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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. To whom does Deuteronomy give jurisdiction in legal matters?

2. Who is most likely the redactor for the entire Pentateuch?

3. What happened after the fall of the kingdom of Israel?

4. Who allows the Jews to return to their home country?

5. From where does Friedman speculate the laws came from in the writings of Author P?

Short Essay Questions

1. How did Cyrus the Great figure into the history of the Jewish exile?

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

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

4. At what point does the original draft of Deuteronomy stop making sense?

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

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

7. Describe the great irony of the P version of the Torah.

8. How does the importance of sacrificing becomes apparent?

9. Describe clues to who wrote Deuteronomy.

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

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, 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 2

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.

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay of at least two typewritten pages on the topic, The Great Kings of the Israelites. Using the characters of David, Solomon, Hezekiah, and Josiah, detail each in terms of (1) wealth and power, (2) relationship to God, and (3) personal strengths and weaknesses.

(see the answer keys)

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