Know Your Sacred Scripture

To ignore the Sacred Scripture is to ignore Christ. St. Jerome

From a Greek Biblia meaning Books

A collection of writings about God

If the Bible is the New American Bible. The introductory page has Nihil obstat and Imprimatur signed by the bishop and a letter from the Pope. If the Bible has deuterocanonical books.

Masoretic Text
Dead Sea Scrolls Septuagint

It is a translation from ancient documents From people who translate them first and from the various sources they use.

Religious Groups with different Bible

Jews
Masoretic Texts Hebrew language Dated bet. 930-1009 AD 39 books Jewish rabbis

Protestants
Masoretic texts

Catholics Anglicans Greek Orthodox

Septuagint Greek language Dated bet. 100-400 AD 46 books First Christians esp. by the apostles & Gospel writers.

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Dead sea scrolls

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Dead sea scrolls Found in Qumran in 1947 Dated 100BC to 100AD A total of 39 books

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New Testament (27 books) A total of 66 books

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New Testament (27 books) A total of 73 books

Papyri scroll Codex: majuscules and minuscules Latin vulgate and Itala, the Syriac, Coptic, Armenian Gothic, ancient lectionaries, citations by Fathers of the Church.

The bible did not come from God directly but through different sources.

There are 39 books in the Old Testament of the Protestant Bible. There are 46books in the Old Testament of the Catholic Bible.

Books of the Old Testament (39)

Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel

1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs

Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Esther Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah

Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi

Tobit, Judit, Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach, Baruch, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees

Catholics call them Deuterocanonicals

Protestants call them Apocrypha

There are 27 books of the New Testament written in colloquial Greek.

The Books of the New Testament (27)

Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians

Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus

Philemon Hebrew James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation

Old Testament the bible of the earliest Christians was the Septuagint of the Greek speaking Jews. New Testamentthe Church made a list of authorized books in order to keep Christ teachings pure , and to fight against heresy (false teaching). It was the process of canonization which is recognizing which books were truly inspired by God and so authorized as sacred by the Church.

Over about 1,000 yearsfrom about 900 BC to 100 AD. The Old Testament books were written for a period of 900 years. The New Testament books were written for less than 100 years (51 to 105 AD)

Before the manuscripts were written, they were also words spoken, proclaimed and even sung. For this reason we can also speak of an oral source of the Bible which we can consider as oral tradition.

Thus, there are two modes of transmission of Gods Word: Oral Tradition and Written words

Blessed Lord Who has caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant that we may hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of thy Holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope for an everlasting life. God, who at Pentecost, did teach the hearts of the faithful people, by sending to them the light of the Holy Spirit: Grant us by the same Holy Spirit to have a right judgment in all things, and evermore rejoice in his consolation, through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Holy Living by Jeremy Taylor

History in the Sacred Scripture

Abraham Lincoln: "I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man. All the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this book." W. E. Gladstone: "I have known ninety-five of the world's great men in my time, and of these eighty-seven were followers of the Bible. George Washington: "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."

Old Testament (OT)

New Testament (NT)

TESTAMENT means Agreement

Old Testament
Stories about an old agreement between God (Yahweh) and Man (Hebrews) when they came out of Egypt ...and how it worked out.

TESTAMENT means Agreement

New Testament
Stories and teachings about new agreement between God (Jesus Christ) and Man (all men
who believed in Christ and accepted Gods forgiveness).

BIBLE TRIVIA
What book is also known as the Apocalypse?
A: Revelation B: 2 Timothy C: 1 Peter D: John

These are the main events in the history of Israel and humanitys relationship with God.

From these decisive events, we can trace the origin of the different types of literature in the Bible.

1.) It is the Exodus 2) the establishment of a united Kingdom, and 3) the exile in the Old Testament. These books recount the history of the Hebrew people in both good times and bad.

GENESIS

DEUTERONOMY

EXODUS

NUMBERS

LEVITICUS

Development of the Prophetic and Historical Books

Free/chosen but divided people

Books of Joshua and Judges

United people with one king

Book of Ruth and 1Samuel 1-8

Types of kingship and division into two kingdoms

Books of 1Samuel 9 to 2Samuel 24, and 1-2Kings, 1-2Chronicles

Slavery and Exile

Books of Ezekiel, Ezra, Nehemiah, Judith, Esther, Tobit, Psalms, Lamentations, Job, Proverbs, Sirach, Wisdom

BIBLE TRIVIA
What is the longest and shortest book in the Bible?
A: Genesis and Exodus B: Matthew and Mark C: Proverbs and Wisdom D: Isaiah and Obadiah

It is the birth, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, also known as the Jesus Event, in the New Testament.
It is a missionary handbook that proclaims the birth, growth and teachings of the Christian Church.

GOSPELS

REVELATION

ACTS OF THE APOSTLES

EPISTLES

No. It evolved as Gods living expression of love for his chosen people. The story of the chosen people was the story of Gods revelation of his will as he intervenes in their history.

BIBLE TRIVIA
What books of the Bible are named after women?

Ruth, Judith and Esther

Reading and Understanding Sacred Scripture

To God we speak when we pray. To him we listen when we read the Sacred Scripture. St. Ambrose

EXCERPT FROM DEI VERBUM

The Church has always venerated the divine Scriptures just as she venerates the body of the Lord, since, especially in the sacred liturgy, she unceasingly receives and offers to the faithful the bread of life from the table both of Gods word and of Christs body. She has always maintained them, and continues to do so, together with sacred tradition, as the supreme rule of faith, since as inspired by God and committed once and for all to writing, they impart the word of God Himself without change, and make the voice of the Holy Spirit resound in the words of the prophets and the apostles. Therefore, like the Christian religion itself, all the preaching of the Church may be nourished and regulated by Sacred Scripture.

CONTINUATION
For in the sacred books, the Father who is in heaven meets His children with great love and speaks with them; and the force and power in the word of God is so great that it stands as the support and energy of the Church, the strength of faith for her sons, the food of the soul, the pure and the everlasting source of spiritual life.
Consequently these words are perfectly applicable to Sacred Scripture: For the word of God is living and active (Heb.4:12) and it has power to build you up and give you your heritage among all those who are sanctified: (Acts 20: 32; see 1Thess. 2: 13)

It means the Bible was written by inspired men. God filled the authors with the Spirit to accurately understand His message of salvation for men of all times . The authors, mostly Hebrews, some unknown, wrote the words according to the customs and styles of their own times.

Divine Inspiration means....

1. The impulse to write what is in the Bible comes from God. 2. The Bible contains things God wills people to know about Him (but not obviously all that could be known about Him) 3. God influenced the writers without taking away the authors own free will. 4. God guided the Church in the choice of what was to be included in the final version of the Bible.

BIBLE TRIVIA
What is the original language in which the Old Testament and New Testament was written?

Old testament was originally written in Hebrew. New Testament was in Greek.

ECNALG

It is through the process of leading the out the meaning from a text, known as EXEGESIS.

It is through the process of leading ones own meaning into the text, known as EISEGESIS.

There are 8 approaches: 1. Textual Criticism 2. Philological Criticism 3. Historical Criticism 4. Form Criticism 5. Source Criticism 6. Redaction Criticism 7. Structural Criticism 8. Rhetorical Criticism

BIBLE TRIVIA
What is the other name for the book Song of songs?

It is also known as the Song of Solomon

LU

CKY

It is the study of the different ancient manuscripts of the Bible to determine which is the more original text from the different variations presented by the manuscripts.

By reading the results of textual criticism in the notes of their translations or in various reliable biblical commentaries. By comparing the different translations and determining which would be a more faithful and yet intelligible translation of the text in the original language.

What is Philological Criticism?

It is the linguistic and grammatical analysis of the text. It is the translation of the text according to the words of the texts and their corresponding combinations in their linguistic language.

How can lay people do philological criticism?

Clarify the meaning of certain words and their specific use in the context: 1. by consulting translations with reliable notes.

2. by comparing the opinions of different commentaries.

BIBLE TRIVIA
Prophetic books are grouped into two. What are they? Why are they named that way?

Minor Prophets and Major Prophets. Minor prophets are smaller books; major prophets are bigger books

GIVE GIVE GIVE GIVE

GET GET GET GET

What is Historical Criticism?

It is the understanding of the historical context in which the expression was formulated and in which it had a special significance. It deals with the question of when, who, what, and how.

How can lay people do historical criticism?

1.

by reading different background histories on the Bible.

2. By placing oneself within the very historical situation of the a) characters involved, b) the storytellers, and c) the writers.

What is Form Criticism?

It is the process of determining the type of literature of the text and the form or way in which it is expressed. We distinguish poems, songs, laws, myths, stories, history, stories, and so on from one another according to the kind of truth they present.

How can lay people do Form Criticism?

1.

by being familiar with the classifications of the books of the Bible.

2. By having a literary common sense to distinguish different types of literature and an open mind to recognize the literary forms of the Bible.

DIFFERENT LITERATURES IN THE BIBLE:

OLD TESTAMENT Pentateuch (First 5 Books) Prophetic Books Historical Books Wisdom Books NEW TESTAMENT Four Gospels Acts of the Apostles Epistles/letters Revelation

CYCLE CYCLE CYCLE

What is Source Criticism?

It is the process of determining the different sources that the writer used in making his text to explain the apparent contradictions or discrepancies in the text.

What is Redaction Criticism?

To redact means to edit. It is the study of the way a text is edited and how it develops according to the final editors point of view.

Matthew
(LAW)

John
(THEOLOGY)

Mark
(IDENTIFICATION

Luke

(HISTORY)

How can lay people do Redaction Criticism?

By seeing the different perspectives from which the biblical writers composed their text and respecting such points of view.

It is the study of the structure of the Biblical text to understand the interrelationship of parts and how they are organized within the whole text.

1. By seeing how the text as a whole is structured.

2. By integrating the different parts of the text with one another to make it easier to integrate the Word of God with life itself.

It is the attempt to capture the spoken quality of the text to understand what the impact of the text could have been upon the people who listened to it .

1. By experiencing the power of the spoken word to transpose the written text into a dynamic speech. 2. By being conscious of our limitations particularly in the original languages of the Bible.

There is no single method can be independent from another. The tools should be used to complement and harmonize with one another.

The choice would depend mainly upon the which tools are most familiar to the reader and interpreter.

AID
AID

AID

There is the task to communicate the message that is effectively expressed in the text .

There is the task to find the relevance or the application of the message of the text to ones own life.

It is the harmony between a responsible interpretation of the text and its relevant transmission to the hearer of the Word.

O V A T I O N

Language of information is the objective expression of terms which must be precise and must naturally refer to exact realities..

Language of association is more personcenterred and its expression can consist of any words that can provoke feelings.

Both. But more the language of association. The language of the Bible is not only to inform us but more to establish a relationship with God.

Yes. The lived experiences and realities cannot be fully expressed in our language. What matters more than words is the experience of God in what He has done and the relationship we establish through this experience.

CHAIR

No. Not everything seems to inspire us.

It depends on which biblical passage may be meaningful or which we can identify ourselves.

First, to identify the text in its totality by doing the exegesis. Second, to have a deeper understanding of ones own life situation and that of the community and a clear perception of the needs and concerns that arise from such a situation. .

It is not only to help understand the Word of God, but we must ourselves have undergone an experience of Gods mystery. To share the gift of understanding the Word of God, we must have seen by ourselves the mysteries of God in our lives.

Reading Bible Text

Hermeneutics

Exegesis

Biblical Experience

Identification

UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE