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> THEO 3210 Four Gospels and One Jesus

An efficient way to get basic questions of "historical background" answered is to consult a Bible dictionary or encyclopedia

I give a short list of these, with call numbers, on pp. _ ff. of the handout Basic English-Bible Reference.  Here I simply demonstrate how three of them might be employed to get a start on an answer to each of the assignment sheets' three sample questions.

Dictionary of the Old Testament:  historical books

  • "How would  this have been heard by an ancient Jew for whom 'commandments' meant something in particular?"  New interpreter's dictionary of the Bible, 2nd ed., REF BS440 .N445 (13 pp. on Law in the Old Testament, with starter bibliography listing monographs and articles):

Define Commandment

Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospel

But there are, of course, many others, just for example: