The Lexham Bible Dictionary Sampler
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
The Lexham Bible Dictionary Sampler John D. Barry Editor David Bomar, Derek R. Brown, Rachel Klippenstein, Douglas Mangum, Carrie Sinclair Wolcott, and Lazarus Wentz Associate Editors Elliot Ritzema and Wendy Widder Contributing Editors Rebecca Brant, Claire Brubaker, Lynnea Fraser, Britt Rogers, Abigail Stocker, Jessi Strong, Rebecca Van Noord, Elizabeth Vince, and Joel Wilcox Assistant Editors T. Michael W. Halcomb and Micah Wierenga Major Contributors We would love to hear from you. Email us at [email protected] or visit LexhamBibleDictionary.com. Copyright 2015 Lexham Press This sample contains a selection of articles from the Lexham Bible Dictionary (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015). Lexham Press, 1313 Commercial St., Bellingham, WA 98225 LexhamPress.com Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the Lexham English Bible (leb), copyright 2013 by Lexham Press. Lexham is a registered trademark of Faithlife Corporation. Other Scripture translations are used with permission and are abbreviated with each publisher’s preferred acronym; for copyright information, see each individual translation. Acquisitions/Prodution: Scott Hausman, Rebekah Hurst, Jake Mailhot, Justin Marr, and Abby Salinger Cover Design: Christine Gerhart Book Design: Jahan Afshari Contents Preface 1 Overview Articles 4 Canon, New Testament Christianity Israelite Religion Gospels, Synoptic Textual Criticism of the Hebrew Bible, Methodology Textual Criticism of the New Testament Biblical Book Entries 49 Exodus, Book of Exodus, Book of, Critical Issues John, Gospel of Galatians, Letter to the Concepts, People, and Place Entries 95 Creation Serpent YHWH Jesus Christ David, King of Israel Paul the Apostle James, Son of Zebedee James, Son of Alphaeus James, Father of Judas James the Less Conquest of Canaan Justification Covenant Law and the New Testament Women in the Bible Contextual Articles, Exploring Ancient Texts 167 Bible Background Literature Dead Sea Scrolls, Nonbiblical Dead Sea Scrolls, History of Research Dead Sea Scrolls, Isaiah Temple Scroll Gospel of Judas Pseudepigrapha Enoch, Books of Enoch, First Book of Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs Preface The Lexham Bible Dictionary (LBD) is crafted for • clear identification of every person, place, and a broad audience: the pastor, the scholar, and ancient document related to the Bible—re- the curious explorer. LBD is an academic-level sulting in one article per person, for example, resource, but entries always start by laying the rather than one article on multiple people who foundation for understanding. A curious explorer share the same name; might need only the initial definition of an article, • deep exploration of the Bible’s context, textual while a pastor might read half the entry and an development, and the process of canonization; academic might mull over the entire article. LBD • academic-level content that is written to be ac- is designed to help you interact with the biblical cessible for anyone; text no matter what level of knowledge you have • a critical, unbiased approach to every entry, so when you start. And as you grow in your study of that readers can consider the interpretive op- Scripture, there will always be something new to tions and make up their own minds. discover. Lexham Bible Dictionary is your starting point for Vision biblical studies, from roughly 3,000 bc to ad 200. Lexham Bible Dictionary is engaged with the best It also selectively covers topics from afterad 200 and most recent scholarship and committed to the when these documents, people, or events relate to authority of the Bible. This is a key tenet of the research on the biblical text. This includes a body project: to learn from and wrestle with the full of articles that address ancient texts themselves— breadth of biblical scholarship, while standing in not only those that were deemed authoritative for the rich tradition of the faith summarized by the the Church through the process of canonization, ancient Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds. but also many nonbiblical texts (up to the fourth century ad). These documents, such as the writ- Scope ings known as the Old Testament Pseudepigrapha The Lexham Bible Dictionary includes: and the New Testament Apocrypha, often surface • exhaustive coverage of biblical people, places, in discussions about biblical figures and ancient and events in their cultural contexts; teachings. LBD also includes selected coverage of • detailed coverage of ancient texts and docu- the church fathers insofar as they relate to pio- ments that influenced the Bible’s context; neering biblical interpretation or the shape of the canon. Lexham Bible Dictionary Creating Lexham Bible Dictionary Lexham Bible Dictionary is the product of collabora- are included in a Related Articles section at the tion with scholars from around the world. The dic- end of the entry. tionary comprises over 4.5 million words in more Lexham Bible Dictionary is easy to navigate: than 7,000 articles by over 700 contributors from The digital data built into each article results in a a wide variety of cultures and backgrounds—the dictionary that can automatically suggest multiple equivalent of six encyclopedia-sized volumes in equivalent terms/titles for any topic you’re search- print. ing for—and some data works behind the scenes Lexham Bible Dictionary was built using the to take you straight from the Bible text to the exact technology and databases that power Logos Bible person or place you’re looking up. Although other Software. By having a comprehensive database of books in the Logos Bible Software platform have every person and place in the Bible at our finger- similar functionality, LBD is the first resource built tips and the library and research power of Logos from scratch with this technology in mind—mak- Bible Software, we were able to create a truly ing it more useful than any other dictionary in unique and thoroughly reviewed project. What your library. used to take weeks, we could now do in minutes. Lexham Bible Dictionary clearly identifies and This, combined with innovative project manage- labels ancient documents related to the Bible, ment and a very large number of contributors, ac- along with ancient literature written contempo- celerated the standard 10- to 15-year timeframe for raneously or in the earliest years of the canon’s a project like this to 5 years. reception. When applicable, entries explain how Our editorial team sorted the entries into in- an ancient document was received throughout dividual people, places, documents, events, and history and often suggest how to apply the par- types of literature. In the process, we generated ticular writing to study of the Bible’s context. In over 4,500 short articles. For these entries our articles overviewing specific types of literature major contributors and editors gathered common and historical and scholarly concepts, LBD defines knowledge into a concise reference format, often the relevant terminology, editorial approach, and reworking data either from the Bible Knowl- categorization methods used throughout the re- edge Database that drives features of Logos Bible source. These articles also cross-reference related Software and/or from the public domain. For the articles, either within the article itself or in a sep- approximately 2,000 longer-form articles, indi- arate section at the end. The key entries that uti- vidual contributors retained a certain amount of lize this feature are: flexibility in matters like an article’s overall focus, areas of emphasis, and style of citing extrabiblical • Jesus Christ resources. • Christianity Lexham Press is committed to continually im- • Old Testament proving the Lexham Bible Dictionary. The digital • New Testament edition will stay up-to-date as scholarship moves • Manuscripts forward and new discoveries are made. • Bible, Texts and Versions of • Canon, Overview of the Using Lexham Bible Dictionary • Bible Background Literature Designed as a digital resource, LBD seamlessly • Ancient Near Eastern Texts integrates with Logos Bible Software. Each ar- • Israel, History of, Overview ticle contains links to all Scripture references, • Semitic Languages additional links to resources in the Logos Bible • Apocrypha, Old Testament Software ecosystem, and even more links that are • Deuterocanonical hand-curated to help connect you with related • Extrabiblical topics and background material. Some of these • Pseudepigrapha, Old Testament links occur directly in the body text, while others • Dead Sea Scrolls, Nonbiblical 2 Preface • Early Christian Literature Our Hope for You • Apostolic Fathers When we set out to create Lexham Bible Dictionary • Church Fathers in 2010, our primary goal was to develop the Bible • Creeds and Confessions dictionary we always wanted. We believed that • Apostles’ Creed a resource uniting scholarship and faith would • Nicene Creed make God’s Word more approachable and more • Rabbinic Literature understandable—all for the sake of Christ’s gospel • Apocrypha, New Testament reaching more people. Without a doubt, we have • Nag Hammadi Codices seen God act on our behalf multiple times to bring • Biblical Criticism this project to fruition. He has shown His faithful- ness time and again. We are grateful for the oppor- These entries are great places to get started, espe- tunity to present the Lexham Bible Dictionary to the cially if you are new to the academic field of bibli- Church, and we hope that our efforts will lead you cal studies. deeper into the Bible and into friendship with its Author. With much love for Christ and His work in all of us, John D. Barry, Editor On behalf of the Lexham Bible Dictionary team Summer 2015, Bellingham, WA 3 Overview Articles The Lexham Bible Dictionary doesn’t just answer the questions you have, but also acts as a gateway to the field of biblical studies. CANON, NEW TESTAMENT A collection of 27 Definition writings universally accepted by the Church as in- The term “canon” comes from the Greek word κα- spired by God and authoritative. These 27 writings νών (kanōn), which refers to an instrument used as are historically understood by the Church to be a measuring rod in architecture.