- R
- The acronym for Redactor; see Redactor.
- Rabbi
- (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.
- Rabbinic Judaism
- The Judaism associated with the Pharisees that survived the Jewish revolts against Rome to become the dominant shape of Judaism.
- Rachel
- The daughter of Laban, most loved wife of Jacob, and mother of Joseph and Benjamin. See Chapter 2.
- Rahab
- 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.
- Ramses II
- (1290-1224) According to most historians, the king of Egypt at the time of the Hebrews' exodus (thirteenth century B.C.E.). See Chapter 3.
- Rebekah
- (sometimes spelled Rebecca) The sister of Laban, Isaac's wife, mother of Esau and Jacob. See Chapter 2.
- Red Sea
- See Reed Sea.
- Redaction criticism
- (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.
- Redactor
- (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.
- Redeem
- (Hebrew go'el, "redeemer"; n. redemption) To free from captivity or domination by paying a ransom; to buy back.
- Reed Sea
- (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.
- Rehoboam
- (922-915 B.C.E.) The son of Solomon who became the first king of Judah after the division of the kingdoms. See Chapter 9.
- Rezin
- King of Aramea/Syria during the Syrian-Israelite war against Judah.
- Resident alien
- 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.
- Resurrection
- 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.
- Retribution
- 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.
- Reuel
- The name of Moses' father-in-law; in some texts he is called Jethro.
- Rhetorical criticism
- (sometimes called rhetorical critique) The analysis of a text on the basis of its rhetorical devices; it is very similar to literary criticism.
- Righteous
- (n. righteousness) To be one who does what is right; to be in a right relationship with God.
- Ritual decalogue
- The set of ten regulations found in Exodus 34 that Moses wrote on two tablets. They are related primarily to worship practices. See Chapter 3.
- Rosh Hashanah
- (Hebrew for "beginning of the year") Jewish New Year celebration in the fall of the year, the month of Tishri.
- Rosh Hodesh
- (Hebrew for "beginning of a lunar month") The New Moon Festival.
- Royal grant covenant
- A type of covenant employed by monarchs that essentially consisted of a grant or gift to a faithful underling.
- Ruth
- The Moabite widow who followed her mother-in-law Naomi back to Bethlehem; she married Boaz and was an ancestor of David. See Chapter 16.
|