1.0 The Study of the Hebrew Bible 

___ #. (1.1) The abbreviation B.C.E. stands for 

 ___ #. (1.1) The abbreviation C.E. refers to the same time period as the abbreviation A.D. 

       #. (1.1.1) From the online Meriam-Webster Collegiate Thesaurus, list four synonyms of the word 'Bible':
            1.
            2.
            3.
            4.

       #. (1.1.1) From the online Meriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, list the definition of the word 'Bible' that is relevant to our study:
 
 
 

       #. (1.1.1) From the online Meriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, explain the etymological origin of the word 'Bible.'
 
 
 

___ #. (1.1.1) The term Old Testament is synonymous with 

___ #. (1.1.1) Rather than being one book, the Old Testament is actually a library of thirty-nine books, produced over a period of more than a thousand years (1200 to 200 B.C.E.). 

___# (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-458) The canonical listing of the books in the Old Testament has been consistent and well established in both Judaism and Christianity since the days of Jesus. 

___ # (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-458) In the Hebrew Bible there are 24 books, while in the Protestant Old Testament there are 39 books. 

        #. (1.1.1) From the online Meriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary table,  list the books of the Old Testament that are found in the Roman Catholic Bible but not found in a Protestant Bible.

           1.                                             2.                                              3.                                        4.

           5.                                             6.                                              7.
 

___ # (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-458) In the Protestant Old Testament there are 39 books, while in the Roman Catholic Old Testament there are 46 books. 

___ # (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-458) In the Latin Vulgate manuscripts one finds a uniform listing of the 46 books of the Old Testament. 

       #. (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-458) List the three conclusions drawn regarding the process of canonization of the Hebrew Bible by the authors in the New Oxford Study Bible (NOSB3:essays:456):
           1)

           2)

           3)
 

       #. (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-458) Explain why the Protestant Old Testament contains 39 books but the Roman Catholic Old Testament contains 46 books.
 

___ #. (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-458) The listing of books in the Old Testament by the Greek Orthodox Church more closely follows that of 

___ #. (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-458) Explain how a Protestant Old Testament containing 39 books can have the same content as the Jewish Hebrew Bible containing 24 books.

___ #. (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-456) The Greek Orthodox Patriarch who promoted the adoption of the Hebrew canon of the Old Testament and was condemned by the Synod of Jerusalem in 1672 was 

___ #. (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-458) The OT books that the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches designate as 'deuterocanonical' Protestants call 'apocryphal.' 

___ #. (1.1.1) The Jesus in the Gospels refers to the Old Testament by the term ‘Old Testament.’ 

___ #. (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-458) The New Testament designation of the sacred books of the Jews was graphe meaning 'Writings,' either in the singular or plural form. 

___ #. (1.1.1) The term “Old Covenant” can also mean “Old Testament.” 

       # (1.1.1;NOSB3:essays:453-458) Match the correct title in the Protestant OT to its equivalent in the LXX listing: 

        #. (1.1.2) From the online Meriam-Webster  Collegiate Dictionary, define the word ‘genre’.
 

___ #. (1.1.2) The category called ‘poetry’ constitutes a genre of Old Testament writings.
            a) True                                b) False
 

___ #. (1.1.2) According to the online Meriam-Webster Collegiate Thesaurus, the word ‘prose’ is a possible synonym for the word ‘narrative.’
             a) True                              b) False
 

___ #. (1.1.2) Which of the following examples reflects the use of prose in Judges?

a) Judges 4:1-3. “4:1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died. 4:2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sis’era, who dwelt in Haro’sheth-ha-goiim. 4:3 Then the people of Israel cried to the LORD for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.”

b) 5:1 Then sang Deb’orah and Barak the son of Abin’o-am on that day:
   5:2  “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,
                   that the people offered themselves willingly,
                   bless the LORD!
   5:3  “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
                   to the LORD I will sing,
           I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel.

a) Judges 4:1-3. “4:1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died. 4:2 And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sis’era, who dwelt in Haro’sheth-ha-goiim. 4:3 Then the people of Israel cried to the LORD for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of iron, and oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.”

b) 5:1 Then sang Deb’orah and Barak the son of Abin’o-am on that day:
   5:2  “That the leaders took the lead in Israel,
                   that the people offered themselves willingly,
                   bless the LORD!
   5:3  “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes;
                   to the LORD I will sing,

       #. (1.1.2) What different types of  information can be gleaned  from the above examples of prose and poetry from Judges?

(a) Prose:_____________________________________________________

(b) Poetry:____________________________________________________

      #. (1.1.2.1) From the online Meriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, explain how 'narrative' differs from 'poetry' in its literary form and style.
 

___ #. (1.1.2.1) We should not be surprised that the Hebrew Bible contains mostly narrative material. 

 ___ #. (1.1.2.1) The extensive use of the literary ‘narrative’ in the Hebrew Bible is

a)  very much in line with other literature from the same time period.
b) very different from other ancient literature which primarily uses poetry.

___ #. (1.1.2.1) Which of the following examples reflects the use of prose in Judges?

a) Judges 4:1-3. “4:1  And the people of Israel again did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, after Ehud died. 4:2  And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sis’era,  who dwelt in Haro’sheth-ha-goiim. 4:3  Then the people of Israel cried to the LORD for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of  iron, and oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.”

b) 5:1 Then sang Deb’orah and Barak the son of Abin’o-am on that day: 5:2 “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD! 5:3 “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the LORD I will sing, I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel.

        #. (1.1.2.2) List the three major legal codes found in the Hebrew Bible.
 

        #. (1.1.2.2) List the 4 OT books where the three major Jewish legal codes are found.
 

        #. (1.1.2.3) From the online Meriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary, explain how 'poetry' differs from 'narrative' in its literary form and style.
 

___ #. (1.1.2.3) Which of the following examples reflects the use of poetry in Judges?

a) “4:1 And the people of Israel again did what was evil in  the sight of  the LORD, after Ehud  died. 4:2  And the LORD sold them into the hand of Jabin king of Canaan, who reigned in Hazor; the commander of his army was Sis’era, who dwelt in Haro’sheth-ha-goiim. 4:3 Then the people of Israel cried to the LORD for help; for he had nine hundred chariots of  iron, and oppressed the people of Israel cruelly for twenty years.”

b) 5:1 Then sang Deb’orah and Barak the son of Abin’o-am on that day: 5:2   “That the leaders took the lead in Israel, that the people offered themselves willingly, bless the LORD! 5:3   “Hear, O kings; give ear, O princes; to the LORD I will sing, I will make melody to the LORD, the God of Israel.

___ #. (1.1.2.4) How is  the ‘wisdom  literature’ in the Hebrew Bible different from poetry in the Hebrew Bible?

a) Wisdom literature is more a form of prose than of poetry.
b) Wisdom literature is mostly poetic in form but with a different, unique subject matter.
c) Wisdom literature contains mostly legal materials in contrast to poetry.

       #. (1.1.2.4) Explain how Jewish 'wisdom literature' differs from poetry in the Hebrew Bible.
 

___ #. (1.2.1) Which story in the Hebrew Bible is central to the entire document? 

___ #. (1.2.1) The following text from Deut. 26:5-9 describes

26:5 “And you shall make response before the LORD your God, `A wandering Aramean was my father; and he went down into Egypt and sojourned there, few in number; and there he became a nation, great, mighty, and populous.  26:6 And the Egyptians treated us harshly, and afflicted us, and laid upon us hard bondage. 26:7 Then we cried to the LORD the God of our fathers, and the LORD heard our voice, and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression; 26:8 and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great  terror, with signs and wonders; 26:9  and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey.’”

___ #. (1.2.1) Which event especially made Israel aware of itself as a group of people with common experiences that united them? 

___ #. (1.2.1) The starting point for the story of Israel’s history is 

___ #. (1.2.2) An etiology is

a) a historical narrative based on an event in factual history.
b) a fictional story created to make a point.
c) a story giving romanticized portrayal of a heroic figure.

___ #. (1.2.2) Which of the following passages represents an etiology?

a) Judg. 14:14. “And he said to them, “Out of the eater came something to eat. Out of the strong came something sweet.” And they could not in three days tell what the riddle was.

b) Judg. 11:1-3. “11:1 Now  Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son  of a harlot. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 11:2 And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they thrust Jephthah out, and said to him, “You shall not inherit in our father’s house; for you are the son of another woman.” 11:3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers, and dwelt in  the land of Tob; and worthless fellows collected round Jephthah, and went raiding with him.

___ #. (1.2.4) The final chapter in the story of Israel’s history so far as the Hebrew Bible is concerned is 

___ #. (1.3) How did  the Hebrew Bible come to be written?

a) Each of  the documents was written down at  the time of the events they describe and then later collected into the document known as the Hebrew Bible.
b) Each of the stories in Israel’s life underwent oral transmission and development until coming to be written down and then collected into the document called the Hebrew Bible.

___ #. (1.3.1) The telling and preserving of the stories of the origins of the Hebrew people played an important role in the process leading to the Hebrew Bible. 

       #. (1.3.1) Define the word 'canon' as it relates to literature.
 

___ #. (1.3.2) The climax of the development of the Hebrew Bible took place with the editorial process of the various written traditions by priests and scribes during the period of the Exile in Babylon. 

       #.  (1.3.2.2;NOSB,xxi) List the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible, using either the Hebrew or English terms: 

      #. (1.3.2.2) List the three divisions of the Hebrew Bible with the appropriate English word:

(1) Torah:__________________________

(2) Nebi’im:________________________

(3) Kethubim:_______________________

       #. (1.3.2.2) Explain from class discussion why Tullock’s use of the term ‘canonical’ is inappropriate from a Jewish perspective.
 

___ #. (1.3.2.2) When did the Hebrew Bible achieve the fixed form of listing of books that we associate with it today? 

       #. (1.3.2.2) List the approximate century when each segment of the Hebrew Bible achieved canonical status, according to Tullock: 

___ #. (1.3.2.2) According to Tullock, the Law (Torah) achieved canonical status as sacred scriptures by 

___ #. (1.3.2.2) According to Tullock, the Prophets (Nebi’im) achieved canonical status as sacred scriptures by 

___ #. (1.3.2.2) According to Tullock, the Writings (Kethubim) achieved canonical status as sacred scriptures by 

___ #. (1.3.2.3) The Septuagint is the translation of the Hebrew scriptures into the ____ language. 

___ #. (1.3.2.3)Which version of the Old Testament contained the Apocrypha? 

___ #. (1.3.2.3) The OT Apocrypha wound up in the Catholic version of the Old Testament largely through the work of Jerome who translated the Old Testament texts into Latin in the fourth century A.D. 

      #. (1.4) List the correct interpretative procedure with the individual who pioneered its development. 

___ #. (1.4.1) The scientific interpretative procedure known as Textual Criticism concerns itself with

a) trying to destroy confidence in the text of the Old Testament.
b) attempting to reconstruct the exact wording of the text of the Hebrew Bible.
c) tracing the development of the various literary forms in the oral transmission of the stories in the Old Testament.

___ #. (1.4.1) The Textual Critic working with the Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament faces the problem of working with ____ manuscripts than the Textual Critic working with Greek manuscripts of the writings of Plato and Aristotle. 

 ___ #. (1.4.1) The Textual Critic working with Greek manuscripts of the writings of Plato and Aristotle faces the problem of working with ____ manuscripts than the Textual Critic working with the Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament 

___ #. (1.4.1;NOSB3,essays: 460-462) The Hebrew text of the Old Testament has suffered from copyist's errors and scribal emendations, some of which can be corrected in light of the ancient versions (Greek, Latin, Syriac, and other early translations and collections). 

___ #. (1.4.1;NOSB3:essays:460-461) One major task of the Bible translator is to determine the most likely wording of the original Hebrew text of the OT, which has to serve as a basis for the translation into English. 

___ #. (1.4.1) The majority of the variant readings in the text of the Old Testament involve only about _____ percent of the total material of the OT. 

      #. (1.4.1) Briefly explain why the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls in 1947 is so important for the concerns of Textual Criticism:
 

      #. (1.4.1;NOSB3:OT:414) Footnore ^c in 1 Samuel 10:27 of the NRSV reads “MT lacks Now Nahash... entered Jabesh-gilead” indicating that the medieval Masoretic Hebrew Text (MT) of the Old Testament does not contain these words. They have been added in some translations because of being found in several of the much older Dead Sea Scroll manuscripts of this scripture text. Identify which Hebrew text the translations below follow by whether these words are included or excluded in their translation.

a) Follows the MT text by leaving out the words.
b) Follows the 4QSam scroll from the Dead Sea by inserting the words.

___ (1) KJV. “But the children of Belial said, How shall this man save us? And they despised him, and brought him no presents. But he held his peace.”

___ (2) NASB. “But certain worthless men said, ‘How can this one deliver us?’ And they despised him and did not bring him any present. But he kept silent.”

___ (3) Living Bible. “There were, however, some bums and loafers who exclaimed, ‘How can this man save us?’ And they despised him and refused to bring him presents, but he took no notice.”

___ (4) NRSV. “But some worthless fellows said, ‘How can this man save us?’ They despised him and brought him no present. But he held his peace.
        Now Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had been grievously oppressing the Gadites and the Reubenites. He would gouge out the right eye of each of them and would not grant Israel a deliverer. No one was left of the Israelites across the Jordan whose right eye Nahash, king of the Ammonites, had not gouged out. But there were seven thousand men who had escaped from the Ammonites and had entered Jabesh-gilead.”

____ #. (1.4.1;NOSB3:OT:419) According to footnote  ^b  in the NRSV,  the ___ text in 1 Samuel 13:15 does not contain the sentence: "The rest of the people followed Saul to join the army; they went up from Gilgal toward Gibeah of Benjamin." 

____ #. (1.4.1;NOSB3:OT:419) The NRSV follows ___ text in 1 Samuel 13:15 by including the sentence: "The rest of the people followed Saul to join the army; they went up from Gilgal toward Gibeah of Benjamin." 

___ #. (1.4.2.1) In your professor’s view, the issue of the authorship of the Pentateuch generally represents a false imposition of modern definitions of ‘author’ onto the composition of ancient documents. 

___ #. (1.4.3) The questioning of Mosaic ‘authorship’ of the Pentateuch began with 

      #. (1.4.6) Identify the correct emphasis of the following recent interpretative trends in Old Testament studies: 

___ #. (1.5.1.1) The purpose of biblical archaeology is to

a) find value artifacts which can be sold for large sums of money.
b) prove the historical accuracy of the Bible.
c) discover the truth about ancient cultures by studying the material remains of those cultures.

___ #. (1.5.1.2) Biblical archaeologists just randomly select a site to ‘dig,’ that is, to explore for artifacts of ancient cultures. 

___ #. (1.5.1.2) Archaeologists today tend to select dig sites where they can learn more about everyday life patterns, rather than as earlier with a concern mostly for government and worship sites. 

___ #. (1.5.1.3) Modern archaeologists need both trowels, hand picks and brushes, as well as computers and electronic scanning devices. 

      #. (1.5.2) List the significant feature linked to each of the following archaeological sites: 

      #. (1.5.4) Why do you feel the study of the Hebrew Bible is important?
 
 

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