Week 4: Evangelium. Background | Background Quiz | Starting Assumptions | Resources | Extras Vocabulary | Etymology | Grammar | Perseus Dictionary | Perseus Tool Reading Overview | Reading Quiz: English | Reading Quiz: Latin Discussion Questions | Latin Composition | Weekly Checklist

Background Information

Although we will only be reading selections from the "gospels" (Greek evangelium, good news), it is helpful for you to be aware with the various books that constitute the New Testament. When Jerome was creating his Latin Vulgata in the fourth century, the Biblical text had not been fully stabilized - at least not in the form that we now know it. In addition to the books that today form part of the New Testament, there were also many other books which were considered - at least in some circles - to have a special, sacred status. In the list below you will see a brief description of the books that are included today as part of the New Testament, as well as some of the books that were circulating in Jerome's time, but which are not longer included in the Biblical text today.

The Canonical New Testament

The Gospels. Evangeliorum libri IV. Secundum Matthaeum. Secundum Marcum. Secundum Lucam. Secundum Joannem.

• The Synoptic Gospels. The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke (written in Greek) are often referred to as "synoptic" gospels. The word "synoptic" is a term coined by modern Biblical scholars (in the late 18th century) to account for the fact that you can see narrative patterns across these three accounts of the life and sayings of Jesus - there are parallel passages shared by these gospels, and even though they differ from one another they are organized in basically the same way. One popular explanation for these similarities is that the authors of these three texts relied on a shared common source, while making their own contributions.
• The Gospel of John. The Gospel of John is markedly different from the other three gospels in many ways. The style of Greek used in this gospel is marked by some unusual vocabulary and grammatical constructions. In terms of content, this gospel focuses more on the sayings of Jesus than on his deeds, and it is much more self-consciously "theological" than the other gospel narratives.

The Acts of the Apostles. Actuum apostolorum liber I.

• This book takes up its narrative after the crucifixion and describes the events after the death of Jesus. It does not provide stories about all of the apostles, and it also contains stories about Paul and other early converts to Christianity. It covers both the spreading of Christian faith among the Jews (especially by Peter) and also among the gentiles, the non-Jewish communities of the Roman empire (the work of Paul in particular).

The Letters of Paul. Epistolae Pauli apostoli numero XIV. Ad Romanos. Ad Corinthios (II). Ad Ephesios. Ad Thessalonicenses (II). Ad Galatas. Ad Philippenses. Ad Colossenses. Ad Timotheum (II). Ad Titum. Ad Philemonem. Ad Hebraeos.

• There are fourteen letters of Paul included in the New Testament, and these letters are commonly referred to by the addressee, the community to whom the letter was addressed: . Hebrews, or the "Letter to the Hebrews," is sometimes considered to be one of Paul's letters, but it is quite different from the other letters, and actually resembles a true sermon far more than a letter.

Other Letters. Epistolae numero septem. Petri apostoli (II). Jacobi apostoli. Joannis apostoli (III). Judae Zelotis apostoli.

• There are seven other letters included in the New Testament, and these letters are usually referred to by the name of their author: the letters of Peter, of James (= Jacobus in Latin), of John, and of Jude.

Revelation. Apocalypsis Joannis liber I

• The Greek word apocalypsis means the "uncovering" or the "revealing" of something. The Latin equivalent would be Revelatio and this book is usually referred to in English as "Revelation." The author of the book declares his name to be John, and he is traditionally associated with the author of the Gospel of John.

Some Examples of Extra-Canonical Texts

You can find much more information about these extra-canonical texts at the very helpful website maintained by the Wesley Center Online. There are many other extra-canonical texts than the ones I have listed here! You might find it interesting to look at the enormous list of non-canonical books which Pope Hormisdas decreed in the year 520 to be in aeternum damnata!

Infancy gospels. There were a number of widely popular infancy gospels which described the events of Jesus' childhood, not covered by the four canonical gospels.

Other gospels. Among the many other gospel texts, you can find the Acta Pilati (or the Gospel of Nicodemus, as it was called in the Middle Ages). This gospel text contains three parts: an account of the trial of Jesus before Pilate; the Resurrection of Jesus; and also an account of the descent of Jesus into Hell, provided by eyewitness, Leucius and Charinus, recently raised from the dead.

Other acts. There are many other collections of "acts" of the apostles. In some cases these texts provide more elaborate accounts of incidents mentioned only briefly in the canonical Acts, and in other cases they are about entirely new events, such as the Acts of Thomas in which the apostle Thomas finds himself sold into slavery in India, where he begins missionary work.

Other apocalypses. There are many other apocalyptic texts, in addition to the canonical Apocalypse of John, including texts attributed to James, Paul, and Peter, as well as to figures from the Hebrew Bible such as Adam and Moses.