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22 The BiBle STyle Guide
bible society 2008
messiah
The royal saviour of Israel that was prophesied in the Old
Testament. The word means ‘Anointed One’ in Hebrew
(mashiach). The Greek translation of this word is christos,
which is why Jesus is known as ‘Christ’. Christians
believe that Jesus is the foretold Messiah; Jews, however,
believe that the Messiah has not yet come.
millenniUm
moses
The 1,000 year period mentioned in Revelation 20.1–7.
As far back as the second century CE, there were mixed
views among Christians about what this passage
referred to. Some believe that when Jesus returns at
the end of the world, he will set up an earthly kingdom
in Israel that will last for 1,000 years. Others believe
that it refers to a golden era of 1,000 years for the
church, after which Jesus will return. Still others hold
that the number 1000 is symbolic (as is the number
666) and refers to the spiritual reign of Christians
through the Church.
The man who led the Hebrews out of slavery in
Egypt to the land of Canaan. Moses is understood by
Christians and Jews to have been a great prophet.
The Bible describes how he miraculously parted
the Red Sea during the exodus and received the
ten commandments directly from God. He is
traditionally believed to have been involved in the
writing of the Pentateuch.
n
nag hammadi texts
A collection of 12 papyrus books (as well as a few
extra pages) written by Gnostics, found in 1945 CE at
Nag Hammadi in Egypt. For more information, see the
entry on Gnostic texts.
nazarenes, nazoreans
The term was first used in Acts 24.5 as an outsider’s
term for the Christian movement within Judaism. It
comes from the Greek word nazaraios (‘of Nazareth’).
Eventually, it became a term for Jews within the
Christian movement in general. Some scholars think
that ebionites was an alternative name for this group,
while others argue that a Nazarene was simply a Jew
who believed Jesus to be God.
A gospel of the Nazoreans was quoted by Christian
writers from the end of the second century CE
onwards. It was probably produced by Jewish
Christians around that time. Some Christians (e.g.
Syriacs or some in the Wesleyan-Holiness tradition)
currently use the term ‘Nazarene’ or ‘Nazarenes’ to
refer to their denomination.
new testament
The Christian term for the collection of 27 books that
were written by Christians following the death of
Jesus and were understood to be inspired by God. It
includes four gospels, one book of Acts, twenty-one
epistles and an apocalypse (the book of Revelation).
The term ‘New Testament’ was first used in Latin at the
beginning of the third century CE by a Christian writer
called Tertullian.
It means that the writings discussed a new agreement
(testament or covenant) between God and humanity.
Before then, the collection was known by a variety
of names, including ‘the Lord’s Scriptures’ or ‘Gospel
and Apostles’. The exact collection was more or less
finalised towards the end of the second century CE but
only decisively settled in the fourth century CE.