GLOSSARY

Adoptionism. This was one of the early views of Jesus’ relation to deity. It
basically asserted that Jesus was a normal human in every way and was adopted in
a special sense by God at his baptism (cf. Matt. 3:17; Mark 1:11) or at His
resurrection (cf. Rom. 1:4). Jesus lived such an exemplary life that God, at
some point, (baptism, resurrection) adopted Him as His “son” (cf. Rom. 1:4; Phi.
2:9). This was an early church and eighth century minority view. Instead of God
becoming a man (the Incarnation) it reverses this and now man becomes God!

It is difficult to verbalize how Jesus, God the Son, pre-existent deity, was
rewarded or extolled for an exemplary life. If He was already God, how could He
be rewarded? If He had pre-existent divine glory how could He be honored more?
Although it is hard for us to comprehend, the Father somehow honored Jesus in a
special sense for His perfect fulfillment of the Father’s will.

Alexandrian School. This method of biblical interpretation was developed in
Alexandria, Egypt in the second century a.d. It uses the
basic interpretive principles of Philo, who was a follower of Plato. It is often
called the allegorical method. It held sway in the church until the time of the
Reformation. Its most able proponents were Origen and Augustine. See Moises
Silva, Has The Church Misread The Bible? (Academic, 1987)

Alexandrinus. This fifth-century Greek manuscript from Alexandria, Egypt
includes the Old Testament, Apocrypha, and most of the New Testament. It is one
of our major witnesses to the entire Greek New Testament (except parts of
Matthew, John, and II Corinthians). When this manuscript, which is designated
“A,” and the manuscript designated “B” (Vaticanus) agree on a reading, it is
considered to be original by most scholars in most instances.

Allegory. This is a type of Biblical interpretation which originally
developed within Alexandrian Judaism. It was popularized by Philo of Alexandria.
Its basic thrust is the desire to make the Scripture relevant to one’s culture
or philosophical system by ignoring the Bible’s historical setting and/or
literary context. It seeks a hidden or spiritual meaning behind every text of
Scripture. It must be admitted that Jesus, in Matthew 13, and Paul, in Galatians
4, used allegory to communicate truth. This, however, was in the form of
typology, not strictly allegory.

Analytical lexicon. This is a type of research tool which allows one to
identify every Greek form in the New Testament. It is a compilation, in Greek
alphabetical order, of forms and basic definitions. In combination with an
interlinear translation, it allows non-Greek reading believers to analyze New
Testament Greek grammatical and syntactic forms.

Analogy of Scripture. This is the phrase used to describe the view that all
of the Bible is inspired by God and is, therefore, not contradictory but
complementary. This presuppositional affirmation is the basis for the use of
parallel passages in interpreting a biblical text.

Ambiguity. This refers to the uncertainty that results in a written document
when there are two or more possible meanings or when two or more things are
being referred to at the same time. It is possible that John uses purposeful
ambiguity (double entendres).

Anthropomorphic. Meaning “having characteristics associated with human
beings,” this term is used to describe our religious language about God. It
comes from the Greek term for mankind. It means that we speak about God as if He
were a man. God is described in physical, sociological, and psychological terms
which relate to human beings (cf. Gen. 3:8; I Kgs. 22:19-23). This, of course,
is only an analogy. However, there are no categories or terms other than human
ones for us to use. Therefore, our knowledge of God, though true, is limited.

Antiochian School. This method of biblical interpretation was developed in
Antioch, Syria in the third century a.d. as a reaction
to the allegorical method of Alexandria, Egypt. Its basic thrust was to focus on
the historical meaning of the Bible. It interpreted the Bible as normal, human
literature. This school became involved in the controversy over whether Christ
had two natures (Nestorianism) or one nature (fully God and fully man). It was
labeled heretical by the Roman Catholic Church and relocated to Persia but the
school had little significance. Its basic hermeneutical principles later became
interpretive principles of the Classical Protestant Reformers (Luther and
Calvin).

Antithetical. This is one of three descriptive terms used to denote the
relationship between lines of Hebrew poetry. It relates to lines of poetry which
are opposite in meaning (cf. Pro. 10:1, 15:1).

Apocalyptic literature. This was predominantly, possibly even uniquely, a
Jewish genre. It was a cryptic type of writing used in times of invasion and
occupation of the Jews by foreign world powers. It assumes that a personal,
redemptive God created and controls world events, and that Israel is of special
interest and care to Him. This literature promises ultimate victory through
God’s special effort.

It is highly symbolic and fanciful with many cryptic terms. It often
expressed truth in colors, numbers, visions, dreams, angelic mediation, secret
code words and often a sharp dualism between good and evil.

Some examples of this genre are (1) in the OT, Ezekiel (chapters 36-48),
Daniel (chapters 7-12), Zechariah; and (2) in the NT, Matthew 24; Mark 13; II
Thessalonians 2 and Revelation.

Apologist (Apologetics). This is from the Greek root for “legal defense.”
This is a specific discipline within theology which seeks to give evidence and
rational arguments for the Christian faith.

A priori. This is basically synonymous with the term “presupposition.”
It involves reasoning from previously accepted definitions, principles or
positions which are assumed to be true. It is that which is accepted without
examination or analysis.

Arianism. Arius was a presbyter in the church at Alexandria Egypt in the
third and early fourth century. He affirmed that Jesus was pre-existent but not
divine (not of the same essence as the Father), possibly following Proverbs
8:22-31. He was challenged by the bishop of Alexandria, who started (a.d.
318) a controversy which lasted many years. Arianism became the official creed
of the Eastern Church. The Council of Nicaea in a.d. 325
condemned Arius and asserted the full equality and deity of the Son.

Aristotle. He was one of the philosophers of ancient Greece, a pupil of Plato
and teacher of Alexander the Great. His influence, even today, reaches into many
areas of modern studies. This is because he emphasized knowledge through
observation and classification. This is one of the tenets of the scientific
method.

Autographs. This is the name given to the original writings of the Bible.
These original, handwritten manuscripts have all been lost. Only copies of
copies remain. This is the source of many of the textual variants in the Hebrew
and Greek manuscripts and ancient versions.

Bezae. This is a Greek and Latin manuscript of the sixth century
a.d. It is designated by “D.” It contains the Gospels and Acts and some
of the General Epistles. It is characterized by numerous scribal additions. It
forms the basis for the “Textus Receptus,” the major Greek manuscript tradition
behind the King James Version.

Bias. This is the term used to describe a strong predisposition toward an
object or point of view. It is the mindset in which impartiality is impossible
regarding a particular object or point of view. It is a prejudiced position.

Biblical Authority. This term is used in a very specialized sense. It is
defined as understanding what the original author said to his day and applying
this truth to our day. Biblical authority is usually defined as viewing the
Bible itself as our only authoritative guide. However, in light of current,
improper interpretations, I have limited the concept to the Bible as interpreted
by the tenets of the historical-grammatical method.

Canon. This is a term used to describe writings which are believed to be
uniquely inspired. It is used regarding both the Old and New Testament
Scriptures.

Christocentric. This is a term used to describe the centrality of Jesus. I
use it in connection with the concept that Jesus is Lord of all the Bible. The
Old Testament points toward Him and He is its fulfillment and goal (cf. Matt.
5:17-48).

Commentary. This is a specialized type of research book. It gives the general
background of a Biblical book. It then tries to explain the meaning of each
section of the book. Some focus on application, while others deal with the text
in a more technical way. These books are helpful, but should be used after one
has done his own preliminary study. The commentator’s interpretations should
never be accepted uncritically. Comparing several commentaries from different
theological perspectives is usually helpful.

Concordance. This is a type of research tool for Bible study. It lists every
occurrence of every word in the Old and New Testaments. It helps in several
ways: (1) determining the Hebrew or Greek word which lies behind any particular
English word; (2) comparing passages where the same Hebrew or Greek word was
used; (3) showing where two different Hebrew or Greek terms are translated by
the same English word; (4) showing the frequency of the use of certain words in
certain books or authors; (5) helping one find a passage in the Bible (cf.
Walter Clark’s How to Use New Testament Greek Study Aids, pp. 54-55).

Dead Sea Scrolls. This refers to a series of ancient texts written in Hebrew
and Aramaic which were found near the Dead Sea in 1947. They were the religious
libraries of sectarian Judaism of the first century. The pressure of Roman
occupation and the zealot wars of the 60’s caused them to conceal the scrolls in
hermetically sealed pottery jars in caves or holes. They have helped us
understand the historical setting of first century Palestine and have confirmed
the Masoretic Text as being very accurate, at least as far back as the early
b.c. era. They are designated by the abbreviation “DSS.”

Deductive. This method of logic or reasoning moves from general principles to
specific applications by means of reason. It is opposite from inductive
reasoning, which reflects the scientific method by moving from observed
specifics to general conclusions (theories).

Dialectical. This is the method of reasoning whereby that which seems
contradictory or paradoxical is held together in a tension, seeking a unified
answer which includes both sides of the paradox. Many biblical doctrines have
dialectical pairs, predestination-free will; security-perseverance; faith-works;
decision-discipleship; Christian freedom-Christian responsibility.

Diaspora. This is the technical Greek term used by Palestinian Jews to
describe other Jews who live outside the geographical boundaries of the Promised
Land.

Dynamic equivalent. This is a theory of Bible translation. Bible translation
can be viewed as a continuum from “word to word” correspondence, where an
English word must be supplied for every Hebrew or Greek word, to a “paraphrase”
where only the thought is translated with less regard to the original wording or
phrasing. In between these two theories is “the dynamic equivalent” which
attempts to take the original text seriously, but translates it in modern
grammatical forms and idioms. A really good discussion of these various theories
of translations is found in Fee and Stuart’s How to Read the Bible For All
Its Worth, p. 35 and in Robert Bratcher’s Introduction to the TEV.

Eclectic. This term is used in connection with textual criticism. It refers
to the practice of choosing readings from different Greek manuscripts in order
to arrive at a text which is supposed to be close to the original autographs. It
rejects the view that any one family of Greek manuscripts captures the
originals.

Eisegesis. This is the opposite of exegesis. If exegesis is a “leading out”
of the original author’s intent, this term implies a “leading in” of a foreign
idea or opinion.

Etymology. This is an aspect of word study that tries to ascertain the
original meaning of a word. From this root meaning, specialized usages are more
easily identified. In interpretation, etymology is not the main focus, rather
the contemporary meaning and usage of a word.

Exegesis. This is the technical term for the practice of interpreting a
specific passage. It means “to lead out” (of the text) implying that our purpose
is to understand the original author’s intent in light of historical setting,
literary context, syntax and contemporary word meaning.

Genre. This is a French term that denotes different types of literature. The
thrust of the term is the division of literary forms into categories which share
common characteristics: historical narrative, poetry, proverb, apocalyptic and
legislation.

Gnosticism. Most of our knowledge of this heresy comes from the Gnostic
writings of the second century. However, the incipient ideas were present in the
first century (and before).

Some stated tenets of Valentian and Cerinthian Gnosticism of the second
century are: (1) matter and spirit were co-eternal (an ontological dualism).
Matter is evil, spirit is good. God, who is spirit, cannot be directly involved
with molding evil matter; (2) there are emanations (eons or angelic
levels) between God and matter. The last or lowest one was YHWH of the OT, who
formed the universe (kosmos); (3) Jesus was an emanation like YHWH but
higher on the scale, closer to the true God. Some put Him as the highest but
still less than God and certainly not incarnate Deity (cf. John 1:14). Since
matter is evil, Jesus could not have a human body and still be Divine. He was a
spiritual phantom (cf. I John 1:1-3; 4:1-6); and (4) salvation was obtained
through faith in Jesus plus special knowledge, which is only known by special
persons. Knowledge (passwords) was needed to pass through heavenly spheres.
Jewish legalism was also required to reach God.

The Gnostic false teachers advocated two opposite ethical systems: (1) for
some, lifestyle was totally unrelated to salvation. For them, salvation and
spirituality were encapsulated into secret knowledge (passwords) through the
angelic spheres (eons); or (2) for others, lifestyle was crucial to
salvation. They emphasized an ascetic lifestyle as evidence of true
spirituality.

Hermeneutics. This is the technical term for the principles which guide
exegesis. It is both a set of specific guidelines and an art/gift. Biblical, or
sacred, hermeneutics is usually divided into two categories: general principles
and special principles. These relate to the different types of literature found
in the Bible. Each different type (genre) has its own unique guidelines but also
shares some common assumptions and procedures of interpretation.

Higher Criticism. This is the procedure of biblical interpretation which
focuses on the historical setting and literary structure of a particular
biblical book.

Idiom. This word is used for the phrases found in different cultures which
have specialized meaning not connected to the usual meaning of the individual
terms. Some modern examples are: “that was awfully good,” or “you just kill me.”
The Bible also contains these types of phrases.

Illumination. This is the name given to the concept that God has spoken to
mankind. The full concept is usually expressed by three terms: (1)
revelation-God has acted in human history; (2) inspiration-He has given the
proper interpretation of His acts and their meaning to certain chosen men to
record for mankind; and (3) illumination-He has given His Spirit to help mankind
understand His self-disclosure.

Inductive. This is a method of logic or reasoning which moves from the
particulars to the whole. It is the empirical method of modern science. This is
basically the approach of Aristotle.

Interlinear. This is a type of research tool which allows those who do not
read a biblical language to be able to analyze its meaning and structure. It
places the English translation on a word for word level immediately under the
original biblical language. This tool, combined with an “analytical lexicon,”
will give the forms and basic definitions of Hebrew and Greek.

Inspiration. This is the concept that God has spoken to mankind by guiding
the biblical authors to accurately and clearly record His revelation. The full
concept is usually expressed by three terms: (1) revelation-God has acted in
human history; (2) inspiration-He has given the proper interpretation of His
acts and their meaning to certain chosen men to record for mankind; and (3)
illumination-He has given His Spirit to help mankind understand His
self-disclosure

Language of description. This is used in connection with the idioms in which
the Old Testament is written. It speaks of our world in terms of the way things
appear to the five senses. It is not a scientific description, nor was it meant
to be.

Legalism. This attitude is characterized by an over-emphasis on rules or
ritual. It tends to rely on the human performance of regulations as a means of
acceptance by God. It tends to depreciate relationship and elevates performance, both of which are important aspects of the covenantal relationship
between a holy God and sinful humanity.

Literal. This is another name for the textually-focused and historical method
of hermeneutics from Antioch. It means that interpretation involves the normal
and obvious meaning of human language, although it still recognizes the presence
of figurative language.

Literary genre. This refers to the distinct forms that human communication
can take, such as poetry or historical narrative. Each type of literature has
its own special hermeneutical procedures in addition to the general principles
for all written literature.

Literary unit. This refers to the major thought divisions of a biblical book.
It can be made up of a few verses, paragraphs or chapters. It is a
self-contained unit with a central subject.

Lower criticism. See “textual criticism.”

Manuscript. This term relates to the different copies of the Greek New
Testament. Usually they are divided into the different types by (1) material on
which they are written (papyrus, leather), or (2) the form of the writing itself
(all capitals or running script). It is abbreviated by “MS” (singular) or “MSS”
(plural).

Masoretic Text. This refers to the ninth century a.d.
Hebrew manuscripts of the Old Testament produced by generations of Jewish
scholars which contain vowel points and other textual notes. It forms the basic
text for our English Old Testament. Its text has been historically confirmed by
the Hebrew MSS, especially Isaiah, known from the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is
abbreviated by “MT.”

Metonymy. This is a figure of speech in which the name of one
thing is used to represent something else associated with it. As an example,
“the kettle is boiling” actually means “the water within the kettle is boiling.”

Muratorian Fragments. This is a list of the canonical books of the New
Testament. It was written in Rome before a.d. 200. It
gives the same twenty-seven books as the Protestant NT. This clearly shows the
local churches in different parts of the Roman Empire had “practically” set the
canon before the major church councils of the fourth century.

Natural revelation. This is one category of God’s self-disclosure to man. It
involves the natural order (Rom. 1:19-20) and the moral consciousness (Rom.
2:14-15). It is spoken of in Ps. 19:1-6 and Rom. 1-2. It is distinct from
special revelation, which is God’s specific self-disclosure in the Bible and
supremely in Jesus of Nazareth.

This theological category is being re-emphasized by the “old earth” movement
among Christian scientists (e.g. the writings of Hugh Ross). They use this
category to assert that all truth is God’s truth. Nature is an open door to
knowledge about God; it is different from special revelation (the Bible). It
allows modern science the freedom to research the natural order. In my opinion
it is a wonderful new opportunity to witness to the modern scientific western
world.

Nestorianism. Nestorius was the patriarch of Constantinople in the fifth
century. He was trained in Antioch of Syria and affirmed that Jesus had two
natures, one fully human and one fully divine. This view deviated from the
orthodox one nature view of Alexandria. Nestorius’ main concern was the title
“mother of God,” given to Mary. Nestorius was opposed by Cyril of Alexandria
and, by implication, his own Antiochian training. Antioch was the headquarters
of the historical-grammatical-textual approach to biblical interpretation, while
Alexandria was the headquarters of the four-fold (allegorical) school of
interpretation. Nestorius was ultimately removed from office and exiled.

Original author. This refers to the actual authors/writers of Scripture.

Papyri. This is a type of writing material from Egypt. It is made from river
reeds. It is the material upon which our oldest copies of the Greek New
Testament are written.

Parallel passages. They are part of the concept that all of the Bible is
God-given and, therefore, is its own best interpreter and balancer of
paradoxical truths. This is also helpful when one is attempting to interpret an
unclear or ambiguous passage. They also help one find the clearest passage on a
given subject as well as all other Scriptural aspects of a given subject.

Paraphrase. This is the name of a theory of Bible translation. Bible
translation can be viewed as a continuum from “word to word” correspondence,
where an English word must be supplied for every Hebrew or Greek word to a
“paraphrase” where only the thought is translated with less regard to the
original wording or phrasing. In between these two theories is “the dynamic
equivalent” which attempts to take serious the original text, but translates it
in modern grammatical forms and idioms. A really good discussion of these
various theories of translations is found in Fee and Stuart’s How to Read the
Bible For All Its Worth, p. 35.

Paragraph. This is the basic interpretive literary unit in prose. It contains
one central thought and its development. If we stay with its major thrust we
will not major on minors or miss the original autho’s intent.

Parochialism. This relates to biases which are locked into a local
theological/cultural setting. It does not recognize the transcultural nature of
biblical truth or its application.

Paradox. This refers to those truths which seem to be contradictory, yet both
are true, although in tension with each other. They frame truth by presenting if
from opposite sides. Much biblical truth is presented in paradoxical (or
dialectical) pairs. Biblical truths are not isolated stars, but are
constellations made up of the pattern of stars.

Plato. He was one of the philosophers of ancient Greece. His philosophy
greatly influenced the early church through the scholars of Alexandria, Egypt,
and later, Augustine. He posited that everything on earth was illusionary and a
mere copy of a spiritual archetype. Theologians later equated Plato’s
“forms/ideas” with the spiritual realm.

Presupposition. This refers to our preconceived understanding of a matter.
Often we form opinions or judgments about issues before we approach the
Scriptures themselves. This predisposition is also known as a bias, an a
priori position, an assumption or a preunderstanding.

Proof-texting. This is the practice of interpreting Scripture by quoting a
verse without regard for its immediate context or larger context in its literary
unit. This removes the verses from the original author’s intent and usually
involves the attempt to prove a personal opinion while asserting biblical
authority.

Rabbinical Judaism. This stage of the life of the Jewish people began in
Babylonian Exile (586-538 b.c.). As the influence of the
Priests and the Temple was removed, local synagogues became the focus of Jewish
life. These local centers of Jewish culture, fellowship, worship and Bible study
became the focus of the national religious life. In Jesus’ day this “religion of
the scribes” was parallel to that of the priests. At the fall of Jerusalem in
a.d. 70, the scribal form, dominated by the Pharisees, controlled the
direction of Jewish religious life. It is characterized by a practical,
legalistic interpretation of the Torah as explained in the oral tradition
(Talmud).

Revelation. This is the name given to the concept that God has spoken to
mankind. The full concept is usually expressed by three terms: (1)
revelation-God has acted in human history; (2) inspiration-He has given the
proper interpretation of His acts and their meaning to certain chosen men to
record for mankind; and (3) illumination-He has given His Spirit to help mankind
understand His self-disclosure.

Semantic field. This refers to the total range of meanings associated with a
word. It is basically the different connotations a word has in different
contexts.

Septuagint. This is the name given to the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old
Testament. Tradition says that it was written in seventy days by seventy Jewish
scholars for the library of Alexandria, Egypt. The traditional date is around
250 b.c. (in reality it possibly took over one hundred years to
complete). This translation is significant because (1) it gives us an ancient
text to compare with the Masoretic Hebrew text; (2) it shows us the state of
Jewish interpretation in the third and second century b.c.;
(3) it gives us the Jewish Messianic understanding before the rejection of
Jesus. Its abbreviation is “LXX.”

Sinaiticus. This is a Greek manuscript of the fourth century
a.d. It was found by the German scholar, Tischendorf, at St. Catherine’s
monastery on Jebel Musa, the traditional site of Mt. Sinai. This manuscript is
designated by the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet called “aleph” [א].
It contains both the Old and the entire New Testaments. It is one of our most
ancient uncial MSS.

Spiritualizing. This term is synonymous with allegorizing in the sense that
it removes the historical and literary context of a passage and interprets it on
the basis of other criteria.

Synonymous. This refers to terms with exact or very similar meanings
(although in reality no two words have a complete semantic overlap). They are so
closely related that they can replace each other in a sentence without loss of
meaning. It is also used to designate one of the three forms of Hebrew poetic
parallelism. In this sense it refers to two lines of poetry that express the
same truth (cf. Ps. 103:3).

Syntax. This is a Greek term which refers to the structure of a sentence. It
relates to the ways parts of a sentence are put together to make a complete
thought.

Synthetical. This is one of the three terms that relates to types of Hebrew
poetry. This term speaks of lines of poetry which build on one another in a
cumulative sense, sometimes called “climatic” (cf. Ps. 19:7-9).

Systematic theology. This is a stage of interpretation which tries to relate
the truths of the Bible in a unified and rational manner. It is a logical,
rather than mere historical, presentation of Christian theology by categories
(God, man, sin, salvation, etc.).

Talmud. This is the title for the codification of the Jewish Oral Tradition.
The Jews believe it was given orally by God to Moses on Mt. Sinai. In reality it
appears to be the collective wisdom of the Jewish teachers through the years.
There are two different written versions of the Talmud: the Babylonian and the
shorter, unfinished Palestinian.

Textual criticism. This is the study of the manuscripts of the Bible. Textual
criticism is necessary because no originals exist and the copies differ from
each other. It attempts to explain the variations and arrive (as close as
possible) to the original wording of the autographs of the Old and New
Testaments. It is often called “lower criticism.”

Textus Receptus. This designation developed into Elzevir’s edition of the
Greek NT in 1633 a.d. Basically it is a form of the
Greek NT that was produced from a few late Greek manuscripts and Latin versions
of Erasmus (1510-1535), Stephanus (1546-1559) and Elzevir (1624-1678). In An
Introduction to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament, p. 27, A. T.
Robertson says “the Byzantine text is practically the Textus Receptus.” The
Byzantine text is the least valuable of the three families of early Greek
manuscripts (Western, Alexandrian and Byzantine). It contains the accumulation
errors of centuries of hand-copied texts. However, A.T. Robertson also says “the
Textus Receptus has preserved for us a substantially accurate text” (p. 21).
This Greek manuscript tradition (especially Erasmus’ third edition of 1522)
forms the basis of the King James Version of a.d. 1611.

Torah. This is the Hebrew term for “teaching.” It came to be the official
title for the writings of Moses (Genesis through Deuteronomy). It is, for the
Jews, the most authoritative division of the Hebrew canon.

Typological. This is a specialized type of interpretation. Usually it
involves New Testament truth found in Old Testament passages by means of an
analogical symbol. This category of hermeneutics was a major element of the
Alexandrian method. Because of the abuse of this type of interpretation, one
should limit its use to specific examples recorded in the New Testament.

Vaticanus. This is the Greek manuscript of the fourth century
a.d. It was found in the Vatican’s library. It originally contained all
the Old Testament, Apocrypha and New Testament. However, some parts were lost
(Genesis, Psalms, Hebrews, the Pastorals, Philemon and Revelation). It is a very
helpful manuscript in determining the original wording of the autographs. It is
designated by a capital “B.”

Vulgate. This is the name of Jerome’s Latin translation of the Bible. It
became the basic or “common” translation for the Roman Catholic Church. It was
done in the a.d. 380’s.

Wisdom literature. This was a genre of literature common in the ancient near
east (and modern world). It basically was an attempt to instruct a new
generation on guidelines for successful living through poetry, proverb, or
essay. It was addressed more to the individual than to corporate society. It did
not use allusions to history but was based on life experiences and observation.
In the Bible, Job through Song of Songs assumed the presence and worship of
YHWH, but this religious world view is not explicit in every human experience
every time.

As a genre it stated general truths. However, this genre cannot be used in
every specific situation. These are general statements that do not always apply
to every individual situation.

These sages dared to ask the hard questions of life. Often they challenged
traditional religious views (Job and Ecclesiastes). They form a balance and
tension to the easy answers about life’s tragedies.

World picture and worldview. These are companion terms. They are both
philosophical concepts related to creation. The term “world picture” refers to
“the how” of creation while “worldview” relates to “the Who.” These terms are
relevant to the interpretation that Genesis 1-2 deals primarily with the Who,
not the how, of creation.

YHWH. This is the Covenant name for God in the Old Testament. It is defined
in Exod. 3:14. It is the causative form of the Hebrew
term “to be.” The Jews were afraid to pronounce the name, lest they take it in
vain; therefore, they substituted the Hebrew term Adonai, “lord.” This is
how this covenant name is translated in English.