APOCRYPHAL NEW TESTAMENT: The collective title given to a number of documents, ranging in date from the early Christian centuries to the Middle Ages and even into modern times, all similar in form to the NT books (gospels, epistles, Acts, apocalypses) but never finally received into the canon of Scripture (for following titles see separate articles). […]

Apocrypha APOCRYPHA (̓Απόκρυφος, hidden). Applied technically to the relationship of certain books to the Heb. Canon. In general it constitutes the excess of the LXX over the Heb. Scriptures, with the material concerned being written during the last two centuries b.c. and the 1st cent. a.d. 1. The concept of the Apocrypha. The word “apocrypha” was used originally as a […]

Apocalyptic Literature APOCALYPTIC LITERATURE. A type of Jewish and early Christian lit., the bulk of which stems from the years 200 b.c.-a.d. 100, containing visions or revelations (hence the term “apocalyptic,” from the Gr. apokalypsis, meaning “a revelation” or “a disclosure”) from God concerning the imminent coming of the end of the present evil age and the final […]

Angel ANGEL (מַלְאָכְ, H4855; LXX and NT, ἄγγελος, G34, messenger). Outline I. Definition and description. In Scripture records, angels constitute a distinct order among the higher echelons of universal beings. A. Apellative terms. The word angel comes from the Gr. word anggelos, meaning “messenger.” The corresponding Heb. word malakh likewise means “messenger.” Though these terms are sometimes used to designate human messengers, as […]

Amos AMOS ā’ məs (עָמֹ֔וס amos, LXX ̓Αμώς, G322, burden-bearer). An 8th-cent. b.c. literary prophet of Judah who uttered denunciations against Israel and other nations as contained in the canonical book attributed to him. 1. Background 2. Authorship and unity 3. Date 4. Place of origin and destination 5. Occasion and purpose 6. Canonicity and text 7. Content 8. Theology 1. Background. The […]