Genesis 12-50: A Brief Summary

Patriarchs→(period in the Old Testament – after Beginnings – Genesis 12-50) It begins with Abraham (& Sarah) and his call and continues through Isaac, Jacob and his 12 sons. The sons and Jacob are taken to Egypt by Joseph who becomes a leader during the famine. Genesis closes with the death of Joseph. Talks of the ancestors of the Jewish people. (Patriarch→Any of the early Biblical characters regarded as fathers of the human race.)
Exile (captivity)→Fall of Jerusalem (Babylonian captivity of the Southern Kingdom).
Covenant→An agreement between 2 or more parties or people, usually with described benefits, responsibilities, and consequences.
Persian Empire→(between the Testaments) Time when Persians controlled Judah. Jews were allowed to
practice their religion. Judah ruled by high priests responsible for the Jewish government.
Hellenism→The influence of Greek language & culture on nations.
Maccabees→(Judas Maccabeus) A Jewish rebel army who liberated parts of the Land of Israel from the rule of the Seleucid Empire.
Hasidim→Separatists who fought against certain forms of Hellenization. Strong/strict believers.
Seleucids→A member of a Macedonian dynasty (312-64 B.C.) that ruled an empire that included much of Asia Minor, Syria, Persia, Bactria, & Babylonia (Hellenistic). They persecuted Jews (Maccabees).
Antiochus Epiphanes→Ruler of the Seleucid Empire. Persecuted Jews & forced Hellenism on them:
Made it illegal to circumcise babies.
Stop participating in Sabbath.
Made it illegal to celebrate Jewish festivals.
Made it illegal to possess Bible.
Had to sacrifice animals to pagan gods/worship pagan gods.
Herod(s) →The name of a line of rulers of Palestine. They ruled on behalf of the Romans with nearly absolute power. 3 different rulers go by the name Herod:
1. Herod the Great
Reigned when Jesus was born.
2. Herod Antipas
One of Herod the Great’s sons.
Took reign after Herod the Great’s death.
Had John the Baptist imprisoned and beheaded.
Wanted to see Jesus do a miracle – sent Jesus to Pilate.
3. Herod Agrippa I
Grandson of Herod the Great.
Executed James & arrested Peter.
Son of Aristobulus.
Died suddenly when he did not praise God.
Stoics→(Zeno – 336-264 B.C.) Person who suffers hardship without showing their feelings. Does not complain. Free from desires of life.
Epicureans→(Epicurus – 342-270 B.C.) Person devoted to sensual pleasures. Enjoys good food & drink. Does what they want, but avoids punishment. Do not believe in afterlife.
Passover→Jewish festival celebrating the saving of Jews in Egypt.
Pentecost→Jewish festival that shows joy & thankfulness for the Lord’s blessing of harvest. Also the day when the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles.
Rosh Hashanah→(Trumpets) Jewish festival that celebrates the presenting of Israel before the Lord for his favour (Jewish New Year/anniversary of the creation of the world). People are encouraged to repent & ask for forgiveness.
Yom Kippur→(Day of Atonement) Jewish festival. End of 10 days of Rosh Hashanah. Holiest day of the year for Jews. Fasting & devoted to confession of sins & reconciliation with God.
Hanukkah→8-day Jewish festival commemorating the purification of the temple & altar in the Maccabean period.
Purim→ Jewish festival reminding the Israelites of their national deliverance in the name of Esther.
Sukkot→(Tabernacles) Jewish festival that celebrates the journey from Egypt to Canaan 7 to give thanks for the productivity of Canaan.
Sadducees→(Hasmonian Dynasty) A Jewish religious sect that believed in free will and deny belief in the resurrection of the dead & angels. Opposed the Pharisees. They numbered approximately 5000. Mostly high priests. Many were wealthy aristocrats. Not taught in the Pentateuch Law. Controlled same number of seats in the Sanhedrin as the Pharisees.
Essenes→A Jewish religious group from Palestine (Hasidic). Lived simple & humble lives. Discouraged marriage. Followed Jewish law strictly, but more conservative that Pharisees. Were against Hellenism. Wore white robes & lived away from everyone. Not mentioned in the New Testament (John the Baptist).
Pharisees→(means ‘separatist’) A Jewish religious sect noted for strict obedience to Jewish traditions (Hasidic Jews). Largest group. Believed in angels & resurrection. Follow Law – legalistic – some free will. Very influential teachers. Members of the Sanhedrin.
Sanhedrin→The Supreme council or court of the Jewish nation. 71 members all over the age of 30. Consisted of Sadducees & Pharisees. Only people that could question the king. Could not put people to death (need 24 hours & 2 witnesses to convict someone – broke this rule with Jesus).
Zealots→(means ‘to rival’) An ancient Jewish sect in Judea in the first century who fought to the death against the Romans and who killed or persecuted Jews who collaborated with the Romans. Thought that killing sinners was pleasing to God/believed God was violent. Wanted control. Believed taxes were a form of slavery. Jewish Law was important. Did not believe in Jesus. Wanted to overthrow government.
Scribes→Wise men who had been educated to think clearly & consciously. Were professional lawyers, teachers of the Law or ‘rabbis’. Devoted to the study of God’s Law. Experts in the Old Testament. Drew rules & regulations from Torah & Pentateuch. Job was to write out copies of Jewish scriptures & to teach the people what the Law said.
Torah→A parchment scroll on which the Pentateuch is written. Used in Synagogue (Jewish) services.
Apocrypha→The biblical apocrypha are books published in an edition of the Bible whose canonicity (acceptability as genuine & official) the publisher either rejects or doubts. For this reason they are typically printed in a third section of the Bible apart from the Old and New Testaments.
Nazareth→A historic town in northern Israel that is mentioned in the Gospels as the home of Joseph and Mary.
Samaria→A city of ancient Palestine, in present-day Jordan; found in central Palestine. Was the capital of the northern Hebrew kingdom of Israel.
Judea→The southern part of ancient Palestine succeeding the kingdom of Judah; a Roman province at the time of Christ. Location of Jerusalem & Bethlehem.
Galilee→An area of northern Israel; formerly the northern part of Palestine and the ancient kingdom of Israel; the scene of Jesus 's ministry. Location of Nazareth.
Magi→(Wise Men – New Testament) The sages who visited Jesus and Mary and Joseph shortly after Jesus was born; the Gospel According to Matthew says they were guided by a star and brought gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh; because there were three gifts it is usually assumed that there were three of them.
Genealogy→ The descent of a person, family, or group from an ancestor or ancestors; lineage or pedigree; a record or table of such descent; a family tree.
Sermon on the Mount→The first major discourse delivered by Jesus. A compilation of Jesus’ sayings, epitomizing (summarizing) his moral teachings. He gave the sermon on a mountainside to his disciples & a large crowd.
Exegesis→Carful, systematic study of the Scriptures to discover the original intended meaning. Ask questions about:
Historical context.
Language.
References (made to other writings or events).
Messiah→The promised king/deliverer (Jesus Christ).
Parable→Any of the short stories told by Jesus to convey his religious message and teach a moral or religious message.
Hyperbole→An exaggeration to make a point. An extreme, deliberate & bold exaggeration or overstatement to make a statement (not to be taken literally).
Paradox→A seeming contradiction to make a point.
Metaphor→A direct comparison without like/as.
Simile→A direct comparison using like/as.
Luke→ (New Testament) the Apostle closely associated with St. Paul and traditionally assumed to be the author of the third Gospel. One of the four Gospels in the New Testament; contains details of Jesus ' birth and early life.
Stephen→The first Christian martyr (somebody who suffers persecution and death for refusing to renounce a belief, usually religious). He was chosen as a deacon (1 of 7) to help the widows. Was tried & executed by the Sanhedrin.
Cornelius→A faithful & God-fearing centurion converted by Peter. Cornelius & his household received the Holy Spirit.
Philip→An evangelist of the early church. One of the 7 deacons. When believers scattered, he went to Samaria to perform miracles (meets Simon the sorcerer & Ethiopian Eunuch).
Antioch→An early centre of Christianity.
Barnabas→A Hellenistic Jew & disciple who became a traveling missionary & a traveling companion of Paul (1st missionary journey). Changed his name from Joseph to Barnabas (means ‘son of encouragement’).
Council of Jerusalem→

Timothy→Disciple of Jesus & Paul. Lived in Lystra. Mother was Christian Jew, father was Greek. After he was circumcised, he helped Paul on missionary journeys. Took on the responsibilities of guiding the church in Ephesus.
Priscilla and Aquila→Husband & wife. Tentmakers. Co-workers with Paul & instructors of Apollos. Natives of Pontus & came from Italy.
Apollos→An Alexandrian Jew who preached in Corinth. Educated in the Scriptures. Spoke boldly of Jesus though he only knew the baptism of John. Was introduced in the way of the Lord.
Corinth→Chief city of Greece. Prosperous. Many temples (12). Commerce – crossroad for travelers. 2 harbours. Culture – philosophy & wisdom. Had synagogue. Religion – 12 temples. Immorality – prostitution in the name of religion. Church started.
Ephesus→Emporium. Large place. Famous & populous. No synagogue. Urban centre. Temple of Artemis. Devoted to idolatry.
Artemis→The virgin goddess of the hunt and the Moon. Worshiped in Ephesus (location of the large temple of Artemis).
Macedonia→

Philippi→Via Egnatia (main highway). Politically important. Theatre. Gold-producing region. Many Italian settlers (because of Roman legions). Church started by Paul.
Gospel→The 4 books in the New Testament (Matthew, Mark, Luke & John) that tell the story of Christ’s life & teachings.
Judaizers (circumcision group) →False teachers who insisted on the necessity of following the practices of Judaism.
Heresy (heretics) →False teaching about core beliefs.
Using the Gospel for financial gain.
Stirring up controversies over myths, genealogies &arguments about the Jewish Law.
Gnostics→Type of heresy. Believed in the separation of the spiritual (good) & the physical (evil); secret knowledge.
General Letter→

Apocalypse→God destroys the ruling powers of evil, and brings an end to history.
Revelation→the last book of the New Testament; contains visionary descriptions of heaven and of conflicts between good and evil and of the end of the world.
Nero→Roman Emperor notorious for persecuting Christians in the early church.
Symbolism→Representation of a concept through symbols or underlying meanings of objects or qualities. Christian symbolism invests objects or actions with an inner meaning expressing Christian ideas.
Laodicea→Last of the 7 churches that John writes to in Revelation.
Banking & financial centre.
Are lukewarm→neither warm (healing) nor cold (refreshing)→a stern warning.
Are poor, wretched & blind.
Are being rebuked→in love.
If they overcome, they will sit with God on the throne.
Preterist→Focus on the 1st Century. All events in Revelation have already occurred during the days of the Roman Empire....
Futurist→Describes future events which will accompany the end times (tribulation).
Historicist→Revelation is a symbolic story of the church from the beginning until Christ’s return.
Idealist→(or Allegorical) Believe Revelation does not describe actual events, but is strictly symbolic of the constant struggle between good & evil. The final result will be the final triumph of Jesus vs. Satan.
Rapture→All believers/saved will suddenly disappear to meet Christ. They are air lifted to heaven – all non believers are left behind.

The “Beast” →2 beasts in Revelation:
1. Beast out of the Sea
10 horns & 7 heads – description of body parts.
Blasphemes God – given power to wage war.
All people will worship beast – call for patient endurance on the part of the saints.
2. Beast from Earth
Forces people to worship him.
Power from 1st
beast.
Forces everyone to wear mark on right hand & forehead.
Number of the beast is 666 (Nero).
Millennium→Refers to the 1000 year reign of earth. During this time, Satan is bound & thrown into the Abyss.
Antichrist→The adversary (opponent) of Christ mentioned in the New Testament.
The Antichrist will rule the world until overthrown by the Second Coming of Christ.
Tribulation→Seven years of widespread persecution (debate as to whether the rapture will be before or after the tribulation).
Armageddon→The place of the last decisive battle – nations will kill each other until Christ intervenes.
Premillennialism→Christ will literally return before the millennium (1000 year reign). The first resurrection will occur – either before or after the tribulation. The 1000 year reign of peace will occur. After this, Satan is loosened – fire from heaven will destroy Satan and his followers; believers will stand before God for judgement.
Amillennialism→No literal 1000 year reign of Christ on earth. Rather, a spiritual reign which began at the time of Christ’s resurrection and will continue until his second coming.
Postmillennialism→Millennium is a specific period of peace and prosperity which will end with Christ’s return, the resurrection of the dead, and the final judgement.
Babylon→A city that gets destroyed in the foretelling of Revelation. It seems to represent every kind of evil. May symbolise the Roman
Empire.