HOW TO READ & WRITE

Book/Letter Title Chapter: Verse ( Gen 1:1 )

Book/Letter Title Chapter: Verse ( 1 Cor 1:1 )
Book/Letter Title Chapter, Verse ( Gen 1,1 )
Others:
1 Cor 1:1-2, 6
1 Cor 1:1-2; 3:1,6
HOW THE WRITING OF THE BIBLE CAME ABOUT

INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE

Unworthy Theories:

 Divine dictation – does not respect freedom of creatures & differences in biblical
writings
 Negative assistance – does not allow unique character of Bible as Word of God
 Subsequent approbation – if so, how would we understand Bible as Word of God
2 important points

 God is actively present in a unique manner in the composition of the biblical books –
divine activity approached in faith
 The freedom of the human authors in making use of their own talents & resources, in
cooperation with the spirit of God, in composing the sacred books – use of all possible
sciences to understand the intended meaning of authors
Revelation & the Bible

 Took place in history – Patriarchs, exodus, history of Israel, Jesus’ LPDR (life, passion,
death and resurrection)
 Thru written form – for correct interpretation & preservation
 CANON OF THE BIBLE
 Qinah/kanna = a reed used as a measuring stick
 Canon – “list” of inspired books
 Canonization – process of recognizing which are the inspired books
o For Catholics, most with authority is
o WHEN: in 1546 Council of Trent
o WHO: thru magisterium
o HOW: thru standards like inner unity/cohesiveness of books, apostolic origin,
ability to foster prayer and love, and most, the acceptance of local community
Old Testament Canon
 621 BCE: Finding of Deuteronomic code
 400 BCE: five books of Moses/Pentateuch/Torah
 Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings
 200 BCE: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, minor prophets (12) (Heb: Nevi’im)
 Wisdom literature (Heb: Ketuvim)
 Torah (first 5 books): Nevi’im (Prophets), Ketuvim (Writings) = TNK (Tanakh)
First Jewish Revolt (66 – 74 C.E.)

 Fall of Masada
 Destruction of Jerusalem Temple – Wailing Wall
 90 C.E. – Rabbis at Jamnia – ‘oral law’
 End of 1st C.E. – gradual separation between Jews and ‘Christians’
Two Main Jewish Traditions

 Palestinian Canon
o Rabbis at Jamnia (70s) under Johanan ben Zakkai
o 39 books
 Alexandrian Canon
o Gk speaking Jews
o Accepted 39 books + 1- 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch
and parts of Daniel and Esther (Deuterocanonical)
o Catholics follow this list

New Testament Canon

 Important: apostolic origin, importance of the community addressed, centrality of
doctrine contained
 Other writings: 2 Clement (homily), Didache (teaching of the 12 apostles), Shepherd of
Hermas (treatise)
 Mark

 65 CE/AD: just around time of Peter’s and Paul’s martyrdom; Rome?

 Mk had to compose something for the followers of Jesus & prospective converts,
non-Jewish
 Gospel – not simply a biography, sermon or catechism on Jesus: all of it!
 Jesus is the Messenger of God, the Healer, the Savior
Matthew

 ca. 70 CE/AD: After destruction of Jerusalem; Jamnia – separation of Christians &

Jews; confusing time for followers
 ca.80 CE/AD, Syria or Palestine Matthew used Mark and another source “Q” to write
his gospel for Jewish Christians
 Special feature: lots of Old Testament quotes because Jesus is its fulfillment
Luke & Acts

 ca. almost the same time as Mt, written by a Greek convert (?); two-volumes
 Did not need reassurance like Mt’s community but wanted to know the origin of
their Christian faith so with explanations of Jewish traditions & origins
John

 ca. 90 CE/AD, Ephesus; apostle John with Mary (?)

 Written to counter false teachings that Jesus has not really become a human person
 Very different presentations compared to Mk, Mt, Lk except for the Passion account
 Jesus is the Word made Flesh
Catholic Epistles & Revelation

 James – like Wisdom

 1 Peter – practice of faith & doctrine
 Jude and 2 Peter – to combat errors in the first century (1 CE/AD)
 Revelation or Apocalypse – like Daniel during the persecution by Antiochus; written
during persecution by Romans
Conclusion

 The Bible has a purpose: salvation history

 While the Bible talks about salvation history, it is composed over a long period of time
by different authors & communities using different styles according to their contexts
 The Bible as it is arranged canonically is different with how it developed historically: it
has an aim or purpose: to show how God saves the people, i.e., salvation history
 ISRAEL’S HISTORY RECAP
1. Patriarchs
2. Egypt/Exodus
3. Conquest (of Canaan)
o Occupation
4. Chieftains/Judges
5. Kingdom
o 1125 BC: Song of Deborah – Judg 5
o 1280 BC: Song of Miriam – Exod 15
o First Five Books
o Boast of Lamech – Gen 4:23
o Blessing of Rebekah
o Yahwist: Calls the Divine “Yahweh” or “Adonai”
6. Kingdoms divided
o 9 BCE
 Elohist writes from the northern kingdom: story of Abraham parallels
Yahwist stories of Fathers & Moses
 Elohist + Yahwist during Hezekiah’s reign while Deuteronomic + Priestly
tradition
 Amos & Hosea: North (Israel/Samaria)
 Isaiah & Micah: South
7. Conquest (by Assyrians)
o Fall of Samaria: 722 BCE
 Northern priests & refugees to the South/Judah
 They supported Hezekiah’s reforms
 Their teachings became the core of Deuteronomic tradition (Joshua,
Judges, 1-2 Samuel, 1-2 Kings
 BUT Manasseh, son of Hezekiah, worst king; same with son Amon
 BUT NOT Josiah, son of Amon, who followed the reforms of Hezekiah
o Josiah’s Reform
 621 BCE – priest Hilkiah found the Book of the Law in the Temple
(Deuteronomic Code during the time of Hezekiah?)
 Josiah inaugurated full- scale religious reform
 Prophets: Zephaniah, Nahum, Habbakuk, Jeremiah
8. Conquest (by Babylonians)
o 587 BCE: Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon
 Some Psalms
 Lamentations
 Ezekiel
  Second Isaiah (Isa 40-55)
9. Exile
10. Post-exilic Period
o Five Books of Moses/ Pentateuch was completed
 Yahwist : “Yahweh”/YHWH/JHWH
 Elohist : God
 Deuteronomic: need for reform, law
 Priestly: religious ritual, law, genealogies
o PERIOD OF RESTORATION
 Haggai, Zechariah
 Ezra & Nehemiah
 1-2 Chronicles
 Deuteronomy which introduces Joshua to Kings became the last
book of Pentateuch/Torah/Five Books
 Ruth
 Jonah
o WISDOM LITERATURE
 Job
 Psalms
 Proverbs
 Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth)
 Song of Songs
 Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)
 Wisdom
11. Greeks
o 1-2 Maccabees
o Daniel –(*Apocalyptic)
o A section of Ezra
o Esther
o Tobit
o Judith
12. Romans
13. Revolt & Destruction
14. Restitution/Restoration
*Greeks: Macs, Romans: Herods, Revolt & Destruction, Restitution/Restoration
o 1 Thessalonians
o Mark
o Matthew & Luke (Mk + Quelle or Q source)
o Paul: 1-2 Thess, Galatians, 1-2 Cor, Romans
o Paul in prison: Philippians, Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians
o Pastoral Letters: 1-2 Tim, Titus
o Hebrews
o Gospels: Mk, Mt, Lk-Ac, Jn
o Catholic epistles: 1 Peter, Jude, 2 Peter, Revelation
 BIBLE STUDY TOOLS
Bible

 Different manuscripts and translations; printed and digital

 Parts of the Bible
o Title page
o Foreword/introduction
o Table of contents
o Abbreviation 
o The books of the Bible

Old Testament: Hebrew (Palestine)

 Diaspora – Hebrew bible was translated to Greek during the “Helenization”

o Septuagint
o LXX – 70 (hebrew translation to greek plus new books that were originally in
Greek

New Testament: Greek

Introductory Books: Overview to the specific books

Concordance: Alphabetical listings of words and phrases in the Bible showing where the terms
occur throughout all the Biblical books

Dictionaries: To learn about special words, people, places, objects, events

Commentaries: Special book that gives a lot of information about the bible. Books that are
highly specialized

Journals: Latest debates of findings about the Bible

Books on Methods of Interpretation: Interpreting the bible

Gospel Parallel: To make comparisons easier

: Gospel in a parallel way

Synoptic Gospels (Matthew-Mt, Mark-Mk, Luke-Lk) 

 Syn – same
 Optic – lens

Audiovisual materials: videos

 BIBLICAL INTERPRETATIONS
 (hermeneutics) deals with the method of interpreting biblical texts

HISTORICAL APPROACH

 involves looking at the text with a historical perspective and in terms of its historical
context
 “the indispensable method for the study of the meaning of ancient texts” since Scripture
is the Word of God in human language
 4 Stages: textual, source, genre/form, redaction

1. TEXTUAL

 tries to establish the most original textual form of the passage

2. SOURCE

 attempts to trace the source(s) for biblical materials, whether written or oral
traditions

3. GENRE/FORM

 seeks to identify the literary genre/form and the situation that gave rise to them

4. REDACTION

 studies how the biblical documents were edited for a particular purpose in their
final form. 
 In the gospels, it considers how a passage fits in with the general message of the
particular gospel writer to the particular Christian community.

APPROACHES BASED ON TRADITION

1. CANONICAL APPROACH

 Interprets biblical text in the light of the canon or in how the Bible is received as
the norm of faith by a community of believers; situates text in the plan of God &
its relevance for our time

2. JEWISH TRADITION

 Used since the time of the Church Fathers/ Patristics in interpreting OT & NT just
as St. Paul did in elaborating scriptures
 Uses the context of ancient Judaism
 3. INFLUENCE OF THE TEXT

 Assesses the development of the text over the course of time under the
influence of the concerns readers have brought to the text

APPROACHES THAT USES THE HUMAN SCIENCES

1. SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH

 looks at the social condition of the text; focuses on the economic and
institutional aspects

2. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY

 Considers the wider cultural system than the sociological approach “seeking to
define the characteristics of different kinds of human beings in their social
context” (whether urban or rural), with attention paid to the values recognized
by the society in question.

3. PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH

 n/a

CONTEXTUAL APPROACHES

1. LIBERATIONIST READING

 concerns itself with letting the Bible speak to the people of today, particularly
the victims of oppression. It hinges on the fact that exegesis cannot be neutral,
but must, in imitation of God, take sides on behalf of the poor and be engaged in
the struggle to liberate the oppressed (IBC,67)

2. FEMINIST READING

 Is there a woman in the story? In what way is she presented?

 From a woman’s perspective, how will this passage be interpreted? Compare it
to a man’s insight…

3. ECOLOGICAL HERMENEUTICS

 Ecological hermeneutics” is a contemporary biblical-hermeneutical approach

that reads the Bible through the lens of ecology and the present environmental
concerns
CPEPO = Story
 Creations
 People
 Events
 Places
 Objects

LRF (Lasallian Reflection Framework)

 See-Experience
 Analysis-Reflection
 Commitment-Action
 Evaluate
 Celebrate/Ritualize