BOLD 2010 - Glossary Exam

Anthropomorphism

Attribution of human characteristics to God

Apodictic Law

A law set out in the form of a command or prohibition; i.e. "You shall....", "You shall not..."

Arabah

Term meaning "desert," "plain," or "wilderness;" generally area corresponding to 3 geographic regions descending through the valley south of the Sea of Galilee to the Red Sea

Asherah

Canaanite mother-fertility goddess, regarded as consort of Baal; could refer to her cult object (often sacred pole or tree); not the same, but often used interchangeably with Ashtoreth

Atonement

Sacrificial death which effects salvation as the reestablishment of the relationship between God and sinners

Baal

Canaanite storm and fertility god, name means "lord;" chief male god of the Canaanites

Birthright

Principle by which firstborn son receives twice the property as the others

Blessing

Bestowal of material/spiritual good/favor upon a person

Canon

Commonly recognized collection of books that make up the authoritative Scriptures, representing the standard by which other teachings are evaluated; term derived from the Greek, refers to a measuring rod (hence evaluation)

Casuistic Law

Law set out on basis of the case, hence "case law;" usual format "if... then..." or "When... then..."

Circumcision

Surgical procedure to cut off the foreskin of a male; required by God of Abraham's descendants as sign of God's covenant

Concubine

Female whose status in relation to her sole legitimate sexual partner is something other than primary wife; offspring generally have no legal inheritance rights

Consecrate

Dedicate or ordain a person for sacred office or an object for sacred purposes

Covenant

Solemn agreement b/w two+ parties, made binding by some sort of oath; often, but not always, entails responsibilities of the agreeing parties to maintain the agreement

Cuneiform

Form of writing which used various arrangements of wedges impressed in clay to represent syllables or letters of the alphabet; word means "wedge shape," and it is a style of writing, not a language

Decalogue / Ten Commandments / Ten Words

Foundational commandments given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai

Deuteronomic/Deuteronomistic History/Theology

History of Israel traced through the theological lens of the promises and curses of Deuteronomy; usually considered to include Deut., Josh., 1-2 Sam., and 1-2 Kings (not Ruth)

Diaspora

Jews of Post-exilic period who lived outside of Palestine; also called Dispersion

Documentary Hypothesis

Theory arguing that the Bible (Torah specifically) was edited and compiled from a collection of other documents, hypothetically known as J ("Yahwist," uses the Tetragrammaton), E ("Elohist," preserves term elohim), D (Deuteronomistic), and P (Priestly) sources

Exile / Exilic

Referring to the time during the Babylonian captivity of Israel - roughly 586 B.C. to 539 B.C.; times before and after the exile can be designated as pre/post exilic

Former Prophets

Hebrew designation of the Old Testament canon typically thought of as historical books - Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings; represent the history of Israel from a prophetic perspective

Genre

Classification or type of literary composition

Henotheism

Word meaning "one god;" here means the belief in and worship of one god w/out denial of other gods

*Herem* (Ban)

Ritual devotion of an object to destruction or to sacred use

*Hesed*

Hebrew term carrying the idea of loyal love, translated variously in English as lovingkindness, mercy, steadfast love

High Place

Site (often elevated) of a sacred shrine; called *bamah* in Hebrew

Holy / Holiness

Morally pure and separate from evil, thus "wholly other;" holiness is the primary attribute of God

Holy War / Divine Warrior

God's battle against evil in the world; God himself takes the role as the Divine Warrior who leads the holy war on behalf of his people

Idol / Idolatry

Any false god or representative of a false god; idolatry is the worship of idols

Inspiration

Term referring to the idea that oral or witten discourse is in some way prompted and directed by the Holy Spirit

Kinsman Redeemer

Close relative who has the right/responsibility to redeem or avenge

Levirate Marriage

Practice by which the brother of a man who dies without sons marries the deceased's widow to produce an heir for the dead man

*Lex Talionis*

Law of retaliation that demands the guilty suffer retribution equivalent to the injury inflicted (eye for eye)

Masoretic Text

Text of the Hebrew Bible produced between A.D. 500 and 950 by Jewish textual scholars (Masoretes) concerned with the precise transmission of the text

Merneptah Stele

Victory stele (ca 1220 B.C.) of Pharaoh Merneptah on which he boasts of subduing Israel: "Israel is laid waste, his seed is not" (*ANET*-3: 378); the stele preserves earliest extra-biblical reference to Israel

Messiah/Christ ("Anointed One")

Promised deliverer of Israel from the line of David who would establish God's rule; Messiah transliterates the Hebrew word while Christ transliterates the Greek word; both mean "anointed one"

*Mishna*

Hebrew word derived from a root meaning "to repeat;" refers to the collection of beliefs and regulations of the Jews (i.e., "traditions") that were compiled ca. early 3rd century A.D.; they reflect, however, the discussions and beliefs of Jews from as early as 50 B.C.

Monotheism

Word meaning "one god;" refers to the belief that there is only one god

Nazarite

Person who dedicated him/herself to God by special vow, requiring abstinence from grape products and alcohol, leaving the hair uncut, and avoiding contact with dead bodies; vow could be temporary or perpetual and could be taken by either gender

Negev/Negeb

Southern desert region of ancient Palestine

Polytheism

Word meaning "many gods;" refers to the belief that more than one god exists and all are objects of devotion

Prophet

One who speaks on behalf of God to communicate His will for a particular situation - sometimes predicts or declares what will come in the future

Providence

God's ultimate (though often unseen) support, care, and supervision of his creation

Redemption

Concept of release/freedom on payment of a price; deliverance by a costly method

Sabbath

Hebrew word means "rest," but usually refers to the seventh day of the week (Saturday); celebrated by Jews as a day of rest

Sanctify / Sanctification

Act of making someone clean/holy or the process by which God is cleansing the world and its people

Sanctuary

Place where God specially manifests his Presence and to which God's people come for legitimate worship

Satan

Literally, an adversary or plotter, one who devises means for opposing another; often represented in Scripture as a spiritual being opposed to the people of God

Septuagint/LXX

Greek translation of the Old Testament; "LXX" serves as its abbreviation

*Shema*

Foundational statement of Jewish belief from Hebrew word for "hear"

Suzerain Treaty

Ancient form of treaty in which a conqueror benefited the conquered w/ protection and stipulated requirements on the conquered, especially that of undivided loyalty; important component was list of blessings and curses placed upon the subject who keeps or breaks the treaty; many scholars recognized similarity b/w this and Deuteronomy and the Covenant of Exodus

Syncretism

Sharing and blending of religious beliefs

Tabernacle

Word derived from Latin referring to Israel's tent sanctuary; Hebrew references to tabernacle would more accurately be translated "tent of meeting" or less often "tent of testimony;" used by Israel as the primary sanctuary pre-temple era

Talmud

Hebrew word meaning "study" or "learning;" technically a compilation of commentaries on the Mishnah; there are two collections of the Talmud, one called Palestinian and the other Babylonian; final forms date 4-5th centuries A.D.

*tel/tell*

Hebrew and Arabic words, respectively, for "ruin;" standard terms applied to archaeological ruins in Syria and Palestine

Teraphim

Technical term translated "household gods," "gods," "idol," but often transliterated

Tetragrammaton

Compound word meaning "four letters," applied to the formal name of God in the Hebrew Bible (YHWH); usually rendered as LORD in English translations of the Old Testament

Textual Criticism

Study strategy which tries to reconstruct as closely as possible the original reading by comparing surviving manuscripts of the documents

Theocracy

Government by divine rule

Theophany

Term meaning "appearance of God;" technical term for the appearance of God in some visible form

Torah

Hebrew term referring to the first five books of the Old Testament and equivalent to the Pentateuch, translated as "Law" or "Instruction;" Pentateuch, Law, Books of Moses, and Torah all refer to the same books

Transliteration

Result of rendering vocal values of one language's letters into equivalent vocal values for another language's letters; simply attempt to replicate the pronunciation, does not necessarily convey meaning

Type / Typology

Spiritual correspondences particularly between persons, institutions, and events of the Old Testament which are regarded as divinely established models or representations of corresponding realities in the New Testament

United Monarchy

Time of Saul, David, and Solomon, when Israel and Judah were under one king

Urim and Thummim

"Lights and perfections;" objects to be laced in the breastpiece of the High Priest and used to discern God's will

Writings (*Ketubim*)

Last of the three sections of the Hebrew canon consisting primarily of wisdom literature, poetry, and some historical type works such as Chronicles, Ruth, Esther, Ezra, and Nehemiah

Yahweh

English rendering of the Tetragrammaton or divine personal name of God (with the addition of vowels); sometimes rendered as Jehovah