Christian Scriptures TEXT 1

scripture

any piece of writing that provides authourtivatie guidelines for the beliefs and practices of a religious

Canon

a fixed and binding list / collection of the writings that function as scripts for a specific religious community

Old Testament

story of Israel

New Testament

story of Jesus

Old testament is based on the Tanakh

the canon of scripture of judaism

Septuagint of LXX ("seventy")

is a collection of ancient Jewish religious writings in Greek

Deuterocanonical Books

are jewish writings that were in the LXX and became part of the Roman Catholic OT, but did not end up in the Tanakh as part of the finial canon of Judaism

Apocrypha (or apocryphal books)

hidden

Autographs (self written)

the original manuscripts of biblical books are called

Textual criticism

comparing biblical manuscripts and identifying their differences in an attempt to reconstruct what the autographs said

Formal Correspondence

Aims to translate biblical manuscripts "word for word"

Dynamic Equivalence

Aims to translate biblical manuscripts "meaning for meaning"

telos

end or culmination

inspiration

The belief that God has directly influenced the creation and/ or contents of the biblical writings (God breathed)

belief in inerrancy

the claim that the autographs of the Bible were totally free of all factual errors

Source Criticism

process of attempting to identify the different sources used to compose a text

Documentary Hypothesis

theory that the 5 books of the Torah contain material from multiple sources written at different times and later edited together

Personal name YHWH / Yahweh

replaced by "LORD" in translations (more human-like characteristics / emotions)

generic Hebrew word for a deity Elohim

translated as "God"

The Enuma Elish

ancient Mesopotamian creation narrative written in 1700s BCE; describes origins of the gods / the world / humanity, focusing on the god Marduk and his defeat

emphases of the Enuma Elish

Polytheism (many gods)

Creation of the world is preceded by war among the gods

Marduk proves his worthiness to be king of the gods by the power of his words

The earth is created out of the corpse of a defeated goddess

Humanity is created to serve the gods, so the gods can rest

Emphases of the Genesis 1 Creation Narrative

monotheism (one God) the world as the handiwork of God (Elohim) Humanity created in God's image, Humanity as rulers over creation, Divine generosity, the goodness of all creation, the importance of rest

Emphases of the Genesis 2 Creation Narrative

monotheism (one god), the world as the handiwork of God (YHWH), Humanity as a spirit-filled dust, humanity as caretakers of creation, divine prohibitions, the reality of evil and death, the importance of relationships

Etiology

A narrative that explains the origin of a familiar aspect of life (such as a natural phenomenon or a culture custom)

Adam and Eve from Genesis 2

Genesis 3 continues the story

Curses for Disobedience (gen 3:14-19)

The serpent: must crawl on its belly, will be at odds with humans

The women: difficultly and pain in childbearing, will be ruled by her husband The man: must struggle against natural world Man and Women: banished form the Garden, destined to die

cain and Abel

Cain is jealous of the favor God shows Abel; God warns Cain! Also its the first apperance in the Bible of the word "sin" -" lurking at the door" creappig in

Noah

God instructs a man named Noah to build an ark (large enclosed boat) in order to escape a destructive flood

The Epic of Gilgamesh

ancient Babylonian myth from 1700s BCE that contains a flood narrative featuring the hero Untianppism

The Cursing of Canaan

Genesis 9 Harm, one of Noahs 3 sons, commits an offense against his father. Noah responds by cursing Ham's son, Canaan, to be a slave to Noah's other sons. story served as an etiology; white Christians misused the story as an etiology justifying the enslaved of africans

The Tower of Babel

Genesis 11 humans build a tall tower in an attempt to "make a name for themselves"

Abram

genesis 12

YHWH's promise to Abram

to give him many descendants who will become a great nation; to "make his name great". to bless him. To make him a blessing to all the families of the earth. to give his descendants the land of Canaan.

COVENANT

a binding agreement between two or more parties

Abram begin to doubt gods promises because

his wife Sarai is barren. God again promise Abram he will have many descendants

Righteousness

refers to innocence / right standing in Gods sight

Hagar

sarai believes she is too old to conceive and convinces abram to have a child with her servant

Ishmael

Hagar bears Abram his first son

Abraham

God repeats his promises to Abram and gives him a new name - no longer "abram" (exalted father), but Abraham (father of a multitude

Sarah

God ALSO gives Sarai the new name "Sarah" (Princess)

Circumcision

God now makes a bilateral covenant - Abraham and his male descendants must practice (removal of the foreskin of the penis) as a sign that they belong to God

Isaac

Sarah gives birth at 90 to the promised son, whose name means "laughter"

The Binding of Isaac

Gen 22 God orders Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and gives no explanations ; but then he doesn't have to ; God again promises to bless Abraham, this time with an emphasis on Abrahams promises

Rebekah

isaccc marries; and just like Sarah, she initially cannot have childeren.

Esau

sells his rights as firstborn to Jacob for a meal

Esau & Jacob

Rebekah twins son!

Leah and Rachel

jacob works for his uncle Laban and marries both of laban’s daughters

jacob loves

rachel more, but like Sarah and Rebekah, Rachel is barren. The has 12 sons

Israel

New name of Jacob; means “struggles with God”

Joseph

is Jacob’s favorite because Rachel was Joseph’s mother

exodus

a mass departure of people from a place; mass depature of the Israelites from Egypt.

The birth of Moses (exodus 2)

Israelite women named Jochebed hides her son in a basket in the river. Then raised by the Pharaoh’s daughter

The Burning Bush (Exodus 3)

while Moses is tending sheep on Mt. Horeb, God speaks to him from

YHWH

meaning: The One Who Is

Aaron

Moses is reluctant to serve as God’s messenger, so God allows his brother to act as his spokesman

The Passover (Exodus 12-13)

prior to the tenth plague, the Israelites smear lamb’s blood on their door frames so “the destoyer” will passover their house

Mt. Sinai

God leads the Israelites here, where they remain for 11 months. Here they receive instructions from God that mark the establishment of a new covenant

The 10 Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17)

the initial set of 10 laws that God gave Israelites immediately after they agreed to enter into a covenant

The Covenant Code (Exodus 20-23)

Laws delivered by God to Moses following the Ten Commandments, which Israel agrees to obey as part of the new covenant

The Law of Retaliation

Exodus 21:23-25 “eye for eye” code of Hammurabi 196-200

The Golden Calf (Exodus 32)

while moses is gone, the Israelites convince Aaron to create for them to worship. Aaron tells them the calf represents the God who brought them out of Egypt. God threatens to destroy the Israelites, but Moses begs God to be merciful and remember his promises, so “the LORD changed his mind” (Exodus 32:14)

Tabernacle

God instructs Moses to build an elaborate tent where God manifests his presense and where the Israelites worship and offer sacrifes

priests

Aaron and his direct male descendants serve as Priests, who oversee Israel’s worhsip

levites

the other male members of the tribes serve as assistants to the priests

the book of Leviticus

third book of the Torah / Pentateuch concerened with “pristley matters” constiains 3 major sections

scarifice lawa (lev 1-7)

instructions on when / how to scarifice animals / crops for varitiation religious purpose, such as alomging for sins or expressing gradtuide

purity laws (lev 11-16)

laws concerning: aniamals that are unclean / unfit to eat (such as pork and sellfish)

conditions that make people temporarily unclean / unfit to enter the tabernacle for worship, such as: childbirth, menstruation, sexual intercourse, skin diseases, contact with a corpse,

Holiness code (Lev 17-26)

laws requiring Israelites to exhibit (set apart-ness) a high standard of moral and sexual conduct that distinguishes them from other nations (Lev 18:3; 20:26)

book of Numbers

fourth book of the torah / pentateuch is called "Numbers” becaue it describes two Israelite censuses. A mostly tragic book describing how the Israelites journey from Mt. Siani to the Promise Land of Canan went wrong

The 12 Spies (numbers 13-14)

are spent to explore Canaan in preparation for invasion. 10 of them insist the Israelites cannot defeat the Canaanites. Only 2, Joshua and Caleb, trust God. The people believe the 10 spies and refuse to invade

The 12 Spies

because the Israelites’ lack of faith, God declares no one over the age 20 will enter Canaan expect Joshua and Caleb

Book of Deuteronomy

fifth and final book of the Pentateuch; “Deuteronomy” = “second law” Records Moses farwell speech delivered near the border of Cannan, in which he repeats God’s commands

Insists on exclusive loyalty to YHWH

The Shema: a short summary of Israel’s faith that is regularly recited by jews” Deut 6:4-5

Concerned with social justice

contains many laws protecting widows, orphans, slaves foreigners. In Deuteronomy’s version of the 10 commandments, the Sabbath command is explained in terms of having compassion for one’s slaves

Obedience to God’s laws brings blessings; disobedience brings curses / punishments

picking between a blessing and a curse you just have to pick one. Are you going to chose obedience or disobedience!!!

The Deuteronomistic History

historical narrative of the Israelites’ life in the promised land, from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian Exile. These books reflect the same basic theology of divine rewards/ punishments as Deuteronomy. Mulitpule authors/ editors

Joshua

Following moses death at the conclusion of Deuteronomy, one of the 2 faithful spies from Numbers, becomes the new leader of Isreal

Rahab

the prostitute, protects the spies, so they promise to spare her and her family. she becomes an ancestress of later Israelite kings

The Destruction of Jericho (Joshua 6)

God gives the Israelites unusual instructions for conquering: march around the city, blow trumpets, and shout. When the Israelites obey, the city walls collapse and the Israelites kill everyone in (the city) except Rahab and her family.

Herem

devoting to destruction - God ordained Israelite practice of completely destroying enemy populations, livestock, cities, and possessions

Achan

An Israelite, violates the policy of herem by looting at Jericho. Becasue of his disobedience, Israel is defeated in battle at Ai. When he’s sin is discovered, he is stoned to death along with his family members and livestock. After he’s death, the Israelites conquer Ai and eventually all of Canaan

The 12 tribes of Israel

The line of Joseph received 2 tribal territories, one for each of Joseph’s sons. The priestly tribe of Levi did not receive a terrritory, but was given cities within the other territories.

Shiloh

the tabernacle was centrally located, which became the first capital of Israel

Baal

following Joshu'a’s death, some Israelites began worshipping other gods, the Cannanites god of storms and fertility

judge

God raise up a (military / political leader) to defeat Israel’s enemies 

Deborah

is Israel’s only female judge, also a prophetess. She