Old Testament 2 midterm
Identify the messianic theology of chronicles
A messianic theology comes into focus through circumstances of divine election—the saved people who return from exile, the continuation of David and his like for leadership, the continuation of Jerusalem, the continuation of the Temple, the continuation of the covenant
Identify the reasons why the kingdom was divided
Happened after the death of Solomon around 931 BC Happened due to the apostasy of Solomon, oppressive policy of Solomon, encouragement of jeroboam by ahijah, excessive taxation of Solomon, favoritism of Judah by Solomon, and no world power to keep the nation unified Happened because rehoboam decided to follow the harsh policies of Solomon so the northern tribe established their own kingdom
Identify the different ways that the chronicler uses the term "all israel" in chronicles
The term "all Israel" is used by the Chronicler to refer to the northern and southern kingdom—all Israel together. In doing so, "Israel" referred to a people who are in a special relationship with the Lord and are accountable to God.
Identify the unusual features of the book of Ezra
The use of lists The use of Aramaic The lists and Aramaic show that the author was determined to use official documents where possible to establish the legitimacy of the Jews.
Define the term "canon"
The word "canon" is a transliteration of the Greek word "kanon," which in turn came from the Hebrew word "kaneh" (meaning reed, or measuring rod). From this came the idea of a rule or standard to which oral and written messages claiming to be from God measure up.
Identify the 5 divisions of the English Old Testament along with the books in those divisions
The Old Testament—39 books in 5 categories Law—5 books—Genesis through Deuteronomy History—12 books—Genesis through Esther Poetry—5 books—Job through Song of Solomon Major prophets—5 books—Isaiah through Daniel Minor prophets—12 books—Hosea through Malachi The New Testament—27 books in 4 categories Gospels—4 books—Matthew through John History—1 book—Acts Epistles—21 books—Romans through Jude Apocalypse—1 book—Revelation
Identify and define the desire of Ezra
"For Ezra had set his heart to study the law of the Lord and to practice it, and to teach His statutes and ordinances in Israel." Study the Law of the Lord—he wanted to know the Law Practice it—he wanted to practice and obey the Law of the Lord Teach it—he wanted to instruct God's people in the Law
Identify and define the purpose statements for 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther
1 and 2 Kings—to tell of the taking away of the kingdoms and to tell of the wickedness of the Northern kings 1 and 2 Chronicles—to encourage the people of the post-exilic Jewish community by highlighting God's elective purpose demonstrated throughout the history of Israel Ezra—to give an account of the return of the exiles, the rebuilding of the temple, and the reform of the people under Ezra Nehemiah—to give an account of the rebuilding of the wall and the renewal of the people under Nehemiah Esther—to show the providence of God and to account for the origin of the Feast of Purim
Identify seven evidences of Solomon's kingship
An excellent decision won wide acclaim A well organized government An extensive dominion An elaborate court An immense stable of horses The gift of extraordinary wisdom The gift of poetic ability
Identify each of the 12 periods of bible history
Beginnings—extended from the beginning of the world to the time of Abraham and includes the creation, fall, flood, new civilization, and dispersion of the people (Genesis 1-11) Patriarchs—the beginning of Hebrew history and includes the call of Abraham and his history as well as Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph (Genesis 12-50) Exodus—the sojourn, slavery, exodus, covenant, and wandering in the wilderness (Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy) Conquest and Division of Canaan—following Moses' death, Joshua led the 12 tribes in the conquest and division of Canaan (Joshua) Judges—Joshua's leadership was followed by a succession of judges or deliverers who had both military and religious responsibilities (Judges and Ruth) United Monarchy—Samuel established a kingdom and anointed Saul to be king. Three kings (Saul, David, and Solomon) reigned, each of them about 40 years (1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles) Two Kingdoms (Division and Fall of the Kingdoms)—following Solomon's death in about 931 BC, the northern tribes established a kingdom separate from the two southern tribes. After the separation, the Northern Kingdom was called Israel, and the Southern Kingdom was called Judah (Northern Kingdom: 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Amos, Micah, Hosea, Isaiah; Southern Kingdom: 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and Second Chronicles, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Micah, Habakkuk, and Nahum) Exile (Babylonian Captivity)—with the fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonians in 586 BC, the leaders and many people were taken to Babylon as captives (Ezekiel and Daniel) Restoration (Return from the Exile and Rebuilding)—after defeating the Babylonians in 539 BC, the Medo-Persian king Cyrus allowed the exiles to return to Canaan (Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Haggai, and Zechariah) Intertestamental Period—this is.a 400 year period between the Old and New Testaments The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ—the focus of this period is the birth, life, ministry, teachings, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) The Early Church and Ministry of Paul—the final period of Bible history deals with the spread of the gospel in the early church and the conversion and ministry of Paul (Acts, the Epistles, and Revelation)
Identify and define the names for the Bible, including the Greek and hebrew
Bible (Greek word "biblion" which means "book", and its plural form, "biblia") Scriptures (Greek words "graphe" and "gramma" which mean "writings") The Word (Hebrew word "dabar" and Greek word "logos" which means "word")
Identify the 3 groups of exiles returning during the Ezra/Nehemiah period
First group—led by Zerubbabel in 538 BC immediately after Cyrus's decree, returning to Jerusalem to rebuild the temple Second group—led by Ezra the priest in 458 BC Third group—led by Nehemiah in 445 BC, who was appointed governor and led in the rebuilding of the walls of jerusalem
Identify and define the five factors for interpreting the bible
Historical—we must determine the historical background of biblical passage Literary—we must determine the basic type of literature or genre of the biblical passage, and we must learn to identify and understand standard literary figures of speech within Scripture Grammatical—we must determine the meanings of the words (lexical) and the relationships of the words to one another (syntax) Contextual—we must determine the relationship of the passage to its context Spiritual—we must determine our own spiritual condition as we prepare to interpret the Bible
Identify the three strands of information found in every passage of scripture
History (God's self revelation occurred in specific places, to specific persons, at specific points in the space time continuum) Theology (the Bible is about God's divine self revelation and the implications of that divine self disclosure to humans) Literature (God has chosen to record and preserve His divine self disclosure in written form)
Identify the four views of inspiration with their definitions
Illumination View—the Holy Spirit enabled the human authors to express and raised their religious insight Dynamic View—the Holy Spirit inspired, guarded, and guided the writers, but left them free to choose their own words and write in their own personal styles Dictation View—the Holy Spirit dictated the words and the writer recorded them Verbal Plenary—the Holy Spirit inspired the Bible in all its parts, even to word selection, while preserving and reflecting the human writers' personalities in the writing
Identify the criteria for a book to be accepted into the Old Testament canon
Inherent divine inspiration, significant authorship, content consistent with other accepted books, and accepted use of the book
Identify the four barriers to correct interpretation of the bible
Language—the Bible was not written in English. It was written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek Culture—the events of the Bible do not take place in western culture Time—the Bible was written at a much earlier time Situation—a bible passage might have been written to address a unique or different situation than what we might encounter today
Identify key truths regarding prayer from the book of Nehemiah
Prayer is our greatest tool when we are desiring direction, conveying contribution, requesting restoration, encountering opposition, making petition, or expressing celebration
Distinguish between the prophetic formula and revelatory formula
Prophetic Formula—special, stylized literary word, phrase, or clause that emphasizes the genuine accurate reception and accurate relaying of God's divine authoritative message by God's spokesperson to the hearing or reading audience Revelatory Formula—special, stylized literary word, phrase, or clause that emphasizes the genuine accurate revelation of the divine message by God to God's spokesperson and the spokesperson's genuine accurate reception of the message
Identify and define the differences between chronicles and Samuel and kings
Readers—Samuel and Kings addressed the exilic community and explained why Israel's monarchy failed, while chronicles addressed the restored community and explained that God still had a purpose for Israel Scope—Samuel and kings are limited to the United Monarch and Divided Kingdoms, while Chronicles attempts at comprehensive history Kingships—Samuel and Kings deal with the United Monarchy and the Northern and Southern Kingdoms, while Chronicles features David and the Kings of Judah and avoids commenting on the Northern Kingdom Location—In Samuel and Kings, the palace is the center stage. In Chronicles, the Temple is center stage. For the Chronicler, the lasting contribution of the kings was religious
Identify the major and minor concepts for understanding the Bible (revelation, inspiration, illumination)
Revelation—a word used to describe the nature of the Bible as given by God to reveal Himself to make Himself known to man General revelation (available at all times to all people with less specification) Specific revelation (God's manifestation of Himself to particular people at particular times and places) Inspiration (the inspiration of the writers of the Bible to have written the Bible) Illumination (the Holy Spirit enabling us to recall and understand Scripture)
Identify reasons why Solomon's heart was turned away from the Lord
Solomon loved many foreign women He clung to his foreign wives, who worshipped false gods, in love His wives turned his heart after other gods He went after or followed other gods He built places of worship for other gods, leading Israel away from Yahweh
Identify the factors that led to the development of the canon
The preservation and collection of sacred writings became important The elevation of the Law as a result of the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC the efforts of the Greeks to convert Jews to Greek culture and religion The development and use of the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament The rise of Christianity with the use of the Hebrew Scriptures The decisions of the Councils of Jamnia (AD 90-110) to limit the Jewish canon to 24 books
Identify the 3 part division of the Hebrew bible with the books in those divisions
Torah—5 books—Genesis through Deuteronomy Nevi'im—8 books—Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and The Twelve Kethubim—11 books—Psalms, Job, Proverbs, Ruth, Song of Solomon, Ecclesiastes, Lamentations, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles
Identify and define the major Old Testament literary genres
Torah—instruction, direction, guidelines contained in founding documents Historical Narrative—the orderly recounting of biographical episodes or historical events Prophecy—the speaking forth of divine revelation to a specific person or group in the context of a specific historical milieu Hebrew Poetry—the presentation of divine revelation using standard Hebrew poetic forms that include parallelism of thought and figures of speech Wisdom Literature—a special sub genre of Hebrew poetry treating philosophical issues or dealing with how to succeed in the details of daily living Apocalyptic Literature—writing in signs symbols Proverbs—short pithy maxims expressing holy insights into what it takes to be successful in the details of daily living
