Week 11: Canonicity Flashcards
In Mesopotamia, what texts are considered canon?
- Scientific info
- Religious stories
- Anything written by the Scribal Academy
- The very act of writing was considered sacred, so anything written was sacred
What are the Pirstu and Nisirtu?
Secret Texts in Mesopotamia
What does the Epic Atrahasis story contain?
- The creation of humans and the order of the world
- Lower gods and higher gods fight eachother
In Mesopotamian myth, who is the first human?
Adapa
What did Adapa do to anger the gods?
- He broke the wing of the south wind, after his boat had been capsized
What was the Sumerian King List?
- Displayed the list of all kings and where their ruling city was
What is the original name of the “Book of the Dead” in Ancient Egypt?
The Book of Going Forth by Day
True or False: There is no ONE canonical book of the dead
TRUE
What were the 3 types of writing styles in Egypt?
- Hieroglyphics
- Cursive Hieroglyphics
- Hieratic
What writing style could only priests know in Egypt??
Hieratic
Define: Ushabti
- Wax figures put in tombs are thought to reincarnate as servants in the afterlife in Egypt
The earliest version of the Ten Commandments is the All Souls Decalogue, dating back to the ________
7th century BC
What are the 2 main sacred texts of Ancient Egypt?
- Pyramid Texts
- Book of the Dead
The Book of the Dead only began to maintain a 4 section organization in the ____________ period
Saite Period (600 BC +)
What is the most complete version of the Torah?
The Aleppo Codex
Who stressed the importance of a universal Torah?
Maimonides
When is the earliest known rabbinic book from?
200 AD
What was the Mishnah?
- One of the earliest known rabbinic books
- Basically a rabbi’s commentaries to more clearly understand the Torah
What does Rabbi mean?
Teacher
True or False: The Misnah claims religious authority.
FALSE
It does not.
Define: Talmud
- Hebrew for “study”
- Essentialy, commentaries and reactions on the Misnah
- Tertiary to the Torah
- Claimed that God gave Moses 2 Torahs; 1 written, 1 orally spoken,
Define: Pistis
Greek for “confidence”
Shows that religion is about confidence in the gods promises to your deal, NOT about faith