(adj. rabbinic; Hebrew for "my master") An authorized teacher of the classical Jewish tradition after the fall of the second temple in 70 C.E.; traditionally, rabbis serve as the legal and spiritual guides of their congregations and communities. See Oral torah.
The prostitute of Jericho who harbored and assisted the Israelite spies prior to the conquest of Canaan; not to be confused with the Rahab of mythic and prophetic literature that is another name for the sea monster. See Chapter 6.
(sometimes called redaction critique) The analysis of a book of the Hebrew Bible to determine the contribution of the editor (called the redactor) as he compiled and edited the book from older sources.
(n. redaction) A synonym for editor of a composite work, the one responsible for choosing and combining source materials into one coherent literary work; redaction is the editorial work of the redactor.
(Hebrew yam suf, also called the Sea of Reeds) This is the body of water the Israelites crossed on dry ground as part of the exodus from Egypt; it is termed the Red Sea in most English versions of the Old Testament. See Chapter 3.
Also called a sojourner, a person who lives in a country but does not hold citizenship; the Old Testament specifies certain rights for resident aliens.
The idea that dead persons who have found favor with God will ultimately (in eschatological times) be raised from the dead with restored bodily form. See Chapter 17.
Punishment for doing wrong; the theology of retribution as found in Deuteronomic theology and in wisdom literature holds that God punishes people for their bad deeds. See Chapter 14.
