| Aaron | The older brother of Moses and first head of the Israelite priesthood, Aaron was the son of Amram the Levite and his aunt Jochebed (Exod. 6:20). Because Moses reputedly had a speech defect, Aaron served as his spokesman before the Pharaoh (Exod. 4:14). According to the priestly source in the Pentateuch, which stresses Aaron's special role, Moses anointed him and his four sons as founders of Israel's priesthood (Num. 3:1-3), consecrating them to administer the Tabernacle (see Lev. 8 and Exod. 29). Although he led in the worship of the golden calf (Exod. 32:1-6), Aaron remained in divine favor. His son Eleazar succeeded him as High Priest of Israel.
|
 |
|
|
| Abel | The second son of Adam and Eve (Gen. 4:2) and brother of Cain, who murdered Abel when his animal sacrifice was accepted by Yahweh whereas Cain's grain offering was rejected. This story of the first murder (Gen. 4:3-10) occurs in the J portion of the Pentateuch and is referred to in the New Testament by Jesus (Matt. 23:35) and the author of Hebrews (Heb. 11:4). In Hebrew, the name Abel means "breath" or "vanity."
|
|
|
|
| Adam | In Genesis, the name Adam literally means "ruddy," from the Hebrew for "red"; it possibly derives from an Akkadian word meaning "creature." In the older creation account (Gen. 2:4-4:26), Adam is simply "the man [earthling]," which is not rendered as a proper name until the Septuagint version (c. 250 b.c.e.). New Testament writers typically use Adam as a symbol of all humanity (as in 1 Cor. 15:21-49 and Rom. 5:12-21). See Fall, the.
|
|
|
|
| Ark | The rectangular houseboat that Noah built to contain his family and pairs of all animals during the Flood (Gen. 6:14-16).
|
|
|
|
| Azazel | The unidentified place or demon to which the scapegoat was sent on the Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:8, 10, 26).
|
|
|
|
| Baal | A Canaanite-Phoenician term meaning "lord" or "master," the name applied to Canaan's most popular fertility god. Worshiped as the power that caused germination and growth of farm crops, Baal was a serious rival to Yahweh after the Israelites settled in Palestine and became dependent on agriculture (Judg. 2:11-14). He is pictured as a god of storm and rainfall in a contest with the Yahwist Elijah on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18:20-46).
|
|
|
|
| Babel | A term meaning "the gate of God," Babel became synonymous with the confusion of languages that typified cosmopolitan Babylon (Gen. 11:4-9). The Tower of Babel ("House of the Terrace-platform of Heaven and Earth") was a ziggurat. See ziggurat.
|
|
|
|
| Balaam | A Bedouin prophet or fortune-teller from Pethor on the Euphrates River whom Balak, king of Moab, hired to curse the Israelites when they attempted to cross Moab on their way to Canaan. Yahweh caused the hired soothsayer to turn his curse into a blessing on Israel (Num. 22-24), although another tradition blames Balaam for corrupting the Israelites (Num. 31:8, 15-17).
|
|
|
|
| Bethel | An ancient site, meaning "house of God," associated with the patriarchs Abraham (Gen. 12:8) and Jacob (Gen. 28:11-13, 22). Under the divided kingdom, Jeroboam I built a shrine at Bethel, near Judah's northern boundary (1 Kings 12:32). Amos denounced a prophet at the royal sanctuary there (Amos 7:10-17).
|
|
|
|
| Cain | According to the J source of Genesis, the first son of Adam and Eve, who slew his brother Abel, thus becoming the archetypal murderer and fugitive (Gen. 4). The "mark of Cain" is not a curse, but a sign that Yahweh protected him from his enemies.
|
|
|
|
| Caleb | Along with Joshua, one of the two spies sent to reconnoiter Canaan who brought back a favorable report of Israel's chances (Num. 13:14). For his trust in Yahweh, Caleb was allowed to enter Canaan, while all others of his generation died in the wilderness (Num. 13:30; 14:38).
|
|
|
|
| cult legend | The oral tradition explaining or validating the sacredness of a particular place or shrine, such as the Genesis stories about Jacob's mystical experiences at Bethel or Peniel.
|
|
|
|
| Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) | A solemn, annual Jewish observance in which Israel's high priest offered blood sacrifices ("sin offerings") to effect a reconciliation between the Deity and his people (Lev. 16). The banishment of a "scapegoat" to which the priest had symbolically transferred the people's collective guilt climaxed the atonement rites (Lev. 16). The Day of Atonement marked the once-yearly entrance of the priest into the Temple's Holy of Holies. The author of Hebrews argues that these ceremonies foreshadowed the sacrificial death of Jesus and his ascension to the heavenly sanctuary (Heb. 9).
|
|
|
|
| Deuteronomist | The unknown writer who compiled and edited the present form of the Book of Deuteronomy. Some scholars believe that he added the introductory material (Deut. 1-11) and appendixes (Deut. 27-34) to the older deuteronomic code (Deut. 12-26).
|
|
|
|
| Deuteronomistic History (DH) | The Book of Deuteronomy and the books of the Former Prophets (Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings) as compiled and revised from older sources by an anonymous author or editorial school deeply influenced by Deuteronomy's historical philosophy. The first edition was probably compiled late in Josiah's reign (c. 610 b.c.e.), and a second edition followed Jerusalem's destruction in 587 b.c.e. It was further edited during the Babylonian exile.
|
|
|
|
| documentary hypothesis | A scholarly theory associated with Julius Wellhausen that argues that the Pentateuch is not the work of one author but the result of many generations of anonymous writers, revisers, and editors (redactors) who produced the four main literary strands or components found in these five books: J (the Yahwist); E (the Elohist); D (the Deuteronomist); and P (the Priestly component).
|
|
|
|
| Eden | The gardenlike first home of humanity (Gen. 2:8); an earthly paradise from which the first couple was expelled (Gen. 3:24). See also Ezekiel 28:13, where the "king of Tyre" enjoyed an "Eden," possibly a lush forested region (Ezek. 31:18; 36:25; Isa. 51:3; Joel 2:3).
|
|
|
|
| Elohist | The scholarly term designating the anonymous author or compiler responsible for the E document or tradition in the Pentateuch. The name arose from his characteristic use of Elohim to denote the Hebrew Deity.
|
|
|
|
| Esau | Firstborn son of Isaac and Rebekah, twin brother of Jacob (Gen. 25:25-34), Esau gave up his birthright to his cleverer sibling (Gen. 27-28), thus becoming the prototype of the person who is insensitive to his heritage (Heb. 12:16). He was thought of as the progenitor of the Edomites, traditional enemies of Jacob's descendants (Israel) (Gen. 36).
|
|
|
|
| etiology | Literally, a statement of causes or origins; in literary terms, a narrative created to explain the origin or meaning of a social practice, topographical feature, ritual, or other factor that arouses the storyteller's interest.
|
|
|
|
| Eve | The first woman, wife of Adam, who derived her name from the Hebrew verb "to live" because she was "the mother of all those who live" (Gen. 3:30). Paul's interpretation of her role in the fall of humanity is given in 2 Corinthians 11:3. (See also 1 Tim. 2:11-15.)
|
|
|
|
| Fall, the | In some Christian theologies, a term that denotes humanity's loss of innocence and divine favor through Adam's sin of disobedience (Gen. 3). According to some interpretations of Pauline thought (Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:45-49), the primal human sin resulted in the transmission of death and a proclivity toward depravity and evil to the entire human race. As a medieval rhyme expressed it, "In Adam's fall, we sinned all." Despite the emphasis given the Fall by some theologians, such as Augustine, the Yahwist's account of Adam's behavior is never mentioned again in the Hebrew Bible.
|
|
|
|
| golden calf | (1) An image that the apostate Israelites fashioned out of gold jewelry and other treasures taken from Egypt and that, under Aaron's direction, they worshiped as their deliverer from slavery (Exod. 32:1-6; Deut. 9:16). (2) Two calf images that Jeroboam I set up at Bethel and Dan as rivals to the Jerusalem sanctuary were probably not revered as idols in themselves but as visible pedestals of the invisibly enthroned Yahweh (1 Kings 12:29).
|
|
|
|
| Hagar | In Genesis 16, Sarah's Egyptian handmaiden, who bears Abraham's first son, Ishmael. In Genesis 21, the jealous Sarah persuades Abraham to drive Hagar and Ishmael into the wilderness, whence an angel rescues them.
|
|
|
|
| Ham | According to Genesis, a son of Noah (Gen. 5:32; 6:10; 7:13; 9:18, 22) and the father of Canaan (Gen. 9:22), Ham was considered the progenitor of various nations in Phoenicia, Africa, and West Arabia (1 Chron. 8). "The land of Ham" is usually taken to be Egypt (Pss. 78:51; 105:23; etc.).
|
|
|
|
| Haran | An ancient trade center in northwestern Mesopotamia, about sixty miles above the confluence of the Belikh and Euphrates rivers, Haran was the site of an important moon cult and of Abraham's call to follow Yahweh (Gen. 11:28-12:5, 24). The last refuge of the Assyrians, it was destroyed by the Medes about 606 b.c.e. (Zeph. 2:13-15; Nah. 3:1-3).
|
|
|
|
| Holiness Code | The name given to the body of laws and regulations set forth in Leviticus 17-26 derives from the code's emphasis on holiness (separateness, religious purity) of behavior, which was to distin-guish Israel and set its people apart from the rest of the world.
|
|
|
|
| Horeb, Mount | The name that the E and D traditions use for the mountain in the Sinai desert at which Moses received Yahweh's law (Exod. 17:6; 33:6; Deut. 1:2, 6, 19; 4:10, 15; also Ps. 106:19). Called Sinai in the J and P sources, its exact location is unknown. According to 1 Kings 19:1-21, Elijah fled there to renew his prophetic inspiration.
|
|
|
|
| Isaac | Son of Abraham and Sarah (Gen. 21:1-7), child of the covenant promise by which Abraham's descendants would bring a blessing to all the earth's families (Gen. 17:15-22; 18:1-15) but whom Yahweh commanded to be sacrificed to him (Gen. 18:1-18). Reprieved by an angel, Isaac marries Rebekah (Gen. 24:1-67), who bears him twin sons, Esau and Jacob (Gen. 25:19-26), the latter of whom tricks his dying father into bestowing the firstborn's birthright on him (Gen. 27:1-45). Paul interprets the near-sacrifice of Isaac as an allegory of Christ (Gal. 4:21-31).
|
|
|
|
| Ishmael | The son of Abraham and Sarah's Egyptian handmaiden Hagar (Gen. 16), Ishmael and his mother were exiled to the desert, where an angel rescued them (Gen. 21). Cited as the eponymous ancestor of twelve princes (Gen. 25:12-16), he is also regarded as the progenitor of the Arabs and a forefather of Mohammed, founder of Islam. In Galatians 4:21-31, Ishmael, son of a slave woman, is compared to the Jerusalem of Paul's day.
|
|
|
|
| Jacob | The younger of twin sons born to Isaac and Rebekah (Gen. 25:21-26), Jacob is famous for his shrewdness, opportunism, and craftiness. He stole his brother Esau's birthright and Isaac's blessing (Gen. 25:29-34; 27:1-29), acquired great wealth in stock breeding (Gen. 29-30), and absconded with his father-in-law's household gods (Gen. 31:1-21) but later concluded a covenant with him (Gen. 31:22-25). Jacob was also the recipient of several divine visi-tations: the dream vision of a ladder to heaven at Bethel (Gen. 28) and wrestling with a divine being at Jabbok, Transjordan, after which his name was changed to Israel (Gen. 32:24-32; 33:4), a revelation renewed at Bethel (Gen. 35:1-15).
Father of twelve sons, eponymous ancestors of Israel's twelve tribes (Gen. 46:1-27), Jacob suffered in old age largely because of the temporary loss of his favorite children, Joseph (Gen. 37:2-36) and Benjamin (Gen. 43:1-14), and other filial problems reflected in his deathbed blessings (Gen. 49:1-28). In accordance with his wishes, he was buried in a cave near Mamre, which his grandfather Abraham had purchased from a Hittite (Gen. 49:29-33; 50:7-13).
|
|
|
|
| Japheth | According to Genesis 5:32, 6:10, 9:18, and 10:1, one of Noah's three sons, the eponymous ancestor of various Indo-European nations, especially Aegean Sea peoples, including the Greeks (Ionians) and Philistines (Gen. 10:1-5).
|
|
|
|
| JE | The designation scholars give the hypothetical document uniting J's (the Yahwist's) account of Israel's beginnings with E's (the Elohist's) parallel narrative. After the northern kingdom of Israel fell to Assyria in 721 b.c.e., refugees may have brought the E document south to Jerusalem, where it was combined with the older J to produce JE, thus preserving E's northern tribal stories about the national ancestors and Exodus.
|
|
|
|
| Jethro | A shepherd and priest of the Kenites, a Midianite tribe of coppersmiths, with whom Moses took refuge during his flight from Egypt and whose daughter Zipporah he married (Exod. 2:15-22; 18:1-12). Moses apparently identified Jethro's god, Yahweh, with El Shaddai, god of Israel's ancestors (Exod. 3; 6; 18).
|
|
|
|
| Joseph | (1) The son of Jacob and Rachel, who aroused his ten brothers' jealousy, was sold into slavery and taken to Egypt where, aided by his ability to interpret dreams, he rose to power second only to that of Pharaoh himself. His story is told in Genesis 30:22-24 and Genesis 37-50. The name Joseph is used to represent the combined tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh (Josh. 16:1-4) and the northern kingdom (Ps. 80).
(2) The husband of Mary and legal father of Jesus, a descendant of the Bethlehemite David (Matt. 1:20) but who lived in Nazareth (Luke 2:4) where he was a carpenter (Matt. 13:55). Little is known of him except for his piety (Luke 2:21-24, 41-42) and his wish to protect his betrothed wife from scandal (Luke 2:1-5). Because he does not appear among Jesus' family members during his (supposed) son's public ministry, it is assumed that he died before Jesus began his preaching career (Matt. 1:18-2:23; 13:55-56).
(3) Joseph of Arimathaea, a wealthy member of the Sanhedrin and, according to John 19:38, a secret follower of Jesus who claimed Jesus' crucified body from Pilate for burial in his private garden tomb (Matt. 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-53; John 19:38-42).
|
|
|
|
| Joshua | The son of Nun, an Ephraimite, Joshua (meaning "Yahweh is salvation") was Moses' military assistant (Exod. 17:8-13), in charge of the Tabernacle (Exod. 33:11), one of the two spies optimistic about Israel's prospects of conquering Canaan (Num. 13:1-16; 14:6-9), and chosen to succeed Moses (Num. 27:18-23; Deut. 3:28; 31:23; 34:9). He led the Israelites across the Jordan (Josh. 3), captured Jericho (Josh. 6) and 'Ai (Josh. 7-8), warred against the Canaanite kings (Josh. 10-12), allotted the land to various tribes (Josh. 13:1-22:8), and made a covenant with Yahweh and the people (Josh. 24).
|
|
|
|
| Jubilee | Derived from the Hebrew word for "ram's horn" or "trumpet," the term refers to the sabbatical year described in Leviticus 25:8-24 to be kept every half-century and proclaimed by a trumpet blast on the Day of Atonement. During a Jubilee year, all debts were to be canceled and private property returned to its rightful owners.
|
|
|
|
| Korah | The son of Izhar, who rebelled against Moses' leadership during the Sinai wanderings (Num. 16-17).
|
|
|
|
| Levi | The third son of Jacob and Leah (Gen. 29:34; 35:23), Levi earned his father's disapproval for his violence in slaughtering tribal neighbors (Gen. 34:30; 49:5-7). He was the eponymous ancestor of the tribe of Levi to which Moses, Aaron, and Miriam belonged (Exod. 6:16; Num. 3:1-39).
|
|
|
|
| Levites | The Israelite tribe descended from Levi, son of Jacob (Num. 3; 1 Chron. 5:27-6:81) that was given priestly duties in lieu of land holdings when Israel conquered Canaan (Deut. 18:1-8). According to P, only descendants of Aaron were to be priests (Exod. 28:1; Num. 18:7); the Levites were regarded as their assistants and servants (Num. 18:2-7; 20-32). They served as priests of secondary rank and as Temple functionaries during the postexilic period, which was dominated by a priestly hierarchy (1 Chron. 24-26). Other stories involving Levites appear in Judges 19-21 and Luke 10:32.
|
|
|
|
| lex talionis | The law of strict retaliation, the principle of retributive justice expressed in the Torah command to exact "eye for eye, life for life" (Exod. 21:23-25; Lev. 24:19-20; Deut. 19:21) and rejected by Jesus (Matt. 5:38-39).
|
|
|
|
| Lot | Nephew of Abraham, with whom he migrated from Ur to Haran and finally to Canaan (Gen. 11:31; 12:5). Lot separated from his uncle, who rescued him from kidnappers (Gen. 13:1-14:16). Lot later entertained angels come to destroy Sodom (Gen. 19:1-29), who directed his escape from the doomed city. He reputedly fathered the nations of Moab and Ammon by incest with his two daughters (Gen. 19:30-38). Jesus referred to Lot's experience in Sodom (Luke 17:28-30), as did the author of 2 Peter 2:6-8.
|
|
|
|
| manna | The food miraculously supplied the Israelites during their wanderings in the Sinai wilderness (Exod. 16:1-36). Described in Numbers 11:7-9 and commonly referred to as "bread" from heaven (Deut. 8:3; Nah. 9:20; Ps. 78:24; John 6:31-35; Heb. 9:4; Rev. 2:17), its appearances ceased when Israel entered Canaan (Josh. 5:12).
|
|
|
|
| Melchizedek | The king-priest of Canaanite Salem (probably the site of Jerusalem) to whom Abraham paid a tenth of his spoils of war (Gen. 14:17-20); cited by the author of Hebrews as foreshadowing Jesus Christ (Ps. 110:4; Heb. 5:6-10; 7:1-25).
|
|
|
|
| Midian | An ancient tribal territory, the exact location and extent of which is unknown, that lay in the northwestern Arabian desert, east of the Gulf of Aqabah, opposite the Sinai Peninsula, and south of Moab. According to Exodus, Moses is in Midian when he first encounters Yahweh. See Midianites.
|
|
|
|
| Midianites | A nomadic or seminomadic group of shepherds and traders that played a significant role in Israel's early history. According to Genesis 25:1-6, they were descended from Abraham and his wife Keturah and thus closely associated with Israel's forebears. In Exodus, Moses takes refuge with the Midianite priest Jethro (or Ruel), whose daughter he marries (Exod. 2:15-3:1; 18:1-15). Although the Moses tradition presents them in a favorable light, later biblical writers portray them negatively as encroaching upon Israel's territory (Judg. 1:16; 4:1; 6-8; cf. Num. 22; 25:6-18, where an Israelite is executed for following Moses' example by taking a Midianite wife).
|
|
|
|
| Miriam | The daughter of Amram and Jochebed, older sister of Aaron and Moses, who brought her mother to nurse the infant Moses after he was found and adopted by Pharaoh's daughter (Exod. 2:4-8; Num. 26:59; 1 Chron. 6:3). Miriam led the victory celebration after the crossing of the Sea of Reeds (Exod. 15:20-21). Although later stricken with leprosy for criticizing Moses, she was cured and readmitted to Yahweh's favor after her brother interceded for her (Num. 12:2-15).
|
|
|
|
| Mosaic Covenant | An agreement between God and the nation of Israel that was mediated by Moses. According to the terms of this pact, Israel swore to keep all of the laws enumerated in the Torah. Failure to do so would result in suffering all the curses contained in Leviticus and Deuteronomy.
|
|
|
|
| Noah | The son of Lamech (Gen. 5:28-30), father of Ham, Shem, and Japheth (Gen. 4:32), whom Yahweh chose to build a wooden houseboat containing pairs of all living creatures to survive the Flood (Gen. 6:13-8:19) and with whom Yahweh made an "everlasting" covenant (Gen. 8:20-9:17). In another story (Gen. 5:29; 9:18-27), Noah is the first vinegrower and a victim of excessive drinking. Infrequently mentioned elsewhere in the Hebrew Bible (Isa. 54:9; Ezek. 14:14), he and the Flood are often cited in the New Testament as examples of divine judgment (Matt. 24:37-39; Luke 17:26-28; Heb. 11:7; 1 Pet. 3:20; 2 Pet. 2:5; 3:5-6).
|
|
|
|
| oral tradition | Material passed from generation to generation by word of mouth before finding written form. Scholars believe that much of Israel's early history, customs, and beliefs about its origins, such as the stories about the patriarchs and Moses in the Pentateuch, were so transmitted before J first committed them to writing.
|
|
|
|
| Passover | An annual Jewish observance commemorating Israel's last night of bondage in Egypt when the Angel of Death "passed over" Israelite homes marked with the blood of a sacrificial lamb to destroy the firstborn of every Egyptian household (Exod. 12:1-51). Beginning the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, it is a ritual meal eaten on Nisan 14 (March-April) that traditionally includes roast lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs (Exod. 12:15-20; 13:3-10; Lev. 23:5; Num. 9:5; 28:16; Deut. 16:1). The Passover was scrupulously observed by Israel's great leaders, including Joshua (Josh. 5:10), Hezekiah (2 Chron. 30:1), Josiah (2 Kings 23:21-23; 2 Chron. 35:1-18), and the returned exiles (Ezra 6:19), as well as by Jesus and his disciples (Matt. 26:2, 17-29; Mark 14:1-16; Luke 22:1-13; John 13:1; 18:39). According to the Synoptics, Jesus' Last Supper with the Twelve was a Passover celebration (Matt. 26; Mark 14; Luke 22) and the model for Christian Communion (the Eucharist) (1 Cor. 11:17-27).
|
|
|
|
| patriarch | The male head (father) of an ancient family line, a venerable tribal founder or leader; especially (1) the early ancestors of humanity listed in Genesis 4-5, known as the "antediluvian patriarchs"; (2) prominent "fathers" living after the Flood to the time of Abraham (Gen. 11); (3) the immediate progenitors of the Israelites: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Gen. 12-50; Exod. 3:6; 6:2-8). Acts 7:8-9 includes Jacob's twelve sons among the patriarchs.
|
|
|
|
| Peniel | A site on the Jabbok River in Jordan where Jacob wrestled with El (God) and thereby won a blessing (Gen. 33:22-33).
|
|
|
|
| Pentateuch | From a Greek word meaning "five scrolls," the term denotes the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the Torah.
|
|
|
|
| priestly document | The priestly composition, referred to as P. This is the final written addition to the Pentateuch, consisting largely of genealogical, statistical, and legal material compiled during and after the Babylonian exile (c. 550-450 b.c.e.). Major blocks of P occur in Exodus 25-31 and 35-40, Leviticus 1-27, and Numbers 1-10. P incorporated the earlier J and E sources and provided an editorial framework for the entire Torah. Some recent scholars believe that P is responsible for most of the Pentateuch.
|
|
|
|
| Rachel | Daughter of Laban, second and favorite wife of Jacob, mother of Joseph and Benjamin (Gen. 29:6-30; 30:1-24; 35:16-19). When Rachel fled her father's house with Jacob, she stole Laban's household gods (Gen. 31:32-35). Jeremiah prophesied that Rachel (Israel) would "weep for her children," which the author of Matthew's Gospel regarded as fulfilled when Herod slaughtered the children of Bethlehem (Jer. 31:15; Matt. 2:18; see also Ruth 4:11).
|
|
|
|
| Rahab | (1) A prostitute of Jericho, possibly a priestess in a Canaanite fertility cult, who hid Israelite spies and was spared her city's destruction (Josh. 2:1-24; 6:25; Ps. 87:4; Heb. 11:31). (2) A mythological sea monster, the dragon of chaos, whom Yahweh subdued before his creation of the universe (Ps. 89:10); also a symbol of Egypt (Ps. 87:4; Isa. 30:7).
|
|
|
|
| Rameses II | Ruler of Egypt (c. 1290-1224 b.c.e.) who many scholars think was the pharaoh of the Exodus.
|
|
|
|
| Rebekah (Rebecca) | The daughter of Milcah and Bethuel, son of Abraham's brother Nahor (Gen. 24:15, 47), and sister of Laban (Gen. 25:20), whom Abraham's representative found at Haran and brought back to Canaan as a bride for Isaac (Gen. 24). Of Esau and Jacob, the twin sons she bore Isaac, she preferred Jacob and helped him trick her dying husband into giving him the paternal blessing (Gen. 25:21-28; 27:5-30; see also Rom. 9:10).
|
|
|
|
| redaction criticism | A method of analyzing written texts that tries to define the purpose and literary procedures of editors (redactors) who compile and edit older documents, transforming shorter works into longer ones, as did the redactor who collected and ordered the words of the prophets into their present biblical form.
|
|
|
|
| Sabbath | The seventh day of the Jewish week, sacred to Yahweh and dedicated to rest and worship. Enjoined upon Israel as a sign of Yahweh's covenant (Exod. 20:8-11; 23:12; 31:12-17; Lev. 23:3; 24:1-9; Deut. 5:12-15) and a memorial of Yahweh's repose after six days of creation, the Sabbath was strictly observed by leaders of the returned exiles (Neh. 13:15-22; Isa. 56:2-6; Ezek. 46:1-7). Jesus was frequently criticized for his liberal attitude toward the Sabbath, which he contended was made for humanity's benefit (Matt. 12:1-12; Mark 2:23-28; Luke 6:1-9; John 5:18).
|
|
|
|
| Sabbatical Year | According to the Torah, every seventh year was to be a Sabbath among years, a time when fields were left fallow, native-born slaves freed, and outstanding debts canceled (Exod. 21:2-6; 23:10-13; Lev. 25:1-19; Deut. 15:1-6).
|
|
|
|
| Sarah | The wife and half-sister of Abraham (Gen. 11:29; 16:1; 20:12), Sarah traveled with him from Ur to Haran and ultimately to Canaan and after a long period of barrenness bore him a single son, Isaac (Gen. 18:9-15; 21:1-21). She died in Hebron (Gen. 23:2) and was buried at Machpelah in Canaan (Gen. 23:19; see also Rom. 4:9; Heb. 11:11; 1 Pet. 3:6).
|
|
|
|
| scapegoat | According to Leviticus 16, a sacrificial goat on whose head Israel's high priest placed the people's collective sins on the Day of Atonement, after which the goat was sent out into the desert to Azazel (possibly a demon). The term has come to signify anyone who bears the blame for others (see Isa. 53).
|
|
|
|
| Shechem | (1) The son of Hamor the Hivite from whom Jacob bought land in Canaan and who later raped and wished to marry Jacob's daughter Dinah (Gen. 33:18-20; 34:1-31). Despite Hamor's friendly wish to ally his clan with Jacob's, Simon and Levi led Jacob's sons in a murderous attack on Shechem's clan to avenge their sister's dishonor. (2) An ancient Canaanite city located about forty-one miles north of Jerusalem in the hill country later allocated to the tribe of Ephraim, Shechem was the first site in Canaan that Abraham visited (Gen. 12:6) and the first place where the Hebrews came in touch with Canaanite culture (Gen. 33:18-20; 34:1-31). Here Joshua held a covenant-renewal ceremony uniting the Israelite tribes under Yahweh and, according to some scholars, including native tribes friendly to the Israelites. Abimelech attempted to make himself king here (Judg. 9), and here Rehoboam came to be crowned (1 Kings 12), only to be divested of his northern territories by Jeroboam I, who made Shechem his capital. Although the Deuteronomists mention its religious importance (Deut. 11:26-32; 17:1-26; Josh. 8:30-37), Shechem fell into obscurity until the mid-fourth century b.c.e. when the Samaritans built a temple on Mount Gerizim. The city was destroyed by John Hyrcanus in the late second century b.c.e. but rebuilt as Flavia Neapolis.
|
|
|
|
| Shem | Noah's oldest son, brother of Ham and Japheth, the eponymous ancestor of the Semites, including the Arameans, Hebrews, Akkadians, and Arabs (Gen. 5:32; 9:21-27; 10:1).
|
|
|
|
| Shema | Judaism's supreme declaration of monotheistic faith, expressed in the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9 beginning "Listen [Hebrew shema, "hear"], Israel, Yahweh our God is the one Yahweh." It also includes Deuteronomy 11:13-21 and Numbers 14:37-41 (cf. Mark 12:29-34).
|
|
|
|
| Sodom | Along with Gomorrah, Admah, Zebolim, and Zoar (Gen. 13:10-12; 14:2; Deut. 29:23), one of the "five cities of the plain" (near the south shore of the Dead Sea) destroyed by a great cataclysm attributed to Yahweh (Gen. 19:1-29). Abraham, who had been royally welcomed by Sodom's king (Gen. 14:13-24), pleaded for it to be spared (Gen. 18:16-32). Contrary to legend, its sins were regarded as violence and inhospitality to strangers rather than homosexuality. Later Bible writers cite it as a symbol of divine judgment upon wickedness (Isa. 3:9; Lam. 4:6; Matt. 10:15; 2 Pet. 2:6; Jude 7; Rev. 11:8).
|
|
|
|
| Tabernacle | The portable tent-shrine, elaborately decorated, that housed the Ark of the Covenant (Exod. 25-31, 35-40; Num. 7-9) from the Exodus to the building of Solomon's Temple (1 Kings 6-8); used in both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament as a symbol of God's presence with humanity (Num. 9:5; Deut. 31:15; Pss. 15:1; 43:3; 61:4; 132:7; Isa. 4:6; 33:20; Hos. 12:9; Acts 7:46; Heb. 8:2; 9:11; 2 Pet. 1:14; Rev. 21:3).
|
|
|
|
| Ten Commandments (Decalogue) | The set of ten religious and moral laws that Yahweh inscribed on stone tablets and gave Moses (Exod. 20:1-17; re-peated in Deut. 5:6-21). Some scholars believe that a ritual Decalogue is contained in Exodus 34:1-16 and 22:29b-30; 23:12, 15-19 (see also Exod. 31:18-32:16).
|
|
|
|
| theocracy | A state or society thought to be ruled by God, typically through the intermediary of priests, divinely appointed kings, or other religious leaders.
theodicy From a Greek term combining "god" and "justice," theodicy denotes a rational attempt to understand how an all-good, all-powerful God can permit the existence of Evil and undeserved suffering. Job, Habakkuk, and 2 Esdras contain notable theodicies.
|
|
|
|
| Yahwist | The name scholars give the anonymous writer or compiler who produced the J document, the oldest stratum in the Pentateuch (c. 850 b.c.e.).
|
2003 McGraw-Hill Higher Education