- According to Harris, what is the "one purpose" which motivated Yahweh to rescue his people from Pharoah's control and give them freedom?
- Observance of the Mitzvot (613 commandments) constantly reminds the Israelites of their obligation to Yahweh. Give an example from Signs and Symbols (follow link above).
- What is the earliest Egyptian reference to Israel's existence (also the first external reference to Israel). What does that mean for the historicity of Exodus?
- Figure 4.5: What Pharoah recorded an invasion of Palestine or the Levant (the larger region that included Israel) around 918 BCE on one of the temple of Amon's columns?
- How does Moses, as Yahweh's "pre-eminent servant," differ from the heroes of other near-Eastern traditions?
- [Box 4:6] Discuss an example of an "endangered child" story in another ancient literary tradition.
- What literary elements of Exodus "compound...the problem of Moses' historicty"? Explain.
- Briefly explain the "Kenite hypothesis" (Box 15:2 on page 501).
- What authors wrote the two theopanies?
- What do the documentary hypothesis and the psalms tell us about the 10 plagues?
- Describe an insight the Harris text gives into the origin in Exodus of Passover. Summarize the differences between J and P's story of the Yam Suf.
- How does translation affect our understanding of the meaning and location of Yam Suf?
- List three of the six elements of a typical Near Eastern treaty like Moses' covenant with Yahweh (box 4.8).
- How does the Harris text explain the commandment about Yahweh's name?
- [Box 4.9] What contradictory portrayal conveys both the "transcendence and immanance of the biblical deity"?
- How is God's tabernacle built "from the inside out"?
- Extra Credit: Harris says the Torah's oldest laws, from the Book of the Covevnant, "presuppose" a settled, agrarian existence in Canaan, even though they are given to Moses in the desert. How do we know? (You may need to look at Exodus 20:22-23:33 for proof).
- Extra Credit: Harris discusses the giving of a second set of commandments in Exodus 34, after the "golden calf" incident. Check your Friedman Bible with Sources Revealed text. Who wrote each set of commandments?
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