| |
|
|
| TOPIC |
QUESTIONS AND
ISSUES |
NAMES, TERM,
DATES, PLACES |
Introduction
|
* What is the Old Testament?
* What is the impact of cultural context on understandings of truth?
*What factors should one consider in selecting a translation of the Hebrew
Bible for academic study?
*Why is genre identification important?
* What is myth? history? |
genre
Hebrew Bible
history
Old Testament
myth |
The Exodus Story
|
*Are stories in the Old Testament unique? What evidence do we have to use in answering this question?
*
What is a theophany? How is it different from a miracle?
*
What does YHWH mean? What does Exodus say is the origin of this name?
* What do we know about the historical background for the Exodus narrative?
*What is 'historical criticism'?
*
How does the Exodus story address such questions as:
>Who are these people?
>Where did they come from?
>What is their god like?
>How should they live?
* What does the term "Yam Suph" mean?
|
Aaron
Canaanite
Egypt
Exodus
historicity
Horeb
Hyksos
Iron I
Israelite
Jethro
Kadesh-barnea
Late Bronze Age
LORD
Midian
Miriam
Moses
Nile Delta
Passover
Pentateuch
Pharaoh
Pithom
Sargon I of Akkad (Agade)
Ramses
Ramses II
Red Sea
Reed Sea
Ruel
Sinai
Tanak
theophany
Torah
YHWH |
Covenant at Sinai
Jebel Musa, one possible site for Mt. Sinai
picture courtesy of Brian Cowan
click on picture to enlarge
|
* What is a covenant? a conditional covenant? What is the
Moses-Sinai covenant?
* What fundamental values are expressed in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20.1-17)?
How do the first 4 commandments differ from the remaining 6?
* What is the difference between monolatry (or henotheism) and monotheism? Which is required by the Ten
Commandments?
* Why are mountains often important holy places?
|
absolute/apodictic
law
case/casuistic law
Code of Hammurabi
conditional covenant
covenant
decalogue
|
Wilderness
Sinai wilderness
picture courtesy of Brian Cowan
click on picture to enlarge
|
* What is "wilderness" like in
ancient Israel?
* Where are the different wilderness areas mentioned in the Old Testament?
* What are the other important geographic areas and features of Palestine?
* What themes are related to the wilderness:
> What is God like?
> What are the people like?
|
Coastal Plains
Galilee
Jericho
Jordan River
Joshua
Mt. Hermon
Mt. Sinai
Mt. Tabor
Negeb
Palestine
Samaria
Sinai wilderness
wilderness
Wilderness of Judah |
Occupation of Canaan
Jericho, ancient wall
click on picture to enlarge
|
* What evidence do we have regarding the occupation of Canaan by Israel?
> Biblical evidence?
> Archaeological evidence?
> Other documents, etc.
* What inconsistencies are found in the accounts in Joshua and Judges?
* How does
archaeology contribute to the study of the Old Testament?
* What are some of the major models of the occupation based on the evidence? How does the evidence
relate to
each model?
* What familiar themes are in the stories of Joshua?
* Who was Rahab? Why was she important?
* What kind of story is the "Battle of Jericho"?
* What can one learn from the stories of Ai? the Gibeonites?
* What was 'holy war'? 'Herem'?
* What was the 'nahala'? Why is it important?
|
Ai
Amarna letters
Ark of the Covenant
Asherah
Baal
Canaan
Canaanite
cult
Debir
El
Elohim
Gibeonites
Habiru ('Apiru or Hapiru)
Hazor
herem
holy war
Jericho
Joshua
Megiddo
nahala
Rahab
Shechem |
Tribal
Confederacy
Shechem, cultic center of the Tribal
Confederacy
click on picture to enlarge
|
* What was the basic social structure of early Israel?
* During the Period of Judges or the Tribal Confederacy, what did the Israelites share in
common?
* What was the role of covenant renewal ceremonies in early Israel?
* What were the distinctions between Israelites and Canaanites?
* What were the major ideas behind Canaanite fertility religion?
* What was the role of ‘judges’ in the tribal confederacy?
* What were the strengths and weaknesses of the tribal system? How are
these illustrated in the stories of Ehud, Deborah, Gideon, Jephthah,
Samson and the Levite's Concubine?
* What attitudes toward women are revealed in the stories in Judges? |
Barak
Deborah
Ehud
Gideon
Jephthah
judge
Moabites
Nazarite
Philistine
ruach (ruah)
Samson
|
Samuel and
Saul
|
* What were the arguments for and against having a king?
* Who put forth
the different arguments?
* What roles did Samuel play in the transition to monarchy?
* What are the important themes or motifs in the story of Samuel?
* Who were the Philistines? Why are they important in the story of ancient
Israel?
*What was the Ark of the Covenant? What was the significance of its
capture by the Philistines?
* How was Saul chosen to be king?
* What was the nature of Saul's kingdom?
* Why was Saul rejected as king?
* What does the term 'messiah' mean?
* How was David introduced to Saul's court?
* What is the significance of the Story of David and Goliath?
* How did David become alienated from Saul?
> What was the response of the people?
> What was the response of Saul's family members?
*What did David do during his exile from Saul's
court? |
Abimelech
anointed
Ark of Covenant
David
Hannah’s Song
Jonathan
Judah
messiah
Michal
Philistines
ruach (ruah)
Samuel Saul
|
| |
|
|
| |
Unit 2
|
|
David
Jerusalem, excavations
click on picture to enlarge
|
* Of what people/place did David first become king?
* How did David become king of Israel?
* What was the nature of the Davidic (David-Zion) Covenant?
How did it differ from the Mosaic (Moses-Sinai) covenant?
How did it present
the relationship between Israel and its God?
*
Why was Jerusalem important for David’s kingdom?
* What is the evidence in the Hebrew Bible for a David-Zion myth or
tradition, i.e.a royal ideology?
* What is the basic story of the Succession Narrative (Court History) in 2
Samuel and 1 Kings?
* What is the purpose of the Succession Narrative?
* What
literary themes, motifs, and techniques does the Succession Narrative illustrate?
* What was the result of Nathan’s parable?
* What were the conflicts that occurred within David’s family?
* Under what circumstances did Solomon take the throne?
|
Absalom
Adonijah
Amnon
Bathsheba
beth
chaos
creation
Davidic covenant
El
El Elyon
Elohim
Jebusite
Jerusalem
Joab
Nathan
shalom
Tamar
unconditional covenant
Zadok
Zion
Joab |
Solomon
Wisdom Literature
The Division of the Kingdom
|
*
What were the characteristics of Solomon's reign?
Think of both positive and negative features, accomplishments, policies,
etc.
* Why was the Temple important?
* Why do the books of Kings judge Solomon positively? negatively?
*
Why is Solomon viewed as patron of wisdom?
* What is wisdom literature? practical wisdom?
* What is the relationship of wisdom to human reason? to divine
revelation?
* What kinds of issues are addressed in later chapters of Proverbs?
*
What were some of the causes for the division of
the kingdom?
* What issues faced the Northern Kingdom in establishing independence?
* How did Jeroboam begin to address these issues?
|
Ahijah
Bethel
cherub, cherubim
folly
Golden calf
Hiram
Israel
Jeroboam
Jerusalem
Judah
Phoenicia
Proverb
Rehoboam
Retribution theology
Temple
wisdom |
The Documentary Hypothesis
|
* What is the textual evidence for multiple
sources in the Pentateuch?
* What is source criticism.
* What is the Documentary
Hypothesis? What problems
does it seek to solve? What
solution does it offer? What claims of the hypothesis are widely accepted
today? Which are disputed? |
documentary hypothesis
Gilgamesh Epic
Noah and the flood
Pentateuch
primeval narrative
redaction, redactor
source criticism
Torah
|
Yahwist: Primeval Narratives
|
* Why does the Documentary Hypothesis associate the Yahwist narratives with
Judah?
* What questions about the nature of human life and society do the stories
of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, and the Tower of Babel address? What
answers do they give?
* What is the conclusion that Phyllis Trible draws about the Yahwist
creation story? What textual evidence does she use to support her
conclusion?
|
Abel
adam
adamah
Cain
chaos
creation
disobedience
ezer
Primeval story
Tower of Babel
Utnapishtim
Yahwist
ziggurat |
Ancestral
Narratives
|
*
What are the ancestral narratives?
* What is promised to Abraham?
* How is the promise to Abraham similar to the Davidic Covenant? What
question does it answer?
* What are type-scenes, conventions in traditional (oral) literature?
* What is the purpose of a barren woman story?
* What is the purpose of a story of a betrothal at a well?
* What is the role of deception in the ancestral narratives?
* How are the ancestral narratives similar to the Succession Narrative
(stories about the Davidic dynasty)? the Exodus story?
* How are the Yahwist and Elohist ancestral narratives different from one
another?
* What question(s) do the Elohist narratives address for the Northern
Kingdom?
* Why can the Joseph Story be viewed as an example of practical wisdom?
* What is the function of the Joseph Story within Pentateuch?
* Why is the role of Judah in this story important?
* What are some of the pieces of literature outside of the Old Testament that are similar to the Joseph
Story?
* What are some of the themes that are important throughout Genesis?
|
Abraham
Abrahamic covenant
Benjamin
Bethel
Egypt
Elohim
Elohist
Ephraim
eponymous
eponym
Esau
Hagar
Isaac
Ishmael
Jacob
Joseph
Judah
Laban
Leah
Potiphar
Rachel
Rebekah
saga
Sarah
Sodom and Gomorrah
Tanakh
Ur
|
Prophets
of the Northern Kingdom
Ahab's palace at Samaria
click on picture to enlarge
|
*
What
is the role of prophets in ancient Israel?
*
How does the conflict between Elijah and the prophets of Baal illustrate Israelite prophecy?
*
How does the story of Naboth’s vineyard reflect the significance of the nahala?
*
What points of comparison are there between Elijah and Moses?
*
What was the situation in Israel during the Reign
of Jeroboam II?
* What is the meaning of justice for the prophet Amos?
* What is the meaning of righteousness for the prophet Amos?
* What is the significance of the Day of Yahweh?
* Why was Amos in conflict with Amaziah?
* What was the basic message of Hosea?
* How does Hosea use marriage as a metaphor in conveying his message?
* What other important metaphor for the relationship between Yahweh and
Israel does Hosea use?
|
Ahab
Amos
apostasy
Assyria
Bethel
Book of Twelve
Day of Yahweh (the LORD)
ecstatic prophet
Elijah
Elisha
Gomer
Hosea
Jehu
Jezebel
Jeroboam II
justice
major prophet
minor prophet
Mt. Carmel
Naboth
Omri
Phoenicia
prophet
Samaria, Samaritans
sympathetic magic
c. 722 BCE |
|
|
|
|
Unit 3
|
|
Micah
Isaiah
|
* What was the basic message of Hosea?
* How does Hosea use marriage as a metaphor in conveying his message?
* What other important metaphor for the relationship between Yahweh and
Israel does Hosea use?
*
Where
was Micah from? How did that
impact his prophetic messages?
* Which covenant tradition did he represent?
* What literary form does he use in chapter 6 to convey his concern for social
justice?
* What does he say about Jerusalem? leaders?
* What was Isaiah’s connection with Jerusalem?
* What else do we know about the prophet himself?
* What is the significance of Isaiah’s Temple Vision?
* What was the historical context for Isaiah’s prophecies to Ahaz?
* What was his prophetic message?
* What was the meaning of the sign of the Immanuel, if spoken to that
situation?
|
Ahaz
Assyria
Bethlehem
Ephraim
Gomer
Hosea
Hezekiah
Immanuel
Isaiah of Jerusalem
justice
messiah
Micah
righteousness
Samaria, Samaritans
seraph, seraphim
c. 722 BCE
|
Isaiah-pt. 2
|
* How did the Septuagint translate the Immanuel prophecy? What
implications did that reading have for later interpretations of its
meaning?
* What other context has been suggested for the writing of Isaiah 7? What
implications does that view have for interpreting the meaning and
significance of the text?
*
What was the historical context for Isaiah’s
prophecies to Hezekiah?
*
What happened during the invasion by Assyria?
*
What was Isaiah's message during the invasion?
|
remnant
Sennacherib
Septuagint
Syria
Syro-Ephraimite War
Tiglath-Pileser III
Zion theology
|
Jeremiah
|
* Why
is Manasseh identified as an ‘evil’ king?
* How did the great empires of Assyria, Egypt, and Babylonia interact and
change in relative power between 700 BCE and 600 BCE?
* What were the effects of international developments on Judah?
* Why was the reign of Josiah important?
* What was the Deuteronomic Reform?
* Why was the death of Josiah such a crisis for Judah?
* What do we know about the prophet Jeremiah?
* What was the context and message of Jeremiah's Temple Sermon?
*
What was Jeremiah’s message to Judah in the period leading up to the
exile?
* Who was Baruch and why is he important for the Book of Jeremiah?
* What were the important events in the history of Judah from 598-587 BCE?
* What was Jeremiah’s response to these events?
* What covenant traditions did Jeremiah represent?
* What was Jeremiah’s attitude toward exile?
Egypt?
* What was Jeremiah's response to the Fall of Jerusalem?
* What was the situation in exile?
* What was Jeremiah's message after the Fall of Jerusalem?
|
Anathoth
Babylonia
Baruch
Deuteronomic Reform
Hananiah
Jeremiah
Josiah
Megiddo
Nebuchadnezzar
Nineveh
orphan, widow, sojourner (alien)
Zedekiah
c. 621 BCE
c. 609 BCE
c. 598 BCE
c. 587
BCE
|
The
Deuteronomistic Writings
|
*
What issues were raised for the Judahite people by the Fall of Jerusalem
and Babylonian exile?
* Why is the Book of Deuteronomy known as the 'Second Law'? How
is it related to the Deuteronomic Reform of Josiah?
* How does the Book of Deuteronomy fit into the Documentary Hypothesis?
* What are the basic tenets of Deuteronomistic Theology?
* What reason does Deuteronomy give for observing the Sabbath?
* What evidence suggests that the Book of Deuteronomy was edited during or
after the exile?
* What is the Deuteronomistic History?
* What features of Judges and Kings reflect Deuteronomisticc theology?
* What books are included in the Deuteronomistic History?
|
Book
of the Law
centralization of the cult
Deuteronomist
Deuteronomistic History
lex talionis
sabbatical year
Shema |
Second
Isaiah
|
*
What are the theological issues raised by exile?
* What are the reasons for distinguishing between Isaiah of Jerusalem and Second Isaiah?
* What is the historical context for Second Isaiah?
* What is the significance of Cyrus?
* What title does Second Isaiah give him?
Why?
* How does Second Isaiah use Moses-Sinai and David-Zion traditions?
* What is monotheism?
* What combination of ideas from ancient Israel and Mesopotamia supports Second Isaiah's
affirmation of monotheism?
* What issues are raised by the Servant songs, suffering servant?
|
Babylon
Cyrus
Deutero-Isaiah (Second Isaiah)
Edict of Cyrus
messiah
monotheism
Persia
538 b.c.e.
|
Job
|
*
What is philosophical wisdom literature?
* How does the Book of Job serve as an example of this type of wisdom literature?
* What is the story of the folktale?
* What are the important issues raised by the story?
* How does the story deal with the question of disinterested piety? Suffering
of the innocent?
* What claims does Job make?
* What are the arguments made by the friends?
* How does Job respond to these arguments?
* What complaint does Job make to God?
* How does God respond? |
Job
satan
theodicy
wisdom
|
Philosophical Wisdom
|
*
What does Koheleth say about the meaning of life?
* What traditional Jewish doctrines and/or Hebrew Bible texts does he seem to
reject or contradict?
* How do chapters of Proverbs written during the
post-exilic period differ from earlier ones?
* What is the meaning of the figure of Lady Wisdom?
* What does she do?
|
Ecclesiastes
Koheleth
vanity of vanities |
Priestly
Materials - Pt. 1
|
*
What are the differences between the post-exilic
Jewish community and Israel/Judah at other periods in history?
* What was the role of priests, particularly as compared to earlier periods?
* How do the Priestly traditions fit into the Documentary Hypothesis?
* How does the Priestly creation account compare with the Yahwist account?
* How does the P account of creation reflect the particular situation of
the exilic and post-exilic Jewish community?
* How is the P version of the flood different from the Yahwist version?
* Why do circumcision and the Sabbath become particularly important during the
post-exilic period?
|
Abraham
adam
blessing
chaos
circumcision
cosmos
creation
cult
dominion
genealogy
image of God
liturgy
myth
P
purity
Sabbath
Sabbatical Year
sacrifice
scapegoat
Tabernacle |
|
|
|
|
|
Unit 4
|
|
The
Chronicler's History
|
*
In what ways do the Books of Chronicles serve as
a “revisionist” history of the post-exilic period?
* Compare the Chronicler's history with the Deuteronomistic history.
* How do differences between the two reflect particular concerns of post-exilic period?
|
Chronicler's
History
Deuteronomistic history
David
Day of Atonement
(yom kippur)
diaspora
Exile
exogamy
Ezra
holiness
Josiah
Jubilee Year
Levites
Manasseh
Neco
Nehemiah
priests
Saul
Satan
Temple
Uzziah
515 BCE
|
Priestly
Materials - Pt. 2
Ezra
and
Nehemiah
|
*
What priestly materials/themes can be found in the
Book of Exodus?
* How
do Leviticus and the Holiness Code reflect the concerns of priestly
circles?
* What is the role of purity laws in the life of the post-exilic Jewish
community?
* What were some of the major issues facing the Jewish community during the post-exilic period?
* Who was Ezra and why is he important?
* Who was Nehemiah and why is he important? |
|
Jonah
and Ruth
|
* What type(s) of literature does one find in the books of Jonah and Ruth?
* What message(s) do the books of Jonah and Ruth seek to convey to the post-exilic
Jewish community?
* How does the character of Jonah differ from other OT prophets?
* What is the problem around which the Book of Ruth revolves? How
is this problem resolved? |
Boaz
diaspora
glean
Jonah
levirate custom
Naomi
Ruth |
Daniel
|
*
What
were the major historical events impacting the Jewish community during the Hellenistic Period?
* What crisis was caused by Antiochus IV?
* What are the differences between the first six chapters of Daniel and
the last six?
* How does apocalyptic literature differ from prophetic literature?
* How does the Book of Daniel exemplify these differences, particularly in Daniel’s visions and
their interpretations?
* How do the stories in Daniel reflect the Hellenistic historical context and the message of the writer
to this situation?
* Why does the idea of resurrection begin to be mentioned at this time?
|
Alexander
the Great
Ancient of Days
Antiochus IV
apocalyptic
Belshazzar
Daniel
dualism
eschatology
gentile
Hellenism
Maccabees
Nebuchadnezzar
Ptolemaic Empire
resurrection
Seleucid Empire
Son of Man
333 BCE
167 BCE
|
Apocrypha
Canon
|
* What is the Apocrypha? Pseudepigrapha?
*
What do Susanna and Bel & the Dragon add to Daniel?
* What is the purpose of the Song of Solomon or Song of Songs? In
other words, why is this book in the Old Testament?
* What is a religious community’s canon?
* How did the OT become canon?
* What criteria were used for determining what books the OT included as canon?
* How are Jewish, Roman Catholic, and Protestant canons different? The same?
|
Apocrypha
Bel
canon
Dead Sea Scrolls
Malachi
New Testament
Pseudepigrapha
Qumran
Septuagint
Song of Solomon
Susanna
|
