ad nauseam — Latin. "to a sickening degree". 2

a priori — Latin. "1. A phrase used to characterize reasoning from causes to effects, from abstract notions to their consequences, from assumed axioms (and not from experience); deductive; deductively. 2. Hence loosely, Previous to any special examination, presumptively." 3

b’rit — This is the transliterated word commonly translated from Hebrew (Strong’s #1285) to "‘covenant; league; confederacy.’ . . .  B’rit is used over 280 times and in all parts of the Old Testament.". 4 It pertains to Covenants, covenants, contracts, treaties, alliances, marriages, agreements, leagues, etc. "The Hebrew word . . .  comes from a root meaning ‘to bind together.’" 5 See diatheke and syntheke.

Brit Chadashah — Transliteration from Hebrew meaning "Covenant New".

chata — Primitive root for Hebrew chatath. See Strong’s #2398.

chatath — Transliteration from Hebrew of word translated to "sin" or "sin offering" in the King James Version. See Strong’s #2403.

denarius — "This was a Roman silver coin, in the time of Jesus and the apostles. It took its name from its being first equal to ten ‘donkeys,’ a number afterward increased to sixteen. The earliest specimens are from approximately the start of the second century B.C." 6

diatheke — Transliteration of Greek word which is usually translated to "covenant" or "testament" in the New Testament. Strong’s #1242. Sometimes used to mean last will and testament.

epouranios — Transliteration of Greek word which is translated to "heavenly", "celestial", "in heaven", "high" in the King James Version. See Strong’s #2032.

Hanokh — Transliterated name often translated from Hebrew to Enoch, Hanoch, or Henoch. Strong’s #2585.

HaSatan — Transliteration from Hebrew, literally meaning "the enemy" or "the adversary". Strong’s #7854. Sometimes satan doesn’t refer to the demonic / angelic / superhuman adversary, but merely to "one who withstands". When it appears with the "H" and "S" capitalized, it means this demonic / angelic / superhuman adversary.

Havah — Transliterated name usually translated from Hebrew to Eve, meaning the wife of Adam. Strong’s #2332. Literally means "life" or "living".

Hevel — Transliterated name usually translated from Hebrew to Abel, meaning the second son of Adam and Eve. Strong’s #1893. Literally means "breath". "[H]is name, hevel, is homonymous with a biblical word that means ‘breath that vanishes’". 7 In the Tanakh, it appears only in the fourth chapter of B’resheet[Genesis].

imago Dei — Translating from Latin, this literally means "image of God". In Genesis 1:26-27; 9:6, the Bible indicates that "God created man in His own image". So every human being has the image of God, the imago Dei, even though it has been corrupted by the fall.

Kayin — Transliterated name usually translated from Hebrew to Cain, the first son of Adam and Eve. Strong’s #7014. First appears in Genesis 4:1, where, when Havah gives birth to Kayin, she says, qanithi ‘ish ‘eth ‘Adonai, which is usually translated to something like, "I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord". But the "with the help of" is inserted by translators. In Kass’ view, "the context clearly favors ‘I have gotten [or created] a man [equally] with God’ – or in plain speech, ‘God created a man, and now so have I.’ . . .  Cain, the pride of his mother’s bearing, bears the name of his mother’s pride: Cain (qayin), related to qanithi, from a root qanah, meaning ‘to possess,’ also perhaps related to qoneh, meaning ‘to form or shape or make or create.’". 8

keruv — Transliterated word usually translated from Hebrew to "cherub" or "cherubim". The plural of keruv is k’ruvim. Strong’s #3742. The cherubim were "Heavenly creatures (angels) who guarded the way to the Tree of Life in Gan-’Eden (Genesis 3:24), were described by Ezekiel as having four faces and four wings (Ezekiel 10:20-21), and were ridden by God (Psalm 18:11(10)); compare the ‘living beings’ of Rv 4:6ff. The term also refers to the gold-overlaid wooden images of same, constructed in obedience to God’s command, which overshadowed the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle and in the temple. MJ 9:5.". 9

Lemekh — Transliterated name usually translated from Hebrew to "Lamech". Strong’s #3929. It means "powerful". There are two Lemekh’s in Genesis, one in the line of Cain, and one in the line of Seth.

lex iniusta non est lex — Augustine of Hippo is generally credited with this famous dictum, which means, "unjust law is not law" (De Libero Arbitrio (Of Free Choice), i, 5). 10

Meshiach — Transliterated word usually translated from Hebrew to "anointed", and less frequently to "messiah". Strong’s #4899. Comes from the root mashach (Strong’s #4886), which means "to anoint, smear, consecrate. . . .  The basic meaning of the word, however, is simply to ‘smear’ something on an object. . . .  The Old Testament most commonly uses masah [mashach] to indicate ‘anointing’ in the sense of a special setting apart for an office or function. [Meshiach] is a noun that means ‘anointed one.’ . . .  [It] gives us the term messiah. . . .  The New Testament title of Christ is derived from the Greek Christos which is exactly equivalent to the Hebrew [meshiach], for it is also rooted in the idea of ‘to smear with oil.’" 11

mesouranema — Transliterated noun translated from Greek to "midst of heaven" in the King James Version. See Strong’s #3321.

mitzvot — Transliterated word usually translated from Hebrew to "commandments". Singular is mitzvah. Strong’s #4687.

Noach — Transliterated name usually translated from Hebrew to "Noah". Strong’s #5146. Means "rest", "comfort" and "lament". 12 Son of Lemekh in the line of Seth. Father of Shem, Ham, and Yefet. Builder of the ark, "which saved his family from the destruction of the world which God sent on the world by the flood; became the new seminal head of the human race because his family were the only survivors of the flood".

ouranoi — Transliterated noun translated from Greek to "heaven(s)", "air", "sky" in the King James Version. See Strong’s #3772.

psyche — Transliterated noun translated from Greek to "soul", "life", "mind", "heart" in the King James Version. See Strong’s #5590.

raison d’etat — French. "reason of state; diplomatic reason." 13

raison d’etre — French. "Rational ground for existence." 14 — "reason or justification for existence" 15

Rashi — Rabbi Shlomo Yitzchaki, a famous medieval (1040-1105 Common Era) Jewish commentator on the Tanakh and the Talmud.

Rav Shaul — Hebrew name for Apostle Paul.

shekel — "(Heb. sheqel, ‘weight’). The shekel was properly a certain weight, and the shekel weight of silver was the unit of value through the whole age of Hebrew history down to the Babylonian captivity. . . .  The value of the gold shekel is about 55 denarii, $5.50; the silver about 3.67 denarii." 16

sola Scriptura — Translating from Latin, this literally means "Scripture alone". It was one of the fundamental points of dispute during the Protestant Reformation, and is a contentious issue within the visible, nominal Church to this day. 17

syntheke — Transliterated verb translated from Greek to "agree", "covenant", and "assent" in the King James Version. See Strong’s #4934.

Talmud — Rabbinical literature in which the "Oral Law" was committed to writing, consisting of the Mishna, compiled c. 220 Common Era, and the Gemara. The Jerusalem Talmud’s Gemara was completed around 400 C.E., the larger and more authoritative Babylonian Talmud a century later.

Tanakh — This is the name given by Rabbinical Jews to what Christians generally call the Old Testament. Although both collections contain the same set of books, "the books of the Tanakh appear in a different order than those of the  Old Testament(OT), . . . . As the acronym TaNaKh reminds us, the Hebrew Bible is divided into three parts – Torah (Law, Teaching), Nevi’im (Prophets) and K’tuvim (Writings). But Christians divide the OT into four parts – Pentateuch, Historical Books, Writings and Prophets.". 18

Torah — Transliterated word usually translated from Hebrew to "law". Strong’s #8451. It means law, direction, instruction, custom, manner, etc. When the "T" is capitalized, it generally refers to the first five books of the Tanakh / Old Testament.

Yefet — Transliterated name usually translated from Hebrew to "Japheth". The third son of Noach.

Yeshua — Transliterated word usually translated from Hebrew to "salvation". Strong’s #3444. It means salvation, help, deliverance, health, welfare, etc. "Jesus" is the translation of Yeshua into English. In Messianic Jewish literature, it is usually used instead of the English, "Jesus".

Yeshua HaMeshiach — Transliteration from Hebrew. It literally means "Jesus the Messiah", or "Jesus Christ".

Footnotes

1 These non-English expressions appear as italic in the main text. They are usually hyperlinks into this glossary. — See typographical conventions.

2 Webster’s Seventh, p. 12.

3 The Oxford Universal Dictionary of Historical Principles, p. 89.

4 Vine’s Expository Dictionary, p. 50, "Old Testament Section".

5 The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis, by Leon R. Kass, p.188.

6 Unger’s Bible Dictionary, p. 846.

7 The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis, by Leon R. Kass, p.127.

8 The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis, by Leon R. Kass, p.126.

9 Complete Jewish Bible, p.1578.

10 Marmor, Andrei, "The Nature of Law", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2011 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL: http://plato.stanford.edu/archives​/win2011​/entries​/lawphil-nature/.

11 Vine’s Expository Dictionary, p. 5, "Old Testament Section".

12 The Beginning of Wisdom: Reading Genesis, by Leon R. Kass, p.155.

13 Webster’s New World Dictionary, p. 1202.

14 The Oxford Universal Dictionary of Historical Principles, p. 1652.

15 Webster’s Seventh, p. 707.

16 Unger’s Bible Dictionary, p. 847.

17 See Dr. W. Robert Godfrey, "What Do We Mean by Sola Scriptura?", URL: http://www.the-highway.com/Sola_Scriptura_Godfrey.html.

18 Complete Jewish Bible, p. xxvii.