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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did Isaac ibn Yashush notice in the eleventh century about the list of kings in Genesis 36?

2. Who were among the first to control the politics of the Israelites?

3. Why are tribal references important in discovering the different authors?

4. Who became prophets?

5. What are the books known as the Early Prophets?

Short Essay Questions

1. What made it evident that there were two different writers identified as Author J who became identified as Author E?

2. What is one reason the Bible is one of the most published books in the world?

3. What is different about the God of the Hebrews?

4. What method does Friedman use to determine the identity of Author E?

5. How did King Jeroboam solidify his position after the kingdoms split into norther and southern kingdoms?

6. Why was another author identified as the writer of Deuteronomy?

7. How long after the initial evidence of multiple writers of the Bible were discovered did it become clear that two more writers were also involved?

8. What is some other evidence for the book of Deuteronomy having been of fairly recent writing?

9. What differentiated the reign of David and that of his son, King Solomon?

10. What evidence is there that Author J might have been female?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay of at least two typewritten pages on the topic, How Friedman's Book Changed My Ideas About the Bible. First, (1) explain your mind set about the Bible before reading Friedman's book, then (2) discuss the great lengths scholars such as Friedman have gone to in discovering the existence of various writers, and finally, (3) discuss whether the evidence presented seems plausible to you and whether it altered your interpretation of the Bible in any way.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay of at least two typewritten pages on the topic, Why Ezra Could Not Leave Out Certain Passages from the Torah. First (1) define how Ezra had a bias toward the Aaronid priesthood, (2) how he was confronted with writers who disagreed with the centralized location for sacrifices, and (3) then explain how popular familiarity of Bible stories prevented him from simply tossing out writings of those he disagreed with.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typewritten pages on the topic, The Lands of the Bible. Select the major areas of Egypt, Persia, Syria, and Judea and discuss each in terms of (1) physical features, (2) agriculture and trade, and (3) political impact on world history.

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