An expression of divine revelation, usually enigmatic and

given through a prophet or diviner.

Symmetry of meaning, repetition of

denotation.

A duplication, or mirroring with little movement

of thought or imagery.

The commemoration of the flight from Egypt and escape

into freedom.

A group that migrated to the southern coast of Palestine in

the twelfth century B.C. and became on of the principal rivals of the

Israelites.

Land of the Phoenicians; the name given to the coastal area

to the north of Israel during the first millennium B.C. It is known for

its extensive trade.

The literary source that some scholars see in Genesis

through Numbers that is most interested in law and ritual.

The state of being the first-born or eldest child of the

same parents; the right of the eldest child, especially the eldest son, to

inherit the entire estate of one or both parents.

(adj. pseudepigraphical; from Greek pseudos,

"deceit, untruth," and epigraphe, "writing, inscription")

Intertestamental apocryphal writings purporting to be by somebody

(usually a famous historical or legendary figure) who is not the author,

such as Adam/Eve, Enoch, etc.

A literary convention in which an author assumes the

name of another person, perhaps a famous person, to lend authority to

the work.

The site of a settlement along the northwest shore of the

Dead Sea, where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found.

The portion left over after a part has been removed; the

portion of the covenant community that would remain after defection

and chastisement

Repaying in kind; a principle that applies in various

biblical writings both to human and divine justice.

From the Hebrew shabbot, seventh. The weekly seventh day

of rest mandated for Israelites by God in the Ten Commandments.

The capital city of the Northern Kingdom from the early

ninth century B.C.

The temple rebuilt upon return from Exile in 520 to

515 B.C.

The Greek translation of the Tanak from Hebrew begun in

Alexandria, Egypt in the third century.

The Feast of Weeks (Pentecost in Greek) seven weeks after

Passover, originally for the wheat harvest but later for the giving of the

law on Sinai.

The glorious divine presence seen in the cloud that

accompanied the marchers in the wilderness.

(Hebrew imperative, "Hear!") Title of the Great

Commandment, the fundamental, monotheistic statement of Judaism,

found in Deut. 6:4 ("Hear, O Israel, the Lord is our God, the Lord is

One").

The shadow underworld to which the departed spirits of the

dead go.

Autumn harvest festival when huts of branches are erected in

memory of the time in the wilderness.

A people who inhabited southern Mesopotamia and

developed the first ancient Near Eastern civilization.

(Greek for "draw together, combine") Synthesis of

variegated religious beliefs derived from more than one religion.

(Hebrew for "translation, interpretation") Generally used to

designate Aramaic translations of the Hebrew Bible; the Septuagint is,

in a sense, Greek Targums

(sometimes spelled tel) A mound that contains the ruined remains

of a human settlement; each layer or level, called a stratum, represents

a particular historical period.

A simple form of the tabernacle actually used in the

wilderness.

(Greek for "appearance of God") A manifestation or

appearance of the divine; for example, when God appears in the

burning bush to Moses

The “generations” used in Genesis as a way of periodizing

early biblical history.

An ancient city-state located along the Mediterranean coast in

Syria opposite Cyprus.

A Latin phrase meaning prophecy from the

results or prophecy after the event; it is used in reference to prophecy

that has been composed after the events it predicts.

A representative ruler; one who rules or administers as

the deputy of another.

The translation of the Bible into Latin done by the Christian

scholar, Jerome, in the late fourth and early fifth centuries C.E.

The most important personal name for God in the Hebrew

Bible

What some believe is the oldest source in the books

Genesis through Numbers, characterized by its use of the name

Yahweh for God and dating to the tenth century B.C.

(Hebrew for "Day of Atonement") Annual day of

fasting, penitence, and atonement.

A Mesopotamian stepped tower, usually with shrines both

at its base and on its top, connected by a processional ramp.

Jewish movement to secure a state in Palestine; centralizing

focus on Mount Zion as the holiest place in the holiest city

(Jerusalem).