ch 3

Question 1

What are the book sections of the New Testament?

Answer 1

The books of the New Testament are organized into five major sections: 4 Gospels, Acts, the Pauline Epistles, the General (or catholic) Epistles, and the Book of Revelation.

Question 2

What is Septuagint? Who emphasizes its importance?

Answer 2

The term Septuagint is often thought of as the Greek version (or translation) of the sacred Hebrew Bible text. Mitchell pays particular attention to the reliance of the author of Hebrews on the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint).

Question 3

Zahn vs Harnack

Answer 3

both late 19th century German scholars
- Harnack: late second century recognition of books regarded as Holy Scripture
- Zahn: turn of first century recognition of books containing authoritative content

Question 4

Who are the Apostolic Fathers? Name a few and time period

Answer 4

They are next generation after the apostles, with some personal knowledge, who had living contact with the apostles after the close of the New Testament era (from about AD 95-150; late 1-st, early 2-d century). They are Clement of Rome, Ignatius of Antioch, Barnabas, Polycarp of Smyrna, etc.

Question 5

Gospel of Marcion? What’s that, when created and its function? Who’s Marcion?

Answer 5

the doctrinal system of a sect of the second and third centuries a.d. accepting some parts of the New Testament but condemning the Creator God of the Old Testament. Marcion held that Jesus was the only revelation of the Supreme God but that Jesus should not be seen as having fulfilled Old Testament messianic prophecies. The majority opinion of Marcion is that he created his Evangelion (his ‘Gospel of the Lord’) by editing Luke, and his Apostolikon by editing ten of the Pauline epistles, in order to ‘promote’ and support his theology.

Question 6

Montanism is? Its function?when founded?

Answer 6

an ecstatic Phrygian sect (Heretical Christian movement) founded in ad 156 CE by Montanus (possibly former priest of Cybele), which produces new sacred texts. Having converted to Christianity, Montanus fell into a trance and began to prophesy. The Montanists held that the Holy Spirit was speaking through Montanus and that the Second Coming was imminent. It prompts mistrust of apocalyptic movements in wider church.

Question 7

When were set limits of Jewish scripture? Collection of the Mishnah led to?

Answer 7

limits of Jewish scriptures set around end of 1-st century. Intensive study of the Mishna by subsequent scholars by 200 BCE resulted in 2 collections of interpretations and annotations of it called Talmud. Collections of Orphic (religious beliefs and practices in ancient Greece) and magical texts.

Question 8

Alexandrian canons?

Answer 8

• Zenodotus (fl. c. 285 BCE)
• Aristophanes (fl. c. 195 BCE)
• Aristarchus (fl. c. 185 BCE)
• canon of Attic orators dated c. 200 CE

Question 9

Canon Lists: Muratorian Canon, what’s included and when created?

Answer 9

not later than 200 (BCE?) (but controversial);
not just a list, but introduction and commentary
includes four gospels, Acts, 13 Pauline epistles (excludes Hebrews), three (?) general epistles, two apocalypses; also lists excluded books

Question 10

Canon Lists: Eusebius of Caesarea, when created, what’s included/excluded, parts of testimonies?

Answer 10

• created early 4th century
• tabulation of testimonies to the scriptures, classified in three parts: unanimously included, unanimously excluded, controversial
• included: 4 gospels, Acts, the Pauline epistles (Hebrews?), 1 Peter, 1 John, and Revelation to John (with reservations)
• controversial: other general epistles
• excluded: Acts of Paul, Shepherd of Hermas, Apocalypse of Peter, Epistle of Barnabas, Gospel according to the Hebrews
• worse than excluded: gospels of Peter, Thomas, Matthias; Acts of Andrew, John, and others
• doesn’t tell us what he put in the copies commissioned by Constantine!!

Question 11

Closing the Canon: the East 39th Festal Letter of Athanasius; who sanctions lists; when lists received in church and how much?

Answer 11

1) festal epistle of Athanasius of Alexandria, 367: canonical list of NT and OT: (Of the 45 Festal Letters of Athanasius, the 39th, written for Easter of AD 367, is of particular interest as it regards the biblical canon)
2) Trullan Synod, 691-2:
- implicitly sanctions various lists!

3) by 10th century, still up to six different lists received in the Greek Church

Question 12

Closing the Canon: role of the West? Rufinus, Jerome and Augustine function?

Answer 12

Western church consider canons closed
- although: Rufinus designates a class of “ecclesiastical” (connected to the Christian Church or its clergy)
- Jerome: presents our 27 NT in a dedication to Paulinus of the Vulgate (Jerome’s Epistle to Paulinus known as Vulgate Bible)
- Augustine de Hippo accepts the same, although he is concerned about the authorship of Hebrews (Vulgate version of Latin Bible, translated from Hebrew and Greek by St. Jerome)

Question 13

Envoi? Which epistle making 15? which counsil has 27? doubts about which books? counsil of trent recognizes?

Answer 13

envoi - A short stanza at the end of a poem such as a ballad.
1) epistle of Paul to the Laodiceans common (making 15)
2) but Council of Florence (1439-43) has just our 27 NT
3) more doubts about Hebrews and the general epistles:
- Erasmus
- Luther’s translation downgrades Hebrews, James, Jude, Revelation
—> Jacob Lucius prints in 1596 as Apocrypha
4) Council of Trent, 1545
- De Canonicis Scripturis recognizes the 27 only

Question 14

ch 3.2

Manuscript means? Ancient books?

Answer 14

Manuscript – means written by hand.
- not widely available
- all copied by hand
- here, a papyrus of Homer

Question 15

Torah is? according to Josephus and Philo its function?

Answer 15

• Torah is always a scroll
• according to Josephus and Philo, read from publicly every Shabbat, in a regular sequence (also evidence of a daily progression)
• often accompanied by a homily (sermon)

Question 16

Codex based on? Made up of? its advantages?

Answer 16

• based on wax writing-tablets
• made up of quires: a sheet folded into four, giving eight pages
• can write on both sides, paging back and forth, storage, not Jewish?

Question 17

Materials: papyrus vs parchment and vellum

Answer 17

1) papyrus:
- available only from Egypt
- not durable or suited to damp climates

2) parchment and vellum (animal skins):
- available everywhere
- extremely durable (even reusable!)
- causes standard size books based on size of sheep

Question 18

Palimpsest?

Answer 18

• from πάλιν ‘again’, and ψηστός ‘rubbed smooth’, a manuscript of earlier writing in which the ink is scraped off and write a new manuscript
• famously, Augustine’s commentary on the psalms over Cicero’s de re publica

Question 19

Palaeography means? used to?

Answer 19

the study of old writing
- from Gk. παλαιός, “old” and γραφή, “writing”
- study of texts and the hands in which they are written
- used to find date and region of production

Question 20

kinds of writing and their period? Hands & Book Hands?

Answer 20

Small letter don’t exist in antiquity; u only have black capitals. Book hands (better) and documentary hands (worse) distinction
1) block capitals & cursive - from classical antiquity
2) new Roman cursive - imperial period
3) uncial - 3d century
4) semi-uncial - end of 5th century

Question 21

Bible Production process, where used, cost, evidence from?

Answer 21

Bible Production: selection of materials –> copying –> punctuation –> illumination –> binding
- Bibles extremely expensive, costs half of what middle class person makes in a year
- often in monastic or quasi-monastic communities
- usually for institutional use
- evidence from archaeology, book lists, private letters

Question 22

Stemma is? scripts? function?

Answer 22

Stemma - “family tree” of manuscripts, looks for commonalities among contemporary MSS (Manual scripts). We try to figure out what’s similar, common ancestor. Haplography – copy multiple times, tracks back to earlier sources, helps find best readings

Question 23

Collections of Bible meaning?

Answer 23

often not the “entire” bible; commissioning and borrowing of specific books; Single books or smaller collections; every church has gospels and psalms.

Question 24

Liturgical Books in church how made?

Answer 24

Liturgical books in church – large, very rich and decorative, started by 4 century; a complete, folio Bible 27 books of New Testament take the skin of 250 sheep; sometimes, exultet rolls, with illustration on the back, which is often decorated

Question 25

Codex W (Washingtonianus)

Answer 25

5th century Greek uncial manuscript of the 4 Gospels; purchased in Cairo, 1907; painted wood covers - here, Mark and Luke

Question 26

Kaper Koraon Treasure? When excavated?

Answer 26

550-650; a Byzantine silver treasure consisting of 56 individual silver items; southern Turkey, clandestinely excavated early 20th century; silver book covers; here, St. Paul

Question 27

Monza Tesoro del Duomo?

Answer 27

is a Museum and Treasury of Duomo di Monza, dedication of Theodelinda, d. 625, gold book covers, Florence – ancient gems

Question 28

Milan Cathedral Treasury made of, when, symbol of?

Answer 28

• made of ivory and jewels
• in Milan since first half of 12th century
• symbols of the evangelists, episodes from the gospels

Question 29

Gnosis?

Answer 29

from Greek means “knowledge” - i.e. a special knowledge of origin and destiny that can help souls obtain salvation

Question 30

Philosophers, scholars on Gnosis? Accussations, attacks?

Answer 30

1) Irenaeus of Lyon, 180s
- accuses of heresy because of extra gospels
- every false γνῶσις originated in Simon Magus

2) Hippolytus of Rome, 200s
- attacks 33 different ”gnostic” groups

3) Plotinus philosopher, 200s (not a Christian!)
- identifies them as Christians

3) Scholar Henry Moore coins term “Gnosticism” in 1669 to describe movements

4) Harnack evaluated Greek philosophy affecting real Christianity as “the acute Hellenization of Christianity”

Question 31

Nag Hammadi is?

Answer 31

a library with a collection of early Christian and Gnostic texts discovered near the Upper Egyptian town of Nag Hammadi in 1945; The writings in these codices comprise about 50 treatises in Coptic early church; not one of which is in the canonical NT, also not all of which are Christian

Question 32

How definition made in Christianity? its s-re?

Answer 32

A modern construct, which describes coherent phenomenon
- using the term as a modern typological construction, grouping together related content
- rejecting all related modern terms to interpret the texts without reference to them
- abandonment of category, but acknowledgement of precision in Irenaeus (Greek bishop) and others

Question 33

Self-definition as gnostic, used the term in the sense of, hierarchy?

Answer 33

• may have called themselves the gnōstikē haeresis
• BUT, presumably used the term in the sense “school of thought”, school of philosophy and religion; religions are not static, all religions are dynamic
• not cohesive, in competition with each other and with Christianity
• seem to reject various forms of church hierarchy

Question 34

Valentinus view on gnostics

Answer 34

Gnostic Christians – orthodox, he may composed canonical gospels; intrusion of neloplasian Greek terms;
- a more Christian gnostic? comes to Rome c. 140; - uses a lot of NT concepts and languages;
- composer of the Gospel of Truth? God of the OT as demiurge (creator)

Question 35

define Docetism?

Answer 35

it claims that Jesus’ body was either absent or illusory;
belief that Jesus only appeared to be human; only spiritual, not incarnate (without flesh); no fixed appearance

Question 35

Marcion rejects which bible? Their belief?

Answer 35

rejects God of OT, thus does not accept OT; excommunicated (excluded from church) and declared as heretic, money returned (he gives a lot of money to the church and then return them)! develops own canon of Luke and ten letters of Paul; They believe Christ is divine and came not physically;