Old testament
Question1:
In Exodus 32:10, how does God intend to punish the Israelites for worshiping the golden calf?
Answer
kill most of them
kill all of them except Moses
kill all of them including Moses
kill only Moses
Question2:
In Exodus 32:14, God changes his mind about the punishment mentioned in 32:10. What does Moses do to change God’s mind in the intervening verses? (check all that apply)
Answer
Moses reminds God of God’s promise to Abraham
Moses punishes the offending Israelites to save the rest
Moses convinces the Israelites to repent
Moses appeals to God’s concern for God’s reputation among the Egyptians
Question3:
In Exodus 32 God rewards the Levites with priesthood because they killed their fellow Israelites who were violating God’s law. In Numbers 25, God rewards Phineas with a priesthood because he killed a fellow Israelite who was vioilating God’s law. Do these texts indicate that God favors those who use violence to enforce God’s commandments? Briefly explain your answer, but not in more than a few sentences. [Note that the question only concerns these episodes, not the whole Bible. Note that you may think these episodes say something without yourself saying it or agreeing with it. Note the question solicits an opinon and breif explaination; there is not a wrong answer.]
Question4:
In Numbers 12, Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses. They express one complaint in verse 1, but a separate issue in verse 2. Which of these two complaints does God’s speech in verses 6-8 address?
Answer
God addresses the complaint from verse 1
God addresses the complaint from verse 2
Question5:
The people mourn in Exodus 33:4. What did God say to upset them?
Answer
God announces that many of them will die in a plague as punishment
God says that they will never enter the Promised Land
God intends to blot them all out of his book
God refuses to travel to the Promised Land with them
Question6:
In Numbers 14:12, how does God intend to punish the people for refusing to enter the Promised Land?
Answer
kill most of them
kill all of them except Moses
kill all of them including Moses
kill only Moses
Question7:
In Numbers 14:20-23, God changes God’s mind about the punishment mentioned in Numbers 14:12. What does Moses to to change God’s mind in the intervening verses? (check all that apply)
Answer
Moses directly asks God to forgive the people
Moses reminds God of God’s promise to Abraham
Moses punishes the offending Israelites to save the rest
Moses reminds God of God’s self-revelation from Exodus 34:6-7.
Moses appeals to God’s concern for God’s reputation among the Egyptians
Moses convinces the Israelites to repent.
Question8:
According to Numbers 14:20-35, why do the Israelites wander in the wilderness for forty years? (check all that apply)
Answer
It is enough time for the responsible adults to grow old and die in the wilderness
All biblical periods of time are expressed in increments of forty
They wander one year for every day Moses was on the mountain
They wander one year for every day the spies spied out the Promised Land
Question9:
In Exodus 34:6-7, Moses receives the revelation of God’s “ways” as he had requested. Does God’s self-description in these verses seem to you to be consistent with how God has behaved in the previous two chapters (Exodus 32–33)? Briefly explain your answer in a sentence or two. (opinion question–no wrong answer).
Question10:
In Numbers 11, who suggests that leading the people is a responsibility “too heavy” for Moses?
Answer
God
Moses
Joshua
the people
Question11:
Who had suggested the leading the people alone was a task “too heavy” for Moses in Exodus 18?
Answer
God
Moses
Jethro
the people
Question12:
Compare Numbers 13–14 to the retelling of the story in Deuteronomy 1:19-45. In Numbers 13:1-2, whose idea is it to send spies into the Promised Land?
Answer
God’s
Moses’
the people’s
Joshua’s
Question12:
Whose idea are the spies in Deuteronomy 1:22?
Answer
God’s
Moses’
the people’s
Joshua’s
Question14:
According to the essay “The Hebrew Bible’s Interpretation of Itself” in the NOAB, what is the purpose of the interpretation of Leviticus 23:33-43 in Nehemiah 8:14-15?
Answer
Nehemiah specifies matters left vague in Exodus.
Nehemiah expands the scope of the law in Exodus.
Nehemiah repeals the law in Exodus.
Nehemiah makes the Exodus law more vague.
Question15:
Match each item to the most appropriate description or definition. Note that for some terms, the glossary in NOAB may be more useful than the essay “Jewish Interpretation in the Premodern Era” also in the NOAB.
1- pesher
2- peshat
3- midrash
4- mishnah
5- Talmud
6- Talmud
A.
a method of Jewish interpretation that finds meanings in a text that go beyond the plain sense
B.
the “plain sense” or “contextual sense” of a text
C.
name for a major compilation of Jewish teaching collected after 200 CE
D.
a type of ancient Jewish biblical commentary found among the Dead Sea Scrolls
E.
a medieval Jewish biblical interpreter who summarized much traditional Jewish interpretation of Scripture
F.
a written compilation of Jewish law and interpretation collected around 200 CE