HOLY BIBLE

THE OLD TESTAMENT

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DIVINE REVELATION

PUBLIC REVELATION:

• Public revelation is the official revealing of God to us, beginning with Adam and Eve, and ending at the death of the last Apostle, who was St. John the Evangelist, died about the year 100 AD.
• Public revelation ended with the death of the last Apostle.

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PRIVATE REVELATION:

Some examples: Blessed Mother appears to the children of Fatima, or where Jesus appeared to St. Margaret Mary, and manifested the Sacred Heart. Many of the saints have appeared over the years to people. Those are all private revelations.

TWO CHANELS OF DIVINE REVELATION

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SCRIPTURE

• Scripture comes from the Latin word which

means “the writings”

• Scripture here is referring to the written Word of God

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SACRED TRADITION

• Tradition comes from the Latin word which means

“what is passed down” or “what is handed on.”

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- Second Thessalonians 2: 15 - St. Paul tells people:

“To hold fast to the teachings that you have learned,

whether by word (which is Sacred Tradition) , or by letter.” (which is Scripture).

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- Gospel of John 21: 25 - St. John says, “There are, however, many other things that Jesus did. If every one of these should be written down, not even the world itself, I think, could hold the books that would have to be written.”

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• The basis for the Protestant Reformation was their Doctrine called Sola Scriptura.

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• Sola, meaning “alone”, and Scriptura – Scripture alone. This is one of the cries of Martin Luther, saying that we don’t need the Church anymore; all we have is the Bible, all we need is the Bible. And if you have the Bible, then you have everything

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• However, there is actually more than just the Bible, because remember, Jesus didn’t come to give us the Bible. He came to establish His Church. The Church is what gives us the seven sacraments, and the Bible, and the teachings of Christ.

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• It is a very important TO HAVE BOTH Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition.

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WHY CATHOLIC HAVE BOTH SACRED SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION?

• When the Lord died and rose from the dead, He ascended into Heaven, but he left on earth a Church. Remember, Jesus came to establish His Church.
• Jesus died around the year 33, rose, and ascended into Heaven. The first books of the New Testament weren’t written until between the year 42 and 97 AD.
• There were several decades that the Church was preaching the Gospel and teaching, before even a word of the New Testament was written down.
• Then Church wrote the New Testament, and then approved the books of the Old Testament and New Testament

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WHY CATHOLIC HAVE BOTH SACRED SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION?

SCRIPTURE – HOLY BIBLE

Name & Author: Holy Bible

• “Holy” – Inspired by God, written by human – God is the main author
• “Bible” – Biblia – collection of books, library

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The writers were inspired by God, under the influence of the Holy Spirit. Their mind was enlightened, and their will was moved to write what He wished. It is sort of mysterious how the writers of Scripture remained as free instruments. Their will was not forced in any way. They still had their free will. The writers still used their own styles. And yet, they were God’s instruments, and God directed them, and preserved them from writing error.

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SCRIPTURE – HOLY BIBLE

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Year & Language Written:

- Around 1300 years (Moses, 1200 BC - St. John the Evangelist, 90AD)

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TRANSLATION VERSIONS

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The Bible was written in mostly three different languages: Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek (and again, covering the period of 1300 years.)

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TRANSLATION VERSIONS

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(1) Septuagint

(2) Latin Vulgate

(3) Vernacular Bible

(4) Gutenberg Bible

(5) Douay-Rheims Bible

(6) King James Version-KJV

(7) Other Catholic Versions

TRANSLATION VERSIONS

(1) Septuagint: (septuaginta, “70/ LXX”) Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–247 BC) – Greek Old Testament/ the Translation of the Seventy.

• The Septuagint is the Old Greek version of the Bible. It includes translations of all the books found in the Hebrew (Old Testament) canon.
• Is the first known Bible translation. It also includes the so-called Apocryphal or deuterocanonical books, some translated from Hebrew originals and others originally composed in Greek.

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• Recounted in the Letter of Aristeas, it were translated into Greek by about seventy elders sent to Egypt by the high priest Eleazar in Jerusalem at the request of King Ptolemy II Philadelphus of Alexandria, who wanted to add the Jewish Scriptures to his library.

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• So, the entire Greek translation came to be known as the Septuagint, or the version of “the Seventy,” and is abbreviated with the Roman numeral LXX (70).

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WHAT TRANSLATION DID JESUS USE?

TRANSLATION VERSIONS

(2) Latin Vulgate: St. Jerome (400 AD) – Hebrew & Greek to Latin

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• But then, about the year 390, Pope Damasus wanted the Bible to be brought into the language of the people. And so he commissioned St. Jerome, and it took about 35 years to translate the entire Bible into Latin.

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• We get the word “vulgar” from this word. It doesn’t mean bad, it just means common language.

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• So, the Vulgate means “the language of the people,” or the common language.

St. Jerome (342-420 AD)

TRANSLATION VERSIONS

(3) Vernacular Bible: (~ 1450AD) Benedictine monks, Augustinians, and other orders hand-written copies of Bible.

• Sometimes it would take a monk a lifetime of 10, 20, 30 years just to make one hand copy of Scripture. These books were incredibly valuable.
• They had calligraphy, great works of art.
• There were over 600 Catholic Bible editions, 200 in the vernacular (the word vernacular means the common language of the people)

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WHAT WAS THE FIRST BOOK EVER PRINTED IN THE WESTERN WORLD?

TRANSLATION VERSIONS

(4) Gutenberg Bible (1450AD)

• The Gutenberg Bible is the first major work printed in Europe with movable metal type.
• The text is St. Jerome’s Latin Vulgate version, prepared by biblical scholars of Paris in the 13th century in an effort to produce a consistent and useful Latin text.
• The Bible’s printer, Johann Gutenberg, was born in Mainz (around 1397) and trained as a goldsmith in Strasbourg.
• Gutenberg died in Mainz on February 3, 1468.

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TRANSLATION VERSIONS

(5) Douay-Rheims Bible: NT -1582 AD in Rheims & OT – 1609 in Douay

• Following the forced conversion of England to Protestantism and the subsequent persecution and martyrdom of Catholics in that country, many Englishmen fled.
• The expatriates felt the need for a new English translation of Scripture. Consequently, an edition of the New Testament was prepared and released in 1582 at Rheims, France, and an edition of the Old Testament was prepared and released in 1609 at the French town of Douay. The resulting fusion became known as the Douay-Rheims.
• The original translation was based on the Latin Vulgate. However, it was revised from 1749–1752 by Bishop Richard Challoner.
• Today, all Douay-Rheims Bibles in print are actually the Douay-Rheims-Challoner version.

TRANSLATION VERSIONS

(6) King James Version-KJV: (1611 AD)

• The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version (AV) is an Early Modern English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of King James VI.

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• The 80 books of the King James Version include 39 books of the Old Testament, 14 books of Apocrypha, and the 27 books of the New Testament. Noted for its "majesty of style"

TRANSLATION VERSIONS

(7) Other Catholic Versions:

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• New American Bible, which is what we have at Mass
• Jerusalem Bible
• the New English Bible
• the New International Version

TRANSLATION VERSIONS

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• (1) Septuagint: (septuaginta, “70/ LXX”) Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285–247 BC) – Greek Old Testament/ the Translation of the Seventy.
• (2) Latin Vulgate: St. Jerome (400 AD) – Hebrew & Greek to Latin
• (3) Vernacular Bible: (~ 1450AD) Benedictine monks, and to the Augustinians, and other orders hand-written copies of Bible.
• (4) Gutenberg Bible: First western book ever printed - the Catholic Bible! (1450AD)
• (5) Douay-Rheims Bible: NT -1582 AD in Rheims & OT – 1609 in Douay
• (6) King James Version-KJV: (1611 AD)
• (7) Other Catholic Versions:
• New American Bible, which is what we have at Mass
• Jerusalem Bible
• the New English Bible
• the New International Version

THE CANON OF THE BIBLE

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• The term canon goes back to the ancient Greeks, where they used the term to describe a measuring rod. This is probably a loan word from the ancient Hebrew kaneh (or “reed”), which was used as a measuring rod (Ezek. 40:3; 42:16).
• Theologians use this term to refer to the books that belong in the Bible; thus, canonicity is the study of the inspired books.

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• There are three well known canons
• The Jewish Canons of the Bible 
• The Catholic Canon
• The Protestant Canon

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• Alexandrian Canon (c. 330-30 BCE) – in Alexandria, Egypt, recognized 46 OT books from Septuagint. 

THE JEWISH CANONS OF THE BIBLE

• Used by Christians
• During 2^nd-3^rd century BC, the Hebrew Canon was translated into Greek. This was called the Septuagint.

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• Palestine Canon (~90 AD) – at Jamnia in Palestine – recognized 39 OT books (written in Hebrew + Aramaic)

• The Jewish leaders (at a Sanhedrin meeting held at Jamnia in the first century) rejected any book:

- written outside of Palestine, or

- not in Hebrew, or

- not completed by a certain date, or

- according to the Pharisees, not conforming to the basic ideas in the Pentateuch (according to the pharisees) .

• As a result, seven entire books were eliminated. These included Baruch, Tobit, Judith, the 1 & 2 Maccabees, Sirach or Ecclesiasticus, and Wisdom, along with parts of Daniel and Esther.

THE JEWISH CANONS OF THE BIBLE

• Two church councils, local and hence not ecumenical or worldwide councils

- Council of Hippo (in north Africa), 393 AD, and

- Council of Carthage (also in north Africa), 397 AD

* St. Augustine (354-450AD) & St. Jerome (342-420 AD)

• Ecumenical Council of Trent (1546 AD)

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Council of Trent, Session IV, 1546. For the Old Testament its catalogue reads as follows:�

The five books of Moses (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), Josue, Judges, Ruth, the four books of Kings, two of Paralipomenon, the first and second of Esdras (which latter is called Nehemias), Tobias, Judith, Esther, Job, the Davidic Psalter(in number one hundred and fifty Psalms), Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, the Canticle of Canticles, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Isaias, Jeremias, with Baruch, Ezechiel, Daniel, the twelve minor Prophets (Osee, Joel, Amos, Abdias, Jonas, Micheas, Nahum, Habacuc, Sophonias, Aggeus, Zacharias, Malachias), two books of Machabees, the first and second.

THE CATHOLIC CANON

THE CATHOLIC CANON

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• The Roman Catholic canon contains several books that are not in the Hebrew Bible or the Protestant Old Testament:

1)  The Books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom of Solomon, Ecclesiasticus (or the Wisdom of Jesus, son of Sirach = Ben Sira), Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah (= Baruch 6), 1 and 2 Maccabees.

2)  Furthermore, the books of Daniel and Esther contain passages that are not found in the Hebrew Bible.

3)  In the case of Daniel, these are the Prayer of Azariah and the Song of the Three Young Men, which are inserted in Daniel 3, and the stories of Susanna and Bel and the Dragon.

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• In 1529 AD, Martin Luther adopted the Palestinian canon, 39 books, as the Old Testament canon
• And Why?

THE PROTESTANT CANON

THE PROTESTANT CANON

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• The Protestant founders had decided to adopt the biblical Canon of the Jews (Palestine Canon).
• In doing so, they consciously denied the authority of the Catholic Church to identify the content of the biblical revelation.
• Hence, the Protestant Old Testament has 39 Books, the same content as the Hebrew Bible but arranged differently.
• The “extra” books are called the deuterocanonical books (meaning “second canon”). The Protestants often call these books “apocryphal” (hidden).

• Essenes, a separatist Jewish sect, wrote the Dead Sea Scrolls, hid them in sealed clay jars, and deposited the containers in caves so they would survive the destruction of Qumran when the Roman army attacked in A. D. 68.
• The Dead Sea Scrolls: These writings were discovered in 1947 near Qumran, a community not far from Jericho located near the Dead Sea. They contain fragments and (in some cases) complete scrolls of every book in the Old Testament except the Book of Esther.
• Additionally, they contain a number of non-canonical Jewish writings.

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

IS IT IMPORTANT?

BOOKS IN THE BIBLE

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• Old Testament
• Catholic Bible (46)
• Prostestant Bible (39)

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• New Testament
• Catholic Bible (27)
• Prostestant Bible (27)

THE OLD TESTAMENT

Protestant Christian "apocryphal" books

Catholic Christian "deuterocanonical"

books

Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) Wisdom of Solomon Baruch

Tobit Judith

Greek Esther (Esther 10:4–10) Greek Daniel

Song of the Three Young Men, Dan 3:24–90;

Susanna, Dan 13;

Bel and the Dragon, Dan 14

1. Maccabees
2. Maccabees
3. Esdras
4. Esdras

Prayer of Manasseh

Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) Wisdom of Solomon Baruch

Tobit Judith

Greek Esther Greek Daniel

1. Maccabees
2. Maccabees

Protestant Christian "pseudepigrapha" books

Catholic Christian "apocryphal" books

Old Testament works

Enoch Literature; Esdras Literature (1–2 Esdras); Baruch Literature (2–3

Baruch);

Psalms of Solomon; Testaments of the Twelve Apostles; Sibylline Oracles; Letter of Aristeus to Philocrates; Assumption of Moses;

Maccabean Literature (3–4 Maccabees); Prayer of Manasseh

New Testament works

Didache; Apocalypses of Peter, Paul, Thomas; 1–2 Clement; Gospels of Thomas, Philip, Peter, Hebrews; Hermas;

Acts of Pilate; Barnabas; Protoevangelium of James;

SUMMARY OF THE BIBLE

The Bible covers, from approximately 2000 BC to 63 AD.

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• 2000 BC beginning with the history of the early world: Approximately, when it’s referring to the fall of Adam and Eve, and then Cain killing Abel, the Flood, the Tower of Babel.
• 2000 to 1600 BC: The period of the Patriarchs: of Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and Joseph.
• 1280 to 1220 BC: Then the time that the Israelites spent in Egypt in slavery, then Moses and the Passover, and the covenant on Mt. Sinai.
• 1220 to 1050 BC Then, the Conquest of Canaan. Then, the death of Moses, Joshua, the time of the Judges, Debra, Gideon, Samson.
• ~ 1000 BC: The United Kingdom, the story of King Saul, David and Goliath.
• 930 to 722 BC: The Divided Kingdom, between the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom.
• 722 to 538 BC: The Dark Days, and then The Exile, when the Israelites were exiled from their native land, and then they returned to Jerusalem.
• 530 BC: And Queen Esther and those stories.
• 175 to 63 BC: the Maccabean Revolt.
• Zero to 33 AD: The Time of Christ.
• 33 to 63 AD: and then the Church – The Acts of the Apostles

HOW TO READ HOLY BIBLE

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• METHEDOLOGY :
1. Option #1: Gospels – Epistles – Old Testament
2. Option #2: The Bible Timeline: divided up the Bible up into 12 periods

(1) The Early World, (2) The Patriarchs, (3) Israel and Egypt, (4) Conquest of Canaan, (5) The Judges, (6) United Kingdom, (7) Divided Kingdom, (8) The Exiles, (9) The Return, (10) The Maccabean Revolt, (11) Jesus the Messiah, (12) and The Church.

iii. Option #3: Story line – Read the following 14 books:

• Genesis, (2) Exodus, (3) Numbers, (4) Joshua, (5) Judges, (6) Samuel 1, (7) Samuel 2, (8) Kings 1, (9) Kings 2, (10) Ezra, (11) Nehemiah, (12) Maccabees, (13) the Gospel of Luke, (14) and the Acts of the Apostles. And that will give you the full story line from Adam and Eve up until Pentecost. It’s a great way to read the Bible.

iv. Option #4: Read from the beginning to the end – cover to cover

Genesis to Revelation

HOW TO READ HOLY BIBLE

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b. INTERPRETATION:

HISTORICAL-CRITICAL METHOD

• The Historical Critical method focuses on the sources of a document to determine who wrote it, when it was written, and where. What do we know of the author and his times? How was he influenced by them? What was his personal story? What other texts did he write and how do they compare what is before us? How does the writing we are studying compare to similar documents of the time?

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• Regarding Sacred Scripture’s human dimension the Catechism has this to say:

In order to discover the sacred authors’ intention, the reader must take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at that time, and the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then current. For the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression. (CCC # 110)

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Since God speaks in Sacred Scripture through men in human fashion, the interpreter of Sacred Scripture, in order to see clearly what God wanted to communicate to us, should carefully investigate what meaning the sacred writers really intended, and what God wanted to manifest by means of their words (no. 12).

DEI VERBUM�Pope Paul VI, on November 18, 1965

b. INTERPRETATION:

HOW TO READ HOLY BIBLE

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b. INTERPRETATION:

THEOLOGICAL HERMENEUTIC

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This excerpt is from the Pope’s recent book Light of the World. It begins with a question by Peter Seewald which articulates many of the concerns I just expressed and then there is the Pope’s answer.

SEEWALD: The historical-critical method had its merits, but it also led fatefully to an erroneous development. Its attempt to “demythologize” the Bible produced a terrible superficiality and a blindness toward the deeper layers and profound message of Scripture. ... and that it has led millions of people astray?

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POPE BENEDICT: I wouldn’t subscribe to so harsh a judgment. The application of the historical method to the Bible as a historical text was a path that had to be taken. If we believe that Christ is real history, and not myth, then the testimony concerning him has to be historically accessible as well. In this sense, the historical method has also given us many gifts. It has brought us back closer to the text and its originality, it has shown us more precisely how it grew, and much more besides. The historical-critical method will always remain one dimension of interpretation. Vatican II made this clear. On the one hand, it presents the essential elements of the historical method as a necessary part of access to the Bible. At the same time, though, it adds that the Bible has to be read in the same Spirit in which it was written. It has to be read in its wholeness, in its unity. And that can be done only when we approach it as a book of the People of God progressively advancing toward Christ. What is needed is not simply a break with the historical method, but a self-critique of the historical method; a self-critique of historical reason that takes cognizance of its limits and recognizes the compatibility of a type of knowledge that derives from faith; in short, we need a synthesis between an exegesis that operates with historical reason and an exegesis that is guided by faith. We have to bring the two things into a proper relationship to each other. That is also a requirement of the basic relationship between faith and reason.

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• Always remember that God is the primary author of Sacred Scripture. Because the Bible is the Word of God, we owe it the greatest reverence and respect.
• At Mass, when the Gospel is read, we all stand out of respect for the Word of God. And the Bible has been read in every Catholic Mass for the last 2000 years (passages of Sacred Scripture).
• Often times, we incense it with the beautiful incense to show our respect and reverence for the Holy Word of God.
• We’ve had many Catholics over the years that were martyred, because they were safeguarding Sacred Scripture. Especially, this happened in the early Church where the Roman government was trying to burn and destroy copies of Sacred Scripture, and many Christians gave their lives to preserve the Word of God.

THE BEAUTY OF GOD’S WORD