Themes in the Old Testament

What Themes in the Old Testament covers

Themes in the Old Testament is examined in A2 3, one of the two A2 units chosen — area of study: Textual Studies. Worth 30% of the A level. A student may not take two units from the same area of study.. It covers the compassionate God: creedal statements and self-revelation, the compassionate God traced through the Old Testament, the widow, the orphan and the foreigner, god as warrior: the exodus and the wars of conquest, herem, the conquest narrative and the Amalekites, the divine warrior in the prophets and the problem of divine violence, Jeremiah's call and public proclamation, the Temple sermon, the broken covenant and the new covenant, Jeremiah's confessions and the form of the lament, Ezekiel before the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel after the fall: individual responsibility and future hope and leadership, religious texts and the theme of sin.

The 12 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

• The compassionate God: creedal statements and self-revelationThe Thirteen Attributes and the recurring creedal formula, and what God's self-revelation to Moses discloses of the divine character.Open →
• The compassionate God traced through the Old TestamentCompassion in the exodus, the prophets and the psalms, and how the theme holds together texts of very different date.Open →
• The widow, the orphan and the foreignerThe legal protection of the vulnerable, the prophetic demand for justice, and the reasons the texts give for it.Open →
• God as warrior: the exodus and the wars of conquestThe divine warrior at the sea, holy war in the conquest narratives, and how the image functioned for Israel.Open →
• Herem, the conquest narrative and the AmalekitesWhat herem required, the archaeological questions about the conquest, and the readings that have been offered of the Amalek command.Open →
• The divine warrior in the prophets and the problem of divine violenceJudgement oracles against Israel and the nations, and how Jewish and Christian readers have handled the violence of the texts.Open →
• Jeremiah's call and public proclamationKnown of Jeremiah's background, vision of the almond branch and vision of the boiling pot.Open →
• The Temple sermon, the broken covenant and the new covenantJeremiah's attack on false confidence in the Temple, the charge of a broken covenant, and the promise of a covenant written on the heart.Open →
• Jeremiah's confessions and the form of the lamentJeremiah's confessions and usual elements of a lament.Open →
• Ezekiel before the fall of JerusalemEzekiel's circumstances when he was called, meaning of eating the scroll and image of the whitewashed wall.Open →
• Ezekiel after the fall: individual responsibility and future hopeVision of the valley of dry bones and vision of the dry bones.Open →
• Leadership, religious texts and the theme of sinAlienation from God and alienation from the self.Open →

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Take Themes in the Old Testament further

The same content, four other ways.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What is meant by a creedal statement in the Old Testament?

   Model answer

   A creedal statement is a short, fixed summary of what a community believes God has done or is like. Such a statement is repeated in worship so that the belief is carried by the whole community rather than by individuals.

2. 2

   In what setting is the confession of Deuteronomy 26:1-11 made?

   Model answer

   The confession is made when a worshipper brings the first of the produce of the land in a basket to the sanctuary. The worshipper recites it before the priest and then sets the basket down and bows.

3. 3

   Summarise the confession recited in Deuteronomy 26:5-9.

   Model answer

   The worshipper declares that a wandering Aramean was his ancestor, who went down to Egypt few in number and became a great nation there. The confession then recalls oppression, the cry to God, deliverance with a mighty hand and outstretched arm, and the gift of a land flowing with milk and honey.

4. 4

   What did Gerhard von Rad argue about Deuteronomy 26:5-9?

   Model answer

   Von Rad called the passage the little historical credo and argued that it preserves a very ancient summary of Israel's faith around which the larger narrative of the Pentateuch grew.

5. 5

   How has von Rad's account of the credo been criticised?

   Model answer

   Later scholars have argued that the passage is a Deuteronomic composition using the language and theology of the seventh century rather than an ancient nucleus. On that reading the credo summarises the tradition instead of generating it.

6. 6

   Why does it matter that the confession is recited in the first person plural?

   Model answer

   The worshipper says that the Egyptians afflicted us and that God brought us out, although the worshipper was not there. Each generation is thereby made a participant in the exodus rather than a spectator of it.

What is inside Levo

Six ways to work the same material.

Themes in the Old Testament revision questions

What does Themes in the Old Testament cover in CCEA A-Level Religious Studies?

12 subtopics: the compassionate god: creedal statements and self-revelation, the compassionate god traced through the old testament, the widow, the orphan and the foreigner, god as warrior: the exodus and the wars of conquest, herem, the conquest narrative and the amalekites, the divine warrior in the prophets and the problem of divine violence, jeremiah's call and public proclamation, the temple sermon, the broken covenant and the new covenant, jeremiah's confessions and the form of the lament, ezekiel before the fall of jerusalem, ezekiel after the fall: individual responsibility and future hope and leadership, religious texts and the theme of sin. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.

How is Themes in the Old Testament organised?

By the CCEA 4610 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.