Terms 1
2nd century Christian heretic who believed that the God of the Hebrew Bible was NOT the same as God the Father of Jesus
Marcion
The act of interpreting the Bible; literally "drawing out" meaning from the text.
Exegesis
A modern tradition that approaches the Bible as any other ancient text, and is concerned more with a skeptical examination of the history and composition of the text and its meaning in its original context, rather than its ongoing meaning for believers today
Modern Biblical scholarship
Non-legal Biblical exegesis performed by the rabbis; expansions and explanations of Biblical stories
Aggadah
Every single element in the Biblical text conveys some meaning - there are no accidents and no extraneous details. (Rabbis will take this further than most Christians do, assigning meaning even to stray syllables)
Omnisignificance
A 1st century (CE) Greek-speaking Jewish philosopher from Alexandria, Egypt. Noteworthy for using allegorical interpretations to bring the Hebrew Bible in line with philosophical truths
Philo of Alexandria
A mode of specifically Christian interpretation of the Bible, in which events in the Biblical story are seen to foreshadow the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, or the work of the Church
Typology, typological method of interpretation
A shared collection of authoritative texts that are normative for a community
Canon
The overriding cosmic worldview of the Bible - it posits that there is one governing power or principle "in charge" of the entire cosmos - a single God in Heaven, who calls all the shots
Cosmic monism
A cause or consequence of the _______ of _______ is the canonization of the Bible: the prophet no longer delivers the word of God; the text does via interpretation.
Cessation of prophecy
Authoritative teachers, interpreters and sages of the Jews. Their claim to possess the Oral Torah given by Moses validates their normative interpretations of the Law
Rabbis, rabbinic
A canonical collection of laws for post-second-temple Jews, composed during the second century CE in Roman Palestine and published around 200 CE
Mishnah
Both a method of exegesis and the written collections of exegesis done by Rabbinic Jews. Tends to focus on creative reinterpretation of the smallest details of the Biblical text, ignoring the local context of the verses to connect them to other parts of the canon
Midrash
Christian text of the early 2nd century CE. that asserts that various kinds of Torah law (food laws, circumcision, sacrifice, etc) should not be interpreted literally but spiritually, giving moral examples and foreshadowing life of Christ (allegory + typology)
Letter of Barnabas
A competing view with cosmic monism which posits a (usually evil) cosmic force exists in opposition to God (e.g., the Devil) who is currently in control of cosmic affairs but whose defeat is certain and (in apocalyptic literature) imminent
Cosmic dualism
A prime counterexample to the stereotype that "the Jews always read the Bible literally" - this text is, contrary to its seeming literal sense, taken to be a prohibition on the mixing of meat and dairy.
“You shall not boil a kid in its mother’s milk”
Legal Biblical exegesis performed by the rabbis; expansions and explanations of the laws of the Torah
Halakhah
A mode of specifically Christian interpretation of the Bible, in which the life, death, and resurrection of Christ is seen to fulfill the prophecies of the Hebrew Bible (Isaiah's suffering servant, etc.)
Prophetic interpretation, fulfillment
A version of the Hebrew Bible translated into Greek in the 3rd century B.C.E. Traditionally this was believed to have been done by 70 elders
The Septuagint
The years of Jesus’ activity
Although he was born around 1 BCE, Jesus' active ministry and crucifixion are dated to the 30s CE
Orthodox Christian believers insist that there is only one God, but that he exists in three Persons, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Trinity, Doctrine of the Trinity
Literally "multiple meanings"; believers see the Bible as "supercharged" with divine meanings; it has multiple interpretations, all of which are true
Polysemy
A mode of biblical interpretation in which the literal meaning of the words is disregarded and instead the words and figures are taken to stand in metaphorically for philosophical and moral truths. Typically Christian, but not exclusively so (see Philo of Alexandria)
Allegory, allegorical method of interpretation
Greek for "Lord", a title that is given to Christ in the Gospels and marks his divine status
Kyrios
Short "belief-that" statements which define core religious tenets; in Christianity they are often recited liturgically
Creed