Ted Hoffman

We (me Vork and CX) are all getting swamped by work and may just about forget this glossary project.

The objective of having this facility would be to enable those that visit this forum to have an 'inhouse' glossary at hand whenever there is need to clarify the meaning of words.

We are not done yet. Plenty of words to be looked up, lots of improvements to be made in terms of format anc content. But you can have look-see and provide comments, suggestions, criticisms etc. A more comprehensive and properly edited list should be ready in January.

2SH Two Source Hypothesis. One of the hypotheses put forward as a solution of the synoptic problem. It states that Matthew and Luke are independent documents and are based on Mark and Q (the two sources). 2SH is based upon Markan priority. 2SH was first put forth by Christian Hermann Weisse in 1838 and popularized by H.J. Holtzmann later. Holtzman’s 1863 theory posited a Ur-Markus which was later revised to the canonical Mark. Streeter in 1924 revised the 2SH and added two more sources M and L which were combined to a proto-Luke before Luke was added to Mark.
Some scholars posit an unattested version of Mark, deutero Mark, as having used by Matthew and Luke

Abraxas A word commonly engraved in ancient stones used as amulets or charms. It also appears as Abracax and Abrasax. It is known to have Gnostic and possibly kabbalistic origins. It is used to refer to an archon (Greek for ruler) who has the head of a rooster, a mans body and legs that appear like snakes. In his right hand, he holds a club or sometimes a flail and in his left hand is an oval shield.
Abraxas was the supreme Gnostic deity believed was redeemed and raised above the seven spheres.
In Greek notation, the letters of abraxas make up the number 365. Which represents the 365 aeons. The Basilidians gave the name to the 365 beings who they believed emanated in succession from the supreme being. The beings that occupied the lowest spheres of the 365 heavens, the Basilidians held, created the earth and were in charge of its administration.
The mystic word abracadabra was derived from this name

Aeon In Gnostic terms, it referred to the various emanations of god who was also known as the Monad, the one, Bythos, Proarkh (before the beginning), Aiwn teleos (the perfect aeon) and H’Arkh (the beginning).
The aeons came on male/female pairs called syzigies. The commonly known ones are Christ and Sophia. These aeons make up the “sphere of light” (heavens) also referred to as pleroma. The lowest regions of the pleroma are nearest to darkness (the physical world). An aeon that emanates without her partner results in a demuigre (a demon / satan). The one releases Christ and the Holy Spirit to save mankind from demuigre. Christ then teaches man how to overcome the demuigre and achieve gnosis and return to the pleroma.

The term was also used by Plato to refer to the eternal world of ideas which was behind the perceived world

AH Short term for Augustinian Hypothesis. AH holds that the gospels were written in the order Matthew-> Mark -> Luke with each one depending on the one preceding it. Most catholic scholars supported this hypothesis in the 1880s.

Used sometimes to refer to Eusebius’ work Adversus Hieroclem aka Against Hierocles.

AJn Short term for “Author of the Gospel of John”

ALk Short term for “Author of the Gospel of Luke” also Au_Lk

AMk Short term for “Author of the Gospel of Mark”

AMt Short term for “Author of the Gospel of Matthew”

ANE Short term for “Ancient Near East”. It is also a mailing list (a form of discussion group) for discussion on the study of Ancient Near East.

Ante-Nicene Fathers The early Christian writers who wrote before the Council of Nicene in 325 CE. They include Clement of Rome, Mathetes, Polycarp, Ignatius, Barnabas, Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Hermas, Tatian, Theophilus, Athenagoras, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Origen, Minucius Felix and Commodianus among others. Most of them were orthodox in their thinking.

Antinomian Derived from the Greek word nomos, which means law. It refers to a form of Christian theology that teaches that Christians are under no obligation to obey the (religious) laws of ethics and morality. Protestantism has been charged with antinomianism because of its sola fide (salvation by faith alone) doctrine.

Apocalyptic Of message, writings etc based on revelation, prophecy or inspiration and usually concern ultimate devastation or doom like the Revelation of St. John.

Apocrypha Writings which are accepted as authentic by some Christians and rejected by others as not having dogmatic authority. Protestants use it to refer to the six deuterocaconical books which Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians include as part of the bible. As far as the New Testament is concerned, all Christians agree that GThomas, The Book of Henoch, the secret Gospel of Mark, the Sophia of Jesus Christ and the Egerton gospel are apocryphal.

Apologetics Theological activity that is concerned with the systematic defence of the truth of religious dogma and beliefs.

Apostolic Of, relating to or like the 12 apostles of Jesus. The apostolic fathers are the early Christian writers who are believed to have been close enough to the apostles to treat their beliefs as apostolic.

Aramaic One of the semitic langiages spoken in Israel, Syria and Mesopotamia between circa 500BC to 600 AD. It is now grouped to two: Western and Eastern Aramaic. The Eastern one includes syriac, neo-Asssyrian and Mandean. The western one is largely extinct and Jesus is believed to have spoken western Aramaic.

Arianism Heresy of early Christianity that held that Jesus and God were not one but two different netities. This was in direct conflict with trinitarianism and its spread prompted Constantine to call for the ecumenical council of Nicea in 325. Todays Jehovah’s Witnesses and Church of Jesus Christ of latter day Saints still embrace Arianism.

Asceticism Renunciation of worldly pursuits and pleasures to attain spiritual ideals.

Asherah A semitic godess mainly worshipped in Philistine. She appears as Ashtoreth and Astoreth in the Old Testament. Her female counterpart was baal and her cult practiced sacred prostitution.

Augustinian Hypothesis see AH above.

B.C.E. Before Common Era others use it to mean Before Christian Era. It refers to the number of years before the birth of Christ. BC is used synonymously with BCE.

Babylonian Talmud One of the two Talmuds that are known. It refers to the combined print of the Babylonian gemara (a completing commentary) and Mishnah. Its also called Talmud Bavli.

Baptist A branch of the Protestant church that emphasize the profession of belief in the gospel prior to Baptism.

Baraitas Writings (usually tannaite traditions) made during the time Mishnah written but not incorporated in it. Examples are Safre, Tofseta, Sifre and Mekilta.

Bogomils A Gnostic community that originated from Bulgaria. They were both adoptionists (those that held that Christ had a human body that became divine upon baptism) and Manicheans. They rejected pneumatic Christianity, monachism and some of the docetic teachings. They strongly repudiated infant baptism and baptism to them was not by water or oil but involved prayers, self-abnegation and chanting of hymns. They taught that God had two sons; Satanail and Michael. Michael, the elder one, rebelled and became evil then he created the earth. and the lower heavens. Michael was later sent by God as Jesus to redeem mankind. They were persecuted to the point of extinction between the 12th and 14th centuries until the Turks conquered Bosnia.

Borborites A notoriously evil and filthy Gnostic sect. Much that is known about them comes from Epiphanius of Salami who states that they were inspired by Sethianism (Sethians held Seth as their saviour figure). In their rituals, Borborites practiced sexual sacramentalism, homosexual sex, and for the eucharist, consumed menstrual blood and semen. They were said to consume fetuses extracted from pregnant women.

Byzantine Of the Byzantine Empire, which was the Eastern section of the Roman Empiree. It lasted between AD 395 to 1453 and covered Persia, Arabia, Russia and Europe.

C.E. Common Era. Equivalent to AD. Denotes the count of years since the putative birth of Jesus.

Canonical Of or relating to books appearing in the bible. The term can also be used to refer to a collection of religious writings that a certain group considers authentic or authoritative.

Carpocratians Members of the Gnostic sect that was led by Carpocrates. They believed in reincarnation and held that in order to achieve gnosis and in order for the soul to escape this world, one had to experience everything. That included performing even acts that were considered horrible and morally repulsive.

Cathars Also known as Albigensians. Their name is thought to have originated from Cataros (the pure ones) or from the cattus cats which some claim they used sexually in their rituals. They believed the world was evil and was created by Satan. Leading an ascetic lifestyle and renouncing the world gave one perfection. They believed Jesus was an apparition that came to show the way to God all physical objects, they held, were sinful.

CBQ Abbreviation for Catholic Biblical Quarterly. CBQ is a scholarly Journal run by the Catholic Biblical Association of America.

Chiasmus Rhetorical figure in which two items are related to each other in a crossing structure. J. F. Kennedy’s “not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country” is an example. This literary form is found in Mark and Genesis. Mark follows the pattern A B B’ A’. Where A and B are thematically related narratives. A is the start of the first narrative, B is the start of the second narrative, A’ is the completion of the first narrative and B’ is the completion of the second narrative.

Chiliasm Aka Millenialism. In Christian theology, it’s the belief that history will end with a golden age where there will be peace and joy to all faithfuls and happiness will reign. This age is believed to coincide with the second coming of Jesus. Which will also be the doomsday or day of last judgement after which some will go to hell while others will be in Paradise with God. The number of people, sequence of events and location of the “winners” varies between denominations.

Christology A theory, doctrine or theological system based on Jesus and his deeds 2. Study of the nature and deeds of Jesus.

Codex A manuscript in book/leaf form as opposed to traditional forms of manuscripts which is scrolls and rolls – usually of parchment not papyrus. Plural codices.

Codex Alexandrinus This manuscript is believed to be from the fifth century and was found from Alexandria, Egypt. It comprises the entire Greek bible but lacks Matthew 1:1 through 25:6, John 6:50 through 8:52, and 2 Corinthians 4:13 through 12:6. The first epistle of Clement is attached at its end plus the second Clementine epistle up to 12.4.

Codex Bezae Cantabrigiensis Codex Bezae received its name from Theodore Beza, Calvins friend and a classical scholar. Its one of the five NT manuscripts and is written Greek and Latin diglot. It contains Acts and the four gospels. It’s written in peculiar Greek with many interpolations and notable omissions. Its in University of Cambridge, England.

Codex Claramontanus This manuscript was obtained from the monastery of Clermont at Beauvais. It contains Pauline letters and is in Western text. It is dated to the sixth century. Its now in the Bibliotheque Nationale, paris.

Codex Ephraemi Syri receptus This is the last of the four uncial Greek manuscripts and got the name from the treatsies of St. Ephraem the Syrian. Its aka Codex C and is dated to the first half of the 5th century. Its believed to have originally contained the whole bible but presently, a number of parts are missing from it.

Codex Koridethianus This is a 9th century manuscript that was found in Korithedi in the Caucasus mountains next to the Caspian sea. It contains Matthew, Luke and John.

Codex Laudianus This manuscript was obtained by the Bodleian Library at Oxford from Bishop Laud. It’s a Greco-Latin text of Acts dated late sixth century or early seventh century.

Codex Sinaiticus Discovered at Mount Sinai by Constantin Tischendorf. It contains Shepherd of Hermas, epistle of Barnabas and the Greek bible. It is dated to the fourth century.

Codex Vaticanus Believed to be the oldest extant nearly complete copy of the Greek bible and is possessed by the Vatican hence its name.

Codex Washingtonianus/ Freerianus This manuscript contains the Gospels in the western order of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Philanthropist C. L. Freer discovered it in Egypt in 1906. It is dated circa late 4th Century and is now in the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington. It has a long ending for the Gospel of Mark.

Commentator (Biblical) One who gives a commentary or an explanation (normally as a footer) concerning the meaning, interpretation and even etymology of certain terms and their usage in the Bible.

Concordance Document or tool used for textual analysis including analyzing phrases, word usage, and idiom usage. Its useful in corpus linguistics and lexicography and literary scholarship.

Counterculture A movement that arises in reaction to a perceived oppression by a certain people or culture. In Q1, sayings like ‘turn your cheek’ and ‘love your enemy’ are considered by some to be indicators of a sectarian movement that was led by the wandering cynic preachers. This marginal community preached a Kingdom of God, which gave them hope in the face of oppression and poverty.

Critical apparatus Used in textual criticism, it refers to a special footnote that is used to explain special notations in printed text .

Deism The belief that God created the earth and phenomena in it and left it to its own devices. It negates Gods intervention in worldly events.

Demuigre Devil / demon – in Gnostic thought, a demuigre resulted from an aeon emanating without its partner.

Deutero-Isaiah also called Second Isaiah. It’s the part of Isaiah that is considered to have been written later these are chapters 40-45. Before Deutero-Isaiah is Proto-Isaiah and Trito-Isaiah is considered to have been written last.

Deuteronomist The writer of Deuteronomy

Deutero-Pauline Secondary to Paul. It normally refers to letters that are not directly attributed to Paul because of their in style and content. They were written after his death. They include 2 Thessalonians, Colossians and Ephesians.

Diaspora The dispersion of the Jews from Judea in 135 AD by the Romans and in 586 BC by the Babylonians. It also refers to the body of Jews outside Israel or Palestine.

Didache Pronounced as “dih-dah-KAY”. Its Greek for “teaching”. The didache is arguably the oldest extant non-canonical document. It’s believed to have started circulating circa 60 CE. It contains teachings of Jesus and claims to have been authored by the 12 apostles hence its alco called the teaching of the 12 Apostles”. Its regarded as a composite work and is believed to have been redacted. Its complete form was found in Codex Hierosolymitanus though a number of fragments exist, for example in the Oxyrhynchus papyri.

Divided Monarchy a peculiarity, normally in the Kingdom of Judah - where two Kings seem to rule at the same time. For example after Solomon’s death, the kingdom divided and his son Rehoboam ruled Judah and Jeroboam the rest of Israel. Another example is Jehoash of Judah and Joash of Judah 798-782 BC and 835-796 BC respectively.

dMk deutero Mark. An unattested revision of Mark usually proposed as a source of Matthew and Luke by some 2SH proponents. Compare with Ur-Mark.

Docetism Belief (Gnostic) that Jesus lacked a physical body but was only an illusion including his crucifixion.

Documentary Hypothesis It refers to the idea that the Torah (aka the five books of Moses) were written from four older documents named J, E, P and D hence JEPD theory. The J(Jahwist) is for books that refer to god as Jehovah(English)/Yhvh/Yahweh, god uses sinai and walks and talks to men and it stresses on Judah and leadership. E (Elohist) focuses on Israel and prophecy, God speaks through dreams and is called Elohim and Sinai is mount Horeb. P (Priestly) which focuses on priests, Judah, gives genealogies and god is Elohim or El Shaddai and has cultic treatment of God. D or Dtr (Deuteronomist) wrote Joshua, Judges, I and II Samuel and I and II Kings has lengthy sermons, God is Yahweh and loyalty to Jerusalem is emphasized.

Double tradition The content that both Luke and Matthew share but are absent in Mark. Mostly, they are mostly sayings with one miracle story (healing of Centurions daughter).

DSS Dead Sea Scrolls. These are scrolls that were discovered between 1947 and 1956 in eleven caves near the site of Khirbet Qumran on the shores of the Dead Sea.

Dtr Deuteronomist see Documentary Hypothesis

Dualism In religion, it refers to the principle that there are two forces in the universe working in opposition to each other; usually God and Satan representing good and evil respectively.

Eapr An abbreviation that refers to the contents of the New Testament: e=gospels, a=Acts , p=Paul, r=Apocalypse

Ebionites One of the early Jewish Christians who lived in the Near East in the early centuries CE. They were considered heretics (Tertullian, Irenaeus and Hippolytus). They rejected the trinity and the divinity of Jesus, adhered to Jewish religious law and considered Paul an apostate.

Eisegesis To read ones own interpretation into a given text as opposed to exegesis which means to draw interpretation from a given text.

Elohist One of the writers (or books) of the Old Testament especially those that regarded the Supreme Being as Elohim as opposed to Jehovah or Yahweh see Documentary Hypothesis.

Epigraphy The study of engraving and deciphering inscriptions see paleography.

Episcopal of the Episcopal church which is the American wing of the Anglican church

Epistolary Of, from or based on letters or epistles.

Eschatology This is the part of theology that deals with the last things (ta eschata). In Zoroastrianism and Christianity, its concerned with the end of the world as prophesized.

Eschatology millenarian A kind of eschatology that promulgates the idea that there will be a thousand year golden age of peace on earth in which Christ will reign over a world cleansed of evil has a long standing,

Essenes One of the early Jewish sects (besides Saducees and Pharisees). They arose c. 150 BCE. They practiced ceremonial purity (strictly followed the prescriptions against levitical defilements) and held that all religions were a different stage in a single revelation and studied all of them. They considered themselves guardians of divine messages and were zealous about ethical issues and shunned Philosophy. They rejected marriage because they did not trust women and instead adopted children. They believed the body was corruptible (hence welcomed death) and believed the soul was immortal.

Etiology Study of causes and origins of certain cultures, beliefs and religions (not to be confused with etymology – which concerns itself with linguistic forms and transmission of certain words. The meaning of the word “Synagogue” for example, evolved over the years from communities to architectural structures).

Euhemerize To create a god based on a past earthly hero and craft their deeds by amplifying imagined human acts. It can also mean to interpret mythological gods this way.

Eusebian Canon A synopsis of the Gospels as tabled by Eusebius. It has the gospels in numbered sections. They are 12 canons numbered in Roman numerals. As much as he gave priority to the four gospels (what he called the “Holy Quaternion”), the list includes apocryphal gospels, which Eusebius indicates are disputed or doubtful.

Evangelical Of Evangelist(s) or evangelism that refers to zealous preaching and dissemination of the work especially through missionary work.

Exegesis Extensive and critical interpretation of religious text. Revealed exegesis, in Christianity, is where one does the interpretation based on inspiration by the holy ghost.

Exilic Of or relating to exile (absence from ones country – usually self-imposed).

Extra-Canonical Outside the canonical books.

Farrer Hypothesis One of the hypotheses proposed as a solution to the synoptic problem. It holds that Mark was written first, then Matthew used Mark. Luke used both Matthew and Mark but not Q.

FGT Farrer-Goulder Theory – one of the proposed solutions to the synoptic problem. Similar to Farrer Hypothesis. It was proposed by A.M.Farrer and propounded by Michael D. Goulder.

FH see Farrer Hypothesis

First Temple Period The period 1006-586 BCE. David captured Jerusalem circa 1004 BCE from the Philistines and left the building of the Jerusalem Temple to Solomon his son. Jerusalem then became a place of pilgrimage and center of commerce. In 586 BCE the Babylonians took over and at the command of King Nebuchadnezzar, the city was razed and the temple destroyed and the people exiled.

Form Criticism A systematic form of literary criticism that is concerned with the analysis of the genres (kinds) and structures of oral or literary units with a view of understanding their context in the right form and with respect to the history of their formation.

Galilean Tradition As used by J.D. Crossan’s The Birth of Christianity and Burton Mack’s The Lost Gospel, it refers to the tradition that embraced a Jesus whose life involved earthly crucifixion, the twelve disciples and life in Jerusalem as narrated in the Gospels. This is as opposed to the Jerusalem tradition as preserved in the Pauline corpus.


GH – See Griesbach Hypothesis

GJn – Academic shorthand for “The Gospel According to John”

GLk – Academic shorthand for “The Gospel According to Luke”

Gloss – An inline editorial expansion meant to emphasize or explain the passage within which it is found. A gloss generally represents the work of a redactor rather than the original author

Glossolalia – Commonly known as “speaking in tongues”. Considered a “gift of the spirit” in many Pentecostal Xian denominations

GMk – Academic shorthand for “The Gospel According to Mark”

GMt – Academic shorthand for “The Gospel According to Matthew”

Gnosis – From the Greek for “knowledge”. An intuitive apprehension of spiritual truths, an esoteric form of knowledge sought by the Gnostics.

Gnosticism – A pre-Xian pagan, Jewish and early Xian theology that valued revealed knowledge as a means to apprehending spiritual truth and attaining salvation. In the early part of church history Gnosticism was a major competitor of “orthodox” Xianity and is represented by such heretical Xian figures as Marcion and Valentinus. Gnostic Xians (and especially Marcion) believed that the Hebrew god Yahweh was a demonic less being that then true god and that Jesus’ program was meant to enlighten people to the true nature of god. Gnosticism was vociferously combated and eventually suppressed by the orthodox church.

GNT – Greek New Testament

Gospel – A. Any of the first four books of the New Testament B. The message promulgated by Jesus of Nazareth according to the first four books of the New Testament and, later, by his followers typically encapsulated in such formulaic statements as the Nicene Creed.

Griesbach hypothesis – A Solution to the “synoptic problem” proposed by Johan Jakob Griesbach (1745-1812). Griesbach’s hypothesis was somewhat a reversal of the Augustinian hypothesis and proposed that the author of the Gospel According to Mark was essentially a compiler who combined and abridged the Gospels According to Luke and Matthew. Author still held by some scholars the Greisbach Hypothesis has generally been rejected in favor of some version of the 2 Source Hypothesis (2SH)

Gthom – Academic shorthand for the “Secret Gospel of Thomas”.

Halakah – Hebrew for “Law”. In Judaism it refers to the complete body of Jewish law governing all aspects of life. Typically Halakah refers to the codified oral law found in the Mishnah.

hapax legomena – A word or words which are unique to one particular work that is part of a larger corpus.

Hasidim – The plural of “Hasid” A member of a Jewish mystic movement founded in the 18th century in eastern Europe by Baal Shem Tov that reacted against Talmudic learning and maintained that God[/b]s presence was in all of one[/b]s surroundings and that one should serve God in one[/b]s every deed and word. Hasidic Jews are easily identified by their manner of dress and the curled locks of hair growing from the beards of Hasidic men.

Hasmonean – a Hebrew priestly order which, in the 2nd Century BCE led a revolt against the Hellenistic Seleucids who ruled Palestine that led to a lengthy period of Jewish independence under the Hasmonean Dynasty which was ultimately overthrown by the Roman Empire around 63 BCE

Hellenism – The civilization and culture of the ancient Greeks which dominated the ancient world under Alexander The Great.

Henotheism – The belief in one god without denying the existence of others. Graeco-Roman culture was typically Henotheistic and stark contrast to the monotheism of Xians and Jews.

Heresiology – The study of heretical sects and theologies.
Hermeneutic – Systematic interpretation and explanation. Usually of a religious text.
Herodian - One of a party among the Jews, composed of partisans of Herod of Galilee. They joined with the Pharisees against Christ.
Hexapla - A collection of the Holy Scriptures in six languages or six versions in parallel columns; particularly, the edition of the Old Testament published by Origen, in the 3d century.
Higher Criticism – The systematic critical study of the biblical writings to determine their origin and significance. Typically relates to questions of the composition, collection, compilation and redaction of biblical texts.

Historicist – One who accepts the historicity of Jesus of Nazareth
Historiography - The principles, theories, or methodology of scholarly historical research and presentation. The writing of history based on a critical analysis, evaluation, and selection of authentic source materials and composition of these materials into a narrative subject to scholarly methods of criticism. A body of historical literature.
HJ - Academic shorthand for “The Historical Jesus”

Hypostasis – In philosophy hypostasis refers to underlying reality, the essential nature of something. In Xianity it refers to any person of the Trinity, but especially to the person of Jesus whose human and divine essences are united.

Ibid. Abbreviation of “ibidim”, which is Latin for “In the same place”. Used in footnotes to refer readers to the previously cited reference immediately preceding the current reference.

Ignatian Corpus – The complete collection of the epistles of the Ante-Nicene Father, Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch consisting of 15 letters purportedly written by Ignatius.

Inerrantist – One who believes the that entire text of the Xian Bible is god-breathed and free from any error, contradiction or paradox.

interpolation – An insertion into a text by someone other than the original author.

Isis – The ancient Egyptian goddess of fertility. Isis is identified as the sister and wife of the Egyptian god Osirus

Jacobite - A supporter of the English King James II and the Stuarts after 1688. King James II was the sponsor of the King James Version of the Xian bible.

Jbap – Academic shorthand for John The Baptist

JEDP – Academic shorthand for the Documentary Hypothesis

Jerusalem Tradition This Tradition emphasized Christ as a heavenly intermediary figure and has no accounts of an earthly life, suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus there is no earthly link to the twelve disciples or mary with Christ (Logos). Its mostly preserved in Pauline epistles.

Jesus Seminar – A group of biblical scholars concerned with the study of the Historical Jesus. From the Jesus Seminar website:
“The Jesus Seminar was organized under the auspices of the Westar Institute to renew the quest of the historical Jesus and to report the results of its research to more than a handful of gospel specialists. At its inception in 1985, thirty scholars took up the challenge. Eventually more than two hundred professionally trained specialists, called Fellows , joined the group. The Seminar meets twice a year to debate technical papers that have been prepared and circulated in advance. At the close of debate on each agenda item, Fellows of the Seminar vote, using colored beads to indicate the degree of authenticity of Jesus[/b] words or deeds. Dropping colored beads into a box has become a trademark of the Seminar. “
Judaism– The monotheistic religion of the Jews who trace their origin to the Patriarch Abraham. The primary religious texts of Judaism are: The Torah (the first five books of the Jewish scriptures and the Xian Old Testament) , The Prophets, The Writings (all 3 combined in the Xian Old Testament) as well as The Talmud.

Judeo-Christian – being historically related to both Judaism and Xianity

Kerygma – The proclamation of religious truths especially as propounded by the gospels.

Ketuvim The third and final section of the Hebrew Bible. It comprises Chronicles,Psalms, Proverbs,Book of Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Book of Esther, Daniel and Ezra-Nehemiah. See Neviim

Koine – Literally “common” the Greek spoken by the masses in the time of Jesus initially promulgated by Alexander the Great as a unified language for the entire Greek empire.

Kuriotes Greek for dominion, power, leadership or authority

L The synoptic L define themselves as “an academic list devoted to scholarly discussion of the Synoptic Gospels. Its purpose is to provide a forum for questions relating to the exegesis of Matthew, Mark and / or Luke, using and analysing the standard critical tools and methods, with a special emphasis on the interrelationships among the Synoptics.”

Lacunae – refers to words or phrases which are missing from a partial manuscript

Lectionary – A book or list of readings from Scripture to be read at church services during the year. Lectionaries are a good secondary source for the original texts of the Xian New Testament.

Levant – The countries bordering on the Eastern Mediterranean from modern day Turkey to Egypt including Israel.

Lexicon – A dictionary.

Libertinism – The practice of acting without moral restraint or defying established religious precepts; freethinking.

Libetarianism – Political philosophy of maximizing individual rights and minimizing the role of the state.

Logia – The plural of Logion, a saying attributed to Jesus. Also the collected sayings of Jesus purported by the Early church father Origen to have been written by the apostle Matthew and in circulation in the early church which is no longer extant.

Logos – In GJn the creative word of God which is embodied in the person of Christ

Lower Criticism - Critical study, especially of the Bible, that attends chiefly to the words of the work being examined, exploring their meaning and seeking to establish an accurate text. As opposed to Higher Criticism.

LTH Logia Translation Hypothesis. LTH was formulated by Brian Wilson and states that the apostle Matthew wrote many short reports in Aramaic shortly after the death of Jesus. Some were based on his own eyewitnesses and some on other followers of Jesus. The collection of what Matthew composed made the Aramaic Logia. The Aramaic logia was then translated to Greek Logia and the translator redacted the material in the process. Each synoptist/evangelist then selectively used the Greek Logia to write his/her own Gospel.

Luciferians – The followers of Lucifer, bishop of Cagliari, in the 4th century who broke from the orthodox church because he felt they did not vigorously enough oppose the heresy of Arianism.

Lukan Priority – The theory that the Gospel According to Luke was the first written among the “synoptic” gospels.

LXX – Academic shorthand for the Septuagint.

M A hypothetical source of Matthew that mainly contained teaching material

MA Multiple Attestation refers to material that appears in more than one independent source.

Mandaeanism – See Manichaeism

Manichaeism - A religion which synthesized elements of Buddhism, Christianity, Gnosticism, and Zoroastrianism. It was founded by Mani (a.k.a. Manicheus) in Mesopotamia during the third century CE. He believed in two two equal deities. One is the Judeo-Christian God who is good, and is responsible for human souls and minds. The other is Satan who is evil and is responsible for human bodies, passions and emotions. It considered sexuality to be evil. Its followers practiced asceticism.


Marginal – Written or printed in the margin as in a marginal note or gloss

Markan Priority – The theory that the Gospel According to Mark was the first written among the “synoptic” gospels. Generally Markan priority is the most widely accepted theory in academic circles.

Maryology - The body of belief or dogma or the systematic study of the Virgin Mary and her role in the Incarnation.

Masoretic Text It’s the Hebrew Text of the Tanakh written and distributed by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the first and fifth century. It has significant differences with the Septuagint (Greek version of the Hebrew bible).

Matthean Priority – The theory that the Gospel According to Matthew was the first written among the “synoptic” gospels. This is the most widely accepted among laypeople in the church and is the generally accepted church tradition.

Maximalist – One who believes that the Hebrew Torah (the Xian Old Testamant) is largely historically accurate in its entirety and depicts real events in the history of ancient Israel.

Medieval Of or belonging to the Middle-ages which is the period between c500 – 1500 in European History which is divided into Classical Civilization, Middle ages and Modern Civilization.


Midrash A way of reading and interpreting Biblical text that involves expanding the original meaning of text by allowing projection of current struggles and circumstances of the reader into the text that allows for powerful interpretations. It is argued that a large part of the New Testament was writted by midrashic reading of the Old Testament.

Mimesis A style of rhetoric imitation taught in the early Greco-Roman schools where authors read, memorized the works of others then wrote other works by altering the style, length, content, order and structure of sentences in the original works. It has been argued by some that mimesis contributed to the parallelisms, commonalities and similarities evident between for example the Homeric Epics and the Gospel of Mark.

mini-apocalypse

minimalist – One who believes that the Hebrew Torah (the Xian Old Testament) is largely fictive and mythical in content.

Minuscule means lower-case letters (a,b,c…) as opposed to upper-case letters (majuscule A,B,C…) . Originally, all letters were written in majuscule. For example, Uncial refers to a majuscule script used between the 6th and 8th century by the Latin and Greek scribes the idea of using miniscules came much later – circa 800 CE and it was through evolution of majuscule and borrowing of writing styles.

Mishnah Meaning “repetition” in Hebrew is considered the first work of Rabinnica Judaism. It’s the entire collection of Jewish religious law that was developed and passed down before 200 C.E. and was finally redacted by rabbi Yehudah haNasi.

Mithraism A religion that existed in the Roman world as early as the first century and that worshipped Mithras – the supreme god of the under world and upper world. Among the Mithraist beliefs is that Mithras died, was buried in a tomb and resurrected. It was a men-only religion and they symbolized Mithras as being born from a rock.

MkH

Monad According to Gnostics, the Monad is the higher being who created the lesser gods or elements or aeons. Pythagoreans believed it’s the first thing that existed.

Monism The belief that everything is part of a single substance or is made up of the same “stuff”. This is as opposed to dualism or pluralism.

Mosaic Of or atrributed to the biblical Partriach Moses.

MS – Academic shorthand for “manuscript”

MSS – the plural of MS; shorthand for “manuscripts”

Muratonian Canon Named after the its first editor L. A. Muratori. It’s the earliest know list or canon of the New Testament books. It was written circa 180 – 200 and is important for the historical study of the biblical Canon.

Mythicist – One who rejects the existence of an historical Jesus

NA27 – Shorthand for the Nestle-Aland Novum Testamentum Graece 27th Edition. The NA27 is one of the preeminent critical Greek texts of the New Testament used by scholars and translators and is textually the same as the United Bible Societies critical text but containing a different and more expansive critical apparatus.

Nag Hammadi – Town in Egypt where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found

Neopagan -– Of the many modern pagan systems that are characterized by occultism. Their mythological sources are usually Sumerian, Roman, Greek and Celtic. Most neopagan cults regard nature as sacred and most of their practices are “earth-based”. They include Wiccans, Heathenists, and Druidry. Their belief systems often incorporate animism, henotheism, pantheism, polytheism and dualism.

Neviim Its Hebrew for Prophets and refers to the second section of the Tanakh (the Hebrew bible - which has three sections – the Torah/teaching, the Neviim/ prophets and the Ketuvim/writings).
Neviim includes Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaih, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the “minor” prophets.

Ophites A sect that worshiped the serpent

Orphism One of the Greek mystery religions that was active circa 6 BC and that combined pre-Hellenic beliefs and Thracianism.

Osiris – Egyptian god of the underworld. Brother and Husband of Isis.

Pagan Of religion - Non-christian, non-judaist or non-muslim especially if belonging to polytheistic religions.

paleography: (Gr: palaia, "ancient", graphe, "writing") The study of ancient writing systems used in manuscripts. Paleography concerns itself only with written characters and the classification of documents by the characteristics of their writing systems. Epigraphy, often confused, concerns itself solely with inscriptions (as opposed to manuscripts). The paleographer studies such things as the angles of strokes, density of ink and its composition, and the general style as compared with other handwriting. By comparing handwriting styles and other features of a manuscript, the paleographer may be able to date a manuscript.

Palestinian Talmud One of two compilations of Jewish religious teachings and commentary that was transmitted orally for centuries prior to its compilation by Jewish scholars in Palestine, the other being the Babylonian Talmud. It is sometimes wrongly known as the Jerusalem Talmud (Talmudh Yerushalmi). The Palestinian Talmud gives the discussions of the Palestinian Amoraim, teaching from the 3rd century AD until the beginning of the 5th, especially in the schools or academies of Tiberias, Caesarea and Sepphoris. See "Talmud" below.

palimpsest A palimpsest is a manuscript on which an earlier text has been erased and the writing medium reused for another text.

Panegyric: An oration or eulogy in praise of some person or achievement, often formal and elaborate.

papyrology: The study of manuscripts made of papyrus (plural: papyri). Papyrus, a water reed, comes from Egypt. the ancients used it to make a writing medium akin to paper. The regular format for ancient works of literature was the papyrus roll. It was usual to write on that side of the sheet on which the fibres ran horizontally (recto); the other side (verso) was used only exceptionally. Papyrus decays easily. Most of the papyri modern scholars have comes from preservation in dry Middle Eastern climes.

parenesis: "admonition." Technical term for certain traditional types of admonition and exhortation focusing on proper religious and ethical behavior. Paranesis is common in early Christian epistolary literature.

parousia: In Christian religious usage, the (second) Coming of Jesus. Originally simply the coming or presence of a person/divine being.

Passion Narrative In narrative gospels, the section on the arrest, trial, and death of Jesus, from "Gethsemane to the
grave," as Raymond Brown put it in the opening of his two-volume work on this subject. Typically abbreviated
[/b]PN.[b]

Passover: (Heb: pesach) The Festival of Redemption, in which the Jewish people celebrate their freedom from
slavery in Egypt.

Pastoral Of, or relating to, the three pseudoepigraphical epistles of Paul, 1 & 2 Timothy and Titus. These works have a similar style and theology, and are usually grouped together as unit.

Patriarchal period: The period of ancient Jewish history between the Flood and the Exile in Egypt. Abraham is the pre-eminent figure of this period.

Patristic Of, or relating to, the early Church fathers such as Tertullian, Justin Martyr, etc.

Pentateuch The famous Five Books whose authorship is traditionally credited to Moses. They are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Dueteronomy.

Among the remaining words are: Pentecostal, pericope, pesher / pesharim, Peshitta, Petrine, Pharisee/ Pharisaic, Philology, Platonism, Pleroma, polyglot, Post-Exilic, Post-tribulationist, Prefect , Presbyter, Pre-tribulationist, Priestly Source, Priscillian, prolegomena, Protestantism, Pseudiepigraphy , Q, Qoheleth, Qumran, Quran, rapture, Rechabite, redaction, Reformation, Sadducee, Samaritan Canon, ,SBL, Schismatic, Second Temple, Second Temple Period, Secret Mark, Seleucids, Septuagint, Set (Egyptian god), Slavonic Jewish War, Socratic, Sola scriptura, Sophia, Sophist, Soul, source criticism, Spirit, Spirituality, Strong's Number, synoptic, Synoptic Gospels, Synoptic Problem, Syro-Palestine, Talmud, Tanakh, Targum(im), TC, Terminus post quem, Tetragrammaton, Textual Criticism, Textus Receptus, TF , theodicy, Theology, Theosophy, Therapeutae, Tofseta, Toldoth, Torah, tribulation, Trinitarian, Triple Tradition, Tritheism, UBS5, uncial, United Monarchy, UrG, Ur-Markus, Valentinian, Yahwist, YEC , Zadokite, Zealot, Zoroastrianism , MkH and
Megillot.

Hugo Holbling

Nice work, guys. I really appreciate this.

Jayhawker Soule

Very nicely done.

Vinnie

I was actually working on one of these myself.

Decided to start with the letter s:

Sadducees

Sayings Gospel
A sayings gospel is a gospel which has only the sayings of Jesus with little or no narrative details. The Q Gospel and the Gospel of Thomas are two examples.

Secret Gospel of Mark

Semia Source

Semiotics
See Structuralism.

Semitism
Semitisms are grammatical or syntactical usages which are typical in Aramaic or Hebrew but not in Greek. Some scholars argue that material which contains more semitisms is more likely to be early. But this is seriously contested and by no means, axiomatically true.

Septuagint

Sermon on the Mount

Sermon on the Plain

Shepherd of Hermes

Signs Gospel

Siniaticus
See Codex Sinaiticus

Similitudes
A similitude is a form-critical distinction. Similitudes differ from figurative sayings only in degree: they are more detailed. They are not parables in the proper sense since there is no story involved. Luke 14:28-32 contains two examples. Numerous sayings now commonly classified as “parables” are actually similitudes since they lack a narrative story: The Lost Sheep (Mt. 18:12-14), The lost Coin (Lk. 15:4-10), The Treasure in the Field & The Pearl of Great Price (Mt. 13:44-46), The Fish Net (Mt 13:47-50) and the House Builder (Mt. 7:24-27) are all examples. These are not parables proper, but similitudes which usually imply a comparison and an application.

Sitze im Leben
German term for “for situation in life”. See “Social Setting” for a definition.

Social-Historical Description

Social Setting
A social setting (Sitze im Leben) is the situation in life of an oral tradition, written work or individual pericope. The social setting is commonly appealed to by form critics who try to identify how a saying or story functioned in the church. Social settings have an effect on the meaning of various sayings as “social setting” is synonymous with “context” here. For an example we may note the similitude on old and new wineskins in Mark 2:22 and parr.. Some scholars feel that given the time of synoptic Gospels composition, the readers would have understood this similitude as saying that the new wine of the gospel cannot be maintained within the confines of Judaism. This is certainly a plausible view but it likewise is plausible to maintain that Jesus hardly could have meant this if he was in fact the author of this similitude.

The Sitze im Leben changes the meaning of various pericopes and can also cause the creation of new material, or the alteration of existing material. In this light, social settings are important but they usually tell us more about later Christian authors than about Jesus of Nazareth. In fact, we can be much more certain of how the synoptic authors intended this similitude to be interpreted than how Jesus did (assuming he actually said this!).

Son of God

Son of Man

Sophia

Source Criticism
Source Criticism is a study of the area from which early Christian authors drew their information: whether it be another text or oral preaching. It’s a question that asks where the material in a written work comes from. Since works like the canonical gospels were not written by eyewitnesses it is important to try and trace where their information developed from.

Special L Material
The name given to material that is unique to the Gospel of Luke (not found in the double or triple traditions)

Special M material
The name given to material that is unique to the Gospel of Matthew (not found in the double or triple traditions).

Stichometry:
A list which tells the number of lines a book contains. Ancient stichometries help scholars estimate the length of partially preserved works and in some cases can help us detect later textual corruption.

Stratum

Structuralism
Structuralism (or semiotics) is very complex and is for advanced readers. In fact, it goes beyond the level of many New Testament Introductions (see Brown, p. 25). Semiotic analysis focuses on the final form of an early Christian writing. The overall structure of a document has been long held as a feature of interpretation. Semiotics has now become a highly specialized study and it must be maintained that structuralism has had several positive impacts upon literary criticism. The overall form of a text plays a part in its interpretation but the overall importance of structuralism (especially outlines of frightening complexity) in terms of historical value for Christian origin and Jesus studies is lacking. This is due to the abstract nature of structuralism and the instability of early Christian writings.

An explanation of structuralism for beginners is provided by D. Patte, What is Structural Exegesis? (GBSNT; Philadelphia Fortress, 1984). Examples and commentary can be seen in Sanders and Davies, Studying the Synoptic Gospels, pp. 224-239.

Synagogues

Synoptic Gospels
The first three Gospels of the New Testament, Matthew, Mark and Luke, are called the Synoptic Gospels. These three Gospels tell of the same basic story, in the same sequence, and in many instances, with the same wording (see double tradition and triple tradition). They get their title from ‘a synopsis’ - “seeing together” or “summary”-- which is a work where they can be studied side by side given their similar content.

For more information on the Synoptic Gospels, see Sanders and Davies, Studying the Synoptic Gospels, Koesters, Ancient Christian Gospels and any Introduction to the New Testament (e.g. Raymond Brown’s, Kummel’s etc).

Synoptic Problem
The Synoptic problem deals with the synoptic gospels (Matthew, mark and Luke) and their literary relationship to one another. The wording and order is so similar in these texts that written dependence of one text upon another must be posited. Numerous arguments have been espoused in relation to dependence: The Two-source theory is the communis opinio today. Other theories include Mark without Q and the Griesbach Theory.

See Stephen Carlson’s very helpful online website which has tons of information on synoptic relationships and a good bibliography on the subject.

Synoptic Sayings Source
See Q.

Vinnie

Celsus

Jacob, Vork and CX: Excellent work! I'll think of some comments tomorrow, but I'll be happy to have a crack at the remainder in the next few weeks (at least those that I would know something about). If it's ok, this thread can be used for additional suggestions as well, particularly from lurkers who may find terms that some of the regulars here would take for granted.

The other thing is, I'd like to get this published on the Secular Web. Would you all be agreeable to this?

Joel

Family Man

Make it a sticky.

Celsus

It's already been planned, but it was agreed that there could be a bit of discussion and proofreading first.

Joel

P.S. Jacob, please email me a text document of the vB coded glossary for putting into a sticky.

DrJim

Just some thoughts:

In Hebrew Bible Studies, terms like "lower criticism" and "higher criticism" are not often used anymore (are they in NT research?). How about cross references to "textual criticism" "redactional criticism" "documentary hypothesis" and so forth?

How about a specific entry to Deuteronomistic History, DtrH (Josh-2Kgs, excluding Ruth?), and Dtr1, Dtr2, on the one hand and DtrH, DtrP and DtrN on the other: the two main rival theories to a unified post-monarchic DtrH...(no need to get too detailed with other alternatives: DtrHuey Dewey and Louie...).

Deuteronomistic: is usually used to refer to ideas taken from Deuteronomy which show up in DtrH, or Jeremiah or other books.

Deuteronomic: having to do with Deuteronomy itself.


An entry on the Samaritan Pentateuch?

Celsus

Unfortunately or otherwise, it does get used a lot on the Internet, and I think it's worth having in there.
This would be very nice in a Sec Web publication (with links), but a bit difficult to do on vBulletin, except for a "see ..." which can get confusing. That's why I prefer it on the Sec Web library and a link to it in the Reading and Reference sticky.
This will take a lot more work. Would you care to join in on behalf of those recommended entries? (At this rate no one's going to make any more suggestions. I should shut up now...)
Cheers. This will be put in.
I'd love to have that in too. I've seen a lot of passing reference to it, but not a whole lot on the SP itself. Any recommendations (personal interest here, more than anything else)?

Joel

Celsus

What the hell is this doing in there?

• Libetarianism – Political philosophy of maximizing individual rights and minimizing the role of the state.

I don't think the following would be a fair characterisation of Maximalists:

• Maximalist – One who believes that the Hebrew Torah (the Xian Old Testamant) is largely historically accurate in its entirety and depicts real events in the history of ancient Israel.

I think they could be described as having a tendency toward high chronology (I hope I haven't got high and low mixed up again), and finding a historical core evident beginning with the united monarchy. This would be in opposition to the unfair characterisation of minimalists:

• minimalist – One who believes that the Hebrew Torah (the Xian Old Testament) is largely fictive and mythical in content.

Rather, most minimalists would place the start of a historical core more toward the Exilic or post-Exilic period, and generally have a tendency toward low chronology. Also, Hebrew Torah usually refers to the Law (Pentateuch), and I suggest that usage be used throughout the glossary, except in the entry for Torah itself.