Davide's Notes

Yesterday I took the Intertestamental Studies exam, and I hope to have done resonably well.

There are a number of things in the program I would have liked to cover more in depth: for example, 1 Enoch, Jubilees, 4 Ezra and Pirke Aboth. The Testament of the XII Patriarchs also needs attention.

All in all, it is an extremely interesting course; only, I found it quite difficult to cover all the examination questions in a decent way in the limited time allowed. One needs to stay clear of most complex and thorny issues and limit himself to general introductions. This is also why I did not choose any of the broad-scope questions (like: talk about the evolution of the concepts of resurrection/afterlife in the light of the set texts).

These are questions I answered:

• Comment on:
  • Dan 7 (the Son of Man passage)
  • 1 Mac 1:20ff (the spoiling of the Temple by Antiochus IV)
  • 1QapGen (wasf passage on the beauty of Sarah)
• Is temple propaganda an apt characterization of 2 Mac?
• Describe the organization of the Qumran community with reference to 1QS
• Write a critical introduction to one of the set texts (I chose Sir)