CHAPTER 2: INTRODUCTION TO SACRED SCRIPTURE

• Bible as an inspirational collection of writings, the written record of God’s Revelation

• What does it mean to be inspirational? Arouses confidence Challenges us to be the BEST we can be

• What does the Church teach us about the Bible? God is the author of the Bible The Holy Spirit inspired the writers

The Bible (Sacred Scriptures) teach the truth

• Bible is NOT a religious text• Bible as a living book• Readers have to open their minds to its “Good News”• Human authors as instruments committed to writing

those truths Drew on their own background, education, skill, talent, vocabulary Guided by the Holy Spirit End product: inerrant (free from error) Word of God

• How To Read the Bible: Be aware of how the history of their time and culture

influenced the writers To identify the writers’ intention: identify the literary form or genre (a

particular style

HOW TO LOCATE AND READ BIBLE REFERENCES

Typical Bible Reference: Jn 1:1-18

1) “Jn” is an abbreviated title for the Gospel of John2) The first number is the chapter number; the verse

number follows the colon (:)3) The hyphen (-) indicates several chapters or verses Gn 1-2 (Genesis, chapters 1 and 2)

4) A semicolon (;) separates two distinct references; a comma (,) separates two verses in the same chapter

Is 9:1,3,8 (Isaiah, chapter 9, verses 1,3, and 8)

5) The “f” means the following verse; “ff” means several verses

Prv 6:6f (Proverbs, chapter 6, verses 6 and 7) Prv 6:6ff (Proverbs, chapter 6, verses 6 and several verses after

that)

Ways to Interpret Sacred Scripture in Accordance with the Holy Spirit Who Inspired It (Second Vatican Council: 1962-1965)

1) Look at the content and unity of the whole Jesus Christ as the Word of God (Center and heart of Sacred

Scripture) Read in light of the death and resurrection of Jesus Read the New Testament in light of the Old Testament

2) Read the Sacred Scripture within the tradition of the whole Church

Deposit of Faith: handing down of faith from the Apostles to us through the magisterium (help us to understand the meaning of God’s Word and how to apply it in our own lives)

3) Be attentive to the “analogy of faith” Truths in the Sacred Scripture cannot contradict each other Message of the Sacred Scripture is timeless

LITERARY GENRES

• A particular style of writing• Exegesis: process used by Biblical scholars to discover

the meaning of the text• Literal Sense: the meaning conveyed by the words of

the Scripture• Examples of Literary Genres: Allegory: a comparison where elements of a story represent

deeper meanings Biography: a person’s life story Creed: a statement of religious beliefs Etiology: a story that states the cause of something Fable: a story with a moral; animals act and speak like humans History: a chronological record of events in the life of a nation or

institution

Law: rules of conduct or standards of behavior Prophecy: inspired words of a prophet Genealogy: story of a family tree Hyperbole: a deliberately exaggerated saying to emphasize a topic Miracle Story: story of a powerful sign performed by Jesus Riddle: a question or statement that teases the mind; requires

thought Parable: story told by Jesus with a surprise ending Pronouncement Story: an important saying by Jesus

UNDERSTANDING THE BIBLE

• There are 4 senses of Scripture: Literal Sense: the meaning of the words Spiritual Sense: refers to the realities and events (deeper meaning) Allegorical Sense: story line conveys more than one meaning at the same

time; looks at OT in light of its fulfillment in Jesus (NT); what you should believe

Moral Sense: how to live your life (with goodness and justice) Anagogical Sense: looks at earthly events and sees them as a way to

lead us to Heaven; teaches you where you are going (increasing your hope)

BIBLICAL TRANSLATIONS

Old Testament:• Most of the Old Testament written in Hebrew• Small sections written in Aramaic• Seven books written in Greek

New Testament:• Entire NT written in Greek (“Koine”) – 1st century AD• Latin Version: St. Jerome completed the Vulgate

(383-405) (Church’s official translation of the Bible from the original languages); known as a Church Father

Dead Sea Scrolls:• Discovered in caves near the Dead Sea (1947); belonged to a

religious Jewish sect; contained manuscripts that were written before the birth of Christ

Protestant Translations of the Bible:• King James Version (1611); borrowed material from the

NT of the Douay-Rheims Bible

Catholic Translations of the Bible:• Douay-Rheims Bible (1582-1609); a translation of the

Latin Vulgate; used until the 20th century; NT translated from the Vulgate in 1582; OL translated from the Vulgate in 1609

• Translation of the Bible from original languages

(Pope Pius XII) in 1943 New American Bible: (1970) used for readings at liturgies in the

U.S. New Jerusalem Bible: (1985) borrowed material from the French

Bible

MODERN APPROACHES FOR STUDYING SACRED SCRIPTURE

• Fundamentalists: take a literalist approach Believing in the exact meaning of the words• Catholic Church: read Scripture prayerfully and

interpret it critically Historical Criticism: looks at the history behind the text; uses

archeology, dating techniques, historical research; distinguishes the true from the false concerning facts of the past; an attempt to verify the historicity of an event and the understanding of its meaning; Bible must be read as a product of a secular historical science

Source Criticism: helps discover where the biblical authors got their material

Form Criticism: identifies the type or genre; studying small units of a text to see how it took shape before it was written;

Redaction Criticism: looks at how the biblical author arranged his work to give a particular theological insight; shapes the material and focuses on the production of the final written form; builds upon historical, source, and form criticism; acts as an editor