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Introduction to Introduction to Introduction to Introduction to Sacred ScriptureSacred ScriptureSacred ScriptureSacred Scripture
In the Beginning …
Adult Faith Formation
St. Mark the Evangelist
Divine Revelation …
… is only one source/one font
of Revelation: God who speaks to us
through Word and Deed.
… is that orally transmitted and
handed-down experiences of the
Disciples of Jesus we call Tradition.
Divine Revelation …
… those transmitted and
handed-down experiences of
prophets, priests, leaders and
Apostles preserved in that writing
we call the Bible or Sacred Scripture.
Tradition with a capital T
From the Latin, tredere …
“to hand on.”
That part of the Word of Godtransmitted to the Apostles by Jesus
Christ, transmitted by the successors of
the Apostles and the early Church
under the influence of the Holy Spirit
but not explicit in Scripture.
Tradition …
… is dynamic, not static.
… develops or grows.
Examples:
– Perpetual virginity of Mary.
– Immaculate Conception.
– Assumption.
– Apostolic Succession.
– Papal Infallibility.
Sacred Scripture
… the Bible
Why Catholics don’t read the Bible
Vulgate, Latin translation by St. Jerome,
390-405 A.D.
Douai-Rheims, English language Bible,
16th-17th Century
Jerusalem Bible in English, 1966
Transmission of
Sacred Scripture
Bible literally "the Book" [biblia],Latin.
Borrowed from the Greek “τά
βίβλία, ta biblia" translated "the
books" or "the collected writings."
Transmission of
Sacred Scripture
The parts or books of the Bible,
esp. the Old Testament, were
built up over time, added to
and edited over a long period.
Transmission of
Sacred Scripture
Two major divisions : the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The word "testament" means a contract, or better still a covenant
Transmission of
Sacred Scripture
The Old Testament = covenant relationship between God and his "chosen people."
Old Testament is a record of the Hebrew or Jewish people coming to understand God and their relationship to him.
Transmission of
Sacred Scripture
The New Testament = the
covenant bond est. through
the teaching, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus
Christ.
Transmission of
Sacred Scripture
Human understanding
“evolves” through the
Old Testament.
Number of Writings &
Development
Old Testament = 46 books.
New Testament = 27 parts
or writings.
Number of Writings &
Development
There is no single book of
the Old or New Testament
that survives as an
original or first copy.
Number of Writings &
Development
The oldest and most intact manuscript surviving of the Old Testament is the Scroll of Isaiah [Qumran, Dead Sea Scroll] dating from 250-175 B.C.
Number of Writings &
Development
Oldest New Testament
texts which are complete
come from the 4th century
A.D. [the 300’s]
The Hebrew Bible
… TaNaK
Torah = “the law”
Nebiyim = “the prophets”
Ketubim = “the writings”
Torah … “the law”
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
Nebiyim
… “the prophets”
The Former Prophets
Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel,1 & 2 Kings
The Latter Prophets
–Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
Twelve Minor Prophets: Hosea, Joel,
Amos, Malachi, Obadiah, Jonah,
Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah,
Haggai, Zechariah,
Ketubim
… “the writings”
Psalms, Proverbs, Song
of Songs, Job, Ruth
Qoheleth (Ecclesiastes)
Lamentations
Esther, Daniel
Ezra-Nehemiah
1 & 2 Chronicles
A total of 39 books or
writings …
… what’s missing?
Apocryphal or Deutercanonical Books
Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon
Sirach, Baruch
1 & 2 Maccabees
Plus:
– Pieces of the Book of Esther
– Chapter 6 of Baruch
– Pieces of the Book of Daniel
The Catholic Bible
Pentateuch (5)/Hexateuch (3)
Historical Books (13)
Wisdom Books/Wisdom Writings (7)
Prophetic Books (18)
Total: 46 books or writings
… in summary.
Jewish Scripture = 39 books
Protestant Bible = 66 books
Catholic Bible = 73 books
–Protestants & Catholics agree on
the 27 writings in the New
Testament
The New Testament
The Gospels
MatthewMarkLukeJohn
The Acts of the Apostles
The Letters of St. Paul
Romans
1 Corinthians2 Corinthians
Galatians
EphesiansPhilippians
Colossians1 Thessalonians
2 Thessalonians1 Timothy
2 Timothy
TitusPhilemon
ALSO …The Letter to the Hebrews
James1 Peter
2 Peter1 John
2 John
3 JohnJude
The Book of Revelation
Language, Translation &
Interpretation
Principle of Correspondenceattempts a word for word translation, maintaining correct grammatical structure in the new language. [NAB & NRSV].
Principle of Dynamic Equivalencya clearer translation of meaning and stronger literary style. [New Jerusalem, Catholic Living Bible.].
What scripture says about itself ….
2 Timothy 3:16-17
[c.55[c.55[c.55[c.55----65 A.D.]65 A.D.]65 A.D.]65 A.D.]
"All scripture is inspired by
God and is useful for teaching, for
refutation, for correction, and for
training in righteousness, so that one
who belongs to God may be
complete, equipped for every good
work."
2 Peter 1:19-21
[c. 60[c. 60[c. 60[c. 60----65 A.D.]65 A.D.]65 A.D.]65 A.D.]
"We possess the prophetic
message that is altogether reliable.... Know this first of all, that there is no prophecy of scripture that is a matter of personal interpretation, for no prophecy ever came through human will; but rather human beings moved by the holy Spirit spoke under the influence of God."
Hebrews 1:1-2
[c. 65[c. 65[c. 65[c. 65----75 A.D.]75 A.D.]75 A.D.]75 A.D.]
"In times past, God spoke in
partial and various ways to our
ancestors through the prophets;
in these days, he spoke to us
through a son, who he made
heir of all things and through
whom he created the universe."
Church teaching on Scripture …
General Council
of Florence [1442][1442][1442][1442]
The holy Roman Church
"professes that one and the same
God is author of the Old and New
Testaments ... because by inspiration
of one and the same Holy Spirit the
saints of both covenants have
spoken. She [the Church] accepts
and venerates these books ..."
General Council of Trent,
Fourth Session [1546][1546][1546][1546]
"... for God alone is the author of
both [the Old Testament and the
New Testament.]"
A backward step … start of 400
years of Catholics not reading
the Bible
First Vatican Council First Vatican Council First Vatican Council First Vatican Council
[1870][1870][1870][1870]
… from Dei Filius, the Dogmatic
Constitution on the Catholic Faith
The books of the Old and New Testament
"the Church holds to be sacred and
canonical ... because, having been
written by inspiration of the Holy Spirit,
they have God for their author and have
been delivered as such to the Church."
First Vatican Council First Vatican Council First Vatican Council First Vatican Council
[1870][1870][1870][1870]
The pronouncement of Council of
Trent was renewed:
"Therefore no one is allowed to
interpret the same Sacred Scripture
... contrary to the unanimous
consent of the Fathers."
Decree of Pius X,
Lamentabili [1907][1907][1907][1907]
This document condemned a long list of Modernist ideas, and made it clear that Church teaching held that
"God is really the author of Holy Scripture;"
and that Divine Inspiration extends
"to the whole of Scripture in such a way that each and every part of it is kept free from error."
Encyclical Letter of Pius XIIEncyclical Letter of Pius XIIEncyclical Letter of Pius XIIEncyclical Letter of Pius XII
Divino Afflante Spiritu [1943]1943]1943]1943]
"It is absolutely necessary for the interpreter to go back in spirit to those remote centuries of the East, and to make proper use of the help given by history, archeology, ethnology and other sciences, in order to discover what literary forms the writers of those early ages intended to use and did in fact use. …”
Encyclical Letter of Pius XIIEncyclical Letter of Pius XIIEncyclical Letter of Pius XIIEncyclical Letter of Pius XII
Divino Afflante Spiritu [1943]1943]1943]1943]
“… For, to express what they had
in mind, the ancients of the East did not always avail themselves of the same forms and expressions as we
do today; they used those that were current among people of their own
time and place."
Encyclical Letter, Pius XIIEncyclical Letter, Pius XIIEncyclical Letter, Pius XIIEncyclical Letter, Pius XII
Humani Generis [1950][1950][1950][1950]
"It was clearly laid down ... that the first eleven chapters of Genesis ... do nevertheless come under the heading of history; in what exact sense, it is for the further study of the exegete to determine. …”
Encyclical Letter, Pius XIIEncyclical Letter, Pius XIIEncyclical Letter, Pius XIIEncyclical Letter, Pius XII
Humani Generis [1950][1950][1950][1950]
“… These chapters have a naive, symbolic way of speaking, well suited to the understanding of primitive people. But they do disclose to use certain important truths, upon which the attainment of our salvation depends, and they do also give a popular description of the origin of the human race and of the chosen people.”
Second Vatican Council
Dogmatic Constitution on Divine
Revelation Dei Verbum, [1965] The fact
of divine inspiration is reaffirmed but is
expressed as a cooperative process
between God and those He employed.
Although the Council continues to insist
that Scripture is free from error, inerrancy
is expressed in a new, more positive
manner …
Second Vatican CouncilSecond Vatican CouncilSecond Vatican CouncilSecond Vatican Council
Dogmatic Constitution on
Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum), [1965]
… the truth of scripture is not that of
natural science or profane history, but
rather
"Truth for the sake of our
salvation."
Divine Inspiration …
… is a charism or
supernatural grace given to the
believing community
… is given to all who
collaborate in the production of
the inspired writings.
Divine Inspiration …
… involves two actions: first, it enlightens
the human mind to understand religious
truth & the resulting message; second, it
moves the human will to communicate
that message to the community by oral or
written means. It is a cooperative action
between God and human, not one of
operator and automaton.
The Bible is a documentary witness
authorized by God. All of what is stated or reported has a specific goal: to witness to the unfolding character of God's revealed Word and to the response of human beings. There is a progressive character to this unfolding both in the divine action and human faith.
The Bible exists to give the foundational understanding of faith. Its inspired and normative character is recognized by the believing community enlightened by God. In the Catholic community this recognition by the community is validated by the authoritative statement of the Magisterium or teaching office of the Church.
Catholic Principles for
Interpreting the Bible
-Writers’ original intention
-Interpret in context
-Recognize issue or axe being ground
-Idioms & styles don’t always translate
easily
-View through the lens of 2000 yrs. of
Christianity
Once I find my Bible…
(and dust it off) how do I read it?
Chapter divisions were made by
Stephen Langton, Archbishop of
Canterbury in 1226 … to make it
easier to read.
Verses were numbered by Robert
Estienne in 1551.
How a Reference Works...
Gen. 2:4 means Book of Genesis,
chapter 2, verse 4.
Hyphen as in Gen. 2-4 means
chapters 2 to 4 inclusive; as in
Gen 2:4-15a means chapter 2,
verses 4 through the first half of
verse 15.
How a Reference Works…
The colon separates chapter from
verse, as in Gen. 1:5
The semi colon separates two
different chapter references, as in
Gen. 2; 5.
A comma separates different
verses, as in Gen. 2: 5, 7, 9.
How a Reference Works….
The lower case letter f or ff after
verses, as in Gen. 2:4f, meaning
Genesis, chapter 2, verse 4 and
those following verses …
indeterminate number.
How a Reference Works…
Try this one:
Gen. 2:4-6, 8; 3:5f; 4:1-6, 8
Genesis, chapter 2, verses 4 to 6
and verse 8, then chapter 3, verse 5 and following verses; chapter 4, verses 1 through 6, and verse 8.
Other reference tools…
The titles of chapters and
sections have all been added
in the past 500 years, thus
First Story of Creation is an
addition, not Revelation.
Other reference tools…
Superscript numbers or
asterisks and letters are
used for footnotes and
cross references.
Other reference tools…
The asterisk after the title First Creation Story refers the
reader to the first footnote at
the bottom of the page.
Other reference tools…
The superscript letter a following
the word earth in verse one
refers the reader to other parts
of the Bible that repeat the idea
in verse one.
Translation and
language difficulties.
Genesis, Chapter 1, verse 2
Ruah elohim
Pneuma
Spirit of God … mighty or divine
wind … breath of God
Next time ….
Structure, Literary Forms,
History & Geography
