Religion 111

Chapter 6 Questions

1. Choose a small section of the narrative of the plaques in Exodus 7-12, and identify the parts of the passage that you would attribute to J, E, and P. What characteristic phrases and themes of each source occur in the passage? The passage that best illustrates the account of the plagues in Egypt in Exodus 7. The J account tells of the hardening of Pharaoh's heart, of Yahweh's threat to befoul the waters of the Nile and kill the fish, and of the execution of this threat (Exod. 7:14-15a, 16-17a, 18, 21a, 23-25). The E writer added the rod of the wonder-worker and Moses' threat to strike the water and turn the Nile to blood - a threat which he fulfills (Exod. 7:15, 17b, 20b). The P author added …show more content…

What differences are there, and what is there significance? The suzerainty treaty, which was drawn up by a superior power and imposed upon an inferior. The treaty contain at the minimum certain clauses including a preamble, an historical prologue, the list of stipulations, the witnesses, the curses and blessings, and provision for deposit and public reading of the covenant text. The major difference, of course, was that the superior party in the suzerainty treaty coerced the vassal into acceptance of the fidelity to the covenant terms while he himself had no such obligations except as he voluntarily subscribed to his own stipulations. The significance of all this to biblical studies is the fact that biblical covenant form resembles almost exactly Hittite treaty form, specifically the suzerainty treaty type.

3. Discuss the original audience and meaning of the Ten Commandments and the values that they incorporate.
The audience of the Decalogue is limited to the Israelites gathered at the base of Mount Sinai. The commandments are phrased in the second – person masculine singular. They are specifically addressed to individual Israelite males, as the wording of the commandments about the Sabbath (“you, your son, or your daughter, your male or female slave”) and about property (“your neighbor’s wife”) also makes clear. The first several commandments have to do with the relationship between Yahweh and Israel. The remaining commandments