For Further Reading: Arminius, Works, 3:281-525; Augustine

The Talmud developed in two layers, the first being the Mishnah, and the second, the Gemara. The Mishnah (derived from the Hebrew mean­ing "repeat" or "study") contains the Oral Torah. It is composed of six main divisions and 63 trac­tates which give case law on numerous matters relating to agriculture, feasts, the role of women, cultic practices, etc. The Torah gives the statute, while the Mishnah applies the statute to a partic­ular situation in life.

The second layer or phase of the Talmud is the Gemara, the comments of the rabbis (the Amor-aim, literally "speakers") on the Mishnah. These interpretations come from the period A.D. 200 to 500. Apparently the brevity and specific nature of the mishnaic laws, in due time, required fur­ther interpretation and new application. Essen­tially, the Gemara was a supplement to the Mishnah, and the two constitute the Talmud.

During the course of Jewish history two Tal-muds were assembled, the Palestinian or Jerusa­lem Talmud and the Babylonian Talmud. The latter Talmud is more copious and elaborate in its notes and for that reason has become the more prized one. Both Talmuds were concluded about the fifth century a.d. It is to be understood, how­ever, that much of the material contained in them reaches well back into pre-Christian times.

See pentateuch, moses. mosaic law, judaism.

For Further Reading: Neusner, Invitation to the

For Further Reading: Bruce, The Books and the Parch-

Teaching is recognized as both an art and a sci­ence. Persons who have the art or the gift of teaching may be creative and highly individu­alistic in their approach to the teaching-learning encounter. Likewise, those who have studied hu­man growth and development, learning theories, and educational psychology may become skilled to an admirable degree. In fact, the science of teaching has become so proficient that man's be­havior and choices can be subtly determined by subliminal instruction. Conscious and subcon­scious influences can be so effective that even personality change can be induced by electro­chemical cortical stimulation or by "brain­washing" teaching techniques. The power of teaching and teachers cannot be overestimated for positive or negative impact upon man indi­vidually or corporately.

Teaching may be formal or informal, acci­dental, incidental, experiential, or systematized. Teaching may refer to the acts of instruction, the methods employed, the content of instruction, or the "body of truth" by which a group perpetuates itself as a distinct subculture.

The Bible is replete with references to teaching and teachers. Teaching and teachers in the OT were highly respected if not revered. The histori­cal narrative, the Torah, and the wisdom litera­ture alike stress the importance of both the role and the content of teaching. It was integral to the concept of a covenant people. The role and re­sponsibility were imposed upon parents, priests,

The NT terminology is rich in nuances of meaning. The verb didaskd perhaps has the broadest connotation of any word used. It may mean to perform, execute, demonstrate, or show; to apprise of or to prove; to instruct or teach. It is used to denote the passing on of information or knowledge, to teach a skill, or to clinch a point. It presupposes expertise in the teacher. It often de­picts the teaching by God or the Holy Spirit to denote revelation or inspiration. It also defines relationship between teacher and pupil.

The verb kateched, "to sound from above," was more restrictive to recounting, narrating, in­forming, or instructing. It carried the didactic connotation. It is from this authoritative under­standing that the Church developed and per­petuated the catechisms and the catechetical approach to teaching creeds, doctrine, and prac­tice.

The term paideud denoted upbringing, disci­plining, directing character formation of the pu­pils (usually for children or youth). It came to mean a way of education, a cultivation, and a goal to be attained.

Another term, the noun paradosis, related to the transmission and reception of tradition. It of­ten denoted exhortatory moral instruction.

Although preaching and teaching in biblical and Early Church records were generally sepa­rated in act and understanding, they were meant to be complementary offices and practices for propagating the gospel and nurturing the body individually and corporately. These offices and functions demand the best the Body of Christ can provide. Likewise, they demand the utmost in character, competence, and commitment that the teacher can achieve to deserve the privilege and responsibility as teacher in the Body and to the Body of Christ.

See CLERGY, ELDER, DISCIPLING, CHRISTIAN EDUCA­TION, PERSON (PERSONALITY), PREACHING.

For Further Reading: Harper and Sanner, eds.. Ex­ploring Christian Education; Leypoldt, Learning Is Change; Augustine, "Concerning the Teacher"; Kittel,

Temperance or self-control was one of the four cardinal virtues of classical Greek thought. Aris­totle uses the word to describe a man in whom reason prevails over passion, one in whom pas­sions and instincts, though not extirpated, have become servants rather than masters. Tem­perance is the ideal of perfecting the self into a harmonious whole (IDB, 5:268). The motive for self-control was to demonstrate that reason and self-will are sovereign.

In Pauline thought self-control is not an end in itself but a means to the glory of God and a nor­mal expression of the Spirit-filled life (Gal. 5:16-24). "The evil things of the old self are dead with Christ and the lovely things of the Spirit are manifest" (Barclay, Daily Bible Study Series, Gal. 5:23).

A more limited and technical use of the term confines it to a movement to eliminate the use of alcoholic beverages. After the first temperance society was formed in 1789 at Litchfield, Conn., the word "temperance" came to stand for total abstinence in the use of intoxicating beverages and rigid control of the production and sale of these beverages. Under the advocacy of such or­ganizations as the Women's Christian Tem­perance Union, total prohibition was the goal for the American society.

While the legal prohibition was not retained, and the 18th Amendment was repealed, the con­viction against the use of alcoholic beverages has become deeply rooted among evangelicals. This position is based more on the application of bib­lical principles than numerous proof texts. In this a parallel can be seen with the gradual quick­ening of a conscience against slavery. Modern al­ternatives as beverages, a gargantuan liquor and wine industry devoting billions to increase con­sumption, the high social cost of alcoholism, the technological demands on modern society, the proven tendency of alcohol to enslave, our ad­vanced knowledge concerning its physical effects—all point to a vast difference between biblical times and ours, and constitute over­whelming arguments for total abstinence.

See SEVEN DEADLY SINS. DRUNKENNESS, SEVEN CARDINAL VIRTUES.

The Jerusalem Temple was patterned after the Tabernacle which was used in the wilderness and through the early history of Israel. David had the vision for a permanent place of worship, but it was Solomon who had the Temple built and dedicated. As in the Tabernacle, the Temple was built to specifications providing for an outer court, an inner court, the holy place, and the holy of holies. The furniture of the Temple was the same as the Tabernacle's: the altar, table for shewbread, candlestick, the altar of incense, a veil, and the ark of the covenant.

See church, type (typology).

For Further Reading: NBD, 1242-49.

James L. Porter

TEMPTATION. The idea of temptation is ex­pressed in the Hebrew by the noun massah, usu­ally translated "temptation," and the verbs nasah ("tempt") and bachan, usually translated "try" or "prove." The corresponding Greek terms are the noun peirasmos and the verbs peirazd and doki-mazo. The biblical concept of temptation is not primarily the notion of enticement to sin as the English word suggests, but more basically the idea of "testing" or "proving." The intention is "to prove the quality of a person." Improvement of one's life may be the purpose by exposing latent defects in one's character.

Numerous scriptures depict God as "testing" people, that is, leading them into situations in which their faith or lack of it is exposed. A most familiar example is Abraham's "sacrifice" of Isaac (Genesis 22). These times of trials have purifying (1 Pet. 1:6-9), patience-inducing 0as. 1:2-4), and assuring effects in the life of the believer (Rom. 5:3-5). Satan is the eternal foe of believers, and he seeks to destroy their faith in devious ways. The classic examples in the OT are Adam and Eve (Genesis 3) and Job (Job 1:12; 2:6). In His earthly life Jesus was confronted by the tempter (Matt. 4:3; cf. 1 Thess. 3:5). Paul refers to his "thorn in the flesh" as a "messenger of Satan, to harass me, to keep me from being too elated" (2 Cor. 12:7, rsv, here and subsequently).

1. 
   God is not the provocateur of temptation, but He may permit it to come into a believer's life as in the case of Job. James cautions, "Let no one say when he is tempted, T am tempted by God'; for God cannot be tempted with evil and he him­self tempts no one" (1:13). The petition in the Lord's Prayer, "And lead us not into temptation" (Matt. 6:13; Luke 11:4), is a request not to be put to the test. It recognizes the need to preserve one's freedom, but at the same time it acknowl­edges that situations can develop which may cause one to "enter into temptation."
   
2. 
   Human desire accommodated by the will leads to sin. James clarifies this point: "Each per­son is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has con­ceived gives birth to sin" (1:14-15).
   
3. 
   God's intention is to provide "the way of es­cape" for His people whenever they are tempted in order that they may endure it (1 Cor. 10:13).
   
4. 
   The fact that Christ was tempted "in every respect" (ta panto) "as we are, yet without sin" (Heb. 4:15) would support the fact that tempta­tion is not sin. Yielding to the enticement offered is the point of sinning.
   

See TRIBULATION, VICTORY (VICTORIOUS LIVING), SIN, FORGIVENESS, BACKSLIDING, TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, SPIRITUAL WARFARE, SUPPRESSION.

Temptation is the devil's chosen work. He is the tempter, ho peirazdn. Satan tempts either by inflaming the evil lusts which lurk within, or by external enticement.

In the cases of Adam and of our Lord the temptations were of the latter kind, because there was no evil lust in Adam before the Fall, and certainly none in Christ during His earthly life. Therefore, when the devil tempted Christ, he had nothing in Him (John 14:30).

There is an interesting parallel in the tempta­tions of Adam and of Christ when studied in the light of 1 John 2:16: "For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world." The three identifying qualities of tempta­tion confronted both the first Adam and the Sec­ond Adam (Christ) in their temptations.

First Adam (Gen. 3:6)—

a. "The lust of the flesh"—"Tree was good for food."

2. 
   "The lust of the eyes"—"pleasant to the eyes."
   
3. 
   "The pride of life"—"desired to make one wise."
   

1. 
   'The lust of the flesh"—Tf thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread."
   
2. 
   "The lust of the eyes"—"And the devil, tak­ing him up into an high mountain, shewed unto him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. ... All this power will I give thee, and the glory of them."
   
3. 
   "The pride of life"—"If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from hence: for it is writ­ten, he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee."
   

Adam became the victim because he failed to heed the Word of God. Christ became the Victor because He used the Word of God as a defense against Satan.

Some have suggested that the temptation of Christ is mythological and allegorical and was not a real struggle. If we accept the Bible as the Word of God, then we must lay aside such un­tenable hypotheses, accepting the Matt. 4:1-11 record as a historical narrative of the life of Christ.

As the incarnate Son of God, was it possible for Him to have yielded to the temptation and sinned? Was Christ impeccable? At least two af­firmations are true: (1) His temptation was real. There is no question about the reality of His temptation; (2) He could not have sinned and re­mained the Savior.

The strength with which the Master resisted temptation is available now to His people who are made partakers of His divine nature (Matt. 6:13; 1 Cor. 10:13; Heb. 4:15-16; 7:25; 1 Pet. 4:1-2).

See SINLESSNESS OF CHRIST, TEMPTATION.