Deck 1: What Is the Bible

Question 1

1. Discuss some of the important aspects of ancient religions. How were ancient religions different from a modern Western perspective on religion? How was Judaism similar to and different from other ancient religions?

Answer 1

Students should discuss the following aspects of paganism: polytheism (perhaps discussing the levels of divinity within the pagan world), emphasis on present life, attempts to access divine power for present benefit, emphasis on cultic acts, and sacred spaces. These aspects are opposed to typical characteristics associated with religion in the modern West: doctrines and beliefs, ethics, afterlife, sacred books, the separation of church and state, and exclusive worship of one God or membership in one religious community. Judaism was similar in most respects but had several distinctive aspects: worship of one God, emphasis on a special covenant between this God and ancient Israel (and then Jews), the Law of Moses, and (eventually) only one sacred temple in Jerusalem (though ancient Israel had more sacred places).

Question 2

3. In the Jewish tradition, what are the major divisions of the Hebrew Bible, and what kinds of books are found in each section? How do these divisions differ from the traditional English divisions?

Answer 2

Torah (Law or Instruction), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Kethuvim (Writings). Among the Torah, there is narrative and legal material (Genesis through Deuteronomy), the Nevi'im include the Former Prophets (also called the Deuteronomistic History: Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings) and Latter Prophets. The Latter Prophets include Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and "the twelve," the shorter prophetic works considered to be one book. The Writings contain the remaining books, including narrative, poetic, and apocalyptic material.

Question 3

4. Compare the Jewish and Christian canons of the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament. How do they differ?

Answer 3

The Jewish canon of the Hebrew Bible contains twenty-four books arranged in a threefold structure of Torah, Nevi'im, and Kethuvim. The Christian Old Testament contains thirty-nine books arranged in three parts: Historical Books (Pentateuch and other historical books), Poetic Books (Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs), and the Prophets (including the five Major Prophets-Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel-and the twelve Minor Prophets). Catholic and Orthodox Bibles contain an additional set of books from the Septuagint called the deuterocanonical books (the Apocrypha to Protestants).

Question 4

1. The entire Old Testament is arranged chronologically.

Question 5

2. The Torah consists of the firsive books of the Hebrew Bible.

Question 6

5. The books of the Bible were separated into chapters and verses in ancient times.

Question 7

7. The New Testament was written in Hebrew and Greek.

Question 8

8. Judaism was differenrom other ancient religions because it advocated the separation of religion from the state.

Question 9

9. The English Bible (not including the Apocrypha) includes sixty-six books.

Question 10

10. The Jewish canon and English canon of the Hebrew Bible are grouped the same way.

Question 11

3) The frequently used scholarly term for the Old Testament is

A) Hebrew Bible.
B) Pseudepigrapha.
C) Writings.
D) Chronicles.

Question 12

6) In the Christian canon, the book of ____________ is included among the Major Prophets rather than among the Writings.

A) Job
B) Isaiah
C) Esther
D) Daniel

Question 13

7) The Minor Prophets contains ____________ books.

A) eight
B) ten
C) twelve
D) fourteen

Question 14

8) The frequently used acronym for the Jewish Bible is

A) Tonka.
B) Talmud.
C) Tanakh.
D) Tinkha.

Question 15

9) Which is not one of the three major divisions of the Hebrew Bible?

A) Torah
B) Mishnah
C) Nevi'im
D) Kethuvim

Question 16

10) The books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Amos are all part of the ____________ Prophets.

A) Latter
B) Minor
C) Major
D) Former

Question 17

14) Which are the four canonical Gospels of the New Testament?

A) Matthew, Paul, Jude, Thomas
B) Mark, Matthew, Luke, John
C) Mark, Mary, Thomas, John
D) Peter, Thomas, John, Luke

Question 18

15) How many books are there in the New Testament?

A) twenty-five
B) twenty-six
C) twenty-seven
D) twenty-eight

Question 19

17) What is another term for "pagan"?

A) sinner
B) Jew
C) non-Jew
D) Tanakh

Question 20

22) Ancient religion incorporated which of the following?

A) creeds
B) sacrifice
C) sacred texts
D) ethical commitments

Question 21

25) Which was a characteristic of ancient religions (with the exception of Judaism)?

A) organization and hierarchy
B) polytheism
C) creeds and statements of religious doctrine
D) sacred written texts

Question 22

29) People in the ancient world were interested in religion because they

A) were very concerned with the afterlife.
B) were very concerned with avoiding suffering in this life and in ways of postponing death.
C) were very philosophical and had insatiable curiosities about metaphysical issues.
D) sought personal power.

Question 23

30) In the ancient world, the religious and political realms typically

A) functioned together in hopes of securing peace and prosperity.
B) remained distinct; politicians did not participate in religion.
C) remained distinct; politicians created their own religions.
D) clashed; they couldn't agree on appropriate forms of worship.