Exam 2 Study Guide

Question 1

ID the four major ZONES within the geography of Palestine

Answer 1

1. Coastal Plain
2. Shephelah Hill Country
3. Central Mountain
4. Jordan Valley

Question 2

ID the four major REGIONS within the geography of Palestine

Answer 2

1. Galilee
2. Samaria
3. Jordan
4. Negev

Question 3

Explain how the peoples of the Ancient Near East may be characterized, especially in comparison to people now

Answer 3

1. They were not well traveled.
2. They rarely met foreigners.
3. They knew no hint of the coming of Christ.
4. Most were illiterate.

Question 4

ID the double effect/twofold purposes of a canon of scripture

Answer 4

1. Clarifies right belief.
2. Serves as a unifying force in the church.

Question 5

ID what prompted the race to archaeology in the Mideast

Answer 5

George Smith, the young curator of the British Museum, read a Babylonian text that contained a story like the story of Noah and the Flood.

Question 6

ID the best method for obtaining a sequence of dating styles for ancient cities and cultures

Answer 6

Pottery Typology

Question 7

Define Stratigraphy

Answer 7

The study of strata of earth related to civilizations or settlements in a particular mound

Question 8

ID the means by which Antiochus IV attempted to eradicate the ancient Jewish faith

Answer 8

1. Outlawing circumcision on pain of death for children and mothers
2. Erecting a statue of Zeus in the Temple
3. Sacrificed pigs on the altar

Question 9

ID the pharaoh who enslaved Israel and the pharaoh during the actual Exodus

Answer 9

1. Sethi I enslaved Israel.
2. Ramses II was Pharaoh during the Exodus.

Question 10

Explain why Cyrus, king of the Persians, also referred to as Messiah, is regarded positively by the Jewish people

Answer 10

He gave the order which allowed them to return to Israel.

Question 11

During the reign of the three Flavian emperors, Jerusalem had been outdistanced in importance for Christians by other centers that had significant Christian communities. ID these three cities.

Answer 11

1. Antioch
2. Rome
3. Ephesus

Question 12

Explain the historical context of Providentissimus Deus both in and outside the Church

Answer 12

1. The church was facing threats from modernism, evolutionary theory, and rationalism.
2. Vatican City was under threat because of the unification of Italy, creating a siege mentality and causing the pope to become a “prisoner” of the Vatican

Question 13

ID the addressees/recipients of Providentissimus Deus

Answer 13

Bishops and the whole hierarchy in communion with Rome

Question 14

Explain how Pope Leo XIII viewed inspiration and the truth of the Bible

Answer 14

1. Inspiration is dictation by the Holy Ghost.
2. Inspiration is incompatible with error and excludes it absolutely

Question 15

ID two accomplishments of Providentissimus Deus

Answer 15

1. It allowed Catholic scholarship of texts in their original languages
2. Cautiously opened scholarship to historical critical methods

Question 16

Explain how Providentissimus Deus viewed Catholic scholars consulting the works of non-Catholic biblical scholars

Answer 16

The letter allows for such consultation to be done but carefully.

Question 17

ID what Pope Leo XIII in Providentissimus Deus viewed to be the best preparation for Biblical Studies

Answer 17

Studying St Thomas Aquinas

Question 18

Explain what Pope Leo XIII in Providentissimus Deus taught about the literal sense of scripture drawing upon the work of St. Augustine

Answer 18

He taught readers/scholars not to depart from the literal sense unless reason makes it untenable or necessity requires it

Question 19

ID the threefold requirements of translators according to JPII

Answer 19

1. Affirm knowledge and understanding of the context of the point of origin
2. Affirm knowledge and understanding of the context of the point of arrival
3. Command of the meaning and content of the text.

Question 20

Explain the relationship between Sancta Mater Ecclesia and Dei Verbum

Answer 20

SME was written by the PBC in 1964, and DV is a Dogmatic Constitution written by an ecumenical council in 1965. Dei Verbum qualifies and clarifies SME and approves it

Question 21

Explain the historical context of SME

Answer 21

Written while Vatican II is in progress and discusses the historicity of the gospels based on two debated Roman positions

Question 22

Explain the historical context of Divino Afflante Spiritu

Answer 22

World War II
Promulgated Feast of St. Jerome (Sept 30 1943)

Question 23

ID the major accomplishment of Divino Afflante Spiritu

Answer 23

“Full opening of historical critical methods and recognition of various methods”

Question 24

Explain the occasion of the publication of Divino Afflante Spiritu and indicate what matters it sought to address

Answer 24

It was written to commemorate and confirm Providentissimus Deus fifty years later. It sought to address criticisms and reevaluate PD.

Question 25

DAS gave a lot of attention to the literal meaning of the Biblical text. Explain.

Answer 25

Discovering and expounding the genuine meaning of the sacred books is the greatest task of the Catholic exegete
Foremost and greatest endeavor would be to discern and define clearly that sense of the biblical word that is called the literal. (par 23)
Just as he must seek out the meaning of the literal word, he must also do for the spiritual sense provided it is clearly intended by God
What is the literal sense is not always obvious (par 35)

Question 26

Explain why DAS is regarded as the Magna Carta of Catholic biblical studies

Answer 26

Full opening of historical critical methods and recognition of various methods is unquestionably the most important accomplishment.
Catholics invited to look at textual criticism (requires Greek and Hebrew knowledge)

Question 27

Explain how the Bible was seen prior to DAS in light of its emphasis on recognizing and distinguishing literary forms.

Answer 27

While PD cautiously allowed for the use of historical critical methods fifty years before DAS, prior to that point, the Bible was mostly interpreted according to its literal meaning

Question 28

ID those persons whom Pope Pius identified as having “examined and explained the nature and effects of biblical inspiration more exactly and more fully than was wont to be done in previous ages.”

Answer 28

Catholic Theologians (33)

Question 29

Explain the threefold process by which the evangelists chose and arranged the material they had received

Answer 29

1. Selecting: deciding what will be maintained and eliminated from their accounts
2. Synthesization: arranging material around themes such as Luke 15’s “Lost Things”
3. Explication: explaining the material to the intended reading communities

Question 30

Explain what further distinctions may be made about the evangelists from SME’s moniker of “sacred writers”

Answer 30

Two (Matthew and John) were apostles; two (Mark and Luke) were assistants to apostles (Mark to Peter and Luke to Paul)

Question 31

Explain the purpose Luke set for himself in writing the Gospel which bears his name

Answer 31

After having investigated everything for himself, he intended to set out an orderly account of the events that had occurred.

Question 32

ID Theophilus

Answer 32

The recipient of Luke’s gospel account and the account of the Acts of the Apostles

Question 33

Define Theophilus

Answer 33

“Friend of God” or “Love of God”