Key Concepts and Figures in New Testament Studies

Sacred Scripture

a collection of ancient writings that Christians believe are inspired by God to reveal Him to us.

Incarnation

to take on flesh

Hypostatic union

The Catholic Position

Canon

rule of faith

Synoptic

presenting or taking the same or common view

Exegesis

the process of careful analytical study of the Bible to produce useful interpretations of those passages

Synagogue

a Jewish house of worship.

Christology

the part of theology that is concerned with the nature and work of Jesus

the four Gospel writers

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

the author of the Acts of the Apostles

St. Luke the Evangelist

the person who wrote most of the epistles

Paul the Apostle

Sadducees

the party of high priests, aristocratic families, and merchants

Pharisees

members of a party that believed in resurrection and in following legal traditions that were ascribed not to the Bible but to 'the traditions of the fathers.'

Essenes

mystic Jewish sect during the Second Temple period that flourished from the 2nd century

Zealots

a political movement in 1st-century Second Temple Judaism which sought to incite the people of Judaea Province to rebel against the Roman Empire and expel it from the Holy Land by force of arms

King Herod (Antipas)

ruled Galilee in Jesus' time

Pontius Pilate

presided at the trial of Jesus and gave the order for his crucifixion

Priests

represented the people before God, and offered the various sacrifices prescribed in the law

Scribes

often but not always Pharisees

Sanhedrin

a political and judicial council headed by the high priest

New Testament

27 books

Time to write NT

about 100 years

Issues for NT books

apostolicity, orthodoxy, and widespread

Organization of New Testament

It can be divided into 4 groups: Gospels, Acts of the Apostles, Epistles, and Apocalypse.

Synoptic Gospels

Matthew, Mark, and Luke; they are called synoptic because they present a common view.

Q source

a hypothesized document containing the sayings of Jesus Christ that were used in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke

Pauline and Catholic Epistles

Pauline letters are addressed to communities or individuals, while Catholic letters are addressed to the whole, universal church.

Literary analysis

endeavors to establish the literary genres (types or categories) of the various biblical documents and to reach conclusions about their structure, date, and authorship.

Common language of Roman Empire

Greek was the lingua franca of the Roman Empire.

Pax Romana

a period of relative stability in the Roman Empire from 27 BCE to 180 CE.

Gospels

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

First Gospel written

Mark

Difference between Gospels and modern biographies

The Gospels are not like modern biographies.

Stages of Gospel development

the life and teachings of Jesus, the oral tradition, and the written gospels.