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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. Where do the authors D and E write that Moses received the Ten Commandments?

2. What is the great irony of P's writing that favored the Aaronid priesthood?

3. Who goes into exile with Jeremiah?

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

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

Short Essay Questions

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

2. How does the importance of sacrificing becomes apparent?

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

4. Who accompanied Jeremiah into exile in Egypt and how did that affect the texts?

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

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

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

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

9. Why does Friedman finally identify Jeremiah as the author of 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, Comparison of Covenants. Summarize the covenants of (1) Abraham, (2) Moses, and (3) David. Analyze them from the standpoint of equivocation, purpose, and reward. Apply the debate about unconditional covenants from God which was used as an argument against multiple writers of the Torah.

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, Why People Disagree in Certain Areas of Religion. Begin by discussing (1) the differences of opinion about centralized religion in biblical times. (2) Note examples of disagreement in modern day religion. (3) Evaluate in your opinion the importance of those differences.

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