According to ECS, all of the following are Jewish subgroups that existed between the 3rd cent BCE to the 1st cent CE. (Choose ALL that apply)
Samaritans, Essenes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Christians.
One of the special forms that the gospel of Mark uses in the storytelling is a “sandwich” format for stories, known as ____________, where the two stories help to interpret each other. (Choose one response).
intercalation
The ability of the Jewish people to live and worship in their homeland came to an end in the ancient world after the ________________________. (Choose one response).
Bar Kokhba Revolt
When the Gospel of Mark identifies Jesus as Messiah, it also makes clear that the calling of the Messiah is to suffer as a servant instead of rule in power.
true
All of the following are expressions of traditional Greek and Roman religious practice and belief (apart from worship of YHWH) in the time period before and around the events of the New Testament: (Choose ALL that apply)
mystery religions, philosophy, polytheism, emperor worship.
Jerome named the books included in the Deuterocanonical group the Apocrypha in the fifth century because he found them hidden (apocrypha=hidden) in a church.
False
Even though there are different ways to count the books to be included under the heading of the Apocrypha, the Deuterocanonical books at least include all of the following: (Choose ALL that apply)
1-2 Maccabees, Tobit, Baruch, Judith, Ecclesiasticus (Sirach), Wisdom of Solomon.
In the book of Tobit, the stories of Tobit and Sarah (who lives elsewhere, in Ecbatana of Media) intertwine because Sarah eventually marries Tobit’s son, Tobias.
True
The book of Tobit shows likely connections not only to other Old Testament books but also to Homer’s Odyssey.
True
The group of leaders who ruled Judea during its independence, between 142 and 63 BCE, and who combined the roles of religious and political leaders, are known as the ________________. (Choose ONE response.)
Hasmonean dynasty
According to AJ Levine’s podcast interview, the Pharisees were admirable people in their own time, and can be likened to people now who carefully study the Scriptures.
True
The reason that source theories can be valuable for studying and understanding the Synoptic Gospels is that they allow us to consider the theological emphases and literary techniques of Matthew and Luke based on how they used the source material they had from Mark.
True
All of the following themes are evident in the book of Matthew: (Choose ALL that apply)
rejection of Jesus and opposition to him, righteousness (both in the sense of human faithfulness to God, and God’s saving activity), the issue of discipleship.
In the opening chapters of Matthew, the text uses the literary device of typology to connect the life of Jesus to _______; by doing so, Matthew taps into the strong tradition around this figure in Israelite memory. (Choose ONE answer)
Moses
The Lukan narrative of Jesus’s birth emphasizes the humble origins of Jesus and his family.
True
The genealogy of Luke differs from the one that Matthew gives in the following ways: (Choose ALL that apply)
it appears after Jesus’s birth narrative rather than before, it sets up the universal significance of Jesus, it traces Jesus’s family line from Jesus back to creation (rather than from an ancestor to Jesus)
According to scholar Jennifer Knust, the 12 male disciples are understandable in ancient Palestinian/Israelite society because women were generally not as active in public life.
False
Much of Jesus’s teaching in the synoptic gospels comes in the form of __________, fictional stories that illustrate a lesson or principle. (Choose ONE response).
Parables
According to class lecture and the readings in ECS, put the Synoptic Gospel source options below in the order that they would have been written, from first to last, if the Farrer theory is correct.
Mark, Matthew, Luke.
From the time that Jesus’s ministry starts in Nazareth to his journey to Jerusalem, there are notable themes that emerge in Luke’s Gospel, including: (Choose ALL that apply)
God selectively showing mercy to Gentiles (sometimes rather than Jewish people), the theme of reversal, Jesus being a great prophet, the journey to Jerusalem (and possibly, to his cross).
When Irenaeus (an early Church Father) talked about the unity and diversity represented in the four canonical gospels, an important Scriptural reference that he used to support his logic about the rightness of having four gospels is _______________________. (Choose ONE response that best fits).
the creature from Ezekiel 1 (and Revelation 4) with four faces, guarding the throne of YHWH
Readers can think simplistically about the times that John talks about “the Jews,” because John always uses it in the same way, and referring to the same people.
False
Acts 1:8 functions as the prophecy that outlines the rest of the book.
true
Speeches by major characters in the early Christian movement are significant elements in the book of Acts (and our readings). Match the theme/major ideas of the speeches with the speaker (and the audience, in Paul’s case) of the speeches.
1) Paul to Jewish audience (Acts 13)
Jesus represents the climactic moment in God’s redemptive work throughout time
2) Peter (Acts 2)
The Last Days have begun with Jesus’s ministry, death, resurrection, and exaltation, and the Spirit is being poured out
3) Stephen (Acts 7)
God’s redemptive work through the times of Abraham, Moses, David, and Jesus
4) Paul to Gentile audience (Acts 14:15-17, and 17:22-31)
Using philosophy, Greek religious practice, and poetry, showing Jesus was the man who was resurrected
