1.11.1

Chapter 1

God and His Chosen People

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1. Why do some Christians refer to the Old Testament as the Hebrew Scriptures?

2. In terms of the Old Testament, what is meant by revelation?

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3. What is natural moral law?

4. What is the connection between natural moral law and the Ten Commandments?

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5. How does God reveal himself to us?

6. How did Jesus fulfill the Law of Moses?

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7. What is the defining moment in salvation history?

8. On what two types of sources were the writings of the Old Testament based?

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9. What was the purpose of the Old Testament for its original audience?

10. Why does the Old Testament continue to inspire Jews and Christians, as well as others, today?

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Chanukah Chanukah is a Jewish feast typically celebrated

sometime in December, as dictated by the Jewish calendar. It celebrates the story of the Maccabees, found in 1 and 2 Maccabees, two books not included in the Hebrew Scriptures.

Chanukah was the first nonbiblical holiday to be incorporated into the Jewish calendar.

Chanukah is an eight-day festival during which candles are lit to represent the eight days that the lamp miraculously stayed lit in the temple, according to the story.

Many Jewish families exchange gifts on each of the eight days of Chanukah.

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11. What role did the Fertile Crescent play in Old Testament history?

12. What different accounts of the Israelite occupation of Canaan are given in the Old Testament Books of Joshua and Judges?

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13. How did David and Solomon make Jerusalem the religious center of Israel?

14. How was the kingdom divided following the death of Solomon?

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15. What is the Old Testament?

16. What are the four basic divisions of the books of the Old Testament?

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Old Testament Literary Forms

The Old Testament uses a variety of literary techniques often found in literature.

The works of the Old Testament are full of references to persons, places, events, and customs from Jewish tradition. For an audience familiar with these references, such allusions enriched the literary texture of the Old Testament and deepened its significance.

In the Book of Ruth, when Boaz takes Ruth as his wife, the witnesses compare her to Rachel and Leah, the wives of the Patriarch Jacob. (See Ruth 4:11.) This allusion establishes Ruth as one of the “mothers of Israel,” in line with Rachel and Leah.

 

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17. Name and describe three of the literary forms used in the Old Testament.

18. What are figures of speech? Name and explain two types found in the Old Testament.

19. What is the most evident feature of Old Testament poetry?