The Catholic University of America Biblical Studies Comprehensive Examination

The Catholic University of America Biblical Studies Comprehensive Examination Day One: You may use the Hebrew Bible, Septuagint, and Greek New Testament. You may not use any translation of any kind. You have six hours. שמות I. Exodus 4:10-23 1:40 ו י אמ ר מ ש ה א ל י הו ה ב י א ד נ י ל א א יש ד ב ר ים א נ כי ג ם מת מ ול ג ם משל ש ם ג ם מ א ז ד ב ר ך ע ב ד ך כ י כ ב ד פ ה וכ ב ד ל ש ון א נ כי א ל יו מ י פק ח א ו ש ם א ה י ה עם פ י ך פ ה ל אד ם א ו מ י י ש ום א ו ע ו ר ה ל א א נ כ י י הו ה ו ה ור ית י ך א ש ר ת ד ב ר א ד נ י ש ל ח נ א ב י ד תש ל ח 1:44 א ל ו י אמ ר י הו ה אל ם א ו ח ר ש 1:42 ו ע ת ה ל ך ו א נ כי 1:43 ו י אמ ר ב י 1:41 ו י ח ר א ף י הו ה ב מ ש ה ו י אמ ר ה ל א א ה ר ן א ח י ך ה ל ו י י ד ע תי כ י ד ב ר י ד ב ר ה וא ו ג ם הנ ה ה וא י צ א לק ר את ך ו ר א ך ו ש מ ח ב לב ו 1:45 ו דב ר ת א ל יו ו ש מ ת א ת ה ד ב ר ים ב פ יו א ה י ה עם פ י ך ו עם פ יה ו ו ה ור ית י ו א נ כ י א ת כ ם א ת א ש ר

ת ע ש ון 1:46 ו דב ר ה וא ל ך א ל ה ע ם ו ה י ה ה וא י ה י ה ל ך ל פ ה ו א ת ה ת ה י ה ל ו ל א לה ים ה ז ה תק ח ב י ד 1:48 1:47 ו א ת ה מ ט ה ך א ש ר ת ע ש ה ב ו א ת ה א ת ת ו י ל ך מ ש ה ו י ש ב א ל י ת ר ח ת נ ו ו י אמ ר ל ו א ל כ ה פ נ א ו א ש וב ה א ל א ח י א ש ר ב מצ ר ים ו א ר א ה ה ע וד ם ח י ים ו י אמ ר ית ר ו ל מ ש ה ל ך ל ש ל ום 1:49 ו י אמ ר י הו ה א ל מ ש ה ב מד י ן ל ך ש ב מצ ר ים כי מ ת ו כ ל ה א נ ש ים נ פ ש ך 1:20 ה מ ב ק ש ים א ת ו יק ח מ ש ה א ת אש ת ו ו א ת ב נ יו ע ל ה ח מ ר ו י ש ב א ר צ ה מצ ר ים ו יק ה א לה ים ב י ד ו 1:24 ו י אמ ר י הו ה א ל מ ש ה ו י ר כב ם ח מ ש ה א ת מ ט ה ב ל כ ת ך ל ש וב מצ ר י מ ה ר א ה כ ל ה מ פ תים א ש ר ש מ תי ב י ד ך ו ע שית ם לפ נ י פ ר ע ה ו א ני א ח ז ק א ת לב ו ו ל א י ש ל ח א ת ה ע ם 1:22 ב כ ר י יש ר א ל ו א מ ר ת א ל פ ר ע ה כ ה א מ ר 1:23 י הו ה ב נ י ו א מ ר א ל י ך ש ל ח א ת ב ני ו י ע ב ד ני ו ת מ א ן ל ש ל ח ו הנ ה א נ כ י ה ר ג א ת בנ ך ב כ ר ך 1. Translate the text 2. Parse the highlighted verbs

3. Answer: a. How is the formulaic I am with you in v 12a usually used in the Hebrew Bible? b. Verses 17-27 are a source-critical nightmare. What would source critics make of the relationship of v 18 to v 19? c. In the Septuagint, Jethro says to Moses at the end of v 18, Βάδιζε ὑγιαίνων. What is the nuance of this and how does it relate to the MT? II. Romans 5:12 Διὰ τοῦτο ὥσπερ δι ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἡ ἁμαρτία εἰς τὸν κόσμον εἰσῆλθεν καὶ διὰ τῆς ἁμαρτίας ὁ θάνατος, καὶ οὕτως εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους ὁ θάνατος διῆλθεν, ἐφ ᾧ πάντες ἥμαρτον 13 ἄχρι γὰρ νόμου ἁμαρτία ἦν ἐν κόσμῳ, ἁμαρτία δὲ οὐκ ἐλλογεῖται μὴ ὄντος νόμου, 14 ἀλλὰ ἐβασίλευσεν ὁ θάνατος ἀπὸ Ἀδὰμ μέχρι Μωϋσέως καὶ ἐπὶ τοὺς μὴ ἁμαρτήσαντας ἐπὶ τῷ ὁμοιώματι τῆς παραβάσεως Ἀδὰμ ὅς ἐστιν τύπος τοῦ μέλλοντος. 15 Ἀλλ οὐχ ὡς τὸ παράπτωμα, οὕτως καὶ τὸ χάρισμα εἰ γὰρ τῷ τοῦ ἑνὸς παραπτώματι οἱ πολλοὶ ἀπέθανον, πολλῷ μᾶλλον ἡ χάρις τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ ἡ δωρεὰ ἐν χάριτι τῇ τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ εἰς τοὺς πολλοὺς ἐπερίσσευσεν. 16 καὶ οὐχ ὡς δι ἑνὸς ἁμαρτήσαντος τὸ δώρημα τὸ μὲν γὰρ κρίμα ἐξ ἑνὸς εἰς κατάκριμα, τὸ δὲ χάρισμα ἐκ πολλῶν παραπτωμάτων εἰς δικαίωμα. 17 εἰ γὰρ τῷ τοῦ ἑνὸς παραπτώματι ὁ θάνατος ἐβασίλευσεν διὰ τοῦ ἑνός, πολλῷ μᾶλλον οἱ τὴν περισσείαν τῆς χάριτος καὶ τῆς δωρεᾶς τῆς δικαιοσύνης λαμβάνοντες ἐν ζωῇ βασιλεύσουσιν διὰ τοῦ ἑνὸς Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. 18 Ἄρα οὖν ὡς δι ἑνὸς παραπτώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς κατάκριμα, οὕτως καὶ δι ἑνὸς δικαιώματος εἰς πάντας ἀνθρώπους εἰς δικαίωσιν ζωῆς 19 ὥσπερ γὰρ διὰ τῆς παρακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς ἀνθρώπου ἁμαρτωλοὶ κατεστάθησαν οἱ πολλοί, οὕτως καὶ διὰ τῆς ὑπακοῆς τοῦ ἑνὸς δίκαιοι κατασταθήσονται οἱ πολλοί. 20 νόμος δὲ παρεισῆλθεν, ἵνα πλεονάσῃ τὸ παράπτωμα οὗ δὲ ἐπλεόνασεν ἡ ἁμαρτία, ὑπερεπερίσσευσεν ἡ χάρις, 21 ἵνα ὥσπερ ἐβασίλευσεν ἡ ἁμαρτία ἐν τῷ θανάτῳ, οὕτως καὶ ἡ χάρις βασιλεύσῃ διὰ δικαιοσύνης εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν. (1) Translate the text, highlighting the different ways in which the text can be translated (2) Parse the following verbal forms, giving their dictionary form. διῆλθεν ἥμαρτον

ἐλλογεῖται ἁμαρτήσαντας μέλλοντος ἀπέθανον βασιλεύσουσιν κατεστάθησαν παρεισῆλθεν πλεονάσῃ (3) Explain designated textual variants, evaluating their worth, and highlighting their significance for interpreting the text and the history of the text (4) Explain the structure of the text (5) Explain the function of the text within its immediate context (6) Summarize the meaning of the text.

Day Two: You have eight hours. Answer four of these six questions 1. You have been invited to give a talk to a parish bible study group interested in the theology of the New Testament. They are aware of but not fully informed about different theological approaches to the New Testament. How would you explain to them why there are such a variety of theologies of the New Testament? What main points would you include in a presentation of different theologies of the New Testament, based on your reading of the theologies of the New Testament by Bultmann, Schnelle, Dunn, and Matera? 2. You are teaching an undergraduate course on the Introduction to the New Testament. Some of the students are puzzled by the great variety of opinions involving the dating and authorship of the various writings of the New Testament. How would you explain to them the criteria involved in determining the dates and authors of these writings? 3. Your department chair at the college where you teach has asked you to develop a course on the history of biblical interpretation. Several professors in the college and the Provost think this topic may prove an excellent course for the proposed First Year Experience that will be required of all freshmen. They hope the course may be a means of introducing students to the richness of the Western intellectual tradition. Write up a proposal describing what this course might look like and what it could accomplish. Include discussion of major source material (primary and secondary) that informs your thinking about the course. 4. A local gallery owns some important codices of the New Testament, and the museum director has appointed you as consultant for an exhibition the gallery is hosting, in which their own manuscripts will be exhibited along with several others loaned by libraries and museums around the world. One of your responsibilities is to write a chapter on New Testament textual criticism for the exhibition catalogue. Explain how you would go about the task, what your priorities would be, and what resources you would draw upon in preparing your chapter. 5. The college where you teach Bible is putting together a panel discussion concerning Dan Brown s The Da Vinci Code and similar works involving conspiracy theories about Jesus alleged marriage to Mary Magdalene and the children descended form that marriage. As the biblical scholar, your task is to present the biblical and historical evidence pertinent to this claim, including addressing stories concerning Mary Magdelene in ancient extra-canonical documents. What sources would you review in preparation for your presentation?

What points would you be most concerned to make for an audience of laypersons intrigued by the claims of The Da Vinci Code and similar books? 6. The local chapter of Theology on Tap has invited you to speak about Mel Gibson s movie The Passion of the Christ. The person who extended the invitation has indicated that people are especially interested to know what a biblical scholar thinks about the controversy surround claims that the movie is anti-semitic. You have been asked to speak for about half an hour before taking questions from the audience. What resources would you consult in preparation for your presentation? What points would you most want to communicate to this audience of people in their 20s and 30s who may have strayed from the Christian faith of their childhood and are meeting in a bar to discuss theology?

The Catholic University of America Biblical Studies Day Three: You have four hours. Answer two of these four questions 1. You are the only biblical scholar on a faculty of theologians at a Catholic college. Everyone has to teach an introductory level course that encompasses biblical and other theological material. Your colleagues are struggling to teach a brief unit (one day or one week) on prophecy and they have asked you to detail a possible method for introducing these undergraduate students to the biblical prophets (writing prophets and/or prophetic stories on the historical books) and their wider significance. Write a brief response to your colleagues dilemma in which you propose a pedagogical approach for your colleagues to use, which explains the rationale of the proposal including some scholarly resources that inform your ideas. 2. As a biblical scholar employed at a Catholic college, you have agreed to serve as an instructor in the Archdiocese s certification program for religious education teachers. As you get to know your students (religious education teachers in parochial schools), you learn that they are informed about the classic Documentary Hypothesis concerning the sources of the Pentateuch, which is often summarized in introductory materials (prefaces in Bibles, popular commentaries, etc.). As you realize that their knowledge does not reflect current trends in the field and that they seem dissatisfied with the visions of a cut-and-paste Bible, you realize they require re-education. Describe a lesson plan designed to help the students understand current knowledge about how scribes worked. What sources would you draw upon, for your preparation, what materials or information would you provide to the students, and what instructional methods would you employ? 3. You have been invited to be the keynote speaker for a gathering of theologically informed people interested in Jewish-Christian dialogue. Most of the participants are ministers in Christian and Jewish traditions. The participants will have read the Pontifical Biblical Commission s document The Jewish People and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible. You have been asked to provide your reflections on this document from your perspective as an Old Testament scholar (alternately NT on a NT exam). You have been asked to speak for about 30 minutes and provide questions for small group discussions. What resources beyond the PBC document would you use in preparing your talk? What reflections would you most wish to communicate, and what are some questions you might offer for further discussion?

4. The new graduate student rolls his eyes and says to you, Form Criticism? That s so 20th-century! I only care about narratology. How would you formulate a response? Synthesize a dialogue or conversation between Form Criticism as it developed in the last century and narratological methods of reading. Create a common ground for Muilenburg and Sternberg.