Bible 101Background, Organization,

and Purpose

Your Bible(s)

• How many Bibles do you have?

• What are some ways or situations in which you use them?

• What are some things that you wonder about the Bible?

What Is the Bible?• A Collection of Writings (biblia: Greek for “books”)

– 66 Books: 39 in Old Testament; 27 in New– Multiple Genres:

• Origins “myths”• Heroic Ancestor Stories• Historical Reviews• Social & Legal Codes• Ethical Pronouncements• Worship Songs• Versified Drama• Educational & Instructional Materials• Wedding Entertainment• Sermons & Prophecies• Biographies• Teachings and Exhortations• Letters to Individuals & Groups• Doctrinal Dissertations• Apocalyptic Visions

What Is the Bible?

• A Collection of Writings:– Written and gathered over a long

period of time:• Pentateuch (1400? – 400? B.C.)• Former Prophets (1100? – 400? B.C.)• Latter Prophets (1000? – 300? B.C.)• Poetry/Writings (1200? – 500? B.C.)• New Testament Letters (48-70 A.D.)• Gospels (55? – 97? A.D.)• History (Acts) (33 – 60 A.D.)• Apocalypse (90? A.D.)

What Is the Bible?• A Collection of Writings:

– Penned by a Variety of Authors:• Moses?• Joshua?• Samuel?• David• Isaiah• Multiple Prophets• Court Historians• Poets & Dramatists• Followers of Jesus from many walks of life• Friends of Followers of Jesus

What Is the Bible?

• A Collection of Writings within and shaped by two specific religious traditions:– The Nation of Israel (Hebrew

Bible/Old Testament)– The Christian Church (New

Testament)

What Is the Bible?

• A Collection of Writings within and shaped by two specific religious traditions that is understood to be a means of Divine Revelation

Scholarly Interpretive Methods

• Source Criticism:– Trying to find and separate the distinctive

sources behind the current text• Form Criticism:

– Trying to analyze the unique forms of literature and assess how they function

• Redaction Criticism:– Trying to understand how and why the text

was edited into its final shape• Literary Criticism:

– Trying to understand how the text functions in its current expression

Religious Choices

• “Revelation vs. History”– Scripture as Testimony (Schleiermacher)

– Scripture as Doctrine (Gerstner)

– Scripture as Record (Albright, Wright)

– Scripture as Witness (Barth)

• “Revelation as History”– Scripture & Progress (Wellhausen, Von Rad)

– Scripture & Process (Ogden, Ricoeur)

• “Revelation in History”– Scripture as Covenant Documents

The Old Testament

Torah (Covenant/Law)• Genesis• Exodus• Leviticus• Numbers• DeuteronomyHistory (Former Prophets)• Joshua• Judges• Ruth

• 1 Samuel• 2 Samuel• 1 Kings• 2 Kings• 1 Chronicles• 2 Chronicles• Ezra• Nehemiah• Esther

Wisdom/Poetry• Job• Psalms• Proverbs• Ecclesiastes• Song of Songs

Major Prophets• Isaiah• Jeremiah• Lamentations• Ezekiel• Daniel

Minor Prophets• Hosea• Joel • Amos• Obadiah• Jonah• Micah• Nahum• Habakkuk• Zephaniah• Haggai• Zechariah• Malachi

The New Testament The Gospels (Jesus)• Matthew • Mark• Luke• JohnEarly Church History• ActsLetters• Romans• 1 Corinthians• 2 Corinthians• Galatians• Ephesians• Philippians• Colossians

• 1 Thessalonians• 2 Thessalonians• 1 Timothy• 2 Timothy• Titus• Philemon• Hebrews• James• 1 Peter• 2 Peter• 1 John• 2 John• 3 John• JudeEschatology• Revelation

• The 66 books are referred to as the canon.• Derived from the Greek “Kanon”

– Early meaning: a measuring rod– Later meanings:

• A standard by which something is judged

• A list • Our interest here:

– The list of books that belong in the Bible

– How we got them– What is canonical, what is not, and why

The Canon

How the Canon was affirmedHistorical Developments• At the time of Jesus the “Law” (Books of Moses) and

the “Prophets” (Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Kings, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, 12 Minor Prophets) were recognized as Scripture

• After the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., Jewish rabbis identified the “Writings” which complete the Old Testament (Hebrew Bible) as we know it

• New Testament writings were circulated and copied based upon three major criteria:– Links to the Apostles (their writings, or their teachings

written down by others– Wide recognition throughout the churches– Consistent teachings about Jesus and salvation

• Several prominent church leaders and councils (Hippo, 393 A.D., Carthage, 397 A.D., Carthage 419) identified lists of authoritative writings, and these became our New Testament

Comparing the Literature

• Old Testament– 39 books– Written over 1000

years (1300-300 B.C.)– Understood to be both

the “Hebrew Bible” of Judaism and the “Old Testament” of Christianity

– Focused on the Sinai Covenant and the Kingdom of Yahweh in and through Israel

• New Testament– 27 books– Written in 50 years

(48-98 A.D.)– Understood as the

primary sourcebook for Christianity

– Focused on the person, work and teachings of Jesus

Relation between the Testaments• A number of different views have been given:

– O.T. is Scripture, N.T. is explanatory footnote• Note use of O.T. by early church

– O.T. is Prophecy, N.T. is Fulfillment• General Christian understanding

– O.T. is historical background, N.T. is scripture• “Christocentric” Christian understanding

– O.T. is Law, N.T. is Gospel• Peculiarly Lutheran understanding

– O.T. is Covenant mission, N.T. is Messianic thrust• Broader Reformed understanding

Chapters and Verses• Chapters (1,189 chapters)

– OT began to be put into sections before the Babylonian Captivity (586 B.C.); by the time of the Council of Nicaea (325 A.D.), the NT had been divided into paragraphs

– Archbishop of Canterbury Stephen Langton devised the basis for the modern chapter division in the early 1200’s

• Verses (31,101 verses)– OT: Rabbi Isaac Nathan numbered verses

according to longstanding units in the Hebrew Bible around 1440

– NT: Robert Estienne (a.k.a. Stephanus) introduced the current verse division in 1551

What about the “Apocrypha”?• Name means “hidden things”• Several collections of “apocryphal” books:

– Old Testament “pseudepigripha”• Books in Hebrew related to Old Testament themes but

considered less authentic or authoritative

– Jewish “apocrypha”• Books in Greek mainly related to times and writings

during the Second Temple period but considered less authoritative

– Christian “apocrypha” or “spiritual writings”• Books in Greek or Latin which purport to continue

stories begun in New Testament writings or to come from authors mentioned there

What about the “Apocrypha”?• At the time of Jesus two collections had been

“canonized”– Torah – the writings of Moses or Covenant documents– Nabi’im – the prophets, both historical and sermonic

• There was a growing body of other literature that had been translated into Greek or was written in Greek that became part of the “Septuagint” This was used extensively by early Christians

• After the destruction of the Temple (70 A.D.), Pharisaic/Rabbinic Judaism began to place a huge emphasis on an authoritative text for its Synagogue readings and teachings. Around 90 A.D. the Hebrew Bible became standardized with the Torah and Nabi’im as we know it today, and the K’tuvim (“Writings”) pared down from the Septuagint collection.

What about the “Apocrypha”?• The Christian church generally used the

Septuagint for the first few centuries, but began to distinguish between those books which had greater authority and those which had less

• At the time of the Reformation, Protestant scholars sought to get back to early church identity and practices, and adopted the Hebrew Bible as the normative Old Testament

• This clarified the higher and lower authority of shared canonical scriptures over the apocryphal writings

Apocrypha• Apocryphal Books (Belgic Confession, 1561, Article 6)

Third and fourth books of Esdras; the books of Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Jesus Sirach Baruch; what was added to the Story of Esther; the Song of the Three Children in the Furnace; the Story of Susannah; the Story of Bell and the Dragon; the Prayer of Manasseh; and the two books of Maccabees.

• “The church may certainly read these books and learn from them as far as they agree with the canonical books. But they do not have such power and virtue that one could confirm from their testimony any point of faith or of the Christian religion. Much less can they detract from the authority of the other holy books.”

The Message of the Bible

• What does the Bible say about itself?

• What is its purpose?

What the Bible says about itself…

• I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. (Psalm 119:11)

• When you received the word of God… you accepted it not as the word of men, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is at work in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

• All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man (person) of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17)

What the Bible says about itself… (cont.)

• For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing the soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12)

• Do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourselves. Do what is says. (James 1:22)

What the Bible says about itself…Summary and Application

• What key words or concepts do you remember from the preceding verses?

• What are some implications of these words and concepts for the ways that we should live and worship?

Purpose of the Bible• Reveal God’s mission to bring all people

back to holiness, hope and healing; focused ultimately on Salvation in Jesus Christ

• Four States of Redemptive History (Augustine)– Creation: able to sin, able not to sin (posse

peccare, posse non peccare)– Fall: not able not to sin (non posse non peccare)– Redemption: able not to sin (posse non

peccare) – again– Consummation: not able to sin (non posse

peccare)

The Sufficiency of ScriptureBelgic Confession (1561) Article 7

“We believe that this Holy Scripture contains the will of God completely and that everything one must believe to be saved is sufficiently taught in it.”

The Old and the New “Testament” The Latin translation (testamentum) for

“covenant”: a binding agreement between God and His people

• Old Testament– God’s covenant with Abraham/Israel (Gen.

12-17)– The Law’s requirements stated: The Ten

Commandments (Exodus 20)– Prophecies of the coming Messiah: The

Suffering Servant (Isa. 53)• New Testament

– God’s covenant with all mankind (Jer. 31:31-34, Mt. 26:28, 2 Cor. 3:6)

– The Law’s requirements re-stated: Love the Lord your God (Mt. 22:37)

– The acts of the crucified and risen Messiah: The Savior of the world (John 3:16)

CovenantAn agreement between God and his people in which God makes

certain promises and requires certain behavior from them in return.

• God’s covenant with Abraham: 1) great nation, bless those who bless & curse those who curse him (12:1-3); 2) give him the land from Egypt to the Euphrates (15:18-21); 3) make him a father of many nations (17:1-8); 4) circumcision as sign of the everlasting covenant (17:9-14)

• God’s promise of a new covenant: Jer. 31:31-34: “"The time is coming," declares the LORD,

       "when I will make a new covenant        with the house of Israel        and with the house of Judah.”

• Jesus brings the new covenant: Mt. 26:28: “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” (KJV); “For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (NASB)

• The church has the new covenant: 2 Cor. 3:6: “He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.”

For those who want to do more

Reflect• Purpose of Bible? Your response?Read the following books.• Bickel and Jantz, Knowing the Bible 101. pp.

17-35; Donahue, Foundations: How We Got Our Bible. pp. 35-41

Read the following chapters in the Bible.– Genesis 1: Creation – Genesis 3: Fall and promise of a Redeemer– Genesis 12: Abraham's call – Genesis 17: God’s Covenant with Abraham– Exodus 20: Ten Commandments– Joshua 24: Choose you this day

Bible 101

“This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.”

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