Deck 3: The Book of Genesis

Question 1

1. After reading both of the Genesis creation accounts, what major differences in vocabulary, style, and order do you recognize? What differences in meaning or purpose are present in each of the creation myths? (The instructor might provide the creation passages to the students for analysis.)

Answer 1

Students should note the different terms used for the divinity: God vs. YHWH God (or Lord God), the organized time structure of the first story versus the more inexact temporal frame of the second story, the characterization of God as distant in the first versus anthropomorphized in the second story, and the creation of humanity before vegetation and animals in the second story versus as the climax of the first story. As for meaning or purpose, students should reference the ordered world of the first story, the importance of Sabbath, and humanity as the capstone of creation. For the second story, students should reference various etiologies about sex and gender, the need to work, and the concept of sin.

Question 2

2. Why is it difficult to verify the historicity of the ancestral narratives? Based on Genesis, what general conclusions can we make concerning the cultural, social, and religious practices of Israel's ancestors?

Answer 2

Students should point out that the Ancestral History was written long after the events and people of which they are writing and are based on oral tradition. As a result, these stories include anachronisms, internal inconsistencies, and doublets (students should list examples of each). Beyond that, there is simply not much external evidence from this period in general, making verification difficult for anything but very general conclusions. These stories can, however, serve as important sources for the values of ancient Israel and the final editors of the stories.

Question 3

3. Describe the role of women in Genesis 12-50. How do women-especially the matriarchs-affect the narrative?

Answer 3

Students should observe that although the men in the stories receive the bulk of the attention, women often have a significant narrative role. The matriarchs, for example, influence the narrative by influencing (or even steering) the decisions of their husbands or sons. Jacob in particular is controlled either by his mother or his wives throughout most of the narrative. Students should note the difference between how men affect the narrative (through direct and overt action) and how women tend to work behind the scenes.

Question 4

4. How does the Joseph narrative fit into the overall framework of Genesis? What themes and morals are emphasized throughout the Joseph cycle?

Question 5

4. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are collectively known as the patriarchs.

Question 6

5. Abel killed his brother Cain.

Question 7

6. The Primeval History focuses on Abraham and his descendants.

Question 8

7. The book of Genesis includes two separate creation accounts.

Question 9

8. A "myth" is best understood as a story that is appealing bualse.

Question 10

9. The stories from Genesis were written down after being passed down through centuries of oral tradition.

Question 11

10. Israelites were the one major people group from the ancient Near East that practiced circumcision.

Question 12

2) In the J creation account, Eve is created by God out of

A) the ground.
B) Adam's thigh.
C) Adam's side.
D) nothing.

Question 13

4) Chapters 1-11 of Genesis are known as the

A) Biblical Archaeology
B) Ancestral History
C) Primordial History
D) Patriarchal History

Question 14

5) Chapters 12-50 of Genesis are known as the

A) Biblical Archaeology
B) Patriarchal History
C) Primordial History
D) Ancestral History

Question 15

6) Which of the following is not a child of Adam and Eve?

A) Cain.
B) Abel.
C) Seth.
D) Noah.

Question 16

7) The traditional author of the Pentateuch is

A) Moses.
B) Ezra.
C) Joshua.
D) YHWH.

Question 17

10) Moses' divinely appointed successor was

A) Aaron.
B) Joshua.
C) David.
D) Ezra.

Question 18

14) Which of the following nations or people groups did not practice circumcision?

A) Egyptians
B) Israelites
C) Moabites
D) Philistines

Question 19

15) Isaac's firstborn son was named

A) Esau.
B) Jacob.
C) Reuben.
D) Judah.

Question 20

16) Jacob's name was changed to

A) Gad.
B) Israel.
C) Jordan.
D) Jabbok.

Question 21

20) The son who "uncovered" Noah's nakedness was

A) Ham.
B) Shem.
C) Japheth.
D) Canaan.

Question 22

21) A "legend" is best understood as

A) a story that starts from an originally historical event that grows into unbelievable proportions over time.
B) a fictional narrative about historical figures told to entertain, teach a moral, and/or explain why things are as they are.
C) a narrative that is mostly historically accurate but has been altered to teach a moral and/or to explain the world.
D) a story about God or the gods and their activities that tries to make sense of the world and our place in it.

Question 23

22) A "myth" is best understood as

A) a story that presents itself as true but is in fact fictional.
B) a fictional narrative about historical figures told to entertain, teach a moral, and/or explain why things are as they are.
C) a narrative that is mostly historically accurate but has been altered to teach a moral and/or to explain the world.
D) a story about God or the gods and their activities that tries to make sense of the world and our place in it.

Question 24

23) Which of the following does not appear in the Primeval History?

A) The creation of the world
B) Adam and Eve
C) The Flood of Noah
D) God's covenant with Abraham

Question 25

24) How many clean animals does Noah take onto the ark?

A) seven pairs of each
B) two of each
C) six pairs of each
D) ten pairs of each

Question 26

25) The giant offspring of humans and "the sons of God" in the book of Genesis are called

A) demigods.
B) Nephilim.
C) Anakim.
D) superheroes.