1
OTL 112
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
THEME 1
Define the basic significance of the following terms:
Apocrypha: Protestant term for deutero-canonical books, not in
Protestant canon (books hidden away, RCC, EOC).
Canon: a collection of books regarded as divinely inspired by a
religious community, canonical books.
deutero-canonical books: books recognized as canonical by RCC, but
not part of Jewish Tanach or Protestant Old Testament (books
belonging to second canon RCC).
dynamic equivalence translation: term for a translation that aims for a
meaning-for-meaning translation of a biblical text, diverging from a
word-for-word translation to produce a more exact and
understandable equivalent meaning (more readable not word-for-
word).
formal correspondence translation: an approach that aims for a word-
for-for translation of a biblical text.
Hebrew Bible: Scriptures shared by Jews and Christians (Another
term used to designate scriptures used by Jews and Christians and
Jews, Christian Old Testament.
King James Version: an authorized translation of the Christian Bible
completed under loyal sponsorship by the church of England in 1611
(Authorized Version, not up to date).
Copyright reserved Graham Smith © Questions and answers based on ‘An introduction to the Old
Testament’ by David M. Carr 2010
, 2
Quran: Holiest text of Islam is seen in the faith as the collected
recitations of Muhammed of his revelations from God (Allah for
Muslims) Often refers to biblical traditions, filtered through early
Jewish and Christian interpretations.
Masoretic text: the authoritative version of the Hebrew text of the
Tanach/Hebrew Bible produced by Jewish scribes in the medieval
period and used as a base for most translations.
MT: Abbreviation for Masoretic text.
Old Testament: Christian term for scriptures originating in ancient
Israel, each consisting of nearly identical books (with exceptions) in a
different order that culminates in Malachi’s prophecy of Elijah (leading
into Matthew 3).
Pentateuch: First 5 books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy), known as the Torah.
Septuagint (LXX): the ancient set of translations of Old Testament
books into Greek
Tanach or TaNaK: Jewish term for Hebrew scriptures, referring to the
three main parts of those scriptures: the Torah (law), Nevi’im.
(prophets), and the Ketuvim (writings). Cultivates in Cyrus’ promise to
rebuild the Temple at the end of 2 Chronicles.
textual criticism: collection and analysis of different manuscript
readings, e.g., different readings in Hebrew manuscripts and early
translations of Hebrew manuscripts of books in the Hebrew Bible
Torah: First 5 books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy). Jews distinguish between written Torah
Copyright reserved Graham Smith © Questions and answers based on ‘An introduction to the Old
Testament’ by David M. Carr 2010
OTL 112
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
THEME 1
Define the basic significance of the following terms:
Apocrypha: Protestant term for deutero-canonical books, not in
Protestant canon (books hidden away, RCC, EOC).
Canon: a collection of books regarded as divinely inspired by a
religious community, canonical books.
deutero-canonical books: books recognized as canonical by RCC, but
not part of Jewish Tanach or Protestant Old Testament (books
belonging to second canon RCC).
dynamic equivalence translation: term for a translation that aims for a
meaning-for-meaning translation of a biblical text, diverging from a
word-for-word translation to produce a more exact and
understandable equivalent meaning (more readable not word-for-
word).
formal correspondence translation: an approach that aims for a word-
for-for translation of a biblical text.
Hebrew Bible: Scriptures shared by Jews and Christians (Another
term used to designate scriptures used by Jews and Christians and
Jews, Christian Old Testament.
King James Version: an authorized translation of the Christian Bible
completed under loyal sponsorship by the church of England in 1611
(Authorized Version, not up to date).
Copyright reserved Graham Smith © Questions and answers based on ‘An introduction to the Old
Testament’ by David M. Carr 2010
, 2
Quran: Holiest text of Islam is seen in the faith as the collected
recitations of Muhammed of his revelations from God (Allah for
Muslims) Often refers to biblical traditions, filtered through early
Jewish and Christian interpretations.
Masoretic text: the authoritative version of the Hebrew text of the
Tanach/Hebrew Bible produced by Jewish scribes in the medieval
period and used as a base for most translations.
MT: Abbreviation for Masoretic text.
Old Testament: Christian term for scriptures originating in ancient
Israel, each consisting of nearly identical books (with exceptions) in a
different order that culminates in Malachi’s prophecy of Elijah (leading
into Matthew 3).
Pentateuch: First 5 books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy), known as the Torah.
Septuagint (LXX): the ancient set of translations of Old Testament
books into Greek
Tanach or TaNaK: Jewish term for Hebrew scriptures, referring to the
three main parts of those scriptures: the Torah (law), Nevi’im.
(prophets), and the Ketuvim (writings). Cultivates in Cyrus’ promise to
rebuild the Temple at the end of 2 Chronicles.
textual criticism: collection and analysis of different manuscript
readings, e.g., different readings in Hebrew manuscripts and early
translations of Hebrew manuscripts of books in the Hebrew Bible
Torah: First 5 books of the Bible (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus,
Numbers, Deuteronomy). Jews distinguish between written Torah
Copyright reserved Graham Smith © Questions and answers based on ‘An introduction to the Old
Testament’ by David M. Carr 2010
