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CU: New Testament Literature > Exam 1 > Flashcards

Exam 1 Flashcards

1
Q

New Testament

A

The term used by Christians starting in the early third century to refer to the writings of the apostles, deriving from the promise of the new covenant that Christians understand to be fulfilled in Jesus.

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2
Q

Scripture

A

A term used by Jewish people in both pre-Chirstian times and early Christianity to describe the Jewish sacred writings, before the New Testament was finalized. Now it is used by many Christians to refer to the Christian Bible as a whole

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3
Q

Canon

A

A word meaning “rule” or “standard” that delineates authoritative texts. In Christianity, “canon” refers to the sixty-six books of the Bible as separate, distinct books worthy of heeding closely as uniquely authoritative

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4
Q

Christ

A

From the Greek word for “anointed” (christos), the title used to describe Jesus as set apart by God to be his good king over his people

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5
Q

Trinity

A

The term used of God in the doctrine that God is both one and three, existing as one God in three persons: Father, Son, Holy Spirit

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6
Q

Covenant

A

A relationship between two parties that has spelled-out expectations

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7
Q

Hebrew Scriptures, Jewish Scriptures

A

Used today by Jewish people and many scholars to describe (their canonical) sacred writings written in Hebrew

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8
Q

Disciple

A

A person who follows and learns from Jesus, or more specifically, one of Jesus’ original twelve disciples.

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9
Q

Apostles

A

A word meaning “messenger” or “one who is sent,” normally used as a title for certain early church leaders, especially Jesus’s twelve disciples and Paul

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10
Q

Old Testament

A

Used by Christians starting in the early third century to refer to the sacred Jewish writings in comparison with the writings of the apostles

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11
Q

Sacrifice

A

The offering of a crop or an animal to express worship toward a god

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12
Q

Law of Christ

A

Paul’s play on the term “law” that refers to love in action, as Jesus sums up the entire law of Moses in loving God and loving one’s neighbor

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13
Q

Manuscripts

A

Ancient documents of the Bible or part of the Bible handwritten on some type of paper or leather

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14
Q

Gospel

A

A word meaning “good news” referring to the good news of the message of Jesus Christ’s life, death, and resurrection. It also refers to each of the four first books of the New Testament (the Gospels) and their genre. The genre of the Gospels grew out of the Greek and Latin genre of bios into its own genre, setting Jesus’s teachings and actions into a broader, comprehensive story of the whole world, both human and divine, a story that points forward to its completion

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15
Q

Messiah

A

From the Hebrew word for “anointed” (meshiah), the title used to describe Jesus as set apart by God to be his good king over his people

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16
Q

Resurrection

A

The act of being brought from death to life. In the New Testament, Jesus’ resurrection from the dead assures Christians that they too will be resurrected from the dead into eternal life upon Jesus’s return

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17
Q

Papyrus

A

An early of paper made from a reed plant. Some of the earliest portions of the New Testament are written on papyri, some as early as the second century AD.

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18
Q

Vellum

A

A lambskin or calfskin that has been treated so that it can be used as a fine writing surface

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19
Q

Martyrs

A

Christians who are put to death because of their witness to the truth of Jesus Christ as God’s Messiah, through whom salvation comes

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20
Q

Scrolls

A

Rolled pieces of parchment containing writing

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21
Q

Codex

A

Any number of sliced manuscripts sewn or glued together in a stack. This is the earliest form of what now would be called a “book,” and Christians were some of its earliest adopters.

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22
Q

Inspiration

A

The doctrine that Scripture, while authored by humans, consists of God’s own words given to teach, rebuke, correct, and train (2 Tim. 3:16)

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23
Q

Majuscules

A

Manuscripts written in a style of all capital letters. These date especially from the fourth to the eighth century

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24
Q

Textual criticism

A

The study of ancient texts that seeks to establish the most reliable version of their content and wording

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25
Q

Minuscules

A

Manuscripts, usually on parchment, written in a small cursive style of Greek letters. We have thousands of minuscules, most dating from the eleventh to thirteenth century.

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26
Q

Lectionaries

A

Books of biblical readings to be used in worship services. These were written in many different styles and languages, and most date from the eleventh to thirteenth century.

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27
Q

Church fathers

A

Prominent theologians and preachers of the first few centuries of the church

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28
Q

Critical editions

A

A reconstructed text that scholars put together based on ancient manuscripts, providing a text that a committee has decided is most likely original. These editions also often include textual variants, as well as notes indicating how confident the scholars are on variants and their reasoning for textual decisions

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29
Q

Second temple period

A

The period from 515 BC to AD 70 (or AD 135), from the Jew’s return form exile to the destruction of the temple, which provides the complex background to Jesus and early Christianity

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30
Q

Koine Greek

A

A simplified hybrid of several dialects of Greek in which the NT was written. During Jesus’ day Koine was the common form of Greek spoken throughout the whole Mediterranean world and into the Middle East, because it allowed governance and trade to occur throughout the Roman Empire

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31
Q

Symbolic world

A

The system of values, habits, and beliefs that operates at a conscious and subconscious level.

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32
Q

What are at least 2 important NT texts that show how the NT relates to the OT?

A

Matthew Ch 5: Jesus fulfills the law and prophets (context, clarify commands X add)
Luke 24: Jesus & Road to Emmaus, OT explains Messiah had to suffer (w/o OT could not understand death)

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33
Q

Hellenization

A

Alexander the Great’s campaign to spread throughout the world the superiority of Greek language, culture, and philosophy

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34
Q

Maccabees

A

The nickname meaning “hammers,” given to Judas and his rebel followers who revolted successfully against the Surians in 167 BC. His family, the Hasmonean dynasty, continued to rule until Roman occupation in 63 BC

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35
Q

Pharisees

A

The Jewish conservatives of Jesus’s day who focused on the strict study and practice of God’s commandments in the Torah and the rabbinic traditions that developed along those lines. Their name derives from the idea of being “separate” from others, and their focus was on purity or ritual cleanness. Their roots are from the Maccabean period, with its fervor for rediscovering and defending traditional Judaism

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36
Q

Herodian dynasty

A

The dynasty of Herod the Great and his family from 37 BC until the destruction of the temple in AD 70

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37
Q

Torah

A

A Hebrew term meaning “covenantal instructions,” referring to the law of Moses. It is also often used as a synonym for “Pentateuch”

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38
Q

Synagogues

A

The local place where Jews gather to worship, pray, and study the Hebrew Bible

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39
Q

Pentateuch

A

The five books of Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

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40
Q

Old Testament Pseudepigrapha

A

A collection of stories and prophecies that are ascribed to famous people from biblical times, such as Enoch, Solomon, and Abraham

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41
Q

Rabbi

A

A teacher of Jewish law. These teachers became a fixture within Judaism during the Second Temple period as their sayings and interpretations were memorized and written down

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42
Q

Talmuds

A

Written collections of various rabbinical teachings and sayings, called the Mishnah, with later expansions and sayings, called the Gemara

43
Q

Dead Sea Scrolls

A

A wide collection of writings that came from a community of Jews who had separated themselves from the rest of Judaism. This diverse library of some eight hundred writings includes copies of the biblical texts, commentaries and paraphrases on the Bible, pseudepigraphical writings, devotional material, and instructions about the community’s life together

44
Q

Targums

A

Translations of the Hebrew Scriptures into Aramaic, the language commonly used in Palestine and probably what Jesus spoke.

45
Q

Apocrypha

A

Fourteen or fifteen books (depending on how portions are calculated) in Greek that were produced during the Second Temple period. The Apocrypha consists of additions to some of the Hebrew books (additional parts of Esther and Daniel); some prayers and psalms; instruction in wise living; enjoyable novellas like Susanna, Tobit, and Judith; and the four large histories of the Maccabean period (1-3 Maccabees)

46
Q

Shema

A

The confession from Deuteronomy 6:4 that “the Lord our God is one,” which Jesus reiterates as the greatest biblical command

47
Q

Monotheism

A

A religious belief that there is only one true and superior god

48
Q

Circumcision

A

In Judaism, the removing of the foreskin of the penis, symbolizing the covenant between Yahweh and Israel

49
Q

Sadducees

A

Jewish people usually from the families that controlled the priesthood and political power going back to the later generations of the Hasmonean dynasty. This group typically was wealthy controlled taxes and temple activities, and was in political relationship with the Roman government. They were followers of Moses and honored the Torah as binding, but not other writings such as the Prophets or other beliefs that had developed in the Second Temple period, such as the bodily resurrection and angels. As those in control of wealth and power, they had little interest in the hope for a messiah to come and overthrow the government to establish a new kingdom

49
Q

Herodians

A

Jewish people who supported the Herodian dynasty and were therefore part of the Roman imperial establishment

49
Q

Essenes

A

A priestly Jewish group who focused on asceticism (typically including celibacy) and the rejection of the current priesthood as fraudulent

50
Q

Zealots

A

A Jewish group that focused on Jewish political independence from their Roman oppressors, often engineering assassinations, kidnappings, and Robin Hood-like attacks and thefts on Roman caravans

51
Q

Samaritans

A

Samaria was the area north of Judea and south of Galilee in ancient Israel but was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BC. There were centuries of conflict and hatred between the Samaritans, who considered themselves Jews, and the other Jewish people of the surrounding areas. The Samaritans had their own version of the Pentateuch, along with their own temple on Mount Gerizim. By Jesus’ time the Jews avoided the Samaritans completely, even traveling long distances to avoid going through their region

52
Q

Josephus

A

(AD 37-100) A Jewish general who surrendered to the Romans in AD 70 and ended up living in Rome, where he wrote several important works, including the lengthy History of the Jewish War, and from whom much of our information about Second Temple Judaism comes

53
Q

Feast of Dedication/Lights

A

The Jewish festival (today Hanukkah) in which Jews celebrated their recapturing of the temple during the Maccabean period

54
Q

Stoicism

A

This highly influential way of life saw true happiness as achievable by learning self-control, to not be controlled by emotions and circumstances.

55
Q

Honor-shame cultures

A

The dominant relational culture in Jesus’ day. Honor is like a currency that gives people status in society (like money in modern Western societies). Honor is granted according to what the society values and often promotes a more group-oriented society. Conversely, one receives shame by not conforming to the established standards of good and bad. Jesus’ teaching often pushed against aspects of the honor-shame culture. The first become last, the persecuted and ridiculed are honored, the lame and blind and poor are welcomed and lifted up.

56
Q

Patron-client relationships

A

An institution vital to the culture and community of the Roman Empire. Patrons often were wealthier members of society who might provide money, grain, employment, land, or social advancement for their clients. In exchange, the socially and financially lesser client was obligated to express gratitude and to publicize the favor of the patron and thereby contribute to his reputation.

57
Q

Apostolic Fathers

A

The Christian leaders of the generation after the original apostles. Their writings include letters from Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, and Polycarp, as well as the Didache, which gives instructions about early Christian practice, and the popular Shepherd of Hermas, which includes visions, instructions, and allegorical parables

58
Q

Apostles’ Creed

A

A statement of faith, used by many churches of the Western tradition, first introduced in the eighth century.

59
Q

Son of David

A

The descendant of the great king of Israel, David; Jesus took on this title to indicate that he was the final fulfillment of God’s promise to David to restore his kingdom

60
Q

Son of Man

A

Jesus’ self-designation that alludes to Daniel 7, portraying himself as God’s anointed king sent to reign forever.

61
Q

Discipleship

A

The path of life on which one follows Jesus’ own ultimate example of humility, righteous suffering, and love

62
Q

Hypocrisy

A

External behavioral righteousness lacking a heart connected to God. It is the opposite of Jesus’ “greater righteousness”–the call to inward purity and wholeness between outer behavior and the heart

63
Q

Last (Lord’s) Supper

A

The Passover meal that Jesus ate with his disciples before he was betrayed. During the meal, Jesus established a ceremony to remember his body and blood through bread and wine. The church would continue this observation as the Lord’s Supper after his death and resurrection.

64
Q

Sanhedrin

A

The top Jewish council that decided matters of Jewish law. In Jesus’s day it was made up of seventy-one members from the high priests, elders, and scribes

65
Q

Golgotha

A

An Aramaic word meaning “skull.” The hill where Jesus was crucified outside Jerusalem.

66
Q

Feast of Pentecost

A

The Jewish harvest Feast of Weeks, held on the fiftieth day of Passover, during which the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, causing them to preach in the languages of those gathered for the festival

67
Q

Kingdom of Heaven

A

Matthew’s unique phrase that means the same thing as “the kingdom of God” in terms of its referent–God’s now and future reign–but is different in terms of connotations. Matthew likes to describe God’s reign as “of heaven,” because this evokes the idea of the strong contrast between the kingdoms of this world and God’s heavenly kingdom yet to come

68
Q

Lord’s Prayer

A

The two-part prayer that Jesus uses as an anchoring model, orienting the believer in how to relate to God our Father and others in the daily life of Faith

69
Q

Synoptic Gospels

A

The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These are the three canonical Gospels that have a clear literary relationship, often containing stories and saying that overlap significantly, and likely depending on one another’s writing at some level

70
Q

Righteousness

A

Holistic moral uprightness, marked by right relationships of faithfulness and love. Christians become righteous through faith in Jesus Christ

71
Q

Salvation

A

The act of God by which he saves humans from their sin through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ

72
Q

Bios genre

A

A Greek and Latin genre of literature centering on one person and his or her actions, with everyone and everything in the story relating back to that one person. The genre of the Gospels grew out of the bios into its own genre, setting Jesus’ teachings and actions into a broader comprehensive story of the whole world, both human and divine, a story that points forward to its completion

73
Q

Apocryphal Gospels

A

Noncanonical stories or collections of sayings about Jesus that often differ qualitatively from the four canonical Gospels

74
Q

Canon Tables

A

Beginning at least with Eusebius, a cross-referenced system for reading the Gospel stories in dialogue with one another as part of the Fourfold Gospel Book

75
Q

Source Criticism

A

Source criticism seeks to understand the order in which the Gospels were written and how they relate to one another literarily

76
Q

Reception History

A

Rooted in a greater awareness of each interpreter’s situatedness in his or her own culture, reception history seeks to understand how the New Testament was read in the past, especially before the modern era

77
Q

Great Commission

A

The story told in Matthew 28:18-20 of Jesus authorizing his disciples to make disciples of all the nations of the world, baptize them, and teach them to obey him

78
Q

Catechism

A

A summary of Christian doctrine used to instruct Christians often made up of questions and answers

79
Q

Docetism

A

An early heresy in which it was claimed that Jesus only appeared to be a human

80
Q

Union with Christ

A

Paul’s theology of being jointed to Christ (“in Christ,” “with Christ,” “through Christ,” etc.) best understood through four images:
(1) union refers to a profound spiritual connection to Christ through mutual indwelling by the Spirit
(2) participation refers to sharing in the key events of Christ’s narrative, such as his suffering, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, and glorification;
(3) identification refers to shifting our allegiance from Adam and the realm of sin and death to Christ and his realm of righteousness and peace;
(4) incorporation refers to being members together in a corporate entity shaped by Christ

80
Q

Atonement

A

A sacrifice made for sin that restores the at-one-ness between the holy God and sinner

81
Q

Passover

A

The annual Jewish festival celebrating the sparing of Israel’s children on the night before the exodus of Israel from Egypt. Passover also begins the Feast of Unleavened Bread

81
Q

General Letters

A

The seven letters of the NT, sometimes called Catholic (universal), that are addressed to Christians in general rather than to a specific church: James; 1-2 Peter; 1-3 John; Jude

82
Q

Haggadah

A

A Hebrew term meaning “story” or “telling.” One of the two forms of Midrash, it also appears in the Passover Haggadah, the liturgy meant to set fourth the order and meaning of the Passover meal.

83
Q

Halakah

A

A Hebrew term meaning “the way.” One of the two forms of Midrash. It is the collection of traditions about how to apply the Pentateuch to religious life and daily conduct.

84
Q

Flat Characters

A

Literary characters who do not develop but rather serve as types or stock figures who play a set role

85
Q

Round Characters

A

Literary characters who are multifaceted and develop throughout the course of a story

86
Q

Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed

A

The AD 381 revision of the original AD 325 Nicene Creed, affirming orthodox, trinitarian theology

87
Q

The “beloved disciple”

A

Theologically: any of 12 except Judas. Traditionally John son of Zebedee of Jesus’ trio.
Leans on Jesus’ chest, enables Peter to enter high priest’ courtyard. outruns Peter to empty tomb and first believe Jesus’ resurrection.
Joh calling himself: self-abasing or humorous, or what John’s disciple called him

88
Q

Vulgate

A

The late fourth-century Latin translation of the Bible made by Jerome, which became the official Bible used by the Roman Catholic Church

89
Q

Upper Room Discourse

A

Jesus’ teaching of his disciples the core truths of the Christian faith during the Passover meal (John 13-17), centering on sacrificial love and relational unity

90
Q

Seven signs in John

A

The seven miraculous signs of Jesus pointing to his being sent by God with divine power on earth, as recorded in John’s Gospel:
1) changing water into wine
2) healing of the nobleman’s son
3) healing of the lame man
4) feeding of the five thousand
5) walking on water
6) healing of the man born blind
7) raising of Lazarus

91
Q

High Priestly Prayer

A

Jesus’ prayer in John 17:1-26, at the end of the Upper Room Discourse, in which he asks his Father to protect his disciples and to create among them a unity mirroring the unity of the Father and Son

92
Q

Filioque Clause

A

The clause meaning “and the Son,” (Latin) added to the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed referring to the Spirit’s being sent by both the Father and the Son. The clause was affirmed by the Western church but rejected by the Eastern church, serving as a key part of the Major split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches in the eleventh century

93
Q

Gematria

A

An ancient practice of finding connections between numbers and names, where the numeric value of words is calculated, seeing symbolic significance in the connection.

94
Q

Ephesus

A

Paul visited briefly on 2nd trip & stayed longer than anywhere else on 3rd trip.
Third-larges city in Roman Empire and major hub of Asia minor. Majestic temple of Artemis (7 wonders) spiritual & economical destination and reginal bank. Mean rapid spread of message through eastern Roman Empire.

95
Q

Jerusalem Council

A

An early church meeting between messengers from the church in Antioch (Paul, Barnabas) and Jerusalem (James), as well as the apostles (Peter), in which they decided what should be required of gentile converts, concluding that gentiles should not be burdened with the law of Moses but should abstain from certain things that might cause Jewish believers to stumble (Acts 15:1-35)

96
Q

Roman Citizenship

A

A status of political and legal privilege, available only to free people (not slaves). Citizenship was given if both parents were Roman citizens, but also could be granted by generals and emperors. Male Roman citizens were given several privileges and protections that were defined by the Roman state, while Roman women experienced a more limited range of privileges

97
Q

King Agrippa

A

Acts 25: Herod Agrippa II (AD 27-100) son of Herod Agrippa in Acts 12. Last king in Herodian line

Bernice: King Agrippa’s sister who lived with him after death of husband & uncle Herod of Chalcis.
Agrippa did not automatically assume father’s kingdom because of youth but eventually gained power over same regions

98
Q

Cessationism

A

The belief that miraculous signs, like those experienced in Acts, were reserved for the apostolic age, a period in salvation history in which God worked amazing feats that served as signposts for the inauguration of the age of the Spirit

99
Q

Continuationism

A

The belief that miraculous signs, like those experienced in Acts, continue into the present age without compromising the salvation-historical importance of the signs recorded in Acts

CU: New Testament Literature (2 decks)

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