Revelation of God in Scripture

Fall 2014
Final Exam Study Guide

For the Final Exam, be sure to familiarize yourself with the following terms and concepts from lecture,
classroom discussions, and activities, as well as your readings from the text and from the Bible. It is
recommended that you study in groups or with a partner, and that you compare and collate (Look it up!)
your lecture notes. Please note that PowerPoint presentations from lectures will NOT be posted online.
Some of the information on this study guide we have not yet covered in classdont worry about that
material for now.
The Final Exam will consist of 200 Scantron questions, worth 1 point each, plus one five paragraph essay,
worth 50 points. For the essay, 3 out of 6 possible topics (see below) will be on the Exam; you will
choose one of these.

Section 1, Parts 1 and 2: The Desire to Know God and Natural Revelation
Terms
Desire

Natural Revelation

Scholastic Theology

Vocation

Fathers of the Church

(Church Fathers)

Ecumenical Council

Incarnation
Salvation

Middle Ages

Conscience
Vatican Council II

Concepts
Longing for God

The Sacred Scriptures and Natural Revelation

Gods Invitation

Natural Revelation and the Wisdom of the

Church Fathers

Happiness in God Alone

Saint Augustine and the Four Objects of Love

Natural Revelation and Scholastic Theology

Natural Revelation: Vatican Council I to Present

Section 1, Part 3 and Section 2 Parts 1, 2, and 3: Divine Revelation, Understanding the Scriptures,
Interpreting Scripture, and Overview of the Old and New Testaments
Terms
Salvation History

Theophany

Covenant

Divine Revelation

Original Sin

Patriarch

Prophet

Written Tradition

Essenes

Wisdom Literature

Canon

Millennium

Trinity

The Eucharist

Hebrew People

Sacred Tradition

Gnostic

Torah

Apostolic Succession

Biblical Exegesis

Pentateuch

Deposit of Faith

Analogy of Faith

New Testament

Magisterium

Exegete

Paschal Mystery

Dogma

Christological

Hellenism

Redemption

Fundamentalist Approach

Law of Moses

Divine Interpretation

Contextualist Approach

Parousia

Biblical Inerrancy

Nag Hammadi Manuscripts

Oral Tradition

Redact

Concepts
Salvation History: Gods Revelation

Literary Forms in the Bible

Salvation History in the Old Testament

Senses of the Scriptures

Jesus Christ: The Fullness of All Revelation

Relation to Science and History

The Transmission of Divine Revelation

Other Avenues of Understanding the Scriptures

Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition

The Old Testament: Old Does Not Mean Out

of Date

Divine Inspiration and Biblical Inerrancy

From the Spoken to the Written Word

The Old Testament: General Overview

The Canon of the Old Testament

When Was It Written?

The New Testament: Why Is It Called New?

Setting the Canon of Scripture

Different Translation: The Same Revelation

The New Testament: General Overview

The Canon of the New Testament

A Vocation to Interpret and Teach

Also Review: The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Bible, pp. i-viii)

Section 3, Part 1: The Book of Genesis

Terms
Creed

Primeval History

Doctor of the Church

Semitic

Near East

Promised Land

Concepts
Creation: In the Beginning

Sin and Gods Response

Abraham

Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph

Also Review:
Gen 1-4
Gen 6-9
Gen 11:1-9
Gen 12; 15; 17; 18:1-15; 22
Gen 25:19-34; 27:1-45; 28:10-22; 29:14b-30; 32:23-33

Section 3, Part 2: The Book of Exodus

Terms
Pharaoh

Passover

Ten Commandments

Yahweh

Manna

Sinai Covenant

Concepts
A People Enslaved

Building Trust in God

The Exodus

The Ten Commandments

Also Review:
Ex 1-15
Ex 19; 20:1-17

Section 3, Part 3: The Historical Books

Terms
Polytheistic Beliefs

Idolatrous

Ark of the Covenant

Baal Asherah

Monarchy

Servant Leadership

Judges

Theocracy

Concepts
Joshua: God Is on Our Side

From Saul to Solomon: The Desire for Unity

Judges: The Book of Deliverers

David: Recognizing a Servant

Also Review:
Jos 1; 3; 4; 5:13-15; 6; 23; 24
Jgs 3:12-29; 4-5; 13:1-24; 14; 15; 16
1 Sm 1:1-28; 3:1-21; 8-10; 12:13-18; 13:1-10; 15:1-31; 16-18; 24; 28:4-25; 31
2 Sm 6-7; 7:8-29; 11-12
1 Kgs 1:1-53; 3; 11:1-13; 12

Section 3, Part 4: The Prophetic Books

Terms
Prophecy

Fidelity

Immanuel

Babylonian Exile

Remnant

Stump of Jesse

Herald
Concepts

Messianic Hope

The Prophets: A Radical Redemption

Jeremiah: Success in the Lord

Major and Minor Prophets

Isaiah: The Long Awaited One

Ezekiel: Challenging Idolatry and Injustice

Section 3, Part 5: Wisdom Literature

Terms
Psalter

Lament

Psalms

Thanksgiving

Qoheleth

Hymns

praise

Personification

Concepts
Job: Understanding Suffering

Song of Songs: The Beauty of Love

The Psalms: Learning to Pray

Wisdom: Seeking Truth

Ecclesiastes: The Ongoing Search for Meaning

Essay Topics
1. Discuss the concept of Revelation. Be sure to:

Explain what is meant by Natural Revelation and Divine Revelation, as well as the relationship
between faith and reason.
Discuss two Christian theologians who wrote about Gods existence.
Explain at least two of the proofs from nature (i.e., not from Scripture) that they used.

2. Discuss how the Bible developed. Be sure to:

Discuss the progression from oral to written tradition. During what phase of Israels history were
the oral traditions first written down?
What are the four sources of the Torah, and what are some of their distinguishing
characteristics? What is the earliest to be written, and which is the latest?
Beyond source criticism, discuss four other methods of Biblical scholarship. What does the
Historical Critical Method ultimately help us to understand?

3. Discuss Biblical Contextualism vs. Fundamentalism. Be sure to:

Explain what is meant by both contextualism and fundamentalism.

Address whether Catholic exegesis favor contextualism or fundamentalism, and why.
Discuss how one would interpret the two creation accounts in Genesis according to Catholic
exegetical principles.

4. Discuss the Sensus Plenior. Be sure to:

Explain what is meant by the literal sense of Scripture. How does this differ from Biblical
literalism? How can the Historical-Critical Method help our understanding of the literal sense?
Explain what is meant by the spiritual sense of Scripture. The spiritual sense is further
subdivided into what three senses?
Unpack the meaning of the Siege of Jericho in Joshua according to its literal and spiritual senses
(all four).

5. Discuss the Biblical concept of Monotheism. Be sure to:

Explain the nature of Israelite monotheism. What distinguishes it from merely, the worship of
one God?
Explain how two key texts, the first creation account in Genesis, and the revelation of the Divine
Name to Moses in Exodus, develop on the theme of Israelite monotheism.
Discuss the historical origin on the Hebrew word El, its two meanings, and how this
demonstrates the gradual development of Israels understanding of God.

6. Discuss the Biblical concept of Covenant. Be sure to:

Explain what a covenant is, who could establish a covenant, and how one established a
covenant in the Ancient Near East (i.e., What does it mean to cut a covenant?).
Discuss briefly Gods covenants with Noah, Abraham/Isaac/Jacob, Moses (the Sinai Covenant),
and David.
Discuss in detail Gods covenant with Abraham. What are the four parts of this covenant? What
is the spiritual significance of circumcision?