Poetic and Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament
REL 310
Week 3 Class Notes - Getting Acquainted with Psalms
Terms mentioned in the text
- p. 184 - Yah
- Yah, or Jah, is one of the Hebrew names for God. A longer form is Yahweh or Jaweh
- p. 184 - Codex Vaticanus, Codex Alexandrinus
- A codex (pl. codices) was the fore-runner of our modern book. Instead of being written on a scroll, the text was written on separate sheets of papyrus or parchment (cleaned and scraped animal skin). The sheets were folded and stitched together. The early Christians used the codex form for their scriptures, to distinguish them from the scrolls used in Jewish synagogues.
Particular codices are identified by giving them names showing where they were discovered, or which museum holds them at present.
Codex Alexandrinus, dating from the 5th century AD, was probably written in Alexandria in Egypt, and is now in the British Museum.
Codex Bezae, dating from the 5th century AD, is a bilingual (Latin and Greek) New Testament, now owned by Cambridge Univeristy
Codex Sinaiticus, dating from the 4th century AD, was found in St. Catherine's Monastery near Mt. Sinai, and was eventually purchased by the British Museum
Codex Vaticanus, dating from the 4th century AD, is in the Vatican Library - p. 185 - Antediluvian
- refers to times before the Flood. "ante" means before, "diluvian" is related to deluge.
- p. 185 - Sennacherib
- Sennacherib was the King of Assyria who invaded Judah in 701BC, laid siege to Jerusalem (but was unable to take the city), and made King Hezekiah pay tribute to him. Sennacherib was so proud of this that he had several clay memorials made to record the siege of Jerusalem. See the links for "Sennacherib's Prism"
- p.186 - Ostraca
- An ostracon (plural - ostraca) is a piece of broken pottery with writing on it. The Jews did not have paper, so to write a message they took a piece of broken pot and wrote on it with black ink
- p.186 - Arad
- Arad is a town on the southern border of Israel (very hot, dry desert). They should not have had a temple there, as Jerusalem was the only place where there was supposed to be a Temple. However, as the kings of Israel and Judah went further and further from God so the people also started to disregard the Law.
- p.186 - Psalm superscriptions
- A superscription is the initial text of a psalm, attributing authorship, describing the type of music, or a dedication. Some Protestant Bibles omit the superscriptions. The Hebrew Bible regards them as part of the Psalm
- p.187 - lamed, lamed auctoris
- Lamed (LAH-med) is the Hebrew letter which corresponds to the English letter "L". It carries the sound of an English "l". Lamed is often prefixed to Hebrew nouns to indicate "about", "concerning". There is a theory that it may also indicate "authored by" - this is referred to as the "lamed auctoris". "L-David" in a psalm superscription is translated as "concerning David", "about David", or "of David"
- p.188 - Theodore of Mopsuestia
- Theodore of Mopsuestia (ca.AD 350-428) was an early Christian theologian who became Bishop of Mopsuestia in what is now Turkey. He wrote commentaries on every Book of the Bible
- p.189 - the Septuagint, LXX
- The Septuagint (pronounced sep-TOO-uh-jint) is the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures which was made ca. 250 BC in Alexandria in Egypt. There is a story that 70 (or 72 or 77) translators worked on the text, and all came up with the same translation. LXX is the way of writing 70 in Roman numerals, and is used as a short way of referring to the book. The Septuagint was in use throughout the Roman Empire by the time of Jesus and St. Paul.
- p.189 - Qumran
- Qumran is the modern name for a settlement of Essenes (a strict Jewish sect) who left Jerusalem to live in the desert by the Dead Sea. The settlement was destroyed during the Roman occupation of AD 70, and was never rebuilt. Before it was destroyed, the Essenes had time to hide their scriptures, written on parchment or metal scrolls and kept in large pottery jars, in caves near the settlement. The Essenes were probably wiped out, or were unable to return to their settlement.
The scrolls were mostly undiscovered until 1947, when a Bedouin goatherder found the main cave. Since then there have been many archaeological expeditions to search for more caves and find more scrolls and other remains from the Essenes and others who hid from the Romans. The importance of the Dead Sea Scrolls, as they are called, is that we know that they cannot have been written any later than AD 70, so they give us an insight into the Jewish Scriptures in use at the time of Jesus and the Early Church - p.190 - Aramaic
- Aramaic (ar-uh-MAY-ik) is a language in the same family as Hebrew, and very similar to it. Aramaic was used throughout the Ancient World as a language of commerce and diplomacy until the time of Alexander the Great, when it was superseded by Greek. Its relationship to Hebrew is a bit like the relationship between American and British English
- p.190 - Ras Shamra, Ugarit
- Ras Shamra is the modern name for a place to the north of Israel where the remains of an ancient city have been excavated. From inscriptions at the site, archaeologists found that the inhabitants had called it Ugarit. It was destroyed in the Bronze age (ca. 1200 BC) and was never rebuilt. A library of baked clay tablets with cuneiform writing was found in one of the palaces. The people were related to the Canaanites and the Hebrews, and their language (Ugaritic) was similar to Hebrew. They worshiped the Canaanite gods and goddesses, and some of their religious texts and stories of gods and heroes have similarities to Biblical accounts
- p.192 - Maccabean Period
- The Maccabees were a family of five brothers and a father who in 167 BC led a revolt against the Seleucid Emperor Antiochus IV. Antiochus was trying to force the Jews to abandon their faith and become Hellenized, and had already sacrificed a pig in the Temple at Jerusalem. "Maccabee" was a nickname, meaning "Hammer". Several of the brothers were killed in the fighting, but one of them, Judas Maccabeus, succeeded in liberating Jerusalem, and re-dedicated the temple in 164 BC - this is the origin of the Jewish festival of Hanukkah. The history of the revolt, and the celebration of the first Hanukkah are given in the Books of the Maccabees, in the Apocrypha
- p192 - Hellenism
- Hellenism refers to the Greek culture which spread throughout the Middle East when Alexander the Great conquered all the lands to found his empire, 333-330 BC. Alexander spoke Greek, and introduced Greek customs to the Middle East. When Alexander died, his empire was split up between his Generals, who were also Greek. One general was named Seleuceus - he founded the Seleucid dynasty, which took control of the lands along the eastern Mediterranean, including Israel and Judah. Greeks do not refer to themselves as Greeks, but as Hellenes, so their way of life was called Hellenism
- p.192 - Kethubim / Hagiographa
- "Kethubim" is Hebrew for "Writings", and is the term used by the Jews to refer to the Books of Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, and Nehemiah. "Hagiographa" (Holy Writings) is the Greek translation of the Hebrew.
- p.192 - LXX
- LXX in Roman numerals stands for 70, and is the short-hand symbol for the Septuagint - see notes for p.189
- p.193 - Apocrypha, apocryphal
- "apocryphal" with a small "a" refers to writings which were not included in the Bible, and were not generally regarded as inspired. "The Apocrypha" ("Hidden" Books), with a capital "A" refers to Books which were written in Greek at a later date than the Hebrew Books of the Old Testament, but before the Books of the New Testament. Greek-speaking Jews read them as Scripture, and they were included in the earliest translation of the Bible into Latin (the Vulgate). The Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches include them in the Old Testament, but most western Protestant Churches either print them in a section between the Old and New Testaments, or else just omit them.
- p.194 - Maskil, Mikhtam
- See page 199 of the textbook
- p.195 - Hippolytus
- Hippolytus (hip-POL-it-us) (ca. AD 165-235) was an early Christian writer who was persecuted and eventually martyred for his faith. He is best known for his work "The Apostolic Tradition", which describes traditions, teachings, organization, and worship in the Early Church
- p.195 - Doxology
- A doxology is a song of praise to God, from the Greek "doxa" (glory) and "logos" (word, idea)
- p.196 - Pentateuch, Tetrateuch
- The Pentateuch refers to the first 5 Books of the Bible : Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Leviticus, Deuteronomy. The textbook uses the term "tetrateuch" for a collection of 4 Books of Psalms
- p.196 - Torah
- "Torah" is a Hebrew word often translated as "Law", which is also applied to the Pentateuch
- p.196 - Midrash
- "Midrash" refers to commentaries written on the Hebrew Scriptures by early rabbis who tried to interpret the Scriptures for all occasions of life
- p.196 - Megilloth
- "Megilloth" (singular Megillah) is Hebrew for "Scrolls", and is a term used for the Books of Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther. These Books are read in synagogues at various festivals of the Jewish year.
- p.196 - Gregory of Nyssa, 5 steps of moral perfection
- Gregory of Nyssa was Bishop of Nyssa (in what is now Turkey), and one of the three "Cappadocian Fathers" of the Eastern Church. Cappadocia is a very mountainous region of eastern Turkey. The Cappadocian Fathers held out for orthodox Christian teaching on the Trinity and the Nature of Christ, against heretical movements in the Church and pressure from the Byzantine Emperor. The other Cappadocian Fathers were Gregory's older brother Basil the Great, and Gregory of Nazianzus. He had a sister, Macrina, who was the Superior of a nunnery and who was also a scholar
- p.197 - Vulgate
- The Vulgate is the translation of the Bible into Latin (the Vulgar, or Common, Language) by Jerome in AD 382
- p.197 - Talmud, Berachoth
- The Talmud is a commentary on the Mishnah. The Mishnah is a collection of laws and teachings compiled by Jewish scholars around AD 200. There are in fact two Talmuds - one written in Babylon, and one in Jerusalem. "Berachoth" (Buh-rah-KHOTH) (Blessings) is one of the sections of the Talmud
- p.197 - Sedar, Sedarim
- A sedar (pl. sedarim) is a section of the Scriptures for reading in a synagogue
- p.198 - Tannaitic, Masoretic
- The Tannaim were the Jewish scholars who compiled the Mishnah between Ad 70-200. The Mishnah was a compilation of the "Oral Torah" traditional Jewish teaching believed to have been given to Moses by God, and passed on from one teacher to another without being written down.
The Masoretes (Transmitters) were Jewish scholars on Babylon and Tiberias (in the north of Israel) who collected and copied the Hebrew Scriptures, tried to correct errors in the text, and used a system of vowel points to help readers pronounce the consonantal Hebrew text. This was called the Masoretic text, or the Masorah, and is the text used for English translations of the Old Testament - p.299 - Jerome, Augustine, Josephus
- Jerome was a Christian scholar. In AD 382 Pope Damasus asked Jerome to organize the various Latin versions in use at that time. Jerome ended up by making a whole new translation, even going to Palestine, where he lived in a cave in Bethlehem so as to be near the places where Jesus had been, and to improve his knowledge of Hebrew and Aramaic. Jerome's translation of the Bible into Latin is called the Vulgate, because it was in the common (vulgar) language of the time.
Augustine. The textbook means Augustine of Hippo (AD 354-430), who was Bishop of Hippo in north Africa. In his teens Augustine was a brilliant student but also a wild party-animal. Then he started to get serious about the meaning of Life, and eventually had an experience with God which led to his becoming a Christian. There have been several other famous saints named Augustine, including Augustine of Canterbury, the Gospel to Saxon England
Josephus (joe-SEE-fuss)(ca. AD 37-100) was a Jewish scholar who started out as a freedom fighter and then as the general of a Jewish army against the Romans. When things started to go badly for the Jews, Josephus changed sides and joined up with the Romans. He wrote several books for the Romans, trying to explain the history and faith of the Jews. In some of his writings he mentions Jesus, and says that Jesus had been claimed as Messiah, but that He had been killed. - p.202 - chiasm
- pronounced KEE-asm - an inverted parallelism, in which the first and last verses parallel one another, the second and penultimate verses parallel one another, and the middle verse acts as a pivot
- p.202 -Athanasius
- Athanasius (ca. 295-373) was Bishop of Alexandria in Egypt. He stood firm for the orthodox teaching that Jesus is one of the Persons of the Trinity, against the Arian heresy that Jesus was a Being made by God
- p.203 - Elohim, Yahweh, Adonai
- These are three Names or titles for God.
"Elohim" (el-oh-HEEM) is the plural of the Hebrew word "El" meaning God - although the form is plural, when referring to God it takes a singular verb, showing that it means "God" rather than "gods"
"Yahweh" (YAR-VAY or YAR-WAY) represents an attempt to pronounce the Name which God gave for Himself when talking to Moses (Exodus 3:15) - it stresses His eternal "Being"
"Adonai" (add-on-EYE) means "My Lord" in Hebrew, and is usually spoken aloud instead of saying Yahweh when observant Jews read the Scriptures. It stresses Gods mastery of the Universe. - p. 204 - Mount Zion
- Mount Zion is the highest part of the mountain range upon which Jerusalem is built. The name Zion came to be used as a synonym for the whole of Jerusalem. The hill now called Mount Zion in Jerusalem is slightly higher than the Temple Mount
- p.207 - Polemical
- Controversial or disputatious. From the Greek word "polemos" - War. In the text where this word is used in the textbook it means that the Book of Psalms would dispute the worship of other gods and goddesses, and insist that only God is to be worshipped
- p.207 - Consonantal text
- The Hebrew alphabet contains only consonants, with no letters for the vowels. The first letter, aleph, corresponds to the English letter A, but can have either an "ah", "ar","aw","eh","er", or "ay" sound. Later Hebrew writing used a system of dots and lines (called points) to show which sound was to be pronounced, but this was not part of the original text.
- p. 208 - the Tetragrammaton
- The Tetragrammaton ("four letters" Tetra-GRAM-uh-ton) is the Name of God as given in Exodus 3:15. It consists of 4 Hebrew letters, corresponding to the English letters YHVH, which are derived from the verb To Be, which are unpronounceable and are never uttered by observant Jews. When copying the Scriptures, the scribes and particularly the Essenes of Qumran were very careful to be in a state of ritual purity; it may also be that only certain people were entrusted with writing the letters. In the case of the Dead Sea Scrolls, many of them show that the main text was written first, with gaps left where the Name of God would appear. Then the gaps were filled in later in a special script - sometimes the gap was rather too small and the letters had to be squeezed together, sometimes there was a large gap and the letters were spread out to cover the space.
- p.208 - The Mishnah
- The Mishnah is a collection of laws and teachings compiled by Jewish scholars around AD 200.
Copyright © 1999 Shirley J. Rollinson, all Rights Reserved
