Capitalization and Spelling Glossary1 AD (Latin abbreviation for “in

Last Updated August 22, 2024

Capitalization and Spelling Glossary

AD (Latin abbreviation for “in the year of our Lord”) goes before the date (AD 2014)

Age (archeological periods such as Bronze Age, Iron Age)

age (apostolic, church, classical, etc.)

Almighty God

amillennial(ism),

amillenarian

ancient Near East,the

ancient Near Eastern (adj.)

antichrist, the

anti-Christian

Apocrypha, the (but: apocryphal)

apostle(s) (the twelve apostles, but the Twelve)

apostolic

archaeology

ark (any reference)

ascension, the

Ascension Day (as liturgical day)

atonement, the

Atonement, Day of (Yom Kippur)

BC (English abbreviation for “before Christ”) goes after the date (586 BC)

Beatitudes, the

Beloved Disciple (as title)

Bible

biblical (but Biblical Hebrew)

black theology

body of Christ ( = the church)

Book of books (Bible)

book of Genesis (etc.)

book of the Bible, a

Book of the Twelve

book of the law (covenant, life)

Bread of Life

bride of Christ

bridegroom, the (= Christ)

For additional details, see section 4.3.6 in The SBL Handbook of Style: For Biblical Studies and Related

Disciplines, 2nd ed. (Atlanta: SBL Press, 2014), 37-52.

Calvary

captivity, the (the Babylonian captivity))

catholic (meaning universal)

Catholic (when part of the name of a particular church or denomination, as in Catholicism)

chapter (general term)

Chapter 6 (specific chapter) charismatic

chiasm, chiasmus

chief priest(s)

children of Israel

Christ Child

Christian (noun an ad.j) (as in Christian education but: Department of Christian Education)

Christlike

christological (adj.)

Christological (noun)

Christology

Christ’s kingdom

church (both universal and local)

church father(s)

commandments (the, first commandment, etc. but capitalize only when referring to the whole

Decalogue: Ten Commandments)

communion (the ordinance)

communists, communism (when referring to the political system)

covenant (Abrahamic, Mosaic, old, new)

creation, the

Creation Epic. (i.e. Babylonian Story of Creation = Enuma Elish)

Creator, the

cross (the wooden object or synecdoche for the entire event)

crucifixion, the

curriculum (plural: curricula, not: curriculums)

Davidic covenant

Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur)

day of Pentecost

day of the Lord

Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) (but a Dead Sea scroll)

Decalogue (Ten Commandments)

Department of Historical Theology (but: the Historical Theology department)

deity pronouns are uppercase (i.e. He, Him, His)

deity titles are capitalized (i.e. the Good Shephard, God Most High)

Deuteronomic

devil

disciple(s) (but: the Twelve)

dynasty (David, etc.: but Dynasty (Egyptian) as in the Eighteenth Dynasty)

Easter

empire, the

Empire, Neo-Babylonian, Roman, etc.

Epistle (when used in connection with the biblical letters, as in the Epistle to the Galatians, the

Epistles, the Epistles of Paul, the Pauline Epistles)

eternal God

etiology (not aetilogy)

Eucharist

eucharistic

evangelist (gospel writer, proclaimer of good news)

Evangelist (as part of a title: John the Evangelist)

exile, the (biblical event)

exodus, the (biblical event)

extrabiblical

fall (of humanity)

Father, the (referring to God)

fathers, the (referring to the church fathers)

Feast of Tabernacles

flood, the (biblical event)

Fourth Gospel (=John)

fundamentalism, fundamentalist

garden of Eden

Gentile

gnostic (noun and adj.)

Gnosticism

Godhead

godless

godly

God-Man

gods (plural)

God’s Word

Golden Rule, the

Good Shepherd, the

gospel (when referring to the evangelical message)

Gospel (one of the first four New Testament books)

Gospels (the division of the canon)

Greek (noun and adj.)

Great Commission, the

great white throne judgment, the

handbook

hapax legomenon (pl. hapax legomena)

He, His, Him (pronouns when referring to God or Jesus)

hell

Hellenistic (but hellenize)

High Priest (for Jesus, otherwise lowercase)

Holy Land

holy of holies Holy One (God)

Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit

Incarnation, the

the intertestamental period

Jehovah (but: Yahweh is preferred)

judgment seat of Christ

King of kings

kingdom, the

kingdom of God/heaven

Koine Greek

land of Israel

Lamb of God, the

Last Supper, the

Law, the (= Pentateuch; lowercase for any other reason)

law (Mosaic, Jewish, of Moses, of Israel)

liberation theology

Lord, the

Lord of Hosts

Lord of lords

Lord’s Day (= Sunday)

Lord’s Prayer (specific prayer taught by Jesus)

Lord’s Supper

Lord’s Table

lordship

major judges

Major Prophets

Majority Text

Markan (not Marcan)

marriage supper of the Lamb

Masoretic (pronunciation, vocalization, etc.)

Masoretic Text (when used as a singular proper noun)

Master, the (Jesus)

Mediator (Christ)

mercy seat

Messiah (in Christian contexts, as referenced to Jesus Christ)

messianic (age, prophecy, etc.)

Middle Assyrian Laws

Middle Assyrian period

midrash (pl. midrashim)

midrashic (adj.)

millenarianism

millennial

millennium

Mosaic covenant

Mosaic law

Most High (name of God)

Neo-Babylonian

neo-orthodoxy

Neoplatonism

new covenant

new heaven and new earth

new Jerusalem

New Testament (noun and adj.)

New World (as opposed to Old World)

Nicaea, Council of

Nicene fathers

Noah’s ark

non-Christian (but unchristian)

Northern Kingdom, the (Israel)

old covenant

Old Testament

only begotten Son/of the Father

Orthodox (Judaism; Eastern Orthodox)

orthodoxy

parable of the prodigal son (and other parables)

paradise

Passover (noun and adj.)

patriarchs, the

patristic(s)

per se

percent (spelled out in text; % in parentheses)

pericope (pl. pericopes)

period (Roman, Chalcolithic, etc.)

Persian Empire

person of Christ

persons of the Trinity (but Third Person of the Trinity, as a title)

postexilic

postmillennial(ism)post-Nicene

premillennial(ism)

Priestly (=P; source, redaction, code, document)

Prince of Peace

promised land

prophet (the prophet Amos, etc.)

Prophets (Hebrew division of the Old Testament)

Protestant(ism)

Proto-Semitic

proto-Mark, proto-Luke, proto-Matthew

Psalm (specific song or chapter in the Psalms—Psalm 1)

psalm(s) (general reference: this psalm)

psalmist, the (the psalmist David)

psalter, the

Qur’an (not Koran)

Qoheleth (not Qohelet)

rabbi

rabbinical

rapture

reader-response criticism

Redeemer, the

Reformation, the

Reformers, the

registration

resurrection, the

Roman Empire

Sabbath , the (noun and adj.)

Sadducees

Sanhedrin, the

Satan

satanic

salvation history

Savior, the (referring to Jesus)

scribe

scriptural

Scripture(s) (when referencing the Bible, otherwise scripture)

second coming

Second Temple (period, literature, etc.)

Septuagint

Semitic

Sermon on the Mount

servant of the Lord

Shekinah

Shema, the

Sin-bearer (Christ)

Sitz im Leben (not Sitz-im-Leben)

son of man; except Son of Man as christological title

sonship

Song of the Sea

Southern Kingdom (Judah)

Spirit, the (as shorthand for the Holy Spirit)

stoic (an attitude)

Stoic(s) (member of the philosophy begun by Zeno)

suffering servant (in Isa. 53)

Sunday school

synoptic (adj.)

Synoptic Gospels, the

Synoptic problem, the

systematic theology (unless used as a proper noun such as for a course, Systematic Theology)

tabernacle

Table of Nations (= Gen. 10)

Talmud

targum, a (pl. targumim)

temple, the

Ten Commandments, the (but: the first commandment)

Tendenz

textual criticism (noun), textual-critical or text-critical (adj.)

theological

third world (preference: two-thirds world)

torah (general term for instruction) (but transliterated tôrâ)

Torah (division of the canon)transfiguration, the

tribulation, the

Trinitarian (adj.)

Trinity, the (when referring to God)

triune

TV (not T.V.)

Twelve, the (referring to the apostles)

unbiblical

unchristian (but: un-Christlike, non-Christian)

united kingdom/monarchy

West Semitic

white (Caucasian)

wise men (biblical)

wisdom (literature, movement, quality, tradition)

Wisdom (personified)

Word, the (= Jesus)

word of God

Yahweh or YHWH (not Jahweh)

Yahwist (Not Jahwist) source