Pentateuch

Question 1

Name 5 books & contributions

Answer 1

Genesis: book of life
Exodus: book of redemption
Leviticus: God's holiness
Numbers: Preparation for the Promised Land
Deuteronomy: Covenant Renewal

Question 2

Macro-sequence of the Pentateuchal Narrative

Answer 2

Primeval prologue (Gen 1-11)
Accounts of the patriarchs and matriarchs (Gen 12-50)
Israel in Egypt (Ex 1:1-12:30)
Israelite exodus from Egypt; journey to Mount Sinai (Ex 12:31-18:27)
Israelite encamped at Mount Sinai (Ex 19:1-Num 10:10)
Desert trek from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea (Num 10:11-12:16)
Israel encamped at Kadesh-Barnea (Num 13-19)
Desert trek from Zin to Mount Hor to plains of Moab (Num 20-21)
Israel encamped on Moab (Num 22-Deut 34)

Question 3

Macro-structure of the Pentateuch

Answer 3

Genesis=preamble
Exodus-Leviticus-Numbers=foundational “testimony” of Israel
Deuteronomy=review & application to contemporary life

Question 4

Knowledge Assumed by the Pentateuch

Answer 4

Life in the ancient world
Ancient cultures
Israelite/Jewish culture as distinct from surrounding cultures and threatened by them
Israelite/Jewish cultic systems devoted to Yahweh
NOT modern scientific or historic or modern/postmodern concerns!!!

Question 5

Key questions addressed by the Pentateuch

Answer 5

“What do we as a society value and what constitutes acceptable behaviour in our society?”
“What is our relationship as a people to the world in which we live?”
NOT “Are are established beliefs and traditions rationally defensible as objective accounts of reality given the empirical evidence?”

Question 6

Key pedagogical strategies used by the Pentateuch

Answer 6

1) Tell memorable, traditional stories that shape healthy ways of understanding.
2) Capture in these stories the day-to-day experiences of an ancient Israelite
3) Invest these stories with theological meaning so that they teach key theological concepts
4) Place these stories in an overarching progression from creation to the death of Moses to form Israel as YHWH’s people surrounded by wicked outsiders.

Question 7

Key teachings of the Pentateuch

Answer 7

• YHWH is inherently holy…the world is common
• Life and knowledge are not common, but come from YHWH
• People of Israel are to be holy relative to other nations
• Normal state of creation is to be clean (and can be cleaned when it becomes unclean)
• Holy can inhabit creation, but unclean/clean cannot be together
• YHWH is both “with us” and “merciful”

Question 8

What was promised to Abraham and where was it developed in the rest of the Pentateuch

Answer 8

People - Genesis 12-50
Relationship (Identity & Function) - Exodus-Leviticus
Land - Numbers-Deuteronomy

Question 9

Names of the 12 sons of Jacob

Answer 9

Remember some levis jeans do not get an installed zipper, just buttons.

• Reuben (L)
• Simeon (L)
• Levi (L)
• Judah (L)
• Dan (B)
• Naphtali (B)
• Gad (Z)
• Asher (Z)
• Issachar (L)
• Zebulun (L)
• Joseph (R)
• Benjamin (R)

Question 10

Name the 10 Plagues of Egypt

Answer 10

Big frogs Grab Flies live by hauling licks down fast.

• Blood
• Frogs
• Gnats
• Flies
• Livestock
• Boils
• Hail
• Locusts
• Darkness
• Firstborn (males)

Question 11

Name the 10 commandments

Answer 11

I Am The Lord.

• Idolatry - 2
• Adultery - 7
• Murder - 6
• Taking (stealing) - 8
• Honour (parents) - 5
• Envy (coveting) - 10
• Lie - 9
• One (one God) - 1
• Rest (remember Sabbath) - 4
• Disrespect (the Lord’s Name) - 3

Question 12

What is the structure of the non-narrative content in the Pentateuch

Answer 12

Words of the Covenant - Exodus 20-24
Symbols of the Covenant - Exodus 25-Leviticus
Renewal of the Covenant - Deuteronomy