BIBLICAL LANGUAGES:

Comes from theGreek word, ‘Biblia’Meaning, ‘books’

• it is a collection of ancient writings about God (Yahweh)• the most treasured sacred literature• originated from MANUSCRIPTS (manus=hand

scriptus=scribble,to write)

First Testament Second Testament

• 46 books (for Catholics)• 39 books (for Protestants)• composed of stories about the original agrrement between Yahweh and His People(Israelites)

• 27 books/letters a. 4 Gospels b. Acts of the Apostles c. 13 letters (Paul) d. 8 other letters e. Book of Revelation

ISLAM = QU’RAN as the Sacred Book written by Mohammed dictated by ‘Allah’

CHRISTIANS = NEW TESTAMENT considers Jesus as the fulfillment of the prophesy told in the First Testament

JEWS = MIDRASH the continuation of the Old Testament Bible Messiah is still to come

Record of historical accounts where God reveals Himself to events, people and places directed towards God’s plan for salvation

Records of history: events, people and places without definite end.

=TORAH, which means, “The Law” composed of the first 5 books in First Testament

= NEBI’IM, comes from the word, Nabi’ (prophet) these are the books written by the Prophets Some of the Prophetic books are also known as Historical books

= KETUBIM, comes from the katab, (to write) these are WRITING/WISDOM books

Code: “T a N a k”

CATHOLIC BIBLECATHOLIC BIBLE

1. PROTOCANONICALS – Books originally written in

Hebrew

2. DEUTERO-CANONICALS – Books written in Greeks

1. Wisdom of Solomon 2. Sirach 3. Baruc

4. 1 and 2 Maccabees 6. Judith 7. Tobit 8. Parts of

Daniel 9. Parts of Esther

THE BOOKS OF THE OLD THE BOOKS OF THE OLD TESTAMENTTESTAMENT

1. PENTATEUCH

1. Genesis2.Exodus 3. Numbers

4. Leviticus 5.Deuteronomy

2. HISTORICAL BOOKS

1. Joshua 2. Judges 3. Ruth 4. Ruth 5. Samuel 1, 2,

6. Kings 1,2 7. Chronicles 1,2 8. Ezra 9. Nehemiah 10. Tobit

11. Judith 12. Esther 13. 1,2 Maccabees

3. WISDOM BOOKS3. WISDOM BOOKS

1. Job 2. Psalms 3. Proverbs 4. Ecclesiates

5. Song of Songs 6. Wisdom 7. Sirach

4. PROPHETIC BOOKS

1. Isaiah 2. Jeremiah 3. Lamentations 4. Baruch

5. Daniel 6. Hoseah 7. Joel 8. Amos

9. Obadiah10. Jonah 11. Micah 12. Nahum

13. Habakuk 14. Zephaniah 15. Haggai 16. Zechariah

17. Malachi

Jeremiah 31:33

“ But this is the covenant I will make… I will put my law within them, And I will write it upon their hearts, And I will be their God’ And they shall be my people”

KINDS OF MEANINGS IN THE BIBLE

1. Literal Sense

- the sense that the human author directly intended and which his words convey 2. More than Literal Sense

a. fuller sense – deeper meaning intended by God, but not clearly intended by the human author

ex. Gen. 1:26: “God said, “let us make man in our image, to our likeness…

b. typical sense – deeper meaning that things and events in the Scripture that are intended by God and foreshadow future events

ex. Rev. 15: 1 “I saw in heaven another sign, great and awe- inspiring: Seven angels holding the seven final plagues which would bring God’s wrath to the climax”

INVESTIGATING THE MEANING OF THE BIBLE

1. Historico-Critical Method of Exegesis

this concerns the study of the grammatical and the historical content of the text

1. HISTORICO CRITICAL ANALYSIS: Further considerations

- history which we know from the Bible and also from the documents of the other people

- The Literature of the time: the Jews exiled in Babylon heard the great Mesopotamian legend about the flood

- Archaeology: the city of Jericho was in ruins when Joshua took it

Summary:

1. The concern of historical analysis is to put a text back to its in its historical context in an attempt to see what the author wanted to say.

2. Materialist Analysis which means that a text is also a product of the social, economic, and political conditions of its day.

INVESTIGATING THE MEANING OF THE BIBLE1. Historico-Critical Method of Exegesis

a. Textual Criticism – to find out the origin of the textsex. Gen. 2:1, 7:“On the day God made the earth and the heavens, there was not yet on the earth any shrub

of the fields…Then Yahweh God formed man, dust drawn from the clay, and breathed unto his nostrils a breath of life and man became a live with breath”

b. Context Criticism – to know the background, culture of the textEx. Gen. 1:18: “It is not good for man to be alone; I will give him a helper who will be like him””

c. Literary Criticism – this questions the authorship of the text, the c. Literary Criticism – this questions the authorship of the text, the date of composition and date of composition and place of compositionplace of composition

Ex. Mt. 5:3 Ex. Mt. 5:3 “How blest are the poor in spirit: “How blest are the poor in spirit:

the reign of God is theirs”the reign of God is theirs”

Ex. Mt. 6:20:

“Blest are you poor; the reign of God is yours; Blest are you who hunger, you shall be filled. Blest are you who are weeping; you shall laugh”

2. Structuralist Analysis

From the beginning of the 20th century a new science of the study of language has come into being. It is known as Semiotics from the Greek word semeion which means sign. Semiotics then is the study of sign

Structuralist analysis means that there is a particular structure of a text that has to be known independent of the intentions of the author.

HOW TO INTERPRET THE BIBLE

A. Read a text… mark what you think are important like:

1. Studying the Text

• words that recur,

• people involve in the action: note what they do, what they say, what happens to them

• places and movements, are places connected with a particular person?

2. Put the Text back in its Context

How does the text fit into the entire paragraph, to the entire chapter, to the entire book?

3. The Text in the setting of its time

When was this text written?, what was the situation of the author at this time? Are their similar texts to this period?

4. The Meaning of the Text to you

What does the Text tell you? What does it help you to live?