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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 does the revised text make clear about the exile?

2. What is the third part assumption of the pious fraud?

3. How were books written at the time of the Pentateuch authors?

4. What does Friedman suggest is the only good news about the exile?

5. How is Baruch mentioned in the book of Jeremiah?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why does Friedman finally identify Jeremiah as the author of Deuteronomy?

2. How does writer P interject his ideas about miracles and the authority of the Aaronid priests?

3. At the rebuilding of the Temple, what is a major difference between it and the original Temple?

4. Why is identifying the time of writer P of significance?

5. What was the brilliant mistake made in regard to discovering the identity of writer P?

6. Explain how are D and E writers different from J and P authors?

7. Why is the period 587-400 B.C. difficult to understand?

8. How does the importance of sacrificing becomes apparent?

9. How does Friedman react to the idea that the prophets did not know about writer P?

10. How is King Josiah eliminated as a possible writer of Deuteronomy?

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, The Responsibility, Checks and Balances of Biblical Research. Detail the responsibility of a biblical scholar to be as objective as possible also using the criteria Friedman insists on before recognizing the validity of such work. Discuss the checks and balances that come from comparison with other biblical scholars.

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.

(see the answer keys)

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