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Sanhedrin
[Bible]The Sanhedrin was the supreme council in Jerusalem during the New Testament period. Presided over by the high priest, it dealt with the religious and judicial affairs of the Jewish people.
Synoptic Problem
[Bible]The Synoptic Problem is a question in biblical studies concerning why the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke resemble one another in content, order, and even wording while also differing from one another; in other words, it asks how the three books are related in their composition.
Ruler of the Synagogue
[Bible]The ruler of the synagogue was the official who led worship and assemblies in Jewish synagogues during the New Testament period. Jairus in the Gospels and Crispus and Sosthenes in the Acts of the Apostles are identified as rulers of the synagogue.
Straight Street
[Bible]Straight Street is a street within the city of Damascus mentioned in Acts 9:11. The house of Judas, where Saul stayed immediately after his conversion, stood on this street, and Ananias was sent there.
Drachma
[Bible]The drachma was an ancient Greek silver coin and monetary unit. In the New Testament it appears in the parable of the lost coin in Luke 15, and it is generally understood to have been worth about a laborer's daily wage.
Tradition of the Elders
[Bible]The "tradition of the elders" is a New Testament expression for the regulations, handed down from generation to generation outside the Law of Moses, that the Pharisees and scribes observed. It appears in the dispute over handwashing in Matthew 15 and Mark 7.
Archelaus
[People]Archelaus was a son of Herod the Great who ruled Judea after his father's death. He is mentioned only once in Scripture, in Matthew 2:22, as the reason Joseph's family settled in Nazareth after returning from Egypt.
Abyss
[Bible]The Abyss, or "bottomless pit," is a New Testament term for a deep place in which demons and evil powers are confined or from which they ascend, or for the realm of the dead.
Song of Simeon
[Worship & Rites]The Song of Simeon is Simeon's hymn of praise recorded in Luke 2:29–32. Also known as the Nunc Dimittis, from its opening words in Latin, it has been sung in many church traditions at evening prayer and in Communion and funeral services.
Gennesaret
[Bible]Gennesaret is a place name for the plain along the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee. In the New Testament, the name refers both to this land and to the lake named after it (the Sea of Galilee).
Proselytes to Judaism
[Bible]A proselyte to Judaism was a person born a Gentile who came to believe in the God of Israel and formally entered Judaism. The term appears four times in the New Testament, in Matthew and Acts.
Tetrarch
[Bible]Tetrarch is a New Testament term for a ruler under the Roman Empire who governed a portion of a divided territory. It is used chiefly of Herod Antipas, who ruled Galilee.
Massacre of the Innocents
[Bible]The Massacre of the Innocents was the killing, ordered by King Herod, of all male children two years old and under in Bethlehem and its surrounding region in an attempt to eliminate the newborn "King of the Jews." It is recorded only in Matthew 2.
Judas of Galilee
[People]Judas of Galilee was a Jew who led an uprising against a Roman census in the early first century AD. In Acts 5:37, Gamaliel cites him as an example of a failed movement.
Prologue of John
[Bible]The Prologue of John is John 1:1–18, the opening section of the Gospel of John, which declares that the "Word" (Logos), who existed from the beginning, became flesh and came into the world.
Lepton
[Bible]The lepton was the smallest denomination of coin used in Judea in the New Testament period. In the Bible it is best known from the "two mites" that a poor widow put into the Temple treasury.
Magdala
[Bible]Magdala was an ancient town believed to have stood on the western shore of the Sea of Galilee. In the Bible it is known chiefly through the name "Mary Magdalene."
Feast of the Holy Innocents
[Feasts & Seasons]The Feast of the Holy Innocents is a commemoration in the church calendar honoring the victims of Herod's killing of the young boys of Bethlehem (Matthew 2:16-18). The Western church observes it on December 28.
Oral Law
[Bible]The Oral Law is the body of Jewish interpretations and regulations believed to have been transmitted by word of mouth alongside the written law of the Pentateuch. In the New Testament it appears under the expression "the tradition of the elders."
Gospel of the Hebrews
[History]The Gospel of the Hebrews is a New Testament apocryphal gospel said to have been read among Christians of Jewish origin around the second century. No copy survives, and the work is known only from a few passages quoted by the Church Fathers.