Glossary of Terms and Concepts Origins This book has grown out of my desire to better serve my congregation in the long term. I want my people to be armed against the corrosive influences of the world‘s culture and philosophies. I want them to be able to recognize wolves in sheep‘s clothing. This volume is unabashedly messianic in its approach to theology (see Ezrach‘). I feel that my people need to understand the essentially Jewish concepts that are intrinsic to the Tanakh and the B‘rit Hadashah (the Old and New Covenant). I also teach a class called ―Ironworks‖ whose purpose is to train workers for the Master‘s fields: elders, deacons, teachers, preachers, missionaries. I began sharing with them the Jewish culture and the Hebrew language so that they could better understand the roots of the Christian faith. However, I soon discovered that most were not familiar with the English theological terms either. So I began trying to define transubstantiation, Calvinism, Arminianism, supralapsarianism, infralapsarianism, orthodoxy, heresy… Out of that ongoing effort came this little volume. For non-Hebrew theological terms I have relied heavily on Baker's Dictionary of Theology, ed. E. Harrison, (Baker Book House, Grand Rapids, Michigan), 1960. However, much of it has been modified substantially in order to clarify positions that are unique within Adonaism. 1 Hebrew Though I would by no means characterize myself as an authoritative Hebrew scholar, I have a great love of Hebrew and Yiddish. In fact, I believe that because its authors were Jewish, even the New Testament can only be fully understood by those with a grasp of Hebrew. Therefore, I speak to you of Hebrew out of the passion of a starved user, rather than the satiety of a scholar. These definitions are not meant to be exhaustive but referral. They reflect the way I choose to use them in my approach to Scriptural midrash. Since this is not meant to be a technical treatise, some issues, such as the use of masculine and feminine, or the technically appropriate use of plurals, have been largely ignored. The terms are spelled as they are generally used, rather than as they probably SHOULD be used. In many cases, I‘ve included the appropriate reference number found in Strong‘s concordance and many other study tools so that further biblical research can be facilitated. Transliteration Choosing English letters to replace Hebrew characters (a process referred to as ―transliteration‖) is an incredible challenge. It almost seems that there are as many ways to transliterate as there are Hebrew scholars! After changing the way I spelled words a couple dozen times, out of frustration, I finally settled on a few protocols of my own. They include: 1. With few exceptions, I have chosen to use Merriam-Webster‘s Collegiate Dictionary, 11th edition as my guide. 2. Most Hebrew words emphasize the last syllable. This emphasis is indicated by the capitalized letters in my pronunciation guides. 2 3. Generally, if the Hebrew word begins with the letter hay I have chosen to use the English ―h‖ as in home. 4. If the Hebrew word begins with the letter het (a guttural sound not found in English), or if the word has het or haf in the middle, I generally use ―ch‘‖ to indicate this sound in my transliteration and ―kh‖ in the pronunciation guide. The same usage applies to an ending khaf. Generally, I‘ve found that anywhere you see ch in anyone‘s transliteration it indicates this guttural sound rather than the Anglit soft ch as in ―church‖ or hard ch as in ―character‖. The reason I use the apostrophe is that I found myself often forgetting that difference when I saw the simple ch and sometimes accidentally memorized the word wrong. Then it was very difficult to get that wrong pronunciation out of my head. So, I started using the apostrophe to make it look just different enough to help me remember. I‘m kind of slow. I have to use those kinds of tricks. So sue me. 5. Ch‘ indicates a guttural h sound. Any other time an apostrophe is found in a word indicates a glottal stop. For example Ani Ma‘amin is pronounced ah-NEE mah-ah-MEEN with a glottal stop between ―mah‖ and ―ah‖ 6. For the sake of simplicity (and space), I have not painstakingly phoneticized every single phrase. Most of the principle words have pronunciation helps. A person who wants to make sure they are pronouncing a phrase correctly only has to scan a few surrounding words to get a gist of the appropriate sounds. 7. Generally: o A – ah as in ―father‖ 3 o Ai – igh as in ―high‖ o Ch‘ – kh; this guttural h sound has no English equivalent o Ei – ay as in ―day‖ o Er – air as in ―air‖ o I – ee as in ―feet‖ o Im – eem as in ―redeem‖ o In – een as in ―seen‖ o It – eet as in ―beet‖ o Kn – kuh-n…as in ―connection‖ o Shon – shone as in ―shone‖ o Ur – oor as in ―boor‖ When it comes to alphabetizing this glossary, I have chosen to use the word-by-word system. In word-by-word alphabetizning there are a few rules to keep in mind: 1. The space character is assigned a value lower than that assigned to any letter. This can be easily remembered with the phrase ―nothing before something.‖ 2. Dashes, hyphens and slashes are assigned the same value as the space character. 3. Other punctuation marks, such as commas, apostrophes, and single or double quotation marks are ignored. May the peace of God, which passes all understanding, keep your heart and mind in the knowledge and love of God, and of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord; and the blessing of God Almighty, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, be upon you, and remain with you always. 4 A A priori – Latin. Knowledge, judgments, and principles which are true without verification or testing. It is universally true. Abaddon – The head angel in charge of the Bottomless Pit. In Hebrew the word means ―lose or destroy.‖ The Greek version (Apollyon; Revelation 9:11) also means ―destroyer.‖ Abba – (AH-bah); (Strong‘s #1); Lit., ―father,‖ but less formal and more affectionate. Better understood as ―dad‖ or ―daddy‖. It was originally Aramaic but was later adopted into Hebrew. Abur ach’er – (ah-BOOR ah-KHAIR); (Strong‘s #5668 +309); Altruism; literally for the sake of another Ach’arei aruch’at hatzohorayim - After lunch Ach’arei hatzohorayim - In the afternoon Ach’arit ha yamim – Lit., ―after the days‖; the end of days. When olam hazeh ends and olam habah begins for everyone. Matthew 13:39-40, 49; 24:3; 28:20; 1 Corinthians 10:11 Ach’aron shel Pesach’ – The last day of Passover Acharonim – — Rabbis who were authorities on Halakha, since the publication of the Shulchan Aruch until today. Ach’at – One Ach’avah – Brotherhood, fraternity. Ach’eret - Otherwise Ach’i - My brother Ach’ich’em - Your brother Ach’inu - Our brother Ach’iv - His brother Ach’otenu - Our sister Ach’oti - My sister Ach’otich’em - Your sister 5 Ad ha erev - Until this evening (response upon departing) Ad mach’ar - Until tomorrow (response upon departing) Ad me’ah ve’esrim shanah! - May you live to be 120! Adam – the first human. Rather than being created ex nihilo he was fabricated out of earth (Genesis 2:7). Thus his name comes from the Hebrew root a-d-m from which the word a-da-mah, or ―earth‖ is derived. Adar - Jewish month; the 12th of the biblical year but the 6th of the modern Jewish year. It generally corresponds to February-March. Adar Sheni – Adar 2, the 13th month of the biblical year added in order to give the barley time to ripen for the firstfurits offering during the first month. It occurs in mid-March to mid-April Adat ha E-l Ch’ai - Community of the Living God Adat Hashem - Congregation of Hashem Adiaphora – Latin. Teachings and practices that are neither commanded nor forbidden in scripture. An example might be whether or not to use a sound- board in a church, to meet in a tent or a building, to have 2 or more services or simply one on the day of worship. See also shikul ha da‘at. Admat kodesh - (Heb. Holy Land or Holy Ground) Phrase which appears but once in the Five Books of Moses (Exodus 3.5), in reference to the ground which Moses stood upon during the story of the burning bush. ("And he (God) said: 'do not come closer, remove your sandals from upon your feet, for the place you stand is holy ground"). Admor - Leader and teacher of Adonaists. See also: Tzaddik, Rav, Reb, Rebbe. Adon ha shamayim ve Eretz - Master of heaven and Earth Adon olam - Master of the Universe 6 Adonai – literally ―my great lord.‖ Though it can be used as an honorific between humans, it is usually used to address or refer to God. Many Jews refrain from pronouncing the tetragrammaton YHWH and choose instead to insert the name Adonai in its stead. Because it implies the sovereignty of the Lord God, Adonaists have chosen to adopt the name for their belief system. This is done in order to contrast their messianic approach and emphasis on the sovereignty of God to what we refer to as ―Cultural Christianity.‖ Adonai Elohei Tzva’ot – Lord God of Hosts Aonai Eloheinu – Lord our God; Mark 12:29 Adonai Elohim – The Lord our God Adonai Elohim Tzva’ot – the Lord God of Hosts Adonai Nissi – the Lord my Banner/Miracle Adonai Shalom - the Lord of Peace Adonai Shamah – the Lord is there Adonai Tzidkenu – the Lord our Righteousness Adonai Tzva’ot – The Lord of Sabaoth; Lord of Heaven‘s Armies; Lord of Hosts; Romans 9:29 Adonai Yireh – the Lord will see to it.