Midterm Exam (short answers) Flashcards
ch 2
Apocrypha?
Gk. τὰ ἀπόκρυφα (plur.), ‘the hidden [things]’
Oxford: Biblical or related writings not forming part of the accepted canon of Scripture. The Old Testament Apocrypha include writings (dating from around 300 bc to ad 100) which appeared in the Septuagint and Vulgate versions but not in the Hebrew Bible; most are accepted by the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches as the ‘deuterocanonical’ books. The New Testament Apocrypha include texts attributed to Apostles and other biblical figures but not regarded as authentic by the Councils of the Church.
ch 3
Name the apostolic fathers
They are Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch (identified Judaizing with circumcision and Sabbath observance (not procreation), and his advocacy of martyrdom strongly affirmed the bodily nature of Christ’s death and the resurrection of the flesh; Ignatius is using his authority as an about‐to‐be martyr to restore unity under the authority of the monarchical episcopate in Antioch), Barnabas, Polycarp of Smyrna, etc.
They are next generation after the apostles, with some personal knowledge, who had living contact with the apostles after the close of the New Testament era (from about AD 95-150; late 1-st, early 2-d century).
ch 3
What is montanism? Its function?
known as the New Prophecy, was an early Christian movement (sect) of the late 2nd century, which produces new sacred texts, later referred to by the name of its founder, Montanus. Having converted to Christianity, Montanus fell into a trance and began to prophesy through Holy Spirit that the Second Coming was imminent. It prompts mistrust of apocalyptic movements in wider church.
Which Materials of a Codex used?
1) Papyrus:
- a material similar to thick paper made of Cyperus papyrus plant;
- Available only from Egypt.
- Downside is that they are not durable or suited for damp climates.
2) Parchment and vellum:
- These are animal skins which, compared to papyrus, makes them available everywhere.
- Sheep skins were frequently used.
- They are also more reusable because the ink could be scraped off.
- They also had to have standardized page sizes because of the size of sheep skin (This is a reason why we have standardized page sizes for today).
Ancient books, what were they and how made?
- Evidence of books before Constantine is much harder to acquire/gather because they
were not widely available. - Books are copied by hand:
a) Typically, you would have groups of scribes, monasteries, or trade shops that
copy books by hand. These people would charge for their services, which made
getting a book expensive.
b) Mass production of books did not exist until the 16th century.
- Literacy-wise, most people could get the impression of words/letters that they might
see on walls.
- But, for the most part they could not read or write.
- Individuals who owned bibles at this time were very wealthy.
Advantages of Codex
- Can write on both sides.
- There is paging back and forth, which made it easier to reference something compared to a scroll.
a) Modern-day comparison: With e-books, paging from one page to another is harder compared to traditional paper books.
- It also becomes dominant outside of spiritual/religious purposes.
Hands and Book Hands: How kinds of writing changed over time?
- During the Classical antiquity period, letters were written predominantly in Block Capitals. Lower-case letters didn’t exist back then. There was also a limited form of cursive.
- During the Imperial Period, Roman cursive was developed and become more popular.
- During the 3rd century, Uncials were invented to make writing easier to understand and transcribe:
a) This came out of the need to frequently transcribe the bible. - By the end of the 5th century, the semi-uncials does make it harder to read. But the letters begin to look more similar with each copy which implies a sort of standardization of letters.
Production of books sequence and its history?
- Producing books was extremely expensive:
a) A Bible could cost half of what a middle-class person could make in a year, e.g. $25k out of $50k
b) There were not a lot of bibles everywhere like nowadays. - Books were often produced in monastic or quasi-monastic communities.
- Monks did not transcribe things because they were bored but because people paid and commissioned them to do so (They transcribed all sorts of things not just bibles).
- The stuff that was commissioned was typically for institutional purposes; so, a church might commission a bible.
- We have evidence of this from archaeology, book lists, and private letters.
Define Stemma.
- Stemma means: “Family tree” of manuscripts.
- Looks for commonalities among contemporary MSS.
- Traces back to earlier sources.
- The monks that transcribed these texts worked carefully to ensure they were accurate, especially if a text was considered sacred or holy.
- But mistakes still happen. Typically, when something is written by hand, a line could be skipped, something could
be missed, or a word could be consciously or unconsciously altered.
a) To find the best possible source, all different types of a source are compared. This means looking at both commonalities and differences.
b) Then based on what scholars know about it, they will attempt to deduce which source is the most accurate.
- Overall, looking into the stemma of certain texts helps provide the most accurate oldest version of it.
Collections of books, what are they? Which were most popular?
- Often, people would have a collection of books rather than the “entire” bible.
a) Someone could ask to borrow someone’s Book of Luke, for instance. - Some people may want to commission only some books but not others.
- The most popular books were the gospels, the solemns, and the Pauline epistles. This is because most churches sought to have a copy of each one.
ch 4
Describe Normative Roman Burial
- Romans have to be buried outside the city limits – extramural (outside the city walls); they tend to be along roadsides;
- lots of tombs: because it makes easier to attend and more visible; poor can’t afford a great stone; most burials are cremation.
- e.g. Family Monuments —> Tomb of Scipiones (3rd - 2nd cent. BCE); a) Scipiones —> Family of famous Roman Generas.
New Testament + Early Christian Archeology: B) Development (of catacombs, who - give a sequence)
1) Helena —> Mother of Constantine; deserves to be called “mother” of Christian archaeology.
2) Bosio —> Finds stuff underground (investigations sponsored by the papacy).
3) de Rossi —> digs in Roman Catacombs on behalf of Pope.
4) Krautheimer —> German/ Jewish Archaeologist (More secular/ scientific).
Christian social life? Who can be a Christian?
Social history doesn’t leave much archaeology —> day-to-day life seems pretty normal.
Galatians 3:28 gives an ideal view of social society: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus”.
No differences matter, everyone can be a Christian.
Ideal vs Real Family? What constitutes the Greco-Roman Family?
- Ideal families come from writings (elite, wealthy men); background of centuries and centuries of weight
a) semi-skewed view of family - Real families probably had children to support them in different ways.
- Greco-Roman family was super patriarchal. Bound by ties of affection/love and common interest, usually loosely defined (can include slaves & dependents).
Family according to the Gospels? Jesus vs Paul
In the gospels, family is a strange and complicated thing.
—> Lots of “chosen family” talk. Community > family if it comes to it.
—> Lots of rejection of traditional family ties (can’t believe Jesus was a communist)
—> Colossians raises that respect should be given by those in power and by those who aren’t.
- Many verses in the Bible conflict with each other. Jesus rejects a LOT of social s-res, and Paul didn’t. It’s a huge theological question.
