OT Survey Quiz #1

Septuagint

Translation of the Old Testament into Greek that dates to about 300-200 B.C. and comes from the Egyptian city of Alexandria. It provides an important early testimony to the Old Testament text.

Table of Nations

"Table" in Genesis 10:1-32 that classified the nations of the known world under the three sons of Noah: Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Epic of Atrahasis

Mesopotamian document drawing directs parallels with the biblical creation account. It is the oldest Near Eastern primeval history in nearly complete form, presenting in historical sequence, and a sequence similar to that in Genesis, both the creation of humanity and their near extinction in the flood.

Gilgamesh Epic

Mesopotamian story written in poetic form on a series of twelve tablets with significant parallels to the story of Noah. The main character fails 3 attempts of becoming immortal, then finally comes to grips with his mortality and is pleased with his achievements.

imago Dei

Latin expression for "Image of God", referring particularly to the climax of God's creation when He made humankind in His "image" and "likeness" (Gn 1:26-27)

Creatio ex nihilo

Latin phrase meaning "creation out of nothing".

fait

Latin term, meaning "let it be done" that refers to God's method of creation by decree in Gn. 1.

generations

Literary structural device in the book of Genesis that refers to offspring or history. Its also used to introduce either a genealogy or personal history.

Mesopotamia

Though Egyptian Literature contained several parallels with Genesis, this has proved closer to the ancient Hebrew concepts.

Qumran

The site where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered.

Jamnia

is located on the southwestern coast of Israel. The city became an important center of influence in the Jewish community after Jerusalem fell to the Romans in A.D. 70. The council may have endorsed (validated) certain books but really only confirmed the faith community's understanding.

source criticism

A critical approach to biblical study, frequently called the Documentary Hypothesis.

form criticism

A popular approach to critical study of the pentateuch. It analyzes the various literary types, or genres, found in the Bible and isolates these smaller units. It attempts to uncover the "historical kernel" for each literary genre.

neo-orthodoxy

Founded in the early 20th century to react to liberalism's disregard for divine authority. It holds that God is utterly transcendent-that is, absolutely different from us and far beyond our comprehension; we can only know something about Him if He reveals Himself to us, as He did in Jesus Christ. It asserts that the Bible is merely a witness to the word of God, as people of biblical times experienced God and recorded their encounters as best they could. Sometimes their reports contained errors or paradoxes; failing to provide adequate explanation for all the biblical evidence.

Ugaritic

Language in the same Family as Hebrew and Aramaic, and the language of Ugarit-an important trade center near the Mediterranean coast. The Ugarit scribes created an alphabetic script of thirty cuneiform signs.

Arabic

Language in the same family as Hebrew and Aramaic.

Amorite

Language in the same family as Hebrew and Aramaic. As the ancestor of the Aramaic language, it helps clarify our understanding of certain aspects of biblical Hebrew.

Theophany

Greek term for manifestation (embodiment) of God.

Canon

Greek word for measuring stick; meaning rule/authoritative.

anthropomorphic

Having human-like qualities.

E. W. Hengstenberg

He was an early opponent of the source theories. In several writings during the 1830s and 1840s, he strongly challenged those who denied Mosaic authorship. He inspired a generation of more orthodox scholars who opposed the Documentary Hypothesis.

Julius Wellhausen

He was the most important protagonist who formulated the Documentary Hypothesis; explaining how four originally independent documents (J, E, D, & P) were combined to form the Pentateuch.

S. R. Driver

He was the most influential scholar of Great Britain at the time, he published an important Introduction in 1891. He modified the documentary hypothesis only slightly, and established the theory as a standard approach for English-speaking scholars.

Masoretic Text

Hebrew copy of the old Testament that has come down to us from the Masoretes-one of the most important and accurate groups of scribes. Its the most reliable Hebrew text we have.

Covenant

Hebrew term describing binding relationships between human partners, or between God and humans. Its the special binding between God and His people.

masora

Hebrew word meaning "bond" or "cord". In Old testament studies, it refers to the system of vowel points and accent marks used to further clarify the Hebrew text of the Old Testament.

shalom

Hebrew word meaning "peace". More than the absence of conflict, it refers to a life where wholeness and well-being are present.

Torah

Hebrew word that means "teaching" or "instruction". The term refers to the first five books of the Old testament.

Jean Astruc

In 1753, this French medical professor published a work of Genesis that marked the beginning of pentateuchal source criticism. He believed Moses relied on sources from the patriarchal period.

J. S. Vater

In 1805, he argued that the Pentateuch was composed of as many as forty fragmentary sources. This became known as the fragmentary hypothesis.

W. M. L. DE Wette

In 1807, he equated the legal core at the center of Deuteronomy with "the book of the Law" discovered in the temple under the direction of King Josiah (2 Kgs 22). This became the most important criterion for dating the D document as late as 622 B. C.

H. Ewald

In 1823, he proposed one basic document, the E source. This was supplemented by older J materials and a Jehovistic editor put it all together. This became known as the supplemental theory.

Wilhelm Vatke

In 1835, he suggested many sections of the Pentateuch were written as late as the exile, instead of early as the text claims. he anticipated Wellhausen by believing the Pentateuch was produced late in Israel's history rather than early as a religious constitution for the nation.

V. Hupfeld

In 1853, he argued that there were actually two separate writers who had used Elohim. He also proposed Deuteronomy was a separate D document. He also emphasized the role of an anonymous editor as the one responsible for tying the documents together.

K. H. Graf

In 1865, he agreed about the late date of much of the Pentateuch. He argued for a foundation document that was concerned mostly with priestly interests, and associated it with the time of Ezra. By attempting to assign dates to each of the documents, he went beyond source criticism and expanded the discussion to historical criticism; paving the way for the documentary hypothesis.

Franz Delitzsch

In his 1887 commentary on Genesis, he attacked the documentary hypothesis. He argued that all of the sections attributed to Moses in the text were in fact authentic.

documentary hypothesis

Is a critical approach to biblical study, which seeks to answer the question "who wrote the Pentateuch?" and which holds that the Pentateuch was compiled from four separate sources.

Ammonite

Language of Ammon, in the same family as Hebrew and Aramaic.

ziggurat

Stepped tower of three to seven stages that was characteristic of ancient Mesopotamian temple complexes. An example of this is the Tower of Babel.

Hebrews

Term the Bible uses to describe Abraham and his descendants through Isaac and Jacob.

Genres

Term used by biblical scholars to refer to different types of literature.

Hermeneutics

Science of interpreting the Bible.

cosmogony

Account or theory concerning the origin of the universe.

Enuma Elish

Akkadian title meaning "when on high". Its the most complete Mesopotamian account of creation and its many interesting similarities to the biblical record.

Targum

An aramaic interpretation/translation and commentary on the Old Testament; not as reliable for determining the accuracy of the Old Testament text.

James Orr

Attacked the Wellhausen hypothesis on the theological and philosophical grounds. He exposed the weakness of source and historical criticism and their attempt to reconstruct Israelite history and literature.

polytheism

Belief in many Gods.

Sovereignty

Biblical teaching that God is in absolute control of all creation and subordinate to none.

atonement

Biblical terms describing the removal of skin or defilement. It illustrates the Bible's theology of reconciliation.

tradition criticism

Branch of form criticism developed in the first half of the twentieth century that devoted itself to oral tradition, that is, to the oral, preliterary history of the various literary types. Its more subjective than other approaches and fails to take into account evidence from elsewhere in the ancient Near East, which may provide control data for Old Testament scholars, regardless of their method.

Casuistic Law

Class of case law, in contrast to apodictic law or absolute prohibitions. It begins with a conditional clause in which the case is described, followed by the penalty.

talmud

Collection of Jewish rabbinical laws, law decisions, and comments on the laws of Moses; refers to the first five books of the Bible as "the books of Moses".

canonical criticism

Critical approach of the Old Testament that attempted to study the received form of the Old Testament and to expose its theological message.

redaction criticism

Critical approach to study of the Pentateuch stemming from Wellhausen's documentary hypothesis and attempting to explain scientifically how the four separate sources were edited together.

Levites

Descendants of Levi, one of the twelve sons of Jacob (Gn. 29:34), after whom the Book of Leviticus was named.

transmission

Faithful conveyance of the Scripture as passed on and handed down from generation to generation. The sole responsibility of the scribes in the ancient world, who believed they were copying the very words of God.

sitz im Leben

German Expression (meaning "setting in life") that denotes the historical and sociological setting in which a specific literary genre or form first took shape.

literary criticism

It addresses the larger literary issues of the Old Testament. It emphasizes text-centered, or reader-centered, analysis rather than the traditional author-centered approaches of earlier scholars.

monotheism

It relates to the biblically grounded belief that there is only one God.

Akkadian

Language of the Assyrians and Babylonians, which was in the same language family as Semitic Hebrew and Aramaic.

Moabite

Language in the family Hebrew and Aramaic, used by the Moabites.

Grammatical-historical method

Method of biblical interpretation that seeks to find the basic "plain sense" meaning of a Bible passage by applying standards rules of grammar and syntax, seeking to determine what the text says grammatically and what it meant historically. It strives to discover the author's original intention by careful use of the rules of context, genre, language, and biblical consistency.

Holiness Code

Name given to Leviticus 17-27, a section of the Law devoted to right living outside the tabernacle.

Samaritan Pentateuch

Old Testament text containing only Genesis through Deuteronomy, which originated with the Samaritans. It provides an early witness to the way the Samaritans interpreted the Pentateuch but is not as reliable for determining the text's original reading.

primeval history

Prehistory, or the earliest phases of human activity, which occurred before history was recorded.

mishnah

Recorded oral conversation of the rabbis as they discussed the proper interpretation and course of action required of jews with regards to the mosaic laws.

Aramaic

Semitic language, closely resembling Hebrew in vocabulary and basic morphology. It uses a system of alphabetic writing rather than the more tedious system of cuneiform.

Benedict Spinoza

Seventeenth-century Jewish philosopher who rejected Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch and appeared to give Ezra credit for these books.

Assyria

The Samaritans came from the intermarriage of Jews and foreigners in the territory of the northern kingdom after it fell to this.

plenary verbal inspiration

The belief that God inspired the entire Bible, maintaining author distinctiveness while guaranteeing a finished product that faithfully reflected His message. Although the writers were free to choose their own words and express their own unique personalities and styles as they wrote, the Holy Spirit so guided the process that the words they chose accurately conveyed the meaning God intended. It seems to best handle all the biblical evidence-recognizing the human element in scripture while affirming the Holy Spirit as the Bible's ultimate Author.

Apocryphal

The extra books found in the Roman Catholic Bible.

Transcendent

The fact that God is totally beyond anything else in our human experience; beyond comprehension, understanding, and explanation.

Pentateuch

The first five books of the Old Testament.

Phoenician

The language in the family of Hebrew and Aramaic, used by a prosperous people who inhabited the territory on the eastern Mediterranean coast.

myths

The literary instrument by which ancient peoples ordered their world. They explain how the world began and provided norms for human behavior.

Martin Noth

The most celebrated exponent in the belief that writing came late in the development of Old Testament literary sources.

Mount Sinai

The mountain at which the Ten Commandments were given to Moses by God. Many commands were given to the Israelites on this mountain as well.

Hermann Gunkel

The pioneering scholar of 'form criticism', who established the basic tenets of the approach around the turn of the century.

Expiation

The result of divinely appointed sacrifices intended to free the sinner from punishment of sin.

dictation theory

The theory that God chose certain individuals to record His word and gave them the exact words He wanted used.The writers only wrote what God dictated to them. This doesn't account for all of the Bible.

evangelicalism

Theological position which holds to the inspiration and infallibility of God's revelation as the authoritative guide for faith and practice. More specifically, it is a movement of modern Christianity, transcending denominational and confessional boundaries, that emphasizes conformity to the basic tenets of Christian faith and a missionary out reach of compassion and urgency.

James Orr, Oswald Allis, & E. J. Young

These scholars claimed that the Wellhausen hypothesis violated the internal self-claims of the Pentateuch.

Dead sea scrolls

They contain at least a part of every Old Testament book except Esther. Most important, they confirm the reliability of the Masoretic Text.

Gulf of Aqaba

This, along with the Gulf of Suez, larger salt water bodies lack the reedy vegetation necessary to qualify them as the "Sea of Reeds".

Josephus

a Jewish historian who, along with the Mishnah, accepted the Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch.