旧约词汇 - E

E

The acronym for the Elohist source.

Early Judaism

Also sometimes called "formative," "proto-," "middle," and even "late" Judaism; refers to Judaism in the intertestamental period (and slightly later) as a development from the religion of ancient Israel, but prior to the emergence of its classical, rabbinic form in the early centuries C.E.

Eden

The Garden of Eden was the place God located the first created humans, Adam and Eve (Genesis 2-3). See Chapter 1.

Edom

A territory south of Judah, the location of the Edomites, the descendants of Esau.

Ehud

A judge of Israel from the book of Judges (see 3:12-20), noted for being left-handed. See Chapter 7.

El

The Semitic word for God, found alone or compounded with other terms as names of God (El Shaddai, El Elyon, etc.); often found as the theophoric element in personal and place names (Elijah, Bethel, etc.).

Election

A term used theologically in Judaism to indicate God's choice of Israel to receive the covenant-a choice not based on the superiority or previous accomplishments of the people, but on God's graciousness (see covenant); in Christianity, the concept of election was applied to the "new Israel" of Jesus' followers in the last times.

Eli

The high priest at Shiloh with whom Samuel ministered in his early years. See Chapter 8.

Elijah

An Israelite prophet during the reign of Ahab; he defeated the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel and was taken to heaven in a fire storm. See Chapter 9.

Elisha

The prophet who succeeded Elijah in the Northern Kingdom of Israel. See Chapter 9, Chapter 9.

Elkanah

An Ephraimite, the husband of Hannah and the father of Samuel.

Elohim

A Hebrew word meaning God; Israel's most general way of referring to its deity; the Elohist portions of the Pentateuch refer to God with this term. See Introduction, Part 1 Sources, Part 1 Elohist Texts, Chapter 1.

Elohist source

Elohist source (also called the Elohist; abbreviated E) The name given to a reconstructed source underlying certain pentateuchal narratives; it is characterized by the use of the divine name Elohim. See Part 1.

Enuma Elish

A Babylonian story of creation, featuring Apsu, Tiamat, and Marduk. See Chapter 1.

Ephod

A linen apron worn by a priest over his robe.

Ephraim

One of Joseph's two sons; he became the ancestor of one of the tribes of Israel; the name Ephraim was often used as a designation of the ten northern tribes after the division of the kingdoms.

Eponym

A supposed ancestor (eponymous ancestor) whose name is the same as, or related to, the name of a later group, tribe or nation. See Chapter 2.

Eretz Yisrael/Israel

(Hebrew for "land of Israel") In Jewish thought, the special term for the Palestinian area believed to have been promised to the Jewish people by God in the ancient covenant.

Esau

The first son of Isaac and Rebekah, the twin of Jacob; he was the ancestor of the Edomites. See Chapter 2.

Eschatology

(adj. eschatological; from Greek eschaton, "last" or "the end-time") Refers in general to what is expected to take place in the "last times" (from the inquirer's perspective); thus the study of the ultimate destiny or purpose of humankind and the world, how and when the end will occur, what the end or last period of history or existence will be like. See also Apocalypse and Apocalyptic literature. See Part 3.

Essenes

A Jewish group that lived in retreat in the wilderness of Judea between the first century B.C.E. and the first C.E., according to Josephus, the elder, Pliny, and Philo. See also Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran.

Esther

A Jewish heroine of the diaspora who became queen of Persia under Xerxes I; she secured the safety of the Jews when they were threatened with genocide; her story is told in the book which carries her name. See Chapter 16.

Ethical decalogue

The ten commandments of Exodus 20 and Deuteronomy 5. See Decalogue. See Chapter 3.

Etiology

(sometimes spelled aetiology; from Greek for "cause, origin") A term used to describe or label stories (etiological tales) that claim to explain the reason for something being (or being called) what it is; for example, in the old Jewish creation story (Genesis 2:23), woman (ishah) is given that name because she has been taken out of (the side or rib of) "man" (ish). See Chapter 6.

Eve

The first female God created; mated to Adam, her name means "life." See Chapter 1.

Ex nihilo

A Latin phrase meaning "from nothing" that some theologians apply to the biblical story of creation; Genesis 1, as well as other Old Testament allusions to creation, suggests that God created the world out of water. See Biblical Story.

Exegesis

(from Greek for "interpretation") The process of drawing out meaning from a text; interpreting a text in its literary and historical context.

Exile

(also called the Babylonian exile) The Babylonian exile was the period in the middle of the 6th century B.C.E. when Judeans were taken as captives to Babylonia and resettled there; it officially ended in 539 B.C.E., but many Judeans nontheless remained there. See Biblical Story.

Exodus

(from Greek for "to exit, go out") The term refers to the event of the Israelites leaving Egypt and to the biblical book that tells of that event, the second book of the Torah; the release from Egyptian captivity and the exodus from Egypt were led by Moses, probably in the thirteenth century B.C.E. See Passover. See Biblical Story, Chapter 3.

Ezekiel

A priest taken to Babylonia, he became a prophet to the community of Judean refugees living there in the sixth century B.C.E.; also, the prophetic book associated with this prophet. See Chapter 12.

Ezra

A priest and teacher of the Torah; he led a group of Jewish refugees back to Judea from Babylonia in the fifth century B.C.E. See Chapter 18 Chronicles, Chapter 18 Ezra and Nehemiah, Chapter 18 Ezra Memoirs.