Introduction - Midterm Flashcards
What story presented in the narratives of Israel’s scriptures provides the framework to rightly understand the gospel of Messiah?
The story of the kingdom, exile, and return (p.1)
What is a narrative?
Refers to characters within a setting who overcome obstacles toward resolution (p.1)
What analogy do ancient covenants operate by?
Two people who are not kin becoming kin (p.2)
What is a “residing foreigner”?
Refers to one who sought refuge in Israel and who submitted to the covenant of Israel such as through circumcision (p.2)
What is a “foreigner”?
Refers to ethnic others who did not seek to assimilate into Israel. They did not take covenantal circumcision and did not submit to Yahweh’s teachings. They may have been hostile, indifferent, or friendly toward Israel (p.2).
What does torah mean?
With a lowercase t, it means instruction or teaching (p.3)
What do we need to know about using BCE to date Old Testament events?
It means Before the Common Era, and they count down to the time of the Messiah (p.3)
What is the Old Testament?
Refers to the first section of the Christian Bible. Referred to as Torah and Prophets or Torah, Prophets and Psalms (p.3).
What is the Septuagint (LXX)?
The Greek translation of the Old Testament (p.3)
How much time passed between an event and when an author wrote about it in a biblical narrative?
Dates of authorship of biblical narratives are often a long time after the events in the narratives (p.4)
How is the Christian sequence of historical narrative books different from the Judaic sequence?
In the Christian sequence, most of the narratives were collected in more or less chronological order (p.5)
What ancient version of Israel’s scriptures is the sequence apparently adopted by the Christian Old Testament?
The Septuagint (p.5)
Which two biblical books in the Writings of the Judaic tradition appear among the prophetic books in the Christian tradition?
Lamentations and Daniel (p.5)
Why were the narratives of Samuel, Kings, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles each broken into two parts?
The scrolls were long and difficult to use (p.5)
What is the purpose of the four-part serial known as the Deuteronomistic narrative?
The serial narrates the rise and fall of the Hebrew kingdoms through the covenantal lens of Deut. (pg. 5-6)
Why had exiles previously believed that the kingdom could not fall?
The kingdom could not fall because of God’s forever promises to Abraham and David (pg. 6)
According to the Deuteronomistic narrative, why was exile necessary?
God’s faithfulness to the covenant with his people made exile necessary (pg. 6)
What gap in the book of Joshua does the Judges story grow out of?
The gap between God’s fidelity to give the land and Israel’s failure to obey (pg 6)
What is the centerpiece of God’s redemptive plan within the entirety of Israel’s scriptures?
The narrative spelled out in the books of 1-2 Samuel (David’s Kingship) (pg. 6)
What are the Old Testament narratives of exile and restoration?
Ruth, Daniel, and Esther (pg 6)
What is the focus of Chronicles?
Chronicles sets the story of the Davidic kingdom and its support for the temple within the entire Old Testament story line (pg. 7)
What is a benefit of focusing on biblical connections?
These connections offer a concrete way to think with the biblical authors as well the people in their stories (pg. 7)
According to Schnittjer, how should gospel connections be found in the Old Testament?
There is no need to “find Jesus in every verse” throughout the Old Testament. We want to think BIG PICTURE: Gospel connections must unfold from the redemptive structure of the narrative. (pg. 7).
When studying the Bible, how do many important life connections begin?
Important life connections begin within the framework of the narrative of Israel’s Scriptures. The O.T. “was written for our instruction” (1 Cor. 10:11). (pg. 7)
What is the purpose of the beginning of a biblical narrative?
Provides the framework to make sense of the entire story (pg. 8)
How does the ending of biblical narrative function?
Narratives end. The ending can be thought of as the goal or destiny of the narrative. From the very beginning everything within a narrative moves toward its ending. The ending places everything within the narrative in a new light. (Page 8)
What is the relationship between those whom biblical narratives are about and those for whom they are written?
They are never about who they are for (Page 9)
Why is the ending of a narrative critical to the meaning of the entire story?
The ending of a narrative is critical to the meaning of the entire story. Once readers arrive at the ending—its destiny—they have a new perspective by which to reevaluate every part of the narrative. (Page 10)
What is the meaning of the expression dischronological narrative?
When narrative sequence differs from chronological sequence it is called dischronological narrative. (Page 10)
What is the point of dischronological narrative?
Serves several purposes. Framing theology and similar narrative sequences together as well as sometimes placing causes and their effects side by side (Page 10).
How common is dischronological narrative in the Bible?
Dischronological narrative is very common in the Bible (Page 10)
Why did authors use dischronological narration?
To frame theology to its best advantage (Page 10)
What is a “formula”?
Formula refers to repeated organizing phrases (Page 11)
What does “denotation” mean?
Denotation refers to that which is signified by a word or phrase (Page 11)
What is a “leading word”?
Refers to the abundant use of a term or set of terms for emphasis
What literary structure refers to an element that causes the story to move in a new direction?
Turning point
What is meant by the term narrative shaping?
Refers to the activities of storymakers to present historical narrative to convey theological messages
What are synoptic narratives?
Synoptic narratives are two versions of the same story
What is the relationship between historical and ideological accounts?
All narratives are ideological. Biblical narratives have sophisticated literary artistry in rendering historical events.
What does the ancient context of the narratives of Israel’s scriptures include?
The ancient context of Israel’s scriptures include the lands and social realities in which they were set
What should modern Bible readers keep in mind about time and antiquity?
That in antiquity 100 years ago was just as long and complicated as today even if the kind of complication differs
Where is the Levant?
The Levant is the region running down the East side of the Mediterranean Sea
Who were the Canaanites?
Canaanites is an umbrella term for those descended from Canaan in Gen 10 and includes the Amorites, Girgashites, Jebusites, etc
What distant relatives of Israel lived in or near the land of promise?
The Edomites
Once in the land of promise, what was the root of Israel’s troubles?
Intermarriage with the Canaanites and the failure to conquer the land as YHWH had commanded to drive out the Canaanites
Why were apostasy marriages attractive?
A desire of Israelite parents to secure marriages with established families of land for social and economic advantages. (p.16)
When did the long-running problem of apostasy marriages seem highest?
During times of economic hardship. (p.17)
Who is Asherah?
The false goddess consort of El who gave birth to other gods.( p.17-18)
Why did the majority of ancient Israelites worship the God of their ancestors as well as the regional gods of Canaan?
For hope of safety and prosperity. (p.19)
What was the religious norm for ancient Israel?
Mixing true and false religious devotion. (p. 19)
Why did Yahweh take away from David the honor of building a temple?
Because David was a man of war and had shed blood. (p.20)
How did David amass materials and wealth for the temple building project that Solomon would undertake?
Plundering regional rivals. (p.20)
What did the worship of other gods by Solomon’s treaty wives signify?
Peace between Solomon and the nations. (p.21)
How did Solomon relate to the religious devotion of his many treaty wives?
He built high places of worship for them. (p.21)
What happened to religious devotion in Israel after David and Solomon?
Israel split into two kingdoms. (North got much worse). ( p.21)
Where were the worship centers in the northern kingdom of Israel?
Dan and Bethel (p.21)
Which of the Ten Commandments did Israel break because of their divided commitments despite Yahweh’s honoring his word and giving the people the land of promise?
The First Commandment. (p.22)
Where is Mesopotamia?
Between the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. (p.22)
How did Hebrew prophets explain the significance of the rise of the Neo-Assyrian Empire?
The Assyrian crisis gave rise to a new form of revelation that offered enduring testimony of God’s wrath being poured out on Israel through the hands of the Assyrians (Babylonians) (p. 24)
How did the prophets interpret the economic sanctions and military aggression of the Assyrians?
God’s own judgment against His people. (p.24)
How did the Assyrians interpret their acts of aggression?
Justified force to subjugate peoples from the Mediterranean Sea to the Persian Gulf. (p.24)
How do the scriptural narratives measure rulers?
By their commitment to God’s Torah. (p.25)
What is an example of the self-glorification of Assyrian rulers on their coins?
An Assyrian king stabbing an attacking lion
What was a major innovation of Neo-Assyrian warfare?
Its extreme cruelty
How did Assyrian scribes enhance one version of the eighth military campaign of Sennacherib?
Imagery from the myths. Enuma Elish, law collection of hammurabi.
What did a suzerain-vassal treaty guarantee to vassals who paid extremely high tribute to the suzerain?
Safety
What did the rise of the Chaldeans in the late seventh century BCE instigate?
Major power shifts across the Near East
What is the most significant cause of change in ancient Israel and Judah?
Forced migration of the peoples from their homelands
How many exiles does the Bible speak of?
10 exiles
What is true of the ten tribes in Chronicles?
There are no 10 lost tribes
What happened to virtually all of the regional people groups around the Hebrew kingdoms when empires forcibly migrated them from their homelands?
Lost their national identity and assimilated
What factor helped Judah retain its covenantal identity when forcibly migrated from its land?
Canonical Consciousness. The scrolls containing the Word of God.
Where were the Hebrews forcibly relocated in Babylonian exile ?
Villages in the lower Mesopotamia area
What does the evidence tell us about Judean captives in exile?
They owned property, paid taxes, and participated in the economics of society
What characterized the dynamics of the relationships between Judean exiles of 597 BCE and those of 586 BCE?
Strain and disharmony among the exiles
What was one of the first things Cyrus did when Persia defeated and took over the empire formerly in the hands of the Chaldeans?
Grant limited privileges to many captives
What significant innovation gave the Achaemenid empire of the Persians enduring stability in comparison to previous Near Eastern empires?
They moved the royal court routinely between four important capital cities: Babylon, Susa, Persepolis, and Parsarda
How long did Jews remain in the diaspora?
Some remained forever, 80% stayed
When did the Second Temple stand in Jerusalem?
515 BCE until 70 CE
What characterizes the returned Judean exiles in the days of the Persian Empire?
Faithful people who desired to reestablish a covenantal community in Judah
How successful was the restoration?
It failed. The people fell into the same sins of their ancestors.
What was Judah’s experience under the Persians?
Limited, relative autonomy through suffering from Assyrian pressures
