CATH/THEO 356.01 “Music and the Bible” Final Take-Home Examination

Fall Semester, 2005

NAME:______

Please complete this exam and return it in .doc format to by 12:30pm TH 15 December 2005.

PART ONE: Matching (20%)

Match the following terms with the appropriate definition.

_____. Oral culture

_____. Doxology

_____. Benedictus

_____. Amen

_____. Craft-literate culture

_____. Eulogy

_____. Magnificat

_____. Synagogue

_____. Alleluia

_____. Nunc dimittis

  1. A Lukan Infancy Canticle also called the “Canticle of Simeon”. A Gospel canticle sung daily in Roman Rite Night Prayer (Compline).
  2. A short praise fomula whose title is formed from two Greek words meaning “well/good” and “word/story/discourse”. A “good word” about God: that He is praised, blessed, adored, glorified, etc.
  3. A form of culture in which special writing systems are devised for particular professions.
  4. A Lukan Infancy Canticle also called the “Canticle of Mary”. A Gospel canticle sung daily in Roman Rite Evening Prayer (Vespers).
  5. A short praise formula whose title is formed from two Greek words meaning “glory” and “word/story/discourse”. An ascription of glory addressed to God.
  6. A form of culture in which writing systems are not employed.
  7. A Lukan Infancy Canticle also called the “Canticle of Zechariah”. A Gospel Canticle sung daily in Roman Rite Morning Prayer (Lauds).
  8. A Hebrew term appearing as an acclamation in the Greek New Testament, meaning “so be it”, having the implications both of “it is true” and “insofar as it is not yet true, I pledge myself to bring it about”.
  9. A Jewish architectural structure serving as a community center. Many were built in areas Jews settled around the Mediterranean coast.
  10. A Hebrew phrase appearing as an acclamation in the Greek New Testament, meaning “Praise God”.

PART TWO: Short answers (20%)

Using incomplete sentences identify the following words or phrases AND indicate their importance in the study of biblical music.

  1. Thanksgiving-formulae
  1. Infancy Canticles

3. Hosanna

4. (Jerusalem) Temple

5. Aerophone

6. Fresco

7. Maranatha

8. Christian House-Church

9. Chordophone

10. Abba

PART THREE: Essays (20% / essay)

Using standard American academic grammar, spelling, and syntax, write essays commenting on the following passages in response to the questions provided.

  1. Philippians 2:6-11

6 who [Christ Jesus],

though he was in the form of God,

did not regard equality with God

as something to be exploited,

7 but emptied himself,

taking the form of a slave,

and being born in human likeness.

And being found in human form,

8 he humbled himself

and became obedient to the point of death –

even death on a cross.

9 Therefore God also highly exalted him

and gave him the name

that is above every name,

10 so that at the name of Jesus

every knee should bend,

in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

11 and every tongue should confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord

to the glory of God the Father.

Provide background on the NT book in which the text appears: date, author, audience. To what genre of NT music texts does Philippians 2:6-11 belong and what reasons can you give for assigning it to this genre?Why is the text divided into two stanzas? Give at least one example of synonymous parallelism occurring in its stichs and the reasons why you consider these stichs to be synonymously parallel. Give at least one example of antithetical parallelism occurring between the stanzas and the reasons why you consider these stanzas to be antithetically parallel. Give at least one example of formal/synthetic parallelism occurring in the text’s stichs and the reasons why you consider these stichs to be formally/synthetically parallel. What is the progress of thought in this text? What does this text tell us about God (the Father), Jesus, and creation. In what contexts might this hymn have been sung? What is the theological significance of the proclamation: “Jesus [the] Christ is Lord!”?

2. 1 Timothy 3:16

Who [God] was revealed in flesh,

Vindicated in spirit,

Seen by angels,

Proclaimed among Gentiles,

Believed in throughout the world,

Taken up in glory.

Provide background on the NT book in which the text appears: date, author, audience. To what genre of New Testament music texts does 1 Timothy 3:16 belong and what reasons can you give for assigning it to this genre?What are the editorial indentations applied to the English translation of this text trying to communicate? Give at least one example of synonymous parallelism occurring in the text’s stichs and the reasons why you consider these stichs to be synonymously parallel. Do you consider the six phrases of this hymn to exhibit climactic parallelism? Why or why not? What is the progress of thought in this text? What does this text tell us about Jesus and Revelation? In what contexts might this hymn have been sung by the original communities in which it was generated or to whom it was addressed? How might Christians use this text today?

  1. Ephesians 5:18-20

18 Do not get drunk with wine,

for that is debauchery,

but be filled with the Spirit,

19 as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves,

singing and making melody to the Lord in your hearts,

20 giving thanks to God the Father at all times and for everything

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Colossians 3:16

16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly;

teach and admonish one another in all wisdom;

and with gratitude in your hearts

sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God [other ancient authorities read: “to the Lord”].

Provide background on the NT books in which these texts appears: date, author, audience. Explain why theseare not music texts (i.e., sets of words to be sung) but descriptions of primitive Christian music-making. Compare and contrast the different contexts for music-making in the two texts. While it is possible that “psalms”, “hymns”, and “spiritual songs”are meant to be synonyms, it is also possible to see them as standing for three distinct genres of Christian music-making. Following the latter interpretation, what do the particular categories of “psalms”, of “hymns”of “spiritual songs”refer to? What do these texts say about Christians’worship of God (the Father)? What does the Ephesians text say about Jesus’role in Christian worship of God (the Father)? What does the note in the Colossians text “other ancient authorities…”mean and what significance does that have for distinguishing the genres of God-hymns and Christ-hymns in the NT? What further information about musical practices in primitive Christian communities, if any, can you derive from these texts?