Exam #1 - NT Backgrounds Flashcards
What significant event happened in 586 BC?
The fall of Jerusalem to the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzer (Ole Nebbie) and the deportation of many exiles to Babylon
What significant event happened in 539 BC?
Babylon falls to Persia. Some Jews go home, but others don’t (Diaspora)
Who is Cyrus the Great?
Persian ruler who conquered Babylon in 539 BC.
What happened in the 330s BC?
Alexander the Great begins expanding his empire, which eventually included Judea (etc.).
What was significant about Alexander the Great expanding his empire in the 330s BC?
linguistic and cultural hellenization (or “Greekification”) and the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Hebrew OT)
What was the Septuagint? How did it come into being?
it was the Greek version of the Hebrew OT and it came into being due to the hellenization of Jewish culture/life
What imperial powers did Israel fall under the control of? List two.
first the Ptolmies, then the Seleucids (Antiochus IV)
What significant event happened in 167 BC as a result of Israel’s new ruler?
What was the result of this event?
Antiochus had the Jerusalem Temple turned over to worshipping Zeus; pigs were even sacrificed by Greeks on the Temple altar.
The Maccabean War.
What was the result of the Maccabean War in the 160s BC (167-160)?
Jewish forces under Judas Maccabee regain control of temple and cleanse it (Hanukkah).
What dynasty begins in the early 140s-63 BC?
the Hasmonean Dynasty
What happens in 63 BC? Who rules at this time?
Roman rule begins with Pompey the Great
What happens in 37-4 BC? Who is the ruler at this time?
Herod the Great rules as “King of the Jews”
What happens in 4 BC? (think of the number 3)
Herod the Great’s kingdom splits between 3 sons (Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip)
What happens in AD 37? Who comes into power? And how does this ruler die?
Herod Agrippa I, a grandson of Herod the Great. Herod Agrippa the II’s rule follows after Herod Agrippa I is eaten by worms.
What war arises in AD 66-70? What is destroyed? What is the result?
the First Jewish War (destruction of the Second Temple, which Herod the Great had expanded/renovated).
The result is failure.
What war arises in AD 132-135? How did it begin and how did it end?
The Second Jewish War. Romans built a pagan temple in a Jewish city and oppressed their practices. Romans eventually completely took over the city and forbade Jews from entering it.
Why should we study the NT?
- theological reasons: God cares about the material world and historical particularity. We know this due to creation, incarnation, Jesus’ resurrection, and how God gave us Scripture - through particular people in particular times and places.
- epistemological reasons: words mean what they mean in particular contexts, and we read from our own different, diverse contexts
How do we study the NT?
we study the general history of the NT and the reception history that fills the gap between the “then” and the “now.”
What is “common Judaism?”
a selection of the schools of thought and practice within first-century Judaism, including (but not limited to) the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes.
What are some examples of the practices that all Jews would observe? (“common Judaism”)
- observed Sabbath
- Torah = true law
- revere Temple
- male circumcision
- dietary laws
- practicing prayer
- mono-theistic
- following law = God’s grace (not a burden but an opportunity; a chance to live in right relationship w/ God)
Describe the Pharisees.
- Lay movement (not primarily priests; some overlap w/ scribes)
- emphasized accurate interpretation and observance of the Law; affirmed a hope in bodily resurrection.
- possibly the religious descendants of the Hassidim
- seem to have adhered oral tradition as well as the written Torah
- became dominant after fall of Jerusalem Temple (70 AD)
- sanctification of daily life; ALL of life
What are ways in which Jesus’ teachings and the Pharisees’ beliefs clashed?
- whether/how to interact with those who consistently don’t observe the Law
- what role interpretive traditions have in regulating approach to ritual purity
- Sabbath observance
- specific vs. interpretive differences (e.g., divorce)
Describe the Sadducees.
- upper-class, urban, some priests
- focus on temple-worship
- rejected oral tradition and Pharisees’ attempts to apply Law to all of life
- did not affirm the resurrection of the body (no life after death)
- based doctrine only on the Torah (in the first 5 books of the OT only)
- cooperation w/ Rome
- less prominent after 70 AD
- if it’s not in the law, it’s not in the law (oh, well)
Describe the Essenes.
- ascetic practices (e.g., fasting, celibacy, and other forms of bodily discipline)
- not named in NT (potential ties to John the Baptist; eating locusts, ceremonial washing)
- monastic settlement at Qunran (where Dead Sea Scrolls were found) was likely one expression of this group.
- objected to the calendar and priesthood of Temple
- emphasized studying Scripture (but had their own interpretations of it)
- apocalyptic hope
- dualistic worldview
Describe “Fourth Philosophy” Zealots.
- probably came to the fore after Jesus’ earthly ministry.
- some were advocating and experimenting w/ violent opposition to Roman oppression.
- comes to a head in 66-70 AD.
- advocating purity to the point of violence.
- origins w/ Phirens in Numbers?
Describe the Samaritans. Compare and contrast their beliefs w/ first-century Judaism.
differences:
- place of worship on Mt. Gerizim near Sheehan, rather than in Jerusalem.
- own version of Pentateuch/Torah (the Samaritan Pentateuch)
commonalities:
- monotheistic (not normal in ancient world to be monotheistic)
- aniconic worship (no images)
- authority of Torah/Mosaic Law, including Sabbath-observance, male circumcision, etc.
What were some significant institutional structures of first-century Judaism?
- The Temple in Jerusalem: locus of sacrifice, some Jews in the Diaspora made pilgrimage to Jerusalem for major feast, destroyed in 70 AD.
- Sanhedrin: highest Jewish court (under Romans), included upper-class Lay people, Sadducees, Pharisees, led by high priest.
- Synagogues: local gatherings to study Scripture, pray, etc., developed during Babylonian exile, as not every Jew had access to a temple.
What was the Pax Romana?
Roman peace (or pacification?); solidified safe travel and communication.
What were the socioeconomic situations of the Roman empire?
- patronage (gives money, receives honor)
- honor/shame system
What was slavery like in the ancient world?
- there were many ways one could become a slave (e.g., selling yourself, prisoners of war, punishment for crimes, being in debt, born into slavery, etc.)
- given different jobs (household slaves, slaves sent to die (expendable slaves), agriculture slaves, etc.)
- manumission (slavery wasn’t necessarily permanent)
- master/slave could become master/client (slaves often kept relations w/ owner after freedom)
- affected a person’s status, even after freedom
- generally viewed as property (de-humanization)
What were households like in the Roman empire?
- extended families lived together
- hierarchical (patriarchal; complex scale given overlapping identities)
- women could be heads of houses, but wasn’t as common
- children and wives generally seen as second-class citizens (according to law, anyway)
- wives for child-bearing/rearing only, not for pleasure
What were the categories and sub-categories of Greco-Roman religions/philosophies?
- Greek/Roman pantheon (appeasing the gods; fertility gods, crop gods, etc.)
- emperor worship
- mystery religions (personal concern for salvation)
- (proto-) Gnosticism
- various sorts of “popular religion” (curses, love spells, etc.)
- philosophical schools
- combos of these options
Describe “emperor worship” or the “cult of the emperor.”
- began with worshipping dead emperors, then moved to worshipping living ones.
- exemption for Jews (but they had to pray to their God for the emperor)
- political-religious clearly intertwined here - political unity, allegiance expressed or denied religious behavior
(Pliny the Younger to Emperor Trajan, in regards to the trials of Christians)
Describe (proto-) Gnosticism.
- God/world dualism (God is good, material world is bad, God who makes matter is bad; two gods?)
- salvation through secret knowledge
- materiality is imprisonment
- not fully formed until 1st century
- early Christians wrote against this movement
- “our bodies don’t matter”; justification to do whatever they wanted OR repression of bodily acts such as sex
- Nag Hamadi, cache of Gnostic documents discovered in 1945.
What is an autograph?
the document that is written by him/herself or by their secretary who wrote it for them.
What is a manuscript?
documents written by hand
What are textual variants?
differences in the copy of a text
Do we have the autographs for any biblical text? And what is the purpose for this?
no, because perhaps we are meant to receive Scripture from church/community. We are not meant to isolate ourselves.
What is textual criticism?
compares all the manuscript evidence that we have, weighing the evidence according to the principles of textual criticism.
- traditional goal is to determine which variant most likely reflects what was originally written in the autograph.
What are the two critical editions of the text that display some of the text-critical evidence?
- “eclectic” which means that it draws on many different manuscripts rather than following any one manuscript.
- “critical” which means analysis, rather than criticism.
What’s at stake (and isn’t at stake) with textual criticism?
- no central doctrine of Christian faith hinges on any single text-critical question
- the doctrine of inerrancy applies, strictly speaking, to autographs
What are some facts about the production of autographs in the ancient world? What were they often made from?
- papyrus: made from reeds common in Egypt (connect sheets to make a scroll, commit to a length)
- Greek: all-caps, no spaces (earlier) in majuscule
- later, Greek was written in lower-caps, in miniscule (which is proof that handwriting can help with dating)
- kodak form
- ink: soot mixed w/ water
- wreath pens
What roles could a secretary play in the writing of a manuscript?
- recorder; records word for word
- editor; edits words spoken
- co-author; given a main argument and some key words.
- composer; skill and imagination is required to write in the name of said person.
How did people generally send letters in the ancient world?
- using an enslaved person
- paying someone to take it
- sending it w/ a stranger
What are some rules of thumb for deciphering variants and reading ancient text?
- conformity to what’s known of author’s style/thought = more likely original
- consistent w/ common scribal errors = less likely original
- clarifications/”corrections” or more difficult to understand = more likely original
- dittography (accidental repetitions)
- haplography
- more likely to add than take away/shorter = more likely original
