Glossary
Abba: An affectionate way to say Father, hence dear Father, or even Daddy, Papa.
Adar: The twelfth month of the Jewish biblical calendar.
Adonai: Literally, my Lord, a word the TaNaKh uses to refer to God.
ADONAI: The Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-letter name of YHVH. Both ADONAI and Ha’Shem are substitute names for YHVH. ADONAI, however, is more of an affectionate name like daddy.
ADONAI Elohei-Tzva’ot: The LORD God of heaven’s angelic armies.
ADONAI Eloheinu: LORD our God.
ADONAI Nissi: The LORD my Banner.
ADONAI Shalom: The LORD of Peace.
ADONAI Tzidkenu: The LORD our Righteousness.
ADONAI-Tzva’ot: The LORD of heaven’s angelic armies.
Adversary, the: Satan, the devil, and the old dragon.
Afikomen: Literally, “That which comes after.” Piece of matzah that is hidden during the Seder, to be found and eaten after the third cup of redemption.
Amen: “It is true,” or “So be it,” or “May it become true.”
Ariel: Lion of God, fireplace on God’s altar.
Aviv: The first month of the biblical year, corresponding to the modern Jewish month of Nisan.
Avraham: Abraham.
Azazel: A scapegoat or goat demon sent out in the wilderness on Yom Kippur.
Ba’al: The chief male god of the Phoenicians and Canaanites. The word means lord or master.
Bar or Bat Mitzvah: Son or daughter of the commandments. The ceremony by which a boy or girl at 13 or 12 is considered an adult.
Beit-Lechem: Bethlehem, birthplace of David and Yeshua, meaning house of bread.
Bnei-Yisrael: The children of Isar’el.
B’rit Chadashah: The New Covenant, New Testament.
Chesed: Mercy, righteousness (see the commentary on Ruth Af – The Concept of Chesed).
Cohen of Ha’Elyon: Priest of the God Most High.
Cohen Rosh Gadol: Great High Priest.
Cohen: Priest.
Cohanim: Priests.
Diaspora, the Dispersion: The scattering of the Jewish people in exile. Today over 6 million Jews live in Isra’el, and over 8 million Jews live in the Diaspora.
Echad: The Hebrew word for “one” or “unity.” Echad is used in the Shema (Deut 6:4).
El ‘Elyon: The Most High God.
El Shaddai: God Almighty.
Emissaries: Apostles
Goyim: Nations, non-Jews, Gentiles.
Halacha: The way, the Oral Law (see the commentary on The Life of Christ Ei – The Oral Law), or the rules governing Jewish life.
Ha’Shem: While ADONAI is more of an affectionate name like daddy, while Ha’Shem is a more formal name like sir.
Hag ha-Matzah: The Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Hanukkah: Meaning “dedication,” the feast commemorating the rebuilding and dedication of the Temple after its desecration by Syrian invaders.
Kadosh: Holy.
Malki-Tzedek: Melchizedek.
Matzah: Unleavened bread, bread made without yeast.
Meshugah: A Yiddish word meaning crazy.
Messiah (Greek): Christ, the Anointed One.
Mashiach (Hebrew): Messiah, the Anointed One.
Midrash: Allegorical interpretation or application of a text. The hearer is expected to understand that the maker of the midrash is not expounding the plain meaning of the text, but introducing his own ideas.
Mikveh: A bath o pool with a flow of fresh water; used in Orthodox Judaism to this day for ritual purification or ceremonial cleansing, performed at various times in a person’s life.
Mitzvah: A good deed; literally command or commandment; more broadly, a general principle for living.
Mitzvot: Commandments.
Moshe: Moses.
‘Olam haba, the: The coming age.
Omer: Meaning “sheaf,” the bundle of barley used in the Firstfruits offering. After the Temple period it came to be identified with Sefirat ha’Omer, or the counting of the omer, the counting of the days from Firstfruits to Shavu’ot.
Pesach: Passover. It is one of the three “pilgrim festivals” that all able bodied Jews were expected to celebrate before YHVH in Yerushalayim.
Purim: Meaning “lots,” the holiday based on the story of Esther.
Redeemed: Setting free from slavery, buying back something lost, for a price.
Resheet: The Feast of Firstfruits.
Righteous of the TaNaKh, the: Old Testament believers.
Ruach: Wind or spirit.
Ruach ha-Kodesh: The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.
Shabbat: The Sabbath Day, the seventh day of the week, when work ceases.
Shalom: Peace, wholeness, wellness; a greeting used when meeting or departing.
Sh’khinah: The visual manifestation of the glory of God.
Sukkot: The festival of Booths or Tabernacles, celebrating the forty years when the people of Isra’el lived in booths, tens, shacks, in the desert between Egypt and the land of Isra’el. It is one of the three “pilgrim festivals” that all able bodied Jews were expected to celebrate before YHVH in Yerushalayim.
Shavu’ot: The festival of Weeks (Hebrew) or Pentecost (Greek), since it comes seven weeks after Pesach; also called Pentecost, from the Greek word for fifty because one counts fifty days after Passover. It is one of the three “pilgrim festivals” that all able bodied Jews were expected to celebrate before YHVH in Yerushalayim.
Sinai: The mountain in the desert between Egypt and the land of Isra’el.
Shuwb: Turn, turning, and the big idea of Jeremiah.
Synagogue: Meaning “assembly,” an adopted Greek word for a house of prayer and study.
Talmud: Student.
Talmud: The codified body of Jewish Oral Law; includes literary creations, legends, scriptural interpretations, comprised of the Mishnah and the Gemara.
TaNaKh: The Hebrew word TaNaKh is an acronym, based on the letters T (for “Torah”),N (for “Nevi’im,” or the Prophets), and K (for “Ketuv’im,” or the Writings). It is the collection of the teachings of God to human beings in document form. This term is used instead of the phrase, “the Old Testament.”
Torah: Literally, means teaching or instruction. It can be used for the five books of Moshe, or the whole TaNaKh (John 10:34). Uncapitalized, torah can be understood generally as a law or principle (Romans 7:21-8:2).
Tziyon: Zion, Mount Zion, was originally the City of David, south of the modern Old City of Yerushalayim. Later the name Tziyon came to refer metaphorically to the Temple Mount, Jerusalem, or the people of Isra’el. The hill now called Mount Tziyon was given its name in the fourth century AD.
Yeshua: Jesus, and is a masculine form, and a word play on yeshu’ah (salvation).
Yerushalayim: Jerusalem.
Y’hudah: Judah.
YHVH: The Tetragrammaton, meaning the Name, the four-letter name of God. Therefore, God does not have many names, He has only one name – YHVH (Yud Hay Vav Hay). All the other names in the Bible describe His characteristics and His attributes.
Yisra’el: Isra’el.
Yochanan: John.
Yom Kippur: The Day of Atonement, the close of the High Holy Days, and considered the holiest day of the year in traditional Judaism.
Leave A Comment