Frequently Asked Questions

• Canonization: This was the process of the Bible becoming an authoritative     book. Each section of the Bible canonized at different times because of the different events that happened. Some books are now canonized by certain parts of the church, while others leave them out. This is important because it explains why the Bible is a book of authority.

• Inerrancy: The thought that God dictated to humans what He wanted to say in the Bible, thus the Bible should only be interpreted by using other scripture and not human ideas. This shows how some people view the Bible

• Literalism: A thought that the Bible is the direct word of God. This goes along with inerrancy because that is the process of how literalism comes about.

• Historical Criticism: This is another way to interpret the Bible, but this has the interpreter look at the historical situation of the writer and then figure out with the writer meant within his circumstances.

• Apodictic Law: This is a law that has to be followed no matter what the conditions are. In the book the example is “You shall have no other gods before me.” It is a law that there is no exception to. This helps to interpret the readings because it allows me to put each law in a specific category.

• Casuistic Law: This is a type of law that is based on certain conditions. These phrases use words like “if” or “when”. These laws are the type, if broken, can harm “social harmony.” This is important because of the same reason apodictic law is.

• Talion: This goes along with casuistic law. A talion is when the pay back is the same as the action put on to them. This also important in classifying certain types of laws.

• Law Codes: The law codes mainly consist of the Ten Commandments, which establish the rules about people’s relationship with God and also with other people. There is also the Book of the Covenant, which describes the Ten Commandments in more detail. These are both found in the book of Exodus. Then is the Ritual Decalogue, which is also found in Exodus but then continues on through Numbers. These law codes functioned as rules in which people of the early church, and even nowadays, follow. The term “law codes” might not be accurate is because law codes are supposed to be used as handbooks for judges and in the Bible along with other sets of laws, the issues that were dealt with had to do with moral issues, public health, and even tattoos.

• Documentary Hypothesis: This is a theory that states that many sources were used to complete Genesis. This can be proven because the different styles of writing can be seen through the use of different vocabulary and different types of writing. An example of this would be the alternation of divine names such as, Yahwah and Elohim. There are four sources of this in the Pentatuech.

• Yahwist (J): This source of writing is used in the second creation story in the second chapter of Genesis. This style of writing is a product of the literary “golden age.” When in writing, the Yahwist style uses a more personal description of Yahweh and a more “hands on” approach to God.

• Deuteronomist (D): This source is mostly found in the book of Deuteronomy.

• Priestly Writer (P): This source was more interested in portraying matters of worship and law like a priest would. This source often used the name Elohim for God and often had a more majestic view of the deity. It was a more formal style of writing, which is why this source is thought of to be the author of Genesis One, or the first creation story.

• Amarna Age: modern name given to an ancient Egyptian city, during 14th Century B.C.E. Letters were found that described the region of Canaan in turmoil. Everyone was against each other and the Egyptian authority was weakening. The Habiru were active during this time.

• Habiru: Habiru closely resembles the word Hebrew, outsiders or men without a master. These types of people didn’t have a home or any real social standing. This seemed to be a derogatory term used to describe “strangers.” These strangers were important because they give us background information to who the people involved in the exodus were.  

• Southern Kingdom (Judah): Jerusalem was the capital. It was smaller and poorer than Israel, but it had royal stability. It was led mainly by the Davidic dynasty. Judah has been called the ancient Switzerland because of its size and political stability.

• Jerusalem: “City of Peace” This was a key city in ancient Israel and it was located in the central hill country of the Judean Desert. During King David’s rule it became the religious and political symbol of the unity of the covenant people. It was also called the City of David.

• Northern Kingdom (Israel): Israel had no fixed capital for many years, but Samaria eventually became the capital. It was larger, stronger, and more populous, but they had political instability. The Northern Kingdom had the best agriculture land.

• House of Omri: Israel was referred to as the House of Omri after demise of the Jehu dynasty. It was during the Omri dynasty that Samaria, the capital of Israel, was established. The house of Omri extended through four reigns, and it was considered to be stronger than the Davidic-Solomonic dynasty.

• Prophet: A modern prophet is described as someone who predicts the future, but in the Old Testament, prophets were more of forth tellers who spoke God’s word to the people at that time. Prophet comes from the word nabi, which means “one who announces” or “one who is called.” They were sometimes thought to be spontaneous and charismatic, which wasn’t a good thing in those days. Some of the tasks prophets fulfilled were responding to everyday inquiries, anointing and denouncing kings, making and unmaking monarchs, and advising kings.

• Philistines: A group that migrated to the Southern coast of Palestine in the 12th century B.C.E. They were the principle rivals of the Israelites.

• Parallelism: a principal convention of biblical poetry. There are three types: balancing, extending, and seconding. It is often in a two-line structure but it can be three.

• Stanzas: groups of two or three line units and are often the larger sections of Biblical poems. They are usually ended by a change in the subject or by grammar.

• Oracle of Judgment: This is a type of writing that appears in the prophetic books. There are two steps that happen in and oracle of judgment. The first is a denunciation in a situation of present faithlessness. The second is the announcement of future punishment.

• Covenant Lawsuit: This is also another type of writing in the prophetic books, but there are four steps. First, the Lord is portrayed as bringing Israel to court. Then He accuses the nation or leaders of violations of the Sinai covenant. Next the evidence is stated and finally the punishment is announced. The prophet is usually the prosecuting attorney.

• Vision Reports: This is when the Lord portrays a vision usually to a prophet. In Amos, this happens a lot when God is about to do something to his people.

• First Isaiah: The parts considered to be First Isaiah are chapters 1-12, 20, 22, 28-33, and 36-39. A basic theme of First Isaiah is the holiness of the Lord, which is portrayed in Chapter 6. Isaiah also proclaims a doom to the Judeans that never seemed to materialize. Isaiah preached that the people of Judea must be obedient to the Torah and trust in God.

• Sennacherib: He was the king of Assyria who crushed the rebels under King Hezekiah of Babylon. Isaiah warned King Hezekiah of such a rebellion. In the year 701 B.C.E., Sennacherib destroyed every city in Judah, except for Jerusalem. The sparing of this beloved capitol city was thought to have been a work of God because Isaiah strictly told Hezekiah to trust the Lord.

• Eschatology: Eschatology is described as expressions of hope for the future. Prime examples of this are displayed in Isaiah 2:1-4, 9:2-7, and 11:1-6.

• Second Isaiah: The chapters in Second Isaiah are 40-55. During this section, Jerusalem was in ruins and the Judeans are suffering under the Babylonians who are predicted to be on the verge of doom. Scholars believe Second Isaiah takes place around 539-538 B.C.E., which was the end of the Babylonian Exile. The theme of hope and redemption are portrayed through a series of poetry, which was very unlike First Isaiah written as short prophetic sayings. The idea of monotheism is asserted for the first time in Isaiah. One last theme of Isaiah is the thought of a “new exodus” where God was to bring the exiles out of Babylon.

• Cyrus of Persia: Cyrus was a Persian man who was about to conquer Babylon at this time. Many referred to him as a deliverer or the Messiah. The Jews see this as a sign of salvation.

• Wisdom Literature: The Wisdom Literature in the Bible consists of the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. These writings are dominated by short observations and instructions about life and how to live. Poems and poetic dialogue focus on this nature of measuring life. Within the wisdom literature, themes such as the Torah and the covenant are missing. They focus more on the quest for underlying order in the world. Questions like, “Why do the innocent suffer?” and, “Is there justice in the world?” are answered to the best of the writer’s ability in these sections.

• Disinterested Piety: This term means righteousness and the importance of this in the wisdom literature is an interesting one. A question raised by these writings is, “Is there disinterested piety, or do people revere God because it pays?

• Theodicy: This is the study of how evil can exist in the world under the control of a just and powerful God. A familiar question, “Why do innocent people suffer?” appears at the root of this study. By reading the Wisdom Literature, one can try and answer this question.

• Messiah: Jesus was called the Messiah many times throughout the New Testament. The Messiah comes from a Hebrew word, meshiah, which happens to mean the same thing as his Greek title, Christ, or Christos. The Jews believed that someone, the Messiah, was going to come and restore Israel. This explains why the phrases the ‘days of the Messiah’ and ‘the world to come’ were used interchangeably. Whoever the Messiah was, was going to save the world as they knew it. Even though Jesus was called the Messiah, he rarely claimed to be it, especially after performing miracles. The term Messiah was often thought of as peaceful, royal, but also humble. Jesus added the notion that a Messiah was also a “suffering servant.”

• Son of God: The term ‘Son of God’ often was one of a noble person. To be a literal Son of a god was in a sense used as describing someone who was at the same status as a god. Another usage of this phrase suggests a person behaved ‘in a godly fashion.’  All in all, the reason why Jesus was referred to as the Son of God was to fulfill what the Scriptures proclaimed as the Davidic king being called the Son of God.

• Son of Man: Jesus must have liked this title a lot, it was the one used most often in the Gospels by him. Two of the most common meanings of the term, ‘Son of Man,’ happen to mean either human being or I/me. These definitions bring up a lot of controversy in Jesus’ credibility. Was he really the Son of God or just a normal human being like he addressed himself? A little more leeway is given to the title if the meaning I/me was used. Naming oneself ‘Son of Man’ was avoiding stressing certain self-importance on addressing yourself.

• Lord: Lord, used in reference to Jesus, brings up a lot of confusion. Scholars aren’t sure exactly where the term was derived from. It could have either come from an Aramaic ‘lone word’ for the Hebrew name of Yahweh, which was used for the Hebrew word ‘adonai.’ It also could have come from a polite term to call a rabbi, which can mean ‘my great one’ or ‘my master.’ Nevertheless, Lord is a polite way to address someone, very similar to the American term ‘sir.’ It is also stated that lord was used among many pagan groups, which would explain why many Gentile Christian groups adopted the word Lord to be associated with Jesus Christ.

• Gospel: This comes from the Anglo-Saxon word god-spell, which is a story from or about a god or something good. It also is traced from the Latin word meaning evangelium, which comes from the Greek word euangellion meaning “good news.” Good news is the definition heard by most people who are part of the Christian Church. The Gospels are believed to have this name because Jesus was thought of as the Messiah and was going to save Israel from all their troubles and enemies.

• Synoptic Problem: Many scholars have tried to figure out how and when each Gospel included in the Bible came out. This is where the synoptic problem came about. The first issue addressed was the fact that the Gospel of John didn’t seem to match up with the other three Gospels in any way. They differ by the information from Jesus’ life, the chronology, and geography of that time. Then the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke became known as the synoptic gospels. (Synoptic means to take a common view). This presented a huge problem to scholars, who then came up with the most widely used solution, the Four-Source Hypothesis. The first source was thought to be Mark since his Gospel is the shortest of the three. The next most prominent source is the Q-source, which comes from the German word Quelle, which is also called the sayings source. Two other sources for these Gospels do exist, but the main two consist of Mark and Q.

• Redactional: This term is the process of examining not only what an author has added to his source but also what he has changed from the stories he borrowed. This is often used in reference to observing the difference between the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Mark.

• Apocalyptic: This is a type of literature in the Bible that can also be a worldview. The worldview maintains that unseen forces of evil control the world, but God is going to stand in the way of them and protect his faithful followers so His kingdom can be established here on earth. The type of literature appears in Revelation but also in Daniel. (It is also sometimes considered to come out of Mark and Matthew.) These styles of writings are described as uncovering something or revealing what is to come of this world. Revelation and Daniel were thought of as able to give the world today answers to the questions of evil in this world. It often uses symbolism and myths to portray a certain image.