Module 2: The New Testament, Early Church, and Intertestamental Background

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the Intertestamental background, Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation from Humanities 345-102 Module 2.

Alexander the Great

The Macedonian king whose conquests in the 4th century BCE spread Hellenistic culture, Greek language, and political institutions across the Near East and Judea.

Koine Greek

The common dialect of the Greek language spread by Hellenism throughout the Mediterranean basin, in which the New Testament and Septuagint were composed.

The Septuagint

The ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament), traditionally translated in Alexandria by seventy or seventy-two Jewish scholars.

Apocrypha

A collection of Jewish books written during the Second Temple period that are preserved in the Septuagint and included in Catholic and Orthodox canons, but omitted from the Protestant Old Testament.

Pseudepigrapha

Ancient non-canonical Jewish and Christian religious texts falsely attributed to prominent biblical patriarchs or prophets (such as Enoch or Moses).

"Deuterocanonical"

A term meaning "second canon," applied by Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions to the books of the Old Testament found in the Septuagint but absent from the Hebrew Masoretic canon.

The Seleucids

The Hellenistic Syrian dynasty that governed Judea until its oppressive religious policies under Antiochus IV Epiphanes provoked the Maccabean Revolt.

The Maccabean Revolt

A 2nd-century BCE Jewish rebellion led by Judas Maccabeus and his brothers against Seleucid rule, resulting in the rededication of the Temple and an independent Hasmonean kingdom.

1 Maccabees

A historical book of the Apocrypha recounting the Maccabean Revolt against Seleucid oppression and the establishment of Hasmonean leadership in Judea.

Tobit

A deuterocanonical book featuring a pious, blinded Israelite exile in Nineveh whose son Tobias is guided by the angel Raphael on a transformative journey.

Judith

A deuterocanonical book recounting how a devout and courageous Jewish widow delivers her besieged city by assassinating the Assyrian general Holofernes.

Later additions to Esther and Daniel

Sections preserved in the Greek Septuagint that add explicit prayers, theological justifications, divine interventions, and moral tales to the original Hebrew narratives.

Herod the Great

The Roman-appointed client king of Judea (37–4 BCE) noted for extensive building projects, including expanding the Second Temple, and ruling at the time of Jesus's birth.

Pharisees

A prominent Jewish religious group focused on strict adherence to the written and oral Torah, ritual purity in daily life, and the resurrection of the dead.

Sadducees

An aristocratic, priestly Jewish faction closely tied to the Temple hierarchy that accepted only the written Torah and denied oral traditions and the resurrection.

Essenes

An ascetic, monastic Jewish sect that withdrew to the desert (notably associated with Qumran) to live communally in anticipation of divine intervention.

Herodians

A 1st-century political faction in Judea that supported the rule and dynasty of Herod and Roman administrative authority.

Zealots

A radical, militant Jewish movement that opposed Roman rule and taxation through armed resistance and violent rebellion.

Sanhedrin

The supreme judicial and administrative council of Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem, presided over by the high priest.

Octavian/Augustus

The first Emperor of Rome (ruled 27 BCE–14 CE) who established the Roman Empire and ordered the census noted in Luke 2 at the time of Jesus's birth.

Bethlehem

The historic town in Judea, identified as the city of David, where Jesus of Nazareth was born according to the Gospel accounts.

Word (logos)

The philosophical and theological concept in John 1 identifying Jesus as the divine, eternal reason, wisdom, and creative self-expression of God made flesh.

John the Baptist

The prophetic forerunner to Jesus who preached repentance, administered water baptism in the Jordan River, and baptized Jesus.

Beatitudes

The series of pronouncements delivered by Jesus at the start of the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5) outlining the blessed character and upside-down values of God's kingdom.

Parables

Short, metaphoric stories drawn from everyday life used by Jesus to teach spiritual truths, illustrate the kingdom of God, and challenge ethical conventions.

Clearing of the Temple

The episode in which Jesus drove merchants and money changers from the Temple courtyards, denouncing the commercialization of his Father's house.

Eucharist

The Christian sacrament or ordinance instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper through the sharing of bread and wine as his body and blood.

Caiphas

The Jewish high priest who presided over the council and the religious trial that condemned Jesus to death before turning him over to Pilate.

Pontius Pilate

The Roman prefect of Judea who oversaw the trial of Jesus and reluctantly sentenced him to execution by crucifixion.

The Great Commission

The command delivered by the resurrected Jesus to his disciples instructing them to go, make disciples of all nations, baptize, and teach them (Matthew 28).

Pentecost

The Jewish feast during which the Holy Spirit descended upon the apostles in Jerusalem, marking the birth of the Christian Church as recorded in Acts 2.

Deacons

Leaders appointed by the early Church in Acts 6 to oversee daily administrative and charitable tasks, such as food distribution to widows.

Stephen

One of the early deacons who became the first Christian martyr when he was stoned to death after delivering an impassioned defense before the Sanhedrin.

Paul (aka: Saul of Tarsus)

A Pharisaic persecutor of the early Jesus movement who experienced a vision of Christ on the Road to Damascus and became the apostle to the Gentiles.

Jerusalem Council

The meeting of Christian leaders in Acts 15 that decided Gentile converts did not need to be circumcised or observe the full Mosaic law to enter the church.

Circumcision debate

The controversy in the early Church regarding whether Gentile converts were required to undergo circumcision and observe Jewish ceremonial laws to receive salvation.

Gentiles

Non-Jewish nations and peoples whose widespread conversion to faith in Jesus prompted major theological debates in early Christianity.

Destruction of Jerusalem

The siege and complete destruction of Jerusalem and its Second Temple by Roman forces in 70 CE, fundamentally reshaping Jewish and Christian history.

Felix

The Roman procurator of Judea before whom Paul was brought for trial at Caesarea and who held Paul in custody for two years.

Festus

The Roman governor who succeeded Felix and presided over Paul's hearing, prompting Paul to exercise his right as a Roman citizen to appeal to Caesar.

Love (Gr: agape)

The unconditional, sacrificial, self-giving love celebrated by Paul in 1 Corinthians 13 as the preeminent virtue transcending all spiritual gifts.

Self-emptying (Gr: kenosis)

The theological concept articulated in Philippians 2:1-11 where Christ surrendered his divine prerogatives to take on human form as an obedient servant.

New Covenant

The spiritual covenant established through the sacrifice of Christ, described in Hebrews 8 as superior to the Mosaic covenant and written upon human hearts.

Christ as high priest

The depiction of Jesus in Hebrews 8–9 as the eternal, sinless intercessor who entered the true heavenly sanctuary with his own blood.

Faith vs Works (as conceived by James)

The theological argument in James 2 asserting that genuine saving faith must be authenticated by active deeds, summarizing that "faith without works is dead."

The Lamb

The central apocalyptic depiction of Jesus Christ in the Book of Revelation, portrayed as slain yet standing in supreme power and worthy to open the seals.

Seven Seals

The seals on the heavenly scroll in Revelation 5–6, opened consecutively by the Lamb to inaugurate judgments, trials, and plagues upon the earth.

The Dragon

The adversary in Revelation 12, explicitly identified as Satan or the devil, who persecutes the woman, her child, and the righteous.

The Two Beasts

The demonic agents in Revelation 13—one from the sea representing blasphemous political/imperial power, and one from the earth representing deceptive religious propaganda.

"Babylon"

The symbolic figure in Revelation (representing the Roman Empire) depicted as a decadent, oppressive world city destined for divine overthrow.

The thousand-year reign (Millenium)

The apocalyptic era described in Revelation 20 during which Satan is bound and Christ reigns alongside resurrected martyrs and saints.

The "New Jerusalem"

The holy city descending from heaven in Revelation 21–22, symbolizing the renewed creation and eternal dwelling of God with redeemed humanity.