Unit One NT

Apocrypha

Intertestamental book within Septuagint

Scripture

The sacred writing of Christianity

Diaspora

The scattering of Jews beyond Israel (through the 2nd Jewish Revolt)

Tetrarch

Governor of 1 of 4 divisions (General term)

Hellenistic

Greek influenced

Septuagint

Greek translation of the Old Testament

Name the villages in Galilee that were most important in Jesus' public ministry. Why did he choose to anchor his efforts in Capernaum.

Jesus did this to fulfill the scripture. Bethsadia, Cana, the Sea+Mountains, etc. (ADD TO)

Geography

Surrounding area

Pseudepigrapha

52 books, history, blessings, hymns

Josephus

A Jewish historian whose works strive to make Jewish history and traditions understandable to Hellenistic readers (Outlines Pharisees, Sadducees, and Essenes)

Synagouge

A Jewish meeting place for study and prayer

Jerusalem

A city in the Holy Land, regarded as sacred by Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

What does it mean in Luke's gospel when it says, "Jesus set his face toward Jerusalem"?

After the disciples identified Jesus as the son of God and saw him transfigured on the mountain, Jesus made predictions about his death and was determined to fulfill God's plan of salvation.

Why would some Jews welcome the occupation under Rome following the defeat of the Seleucids?

After the terrifying rule of Antiochus IV, Jews were happy to not worship foreign gods, have total war and chaos, and rebuild the temple after it had been desecrated. The Jews were oppressed under Seleucid rule which resulted in their revolt (the Maccabean War). Under Roman rule, the Decapolis cities were liberated.

When did Hellenism first enter Judea and how did Jewish leaders react?

Alexander the Great's military campaigns and success caused the "modern" Hellenism to be introduced to Judea. Jewish leaders were against it and felt they had no identity, however, many assimilated themselves into the new culture.

Sanhedrin

An assembly of Jewish religious leaders—chief priests, rabbis, scribes, and elders—who functioned as the supreme council and tribunal during the time of Christ. (Jewish nobility)

Joseph of Arimathea

An influential member of the Sanhedrin who buried Jesus' body in his own tomb.

Mishnah

Another book, oral traditions, etc.

What do I hear when I hear words like "Christian", "Church", and "Scripture" ? How would those words mean something different for those in antiquity?

Christian, church, and scripture have both modern and ancient connotations for me. In times of antiquity, "church" for example, was not a physical building but rather the people of God as a whole.

Hazzan

Co-leader of service and custodian of synagogue

Pentecost

Commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the early Apostles and disciples.

How can I know if any interpretation of a NT passage is correct?

Context + Scripture prevents us from our bias taking over

Context of Antiquity

Context of the ancient past

Caesarea

Critical harbor, linking Judea to Roman Empire, Paul was held prisoner here for 2 years, site of Jesus first being identified as "son of God"

Feast of Tabernacles/Booths

Fall harvest festival; pilgrims to Jerusalem built huts to remind themselves of the time Jews spent in the wilderness

Antipater

Father of Herod the Great + Phaser, gained power with Rome's favor

Disciple

Follower of Jesus

Gethsemane

Garden outside Jerusalem where Jesus went to pray after the Last Supper. He was betrayed and arrested there by a band of soldiers.

What tools do scholars use to reconstruct context of NT?

Geography, history, culture, language, and knowledge of the land are used to reconstruct the context of the NT

Genealogies

family tree

Shame and Honor

Played a huge role in Biblical times and has an impact on our society today

Cyrus

1st king of the Persian king, terrifying

John the Baptist

A cousin of Jesus, older by six months. His baptizing and preaching in the wilderness prepared the way for Jesus.

Bias

A filter/lens that changes the way we view the text, interferes with interpretation

Essenes

A group of people who withdrew from Jerusalem, set up little communities and were communal in nature. They focused on teaching and education. The messiah was the warrior to defeat evil to them. The Qumran community produced the Dead Sea scrolls.

Sadducees

A group of powerful and often wealthy Jews who were connected to the Temple priests and often disagreed with the Pharisees, concerned with maintaining the status quo, "who you know"

Sabbath

A holy day for rest and worship

Mezuzah

A parchment inscribed with religious texts and attached in a case to the doorpost of a Jewish house as a sign of faith.

Sermon on the Mount

A part of the Gospel according to Matthew in which Jesus preaches important moral teachings, including the Beatitudes

Shema

A prayer from the book of Deuteronomy, Jesus recited this twice

Passover

A time for Jews to remember the Exodus

Crucifixion

A type of execution in which a person was nailed to a cross

Herod the Great

A wickedly ambitious king who took over the government of Palestine with the support of the Romans, a master builder

Targum

Aramaic translation of Hebrew Scriptures (paraphrases)

Judean Wilderness

Arid section of wilderness running N-S between Jerusalem and the Jordan Valley and the upper section of the Dead Sea

Aramaic

Became the common language of Israel

How deeply politicized was the environment in the NT?

Campaigns and power struggles between leaders was huge in the New Testament. (ADD TO)

Alenandria

Capital of Egypt during Ptolemaic dynasty

Sepphoris

Capital of Galilee, Jesus worked as a carpenter here

Samaria

Capital of Israel (northern kingdom)

What are some modern elements of our culture that make us foreign to antiquity and how might those impede our understanding of the NT?

Certain roles men and women had, as well as language and practices might have a different connotation back then than they did today.

Prefect

Chief officer

Ethnarch

Political leadership over common ethnic group (General term)

Explain some of the chief reasons Jesus was successful in his public ministry.

He had authoritative and compelling speeches, drew masses with his miracles and teachings, and was fond of little children. He associated with publicly shamed "sinners" and "pure people" alike. He was not born and raised in a kingdom or castle but understood daily life and hard work of a poorer class. He was approachable and loved by many.

Simon of Cyrene

He helped Jesus carry the cross

Was Jesus affected by political issues during his life? How did he embrace them or avoid them?

He was affected. He avoided a political issues by going North. The religious leaders thought that he was too relaxed about purity laws, working on the Sabbath, and dietary rules. Jesus embraced these criticisms by talking to the Pharisees if they challenged him, saying things such as, "only God can work on the sabbath".

Archelaus

Herod the Great's son

Philip

Herod the Great's son, ruled as a tetrarch over the northern kingdom

Caiaphas

High Priest at time of Jesus' public ministry, asked Jesus if he was the son of God

Philo

Important writer, lived in Egypt during the time of Jesus and Paul

In what ways was Jesus' behavior different from the scribes and Pharisees in his day?

Jesus worked on the Sabbath sometimes, was more relaxed about purity laws and seemed to blaspheme the name of God in many of the Pharisees' eyes, even though he truly was God's son.

Hasmonean dynasty

Jewish Dynasty following the Maccabean war

Hanukkah

Jewish celebration (rededication of the Temple)

Why did John the Baptist become an opponent of Herod Antipas? What geographical insights are essential in this answer?

John the Baptist said it was unlawful for a man to marry his brothers divorced wife. (ADD TO)

Herod Agrippa I

King of Judea after Pilate

Alexander the Great

King of Macedonia who conquered Greece, Egypt, and Persia, Military hero

Antiochus IV

King who hated Judaism; caused Maccabean revolt, forced Jews to Hellenism and accepted bribes for those wanting to be high priest

Babylon

Kingdom in ancient Mesopotamia

Koine Greek

Language of the Hellenized Jews

Decapolis

League of 10 cities that Pompey liberated from Jewish rule

Maccabean War

Led by Matthias, revolt against the Selucids (Hellenism)

Moses

Led the Exodus of the Hebrews from Egypt; received the 10 commandments

Herodians

Little know about them, compromised with Rome, political in nature, opponents of Jesus.

Compare and contrast Matthew's gospel with Luke's gospel. What are their similarities? What are their differences?

Matthew and Luke both tell of Jesus birth and early life. Matthew records Joseph, the star, the visit of the Magi, the attack of Herod's soldiers, the flight to Egypt. Luke includes the family and birth of John the Baptist, the visit of the shepherds, the purification of Mary, the naming of Jesus, and hymns. Matthew's emphasis is to parallel the early life of Jesus with intrigue and oppression in the early life of Moses. Luke's emphasis is to show how God unexpectedly visits the poor and lowly in bringing salvation to all.

Dead Sea Scrolls

OT books

History

Past events that shape our understanding of scripture

Galilee

Peaceful region in the North, Jesus' ministry took place here

Apostle

Pioneer of a reform movement (originally, an early follower of Jesus)

Hasidim

Pious ones (The Pharisees)

Caesarea Philippi

Place where Peter first calls Jesus "Christ" and Jesus predicts the passion

Scribes

Profession in which they are recorders; known as "teacher" or "rabbi"

Semantic range

Range of meanings, context + expansion over time

Judea

Region of Rome which includes modern-day Israel; birthplace of Jesus

Vespasian

Roman General who besieged Jerusalem and defeated the Zealots

Pompey

Roman general, conquered Jerusalem and won easily

Procurator

Roman treasury officer of Roman Empire

Herod Antipas

Second son of King Herod, ordered the death of John the Baptist, technically a tetrarch, built a capital for himself, Jesus ministry began under his rule

Samaritans

Settled in Shechem (Southern part), viewed by the Jews as compromised

What are the literary and theological connections between the Old Testament Passover traditions and Jesus' death in the Gospels?

The Passover was when a spring lamb was sacrificed in the spring (Jesus died in the spring, he was the lamb that would pay for the people's sins) the blood on the doorpost of the lamb means that the angel of death would pass over that house (just as Jesus' blood causes us to live eternally), and the lamb would be in the house for a few days before its death (just as Jesus lived on the earth and then was sacrificed later).

Pharisees

The Pious Ones, religiously separated, leaders, adherence to the law, anticipated a coming Messiah (to clean up abomination), often appear as opponents to Jesus (different interpretations of God's law)

What purpose did a census serve in Biblical times under Roman rule?

The Roman census was an instrument of occupation designed to control and tax--brought extreme hardship to all.

Pontious Pilate

The Roman procurator of Judea who ordered that Jesus be crucified

What was the Sanhedrin's chief complaint against Jesus? Why were its members persuaded that he had to die?

The Sanhedrin thought that Jesus was becoming a security issue and Caiaphas persuaded the others that Jesus had to die so that the whole nation wouldn't die under a potential Roman military response.

Resurrection

The act of rising from the dead

Blasphemy

The act or offense of speaking sacrilegiously about God or sacred things

The "fourth philosophy"

The group of the zealous, pick up a spear and fight, committed to the ideal of the Jewish, military resistance from the Maccabeans.

Capernaum

The headquarters of Jesus' Galilean ministry

Judaism at this time was divided into the Hellenized, the Hasmoneans, and Hasidim. Describe each of them.

The hellenized embraced Greek life and culture, the Hasmoneans were aristocrats which brokered power in Jerusalem, and the Hasidim group called for religious piety and warned people about the power of corruption (Pharisees)

Temple

The holy place in Jerusalem where Jewish people gathered to worship God

How was Judaism permanently affected following the war of AD 70?

The temple and city was burned under Titus.

Exile

Time of being separated from one's home (ex: the Israelites were in ____ for a period of time).

Nazareth

Town where Jesus grew up

Septuagint

Translation of scriptures into Greek

Titus

Vespasian's son, burned down Jerusalem and the Temple

Zealots

Violent people, committed to the "ideal" of Jewish

Culture

Way of life in an area, an understanding

Tanak

What Jews called the OT

Mt. of Olives

Where did Jesus suffer the Agony in the Garden

Context

Words change meaning based on the words around them

Herod Agrippa II

Young son of Herod Agrippa I and great-grandson of Herod the Great. Set Paul free