REL 203
RELIGIONS OF THE MIDDLE EAST

FIRST MIDTERM STUDY GUIDE: INTRODUCTION & JUDAISM

The Exam will cover all of the material on Judaism (Part I. of the text). It must be taken in the Computer Testing Lab in CEN 456 or the Cottage Grove Center between the dates listed in the syllabus and the Moodle weekly outline. You must have a picture ID, know your L number and pin, and arrive at least one hour before the lab closes.

A 3 x 5 card of notes (both sides) is allowed for the exam. You'll also need a copy of your schedule, but you can print one out at the lab, if necessary, with your L number and pin. For more details on testing see the syllabus.  To prepare for the exam, focus your study on your class notes, discussion questions from the reading and the questions below. During the testing time class will proceed as normal with new material. Consider testing time to be part of the 2-3 hours of outside work expected of you for every hour of class time.

What are some of the differences between Western and Eastern religions? What is God's special, personal name in the Hebrew scriptures? Why isn't it used today? Can that practice be justified from the scriptures themselves?

How do the creation stories in Genesis 1 and 2 compare with one another. What are some plausible explanations for the use of plural pronouns ("we", "us") in some passages in Genesis (Creation, Tower of Babel, Sodom & Gomorrah)?

Define the following: Torah, Pentateuch, Tanakh, Talmud. How does the content of the Protestant "Old Testament" compare with the contents of the Jewish Scriptures? Into what three divisions are the Jewish scriptures categorized? What is hermeneutics? What is the difference between exegesis and isogesis?

What did the instructor suggest about the accuracy of the text of the Bible, both in terms of transmission (the purity of the text and amount of copiest errors) and translation (conversion of the manuscript text into modern English).

According to the instructor, what does the context and language of Genesis suggestion about the identity of the serpent? What does the instructor suggest about the reason God drove Adam and Eve out of the Garden and stopped the building of the Tower of Babel? Why is it the land of Canaan which is given to the Israelites (as opposed to some other land)? Who were the Patriarchs? Why did God ask Abraham to sacrifice Isaac? Why doesn't God introduce himself as "The God of Abraham, Isaac and Esau"? How did the nation of Israel get its name?

Do we get a clear, unequivocal statement of monotheism throughout the Torah, or is there some ambiguity? What is "monolotry"? How does the concept of God "evolve" in the Tanakh? What is the concept of "corporate responsibility?"

What does "Exodus" mean? What is the book about? What are the Ten Commandments? What's the name you're not supposed to use in a frivolous manner ("misuse" or "take in vain") in the 3rd Commandment? Does the 6th Commandment, rendered "Thou shalt not kill" in the King James Bible, show that the Bible opposes the death penalty? What day is the Sabbath? What's the most important thing to do (or not do) on it? What is the nature of the Law delivered by Moses to the Israelites--what aspects of human life is it intended to regulate?

Why did Israel have to wander 40 years in the desert before coming into the Promised Land of Canaan? Why was Moses barred from the Promised Land?

What sort of religion did the indigenous peoples of Canaan practice? What orders did God give concerning them and their religious buildings and sacred objects, in particular? What were the orders concerning cities "put under the Ban" or "devoted to destruction"? How does the concept of corporate or group responsibility figure in the justification for the invasion of Canaan and Achan's sin?

Explain the office of Judge in Israel after the invasion of Canaan. To what does the author of Judges attribute Israel's being conquered and reconquered by foreign invaders? What is a secular, historical reason for the foreign invasions? What was Samson's riddle, and how does the riddle point to Samson's disobedience to God? What was the answer? What weakness did Samson and Solomon share?

Was it God's will for Israel to have a King? Why did Israel go from being ruled by Judges to Kings? Who was the first King of Israel? What were his good qualities? What fatal flaw did he have? Why does David's first son with Bathsheba die? What's the "real" reason given in the scriptures why David's son Absalom organizes a political rebellion against him?

How did the Babylonian Captivity help change Israel theocratic religion of priestly ritual and sacrifice, tied to specific geography to a religion centered around widespread small independent communities who got together to pray and study the Scriptures?

What was the Jewish concept of the Messiah? What were early (c. 2000 - 400 BC) Jewish beliefs about a possible afterlife, found in the Torah and nearly all of the Tanakh? Do they differ from those held by most Jews at the time of Jesus and today? How and why did these beliefs change?

What does Hanukkah celebrate? Explain the concept of the "Messiah" in Judaism. How did the destruction of the Jewish Temple in 70 AD change Judaism? When and why was the modern state of Israel established? What is the Talmud? What kinds of teaching does it contain?

What are the four main branches of Judaism and how do they differ?

(Note that the instructor reserves the right to include on the exam any question from the text, handouts, or lectures that isn't mentioned above.)