Bible

See also books; catholicism; christianity; god and gods; hell; heresy; judaism; protestantism; religion; theology.

apocrypha

1. religious writings of disputed origin, regarded by many author-ities as uncanonical.

2. (capitalized) a group of 15 books, not part of the canonical Hebrew Bible, but present in the Septuagint and Vulgate and hence accepted by some as biblical. —apocryphal, adj.

biblicism

a strict following of the teachings of the Bible.

biblicist

1. an expert in biblical text and exegesis.

2. a person who strictly follows the teachings of the Bible.

biblioclasm

the destruction of books, especially the Bible. —biblioclast, n.

bibliolater

a person who respects the Bible excessively and interprets it literally.

bibliomancy

a form of divination using books, especially the Bible, in which passages are chosen at random and the future foretold from them.

dittology

a doublé reading or interpretation, especially of a Bible passage.

eisegesis

the introduction by an interpreter of his own ideas into a text under explication.

Elohist

the author of part of the first six books in the Old Testament, so named because of references to God as Elohim. Cf. Yahwist.

exegesis

critical explication or interpretation of Scripture.

exegetics

the branch of theology that specializes in interpretation, or exegesis, of Biblical literature. Historically, exegetes have recognized four levels of meaning in the Bible: the historical or literal, the allegorical, the moral, and the anagogical or mystical, putting emphasis on the necessity of a foundation for the latter three in the literal sense. —exegete, n.

exegetist, exegist

an exegete; one skilled in exegesis.

fundamentalism

the rationale of conservative American Protestants who regard the Bible as free of errors or contradictions and emphasize its literal interpretation, usually without reference to modern scholarship. Also called literalism. —fundamentalist, n., adj.

hermeneutics

the science of interpretation and explanation, especially the branch of theology that deals with the general principles of Biblical interpretation. —hermeneut, hermeneutist, n.

higher criticism

the analysis of Biblical materials that aims to ascertain, from internal evidence, authorship, date, and intent. Cf. Lower Criticism.

Hutchinsonianism

1. the theories of John Hutchinson, an 18th-century Yorkshireman, who disputed Newton’s theory of gravitation and maintained that a system of natural science was to be found in the Old Testament.

2. the tenets of the followers of Mrs. Anne Hutchinson, an antinomian who lived in the early days of the Massachusetts Colony. —Hutchinsonian, adj.

inspirationism

the belief in inspiration arising from the Scriptures. —inspirationist, n. —inspirative, adj.

isagogics

a branch of theology that is introductory to actual exegesis, empha-sizing the literary and cultural history of Biblical writings. —isagogic, adj.

lection

a reading from a text, especially a reading from the Bible as part of a church service.

lectionary

a list of the lections, or texts, to be read in church services through-out the canonical year.

literalism

1. fundamentalism.

2. Scripturalism. —literalist, n., adj.

lower criticism

the study of Biblical materials that intends to reconstruct their original texts in preparation for the tasks of Higher Criticism. Cf. Higher Criticism.

pseudepigrapha

the spurious writings (other than the canonical books and the Apocrypha) professing to be biblical in character, as the Books of Enoch. —pseudepigraphic, pseudepigraphical, pseudepigraphous, adj.

Scripturalism

a strict compliance with the literal interpretation of the Bible. Also called literalism.

synoptist

a Biblical scholar who arranges side-by-side excerpts from the first three Gospels to show their resemblances in event, chronology, and language. —synoptic, adj.

Targumist

1. the writer of a Targum, a translation or paraphrase into Aramaic of a portion of the Old Testament.

2. an authority on Targumic literature. —Targumic, Targumistic, adj.

textualism

the practice of adhering strictly to the Scriptures. —textualist, textuary, n.

textuary

a textualist.

tropist

a person who explains the Scriptures in terms of tropes, or figures of speech.

tropology

a method of interpreting biblical literature emphasizing the moral implications of the tropes, or figures of speech, used in its composition. —tropological, adj.

typology

the analysis of symbolism, especially of the meaning of Scripture types. —typologist, n. —typological, adj.

Yahwist

the author of part of the first six books in the Old Testament, so named because of numerous references therein to God as Yahweh (Jehovah). Cf. Elohist.