Studying for Exams

Well, I had my first study session with my nephew this evening. Out to dinner at Panera and then spent a little time going over information for his Old Testament Survey class. There are some definite benefits to being an old lady that has lived in the Bible for a lot of years. I discovered that there is some basic information I simply have absorbed into my life that I had to drill Matt on tonight. That's cool. I'm just glad he is starting to learn the info.

What are the first 5 books of the Bible called? The Pentateuch. Penta = 5. Teuchos = Scrolls. 5 Scrolls. What is the Hebrew word for it? Torah. What language was the Old Testament written in? Mainly Hebrew with a few scattered passages in Aramaic. What was the first Greek translation called? The Septuagint: 72 men worked on the translation. They didn't know what else to call it - so it's simply ... 70. What are the two major rivers around the Cradle of Civilization? Tigris and Euphrates. And what is the land called there? Mesopotamia. What was the first civilization group? Sumerians. And their written language? Cuneiform. What was the written language of the Egyptians? Hieroglyphics. What were two of the major roads through Israel called? Via Maris (Way of the Sea) and the Highway of the King.

What is the canon. Canon literally means "measuring stick." So, books of scripture were measured to find if they qualified. A book had to be written by a prophet or inspired by the Holy Spirit, it had to reach to all generations and it had to fit within the rest of the text of the scriptures to qualify.

Wonderful information about our scriptures. It's one thing to learn scripture, it's even greater to learn about them and where they came from - what about the people and the landscape of the world at the time. How do our scriptures fit into the relevance of ancient times as well as today's world. What are the other creation stories that were being told at the time? What about other flood stories? What is so different about the Bible and other tales and myths from that era.

I'm loving this early information ... I don't know if I'm going to love going back into Leviticus and Numbers. I've read those books quite a few times in the last several years and you know what? I'm tired of 'em. Lots of laws, lots of details. But, here we go again!