Post on 18-Dec-2015
INTRODUCTION TO THE BIBLE
Understanding the Scripture
What is the world’s best selling book?
What was the first book publishedIn 1456 after the printing pressWas invented?
What book covers more Than 2000 years of history?
What is one of the oldest manuscriptsIn existence?
THE BIBLE
Why study the Bible? • covenant—sacred agreement• basis of spiritual life• leads to a deeper love of Jesus• Teaches about Trinity
• Understanding of our faith• Belief in one God--Monotheism• God created everything/
Humans in his image• Chosen people=Jews (called
after fall of Jerusalem)• Hebrews (before Exodus);
Israelites after desert• Defining moments of Jews:
Exodus/ Passover/ • Law/ New covenant • New covenant--Jesus
Bible(English)
© Nataliia Natykach/Shutterstock.com
=Biblios (Greek)
“Books” (Literal Meaning)
=
The Bible
is a library
of books.
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How many books of the Bible can you name?
Who wrote the Bible?• Author?• GOD
– Human writers– Different times– Different types of
writing
• Subject?/ Audience?– God’s role in shaping
human events
– Israelites
What was special about these authors?
• Ordinary people• not dictated people still used their creative abilities• “to breathe into”-inspired (by the Holy Spirit)• Inspiration-God speaks through human authors• Source of God’s wisdom• Not fact or science
• God remains the same• Human understanding of God develops with time
• Inerrancy-truths of faith are accurate and without error
How?
HistoryArcheology
Literary forms
Culture
Why? Discovery of the intended meaning
Stages• Oral Tradition—the Israelites
kept their history alive by repeating it throughout many generations.
– Historical chronicles– Genealogies– Laws– Cultural lore
• Inconsistent over time
• Written Tradition: individuals or groups recorded the oral traditions of the Israelites
– Letters– Memoirs– Genealogies– Palace and temple records – Documents
• More inconstancy as changed over time
• • Edited: Editors combined
traditions into interpreted story of the dealings of God with humankind
First writing @ 2000 years ago – Mesopotamia• Wrote on anything: stone, metal, wood,
rocks, clay (Still around)• 17C BC used parchment—animal skins
(sheep, goats, calves) soaked in lime water, scraped, stretched, dried and rubbed with chalk or pumice to smooth
– parchment could be handled, was more durable
– could write on both sides– heavier and shinier
• Egyptians wrote as well but on Papyrus (4000 BC -500Ad)
– —paper made from reeds of the Nile.
– Used in scrolls because the paper dried and became brittle
– First Bible was written on papyrus scrolls
• Writing started as pictographs, evolved to syllabic and the alphabetic (@ 2000 Bc in Indo-European)
• Slow process – – @ 3 syllables per minute. = 72 words
per hour (6-7 lines of type)– 140 words fit on a page of papyrus
would take 2 days to fill page– Letter to the Romans --@ 7200 words
= 50 sheets of papyrus and 100 hours to write
When was the Bible written?• Not as happened• Not in order of events in Bible• Cohesiveness to story as arranged (example
Some of Paul’s letters were written before the Gospels/ Genesis 1-11 was written after most of the OT)
• Dates range from 900 BCE to 62 AD
Canon• Official list of inspired books of the Bible• “reed” –Greek• Defined April 8 with the council of Trent• Process of writing took centuries• They looked at the following criteria as they evaluated the
writings:– apostolic origin – universal acceptance– the use of the writings in liturgical celebrations– the consistency of a book’s message with other
Christian and Jewish writings
Number of books in OT— Jewish Protestant Catholic l l l 39 39 46
2 sections – OT/ NT
Extra books are called apocryphal books by Jews and Protestants
TaNaK-- Torah/Nebiium (prophets)/ Ketubim (writings)—Jewish canon
Alexandrian –Greek—CatholicJamnian—Hebrew-Protestant
Languages of the Bible
• Hebrew Hebrew Scriptures had no vowels• Greek: Wisdom, Maccabees, Baruch, Ben Sirach parts of Daniel, and Esther Ezra, and Jeremiah
( New Testament)• Aramaic: Tobit and Judith, ( Matthew and a few words in the Gospel of Mark)
Early Versions of the Old Testament
• Masoretic Text (Hebrew)
• Septuagint (Greek)
• Vulgate (Latin)
A leaf from the Masoretic
Interpretations• ~1452 first printed Bible• Septuagint (2-3c) – A translation into Greek for the Jews in
Alexandria, Egypt• Vulgate (end of 4thc) St. Jerome translated into Latin, common
language of the world at that time. • Catholic translations in modern English: New American
(approved for liturgy), New Revised Standard, New Jerusalem, Good News Catholic ed.
• NAB—used in Liturgy in US/ NRSV in Canada
• KJV (1611) Protestant edition OT from Hebrew/ NT from Greek• Revised standard version (1953) Modern Protestant Version• Living Bible (1971) –paraphrased version• Good News – paraphrased version
Senses of Scripture• Literal –meaning conveyed (not exactly what
it says– Catholics DO NOT believe in a literal
translation interpretation
• Allegorical-how people, events and things point to Pascal Mystery
• Moral—how to live just and ethical• Anagogical- in terms of eternal significance
Old Testament Literary Terms
Mary, Mother of God slaughters Christ the King
St. Mary’s clobbers Child Jesus
What do these mean?
If misinterpreted what problems could arise?How can misinterpretations be prevented?How can scripture be misinterpreted? Why?
Sources of the Sources of the PentateuchPentateuch
NOT A SCIENTIFIC NOT A SCIENTIFIC EXPLANATION OF THE EXPLANATION OF THE
UNIVERSEUNIVERSE
USED POPULAR USED POPULAR IMAGES TO CONVEY IMAGES TO CONVEY RELIGIOUS TRUTHRELIGIOUS TRUTH
YAHWIST—vivid, earthy YAHWIST—vivid, earthy style of writing with an style of writing with an
anthropomorphic view of anthropomorphic view of GodGod
ELOHIST—emphasis on ELOHIST—emphasis on prophesies; Abraham is prophesies; Abraham is
central figurecentral figure
DEUTERONOMIST—DEUTERONOMIST—emphasis on morality emphasis on morality
and the Law; highlights and the Law; highlights Moses’ speechesMoses’ speeches
PRIESTLY—census lists, PRIESTLY—census lists, genealogies, numbers, genealogies, numbers, dates, proper ways to dates, proper ways to
worshipworship
Interpretation of Scripture
Who interprets scripture?
Magisterium has the teaching responsibility for the Church—scripture and Tradition
Three defining moments: 1943 Pius XII allowed and recognized modern
methods of Biblical criticism (Divino-Afflante Spiritu) 1965 Vatican II explored literary devises and the
need to study cultures written 1993 Laid out several methods to study scripture,
explained the senses of the scripture and developed a list of characteristics of Catholic interpretation
Who interprets scripture? (Con’t)
Other contemporary teachings: Modern archeological discoveries Dei Verbum—highlighted the role of scripture in
liturgy and individual lives
Reminders: deposit of faith Guarding the deposit of faith is the responsibility of
the church
A Look at Biblical Exegesis
If you found a letter written by one person to another person, what would you need to consider in order to truly understand it?
Biblical exegesis: The critical interpretation and explanation of a biblical text.
© Danylchenko Iaroslav /Shutterstock.com
A Look at Biblical Exegesis (cont.)
Critical -thoughtful and thorough review of a particular biblical text, taking all aspects and senses into consideration.
What does biblical exegesis do? looks at language, symbols, culture, and
history that influenced the human author. Tries to understand the intention the human
author in writing the book What is God revealing through the
human author’s words.© Danylchenko Iaroslav /Shutterstock.com
Why Exegesis?
Ensures an authentic interpretation
Guidance of the Magisterium. Examined in light of the whole
of Revelation, doctrines and teachings of the Church.
God’s truth never contradicts itself.
This is known as the analogy of faith.
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Types of Biblical Criticism
Biblical criticism: Another term for biblical exegesis.
Textual criticism: Deals with the text itself; it is concerned with finding the most original texts written by the human authors and with creating authentic translations of these ancient texts.
Historical criticism: Considers the historical setting of the text.
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Types of Biblical Criticism
Literary criticism: Considers the literary forms utilized in the text and how those are used to convey the deeper meaning of the text.
Source criticism: Concerns itself with other writings the human author drew on in writing his book and how the Bibles stories compare to other ancient writings.
Process is called Historical –critical method enables us to get at the true meaning intended by the author
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Biblical parallels Gilgamesh—2000 BC Mesopotamian Lit/ Flood story Code of Hammurabi –1792-1750 BC Babylonian/Rule book (similar to Ex/Lev/Deut) Ptah-Hotep—2450 BC Egypt/ Wise sayings Enuma Elish
Babylonian/creation story
IF BOTH
ReligionScience
Point to the “TRUTH”
What happens when they disagree or seem to disagree
Science and History
Catholic teaching-faith, science and history can co-exist
Math, science, psychology, sociology, history and literature are gifts
God gifted us with imaginations and inquisitive minds
Fundamental approach—literal Contextual approach—literal sense of scripture is
informed by historical and scientific information
Other things to consider
Archeology Dead Sea Scrolls Nag Hammadi manuscripts
Literary analysis—redaction
Reformation –Bible is translated to venacular Council of Trent and scripture
Overview of Old and New Testament
Document #: TX001066
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What are the main sections of the Bible?
Old and New TestamentsOld and New Testaments
Our covenant relationship to God
Synonym for
is solemn vow
The original covenant is fulfilled
Old TestamentOld Testament
God’s relationship with
the Hebrews/Israelites
Old and New
• Jewish– Hebrew scripture– History of Israel– Covenant with God
– Not out of date—but preparation for Gospel
• Christian– Roots in the OT– Cannot understand
Jesus with out OT, Jesus was Jewish it is the foundation of all he taught
– Therefore, we cannot understand the New without the Old—message of the OT is hidden in OT
– We are called to proclaim the good news of NT
Where in the World…OT
• Mesopotamia
• ---Valley of the Tigris and Euphrates river
• (mostly now Iraq)
• ---Formed the fertile crescent• semicircle of rich farm and
grazing land• ---subject to coastal invasions• ---coastal area = “way to the
sea”
• Egypt– Along the Nile– More Stable
Where in the World…NT• Palestine
– Galilee– Samaria– Judea
• Influenced by Greek• Jewish sects: Pharisees, Sadducees,
Herodians, Zealots, Essenes
The Church Determines the Canon
• Greek-- meaning “rule” or “standard.”
• Catholic canon –• 46 –OT/ 27 NT• 7 books differ from
protestant versions• OT based on
Septuagint• Protestants rejected
Septuagint
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PentateuchGreek-First five books Torah-Hebrew “law”
ProphetsEighteen books recording the warnings and promises of Israel’s prophets
WisdomSeven books of poetry and wise sayings
Historical BooksSixteen books of religious history and a few “historical novellas”
Canon (con’t)
Bible divisions • OT/ NT• OT written between 1900 BC and 100 BC, (most was probably during
Solomon’s reign (900BC) and the Exile (500 BC) They were written on papyrus scrolls. None of the original manuscripts exist today.
• Reveals God working in world and covenant
• Pentateuch History WisdomProphetic(Law) --conquest of --poetry --visions of
--creationancestors CanaanMacabees –Job prophets
--Is. History breakup of Is. --wise sayings --sermons --codes of law --explore life ? --
warnings --advise @
traps of
life
Connect the Old Testament Booksto Their Sections
Micah
2 Chronicles
Song of Songs
Jeremiah
Deuteronomy
Proverbs
Exodus
Judges
PENTATEUCH
HISTORICAL BOOKS
THE PROPHETS
WISDOM & POETRY
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Catholic LettersSeven letters written by Christ’s Apostles or their disciples to provide teaching and to correct abuses in the early churches
Gospels & ActsThe story of Jesus’ life and ministry and the start of the Church, told from four complementaryfaith perspectives
Pauline Letters(Epistles)Fourteen letters by Saint Paul or his disciples written to provide teaching and to correct abuses in the early churches
RevelationA book written as apocalypticliterature, during a time whenChristians were being persecuted
Connect the New Testament Booksto Their Sections
2 John
Mark
Galatians
John
Revelation to John
Romans
James
1 Timothy
GOSPELS & ACTS
PAULINE LETTERS
CATHOLIC LETTERS
REVELATION