Who Wrote The Bible?

Front 1

What is the Torah?

Back 1

Also known as the Pentateuch, it is made up of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. It means "instruction".

Front 2

Who is traditionally thought to have written the Torah, and why is it unlikely.

Back 2

Moses. However, it contains things he would not have said or could not have done. E.g. it talks about his death and listed kings who ruled long after Moses' death. Deuteronomy contains a verse that refers to being in Israel, but moses famously never made it to Israel. It also refers to himself as the humblest man, which seems unlikely to have come from himself.

Front 3

What is a doublet?

Back 3

A case of the same story being told twice (the Creation story, Abraham's Covenant, etc)

Front 4

What is the documentary hypothesis?

Back 4

The idea that there are four different sources for the first 5 books. There was E and J, the earliest (which referred to god as either Elohim or Jahweh). P seemed to be more to do with priests. D was the book of Deuteronomy, its own singular document.

Front 5

What is the difference between E and J?

Back 5

E was written by someone concerned with Israel, while J was concerned with judah. For example, source J says Israel aquired Shechem via massacre, whereas E says it was aquired by buying it. In the E story, Reuben saves Joseph. In the J story, Judah saves Joseph. E puts heavy emphasis on Moses, yet J does not mention him as much.

Front 6

Who wrote E and what were their politics?

Back 6

E was probably a Levitical priest, perhaps descended from moses. He refers to the superior status of Moses, and references oppresive Judean policies. They were removed from power by Solomon, but when Israel was established after his rule, the Levites were not appointed as priests at the new religious centres (with the golden calves). They disliked Aaron as he was the ancestor of the main southern priests who kept their position. This is why there are stories about Aaron where he looks bad, but never punished. The Golden Calf was not a rival god, but a rival seat for God. It is also worth noting that Joshua is not part of the calf debacle, as he is a northern hero.

Front 7

What are some other indicators of E and J stories?

Back 7

E stories refer to the Egyptian Slavers as missims, a direct insult to Judahs policy enacted by Solomon about demanding free labour for a period of time. E stories also refer to nine Northern tribes, whereas J stories refer to Judah or tribes that lost their territory and merged into Judah.

Front 8

What was the governing structure of Ancient Israel?

Back 8

Israel was ruled by a king who relied on the tribal leaders, chief priests, and prophets. He needed tribal leaders to muster troops. He also needed priests and prophets as religion was not separate from politics.

Front 9

Why was David a good king?

Back 9

He was from Judah, one of the largest tribes, but he moved the capital to Jerusalem outside of Judah to not show favouritism. He also made a professional army, so he no longer relied on the tribes to muster troops

Front 10

How did Solomon begin the division between Judah and Israel?

Back 10

He removed the northern chief priest, he heavily favoured the south (Judah) with defence projects - effectivly meaning the north paid for the protection of the south. He gave up land in the north to build a temple and his palace in the south. He also practiced gerrymandering when it came to providing food to the court (but only in the north). He also introduced missims (a tax of physical labour) to the north.

Front 11

Why did the Kingdom of Israel split into two?

Back 11

The Northern tribes seceded when Solomon died, and his son carried on his policies. It split the kingdom into Judah and Israel.

Front 12

Why were their differences in religions between the two states?

Back 12

While they were two different states, they could not have two different religions as they had a shared history. However the Temple, the Ark, and the religious holidays took place in Jerusalem. In response, Israel introduced new religious sites and holidays. They often had golden bulls that symbolised God Nd his throne. Somehow, this become wrapped up in El, the king of the Caananite gods.

Front 13

What happeneded to Israel?

Back 13

Israel had no family of kings that held the throne for more than a few generations. It lasted 200 years before being defeated by Assyrians. They became known as the ten lost tribes of Israel and they were dispersed throughout the kingdom of Judah, which survived 100 years longer.

Front 14

What are the main characteristics of P texts?

Back 14

Any stories about priests, laws about priests, rituals, sacrifice, purity, and concern with dates numbers and measurements come from the P source

Front 15

What is an example of a Bible story constructed from different sources?

Back 15

P states there was one pair of each animal, whereas J has seven pairs of clean and one pair of unclean (P version only talks about two of every kind as sacrifices weren't yet ordained until Aaron). Other differences include:

P states there was one pair of each animal, whereas J has seven pairs of clean and one pair of unclean (P version only talks about two of every kind as sacrifices weren't yet ordained until Aaron). Other differences include: P says 370 nights of flooding, J says 40 days and 40 nights. P has a raven, J has a dove.

P says 370 nights of flooding, J says 40 days and 40 nights. P has a raven, J has a dove.

Front 16

How did Israel and Judah make claims about their ascendancy?

Back 16

In the J version, the first born Reuben is caught sleeping with his fathers concubines, whilst Levi and Simeon are responsible for the massacre of Shechem. Therfore, Judah gets the birthright. In the E story, Joseph gets the birthright from Jacob, and then blesses Joseph's second son Ephraim. Ephraim was king Jeroboam's tribe - the first King of Israel (the new state)

Front 17

How was the story of Esau an allegory?

Back 17

Esau's story and the loss of his birthright was a direct analogy of the Edomites, an older kingdom who were defeated by King David and dominated for 200 years. When Esau "breaks his yoke" from his brother, it refences Edom gaining independence.

Front 18

How was the commandment regarding idols in the J version a subtle criticism at Israel?

Back 18

The J commandment is "you will not make molten statues". Judah's statues were wooden then gold plated, as opposed to the golden bulls in Israel that were made of molten gold.

that were made of molten gold.

Front 19

Which came first: E or J?

Back 19

J might have been the Judean court account, and the northern Levites needed their own national account for legitimacy. Or perhaps E existed first and maybe J weren't happy with the treatment of Aaron or their own ancestors. The existence of one meant the alternate had to be produced.

Front 20

Why were E and J merged?

Back 20

Both were probably well known enough to not be ignored. However, keeping both seperate challenged the authenticity of both.

Front 21

What other works did the author of Deuteronomy produce?

Back 21

The author of deuteronomy also wrote Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings, and 1 & 2 Chronicles. Certain unique phrases appear in all the books and Deuteronomy (read in their ears, thin as dust, etc)

Front 22

Why was Deuteronomy so important to the Israelites?

Back 22

Kings who were good or bad in the eyes of Yahweh were judged on how well they adhered to deuteronomy. The fate of the nation was dependent on how well they upheld Deuteronomy.

Front 23

When was Deuteronomy written?

Back 23

It was written in two different stages: part of it was written before the destruction of Israel. Clues for this are the themes of nations security, things 'existing to this day' (e.g. poles in the temple), and references to Josiah in the present tense. However, the 2nd edition was written after the kingdom fell. There was a sudden change in perspective. The rule of David and issue of centralization of the religion was no longer the major themes after Josiah's death. The new theme became about exile, and extra lines added that explained that Judah fell due to the people not upholding the laws.

Front 24

Who wrote Deuteronomy?

Back 24

Whoever wrote Deuteronomy wanted the religion to be centralised, not tied to the Ark or the Jerusalem priesthood, cared about the Levites, and accepted a King's limited rule. This indicates a Shiloh priest. A good candidate is Jeremiah. He admired Josiah, refers to Shiloh four times, and his book has many similarities in text to Deuteronomy (circumsmcise your heart, host of heavens, iron furnace of Egypt, with all my heart and soul).

Front 25

How could the Deuteronomist reconcile the fall of Israel with the Covenant?

Back 25

Conditional passages speak of the throne of Israel, unconditional passages referred to the throne. He also changed some verses from actions of the king to actions of the people.

Front 26

What was the first archaeological discovery of a biblical item?

Back 26

The clay stamp of Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe

Front 27

How did the traditions of Judah survive after the people were conquered?

Back 27

The interchangability of pagan deities made it possible to assimilate other cultures, but Yahweh does not belong to a pantheon and is not compatible with other religions

Front 28

How did the nation of Israel return after being conquered?

Back 28

When Persia conquered Babylon (who had destroyed Judah), they decided to empower the anti-Babylonian Aaronid priests. Ezra and Nehemiah were appointed political authority by the Persian emperor to rebuild Jerusalem and lead the province of Judah, that now acted as a vassal.

, that now acted as a vassal.

Front 29

How does the P narrative differ from the JE narrative?

Back 29

The author of P followed the JE narrative (it contained the same stories). However it was also an alternative. P inserts Aaron into the narrative a lot ( e.g when God is speaking to Moses). Instead of Moses' Levite brother, he is now his actual brother. Aaron also performs miracles and speaks for Moses. The JE story of rebellion in the wilderness is a justification of Moses. However, P added a part about rebels being pubished for incense burning to justify Aaron

Front 30

How did the P story alter the perception of Moses?

Back 30

P added in a story about Moses being disfigured after ascending Mt Sinai. He wears a veil for 40 years. Many people thought it meant horns. It was not to denigrate moses, but it doesn't make him look good either. Moses was also seen as hesitating to enact gods judgement, but a descendant of Aaron acts, thus solidifying the Aaronid priesthood.

Front 31

Why did P make Joshua one of the faithful spies sent to Caanan?

Back 31

Caleb and Joshua are the two faithful spies in p, rather than just Caleb. P needed a reason for Joshua to succeed Aaron. In the JE version, it was because he didn't participate in the golden calf debacle. But P did not include that story as Aaron was the villain, and Aaron was the hero of P.

Front 32

How did Jeremiah feel about the P narrative?

Back 32

Jeremiah refers to the P narrative as a 'lying pen of scribes', as they attaked Moses and excluded him from the priesthood.

Front 33

Who wrote Chronicles?

Back 33

P wrote Chronicles as it has all the same converns as P had (centralisation, the importance of Ldvites, and a focus on ritual and sacrifice). It talks about Solomon and Hezekiah as the greatest kings (the two who favoured the Aaronid priesthood) and omits the bad things about those kings.

Front 34

Who is believed to have stitched all the separate narratives together?

Back 34

Ezra edited them all together, as he was an Aaronid priest who mainly used P. There is a story of Ezra restoring the Torah through revelation, however this story was omitted from the Bible.