Points for the Final Examination in Torah (Pentateuch)

Puncta pro examinatione
INTRODUCTION TO THE TORAH (PENTATEUCH)
Fr. Randy C. Flores, SVD
Divine Word Seminary, Tagaytay City
October 10, 2009

Part I: Short Answers. Explain briefly the following (= 25 points).
Part II: Take-Home Essay: The God-Problem: Why Does God Allow Natural Disasters?(= 25 points)

Coverage (questions will be taken from those with * asterisks):
Chapter 1: Role of Torah in the Covenanted Community of Israel*
Chapter 2: Basic Questions about the Pentateuch
Chapter 3: The Five Books of the Pentateuch: Its Content and Structure*
Chapter 4: The First Story of Creation
Chapter 5: The Second Story of Creation*
Chapter 6: Cain and Abel; The Flood Story; and The Tower of Babel*
Chapter 7: The Divine Discourses in the Ancestors Story
Chapter 8: Exodus 1-15*
Chapter 9: The Law in Ancient Israel*
Chapter 10: Introduction to the Book of Leviticus
Chapter 11: The Priestly Writer
Chapter 12: Introduction to the Book of Numbers
Chapter 13: The Decalogue
Chapter 14: The History of Pentateuchal Scholarship (Ska, Introduction to Reading the Pentateuch, pp. 96-164).

Some Theological Thoughts on the Flood

1. Read The Flood Narrative (Genesis 6-9
Consider the explanation of the literary problems raised by scholars (Ska) and discussed in class. Note in particular how this story grew: first as a simple story of a just person who experiences trials (the core); then the flood-motif is added later as the focus of the trial (Mesopotamian experience); violence (to humans and nature) is added as the cause of the natural disaster (priestly writer in view of the violent history of Israel); and finally wickedness as the reason of divine punishment through a natural disaster (to explain the Babylonian Exile).

In short, the literary problem reveals a theological problem which Judaism and later on Christianity would have to wrestle with: How do we explain natural disasters, we who believe in a God who is one and good? Or why do bad things happen to good people [innocent suffering] – see Harold S. Kushner’s book with a similar title. “If God is God he is not good. If God is good, he is not God” – from an oft-quoted passage from the play JB based on the Book of Job by Archibald Mcleish.

It is clear that ancient Israel was never satisfied with one answer (that natural disasters and innocent suffering are a divine punishment). Such an answer is radically questioned in the Book of Job and in Qohelet. For Christianity, the such question is asked of the violent fate of an innocent and a just person -- Jesus of Nazareth.

In Ancient Near East, natural disasters are due to the capriciousness of the gods and goddesses and also the result of the conflicts and bickering among the gods and goddesses. Although the reason seems so trivial, the ancient people give us the theological insight of the mysterious ways of the divine. For this you can read: R. C. Flores, “Assembly of Gods and Goddesses and the Fate of Humanity,” in Bible and Ecology (QC: CBAP, 2007), pp. 68-85; also published in Diwa 31 (2006), pp. 57-80; R. C. Flores, “Story of Aqhat: Ugaritic Background of the Narrative Framework of the Book of Job,” in Diwa 33 (2008), pp. 189-210; R. C. Flores, “My God, My God, Why Have You Abandoned Me?” Diwa 31 (2006), pp. 24-41.

2. Read the following articles/reflections on the recent Flood
Government study foresaw flood–Palafox
Written by Dennis D. Estopace / Reporter
Monday, 28 September 2009 21:39
Note: Jun Palafox is a former SVD seminarian

THE government was warned 32 years ago that ceding control of urban development may have adverse consequences, such as the devastation experienced by the metropolis on Saturday.

“Some are saying it’s [the flooding of key Metropolitan Manila areas] an act of God. It’s not. It’s neglect on the part of the government,” architect Felino Palafox Jr. told the BusinessMirror on Monday as casualties of Typhoon Ondoy grew to more than a hundred dead and thousands of people displaced.

In the document sent by Palafox, the Metro Manila Transport, Land Use and Development Planning Project (Mmetroplan) already cited the Marikina Valley as among the areas deemed “unsuitable for development.”

The area that includes the city of Marikina were among those that sustained the most damage, according to news reports. In one hard-hit site alone, Provident Village, TV reports said 58 bodies had already been recovered, presumably people who never had time to leave their homes as floodwaters rose too quickly.

“Development should be restricted by the application of controls in three major areas—in the Marikina Valley, the western shores of Laguna de Bay, and the Manila Bay coastal area to the north of Manila,” said the report submitted in July 1977 to then-Public Works and Highways chief Alfredo Juinio.

“We’ve told government all along [that] this would happen because of the flooding [in] the same month in 1970,” Palafox said.

He said he was working for the government then when he and a group of researchers undertook this World Bank-funded study on a land-use plan that was finalized by Hong Kong-based consulting firm Freeman Fox and Associates.

Palafox cited a recommendation from the study that the government should monitor the Marikina Riverbank so that the water would not reach 90 meters. Likewise, no structure should have been allowed within nine meters from the riverbank, he added.

“Dahil hindi sinunod ’yun, parang massacre ang nangyari [Because the recommendation was not heeded, what occurred was virtually a massacre],” he said.

The three-volume report also noted that “urban development is spreading into [these] areas which are, in their present state, unsuitable for development—either because they are low-lying and liable to flooding, or because development is without adequate facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage [the norm in Manila] and so will continue to contribute to the severe pollution of areas, such as Laguna de Bay.”

The study added: “The unsuitable areas for development, where pressures are nevertheless considerable, are primarily the flat coastal areas to the north where extensive areas are liable to flooding and where increased pressures for reclamation are likely to further exacerbate this problem.”

Another is “the Marikina Valley, to the east, where the land is liable to flooding and where development with inadequate provision for the treatment and disposal of sewage is contributing to the severe pollution of Laguna de Bay and where flooding is a problem in the adjacent areas.”

Finally, the study said the pressure for development, but requiring control, includes “the western shores of Laguna de Bay where development without adequate facilities for the treatment and disposal of sewage is contributing to the severe pollution of Laguna de Bay and where flooding is a problem in the adjacent areas.”

“In order to avoid development contributing to longer-term flooding and water pollution, it is necessary that the short-term development is restricted in these areas. Only when remedial measures to deal with the problems have been implemented, should the development of these areas proceed on a significant scale,” the study said.

“Lessons are to be learned, for sure, but these have been taught three decades ago,” Palafox said

"We are always reacting to crisis. It bothered me when I saw these reports and pictures and people are saying it's an act of God. It's not. It's us not following the plans and proposals. If you are an urban planner, an environmental planner, these have been planned as early as 1905," he said.

A Personal Reflection from Mr. RJ Samson
I lived in Provident Village my entire life, until I moved out two years ago to a condo in Ortigas Center. Provident Villages is not new to flooding. In fact, ever since 1968, the village has experienced mass flooding every 10 years. I was there when I woke up to raging floods in 1988. In 1998, the flood reached up to 6 feet only, which was not bad. My parents had experienced it since 1978. They told me that year was the worst. They weren’t prepared for this to happen.

Though a year late, 2009 brought in the worst and most devastating flood to Provident. In the previous floods, we managed to recover our things, and got back up our feet the day after. Less than 5 people died, if not none at all. So when the waters rose last Saturday, everybody in Provident knew that it was time again. They didn’t know it was going to be very different.

The Marikina government managed to fix the drainage and flood system of the city when the Fernandos governed. We were happy about it. Floods were prevented. As an effect, Provident Villages prospered. New and big houses grew like mushrooms. Real estate shot up. Everything was going well. Until now.

I was in my condo when everything happened, when my dad and two sisters hanged on for their lives in a 2nd floro balcony of a neighbor’s house. My dad and sisters swam and braved the floods, to save those trapped in their houses. Two, however, still died.

My family and 13 other people held it out on top of a roof under the rain, without food, water or light. They were rescued at 5AM Sunday. They were fortunate enough, since our house was still near the gate of the village. I realized the others were rescued in the morning. I have been hearing stories of terror and survival from my relatives who also live in Provident. If I were there, I would be writing this differently.

In the end, I am happy that my entire family is safe and sound. We lost everything that my parents worked for. I still can’t believe this happened. It all caught us by surprise.

From the first paragraphs of my on-going dissertation on the Book of Job

It was in 2005, at the height of this research on the Book of Job, that another natural disaster struck the country: 1,000 people feared dead, including 250 school children and teachers, buried under 300 meters of mud, rocks, and logs caused by a mountain landslide in a farming barangay in the province of Southern Leyte, Philippines [the landslide was in Guinsaugon, St. Bernard town, province of Leyte, central Philippines, February 17, 2006]. Seeing heartrending images on television of destruction and death, this writer remembered Job’s lament:

“They are wet with the rain of the mountains,
and cling to the rock for want
of shelter…
They go about naked, without clothing…
From the city the
dying groan,
and the throat of the wounded cries for help;
yet God pays
no attention to their prayer (Job 24:8,10a,12)

This country knows no respite from natural disasters – the 1990 killer earthquake (around 1,000 people perished in Baguio City); the 1991 flash flood (around 5,000 died in Ormoc City); Mount Pinatubo’s eruption in the same year (around 800 dead and 100,000 homeless in Pampanga and Tarlac towns); the 2003 flash flood (around 1,000 dead in Liloan and in two more towns, again in Leyte); the 2004 flash flood (more than 1,000 perished in Real, Quezon); typhoon Milenyo that ravaged Metro Manila in Sept. 28, 2006; and, just a month later, the super typhoon Reming that brought widespread flooding and mudslides in the provinces of the Bicol region compounded by the earlier eruptions of Mayon Volcano. All these happened in the last ten years. We can still hear the echoes of Job’s lament more than 2,500 years ago. What does hope mean in all these?

2nd Part of Final Exam - Theological Reflection - The God-Problem: Why Does He Allow Natural Disasters?

As I announced in class, the second part of the written final exam is a take-home essay.
The Theme is: The God-Problem: Why Does He Allow Natural Disasters?

When you answer, please consider our discussions on the two Creation Stories, The Flood Story, The Tower of Babel, and the Crossing of the Sea.

Required format:
-maximum of 2 pages in double space
-paper size: letter
-1-inch margin on all sides
-Font Times New Roman 12

Deadline: October 13 - Final Exam period.

OCTOBER 2 Friday Class is Lecture hour - No Quiz

OCTOBER 2 - Friday is lecture hour, no individual or group quiz.

Structure of a Call Narrative

Please click here for Norman Habel's article.

The Ancestors Story in Genesis 12-50

The Ancestors Story in Genesis 12-50

[Check-list of Useful Materials]

1. Flores, “Overview of the Ancestors Story” (blog and Folder (*folder found at the Reserve Section)

2. Ska, “The Divine Discourses in the Ancestors Story” (see Ska, Reading the Pentateuch, pp. 87-90; powerpoint presentation uploaded).

3. Conroy, “Abraham’s Journey of Faith,” in Journeys and Servants (CBAP Lectures 2003), pp. 1-22. – copy on Reserve. This is an excellent Lectio Divina of Abraham’ Story. Fr. Charles Conroy was OT professor at the Gregorian University and Rome and was the DWST’s theology symposium speaker in 2003.

4. Flores, “Jacob’s Flight and Dream (Genesis 28:10-22)”. – Folder

5. T. Lenchak, “Israel’s Refugee Ancestors” - Folder

6. Walter Vogels, “Abraham in the Qur’an” – Folder

7. Toni Craven, “Women in Genesis” - Folder

8. Don J. Benjamin, “Stories of Hagar” – Folder

9. Gale Yee, Women in Ancient Israel and the Hebrew Bible (CBAP Lectures 2006) – on Reserve

10. Biagio Mazza, “Women in Genesis in the Qur’an” – Folder

11. Ska, “Joseph Story” introductory handout – Folder

12. Ska, The Abraham Cycle: Synchronic and Diachronic Analysis – Biblicum Handout (advanced studies) –On Reserve

13. Ska, Joseph Story – Biblicum Handout (advanced studies) – Handout on Reserve.

September 25 Friday - Torah Class Schedule = First Period

Our Torah class schedule on Sept 25 will be moved to the first period in the morning (8:10-9:00):
Quiz will be on Exodus chapters 1-15
Sample Question (Multiple Choice):
Of what tribe was Moses? (2:1)

Your answer: Benjamin Joseph Judah Levi

Uploaded files on 9/11

Torah File no. 17: A Reflection on the 'Tower of Babel' (Genesis 11:1-9)
Torah File no. 18: The Flood Story Problems in the Text (Ska)
Torah File no. 19:: The Flood Story - Doublets within a Single Narrative
Torah File no. 20: Chapter 6 - Cain, Abel, Noah, and Babel
Torah File no. 21: The First Creation Story - Little Rock Scripture Study

Article and book added in the Torah Reserve Shelf:
Timothy Lenchak, SVD "Israel's Refugee Ancestors" (for beginners).
Roland Murphy, OCarm, Responses to 101 Questions on the Biblical Torah (1996) (for beginners).

Uploaded: Pentateuch Exegesis Paper, Comments on Academic Papers, Second Story of Creation, The Meaning of Tree of Knowledge and Evil and Snake

Click on:
The Pentateuch Exegesis Paper - you will receive a copy, bring your copy on Friday
Comments on Exegesis Papers
The Second Story of Creation
The Meaning of The Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil; Snake.

Schedule of Torah Classes for September

Please take note of the change of our schedule:

September 2 Wednesday - First Period (instead of Church History) and Last Period in the Morning (instead of Missiology)!!!

September 4 Friday - Quiz day/ group recitation/discussion.

September 7 Monday - Usual class lecture

September 11 Friday - No Quiz but class lecture, submission of Exegesis Paper in class

September 14 Monday - Usual class lecture

September 18 Friday - Quiz day/ group recitation/discussion

September 21 Monday - Usual class lecture

September 25 Friday - Quiz day/ group recitation/discussion

September 28 - Monday - usual class lecture

Chapter 4: The First Story of Creation

Read Genesis 1-3
Go through this presentation (click) so you don't have to copy while in class - to save time.
A photocopy in black and white is available in the folder at the reserve section.
Next Quiz is Friday 4 Sept.

Friday class - 28 August

There will be no classes on Monday -31 August 2009 - National Heroes Day. That is a good time to work on your paper. For this coming Friday then, the regular quiz and group recitation are suspended in favor of class lecture.

Chapter 3: Content and Structure of the Torah, part II

Here's the second part of the powerpoint presentation of Chapter 3, click here.
Content and Structure of Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

Torah Study Groups

As announced earlier in class, we shall form study groups to "take care of each other" (C. Aquino).

The groups must work as a team to study (outside class hours) the materials presented in class lectures and required readings. During Friday meetings, we have the usual quiz and in addition, a graded discussion/recitation. A question is asked to any of the member of each group (at random) and that particular member must be able to answer/discuss the question sufficiently and in the time allotted. The grade of one is the grade of all (the group members). All for one, one for all!

Please click here to see you group mates, or download the image above.

No Quiz on Friday 31 July 2009 and Files nos. 7-11

Since you are going to submit your bibliography on Friday and the afternoon before (Thursday) we have the mass and rosary for Former President, Cory Aquino, there will be no quiz on this coming Friday, July 31, 2009 - memorial of St. Ignatius of Loyola.

For Torah Files nos. 7-11, click on these links:

Torah File no. 7. Structure of the Book of Genesis
Torah File no. 8 Biblical Chronogenealogies
Torah File no. 9 Secondary Sources: Part III of the Guides for Exegesis Paper
Torah File no. 10 Chapter 2: Basic Questions about the Pentateuch
Torah File no. 11 Chapter 3: The Five Books of the Pentateuch: Its Content and Structure

David Noel Freedman

Conversation with the late David Noel Freedman on the Anchor Bible commentary series.

Format of Ceresko Exam on 10 July 2009

General Instructions:
1. Before the start of the exam, everybody must vacate the T2 room for the teacher to make a special seating arrangement.
2. When told to enter, only writing pen/s are allowed inside the room--nothing else.
3. Look for your assigned seat quietly.
4. Write legibly. Illegible answers can be marked wrong.
5. Be precise and clear with your answers.
6. Not following instructions may merit a minus.
7. Cheating in any form is "vocational suicide" - talking to anyone except the teacher is not allowed. Raise your hand quietly if you have a question.
8. Use only the papers provided for your answer sheets.
9. Duration: 1 hour = 60 minutes.

----------------------
I. Multiple Choice (10 pts) Choose the best answer to each question. Write the letter in the space provided.

II. Enumeration (10 points). Enumerate or identify without explaining.

III. Essay (10 points). Use the yellow pad paper provided for you. Explain and elaborate only two of your own choice out of these three questions. Maximum of 10 lines per question. Do not copy the questions.

Deadline: Submission of Research Paper - September 11, 2009

Note that the deadline for the submission of your Research Paper is on or before Friday, September 11, 2009 (Time: 11:10 AM).

Torah File 3: Exegesis Paper I: Literary Structure

Torah File no. 3 is for Torah Students at Divine Word Seminary (T2)--presentation on the Exegesis Paper: Part I - Literary Structure

On the Research Paper

I will discuss on this coming Friday class (19 June), after the quiz, the details of the research paper. But you can think of your topic now, example: "The Crossing of the Sea;" "The Holiness Code". Go through the Torah, its subtitles in particular, to choose a topic that interests you.

Torah File 2

This is assigned reading no. 1 - Jean-Louis Ska, "The Role of Torah in the Covenanted Community of Israel," in The Torah: "Israel's Portable Homeland," CBAP Lectures 2008 (Quezon City: CBAP, 2009), pp. 1-24.

Sign in to our multiply account then click here, or go to the inbox of our common multiply account; or simply click the title above.

Torah File 1

File Description: Powerpoint presentation on the course's description, objectives, requirements, and expectations.

Read all three instruction first before clicking on a link.

1) First sign in our common multiply account--ID and password given in class. click http://torahdwst.multiply.com/

2) Having signed in, click here or the title above or go the inbox of www.torahdwst.multiply.com

3) Download the pdf attachment. If your PC does not have a pdf reader, click here to download the program. It will take you only a couple of minutes to do that.

4) Start signing in now.

FOR THE INCOMING PENTATEUCH STUDENTS (Semester 1: 2009-2010)

From: Fr. Randolf C. Flores, SVD, SSL
Visit: www.torah2009.blogspot.com

TO SURVIVE THIS COURSE….

Prepare the following during this looooong summer vacation (March 29 - June 8):

Read Anthony Ceresko, Introduction to the Old Testament: A Liberation Perspective (revised and expanded Edition; Quezon City: Claretians, 2001), "Part 2: Pentateuch", pp. 29-93. There will be a major exam on this reading on July 10, 2009. BUY your copy now before you go out for the summer break.

Attention:
This is an examination of reading comprehension and so the content will not be discussed in class. Questions found at each end of a chapter will be considered as examination questions.

DO NOT review the prepared answers from past reviewers which very often perpetuate wrong and “wowowee type” of answer. Read yourself the assigned pages!

This examination assures the professor that the student has a basic or college-level knowledge of the Torah/Pentateuch before tackling advanced and critical studies of the subject.

A student who fails in this examination will be gently but honestly advised to drop the course. Should the failing student decide to remain in the course, he/she can for that is his /her right.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

As additional but important preparation to survive the course, please read and master the following:

1. Selected Biblical Texts from the Pentateuch

Genesis

Gen 1-3 (creation and sin); 6:5 - 9:17 (flood); 12:1-3 (call of Abraham); 15 (Covenant of YHWH with Abraham; 18:1-15 (vision at Mamre); 22:1-19 (the Akedah); 28:10-22 (vision at Bethel); 32:23-32 (Jacob's destiny); 37 (Joseph and his brothers); 45:1-13 (Joseph reveals himself to his brothers); 50:15-31 (Joseph's reconciliation with his brothers).

Exodus

Exod 2:1-10 (birth of Moses); 3:1-15 (3:1 - 4:17) (call of Moses); 7:1 - 10:11; 12:29-36 (the plagues); 14:1-31 (the crossing of the sea); 19:1-19 (theophany at Sinai); 20:1-17 (the decalogue); 24:1-11 (covenant at Sinai); 32-34 (golden calf,vision of Moses, the renewal fo the covenant).

Leviticus
Lev 19:1-19 ("Be holy as I am holy").

Numbers

Numbers 13-14 (exploration of the Promised Land); 22-24 (Balaam).

Deuteronomy

Deut 4 (the significance of Sinai); 6:1-9 ("shema Israel"); 8 (the temptations in the holy land); 30:11-14 (the word is near); 30:15-20 (the two ways).

2. MICHAEL GORMAN (ed.), Scripture: An Ecumenical Introduction to the Bible and Its Interpretation (Peabody, Massachusetts: Hendrickson, 2005), pp. 23-44 "The Geography, History, and Archeology of the Bible" (by K. J. Wernell); pp. 45-70 "The Character and Composition of the Books of the Old Testament" (by D. A. Leiter),

3. JEAN-LOUIS SKA, Introduction to Reading the Pentateuch (Winona Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 2006). This is the main reference of the course and there will be a weekly quiz based on my lectures and on this book. A copy is found on reserve in the Arnoldus Library.

http://torah2009.blogspot.com/

Transmutation Table

NO QUIZ = 0

5 items (quizzes)	50 items (Unit Test)	30 ITEMS QUIZ	10 ITEMS QUIZ
5 = 100%	50 = 100	30=100	10 = 100
4 = 90%	49 = 99	29= 97	9=95
3 = 80%	48 = 98	28= 94	8=90
2 = 70%	47 = 97	27= 91	7=85
1 = 60%	46 = 96	26= 88	6=80
0 = 50%	45 = 95	25= 85	5=75
No quiz = 0%	44 = 94	24=85	4=-70
	43 = 93	23=82	3=65
	42 = 92	22=82	2=60
	41 = 91	21=80	1=55
	40 = 90	20=80	0=50
	39 = 89	19=78	NO QUIZ =0
	38 = 88	18=78
	37 = 87	17=76
	36 = 86	16=76
	35 = 85	15=75
	34 = 84	14=74
	33 = 83	13=74
	32 = 82	12=72
	31 = 81	11=72
	30 = 80	10=70
	29 = 79	9=70
	28 = 78	8=68
	27 = 77	7=68
	26 = 76	6=66
	25 = 75	5=66
	24+74 23+73	4=64
	22=72 21=71	3=62
	20=70	2=62
	19-69	1=60
		0=50