Terms I wasn't taught as a Latter-day Saint that are useful for understanding the Bible, Judaism, and Christianity

 I'm learning a lot about the Bible as I begin this 2-year deep dive into it. In the process, I'm learning the meaning of a lot of words that I didn't really hear much of growing up. So I thought I'd make a list and explain these terms so that maybe you can understand them better as well. 

This list of explanations is sort-of a glossary of my current-yet-developing understanding, so feel free to correct me if I've gotten things wrong (sources appreciated so I can learn more). The Christian terms are mostly stuff I picked up in a Christian History class in college, but everything else is pretty new to me over the last 4 months. 

Tanakh - 

The Hebrew Bible, as identified with Judaisim. This name is an acronym for Torah (literally 'Instruction' or 'Law', the books of Moses), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings), the three main parts of the Hebrew Scriptures. 

Old Testament - 

The Hebrew Bible, as identified with Christianity. The term has fallen out of favor a bit since it implies that the Hebrew Scriptures have been superseded and demoted by the “New” covenant of Jesus. Personally, I think it’s fine to use the term if you’re talking about christian interpretations of the Hebrew Bible, plus I find myself referring to the Hebrew Bible a lot and I like to mix it up with different words or else it feels awkward to me to keep saying “Hebrew Bible” all the time. 

Masoretic Text - 

Hebrew manuscript of the Hebrew Bible compiled by a group of Jews known as the Masoretes between the 7th and 10th centuries CE. The word comes from the word “Mas’sora” which are the little dots this group of Jews included in the text to indicate pronunciation of words. An 11th centuryCE  Masoretic Text known as the Leningrad Codex was–until the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls–the oldest existing complete copy of the Hebrew Bible, and as such, it is the source text for most English Bible Translations. 

Dead Sea Scrolls -

Scrolls discovered in caves in the Qumran region near the Dead Sea containing most of the books of the Hebrew Bible in their complete form and dating to the 3rd and 1st centuries BCE. The scrolls also include many deuterocanonical and extra-biblical manuscripts. The scrolls–sometimes called the Qumran Cave Scrolls–-are evidence that the Hebrew Scriptures as we know them today date back further than previously thought based on the Masoretic Text and the LXX and Vulgate translations. 

LXX - 

The Septuagint. Earliest existing Greek Translation of the Hebrew Bible, likely translated around 200 BCE. Early Christians relied on this text for the scriptures. 

Vulgate - 

Early Latin Bible used by the Catholic Church. Work of Jerome around 382 CE

Documentary Hypothesis - 

Theory about the authorship of the Pentateuch, identifying four distinct texts eventually woven into a single work by redactors or editors. These four texts, often referred to as JEDP consist of the following: 

J - Or “Yahwist Source” named for its use of the name “Yahweh” for God (Translated as LORD or Adonai by bible translations avoiding use of the name of God and referred to as Jehovah by Latter-day Saints)

E - Or “Elohist  Source” named for its use of the generic term “Elohim” for God (translated as God in most bibles)

D - Or “Deuteronomistic Source” text of deuteronomy, which is sometimes separated into D1 (the original text of Deuteronomy) and D2 (additions made by a later Deuteronomistic historian/editor.

P - or “Priestly Source” named for the priestly community which likely composed it and its focus on liturgical matters. 

While modern Biblical scholars still use JEDP as ways to understand the text of the Bible, they no longer think it as clear cut as adherents to the documentary hypothesis used to. It is often very difficult to distinguish J from E, both of which use a very saga or fairy-tale like style and present a personal God invested in and affected by the affairs of humans. It is therefore often most easy and useful to distinguish P from “not-P” in the text of the Hebrew Bible. 

Wiseman Hypothesis - 

Or “tablet theory.” Theory about the authorship of Genesis that Moses compiled earlier clay tablets with the written text that is now the first book of the Bible. A key feature of this theory is that ancient tablets–usually used for business transactions–often ended with “colophons” indicating who the tablet belonged to and a statement about their family history. Wiseman identified colophons in the Hebrew text such as “This is the written account of Adam” in Genesis 5, and argued that these verses distinguish one tablet from another. While most scholars find the Wiseman Hypothesis in conflict with what we know about the formation of the Bible, I still find reference to these colophons in bible scholarship. 

Deuterocanonical  - 

Books considered canonical by Catholic and other orthodox churches but non-canonical by most protestant faiths. Also known as the Apocrypha. 

Pseudepigrapha - 

Works falsely attributed to ancient patriarchs, especially but not always apocryphal writing. These are often written by christian communities who sought to justify christianity by incorporating it into the Hebrew biblical canon. The word often refers to pseudonymous writings attributed to Old Testament sources, but a number of canonical writings in the New Testament are likely pseudepigrapha. While it is often posited that pseudonymous writing was an accepted practice in the ancient world, there is little evidence that this was actually the case, and the vast majority of examples of writing exposed as pseudonymous anciently was considered unethical fraud. 

Talmud - 

Central text of Rabinnic Judaism, compiled from oral traditions about the Hebrew Bible between 200 and 500 C.E.

Univocality - 

Speaking or writing with one clear and consistent voice. The Bible is not and doesn’t pretend to be univocal. 

Infallibility - 

Totally correct, without the ability to be wrong. The Bible is not and doesn’t pretend to be infallible. 

Doublet - 

A story told twice, especially in the Bible. Doublets are evidence that the Bible is not univocal and that even single books of scripture are written by multiple non-collaborating authors. 

Contradiction - 

Details that are incompatible between one part of the biblical text and another. Christians and Jews have often sought to resolve contradictions, but this always requires de-emphasizing or intentionally misreading a text to emphasize the meaning in another. While this can sometimes be an insightful action–especially when trying to establish theology, it can also be beneficial to admit that the texts contradict, and are trying to convey two separate, yet equally insightful messages. 

Ecumenical - 

Collaborative or shared among multiple Christian churches

Levant - 

Geographical area composing present-day Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine and most of Turkey southwest of the middle Euphrates. Generally, the setting of the Hebrew Bible. 

Gnosticism - 

1st Century CE Jewish and Christian movement centralizing personal spiritual knowledge over orthodoxy. Considered heretical in mainstream christianity. 

Nicene Creed  - 

Ecumenical statement of belief established at the First Council of Nicea and amended at the First Council of Constantinople. It outlines basic Christian teachings about the divinity, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Latter-day saints will find little to disagree with and it reads quite a bit like “The Living Christ.” Though it hints at the doctrine of the Trinity, it doesn’t include the Trinity in it’s most complete and confusing form, and doesn’t use the word Trinity. 

Apostles Creed - 

Ecumenical statement of belief most-likely originating in 5th Century Gual. It includes some of the themes of the Nicene Creed, but is shorter. 

Athanasian Creed - 

Ecumenical statement of belief originating in the 6th Century and attributed to Athanasius of Alexandria. This creed establishes the Trinity in its most detailed form. 

Substance Vs. Form - 

Useful terms for understanding both the Trinity and the doctrine of transubstantiation. The substance of a thing is what it truly is, roughly, what it’s purpose is. The Form of a thing consists of the “accidents” or physical characteristics of its existence. By way of analogy, the substance of a chair is a thing for sitting and its form is that it is made of wood, has 4-legs, etc. Transformation is the changing of the perceivable characteristics of a thing. Transubstantiation leaves the physical form intact, but changes the essence of the thing. In the Trinitarian formula, The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost are one in substance (they are all three one God) but separate in form (“Neither confounding the persons”)