPER IMPORTANT PEOPLE TO KNOW

🧠 THE "IF YOU ONLY HAVE 20 MINUTES" SECTION

If you're cramming, memorize these first:

Genesis

Genesis = beginnings

Creation

1 Light → 2 Sky → 3 Land → 4 Sun/Moon → 5 Birds/Fish → 6 Animals/Humans → 7 Rest

Abraham

LAND + DESCENDANTS + BLESSING

Noah

Flood → Rainbow covenant

Abraham's covenant

Circumcision

Isaac

Sacrifice test → Ram provided → Rebekah

Jacob

Esau's birthright → Jacob becomes Israel → 12 sons → 12 tribes

Babel

One language → Tower → God confuses languages → people scatter

Creation myths

Genesis = one God / intentional creation

Enuma Elish = Marduk / multiple gods / conflict

Manuscripts

Hebrew: Masoretic Text + Dead Sea Scrolls

NT: Sinaiticus + Vaticanus + Alexandrinus

Bible

God inspires → humans write

Lewis

Liar / Lunatic / Lord

Pascal

Wager

Pentateuch

Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

🎯 Quick Memorization Trick

For the biggest Genesis section, memorize this chain:

Creation → Fall → Flood → Babel → Abraham → Isaac → Jacob → Israel

That's basically the Genesis storyline in eight steps.

And for Abraham:

Abram → Covenant → Land/Descendants/Blessing → Circumcision → Isaac

Then:

Isaac → Rebekah → Esau/Jacob → Birthright → Jacob = Israel → 12 sons/tribes

One thing to be careful about: a few questions on this sheet (especially the exact "4–5 sources," "12 agreed-upon points," and the two assumptions for inspiration) appear to depend on what your professor/textbook specifically taught. I gave the standard answers, but those are the ones I'd compare against your class notes before the exam.