Old Testament names/terms

Amos & Hosea

Israel

Isaiah & Micah 

Judah

Amos

Condemned injustice and false religion ; Call for social justice and true worship

Hosea

God’s faithful love despite Israel’s unfaithfulness ; Shows God’s enduring compassion

Isaiah

Judgment and hope; prophecy of the Messiah ; Foretold Christ and offered hope of redemption

Micah

Justice, humility, and coming of the Messiah ; Called for humble living and foretold Christ’s birth

Adam & Eve

Represent humanity’s fall and moral freedom. 

Noah

Obedience brings renewal after judgment. 

Abraham & Sarah

Faith in God’s promises despite uncertainty. 

Moses

Deliverer, lawgiver, covenant mediator. 

Joshua

Conqueror who fulfills God’s promise of land.

Deborah, Gideon, Samson

Judges symbolizing moral decline

Samuel

Prophet bridging judges and kings. 

Saul

First king; tragic fall due to pride.

David

Model king yet deeply flawed; repentance and divine covenant. 

Solomon

Wisdom and temple builder; downfall through idolatry. 

Genesis 1–3

Creation & Fall.

Genesis 12:

Call of Abraham. 

Exodus 3

God’s name revealed to Moses (“I AM WHO I AM”). 

Exodus 20

Ten Commandments. 

Deuteronomy 6

Shema — love God with all your heart. 

Joshua 24

Covenant renewal. 

1 Samuel 8

Israel demands a king.

2 Samuel 7

Davidic covenant. 

1 Kings 11–12

Solomon’s downfall and division of the kingdom. 

Jacob Trickster

• Deceives Esau: With his mother Rebekah’s help, Jacob tricks his brother Esau out of his birthright and blessing by pretending to be him.

• Outsmarts Laban: Later, Jacob uses clever breeding techniques to gain the best flocks from his uncle Laban.

Rebekah Trickster

Helps her son Jacob disguise himself as Esau to receive Isaac’s blessing.

Tamar Trickster

After Judah denies her rightful marriage to his youngest son, Tamar disguises herself as a prostitute to sleep with Judah and secure her place in the family line.

The Serpent Trickster

Uses deception and wordplay to tempt Eve into eating the forbidden fruit.

Rehab Trickster

Hides the Israelite spies in Jericho and lies to the king’s men to protect them.

Midwives Shiphrah and Puah Tricksters

Defy Pharaoh’s order to kill Hebrew baby boys by lying and saying the Hebrew women give birth too quickly.

Who led Israel out of Egypt in the Exodus? 

Moses 

Exegesis

critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture 

Canon

collection of books that are recognized as divinely inspired scripture by a given religious community 

Tanak

Jewish term for the Hebrew scriptures, referring to the three main parts of those scriptures 

Torah

the first five books of the Bible 

Theophany

a divine appearance; a text that describes a divine appearance 

Pentateuch

the first five books of the Bible 

Etiology

In a biblical or literary context, etiology is a story that explains the origin of a custom, name, place, or natural event. 

Covenant Code

a set of early laws embedded in Exodus 20:22-23:33 (apart from some late additions) that seem to predate later regulations asserting the requirement to worship Yahweh in just one place 

Cultural memory

a common set of memories, taught to each generation and celebrated in common rituals, that help define a group by its shared past 

Oral tradition

traditions important at every stage in the formation of the Bible, especially if one includes the oral aspects of written traditions, since even the latter often were memorized and preformed. More specifically, we see some reflections in the written traditions of the Bible of exclusively oral traditions, and these reflections are the typical focus of biblical tradition criticism 

Royal theology

a set of beliefs and images surrounding God’s appointing of the king as ruler and high priest, God’s equipping of the king with power, justice, and blessing, and God’s granting the king anything he wishes, particularly military victory and a long life 

Priestly source

a hypothesized source of the Pentateuch... (page 294 of the textbook glossary) 

Prophetic call narrative

a story, usually told in the first person, where a prophetic figure tells of how he was authorized by God to be a prophet, usually including some or all... (page 295) 

Transmission history

Encompasses the history of oral and written traditions related to biblical text 

Trickster

a character whose ability to survive through trickery and even lawbreaking is celebrated in religion, literature, or another part of culture 

Vassal treaty:

a type of ancient covenant imposed by a superpower on one or more nations that it dominated. such a treaty typically required the subject king or nation to pay tribute to the king of the superpower, maintain constant and exclusive allegiance to him, and incur curses if the subject nation failed to be exclusively and constantly loyal to the dominating power 

Zion theology

a set of beliefs surrounding the idea that God lives in Jerusalem, holds Jerusalem to a high ethical standard, and will prevent Jerusalem from being destroyed by any enemy 

Covenant

Central thread from Noah → Abraham → Moses → David.

Faith and Obedience:

Blessing tied to trust in God’s commands. 

Law and Justice:

God’s moral order revealed in Torah and upheld by prophets

Human Failure & Divine Mercy

Sin leads to exile, yet God renews His promises. 

Kingship & Idolatry

True authority belongs to God; human power often corrupts.