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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What is a central part of the Jewish and Christian religions?
(a) that God takes tribute from humankind.
(b) that God gives advice to humankind.
(c) that God makes covenants with humankind.
(d) that God never speaks to humankind.

2. From studying the language, how many authors have scholars concluded worked on the first five books of the Bible?
(a) nine.
(b) two.
(c) four.
(d) three.

3. Who was the last judge before Saul became King of Israel?
(a) Samuel.
(b) Joshua.
(c) Ethan.
(d) Abraham.

4. When does the Davidic king, Zedekiah, lose the throne and become a prisoner in Babylon?
(a) 722 B.C.
(b) 487 B.C.
(c) 587 B.C.
(d) 777 B.C.

5. Why did Author E get his designation?
(a) his fist name was Elgar.
(b) he refers to God as Edom.
(c) he never uses the singular for God.
(d) he always refers to God, El, or Elohim.

6. What story does Friedman use to illustrate the two author concept?
(a) the crossing of the Red Sea.
(b) the sacrifice of Isaac.
(c) the flood.
(d) the creation.

7. What did Spinoza point out about Moses being called "the humblest man on Earth"?
(a) it is a lie.
(b) it is a strange thing to say about Moses.
(c) it shows that Moses wrote the first five books.
(d) it is not something he would call himself.

8. Why is the authorship of the Bible a comparatively recent field of study?
(a) for centuries people never read the Bible.
(b) for centuries the clergy accepted the pat answers.
(c) for centuries no one really read the Bible.
(d) for centuries the authorship was a guarded secret.

9. What lay in the ark under the wings of the cherubs?
(a) a lampstand with seven candles.
(b) a tree that symbolized Yahweh.
(c) the original copies of the Torah.
(d) the original stone tablets of the Ten Commandments.

10. What does Friedman propose about Author J?
(a) that he lived in Judah.
(b) that he was a Levite.
(c) that he was not a Hebrew.
(d) that he came from Jerico.

11. Why does Author E's writing about God's commandment cast doubt on the golden cherubs of Judah?
(a) it condemns plating with gold a carved image.
(b) it condemns making of images to worship.
(c) it omits the commandment about carved images.
(d) it praises only cast gold like the northern calves.

12. Why can J and E not be separated on the basis of style alone?
(a) there are too many similarities in their styles.
(b) there is not enough evidence of stylistic differences.
(c) there really are no stylistic differences.
(d) the books are not long enough to make that call.

13. What are the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy commonly called by Christians?
(a) the Ten Commandments.
(b) the Prophets.
(c) the Pentateuch.
(d) the Torah.

14. At what point does E switch from using El or Elohim in reference to God?
(a) after he becomes a very old man.
(b) at the point when Yahweh tells Moses his name.
(c) after he has read J's texts.
(d) when he satirizes J's account.

15. What scandal occurred in David's household that ended in a murder?
(a) David's brothers attempted to assassinate him.
(b) David's oldest son, Amnon, raped Tamar, his half-sister.
(c) David's son, Absolum, took bribes from the tribes.
(d) David's wife had an affair with a priest.

Short Answer Questions

1. What did the two writers use that alerted scholars to the idea that there were more than one?

2. What information comes from knowing who wrote the Bible and when it was written?

3. What are the dates Friedman puts on the two writers?

4. What is a characteristic of Author J's writings?

5. What are the books known as the Early Prophets?

(see the answer keys)

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