Cambridge A Level Biblical Studies 9484 — 2024 May/June Paper 3 · Variant 2

1 Outline points of interest or difficulty in the following passage. 2 Kings 2:6–8, NRSVA Then Elijah said to him, ‘Stay here; for the Lord has sent me to the Jordan.’ But he said, ‘As the Lord lives, and as you yourself live, I will not leave you.’ So the two of them went on. Fifty men of the company of prophets also went, and stood at some distance from them, as they both were standing by the Jordan. Then Elijah took his mantle and rolled it up, and struck the water; the water was parted to the one side and to the other, until the two of them crossed on dry ground. [5]

2 Outline points of interest or difficulty in the following passage. Isaiah 31:1–3, NRSVA Alas for those who go down to Egypt for help and who rely on horses, who trust in chariots because they are many and in horsemen because they are very strong, but do not look to the Holy One of Israel or consult the Lord! Yet he too is wise and brings disaster; he does not call back his words, but will rise against the house of the evildoers, and against the helpers of those who work iniquity. The Egyptians are human, and not God; their horses are flesh, and not spirit. When the Lord stretches out his hand, the helper will stumble, and the one helped will fall, and they will all perish together. [5]

3 Outline points of interest or difficulty in the following passage. Jeremiah 24:1–3, NRSVA The Lord showed me two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. This was after King Nebuchadrezzar of Babylon had taken into exile from Jerusalem King Jeconiah son of Jehoiakim of Judah, together with the officials of Judah, the artisans, and the smiths, and had brought them to Babylon. One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs, but the other basket had very bad figs, so bad that they could not be eaten. And the Lord said to me, ‘What do you see, Jeremiah?’ I said, ‘Figs, the good figs very good, and the bad figs very bad, so bad that they cannot be eaten.’ [5] [Total: 10]

4 Read the following passage and then answer the question below: Amos 7:7–9, NRSVA This is what he showed me: the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb-line, with a plumb-line in his hand. And the Lord said to me, ‘Amos, what do you see?’ And I said, ‘A plumb-line.’ Then the Lord said, ‘See, I am setting a plumb-line in the midst of my people Israel; I will never again pass them by; the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste, and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.’ ‘The judgement by Amos of the social and religious sins of Israel was too harsh.’ Assess this view, referring to the passage above and other passages you have studied in your answer. [15] Section C Answer EITHER Question 5 OR Question 6. EITHER

5 ‘The confrontation between Micaiah son of Imlah and the 400 court prophets of King Ahab (1 Kings 22:1–38) proves that God controls both true and false prophets.’ Discuss this view. [25] OR