The Jewish Annotated New Testament (177 page)

Magnificat
(Lat “makes great,” “magnifies”) the first word in the Latin translation of Mary’s hymn (Lk 1.46–55).

Maimonides
Rabbi Mosheh ben Maimon (1135–1204), medieval Spanish Jewish scholar, physician, and philosopher also known by the acronym (from his Hebrew name)
Rambam
(
R
av
M
osheh
B
en
M
aimon). He compiled the
Mishneh Torah
, a codification of rabbinic law and explicated Jewish beliefs as congruent with Aristotelianism in his
Guide to the Perplexed
.

makarisms
from
makarioi
, see
beatitudes
.

malkhut shamayim
Heb “
kingdom of heaven
.”

martyr
(Gk “witness”) a person who demonstrates loyalty by remaining faithful even when threatened with death.

Martyrdom of Isaiah
a Hellenistic Jewish work that describes how Isaiah died by being sawn in two (see Heb 11.37).

mashiaḥ
see
messiah
.

masorah
(Heb “tradition”) a system of markings (vowel signs, marginal notes, cantillation and accent marks, etc.) added to the consonantal Hebrew text by the
Masoretes
.

Masoretes
scholars of the scribal schools that in the early Middle Ages ensured the accurate copying of the Tanakh by a system of markings (
masorah
).

Masoretic text
(
MT
) text of the
Tanakh
, established by the
Masoretes
). The text consists of the Hebrew consonants, vowel signs, cantillation and accent markings, and other notes. Texts derived from this effort date from ca. 900 to 1000 CE.

matzah
unleavened bread, eaten on Passover.

Megillot
Heb “scrolls,” specifically the five books of
Ketuvim
that are read on holy days: Song of Songs (
Pesach
), Ruth (
Shavuot
), Lamentations (Ninth of Av, the day commemorating the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple), Ecclesiastes (
Sukkot
), and Esther (
Purim
).

Mekilta
(or
Mekhilta
) two halakhic midrashic commentaries on sections of Exodus, one attributed to R. Ishmael and the other to R. Shimeon bar Yo
ḥ
ai.

Melekh ha-Olam
Heb “ruler of the universe,” a rabbinic title for God.

merkavah
(Heb “chariot”) the title for visionary writings that describe the heavenly realms; based on the vision in Ezekiel ch 1. See
hekhalot

merit of the fathers
(Heb
zekhut avot
) the concept that righteous behavior by the
patriarchs
can redound to the benefit of the people as a whole.

messiah
(Heb
mashia
ḥ
, “anointed”; see 1 Sam 24.6; Isa 45.1) the term came to designate an eschatological savior and was adopted by Christians to refer to Jesus, called in Gk
christos
, “anointed.” In the
Tanakh
,
mashia
ḥ
never refers to an eschatological figure.

messianic secret
Jesus’ practice, particularly in Mark’s Gospel, of demanding followers, those he has healed, and demons to remain silent about him and his acts (e.g., Mk 1.34; 1.43–44; 3.12; 5.43; 8.30).

mezuzah
(Heb “doorpost”) a parchment affixed to the doorpost on which are written the paragraphs of the Shema (Deut 6.4–9; 11.13–21), and on the back
sh-d-y
(“Shaddai,” “Almighty”). Many mezuzot (pl. of mezuzah) were found among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

midrash, midrashic
(Heb
darash
, “inquire”) interpretation to draw out meanings from a text beyond the plain sense (see
peshat
).

Minor Prophets
(so-called because compared to the Major Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, they are shorter) the books from Hosea through Malachi; in the
Tanakh
, see
Twelve, Book of the
.

miqveh
a bath designed for ritual immersion.

Mishnah
(Heb “oral instruction,” from
shanah
, “repeat”) the compilation of oral law, edited ca. 200 CE, that is the basis of the
Talmud
.

mitzvah, mitzvoth
(Heb “commandment”) a religious obligation; by extension, any good deed.

MT
see
Masoretic text
.

mystery
in the NT, a divine truth that is kept hidden by God (see Rom 16.25–26); a revelation about God’s plan (Eph 1.9–10).

mystery religion
any of various religious groups in the Greek and Roman empires which practiced secret initiation rites.

N

Nachmanides
see
Ramban
.

Nag Hammadi
city in Upper (southern) Egypt where in 1945 were discovered
Coptic codices
of non-canonical Christian writings including the only complete version of the
Gospel of Thomas
.

nativity
account of a birth, particularly the accounts of Jesus’ birth and infancy in Matthew (1.18–2.23) and Luke (2.1–40).

nazirite
one who has taken a vow in accordance with Num 6.1–21: abstention from wine and other intoxicants; refraining from cutting hair; avoiding contact with corpses.

Negev
(also
Negeb
) high plateau south of the central hill country of Israel; borders the Sinai Peninsula.

Nevi’im
the Prophets, the second division of the
Tanakh
.

NT Apocrypha
writings—Gospels, letters, apocalyptic visions, acts—in circulation among early communities of Jesus’ followers, but that were not accepted into the Christian
canon
.

Nicene Creed
statement of Christian belief, esp. concerning the
Trinity
, set forth at the Council of Nicea (325) and augmented at the Council of Constantinople (381).

Noahide laws
seven commandments that according to rabbinic Judaism were established for Noah and therefore for all humanity: they prohibit blasphemy, idolatry, sexual immorality, murder, robbery, and eating blood, and they command justice.

nomos
see
law
,
Torah
.

NRSV
New Revised Standard Version Bible translation, published 1989.

O

Odes of Solomon
early collection of 42 Christian poems preserved in Greek and Syriac.

olam
biblical Hebrew term for unending (time), extended in postbiblical Hebrew to mean all space, i.e., the world or universe.

Old Latin
the Latin translation of the Bible based on the
Septuagint
. The Old Latin version was replaced by
Jerome
’s
Vulgate
.

Oral Torah
a synonym for the
Mishnah
and
Talmud
. According to rabbinic belief (
b. Shabb
. 31a), the Oral Torah was given to Moses on Sinai along with the Written Torah.

Origen
Origen Adamantius (ca. 184–254), Alexandrian Christian, early biblical interpreter, and theologian. Among his accomplishments were his
Hexapla
and commentaries on the Bible, many in the form of homilies. He was among the first Christian scholars to study Hebrew.

P

pagan
(originally, Lat
paganus
, a country-dweller) general term for an adherent of traditional polytheistic religions.

Palestine
name derived from the Roman designation
Provincia Syria Palaestina
, “Syro-Palestinian Province,” which replaced
Provincia Judaea
after the revolt of 135 CE;
Palaestina
was the Roman spelling of “Philistine,” and the designation was probably intended as a derogation of Jewish claims to the territory.

Palestinian Talmud
the
Jerusalem Talmud
or Talmud Yerushalmi; see
Talmud
.

parable
statement or story that uses figurative language to evoke a reality that lies beyond the literal.

Paraclete
“Advocate” or “Comforter” (Gk
paraklētos
, “one who stands alongside” [to strengthen or console]) promised by Jesus in John’s Gospel to accompany his followers after he ascends. John 14.26 connects the Paraclete to the
Holy Spirit
.

paraenesis
moral exhortation.

parallelism
characteristic feature of biblical Hebrew poetry in which the second line of a unit in some way echoes the meaning and/or grammatical structure of the first line.

parashah
the portion of Torah designated to be read publicly for each week of the year. There are 54 parashiyot, to provide for the maximum possible number of Sabbaths in a year (this maximum can only occur in an intercalated or leap year). In years with fewer Sabbaths, the readings are combined to produce fewer portions. The weekly portion is also sometimes improperly called the
Sidrah
, “arrangement.”

parousia
(Gk “coming”) a secular term for the arrival of a conquering general or emperor, it comes to designate the second coming of Christ at the
eschaton
.

parresia
Gk “speaking freely, openly, with confidence and boldness.”

paschal
pertaining to the Passover.

passim
(Lat “here and there”) refers to references scattered throughout a source.

Passion narrative
(from Lat
passio
, “suffer, undergo”) sections of the Gospels narrating Jesus’
Last Supper
, arrest, trial, and death: Mt 26–27, Mk 14–15, Lk 22–23, Jn 18–19.

Passover
see
Pesach
.

Passover Haggadah
see
Haggadah of Pesach
.

Pastoral Epistles
the NT letters of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus.

patriarchs
the founding fathers (
avot
) of Israel: Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

patristic writers
theologians of the early church, such as
Clement,
Irenaeus,
Origen
, and
Jerome
, from the time of the end of the NT period to about the fifth century.