Exodus Interpretive Questions
Interpretation,
Significance, Application
Questions raised on the
reading of sections of T. Fretheim's
Exodus (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1990)
Developed by Ted Hildebrandt
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11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20,
21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30,
31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40,
Workbook Type Projects:
1) Trace the statements where God reveals His
motives for acting in
Exodus.
2) What parallels can be drawn between
Exodus and the gospels? (Fretheim, p. 2)
3) What texts in Exodus are difficult to
transfer from back then to post-
modern culture?
Why?
4) Find four texts in Exodus that speak to
you. Why/how did it move from
text to dialogue for you? (Fretheim, 4)
5) How do you distinguish narrative and law in
Exodus? Take three
examples and trace the transition. What are the transitional markers?
How do you interpret the texts differently? What is the significance of the
linking of law and narrative?
6) In the plague cycles, what literary
structures are repeated? What is their
significance?
7) How would you respond to the following
quote: “While a nucleus is
probably
rooted in events of the period represented, the narratives also
reflect
what thoughtful Israelites over the course of nearly a millennium
considered
their meaning(s) to be. In such an
ongoing reflective process,
the
writers no doubt used their imaginations freely (e.g., when they put
forward
the actual words of a conversation)...how important for faith is
the
historical veracity of the reported events? To
paraphrase the apostle
Paul: "If the exodus did not occur, was
8) What kind of theology is developed in the
historical narratives? How do
you
move from historical narrative to a theological statement? How
would
you respond to Fretheim’s statement: The
fundamental
purpose
of Exodus is “kerygmatic”; that is, it seeks to confront the
reader
with the word of God, not a constructive theological statement.
(Fretheim,
10) What theological statements are
actually made in the
narrative
sections?
9) How would you explain the differences in
Exod. 23:21 and 34:7? How
would
you compare Exod. 24:9-11 to 33:11 and 33:20? (Fretheim, 11)
10) Trace the legal material into the character
of God. (Fretheim, 11)
11) Compare/contrast the historical narrative of
the
the
poetic expression of it in Exodus 15. (Fretheim, 12)
12) What comparisons may be made linking Genesis
and Exodus?
[Creational
setting, anticreational activity, flood/ecological disasters,
death
and deliverance through water, covenant, and reiteration of
covenant.]
(Fretheim, 14)
13) Is God unchanged by all
the actions in the book of Exodus? What
new
things
does God Himself do in Exodus as the narrative progresses that
reveal
His becoming? Is it progressive revelation from a static being
or
can becoming actually be predicated to God? How does the text
describe
it? (Fretheim, 15)
14) How is the sovereignty of God seen in Exod.
4-15? How are God’s and
Pharaoh’s
ways of being sovereign different? (Fretheim, 17)
15) Find three cases where God describes
Himself. How does He portray
Himself
and how is that connected to the historical narrative?
(Fretheim,
16)
16) How does God depend on Moses to accomplish
His purposes?
(Fretheim,
17) How is God responsive to Moses, give two examples?
17) What is God’s relationship to nature in
Exodus 1-15? (Fretheim, 19)
18) Trace the theme: “whom will we serve” through the book of
Exodus.
What
shifts may be seen? (Fretheim, 20) How is the term (‘abad)
“service”
used in Exodus. How does it change from
the first chapters
to
the final chapters? (Fretheim, 30)
19) What is the relationship of redemption and
law? Does redemption come
as a
result of obedience to the law?
(Fretheim, 22)
Exodus 1 Back to top
1. How does the narrative move from the familial
to the national and back
(Exod.
1)? (Fretheim, 23)
2. How does Exod. 1:1-7 connect with the themes
of Genesis?
(Fretheim,
24)
*3. How many people went to
Septuagint reading of 75)? (Fretheim, 24)
4. How does the multiplication of Israelites in
Exodus link back to the
promises of Genesis (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 24)
5. How does God appear in the opening verses of
Exodus (1:1-7)?
(Fretheim, 25)
6. How does God’s creation and redemption work
in Exodus
fit with the great credal statements of
(cf. Deut. 26:5; Ps. 105:24; 136; Josh. 24:3)? (Fretheim,
26)
7. How are the cosmic and earthly spheres drawn
into the
narrative (Pharaoh, Joseph, Egyptians, gods, God)?
(Fretheim, 26)
8. How does Pharaoh oppose God’s multiplying
life giving
work in
9. How does “a new king over
and the sons of God in Genesis (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 27)
10. How does Pharaoh’s not knowing Joseph
transcend the reference
to a particular individual (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 27)
11. How is Pharaoh’s “not knowing”
compared/contrasted with
God’s “knowing” in Exod. 1-3? (Fretheim, 27)
12. How does the narrator view the multiplication
of
than Pharaoh (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 27)
13. Who is the first one to recognize
How is that ironic? (Fretheim, 28)
14. How do Pharaoh’s words highlight the
fulfillment of God’s
promise (Exod. 1)?
Is that ironic? (Fretheim, 28)
15. How are Pharaoh’s intentions totally reversed
(Exod. 1)? With
whom does that contrast? (Fretheim, 28)
16. When Pharaoh speaks of
he speak more than he knows (cf. 13:18; 3:8, 17)?
(Fretheim, 28)
17. What symbolic value do the cities of Pithom
and Rameses have
in the narrative (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 28)
18. What is ironic about Pharaoh’s tactics of
oppression and
population control (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 29)
19. Is it possible for those who have only
experienced prosperity
and freedom to understand oppression as described in
Exod. 1? (Fretheim, 29)
20. What is the impact of oppression on the
oppressor (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 29)
21. How does slavery destroy their identity as a
people (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 29)
22. How is the language of affliction, burden,
and oppression
echoed in the law (Exod. 1, cf. ch. 22)? (Fretheim, 29)
23. What is God’s response to the oppression of
his people (cf.
Exod. 3:7, 17; 4:31; 6:6-7)? (Fretheim, 30)
24. How is the repetition of language used in
Exod. 1:6ff?
(Fretheim, 30)
25. How would you support the following statement
from the text of
Exodus? “The exodus does not constitute a declaration
of
independence,
but a declaration of dependence upon God” (Fretheim,
30f). In what ways does this statement need
qualification and
development?
26. How are service and freedom connected at
Sinai? (Fretheim, 31)
27. How does God demonstrate He is a God of the
oppressed (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 31)
28. What irony is seen in the story of the Hebrew
mid-wives (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 31)
29. How do the mid-wives stand between two
communities (Exod. 1)?
What does their response model? (Fretheim, 31)
30. What does who is named and left unnamed in
Exod. 1 suggest?
(Fretheim, 31)
31. How are the fear of the Egyptians and the
fear of the mid-wives
both realized (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 32)
32. With what is Pharaoh’s dealing in death and
oppression contrasted
(Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 32)
33. How did the mid-wives observe the cosmic
order and bring their
lives into harmony with it (Exod. 1)? What is ma’at
and hokmah?
(Fretheim, 32)
34. What basic creational principle did the
mid-wives understand
but Pharaoh did not (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 32)
35. By eliciting the mid-wives’ help Pharaoh is
attacking what
vulnerability in the cycle of life (Eoxd. 1)? (Fretheim, 33)
36. How does Pharaoh’s attempt to kill the male
children of
echo back onto his own family (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 33)
37. What feast does the saving of the sons
foreshadow (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 33)
38. How do women fail Pharaoh’s attempt at
oppression (Exod. 1)?
What roles do women play in the liberation process (cf. ch.
1 and 2)?
(Fretheim, 33)
39. Tthe mid-wives were not powerful leaders
yet their actions
show that they are not powerless. How would that apply to
today (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 33)
40. How does God use people of faith to carry out
his movement
to life and blessing (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 33)
41. How
does God use people of faith to carry out his movements to
life and blessing (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 34)
42. What risks did the mid-wives take in
protecting the Israelite
infants (Exod. 1)?
(Fretheim, 34) What does the
naming of
the mid-wives contrast with in Exod. 1? Who is not named
in that chapter?
43. How is God introduced in the narrative (Exod.
1:17, 20)?
(Fretheim, 34)
44. How are Pharaoh’s attempts at Jewish genocide
echoed in other
segments of history (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 35)
45. How is the
Pharaoh’s use of it with God’s (Exod. 1)? (Fretheim, 35)
Exodus 2 Back
to top
46. How do the activities of Moses in 2:11-22
foreshadow the later actions
of
God and
47 What role or function does word play have in
the birth of Moses
narrative
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 36)
48. How does the issue with “sons” develop in the
early chapters of Exodus
(Exod. 1-4)? (Fretheim, 36)
49. Are Moses’ parents shown as simply trusting
God or do they take action
themselves in rejecting and opposing oppression and moving
toward life and blessing (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 36)
50. How are the roles of the mid-wives and
Pharaoh’s daughter similar
(Exod.
2)? How are they different? (Fretheim,
36)
51. How do three women shape Moses’ early life
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 37)
52. What irony is seen in Pharaoh’s letting the
daughters live and the role
daughters play in the narrative (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 37)
53. What does Pharaoh’s own daughter reveal about
Pharaoh’s own family
(Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 37)
54. How does Pharaoh’s daughter’s naming of Moses
play itself out in
the story (Exod. 2)?
How is what she did for Moses, what Moses
would
later do for all
55. How does Exod. 2:1-10 illustrate God’s use of
the weak to confound the
strong
(Jer. 9:27; 1 Cor. 1:26-29)? (Fretheim, 37)
56. What type of people did God choose to work
through in Exod. 1-2?
(Fretheim, 37)
57. What is the relationship of irony and hope
that moves out of the Exod.
1-2
narrative to all of life? (Fretheim, 38)
58. How does Exod. 2 echo the Noah story in
Genesis 6-9? How strong are
the
links? (Fretheim, 38)
59. What paraellels are seen in the story of
Moses’ birth and the story of
Sargon of Akkad’s birth (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 38)
60. How does God use human beings to preserve
Moses’ life (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 38)
61. Is human activity a facade to hide the
all-controlling divine activity
(Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 38)
62. What is the significance of the non-mention
of God in these early
chapters
of Exodus (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 38)
63. How does Pharaoh’s daughter’s role in the
narrative parallel God’s role
in the narrative later on (ch. 2:23-25; 3:7-8)? (Fretheim,
38)
64. In what ways are women given leadership roles
in Exod. 1-2? What
role does Moses’ father play (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 39)
65. How does the role of the women in the first
two chapters parallel God’s
own role of redemption?
(Fretheim, 40)
66. At what points is the narrator’s theological
perspective visible in the
narrative of the historical events (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 40)
67. How is Moses’ birth setting him up for his
later leadership role
(Exod.
2)? (Fretheim, 40)
68. How doe the infancy narratives of Moses and
Jesus parallel? What does
that show about how God works? (Fretheim, 40)
69. How does the parallel between Moses’ and
Jesus’ births foreshadow
the later work of both (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 41)
70. What three groups do the three events in
Moses’ adult life bring him
in to contact with (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 41)
71. How are the three events in Moses’ early
adult life described in the
narrative (Exod. 2)?
Who is speaking? (Fretheim, 41)
72. After being reared in Pharaoh’s court, how
does the narrator reconnect
Moses with the people of
73. How do the three events of Moses’ early
adulthood parallel and embody
the experience of
74. How does Moses’ labelling his first son
indicate a link both with
(Fretheim, 42)
75. Was Moses’ killing of the Egyptian justified
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 42)
76. How is the word “stroke” used to show Moses
responding in kind
to what the Egyptian was doing (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 42)
77. Does God ever nakah (“strike”) the Egyptians
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 42)
78. Was Moses just an angry and foolish young man
when he killed the
Egyptian (Exod. 2; cf. Acts 7:23-25)? (Fretheim, 42)
79. How does Moses’ striking anticipate God’s
striking (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 42)
80. What does Moses’ response killing the Egyptian
anticipate (Ex. 21:12, 20)?
(Fretheim, 43)
81. Who are the first people Moses delivers
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 43)
82. What moral quality is seen in the first three
events of Moses’ adult
life that would feature in his later calling and leadership
(Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 43)
83. How does Moses’ attempt to break up the
Hebrew’s fight foreshadow
his later work among the Hebrew community (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim,
44)
84. How does the Hebrew’s rejection of Moses’
leadership foreshadow
what would happen later (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 44)
85. How does the narrative contrast the
Israelites’ reaction to Moses and
the Midianites’ (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 44)
86. What does Moses’ marriage to Zipporah suggest
about the openness
of the Israelite community (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 44)
87. In the three events of Moses’ early
adulthood, what three types of
injustice does Moses react to? Who were the three victims and
the three oppressors?
Chart this out [injustice, victim, oppressor,
Moses’ response] (Fretheim, 44)
88. What does Moses’ reaction to oppression
suggest about our response to
injustice and our relationship to the oppressed? (Fretheim,
45)
89. What qualities are needed to combat injustice
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 45)
90. How is Moses’ response to oppression echoed
in God’s own deliverance
and also in the later legal code (Exod. 2; cf.
22:21ff)? (Fretheim, 45)
91. How does the New Testament reflect on the
early events in Moses’
life (Acts 7:23-29; 35; Heb. 11:24-28)? (Fretheim, 45)
92. How is Moses’ history of rejection
similar/dissimilar to Jesus’ history
of rejection (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 46)
93. When the Bible announces a new king in
reader expectations (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 46)
94. How did the Israelites respond to their
oppression (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 46)
95. How does God’s role in the narrative change
after the announcement of
a
new king (Exod. 2)? (Fretheim, 47)
96. Does God wait for the right opportunity to
engage in human history
(Exod. 3)? What
types of things elicit that engagement?
(Fretheim,
47)
97. How well did the Israelites in
(Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 48)
98. What fourfold response did God have to the
cry of the Israelites
(Exod. 2)? (Fretheim,
48)
99. What do the verbs (hear, see, remember, knew)
mean when applied
to God (Exod. 2)?
(Fretheim, 48)
100. After Exod. 2, what questions and expectations
are left in the reader’s
mind? (Fretheim, 49)
Exodus 3 Back
to top
101. What other “Call narratives” are found in
Scripture (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 51)
102. What are the basic common elements of God’s
call (Exod. 3,
Cf.
Judge 6, Jer. 1 and Isa. 6)?
(Fretheim, 51)
103. What five objections does Moses give
concerning his call in
ch. 3 & 4? (Fretheim, 52)
104. How does God respond to Moses’ objections to
his call (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 52)
105. How should we view Moses’ objections to God’s
call [sin, reticence,
wrestling, opposition, instructional, model, etc. ] (Exod.
3)?
(Fretheim, 52)
106. Based on Exod. 3-4, how would you describe
Moses’ prayer life?
(Fretheim, 52)
107. What does Moses’ extensive dialogue with God
teach us about
prayer and God’s responsiveness (Exod. 3-4)? (Fretheim, 52)
108. What do God’s responses to Moses’ objections
show about God’s
relationship with Moses (Exod. 3-4)? (Fretheim, 53)
109. Is Moses’ future dictated by divine will or
open to shaping by human
interaction (Exod. 3-4)? (Fretheim, 53)
110. What does God risk by using Moses (Exod.
3-4)? (Fretheim, 53)
111. As the objections and responses take place,
how does Moses change
(Exod. 3-4)? (Fretheim, 53)
112. How does God’s approach to Moses change as
Moses’ objections
persist (Exod. 3-4)? (Fretheim, 53)
113. What difficulties are encountered when a
perfect God uses imperfect
fiesty human beings in achieving His will (Exod. 3-4)?
(Fretheim, 53)
114. What is the significance of the name “Horeb”
for
(Fretheim, 53)
115. When Moses meets God at the bush, what does
God know that Moses
doesn’t (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 54)
116. How is curiosity tied to call (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 54)
117. How does Moses perceive this encounter at the
bush as unusual
or wonderful (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 54)
118. What role did sight play in Moses receiving
God’s word (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 54)
119. What is the religious relationship and
function of sign and sound in
the various divine communications in Scripture (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 54)
120. Is the sight of the bush burning a mere
attention getter (Exod. 3)?
What other role is played by the sight of it? (Fretheim, 55)
121. What other times is God’s encounter
accompanied with fire (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 55)
122. How does Moses encounter (sight) differ from
prophetic vision (Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 55)
123. How does God open from the outside the world
and inside of Moses’
world (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 55)
124. Is Moses’ fear response appropriate (Exod.
3)? How is this terror type
of
fear of the divine related to the fear of God described elsewhere in
Scripture? I thought fearing God meant only to reverence
Him.
(Fretheim,
55)
125. Does divine holiness inhibit human response
(Exod. 3)? When is this
true/untrue?
(Fretheim, 56)
126. Does the ground become holy only because of
God’s presence or
does God’s purpose for the place also play a role (Exod.
3)?
(Fretheim, 56)
127. What does it mean for ground to be holy
(Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 56)
Is all “ground” holy?
How is holiness related to distance in Exodus
(cf.
bush, tabernacle,
128. What is the significance of God’s identifying
himself as the “God of
your father" (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 57)
129. In what other contexts does this divine
self-identification come up
(Exod. 3)? What are the commonalities in these
passages?
(Fretheim,
57)
130. How does Moses respond to God non-verbally
(Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim,
57)
131. What does Moses’ struggle with the call
reveal about his character
and motivation (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 58)
132. How does Moses’ call show God’s messengers
are not passive
recipients (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 58)
133. In Exod. 3:7-8 and 3:9-10 a doublet, while
some take that as an
indication
of multiple authorship, how does it show a single
consistent
perspective (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim,
58) Does God act
alone?
134. How does God depend on Moses in the narrative
(Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 58)
135. How did the Israelites later confirm the
duality of deliverance
(God and Moses cf. 14:31)? (Fretheim, 58)
136. How is deliverance seen as not just from
something but to something
(Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 59)
137. Does God’s plan for
138. Moses is sent because God has ________ (Exod.
3)? How is God’s
response
appropriate? (Fretheim, 59)
139. How do the descriptions in 2:24-25 and 3:7-10
differ? (Fretheim, 59)
140. In Exod. 3:7-10 what pronoun is emphasized
(Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 59)
What are the implications of this? (Fretheim, 59)
141. What does God’s knowing their suffering imply
about God’s own
experience (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 60)
142. Does God suffer? What does that reflect about his character
(Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 60)
143. What activities does God’s suffering prompt
in him (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 60)
144. Is Moses’ calling to ecclesiastical office or
socio-political action
(Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 61)
145. How do these texts show God is not
indifferent to oppression
(Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 61)
146. How does God’s response connect with Moses
first objection “who am
I?”
(Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 61)
147. How is God’s response to Moses’ first
objection enigmatic (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 62)
148. What shift takes place from Moses’ objection
1 to 2 (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 62)
149. Human questioning leads to what kind of
response from God
(Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 62)
150. Does God’s revelation of his name demystify
him (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 63)
151. Why was it important for Moses to know God’s
name when he went to
the elders of
152. What are the different ways
the name in Exodus 3:14 is understood and
translated?
(Fretheim, 63)
153. What significance did the name of God (Exod.
3:14) have for an
oppressed
154. How does the meaning of God’s name develop as
the story
develops (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 64)
155. How did the translation “LORD” come about
(Exod. 3:14)? Why are
feminists enraged over that translation? (Fretheim, 64)
156. How does God link his name with history? How does that linking
provide hope to
157. What does knowing some one’s name do
relationally (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 65)
158. How does God’s giving his name make him
vulnerable (Exod. 3)?
(Fretheim, 65)
159. Is God’s allowing Aaron to speak a divine
“adjustment to new
developments”
(Exod. 3-4)? Does God adjust his plans
based on his
interaction
with humans? Is God static or dynamic?
(Fretheim, 66)
160. Is the future fixed or open? Could it be both (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 66)
161. How do the victims become the victors (Exod.
3)? (Fretheim, 67)
162. How is it ironic that
beautiful (Exod. 3)? (Fretheim, 67)
Exodus 4 Back
to top
163. How does Exodus 4:24-26 foreshadow Passover?
(Fretheim, 7)
164. How are belief and obedience stressed in
Exod. 4? (Fretheim, 67)
165. Does Moses flatly accept what God says about
the future (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 68)
166. Does Moses see the future as open even after
receiving God’s
declaration about it (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 68)
167. Does God condemn Moses’ questioning as
unbelief (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 68)
168. How does the giving of three signs to Moses
reveal God’s view about
the future as still an open possibility (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 68)
169. Does Exod 4:8-9 contradict Exod. 3:18?
(Fretheim, 69)
170. What powers did the Egyptian magicians have
(Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim,
69)
172. How was magic perceived at that time (Exod.
4)? How do we see it
differently? (Fretheim, 69)
173. Do the signs given by God result in
persuading the people to
belief (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 70) Did Jesus' signs always lead
to belief (Lk. 16:31)?
174. What is the relationship of the three signs
and the plagues
which later come on
175. The signs are used to further belief in the
believing community
and as a harbinger of what to the unbelieving community
(Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 70)
176. In what two ways does God respond to Moses’
objection that
he has a speech problem (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 71)
177. Why does God not correct Moses’ speech
problem (Exod. 4)?
What does that show about the way God works? (Fretheim, 71)
178. How does Moses’ speech impediment fit with
God’s use of the
weak in Exodus and elsewhere (Exod. 4; cf. 1 Cor 1:26ff)?
(Fretheim, 72)
179. Does the OT see God as
the sole cause of all things (Exod. 4)?
Does it allow for secondary agency? (Fretheim, 72)
180. Was God successful in persuading Moses to
take up the call
(Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 73)
181. What is the cause of God’s anger with Moses (Exod.
4)?
(Fretheim, 73)
182. Is God’s use of Aaron an indication that God
switched to plan B
(Exod. 4)? (Fretheim,
73)
183. Can God have multiple plans (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 73)
184. While Aaron is initially the spokeperson, how
does Moses
emerge as the sole leader by ch. 15 (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim,
73)
185. How does God work with options that are often
less than the
best (Exod. 4)? What
are other examples of such?
(Fretheim, 74)
186. How does Aaron not live up to his calling
(Exod. 4; 32-33)?
(Fretheim, 74)
187. How does God’s use of Aaron show God’s
crafting his
purposes through alternative human agency (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 74)
188. How is Aaron like a prophet (cf. Jer 15:19;
Exod. 4; 7:1; Jer. 1:9)?
(Fretheim, 74)
189. Can finite human words express the infinite
(Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 75)
190. What is the relation of the divine and human
in prophetic
speech (Exod. 4)? In
what sense is the human engaged and in what
sense
is God engaged? (Fretheim, 75)
191. What actions of Moses transcends his problem
with speech
(Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 75)
192. How does Moses’ request to leave Jethro
differ from God’s call
(Exod. 4)? What does
that indicate? (Fretheim, 76)
193. How are God and Moses described as working
together (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 76)
194. Does Moses speak the words of Exod. 3:18 cf.
4:18?
(Fretheim, 77)
195. When does divine hardening actually happen in
the text
(Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 77)
196. Is divine hardening the only activity that
determines the future
(Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 77)
197. Is the killing of the firstborn certain from
this point on (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 77)
198. Is there an openness in the future described
in Exod. 4:21-23?
(Fretheim, 77)
199. What is the significance of the divine
parental image being
used (Exod. 4:22f)?
(Fretheim, 77)
200. How do the prophets use the image of God as
parent (cf. Jer. 3:19;
31:9; Hos. 11:1-9)?
(Fretheim, 77)
201. Why does the context not prepare one for
God’s assailing of
Moses (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 78)
202. What was God’s motive for seeking to kill
Moses (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 78)
203. Who did God seek to kill, Moses or his son
(Exod. 4)? Why?
(Fretheim, 78)
204. What does it mean God “tried” to kill him
(Exod. 4)?
Does God ever miss his mark (cf. Judg 14:4)? (Fretheim, 79)
205. How does Zipporah’s act interact with the
divine intention
(Exod. 4)? Do
actions in time and space impact God’s
course of action?
206. How does the event of God seeking to slay
Moses foreshadow
the Passover (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 79)
207. How is blood used here (Exod. 4) and at
Passover for the redemption
of the firstborn? (Fretheim, 80)
208. What role does Zipporah play here that is
paralleled elsewhere in
Exodus (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 80)
209. Why is Zipporah the only one named in this
narrative (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 80)
210. How does Zipporah’s role as mediator between
God and Moses
parallel Moses’ role as a mediator between God and
(Fretheim, 80)
211. How does Exod. 4 compare to Genesis 32
(Jacob’s wrestling) and
Numb. 22 (Balaam’s encounter with the sword angel)?
(Fretheim, 81)
212. What does this passage (Exod. 4) show about
the obedience of God’s
servants? (Fretheim, 81)
213. How do Aaron’s motives for meeting Moses
differ from God’s
purposes
for the meeting (Exod. 4)? (Fretheim, 81)
214. How does Aaron as a slave just walk off and
go to Sinai to
meet Moses (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 81)
215. What moves Israelites to worship (Exod. 4)?
(Fretheim, 82)
Exodus 5 Back
to top
216. When Pharaoh rejects and persecutes the
Israerlites more, what is
Moses’ initial response (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 82)
217. How does the narrative progress and through
the dialogues between
which people does it progress (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 83)
218. Whose voice is not heard in the plague
dialogues (Exod. 5)?
(Fretheim, 83)
219. What theme is repeated seven times in 5:9-21?
(Fretheim, 83)
220. Will
221. What historical evidence is there for the
Egyptians use of slavery
(Exod. 5)?
(Fretheim, 83)
222. What does shifting the focus of oppression to a great
or heavenly purpose, do
to this narrative (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 84)
223. What is the nature of Pharaoh’s oppression
system? How does it fit
the pattern of oppressive regimes elsewhere (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 84)
224. How is the comment that they are lazy typical
of oppressors (Exod. 5)?
How does that shift the focus? (Fretheim, 84)
225. How do oppressors use collaborators (Exod.
5)? (Fretheim, 85)
226. How do oppressors use a divide and conquer
methodology (Exod. 5)?
(Fretheim, 85)
227. How could the argument “they deserve their
lot, God is behind it”
serve
oppressors in modern times (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 85)
228. How is Pharaoh’s question: “Who is Yahweh?”
ironically a good one
in the narrative (Exod. 5)?
(Fretheim, 86)
229. Is God going to instruct Pharaoh who He is
(Exod. 5; cf. 7:17; 8:10, 22;
9:14, 29)?
(Fretheim, 86)
230. What does Moses’ and Aaron’s response to Pharaoh
harken back
to (Exod. 5; cf. 3:18)? (Fretheim, 86)
231. What role do the leaders play as they call
for justice and judgment to
fall
on Moses and Aaron in making things worse (Exod. 5)?
(Fretheim,
87)
232. How is the foreman’s complaint echoed in
Moses’ complaint to God
(Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 87)
233. In what sense is God responsible for the evil
that has come on the
Israelites (Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 87)
234. How does multiple agency help resolve the
tension in the previous
question
(Exod. 5)? (Fretheim, 87)
235. Why does God delay deliverance (Exod.
5)? (Fretheim, 88)
Exodus 6 Back
to top
236. How does Exodus 6:2-7:7 parallel 3:1-12? Does that necessarily prove
multiple authorship?
What differences are seen in the two
narratives? (Fretheim,
88)
237. Why is a genealogy put here (Exod. 6-7)?
(Fretheim, 89)
238. Why is Moses’ call reaffirmed (Exod. 6)? What
things precipitated a
crisis
in Moses’ call? (Fretheim, 89)
239. How do Moses’ prior objections turn out to be
correct (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 90)
240. What does “uncircumcised lips” mean (Exod.
6)? (Fretheim, 90)
241. What does the fact that God gives up the sole
right as being the
only one who speaks the word of “God” reveal (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 90)
242. Why is the genealogy of Moses put in the
story at this point (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 91)
243. Why are Aaron’s descendants, not Moses’,
described (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 91)
244. Where else in Scripture is genealogy and
story mixed in the
background
of deliverance (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 91)
245. In Exod. 6:3 it says the patriarchs did not
know the name of Yahweh
but
how does that square with the patriarchs knowing the name
Yahweh
in Genesis (Gen. 15:2; ch. 49)? (Fretheim, 91)
246. What new aspect of God’s character revealed
in the name Yahweh
comes into view at this point of the text (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 92)
247. How is the “gospel of exodus” spelled out in
Exod. 6:4-8?
(Fretheim, 92)
248. Where else in scripture is the “I am Yahweh”
epithet seen (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 92) ... Hint: what prophet
249. How are past promises linked to present deeds
(Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 92)
250. What three action verbs are used to describe
God’s work in keeping
His promises (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 93)
251. Are God’s actions of salvation in Exodus
personal and other-worldly
or social and political in Exodus (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 93)
252. How would the people come to know Yahweh
(Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim,
93)
253. What function does the future tense play in
“I will take you as my
people” play in the narrative (Exod. 6)? To what does it point
forward? Has not
(Fretheim,
93)
254. What does the fact that the phrase “my
people” occurs most frequently
when
255. How does the statement “I will be their God”
link back to the
Abrahamic
promise (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 94)
256. How is it the Egyptians come to know Yahweh
(Exod. 6)?
How is their “knowing” different than
257. How does the mission orientation to the whole
world reflected in the
statements
of purpose in the Exodus accounts (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim,
95)
258. How are the plagues to be viewed in terms of
their wider public impact
(Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 95)
259. What does the cosmic character of the plagues
reveal about God’s rule
(Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 95)
260. What kind of understanding would Moses gain
from God’s prior
announcement that he would harden Pharaoh’s heart (Exod.
6)?
(Fretheim, 95)
261. In the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart is it
strict determinism by God
or does Pharaoh retain his free will and God by
foreknowledge
just describes what Pharaoh himself will choose? Are these the
only ways of thinking about this (Exod. 6)? Does foreknowledge
fix or absolutely determine the future, or are there different ways
of knowing the future? (Fretheim, 96)
262. Would the possibility of a limited
determinism account for both
determinism and free will (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 96)
263. What does a hard heart mean (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 97)
264. How does Pharaoh’s hard heart bring God
public glory (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 97)
265. Does God’s heart ever get hard or “strong”
(Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 97)
266. How does Pharaoh’s “strength” of heart reveal
God’s power (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 97)
267. How is Pharaoh’s hardness different from
God’s hardness (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 97)
268. In light of what events does Pharaoh’s heart
get hardened (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 97)
269. What role does hardening play in the
continuation of the narrative
(Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 98)
270. How is the hardening at the beginning
different than the hardening
at the end (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 98)
271. Can humans in thought and will become
irrevocably hard in response
to God’s word and work (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 98)
272. Does Pharaoh harden his own heart or does God
do it (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 98)
273. When and how does Pharaoh’s “refusal” come up
in the stories of
the plagues (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 99)
274. Conditional language is used (“if” 8:2; 9:2;
10:4) which implies
a closed or open future (Exod. 6)? (Fretheim, 99)
275. Does God’s foreknowledge make the future of
each refusal certain
(Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 99)
276. Does pharaoh have a real choice (Exod. 6)? If
not, what are the ethical
implications
both for Pharaoh and for God? (Fretheim, 99)
277. Does God’s hardening (10:1) eliminate choice
and conditionality
(10:4)? (Fretheim, 99)
Exodus 7 Back
to top
278. How does Exod 7:6 relate back to Moses’ call
objections (Exod. 6)?
(Fretheim, 96)
279. Did Moses think that Pharaoh would maybe let
the people go
initially (Exod. 7)? (Fretheim, 100)
280. What plagues were sent without Moses going to
Pharaoh (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 100)
281. How is Pharaoh’s refusal to listen
highlighted in the text (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 100)
282. What are the connections between Pharaoh’s
oppression and the
plagues
(Exod. 7)? How does this fit an act-consequence format?
(Fretheim,
101)
283. How is divine hardening itself a judgment
(Exod. 7; cf. Ps 81:11f;
284. As one moves to judgment, how are the histories
of possibilities
narrowed (Exod. 7)?
Can deterministic language be used as the
possibilities narrow?
(Fretheim, 101)
295. At what point is repentance not an option in
stopping the determined
judgment (Exod. 7)? (Fretheim, 101)
296. Where in Jeremiah is the stubbornness
language used (Jer. 4:28; ....)?
(Fretheim, 102)
297. If Pharaoh is merely an automatic robot, how
does this story resound
God’s glory (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 102)
298. Does God overpower Moses at his call (Exod.
4)? (Fretheim, 102)
299. How are the plagues viewed elsewhere in
Scripture (Ps. 78, 105)?
Do these passages add a different perspective? (Fretheim,
105)
300. How is the plague narrative structured: 1series, 2 sets of 5, or 3 sets
of 3 (Exod. 7)? (Fretheim, 105)
301. How is the dual role of Moses and God
manifest in the plagues
(Exod. 7)? (Fretheim, 106)
302. When does God and
(Fretheim, 106)
303. How do these plagues show a connection
between the ethical order
and cosmic order (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 106)
304. How are the words “land” and “all” used in
the plague stories
(Exod.
7)? (Fretheim, 107)
305. What is hyperbolic language and how is it to
be understood in the
plague narratives (Exod. 7)? (Fretheim, 107)
306. How does the Exodus plague narrative function
in the book of
Revelation (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 107)
307. How are the terms “sign” and “wonder” used in
the plague
narratives (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 107)
308. How is God locked to the “land” and how does
that show God’s
greatness extending throughout all the earth (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim,
108)
309. How are the non-human orders of nature shown
to be on the side of the
victims (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 109)
310. How are anti-creational order themes
reflected in the plague cycles
(Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 109)
311. How do the plagues impact the non-human world
order (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 109)
312. How do the plagues relate to an
intensification of nature and an
over-throwal of the natural order (Exod. 7)? (Fretheim,
109)
313. Can the plagues be connected sequentially
(Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 109)
314. How does a violation of the ethical order
impact the creational order
(Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 110)
315. How is the act-consequence nexus connected to
the plague cycles
(Exod. 7)? (Fretheim, 110)
316. How is the cry of the Israelites mirrored in
the cry of the Egyptians
(Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 110)
317. How does the removal of the plague elements
foreshadow the fatal
removal of the oppressors (Exod. 7)? (Fretheim, 111)
318. What roles do Pharaoh, Moses, creation, God,
the magicians and the
Egyptians
play in the narrative of the plague cycles (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim,
111)
319. Is the sin-consequence connection
mechanically described (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 111)
320. How do the judgments show a symbiosis between
the human and non-
human realms (Exod. 7)? (Fretheim, 111)
321. How do these plagues on
(Ezek. 30:13-11; 32:2-8; 38:19-23)? (Fretheim, 112)
322. What is the relationship of the plagues and
Pharaoh’s hardening of
his heart (Exod. 7:14)? (Fretheim, 113)
323. What role does the staff play in the plague
cycle (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 113)
324. How does the role of the magicians not solve
the plague problem but
only
compound it (Exod. 7)? (Fretheim, 113)
325. How does the rod to snake foreshadow the
larger picture? How is the
term translated “snake” (tannim) used elsewhere in
Scripture
(cf. Ps. 74:13; Isa 51:9; Ezk. 29:3-5)? (Fretheim, 113)
326. How does God turn the tables on the
chaos-monster (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim, 113)
327. How are the actions of God and Aaron
paralleled (7:20, 25)?
(Fretheim, 115)
328. If “all” the water was turned to blood, where
did the magicians get
their
water (Exod. 7)? What does that tell us about how the “all” is to
be
interpreted? (Fretheim, 115)
329. What role does blood play in the plague
cycles (Exod. 7)?
(Fretheim,
115)
330. How does God refute Pharaoh’s claim over the
(Fretheim, 116)
Exodus 8 Back
to top
331. What irony is seen in the magicians making
more frogs (Exod. 8)?
(Fretheim, 116)
332. Why does God accept Pharaoh’s order about
when to make the frogs
disappear
(Exod. 8)? Does that show Pharaoh’s
sovereignty or his
helplessness
and God’s control? (Fretheim, 117)
333. How do the Egyptians participate in the frog
plague (Exod. 8)?
(Fretheim, 117)
334. How is the “smiting” of the frogs a
foreshadowing of a later
“smiting” (Exod. 8)?
(Fretheim, 117)
335. In the plague of the gnats, how does the role
of the magicians change
(Exod. 8)?
(Fretheim, 119)
336. What is the significance of
(Exod. 8)?
(Fretheim, 119)
337. The separation of
to the separation of what final plague (Exod. 8)?
(Fretheim, 120)
338. What phrase is repeated
indicating a removal of the plague and
the reestablishment of the created order out of the chaos
of
the plague (Exod. 8; cf. 10:19; 14:28)? (Fretheim, 120)
Exodus 9 Back
to top
339. How is the plague of the death of the
livestock an important
step above the plagues so far (Exod. 9)? (Fretheim, 121)
340. If all the Egyptian livestock are killed why
in the later plague of hail
does
God warn the Egyptians to hide their livestock (Exod. 9)?
(Fretheim,
121)
341. How should one who is sensitized to animals
rights and ecological
concern read these passages (Exod. 9)? (Fretheim, 122)
342. Why are animals killed when Pharaoh is the
problem (Exod. 9)?
(Fretheim, 122)
343. In what aspects does human sin impact the
creation cosmically
(Exod. 9)? (Fretheim, 122)
344. What role do the magicians play in the boils
plague (Exod. 9)?
(Fretheim, 122)
345. How does Moses’ leprosy sign prefigure the
plague of boils
(Exod. 9)?
(Fretheim, 123)
346. How does the anty move upward with the hail
plague (Exod. 9)?
(Fretheim, 123) –Hint:
vegetation
347. How is the fourth “knowing Yahweh” statement
appropriately
suited for the signs from heaven plagues (Exod. 9)?
(Fretheim, 124)
348. Do the three “knowing” texts (8:22; 9:14, 30)
adequately
explain the extension and prolonging of the plague
sequence? (Fretheim, 125)
349. What does the incomparability of the hail
storm suggest
for God’s incomparability (Exod. 9)? (Fretheim, 125)
350. What role do Pharaoh’s servants play at this
point (hail)
in the narrative (Exod. 9)? (Fretheim, 125)
351. How do the servants show God’s greater
purposes are being
accomplished (Exod. 9)? (Fretheim, 125)
352. How is the hail storm’s destruction of every
plant later shown
to be a hyperbole (Exod. 9)?
(Fretheim, 126)
353. What significance after the hail does
Pharaoh’s confession
play (Exod. 9)?
(Fretheim, 126)
354. How are hail and storms used elsewhere in
Scripture in the
contexts of theophanies and judgments (Exod. 9)?
(Fretheim, 126)
Exodus 10 Back
to top
355. What does the hardening of Pharaoh’s heart at
the beginning of
the locusts cycle indicate (Exod. 10)? (Fretheim, 126)
356. What book of the Bible is about a locust
plague and how is it
described there (Exod. 10)?
(Fretheim, 126)—Hint: prophets
357. How does the description of the locusts
plague parallel the
description of such a plague elsewhere even in modern times
(Exod. 10)? (Fretheim, 126)
358. In the locust plague, what in the servants
indicates a movement
to the next level (Exod. 10)? (Fretheim, 127)
359. How is the word “all”
used to develop the locusts plague (Exod. 10)?
(Fretheim, 127)
360. How does the incomparability language occur
in the locust
plague (Exod. 10)? (Fretheim, 128)
361. How does the fate of the locust portend the
fate of the Egyptians
(Exod. 10)?
(Fretheim, 128)
362. How does the darkness language of the ninth
plague flow into
the tenth and return to the first day of creation (Exod.
10)?
(Fretheim,
129)
Exodus 11 Back
to top
363. How doest the response of the Egyptian people
show that they
understood
what was going on and who Yahweh was (Exod. 11)?
(Fretheim,
131)
364. What cry replaced
(Fretheim, 131)
365. How do the Egyptians themselves take up
Moses’ call that
Pharaoh let them go (Exod. 11)? (Fretheim, 131)
366. What role does Exod. 11:10 play in the
narrative at this
point (Exod. 11)?
(Fretheim, 132)
367. What comes between the announcement and
execution of
the final plagues (Exod. 11)? (Fretheim, 132)
Exodus 12 Back
to top
368. What role does the liturgy of the Passover
play in
continued history (Exod. 12)? (Fretheim, 135)
369. How do liturgy and history function together
in chs. 12-15?
(Fretheim, 135)
370. How would you diagram the flow from liturgy
to story and
back to liturgy in Exod. 12 [how does that same pattern
occur
in ch. 13-15]? (Fretheim, 134)
371. What role does the insertion of the Passover
material play in
the narrative (Exod. 12)?
(Fretheim, 135)
372. What function do 12:50-51 have in the
narrative? (Fretheim, 136)
373. How does the liturgical nature of this
section pull the events
beyond the normal historical flow of this narrative (Exod.
12)
(Fretheim, 136)
374. What is the significance of the recital of
Passover being set
in place before the actual event occurred in the narrative
(Exod. 12)? (Fretheim, 137)
375. What is the significance of the first
Passover being celebrated
in
376. What does the blood on the door symbolize
(Exod. 12)?
(Fretheim, 138)
377. How is story and divine act reenacted and
dramatized in
liturgy (Exod. 12)?
How is this similar to the Lord’s
supper? (Fretheim, 139)
378. How does recalling an event in liturgy allow
for community
participation (Exod. 12)?
Why is community participation
desired and what is its impact? (Fretheim, 139)
379. How does liturgy function for later
generations (Exod. 12)
(Fretheim, 139)
380. How is the Passover story of death and new
life (Exod. 12)?
(Fretheim, 140)
381. How does the death at Passover echo the
beginning chapters of
Exodus (Exod. 12)?
(Fretheim, 140)
382. In what format are Pharaoh’s last words to
Moses after the Passover
announcement (Exod. 12)? (Fretheim, 142)
383. Why did the Egyptians want the Israelites to
leave rather than call
for revenge (Exod. 12)? (Fretheim, 142)
384. What rite of belonging to the Israelite
community is a prerequisite for
partaking in the Passover (Exod. 12)? (Fretheim, 143)
385. Why does the text note that even the animals
participate in the
liberation
(Exod. 12)? (Fretheim, 143)
386. How do you understand the number of those
leaving
What options are available? (Fretheim, 144)
387. Is it legitimate to connect this population
size to the time of David and
Solomon (Exod. 12)? (Fretheim, 144)
388. Is the population size a liturgical number
(Exod. 12)? What does that
mean?
(Fretheim, 144)
389. What role does human instrumentality play in
the redemption at
Passover
(Exod. 12)? (Fretheim, 145)
Exodus 13 Back
to top
390. How is ch. 13 not a connection of memory and
hope but of memory
and
liturgical responsibility (Exod. 13)?
(Fretheim, 147)
391. God’s work on
(Exod. 14)?
(Fretheim, 147)
392. How do the rituals function for later
generations of Israelites
(Exod.
13)? (Fretheim, 147)
393. Is the function of liturgy thanks and praise
to God or something else
(Exod. 13)?
(Fretheim, 147)
394. What role do children play in the liturgies
of 12:26 and 13:8?
(Fretheim, 147)
395. How does the body become an instrument of
memory (Exod. 13)?
(Fretheim, 148)
396. What is the role of the firstborn in the
biblical context (Exod. 13)?
(Fretheim, 148)
397. How does the language of the firstborn apply
to all
(Exod. 13)?
(Fretheim, 149)
398. What reason was given for not taking the
shortest route to
(Exod. 13)? How does
that show God’s taking
condition
into his plans? (Fretheim, 150)
399. Does the human situation make a difference to
the divine plans
(Exod. 13)? Does the pillar of cloud take into account the
human
condition
when leading
400. What impact did the pillar of cloud have on
symbolize (Exod. 13)? (Fretheim, 151)
401. What is the historical background to the
taking of Joseph’s coffin
(Exod. 13) (Fretheim, 151)
Exodus 14 Back
to top
402. How do the narrative (ch. 14) and the Song
(ch. 15) of the sea
crossing function together? (Fretheim, 152)
403. Why are there two versions of the same story (ch. 14
and ch. 15)?
(Fretheim,
152)
404. Where is the “sea of reeds” that
(Fretheim,
153)
405. Is the term “sea of reeds” used of the
(Fretheim, 153)
406. How is the
(Ps. 106:7, 9, 22; 136:13-15; Neh. 9:9)? (Fretheim, 153)
407. How does God’s plan turning to the sea take
into account Pharaoh’s
strategies and capabilities (Exod. 14)? (Fretheim, 154)
408. How does the narrative focus the battle on
the conflict between
God and Pharaoh not
409. What double usage does the word kabed
(harden/glory) receive
(Exod. 14)? (Fretheim, 154)
410. How does the repeated mention of
contribute to the declaration of God’s glory (Exod.
14)?
(Fretheim,
155)
411. At the sea, how does
(Fretheim, 155)
412. How do Israelite complaints at the
statements
made earlier and also look forward to their complaints in
the
wilderness (Exod. 14)? (Fretheim, 156)
413. Do those who are oppressed actually fear
when freedom comes
(Exod.
14)? (Fretheim, 156)
414. The directions to “stand still” and “keep
silent” have what impact on
the
Israelites as Pharaoh approaches (Exod. 14)?
(Fretheim, 156)
415. Does Moses’ involvement take away from the
fact that it is God’s
deliverance (Exod. 14)?
(Fretheim, 157)
416. How do the cosmic and socio-political aspects
of salvation converge
at the salvation by the sea (Exod. 14)? (Fretheim, 157)
417. What are the implications of God being
portrayed as a warrior
(Exod.
140? Is God always against war?
(Fretheim, 157)
418. Is the imagery of God as a warrior
politically correct in today’s
discussions
of God (Exod. 14)? Why/why not? (Fretheim, 157)
419. What natural and supernatural phenomena come
into play in the
sea crossing (Exod. 14)? (Fretheim, 158)
420. What do you think of Fretheim’s statement
that “Once again liturgical
interests
and powerful storytelling skills combine to convey an
impressionistic
picture. Trying to sort it out in a
literal fashion, or
suggestion
that
to
reality, is like retouching Renoir’s paintings to make them look like
photographs.”
(Exod 14)? (Fretheim, 158)
421. How does God work His deliverance through a
human agent and
natural entities (Exod. 14)? (Fretheim, 159)
422. How does the divine, human and non-human work
together to realize
salvation (Exod. 14)? (Fretheim, 159)
423. How do the Israelites actively manifest their
faith (Exod. 14)?
(Fretheim, 159)
424. How does God use the same phenomena to render
salvation on the one
and
judgment on the other (Exod. 14)? (Fretheim, 159)
425. What expressions show that the Egyptians
realize God is God over the
whole
earth (Exod. 14)? (Fretheim, 160)
426. After
(Fretheim, 160)
Exodus 15 Back
to top
427. What do you think of Fretheim’s
statement: “the claim that “Yahweh
is a
man of war [warrior]” (15:3; RSV/NRSV) may convey an
important
truth, but its specific formulation may no longer be adequate for other times
and places.” (Fretheim, 10)
428. How is the deliverance seen in
socio-political terms? How does the
deliverance
transcend a merely socio-political deliverance? Compare
and
contrast the liberation described in Exodus with the liberation
described
in liberation theology (Fretheim, 20)
429. What are the historical and cosmic aspects of
these two songs
(Exod.
15)? (Fretheim, 161)
430. What does Miriam’s song
say about the role of women here
(Exod.
15)? (Fretheim, 161)
431. What role would this song play in the later
rituals of
(Fretheim, 162)
432. How do liturgical begin and end the section
12:1-15:21?
(Fretheim,
162)
433. What two historical events are included in
the middle of the 12:1-15:21
section? (Fretheim,
162)
434. How is the following pattern seen in chs.
1-15 and also echoed in
ch. 15: oppression/cries
of distress; God’s response in word and deed;
and
praise? (Fretheim, 162)
435. How do the historical recitals of Deut.
26:5-11; Josh. 24:3-13 compare
with Exod. 15? (Fretheim, 162)
436. How is need to lament to word/deed salvation
to thanksgiving pattern
seen in the Psalms (Exod. 15)? (Fretheim, 162)
437. How does Exod. 15 show God’s response to
human need?
(Fretheim, 163)
438. What does God experience new at the
(Fretheim, 163)
439. How does human responsiveness interact with
divine experience
(Exod. 15)? (Fretheim, 163)
440. What are 5 human responses to the divine as
seen in chs. 12-15?
(Fretheim, 163)
441. How is
generations and the world (Exod. 15)? (Fretheim, 163)
442. How is the praise of God directioned not only
to God but an
expression to others (Exod. 15)? (Fretheim, 164)
443. How is the world as a human audience to
praise (Ps. 66:16; 34:11;
40:9-10;
57:9; 18:49; 22:27; 96:1-3)? (Fretheim, 164)
444. Does praise make a difference to God (Ps.
22:3)? (Fretheim, 164)
445. What do you think of Fretheim’s statement:
“Only such an
interpretation
makes it clear what actually happened at the sea. What
happened
cannot finally be determined by the tools of historiography.
The
eyes of faith claim to see a greater depth in the event itself.” Is it
appropriate
to separate history and faith as Fretheim does here?
yes/no
(Fretheim, 165)
446. How is the divine actually portrayed in Exod.
15? (Fretheim, 166)
447. How does the
Ps. 74:13-14 (cf. 77:15ff; 114:3f)? (Fretheim, 166)
448. How is the language of
(Fretheim, 166)
449. How is God shown as guiding the chaos (Exod.
15)? (Fretheim, 166)
450. How is the language of creation connected
with the language of
redemption in Exod. 15?
(Fretheim, 167)
451. How does the text move beyond the historical
particular to a cosmic
universal (Exod. 15)? (Fretheim, 168)
452. How is Fretheim’s quote of Michael Fishbane’s
statement seen in
Exod.
15? “This is not to imply that the vents
in question lose their
concrete
historical facticity... The mythic configuration of divine
combat
and victory provide the symbolic prism for disclosing the
primordial
dynamics latent in certain historical events (like the
exodus),
and so generate the hope for their imminent recurrence.”
(Fretheim, 168)
453. How is God shown to be a divine warrior? Is such an image of God
acceptable in post-modern culture (Exod. 15)? (Fretheim,
168)
454. How does the historic victory participate in
the cosmic victory
(Exod. 15)? (Fretheim, 169)
455. How does Pharaoh’s instruments of warfare
contrast with the divine
warrior’s (Exod. 15)? (Fretheim, 169)
456. How does Martin Luther King’s comment reveal
the transcendent
nature
of the Exodus deliverance (Exod. 15)? “
in
the form of humiliating oppression, ungodly exploitation, and
crushing
domination.” (Fretheim, 169)
457. How does the desert contrast to the
deliverance at the sea
(Exod.
15-16)? (Fretheim, 171)
458. What role does the wilderness play in shaping
people (Exod. 15-16)?
(Fretheim, 171)
459. What are the perils for hope in the
wilderness (Exod. 15-16)?
(Fretheim,
172)
460. What is God’s relationship to the people in
the wilderness
(Exod.
15-16)? (Fretheim, 172)
461. How does God give gifts to His needy people
in the wilderness
(Exod.
15-16)? (Fretheim, 172)
462. How is a death filled context transformed
into life in the wilderness
(Exod. 15-16)? (Fretheim, 172)
463. How was God’s experience shaped by the
wilderness (Exod. 15-16)?
(Fretheim, 172)
464. Does the parent-child testing of one another
in adolescence parallel the
relationship of God and
so? How not? (Fretheim, 173)
465. How is the following literary cycle seen in
experience
of the wilderness (Exod. 15-16)? 1) Journey; 2)
Need/Murmuring;
3) Judgment; 4) Repentance; 5) Intercession; and 6)
Deliverance
(Fretheim, 174)
466. How do you explain the reference to the
keeping of the statutes before
they arrived at Sinai (Exod. 15:25b-26; 16:28; 18:16, 20)?
(Fretheim, 174)
467. How do you explain the references to the “testimony”
before they
arrived
at Sinai (Exod. 16:33-34; 18:7, 12, 19)? (Fretheim, 174)
468. What do the above two questions say about a
straight forward
historical
reading of the text? Are they
anachronisms?
(Fretheim,
174)
469. In the plague cycles Pharaoh was the
anti-creational force working
against
God’s cosmos. How is that scheme changed
in the wilderness
(Exod.
15-16)? (Fretheim, 175)
470. How does Moses’ staff function differently in
the wilderness than it
did in
471. How does putting the wood to sweeten the
water parallel the plague in
472. How does God show himself responsive to
Moses’ prayer and
human need (Exod. 15-16)
(Fretheim, 177)
473. How is God’s “healing” in the wilderness
mediated (Exod. 15-16)?
(Fretheim, 178)
474. How does 15:26 reveal that
to serve God? (Fretheim, 178)
475. How does obedience manifest faith (Exod. 15)?
(Fretheim, 178)
476. While God will give a body of law in the book
of the law (Exod. 20-
23)
in what other ways did God give commands (Exod. 15-17)?
(Fretheim,
179)
477. How is God seen as a “healer” in Scripture
and here in Exodus
(Exod. 15)? (Fretheim, 180)
478. How does the connection between the moral
order and the comic order
function in these narratives (Exod. 15-16)? (Fretheim, 180)
Exodus 16 Back
to top
479. How
does a crisis of food precipitate a crisis of faith (Exod. 16)?
Do circumstances impact belief? (Fretheim, 181)
480. How does selective memory impact faith (Exod.
16)? (Fretheim, 181)
481. How does Ps. 78:24, 27 compare with the
historical account in
Exod. 16? (Fretheim, 181)
482. Was the manna an extra ordinary miraculous
provision or a natural
one (contra Fretheim)(Exod. 16)? (Fretheim, 182)
483. Fretheim said the manna corresponds quite
closely to a natural
phenomenon
in the Sinai Pennisula. Does that fit
the text and does it
fit
the realities of the Sinai desert (Exod. 16)?
Is manna from the
tamarisk
tree? How much does the tamarisk tree excrete daily?
(Fretheim,
182)
484. How does the specialness of the sabbath break
with Fretheim’s
contention that manna is a natural phenomena (Exod. 16)?
When dealing with God are miracles a possibility?
(Fretheim, 182)
485. What is the identified purpose of giving
(Fretheim, 183)
486. How are natural well being and spiritual well
being connected
(Exod. 16)? (Fretheim, 183)
487. Is the point of the manna God working in the
“every day” natural
things to provide or God’s special care for his people in a
very
special way in their time of special need (Exod. 16)?
(Fretheim, 183)
488. What is the meaning of the word “manna”
(Exod. 16)?
(Fretheim, 184)
489. What role does feeding play in the NT and in
the Lord’s supper
(Exod. 16)?
(Fretheim, 184)
490. What is the significance of God’s testing
16)? How did that test them (Cf. Deut. 8:2f)? (Fretheim,
184)
491. How is the notion of the Sabbath rest
experienced in Exodus (20:8f;
31:12fg;
34:21; 35:2f, chapter 16)? (Fretheim,
185)
492. How does the Sabbath connect
(Exod.
16)? (Fretheim, 185)
493. What statement does the inclusion of slaves
in the Sabbath make
(Exod. 16)? (Fretheim, 186)
494. What spiritual discipline does gathering just
the manna needed for
that day teach (Exod. 16)?
How does that connect with the Lord’s
prayer (Mat. 6)?
(Fretheim, 186)
Exodus 17 Back
to top
495. How are divine leading and human complaining
connected (Exod. 17)?
(Fretheim, 187)
496. How are complaint and disobedience coupled in
the wilderness
(Exod. 17)?
(Fretheim, 188)
497. How does Massah appear elsewhere in Scripture
(cf. Deut 6:16; Ps.
78:18, 41, 56; 81:7; 95:9)? (Fretheim, 189)
498. What does it mean to test God (Exod. 17)? How
does that play out in
the temptation of Jesus? (Fretheim, 189)
499. Why is testing God such a violation of the
relationship and
character of God (Exod. 17)? (Fretheim, 189)
500. How is the striking of the rock like the
turning of the
(Exod. 17)?
(Fretheim, 190)
501. How does God’s creative acts impact the
wilderness
(Exod. 17)?
(Fretheim, 190)
502. Should the provision of water and food in the
wilderness
be seen as acts of uncreation overcoming the chaos
of the wilderness (Exod. 17)? (Fretheim, 191)
503. What was Amalek’s relationship to
(cf. Jer. 18:7f; Deut. 25:17f)? (Fretheim, 192)
504. What memory of the Amalikites is codified in
Scripture
(Exod. 17)?
(Fretheim, 192)
505. What ties the two stories of Exod. 17
together?
(Fretheim, 192)
506. How does the staff of God function in the
Exodus
narrative (Exod. 17)?
(Fretheim, 192)
Exodus 18 Back
to top
507. How did the Midianites contrast with the
Amalekites
in their relationship with
508. What significance did the visit of Jethro
have for Moses
(Exod. 18)?
(Fretheim, 195)
509. What is Jethro’s role in the Mosaic narrative
(Exod. 18)?
(Fretheim, 195)
510. Does 18:12 refer to a traveling sanctuary
(Exod. 16:34)?
(Fretheim, 196)
511. How does Jethro’s confessing parallel other
confessions
(Deut. 26:5f; Josh. 24:2-13)? (Fretheim, 196)
512. How does Jethro’s confession show the
openness of the
Israelite religious community (Exod. 18)? (Fretheim, 196)
513. Did other peoples at the time know Yahweh
(Exod. 18)?
(Fretheim, 196)
514. How does Moses’ declaration to Jethro set a
model of
witnessing the mighty acts of God (Exod. 18)?
(Fretheim, 197)
515. How does Moses’ ineptness in administration
show his
development as a leader (Exod. 18)? (Fretheim, 198)
516. Did God’s calling instantly give Moses the
gifts needed to fulfill
his calling (Exod. 18)?
(Fretheim, 198)
517. How does ch. 18 illustrate how the social
structure of the
new
nation took shape? (Fretheim, 198)
518. Why was justice one of the first things
established in the
movement from an oppressed people to a redeemed
nation (Exod. 18)?
(Fretheim, 199)
519. When is delegation necessary (Exod. 18)?
(Fretheim, 199)
When is delegation a problem?
520. How is the justice system decentralized
(Exod. 18)?
Why is that decentralization important? (Fretheim, 199)
521. Was this judicial structure in
revelation (Exod. 18)?
What are the implications of this?
(Fretheim, 200)
Exodus 19 Back
to top
522. Were the law and narrative sections composed
separately and later
combined (Exod. 19-24)?
(Fretheim, 201)
523. What is the significance that the law is
situated in a
narrative setting (Exod. 19-24)? (Fretheim, 201)
524. What is the origin of Israelite law and how
does that differ
from Hammurabi, Ur-Nammu and Lipit-Ishtar law
codes (Exod. 19-24, cf. ANET)? (Fretheim, 201)
525. How does the narrative framework of the law
show the law is
viewed as a gift not a burden (Exod. 19-24)? (Fretheim,
203)
526. How does the narrative keep the personal
character of the law
as a focus (Exod. 19-24)? (Fretheim, 203)
527. How are rituals and people also imbedded in
narrative
(Exod. 19-24)?
(Fretheim, 203)
528. How does the story of
expression of the law (Exod. 19-24)? (Fretheim, 204)
529. Does creation theology prevail in Exodus or
is some other
“theology” better able to disclose the core of the theology
of Exodus (Exod. 19-24)? (Fretheim, 204)
530. How does the law show the symbiotic
relationship between
the cosmic order and social order (Exod. 19-24)[on earth
as it is in heaven]? (Fretheim, 204)
531. How is the shape of the
law modeled on the shape of the
narrative action of God (Exod. 19-24)? (Fretheim, 205)
532. How is the motivation underlying the law
manifest and drawn
out of the narrative sections (Exod. 19-24)? (Fretheim, 205)
533. How does the narrative show that law must not
be abstracted
or isolated from life (Exod. 19-24)? (Fretheim, 205)
534. How are the specifics of the narrative
related to the specifics
of the law (Exod. 19-24)?
(Fretheim, 206)
535. How is the law woven into the fabric of life
(Exod. 19-24)?
(Fretheim, 206)
536. In what senses is the law not immutable and
in what senses is
it timebound, linked into the contingencies, complexities
and
ambiguities of life (Exod. 19-24)? (Fretheim, 206)
537. How does the law provide a compass for
wanderers more than
an anchor (Exod. 19-24)? (Fretheim, 206)
538. How does the linking of law and narrative
render current
obedience a witness to God’s mighty acts (Exod. 19-24)?
(Fretheim, 207)
539. How does the word “torah” link law and
narrative (Exod. 19-24)?
(Fretheim, 207)
540. How do the stories of the biblical narrative
shape life (Exod. 19-24)?
(Fretheim, 207)
541. What elements of
people” take place before their arrival at Sinai (Exod.
19)?
(Fretheim, 208)
542. What function does the divine epithet “God of
Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob” have in the election of
(Fretheim, 208)
543. What role does worship play in Exodus (Exod.
19)?
(Fretheim, 209)
544. How does the Sinaitic covenant relate to the
Mosaic covenant
(Exod. 19)? (Fretheim, 209)
545. What is the point of contact between the
image of a mother eagle
and God (Exod. 19)?
(Fretheim, 209) How exactly is
God like
a mother eagle?
546. Where else in Scripture is the eagle image
employed (Exod. 19; cf.
Psalms)?
What is its connotation in those contexts? (Fretheim, 209)
547. How does
of the law at Sinai (Exod. 19)? (Fretheim, 211)
548. When was the language of “obeying God’s
voice” used in the
Abrahamic
narrative (Exod. 19; Gen. 22:18; 26:5)? (Fretheim, 211)
549. How does
550. How does 19:8 demonstrate a confidence in God
and open
to future commitment to divine revelation? (Fretheim, 212)
551. What are the implications of
(Exod. 19)? (Fretheim, 212)
552. Is
clericalism”
as Fretheim avers (Exod. 19)? (Fretheim, 212)
553. Is the convenant conditional (if)? What is the nature of that
conditionality
(Exod. 19)? (Fretheim, 213)
554. Is
great redemptive program for the world (Exod. 19)?
(Fretheim, 213)
555. Is genetic descent or
their being considered a priesthood (Exod. 19)? (Fretheim,
213)
556. How does 1 Pet. 2:9 relate to Exod. 19:1-8?
(Fretheim, 214)
557. How is the revelation at Sinai a unique
experience for
(Exod.
19)? (Fretheim, 214)
558. What role does Moses play in the giving of
the law narrative
(Exod.
19)? (Fretheim, 215)
559. How does the narrative support Moses’ role in
(Fretheim, 215)
560. How does the theophany focus
law (Exod. 19)? (Fretheim, 216)
561. How does Moses play on the word “fear” (Exod.
19)? Is fright or
reverence the point? (Fretheim, 216)
562. How is the “fear of God”
related to obedience (Exod. 19)?
(Fretheim,
216)
563. What role does
concept
of boundaries (Exod. 19)? (Fretheim, 217)
564. How does the narrative (19:9-20:21) focus on
the first commandment
and unique loyalty to God? (Fretheim, 219)
565. Do both parties need to learn what it is to
be faithful in relationship
(Exod. 19)? How
would faithfulness in a marriage relationship be
different than a divine relationship? (Fretheim, 219)
566. How is 19:20-25 an interlude? (Fretheim, 219)
567. What in Exod. 19 indicates the entering of
the divine presence and
the
importance of boundaries?
(Fretheim, 220)
Exodus 20 Back
to top
568. How does Exod. 20 match up with other
decalogue-like structures in
the Old Testament (Exod. 34:17-26; Deut. 27:15-26; Lev. 19;
Deut.
5:6-21)?
(Fretheim, 220)
569. How do Deut. 5 and Exodus 20 versions of the
ten commandments
compare and contrast? (Fretheim, 220)
570. How do the positive and negative formulations
of the ten words relate
(Exod. 20)? (Fretheim, 221)
571. How can the negative commands be read in a
positive manner
(Exod.
20)? (Fretheim, 221)
572. What commands would we add to the ten today
(Exod. 20)? What
would that reflect about our culture and theirs? (Fretheim,
222)
573. How do the ten words relate to enforcement
and negative
reinforcement
strategies (Exod. 20)? (Fretheim, 222)
574. How are the ten words explicitly linked back
to the creation providing
guides
to guarantee things and not a return to a moral chaos
(Exod.
20)? (Fretheim, 222)
575. How do the ten words relate to the
commandments of love (Exod. 20)?
(Fretheim, 223)
576. How does God relate the ten words in a
different way than many of the
other laws of
577. How is obedience relationally conceived in
the first commandment
(Exod. 20)? (Fretheim, 224)
578. How do the ten commands connect with the
previous and following
historical narratives (Exod. 20)? (Fretheim, 224)
579. How are Exod. 20:3 and Deut. 6:5
compared? (Fretheim, 224)
580. How can Exod. 20:3 be stated in a positive
manner? (Fretheim, 224)
581. Does the way Exod. 20:3 allow for henotheism?
(Fretheim, 224)
582. How were images used in other cultures that
surrounded
(Exod. 20)?
(Fretheim, 225)
583. How does this command relate to the golden
calf incident (Exod. 20;
cf. Exod. 32-33)?
(Fretheim, 225)
584. What is the problem with images (Exod.
20)? Is there a difference
between the images of Exod. 20 and the icons used in some
churches?
(Fretheim, 225)
585. Is the command against idols to protect God’s
transcendence or his
relatedness,
as Fretheim suggests (Exod. 20; cf Jer. 10:4-5; Ps.
115:5ff)?
(Fretheim, 226)
586. Is Exod. 34:6-7 to be seen as a revision of
Exod. 20:3f showing that
this
command should not be appropriated into a modern context and
that
God himself is an “experimental theologian”? (Fretheim, 227)
587. What is the significance of the divine name (Exod.
6:3; 3:14; 34:6-7)?
(Fretheim, 228)
588. How is God’s name used in the prayers and
praxis of
(Exod.
20)? (Fretheim, 228)
589. How is the Sabbath a sanctuary of time (Exod.
20:8ff)?
(Fretheim,
229)
590. How is “remembering” conceived of in the Old
Testament
(Exod.
20:8-11)? Is it simply a mental act?
(Fretheim, 229)
591. Fretheim states: “God’s resting is a divine act that builds
into the
very created order of things a working/resting rhythm. Only when
that rhythm is honored by all is the creation what God
intended it
to be.” Do you agree
or disagree and why? Which would the New
Testament support? (Fretheim, 230)
600. What does the Sabbath teach about the
relationship between human
obedience and the cosmic order (Exod. 20)? (Fretheim, 230)
601. Does the fact that the commandment says
“father and mother” are to be
honored prove legal egalitarianism (Exod. 20)? (Fretheim,
231)
602. What are the components of honoring one’s
parents (Exod. 20)?
(Fretheim, 231)
603. How does the commandment to honor one’s
parents address issues
of adult children with aging parents (Exod. 20)? (Fretheim,
231)
604. Is the statement “that your days may be long”
a promise, a warning,
or a pointer to the basic moral order where act-consequence
is
welded together (Exod. 20)? (Fretheim, 231)
605. How does the commandment not to murder apply
to war, capital
punishment,
suicide, euthanasia, self-defense and abortion (Exod.
20)? (Fretheim, 231)
606. Did
607. When is adultery used as an image of
disloyalty to Yahweh (Exod.
20; cf. Isa. 57:1-13; Ezek. 23:36ff; Hos. 1-3)? (Fretheim,
234)
608. How do modern issues like rape, sexual
harassment and pornography
relate to the command on adultery (Exod. 20)? How did Jesus
interpret it (Mat. 5)? (Fretheim, 235)
609. How does theft relate to God’s directions for
humankind to work
(Exod. 20)? (Fretheim, 236)
Does this commandment relate to
checking
out of work early?
610. What is the positive aspect of the
commandment not to steal
(Exod.
20)? (Fretheim, 236)
611. How do theft and affluence in the face of
poverty relate (Exod. 20)?
Is paying inadequate wages a form of theft? (Fretheim, 236)
612. Does the command about lying apply to
slanderous talk (Exod. 20)?
(Fretheim, 237) How
could the commandment against lying be stated
in the positive?
613. In what part of Scripture is truth telling
and speech a major theme
(Exod. 20; James, Proverbs)? (Fretheim, 237)
614. What gender orientation is reflected in the
commandment not to covet
(Exod. 20)? (Fretheim, 237)
615. How does the command against coveting show
the commands
transcend actions dealing also with motives and intentions
of
the heart (Exod. 20)? (Fretheim, 238)
616. How does Jesus reflect on the commandments
(cf. Mat. 5)?
(Fretheim, 238)
617. How is our age characterized by covetousness
(Exod. 20)?
(Fretheim, 238) Is
covetousness a necessary cornerstone of
capitalism?
618. What are examples of case laws, apodictic
declarations, divine
exhortation
and promises recorded in the book of the covenant (Exod.
20-23)? (Fretheim, 239)
619. What are a couple of examples of case laws
with legal sanctions
(Exod. 21-23)? (Fretheim, 240)
620. What are some examples of apodictic laws with
motivations
(Exod.
21-23)? (Fretheim, 240)
621. How are the rights of the weak in society
safeguarded in the law
(Exod. 21-23)? (Fretheim, 241)
622. How does the village context show itself in
the book of the
covenant (Exod. 21-23)? (Fretheim, 241)
623. How is
(Exod. 21-23)?
(Fretheim, 242)
624. What is similar about how the book of the
covenant begins and ends
(Exod. 20:3-6; 23:32f)? (Fretheim, 242)
625. How do issues of loyalty and disloyalty come
up in the book of the
covenant (Exod. 20-23)?
(Fretheim, 243)
626. How does Exod. 20:24-26 which seems to allow
for multiple altars
contrast with Deut. 12? (Fretheim, 243)
Exodus 21-23 Back
to top
627. In what ways is Yahweh specifically referred
to in the Book of the
Covenant (Exod. 20-23)? (Fretheim, 244)
628. How does the Book of the Covenant show God’s
ongoing involvement
with
629. How are the judicial matters of justice
connected with religious matters
(Exod. 21)?
(Fretheim, 245)
630. How does
the Covenant (Exod. 20-23)? (Fretheim, 246)
631. How does the Book of the Covenant show
concern for the oppressed
and judgment for the oppressors (Exod. 20-23)? (Fretheim, 246)
632. How is
633. What kinds of things are used as motives in
the Book of the
Covenant (Exod. 21)? (Fretheim, 247)
634. Is the lending money law only illustrative or
does it extend to every
sphere of injustice and oppression (Exod. 21)? (Fretheim,
248)
635. How is Fretheim right in saying “one is
invited by the law to go
beyond
the law” (Exod. 21)? (Fretheim, 248)
636. What are the modern areas these laws
concerning the poor would
apply (Exod. 21)? (Fretheim, 249)
637. How does the reference
to the enemy fit with Jesus’ statements in the
New Testament (Exod. 21)? (Fretheim, 249)
638. How much of the law is concerned with social
justice (cf. slavery)
(Exod.
21)? (Fretheim, 249)
639. Is the statement “the slave is his
money...strikingly inadequate” as
Fretheim states (Exod. 21:21)? What are other ways of looking at
this?
(Fretheim, 249)
640. How has the “eye for eye” law (lex talionis)
been misused? What is
its original intent (Exod. 21)? (Fretheim, 250)
641. How are property damage and restitution
connected (Exod. 21)?
(Fretheim, 250)
642. How much of the law is about non-religious
matters (Exod. 21)?
What is the implication of that? (Fretheim, 250)
643. How is concern for the poor worked into the
ritual calendar (Exod. 21)
(Fretheim, 251)
644. How is the care of animals
reflected in the laws of
(Fretheim, 251)
645. What message does the consecration of the
firstborn and the firstfruits
send to
646. How do Israel’s laws show that there was no
separation of secular and
sacred
in
Exodus 22-23 Back
to top
647. How are divine promises of loyalty of God to
the keeping of the law (Exod. 23)? (Fretheim, 252)
648. To what do “terrors” and “hornets” refer
(Exod. 23:20ff)?
(Fretheim, 253)
649. How is the “messenger” associated with God
himself (Exod. 23)?
(Fretheim, 253)
650. How does 23:23f fit with exclusiveness and
lack of tolerance in
(Fretheim, 253)
651. How are the divine promises conditional based
on
obedience (Exod. 23)? (Fretheim, 254)
652. How does God’s grace manifest itself in the
law (Exod. 23)?
(Fretheim, 254)
Exodus 24 Back
to top
653. What is the relationship of Exod. 24 to the
preceding and following
chapters? (Fretheim, 255)
654. What was
(Fretheim, 255)
655. What themes does the blood sprinkling and
fellowship meal
highlight (Exod. 24)?
(Fretheim, 255)
656. Should our understanding of the Sinai
covenant be cast into the
international political treaties of the suzerainty type as
a background
for understanding them (Exod. 24)? (Fretheim, 256)
657. In what sense is Exod. 24:8 a performative
speech-act? (Fretheim, 256)
658. What does the covenant form at Sinai embody
(Exod. 24)? God’s
________
(Fretheim, 257)
659. What two commatments does the covenant
relationship signify
(Exod. 24)? (Fretheim, 257)
660. How does Exod. 24:3-8 function as a rite?
(Fretheim, 258)
661. How does blood function in this ritual and in
the ordination of Aaron
(Exod. 24; cf. 29:19-21)? (Fretheim, 258)
662. How does the ritual of Exodus 24:3-8 function for
both atonement and
commissioning
to a task? (Fretheim, 259)
663. What role did the fellowship meal have in the
covenant ratification
ceremony (Exod. 24)? (Fretheim, 259)
664. How does the communal meal symbolize God’s
real presence with
665. How does Exod. 24:2ff. tie the law to
worship? (Fretheim, 260)
666. What is the relationship of obedience to
worship (Exod. 24)?
(Fretheim, 260)
667. What role does Moses play in this chapter
(Exod. 24)? (Fretheim, 261)
Exodus 25-31 Back
to top
668. Why is the tabernacle described twice in
Exodus (Exod. 25-31;
35-40)? (Fretheim, 263)
669. How important was the plan of worship in
Exodus (Exod. 25)?
(Fretheim, 263)
670. What shifts in divine presence are signaled
by the description
of the tabernacle (Exod. 25)? (Fretheim, 264)
671. What implication does all the detail on the
tabernacle have for
obedience (Exod. 25)? (Fretheim, 265)
672. If the tabernacle
description was written after the Babylonian
exile (586 BC), why would there be such great detail (Exod.
25)?
(Fretheim, 265)
673. How does the
allegorical/symbolic approach to the tabernacle interpret
the details of the tabernacle (Exod. 25)? Do you see Christ in
the tabernacle? (Fretheim, 265)
674. How should we read the tabernacle accounts as
history, as history of
tradition, and/or as a literary phenomena (Exod. 25)?
(Fretheim, 266)
675. How are the tabernacle and the first temple
related (Exod 25)?
(Fretheim, 266)
676. How are other ancient temple projects
described in antiquity
(Exod.
25)? (Fretheim, 266)
677. How are the building of the golden calf and
the tabernacle
compared in the text (Exod. 25-31; 32-34)? (Fretheim, 267)
678. Does the text relate the building of the
tabernacle to idolatry
(Exod. 25)? (Fretheim, 267)
679. Fretheim compares the tabernacle and Noah’s
ark attempting to link
the Exodus narrative back into creation. How would you evaluate
his alleged connection (Exod. 25)? (Fretheim, 268)
680. Is the tabernacle portrayed at the ordered
world in creation created by
God where He would dwell as opposed to the chaos (Exod. 25;
Gen.
1-3)? (Fretheim, 269)
681. Fretheim states: “Genesis 1 is a hymn to the
Creator, the tabernacle
becomes
the liturgical context for that hymnic activity...” Do you
agree
or disagree and why? (Fretheim, 270)
682. Is the tabernacle better situation in the
context of redemption or
creation
(Exod. 25)? (Fretheim, 270)
683. What role does the mention of Sabbath
observance play in this
narrative (Exod.l 31:17; 35:2f)? (Fretheim, 270)
684. What role does the visual play in the
construction of the tabernacle
and the worship of
685. Is the tabernacle the world order as God
intended it in a microcosmic
incarnation (Exod. 25ff)? (Fretheim, 271
686. How is the spatial shift for God dwelling on
a mountain to a
tabernacle significant (Exod. 25ff)? (Fretheim, 272)
687. How is the hallowing of space as well as time
given prominence
in
688. How does the functioning order spatially
relate to the worship of
God (Exod. 25ff)?
(Fretheim, 273)
689. How does the sanctuary provide tangible
evidence of God’s presence
(Exod. 25ff)? (Fretheim, 273)
690. What desire in God does the tabernacle
manifest (Exod. 25)?
(Fretheim, 274)
691. Is calling the tabernacle a “portable Sinai”
valid (Exod. 25ff)?
(Fretheim, 274)
692. How does tabernacle language make its way
into the temple
(Ps. 26:8; 43:3; 46:4; 74:7; 84:1 and into the New
Testament)?
(Fretheim, 274)
693. What does God’s joining them in the
wilderness show of God’s
character and commitments (Exod. 25ff)? (Fretheim, 275)
694. What is the significance of physically
locating the tabernacle
in the center of the Israelite tribes (Exod. 25-31)?
(Fretheim, 275)
695. If God is omnipresent, what is the
significance and purpose
behind His dwelling in the tabernacle (Exod. 25-31)?
How is God both near and far? (Fretheim, 276)
696. What is the relationship of God’s presence in
a particular
place
and His omnipresence (Exod. 25-31)?
(Fretheim, 276)
697. What was the role of the priest in relation
to the tabernacle
and divine presence (Exod. 25-31)? (Fretheim, 276)
698. What are the
implications of the statement that the law provides
an ethical shape and the tabernacle a liturgical shape for
Exodus 32 Back
to top
699. How does Exodus 32 compare with Gen. 3?
(Fretheim, 279)
700. How can Exod. 32 and I Kgs 12:25ff be
paralleled?
(Fretheim, 279)
701. How is the role of intercession shown to be
necessary for the
preservation of community (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 280)
702. How is the building of the golden calf
contrasted with the
building of the tabernacle (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 280)
703. Is the violation in Exod. 32 seen as a
violation of law or
a violation of loyalty and relationship (Exod. 32)?
(Fretheim, 281)
704. How does Exod. 32 point to leadership
problems?
(Fretheim, 281)
705. Who is said to “go before”
What does that suggest about the calf’s function?
(Fretheim, 281)
706. Is the calf an image of God or God’s
messenger like the
pillar of cloud (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 281)
707. What advantages are there in making the
divine messenger
concrete (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 281)
708. What indications are there in the text that
Yahweh is not
being set aside in the golden calf incident (Exod. 32)?
(Fretheim, 282)
709. How is the confusion of God and the messenger
not an
uncommon present day problem (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 282)
710. Is God portrayed as being “one searching for
the appropriate
response always in consultation with Moses” as Fretheim
states (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 283)
711. What are the facets of
God’s response over the golden calf
incident (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 283)
712. What does God ask to be left alone after the
golden calf
incident (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 283)
713. Is it true that “God here recognizes the
relationship with
Moses over having an absolutely free decision in this
matter” (Exod. 32) (Fretheim, 284)
714. Was God actually sharing with Moses his
thoughts after
the golden calf or just testing Moses (Exod. 32)?
How does each of these approaches change the way the text
is read?
(Fretheim,
284)
715. How did Moses not “leave God alone” (Exod.
32)?
(Fretheim, 285)
716. How is Moses’ response like the lament Psalms
(cf. Ps. 13;
Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 285)
717. What are the arguments Moses offers to God to
dissuade him
from destroying the Israelites (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 285)
718. How do Exod. 32 and Num. 14 compare as far as
how Moses
“argues” with God? (Fretheim, 285)
719. How does God show that He takes His
relationship with Moses
seriously (Exod. 32)?
(Fretheim, 286)
720. What does it mean for God to “repent” of the
disaster He was
going to bring on His people
721. What impact does the text indicate Moses’
intercession have
on God (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 286)
722. Did Moses’ conversations with God change the
direction of
the future (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 287)
723. Can God change? What aspects of God are unchangeable and
which are changeable (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 287)
724. How does Moses’ response to the calf compare
and contrast
with God’s (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 287)
725. How does the calf incident show the
responsibility of leaders
(Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 288)
726. What does the people’s silence show in light
of Moses’
response (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 289)
727. How does the Levite’s reaction warn us who
live in a
society where tolerance has become all ten commandments
rolled into one (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 289)
728. How does Moses assume the ultimate
responsibility as a leader in
his prayer to God (Exod. 32)? (Fretheim, 290)
729. Does Moses’ intercession fail (Exod. 32)?
(Fretheim, 291)
730. Is God’s punishment that
(Exod.
32:33; 33:16)? (Fretheim, 291)
731. Does Exod. 32:30-33 suggest that there are
possibilities for God?
(Fretheim, 291)
732. Is God represented here as Fretheim suggests:
“God is here represented
as one who is sorting out possibilities with Moses” (Exod.
32)?
(Fretheim,
291)
734. How does God enter into genuine dialogue in
this narrative
(Exod.
32)? (Fretheim, 291)
735. Is Moses partially responsible for shaping
the future of
(Exod.
32)? (Fretheim, 292)
Exodus 33 Back
to top
736. What is the significance of Moses’ being
labeled as the one who
brought
them out of
737. What does Moses’ statement that God will not
go up among them
mean (Exod. 33)?
(Fretheim, 293)
738. What are the different types of God’s
presences (Exod. 33)?
(Fretheim, 293)
739. How has what the people have done in building
a calf and not the
tabernacle impacted their relationship with God (Exod. 33)?
(Fretheim,
293)
740. How is the tabernacle a shift positionally from
(Exod. 33)? Does the
tabernacle become a portable
(Fretheim, 294)
741. How does Exod. 33:7-11 stall the narrative
and continue the
uncertainty of what God will do? (Fretheim, 295)
742. How is Exod. 33:7-11 a striking contrast to
Exod. 32?
(Fretheim, 296)
743. How is Moses’ role and relationship with God
portrayed (Exod. 33)?
(Fretheim, 296)
744. How do God and Moses interact in Exod.
33:12-17? (Fretheim, 296)
745. What is the significance of Moses calling
his discussion with God (Exod. 33)? (Fretheim, 298)
746. How is God responsive to Moses and his
requests (Exod. 33)?
(Fretheim, 298)
747. How does Moses’ request to see God’s glory
fit into the context
(Exod. 33:18-23)?
(Fretheim, 299)
748. How does God redirect Moses’ request to see
His glory
(Exod.
33:18ff)? (Fretheim, 299)
749. How does Moses both see and hear God’s glory
(Exod. 33)?
(Fretheim, 300)
750. How is one to understand theophanies and
divine appearances
that describe God in human form? Are the mere anthropomorphisms (Exod.
33)?
(Fretheim, 300)
751. What role does sight/sound play in the
revelation of God (Exod. 33)?
(Fretheim, 300)
752. How does God respond to Moses’ request to see
God (Exod. 33)?
(Fretheim,
300)
753. Does the ambiguity of God’s presence function
in a faith context for
humans (Exod. 33)? (Fretheim, 301)
754. What is the importance of mystery in the
presence of God (Exod. 33)?
(Fretheim, 301)
Exodus 34 Back
to top
755. How does God reveal himself after apostasy
(Exod. 34)?
(Fretheim, 301)
756. When and in what contexts does the
confessional statement in
Exod. 34:6-7 reappear in the Old Testament (cf. Num. 14:18;
Ps. 103:8, 17; 145:8; Jer. 32:18f)? (Fretheim, 302)
757. What is the function of the confessional
statement (Exod. 34:6-7)
in this context? (Fretheim, 302)
758. How does wrath relate to the nature of God
(Exod. 34)?
(Fretheim, 302)
759. What conditional phrases are omitted in the
Exod. 6-7 confession?
(Fretheim, 302)
760. What is Moses’ response to God’s
self-revelation (Exod. 34)?
(Fretheim, 303)
761. What changes in the divine relationship to
apparent in God’s self-proclamation (Exod. 34)? (Fretheim,
303)
762. How do the references to
self-proclamation (Exod. 34)? (Fretheim, 304)
763. What does
God’s self-proclamation fit
764. Is repentance a prerequisite in this
narrative for forgiveness
(Exod.
34)? (Fretheim, 304)
765. How is Exod. 34 unlike Gen. 6:8 in God’s
relationship to sin?
(Fretheim, 305)
766. What role will divine forgiveness have for
the community of faith
(Exod. 34)? (Fretheim, 305)
767. Who initiates the process of divine
forgiveness (Exod. 34)?
(Fretheim, 306)
768. How did Exod. 34:6-7 and Jonah 4:2 compare?
(Fretheim, 306)
769. Why is divine mercy not
built into the relationship with
the beginning (Exod. 23:21; 20:5-6; 20:20)? (Fretheim, 306)
770. What is the difference between indulgence and
forgiveness (Exod. 34)?
(Fretheim, 306)
771. When is grace and mercy most clearly seen and
appreciated
(Exod.
34)? (Fretheim, 307)
772. Is divine grace predictable and inevitable
(Exod. 34)? (Fretheim, 307)
773. How is Exod. 34 indicative of a new
covenant? (Fretheim, 308)
774. How does Exod. 34 covenant differ from chs.
19-24 in terms of the
conditions and foundations? (Fretheim, 308)
775. In Exod. 34:11-26 what verses provide an
inclusio to this section
(11, 24)? What is
the significance of this? (Fretheim, 309)
776. How are the conditional elements (23:21-22)
found in Exod. 34?
(Fretheim, 309)
777. What does God’s jealousy manifest in Him and
how is it manifest
(Exod. 34)? (Fretheim, 310)
778. How is
(Exod. 34:; 24:27f)? (Fretheim, 310)
779. How does Michael Angelo’s “Moses” with
“horns” derive from this
passage (Exod. 34)? (Fretheim, 310)
780. What is the significance of Moses’ shining
face (Exod. 34)?
(Fretheim, 311)
781. How do you fit together that Moses speaks to
God face to face
(33:11) but yet elsewhere God’s face cannot be seen (Exod.
33:20, 23; cf. Exod. 34)? (Fretheim, 311)
782. How does Moses’ shining face anticipate the
filling of the tabernacle
with glory (Exod. 34)? (Fretheim, 312)
Exodus 35-40 Back
to top
783. What is the relation of Exod. 25-31 with
Exod. 35-40?
(Fretheim, 313)
784. How is the theme of obedience developed in
Exod. 35-40?
(Fretheim, 313)
785. How does the act of worship (giving) precede
the acts of obedience
in building the tabernacle (Exod. 35f)? (Fretheim, 314)
786. Is the focus on the completed tabernacle as
an object of beauty or
on the process of its being built (Exod. 35ff)? What is the
significance
of
this? (Fretheim, 314)
787. How is the tabernacle the vehicle of divine
immanence while still
maintaining his transcendence (Exod. 35ff)? (Fretheim, 315)
788. How is the tabernacle idea developed in the
New Testament (John
1:14ff;
789. What does the tabernacle symbolize about
God’s presence with
(Fretheim, 316)?