Old Testament Introduction Flashcards
Ancient Jewish literature is unique for its ____ __ _______
lack of details
Unwritten, memorized versions of Israel’s history and laws: ____ _________
Oral Traditions
Elders recited stories at major celebrations like ________
Passover
The first written documents of the Old Testament were likely the histories of the _____ (____ _____)
kings; King David
Later, some people who spoke for God (_______) and others who taught about human and divine wisdom (_____) wrote their own works
prophets; sages
Finally, editors combined these _______ ______ with the ____ _________ onto scrolls
written records; oral traditions
Humanity’s oldest form of storytelling: _________
Mythology
Myths are stories that hold significant ______ and _______
truths; meaning
Mythology should not be read _______. Rather we should ask, “What does this mean?” (_________)
literally; literarily
An ancient ___________ city in which the __________ originated from: _______
Mesopotamian; Israelites; Babylon
____ and ______ created many gods who became ____ and bothersome. Apsu tried to convince Tiamat to ____ their children, but she _______ the idea. Apsu’s assistant, _____, suggested that he go behind Tiamat’s back and kill them anyway. However, one of their children, __, heard of Apsu’s plan. So Ea put Apsu into a ____ _____ and _____ him.
Apsu; Tiamat; noisy; kill; rejected; Muumu; Ea; deep; sleep; kills
When Tiamat discovers that Apsu was killed, she wages a ___ against the gods. Ea creates ______ to fight Tiamat. Marduk agrees to fight only if he can become ____ __ ___ ____. Ea agrees and the gods go to war against ______. Marduk defeated Tiamat by splitting her in half with his ___ and _____. Marduk uses Tiamat’s body to create the _____ and ___. Afterward, Marduk creates ______ from the _____ of a god that they can offer _________ and do the work on earth that the gods did not want to do themselves.
war; Marduk; king; of; the; gods; Tiamat; bow; arrows; earth; sky; humans; blood; sacrifices
Enuma Elish Says:
- The gods are ______ and _______
- Everything is created through _______ and ____
- Humans are made to _____ ___ ____
fickle; violent; violence; chaos; serve; the; gods
Genesis Says:
- God created everything out of _______ (without _______)
- God gives humans the ability to ____ ___ ________ (_____ in His _______ _______)
nothing; violence; care; for; creation; share; creative; abilities
The creation/flood stories in Genesis are likely borrowed from early ___________ literature
Mesopotamian
Origin stories help to explain the ______ (How God acts with love and ________, why humans are ________)
present; generosity; rebellious
Genesis’ creation-flood stories are meant to provide ______ about God and _____ ______
answers; human; beings
Tiller of soil (______): ____
farmer; Cain
Keeper of flocks (________): ____
shepherd; Abel
God favored _____ offering more than _____ because Abel offered his ____ _______
Abel’s; Cain’s; best; flockling
“If you act rightly, you will be accepted; but if no, sin lies in wait at the door: its urge for you, yet you can ____ over it.” (Genesis 4:7)
rule
Even though Cain is banished from his ____ and ____, God promises to keep him ____ from harm
work; home; safe
God saw how _______ the world became, and his heart _______ so much that he decided to flood the earth
lawless; grieved
Noah found _____ with God. So much so, that Noah even “______ with God.”
favor; walked
God tells Noah to build an ___ for himself and his family so that they can be saved from the flood
ark
God asks Noah to gather _____ _____ of every _____ _____ and ___ ____ of every _______ ______
seven; pairs; clean; animal; one; pair; unclean; animal
_____ days pass until the _____ begins
Seven; flood
Noah was in the ark with his wife, his sons, and their _____.
wives
After the flood, Noah first released a _____.
raven
Then Noah releases a ____, but it comes back to him
dove
After _____ days, Noah releases the dove a second time. It returns to him with an _____ ______
seven; olive; branch
The _____ time Noah releases the dove, it ____ ___ ____ ____.
third; does; not; come; back
Never again will I curse the ground because of human beings, since the desires of the human heart are evil from youth; nor will I ever again strike down every living being, as I have done: God’s _______ to ____
covenant; Noah
