Midterm Review Flashcards
Study for class midterm: Old Testament Introduction, covering chapters 1-18 in the book by Gleason Archer.
Explain the difference between general introduction and special introduction.
- General introduction deals with introductory matters common to the entire Old Testament.
- Special introduction deals with the individual books of the Old Testament, treating matters of authorship, date, purpose and integrity.
Hebrew is a member of what family of languages?
Semitic
How are the Semitic languages classified?
East Semitic - Akkadian
South Semitic - Arabic, Ethiopic, Amharic
North Semitic - Aramaic, Syriac (East Branch)
West Semitic - Urgatic, Phoenician, Canaanite
Why is cognitive language study important?
Knowing the meaning of a word in a similar language may help determine its meaning in another language.
What is the oldest language?
Sumerian
What demonstrates the ancientness of the Aramaic language in Genesis?
The Aramaic name “Jegar Sahadutha” that Laban gave to the stone heap in Gen. 31:47. Jacob called it Galeed (Hebrew).
What first universal language would Moses have spoken as an educated person?
Akkadian
What are the two types of Hebrew script?
Archaic and Square Script
What kind of script would Moses have used?
Archaic
What is the place of origin and time period of square script?
Assyria, possibly introduced by Ezra at about 400-430 BC.
Inspiration of the Old Testament extends only to what?
The original autographs.
What is Benjamin Warfield’s definition of inspiration?
Inspiration is a “supernatural influence exacted on the sacred writers by the Spirit of God, by virtue of which their writings are given divine trustworthiness.”
What is the difference between inspiration and illumination?
Inspiration - a supernatural act of God that gave the original writers the words to pen.
Illumination - the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit to enable the believer to understand written revelation.
When was the Old Testament written?
Between 1500 and 400 BC.
What are some evidences of the inspiration of the Old Testament?
- There is significant unity among the 39 books.
- Only Christianity and Judaism are defensible of all the religions.
- Only Christianity shows a plausible order and explanation of nature. Other religions have done poorly.
- God is incapable of falsehood.
- Scripture claims direct revelation from God (Lev 23:26, 1 Sam 16:1 and 7, Isa 1:10, Hab 2:2).
Why can’t historical and spiritual truth be separated (as Charles A. Briggs believed)?
The New Testament makes no distinction:
* Paul's comment in 1 Tim 2:13-14 concerning Adam and Eve would not make sense. * Matt 12:40 compares Jesus' three days in the tomb with Jonah's three days in the belly of the fish. * Romans 5:14-19 would be absurd without a literal Adam.
Explain the inadequacy of the so-called “Mind of Christ” for judging doctrinal truth and error in the Bible.
It is inconsistent to determine what the viewpoint of Christ was based on some of his recorded statements, and then reject the authenticity of His other statements because they conflict with modern principle.
What is Neo-Orthodoxy?
It is the belief that because the Bible was written by fallible man, it must contain errors. The Bible, to them, is a “witness” to the Word of God that comes into being when man encounters God (existential).
What is the mystical or illumination theory of inspiration the basis for?
Cults
What is the natural inspiration theory?
The Bible is believed to be inspired the same way as Shakespeare - in an artistic sense.
What is the partial inspiration theory?
Inspiration is believed to extend only to what humans can research or rationalize, like morals and doctrines. The Bible is therefore not infallible in history and science.
What is the conceptual inspiration theory?
The thoughts, not the words are inspired.
What is the mechanical or diction inspiration theory?
The authors were passive instruments being controlled by God.
Most Hebrew manuscripts are no older than what date?
A.D. 1000
What versions of the manuscripts take priority over others for the purpose of translation?
Hebrew manuscripts.
What are the Dead Sea scrolls also referred to as?
The Qumran discoveries.
What were three major discoveries at Qumran?
- Entire book of Isaiah, c. 150-100 B.C.
- Fragmented Hebrew University scroll of Isaiah, c. 50 B.C.
- Habakkuk commentary, c. 150 B.C.
What was the date of the Nash Papyrus and what significant texts did it contain?
c. 100 - 50 B.C.
Contained the Decalogue and Shema (Exo. 20, Deut. 6)
In the context of this discussion of manuscripts, what does MT stand for?
Masoretic Text
What was contained in the Leningrad MS B-19A and what was it the basis for?
The entire Old Testament, which was the basis for modern Hebrew Bibles (Kittel’s Biblia Hebraica)
What was the Septuagint (LXX)?
The first Greek version of the Bible, translated in Alexandria from 250 - 150 B.C. for Greek speaking Jews who were unfamiliar with Hebrew.
The Septuagint is an important source for what?
Many New Testament quotations.
What did the Septuagint provide Jews of the dispersion?
The ability to read the scriptures.