Mid Term Vocab List

Question 1

Gnosticism

Answer 1

A religious movement which claimed adherents gained salvation through secret knowledge of their true heavenly origin

Question 2

Canon

Answer 2

Those books viewed by the church as authoritative and so fit to be included in the Bible. Protestant, Roman Catholics, and Orthodox Christians agree on the twenty- seven books of NT canon, though differ on whether to include the Apocrypha in the OT canon

Question 3

Pericope

Answer 3

A short, self contained Gospel episode such as a miracle story, a parable, or a pronouncement story which may have originally circulated as an independent unit of oral tradition

Question 4

Sitz im Leben

Answer 4

A German phrase meaning “setting in life” referring to the original cultural and historical contexts in which an episode or a narrative arose

Question 5

Evaluative Point of View

Answer 5

The values, beliefs, and worldview which the reader is expected to adopt in order to judge the events and characters of a narrative

Question 6

Implied Readers

Answer 6

An imaginary person who responds appropriately to the strategy of a narrative text

Question 7

Plot

Answer 7

The progress of a narrative; the sequence of events which move the story from introduction, to conflict, to climax, to conclusion

Question 8

Story Time

Answer 8

The actual passage of time in the narrative world of a text

Question 9

Narrative Time

Answer 9

The manner in which story time is portrayed, in terms or order, speed, and duration

Question 10

Round Characters

Answer 10

Complex and often unpredictable narrative characters with multiple traits

Question 11

Flat Characters

Answer 11

Simple, one dimensional, and predictable characters in a narrative

Question 12

Static Characters

Answer 12

Characters in a narrative who remain the same throughout the story

Question 13

Dynamic Characters

Answer 13

Characters who develop and change in the course of a narrative

Question 14

Chiasm

Answer 14

Inverse parallelism,a concentric pattern in which a series of things repeats itself in reverse order

Question 15

Inclusio

Answer 15

A “bookend” structure in which the narrator identifies the boundaries of a section by placing a similar statement or episode at the beginning and end

Question 16

Intercalation

Answer 16

Can also be called “sandwiching”. Similar to inclusio, except that one episode is inserted (intercalated) into the middle of another

Question 17

Hellenization

Answer 17

The spread of Greek culture and language, whether by coercion, force, or natural appeal.

Question 18

Diaspora

Answer 18

“Dispersion”, a reference to Jews living outside Israel.

Question 19

Herod the Great

Answer 19

The Idumean (Edomite) ruler who gained the throne of Israel after the Roman conquest of Palestine and ruled 37-4 BC

Question 20

Caesar Augustus (Octavian)

Answer 20

(63 BC-AD 14) The first true emperor of Rome;ruler of the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus’ birth

Question 21

Pontius Pilate

Answer 21

The Roman prefect or governor of the Roman province of Judea from AD 26-36, during the time of Jesus’ ministry

Question 22

Herod Antipas

Answer 22

The son of Herod the Great and tetrach of Galilee and Perea between 4 BC and AD 39 during the period of Jesus’ ministry

Question 23

Pax Romana

Answer 23

A Latin term meaning “Roman Peace” and referring to the period of relative peace and stability established by Caesar Augustus

Question 24

Caiaphas

Answer 24

Jewish high priest from AD 18-36, and so the high priest during Jesus’ public ministry

Question 25

Scribes

Answer 25

Experts in the law of Moses

Question 26

Sadducees

Answer 26

A religious and political party in the first century Judaism made up mostly of the priestly leadership and aristocracy.

Question 27

Pharisees

Answer 27

A religious and political party in the first century Judaism which strictly adhered to purity laws and the law of Moses, both the written law and oral traditons

Question 28

Mishnah

Answer 28

The earliest of the rabbinic writings, put into written form AD 200, composed of the rulings of the rabbis on a wide range of issues related to the application of Torah to everyday life

Question 29

Talmud

Answer 29

The complete body of Jewish oral traditions, including the Mishnah, the Tosefta and Gemara

Question 30

Targums

Answer 30

Aramaic paraphrases and expansions of Scripture

Question 31

Hillel

Answer 31

(60 BC- AD 20) One of the most important rabbis of the Second Temple period. The House (or “school”) of Hillel developed seven rules of interpretation which shaped the course of rabbinic interpretation after the destruction of Jerusalem. Hillel’s interpretations of the law are generally less strict than the rival school of Shammai.

Question 32

Shammai

Answer 32

(first century BC) The house (or “school”) founded by Shammai was the first major academy of Jewish sages. It generally favored a more restrictive interpretation of the law than its rival school, the House of Hillel.

Question 33

Honor and Shame

Answer 33

Critical values in first century Mediterranean culture, honor and shame relate to gaining or losing status and esteem from others in the community

Question 34

Patronage

Answer 34

A system common in societies with strict social distinctions, whereby a client provides honor, loyalty, and obedience to a more powerful patron or benefactor in return for favors of some kind.

Question 35

Confession of Peter

Answer 35

A key transitional passage in the Synoptic Gospels (Mark 8:27-31), as Peter acknowledges that Jesus is the Messiah, and Jesus begins speaking about his upcoming death

Question 36

Olivet Discourse

Answer 36

Jesus’ message to the disciples given on the Mount of Olives concerning the destruction of the temple and the end of the age (Mark 13)

Question 37

Theophilus

Answer 37

The addressee in both Luke and Acts. He was probably the patron who sponsored the writing of the Gospel and acts

Question 38

Nazareth Sermon

Answer 38

The Sermon Jesus gives in the beginning of his Galilean ministry. It set the stage for the rest of the Gospel by demonstrating Gods concern for Gentiles and foreshadowing Israels rejection of her Messiah

Question 39

Gospel for the Outcast

Answer 39

Another name for Lukes travel narrative or journey to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27), which presents the many stories and parables which stress Gods love for the lost

Question 40

Zacchaeus Episode

Answer 40

Represents the climax of Luke’s travel narrative and responds to Jesus’ message of Gods love for the lost and the need for faithful stewardship after Jesus’ departure

Question 41

Paraclete

Answer 41

A description of Jesus to the HS in the farewell discourse the “mysteries” and nature of the kingdom of God (Mark 4; Matthew 13;Luke 8)

Question 42

Theophany

Answer 42

The appearance in visible form of God, or a god, to a human being

Question 43

Ontological Equality

Answer 43

A phrase meaning “equality of essence of being.” While equal to God the father in being, Jesus lived in functional subordination to him.