Theology 100 Midterm

Bible

Sacred Scripture

Testament

New and Old (parts of the Bible)

Septuagint

Greek translation of the Old Testament (Catholic version of the old testament)

Apocrypha / Deuterocanonical

- 7 additional books that differ from Protestant and Catholic Old Testament
- Catholics accepted larger Greek canon
- Protestants accepted smaller Palestinian canon

Canon

The official list of inspired books of the Bible

Tanak

Hebrew (Jewish) Bible

Law / Torah

First five books of the Hebrew Bible

Prophets (Torah)

Second part of the hebrew bible (Nevi'im)

Writings

The third part of the Hebrew Bible (Ketuvim)

Pentateuch

First 5 books of the Bible (same as the torah)

Historical Books

Second part of the Christian Old Testament

Wisdom Books

the third part of the christian Old Testament

General Revelation

God reveals himself to what he has created

Special Revelation

God reveals himself in different ways to different individuals (ex. the Bible)

Theology (2 parts)

Theo = God / Logy = word

Faith (3 dimensions)

1) Belief
2) Trust
3) Commitment

Prophets (Christian)

fourth and final part of the Christian Old Testament / it is last because the prophets point us toward the new testament

Prophet

someone called by God to speak his word

Myth

symbolic narrative; meant to be read symbolically, not literally

Saga

type of genre - stories about ancestors

Covenant

binding legal contract; promise exchange; "kinship in law"

Kinship

A social bond based on common ancestry or marriage

Go'el

next of kin; avenger; redeemer

Vassal Treaty

treaty between two groups where one is superior and the other is inferior (ex. Israelites establish a treaty with God)

Royal Grant

gift from royalty to a servant as thank you (retirement gift)

Israel

"promised land" of God's chosen ones (Israelites/sons of Abraham)

David

Second king of Israel; his lineage has a covenant with God

Messiah

Savior sent by God

Hesed

steadfast love

Daniel

1 of 2 apocalyptic literature books in the Bible - God saved him from the lions

Son of Man

How Jesus refers to himself - Jesus is referring to the book of Daniel which calls him Son of Man

Isaiah

- Porphet during the Babylonian exile of the Israleites
- prophesises the coming of the Messiah

Servant of the Lord

- a reference to Jesus as the Messiah who appears repeatedly in Isaiah 40 - 55
- can be translated as Jesus, Israel, followers of God, etc.

Enuma Elish

Babylonian creation story - shares several similarities but there is multiple Gods and not all are good

Abraham

father of faith; first covenant

Salvation History

Everything after Gods call of Abraham; Gods desire that all people be saved

YHWH

- a name for God that God himself revealed to Moses and the Chosen People on Mount Sinai.
- the word means "I Am Who Am" and led to Israel's understanding that God is the one, living, and true God

Moses

Prophet that led the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt; received the 10 commandments

Exodus Event

Hebrews exit from Egypt

Ethical Monotheism

to worship God involves a way of life that is religious - more than just going through the motions of worship, prayer, church

Gospel (2 parts)

eu = good / angelion = message; refers to the good news of Jesus and God's kingdom

Synoptic (3 gospels)

why do Matthew, Mark, and Luke have a heavy overlap? Mark was likely first.

Kingdom of God

The reign of God proclaimed by Jesus and begun in his Life, Death, and Resurrection.

Christ

The Greek term for "Messiah." It means "the anointed one."

Theological Truths

statements about God and his relationship with humans which cannot be proven scientifically but which are nonetheless believed to be true

Revelation

the way in which God reveals himself

Fundamentalism

people who believe that the Bible was made without error in every sense; biblical literalists

Secular Approach to Scripture

- coming from a non-religious perspective
- studying the human words from the bible

Comprehensive "Catholic" position to Scripture

- believe that the Bible is God's word, but it comes through human authors inspired by God

Old Testament

- before the coming of Christ
- Protestants believe there are 39 books
- Catholics believe there are 46 books
- Jews believe there are 24 books
- Protestant and Jews have the same content within the Old Testament books

New Testament

- after the coming of Christ
- all Christains agree that there are 27 books

Etiology

popular story

Nabi

someone called by God

False Prophet

- lying to be a prophet
- can tell they lie if what they say does not prove to be true

Apocalyptic Literature

- literature is hard to understand due to symbolism
- cannot understand unless someone "lifts the veil for you"

Divisions and Structure of Jewish and Christian Bibles

- New Testament + Old Testament = Christian
- Old Testament = Jewish

Bible Authorship

- traditional answer is Moses
- modern theory correlates with the documentary hypothesis

Theology of Creation Accounts

- two different accounts of creation
- Genesis 1 follows a pattern of creation
- is not literal - reveals theological truths about God
- creation of man "in God's image"

Documentary Hypothesis

- explains how Moses wrote most of the Bible, but other people finished it
- the anicent understanding of "author" is initiator
- Moses --> Yawist source --> Elohist source --> Deut. source --> Priestly source

Historial Setting of Exodus (3 theories)

- 15th century BC following biblical chronology
- 13th century BC based on the Egyptian capital
- Never since the pharaoh is never named and Egyptians have no account of it

Sinai Covenant

- covenant on Mount Sinai
- treaty between the parties of God and the Israelites
- conditions on each side

Davidic Covenant

- covenant between God and David
- God claims his total love for David
- God will be devoted to David and his dependents forever

Meanings of YHWH from the account with Moses (4)

1 - it is in God's nature to exist; he is the absolute being
2 - God refuses to respond to Moses as he will never udnerstand the ability of God
3 - God is the ultimate creator
4 - God creates a covenant with Moses

Contexts of the New Testament World

1. Second Temple Judaism
- Groups: Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes, Zealots
2. Roman Empire
- PAX Romana = Roman Peace because they ruled
3. Hellenistic Period
-Greek language, culture, and philosophy dominated

Contents of the New Testament

27 books (4 gospels and 20 letters included)

The Synoptic Gospels

Matthew, Mark, and Luke / they involve heavy overlap which led to different possibilities as to why

Dating and Formation of New Testament Writings

Mark = 70 AD / Matthew and Luke 80-90 AD

4 Gospels

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

Pharisees

religious people who were scholars of the law (Torah)

Sadducees

aristocrats; priestly family (had to be born to be a priest)

Essenes

radical separatists

Zealots

revolutionaries

adipic

two separate stories tell one big symbol

Geneologies

express relatsionship and tell stories in the Bible