I Sat the OT3 Theology Exam, and I Survived

It's true. I'm alive.

Immediately before every Old Testament exam I am absolutely convinced that--if I were the one setting the questions--I could set an exam that is fair, but which I couldn't even pass.

The questions weren't as horrible as I feared. In fact, I think I did fine. (And thankfully, I'll probably never set exams.)

Here's one of the questions, which might interest you next time you're watching a Sunday night doco:

To what extent has the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls challenged the assumption that the Masoretic Text* should form the basis of modern Old Testament editions?

My answer was basically:

• The Dead Sea Scrolls sorta complicated the picture a bit (by giving us a whole lot more to work from in terms of different textual traditions).
• But mostly they strongly reinforced our view of how awesome the Masoretic Text is... they showed it was almost perfectly preserved for nigh-on a millenia.

Tomorrow is the Old Testament Exegesis exam. i.e. a whole lot of translating, and some commenting on short passages in Hebrew.

* The Masoretic Text is basically the most important source for our Old Testament Bibles.