OLD TESTAMENT

Question 1

Firstborn

Answer 1

The first offspring of animals or humans. Firstborn makes were claimed by God. They were either to be sacrificed or redeemed. The firstborn represented the future of the parents since children assured the perpetuation of the family name.

Question 2

Habiru

Answer 2

Displaced immigrants viewed as an inferior social class. The Habiru could be found throughout the Ancient Near East (ANE) and were made up of many eth- nic groups, including several Semitic* peoples.

Question 3

Hyksos

Answer 3

A mixed group of Asian invaders who dom- inated Egypt from about 1786 to 1567 B.C. during the Fifteenth through the Seventeenth Dynasties.

Question 4

Passover

Answer 4

An annual Jewish feast in which the partici pants reenact the events of the Israelites’ last night in Egypt. It is so named because the LORD “passed over” the houses marked by blood (see Exod. 12:12, 13).

Question 5

Pharaoh

Answer 5

A title used in the Old Testament for the reigning kings of Egypt.

Question 6

Tetragrammaton

Answer 6

The four-letter rendering of the divine name revealed to Moses (YHWH). It is related to the verb “to be” and probably means “he is.” See Yahweh below.

Question 7

Yahweh

Answer 7

The personal name by which God revealed himself to the Israelites, initially through Moses (Exod. 15). The name probably means “He is,” alluding to the “I AM of Exod. 3:14. The narne suggests God’s infinite exis tence and self-determining nature.

Question 8

Bless/Blessing

Answer 8

In Israelite culture, to bless someone was to ask God to bring the person success. The blessing, then, was a request that God would fulfill the person’s destiny. Inanimate objects could also be blessed in this manner.

Question 9

Curse

Answer 9

In Israelite culture, to curse someone was to wish that God would bring misfortune on him or her.

Question 10

Decalogue

Answer 10

Literally “ten words,” specifically the Ten Commandments.

Question 11

Sabbath

Answer 11

The seventh day of the week (Saturday, from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday; cf. Gen. 1:5b). It was instituted by God as a day wherein all labor ceased. People were to “keep it holy,” i.e., devote it to the LORD and to spend time with family, workers, and the community of faith. God declared it to be a sign for Israel of their covenant relationship with the LORD. The New Testament indicates that one certain day is no longer a sign of the covenant. Taking one day a week, however, to rest and to gather with God’s people in worship and to hear the Word is impor- tant (Rom. 14:5-8; Col. 2:16-17; Heb. 10:25).

Question 12

Ark of the Covenant

Answer 12

A rectangular wooden chest the LORD has Israel construct to represent his throne in the sanctuary. Above it he showed his presence (“his glory”) between two statues of a winged heavenly creature called a cherub. The ark contained the two stone tablets in which were inscribed the Ten Commandments, representing the covenant relationship between the LORD and Israel. It also contained Aaron’s staff that sprouted and a jar of manna. The lid was the place of atonement, traditionally called the “mercy seat,” where the high priest offered blood once a year for atonement of all their sins not already covered.

Question 13

Holy War

Answer 13

A term often applied to the wars waged under Joshua for the conquest of Canaan, in which Canaanite cities were declared cherem*, i.e., devoted to the LORD to be destroyed.

Question 14

Kinsman-redeemer

Answer 14

In ancient Israel, a man’s near- est male relative had such duties as avenging his murder, redeeming the estate that he may have sold in an attempt to escape poverty, and marrying his widow to provide him an heir

Question 15

Programmatic text

Answer 15

Programmatic appears to be merely an adjective employed by theologians and scholars to articulate what they perceive a passage does. Therefore, if a passage provides a program for what follows, then programmatic may be the adjective one would employ to describe it.

Question 16

Torah

Answer 16

A Hebrew word meaning “a teaching,” it denotes the revelation of God, especially that given through Moses, to Israel in the Bible. In Hosea it is used to denote “Scripture.” As a proper noun within Judaism, Torah is another title for the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, Many modern translations have tollowed the Septuagint in rendering it as “law,” but this is mislead ing. Torah contains law but also much else

Question 17

Amphictyony

Answer 17

A league of states or tribes that took part in the cult of a common deity. The Delphic league was an amphictyony.

Question 18

Prophets/Prophetism

Answer 18

One who speaks or acts or predicts for God, as by divine guidance. The practice of such conduct.

Question 19

Ruach

Answer 19

Wind, breath, spirit.

Question 20

Seer

Answer 20

An early term for a prophet (1 Sam. 9:9; Amos.
7:12). Later, it referred to one who predicted the future by
various means.

Question 21

Cherem

Answer 21

Devoted to the LOrd, usually to be destroved.

Question 22

Chesed

Answer 22

Duty, loyalty, obligation.

Question 23

Chronicler

Answer 23

The author, compiler, or editor of 1 and
2 Chronicles.

Question 24

Covenant

Answer 24

A formal agreement between two or more parties. A covenant often included specific responsibilities for each participant and was often considered legally binding.

Question 25

Davidic Covenant

Answer 25

An expansion of the Abrahamic covenant. Mainly it identified more precisely the descendants through whom the blessing promised to Abraham was to find fulfillment: the house of David, and later, Christ.

Question 26

Dynasty

Answer 26

A succession of rulers that are in some way related or similar.

Question 27

Myth/Mythology

Answer 27

An essentially polytheistic practice of personifying the forces of nature as various divinities and writing a pseudohistory that tells their tales.

Question 28

Transjordan

Answer 28

Literally, “beyond (the) Jordan.” Denotes plateau east of the Jordan River. In biblical times this included the biblical land of Bashan, the Hill Country of Gilead, and the territories of Ammon, Moab, and Edom. The Bashan is in the Golan Heights today. The other four zones of this plateau are in the kingdom of Jordan.

Question 29

Syncretism

Answer 29

Sometimes called “supermarket” or
“shopping basket” religion, this approach to religious belief is selective: A person picks out attractive elements of many different faiths and works them into an original religion.
This is usually done with the presumption that all ways to God are equal. It results in a gross distortion of each religion it incorporates. This was a live issue for ancient Israel.
The people of Israel and Judah often merged their worship of Yahweh* with the religious beliefs and practices of their
ANE neighbors. The Old Testament states clearly that no other gods) could be given any sort of acknowledgment if Yahweh was to be worshiped (Exod. 20:3). The best known examples are Aaron’s and Jeroboam’s golden calves, pagan symbols that were used to represent Yahweh (Exod.
32:1-35; 1 Kings 12:25-30).

Question 30

Baalism

Answer 30

A general term referring to the worship of a number of deities addressed as Baal. At Ugarit, for exam- ple, Baal was Hadad, god of thunder, rain, and fertility. At Tyre, Baal was Melqart (the variant worshipped by Jezebeb.

Question 31

Yahwism

Answer 31

The worship of Yahweh*.

Question 32

Historiography

Answer 32

The theory, method, and resources for constructing a history.

Question 33

Reform, Reformation

Answer 33

A legislated, national return to Torah.

Question 34

Jew

Answer 34

Derived from Judean*, those exiled to Babylon (following the destruction of Jerusalem) and their descendants.

Question 35

Laws of the Medes and the Persians

Answer 35

These laws were considered immutable and unalterable.