JCE Bible Knowledge key terms

One of the weekly Torah portions into which the five books of Moses are divided for synagogue reading, each bearing a Hebrew name taken from its opening words.

A printed edition of the Five Books of Moses, typically with vowel points, cantillation marks, and a facing commentary such as Rashi's, used for study and synagogue reading.

The passage of rebuke and curse in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28, warning of exile and calamity for covenant violation; read with special cantillation and often called up quickly.

The ten statements revealed at Sinai, recorded in Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5 with differences in wording; traditionally divided into duties toward God and duties toward other people.

The second division of the Hebrew Bible, comprising the Former Prophets (Joshua through Kings) and the Latter Prophets (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve), read in synagogue as haftarot.

A selection from the Prophets or Writings read publicly after the Torah reading on Sabbaths and festivals, usually thematically linked to the weekly portion.

The narrative books Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings, so named in Jewish tradition because they recount the deeds of prophets and the history of Israel from conquest to exile.

The prophetic books of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Book of the Twelve, distinguished from the narrative Former Prophets and largely containing oracles delivered in the prophets' own names.

The Aramaic name for the Book of the Twelve, a single scroll collecting Hosea through Malachi, counted as one book in the traditional reckoning of the Prophets.

The third division of the Hebrew Bible, containing Psalms, Proverbs, Job, the Five Scrolls, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, and Chronicles, distinguished by liturgical and wisdom character.

The Five Scrolls - Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, and Esther - each read publicly on a specific festival or fast day in the liturgical year.

The Book of Psalms, a collection of 150 poems of praise, petition, and lament traditionally associated with David, central to Jewish prayer and recited in times of distress.

The Book of Proverbs, a wisdom collection of short sayings attributed largely to Solomon, teaching fear of God, discipline, and practical moral conduct.

A category of biblical writing, chiefly Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes, that explores how to live well and why the righteous suffer, often drawing on observation of the world rather than covenant history.

The attempt to reconcile belief in a just and powerful God with the reality of undeserved suffering, a central problem posed by the Book of Job and addressed in Lamentations and Psalms.

Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar, who console Job by arguing that suffering proves sin, plus the younger Elihu; God ultimately rejects their explanation of Job's affliction.

The scholarly model that Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings form a single edited narrative evaluating kings and Israel by loyalty to the covenant and central worship, explaining the exile as deserved punishment.

The chronological problem of placing the departure from Egypt and settlement of Canaan, with a widely cited early date near 1446 BCE and a later date in the thirteenth century BCE.

An Egyptian victory inscription of Pharaoh Merneptah, dated around 1208 BCE, that mentions Israel as a people in Canaan and is the earliest known extra-biblical reference to Israel.

A ninth-century BCE Aramaic inscription from northern Israel referring to the house of David, providing the earliest extra-biblical evidence for the Davidic dynasty.

The period in which Saul, David, and Solomon are described as ruling a single Israelite kingdom centered on Jerusalem, traditionally dated to roughly the eleventh and tenth centuries BCE.

The period after Solomon's death when the realm split into a northern kingdom of Israel and a southern kingdom of Judah, lasting until Assyrian and Babylonian conquests respectively.

The deportation of the northern kingdom's population following the fall of Samaria, dated by traditional chronology to about 722 BCE, after which the ten tribes are said to be lost.

The deportation of Judahites to Babylonia after Nebuchadnezzar's conquest of Jerusalem and destruction of the Temple, dated by traditional chronology to about 586 BCE, ending with the Persian return.

A Persian inscription of Cyrus the Great, dated to about 539 BCE, describing restoration of temples and return of exiles, echoing the policy reflected in the edict at the start of Ezra.

The era from the rebuilding of the Jerusalem Temple under Persian rule, traditionally dated to about 516 BCE, until its destruction by Rome in 70 CE.

The low foothills between the coastal plain and the Judean highlands, containing many excavated tells and serving as a buffer zone between Philistia and Judah.

The elevated hill country running north to south through Judah, where Jerusalem sits, characterized by narrow valleys, terraced agriculture, and defensible settlement sites.

An artificial mound formed by successive layers of occupation at a single site, the basic unit of Levantine archaeology, excavated stratigraphically to date finds.

The method of reading superimposed occupation layers at an excavation so that pottery and architecture can be ordered in relative sequence and correlated with historical periods.

The classification of ceramic forms and wares into dated types, used as the primary tool for dating archaeological layers and comparing sites without written records.

The original Jerusalem settlement on the narrow ridge south of the Temple Mount, associated with David's conquest and containing the Siloam tunnel and spring of Gihon.

A rock-cut water channel in Jerusalem, dated to the late eighth century BCE and linked to King Hezekiah's preparations against Assyria, carrying water from the Gihon spring to the Siloam pool.

A rabbinic Bible printed with the biblical text surrounded by classic commentaries, typically including Rashi, Ibn Ezra, Ramban, and others, alongside translation and Masoretic notes.

Rabbi Shlomo Yitzhaki of Troyes, the eleventh-century commentator whose concise Torah commentary blends plain-sense explanation with midrash and became the standard companion to the text.

Rabbi Abraham ibn Ezra, a twelfth-century Spanish commentator and grammarian whose Torah commentary favors philological and plain-sense reading, often hinting at controversial conclusions.

Rabbi Moses ben Nahman of Gerona, a thirteenth-century commentator whose Torah commentary combines legal discussion, kabbalistic hints, and critique of both Rashi and Ibn Ezra.

The plain, contextual sense of a biblical passage as understood from its language and setting, distinguished from midrashic interpretation and from allegorical or mystical readings.

The homiletical or applied interpretation of a biblical text, drawing out lessons beyond the plain sense and often using associative links between verses.

The body of tradition recording the precise letters, vowels, and cantillation of the biblical text, with notes on unusual spellings and counts protecting against scribal error.

The standardized Hebrew text of the Bible, vocalized and annotated by medieval scribes such as the Ben Asher family, and the base text for most printed Jewish Bibles.

A model codex used by scribes to prepare Torah scrolls, showing exact letter forms, spacing, and layout; also a corrected reading tradition noted by the Masoretes.

A handwritten scroll of the Five Books of Moses on kosher parchment, written with special ink and letterforms, required for public synagogue reading.

Manuscripts found near Qumran from the mid-twentieth century onward, including the oldest known Hebrew biblical copies, which show both stability and textual variety.

The Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible begun in the third century BCE in Egypt, widely used in antiquity and important for comparing textual variants and canon differences.

The closed list of books accepted as authoritative Scripture, fixed in Jewish tradition as the twenty-four books of the Tanakh arranged in Torah, Prophets, and Writings.

A binding agreement between God and Israel involving promises and obligations, exemplified by the covenants with Abraham, at Sinai, and with David, and central to prophetic critique.

The covenant formula in which obedience brings prosperity and rain while disobedience brings drought, defeat, and exile, dramatized in the covenant-renewal passages of Leviticus and Deuteronomy.

Righteousness in the sense of right relationship and fair dealing, especially in justice toward the poor and vulnerable, a standard by which prophets measure society and rulers.

The prophets' indictment of social injustice, empty ritual, and idolatry, calling Israel to covenant loyalty and ethical conduct rather than sacrifice alone.

Worship of gods or images other than the God of Israel, condemned throughout the Bible as the root offense that leads to moral and national ruin.

The biblical claim that humans are created in God's likeness, grounding human dignity, the prohibition of murder, and ethical obligation toward every person.

Repentance or return to God, involving acknowledgment of sin, abandonment of wrongdoing, and renewed obedience, a theme developed by the prophets and later liturgy.

The Assyrian siege under Sennacherib, traditionally dated to 701 BCE, in which Jerusalem survived, an event celebrated in Isaiah and Kings and illuminated by Assyrian records.