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.

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.

Ba’al: the chief male god of the Phoenicians and Canaanites. The word means lord or master.

Beit-Lechem: Bethlehem, birthplace of David and Yeshua, meaning house of bread.

B’rit Chadashah: The New Covenant, New Testament.

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.

El ‘Elyon: God Most High.

El Gibbor: Mighty God.

El Shaddai: God Almighty.

Goyim: the Nations, non-Jews, Gentiles.

Ha’Shem: the Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-letter name of YHVH. Both ADONAI and Ha’Shem are substitute names for YHVH. While ADONAI is more of an affectionate name like daddy, while Ha’Shem is a more formal name like sir.

Kefa: Peter, Cephas.

LORD: the Tetragrammaton, meaning the four-letter name of YHVH. ADONAI, Ha’Shem and the LORD are substitute names for YHVH.

Messiah: Christ, 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.

Mitzvah: literally command or commandment; more broadly, a general principle for living.

Moshe: Moses.

Negev: the south, the southern desert of Israel.

Nisan: the first month of the biblical year, the seventh month of the modern Jewish year in March-April.

Pesach: Passover. It is one of the three “pilgrim festivals” that all able bodied Jews were expected to celebrate before YHVH in Yerushalayim.

Righteous of the TaNaKh, the: Old Testament believers.

Ruach: Holy Spirit, or spirit

Ruach ha-Kodesh: The Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit.

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, 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. The big idea of Jeremiah.

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 Sacred 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. 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.

Yirmeyahu: Jeremiah

Yisra’el: Isra’el.

Yochanan: John.

Y’honatan: Jonathan

Yom Kippur: the Day of Atonement.