HISC94 Exam Terms

Hebrew Bible

The holy book for Judaism containing 24 books. Composed of the Torah (laws; 5 books of Moses), the Nevi’im (books of prophets) and the Ketuvim (‘writings’). Oldest book of the abrahamic religions, which serves as part of the origin for content in the Chritsian Bible and the Quran.

Tanakh

Another name for the Hebrew Bible, made from the first letters of its contents (Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim). Oldest book of the abrahamic religions, which serves as part of the origin for content in the Chritsian Bible and the Quran.

Torah

The compilation of the first 5 books in the Hebrew Bible. AKA the Pentateuch. Name means instruction/teaching/law. Also can include the commentaries from authorities like Rabbi, for example in the oral version of this. These are the same 5 books that open the Christian Bible, that talk about the creation of the world and Moses. Believed by Muslims to be sent by God

New Testament

Collection of 27 Christian books combined with the Hebrew Bible (slightly altered, “Old Testament”) to form the Christian Bible, the holy text for Christians. Contains the gospels, which testify to the significance of Jesus as the son of God, something that Judaism and Islam do not agree with but is a fundemental belief to Christianity.

Elohim

Hebrew word meaning ‘Gods’, used in the Bible as a name for God. Likely adopted from the name of an old god in the Canaanite pantheon, showing a possible cultural evolution/origin for Judaism.One of two ways God is refered to in the Hebrew Bible, which combined with repeating or contradictory stories (like the number of animals on Noah’s ark), indicates that the text has origins in two or more previous texts stitched together in the 6th/5th c. BC. In English, this looks like the difference b/w referring to him as ‘God’ (this word, typically younger accounts) or ‘Lord’.

Yaweh/Adonai

The ancient Hebrew name of their god (with added vowels) that is supposedly impossible to know how to say. This leads to a taboo on saying the name of God, so his name often gets replaced with this second word, which is an honorific meaning “Lord” .One of two ways God is refered to in the Hebrew Bible, which combined with repeating or contradictory stories (like the number of animals on Noah’s ark), indicates that the text has origins in two or more previous texts stitched together in the 6th/5th c. BC. In English, this looks like the difference b/w referring to him as ‘God’ or ‘Lord’ (this word, typically older accounts).

Enoch

Descendant of Adam that is mentioned in both the Bible and the Quran to be special and to have been raised up by God in some way. The only descendant of Adam that came before Noah that is mentioned in the Quran. Speculations as to what exactly happened to him led to the creation of the Book of Enoch

Book of Enoch

A book born out of the speculations as to who Enoch was, what he did, and what happened to him as vaguley mentioned in Holy texts as being raised up. Some Jews and Christians consider it to be a canonical text (eg. Ethiopian Christians), but not all of them. An example of a non-canonical text that is influenced by and possibly influenced the canonical holy texts

Antediluvian

Period before the biblical flood. In the Bible, it is mentioned that the flood was caused by the wickedness of humans in this period. In other texts, it is implied that this wickedness could have been humans having giant children with angels

Epic of Gilgamesh

Ancient Mesopotamian myth that contains the story of Atrahasis and the flood, which bears a lot of similarities to the story of the flood in the Bible. Indicative of a potential formula or common tropes among mythologies around this time, or possibly the Bible borrowing from older mythological texts

Curse of Ham/Canaan

Curse placed upon Noah’s grandson Canaan after his father, Ham sees his father naked in the book of Genesis. Noah curses Canaan and his bloodline to be servants to the bloodlines of Noah’s other two sons. This was justification for the historical subjugation of the Canaanites to the Israelites

Babylonian Exile

In 586 BC when the Temple of Jerusalem was destroyed and the Israelites were exiled. This event catalyzed the codifications of the Hebrew Bible, which was previously a bunch of uncombined texts.

Second Temple Period

Period from 516 BC - 70 AD where the Israelites returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the temple. In this period, non-canonical religious texts circulated widely and were still considered of importance. Modern Judaism starts to take shape in this period

Pseudepigrpha

Religious books that didn’t make it into the Hebrew Bible canon but were once considered holy and authoritative. Certain sects may still consider some to be canon. These are sometimes the origins of certain references made in the Quran. Eg. Book of Jubilees, Book of Enoch

Apocryphal Gospels

AKA Infancy Gospels. Gospel books that didn’t make it into the canonical 4 gospels in the New Testimant. These provide additional info about the birth & childhood of Jesus, background of Mary, etc. and are sometimes the origins of references/parallels in the Quran

Canaanites

Civilization that lived in the southern Levant and were the people living in the land the Israelites were considered to have been promised by God. In biblical tradition, they were the cursed descendents of Noah’s grandson Canaan, which justified their subjugation by the Israelites.

Ka’ba

Small building at the center of the holiest mosque in Mecca that is said to be the house of god. Built originally by Abraham, and later rebuilt in the 7th c. after it’s destruction. The anchor point for the direction of prayers for Muslims, and a site of pilgrimmage

Dead Sea Scrolls

Group of texts dating from the 3rd c. BC - 1st c. AD found in jars in a cave at the Qumran National Park in Jordan, along the Dead Sea in 1946. Contained fragments of the Hebrew Bible that dated to older than any complete copy of the Bible, as well as fragments from other non-canonoical texts and books that belonged to lost sects. Important to help discover the development of Judaism and eventually Christianity

Qumran

National park in Jordan in which the Dead Sea Scrolls were found in a cave in 1946. They contained fragments of the Hebrew Bible that dated to older than any complete copy of the Bible, as well as fragments from other non-canonoical texts and books that belonged to lost sects. They are important to help discover the development of Judaism and eventually Christianity

Septuagint

The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible made in Alexandria in 3rd c. BC. References to the Old and New Testament in other works are mostly based on this translation. Accomadated ancient Jewish communities that didn’t speak Hebrew, and changed how many people could directly access the Bible.

Talmud

Text that contains Rabbinic interpretations of the Bible and legal debates compiled together, dated from the 4th-5th c. AD. It is one of many other texts of this kind, others incl the Midrashim, etc. Important development from when Judaism transitioned into Rabbinic Judaism after the destruction of their second temple

Rabbinic Judaism

A form of Judaism that came about after the destruction of the second temple in 70 AD, when Jewish people lost their center of learning and their leadership in the from of priests. they turned to Rabbis, scholars of the Torah and Jewish law as their new spiritual leaders. Grew Judaism into how it is commonly practiced today with a Written and Oral Torah, with Rabbis writing religious texts such as the Talmud.

Biblical Criticism

18th & 19th c. AD (enlightenment) phenomenon that engaged in investiagtive procedures to understand the authors, manuscripts, redactions, worlds, etc. behind the Bible. From this period came theories like the Documentary Hypothesis, which help shape our understanding of how the Bible came to be written

Documentary Hypothesis

Idea that the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible are a compliation of 4-5 independently written documents from different time periods between the 10th-5th c. BC (J, E, P, and D), which were then redacted together by someone. Proposed by Julius Wellhausen and was teh dominant hypothesis for most of the 20th century until some issues with chronology etc were raised. Called to attention the inconsistencies in the Bible (eg. God’s name, emphaisis on certain ideas, place names) that could indicate a redacted approach to its creation

Julius Wellhausen

Late 19th c. German biblical scholar and orientalist who proposed the Document Hypothesis, which was the dominant hypothesis for most of the 20th century. Proof that oriental studies were becoming more of interest in this time period, leading to more investigation into biblical and quranic history

Abraham Geiger

German author from the 19th c. AD who was one of the first to publish a book proposing that Muhammad learned his knowledge on monotheism from Jewis and Christian contact. Published “What did Muhammad Borrow from Judaism?” in 1833 and other authors soon published works that proposed the same idea.

Meccan vs Medinan Verses

The differences in settings of Muhammad and hwo they relate to the Quranic verses written at that time. Helps indicate the internal chronology of the Quran, as it does not follow a strict chronology like the Bible. In Mecca, he was a prophet under persecution (more relevant to talk about listening to your prophets), and in Medina, he was in a city state filled with different demographics (more relevant to talk about why idols are bad)

Sana’a Manuscripts

One of the oldest Quranic manuscripts. Discovered in 1970s. Contains patially the Uthmaic Quran, which helps indicate its chronology. Important for textual criticism in Quranic Studies

Mushaf

Zayd b. Thabit

Uthman

Uthmanic Codex

see lec 6 if needed

Radiocarbon Dating

Palimpsest

Dome of the Rock

Hijaz

Mecca

Yathrib

Quraysh

Nabataean Script

United Kingdom of Israel

Kingdom of Judah

Temple of Solomon

Babylonian Exile

Nebuchadnezzar

Cyrus

Tawrat

Injil

Zabur

Tafsir

Isra’iliyyat

Infancy Gospels

Messiah

Josephus

Pontius Pilate