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A Basic Vocabulary of Biblical Studies ForBeginning Students: A Work in Progress

byFred L. Horton , Kenneth G. Hoglund , and Mary F. Foskett

Wake Forest University ©2011 All rights reserved.

Definitions Scholars

Definition of TermsA. D. Latin: "the year of the Lord." A sectarian designation for dates which always goes before the numerical date.Examples: A. D. 1987. A. D. 70. Dates A. D. are the same as those C. E. Used together with B. C. flh

Angel Greek: "messenger." The Hebrew term mal'ak can refer either to a human messenger such as a prophet or to aheavenly messenger. In the NT the term refers exclusively to heavenly beings. See below: gods . flh

Apocalypse Greek: "revelation." A written account of a vision of the heavenly world and/or of the future. As a genre the apocalypse is characterized by bizarre imagery which the prophet does not understand and which must beexplained to him by a heavenly guide. The difficult imagery reflects the understanding of a sectarian group aboutthe meaning of the present time in relation to the heavenly world and about the future. "The Apocalypse" refers tothe Book of Revelation. Other apocalypses may be found in Daniel 7-12. flh

Apocalytpic Short for "apocalyptic eschatology ," the understanding of the future based upon a revelation (Greek:apocalypsis ) rather than upon speculation or calculation. flh

Apocrypha or Deuterocanonical Books Greek "hidden," a term employed by St. Jerome (died 420 C. E.). The books in the Greek Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible. These books are accepted as canon among mostChristian churches, though rejected as canon by the Protestant churches in favor of the shorter list of books found inthe Hebrew Bible. Though the exact list differs from church to church, the main collection of "extra books" consistsof Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus), Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, and additions to Estherand Daniel. See also Septuagint Vulgate , and Jamnia . flh

Apophthegm A very thin story built up around a saying (of Jesus or of a prophet). The function of the story is to

explain or to exemplify the content of the saying, and the interest of the story remains with the saying even when thenarrative includes a wondrous act. flh

Aramaic A Semitic language which came to be the official language of the western Persian Empire and,consequently, a language spoken by the Jews during the Persian Period (late sixth century B. C. E.) and continued inuse for many centuries thereafter. Portions of Ezra and Daniel are in Aramaic, and a few of Jesus' sayings in the NTare given in Aramaic. flh

Aramaism A Semitism best explained on the basis of Aramaic grammar, syntax, or vocabulary. flh

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B. C. English: "before Christ." A sectarian notation to designate dates before the birth of Christ. This notation is placed after the numerical date. Used together with A. D. flh

B. C. E. English: "before the common era," a non-sectarian notation equivalent in meaning to the sectarian B. C. The notation is placed after the numerical date. Used together with C. E. flh

Belief An intellectual conviction of some kind. In the study of religion it usually has reference to an intellectualconviction about the world of the gods or the relationship of that world to the world of ordinary experience. Exceptin the case of the Pastoral Epistles, the word "belief" is not equivalent to the word "faith." flh

Bible Greek biblos , "scroll," or "book." In modern English the term refers to the scriptures . This word has becomecommon because of the invention of printing that made it possible to generate exactly the same text in codex f ormtime after time. In this course "Bible" will be synonymous with "Christian scripture(s)." In reference to the

Masoretic Text , we shall refer either to the Hebrew scripture(s) or to the Hebrew Bible. flh

C. E. English: "common era." A non-sectarian notation for dates preferred in biblical studies. Although the dates areexactly the same as dates introduced with A. D. , it does not force non-Christians to express their dates as "in the yearof the Lord." Used together with B. C. E. flh

Canon Greek: "rule" or "measure." In Christian usage canon refers to rules adopted by a council. Protestants use theword almost exclusively to refer to their canon of scripture , often specified in a confession of faith. This usage has

become common in English even among non-protestant writers as a way of referring to the scriptures, but this usageobscures the differences between the texts each religious sect r ecognizes as canonical. Thus, Catholics, Orthodox,and Anglicans recognize Ben Sirach as scripture, but Moravians, Presbyterians and Baptists do not. Especiallyconfusing is the expression "the canon" in reference to scripture in that it begs the question as to what works aremeant. Because the word "canon" derives from Christian practice, it is never appropriate to refer to Jewish scripturesas "the Jewish canon." Recently, Catholic writers have used the term "deuterocanonical" in reference to the

Apocrypha to underscore their belief that these books cannot be used alone to determine matters of faith or morals. flh

Characterization The modes employed by an author in to describe to the reader the personality and mind of acharacter in a narrative. flh

Christ Hymn Philippians 2:6-11, widely believed to be a pre-Pauline Christian hymn to Christ used by Paul andamended by him only with the words "and death on a cross" in verse 8. See also kenosis . flh

Clean See unclean .

Codex What we in modern English would call a "book." The codex replaced the scroll as the preferred means ofreproducing long documents after its introduction in the second or third century C. E. by the Christians of Egypt.See Bible . flh

Cult See cultus below. The term "cult" in religious studies does not automatically refer to a fanatical sect as it doesin contemporary English. flh

Cult Objects Implements used in the performance of cultic acts . These might include vessels for sacrifices , specialclothing for cultic officials, written texts. Architectural features such as altars and pillars might also be termed bysome authors cult objects. flh

Cultic A modern adjective that refers to those ritual activities that relate human beings to the world of the gods . These include such activities as sacrifices , washings, dances, drama, and others. flh

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Cultus A specific organized body of ritual activities that relate human beings to the world of the gods . See culticabove. The term may also be used loosely to refer to the institution which supports the practice of those ritualactivities. Thus one may speak of the "Temple cultus," meaning both the ritual acts of the temple and to the templeas the institution under whose auspices these activities occur. flh

Wadi Qumran and Qumran Cave 4© Fred L. Horton

Dead Sea Scrolls A collection of biblical and non-biblical scrolls found in cav

site of Qumran on the northeast corner of the Dead Sea. Although there is somthese scrolls, most investigators believe that they represent the writings of a Jewthe Essenes in the writings of the Jewish historian Josephus . The Qumran cultus in Jerusalem under the leadership of a person known in the documents onl

Righteousness. Evidently, the sectarians opposed the takeover of the high-priekings, and mention is made of the Wicked Priest who opposed the Teacher

believed that at the end of time the heavenly armies would join with the QumranMaccabees from the temple and restore the rightful high-priesthood. Later, the seRomans represented the legions of Satan were to be dispossessed by the Spirthat Spirit. The biblical scrolls at Qumran include some portion of all the books in consonantal form without vowels or punctuation, except for the book of Esthe

biblical manuscripts found to date. flh

Demon Primarily a NT concept, the demon is a natural but incomplete being that seeks completion through possession of a human body. Demons inhabit unclean places such as graveyards, deserts, and ruined buildings. Inthe Synoptic Gospels the demons are earthly allies of Satan . flh

D Abbreviation for the source of the basic content of the Book of Deuteronomy (especially Deuteronomy 12-26), arevision of the laws that appear to build upon and in some cases even change the laws of JE . The abbreviation is

used as part of the Documentary Hypothesis . flh

Deuteronomistic Historian (Dtr) The books Joshua, Judges, 1-2 Samuel, and 1-2 Kings are our primary source forthe history of Israel from the time of the tribes until the fall of the Kingdom of Judah. The collection shows aconsistent viewpoint about Israel's history: When Israel was faithful to its covenant with God, it prospered.Otherwise, it failed. Since this is also the view of the Book of Deuteronomy and since the language and style ofthese historical books is similar to those of Deuteronomy, scholars speak of the "Deuteronomistic History" or the"Deuteronomistic Historian" and abbreviate this usage as "Dtr." Although there is a remarkable consistency in styleand language within Dtr, it is also clear that the author has depended upon other written sources. Nevertheless, thegeneral designation "Deuteronomistic Historian" has stood the test of time. In some respects Dtr develops the ideas

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of Deuteronomy in important ways. In the first place, it is not unambiguously pro-monarchy, and David's rape ofBathsheba in 2 Samuel 11 shows the ultimate arrogance of power predicted time and again by the prophet Samuel.The ultimate ruin of the monarchy ultimately derives from the flaw inherent in its structure from the beginning.Secondly, the particular unfaithfulness of Israel in Dtr is that of Baalism. flh

diatribe Rudolf Bultmann in his dissertation of 1910 Der Stil der paulinischen Predigt und die kynisch-stoische

Diatribe described the diatribe in terms of an imaginary dialogue between teacher and student in which the student brings forward (usually absurd or stupid) objections to the teacher's doctrine to be answered by a gruff "By nomeans!" or some equivalent phrase. Bultmann believed the diatribe derived from moral-philosophical teaching to themasses and finds its use in several of the authentically Pauline letters as well. flh.

Divine Council The assembly of the gods, especially as that assembly is depicted in the Hebrew Bible. This is the biblical equivalent of the divine council in Canaan ite mythology and the stories of the gods on Mt. Olympus inGreek mythology. In the Hebrew Bible, however, only Yahweh's will can be served, and the function of the councilseems to be for advice only. flh

Documentary Hypothesis This hypothesis, sometimes erronenously called the Wellhausen Hypothesis, holds thatthe writings of the Pentateuch derive from four sources, the Yahwist (J) , a southern source that provides the mainnarrative outline of the Pentateuch, the Elohist (E) , a northern source, later than J, that supplements J , D, the core

material in the Book of Deuteronomy, and the Priestly Writer , who composed a long legal commentary on JE inGenesis, Exodus, and Numbers, as well as the whole of Leviticus. P dates to the time of the Exile (597/586-539BCE). The contribution of Wellhausen was to order these sources chronologically as JEDP. flh

Elohist (E) According to the Documentary Hypothesis , this is a northern (Israelite) source that supplement s J andstems from as early as the end of the 8th century BCE..

Eschatology Literally, the "study/doctrine of last things." Any doctrine about the end, whether of a particular age orof all time. For "apocalyptic eschatology," see apocalyptic . flh

Etymology The derivation of a word (often a proper name) from a root or earlier form of the word. A falseetymology is one that does not, in fact, correspond to the historical origin of the word. Example: "She shall be calledwo-man ( 'ishshah ) because she came out of man ( 'ish )." (Genesis 2:23) This is an example of a false etymology

because Hebrew ' ishshah comes from a completely different root from that of 'ish .kh

Exegesis The exposition of a biblical passage that involves the application of specific critical methodologies. Theaim of this exercise is to produce a homiletical or theological piece based on the exegesis. Most exegeses are dividedunevenly into lower criticism ( textual criticism ) and higher criticism. Under "higher criticism" is included the

philological, historical, form-critical, redaction-critical, and literary-critical study of the text. Ordinarily exegesis proper, as a literary undertaking in its own right, requires knowledge of the relevant biblical languages and isnormally an exercise assigned in divinity schools and seminaries. flh

Exposition The explanation of a biblical passage. Although virtually any explanation might be called an"exposition" in ordinary parlance, the implication is that the explanation is made for a particular reason or with a

particular goal in mind. So "homilitical exposition" would be exposition for a sermon. "Critical exposition" would be an attempt to explain a passage from a set of critical principles, usually those of historical crit icism. One could, ofcourse, give a moral exposition or a mystical exposition or any of a number of different kinds of exposition. Theterm has much broader meaning than the word exegesis . flh

Faith Usually synonymous with "trust." Only in the Pastoral Epistles does the term faith come to mean adherence toa body of beliefs (see above). flh

Form In biblical studies form most often refers to oral forms for the transmission of tradition. Form Criticism( Formgeschichte ) attempts to trace the history of the transmission of a pericope (see below) from the stage of oraltradition to its inclusion within the written biblical text. In biblical studies form and genre mean different things. flh

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Form Criticism ( Formgeschichte ) The study of biblical texts in terms of the oral traditions that underlie them.Pioneers of this kind of study included Hermann Gunkel for the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament scholarsRudolf Bultmann , Martin Dibelius , and K. L. Schmidt . The method seeks to go beyond the insights of sourcecriticism to relate oral forms with their setting in the life ( Sitz im Leben ) of ancient Israel or of the early Christianity.Form critics generally regard the final author of a biblical book as an editor who assemples the various pericopae into connected literary products. The study of K L. Schmidt , Der Rahmen der Geschichte Jesu ("The Framework ofthe Story of Jesus,"1917) showed the author of Mark as a collector and arranger of individual traditions about Jesus.Rudolf Bultmann in his work entitled Die Geschichte der synoptischen Tradition ("History of the SynopticTradition," 1921) applied the method in a thoroughgoing way to the three synoptic Gospels . Hermann Gunkel's studies on Genesis and on the Psalms developed the methodology for use by scholars in the field of Hebrew Bible.

flh

Genealogy A list of offspring, usually traced only through the male line, but not always. Often the reader can find anumerical scheme such as decreasing years of life for successive generations. Narrative functions of genealogiesdiffer according to context, but a genealogy may do such things as link two stories that are widely separated in timeor provide a background for an important character. kh

Genre In literary theory genre means, roughly, a "kind" of literature. A biography is of a different genre from that ofa romance or of a history . The reader expects different things from two different genres of literature. flh

God In the English Bible the singular word "God" with an initial capital letter refers to Yahweh, the God of Israel.The English word translates several different Hebrew words, but the most common is 'elohim , which is a plural nounin formation. Whether 'elohim refers to the one God or to many gods depends upon whether a singular or a pluralverb is employed. The other Hebrew words translated "God" in the English Bible are 'el and 'eloha . In properHebrew names one often finds the suffix -el . For instance, Nathaniel, "gift of God." The Greek word for "God" istheos . (Note: It is never acceptable English to capitalize personal pronouns that refer to the noun "God" except whenthey begin sentences.) flh

gods The Hebrew Bible refers to many heavenly beings under various names. The word 'elohim (see God ) oftenrefers to these beings, as does the plural 'elim . Further, the terms bne 'elim and bne 'elohim ("sons of the gods")likewise refer to these same beings. The LXX often translated "gods" as "angels" (see above), and in the NT theseheavenly beings are invariably called "angels." flh

Haustafel (plural: Haustafeln ) . German meaning "household code" and referring to a list of responsibilities thatmembers of a household have toward one another. Two complete Haustafeln in the New Testament are Colossians3:18-4:1, Ephesians 5:21-6:9. See also 1 Peter 2:13-3:12. flh

Heaven Properly, the air space between the earth and the dome of the sky (the firmament). Usually plural inHebrew, the heavens are the abode of all the gods and of Yahweh . The gods do not fly around this heaven, however.The abode of the gods in heaven is normally represented as being upon a great mountain and, in that respect, is likethe Greek Mt. Olympus. See also underworld . flh

Hebraism In practice, this refers to a phrase in Greek that is cumbersome or even ungrammatical which, whentranslated literally into Hebrew is neither cumbersome nor ungrammatical. An example would be the use of kaiegeneto in the Gospels followed by a an expression of time or another verb. This corresponds exactly to the classicalHebrew narrative sequence. Whether the Hebraism is actually a translation of Hebrew or simply an attempt to makethe text read like scripture is a matter of argument. See Semitism . flh

Hebrew A Semitic language spoken by the Israelites from at least the Late Bronze Age on. Its "classical" form is theHebrew of the Book of Deuteronomy. The language continued in ordinary usage among Jews well into the MiddleAges and was revived for modern use in the 19th century. flh

Hebrew Bible The Tanach , the books in Hebrew and Aramaic accepted by Jews as holy scripture. flh

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Hebraism A Semitism best explained in terms of Hebrew grammar, syntax, or vocabulary. flh

Hermeneutics Greek: "interpretation." The study of how one interprets texts (for our purposes, the biblical text).For instance, one may interpret the biblical text with a view to deriving its moral teaching. This would be a moralhermeneutic. Another might interpret the text to discover its meaning for Christian dogma. This would be adogmatic hermeneutic. Another might be interested in its historical meaning, and this would be a historical

hermeneutic. flh

Herodotus of Halikarnassus (484 BC – ca.425 BC) The "Father of History ," created his five-volume "investigations"into the deep causes of the Greek-Persian conflict. He used this vehicle to give invaluable geographical,anthropological, and political detail derived from his extensive travels around the Mediterranean. flh

Hexateuch Greek: "six scroll cases" Many Hebrew Bible scholars, including Julius Wellhausen , believed that thethree sources JE and P continued into the Book of Joshua and so wrote in terms of a Hexateuch instead of aPentateuch . Most researchers now would assign Joshua to the Deuteronomistic Historian (Dtr) .

Historical Although this adjective should, properly speaking, could describe some element of any history (see below), its ordinary meaning is in reference to a historical sequence determined by modern historians. flh

History Greek: "investigation." As a literary genre , a history is a written prose text that organizes the events of the past in a causal sequence. When such written texts relate their causal sequences in story f orm, the designation isnarrative history. All of the Bible's histories are narrative histories. Herodotus (484 BC – ca.425 BC) was the first towrite in this mode. flh

History of Religion This is the study of the Bible in terms of the religious traditions that influenced it. The practitioners of this methodology were less interested in comparing biblical religion to Babylonian, Persian, Jewish,Hellenistic, and Early Christian religions than in showing how aspects of these religions influenced the shape of the

biblical witness. The movement, often called die religionsgeschichtliche Schule ("the History of Religion School") began at the University of Göttingen toward the end of the 19th century and declined after the First World War because of post-war protestant reaction against historicism in theological studies. Among some of the most famousmembers of this movement were Wilhelm Bousett , Hermann Gunkel , Johannes Weiss , Rudolf Otto , Alfred Rahlfs , and Hugo Gressmann . In addition to the many individual works of scholarship contributed by these scholars, theencyclopedia Die Religion in Geschichte und Gegenwart ("Religion in History and in the Present" abbreviated

RGG ), is a lasting memorial to their insights. flh

Holy Synonym: "sacred." There is no precise definition for this term. It is used in binary opposition to terms like"profane" or "common." To call something "holy" is to claim that it belongs to the world of the unclean . See below.

flh

Introduction In biblical studies an "introduction" means a written orientation to a book or passage that introducesthe reader to the critical issues involved. These usually include questions of authorship, date of writing, place ofwriting, literary type, historical setting, and principal themes. Full introductions will also discuss the history of thewritten text and ancient versions . flh

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Jamnia (Hebrew: Yavneh ) Before the end of the Roman siege of Jerusalem in 70 C. E., Yohanan ben Zakkai petitionedthe Romans for permission to found an academy for scholars at Jamnia on the coast (near modern Tel Aviv). There thetradition of the Pharisees was codified, including their tradition about which books were holy , i. e. which books should beregarded as scripture . Because the Jamnia scholars became the legitimate Jewish authority after the fall of Jerusalem, theirlist of Hebrew books, what we call the Hebrew Bible, came to be recognized by Jews everywhere as the scripture. Fromthat time on, the books of the LXX that were not also in the list from Jamnia, were not regarded by Jews as holy. Theseexcluded books are those St. Jerome referred to as the "hidden" books or Apocrypha . flh

Jerome (c. 342-420) was born in Strido near Aquileia on the north shore of the Adriatic. He studied in Rome,Antioch, Constaniople and spent five years in a Syrian monastery and learned Hebrew there. After service to PopeDamasus in Rome, he returned to Palestine where he founded a monastery in Bethlehem. He himself lived below theChurch of the Nativity in natural limestone caverns. It was at the suggestion of Pope Damasus that he began hisfamous Vulgate translation in Rome in 382, and by 384 had finished his Gospels text. In 392 he finished atranslation of the Psalms based on Origen's Greek text, but by that time he was convinced that the only validtranslation of any Jewish scripture would have to come from Hebrew . See Oxford Dictionary of the ChristianChurch 731b-732a, 1451b-1452ab. flh

kenosis Greek: "emptying" in NT studies a reference to Philippians 2:7 where the Christ Hymn says that Christ"emptied himself" ( heauton ekenosen ) to take on the form of a slave. Modern theologians sometimes take this torefer to an "emptying" of Christ's divinity, and so we have the term "Kenotic Christology" to refer to thisinterpretation. flh .

Koine Greek: "common." Used mainly in reference to the common Greek that developed throughout the ancientworld following the conquests of Alexander the Great. The "common" Greek language, in contrast to "classical"Greek, was rich in vocabulary but had lost some of the more difficult grammatical features of the ancient tongue.Koine Greek, because it was the language of international trade and culture through out the Roman world, was alsothe language of the LXX and of the NT as well as of the early Christian movement. The scholar responsible for thedefinition of the Koine and for recognition of its importance for biblical studies is Adolf Deissmann . flh

Lectionary A collection of scriptural passages organized for recitation or other use in the liturgy . The term mayindicate an actual book in which the passages are copied out or may indicate the plan of readings. Modern westernChristians have in large measure adopted the Vatican II three-year lectionary which provides scriptural readings foreach Sunday and Holy Day in the Christian calendar. Other lectionaries exist for the recitation of the Daily Officeand for other liturgical acts. In the synagogue the pattern of Torah readings takes an entire year, and the return to the

beginning of the cycle is celebrated in the fall as Simxat Torah . The medieval Christian lectionary books provideuseful evidence for the text of the New Testament. flh

Legend A prose narrative a bout the actions of a figure or of figures from the past that is unrelated or only partiallyrelated to a known historical sequence. flh

Liturgical adjective. Having to do with liturgy . flh

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Liturgy Greek: "public work." In religious studies the word refers to the organization (and, by extension, the principles of organization) of cultic actions. The usual word in the Bible for liturgy is service and sometimesworship . flh

Masoretes Agroup of scholar-scribes who added punctuation marks and vowel marks to the text of the HebrewBible. This activity took place from the 7th to the 9th centuries CE. See also Masoretic Text . flh

Masoretic Text (Abbreviation MT) The Hebrew text established in the 7th/9th centuries C. E. by Jewish scholars(Masoretes) who fixed the exact pronunciation and intonation of the words of the Hebrew Bible through aningenious system of markings imposed upon the traditional, consonantal Hebrew text. The oldest completeMasoretic text is in St. Petersburg, Russia and dates to 1008 CE. See also Masoretes . flh

Miracle Story A story that dwells upon a specific wondrous act performed by a character in the story. As a form themiracle story is characterized by a history of oral transmission that heightened the difficulty of the wondrous act and

provided names and other minor details to enhance what Rudolf Bultmann calls the "novelistic" aspect of the tale. flh

Mishnah A collection of the Pharisaic/Rabbinic oral tradition first begun by R. Aqiva before 135 CE, continued byhis student R. Meir, the definitive compilation came by the hands of Rabbi or Rabbi Judah the Prince around theyear 200 CE. It consists of 63 tractates divided unevenly into six sederim (" orders "). The 5 generations of Rabbiscited in the Mishnah are called the Tanaaim ("reciters"), and their work forms the basis of both the JerusalemTalmud and the Babylonian Talmud. flh .

Mysticism As used in biblical studies, however, the term means the representation of the relationship between the practitioner of a religion and the deity or highest principle of that religion in terms of the practitioner being "in" or"part of" the divinity and/or the divinity being "in" or "part of" the practitioner. flh

Myth The Greek term mythos refers to a long poetic saga that relates tales of the gods and, often, of the gods'relationship to human beings. In this restricted sense there are no myths per se in the Christian scriptures. Asecondary meaning of myth is a story about the gods . In this course we shall distinguish between "higher myth,"stories about the gods alone, and "lower myth," stories about the gods in their dealings with human beings. Virtuallyall biblical myth is lower myth. flh

Mythological A composition that has characteristics of higher or lower myth without necessarily being a self-contained story . flh

Narrative See story .

New Testament Latin: "covenant." Abbreviation: NT. Designation of Christian writings in Greek that Christiansregard as holy . Although the Christian sects vary in the Jewish writings they regard as scripture , there is almost novariation in the New Testament books they accept. flh

Old Testament Latin: "covenant." Traditional Christian designation for the Jewish scriptures they regard as inspited(as opposed to the New Testament). Christians who read the Apocrypha as scripture do not usually distinguish the

apocryphal books from those of the Hebrew Bible and refer to them all together as the Old Testament. flh

Palimpsest A parchment document written on reused parchment. The name derives from the two Greek words palin ("again") and psao ("scrape"), referring to the practice of scraping off the ink from a previous document written on a

parchment so as to provide the scribe with a clean page. Often the erased letters are visible to the modern researcher by means of ultraviolet light. The practice of coating the document with a reagent to bring out the erased text has been abandoned because of the damage the chemical caused to the parchment. The most famous palimpset text ofthe NT is Codex Ephraemi (5th century / 6th century). See Bruce Metzger, The Text of the New Testament , 12. flh

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Pentateuch Greek: "five scroll cases." The first five books of the Hebrew Bible . See also Hexateuch . flh

Pericope In Form Criticism, a unit of oral tradition such as a miracle story , an apophthegm or a saying . (In thestudy of liturgy , however, "pericope" refers to the biblical text appointed for reading on a particular day. Onoccasion this meaning will also appear in the writings of biblical scholars.) flh

pesher Hebrew: "interpretation" The Dead Sea Scrolls use the Hebrew word ש pesher to refer to an interpretationof prophetic writings they believed pointed forward to the time of final judgment and redemption heralded in theScrolls. Modern scholars use the term broadly as referring to apocalyptic interpretations of ancient scriptures basedon the authority of an ancient teacher or in in the name of a of a sectarian group. flh

Peshitta Means "Vulgate" in Syriac . This is a collection of translations into Syriac of the Jewish Scriptures and a NT of 22 books that omits 2 Peter, 2-3 John, Jude, and Revelation. Once ascribed to the early 5th century Bishop ofEdessa, Rabulla (411-431), it is now clear that like the LXX it is a collection of translations and paraphrases, someof which certainly stem from the previous century. See Bruce Metzger, The Text of the New Testament , 69-70 and D.R. Ap-Thomas, A Primer of Old Testament Text Criticism , 28-29. flh

Point-of-view In narrative the point-of-view is the viewpoint of the implied author, the one telling the tale. The point-of view may correspond to that of a single character or of each of several characters. It may also be that of anomniscient narrator, who sees all the action and knows the inner workings of the characters' minds. flh

Prayer Literally, "petition." A request addressed to God or to the gods . Prayer may be either cultic (liturgical) ornon-cultic (non-liturgical), depending upon its setting. In the Bible it is important to distinguish between prayer andother addresses to the gods such as blessings, praises, and thanksgivings. flh

Priestly Author The latest source in the Pentateuch according to the Documentary Hypothesis , dating to a timeduring and perhaps also after the Exile. flh

Q Likely derived from the German word Quelle , "source." A hypothetical collection of the sayings of Jesus andJohn the Baptist that, according to the most generally accepted resolution to the Synoptic Problem , served as asource for the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, but not for Mark. flh

Redaction Criticism Study of the way in which the editor (redactor) of a work has arranged the written and oralmaterials at hand to achieve literary and rhetorical goals. mf

Religion A modern term that properly designates both a cultus (see above) and the beliefs a bout the gods and theworld that may be associated with the practice of that that cultus . No precise equivalent to our English word"religion" occurs in the Christian scripture. flh

Sacrifice Synonymous with "offering." A sacrifice is something offered to God or to the gods within the course ofsome cultic (liturgical) action. Most, but not all sacrifices involve the ritual slaughter of a living being. In the Bible , worship or service always involves some kind of sacrifice. flh

Sacred Scripture The idea of a writing or piece of literature having come from a divine source. Many religious

systems have sacred scriptures, often mediated by semi-divine figures or particularly holy individuals. See alsoScripture . kh

Satan In Job, Satan is a member of the divine council who accuses Job before Yahweh . In later mythology Satan isone designation for the angels or gods who undertake a revolt against God and are punished by being confined to theunderworld . In the NT , "Satan" is the ordinary term to designate the chief of the underworld deities. Most of theHebrew Bible has no notion of Satan or any other god who is powerful enough to oppose Yahweh evenunsuccessfully. flh

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Saying In biblical studies this term normally refers to a short, pithy aphorism such as those found in Proverbs 10-31.It is also used to refer to the typical discourse of Jesus in the Synoptic Gospels as opposed to the long discourses ofthe Fourth Gospel. flh

Scripture "Written" (Latin: scriptus ) documents. In common usage, the word refers to written documents that playan authoritative role in cultic practice. In Jewish and Christian practice the scriptures are distinguished from other

authoritative writings (such as the Prayer Book or the Talmud) on the basis of being Mark Without Q ." mf

Syriac was the literary language from the region of Edessa in northern Syria that became the main means of writtenexpression for the Christians of northern Syria and Mesopotamia. Along with the Aramaic of the BabylonianTalmud and Mandaic, it forms the eastern Aramaic branch of the Semitic languages. After the Council of Chalcedonin 451, the Syrian churches broke into followers of Nestorius in the east and the monophysite Jacobites of the west.This ecclesiastical division came to define two distinct dialects of Syriac. See Carl Brockelmann, SyrischeGrammatik, 3-4. flh

Tanach Acronym for the Hebrew Bible made from the Hebrew words T orah ("law"), N eviim ("prophets"), K etuvim("writings"). flh

Textual Criticism The study of differing readings of the biblical text in ancient manuscripts. Not only do text critics study manuscripts of the texts in their original languages but study manuscripts of the ancient versions as well. The goal of textual criticism is the establishment of the "best text" of a passage, not the "original text," which is likelyunattainable. flh

Unclean Opposite: clean . Something that is unclean belongs to a prohibited class of objects or people. This prohibition may be absolute, as in the case of pork or relative as in the case of sexual relations. A relativeuncleanness involves ordinary activities that temporarily prohibit one from certain activities or places whereas anabsolute uncleanness is always prohibited. Note that the scriptures often put time limits on the uncleanness (alwaysrelative in nature) that a person would likely contract in normal life. flh

Underworld The regions under the earth where, in most Near Eastern mythology, the gods o f the dead reside. In the Bible, as in other mythologies, human souls descend to the underworld upon death; but in the Bible there are no gods t here to give those souls conscious existence, so that in the Hebrew Bible there is no belief in a conscious lifeafter death. The usual term for the underworld is Sheol, and its lowest portion is called Abaddon or "the Pit." Thereis no hell, in the usual Christian sense, in either of the testaments of the Christian Bible. flh

Version Translation of a text into another language. The Septuagint , for instance, is a version of the Hebrew Bible.The Old Latin translation of John is a version of John. flh

Vulgate Latin: "common" St. Jerome's 4th-5th century C. E. translation of the Bible into Latin. Made by a monk of Bethlehem named Jerome , the Vulgate's Old Testament was translated from both Hebrew and Greek manuscripts. Inthe process of translating, Jerome recognized that the Greek Septuagint had extra books not contained in the

Hebrew Bible, and questioned their status as scripture and labeled them with the word " Apocrypha ." It was, in part,his recognition of the different canons of the Old Testament that led to the rejection during the Protestant

Reformation of the canonicity of these "extra" books of the LXX . flh

vaticinium ex eventu (prophecy out of the event) A prediction after the fact, i. e. a prediction seemingly made aboutan event in the future that is, in fact, composed only after the event has happened.

World As a technical term in this course, "world" refers to an order of reality. The "world of the gods" refers to thedivine realm (often heaven) populated by the gods . The term never has the modern sense of "planet." In liturgicallanguage and in older English translations of the Bible "world" can mean "world age," in which case it refers to ablock of time. flh

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Worship In a religious sense worship in the Bible is ordinarily the equivalent of service . In social settings the wordrefers to an act of reverence from an inferior to a superior. On occasion, however, the social meaning slips over intothe cultic sphere. flh

Yahweh Hebrew proper name for the God of Israel. Alone, the English text translates it as LORD (all caps). Thedual expression Yahweh 'elohim is rendered "Lord GOD." The meaning of the name has been debated, but it seems

to be the causative form of the verb "to be" and appears to mean something like "he creates." The name can also be seen in the -iah suffixes on Hebrew proper nouns like Jos-iah and Nehem-iah and as the yi-/yo- prefix as in Yonadabor the yeh- prefix in names like Yeho-shua (Joshua, Greek: Jesus). flh

Yahwist (J) Accourding to the Documentary Hypothesis , this southern (Judean) source is the oldest in the Pentateuch and provides the groundwork for the narrative of the Pentateuch. flh

Selected Biblical Scholars

Books

Kümmel, Werner Georg. The New Testament: The History of the Investigation of i ts Problems. Translated out of theoriginal German by S. MacLean Gilmour and Howard Clark Kee. Nashville and New York: Abingdon Press, 1972.Cited as TNT in this work.

McKim, Donald K., ed. Historical Handbook of Major Biblical Interpreters. Downers Grove, Illinois and Leicester, England: InterVarsity Press, 1998). Cited as HH in this work.

Web Sites

Archiv "Religionsgeschichtliche Schule." http://www.gwdg.de/~aoezen/Archiv_RGS/index.htm. Access: June 6,2003. Prof. Dr. Gerd Lüdemann, Archivleiter, has kindly granted us permission to reproduce the photographs onthe Religionsgeschichtliche Schule site in this vocabulary. In addition to other literature cited in the followingthumbnail sketches of scholars, the reader should refer to the Archiv for helpful additional information.

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Ferdinand Christian Baur (1792-1860). The founder of the so-

professor at that university from 1826 until his death and came to pastor, a teacher of classics and ancient history at various theologitutor in the Tübingen seminary. His paper on the "Christ party" in which he argued that the rift in the Corinthian church was betweenPeter. Throughout his work, Bauer insisted that the opposition betw

party (Peter) and the Gentile party (Paul) was the formative opposUnder the influence of the philosopher Hegel, Baur came to regardHegel's idea of historical thesis and antithesis, claiming that Cathocentury was the synthesis of the two under historical pressure fromrationalist in many ways, Baur nevertheless posited his view of eaSchleiermacher's idea that religion is the feeling of absolute depen

Photo courtesy of Archiv "Religionsgeschichtliche Schule" , Prof. Dr. Gerd

Lüdemann, Archivleiter.

Wilhelm Bousset (1865-1920). A principal advocate of the "(religionsgeschichtlich ) method, Bousset is perhaps most famouGeschichte des Christusglaubens von den Anfängen des Christentu21;1913), a study of belief in Christ from earliest Christianity untiRoman-Hellenistic religion. His works Jesu Predigt in ihrem Greligionsgeschichtlicher Vergleich (1893); and Die Religion dneutestamentlichen Zeitalter (1903) created the idea of "late Judcomplex of religious traditions out of which Jesus and the Jesus m253, 468) flh

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Photo courtesy of Burke Library Archives at Union Theological Seminary

in New York City

Charles Augustus Briggs (1841-1913). A vetran of the Civil W

military service with studies at Union Theological Seminary in NeRobinson and in Germany under the famous Hebrew philologist Wnotable German scholars. When he returned to the United States inPresbyterian minister and then became professor of Hebrew and c1880 Briggs and A. A. Hodge of Princeton found the Presbytaddressing issues dividing the Presbyterian church at the time. Ultviews and the reaction of Presbyterian fundamentalists led to the dSeminary appointed Briggs to the Edward Robinson Chair of BiblBriggs' inaugural address was so controversial that it led, ultimatelPresbyterian ministry in 1892. This event led, in turn, to the withdPresbyterian Church and Briggs' ordination into the priesthood of two most famous works are the two-volume commentary he compGrayce Briggs , during the years 1906-1907. He also collaborated

Driver in an English translation and thorough revision of GeseniusBriggs was a founder of the Society of Biblical Literature (1880) a(1890-1891). (HH 294-302) flh

Union Theological Seminary's Archives of Women in Theological Studies

Emilie Grace Briggs (1867-1944).In 1897 Emilie Grace Briggs from Union Theological Seminary in New York City and the first of Divinity degree from the seminary. Following her graduation shstudies but did not receive the degree because she could not find a(a special requirement laid upon her by the Union faculty). Briggsand was co-author with her father, Charles Augustus BriggsPsalm, published 1906-1907. Briggs continued her biblical scholawas the first woman to belong to the Society of Biblical Literature1913, Briggs took charge of his literary estate, editing and reissuinalso devoted herself to the advocacy of women as deacons in the E

http://www.uts.columbia.edu/projects/AWTS/exhibit/bri

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Flavius Josephus (c.37 - c.100 CE). Jewish historian from the general in the First Jewish Rebellion (68-72 CE) wrote a seven-vo

prehistory. In his introduction to the War of the Jews (1.1.1),his seven volumes into Greek from "the language of our own counfalsehoods about the war designed to favor either the Romans or thmigrated to Rome where he completed his massive, 20-volume wo

brief account of his own biography ( Life), and a short defense slanders of the Hellenistic age ( Against Apion ). In his accountHellenistic and early Roman times, he is often the only source of ireference to Jesus in Antiquities 18.3.3 is a Christian insertion i

Photo courtesy of Archiv "Religionsgeschichtliche Schule" , Prof. Dr. Gerd Lüdemann, Archivleiter.

Rudolf Bultmann (1884-1976). Professor of New Testament at Mretirement in 1951, Bultmann became a larger-than-life figure not Testament but also within the world of Protestant theology. An ear( Formgeschichte ), his masterful History of the Synoptic Traditi

provided a comprehensive study of the traditional oral forms of thargued for a Sitz im Leben (setting in life) of each form in the liChurch. In 1926 he dealt with the problem of the life of Jesus in hand the Word ). Although Bultmann, rather unfairly, is rememberJesus, this work made it clear that Bultmann believed that the trad

picture of Jesus as an eschatological prophet. Bultmann's commenthe Gospel as highly influenced by dualistic, gnostic concepts. Nevearliest of the Gospels. His Theology of the New Testament (reconstruct the theology of the earlest Christian communities and tof the New Testament authors to it. (HH 449-456) flh

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Photo courtesy of Duke University Photography

W. D. Davies (1911-2001) Student of C. H. Dodd at Cambridminister. W. D. Davies distinguished himself in the area of the JewChristianity. Within Judaism he was most concerned with the rabbDuke University, Princeton University, Union Theological Seminareturned to complete his career at Duke. Among his many importa

Rabbinic Judaism (1948, rev. 1955), The Setting of the Sermoand the Land (1982), and his monumental three-volume commenSaint Matthew (1988, 1991, 1997). (HH 471-475) flh

Adolf Deissmann (1866-1937) Taught at Marburg, Heidelberg, ahis Bibelstudien (1895 , ET: Bible Studies, 1901 ) and Licht vo

East , 1910), Deissmann demonstrated the importance of a vast boscholars had previously almost completely ignored. These were th

magical papyri, and legal documents of the Greco-Roman world. Dtexts shared a common Greek dialect, a dialect, indeed, that was cospeaking world, the "common" or Koine Greek. He was able twas much more robust in vocabulary and grammar than classical Gcontended, were in this dialect. They were neither bad Greek for thGreek nor holy Greek. Instead, the Greek Bible was composed in t(TNT 437n287, 471) flh

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Courtesy of the A. N. Palmer Centre for Local Studies and Archives , Wrexham

County Borough Museum

C. H. Dodd (1884-1973) Student of Alexander Souter at Oxfordminister. C. H. Dodd made major contributions to our understandiwithin its historical context. Famous for his articulation of theas "realized eschatology," i. e . as a present reality in the personshould be mentioned Historical Tradition in the Fourth Gospel

Fourth Gospel (1953), The Epistle to the Romans (1959), and(1935, rev.1961). His introduction t the New English Bible: New Timportant. (TNT 472-473; HH 476-481) flh

Photo courtesy of Archiv "Religionsgeschichtliche Schule" , Prof. Dr. Gerd Lüdemann, Archivleiter.

Hermann Gunkel (1862-1932) A member of the "history of religionsgeschichtliche Schule ), he is the founder of form cri

(among others) his Genesis (1901), Ausgewählte Psalmen (" Einleitung in die Psalmen ("Introduction to the Psalms," complGunkel was also a qualified New Testament scholar and his

Endzeit ("Creation and Chaos in the Beginning and at the End of mastery of both fields.(HH 487-491; TNT 476) flh

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Matthew Hampton Halley (1874-1965). Ordained to the minist1898, Matthew Halley authored Halley's Bible Handbook , a that grew out of a 16-page pamphlet. First published in 1924, the Hmany editions and is still being published by Zondervan Press. De

biblical scholarship, Halley produced a book that many fundamentfound useful in their reading with the Bible. For additional inform

http://www.prayerfoundation.org/books/book_review_ha http://faith.propadeutic.com/authors/nonref.html#halley

lh

Matthew Henry (1662 -1714) Non-conformist (Presbyterian) EnHis massive treatise entitled The Exposition of the Old and Newthat still finds a wide readership, especially in Calvinist circles. Fo

Henry, see

http://www.eaec.org/faithhallfame/matthewhenry.htm

lh

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Joseph Barber Lightfoot (1828-89) Born in Liverpool, LightfoBirmingham after his father's death in 1843. Lightfoot studied at Cfellow (1852). Hulsean Professor of Divinity (1861), and Lady Ma1879 he accepted election as Bishop of Durham and remained in tha Bishop, he was supportive of lay ministry and, a century before iwomen to the deaconate and priesthood. His texts of the Apostolicacademic standard well into the 20th century and are still valuableGalatians (1865), Philippians (1868), and Colossians (1875) are ststudy based on the emerging historical criticism of his time. LightfGerman scholarship led him to a productive debate with F. CChristianity with Lightfoot insisting on historical verification abovof that evolution. (HH 336-340) flh

Robert Lowth (1710-1787). Bishop of London from 1777 until 1of Canterbury but declined owing to poor health. In biblical scholacontribution was through his studies of Hebrew poetry, both

Poesi Hebraeorum ( Lectures on the Sacred Poetry of the Hebrew Isaiah: A New Translation With a Preliminary Dissertation and Nogave the study of Hebrew poetry the basic terminology that is stillAlthough Lowth was an important cleric and biblical scholar, he w

Oxford 1741-1752. In the realm of English grammar he is known Short Introduction to English Grammar in which he insisted th

be "forced" into the rules of foreign languages. flh

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George Mendenhall (1916- ). Student of W. F. Albright. Most fand Hittite covenants and on the political structures of tribal allian

Sigmund Mowinckel (1884-1965). Born in Kjerringøy, Mowincministry at the University of Kristiania (Oslo) but did not enter thaleaving Norway to study in Denmark and Germany. He returned toelected professor at the university in 1922 where he continued to wMowinckel's studies with Hermann Gunkel were especially imformulate his views on the Psalter. Following Gunkel, he took the

enactment or drama of Israel's religious life. In particular, he expaenthronement psalm to argue for a yearly enthronement festival intook upon himself the failures of the nation for the year in ritual huwith Jensen on Assyriology gave him a unique insight into this fru

practice. (HH 505-510) flh

http://www.ub.uio.no/uhs/sok/fag/teologi/tfutstilling/mow

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Martin Noth (1902-1968) Student of Albrecht Alt, Noth continumonarchial Israel by his important study Das System der zwölf Stäfarr beyond his teacher into Pentateuchal theory Uberlieferuned. 1966) and his groundbreaking Geschichte Israels (1950).corpus Deuteronomy-2 Kings was the work of a Deuteronomistic Deuteronomistic Historian (Dtr ) wrote Joshua-2 Kings on the btheory found in Deuteronomy.

Photo courtesy of Archiv "Religionsgeschichtliche Schule" , Prof. Dr. Gerd

Lüdemann, Archivleiter.

Rudolf Otto (1869-1937) Otto was not a biblical scholar but a thestudy Das Heilige (9th ed., 1922; ET: The Idea of the Holy,

influential work; but in New Testament studies his Reich GotThe kingdom of God and the Son of Man: A Study in the History Rudolf Bultmann's views about the historicity of the Jesus traditJesus taught a temporal end to this world order and that he understSuffering Servant of Second Isaiah. Otto taught at Jena (1870), Göand Marburg (1917) where he ended his career. (TNT 386-389, 48

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Cyrus Ingerson Scofield (1843-1921) Author of the dispensatioC. I. Scofield left a political career in Kansas to become a Congregtheology or biblical studies, his work is an attempt to reconcile the

pre-millenialist dispensationalism. To this same end he also wroteTruth and New Life in Christ Jesus .

http://faith.propadeutic.com/authors/nonref.html#scofiel http://www.raptureme.com/resource/scofield/scofield.htm

lh

Phyllis Trible (1932-). A graduate of Meredith College and the UColumbia University joint PhD program, Phyllis Trible has appliedissertation supervisor, James Muilenburg, to the Hebrew Bible, oan interest in the Bible's rhetoric about sexuality. She is best knowthe Rhetoric of Sexuality (1978) and Texts of Terror: Literary-F

Narratives (1984) . She has taught at Wake Forest University (19Theological Seminary (1971-1978). She retired as Baldwin ProfesSeminary in New York City (1979-1999) in 1999 to accept a positWake Forest University Divinity School where she is still professo618) flh

http://www.wfu.edu/divinity/faculty-trible.html

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Merrill F. Unger (died 1981) was professor of Old Testament StSeminary from 1948-1967. Trained at Johns Hopkins University aSeminary, Dr. Unger was a copious author, most famous, perhaps,

Dictionary and Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament (considerable academic credentials to a fundamentalist interpretatiomodern linguistics and archaeology. flh

http://www.moodypublishers.org/authors.php?action=vi

Photo courtesy of Archiv "Religionsgeschichtliche Schule" , Prof. Dr. Gerd

Lüdemann, Archivleiter.

Julius Wellhausen (1844-1918) Studied at Göttingen and in 187 before moving to Greifswald. During his early years of scholarshipIsrael's history appeared in articles that formed the basis of his 187des Hexateuchs und der historischen Bücher des Alten TestamentsHexateuch and the Historical Books of the Old Testament" ), and hfull history of Israel, publishing Geschichte Israels I in 1878 results. Indeed, his career at Greifswald (1872-1882) ended with hfrom those who disagreed with his critical views of Israel's originsWellhausen reissued the volume as Prolegomena zur Geschich

Prolegomena to the History of Israel , 1885). In 1885 he becam

1892 moved to Göttingen where he remained until his death. AlthoBible had already identified four different sources for the Hethe source that contained the great majority of laws and legal com(for Latin quattuor , now called P for "priestly code"), was the laexilic. From Wellhausen on, the historical order of the sources wasresearchers as JEDP. The surprising contention that the legal matematerials reoriented the study of Israel's political and religious insdevelop towards a legal piety. Wellhausen was also the author of mTestament and on Arabic history. (HH 380-385; TNT 495) f

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