Why did the Israelites begin their story with the Exodus

Introduction and Overview: The Book and Those Who Study It

Read:
Chapter 1 -The Old Testament Story (pgs. 1-20. This chapter is designed to introduce you to the academic study of Scripture.)
Genesis 1-11 – Since you will be reading almost all of the entire Old Testament, it is a good idea to get a jump on it.

1.What is the Old Testament, and how did the term originate?

2.Why did the Israelites begin their story with the Exodus?

3.How did the Septuagint affect the way various Christian groups view the biblical canon today?

4.What are the three major concerns of literary and historical studies of the biblical text?

5.What are some ways in which modern technology is making a contribution to archaeology?

Introduction and Overview: The Book and Those Who Study It

Read:
Chapter 2 -The Old Testament Story (pgs. 23-35. This chapter will introduce you to the cultural, political, social and religious background out of which the Old Testament comes.)
Genesis 12-25:11 – (The story of Abraham and Sarah)

6.Explain the significance of the following groups of people: Sumerians, Akkadians, Amorites,Hurrians, Arameans, Habiru, and Hittites.

7.Who were the Hyksos? What role might they have played in the early history of Israel?

8.What are the four major divisions of Palestine from west to east?

9.How did the Shephelah function in biblical times to protect the area of Judah?

10.What were the two major north-south roads in ancient Palestine, and why were they so important?

Israel Looks at the Beginning: Genesis

Read:
Chapter 3 -The Old Testament Story (This chapter introduces the student to the Jewish narrative of the origins of creation and to the story of its ancestors.)
Genesis 25:12-50 – (The story of the descendants of Abraham and Sarah, from Isaac to Joseph.)

11.Compare the portraits of God in 1:1-2:4a to those in 2:4b-3:25. What do they say about Israel’s understanding of God?

12.What is the theological importance of the biblical Flood story?

13.How are the covenant accounts in Genesis 13:14-17, 15:17-21, and 17:1-21 alike, and how do they differ?

14.How do you account for the similarities between the stories about Sarah and the Pharaoh (Gen. 12:14-20), Sarah and Abimelech (20:1-18), and Rebekah and Abimelech (26:6-11)?

15.How do the stories about Joseph differ from other patriarchal stories?

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