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GLOSSARY OF MAJOR TERMS – THEO 111
APOSTLE is from the Greek word apostolos , meaning "one who is sent (delegated)." According to Mark 3:16-19, from the crowd of his disciple s, Jesus chose twelve men to be "apostles," whom he sent out to preach and heal. There are four lists of the Twelve (Matt. 10: 2-4; Mark 3:16-19; Luke 6:14-16; Acts 1:13), with slight differences among them. Matthew 19:28 and Luke 22:29-30 suggest that the choice of twelve men had to do with their eschatological role as judges (rulers) over the twelve tribes of Israel. There were many more apostles than the Twelve (Luke 10:1-12; 1 Cor 15:5-7) and, in the early Church, the most famous apostle was Paul , who did not know Jesus during his ministry. Romans 16:7 names Junia, a woman, as being "famous among the apostles"; other women also did apostolic work (e.g. Rom 16:1-6; Phil 4:2-3).
BABYLONIAN EXILE : Following the division of the kingdom of David and Solomon (c. 960 BCE; see 1 Kings 12), and the destruction of "Israel," its northern half, by the Assyrians (721 BCE; see 2 Kings 17), "Judah" in the south was much weakened and could not resist the onslaught of the Babylonians. In 597 BCE the Babylonians took King Jehoiachin and many others into exile; ten years later, under Zedekiah, Judah rebelled again. In retaliation, the Babylonians destroyed the city and the temple and took more of the people into exile (2 Kings 25). The exile ended with the decree of King Cyrus of Persia in 538 BCE (Ezra 1).
CANON is from a Greek word that means measure, rule or standard. In the New Testament and early church it came to refer to the rule or order of apostolic instruction (Gal 6:16) or Christian tradition (1 Clem 7:2). By the end of the 4th^ century CE, it came to refer to the list of sacred books accepted as scripture, but discussion of which books should be so accepted goes back much earlier. Although some books of the TANAKH (the Jewish canon) were deemed sacred (canonical) as early as Ezra (c. 400 BCE), the final listing did not occur until some time after 200 CE. Similarly, Christians began to regard some letters of Paul as “scripture” even in the NT period (2 Peter 3:15-16), but differing lists and sometimes vigorous debates continued well into the fourth century and beyond. All Christians now agree about the canon of NT books, but (mostly friendly) disagreements continue.
CIRCUMCISION means literally "cutting around" and involves the removal of the foreskin of a male’s penis. In the Old Testament, circumcision was instituted by God as a sign of the covenant (Genesis 17:1-14), and was performed on the eighth day after birth (Luke 2:21). The defense of the practice of circumcision was one of the big issues in the Maccabean rebellion (1 Macc 1:60-61), so that dispute about the need for circumcision in the New Testament was inevitably very intense (e.g. Acts 15:1-5; Gal 5:1-4). Though most Jews always insisted on the full, physical practice of circumcision, it was also always emphasized that the circumcision of the heart was essential (e.g. Deut 10:16; Jer 4:4), and this is reflected in New Testament teaching (Rom. 2:29; Col. 2:11). At the Council of Jerusalem, it was decided that Gentiles who became believers did not have to be circumcised (Acts 15:1-29; Gal 2:1-10); this was a painful decision for many of the
Jewish believers, which contributed considerably to the eventual separation of Judaism from Christianity.
COVENANT denotes a sacred treaty or agreement; it can be between humans (1 Sam 11:1; 18:3) or between humans and God. It is the latter which is most important in scripture, beginning with God’s covenant with Abraham (Gen 15 and 17). The solemn covenant ratified between God and Israel at Mount Sinai (Exod 19-20), after the exodus , is the one to which the prophets mostly refer (e.g. Is 24:5; Jer 11:8-10), even when not naming it (Hos 11:1). Jeremiah especially looks forward to God making a “new covenant” with Israel (Jer 31:31; also Ezek 16:60), and this idea was picked up in the New Testament , especially in relation to the Eucharist (1 Cor 11:25) and by the writer of Hebrews (Heb 8:6-13).
DAVID succeeded Saul as king of Israel (2 Samuel 5:1-5) and reigned for about forty years (c. 1010—970 BCE), uniting the twelve tribes and establishing Jerusalem as the nation’s capitol. His reign, along with that of his son Solomon , comprised the golden age of the ancient kingdom of Israel. God promised David that his kingdom would be everlasting (2 Samuel 7:8-16); thus, “Son of David” is an important title for Jesus in the New Testament (e.g. Matthew 1:1; Rom 1:3).
DISCIPLE is a Latin word, meaning "pupil" or "learner" (Matt 10:24); it translates the Greek word mathetes, which is often used in the gospels to refer to the followers of Jesus
- sometimes the whole company (Mk 2:18; Luke 19:37), sometimes just the Twelve (Matt 10:1). Disciple, however, should not be confused with apostle , a more specific term. Jesus warned his followers that, if they wished to be his disciples, they would have to make sacrifices, suffer and perhaps even give their lives for the gospel (e.g. Matt 10: 16-26; Luke 14:25-33).
ESCHATOLOGY is the section of Christian theology dealing with the “end things,” especially the ideas of resurrection, hell, and eternal life. In the Old Testament (e.g. Is 24--27), and then increasingly during the last two centuries BCE, the Jews began to look for God to bring history, as they knew it, to an end, and to establish "an everlasting kingdom" under divine rule, centered on Israel (Dan 7:1-27). This is the background of Jesus' proclamation of the coming " kingdom of God " (e.g. Mark 1:14-15). It is possible that Jesus expected the eschaton (end) to happen very soon (Mk 9:1), but he also said that "no one knows the day or hour ..." (Mk 13:32). The early church, as exemplified by Paul (1 Thess 4:13-18), certainly expected Jesus to return, and the end to come, very soon (Rev 1:1-3). The Biblical texts that are concerned with the eschaton are often called "apocalyptic"; "apocalypse" is a Greek word, meaning "revelation" (see Rev 1:1, 9-11).
ESSENES : The New Testament never mentions the Essenes, but Jewish writers contemporary with it do so. They were probably spiritual descendants of the “Hasideans” (1 Macc 2:42), who were prominent in the Maccabean rebellion. By Jesus’ time they were probably characterized by a strictly separatist, monastic-type of lifestyle, living a communal life, sharing their possessions (cf. Acts 2:44-45) and waiting for God’s final victory over evil. It is almost certainly their copies of the scriptures and their other
HEROD is the name of several kings and governors under Roman rule who are mentioned in the New Testament. 1. “Herod the Great” was king of the homeland of Jesus from 37 to 4 BCE; Jesus was born during the final years of his reign (Matt 2:1; Luke 1:5). He substantially rebuilt the temple of Jerusalem. This Herod, in a vain attempt to kill Jesus, had infants of less than two years killed (Matt 2:16). 2. “Herod Antipas,” a son of Herod the Great, was “tetrarch of Galilee” and Perea (Luke 3:1) from 4 BCE to 39 CE. This Herod, according to Luke 13:31, wanted to kill Jesus; Mark 6:14- portrays him simply as very curious about Jesus. It was this Herod, with the conspiracy of his wife Herodias, who had John the Baptist killed (Mk 6:17-29). 3. “Herod Agrippa,” grandson of Herod the Great, was king of Judea from 41-44 CE. It was this Herod who had James, brother of John, killed and had Peter arrested (Acts 12:2). Luke says that he died a horrible death because of his pretensions to divinity (Acts 12:21-23).
HOLY SPIRIT is the powerful, loving, active presence of God in the world. "Holy Spirit," as such, is mostly a Christian term, referring to the "helper" or "comforter" ( Paraclete ) sent by Jesus (e.g. John 16:7) and as experienced through faith in him (e.g. Gal 3:2-5). However, both the Old Testament and other Jewish writings (see apocrypha ) speak of the Spirit of God, especially in the context of creation and new life (e.g. Gen 1:2; Ps 104:30; Ezek 37:1-14). To understand the texts well, it is important to know that both the Hebrew and Greek words for "Spirit" ( Ruach & Pneuma ) can also denote "wind." According to Luke, Pentecost , with the signs of wind and fire, was the occasion of the Spirit coming upon the first apostles and disciples (Acts 2). John places Jesus' "breathing" of the Spirit into the disciples on the evening of the day of the resurrection (John 20:22-23). In later theology, the Holy Spirit is thought of as the third person of the Trinity.
IMMACULATE CONCEPTION : In the early church the Infancy Gospel of James (2nd^ - 3 rd^ century) reflected a popular tradition about Mary, Jesus’ mother, being singularly prepared from birth by God to be the mother of Jesus. By the 7th^ century a feast of the Conception of Mary was celebrated in Palestine. As church teaching about Mary evolved, so this feast gradually became the feast of the Immaculate Conception, celebrating God’s preserving of Mary from sin from the time of her conception. This doctrine is to be distinguished from the scriptural doctrine of the Virgin birth (Luke 1:34- 35; Matt 1:18) that Mary conceived Jesus simply by the power of the Holy Spirit. Pope Pius IX defined the Immaculate Conception as a dogma of the Church in 1854.
INCARNATION is the event in which God became human (literally, became “enfleshed”) in the person of Jesus Christ (John 1:14; see also Phil 2:6-8). Early Christian councils ( Nicea, 325; Ephesus, 431; Chalcedon, 451) made clear that “incarnation” meant belief in Jesus Christ as fully divine and fully human (see also Trinity ).
JERUSALEM is a holy city for Jews, Muslims, and Christians. It was made the center of Israel’s religious and civil affairs by King David (c. 990 BC). Solomon had the first temple built there (c. 950 BC). The city and temple were destroyed in 587 BC (by
the Babylonians - see Babylonian exile ), and were rebuilt in the late 6th-early 5th century. They were destroyed again in 70 AD (by the Romans). Jerusalem is revered by Christians as the place of Jesus’ passion, death and resurrection, as well as the birthplace of the church (see Pentecost ).
JESUS CHRIST : “Jesus” (Yeshua) means “savior”; according to Luke 1:31, Jesus was given his name by the angel as a sign of his role as savior. “Christ” (see Messiah ) means “anointed” and was a title given to Jesus by the first believers. It quickly became so common, among believers, to refer to Jesus as “Christ,” that “Jesus Christ” became simply Jesus’ fuller name, as is apparent from Paul’s letters (e.g. Rom 1:8).
JOHN THE BAPTIST , according to Luke 1:36, was a relative of Jesus. He baptized Jesus (Mark 1:9), and Jesus remained with John for some time (John 3:26); some of John's disciples became disciples of Jesus (John 1:35-40). Jesus had a very high regard for John, calling him "more than a prophet" (Luke 7:24-28). John was beheaded by Herod Antipas (Mk 6:14-29). John is regarded as a prophet by both Christianity and Islam. Isaiah 40:3 (see Matt 3:1-4) is commonly read by Christians as a prophecy of John. Acts 19:1-5 shows that there were disciples of John well into the time of the early church.
KINGDOM OF GOD : New Testament scholars all agree that, at the heart of Jesus' ministry, was his proclamation that "the kingdom of God is at hand" (e.g. Matthew 4:23), but there is little agreement about what precisely he meant by this. The phrase "kingdom of God" is very rare prior to Jesus, but the sense of it can be seen in the psalms (e.g. Ps
- and Daniel 7:26-27 (see Eschatology ). With reasonable certainty, we can say that Jesus was announcing God's plan to fulfill the ancient promises to deliver Israel, to bring about God's reign of justice and peace. It is not certain whether Jesus expected this fulfillment, and thus the end of human history, in the near future (see Mark 9:1; 13:1-7) or whether he envisaged an extended period of the Church's ministry. A useful summary of Jesus’ teaching is that the kingdom is already present, but not yet fulfilled. It is a mistake to think of "the kingdom of God" simply in terms of heaven and the after-life; Jesus' main focus was on God's action here and now for human salvation.
MACCABEAN REBELLION : Antiochus Epiphanes, king of Syria ( BCE), desiring to unite his kingdom under one religion, forbade “particular customs,” including the Jewish Torah. In 167 BCE this led to rebellion under Mattathias of the Hasmonean family. The rebellion was mostly led by his sons, especially Judas, nicknamed “Maccabaeus” (“hammer-hand”), a very successful soldier and general. By 162 BCE the rebellion led to the liberation of Jerusalem and the rededication of the temple , an event celebrated today in the Jewish feast of Hannukah. Mattathias’ sons and their descendants (the Hasmoneans) made themselves kings and high priests of Israel, ruling over an independent Jewish state for close to a century (162-66 BCE). A fairly accurate history of the rebellion and its aftermath is told in 1 Maccabees.
MARY (from Mariam in Hebrew) is the name of several women in the Bible, most especially of the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:27). 1) The first "Mary" in the Bible was
with God face to face (Numbers 12:6-8), and as the source of all the laws written in the Pentateuch.
NEW TESTAMENT denotes both the twenty-seven books that comprise the New Testament canon (list of sacred books) and the period of time stretching from Jesus’ ministry (27-30 CE) to about the year 100. “Testament” is a Latin word meaning “ covenant ” (see Old Testament ). The phrase “new covenant” occurs several times in the New Testament, twice in reference to the Eucharist (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; also 2 Cor 3:6; Heb 8:8) which thereby is designated as renewing God’s covenant with Israel by the death and resurrection of Jesus. The books that comprise the New Testament were written between c. 40’s-50’s CE (earliest letters of Paul) and 70’s-90’s CE (gospels and later books). The process of deciding which books were “canonical” (normative, sacred) began in the late New Testament period (see 2 Peter 3:15-16); it was mostly decided by the 4th century but, for Catholics, it did not officially end until the Council of Trent (1545-1563)!
OLD TESTAMENT is a Christian expression for the Tanach , the Hebrew scriptures of the Jews; Christians add a few extra books (e.g. Wisdom of Solomon, 1 & 2 Maccabees), taken from the Septuagint , the Greek translation (of around 250 BCE) of the Hebrew Bible. “Testament” is from a Latin word meaning “ covenant ,” but God’s covenant with the Jews is not “old” in the sense of obsolete, as the Second Vatican Council made clear. Some, therefore, prefer to speak of the “First Testament.”
PARABLE is a Greek word that translates the Hebrew term mashal , which refers to many types of speech: proverbs (1 Sam 10:12; 24:13), prophetic oracles (Num 23:7; Ezek 20:49) riddles (Ps 78:2; Prov 1:6), wisdom sayings (Prov 26:7, 9) and allegories (Ezek 24:3). Parables were sufficiently mysterious that their interpretation was not always straightforward, as when Nathan tricked David into self-condemnation (2 Sam 12:1-7), but in general, especially in Jesus' use of parables, they were a teaching device, intending to rouse hearers to new awareness and vision (Mk 4:33); even his enemies could understand them (Mk 12:12). Still, even Jesus' parables were sometimes regarded as deliberately obscure (Mk 4:10-12). Jesus' most memorable parables are simple narratives (e.g. Sower, Mk 4:3-7; Good Samaritan, Lk 10:30-37; Prodigal Son, Lk 15:11- 32).
PASCHAL MYSTERY : The Greek word pascha is derived from the Hebrew pesach, meaning Passover. It was in Passover time that Jesus celebrated the Last Supper, suffered, died and rose from the dead; "paschal mystery," therefore, refers to God's bringing about the salvation of humanity through Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension. The paschal mystery is at the heart of all Christian liturgical celebrations, but is especially prominent in the Easter triduum (three days) from Holy (Maundy) Thursday to the Easter vigil (Holy Saturday night).
PASSION means "suffering" and, within theology, refers to the suffering and death of Jesus under Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect (c. 30 CE).
PASSOVER refers originally to the night before the exodus from Egypt under Moses when God slew the firstborn of the Egyptians, but spared the Israelites (Exodus 12:12- 13). Subsequently, Passover became the most important annual feast of Israel, and was probably the occasion of Jesus’ last supper with his disciples (Mark 14:12), though John's gospel suggests that Jesus died on the day of preparation for Passover (John 13:1; 19:14).
PAUL : By his own account, Paul (whose Jewish name was Saul) was a Pharisee (Philippians 3:5) who, for reasons he does not specify, "persecuted the Church and tried to destroy it" (Galatians 1:13-14; see Acts 9). However, in or near Damascus, God "called" him to preach Christ "among the Gentiles" (c. 33-34 CE). Thereafter, Paul established churches in Asia Minor (Turkey), Macedonia and Achaia (Greece). Thirteen letters in the New Testament are in Paul's name, and two thirds of Acts are about his travels and preaching; no surprise, therefore, that the early church knew him as " the apostle." Scholars all agree that Paul wrote at least seven of those letters (Rom, 1 & 2 Cor, Gal, Phil, 1 Thess, Phm); the others are more or less disputed. His ministry lasted close to thirty years; he was martyred in Rome in the early 60's. (See “Grace” and “Faith”).
PENTATEUCH means “five scrolls” and refers to the first five books of the Bible: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. Together these books comprise the Torah or Law of ancient Israel, which is referred to by Jesus and others in the New Testament (e.g. Matt 22:40; Gal 2—3).
PENTECOST is originally a harvest festival of ancient Israel, called the “feast of weeks” (Exod 34:22), which was celebrated fifty days after Passover and therefore coincided with the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. By Jesus’ time Greek-speaking Jews referred to it as Pentecost (a Greek word meaning “fifty” – e.g Tobit 2:1) or Shavu’ot (“Weeks”). It was during this festival, according to Luke (Acts 2), that the Holy Spirit descended on the men and women, the first apostles and disciples, gathered in the upper room (Acts 1:13-14). Christians celebrate Pentecost fifty days (seven weeks) after Easter as the feast of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the Church.
PETER : Peter’s original name was “Simon” (Matt 16:17), but Jesus gave him the name “Kepha” (“Cephas”) which means “rock” in Aramaic (John 1:42), the language of Jesus, and is translated as “Petros” (Peter) in the Greek of the New Testament. His name always appears first in listings of the twelve apostles and, according to Matthew 16:18, Jesus gave Simon the name “Rock” on the occasion of making him the foundation of the Church (see also Luke 22:31-32; John 21:15-19). He was a leader among the disciples both during Jesus' ministry and within the early church (e.g. Acts 2:14-40), but he was also well-known for his denying of Jesus (Mk 14:66-72) and ran foul of Paul in Antioch (Gal 2:11-14). Clement of Rome suggests that Peter was martyred in Rome in the early 60's.
PHARISEE : The Pharisees, like the Essenes , probably had their historical origins, as a group, in the third or second century BCE, among the Hasideans (1 Macc 2:42). After the Maccabean rebellion, when the Jews gained some measure of independence (until 66
closely associated with the (high) priests. With the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in 70 CE, the Sadducees disappeared from history.
SALVATION , along with the verb “save,” refers both to the process of God rescuing humans (thus, to the relationship between God and humans) and to the state of peace or happiness to which God brings them. In the Old Testament, the language of “salvation” appears especially in the Psalms and in Isaiah (e.g. Ps 27:1; Is 60:17-18); in the New Testament, Jesus says several times, “Your faith saves you” (e.g. Matt 9:22; Mark 10:52) and several writers (especially Paul & Luke) refer many times to salvation (e.g. Rom 1:16; Luke 19:9; Acts 4:12). The term does not only refer to life after death; it primarily denotes God’s rescuing humans here and now.
SOLOMON was the son of David and his successor to the throne of Israel (c. 970- 930). Solomon was the one who built the first temple in Jerusalem , and is also credited with being the author of some of the wisdom books of the Old Testament (e.g. Proverbs, Song of Songs). After his reign the unity of the twelve tribes as one nation ended, and the kingdom split into "Israel" in the north and "Judah" in the south.
TEMPLE : The first temple in Jerusalem was built by Solomon (c. 950 BCE; see 1 Kings 6), but it was destroyed by the Babylonians (2 Kings 25) early in the period of the Babylonian exile (586 BCE). After the exile, the returnees built a second temple (completed c. 515 BCE; see Ezra 6), which was substantially rebuilt by Herod the Great (34--4 BCE) and was the temple known by Jesus (e.g. Mark 13:1-2). This temple was destroyed by the Romans after the Jewish rebellion of 66-70 CE; the "wailing wall" in modern Jerusalem is a part of its ruins.
TEN COMMANDMENTS : The “Ten Commandments” (“Decalogue”) lie at the heart of the Torah ("Law") which was given to Moses by God on Mount Sinai ("Horeb" in Deuteronomy). They are found in Exodus 20:1-17 and Deuteronomy 5:6-21, with slight differences. The Ten Commandments are apodictic laws (i.e. absolute commands: "You shall ..." or "You shall not..."), as opposed to the casuistic laws ("If ... then ...") of other parts of the Torah. They have a paramount place in the ethical systems of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. The first four commands stipulate duties toward God, the last six one's neighbor. Important though the Ten Commandments are, Judaism and Christianity agree that the greatest commands are love of God and neighbor (Mark 12:28-34).
TRINITY is a term of Christian theology (not found in the Bible) that refers to the “three in one” (Father, Son, Holy Spirit) of the Godhead. Matthew 28:19 and 2 Corinthians 13:14 are the clearest Bible texts referring to the Father, Son and Spirit together. Trinity is a Latin word, first used by Tertullian (c. 200 CE), but the doctrine of the trinity was already being developed before his time. The first official statement of the doctrine was at the Council of Nicea in 325 CE; it was further developed at the councils of Ephesus (431) and Chalcedon (451) (see also Incarnation ).
