Midterm 1

Question 1

Apocrypha

Answer 1

A Greek term meaning, literally, “hidden things”; used for books on the fringe of the Jewish or Christian canons of Scripture

Question 2

Apostle

Answer 2

Generally, one who is commissioned to perform a task, from a Greek word meaning “sent”; in early Christianity, the term was used to designate special emissaries of the faith who were understood to be representatives of Christ.

Question 3

BCE

Answer 3

Abbreviation for “before the Common Era” - used as exact equivalent of the Christian designation “before Christ” (B.C.).

Question 4

Canon

Answer 4

From a Greek word meaning “ruler” or “straight edge.” The term came to designate any recognized collection of texts; the canon of the New Testament is thus the collection of books that Christians accept as authoritative.

Question 5

CE

Answer 5

Abbreviation for “Common Era” - used as exact equivalent of Christian designation “anno domini” (A.D., a Latin phrase meaning ‘year of our Lord’).

Question 6

Gentile

Answer 6

A Jewish designation for a non-Jew.

Question 7

gospel

Gospel

Answer 7

When this word is not capitalized, it refers not to a book but to the proclamation of the “good news” (from the Greek word euaggelion) of Christ’s salvation (e.g., the gospel of Paul is his message, not a book that he used).

When this word is capitalized, it refers to a literary genre: a written account of the “good news” brought by Jesus Christ, including episodes involving his words and/or deeds (e.g., the Gospel of Luke or of Peter).

Question 8

Manuscripts

Answer 8

Any handwritten copy of a literary text.

Question 9

Torah

Answer 9

A Hebrew word that means “guidance” or “direction” but that is usually translated as “Law.” As a technical term, it designates either the Law of God given to Moses or the first five books of the Jewish Bible that Moses was traditionally thought to have written—Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Question 10

Autograph

Answer 10

The original manuscript of a literary text, from a Greek word meaning “the writing itself.”

Question 11

Papyrus

Answer 11

A reed-like plant that grows principally around the Nile and whose stalk was used for the manufacture of a paper-like writing surface in antiquity.

Question 12

Scribe (Christian)

Answer 12

Literate Christians responsible for copying sacred Scripture.

Question 13

Criptio Continua

Answer 13

The ancient practice of writing without using spaces to separate words.

Question 14

Textual criticism

Answer 14

An academic discipline that seeks to establish the original wording of a text based on the surviving manuscripts.

Question 15

Alexander the Great

Answer 15

The great military leader of Macedonia (356-323 B.c.E.) whose armies conquered much of the eastern Mediterranean and who was responsible for the spread of Greek culture (Hellenism) throughout the lands he conquered.

Question 16

Epicureans

Answer 16

Ancient group of followers of the Greek philosopher Epicurus, who maintained that the gods were removed from the concerns of human life and so were not to be feared or placated. Happiness came in establishing a peaceful harmony with other like-minded people and enjoying the simple pleasures of daily existence.

Question 17

Greco Roman World

Answer 17

The lands (and culture) around the Mediterranean from the time of Alexander the Great to the Emperor Constantine, roughly 300 B.c.g. to 300 cz. (See also Box 3.2.)

Question 18

Hellenization

Answer 18

The spread of Greek language and culture (Hellenism) throughout the Mediterranean, starting with the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Question 19

Isis

Answer 19

Egyptian goddess worshiped in mystery cults throughout the Roman world.

Question 20

Magic

Answer 20

A term that is notoriously hard to define, “magic” usually refers to religious practices that are not sanctioned by society at large or by the community in which they are found. Sometimes magic is referred to as the “dark side” of religion, involving sacred activities and words that are socially marginalized.

Question 21

Monotheism

Answer 21

The belief that there is only one God (sometimes distinguished from “henotheism,” which acknowledges that other gods exist, but insists that only one is to be worshiped)

Question 22

Mystery Cults

Answer 22

• A group of Greco-Roman religions that focused on the devotees’ individual needs both in this life and in life after death, so named because their initiation rituals and cultic practices involved the disclosure of hidden things that were to be kept secret from outsiders.

Question 23

Pagan

Answer 23

Any of the polytheistic religions of the Greco-Roman world, an umbrella term for ancient Mediterranean religions other than Judaism and Christianity.

Question 24

Polytheism

Answer 24

The belief that there are many gods, a belief that lies at the heart of all ancient pagan religions.

Question 25

Platonists (Middle Platonism)

Answer 25

Famous Greek philosopher from fourth-century B.c.E. Athens, many of whose ideas—including the tension between the realms of matters and spirit— influenced Christian thinkers in the early centuries of the church.

Question 26

Roman Empire

Answer 26

All of the lands conquered by Rome and ruled, ultimately, by the Roman emperor, starting with Caesar Augustus in 27 B.c.E.; prior to that, Rome was a republic ruled by the Senate (See also Box 3.3).

Question 27

Son of God

Answer 27

In most Greco-Roman circles, the designation of a person born to a god, able to perform miraculous deeds, and/or to convey superhuman teachings; in Jewish circles, the designation of persons chosen to stand in a special relationship with the God of Israel, including the ancient Jewish kings.

Question 28

Stoics/Stoicism

Answer 28

Greco-Roman philosophers who urged people to understand the way the world worked and to live in accordance with it, letting nothing outside of themselves affect their internal state of well-being.

Question 29

Antiochus Epiphanes

Answer 29

The Syrian monarch who attempted to force the Jews of Palestine to adopt Greek culture, leading to the Maccabean revolt in 167 B.C.E.

Question 30

Covenant

Answer 30

An agreement or treaty between two social or political parties that have come to terms; used by ancient Jews in reference to the pact that God made to protect and preserve them as his chosen people in exchange for their devotion and adherence to his Law.

Question 31

Day of Atonement

Answer 31

In Hebrew, Yom Kippur, the one day of the year when the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies in the Temple, to sacrifice first an animal to atone for his own sins and then another animal to atone for the sins of the people of Israel.

Question 32

Dead Sea Scrolls

Answer 32

Ancient Jewish writings discovered in several caves near the northwest edge of the Dead Sea, widely thought to have been produced by a group of apocalyptically minded Essenes who lived in a monastic-like community from Maccabean times through the Jewish War of 66-70 cr. See also Essenes; Qumran.

Question 33

Diaspora

Answer 33

Greek for “dispersion,” a term that refers to the dispersion of Jews away from Palestine into other parts of the Mediterranean, beginning with the Babylonian conquests in the sixth century B.C.E.

Question 34

Essenes

Answer 34

An apocalyptic and ascetic Jewish sect started during the Maccabean period, members of which are generally thought to have produced the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Question 35

Hasmoneans

Answer 35

An alternative name for the Maccabeans, the family of Jewish priests that began the revolt against Syria in 167 B.c.g. and that ruled Israel prior to the Roman conquest of 63 B.C.E.

Question 36

Herod Antipas

Answer 36

Son of Herod the Great, and ruler of Galilee from 4 to 39 c.£.; this is the Herod who executed John the Baptist and who was involved with the trial of Jesus according to the Gospel of Luke (and the Gospel of Peter).

Question 37

Herod the Great

Answer 37

Ruler of all of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea (and so “king of the Jews”) from 40 to 4 B.c-.; this Herod was allegedly ruling when Jesus was born and is known in Christian history for killing all the baby boys of Bethlehem in an attempt to destroy the infant Jesus (based on the account in Matthew).

Question 38

Holy of Holies

Answer 38

The innermost part of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, which was completely empty but in which God’s presence on earth was believed to dwell. No one could enter this room except the high priest on the Day of Atonement, to make a sacrifice for the sins of the people.

Question 39

Josephus

Answer 39

First-century Jewish historian, appointed court historian by the Roman emperor Vespasian, whose works The Jewish War and The Antiquities of the Jews are principal resources for information about life in first-century Palestine.

Question 40

Judas MAccabeus

Answer 40

Jewish patriot who led the family responsible for spearheading the Maccabean revolt.

Question 41

Messiah

Answer 41

From a Hebrew word that literally means “anointed one,” translated into Greek as Christos, from which derives our English word Christ. In the first century c.g., there was a wide range of expectations about whom this anointed one might be, with some Jews anticipating a future warrior-king like David; others a cosmic redeemer from heaven; others an authoritative priest; and still others a powerful spokesperson from God like Moses.

Question 42

Pentateuch

Answer 42

Literally, the “five scrolls” in Greek, a term used to designate the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Torah or the Law of Moses.

Question 43

Pharisees

Answer 43

A Jewish sect, which may have originated during the Maccabean period, that emphasized strict adherence to the purity laws set forth in the Torah. See also Mishnah.

Question 44

Qumran

Answer 44

Place near the northwest shore of the Dead Sea where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1946, evidently home to the group of Essenes who had used the Scrolls as part of their library.

Question 45

Sadducees

Answer 45

A Jewish party associated with the Temple cult and the Jewish priests who ran it, comprising principally the Jewish aristocracy in Judea. The party leader, the high priest, served as the highest-ranking local official and chief liaison with the Roman governor.

Question 46

Sanhedrin

Answer 46

A council of Jewish leaders headed by the high priest, which played an advisory role in matters of religious and civil policy.

Question 47

Septuagint

Answer 47

• The translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, so named because of a tradition that seventy (Latin: septuaginta) Jewish scholars had produced it.

Question 48

Sicarii

Answer 48

• A Latin term meaning, literally, “daggermen”: a designation for a group of first-century Jews responsible for the assassination of Jewish aristocrats thought to have collaborated with the Romans. See also Fourth Philosophy.

Question 49

Synagogue

Answer 49

Jewish place of worship and prayer, from a Greek word that literally means “being brought together.”

Question 50

Temple (Jerusalem)

Answer 50

In pagan circles, a temple was any holy place devoted to one or more divine beings where sacrifices could be made in accordance with established religious principles. For Judaism there was only one legitimate Temple, the one in Jerusalem, an enormous complex that contained the holy sanctuary—and, within it, the Holy of Holies, where God’s presence on earth was believed to dwell.

Question 51

Zealots

Answer 51

A group of Galilean Jews who fled to Jerusalem during the uprising against Rome in 66-70 c.£., overthrew the reigning aristocracy in the city, and urged violent resistance to the bitter end. See also Fourth Philosophy.

Question 52

Pontius Pilate

Answer 52

Roman aristocrat who served as the governor of Judea from 26 to 36 c.z. and who was responsible for ordering Jesus’ crucifixion

Question 53

Messianic Secret

Answer 53

This is a technical term used for one of the intriguing literary features of the Gospel of Mark, which is that even though Jesus is shown to be the Messiah, he tries to keep his identity a secret (e.g., by silencing those who recognize him and by hushing up the reports of his miracles).

Question 54

Beatitudes

Answer 54

A Latin word meaning, literally, “blessings,” used as a technical term for the sayings of Jesus that begin the Sermon on the Mount (e.g., “Blessed are the poor in spirit . . .”; Matt 5:3-12).

Question 55

Four Source Hypothesis

Answer 55

A solution to the “Synoptic Problem” that maintains that there are four sources that lie behind the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke: (1) Mark was the source for much of the narrative of Matthew and Luke; (2) Q was the source for the sayings found in Matthew and Luke but not in Mark; (3) M provided the material found only in Matthew’s Gospel; and (4) L provided the material found only in Luke.

Question 56

Markan Priority

Answer 56

The view that Mark was the first of the Synoptic Gospels to be written and was one of the sources used by Matthew and Luke.

Question 57

Q source (Quelle)

Answer 57

The source used by both Matthew and Luke for the stories they share, principally sayings, that are not found in Mark; from the German word Quelle, meaning “source.” The document no longer exists, but can be reconstructed on the basis of Matthew and Luke.

Question 58

Synoptic Problem

Answer 58

• The problem of explaining the similarities and differences between the three Synoptic Gospels. See also Markan Priority; Q.

Question 59

Sermon on Mount

Answer 59

The sermon found only in Matthew 5-7, which preserves many of the best known sayings of Jesus (including Matthew’s form of the Beatitudes, the Antitheses, and the Lord’s Prayer).

Question 60

Kingdom of God

Answer 60

In the teachings of Jesus, the Kingdom of God (or God’s Reign) appears to refer to an actual Kingdom that will come to earth to replace the wicked kingdoms that are now in control of affairs, and of God’s people, here. This would be a utopian Kingdom where truth, peace, and justice were restored; it would be ruled by God’s anointed one (i.e., the messiah).

Question 61

Antithesis

Answer 61

Literally, “contrary statements,” used as a technical term to designate six sayings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:21-48) in which Paul states a Jewish law (“You have heard it said…”) and then sets his own interpretation over it (“But I say to you. . coe

Question 62

Theophilus

Answer 62

The person to whom “Luke” addressed both of his volumes, the Gospel and the book of Acts. Scholars debate whether Theophilus was a real person— possibly a highly placed Roman administrator—or whether the name was instead symbolic. It literally means either “beloved of God” or “lover of God.” If symbolic, it would refer to the Christian individuals or communities who were the author’s intended audience.

Question 63

Passover

Answer 63

The most important and widely celebrated annual festival of Jews in Roman times, commemorating the Exodus from Egypt.