JCE Bible Knowledge cheat sheet

The Torah comprises five books: Bereshit (Genesis), Shemot (Exodus), Vayikra (Leviticus), Bamidbar (Numbers), Devarim (Deuteronomy); the traditional Hebrew titles derive from opening words.

Bereshit 1–11 covers creation, Eden, Cain and Abel, the flood, and the Tower of Babel; Bereshit 12 begins the Abraham cycle with the call to leave Haran.

The patriarchal narratives trace Abraham–Isaac–Jacob–Joseph; the covenant promises of land and offspring recur at Shechem, Hebron, and Beersheba.

Shemot 1–18 narrates slavery, Moses' call at the burning bush, the ten plagues, and the Exodus; Shemot 19–24 records Sinai and the Decalogue.

Vayikra centers on sacrificial law (olah, minchah, shelamim, chatat, asham) and the holiness code of Vayikra 17–26.

Bamidbar recounts the wilderness census, the spies' report, Korah's rebellion, and the fortieth-year approach to Moab; Devarim is Moses' farewell address in the plains of Moab.

Devarim 6:4 (Shema) and 6:5 are recited twice daily; Devarim 34 records Moses' death on Mount Nebo, ending the Torah.

Torah portions (parashiyot) are read in a fixed annual cycle; each parashah has a Hebrew name taken from its first distinctive word.

Nevi'im divides into Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings) and Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve).

The Twelve (Trei Asar) are Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi, counted as one book.

Joshua narrates conquest and allotment; Judges cycles through apostasy, oppression, deliverance, and relapse under the formula 'the Israelites did evil.'

Samuel and Kings trace the monarchy from Saul through David and Solomon, the divided kingdom, and the fall of Samaria (722 BCE) and Jerusalem (586 BCE).

Isaiah 1–39 addresses eighth-century Judah and Assyria; 40–55 (Deutero-Isaiah) consoles exiles; 56–66 concerns restoration.

Jeremiah prophesies Judah's destruction and the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31–34); Ezekiel's visions include the chariot (1) and dry bones (37).

The Twelve span the eighth century (Amos, Hosea, Micah, Isaiah's contemporaries) to the Persian period (Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi).

Ketuvim contains Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles.

The Five Megillot are read on festivals: Song of Songs at Pesach, Ruth at Shavuot, Lamentations at Tisha B'Av, Ecclesiastes at Sukkot, Esther at Purim.

Psalms is divided into five books; individual laments, communal laments, thanksgiving, and praise are the principal genres.

Proverbs belongs to wisdom literature with Job and Ecclesiastes; the fear of the Lord is its stated foundation (Proverbs 1:7).

Ezra-Nehemiah recounts return from Babylon, rebuilding of the Temple, and the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah in the Persian period.

Chronicles retells history from Adam to Cyrus with a Temple-and-David focus, often paralleling Samuel and Kings with different emphases.

Daniel contains court narratives (1–6) and apocalyptic visions (7–12); its placement in Ketuvim, not Nevi'im, reflects the Hebrew canon.

Standard regnal-chronology anchors: David c. 1000 BCE, Solomon's Temple c. 960 BCE, division of the kingdom c. 930 BCE.

Assyria destroys Samaria and the northern kingdom in 722 BCE under Sargon II; Sennacherib's siege of Jerusalem in 701 BCE fails.

Babylon destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple in 586 BCE; the exile lasts to Cyrus's decree, conventionally dated 538 BCE.

The Second Temple is completed c. 515 BCE; Ezra arrives c. 458 BCE and Nehemiah c. 445 BCE under Artaxerxes I.

Hasmonean revolt begins 167 BCE under Antiochus IV Epiphanes; the Temple is rededicated 164 BCE.

Regnal years in Kings are dated by the accession-year system of Judah versus the non-accession system of Israel, producing apparent discrepancies.

Egyptian and Assyrian synchronisms (e.g., Shishak's campaign, the Battle of Qarqar) help cross-check biblical dates.

The land divides into coastal plain, Shephelah foothills, central hill country, Jordan Rift Valley, and Transjordanian plateau.

The Jordan River flows from Mount Hermon through the Sea of Galilee to the Dead Sea, the lowest land point on earth.

Key sites: Jerusalem (Temple Mount, City of David), Hebron (Machpelah), Shechem (between Mounts Ebal and Gerizim), Beersheba, Jericho, Megiddo.

The Via Maris ran along the coastal plain; the King's Highway ran through Transjordan; both were major trade and military routes.

The Merneptah Stele (c. 1208 BCE) contains the earliest known extra-biblical mention of 'Israel.'

The Tel Dan Stele mentions the 'House of David'; the Mesha Stele (Moabite Stone) recounts Mesha's revolt against Israel.

The Dead Sea Scrolls, found at Qumran from 1947, preserve the oldest known Hebrew Bible manuscripts, roughly third century BCE to first century CE.

Mikraot Gedolot prints the biblical text with a standard set of commentators, typically Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Ramban, Rashbam, and others at the margins.

Rashi (1040–1105, Troyes) writes concise Hebrew commentary blending peshat and midrash; his Torah commentary is the first printed Hebrew book with date (Reggio, 1475).

Rashi's grandsons Rashbam and Rabbenu Tam championed a stricter peshat approach, sometimes disagreeing with their grandfather.

Ibn Ezra (1089–1167, Spain) emphasizes grammar, philology, and philosophy; his comments are famously terse and allusive.

Ramban (Nachmanides, 1194–1270, Girona) often disputes Rashi and Ibn Ezra and reads the text with kabbalistic and philosophical depth.

Other standard commentators include Radak (David Kimhi) on grammar and prophecy, and Sforno on philosophical exegesis.

The four levels of interpretation-peshat, remez, derash, sod-are commonly abbreviated PaRDeS.

Central themes: covenant (brit), law (torah), land, kingship, prophecy, exile and return, and divine justice.

The Decalogue (Shemot 20; Devarim 5) grounds ethics in exclusive worship and social obligations such as honoring parents and prohibiting murder, theft, and false witness.

The 'holiness code' (Vayikra 19) commands love of neighbor (19:18) and love of the stranger (19:34).

Theodicy is the central question of Job: why the righteous suffer, answered by divine speech from the whirlwind rather than a simple explanation.

Prophetic ethics condemn idolatry, injustice, and oppression, as in Amos 5:24 ('let justice roll down like waters').

The covenant with Noah (Bereshit 9) extends to all humanity; the Abrahamic covenant (Bereshit 17) is particular to Israel.

Deuteronomy 6:4–9 (Shema) and 11:13–21 shape daily liturgy and express exclusive divine unity.

The Masoretes (7th–10th centuries, Tiberias) standardized vocalization and cantillation; the Aleppo Codex and Leningrad Codex are key witnesses.

Ben Asher and Ben Naphtali were rival Masoretic families whose traditions were eventually standardized in favor of Ben Asher.

The Masorah notes textual variants (ketiv/qere), unusual spellings, and statistical counts to protect the text.

The Dead Sea Scrolls show textual variety in the Second Temple period, including proto-Masoretic, Septuagintal, and Samaritan-type texts.

The Septuagint (Greek translation, third–second centuries BCE) and the Samaritan Pentateuch are major ancient witnesses.

The Hebrew canon is traditionally counted as 24 books: Torah 5, Nevi'im 8, Ketuvim 11.

The Council of Jamnia (Yavneh) tradition is often cited for canon discussions, though the process was gradual and debated among scholars.