Deck 5: From Egypt to Mount Sinai: Exodus and Leviticus

Question 1

1. Describe the role of women in Exodus 1-15. How are they portrayed? Why are women especially important in the stories about Moses' early life?

Answer 1

Women are instrumental throughout the story of Moses in Exodus 1-15. The Egyptian midwives' disobedience of Pharaoh's orders allows for Moses to be born and hidden away. Moses' mother and sister cleverly find a way for Moses to be raised by Pharaoh's daughter-and for his mother to nurse him. These women thereby provide the necessary resistance against oppression to help set up Israel's deliverance. Moses' wife Zipporah also protects him against YHWH's wrath in the strange circumcision episode. Miriam also leads the women in the "Song of the Sea" in Exodus 15.

Question 2

2. What are the characteristic features of a Suzerainty Treaty? How can understanding this form of treaty be useful in understanding the Torah?

Answer 2

The characteristic features of a suzerainty treaty are (i) identification of the two parties, (ii) a statement of the history of their relationship, (iii) stipulations that the suzerain is placing on the vassal, (iv) provisions for depositing the treaty in a safe or sacred place, (v) the invocation of divine witnesses to the treaty and the intent to observe it, and (vi) a delineation of the blessings that will come to the vassal for keeping the required stipulations and of the curses or dire consequences that will befall him for failing to keep them. Understanding this form of treaty is helpful for understanding the Torah because the covenant with Israel in the Torah matches closely to this form of treaty, with YHWH as the suzerain and Israel as the vassal.

Question 3

3. We have come across three major covenants so far (Noah and God, Abraham and God, Israel and God). How are these covenants different from each other? How have they shaped the biblical texts and the history of ancient Israel?

Answer 3

Students should note that the covenant with Noah is unconditional, though Noah does receive commands for humanity to follow thereafter. The covenant with Abraham is narrated twice in Genesis, with the first not including conditions but the second including a condition for the continuation of the covenant with his descendants. Israel's covenant with YHWH is conditional and includes blessings and curses for obedience and disobedience. These covenants guide the narrative throughout, culminating in Israel's special status with YHWH and the specific way of life outlined in the Torah.

Question 4

4. In what ways may other ancient Near Eastern law codes have influenced the legal material in Exodus? How are they comparable? What are the major differences?

Question 5

5. What are some of the difficulties with the idea that Israel's exodus from Egypt happened as told in the book of Exodus? Give examples of discrepancies with archaeology or external historical data and implausibilities in the text. What might a plausible reconstruction of the historical kernel underlying the story of the exodus look like?

Question 6

6. What do "clean" and "unclean" mean in their biblical context? How might these categories be explained?

Question 7

7. Explain the term "holiness." Why is it important to the book of Leviticus and the religious and social organization of ancient Israel?

Question 8

8. Describe the role of sacrifice in ancient Israelite religious practice. What are the different forms of sacrifices, and what were their purposes?

Question 9

2. Most of Exodus 1-15 takes place at Sinai.

Question 10

3. The name "Moses" is Egyptian, not Hebrew.

Question 11

9. The Ten Commandments are clearly addressed to all Israelite men and women.

Question 12

11. The Hebrew Bible actually says the Hebrews crossed the "Sea of Reeds" rather than the "Red Sea."

Question 13

12. Covenant language and vocabulary are found only in the Bible.

Question 14

15. Only priests could enter the Holy Place in the tabernacle.

Question 15

16. The Covenant Code does not discuss the treatment of lesser classes.

Question 16

17. Much of Leviticus comes from the P source.

Question 17

18. Pork is the only meat prohibited by the dietary laws.

Question 18

19. Worshipers were never allowed to eat sacrificial meat.

Question 19

1) How did most ancient Israelites and Jews feel about keeping the Law embodied in the Torah?

A) They considered it a great joy.
B) They considered it harsh and difficult.
C) They considered it complicated and confusing.
D) They considered it so onerous that few of them actually tried.

Question 20

3) What event is commemorated by Passover?

A) the release of the children of Israel from Babylonian bondage
B) the time spent waiting to enter the Promised Land
C) the crucifixion of Jesus
D) the exodus of the children of Israel from captivity in Egypt

Question 21

4) What did bitter herbs symbolize in the Passover meal?

A) the bitterness of life outside the Garden of Eden
B) bitter hardships in Egypt
C) the bitterness the Israelites felt toward their God
D) bitter hardships in Babylonia

Question 22

5) In the E source's account of the call of Moses, God appears to Moses on top of a the mountain in the form of

A) human.
B) dove.
C) burning bush.
D) cloud.

Question 23

6) After killing the Egyptian, Moses flees to

A) Canaan.
B) Midian.
C) Goshen.
D) Moab.

Question 24

7) The first sign that Aaron performs is

A) darkness.
B) turning the Nile to blood.
C) turning his staff into a snake.
D) hail.

Question 25

8) The first plague was

A) blood
B) frogs
C) flies
D) hail

Question 26

9) In its final form, the book of Exodus contains ____________ plagues against Egypt.

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

Question 27

12) The earliest Near Eastern text that mentions any person, event, or entity from the Bible is the

A) Black Obelisk.
B) Merneptah Stele.
C) Taylor Prism.
D) Mesha Stele.

Question 28

17) Divinely given "bread from heaven" is called

A) manna.
B) angel food cake.
C) tefillim.
D) exogamy.

Question 29

18) The term meaning "contract" that is used metaphorically to describe the relationship between God and Israel is

A) marriage.
B) synergy.
C) covenant.
D) holiness.

Question 30

21) Hammurapi's Law Code dates to the ____________ century B.C.E.

A) eighteenth
B) eighth
C) twenty-second
D) fifteenth

Question 31

22) The Ark is made of

A) acacia.
B) cypress.
C) palm .
D) oak.

Question 32

23) The sign of the covenant between God and Israel is

A) the rainbow.
B) circumcision.
C) the ark.
D) the sabbath.

Question 33

24) Case law, often in the form of a conditional sentence in which specific situations are addressed, is called

A) apodictic.
B) Decalogue.
C) casuistic.
D) flexible.

Question 34

26) The Day of Atonement is also called

A) Rosh Hashanah.
B) Yom Kippur.
C) Passover.
D) Pentecost.

Question 35

28) Who made an incense offering of "strange fire"?

A) Moses
B) two of Aaron's sons
C) Aaron
D) Moses' son

Question 36

29) A burnt offering is also called ____________ sacrifice.

A) holocaust
B) shelamim
C) grain
D) well-being

Question 37

30) Which people did not practice circumcision?

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

Question 38

31) All are forbidden by the dietary laws except

A) camel.
B) pig.
C) shellfish.
D) sheep.

Question 39

33) Modern scholars refer to Leviticus 17-26 as the

A) Covenant Code.
B) decalogue.
C) Holiness Code.
D) Priestly Code.

Question 40

35) After her act of rebellion, Miriam is stricken with

A) blindness.
B) paralysis.
C) infertility.
D) a skin disease.

Question 41

36) The arrangement of the Israelite camp designed to reflect the respective holiness of each tribe probably comes from the ____________ source.

A) J
B) D
C) P
D) E

Question 42

37) How many witnesses were required to prove murder according to biblical law?

A) one
B) two
C) three
D) four