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MSCE Bible Knowledge practice questions

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Question 1The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

Which phrase best describes the Bible's own claim about the origin of its written words?

  1. All Scripture is God-breathed, produced by men who spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit Correct answer.
  2. Scripture is a human record later endorsed by the church through conciliar vote
  3. Scripture is a collection of wisdom traditions edited by anonymous scribes
  4. Scripture is inspired in the same sense as great devotional literature

Explanation

The Bible presents itself as God-breathed (2 Timothy 3:16) and as the product of human authors moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21). These two texts together frame the doctrine of inspiration as divine origin working through real human writers.

Question 2The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

In 2 Timothy 3:16, the phrase 'God-breathed' (theopneustos) is applied most directly to which object?

  1. Every writing of Scripture Correct answer.
  2. The reader's conscience
  3. The apostolic preaching
  4. The prophets personally

Explanation

The Greek word theopneustos modifies 'all Scripture' (pasa graphe), so the predicate describes the writings themselves as breathed out by God. The verse grounds the usefulness of Scripture for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training.

Question 3The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

Which statement correctly distinguishes general revelation from special revelation?

  1. General revelation ceased after the fall, while special revelation began with Abraham
  2. General revelation is sufficient for salvation, while special revelation merely confirms it
  3. General revelation is given only to believers, while special revelation is given to all people
  4. General revelation is given through creation and conscience, while special revelation is given through Scripture and redemptive acts Correct answer.

Explanation

General revelation is available to all through nature and conscience (Psalm 19, Romans 1:19-20), while special revelation comes through God's saving words and deeds, recorded in Scripture. The distinction concerns the means and scope of revelation, not the audience's merit.

Question 4The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

What does the term 'canon' mean when applied to the Bible?

  1. The list of books recognised as authoritative Scripture Correct answer.
  2. The official commentary tradition of the early church
  3. The collection of variant readings in manuscripts
  4. The lectionary cycle of public readings

Explanation

Canon derives from a word for a measuring rod or rule, and in this context denotes the closed list of books received as authoritative Scripture. Canonicity concerns recognition of divine authority, not the production of a commentary or lectionary.

Question 5The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

Which language was the New Testament originally written in?

  1. Aramaic
  2. Latin
  3. Koine Greek Correct answer.
  4. Biblical Hebrew

Explanation

The New Testament documents were composed in Koine Greek, the common Greek of the first-century Mediterranean world. Hebrew and Aramaic stand behind the Old Testament, and Latin belongs to later translations.

Question 6The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

The term 'Septuagint' refers to which translation?

  1. The Greek translation of the Old Testament Correct answer.
  2. The Syriac translation of the Gospels
  3. The Aramaic paraphrases of the Law
  4. The Latin translation by Jerome

Explanation

The Septuagint is the ancient Greek rendering of the Hebrew Scriptures, traditionally associated with Alexandria and widely used in the New Testament era. Its name comes from the Latin for seventy, reflecting the traditional number of translators.

Question 7The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

Why does the doctrine of Scripture's authority rest on God as its ultimate author rather than on the church's testimony?

  1. Because the church's recognition is a response to the books' inherent divine authority, which grounds their claim on the reader Correct answer.
  2. Because the biblical books were chosen for their literary quality
  3. Because the church formally delegated its authority to the biblical writers
  4. Because the authority of Scripture depends on the consensus of modern scholarship

Explanation

Scripture's authority is grounded in God, who speaks through it; the church's role is to recognise and receive that authority rather than to create it. This is why the canon is described as received rather than invented.

Question 8The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

According to the traditional attributions, which set of books is ascribed to the apostle Paul?

  1. Matthew, Mark, Luke, John
  2. Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, Jude
  3. Revelation, Jude, Philemon, Titus
  4. Romans, 1 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians Correct answer.

Explanation

Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians and Philippians carry explicit Pauline attribution in their opening greetings. The other lists mix authors: Hebrews is anonymous, James and Peter are named for other figures, and the Gospels are attributed to evangelists.

Question 9The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

Which discovery is most often cited as evidence for the reliability of the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible?

  1. The Codex Sinaiticus, which contains the Greek New Testament
  2. The Dead Sea Scrolls, which include Hebrew manuscripts roughly a thousand years older than the Masoretic codices Correct answer.
  3. The Nag Hammadi library, which preserves Gnostic gospels
  4. The Rosetta Stone, which enabled the decipherment of Egyptian

Explanation

The Dead Sea Scrolls, found from 1947 at Qumran, include Hebrew biblical manuscripts centuries earlier than the medieval Masoretic codices. Their close agreement with the later text in many passages supports the careful transmission of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Question 10The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

What is the main practical purpose of textual criticism of the Bible?

  1. To reconstruct the earliest attainable form of the text from surviving manuscripts and their variants Correct answer.
  2. To harmonise the Gospels into a single narrative
  3. To translate the text into modern languages
  4. To decide which books belong in the canon

Explanation

Textual criticism compares manuscripts, versions and quotations to identify variants and judge which reading most likely stands behind the tradition. It works within an already recognised canon and does not itself decide canonicity.

Question 11The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

A student argues that because the autographs no longer exist, the Bible we possess cannot be authoritative. Which response best reflects a standard doctrine of Scripture?

  1. The authority of Scripture rests on God's providential preservation of its message through faithful copying, so the available text faithfully conveys what God inspired Correct answer.
  2. Authority rests on the decisions of the translators of modern versions
  3. Authority depends on possessing the original manuscripts, so the student is correct
  4. Authority belongs only to the portions where manuscripts agree perfectly

Explanation

Classical Protestant doctrine locates authority in God's speech, providentially preserved through the church's copying and translation. The absence of autographs does not sever the connection between the inspired message and the text we read.

Question 12The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

In what sense is the Bible described as 'inerrant' in conservative Protestant theology?

  1. It is free of error only in matters of salvation
  2. It contains no metaphors or figures of speech
  3. It reproduces the exact wording of the autographs in every manuscript
  4. It is without error in all that it affirms when rightly interpreted Correct answer.

Explanation

Inerrancy is usually stated as the claim that Scripture, in its original writings and rightly interpreted, is free from error in everything it affirms. The doctrine concerns truthfulness, not the absence of figurative language.

Question 13The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

Which best explains why the New Testament writers frequently quote the Septuagint rather than the Hebrew text?

  1. The Hebrew text had been lost by the first century
  2. The Septuagint was the only text available in the first century
  3. The Septuagint was regarded as superior to the Hebrew original
  4. The Septuagint was the Greek Bible widely used by Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians Correct answer.

Explanation

Because the Septuagint was the Scriptures of the Greek-speaking synagogue and church, New Testament authors often quoted it, sometimes adapting its wording. This reflects the linguistic setting of the first-century Mediterranean world.

Question 14The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

What is the chief significance of the discovery of Codex Sinaiticus in 1844?

  1. It contains the only surviving copy of the book of Revelation
  2. It provides a nearly complete fourth-century Greek Bible and is a key witness in textual criticism Correct answer.
  3. It established the canon at the Council of Nicaea
  4. It proves that the Latin Vulgate was the earliest translation

Explanation

Codex Sinaiticus, discovered at Saint Catherine's Monastery, is one of the oldest substantial Greek Bibles and a major witness to the text of both Testaments. Its value lies in its age and completeness for reconstructing the text.

Question 15The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

Which best captures the difference between 'inspiration' and 'illumination' in the doctrine of Scripture?

  1. Inspiration applies only to the Old Testament, while illumination applies only to the New
  2. Inspiration concerns the Spirit's work in readers, while illumination concerns the Spirit's work in writers
  3. Inspiration concerns the Spirit's work in producing Scripture, while illumination concerns the Spirit's work in enabling readers to understand it Correct answer.
  4. Inspiration and illumination are synonyms for the same act of the Spirit

Explanation

Inspiration refers to the Spirit's superintendence of the biblical authors so that what they wrote was God-breathed. Illumination refers to the Spirit's work in opening the reader's understanding to that same text.

Question 16The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

A preacher claims that the apocryphal books were removed from the Protestant Bible at the Reformation because they were heretical. Which correction is most accurate?

  1. The Reformers retained the books as useful reading but did not regard them as canonical for doctrine Correct answer.
  2. The Reformers proved the books were written after the apostolic age
  3. The Reformers removed them at the Council of Trent
  4. The Reformers removed them because they were written in Greek

Explanation

Reformation confessions placed the apocryphal books in a secondary position, valued for reading but not used to establish doctrine. The canon question turned on their status as authoritative Scripture, not on a charge of heresy.

Question 17The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

Why is the Masoretic text of the Hebrew Bible regarded as a careful transmission despite its medieval date?

  1. The Masoretes recovered the original autographs from the temple archives
  2. The Masoretes preserved the consonantal text and added a vowel and accent system, recording scribal notes on variants and statistics Correct answer.
  3. The Masoretes translated the text from Greek back into Hebrew
  4. The Masoretes destroyed all earlier manuscripts to ensure uniformity

Explanation

Masoretic scribes standardised the vocalisation and accentuation of the received consonantal text and preserved detailed marginal notes, including variant readings. Their apparatus shows both reverence for the text and awareness of textual questions.

Question 18The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

Which argument is most commonly used to defend the canonicity of the New Testament books against the charge that the list was arbitrary?

  1. The books were chosen because they were the oldest surviving Christian writings
  2. The books were selected by a single bishop in the fourth century
  3. The books were chosen because they were the most popular in the Roman Empire
  4. The books were recognised because they bore apostolic authority and were received by the churches, criteria applied over time rather than invented at one council Correct answer.

Explanation

The classic criteria were apostolic origin, catholic reception and conformity with the rule of faith, applied gradually as churches compared competing claims. Recognition was a process of discernment rather than an arbitrary selection or a single decree.

Question 19The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

How does the concept of 'sola scriptura' relate to the church's tradition, on a classical Protestant account?

  1. Scripture derives its authority from the tradition that transmitted it
  2. Scripture is the sole final authority for doctrine, while tradition is valued as a subordinate aid to its interpretation Correct answer.
  3. Tradition is rejected entirely as having no value for understanding Scripture
  4. Scripture and tradition are two independent sources of equal authority

Explanation

Sola scriptura asserts Scripture as the supreme norm by which all teaching is judged, not the rejection of all tradition. Creeds, councils and teachers serve as subordinate guides under that norm.

Question 20The Bible: its nature, authority and transmission

A pastor tells a congregation that the Bible's authority is 'self-authenticating' because the same Spirit who inspired the text also opens the reader's heart to receive it. Which doctrine does this appeal most directly express?

  1. The principle of sola scriptura
  2. The internal testimony of the Holy Spirit Correct answer.
  3. The verbal dictation theory of inspiration
  4. The plenary scope of biblical inerrancy

Explanation

The internal testimony of the Spirit (testimonium internum Spiritus Sancti), classically associated with Calvin, holds that Scripture's divine authority is recognised because the Spirit persuades the reader inwardly, not merely because of historical or rational proofs. It answers the question of how the authority of the text is acknowledged, not how the text was produced or how far it is true.

Question 21Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

According to Genesis 1, what did God create on the fifth day?

  1. The sun, moon and stars
  2. Light and the separation of day from night
  3. Land animals and creeping things
  4. Swarming creatures of the waters and birds of the air Correct answer.

Explanation

Genesis 1:20-23 records the fifth day as the creation of the teeming life of sea and sky, with the first blessing and command to be fruitful. The heavenly lights belong to the fourth day, land animals to the sixth, and light to the first day.

Question 22Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

In Genesis 2, what is said to be the purpose of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil being placed in the garden?

  1. It marked the boundary of the garden's four rivers
  2. Its fruit was the food appointed for the Sabbath
  3. It was planted as a sign of the covenant with Noah
  4. It was forbidden to eat from it, on pain of death Correct answer.

Explanation

Genesis 2:16-17 permits every tree except this one, warning that eating from it brings death. The tree thus functions as the command that defines the man's obedience within the garden.

Question 23Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

How does Genesis describe the woman's formation in the second creation account?

  1. Taken from a rib of the man while he slept Correct answer.
  2. Formed from the dust of the ground, as the man was
  3. Created before the man and presented to him
  4. Breathed into being by the Spirit at the garden gate

Explanation

Genesis 2:21-22 states that God caused a deep sleep to fall on the man, took one of his ribs, and built the woman from it. The dust-formed creature is the man (Genesis 2:7), and the order of creation is man first.

Question 24Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

Which question does God address to Cain before Cain kills Abel?

  1. Why are you angry, and why has your countenance fallen? Correct answer.
  2. Am I my brother's keeper?
  3. Where is your brother Abel?
  4. What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood cries out

Explanation

Genesis 4:6 records God's warning question to Cain about his anger before the murder, offering him the chance to master sin. The other questions come after the killing or from Cain himself.

Question 25Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

What sign did God appoint for Cain after the murder of Abel?

  1. A pillar of salt
  2. A staff turned into a serpent
  3. A rainbow in the cloud
  4. A mark on Cain Correct answer.

Explanation

Genesis 4:15 says the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. The rainbow belongs to Noah's covenant, and the other signs belong to Moses and to Lot's wife.

Question 26Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

According to Genesis 6, why did God decide to bring the flood upon the earth?

  1. Because Noah had failed to offer the required sacrifices
  2. Because the earth had become filled with violence from the Nephilim alone
  3. Because the wickedness of humankind was great and every inclination of the heart was evil Correct answer.
  4. Because the nations had gathered against Israel at Sinai

Explanation

Genesis 6:5-7 grounds the flood in the widespread wickedness of human thought and heart, which grieved God. The Nephilim are mentioned earlier in the chapter, but the stated reason is the evil of the human heart.

Question 27Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

What did the dove bring back to Noah, signalling that the waters had receded?

  1. A piece of cedar wood
  2. An olive leaf Correct answer.
  3. A fig branch
  4. A grain of wheat

Explanation

Genesis 8:11 records the dove returning in the evening with a freshly plucked olive leaf, so Noah knew the waters had subsided. The olive leaf became the familiar image of the flood's end.

Question 28Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

In Genesis 12, what does God promise to do for those who bless Abram and for those who curse him?

  1. Give those who bless him land and silence those who curse him
  2. Make those who bless him priests and judge those who curse him
  3. Multiply those who bless him and forget those who curse him
  4. Bless those who bless him and curse those who curse him Correct answer.

Explanation

Genesis 12:3 states that God will bless those who bless Abram and curse those who curse him, within the wider promise that all families of the earth will be blessed in him. The promise uses the same verbs for blessing and cursing.

Question 29Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

Why did Abram and Lot separate after returning from Egypt?

  1. Because God commanded Abram to leave Lot behind
  2. Because Lot had taken the best flocks by force
  3. Because Lot refused to worship at Abram's altar
  4. Because their possessions were too great for the land to support them together and strife arose between their herdsmen Correct answer.

Explanation

Genesis 13:5-7 explains that the wealth of both men, in flocks and herds, exceeded what the shared land could sustain, producing conflict between their herders. Abram then offers Lot the choice of land.

Question 30Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

What did Melchizedek, king of Salem, bring out when he met Abram after the defeat of the kings?

  1. Oil and honey
  2. A lamb and a dove
  3. Bread and wine Correct answer.
  4. Gold and myrrh

Explanation

Genesis 14:18 presents Melchizedek as priest of God Most High, bringing out bread and wine before blessing Abram. The other pairs belong to different biblical scenes and are not associated with this encounter.

Question 31Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

In the covenant ceremony of Genesis 15, what passed between the divided pieces of the animals?

  1. A smoking fire pot and a flaming torch Correct answer.
  2. A pillar of cloud and a flame of fire
  3. Two angels in human form
  4. A whirlwind and a voice from heaven

Explanation

Genesis 15:17 describes a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passing between the cut pieces, signifying God's self-binding oath to the covenant. This imagery of divine presence ratifies the promise of land and descendants.

Question 32Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

What name did Hagar give to the LORD who spoke to her in the wilderness?

  1. El Shaddai
  2. El Elyon
  3. El Bethel
  4. El Roi Correct answer.

Explanation

Genesis 16:13 records Hagar naming the LORD El Roi, meaning the God who sees, because she had seen the one who sees her. The other titles appear elsewhere in Genesis attached to different encounters.

Question 33Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

What sign of the covenant did God require of Abraham and his household in Genesis 17?

  1. A weekly Sabbath rest
  2. Circumcision of every male Correct answer.
  3. The offering of firstborn sons
  4. Wearing fringes on the garment

Explanation

Genesis 17:10-14 specifies circumcision of every male in the household, including slaves and foreigners, as the sign of the covenant in the flesh. The other practices belong to later Mosaic legislation or are explicitly rejected in the narrative.

Question 34Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

Which two cities did the LORD destroy in the days of Lot?

  1. Gomorrah and Zoar
  2. Shechem and Bethel
  3. Sodom and Gomorrah Correct answer.
  4. Sodom and Admah only

Explanation

Genesis 19:24-25 records the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah, with the surrounding cities also destroyed. Zoar was spared at Lot's request, and Shechem and Bethel are unrelated locations.

Question 35Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

What happened to Lot's wife as the family fled Sodom?

  1. She looked back and became a pillar of salt Correct answer.
  2. She was carried off by the men of the city
  3. She was struck blind at the city gate
  4. She remained in Zoar as a hostage

Explanation

Genesis 19:26 states that Lot's wife looked back from behind him and became a pillar of salt, a warning remembered elsewhere in Scripture. The angels had urged the family not to look back on the doomed city.

Question 36Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

What did Abraham do when he was told that Sarah would bear a son in her old age?

  1. He rebuked the messengers as deceivers
  2. He immediately named the child Isaac without being told
  3. He laughed and asked in his heart whether a child could be born to a man of a hundred Correct answer.
  4. He fell silent and left the tent without answering

Explanation

Genesis 17:17 records Abraham falling on his face and laughing, questioning how a son could be born to a hundred-year-old man and a ninety-year-old woman. God then confirms the promise and gives the name Isaac, which echoes laughter.

Question 37Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

How does Genesis 22 describe Abraham's response when God calls him for the binding of Isaac?

  1. He argues with God for three days before setting out
  2. He sends a servant in his place to the land of Moriah
  3. He asks Sarah's permission before taking the boy
  4. He answers 'Here I am' and rises early the next morning to go to Moriah Correct answer.

Explanation

Genesis 22:1-3 shows Abraham answering 'Here I am' and then rising early to journey to Moriah with Isaac. His prompt obedience frames the test, and the narrative gives no argument or delegation.

Question 38Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

What did Abraham name the place where a ram was provided in place of Isaac?

  1. Peniel
  2. The LORD will provide Correct answer.
  3. Beersheba
  4. Bethel

Explanation

Genesis 22:14 records Abraham calling the place 'The LORD will provide,' a name commemorated in the saying that on the mountain of the LORD it shall be provided. Bethel and Beersheba are named in other patriarchal episodes.

Question 39Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

In Genesis 25, what did Esau trade to Jacob for a meal of bread and lentil stew?

  1. His birthright Correct answer.
  2. His father's blessing
  3. His share of the well at Beersheba
  4. His flock of sheep

Explanation

Genesis 25:29-34 relates that Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for bread and lentil stew, despising the privilege of the firstborn. The blessing is a separate episode in Genesis 27.

Question 40Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

What did Jacob see in his dream at Bethel while fleeing from Esau?

  1. A scroll flying through the air
  2. A wheel within a wheel full of eyes
  3. A ladder set on the earth with its top reaching to heaven, and angels ascending and descending Correct answer.
  4. A burning bush that was not consumed

Explanation

Genesis 28:12 describes the stairway or ladder between earth and heaven with angels ascending and descending, above which the LORD speaks to Jacob. The other images belong to Moses, Ezekiel, and Zechariah.

Question 41Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

What did Jacob's wrestling opponent do to Jacob's hip during the struggle at the Jabbok?

  1. He dislocated Jacob's hip at the socket Correct answer.
  2. He struck Jacob's hand so that it withered
  3. He wounded Jacob's shoulder with a stone
  4. He broke Jacob's staff in two

Explanation

Genesis 32:25 says the man struck Jacob's hip socket so that it was dislocated as they wrestled. The injury explains why Jacob limped afterward and why the narrative links the event to the name Israel.

Question 42Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

Which sequence correctly orders the patriarchs as the narrative of Genesis presents them?

  1. Abraham, Jacob, Isaac, Joseph
  2. Isaac, Abraham, Jacob, Joseph
  3. Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Jacob
  4. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph Correct answer.

Explanation

Genesis traces the line from Abraham through Isaac and Jacob to Joseph, whose story closes the book. The promises pass through each generation in that order, and Joseph's brothers bring the family to Egypt.

Question 43Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

In Genesis 3, what change does God announce for the woman as a consequence of the transgression?

  1. She will be driven from the garden alone
  2. She will be silent in the assembly forever
  3. She will lose the ability to name the living creatures
  4. She will bear children in pain and her desire will be for her husband Correct answer.

Explanation

Genesis 3:16 addresses the woman with multiplied pain in childbearing and a changed relation to her husband. The expulsion from the garden is announced to the human pair together, and naming animals was the man's task in Genesis 2.

Question 44Creation, fall and the patriarchs (Genesis 1-11 and the ancestral narratives)

What is the significance of Genesis 3:15 within the story of the fall?

  1. It explains why the ground would no longer yield its produce
  2. It describes the cherubim placed at the east of Eden
  3. It pronounces enmity between the serpent's offspring and the woman's offspring, with the latter striking the serpent's head Correct answer.
  4. It records the first sacrifice offered by Adam after the expulsion

Explanation

Genesis 3:15 sets hostility between the serpent and the woman's descendants, promising that her offspring will crush the serpent's head while being struck at the heel. The verse is often read as the first hint of redemption within the curse.

Question 45The Exodus, covenant and the Law

Which book of the Bible records Israel's deliverance from Egypt under Moses?

  1. Deuteronomy
  2. Leviticus
  3. Exodus Correct answer.
  4. Numbers

Explanation

Exodus is the second book of the Pentateuch and narrates the oppression in Egypt, the plagues, the Passover, the crossing of the sea, and the covenant at Sinai. Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy continue the story afterward with law, wilderness wandering and covenant renewal.

Question 46The Exodus, covenant and the Law

At the burning bush, what name does God reveal to Moses when Moses asks whom he should say sent him?

  1. The God of Abraham only
  2. I AM WHO I AM Correct answer.
  3. The Holy One of Israel
  4. The Lord of Hosts

Explanation

In Exodus 3 God answers Moses' question with the self-designation 'I AM WHO I AM' and instructs him to tell Israel that 'I AM' has sent him. The name conveys God's self-existent, eternal being and becomes tied to the covenant name YHWH.

Question 47The Exodus, covenant and the Law

What final sign did God command Israel to place on their doorposts so the destroyer would pass over their homes?

  1. The blood of a lamb on the doorposts and lintel Correct answer.
  2. An inscription of the Ten Words above the door
  3. A bundle of hyssop nailed to the gate
  4. A white cloth hung in the window

Explanation

Exodus 12 instructs each household to slaughter a Passover lamb and smear its blood on the doorposts and lintel with hyssop. The blood functions as the sign; when God sees it, he passes over that house.

Question 48The Exodus, covenant and the Law

How many commandments are traditionally numbered in the Decalogue given at Sinai?

  1. Seven
  2. Forty
  3. Ten Correct answer.
  4. Twelve

Explanation

Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 present the covenant stipulations commonly called the Ten Commandments or Decalogue. The Hebrew phrase is 'ten words,' and both passages structure the list into ten numbered sayings.

Question 49The Exodus, covenant and the Law

Which mountain does Exodus name as the place where Israel receives the covenant and the law?

  1. Mount Carmel
  2. Mount Nebo
  3. Mount Sinai Correct answer.
  4. Mount Moriah

Explanation

Exodus identifies the mountain of God as Sinai, also called Horeb elsewhere in the Pentateuch. There Moses ascends, receives the tablets, and the covenant is ratified with Israel.

Question 50The Exodus, covenant and the Law

What does the Hebrew term 'torah,' used for the Law given through Moses, most basically mean?

  1. Covenant oath
  2. Sacrifice
  3. Instruction or teaching Correct answer.
  4. Song of praise

Explanation

Torah derives from a root meaning to instruct or point, so it is best rendered 'instruction' or 'teaching.' It refers to God's revealed guidance for Israel, of which law is one important dimension rather than the whole meaning.