Terms Flashcards
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Covenant Code: Identify, where is it (be specific); what is it?; briefly describe it; how does it differ from other biblical law codes?
Where - Exodus chapters 20-23
What - second list of laws following the 10 commandments. It begins w/laws about building an altar and sacrifices, then has a list of civil laws.
Academics compare it to the Ritual Decalogue (also called Small Covenant Code) in Exodus 34:11-26. The codes are similar in content, but the Covenant Code is longer and is organized differently. Scholars think that the Ritual Decalogue is a summary of the Covenant Code, or the Covenant Code is an expansion of the Ritual Decalogue.
Westbrook compares the Covenant Code to the code of Hammurabi. Both deal with laws that are dealt with by human, rather than divine justice.
- The Stone Tablets: What are they; what two theories regarding what is written on them?
In Exodus 24, God tells Moses to go up the mountain and receive the written law/commandments on two stone tablets.
Exodus - the Stone Tablets have the building plans for the Tabernacle
Deuteronomy - the Stone Tables have the Ten Commandments.
What are the Song of the Sea and the Song of Miriam? What event do they describe?
The Song of the Sea is the name given to a hymn/poem sung by Moses and B’nai Israel after they crossed the Red Sea. Scholars say the poem parallels ANE literature which tells about a main God battling a sea god.
The Song of the Sea appears in Exodus 15:1-18(19?)
It is immediately followed by the Song of Miriam in Exodus 15:21. The Song of Miriam is identical to the first line of the Song of the Sea. “The horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea.”
Academics think that the Song of Miriam is either an older kernel of the Song of the Sea, or a popular refrain from the Song of the Sea.
Scholars think that the Song of the Sea references other ancient near east myths. ANE myths have the main god (Marduk, Baal) battling the sea god and their helpers (Leviathan, Rahab).
Deuteronomistic History (DTRH): What is it? What books are attributed to the DTRH? [consult DTRH readings]; when do scholars generally date the DTRH ?
DTRH= Deuteronomy through 2 Kings. This covers a retelling of the Tetrateuch, the addition of a centralized cult theology, an account of how the Israelites came to the Land, and the court history of Israel (from Saul to the end of the Judahite monarchy)
Scholars tend to date the DTRH to Josianic reforms (which some contributions from earlier, especially the rule of Hezekiah- both kings are referred to as being “like David” as a means of praising them) because of how closely the reforms described fit with the theology presented in Deuteronomy.
Nehushtan (What it is, and what was its importance?; what clues do we have in biblical literature that there may have been a “cult of Moses” (consult 2 Kgs 18:4; review notes)
Nehushtan- sacred object, a snake of brass on a pole. P says that Moses used a ‘fiery serpent’ to cure the Israelites from snakebites.
CULT OF MOSES: It seems plausible that there may have been a cult dedicated to Moses, people may have been worshiping Moses a little too much. Also see Exodus 7:1 “ The lord said to Moses, see I made you a God to Pharoh”
2 Kings 18:4 describes Hezekiah’s reforms. One of the thing he does is to get rid of Nehushtan .
Decalogue: Identify, where is it (be specific Exodus and Deut chapters); what is it?; what was its significance? Where was it stored?
The Decalogue is the 10 commandments, believed to be given by God to Moses for the Israelite people at Mt. Sinai after the exodus from Egypt. It is found in 2 places in the Torah: Exodus 20:2-14 and Deuteronomy 5:6-18. The giving of the 10 Commandments reflects the movement from an oral culture toward a literate culture, and a people with a defined legal code. The statements in the Decalogue were unique in being phrased as absolutes (apodictic), rather than in other ancient societies where the laws were phrased as conditional, such as “if….then..” (causistic law) The Decalogue was stored in the Ark of the Covenant and carried through the wilderness with the Israelites. Later, it was kept in the holy of holies in the Temple in Jerusalem.
Sacred vs. profane (define and give an example of each)
Sacred - קדוש - set apart. Shabbat is a sacred time.
Profane -חול - daily, ordinary. The other six days of the week.
Also, sacrifice vs. meat that you eat every day
Hezekian reform (what, where [cite passage], and why is it significant?)
Where - 2 Kings 18(verses 3&4) and 2 Chronicles chapters 29-32.
What/Why important - Hezekiah is king of the Southern Kingdom(Judah) when the Northern Kingdom falls. Many Israelites flee from the Northern Kingdom to Judah.
Hezekiah’s reforms purge cultic practice and centralizes power/worship in Jerusalem and the Temple. He removes cultic objects like “High Places”, Asherot, and Nehushtan. He returns to service of God “as in the days of King David and Solomon”. The last time Israel was united under one banner.
Josianic reform (what, where [cite passage], and why is it significant?)
2 Kings 22:1-23:25. The high priest Helkiah brings the scribe Shafan (who found the law book in the Temple) to the king. The book is read before all the people and its laws are enacted. It is believed that this law book is Deuteronomy (that it was actually written at this time, not discovered).
Examples:
Centralized Passover observed like Deuteronomy 16
Centralized cult in Jerusalem like Deuteronomy 12
Polemic against idols
Covenant mentioned is like the vassal covenant in Deuteronomy
Deuteronomy is the first book where writing is important and authoritative
Huldah (who, where, and why are they significant?)
Female prophetess who who had the authority to determine what was and was not the genuine Law. King Josiah consults her after he finds “the book of the Lord” (Deuteronomy). She authenticates the book & tells Josiah about God’s ultimate judgment - Israel will fall. She is FEMALE prophet who was highly regarded.
Where - 2 Kings 22 and 2 Chronicles 34
Hilkiah (who, where, and why are they significant?)
Who- High Priest during the time of King Josiah.
Where- Israel found in 2 Kings 22:8- “ Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the secretary, “I have found the Book of the Law in the temple of the Lord.” He gave it to Shaphan, who read it.”
Significance- He is known for finding the lost copy of book of law (Deuteronomic Code) at the Temple which then propelled a resurgence of the Israel God.
Orality vs. literary: Define and give an example of each.
Orality describes a society in which information is primarily passed down by word of mouth- there is an emphasis on memorization and techniques which help recall stories, since the ability to read and write are not assumed for either the composer or the audience. An example: Psalm 118 (כי לעולם חסדו). It has repetitive phrasing, with a refrain that can be repeated by an audience without any difficulty recalling what words are to be spoken.
Literary- describes a society in which information is passed by written word- there is a population capable of composing works and an audience capable of reading them. An example of work that comes from this is Psalm 119- the poetry is written as an acrostic- by writing in alphabetical order, it shows that the composer’s intended audience was literate, and capable of appreciating the word play, An illiterate/oral audience would have had no frame of reference to understand the purpose of the composition in alphabetical order.
Worth noting- it is possible for a society to be a mix of these two features- a larger population that functions primarily with an oral model, with a smaller elite/professional class that is literate and composes literature for one another.
Author, redactor, source: Define; make sure to explain the distinctions.
Author: one who writes new material
Redactor: one who puts together many different sources to combine into one source, often having some editing or fixing
Source: the material in which the redactor uses or is combining information from. Different sources are thought to have been different scrolls that are now all put together and redacted into one book
Late Biblical Hebrew: What is it and where is it in the Tanakh?; list two distinctive features with examples
Late Biblical Hebrew (LBH) is the language of the post-exilic biblical books such as Chronicles, Hosea, and Nehemiah. It reflects a greater influence of Aramaic, for instance, the book of Daniel contains whole passages in Aramaic. It reflects the attempts of scribes to maintain the continuity of the literary language despite the changes in the spoken language.
Features
1) Full spelling, such as David & birushalayim
(דויד & בירושלים).
2)General updating of Standard Biblical Hebrew (SBH) particles, such as ל ‘l’ (to) is preferred over ‘el’
אֶל
3)Gradual disappearance of the vav-consecutive in favor of simple tenses such as the perfect and imperfect. There is a decrease in the use of the formula ‘vayehi’, which was the standard way of beginning narratives in SBH.
4)There is the use of niphal rather than the qal passive.
5)There is a preference for ‘ani’ versus ‘anochi’.
Archaic Biblical Hebrew What is it, what texts are associated with it?; list two distinctive features with examples
Archaic Biblical Hebrew = poetic texts. For example, the Blessing of Jacob (Gen.49); The Song of Moses (Ex. 15); The Oracles of Balaam (Deut. 32-33); The prayer and Blessing of Moses (Judges 5); The Song of Deborah (1 Sam. 2:1-10); The Prayer of Hannah (Hab. 3) as well as various Psalms including 2 Sam. 22 and Ps. 18 and Ps. 68.
Features of ABH
1) 3rd person masculine singular has a possesive suffix of ה instead of ו. Examples - עריה (his donkey) סותה (his garment)
2) Relative particles are zeh, zo, and zu instead of asher. Example - Adoni zeh Sinai (God, the one of Sinai). Am zu kanita (the people you have aquired)
