INTRODUCTION TO THE TORAH

4. How many individual books lay the foundation for the Torah? 5. What do the Torah and the Old Testament in Christian Bibles have in common?

Directions: (Assignment two)  View the video: “Who Wrote the Bible: A History of the Torah” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8vYLSBCAF8&t=19s).  Fill in the blanks to the statements below:

6. The Torah is the compilation of the first____ books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and____. 7. In the Book of Genesis, Chapter 12, God chooses a man called Abram, who later becomes the “father” of the nation ____ . 8. God promises Abram that He will ___him and give him a special land on the eastern coast of the Sea. 9. The land called “The Promised Land” is ___, a place that the Canaanites occupied. 10. God promises Abram that he will have descendants and that he will become a blessing to other ___of the world. 11. As the story continues, Abram and his family travel to escape a famine. 12. In the Book of ___, the descendants of Abraham become enslaved to the Egyptians. 13. The second Book of the Hebrew Bible, called____, God rescues the children of Israel from their Egyptian captors. 14. God says to the Israelite leader named______: “Let them (the Israelites) make for Me a sanctuary so that I may dwell among them.” (Ex 25:8) 15. A sanctuary is a place of refuge or_____. 16. God frees Israel from both their human and ____oppressors. 17. God goes to war and executes judgment on the ____of Egypt. 18. In the wilderness, God makes a special pact, or _____, with the Israelites. 19. A wilderness is a place that has not been ____ by human activity. 20. God gives the children of Israel the Ten____ (the Law) while they are wandering in the wilderness. 21. The Law is a series of solemn ____. 22. The Law is a binding agreement between two ____. 23. This kind of agreement, common to the people of Ancient Near East, is a____. 24. In ancient times, mighty kings had suzerainty (rulership) over smaller kingdoms and could exert _____ over them. 25. During biblical times, ____, or landholders, held the smaller kingdoms on conditions of homage and allegiance. 26. To show homage is to give public______. 27. The suzerain would give_____ to loyal vassals, but there would also be curses if vassals were to break the rules of loyalty. 28. The people engaged in rituals so that they would not _____the agreements. 29. A ritual is a religious or solemn ____consisting of actions performed according to a prescribed order. 30. During ancient rituals, people would usually invoke their own national____ to bear witness to the covenant, or agreement. 31. In the case of the Israelites in the Book of Exodus, the God of the cosmos replaces ____kings.

32. For the ancient Israelites, the God of the cosmos had a special____. 33. Throughout the Hebrew Scriptures, God reminds the children of Israel that He rescued them from the Egyptians to take them into the land that He promised ___ . 34. God expects the children of Israel to keep the sacred ____. 35. If something is sacred, expect it to be _____ to a religious purpose. 36. The Books of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy focus of God’s_________ with the Israelites. 37. In summary, God wants love and _____from the nation of Israel. 38. Israel is not to worship other ______beings. 39. God also wants a relationship with other_____. 40. The Ten Commandments forbid the people to murder, steal, covet, or ______their parents. 41. As He dwells among the people, God manifests (reveals) His presence as a fiery_____. 42. God moves alongside this nomadic nation of mortals in a portable _______or place of worship. 43. The Book of Leviticus explores the different rules and rituals that the ancient Israelites believe would make it possible for them to coexist with_________. 44. The Book of Numbers records the famous forty-year journey from the Mount _______outside Egypt to the edge of the Promised Land. 45. During the journey, the children of Israel _______against God. 46. Because of their recalcitrant (stubborn) disposition, the children of Israel must wait forty years for a new ________ to remain loyal to God. 47. God disciplines the disobedient Israelites, but He also preserves them and _______them from their enemies along the way. 48. In the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses acts as a __________between God and the people. 49. If the people break the________, they will not remain in the Promised Land. 50. Throughout the Hebrew Bible, prophets remind the Israelites of the covenant between them and God.

Study Questions (Assignment three)

Directions:  Read the article: “THE OLD TESTAMENT: A Christian Name for the Jewish Bible (My Jewish Learning “(https://www.myjewishlearning.com/article/the-old-testament .  Use the article to respond to the study questions below.  Review the answers for discussions and assessments. (Note: You may use added credible online resources to respond to the questions. Use a pronunciation dictionary to learn to pronounce unfamiliar words.)

Are the following statements (A) TRUE or (B) FALSE? 1. In Jewish tradition, the Hebrew Scriptures consist of the Torah, the Books of the Prophets and the Books of the Writings. 2. Within Judaism, this trio is known simply as the Hebrew Bible, or the Tanakh.

3. Tanakh is an acronym derived from Torah (Teaching), Nevi’im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings). 4. In Christian tradition, the term Old Testament differs from the New Testament. 5. The Old Testament is the first division of the Christian biblical canon. 6. The term canon refers to a general rule for categorizing, which is based primarily upon the twenty-four (24) books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh. 7. The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh is a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings. 8. The second division of Christian Bibles is the New Testament, originally written in the

Greek language. 9. The order and categorization of the books in the Christian Bibles are different from the traditional arrangement in the Jewish Bible. 10. According to Jewish tradition, the Tanakh comprises of twenty-four (24) books including narratives, law codes, short stories, etiological tales, prophecies, exhortations, poetry, and wisdom writing. 11. An etiological tale is a short story, with a simple structure- the story answers the “why” question in the beginning. 12. A prophecy is a message inspired by God, or a divine revelation. 13. An exhortation is an address or communication emphatically urging someone to do something. 14. Exhortations are meant to encourage someone. 15. Wisdom literature is a literary genre that consists of statements from sages or wise men that teach about life, virtue, and the nature of God.

For Reflection:

View the video: Who Wrote the Bible: A History of the Torah (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k8vYLSBCAF8&t=19s ). Briefly explain the “Documentary Hypothesis.” (Write 3-5 paragraphs. Employ terminology from this lesson in your response. Document sources. Edit your work to remove writing errors. Post your reflection on the discussion board. Label the post: The Torah and the “Documentary Hypothesis.”)

A Closing Thought:

"The book to read is not one which thinks for you, but the one that makes you think. No other book in the world equals the BIBLE for that."

- James McCosh

LESSON SEVEN

AN OVERVIEW OF THE GENESIS STORY

Lesson Overview:

In this lesson, students will understand the Book of Genesis as the foundational work for the entire Hebrew Bible. They will learn basic biblical terms that will help them understand the text and to be able to engage in logical exchanges about the Bible’s account of the history of humanity and the shaping of Israel as a nation. Key Concepts: Bereshit (in the beginning), epic, Torah, Pentateuch, Yahweh (God), Abraham, Mesopotamian, Canaan, covenant, prologue, blessing, curse, repentance, genealogy, motif, inheritance

Objectives: Students will:

 understand the Book of Genesis as a foundational work for the entire Hebrew Bible.  become familiar with the most basic biblical terms that are useful in interpreting textual meaning.  follow the literary patterns of storytelling in the Hebrew Bible.  write a reflection on key details of the lesson.  edit writing to correct composition errors.  engage in discussions of the lesson via a discussion board.

Expected Learning Outcomes:

At the end of this lesson, students will be able to:  explain how the Book of Genesis is a foundational work for the entire Hebrew Bible.  use basic biblical terms to interpret textual meaning and purpose.  demonstrate knowledge of the literary patterns of storytelling found in the Hebrew Bible.  understand how the Book of Genesis gives an account of the early history of humankind and how Israel became a nation.  write a reflection on key details of the lesson.  edit writing to correct composition errors.  engage in discussions of the lesson via a discussion board.

Duration:2-3 hours

Materials:

 Internet access/e-mail/computer editing ability  Notebook/paper/pen  A r t i c l e : “ G e n e s i s : t h e B i b l e ’s s t o r y b e g i n s ” by Jeffrey Kranz (https://overviewbible.com/genesis/_)  Video: Genesis: A Quick Overview (https://overviewbible.com/genesis/) by the Bible Project

Directions:

Watch the video G e n e s i s : A Q u i c k O v e r v i e w (h t t p s : / / o v e r v i e w b i b l e . c o m / g e n e s i s /) . Indicate if the following statements are (A) TRUE or (B) FALSE. ( N o t e : Yo u m a y u s e m o r e c r e d i b l e o n l i n e r e s o u r c e s t o r e s p o n d t o t h e q u e s t i o n s . U s e a p r o n u n c i a t i o n d i c t i o n a r y t o l e a r n t o p r o n o u n c e u n f a m i l i a r w o r d s . ) 1 . The Book of Genesis is the first book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Old Testament. 2 . The word “Genesis” in Hebrew means “beginning,” the same as the first words in the biblical text (Bereshit). 3 . Genesis is a record of the creation of the world, the early history of humanity, and of Israel's ancestry and the origins of the Jewish nation. 4 . The Book of Genesis opens with one of the most famous first sentences of any literary work: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” 5 . The Book of Genesis has the famous stories of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the ark, Abraham and Isaac, and the life of Joseph. 6 . Narratives in the book of Genesis read like a string of epic stories. 7 . Genesis a “stand-alone” book. 8 . The Book of Genesis is the first book the five-part Torah (or Pentateuch). 9 . The Torah is the foundational work of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament). 1 0 . The Torah is Israel’s origin story. 11 . The Torah records the history of how the nation of Israel got its population, its land, and its religion. 1 2 . After the Book of Jeremiah, Genesis is the second-longest book of the Bible. 13. Another name for God is Yahweh—the creator of heaven and earth, including the humans Adam and Eve. 14. Based on the narrative, God describes all Creation as “very good.” 15. When both humans and divine creations rebel against God, the world slips back into chaos. 16. According to Genesis, only the people rebel against God. 17. The sinful nature of humans brings a curse on the world. 18. Humankind becomes so violent that God destroys everyone except Noah and his family. 19. God chooses Abraham to begin the work of restoring the world. 20. Abraham, a Mesopotamian, is formerly known as “Abram.” 21. Abraham becomes the first patriarch of a special nation, Israel.