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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. How did J's and E's texts probably originate?

2. Why is it significant for some to trace their priestly ancestry back to Aaron?

3. From where do the priests of the northern kingdom trace their ancestry?

4. What is Author P's interpretation of God?

5. Who goes into exile with Jeremiah?

Short Essay Questions

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

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

3. How did the various versions of the Torah evolve into the one we have today?

4. How was responsibility for the eventual exile of the people defined in the later text?

5. How does Friedman identify as writer R, the redactor who stitched together all the various versions into one Torah?

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

7. What does Friedman speculate held the Jewish people together, even during the exile?

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

9. Why was a fix necessary for the text of Deuteronomy?

10. How does the importance of sacrificing becomes apparent?

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, Different Ways of Looking at the Bible. In your essay discuss the Bible as (1) literature, (2) history, and (3) a sacred text. Give examples of each.

Essay Topic 2

Write an essay of at least two typewritten pages on the topic, My Opinion About the Value of the Bible. In your essay discuss (1) whether you see the Bible as a sacred text, (2) how you think the Bible serves as a history, and (3) what your opinion is about the Bible as great literature.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typewritten pages on the topic, Ramifications for the Rest of the Bible. Assuming that Friedman, et al, are correct in assigning at least three authors to the Torah, not to mention a redactor who put them all together, speculate on what you think that means for the Bible as a whole. Take into consideration that reproduction of biblical texts was done laboriously by hand for over a thousand years.

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