Glossary of Christian Terms

A Glossary Index / Master Index
AD: Latin- "anno domini" ("year of the Lord"). See CE.
agnostic: (from Greek, "not knowing"), agnosticism. A general term to indicate suspension of judgment regarding the existence of God/deity (compare atheism, theism)
Analysis: In our articles, the process of taking apart, examining, and finding the meaning of the various parts of a book of the Bible, including the devolopment of analytical outlines, paragraph analyses (paragraph overviews and displays), word studies, etc...
angel: (Greek, lit. "messenger"). Came to be used specifically for a class of extrahuman ("spiritual") beings, both good (usually) and bad ("demons") who become involved in human affairs.
anthropomorphism: Greek term for the attribution of human behavior or characteristics to inanimate objects, animals, or God.
apocalypse: From the Greek, meaning "revelation." A genre of literature in which the author claims to have received revelation(s), usually about the end-time, and expresses them in vivid symbolism. The final book of the NT canon such a piece.
Apocalyptic: A type of literature that contains mysterious revelations, usually veiled in symbolic language and interpreted by an angel, Biblical examples of which are Daniel 7-12 and the book of Revelation.
Apocrypha: Those books which are not included in any canon list. Note that Protestants often include the Deuterocanon in the term 'Aprocrypha'.
Apocrypha: From the Greek, meaning "to hide" or "to uncover." It is used in a technical sense to refer to certain Jewish books written in the Hellenistic-Roman period that came to be included in the Old Greek Jewish scriptures (and thus in the Eastern Christian biblical canon) and in the Latin Vulgate Roman Catholic canon, but not in the Jewish or Protestant biblical canons.
atheism: (from Greek, "no deity"). A general term for the position that there is no God (compare agnosticism, theism).


B Glossary Index / Master Index
baptism: In earliest Christianity, the rite of ritual immersion in water which initiated a person (usually as an "adult") into the Christian church. Very soon, pouring or sprinkling with water came into use in some churches, and the practice of baptizing infants.
BC: "before Christ" See BCE.
BCE: "before the common era"; an attempt to use a neuteral term for the period traditionally labeled "BC" (before Christ) by Christians. blasphemy: (Greek, "speak ill, defame"). A general term for speaking against the deity or things associated with the deity.


C Glossary Index / Master Index
CE: or ce, "common era"; an attempt to use a neuteral term for the period traditionally labeled "AD" (Latin- "anno domini" or "year of the Lord") by Christians. Thus 1992 CE is identical to AD 1992.
Canon: Official list of individual books that make up the Scriptures, from the Greek word meaning "measuring rod," and later the rule by which something was judged.
Canonical: Included within the canon.
circumcision: (from Latin, to cut around). The minor surgical removal of the male's foreskin covering the tip of the penis. In Judaism, it is ritually performed when a boy is eight days old.
clergy: In Christian contexts, the body of ordained men (and in some churches women) in a church, permitted to perform the priestly and/or pastoral duties, as distinct from the laity to whom they minister. The Bible has no such distinction, as all are call to minister.
Concordance: An alphabetical index of the words of the Bible, with a reference to the passage in which each occurs and usually some part of the context.
Covenant: A binding contract between two parties, often given by an overlord to a vassel guaranteeing the vassel benefits and protection but also obligating the vassel to sole loyalty to the overlord; or often given from one party to another in other cirumstances
covenant: A pact between two parties. The major covenants in the OT are God's covenant with Abraham (Genesis 15), and the Sinai/ Moses covenant (Exodus 19-24) between God and Israel.For Christianity, God has made a "new covenant" (rendered as "new testament" in older English) with through Jesus Christ, superseding the "old covenant" (thus, "old testament") with Moses at Sinai (see Jeremiah 31.31-34).
creed: A general term (from Latin) for "belief" declarations or summaries such as the Apostles' or Nicene creeds.


D Glossary Index / Master Index
Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS): mostly Hebrew texts found in caves in Qumran, kept by Essene Jewish sect.
decalogue: A Greek term referring to the ten commandments received by Moses on Mount Sinai (Exodus 2O:1-17; Deuteronomy 5:1- 21). Descriptive Words: Of the two basic sorts of words you may study, the words used to describe things, where you are interested what meaning the word conveys.
Deuterocanon: The additional books held to be canonical by the Roman Catholic Church, also called the Apocrypha.
doctrine: A general term for a formally defined belief (e.g. the doctrine of the resurrection in Christianity), or for the total system of beliefs ("Christian doctrine").
Dynamic Equivalent Translation: A translation seeking to keep accuracy on historical and factual matters, but updates matters of language, grammar, and style; as opposed to literal on the one hand and free on the other.


E Glossary Index / Master Index
Eisegesis: Reading into a passage of Scripture the meaning one wants to find in it; opposite of exegesis.
election: A term used theologically to indicate God's choice (of the recipient of God's grace and blessing) -- a choice not based on the superiority or previous accomplishments of people, but on God's graciousness. In predestinarian, "the elect" are those whom God has chosen (in advance) to have eternal life.
Elohim: Hebrew general term for deity. See also YHWH.
Epistle: A letter; a genre of Greco-Roman public correspondence applied to the New Testament letters.
eschatology: (adj. eschatological; from Greek- "eschaton", "last" or "the end-time"). Refers in general to what is expected to take place in the "last times"; thus the study of the ultimate destiny or purpose of humankind and the world, how and when the end will occur, what the end or last period of history or existence will be like.
Essenes: The name of a Jewish sub-group in the 1st century AD according to Josephus, Philo and other sources.
Etymology: The study of the historical origin or derivation of a word.
Exegesis: The derivation and explanation of the (original) meaning of a biblical text.
Exodus: (from Greek "to exit or go out"). Refers to the event of the Israelites leaving Egypt and to the biblical book that tells of that event.


F Glossary Index / Master Index
faith: A general term for religious belief used both of an attitude (to have faith) and of a collection of doctrines (the faith).
Free Translation: A translation seeking to translate the ideas from one language to another with less concern about the exact words of the original; the purpose being to better stimulate your thinking on the thrust of the text.
fundamentalism: A term sometimes applied to conservative Bible-centered Protestant Christians, sometimes used to refer all genuine Christians everywhere, and sometimes used to refer to those favoring on a very literal interpretation of Scripture and a strict adherence to certain traditional doctrines and practices. It is very often best to avoid use of the word since people carry contradictory ideas of what the word means, and yet not realize what others mean by the word. Instead, use other words to say what you mean.


G Glossary Index / Master Index
Genre: A type or form of literature. Biblical genres include oracles, laments, hymns, parables, letters, gospels and apocalypses.
Gospel: Good news, especially the message of Christ and the salvation He brings. Or one of the narratives of Christ's life and teachings, as a book or literary genre.
gentile(s): Used to refer to non-Jewish peoples.
gnostic: Gnosticism. Derived from the Greek- "gnosis", meaning "knowledge." Refers to various systems of belief characterized by possession of secret gnosis frees a person from the evil material world and gives access to the spiritual world.


H Glossary Index / Master Index
Hellenism: (adj. hellenistic; Greek word for "Greekish"). The civilization that spread from Greece through much of the ancient world from 333 (Alexendar the Great) to 63 (dominance of Rome) BC. As a result, many elements of Greek culture (names, language, philosophy, athletics, architecture, etc.) penetrated the Near East.
Hermeneutics: Broadly, the science of interpretation; in our articles, used to describe the process in which the applicability or contemporary relevance of a text is determined.
Historical Context: The setting, occasion, or circumstances in the ancient world in which a book of the Bible was written and first received, which is generally essential for a correct understanding of its meaning and teaching.
Holy Spirit: (= "holy ghost" [archaic]). God in the third person in the divine Godhead, God's non-corporal presence of God here on Earth, The Spirit of God. He now plays an active guiding role in the the church through its members, those tho are true believers, who the Spirit lives in.
humanism: A modern term used of the position that focuses on human values and needs without concern for God, of traditional values.


I Glossary Index / Master Index
idolatry: A Greek term for t he worship of what are perceived to be "idols" or false "gods," forbidden in the Bible intertestamental period. The period in which early Judaism develops, between about 400 BC (end date for OT) and the 1st century AD (composition of the NT). The Jewish intertestamental literature includes the Apocrypha (mostly preserved in Greek) and the Pseudepigrapha (works from this period ascribed to ancient authors like Enoch, the patriarchs, and Moses). This literature provides important background for understanding the period of the NT.
Israel: A name given to the Jewish patriarch Jacob according to the etiology of Genesis 32:38. In Jewish biblical times, this name refers to the northern tribes, but also to the entire nation. Historically, Jews have continued to regard themselves as the true continuation of the ancient Israelite national-religious community. The term thus has a strong cultural sense. In modern times, it also refers to the political state of Israel.


J Glossary Index / Master Index
Jerusalem: From the religious viewpoints of Judaism & Christianity the main city in ancient Palestine, modern Israel, where the Temple had been located, Jesus had been crucified and resurrected, among other significant things.


K Glossary Index / Master Index
Koine: "Common" Greek (300bce-550ce) of Alexandria, used in NT.


L Glossary Index / Master Index
Lexicon: A dictionary or wordbook for another (usually ancient) language.
Literal Meaning: The ordinary sense of a text, whether historical, instructional or otherwise, in opposition to the allegorical meaning.
Literal Translation: A translation seeking to keep as close as possible to the exact words and phrasing in the original language; the advantage being that it'll give you confidence as to what the Greek or Hebrew actually looked like.
Literary Context: The larger portion of Scripture in which a passage, verse, or word appears.


M Glossary Index / Master Index
Manuscript: In textual criticism this refers to the hand-written document in the original language, abbreviated MS and MSS for plural.
martyr: A general term for persons who endure persecution, usually leading to death, for the sake of their religious witness.
messiah: "anointed one"; Greek- "christos" (Christ). Ancient priests and kings (and sometimes prophets) of Israel were anointed with oil. The term came to be used for the one God's promised to save the Hebrews. The misunderstand of what this saving would involve is the background (and sometimes the foreground) of the NT. A title of Jesus.
millenarian: From the Latin for "1000." Having to do with the expected millennium, or thousand-year reign of Christ prophesied in the NT book of Revelation, a time in which the world would be brought to perfection. miracle: A general term for special events that seem inexplicable by normal (rational) means. Miracle reports are frequent in OT and NT scriptures.


N Glossary Index / Master Index


O Glossary Index / Master Index
Oracle: A message from God to a prophet, and the prophet to others, often in response to an inquiry, usually in poetical form, which make up the prophetic books.
orthodox: From the Greek for "correct outlook," as opposed to heterodox or heretical. Over the course of history, the term "orthodox" has come to denote the dominant surviving forms that have proved themselves to be "traditional" or "classical."
orthopraxy: From the Greek for "correct action/activity." In contrast to orthodoxy (right belief), the emphasis in this term concerns conduct, both ethical and liturgical.


P Glossary Index / Master Index
Palestine: (Greek form representing "Philistines," for the seacoast population encountered by early geographers). An ancient designation for the area between Syria (to the north) and Egypt (to the south), between the Mediterranean Sea and the River Jordan; roughly, modern Israel.
Passover: The major Jewish spring holiday (with agricultural aspects), also known as festival of unleavened bread, commemorating the Exodus or deliverance of the Hebrew people from Egypt (see Exodus 12-13). The festival lasts eight days, during which Jews refrain from eating all leavened foods and products. A special ritual meal (called the Seder) is prepared, and a traditional narrative, supplemented by hymns and songs, marks the event.
patriarchs: A common designation for the early founding figures of ancient Semitic tradition (before Moses) such as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve tribal figureheads of Israel (Judah, Benjamin, etc.) Pentateuch: The five books attributed to Moses: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy; known in Hebrew as "Torat Mosheh" (the teaching of Moses), or simply the Torah.
Pericope: A designated portion or unit of Scripture, that may be quite brief or relatively long, particularly the self-contained literary units or sections of the Gospels.
Pharisees: The name given to a group or movement, the origin and nature of which is unclear. The Pharisees believed in the immortality of souls, resurrection of the dead, and in authoritative oral law. Pharisees are often depicted in the NT as leading opponents of Jesus, and by Him for criticized for (vainly) trying to earn God's blessing by doing works amung other things, and are often linked with "scribes" but distinguished from the Sadducees.
piety: A general term for religious devotion. predestination: The understanding that one's (eternal) destiny is determined beforehand, from the beginning of time, by God.
priest: A functionary usually associated, in antiquity, with temples and their rites (including sacrifice).
Prophecy: A message from God, often but not necessarily containing future or unknowable events; or the literary genre or record thereof. prophet: (from Greek, to "speak for" or "speak forth"). Name given to accepted spokespersons of God.
pseudepigrapha: (adj. pseudepigraphical), from Greek- "pseudos", "deceit, untruth," and Greek- "epigraphe", "writing, inscription." A name given to a number of intertestamental apocryphal writings that are implausibly attributed to an ancient worthy such as Adam/Eve, Enoch, Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Ezra, etc.
Purim: A Jewish festival commemorating the deliverance of Jews in Persia as described in the book of Esther.


Q Glossary Index / Master Index


R Glossary Index / Master Index
rabbi: An authorized teacher of the classical Jewish tradition. redactor: An editor, especially with reference to ancient books such as the Scriptures.
redemption: A term from ancient economic vocabulary concerning the freeing by purchasing of slaves, applied to the salvation from slavery to sin (being "redeemed").
reformation: Name given to the protestant Christian movements (and the period itself) in the 16th century in which Roman Catholicism was opposed in the interest of reforming Christianity to the form of the New Testament. relativism: The modern position that affirms that everything (except this statement ;-) is relative to the particularities of the given situation.
repentance: A term used indicate the state of sorrow and concern over sin, turning from sin, and the way to salvation. revelation: A general term for self-disclosure of the divine (God reveals to humans), which is often considered to be focussed in the revealed scriptures.


S Glossary Index / Master Index
Sabbath: The seventh day of the week, or day of rest. sacrament: Especially in classical Christianity, a formal religious rite (e.g. baptism, eucharist) regarded as sacred.
sacrifice: A general term for the giving up of things of value for religious purposes, such as (1) liturgical sacrifices of animal life or of other valuables (grain, wine, etc.), and (2) personal sacrifices of time or money or talents or potential (e.g. taking holy orders). In Christianity, the death of Jesus is the sacrifice for sin on behalf of humankind.
sacrilege: A general term for violation of that which is considered sacred.
Sadducees: An early Jewish sub-group whose origins and ideas are uncertain. It probably arose early in the 2nd century BC and ceased to exist when the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. Sadducees supported priestly authority and rejected, writings other than the Pentateuch, and life after death. They are often depicted as in conflict with the Pharisees.
Samaritans: A group of half-Jews and residents of the district of Samaria north of Jerusalem and Judah in what is now Israel. They are said to have recognized only the Pentateuch as scripture and Mt. Gerizim as the sacred center rather than Jerusalem. There was ongoing hostility between Samaritans and Jews.
Sanhedrin: A legislative and judicial body from the period of early Judaism and into rabbinic times. Traditionally composed of 70 members. sect: A general designation for a definable sub-group, often with negative overtones.
secular: (Latin, "of this world"). A general term for non-religious, or the opposite of religious.
Sensus Plenior: Fuller meaning; an interpretation that assumes that a text has a secondary and hidden meaning underlying its primary meaning. This method of interpretation is generally shunned by us unless Scripture provides the second interpretation; e.g. Gal 4:21-31.
Septuagint: Strictly speaking, refers to the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Pentateuch, probably made during the reign of Ptolemy II, Greek ruler of Egypt around 250 BC, abbreviated LXX (Roman 70). Subsequently, Greek translations of other portions of the Jewish scriptures came to be added to the corpus, and the term Septuagint was applied to the entire collection. Such collections served as the "scriptures" for Greek speaking Jews and Christians.
sheol: (Heb.). Place of departed dead in (some) ancient Israel thought. Tabernacles: Seven-day Jewish fall festival beginning on Tishri 15 commemorating when Israel lived in the wilderness after the Exodus; also known as the Festival of Ingathering.
Strong's numbers: Reference numbers in Strong's Exhaustive Concordance. synagogue: The central insitution of Jewish communal worship and study since antiquity and by extension, a term used for the building, the place of gathering.
Synthesis: In our articles, the process of "putting together" or viewing and studying as a whole a particular book of the Bible, a precursor for analysis, and involving repeated reading and background study of the author, recipient, date, purpose, etc.


T Glossary Index / Master Index
TaNaK: (Tanakh). An Jewish acronym for the OT Scripture, made up of the names of the three parts Torah (Pentateuch or Law), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings).
temple: In the ancient world, temples were the centers of outward religious life, places at which public religious observances were normally conducted by the priestly professionals. In traditional Judaism, the only legitimate Temple was the one in Jerusalem, built first by king Solomon around 950 BC, destroyed by Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar around 587/6 BC, and rebuilt about 70 years later. It was destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. The site of the ancient Jewish Temple is now occupied, in part, by the golden domed "Dome of the Rock" Mosque.
testament: Term for an agreement between two (or more) parties, such as a "last will and testament." The covenant concept played an important role, and was translated as "testament," in references to the Scriptures of the "old covenant" (OT) and the "new" (NT).
tetragrammaton: (Greek, "four lettered [name]"). See YHWH.
Textual Critisism: The discipline of reconstructing the original text of the Bible by evaluating and comparing the ancient Hebrew or Greek manuscripts.
theism: The position that affirms the existence of deity. theology: From Greek, "study of deity"; a general term for discussions and investigations of things pertaining to God(s), and by extension, to religious matters. One who engages formally in theological studies is called a "theologian."
Torah: (Heb., "teaching, instruction"). In general, torah refers to study of the whole gamut of Jewish tradition or to some aspect thereof. In its special sense, "the Torah" refers to the "five books of Moses" in the Hebrew scriptures (Gen, Ex, Lev, Nu, Deut).
Translation: Transferring thoughts or writings from one language to another, while preserving the original meaning and intent of the author or speaker.


U Glossary Index / Master Index


V Glossary Index / Master Index
volition: Of the will, your ability to use your will.


W Glossary Index / Master Index
Wisdom Literature: The name given to a type of literature common to the ancient Near East. Job, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes are wisdom books of the Old Testament, but wisdom writing is found elsewhere in the Bible.


X Glossary Index / Master Index


Y Glossary Index / Master Index
YHWH (Yahweh): The sacred name of God in Jewish scriptures and tradition; also known as the tetragrammaton. Since Hebrew was written without vowels in ancient times, the four consonants YHWH contain no clue to their original pronunciation. They are generally rendered "Yahweh" in contemporary scholarship. In traditional Judaism, the name is not pronounced, but Hebrew- "Adonai" ("Lord") or something similar is substituted. In most English versions of the Bible the tetragrammaton is represented by "LORD" (or less frequently, "Jehovah").


Z Glossary Index / Master Index
zealot: (from Greek, to be enthusiastic). A general term for one who exhibits great enthusiasm and dedication to a cause. Specifically, a member of an early Jewish group or perspective that advocated Jewish independance from Rome.
Zion: (Mount) Zion is an ancient Hebrew designation for Jerusalem, but already in biblical times it began to symbolize the national homeland (see e.g. Psalm 137.1-6).


Abbreviations Glossary Index / Master Index
1Ch: First Chronicles.
1Co: First Corinthians.
1Jn: First John.
1Ki: First Kings.
1Pe: First Peter.
1Sa: First Samuel.
1Th: First Thessalonians.
1Ti: First Timothy.
2Ch: Second Chronicles.
2Co: Second Corinthians.
2Jn: Second John.
2Ki: Second Kings.
2Pe: Second Peter.
2Sa: Second Samuel.
2Th: Second Thessalonians.
2Ti: Second Timothy.
3Jn: Third John.
ABD: The Anchor Bible Dictionary.
Ac: Acts (of the Apostles).
Ams: Amos.
ASV: American Standard Version.
AV: Authorized Version (aka KJV).
BCE: Before the Common Era (used by scholars instead of BC).
BDB: Brown, Driver, Briggs _Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament.
BGD: Bauer, Arndt Gingrich _Greek Lexicon of the New Testament.
BHS: Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia - A scholarly, adjudged text reconstruction of the Hebrew/Aramaic OT.
BTW: By The Way.
CE: Common Era (used by scholars instead of AD).
cf: confer (Latin) compare.
Col: Colossians.
Dan: Daniel.
Darby: Darby's Translation of the Bible .
DNTT: Dictionary of New Testament Theology, 4 vols, Colin Brown ed.
DSS: Dead Sea Scrolls, mostly Hebrew texts found in caves in Qumran, kept by Essene Jewish sect.
Dt: Deuteronomy.
Ecc: Ecclesiastes.
ELCA: Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.
Eph: Ephesians.
Est: Esther.
Ex: Exodus.
Ezk: Ezekiel.
Ezr: Ezra.
Gal: Galatians.
Gen: Genesis.
GNB: Good News Bible (aka TEV).
GThom: Gospel of Thomas.
GW: GraceWeb
Hab: Habakuk.
Hag: Hagai.
Heb: Hebrews.
Hos: Hosea.
ie: id est (Latin) that is.
IMHO: In My Humble Opinion.
Isa: Isaiah.
Jam: James.
JB: Jerusalem Bible.
Jde: Jude.
Jdg: Judges.
Jer: Jeremiah.
Jl: Joel.
Jn: (Gospel of) John.
Jnh: Jonah.
Job: Job.
Jos: Joshua.
JPS: Jewish Publication Society's TaNaKh - a translation of the OT (equivalent to the Protestant OT Canon).
JW: Jehovah's Witness.
Kittel: see TDNT, there is also an abridged 1 volume version.
KJV: King James Version (aka AV).
L&S: Liddell and Scott's Classical Greek lexicon.
Lam: Lamentations.
LB: Living Bible.
Lev: Leviticus.
Lk: (Gospel of) Luke.
LXX: Septuagint (Greek translation of the OT).
M&M: Moulton and Milligan's Greek lexicon.
Mal: Malachi.
Mk: (Gospel of) Mark.
MS/MSS: Manuscript(s)
Mt: (Gospel of) Matthew.
MT: Masoretic Text, the official Jewish Scriptures (OT).
NA26 Greek: Nestle-Aland version 26 (same text as UBS4).
NAB: New American Bible (Catholic).
Nah: Nahum.
NASB: New American Standard Bible.
Navarre: A Multi-Volume Catholic NT from the University of Navarre in Spain.
NEB: New English Bible.
Neh: Nehemiah.
NIV: New International Version Bible.
NJB: New Jerusalem Bible.
NKJV: New King James Version.
NRSV: New Revised Standard Verision.
NT: New Testament.
Num: Numbers.
NWT: New World Translation.
Obd: Obadiah.
OT: Old Testament.
Phm: Philemon.
Php: Philippians.
Prv: Proverbs.
Psm: Psalms.
Q: Hypothetical Sayings-Source used by Matthew & Luke. Q stands for 'Quelle' (==source).
Rahlfs: Septuaginta, a scholarly redaction of the extant Greek LXX texts.
RCC: Roman Catholic Church.
REB: Revised English Bible (1989).
Rev: Revelation.
Rom: Romans.
RSV: Revised Standard Version.
Rth: Ruth.
LXX: The Septuagint
SS: Song of Solomon.
Strong's: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.
SV: Scholar's Version.
Tanakh: The Jewish Bible (equivalent to the Protestant OT Canon).
TDNT: Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, 10 vols + index, ed. by Gerhard Kittel and translated into English by Geoffery Bromiley.
TEV: Today's English Version (aka GNB).
Tit: Titus.
TR: Textus Receptus, the 'received' Greek NT text used in KJV.
TWBOT: Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament, 2 vols.
UBS Greek: A scholarly, adjudged text reconstruction of the Greek NT (Sometimes denoted with a version number. Version 4 is current.).
UCC: United Church of Christ.
Vg: Vulgate, the official RCC Latin Bible.
Zch: Zecheriah.
Zph: Zepheniah.

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