As literature is full of allusions to the classics, you will have an advantage on the AP exam if you have a fundamental working knowledge of mythology, folklore, and Biblical names, places, and stories.
BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS
Absolom – a son who brings heartache to his father; from the third son of David, King of Israel. Exiled for
three years before he was allowed to return to the court or see his royal father, Absolom plotted to cause a rebellion against his father to overtake the kingdom because he heard Solomon was to succeed David. When Absolom was killed in battle, King David grieved for his son in spite of his treachery against him.
Alpha and Omega – The beginning and the end, from a quote in Revelations in the New Testament
Ararat - The Bible says that Noah's ark landed on the mountains of Ararat. This does not refer to any specific mountain or peak, but rather a mountain range ...
Armageddon - will be, according to the Book of Revelation, the site of gathering of armies for a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location. The term is also used in a generic sense to refer to any end of the world scenario.
Babylon (Babel) - . The Bible in Genesis 10 indicates that a biblical king named Nimrod was the original founder of Babel (Babylon). meaning "Gate of God" or "Gateway of the God"
Cain- a brother who kills a brother; from the story of Adam and Eve’s son Cain, who killed his brother Abelout of jealousy
Daniel – one known for wisdom and accurate judgment; from a wise leader in the Old Testament who was able to read the handwriting on the wall
David and Bathsheba – represents a big sin; from King David’s affair with Bathsheba, the wife of Uriah. After they had an affair and she became pregnant, David had her husband Uriah put on the front lines of battle so he would die. The "Bathsheba Affair" formed a critical turning point in King David's life. Prior to this, he had prospered greatly, but afterward, his personal fortunes were greatly diminished. Nathan the prophet confronted David after he took Bathsheba for his wife and trapped him into admitting his own guilt.
Eye of the Needle - A very difficult task; from famousnarrow gateway called “the needle.” In the NT, Jesus said it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich man to enter heaven.
Filthy Lucre(lukeer)- Money; originally, money obtained dishonestly. For example, she didn't like the job but loved the filthy lucre in the form of her weekly paycheck. This term comes from the Bible (Titus 1:11), where it refers to those who teach wrongly for the sake of money. In time it came to be used loosely, and usually jokingly, for money in general, and in the mid-1900s gave rise to the jocular slang term the filthy for "money." Although both versions may be dying out, the expression filthy rich, for "extremely wealthy," survives.
Goliath – Ǧulyāt (Christian term)) or Goliath of Gath (one of five city states of the Philistines) is a giant Philistine warrior defeated by the young David, the future King of Israel, in the Bible's Books of Samuel. The original purpose of the story was to show David's identity as the true King of Israel.
Good Samaritan –The parable of the Good Samaritan is a parable told by Jesus and is mentioned in only one of the gospels of the New Testament. According to the Gospel of Luke (10:29–37) a traveler (possibly Jewish) is beaten, robbed, and left half dead along the road. First a priest and then a Levite come by, but both avoid the man. Finally, a Samaritan comes by. Samaritans and Jews generally despised each other, but the Samaritan helps the injured man.
Handwriting on the wall – what the future holds; from the OT story of Daniel, who was able to accurately predict some mysterious writing that appeared on a wall (translated, it predicted the imminent death of the king)
Ishmael – one who is cast out as being unworthy; the son of Abraham and his handmaiden Hagar, he was cast out into the desert when his wife Sarah had their son Isaac; therefore said to be the ancestor of the nomadic desert tribes of Arabs
Jacob - grandson of Abraham, son of Isaac and Rebekah, brother of Esau, and the traditional ancestor of Israelites. His name was changed to Israel, and his 12 sons became the 12 Tribes of Israel.
Jacob’s Ladder - is a staircase to heaven that the biblical Patriarch Jacob dreams about during his flight from his brother Esau. It is described in the Book of Genesis.
Job- who suffers a great deal but remains faithful; from an OT character whose faith in God was tested by Satan; though he lost his family and belongings, he remained patient and faithful
Jonah – one who brings bad luck; an OT prophet who ran from God and sailed to sea. When a storm arose, he admitted that he was the cause, and the sailors threw him overboard, where he was swallowed by a large fish.
Judas – (n) a traitor or a treacherous kiss (a Judas kiss); one of the 12 Apostles, notorious for betraying Jesus. His surname in Latin means "murderer" or "assassin." Judas disclosed Jesus' whereabouts to the chief priests and elders for thirty pieces of silver King Ahab and Jezabel
King Ahab and Jezabel – an evil king of Israel and his treacherous evil wife, synonymous today with evil. Through her marriage to Ahab, Jezebel introduced the worship of Baal, an idol, to Israel, inciting mutual enmity with the prophets. She instigated the murder Naboth for the possession of a vineyard. Today Jezebel means a brazen or forward woman
Lot’s wife- the wife of Lot is a figure first mentioned in Genesis 19. The Book of Genesis describes how she became a pillar of salt after she looked back at Sodom.
Manna – a sustaining life-giving source or food; from the sweetish bread-like food that fell from heaven for the Israelites as they crossed the Sinai Desert to the Promised Land with Moses
Methuselah - is the man in the Hebrew Bible reported to have lived the longest. Extra-biblical tradition maintains that he died on the 11th of Cheshvan of the year 1656 (Anno Mundi, after Creation), at the age of 969, seven days before the beginning of the Great Flood. Methuselah was the son of Enoch and the grandfather of Noah. The name Methuselah, or the phrase "old as Methuselah", is commonly used to refer to any living thing reaching great age. (Their Eye Were Watching God)
Noah - Biblical Hebrew: TevatNoaḥ) is the vessel in the Genesis flood narrative (Genesis chapters 6–9) by which God saves Noah, his family, and a remnant of all the world's animals from the flood. God gives Noah detailed instructions for building the ark
Olive branch - The dove and olive branch is one of the most ancient symbols of peace. The story of the dove and the olive first appeared in the Biblical story of Noah's Ark as mentioned in Genesis 8 :11-
Original Sin/The Fall – the idea that all men are innately sinful as a result of Adam and Eve’s fall from the state of innocence. When they ate of the forbidden fruit, they were cast out of the Biblical Garden of Eden; a post-biblical expression for the doctrine of Adam's and mankind's consequential inheritance of a sinful nature because he ate the forbidden fruit from the Tree of Knowledge.
Pearl of Great Price – something so precious that one would devote everything to or give up everything for it. In one of Jesus' parables, the kingdom of heaven is compared to a pearl of great price, or value, found by a merchant
Pearls before swine - the sixth verse of the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament and is part of the Sermon on the Mount. This verse contains an ambiguous warning about placing "pearls before swine." (Blanche in “A Streetcar Named Desire”)
Philistine – a person indifferent or hostile to the arts and refinement; from Sea-going people from Crete who became enemies of the Israelites and fought over their lands
Prodigal Son – a wasteful son who disappoints his father; from the NT parable of a man with two sons When he split his estate between the two, the younger son gathered his fortune and left home to live the wild life, while the older son stayed home to work in the fields. When the younger son spent all of the money, he came crawling back to his father, who accepted him, pardoning his error by saying he was “lost but was found.”
Promised Land- is the land promised or given by God, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), to the Israelites, the descendants of Jacob. The promise is first made to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21) and then renewed to his son Isaac, and to Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 28:13), Abraham's grandson. The promised land was described in terms of the territory from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates river (Exodus 23:31) and was given to their descendants after Moses led the Exodus out of Egypt. (Deuteronomy 1:8)
Queen of Sheba - According to the Hebrew Bible, the unnamed queen of the land of Sheba heard of the great wisdom of King Solomon of Israel and journeyed there with gifts of spices, gold, precious stones and beautiful wood and to test him with questions, as recorded in First Kings 10:1-13 It is related further that the queen was awed by Solomon's great wisdom and wealth and pronounced a blessing on Solomon's God. Solomon reciprocated with gifts and "everything she desired." Solomon offered to give her everything she desired and asked for "besides what he had given her out of his royal bounty." Then, according to the Bible, "she turned and went to her country, she and her servants." The queen apparently was quite rich, however, as she brought four and a half tons of gold with her to give to Solomon (1 Kings 10:10). In the biblical passages referring explicitly to the Queen of Sheba, there are no hints of love or sexual attraction between her and Solomon. The two are depicted merely as fellow monarchs engaged in the affairs of state.
Ruth and Naomi – paragons of love between in-laws; faithful friends. From the OT story of Ruth, who, when her husband died in battle, left her own land to travel with his mother back to her people.
Samson and Delilah - Treacherous love story. Samson, an Israelite hero and legendary warrior with extraordinary physical strength, fell in love with Delilah, a Philistine. When Delilah learned that Samson's hair was the source of his strength, she betrayed him by accepting a Philistine bribe to cut off his hair while he slept. Today the name Delilah is associated with a voluptuous, treacherous woman.
Scapegoat- —Leviticus, Leviticus 16:8 In ancient Greece a cripple or beggar or criminal was cast out of the community, either in response to a natural disaster (such as a plague, famine or an invasion) or in response to a calendrical crisis (such as the end of the year). In the Bible, the goat for Azazel was a goat that was designated to be outcast in the desert as part of the ceremonies of the Day of Atonement, that began during the Exodus with the original Tabernacle and continued through the times of the temples in Jerusalem. In psychology and sociology, the practice of selecting someone to blame has led to the concept of scapegoating.
Sepulcher – tomb in the OT
Sermon on the Mount - is a collection of sayings and teachings of Jesus, which emphasizes his moral teaching found in the Gospel of Matthew. It is the first of the Five Discourses of Matthew and takes place relatively early in the Ministry of Jesus after he has been baptized by John the Baptist and preached in Galilee. The Sermon is the longest piece of teaching from Jesus in the New Testament, and has been one of the most widely quoted elements of the Canonical Gospels. It includes some of the best known teachings of Jesus, such as the Beatitudes, and the widely recited Lord's Prayer.
Sodom and Gomorrah – any place associated with wickedness or sin; from the evil cities of the OT that were destroyed by fire
Solomon – an extremely wise person; from the son of King David, the Israelite king who wrote Proverbs, and was known for wisdom
Twelve Tribes of Israel - according to the Old Testament, the Hebrew people took possession of the Promised Land of Canaan after the death of Moses and named the tribes after the sons and grandson of Jacob (whose name was changed to Israel): Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulum, Gad, Asher, Dan, Naphtali, Joseph, Manasseh, and Ephraim.