UNC RELI 104 Midterm 2 Key Terms Spring 2026

Adoptionist

The view that Jesus was not divine, but a flesh-and-blood human being who had been adopted at baptism to be God's son.

Apocalypse

A literary genre in which an author, usually pseudonymous, reports symbolic dreams or visions, given or interpreted through an angelic mediator, which reveal the heavenly mysteries that can make sense of earthly realities.

Apocrypha

A Greek term meaning, literally, "hidden things," used in books on the fringe of the Jewish or Christian canons of Scripture. The Jewish Apocrypha comprises books found in the Septuagint but not in the Hebrew Bible, including 1 and 2 Maccabees and 4 Ezra.

Apostle

Generally, one who is commissioned to perform a task, from a Greek word meaning "sent"; in early Christianity, the term was used to designate special emissaries of the faith who were understood to be representatives of Christ.

Apostolic Fathers

A collection of noncanonical writings penned by proto-orthodox Christians of the second century who were traditionally thought to have been followers of the apostles; some of these works were considered Scripture in parts of the early church.

Athanasius

An influential fourth-century church father and bishop of the large and important church in Alexandria, Egypt. He was the first church writer to list our twenty-seven New Testament Books (and only those books) as forming the canon.

B.C.E

Before Common Era

Canon

From a Greek word meaning "ruler" or "straight edge." The term came to designate any recognized collection of texts; the New Testament is thus the collection of books that Christians accept as authoritative.

C.E.

Common ERA

Ebionites

A group of second-century adoptionists who maintained Jewish practices and Jewish forms of worship

Epistle

Another designation for a private letter. Some scholars have differentiated between this as literary writings in the form of a letter, which were meant for general distribution, rather than for an individual recipient, and "letters" which were a nonliterary form of personal correspondence. This differentiation between epistles and letters is not widely held today, however, so that the terms tend to be used synonymously.

Gentile

a jewish designation for a non jew

Gnostics

A group of ancient religions, some of them closely related to Christianity, that maintained that elements of the divine had become entrapped in this evil world of matter and could be released only when they acquired the secret gnosis (Greek for "knowledge") of who they were and of how they could escape. Gnosis was generally thought to be brought by an emissary of the divine realm.

gospel

when this word is not capitalized, it refers not to the book but to the proclamation of the good news of Christ's salvation

Heretic

A believer who maintains religious opinions contrary to those accepted by their church or rejects doctrines prescribed by that church.

Law

See torah

Manuscripts

any handwritten copy of literary text

Marcion

A second-century Christian scholar and evangelist, later labeled a heretic for his docetic Christology and his belief in two Gods-- the harsh legalistic God of the Jews and the merciful loving God of Jesus-- views that he claimed to have found in the writings of Paul.

Nag Hammadi

Village in upper (southern) Egypt, near the place where a collection of Gnostic writings, including the Gospel of Thomas, were discovered in 1945.

Torah

a hebrew word that means guidance or direction but ice generally translated as "law:, as a technical term, it designates either the Law of God given to Moses or the first five books of the jewish Bibles that Moses was traditionally thought have written - Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

Alexander The Great

The great military leader of Macedonia (356-323 B.C.E.) whose armies conquered much of the eastern Mediterranean and who was responsible for the spread of Greek culture (Hellenism) throughout the lands he conquered

Antiochus Ephiphanes

The Syrian monarch who attempted to force the Jews of Palestine to adopt Greek culture, leading to the Maccabean revolt in 167 B.C.E.

Associations

in greco-roman world, privately organized small groups of people who shared common interests and met periodically to socialize, enjoy common meal, and conduct business; two of the best-known types were trade association( composed of members of the same profession) and burial societies

Covenant

an agreement or treaty between two social or political parties that have come to terms; used by ancient jews in reference to the pact that God made to protect and preserve then as his chosen people in exchange for their devotion and adherence to his law.

Cult

shortened form of cultus deorum, a latin phrase that literally means "care of the gods" generally used for any set of religious practices of worship. in pagan religions, these normally involved acts of prayer and sacrifice

Damimioa

Category of divine beings in the Greco-Roman world. was widely thought to be less powerful than the gods but far more powerful than humans and capable of influencing human lives

Day of Admitment

in Hebrew, Yom Kippur, the one day of the year when the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies in the temple, to sacrifice first an animal to atone for his own sins then another animal to atone for the sins of the people of Israel

Dead Sea Scrolls

Ancient Jewish writings discovered in several caves near the northwest edge of the Dead Sea, widely thought to have been produced by a group of apocalyptically minded Essenes who lived in a monastic-like community from Maccabean times through the Jewish War of 66-70 C.E.

Diaspora

Greek for "dispersion," a term that refers to the dispersion of Jews away from Palestine into other parts of the Mediterranean, beginning with the Babylonian conquests in the sixth century B.C.E.

Essenes

An apocalyptic and ascetic Jewish sect started during the Maccabean period, members of which are generally thought to have produced the Dead Sea Scrolls

Fourth Philosophy

A group of Jews that Josephus mentions but leaves unnamed, characterized by their insistence on violent opposition to the foreign domination of the Promised Land.

Hanina ben Dosa

A well-known Galilean rabbi of the first century, who was reputed to have done miracles comparable to those of Jesus.

Hasmoneans

An alternative name for the Maccabeans, the family of Jewish priests that began the revolt against Syria in 167 B.C.E. and that ruled Israel prior to the Roman conquest of 63 B.C.E.

Hellenization

The spread of Greek language and culture (Hellenism) throughout the Mediterranean, starting with the conquests of Alexander the Great.

Herod Antipas

Son of Herod the Great, and ruler of Galilee from 4 to 39 C.E.; this is the Herod who executed John the Baptist and who was involved with the trial of Jesus according to the Gospel of Luke (and the Gospel of Peter).

Herod the Great

Herod the Great - Ruler of all of Galilee, Samaria, and Judea (and so, "King of the Jews") from 40 to 4 B.C.E.; this Herod was allegedly ruling when Jesus was born, and is known in Christian history for killing all the baby boys of Bethlehem in an attempt to destroy the infant Jesus (based on the account in Matthew).

Holy of Holies

The innermost part of the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem, which was completely empty, but in which God's presence on earth was believed to dwell. No one could enter this room except the High Priest on the Day of Atonement, to make a sacrifice for the sins of the people.

Honi the "circle drawer"

A first-century B.C.E. Galilean who was reputed to have done miracles and had experiences similar to those of Jesus.

Josephus.

A first-century Jewish historian, appointed court historian by the Roman emperor Vespasian, whose works The Jewish War and The Antiquities of the Jews are principal resources for information about life in first-century Palestine.

Judas Maccabues

Jewish patriot who led the family responsible for spearheading the Maccabean revolt

Maccabeans

Members or followers of the family of the Jewish leader Judas Maccabaeus

Messiah

from a Hebrew word that literally means "anointed one," translated into Greek as Christos, from which derives our English word Christ. in the first century C.E, there was a wide range of expectations about whom this anointed one might be, with some Jesus anticipating a future warrior-king like David; others a cosmic redeemer from heaven; others an authoritative priest; and still others a powerful spokes person from God like Moses

Mishnah

A collection of oral traditions passed on by generations of Jewish rabbis who saw themselves as the descendants of the Pharisees, finally put into writing around 200 C.E.

Monotheism

the belief that there is only one God

Pagan

Any of the polytheistic religions of the Greco-Roman world, an umbrella term for ancient Mediterranean religions other than Judaism and Christianity.

Pentateuch

Literally, the "five scrolls" in Greek, a term used to designate the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, also known as the Torah or the Law of Moses.

Pesher

An ancient Jewish way of interpreting scripture, used commonly in the commentaries from the Dead Sea Scrolls, in which a text was explained as having its fulfillment in persons or events of the present day.

Pharisees

A Jewish sect, which may have originated during the Maccabean period, that emphasized strict adherence to the purity laws set forth in the Torah.

Quarman

Place near the northwest shore of the Dead Sea, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1946, evidently home to the group of Essenes who had used the Scrolls as part of their library.

Resurrection

the doctrine originally devised within the circle of apocalyptic Judaism that maintained that at the end of the present age, those who had died with would be brought back to life to face judgment: either torment for those opposed to God or rewarded for those who sided with God. The earliest christians believed that Jesus had been raised and concluded therefore that the end of these had already begun. in Christin apocalyptic thought, it was believed that the rewards and punishments in the future resurrection would hinge on one's relationship to Christ, as either believer or a nonbeliever

Sadducees

A Jewish party associated with the Temple cult and the Jewish priests who ran it, comprising principally the Jewish aristocracy in Judea. The party leader, the High Priest, served as the highest ranking local official and chief liaison with the Roman governor.

Samaritans

Inhabitants of Samaria, located between Galilee and Judea, rejected by some ancient Jews to be apostates, since their lineage could be traced back to intermarriages between Jews and pagan peoples several centuries before the New Testament was printed

Sanhedrin

A council of Jewish leaders headed by the High Priest, which played an advisory role in matters of religious and civil policy.

Spetugaint

The translation of the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek, so named because of a tradition that seventy Jewish scholars had produced it.

Sicarii

A Latin term meaning, literally, "daggermen," a designation for a group of first-century Jews responsible for the assassination of Jewish aristocrats thought to have collaborated with the Romans.

Synagogue

Jewish place of worship and prayer, from a Greek word that literally means "being brought together"

Talmud

the great collection of ancient jewish traditions that comprises the Mishnah and the later commentaries on the Mishnah, called the Gemara. There are two collections of the Talmud, one made in Palestine during the early fifth century C.E and the other in Babylon perhaps a century later. the Babylonian talmud is generally considered the more authoritative

Temple

In Pagan circles, a temple was any Holy place devoted to one or more divine beings where sacrifices could be made in accordance with established religious principles. In Judaism there was only one legitimate Temple, the one in Jerusalem, an enormous complex contained the Holy sanctuary -- and within it, the Holy of Holies, where God's presence on Earth was believed to dwell

Traditions

Any doctrine, idea, practice, or custom that has been handed down from one person to another.

Zealots

a group of Galilean Jews who fled to Jerusalem during the uprising against Rome in 66-70 C.E, over threw the reigning aristocracy in the city, and urged violent resistance to the bitter end

Baptism

from the Greek term baptizo, which means "to immerse". The earliest Christians practice of baptism in water appears to have been an initiation rite; it probably derived from the practice of John the Baptist, who baptized Jews, including Jesus, in anticipation of the imminent arrival of the end of the age and the coming of the Kingdom of God. Later Christians assigned other meanings to the rite: the apostle Paul, for example, saw it as the mystical act of dying with Christ to sin

Chief Priest

the leaders of priests in the jewish temple in Jerusalem. many of them would have been

Cult

shortened form of cultus deorum, a latin phrase that literally means "care of the gods" generally used for any set of religious practices of worship. in pagan religions, these normally involved acts of prayer and sacrifice

Day of anointment

Iin Hebrew, Yom Kippur, the one day of the year when the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies in the temple, to sacrifice first an animal to atone for his own sins then another animal to atone for the sins of the people of Israel

Gospel

when this word is capitalized, it refers to a literary genre: a written account of the "good news" brought by Jesus Christ, including episodes involving his words and/or deeds

Gentile

a jewish designation for a non jew

Greco-Roman

The blend of Greek and Roman characteristics.

Greeco-Roman Biography

A literary genre consisting of a narrative of an individuals life, often with chronological framework, employing numerous subgenres (such as sayings, speeches, anecdotes, and conflict stories) so as to reflect important aspects of his or her character, principally for purposes of instruction, exhortation, or propaganda.

Greeco-Roman World

The lands (and culture) around the Mediterranean from the time of Alexander the Great to the emperor Constantine, roughly 300 BCE to 300 CE.

Herodians

A group of Jewish leaders, including the Temple high priests and Jewish royal families, who collaborated with the Roman governors.

Messianic Secret

this technical term is used for one of the most intriguing literary features of the gospel of Mark, which is that even though Jesus is shown to be the Messiah, he tried to keep his identity a secret

Passion

From a Greek word that means "suffering," used as a technical term to refer to the traditions of Jesus' last days, up to and including his crucifixion.

Scribes

literate Christians responsible for copying sacred scripture

Son of God

In most Greco-Roman circles, the designation of a person born to a god, able to perform miraculous deeds and/or to convey superhuman teachings; in Jewish circles, the designation of persons chosen to stand in a special relationship with the God of Israel, including the ancient Jewish Kings.

Son of Man

A term whose meaning is much disputed among modern scholars, used in some ancient apocalyptic texts to refer to a cosmic judge sent from heaven at the end of time.

proto-orthodox-christians

Early orms of Christianity endorsed by some Christians of 2nd and 3rd centuries promoted doctrines declared Orthodox in 4th centuries by Christian party. Version of Jesus was closer to our version where Jesus was both human and divine.

Antitheses

Literally, "contrary statements," used as a technical term to designate six sayings of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount (Matt 5:21-28) in which Paul states a Jewish law ("You have heard it said...") and then sets his own interpretation over it ("But I say to you...")

Used to refer to contrary statements of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount

Beatitudes

A Latin word meaning, literally, "blessings," used as a technical term for the sayings of Jesus that begin the Sermon on the Mount (e.g., "Blessed are the poor in spirit..."; Matt 5:3-12)

Used to refer to Jesus' sayings in the Sermon on the Mount

Fulfillment Citations

A literary device used by Matthew in which he states that something experienced or done by Jesus "fulfilled" what was spoken of by a Hebrew prophet in scripture

Genre criticism

A method used to study literary text by asking how its genre text functioned in its historical context and by exploring, then, its historical meaning (i.e., seeing how its meaning would have been understood by its earliest readers) in light of its literary characteristics

Golden Rule

Found in Matthew's Sermon on the Mount, this is Jesus' saying that you should "do unto others as you would have them do unto you." A similar teaching can be found in a range of pagan and Jewish ethical teachings both before and after Jesus.

Pontius Pilate

Roman aristocrat who served as the governor of Judea from 26 to 36 C.E. and who was responsible for ordering Jesus' crucifixion

Q

The source used by both Matthew and Luke for the stories they share, principally sayings, that are not found in Mark, is from the German word Quelle, meaning "source." The document no longer exists, but can be reconstructed based on Matthew and Luke

Redaction criticism

the study of how authors modified or edited their sources in view of their own vested interests and concerns

Sermon on the Mount

The sermon only found in Matthew 5-7, which preserves many of the best-known sayings of Jesus (including Matthew's form of Beatitudes, and Antitheses, and the Lord's Prayer)

Beloved disciple

Nickname for the "disciple whom Jesus loved" in the Gospel of John, who plays a prominent role in the Passion narrative but is never named. Older tradition identified him as John, the son of Zebedee.

Christology

· Any teaching about the nature of Christ

· Any attempt to explain what Jesus is

Comparative Method

A method used to study a literary text by noting its similarities to and differences from other, related texts, whether or not any of these other texts was used as a source for the text in question.

Farewell Discourse

The final discourse that Jesus delivers in the Gospel of John (and not found in the Synoptics), chapters 13-16 (sometimes thought to include Jesus' prayer of chap 17 as well); this discourse may have been created by combining two different accounts of Jesus' last words to his disciples before his arrest

"I am" sayings

Sayings of Jesus in John's Gospel reveal his divinity and that he is one with God.

A group of sayings found only in the Gospel of John in which Jesus identifies himself. In some of the sayings he speaks in metaphor ("I am the bread of life," "I am the light of the world," "I am the way, the truth, and the life"), and other times he identifies himself by simply saying "I am"—a possible reference to the name of God from Exodus 3 ("Before Abraham was, I am"; John 8:58).

Johannine Community

· The hypothetical community of Christians in which the Gospel of John and the Johannine epistles were written

· The community in which scholars speculate that the Gospel of John and the letters of 1, 2, 3 John may have been written within

Kingdom of God

In the teachings of Jesus, the Kingdom of God (or God's reign) appears to refer to an actual Kingdom that will come to earth and replace the wicked kingdoms that are now in control of the affairs, and God's people here. This would be a utopian Kingdom where truth, peace, and justice were restored: it would be ruled by God's anointed one.

Narrative Criticism

A form of literary analysis in which one explores how writers build their stories. This includes analysis of how authors craft narrators, settings, themes, and characters. It also includes the roles that various literary devices play in the narrative (e.g., symbolism, irony)

Passover

The most important and widely celebrated annual festival of Jews in Roman times commemorating the exodus from Egypt

Pericope Adulterae

Literally the "pericope/extract of the adulteress," this is a passage in our current text of the Gospel of John (John 7:53-8:11), in which the scribes and Pharisees bring a woman to Jesus who has been caught in adultery and ask him whether they should stone her for her sin). Textual critics recognize this passage as a later addition to the Gospel.

Redaction Criticism

the study of how authors modified or edited their sources in view of their own vested interests and concerns

Signs of Source

a document, which no longer survives, thought by many scholars to have been used as one of the sources of Jesus' ministry in the Fourth Gospel; it reputedly narrated a number of the miraculous deeds of Jesus

Synoptic Gospels

the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke which narrate so many of the same stories that they can be played side by side in parallel columns and so "be seen together"

aeons

In Gnostic myth, divine beings who are offspring of the one true, unknowable God.

Catholic

From a Greek word meaning "universal" or "general". This church is the Christian community that is one, holy, apostolic- that is open to all people everywhere at all times and that preaches the fullness of God's Revelation in Jesus Christ