选修课圣经文学期末试题.docx

1. The Holy Bible consists mainly of two large segments: the Old Testament and __A__.
A. the New Testament B. Judges C. Pentateuch D. Biblical Narratives

2. Altogether there are ___C__ books in the Protestant Bible, which includes ____ books in the Old Testament and __ in the New.
A. 99…56…43 B. 89…54…35 C. 66…39…27 D. 100…50…50

3. The language that the Bible was written in was __B_____ (the Old Testament) and ______ and _______ for the New Testament.
A. Latin…Greek…English B. Hebrew…Greek…Aramaic C. Latin…Sanskrit…German
D. Hebrew…Greek…French

4. There are many names of God used in the Bible. Which of the following represents the correct name-meaning relation of His name? __B__
A. Elohim—“The Lord of Hosts”
B. YHWH(Yahweh)—Jehovah, the LORD, I AM THAT I AM
C. Jehovah Rohi—“The Lord is Peace”
D. Jehovah Shalom—“The Lord My Shepard”

5. Which of the following genealogical line is correct? ___C___
A. Abraham—Jacob—Joseph—Isau
B. Jacob—Abraham—Issiah—David
C. Abraham—Issac—Jacob—Joseph
D. Noah—Abraham—Isau—Jacob

II. Fill-in the Blanks (30%, 2 points each)

Directions: Complete the sentences by putting the appropriate WORD in the blanks blow.
1. ____ Genesis ____ is the first book of the Bible as well as an account of the early history of mankind starting from Adam and Eve.

2. The first man and the first woman were driven out of the Garden of ___Eden___ because they ate from the tree of__ Knowledge_____ after the Lord told them not to.

3. The writing of the Bible follows a fundamental guideline, which praises ___ virtue ___ and shuns ____ vice ____.

4. A _ repetition _ is a recurrent image, scene, or symbol that unifies the plot and enriches its meaning.

5. The six main phases of tragedy are: the hero’s __dilemma__, moral ___choice__, __Catastrophe__, the tragic hero’s __suffering__, ____Perception___ near the end of the action, and finally, death of the hero.

6. The Gospel mainly refers to four books in the New Testament _ Matthew _, __ Mark __, Luke __, and _ John _.

III. Essay questions (60%)
Directions: answer the following questions by using the information covered in ‘Bible as Literature’.

1. What does Bible as literature mean? How is the Jewish Canon different from the Protestant Canon? (5 points)
⑴ ①The Bible can be read as theology, history, but also, as literature.
②It can be seen as artistic reproduction of human experience.
③The Bible can also be likened to an Anthology for the various literary genres it includes.

(2)The Jewish Canon includes:
Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, Prophets
Major: Joshua, Judges, I&II Samuel, I&II Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel.
Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi
The Protestant Canon includes :
Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra& Nehemiah, I&II Chronicles.
The prophets are different: In the Protestant Canon, prophets such as Joshua, Judges, I&II Samuel, I&II Kings are not included; But in the Jewish Canon, prophets Lamentations of Jeremiah, Daniel are not included.

2. What is the “oral tradition”? Use an example from Genesis to illustrate the effect that oral tradition has on the Biblical writings. (5 points)
An oral tradition is the manner in which information is passed from one generation to the next in the absence of writing or a recording medium. In the days before near-universal literacy, bards would sing or chant their people's stories. For example, in Genesis 1, it adopts a spiral narrative mode, and the narrator tells the story from the third person front of view and in a poetic rhythm. It mainly narrates how the universe was created, from climate to human. By using oral tradition, we would be personally on the scene where the Lord is creating everything at that present as the narrator tells us in a passionate voice. It could be more vivid and more picturesque.

3. What are some frequently used motifs (at least two) in the Old Testament narratives? Explain by using examples. (10 points)
Motifs: 1. God is consistently depicted as the one who created or put into order the world and guides its history.
2. The Old Testament stresses the special relationship between God and his chosen people, Israel, but includes instructions for proselytes as well. This relationship is expressed in the biblical covenant between the two, received by Moses. The law codes in books such as Exodus and especially Deuteronomy are the terms of the contract: Israel swears faithfulness to Yahweh, and God swears to be Israel's special protector and supporter.
3. Further themes in the Old Testament include salvation, redemption, divine judgment, obedience and disobedience, faith and faithfulness, among others. Throughout there is a strong emphasis on ethics and ritual purity, both of which God demands, although some of the prophets and wisdom writers seem to question this, arguing that God demands social justice above purity, and perhaps does not even care about purity at all.

4. Define tragedy and use an example from the Bible to explain the main phases of tragedy. (10 points)
①Tragedy can be defined as a story in which a protagonist of high degree and possessing greatness of spirit undertakes an action and as a result inevitably falls from prosperity to a state of physical and spiritual suffering, sometimes, attaining perception. It is defined in terms of both plot and character. The one common denominator in all tragedies is the downward movement of the plot from positive experience to catastrophe.
②There are six main phases of tragedy: .(1)The hero’s dilemma. (2). Moral choice. (3). Catastrophe. (4). The tragic hero’s suffering. (5). Perception near the end of the action. (6). Death of the hero.(A tragic hero is usually responsible for his own downfall.) For example, according to the Hebrew Bible, Saul was the first king of a united Kingdom of Israel and Judah. He was anointed by the prophet Samuel and reigned from Gibeah. He fell on his sword to avoid capture in the battle against the Philistines at Mount Gilboa, during which three of his sons were also killed. The succession to his throne was contested by Ish-bosheth, his only surviving son, and his son-in-law David, who eventually prevailed. When he met moral choice, his Spiritual deteriorated. Finally, his psychology collapsed, polity declined and moral regressed.

5. What are the characteristics of poetry? How many types of Psalms are there? Describe the key features of one of these types and demonstrate your understanding of the nature and artistry of Psalms by briefly analyzing Ps. 19. (15 points)
There are 4 types of Psalms: The Psalm of Lament, The Psalm of Praise, The Psalm of Worship and The Psalm of Nature.
Some key features of The Psalm of Praise: 1. The elevation of the object of praise. 2. The direction of the praise’s whole being away from himself or herself toward the object of praise. 3 The poet’s testimony.
Although there are five nature psalms in the Psalter, nature finds its way less directly into dozens of psalms.
Psalm always expresses a feeling or insight at the moment of greatest intensity: self-contained (not depending on other material); usually with a single controlling topic or theme (emotion/idea) that creates unity. The theme of one psalm is the unifying emotion/idea; variation is the details that develop the theme. It always uses “I” as Personal and subjective. It’s reflective is a sequence of ideas or series of emotions, not a series of events like a story emotion expressed through use of exclamation, hyperbole, emotive words, vivid description of the stimulus for the emotion, projecting a feeling onto external nature, or describing parallels to speaker’s situation. Abruptness in movement always make psalm lacks smooth transitions. It always has responses to stimulus its theme. Concentrated and compressed context shows its intensity. It always uses repetition, listing or catalog, association, contrast to development the theme.

6. What are some dominant literary forms in the New Testament? Choose one parable from one of the four Gospels to analyze the theme, artistry (e.g. metaphor, personification, repetition) and deeper meaning. (15 points)
(1)Biblical Narrative; Epic and Tragedy; Liturgical forms (for public worship ceremonies)‏; Poetry ;Drama ;NT traditional forms: parable, beatitude, birth narrative, story of healing, Transfiguration scene…. The dominant literary forms are Poetry and Narrative.
（2）e.g. The parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable told by Jesus and is mentioned in only one of the gospels of the New Testament. According to the Gospel of Luke (10:29–37) a traveler who may or may not have been a Jew [1]) is beaten, robbed, and left half dead along the road. First a priest and then a Levite come by, but both avoid the man. Finally, a Samaritan comes by. Samaritans and Jews generally despised each other, but the Samaritan helps the injured man. Jesus is described as telling the parable in response to a question regarding the identity of the "neighbor", which Leviticus says should be loved.

Portraying a Samaritan in a positive light would have come as a shock to Jesus's audience. It is typical of his provocative speech in which conventional expectations are inverted.

Some Christians, such as Augustine, have interpreted the parable allegorically, with the Samaritan representing Jesus Christ, who saves the sinful soul. Others, however, discount this allegory as unrelated to the parable's original meaning[3] and see the parable as exemplifying the ethics of Jesus.
The parable has inspired painting, sculpture, poetry, and film. The colloquial phrase "good Samaritan", meaning someone who helps a stranger, derives from this parable, and many hospitals and charitable organizations are named after the Good Samaritan.