RL 299SA, The Faith(s) of Abraham:
Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Review for Judaism Examation
last update: 11 February 1999

This examination will be designed to test the student's achievement of the following course objectives:
1. identify founders and give dates of origin for Judaism
2. give dates for the significant events in the development of Judaism
3. define the key terms relating to Judaism
4. summarize and sympathetically discuss the key religious themes/doctrines and characteristics of the Torah
5. delineate the ethnic, geographic and cultural contexts of Judaism
6. discuss the key political and ethical positions of Judaism

With that in mind, the following are some specifics about what you might expect to find on the examination.
 


1. Be able to match definitions with the following terms:

A.D. B.C. B.C.E. Bible
C.E. Canon circumcision covenant
creation election emet Exile
Exodus hesed Kethub'im mitzvot
Nebi'im Prophet revelation Scriptures
synagogue Tanakh Temple theocracy
Torah tsaddiq tsedakah tzitzit
yetzer ha-ra yetzer ha-tov Zion Zionism

2. Be able to identify the following (and give dates for extra credit):

Abraham Assyria Babylonia
Cyrus David Deborah
Esther Hagar Herod the Great
Isaac Ishmael Israel
Jacob Jewish-Roman War Joseph
Joshua Judah Judith
Moses P Rameses II
Samuel Sarah Solomon

3. Be able to locate the following regions on a map:

Egypt Greece Mesopotamia Palestine Syria

4. Be able to put the following events in chronological order:


5. recognize the Hebrew names for the central rituals of Judaism,
both rites of passage and calendar rituals,
and know what these observances involve

e.g., Hanukkah, Passover (Pesach), Purim, Rosh Hashanah, Sukkoth, Yom Kippur
circumcision (bris), bar or bat mitzvah


6. Be able to answer pertinent discussion questions in the text.

 

7. Essay (worth half the test points)