NT Midterm Flashcards
Terms and Texts
oxyrhynchus
City when paper trash was excavated. Many letters of Paul and other papers of the time were found there.
Papyrus/Papyri
Writing material made from fibers of the papyrus plant
66-70 CE
Jewish Revolt and Fall of Temple
kainē diathēkē
New Testament; “new covenant” (see 2 Corinthians 3: 1-6); or newly ratified agreement; believed to have been written between ca. 50-120 CE
comprised of 27 books (including gospels, epistles, acts, and apocalyptic literature);
* Paul’s letters (ca 50s CE);
* gospels (70 CE and later)
* Acts (ca 90-120 CE)
* Revelation (ca. 95+ CE)
Genres
gospels, letters, acts, and apocalyptic literature
Amanuensis
professional scribe
these scribes were often slaves, who were trained in scribal work and were hired to make money for their enslavers
epistles/epistolography
letters/art of writing letters
all NT letters are occasional: christians often assume the letters are a systematic theology; on the contrary, they are actually occasional—written for a particular community in a particular context at a particular moment.
Parts of a Letter
Prescript:
* superscriptio (the letter writer),
* adscriptio (who the letter is to),
* salutation (greetings)
Thanksgiving
Body
Ending
paideia
Ancient Greek model of education that prioritizes study of rhetoric
superscriptio
who the letter is by
progymnasmata
educational model of the ancient world in which middle and high school training focuses exclusively on rhetoric; students copy letters and speeches from established rhetoricians like aristotle or quintillian; were eventually evaluated on a speech they themselves wrote
rhetoric: ēthos, pathos, logos
Ways of forming an argument or convincing:
logos: reason
Pathos: emotions
Ethos: self-presentation; how the writer establishes their authority so that the listener/reader will trust and be persuaded by them
7 Letters of Paul
1 Thessalonians, Philemon, Galatians, Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Philippians
disputed and perhaps pseudepigraphical letters of Paul
1-2 Timothy, Titus, 2 Thessalonians, Colossians, Ephesians
Acts of Paul and Thecla
The Acts of Paul and Thecla is an apocryphal text describing Paul the Apostle’s influence on a young virgin named Thecla.
Lectio Difficilior
Chose the harder reading- the correct translation was typically “emotionally or spiritually or stricter” Harder reading
Synoptic problem
the question of the specific literary relationship among the three synoptic gospels: Mark, Matthew, Luke
Gospel
good news
the life of Jesus/teachings of Jesus
death and resurrection of Jesus
A genre of literature that is emerging and in flux at the time that these books were written
Not exclusively a Christian genre; however, within the Christian canon, gospels may be found within the NT canon (M, M, L, J) and outside the NT canon (Gospel of Thomas, Mary, Philip, etc.).
Gospel of Lots of Mary
Coptic writing dating to the fifth or sixth century used for divination or bibliomancy
Q
The Q source (also called The Sayings Gospel, Q Gospel, Q document(s), or Q; from German: Quelle, meaning “source”) is a hypothetical written collection of primarily Jesus’ sayings (λόγια : logia). Q is part of the common material found in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke but not in the Gospel of Mark. According to this hypothesis, this material was drawn from the early Church’s oral gospel traditions.[1][2][3]
Nag Hammadi
collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945.
Gospel of Thomas
The Gospel of Thomas (also known as the Coptic Gospel of Thomas) is an extra-canonical[1] sayings gospel. It was discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945 among a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library.
Gnostic
the belief that human beings contain a piece of God (the highest good or a divine spark) within themselves, which has fallen from the immaterial world into the bodies of humans.
“seeking knowlege”
Syncretism/ multiplicity
Multiplicity is the fact that the story and teachings of Jesus is repeated each time in each gospel
Tatian’s Diatessaron
A proposed solution to the synoptic problem. Tatian’s idea is to just put all (mix) the gospels together instead of focusing on which gospel informed the other(s)
apocrypha
Non-canonical texts (example: Gospel of Thomas)
Anagignoskomena
“worth reading” Books selected for the cannon
Ioudaios (e-you dy ous/ e-you dy oi)
Jews/Jewish/Judeans Variants based on ethnicity or religion or location
TH: Begins with the vowel “i” - NOT the consonant “L”: Ioudaios (-oi)
Ethne
origin of the word ethnic; there are lots of meanings: nation, people, religious practice, group formation (inclusion/exclusion)
Ethne might be used to reference Jews vs Gentiles or Romans vs Barbarians
Pharisees
Middle class, they focus on interpreting scriptures; immortality of the soul; belief in angels; open to additional interpretations; enjoy going to local synagogues, rabbi’s teach in synagogues, to debate (NOT the temple)
After the fall of the temple their sect became the basis for Rabbinic Judaism
synagogues
local places of learning so that they would not have to travel to the temple
Sadducees
Priests and Elders tied to religious and political power structure and leadership “(they “lost their jobs” after the temple demolishing); There concerns were with the actual work of the temple. and would include the high priest. High priest is a hereditary role. They run the business of the temple, they have political relationship/tension with the king
Qumran
Sect/Splinter group from the Sadduceess who secluded themselves in the desert because they are concerned about corruption in the temple. They preserved and wrote a lot of texts including the dead sea scrolls
Philo
a jewish philosopher, poet, beautiful writer of Greek, Hellenized Jew, very into “Greek stuff”, but still a religious Jew
Flavius Joesphus
Jewish historian who is captured and gets Roman citizenship; acts as a translator for Rome; created a lot of important texts; jewish advocate in Rome; best known for writing The Jewish War
Essences
presented by Josephus/Philo (similar to the Qumran community)
Ritual Purity/Moral Purity
ritual purity has no moral implications and therefore does not indicate whether one is “good” or “bad”; ritual impurities are not an indication of sin but the result of living in the world
moral purity is an assessment of whether a person/object/act is “good” or “bad”; has implications of sin; ex: adultery, not caring for orphans and widows
Mishnah
collection of interpretation of Rabbinic Texts written at the 2nd century CE interpreting texts from the first century CE
Midrash
reading style of the literature- a mode of biblical interpretation/metaphors, allegorical reading, particular Jewish theological way of reading the text
Examples: Satan as the serpent and Jesus as Adam; Hagar as Old Covenant and Sarah as New Covenant
Apocalyptic
Revealing; from apocalypsis (gr.): unveiling (thus, revelation: something is revealed);
as a genre:
* there is a divine message revealed to a human mediator
* there is someone who is receiving a vision that is then explained and shared
* revelation is example of apocalyptic literature
* genre is popular 300 BCE - 100 CE: it’s a period when everything is in upheaval
Parts of End of the World Genre:
Vision, Judgment, Spiritual Beings, The Day of the Lord, the message revealed
Eschatology
The Ending of the world; ending of things as we know or understand them
Also: study of the ending of things: the end of the world, the current order, etc
* eschaton: the end
* there is eschatological imagery in the gospels
The Day of the Lord
A day or period of Judgment that shows up in apocalyptic or eschatological literature
The War Scrolls and the HB books of Joel and Amos offer depictions of The Day of the Lord:
* an imagined time in which God smites the enemies and wipes them from the face of the earth; the good triumph and are saved
* things are so corrupt that we need divine intervention
* these warnings are directed toward israel, who has sinned and needs redemption
Son of God/Son of Man
Human-like figure or character on the human-divine spectrum that usually shows up in Apocalypic or Eschatologcal literature
Also a reference to Jesus
70 CE
the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans
salutation
Part of a Letter/Greeting
Markian priority
The agreement (about 97-98% of scholars) that of the gospels Mark was written first and was used as a source for the other gospels
rhetoric
Aristotle (Gr.) : says rhetoric is art of persuasion; use rhetoric to persuade or convince someone of something
Marcus Quintillian (Roman): the knowledge of how to speak well.
judicial/forensic form of rhetoric
weighing in on past events and building an opinion about it; looks at something in the past and makes judgement about it
deliberative form of rhetoric
appeals to future decision-making making; a way to sway folks about how to move in the future; deliberation is not for past
epideictic form of rhetoric
trying to weigh in on something that is happening right now: it is urgent to make an intervention right now. You need to either continue doing what you’re doing OR make a new move NOW!
The Farrer hypothesis
The Farrer hypothesis (also called the L/M hypothesis, the Farrer–Goulder hypothesis and the Farrer–Goulder–Goodacre hypothesis) is a possible solution to the synoptic problem. The theory is that the Gospel of Mark was written first, followed by the Gospel of Matthew and then by the Gospel of Luke. It maintains the Markan Priority but does NOT presume the use or existence of Q, since it can not be confirmed Q even existed.
Grenfell and Hunt
“Discovered” Oxyrinchus documents
Ausgangstext
Text which the entire tradition originates from the initial text
Hasmonean Dynasty
The Hasmonean Dynasty was ushered in following the Maccabean Revolt (163/4 BCE), which defeated the Greeks and restored Israel to autonomous rule. The Hasmoneans ruled for approximately one century but the dynasty was brought to an end in 63/4 BCE by the rise of the Herodian Dynasty (Herod the Great, under the greater influence of the Roman Empire).
Ekklēsia
root of ecclesiology, thus church; is a political term that can refer to an assembly or deliberative body; derived from athenian democracy
Bar Kokhba revolt
The Bar Kokhba revolt was a large-scale armed rebellion initiated by the Jews of Judea, led by Simon bar Kokhba, against the Roman Empire in 132 CE. Lasting until 135 or early 136, it was the third and final escalation of the Jewish–Roman wars.
Following the failure of the Bar Kokhba revolt, the center of Jewish society shifted from Judea to Galilee. The Jews were also subjected to a series of religious edicts by the Romans, including an edict that barred all Jews from entering Jerusalem.
