Literary and Biblical Terms Quiz

allegory = A literary form in which something is said to be like something else, in an attempt to communicate a hidden or symbolic meaning centurion = The commander of a unit of approximately one hundred Roman soldiers parousia = The second coming of Christ at the end of time, fully realizing God’s plan and the glorification of humanity kerygma = A Greek word meaning “proclamation” or “preaching,” referring to the announcement of the Gospel or the Good News of divine salvation offered to all through Jesus Christ

apocrypha = Writings about Jesus or the Christian message not accepted as part of the canon of Scripture didache = A Greek word meaning “teaching,” referring to the preaching and instruction offered to all who have already accepted Jesus oral tradition = The handing on of the message of God’s saving plan through words and deeds parable = A story intended to call a particular audience to self-knowledge and conversion through an implicit comparison of the audience to someone or something in the story

canonical = When referring to Scripture, canonical means included in the canon—that is, part of the collection of books the Church recognizes as the inspired Word of God Messiah = Hebrew word for “anointed one.” The equivalent Greek term is Christos Jesus is the Christ and the Messiah because he is the Anointed One. = Christos

Q Source = A hypothetical written collection of the teachings of Jesus shared among the early followers of Christianity Reign of God = The defining focus of Jesus’ ministry in the synoptic Gospels—a vision of how the world will be when God reigns completely Sanhedrin = An assembly of Jewish religious leaders—chief priests, scribes, and elders—who functioned as the supreme council and tribunal during the time of Jesus Son of Man = A messianic title from the Book of Daniel, used to describe a figure who receives authority over other nations from God; the only messianic title in the Gospels used by Jesus to describe himself

scribes = People associated with the Pharisees or Sadducees who were skilled copyists, professional letter writers, and interpreters and teachers of the Law synoptic Gospels = From the Greek for 'seeing the whole together,' the name given to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke because they are similar in style and content Kingdom of God = Another term for Reign of God or Kingdom of Heaven Q Source = A hypothetical written collection of the teachings of Jesus shared among the early followers of Christianity