Interpretation and Overview of the BibleSection 2

Understanding the ScripturesPart 1

Divine Inspiration and Biblical Inerrancy• The Holy Spirit inspired the

human authors who wrote the Bible’s books.• This is called Divine Inspiration.

• God himself is the ultimate author of the Sacred Scriptures. • This makes the Bible free of errors

which is called biblical inerrancy.

• God chose ordinary people to wrote the books of the Bible. • The Holy Spirit “breathed into” them

the ways and truths of God. • But they still kept their human

knowledge and creativity.

Communicating the Sacred Scriptures• There are three basic

forms of communication:• Nonverbal deeds and

actions• The spoken word• The written word

• All three were instrumental in the development of the Sacred Scriptures.

• The first step was human experience. • Before anything could be

written or spoken, humans had to experience these events and experience God.

The Spoken Word

• This handing on of truth-carrying and wisdom-filled words and deeds from generation to generation is called oral tradition. • During Old Testament

times, few people could read and write so they relied heavily on spoken word.

• The Israelites’ experience of God was originally handed down orally. • Prophesying, preaching, storytelling, and poetry.

• Their experience was also handed down through the manner in which they worshipped and kept the covenants made by God and his People.

The Written Word• The people in both Old and

New Testaments times wanted to preserve God’s message of salvation. • They began the written

tradition, which involved the writing down, with the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, God’s Revelation to his children.

• Early Christians were worried about safeguarding the message of Jesus Christ because many of those who knew Jesus personally were being persecuted.

When were the Scriptures written?• Many times the Israelites did not know that they

were involved in something special and did not write down their personal experiences dealing with God. • Through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the biblical

books were written down years after the events they describe. Book Period Covered Date Written

Genesis Creation-1500 BC 900-500 BC

Exodus 1500-1250 BC 900-500 BC

Prophetic Books 922-300 BC 865-300 BC

Gospels 5 BC-AD 30 AD 62-100

Paul’s Letters AD 51-100 AD 51-100

Setting the Canon of Scripture

• The early bishops, the successors to the Apostles, used four standards to discern the validity of a book and if it should be included in the canon. • 1. Apostolic Origin• 2. Universal Acceptance• 3. Use of the text• 4. Message

• The canon of the Bible is the official collection of inspired books. • The pages of the canon:• contain God’s self-revelation to human beings. • lay the foundation for the beliefs, practices, and

customs of the Catholic faith.

Setting the Canon of Scripture• Apostolic Origin • the book must be based on the preaching and teaching of

the Apostles.

• Universal Acceptance • the book must be accepted by Christian communities

throughout the world.

• Use of the text• the books were/could/or should have been used in the

Mass to enhance the prayer lives of the people.

• Message• the book had to have a message consistent with other

Christian and Jewish writings.

• Based on these standards, some books were not selected for the canon. • The Gnostic gospels were rejected because they placed

little importance on the suffering and death of Jesus.

Different Translations, The Same Revelation• The Bible had to be translated

from Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek into English. • As a result, there are many

different translations of the Bible, but all of the messages of Divine Revelation are the same.

• There are 4 Catholic biblical translations that are widely used today:• The New American Bible (NAB)• The New Revised Standard Version

(NRSV)• Catholic Edition: New Jerusalem Bible (NJB)• the Good News Translation (GNT)

Read page 59.

Interpreting ScripturePart 2

A Vocation to Interpret and Teach

• The process of interpreting and critically explaining a passage from Sacred Scripture is called biblical exegesis. • Through biblical exegesis

God continues to reveal himself though his Words.

• The Magisterium, the living teaching office of the Church, has been given the sole authority to authentically interpret the words of the Sacred Scriptures. • They perform this task guided by the Holy Spirit.

• Although the people in the Bible may seem to have no connection with us, the events in Scripture can relate to our lives today.

Literary Forms in the Bible• The Bible contains many different types of

literature, or literary genres, which are different styles of writing.

• The study of literary forms can give us insight into the meaning the sacred writers really intended.

Literary Form Explanation Example

Creation accounts Explanations of how something came into existence

Adam and Eve, Noah

Psalms Hymns, or songs of prayer

Book of Psalms

Prophetic oracles Counsel and wisdom given by God

Prophetic Books

Historical books Accounts of the saving action of God in human history

1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings

Literary Form Explanation Example

Wisdom literature Collections of sayings and teaching about how to live a good and wise life, a life pleasing God

Books of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Wisdom

Parables Brief stories told by Jesus to teach moral or religious lessons

Mustard seed, prodigal son

Letters (epistles) Letters to early Christians to pass on wisdom, correction, and information

Letters of Paul

Apocalyptic literature Descriptions of the end times and promises of new creation

Book of Daniel, Revelation

Gospels Accounts of real events and teachings from Jesus’ life

Books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

Senses of Scriptures• The literal sense is the meaning conveyed by the words of

the Scripture, or the obvious meaning of the text. • The spiritual sense goes beyond the literal sense of the

words to consider what the realities and events of Scripture signify.

The moral sense looks to find out how the passage instructs us to live in right relationship with God, neighbor, self, and the earth.

The anagogical sense looks to find how the story leads us toward our heavenly home.

The allegorical sense examines the Christological significance of the Scriptures and looks at how people, events, and things in the literal sense point to the mystery of Christ. Read page 69.

Relation to Science and History• The Catholic Church teaches

that faith, science, and history can coexist and help inform one another.

• Academic areas can help us break down barriers of an overly literalist or fundamentalist approach to the Scriptures.

• The Church supports a contextualist approach in which the literal sense of the scriptures is informed by scientific and historical knowledge. • Teaches how to relate the truths

of faith to science.

Overview of the Old and New Testaments Part 3

The Old Testament: “Old” Does Not Mean Out of Date• The Old Testament is not “old”

in the sense that it is obsolete. • The Old Testament is the foundation

of our identity as a people of faith.

• The Old Testament is a sacred text for both Christians and Jewish people.

• The Old Testament is the account of a loving and communicative relationship between God and the Hebrew people, the descendants of Abraham, or the Israelites. • It focuses on how God remains

faithful even when the Israelites sin.

The Structure of the Old Testament• The Old Testament is divided into four categories:• The Books of Law• First five books of the Old Testament; also called the

Torah or the Pentateuch• Teach about Creation, sin, and the law of the Israelites

The Structure of the Old Testament• The Historical Books• Tell about Jewish history and recount the lives of various

leaders, judges, warriors, and prophets. • Point to the saving action of God in the lives of the

Israelites• The Wisdom Books• Poetry on wisdom, self-control, honesty, respect, etc.

• The Prophetic Books• Proclaims the

messages of visionary religious reformers who God called to challenge the Israelites to act justly.

The New Testament: Why is it Called “New”?• The New Testament contains

the Revelation of Jesus Christ. • The New Testament is called

“new” because God created a New Covenant on earth through Jesus Christ.• God had never before revealed

himself in the flesh.

• The Old Testament is necessary in order to understand the New Testament. • Only together do they paint the full

picture of God’s grace and redemption.

• They have a reciprocal relationship, they must be read together in order to be understood.

The New Testament: General Overview • The New Testament centers on the words and

actions of Jesus Christ and how he sacrificed himself for our salvation.

• The time period covered is approximately 4 BC – AD 100.

• The New Testament books can be split into 5 categories:• The Gospels• The Acts of the Apostles• The Pauline Letters• The non-Pauline Letters• The Book of Revelation

The New Testament: General Overview

• The Pauline Letters • written by Paul and his

disciples to teach the early Christian communities

• The non-Pauline Letters • The Book of Revelation

• written by a Jewish-Christian prophet named John; speaks of the second coming of Christ at the end of time, known as Parousia

• The Gospels • tell about the life of Jesus Christ

• The Acts of the Apostles• Written by Luke• Tells of the early Christian communities and how the Apostles

spread the Word of God