Old Testament Test 2 AB study guide

Joshua opening verse

After the death of Moses the servant of the Lord, the Lord said to Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, "Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel. (josh 1:1-2)

1-2 Chronicles opening verses

"Adam, Seth, Enosh; Kenan, Mahalalel, Jared;" (1 Chron 1:1-2) "Solomon the son of David established himself in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him and made him exceedingly great." (2 Chron 1:1-2)

Judges opening verse

"After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the Lord, "Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?" The Lord said, "Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand." (Judg 1:1-2)

David and Solomon rule United Monarchy

1010-931 bce

Bronze Age Collapse

1200-1150 bce

Assyrian destruction of Israel

722 bce

Ruth opening verse

"In the days when the judges ruled there was a famine in the land, and a man of Bethlehem in Judah went to sojourn in the country of Moab, he and his wife and his two sons." Ruth 1:1

Ezra-Nehemiah opening verses

"In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah might be fulfilled, the Lord stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, so that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom and also put it in writing:" (Ezra 1:1) The words of Nehemiah the son of Hacaliah. Now it happened in the month of Chislev, in the twentieth year, as I was in Susa the citadel, (Neh 1:1)

1-2 Kings opening verses

"Now King David was old and advanced in years. And although they covered him with clothes, he could not get warm." 1 Kings 1:1

Joshua purpose statement

"So the Lord gave Israel all the land... and they took possession of it and settled there. The Lord gave them rest on every side... the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. No one of all the Lord's good promises is Israel failed; every one was fulfilled." Joshua 21:43-45

1-2 Samuel opening verses

"There was a certain man of Ramathaim-zophim of the hill country of Ephraim whose name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, son of Elihu, son of Tohu, son of Zuph, an Ephrathite." (1 Sam 1:1) "After the death of Saul, when David had returned from striking down the Amalekites, David remained two days in Ziklag." (2 Sam 1:1)

The differences between 1-2 Chronicles and Deuteronomic history, especially with reference to David.

1-2 Chronicles is a more hopeful story and doesn't dwell on the failures of the kings in Israel's golden age

Persian restoration from Exile (King Cyrus and the Cyrus Decree)

536 bce

Babylonian destruction of Judah

586 bce

United Monarchy splits into Israel (N) and Judah (S)

931 bce

Ezra-Nehemiah summary (2 sentences, and relationship from Deut. to Neh.)

Cyrus allows the people to return to their homeland, and also provided the funds to rebuild the temple. Zerubabbel led fifty thousand back. Under prophets Haggai and Zechariah, the temple was finally completed. In the mid fifth century others returned under the leadership of Ezra (458) and Nehemiah (445).

The story of David, Bathsheba, and Nathan

David sees Bathsheba bathing on the roof, commits adultery with her, has her husband, a mighty warrior, sent to the front lines to be killed. Nathan calls him out on it, and says that the Lord will be take away his firstborn with Bathsheba and David mourns.

Definition of the role of judges from the Book of Judges

Deliverers God raised up to bring deliverance for Israel.

The story of Elijah verses Ba'al and Asherah on Mt. Carmel.

Elijah sets up an equal sacrifice opportunity between Yahweh and Baal, and the prophets of Baal fail to prove their god to have any power. God strikes the sacrifice with lightning, completely engulfing the water and sacrifice.

Ruth summary (2 sentences, and relationship from Deut. to Neh.)

Famine in Bethlehem drives Elimelek and Naomi to Moab, where their sons marry Moabite women. After the menfolk pass, Naomi's daughter-in-law Ruth, a foreigner, is faithful to her and her God and serves as a faith link between Abraham and David.

Joshua summary (2 sentences, and relationship from Deut. to Neh.)

God is sovereign in world events, keeping His covenant, bringing them into the land, giving them victory and distrubuting the land. With emphasis on God's end of the covenant promise, the book concludes with a renewal of the covenant.

Heilsgeschite and Geschichte, History and narrative

Historie -- more honest Geschichte (narrative) -- reflecting some bias.

Esther summary (2 sentences, and relationship from Deut. to Neh.)

In a book full of irony and hidden information, Esther finds herself queen of the persian empire. After Haman takes offense at Mordecai's behavior and plans to wipe out an ethnic group, through courageous intiative and clever strategy, the Jews are spared, their enemies destroyed, and Mordecai is elevated to a position of power (that his antagonizer had occupied)

The first kings of the Divided Kingdom

Jeroboam and Rehoboam

Contents of Jewish canon under Writings

Josh, Jud, 1-2 Sam, 1-2 Kings, Isa, Jer, Eze, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obed, Jonah, Mic, Nah, Hab, Zeph, Hag, Zech, Mal

Claims of anonymous authorship in the historical books

Joshua could have written Joshua, Ezra likely wrote the Chronicles as the last few verses are the first few verses to Ezra

Contents of Christian canon under Historical Books

Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings, 1-2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther.

Esther opening verse

Now in the days of Ahasuerus, the Ahasuerus who reigned from India to Ethiopia over 127 provinces, (Est 1:1)

Know the story of Esther and the institution of Purim

Purim is established to celebrate that the people of Israel were delivered from the hands of those who sought to single them out.

1- 2 Samuel summary (2 sentences, and relationship from Deut. to Neh.)

Samuel grows up in the temple, becomes established as a prophet and when the people reject him (effectively rejecting God's leadership) he becomes a kingmaker, starting with Saul. Saul has some initial success and eventual failures, that lead to Yahweh's choice of David, who brings about the golden age of Israel. David impulsively abuses his power when he took Bathsheba and had her husband placed at the front lines -- his sons show themselves to be headstrong, ambitious, and deficient in character.

Why Saul lost the kingdom and was replaced by David

Saul was the first king chosen by God and anointed by Samuel. Although he had many of the qualities and characteristics that the tribal leaders considered important, his lack of spiritual insight and theological sophistication led to some critical errors in judgment.

1-2 Kings summary (2 sentences, and relationship from Deut. to Neh.)

Solomon inherited an empire, and so in his domestic building projects he built the temple and the palace. In his extensive political alliances, he built a large harem, but lost his hold on outside territories. Solomon's son Rehoboam was abandoned by the northern tribes, and we have a collection of divided kings that lead to the fall of Jerusalem.

The women in Jesus genealogy in Matthew 1

Tamar, Rahab, Uriah's Wife (Bathsheba) and Mary

The Davidic covenant

The covenant stood as an important link between God and the Davidic line as God continued to reveal his nature. This link reached its zenith in Jesus Christ, who, as Messiah, was the Davidic king, and as the Son of God, was the ultimate revelation of God's kingship.

1-2 Chronicles summary (2 sentences, and relationship from Deut. to Neh.)

The main story line begins with David, Second chronicles documents the reign of Solomon and his successors. Written post-exile, the focus is on God's plan; The story line does not end with the destruction of Jerusalem, but mentions the return permitted by the proclamations of Cyrus in 539 BC.

Judges summary (2 sentences, and relationship from Deut. to Neh.)

The people fell pray to the idols and spiritual influence of the native population they had failed to drive out. Judges and tribals leaders failed to help the people remain faithful to the covenant.

1-2 Chronicles purpose statement

The purpose of Chronicles is to show that throughout Israel's history, obedience led to blessing, and disobedience led to trouble.

Judges purpose statement

The purpose of Judges is to show the failure of the Israelites to keep their part of the covenant.

Ruth purpose statement

The purpose of Ruth is to show that when people are faithful, God is faithful.

Esther purpose statement

The purpose of the book of Esther is to show that God can accomplish his purposes just as easily through "coincidences" as he can through grand miracles of deliverance.

Ezra-Nehemiah purpose statement

The purpose of the books of Ezra and Nehemiah is to show the ways that God was at work to restore the people of Israel to their land.

1-2 Kings purpose statement

The purpose of the books of Kings is to demonstrate that the kings of Israel and Judah failed to live up to the ideals of the kingship covenant and that God was therefore justified in his exiling in his people.

1-2 Sam purpose statement

The purpose of the books of Samuel is to tell the story of the establishment of the kingship covenant with David.

The idea of animal sacrifice in Israel and in the ANE

sacrifice in Israel was just that, a sacrifice. with other nations, they'd sacrifice to earn something, or to get something, instead of freely giving because we have freely recieved.

The purpose of the genealogy in Matt 1

to list that the messiah came from the Davidic Covenant

The epithets associated with Ba'al and Asherah

•ba'al: owner, husband, lord, master. -- also associated with lightning and storms. Asherah, goddess of the sea and offspring