Wilderness & Land

Question 1

A neglected book: Leviticus

Answer 1

• a vision of Israel’s ideal relationship with Yahweh
• approach the divine by purification and great deference
• not primarily about “moral goodness”
• reaction: fear, awe, danger

Question 2

Tabernacle

Answer 2

• Exodus 25-31; 35-40
• presence of God associated with the ark of the covenant (a throne)
• three divisions, gradations of holiness
• only the high priest could enter the holiest place
• tabernacle = God’s dwelling among his people
• a portable sanctuary

Question 3

Purity & Mediation

Answer 3

• Israel is commanded to act differently now that they have established a covenant with Yahweh
• they are to be a “priestly kingdom and a holy nation” (Exod 19:5-6)
• part of this requires following strict purity laws (what they eat, wear, etc)
• strong sense of approaching God’s presence with reverence which necessitates their own purity
• God’s presence & holiness is closely guarded by the priests

Question 4

Sacrificial System (Lev 1-7)

Answer 4

• one of the oldest ways to communicate with deities
• sacrifice is made sacred through the act of offering to the gods
• burnt offering (olah) “that which ascends”: sacrifice given completely to God “a pleasing aroma”
• sacrifice of well-being: eaten by the worshippers
• cereal or grain offering: less expensive and offered more frequently (some belonged to the priests)
• purpose: symbolic way to express gratitude or make amends for sins

Question 5

Unclean Foods

Answer 5

• rather than for hygienic reasons, avoiding certain animals due to their relationship to creation and the creator
• the collection of laws has its own coherent structure
• an ordered world with normal and abnormal components
• deviating from “normal” = unclean

Question 6

The Body

Answer 6

• Common accusations
• primitive
• misogynistic
• uneducated
• reflects a worldview of graded holiness
• being “unclean” does note = sinful necessarily
• taking care of the dead
• menstruation and other bodily fluids
• childbirth
• sex
• purification rituals necessary before approaching the Divine

Question 7

Leviticus for Today

Answer 7

• Leviticus represents a picture into ancient Israel especially the Priestly worldview
• many of the regulations were not adopted by the Christian church
• helpful to understand the worldview of Israelites and their understanding of how to meet God in their everyday life
• Root command of Lev
• “You shall be holy, for I, the Lord your God, am holy” (Lev 19:2)
• holiness code (Lev 17-26) inserted into the narrative

Question 8

Structure of Numbers

Answer 8

• 1:1-10:10 Priestly Code, Mount Sinai
• 10:11-22:1 The journey continues, Sinai to Moab
• 22:2-36:13 Events in Transjordan, Transjordan

Question 9

A Crisis of Faith

Answer 9

• Israelites demonstrate a lack of faith in God
• complaints of Yahweh’s provision (water, manna, quail)
• long return to Egypt (Exod 16)
• entry to Canaan (Num 13-14)
• complaints about leadership of Moses and Aaron
• results in the Exodus generation dying in the wilderness except for Joshua and Caleb

Question 10

A Crisis of Identity

Answer 10

• Israel’s relationship with outsiders
• God fights on the side of Israel (Exod 17:8-16; Num 21)
• attitude towards outsiders both negative and positive
• Moses’ Midianite father-in-law offers praise and sacrifices to God (Exod 18) and helps with administration of justice
• but Midianite and Moabite women tempt Israel to worship a god called Baal Poor (Num 25)

Question 11

Deuteronomy

Answer 11

• final stop before entering the Promised lan
• a book of transition; reinterprets the events
• parts of the Deuteronomistic history
• reflects the late 7th century (prior to the exile)
• final arrangements of the Deuteronomistic history during the exile

Question 12

Claim of Authorship

Answer 12

• book of Deuteronomy is an account about Moses
• not that he himself wrote it
• written in the past tense
• written in the 3rd person
• written by someone who made it into Canaan

Question 13

Deuteronomy & Covenant

Answer 13

• stress on the obligation to serve and be obedient to Yahweh
• a condition covenant

Question 14

Theological Importance of the Covenant

Answer 14

1. reminded that God reduced them from slavery (a God of the oppressed)
2. they were not chosen due to their own merit
3. people are given the choice to follow Yahweh (unlike ANE treaties)
4. convenient becomes basis for explaining their relationship with Yahweh
5. idea of exclusivity is begun here

Question 15

Shema: The Great Commandment

Answer 15

• part of morning and evening Jewish prayers

Question 16

Key Themes

Answer 16

• ancestral promises
• remembrance
• laws

Question 17

End of Pentateuch

Answer 17

• Moses dies on Mount Nebo
• Joshua is the appointed leader