Terminology

Listed below are explanations of technical terms frequently used in biblical studies. For a more detailed discussion of these terms and concepts (and many more), see the Handbook of Biblical Criticism.¹

a–b–c–d–e–f–g–h–i–j–k–l–m–n–o–p–q–r–s–t–u–v–w–x–y–z

acrostic – a literary device where the initial letter of each line or section of a poem forms a pattern, often alphabetic; for examples, see Psalms 34; 119; Proverbs 31:10-31

Akedah – a term borrowed from Hebrew (עֲקֵידָה ʿaqēḏah “binding”) that refers to Abraham’s binding of his son, Isaac; see Genesis 22

amanuensis – a person who takes dictation or copies manuscripts; see Romans 16:22

amphictyony – an association of tribes or states united around a common deity for military protection

Sometimes described as a tribal federation
Originally used to describe the association of states in Greece, especially the league of Delphi
By analogy, the term is sometimes used to describe the pre-monarchic tribes of Israel

anachronism – an error in chronology; a person, object, or other detail that does not fit within the narrative setting of a text

literally, “against time”
One example is Genesis 14:14, which describes Abram in military pursuit to the land of Dan. However, this event occurred long before the Dan had been born (and even longer before the tribe of Dan would claim the land that would bear their tribal name).

anaphora – a literary device where a word or phrase is repeated at the beginning of successive clauses or sentences for emphasis; see Matthew 5:3-11

apocalyptic – “a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world.”²

derived from the Greek ἁποκάλυψις (apokalupsis “revelation”), which is the first word in the book of the Revelation

Apocrypha – See deuterocanonical books, below

derived from the Greek ἀπόκρυφος (apokruphos “hidden”)
the term Apocrypha is generally used by Protestants, while the same books are referred to by Roman Catholics and the Eastern Church as deuterocanonical; the Eastern Church uses the term Apocrypha to refer to the noncanonical pseudepigrapha

apodictic – in biblical studies, refers to absolute and unconditional formulations of laws and commandments; see Exodus 20:1-17; compare casuistic, below

apparatus – see critical apparatus, below

Ausgangstext – “initial text” (or, “source text,” “starting text”); refers to the reconstructed text from which all extant textual witnesses derive

autograph – in textual criticism, this refers to the original handwritten manuscript by the author

biblical criticism – an academic approach to analyze and interpret the Bible that may utilize various methodologies, such as textual criticism, historical criticism, literary criticism, form criticism, source criticism, and redaction criticism

Biblia Hebraica Quinta – new scholarly edition of the Hebrew Old Testament, currently being released in fascicles

SBL abbreviation: BHQ
This is the 5th edition in the Biblia Hebraica series, started by Rudolf Kittel in 1906. When finished, BHQ will replace Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia as the standard scholarly edition of the Hebrew Old Testament.

Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia – the standard scholarly edition of the Hebrew Old Testament

SBL abbreviation: BHS
BHS is a diplomatic text, based on the Leningrad Codex
This is the 4th edition in the Biblia Hebraica series, started by Rudolf Kittel in 1906. The fifth edition, Biblia Hebraica Quinta, is currently being released in fascicles.

canon – the collection of books considered inspired and authoritative for determining doctrine; collectively known as the Bible

derived from the Greek word κανών (kanōn), which referred to a measuring stick

canonical criticism – an approach to biblical studies that seeks to interpret the final (canonical) form of the text for the religious community that uses it

associated most closely with the scholar Brevard Childs, although he rejected the terminology
represents a departure from the historical-critical method by situating authority in the canonical form of the text, rather than in its historical origins and contexts

casuistic – in biblical studies, a form of law generally framed as a conditional (if . . . then) statement; also called “case law”; see Exodus 22:1; compare apodictic, above

chiasm – a form of repetition found in poetic, narrative, and didactic texts where elements are arranged in reverse order

short for chiasmus; in literary studies, sometimes referred to as ring structure
named for the Greek letter χ (chi), which is formed by two intersecting lines
the repetition could occur at the level of phonemes, lexemes, syntactic structures, or themes/motifs
in a simple arrangement, elements A and B are followed by variants A’ (called A prime) and B’ in the following order: A – B – B’ – A’

codex – a form of manuscript that consists of the stacking and binding of sheets of parchment or papyrus (direct antecedent of the modern book); replaced the scroll, largely due to its widespread adoption by early Christians

critical apparatus – a concise system of notations that accompanies a primary text; used especially by textual critics to understand and communicate its complex textual history

co-text – the words surrounding a particular word or passage within a text that provide context and help to determine meaning

cult – in biblical studies, the rituals and ceremonies associated with the worship of a deity

from the Latin cultus deorum “cultivation/care of the gods”
not to be confused with the pejorative modern term cult which refers to a deviant religious sect

cuneiform – a logo-syllabic writing form used for several ancient Near Eastern languages (e.g. Sumerian, Akkadian, Old Persian); wedge-shaped impressions in clay or stone

Dead Sea Scrolls – a group of manuscripts first discovered around 1946-47 in the Qumran caves in the Judean desert

scrolls date between to 3rd century BCE–1st century CE
includes scrolls from every book in the Old Testament (except Esther), plus a number of sectarian manuscripts
when referring to an individual scroll, use Dead Sea scroll

deconstruction – breaking something down to its most simple parts for the purpose of analyzing and understanding it

deuterocanonical books – a set of books or additions that are not included in the protestant canon, but are in the Catholic and Orthodox canons; see apocrypha, above

Deuteronomist – the author or “school” that produced the Deuteronomistic History; see source criticism, below

Deuteronomistic History – the continuous historical narrative that progresses from Deuteronomy > Joshua > Judges > Samuel > Kings;

first theorized as a collective entity with a unified purpose in 1943 by Martin Noth

diachronic – literally, “through time”; refers to an approach to studying the Bible that focuses on the development and evolution of concepts and linguistic data over time; see synchronic, below

didactic – text that is intended to directly teach or instruct (for example, many of the epistles in the New Testament)

diplomatic text – a type of critical edition where the main body of text is derived from a single manuscript; the primary text is often accompanied by a critical apparatus; see Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia

dittography – a type of scribal error where a letter (or group of letters, a word, or phrase) is repeated; see haplography, below

Documentary Hypothesis – a model used by some scholars to explain the origin, composition, and redaction of Pentateuch

once the dominant model in biblical scholarship, it is now largely displaced by modified versions such as the fragmentary or supplementary hypothesis
see JEDP, below

epigraphy – the study of inscriptions

etiology – in biblical studies, a story that is used to explain the origin or cause of custom or name; see 1 Samuel 10:10-12

Etymological fallacy – see Root Fallacy, below

exegesis – an approach to studying the Bible (or any other literature) that seeks to bring meaning from the text; see the guide to exegesis, available on this website

feminist criticism – a form of biblical criticism that focuses on gender relations and patriarchy in the Bible

form criticism – a type of biblical criticism that seeks to identify and examine literary patterns with special consideration to its genre

genre – refers to the category used to describe literature (or oral sources) that share certain features or characteristics

for example, books such as Joshua, Judges, or Ruth all share common features that allow them to be classified as narrative

gnosticism – an early Christian heresy (ca. 1st-3rd century CE) that posits a distinction between a good “hidden” god and a lesser, malevolent deity, often associated with Yahweh in the Old Testament

from the Greek γνῶσις (gnōsis “knowledge”)

Griesbach hypothesis – a model of the origin and composition of the synoptic gospels that posits that Matthew was written first, followed by Luke; both were used as sources in the writing of Mark; compare with Markan Priority, below

haplography – a type of scribal error where a letter (or group of letters, a word, or phrase) is omitted; see dittography, above

Hellenism – the influence of Greek culture, literature, language, and identity in the ancient world following the conquests of Alexander the Great (d. 323 BCE)

hendiadys – a figure of speech where a single idea is expressed through two terms used in coordination

for example, in Genesis 19:24 “brimstone and fire” is a hendiadys meaning “fiery brimstone” (see NIV: “burning sulfur”)

hermeneutics – the theory and methodology of interpretation

historical-critical method – an approach to the Bible that is largely concerned with the historical circumstances that resulted in the production and transmission of the biblical text

originally developed in the 17th century (with roots going back further), and popularized in the 19th and 20th centuries
later developed into other sub-disciplines, such as source criticism, redaction criticism, and form criticism

historical-grammatical method – a Christian (and often confessional) approach to the Bible that focuses on discovering the biblical authors’ original intended meaning

largely a conservative response to historical criticism

homoioarcton – a scribal error that occurs when a scribe’s eyes skips from one sequence of letters at the beginning of a word or line to an identical sequence of letters occurring at the beginning of another word or line, resulting either in an accidental omission or addition (haplography or dittography); see homoioteleuton, below

from Greek ὅμοιος (homoios “same”) + ἄρχομαι (archomai “to begin”), meaning “same beginning”

homoioteleuton – a scribal error that occurs when a scribe’s eyes skips from one sequence of letters at the end of a word or line to an identical sequence of letters occurring at the end of another word or line, resulting either in an accidental omission or addition (haplography or dittography); see homoioarcton, above

from Greek ὅμοιος (homoios “same”) + τελέω (teleō “to end”), meaning “same ending”

ideological criticism – a method of analyzing the biblical text that seeks to identify and analyze underlying ideologies within the text; often seeks to uncover how certain ideologies are privileged or marginalized

illegitimate totality transfer – assuming that all possible meanings of a word are present when a word is used in a particular text.

The varieties of meaning that a word has is sometimes called “semantic range.” For example, a “pitcher” might refer to a baseball player, or perhaps a container for holding liquids (like a pitcher of water). The meaning of the word is determined by the sentence in which it occurs. “He threw the ball to the pitcher.” or “I’m thirsty! Could you pass the pitcher?”
This term was coined by James Barr in his classic and still relevant Semantics of Biblical Language (1961), p. 218.
Also called the unwarranted adoption of an expanded semantic field. See D. A. Carson, Exegetical Fallacies, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 1996), 60.

implied author – in contrast to the real, historical author of a text, the implied author is a hypothetical construct that is inferred by the reader of the text

inclusio – a literary device where a word or phrase appears at the beginning and end of a passage of Scripture, forming “bookends” around the passage

for example, see Isaiah 1:21-26 where the phrase “faithful city” occurs at the beginning and end of the passage

intertestamental – refers to the time period between the Old and New Testaments

intertextuality – examines the relationship between two (or more) texts that are connected in someway, whether through direct quotation, allusion, or some other method.

JEDP – a short-hand reference to the 4 principal sources of the Documentary Hypothesis

J = Yahwist (from the German Jahwe)
E = Elohist
D = Deuteronomist
P = Priestly source

ketiv-qere – a text-critical system of notation used by Masoretic scribes to indicate a variant reading in the Hebrew Bible

the scribe did not want to alter the text, even if they suspected it contained an error
- the consonants in the text were copied in the new manuscript without changes
- the consonants that the scribed believed were correct were written in the margins
- the vowels of the new word were included in the main text with the consonants that the scribe believed were incorrect
from Aramaic כְּתִיב‎ (ketiv “what is written”) and קְרֵי‎ (qere “what is read”)

Ketuvim – also known as “the Writings”; one of the three main divisions of the Hebrew Bible; see Torah and Nevi’im, below

includes the following books (in order of the Tanak):
- Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, Chronicles

lacuna – a physical gap or discontinuity in a manuscript; in printed texts of manuscripts, lacunae are typically indicated by brackets with an ellipsis: [. . .]

Leningrad Codex – the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible; produced in 1008/9 CE by Masoretic scribes

the base text used for BHS and BHQ
see the Leningrad Codex info page to view the manuscript online

Levant – the geographic region of the eastern Mediterranean that encompasses (from North to South) parts or all of Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, and Palestine

literary criticism – a type of biblical criticism that takes a synchronic approach; historical questions may be considered, but the focus is more on the biblical text as a literary work

LXX – the Septuagint (ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament); according to legend, 70 scholars worked independently and produced identical translations, hence the use of the abbreviation “LXX” (Roman numerals for 70); see Septuagint, below

majuscule – a large (capital) letter; in biblical studies, the term is used to describe Greek and Latin manuscripts which were written in all majuscules; see minuscule, below

Markan priority – a model of the origin and composition of the synoptic gospels that posits that Mark was written first, followed by Luke and Matthew; this model often includes the idea that Luke and Matthew made use of another source, commonly called Q; compare with Griesbach Hypothesis, above

Masoretic Text – the text type produced by a group of Jewish scribes known as the Masoretes

the Masoretes were active ca. 5th-10th centuries CE
developed a system of writing vowels and pronunciation that can be written around the consonantal text
used as the base text in BHS and BHQ

metaphor – a figure of speech that refers to one thing by mentioning another; for example, “The LORD is my shepherd”

meter – the rhythmic structure in poetry, usually analyzed by counting the total number of syllables as well as the number of accented syllables

metonymy – a figure of speech where an attribute or associated idea is used in place of the thing meant; for example, “Zion” can be used to mean the people of Israel

Midrash – a mode of interpretation most commonly associated with the Talmud and other rabbinic interpretations or compilations

from Hebrew, מִדְרָשׁ midrash “interpretation” or “investigation”

minuscule – a small (lower-case) cursive script used in Greek manuscripts; see majuscule, above

first used in the 9th century CE

morpheme – the smallest unit of language that carries meaning

for example, “books” contains two morphemes:
- “book” – which refers to the object
- “s” – which indicates plurality

morphology – in linguistics, this refers to the study of how words are formed and changed according to their relationship to other words

for example, in English we often add an -ed ending to indicated past tense

Nag Hammadi – a city in upper (southern) Egypt where a library of manuscripts from the 4th century CE was discovered in 1945

the manuscripts of Nag Hammadi are primarily gnostic, including the first known manuscripts of the Gospel of Thomas and the Gospel of Truth

Nevi’im – also known as “the Prophets”; one of the three main divisions of the Hebrew Bible; see Torah, below, and Ketuvim, above

includes the following books (in order of the Tanak):
- Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the Twelve (Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi)

ostracon – a broken piece of pottery (potsherd) that was used for writing, usually short texts or sometimes brief letters; plural: ostraca

palimpsest – a manuscript that was scraped or washed and then reused for a new document; the original text can often be recovered

see Codex Ephraemi Rescriptus for a well-known example

palistrophe – see chiasm, above; often used interchangeably, but some only use palistrophe when there are more than 4 elements present

papyrus – a writing material made from the stem of a water plant that was abundant around the Nile delta; multiple sheets could be attached together to form scrolls

the papyrus plant was also used to make many other items, including rope, mats, sandals, and boats

parable – a didactic story; frequently used by Jesus to teach a principle or lesson; a type of metaphorical analogy

paraenesis – strongly worded advice or exhortation to do something

parallelism - a literary device where concepts or grammatical structures repeat; a common way to classify and analyze Hebrew poetry

Pentateuch – the first five books of the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

from Greek, Πεντετεύχως penteteuchus “five scrolls”

pericope – a set of verses that form one coherent thought

pesher – an interpretation or explanation; used especially of interpretive commentaries on Scripture, such as those discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls

Peshitta – the Syriac translation of the Bible; the standard version of Syriac churches and an important witness for textual criticism

philology – the study of language in historical sources; tends to be a diachronic discipline, focusing on comparative and historical linguistics

phoneme – the smallest unit of sound in a language that can be used to distinguish between different words

phonology – the branch of linguistics that studies the systematic organization of sounds in a language

prolegomenon – in introduction or preliminary discussion

Prophets – see Nevi‘im, above

pseudepigrapha – texts who are falsely attributed to an author, often one who is long-deceased; commonly used to refer to a group of literature composed around 300 BCE – 300 CE

from the Greek ψευδής pseudḗs “false” + ἐπιγραφή epigraphḗ “inscription”

Q – a hypothetical collection of (mostly) sayings of Jesus that was used by Matthew and Luke, but not Mark; see Markan Priority, above

from German Quelle “source”

qere – see ketiv-qere, above

Qumran – archaeological site located about 1.5 km from the northwestern shore of the Dead Sea

occupied by a Jewish sect (commonly identified as the Essenes) that produced the Dead Sea Scrolls

reader-response criticism – an approach to interpreting literature that focuses on the reader (often including their community) and their experience with a work

redaction criticism – a type of biblical criticism that examines the process by which earlier sources were edited (=redacted) into their canonical form

redactor – an editor

Root Fallacy – the presupposition that a single (“root”) meaning of a word is present in all of its occurrences.

Example: the Greek word ἐκκλησία (ekklēsia) is a compound word, comprised of ἐκ (ek “from”) + καλέω (kaleō “to call”). It is normally translated as “church” in English Bibles. To claim that the word means “the called out ones” would be an example of the root fallacy. While it is true that Christians have been called out of this world and into the people of God, its meaning during the time of the New Testament is simply “congregation” or “assembly.”
Sometimes called the etymological fallacy.

Samaritan Pentateuch – ancient version of the Pentateuch that was viewed to be the whole canon by the Samaritans

utilizes a different script than the Masoretic Text
often expansionistic (adds large, often explanatory text)

Second Temple – after the destruction of the temple by the Babylonians, a new temple was built and dedicated ca. 516 BCE; it was expanded multiple times, most famously by Herod (thus often referred to as Herod’s Temple)

sometimes refers to the “Second Temple Period,” which spans from the dedication of the Second Temple (ca. 516 BCE) to its destruction in 70 CE

semantics – branch of linguistics that studies meaning in words, phrases, sentences, or longer units of discourse

Septuagint – ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament; see LXX, above

source criticism – an area of biblical criticism that seeks to identify and analyze theorized sources that were redacted into the final form of the biblical text; see Documentary Hypothesis, JEDP and Q, above

stela – a stone or wooden slab that was erected in the ancient world as a monument; the surface often includes relief carvings and/or text

structuralism – a synchronic literary critical approach that focuses on the underlying system of a language, and how elements relate to each other

synchronic – literally, “same time”; refers to an approach to studying the Bible that focuses on how language is used at a given point in time, without reference to its historical evolution; see diachronic, above

synecdoche – a figure of speech in which a reference to a part of something is used to indicate the whole (or, a reference to the whole indicates a part); for example, the Bible will often mention “man” (part) when context clearly indicates “humankind” (whole); see metonymy, above

Synoptic Gospels – Matthew, Mark, and Luke; so-called because these three Gospel accounts often include the same stories (often in the same sequence) and sometimes even identical wording (unlike John, which is largely distinct)

from Greek συν- (sun- “with”) + ὄψις (opsis “view”)

Synoptic Problem – the inquiry into the specific relationship among the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), specifically the source(s) used by each one in its composition; see Griesbach Hypothesis, Markan priority, and Q, above

syntax – the study of how words are arranged to form phrases or sentences

Tanak – a shorthand reference to the three-part division of the Hebrew Bible: Torah, Nevi’im, and Ketuvim

targum – an Aramaic version of the Hebrew Bible

tell – in ancient Near Eastern archaeology, a tell refers to the accumulated and stratified debris from a succession of settlements at the same location; from Arabic تَلّ tall “mound”

Tetragrammaton – the Hebrew letters יהוה (yod – he – vav – he) transliterated as YHWH, the name of God in the Old Testament; commonly vocalized as Yahweh

in the Masoretic Text, the four letters are usually written with the vowels for אֲדֹנָי (‘adonai “lord”); it is tradition to say “adonai” when reading the text aloud (or another substitution, such as הַשֵּׁם (hashem “the name”)
the combination of the consonants of the Tetragrammaton with the vowels of ‘adonai led to the mispronunciation of the divine name as Jehowah/Jehovah

textual criticism – the study of manuscripts with the goal to establish the original wording

theodicy – an argument which attempts to absolve God from the problem of evil (= how could an all-knowing, all-powerful, and all-loving god allow suffering?)

from the Greek θεός (theos “god”) + δίκη (dikē “justice”), meaning “vindication of God”

theology – the study of God, religious belief, and the relationship between God and creation

there are numerous subdivisions of theology, such as biblical theology, systematic theology, and natural theology

Tiqqune sopherim – a rabbinic term meaning “correction of the scribes”; refers to an intentional change introduced by a scribe, usually to preserve God’s honor

see 1 Kings 21:13; in the Hebrew, the word “cursed” was replaced with “blessed,” as it seemed inappropriate to speak of “cursing God”; modern English translations usually render the phrase “Naboth cursed God . . .”

Transjordan – the portion of the southern Levant that is east of the Jordan river; in ancient times, this included Moab, Edom, and portions of Israel tribal allotments; today it is largely occupied by the country of Jordan

transliteration – the phonetic spelling of a word from one language using the script of another language; for example, writing a Greek or Hebrew word using the letters of the English alphabet

Torah – also known as “the Law”; one of the three main divisions of the Hebrew Bible; the Hebrew word תּוֹרָה (torah) means “instruction”; see Ketuvim, and Nevi’im, above

includes the following books (in order of the Tanak):
- Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy

typology – a method of biblical interpretation where Old Testament events or persons are seen as prefiguring people or events in the New Testament

for example, the story of Jonah in the belly of the fish can be viewed as a type that prefigures the resurrection of Jesus

Ugaritic – a ancient Northwest Semitic language closely related to biblical Hebrew; discovered in 1929 at Ras Shamra (ancient Ugarit) in present-day Syria

unwarranted adoption of an expanded semantic field – see illegitimate totality transfer, above

Ur-text – a theorized original, uniform text of the Hebrew Bible that precedes both the Masoretic Text and the Septuagint; see Ausgangstext, above

versions – any translation of the Bible into a different language

Vorlage – a German term commonly used in biblical studies; refers to the source text used in a translation; see Ausgangstext, above

Vulgate – late 4th century Latin translation of the Bible

largely the work of Jerome (ca. 347-420)
from the Latin phrase versio vulgata “common version”

Writings – see ketuvim, above

Yahweh – the name of God in the Hebrew Bible; in English Bibles, it is often written as “LORD” (all capitals); see Tetragrammaton, above

Richard N. Soulen and R. Kendall Soulen, Handbook of Biblical Criticism (4th ed., Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2011). ↩︎
John J. Collins, ed., Apocalypse: The Morphology of a Genre (Semeia 14; Missoula, MT: Scholars Press, 1979), 9. ↩︎