THL 236: The Biblical Tradition - New Testament Midterm Exam Study Guide

Oral Tradition

passing down of stories, teachings, memories, laws, and beliefs by speaking and listening rather than writing (teachings about Jesus was fluid, used in different contexts, before being frozen into the Gospel)

Scripture

sacred writings that guides community beliefs, worship, identity, and behavior

Bible

canon of sacred scriptures for Christians (collection of books, multiple authors)

Covenant

binding relationship or agreement between God and people (promises and obligations)

Old Testament

scriptures of Israel shared with Judaism

New Testament

Christian writings about Jesus (early Christian communities and their faith)

Hellenism

Greek culture, language, ideas, and customs (INFLUENCE)

Hellenization

spread and adoption of Greek culture (especially after Alexander the Great’s conquests)

Canon

group / list of authoritative laws / teachings (comes from a Greek word meaning a measuring rod or standard) – Jewish and Christian canons formed over time as communities responded to pressure, conflict, and the need for authority  

Tanakh

the Jewish Canon – Torah (law and teaching), Nevi’im (prophets), and Ketuvim (writings)

Septuagint

ancient Greek translation of Jewish scriptures (Greek became common for literature and commerce, so translation helped Greek speaking Jews access the scriptures)

Pharisees

Jewish movement in the Second Temple period that emphasized the Torah, interpretation of the law, and traditions for everyday religious life (teachers, keepers of the Torah, evolve)

Sadducees

Jewish group associated with the Jerusalem Temple and priestly and aristocratic circles, expected the authority of the Torah but described as rejecting resurrection and beliefs associated with angle and spirits (conservative)

Essenes

Jewish group associated with strict religious discipline, communal life, purity practices, and expectation of God’s coming intervention (John the Baptist)

Zealots

associated with resistance to Roman rule and belief that Jewish land and people should not be controlled by foreign rulers (patriots, nationalists, rebellion)

Jesus Movement (Christians)

began among Jews in the first century CE who believed Jesus the Messiah and that God had raised him from the dead (was a movement within Judaism originally, then contributed to Christianity becoming a distinct religion)

Two Issues that Contributed to the Separation of Judaism and Christianity

Jesus’ identity and status – whether Jesus was the Messiah and divine and whether Gentile followers of Jesus needed to observe Jewish law (separation was varied by place with the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple)

First Jewish Revolt against Rome

Jews rebelled against Roman rule, Roman forces captured Jerusalem and destroyed the Second Temple

Second Jewish Revolt against Rome

Bar Kokhba Revolt, led to severe consequences for Jewish communities (restrictions connected with Jerusalem and changed Jewish life)

Two Forces in the Development of Scriptures in Judaism

formation of Israel as a nation and the destruction of the nation or exile (national stability created a need for records, while exile encouraged Jewish people to gather, tell their story, and record it in writing)

Three Forces in the Development of Scripture in Christianity

Roman Empire, failure of the First Jewish Revolt and destruction of Jerusalem / Temple, and death of the first generation of disciples

Apostles

sent out disciples, the disciples who had been sent out from Jesus (leaders, Jesus’ commissioned followers)

Disciples

a student of Jesus, learner and follower

Genres of Literature in the New Testament

Gospels: narrate Jesus’ life and teaching

Acts: narrative of the early movements

Letters / Epistles: address communities and problems

Apocalyptic Literature (Revelation): visions and symbols

Criteria for New Testament Canonization

1. Apostolic Authority

2. Relevance for encouraging and instructing faith

3. Liturgical Use / Popularity in Churches

Exegesis

technical term for biblical interpretation (draw out the author’s intended meaning and then apply it to the current world

Criticism

process of exegesis is to ask good questions of the ancient biblical text and seek answers to those questions through responsible methods

Worlds of the Text

organize different methods of biblical interpretation

1. The World behind the Text: historical context, transmission, and sources

2. The World in the Text: genre, language, symbols, and literary structure

3. The World in Front of the Text: how the text communicated with and affects its audience

Textual Criticism

asks questions about the transmission of ancient texts in their original language and in ancient translations which wad one by hand

Historical Criticism

ancient world and context in which a biblical text was written – scholars use evidence such as archaeology, other texts, and art to reconstruct historical settings

Stages in the Development of the Christian Tradition

1. Aramaic speaking Jesus Movement centered in Jerusalem

2. Expansion into the Greco Roman Empire and shift toward Greek language and culture

3. Attraction of Gentiles and development of new covenant theology

4. Jewish Revolt and its aftermath (Gospels and remaining New Testament writings were composed and Judaism and Christianity gradually separated)

Source Criticism

asks what earlier sources a biblical author may have used when composing a text (reconstructing a kind of bibliography after the fact by examining possible sources behind the writing)

Literary Criticism

focuses on how the text itself works (genre, style, work choice, symbolism, images, and metaphors) – World in the Text to examine how biblical writing communicates meaning

Form Criticism / Literary Forms in the New Testament

identifies specific literary form or sub form of a passage (hymns, poems, miracle stories, parables, and pronouncements) – identifying the form helps explain how the passage communicates

Jewish Theology / Cosmology / Anthropology

1. Theology: beliefs about God

2. Cosmology: how the universe is understood

3. Anthropology: what human beings are and how they relate to God and creation

Abraham

called by God to leave his homeland and travel to a land God would show him (promising descendants and blessings)

Moses

leader who brings the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt (receiving the Torah)

Torah

guide for right relationship with God (means teaching or instruction)

David

Israel’s second king who establishes Jerusalem as a political and religious center (lasting dynasty, promise that later contributes to Jewish hopes for a future Messiah from David’s line)

Hebrew Language

main language in which most of the Jewish Bible was written – preserved Israel’s scriptures and religious traditions

Messiah / Messianic Expectations

anointed one, a king set apart for a role

Babylonian Empire

conquered Judah and Jerusalem, forces destroyed the First Temple and deported many people from Judah producing a major crisis that shaped Jewish scripture, identity, and theology

The Exile

deportation of Judeans to Babylon after the Babylonian conquest and destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple (raised questions about land, temple, covenant, and God’s presence)

Diaspora

Jewish communities living outside the land of Israel / Judah, developed across the ancient Mediterranean and Near East (using languages such as Greek while maintaining Jewish practices and identity)

Persian Empire and King Cyrus

Persian rule began after the empire conquered Babylon, under King Cyrus, many exiles were allowed to return to Judea, and the Second Temple was completed

Aramaic Language

widely used language in ancient Near East and became common among Jews during and after the Exile (language of Jesus and many people in first-century Palestine)

Greek Empire and Alexander the Great

conquered Persian Empire and spread Greek political influence across a vast region (after his death, Jewish communicates encountered Hellenistic ideas and institutions)

Greek Language

common language across much of Eastern Mediterranean during Hellenistic and Roman periods (New Testament was written in Greek)

Roman Empire and the Greco-Roman World

Roman Empire: Rome controlled Judea during Jesus’ lifetime

Greco-Roman World: combined Roman government and power with widespread Greek language, education, philosophy, cities, and cultural practices

Elements of the Pluralistic NT World

overlapping cultural, political, linguistic, and religious influences that shaped Jesus’ life and early Christian movement

1. Mediterranean Culture

2. Greek Civilization

3. Roman Rule

4. Religious Beliefs of Judaism

Jesus of Nazareth

Jewish teacher and preacher from Nazareth in Galilee who proclaimed God’s kingdom, taught through sayings and parables, and gathered disciples – crucified under Roman authority, raised from the dead, and was the Messiah

Resurrection Faith

disciples’ conviction that Jesus was dead and then alive again – this belief distinguished the Jesus Movement from other messianic movements and convinced early Christians that Jesus was God’s Anointed One

How Jesus “redefines” Messianic Expectations

Jesus did not meet standard expectations of a political military king like David - reinterpreted messianic expectations through scripture and came to understand Jesus as a covenantal Messiah who suffered on behalf of humankind

The Good News of the New Covenant

God fulfilled earlier covenant promises and established a new covenant through Jesus who is Christ and Son of God – covenant is open to all humankind including Gentiles and is based on faith in Jesus

Movement from the Life of Jesus to the Formation of Gospels

believers taught about their experiences, and oral teachings about Jesus developed and were used in different contexts – fluid traditions were written down (the First Jewish Revolt and death of the first generation of disciples helped prompt Gospel writing)

Gospel

means “good news” which refers to the four accounts of Jesus’ life, teaching, death, and resurrection (compilations, influenced by Jewish literature, ancient rather than modern biographies, and overtly evangelistic)

Historical Context

political, social, religious, economic, and cultural circumstances surrounding a text / event

Literary Context

how a passage fits into the surrounding story, argument, book, / genre

Public Ministry

period when Jesus taught, healed, called disciples, traveled, and proclaimed the kingdom of God

Passion Narrative

recounts Jesus’ final days (arrest, trial, suffering, crucifixion, and burial), central to Christian interpretation of Jesus’ identity and mission

Synoptic Gospels

Matthew, Mark, and Luke – share much material and can often be viewed side by side

Son of Man

title / expression Jesus frequently sues for himself in the Gospels (especially Mark), refers to Jesus’ earthly authority and suffering

Kingdom of God

God’s active rule or reign (not simply a physical place)

Intercalation

sandwich construction used in Mark – one story begins, another story interrupts it, and the first story then resumes (the Passion Narrative where alternating scenes involving Jesus and other characters help interpret each other)

The Messianic Secret in the Gospel of Mark

Mark’s recurring theme of secrecy around Jesus’ identity

Themes in the Gospel of Mark

Mark emphasizes Jesus’ deeds more than words and gives special attention to the Passion Narrative, ending with the hope of the empty tomb and resurrection

1. The Kingdom / Reign of God

2. Jesus as Son of Man and Son of God

3. Discipleship and the Cross