Glossary

Glossary © 2004 This glossary will continue to grow as the semester proceeds.

Asia Minor	A peninsula on the Western extreme of Asia between the Black Sea on the North and the Mediterranean Sea on the Sout. The Aegean Sea lies on the Western edge of Asia Minor. In the ancient world this region was often called Anatolia (the Greek word for East). It was the location the Hittite Empire at the time of the beginnings of Israel. At the time of Jesus and Paul, Asia Minor was the location of the Roman Provinces of Asia, Bithynia, Galacia, Cilicia, Pontus, and Cappadocia. See the maps of the Roman Empire at http://www.centuryone.com/rmnwrd.html.

Cilicia	A region of southern Asia Minor bordering on Capadocia. Tarsus was a major city in this region located in what is today southern Turkey. For further discussion, see the article on Cilicia on the LIVIUS site.

Diaspora	Based on the Greek word for "dispersion," diaspora refers to the dispersion of Jews outside the land of Israel. The phrase diaspora Jew refers to a Jewish person living outside Israel. See the article on the LIVIUS site.

Eschatology	A term based on the Greek word eschatos ("last"), eschatology is the study of last things. A writer's eschatology is that writer's view of the final destiny of humanity. Eschatology can have more than one form. It can be a set of beliefs about the final destiny of the individual, addressing issues such as life after death and final judgment, or it can be a set of beliefs about the final destiny of the human race, addressing issues such as the end of history and God's judgment of humanity.

Hebrew Bible	The term Hebrew Bible refers to the collection of documents originally written in Hebrew and considered sacred by both Jews and Christians. These are the documents that are included today in the Tanak (the Bible used by Jewish communities of faith) and in the Protestant Old Testament. The Catholic Old Testament includes all of these books, but also includes a few others that were not originally written in Hebrew.

Hellenism	The Greek-based culture that spread in the wake of Alexander the Great's conquests. Alexander had an aggressive policy of hellenization (diffusion of Greek culture), building Greek schools, importing Greek colonists, and imposing Greek political structure in the areas he conquered. While his campaign of conquests lasted for only thirteen years (336-323 BCE), the direct legacy of that campaign contined well into the Roman Period.

Hellenistic Jew	The term Hellenistic Jew is used in general to refer to any Greek-speaking Jew. More specifically, however, it refers to Jews who were strongly influenced by Greek thought and cultural values.

Hillel	One of two primary Pharisaic leaders in the decades leading up to the time of Jesus. The other was Shammai. Most criticism of the Pharisees in the New Testament seems to be directed against the followers of Shammai, while Jesus had broad areas of agreement with the followers of Hillel. Read more at Encyclopedia.com.

Muratorian Canon	A document dating from the late second to early fourth century listing the books of the New Testament regarded as canonical by the anonymous author. The only surviving copy is a fragmentary Latin translation (dating from the eighth century CE) of the Greek original. Hebrews, Second Peter and the three letters of John are missing from the list, but two books not found in presend day New Testaments are included: Wisdom of Solomon and Apopaclypse of Peter. All thirteen of the letters associated with Paul are included.

Mystery	Derived from a Greek word meaning "to initiate" or "keep secret," mystery is used in several ways in the New Testament. The term was very popular in a group of the Hellenistic religions called "mystery religions" because of their secret rites and use of initiation. Jesus once spoke of the "mystery" of the kingdom (Matt. 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10). Paul used the term many times (Rom. 11:5; 16:25; 1 Cor. 2:7; 4:1; 13:2; 14:2; 15:51) implying that the most intimate aspects of the gospel are a secret revealed to the believer by the Spirit. Scholars debate the meaning of the term in some of the letters considered deutero-pauline, often seeing the usage in Colossians (1:26; 2:2; 4:3) as consistent with the undisputed letters while the usage in Ephesians (1:9; 3:3, 4, 9; 5:32; 6:19) seems less so.

Parousia	Theologians use the term parousia, based on the Greek word for "arrival," to refer to the second coming of Jesus.

Paul	The early Christian missionary who planted churches throughout Asia Minor and Greece and wrote letters to those churches. These letters are included in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. Many believe him to be the most significant figure in the early development of the Church as a Christian institution. In the book of Acts he is also called by the name Saul.

Pharisee	The Pharisees were one of the main varieties of early Judaism at the time of Jesus. They accepted as scripture not only the Pentateuch, Prophets, and Writings but also the "oral law" (what Mark 7:3-5 calls the "tradition of the elders"). The portrayal of the Pharisees in the New Testament focusses on Jesus' disagreements with them and pays little attention to the many points of agreement between Jesus and the Pharisees. Both he and they believed in life after death, a final judgment, and angels and demons, for example. These points of agreement made Jesus much more like the Pharisees than the other forms of early Judaism at the time. For a much more detailed discussion, see the Ecole artile on the Pharisees.

Philippi	A city located in the eastern extreme of the Roman province of Macedonia. The Apostle Paul had a very warm relationship with the church there. Philippi, located on the Via Egnatia, had significant economic importance at the time of Paul.

Pseudonymity	The practice of writing under an assumed name. In the ancient world of early Judaism and Christianity this practice was used in two very different ways. First, a letter or other work was sometimes written as a forgery, claiming to be from a person who in fact had nothing to do with its composition. See Second Thessalonians 2:1-2, where the author warns the readers against being led astray by such a false letter "as though from us." On the other hand, psuedonymous letters were sometimes written to honor a great person from the past by applying that person's teachings to the present.

Septuagint	The Septuagint is the earliest known Greek version of Jewish religious literature. It dates from about 150 BCE and includes translations of all of the books of the Hebrew Bible plus a small collection of other religious texts.

Salutation	In a formal letter today, the salutation is the "Dear so-and-so" line. In the first century CE, however, the salutation identified both the sender and the intended recipient of the letter and included a greeting.

Tarsus	Roman capital of the province of Cilicia. The book of Acts claims that this Roman city was Paul's birthplace.

Torah	A Hebrew term often translated (misleadingly) as "law." Torah has a meaning much broader than the English word "law." It refers to all of God's instruction for his people. Paul came to believe that since torah was given in written form to the Jews and not to the Gentiles (non-Jews), and because it included many specific instructions intended to make the Jews distinct from Gentiles, torah cannot be the means of earning a right relationship with God. Otherwise God would be unfair to the Gentiles. Instead, torah is the guide for knowing how to live faithfully after one has already received right standing before God by God's grace through faith, and Gentiles are not required to follow those parts of torah intended only for the Jews.

Via Egnatia	A Roman military highway stretching accross Macedonia and Thrace, the Via Egnatia connected Rome with its eastern provinces. The highway was built around 146-130 BCE and held significant strategic importance. Some segments of the stonework are still visible today. The highway is named after the person who ordered its construction: Consul Gaius Ignatius. Philippi was located in eastern Macedonia on this highway.