First Copy of Nehemiah Found in Unpublis - Unknown

7/29/2019 First Copy of Nehemiah Found in Unpublis - Unknown

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First copy o Nehemiah ound inunpublished Dead Sea Scrolls!

First copy oNehemiah ound

in unpublishedDead Sea Scrolls!First copy o Nehemiah ound in

unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls!

Posted by Dr. Michael Barber on 05.22.12 |

Exciting news!

Anyone familiar with the Dead SeaScrolls can tell you that portions ofnearly every book in the HebrewBible are represented in these an-cient texts discovered in caves nearthe Dead Sea.The only exceptions were the Bookof Esther and the Book of Nehe-miah; scholars assumed the lat-ter had been written on the samescroll as the Book of Ezra (as wascommon) but simply hadnt sur-viveduntil now. In a recent blogpost, Norwegian scroll scholar Tor-

leif Elgvin of Evangelical Lutheran UniversityCollege in Oslo, Norway, announced that he andcolleague Esther Eshel of Bar-Ilan Universitywill be publishing a collection of more than twodozen previously unknown scroll fragments,including the rst known fragment of Nehe-miah.The scrolls in the new book come from Qu-

mran Cave 4, Bar-Kokhba caves and Wadied-Daliyeh. The publication, Gleanings fromthe Caves (forthcoming from T&T Clark) willfeature enhanced photographs of the scrolls

by Bruce Zuckerman and his team, as well asartifacts from the Judean Desert such as ascroll jar, a palm ber pen, a bronze altar andinkwell.

Journey Through Scripture

Journey ThroughScripture is theSt. Paul Centersdynamic parish-based Bible studyprogram designedto help ordinaryCatholics to grow intheir knowledge of

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First copy o Nehemiah ound in unpublished Dead Sea Scrolls!

the Scriptures while deepening their understandingof the riches of our faith.

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Hearing the Call:Reections on theAscension o the

LordIn todays rst reading, St. Luke gives the surprisingnews that there is more of the story to be told. Thestory did not end with the empty tomb, or with Je-sus appearances to the Apostles over the course offorty days. Jesus saving work will have a liturgical

consummation. He is the great high priest, and hehas still to ascend to the heavenly Jerusalem, thereto celebrate the feast in the true Holy of Holies.

The truth of this feast shines forth from the Letterto the Hebrews, where we read of the great highpriests passing through the heavens, the sinlessintercessors sacrice on our behalf (see Hebrews4:14-15).

Indeed, his intercession will lead to the Holy Spi-rits descent in re upon the Church. Luke spellsout that promise in the rst reading for the feast ofthe Ascension: in a few days you will be baptizedwith the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). Ascension is thepreliminary feast that directs the Churchs attentionforward to Pentecost. On that day, salvation willbe complete; for salvation is not simply expiationfor sins (that would be wonder enough), but it issomething even greater than that. Expiation is itselfa necessary precondition of our adoption as Godschildren. To live that divine life we must receive

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the Holy Spirit. To receive the Holy Spirit we mustbe puried through baptism.

Readings:Acts 1:1-11Ps 47:2-3, 6-7, 8-9Eph 1:17-23Mk 16:15-20

The Responsorial Psalm presents the Ascension interms familiar from the worship of the JerusalemTemple in the days of King Solomon: God mountshis throne to shouts of joy: a blare of trumpets forthe Lord (Psalm 47). The priest-king takes his placeat the head of the people, ruling over the nations,establishing peace.

The Epistle strikes a distinctively Paschal note. In theearly Church, as today, Easter was the normal time

for the baptism of adult converts. The sacramentwas often called illumination or enlightenment(see, for example, Hebrews 10:32) because of thelight that came with Gods saving grace. Saint Paul,in his letter to the Ephesians, speaks in terms ofglory that leads to greater glories still, as Ascensionleads to Pentecost: May the eyes of your hearts beenlightened, he writes, as he looks to the diviniza-tion of the believers. Their hope is his inheritanceamong the holy ones, the saints who have beenadopted into Gods family and now rule with himat the Fathers right hand.

This is the good news the Apostles are commissio-ned to spreadto the whole world, to all nations,beginning from Jerusalemat the rst Ascension.Its the good news we must spread today.

Fr. MichaelScanlan Chair oBiblical Theology

and the NewEvangelization

Honored & humbled to receive the Fr. MichaelScanlan Chair of Biblical Theology and the NewEvangelization here at FUS:

STEUBENVILLE, OHRecognizing him as a singular

gift to the Catholic Church, Franciscan Universityof Steubenville awarded the Father Michael Scan-lan, TOR, Chair of Biblical Theology and the NewEvangelization to world-renowned Scripture scho-lar, theologian, author, and speaker Dr. Scott Hahn.

Father Terence Henry, TOR, University president,made the announcement during Franciscan Uni-versitys 64th annual commencement ceremonies,held May 12.

A professor of theology and Scripture at FranciscanUniversity since 1990, Hahn plans to utilize the chairto advance the mission of the New Evangelizationlaunched by Pope John Paul II and his successor,Pope Benedict XVI.

Through his work at Franciscan University, hisscholarly research and publications, his popularwriting and countless speaking engagements, Dr.Scott Hahn has done the very thing the Fathers ofVatican II called upon Catholic scholars to do, saidFather Terence Henry, TOR. This new appointmentwill aid him in his ongoing work in teaching sacredScripture and the New Evangelization, which is soclose to his heart.

Hahns work in the New Evangelization has beenpraised by many Church leaders including Timo-thy Cardinal Dolan, Archdiocese of New York, whosaid Hahns teaching brings people closer to SacredScripture, and William Cardinal Levada, prefect forthe Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith, whohailed Hahn for helping to create a new apologetics

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to counter both the new atheism and anti-Catholicfundamentalism.

On hearing the announcement of the new chair,Dr. Hahn stated: I am deeply grateful for the ap-pointment, and humbled by the honor of holding anendowed chair named after Father Michael Scanlan,one of my personal heroes in the faith, as well as aspiritual father and dear friend for over 20 years.

We share a holy passion to go deeper into GodsWord and to make it more understandable andaccessible to others. For over a generation, FatherMike has shown us how to combine academic studyand spiritual fervor in a way that changes livesour own and othersand thus how to advance theNew Evangelization, which is at the heart of theChurchs mission.

This chair will allow Hahn to deepen his impact inthe areas of teaching, scholarship, and evangeliza-

tion. He will have more opportunities to mentor bothundergraduate and masters students by teachingon campus and developing online courses for gra-duate students.

He will continue to produce scholarly and popularworks on biblical theology and the New Evangeli-zation in print, audio, video, and online; appearas a regular panelist on Franciscan University Pre-sents and other EWTN programs; and continue hisspeaking engagements at conferences, pilgrimages,and retreats for scholars and the laity, both on theFranciscan University campus and worldwide.

Hahn is the founder and director of the St. PaulCenter for Biblical Theology. From 2005 to 2011, heheld the Pope Benedict XVI Chair of Biblical Theologyand Liturgical Proclamation at St. Vincent Seminaryin Latrobe, Pennsylvania. The author or co-authorof more than 40 books, his newest titles includeMany Are Called, Covenant and Communion, TheCatholic Bible Dictionary, and The Kingdom of Godas Liturgical Empire.

Scott Hahn received his BA degree with a triple ma-jor in theology, philosophy, and economics fromGrove City College, Pennsylvania, in 1979. He earnedhis MDiv from Gordon-Conwell Theological Semi-nary in 1982, and in 1995, his PhD in theology fromMarquette University (Phi Beta Kappa). He is also avisiting professor at the Pontical University of theHoly Cross in Rome, where he has been formallygranted a canonical mission. A former pastor

at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Fairfax, Virginiaand professor at Chesapeake Theological Seminary,Hahn entered the Catholic Church at the Easter Vigil,1986. He and his wife, Kimberly, have six childrenand six grandchildren.

The new chair is named in honor of FranciscanUniversitys fourth president, Father Michael Scan-lan, TOR, who transformed Franciscan Universityfrom a small regional college struggling to keep itsdoors open, into a world-renowned leader in Ca-

tholic higher education.

A fervent evangelizer himself, it was Father Scanlanwho hired Hahn in 1990 to teach for the University,which now has the largest undergraduate theologyand catechetics program in the nation.

The Dead SeaScrolls

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The Great Isaiah Scroll (1QIsaA), Copied c. 125 B.C.

Continuing the series on the text of the Bible:

***Of great interest to textual scholars are the Dead SeaScrolls, the remains of an Essene library found incaves at the north-west end of the Dead Sea in thelate 1940s at a site called Qumran.

The scrolls provide our oldest copies of any portionof Scripture, including a few manuscripts that dateto the third century (200s) BC. The majority, howe-ver, were copied in the period 150 BCAD 68. Allof the protocanonical books of the Old Testamentare represented at Qumran except for Esther andNehemiah; however, apocryphal books like 1 Enochand Jubilees are better represented than most bi-blical books, and just as many copies of the deute-rocanonical Tobit (six) were discovered as of Jere-

miah, Ezekiel, or Job. For this reason, as mentionedabove, most scholars believe the Essene canon wassignicantly different than that of the Pharisees andmodern Rabbinic Judaism.

Fragmentary remains of about a thousand scrollswere found at Qumran, of which about a quarter(~222) were copies of biblical books, almost all inHebrew. Many of the Hebrew biblical texts foundamong the Dead Sea Scrolls appear to follow thetextual form that we now know as the Masoretic.(Scholars give gures between one-fth to one-half, depending on the method used to categorizethe manuscripts.) The other biblical texts displaydifferences in wording, including some that agreeclosely with the Septuagint (about 5% of the texts),others that agree with the form of the Pentateuchused by the Samaritans (also about 5%), and a largenumber that had unique readings (differences ofwording) in many biblical passages.

The Dead Sea Scrolls changed how scholars viewedthe history of the text of the Old Testament. It became

clear that in antiquity, around the time of Jesus,the text of the Old Testament varied slightly from

Hebrew manuscript to Hebrew manuscript. Overtime, the Jewish rabbinical tradition, culminatingin the work of the Masoretes, settled on a standardform of the textan ancient and generally goodform of the text, to be sure, but only one of thosethat circulated in antiquity.

The discovery among the scrolls of Hebrew biblicaltexts that agreed closely with the Septuagint Greek

also changed the way scholars viewed that transla-tion. Certain books of the Old Testament, notably Je-remiah and 1 Samuel, had long been known to havesome signicant differences from the Hebrew Ma-soretic Text. Many suspected the Septuagint trans-lators as being responsible for these differences.The Scrolls claried, however, that the Septuaginttranslators had, for the most part, translated theHebrew in front of them straightforwardly. Themore signicant differences between portions ofthe Septuagint and the Masoretic Text were due

to differences in different Hebrew editions of thebiblical books, not the activity of the translators.

While the Dead Sea Scrolls did change the way scho-lars understand the development of the Hebrewtext of the Bible, it has not fundamentally changedthe translations in use among modern believers,whether Christian or Jewish. The variant readingsfound in the Scrolls wereand areof great interestto biblical scholars who specialize in textual criti-cism (the study of the exact wording of Scripture),but other theologians and lay people nd them ofless interest. The vast majority of variations in wor-ding are trivial (a few missing or additional words;the substitution of synonyms; changes in declensionor conjugation), and of those that are signicant, itis usually easy to identify which manuscript repre-sents the more original reading, and which containsan error or intentional change.

Begotten By Love:Reections or the

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Sixth Sunday oEaster

God is love, and He revealed that love in sendingHis only Son to be a sacricial offering for our sins.

In these words from todays Epistle, we should hearan echo of the story of Abrahams offering of Isaac

at the dawn of salvation history. Because Abrahamobeyed Gods command and did not with-hold hisonly beloved son, God promised that Abrahams des-cendants, the children of Israel, would be the sourceof blessing for all nations (see Genesis 22:16-18).

We see that promise coming to fulllment in to-days First Reading. God pours out His Spirit uponthe Gentiles, the non-Israelites, as they listen to theword of Peters preaching. Notice they receive thesame gifts received by the devout Jews who heard

Peters preaching at Pentecostthe Spirit comes torest upon them and they speak in tongues, glorifyingGod (see Acts 2:5-11).

Readings:Acts 10:25-26, 34-35, 44-48Psalm 98:1-41 John 4:7-10

John 15:9-17

In his love today, God reveals that His salvation em-braces the house of Israel and peoples of all nations.Not by circumcision or blood relation to Abraham,but by faith in the Word of Christ, sealed in the sa-crament of baptism, peoples are to be made childrenof Abraham, heirs to Gods covenants of promise(see Galatians 3:7-9; Ephesians 2:12).

This is the wondrous work of God that we sing of intodays Psalm. It is the work of the Church, the goodfruit that Jesus chooses and appoints His apostlesfor in todays Gospel.

As Peter raises up Cornelius today, the Church conti-nues to lift all eyes to Christ, the only one in whosename they can nd salvation.

In the Church, each of us has been begotten by thelove of God. But the Scriptures today reveal that thisdivine gift brings with it a command and a duty.We are to love one another as we have been loved.We are to lay down our lives in giving ourselves to

othersthat they too might nd friendship withChrist, and new life through Him

To the Ends othe Earth

To the Ends o the Earth

Posted by Matthew Leonard on 05.09.12 |

Now that the jet-lag is a fading memory and Im nolonger a nocturnal creature haunting the halls ofmy house, I thought Id briey share with you aboutmy recent trip to New Zealand. First of all, I dontknow how anyone can live in a place of such naturalbeauty and not know there is a God. Everywhereyou look could serve as a postcard. Even the gas

stations are picturesque!

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I traveled to the Southern Hemisphere (almost 30hours!) at the request of the Institute for World Evan-gelization (ICPE), where I taught theology for theirCatholic Week. The ICPE, which includes locationsin Malta, Poland, Italy, Singapore,

Indonesia, and Korea, is a pontically recognizedevangelization school that serves to train missiona-ries for the New Evangelization. Theyre a wonderfulgroup of people and are on re with the love of theSpirit.

In addition to speaking at the school during the day,I was also invited by Archbishop John Dew (whocame to part of the training) to present Genesis to

Jesus for the Archdiocese of Wellington. It was asmashing success.

We had about 120 people from more than 10 dif-ferent countries represented (including some Mis-sionaries of Charity, which is always great to see).Looking out at the participants I couldnt help butfeel like we were witnessing the gospel to the endsof the earth (Acts 1:8). And the great part is thattheyll be takingJourney Through Scripture back

to their home countries and continuing to spreadthe story of our salvation.

I have to admit that it was hard to leave the incre-dible natural beauty down under. Before I leftto catch my interminable ight home, I stood inthe parking lot of St. Gerards monastery on a hilloverlooking a gorgeous bay, thanking God for thebeauty of his creation and the people I met. Insteadof sadness, though, it lled me with hope, knowingthat all of this is but a foretaste of what is to come.Thanks for your prayers and may God bless all ofyou as we work together for His kingdom.

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Journey ThroughScripture is theSt. Paul Centersdynamic parish-based Bible studyprogram designedto help ordinaryCatholics to growin their knowledgeof the Scriptureswhile deepeningtheir understan-ding of the richesof our faith.

LEARN MORE



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Bride and Joy

There was a wedding in Cana in Galilee, and themother of Jesus was there (John 2:1).

Its May, Marys month, and the month when I amgiving away my daughter in marriage. Its hard fora dad, especially the dad of such a daughter, because

I know no one deserves her. But Ben comes close.

Hannah is the third of my children to walk the aisle,but shes my only daughter, and the preparation isdifferent this timemore intense, more involved.I think Ive come to understand yet another reasonwhy St. Johns Gospel never reveals the names of thecouple who got married at Cana. Its a providentialconsolation for parents, even two millennia later,as we prepare to accompany our children to thealtar. We remember: There was a wedding and

the mother of Jesus was there.

The Blessed Mother was there when Jesus took so-mething that was very good, the natural institutionof the family, and elevated it to something superna-tural: a sacrament of the Church, Holy Matrimony.

Theres so much to think aboutrehearsals andpurchases and reservations and invitations. My wife,Kimberly, is doing much of the work in our house-hold, but I still feel overwhelmed. Its such a relief toknow that, when there is a wedding, the mother ofJesus is there. If we run out of wine, so what? Thereis a wedding. Its May. And Mary is there.

I know how much I want the best for my Hannahthat day and ever after. But I know that Mary wantsit even more, and she is in the best position to getthe best the bride and groom could wish for. Why?Because Jesus and his disciples were also invitedto the wedding (John 2:2).

It was in Cana, through the sign of long-ago nuptials,

that Jesus revealed his glory, and his disciples beganto believe in him (John 2:11).

This is the story of every Catholic wedding, or itshould be. Lord, open our eyes to see the sign, andbeyond it to the truth.

With Hannahs wedding so close, October seemsas far away as the next millennium, but I know itwill be here before Im well prepared for it. If youcan manage it, please consider joining us for theSt. Paul Centers Mediterranean Cruise and Pilgri-

mage, In the Footsteps of St. Paul, October 25 toNovember 3. With stops in Greece, Turkey, and Italy,well retrace the journeys of our apostolic patron.Well stand in the very places where he preachedthe Gospel to the Gentiles. Well venerate the sitesof his martyrdom and burial.

And all this will happen just as the worlds bishopsare wrapping up the Churchs synod on the NewEvangelization and Pope Benedict launches the

Year of Faith. How good it will be for us to start

anew in the places where it all began, so many yearsago, where Paul announced a new Evangel and aperpetual year of favor and faith.

It will be so much better if youre there with us inMarys other month, the month of the Rosary.

In the meantime, I am, as always, a beggar. I begyour prayers for our work in a challenging year. Itreasure your encouragement and all the contribu-tions youve made and will make.

On the Vine:Reections on the

Fith Sunday oEaster

In todays Gospel, Jesus tells us that He is the truevine that God intended Israel to bethe source ofdivine life and wisdom for the nations (see Sirach24:17-24).

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In baptism, each of us was joined to Him by the HolySpirit. As a branch grows from a tree, our souls areto draw life from Him, nourished by His word andthe Eucharist.

Paul in todays First Reading seeks to be grafted ontothe visible expression of Christ the true vineHisChurch. Once the chief persecutor of the Church,he encounters initial resistance and suspicion. But

he is known by his fruits, by his powerful witness tothe Lord working in his life (see Matthew 7:16-20).

We too are commanded today to bear good fruitsas His disciples, so that our lives give glory to God.Like Pauls life, our lives must bear witness to Hisgoodness.

Readings:Acts 9:26-31Psalm 22:26-28, 30-32

1 John 3:18-24John 15:1-8

Jesus cautions us, however, that if were bearingfruit, we can expect that God will prune usasa gardener trims and cuts back a plant so that itwill grow stronger and bear even more fruit. Heis teaching us today how to look at our sufferingsand trials with the eyes of faith. We need to see ourstruggles as pruning, by which we are being discipli-ned and trained so that we can grow in holiness andbear fruits of righteousness (see Hebrews 12:4-11).

We need to always remain rooted in Him, as todaysEpistle tells us. We remain in Him by keeping Hiscommandment of love, by pondering His words,letting them dwell richly in us (see Colossians 3:16),and by always seeking to do what pleases Him. Ineverything we must be guided by humility, remem-bering that apart from Him we can do nothing.

As we sing in todays Psalm, we must fulll our

vows, turning to the Lord in worship, proclaiming

his praises, until all families come to know His jus-tice in their lives.

Father oOrthodoxy, St.

AthanasiusFather o Orthodoxy, St. Athanasius

Posted by Mike Aquilina on 05.02.12 |

Todays the feast of St. Athanasius, the Father of Or-thodoxy, the man who stared the world down whenit awoke to nd itself Arian. In his own lifetime,

Athanasius was known as the Father of Orthodoxy.

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Get to know this guy, and youll always stay on thestraight and narrow.

Listen Here!Audio File


Journey ThroughScripture is theSt. Paul Centersdynamic parish-based Bible studyprogram designedto help ordinaryCatholics to growin their knowledgeof the Scriptureswhile deepeningtheir understan-ding of the richesof our faith.

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Old TestamentManuscripts

In this follow up to the last post, we discuss impor-tant manuscripts (hand-written copies) of the OldTestament.

***

The Oldest Manuscripts o the Old

Testament

The original manuscripts (the autographs) written bythe sacred authors themselves are no longer extantfor any book of the Bible. The oldest partial copies ofthe text of any biblical book are to be found amongthe Dead Sea Scrolls (treated in next post). However,the oldest complete manuscript of the Hebrew ofthe protocanonical books of the Old Testament is a

codex(a book formed by leaves of paper stitched onone side; i.e. the form of book most familiar to us)called Leningradensis, held in the Imperial RussianLibrary in St. Petersburgh (formerly Leningrad).

Leningradensis is a complete copy of theMasoreticText written in Galilee around AD 1000.

The Masoretic Text

TheMasoretic Text is the standard Hebrew form ofthe books of the Jewish Bible, the form used for chantand proclamation in traditional Jewish synagoguesto this day. It takes its name from theMasoretes,a school of Jewish scribes who ourished betweenAD 700 to AD 1000. The Masoretes raised the re-production of the Hebrew Scriptures to a high art.Among other innovations, they devised a systemof markings (called points) placed above and be-low the Hebrew consonants to indicate the vowelto be pronounced after the consonant. In this way,they were able for the rst time to record in writingthe Jewish oral tradition of the pronunciation ofScripture. The Masoretes also introduced various

quality control measures for the reproduction ofmanuscripts: they tabulated the number of words

and letters in each biblical book. Subsequently,every newly-written copy was carefully countedto verify its accuracy.

Leningradensis is almost universally regarded asthe oldest and best copy of theMasoretic Text, thename given to the precise form the Hebrew deve-loped by the Masoretes as their standard. Whentranslating or studying the Old Testament today,

scholars typically begin from the Hebrew of theMasoretic text, usually a printed (or increasingly,an electronic) edition of Leningradensis.

The Septuagint

When translating the Old Testament, scholars alsoconsult the readings of the Septuagint, the ancientGreek translation of the Old Testament books.

According to a semi-legendary account in a docu-

ment known as theLetter of Aristeas, the Septuaginttranslation was begun when the Hellenistic kingof Alexandria in Egypt, Ptolemy II, brought Jewishscribes from Jerusalem to Alexandria in order totranslate the sacred books of the Jews into Greekfor the Library of Alexandria in the third centuryBC. According to the legend, seventy scholars werecommissioned for this project: thus the name Sep-tuagint, meaning seventy, and the commonly usedabbreviation LXX, the Roman numeral for seventy.

Although the accounts of the translation of the Sep-tuagint in the Letter of Aristeas, Philo, Josephus,and other ancient authors sound embellished, thehistorical kernel of the story seems plausible andts known data: Ptolemy II commissioned a Greektranslation of the Pentateuch for his library. Thetranslation of the Pentateuch was the rst and pe-rhaps best, and dates to c. 250 BC. The remainingOld Testament books were translated progressivelyover the next two centuries. The Septuagint trans-lation began to circulate in a collection that wasbroader than the Hebrew canon mentioned by Jo-

sephus [discussed many posts ago], and did not havea clear limitin other words, the Septuagint had

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an open canon, including deuterocanonical worksand some apocrypha.

The quality and style of translation exhibited in theLXX can vary quite widely from book to book. Therendering of Daniel in the LXX, for example, wasso loose that the Church replaced it with a bettertranslation executed by Theodotion, a Hellenistic

Jew of the second century AD. Other books, such

as Genesis, were much more literal in translation.

The LXX translation carried enormous prestige inthe ancient world. Jewish scholars like the philoso-pher Philo and the historian Josephus regarded it asvirtually inspired, a view shared by some ChurchFathers. For the millions of Greek-speaking Jewsliving in the Roman Empire outside of Palestine,it was the only form of the Scriptures they used.The majority of the Old Testament quotations inthe New Testament are taken from the LXX, since

the Apostles and other New Testament authors ty-pically wrote for a broad audience, rather than justthe Jews of Palestine.

In the fourth century A.D., the Church, with the new-ly-acquired support of the Roman government, hadthe resources to produce codices (bound books, notscrolls) of the entire bible for use in major churches(e.g. Cathedrals). Our oldest more-or-less completemanuscripts of the entire Bible, consisting of theSeptuagint plus the New Testament in Greek, comefrom this century. The three most important arenamed for the places they were found or now reside:Vaticanus, the best manuscript of the complete GreekBible, Old and New Testaments, stored in the Vati-can Libraries at least since the middle ages;Alexan-drinus, an excellently-preserved Greek Bible fromAlexandria, now stored in the British Library; andSinaiticus, another Septuagint + Greek New Testa-ment discovered in the nineteenth century in St.Catherines Monastery on Mt. Sinai, and now alsoresiding in the British Library.

The Septuagint remains the ocial version of theOld Testament in use by the Greek Orthodox Church.

Revisions o the Septuagint

Before the rise of Christianity, Jewish authors likePhilo and Josephus had high praise and reverencefor the Septuagint translation. As Christianity grewand became the leading religion of the Roman Em-pire, however, a reaction set in, especially among

Jews in Palestine. Increasingly, Jews rejected theSeptuagint, calling it inaccurate and misleading.

At least three Greek-speaking Jewish scholars pu-blished recensions (revised versions) of the Septua-gint which were closer to the Hebrew in use in Pa-lestine: Aquila (c. AD 130), Theodotion (c. AD 150?),and Symmachus (c. AD 170).

The Latin Vulgate

Also of some value to Bible scholars and translatorsis the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the CatholicBible executed (largely) by St. Jerome in the late

fourth and early fth centuries. St. Jerome transla-ted most of the biblical books of the Old Testamentdirectly from the best Hebrew copies he was ableto procure. However, the Hebrew available to St.

Jerome tended, by and large, closely to resemblethe Masoretic Text we now have. For that reason,when the Masoretic Text is itself unclear or appearsdisturbed, St. Jeromes Vulgate is usually not helpfulin resolving the issues.

Other Ancient Versions and the Cairo

Geniza

Scholars also consult other ancient versions (thatis, translations) of the Old Testament, such as theSyriac translation (known as the Peshitta), the Coptic(Egyptian), and Ethiopic versions. Fragments ofbiblical books dating to the medieval period werealso found in thegenizah (a store room for wornbiblical scrolls) of the oldest synagogue in Cairo inthe nineteenth century. Many of these Cario ge-nizah texts have been published and are of someinterest to biblical scholars.

Important Ancient Texts of the Old Testament

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Name Date Translated Date of oldestsurviving com-plete copies

M as o -r e t i cT e x t(MT)

Not a translation;standardized AD700-1000

11th cent. AD (c.1000)

S e p -tuagint(LXX)

250100 BC 4th cent. AD(late 300s)

Vulgate AD 382405 8th cent. AD(mid-700s)

Peshit-ta

Sy- AD 100s 6th-7th cent. AD(500s600s)

The ShepherdsVoice: Reections

on the FourthSunday o Easter

Jesus, in todays Gospel, says that He is the goodshepherd the prophets had promised to Israel.

He is the shepherd-prince, the new Davidwhofrees people from bondage to sin and gathers theminto one ock, the Church, under a new covenant,made in His blood (see Ezekiel 34:10-13, 23-31).

His ock includes other sheep, He says, far morethan the dispersed children of Israel (see Isaiah 56:8;John 11:52). And He gave His Church the mission ofshepherding all peoples to the Father.

In todays First Reading, we see the beginnings ofthat mission in the testimony of Peter, whom the

Lord appointed shepherd of His Church (see John21:15-17).

Readings:Acts 4:8-12Psalm 118:1, 8-9, 21-23, 26, 291 John 3:1-2

John 10:11-18

Peter tells Israels leaders that the Psalm we sing

today is a prophecy of their rejection and crucixionof Christ. He tells the builders of Israels temple,that God has made the stone they rejected the cor-nerstone of a new spiritual temple, the Church (seeMark 12:10-13; 1 Peter 2:4-7).

Through the ministry of the Church, the shepherdstill speaks (see Luke 10:16),and forgives sins (seeJohn 20:23), and makes His body and blood present,that all may know Him in the breaking of the bread(see Luke 24:35). It is a mission that will continue un-

til all the world is one ock under the one shepherd.

In laying down His life and taking it up again, Jesusmade it possible for us to know God as He didassons and daughters of the Father who loves us. Aswe hear in todays Epistle, He calls us His children,as He called Israel His son when He led them outof Egypt and made His covenant with them (seeExodus 4:22-23; Revelation 21:7).

Today, let us listen for His voice as He speaks to usin the Scriptures, and vow again to be more faithfulfollowers. And let us give thanks for the blessingsHe bestows from His altar.

The Text o the OldTestament

This is part of a series of posts on fundamental Ca-tholic teaching on Scripture. In this post, we delveinto some of the specics of the human dimensionof Scripture: in this case, the original language(s)

of the Old Testament.

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The original language of large majority of the OldTestament books is Hebrew. Hebrew is the ances-tral language of the people of Israel. It is a Semiticlanguage, that is, one of a family of Near Easternlanguages that share certain features such as tri-lite-ral word roots (most words are formed from a rootconsisting of three consonants), the absence of trueverbal tenses, and a paratactic syntax. In ancienttimes, Hebrew was (and continues to be) written

from right to left without consonants, using a formof script now called paleo-Hebrew, an example ofwhich is illustrated here, from a ninth-century BCinscription found in northern Israel.

A radical linguistic and literary shift occurred forthe people of Israel when much of the population of

Judah was deported to Babylon in 597 and 587 BC.

During the decades the Judeans spent in Babylon,they began to speak Aramaic, the international lan-guage of the day. Aramaic is the mother tongue ofancient Aram (modern Syria), and it is closely relatedto Hebrew. The two languages are almost mutuallyintelligible. Not only did the Jews begin to use Ara-maic as their spoken language, they also adoptedthe Aramaic square script, which continues to bethe font used for copying and printing the HebrewScriptures to this day.

Since ancient Hebrew was written without vowels,it was not possible to interpret the ancient texts ofScripture properly without learning the oral tra-

dition of the community from those responsiblefor the preservation of the documentsusually the

priests and scribes. There is some theological signi-cance in this fact, inasmuch as it demonstratesthe reciprocal, complementary relationship thathas always existed between sacred Scripture andsacred tradition.

The Hebrew language did change during the centu-ries that the books of the Bible were being composed,so not all biblical books are written in the same

kind of Hebrew. The distinction between Classicalor Standard Biblical Hebrew (CBH or SBH) and LateBiblical Hebrew (LBH) is widely recognized by scho-lars. Classical Biblical Hebrew is a pre-exilic formof the language; Late Biblical Hebrew reects theinuence of Aramaic and other linguistic changesintroduced during the trauma of the exile. A goodcontrast between the two forms of the language canbe seen between the Classical Biblical Hebrew ofthe historical books GenesisKings (the primaryhistory) and the Late Biblical Hebrew of the Books

of Chronicles, which employs the earlier books asa source. Since, however, it may have been pos-sible for ancient scribes to write documents in anolder form of the Hebrew language (a procedurecalled archaizing), and conversely, it was possiblesystematically to rewrite an older document in amore contemporary form of the language, the useof linguistic data to assign the composition date ofbiblical documents is hotly contested among biblicalscholars.

Besides Hebrew, two other languages are employedin the Old Testament: Aramaic and Greek. All ofTobit and portions of Daniel and Ezra were origi-nally written in Aramaic. The Wisdom of Solomonand 2 Maccabees were originally written in Greek.All other books of the Old Testament, including 1Maccabees, were rst written in Hebrew.

PerspectivesPrinciples And

Criteria: JohnBergsma on the

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Bible in CatholicTheology

Perspectives Principles And Criteria: John

Bergsma on the Bible in Catholic Theology

Posted by Dr. Michael Barber on 04.24.12 |

John Bergsma and Michael Barber discuss the roleof the Bible in Catholic Theology, highlighting anew document from the International TheologicalCommission.


Journey ThroughScripture is theSt. Paul Centersdynamic parish-based Bible studyprogram designedto help ordinaryCatholics to grow

in their knowledgeof the Scriptures

while deepening their understanding of the richesof our faith.

LEARN MORE


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LEARN MORE

Understandingthe Scriptures:

Reections on theThird Sunday o

Easter

Jesus in todays Gospel, teaches His apostles how tointerpret the Scriptures.

He tells them that all the Scriptures of what we nowcall the Old Testament refer to Him. He says thatall the promises found in the Old Testament havebeen fullled in His passion, death, and resurrection.And He tells them that these Scriptures foretell themission of the Church - to preach forgiveness of sinsto all the nations, beginning at Jersusalem.

In todays First Reading and Epistle, we see the be-ginnings of that mission. And we see the apostlesinterpreting the Scriptures as Jesus taught them to.

God has brought to fulllment what He announcedbeforehand in all the prophets, Peter preaches. Hissermon is shot through with Old Testament images.He evokes Moses and the exodus, in which God re-vealed himself as the ancestral God of Abraham,Isaac, and Jacob (see Exodus 3:6,15). He identies

Jesus as Isaiahs suffering servant who has beengloried (see Isaiah 52:13).

Readings:Acts 3:13-15, 17-19Psalms 4:2, 4, 7-91 John 2:1-5Luke 24:35-48

John, too describes Jesus in Old Testament terms.

Alluding to how Israels priests offered blood sacri-ces to atone for the peoples sins (see Leviticus 16;Hebrews 9-10), he says that Jesus intercedes for usbefore God (see Romans 8:34), and that His bloodis a sacricial expiation for the sins of the world(see 1 John 1:7).

Notice that in all three readings, the Scripturesare interpreted to serve and advance the Churchsmission - to reveal the truth about Jesus, to bringpeople to repentance, the wiping away of sins, and

the perfection of their love for God.

This is how we, too, should hear the Scriptures. Notto know more about Jesus, but to truly know Himpersonally, and to know His plan for our lives.

In the Scriptures, the light of His face shines uponus, as we sing in todays Psalm. We know the won-ders He has done throughout history. And we havethe condence to call to Him, and to know that Hehears and answers.

Pauls StrangeMention o Co-

Senders: What ItMight Mean

This quarter I am teaching a graduate course on thePauline Epistles. Today we began working through 1Corinthians. Here I wanted to touch upon somethingwe examined in class today: Pauls co-workers.

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Paul begins 1 Corinthians by doing something heoften does in his epistles: he mentions a co-worker.

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostleof Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes, tothe church of God which is at Corinth (1 Co1:12).

The question of Sosthenes identity is an extremely

interesting one. Is he the same gure who gets bea-ten in Acts 18? Is he the amanuensis of 1 Corinthians?Frankly, we just cant know the answers here.

What we do know though is nonetheless fascinating:Paul mentions him.

In fact, the letters attributed to Paul frequentlyinclude his co-workers in the opening addresses;they are thus listed as co-senders: Timothy, 2 Cor.1:1; Phil. 1:1; Col 1:1; Phlm. 1; Silvanus (Silas) and

Timothy in 1 Thess. 1:1 and 2 Thess. 1:1.

Why is this worth mentioning? Because this is al-most unheard of!

As scholars such Anthony Thiselton and ErnestRichards explain, this hardly ever happens! Themention of a co-sender in the opening of an epistle isexceedingly unusual in ancient Greek letters outsideof the Pauline corpus. In his book, The Secretary inthe Letters of Paul (Tbingen: Mohr-Siebeck, 1993),Richards nds only six instances of this in 645 papy-rus letters! [p. 47, n. 138].

So why does Paul include a mention of co-senders? Ithink Anthony Thiselton makes the best suggestion:

Paul does not perceive himself as commis-sioned to lead or to minister as an isolated in-dividual, without collaboration with co-wor-kers. (The First Epistle to the Corinthians: ACommentary on the Greek Text [NIGTC; GrandRapids: Eerdmans, 2000], 69).

In short, Paul is an ecclesial thinker. Paul is not alone ranger, but works as a member of the house-hold of faith, the community of believershe is onemember of the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church.

As Paul explains later in 1 Corinthians,

For just as the body is one and has many mem-bers, and all the members of the body, though

many, are one body, so it is with Christ. . . . Nowyou are the body of Christ and individuallymembers of it. 28 And God has appointed inthe church rst apostles, second prophets,third teachers, then workers of miracles, thenhealers, helpers, administrators, speakers invarious kinds of tongues. (1 Cor 12:12, 2728).

Paul may be the apostle (1:1), but Sosthenes isa valued co-worker (a helper?)as such, he de-serves mention as well.

EWTN Live -Benedict XVI andVerbum Domini

- Fr Mitch Pacwa,SJ with Dr. Scott

Hahn - 03-02-2011EWTN Live - Benedict XVI and Verbum

Domini - Fr Mitch Pacwa, SJ with Dr. Scott

Hahn - 03-02-2011

Posted by St. Paul Center on 04.19.12 |

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Fr. Mitch Pacwa, SJ annd Dr. Scott Hahn discussBenedict XVI and Verbum Domini from March 2011.


Journey ThroughScripture is the St.Paul Centers dyna-mic parish-based

Bible study pro-gram designed to

help ordinary Catholics to grow in their knowledgeof the Scriptures while deepening their understan-ding of the riches of our faith.

LEARN MORE


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LEARN MORE

The Day the LordMade: Reectionsor Divine Mercy

SundayThree times in todays Psalm we cry out a victoryshout: His mercy endures forever.

Truly weve known the everlasting love of God, whohas come to us as our Savior. By the blood and wa-

ter that owed from Jesus pierced side (see John19:34), weve been made Gods children, as we hearin todays Epistle.

Yet we never met Jesus, never heard Him teach, ne-ver saw Him raised from the dead. His saving Wordcame to us in the Church - through the ministry ofthe apostles, who in todays Gospel are sent as Hewas sent.

He was made a life-giving Spirit (see 1 Corinthians15:45) and He lled His apostles with that Spirit. Aswe hear in todays First Reading, they bore witnessto His resurrection with great power. And throughtheir witness, handed down in the Church throughthe centuries, their teaching and traditions havereached us (see Acts 2:42).

Readings:Acts 4:32-35Psalms 118:2-4, 13-15, 22-241 John 5:1-6

John 20:19-31

We encounter Him as the apostles did - in thebreaking of the bread on the Lords day (see Acts20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Revelation 1:10).

There is something liturgical about the way todaysGospel scenes unfold. Its as if John is trying to showus how the risen Lord comes to us in the liturgy andsacraments.

In both scenes it is Sunday night. The doors arebolted tight, yet Jesus mysteriously comes. He greetsthem with an expression, Peace be with you, usedelsewhere by divine messengers (see Daniel 10:19;Judges 6:23). He shows them signs of His real bodilypresence. And on both nights the disciples respondby joyfully receiving Jesus as their Lord.

Isnt this what happens in the Mass - where our Lordspeaks to us in His Word, and gives himself to us inthe sacrament of His body and blood?

Let us approach the altar with joy, knowing thatevery Eucharist is the day the Lord has made - whenthe victory of Easter is again made wonderful inour eyes.

The Splendoro Eschatology:

Highlights

rom MatthewLeverings Jesusand the Demise o

Death

(This post is part ofthe Patheos roundtable discus-sion of Matthew Leverings latest book from BaylorUniversity Press.)

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What happened to Jesus when he died?

And what will happen to me when I die?

These two perennial Christian questions are thefoci of Matthew Leverings new book,Jesus and theDemise of Death: Resurrection, Afterlife, and theFate of the Christian (Baylor University Press, 2012).

In this deceptively brief but remarkably rich study

of Christian eschatology, Levering puts contempo-rary scholarship on the fate of Jesushis descentinto hell, bodily resurrection, and ascension intoheavenand the fate of the Christianthe existenceand immortality of the soul, resurrection from thedead, and beatic visioninto dialogue with the pro-found and subtle eschatology of St. Thomas Aquinas.

The result is a fascinating entre into what Scripture,tradition, and contemporary exegetical, theological,and philosophical discussions have to say about the

mystery of the grave and what lies beyond it. Al-though the book is replete with ashes of insight,several highlights stand out.

The Fate o Jesus as the Paradigm o

Christian Eschatology

First, Leverings fundamental contribution is toshow that when it comes to the question What hap-pens to me when I die?, Christian eschatology mustnot take its eyes off Jesus of Nazareth. In order toknow what will happen to us after death, we mustlook carefully at what Scripture reveals about thepaschal mystery of Jesus.

This connection between the fate of Jesus and thefate of the Christian, though basic, is of critical im-portance. For one thing, it acts as a corrective tothose currents of thoughtespecially popular in mo-dernitythat are overly apophatic (if not agnostic)about personal eschatology. When it comes to themystery of death, Christian theology is by no meansleft in complete darkness. Nor does it need to turn

primarily to the anecdotal evidence of Near DeathExperiences or to private mystical phenomenon of

more or less questionable authenticity for answersto questions about what lies beyond the grave.

Rather, a robustly Christian eschatology looks rstand foremost toJesus Christas the one whose Passo-ver from death to life (John 5:24)the descent ofhis living (but disembodied) soul to the realm of thedead, his resurrection to bodily but unending life,and his bodily ascension into the heavenly glory of

the Trinityreveals the truth about the fate of theChurch as a whole and the individual Christian inparticular. In a word, authentic Christian eschato-logy must be a Christological eschatology.

Jesus Descent into Hell and the Lie o the

Spiritual Soul

Second, given this Christological framework, Leve-rings book is signicant for the stress that it putson two particular doctrines: the descent of Jesus

disembodied soul into hell (as professed in theApostles Creed), and the existence of the spiritualsoul of the individual Christian after death. As Le-vering demonstrates, both of these doctrines havefallen on hard times of late, with modern theologiansproposing profoundly incompatible theses aboutwhat Jesus did or not do while in the realm of thedead (e.g., N. T. Wright, Hans Urs von Balthasar) andcontemporary philosophers and exegetes castingdoubts about the very existence of the individualsoul, much less whether it continues to exist in theintermediate state between death and resurrection(Nancey Murphy, Joel Green).

With regard to the fate of Jesus soul, Levering arguesthat his descent into hell is not merely about theeschatological triumph over death. In a remarkableconvergence of modern scholarship and medievaltheology, Levering shows how Aquinas theology ofJesus descent corroborates the emphasis of contem-porary exegetes on the hope for the eschatologicalrestoration of Israel.

For Aquinas, Jesus descends to the deadpreciselyin order to liberate the holy Israelites of the old

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covenant era and lead them to the heavenly promi-sed land. Using the language of N. T. Wright, Jesusdescent truly begins the end of exilebut not bymeans of ageographical restoration to the earthlyland of Canaan. Rather, Jesus descent is about theeschatologicalreturn of Gods people from the spi-ritual realm of the dead to the Paradise once lost.In the words of the prophet Zechariah: Because ofthe blood of my covenant with you, I will set your

captives free from the waterless pit (Zech 9:11).

With regard to the fate of the Christian, Leveringdraws once more on the anthropology of Aquinasto show why it is eminently reasonableand pro-foundly scriptural, to say nothing of traditiontocontinue arm the existence of the spiritual soulafter death. In one of the most fascinating chaptersin the book, Levering shows that the growingly po-pular idea that the New Testament does not teach theexistence and/or continuation of the human soul as

distinct from the body is not on terra rma, eithermetaphysically or biblically (see Matt 10:28; 2 Cor5:1-10; Rev 6:9-11; Phil 1:21-23, etc.)

Bodily Resurrection, Beatifc Vision, and

the Bodily Ascension o Jesus

Third and nally, Leverings book is commendablefor the way in which it holds together the distincthopes for the beatic vision of the souls in heavenand the bodily resurrection of the dead. In keepingwith is method so far, Levering interprets both ofthese in the light of Jesus bodily ascension into hea-ven and the ultimate restoration of the redeemedto bodily life and beatic vision at the end of time.Indeed, the nal discussion of bodily resurrectionand beatic vision in Chapter 7 is worth the priceof the book.

It is one of the more curious aspects of modernChristian eschatology that it often tends to chooseto emphasize eitherthe resurrection of the bodyasa restoration to a life not unlike the life of this world,

though perfectedorthe beatic visionwhich is

already experienced now by the disembodied soulsof the faithful departed in heaven.

By contrast, Levering, following Aquinas, refusesto choose between bodily resurrection and beaticvision, but holds them (eternally) together. By meansof his insistence on placing Christian eschatologywithin a Christological framework, Levering em-phasizes that the climax of Jesus paschal mystery

was not his resurrection but his bodily ascensioninto heaven. As the ascension of Jesus makes clear,the resurrection of the body is not an end in itself,

just as this worldeven made newis not an endin itself. Instead, both humanity and cosmos areultimately ordered toward the life of the Trinity, ofthe one God who is spirit (John 4:24) and yet whowill restored the material cosmos in such a waythat it is not annihilated but made new in a newheaven and new earth (Rev 21:1-5).

To be sure, at this point, we reach the thresholdthe ineffable, even with the aid of the inspired lan-guage of Scripture. But that is precisely where thepages of the New Testament are designed to leadusto the threshold of the eschatological promisedland. In this way, by following the path of Jesus andcontemplating the mysteries of the end, Leveringhelps his readers to taste something of the splendorof Christian eschatology and, God willing, to growin the hope of the life of the world to come.

Catholic Exegesis:A StreamlinedOverview

This is part of a continued series of posts on fun-damental issues in Catholic doctrine of Scripture.Building on previous discussions of Catholic inspi-ration and interpretation, we propose here a six-step streamlined overview of the process of Catholicexegesis. Comments are welcome below.

****

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The points made above about the interpretation ofthe literal and spiritual senses of Scripture may beintegrated into a six-step process representing anidealized picture of the method of Catholic exegesis:the interpreter, with proper spiritual and intellectualformation, should analyze the text from historical,grammatical, rhetorical, canonical, liturgical, andmagisterial perspectives in order to arrive at a com-prehensive view of the literal and spiritual senses

of a given textual unit of Scripture.

At the historical stage of analysis, the interpreterseeks to learn as much as possible about the history,geography, literature, customs, and culture of thetime and place in which the text was composed, sofar as this may be determined, in order better tounderstand the realia referred to by the words ofthe text. The results of archeology are incorporatedat this stage of analysis.

Thegrammatical stage of the textual analysis looksat the lower-level dynamics of language, such asthe meaning of words and phrases (semantics) andtheir arrangement (syntax).

The rhetorical stage analyzes higher-level dynamicsof language, such as the use of literary or rhetori-cal devices, the genre(s) of the whole textual unit(form criticism), and its structure (if signicant). Itmay also consider how the textual unit has beenintentionally edited, thus including the disciplinesof source and redaction criticism.

Although all stages of analysis may be relevantto both the literal and spiritual senses, these rstthree analytical stageshistorical, grammatical, andrhetoricalintend primarily to establish the literalsense, while the next threecanonical, liturgical,and magisterialintend primarily to establish thespiritual senses.

The canonical stage of analysis considers the role of

the textual unit within the canon as a whole, begin-ning with its role in the immediate textual context

(the units preceding and succeeding), then its rolewithin the larger section of the book of which itis a part, then its role within the book as a whole,and nally its function within the entire canon ofScripture. Canonical analysis aims to fulll the ex-hortation of Vatican II to consider each text withinthe content and unity of Scripture. This often in-volves the study of biblical intertextuality, the webof various forms of textual reference (quotation,

allusion, re-use, etc.) that typically link documents inthe biblical tradition together. For example, considerthe prophecy ofIsaiah 61:1-2:

Is. 61:1

The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, becausethe LORD has anointed me to bring good ti-dings to the aicted; he has sent me to bindup the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty tothe captives, and the opening of the prison to

those who are bound; to proclaim the year ofthe LORDs favor

We immediately note, on the one hand, an allu-sion (through the reuse of keywords) to an earlierScripture: Leviticus 25:10, the legislation of the sa-cred Jubilee Year:

Lev. 25:10

And you shall hallow the ftieth year, andproclaim liberty throughout the land to all itsinhabitants; it shall be a jubilee for you

The speaker of Isaiah 61:1-2 seems to be identifyinghimself as one who comes to fulll the expectationsof the ancient law of the year of liberation.

On the other hand, Isaiah 61:1-2 is itself quoted bylater Scripture, namely in Luke 4:16-21:

And he came to Nazareth, where he had beenbrought up; and he went to the synagogue, as

his custom was, on the sabbath day. And hestood up to read; and there was given to him

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the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened thebook and found the place where it was written,The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, becausehe has anointed me to preach good news tothe poor. He has sent me to proclaim releaseto the captives and recovering of sight to theblind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed,to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord. And he began to say to them, Today this

scripture has been fullled in your hearing.

Thus, Jesus identies himself as the mysterious voiceof Isaiah 61:1-2: he is the one come to inauguratethe eschatological Jubilee Year.

Proper Catholic exegesis of Isaiah 61:1-2, therefore,must be aware both of the reference within Isaiah61:1-2 to earlier Scripture (Lev 25:10) and its subse-quent re-use in Luke 4:16-21, in order to situationIsaiah 61:1-2 within the content and unity of the

canon, and to grasp its signicance within salvationhistory.

Canonical analysis is succeeded by liturgical analy-sis, which examines how the text is used within theChurchs liturgical tradition. This is justied on thepremise that the liturgy is the primary vehicle forthe transmission of the Churchs living tradition,which the Council urges us to take into account wheninterpreting the text. Therefore, one examines theuse of the subject passage in the Lectionary, wherethe juxtaposition of texts often suggests a spiritualinterpretation of the First Reading and the Psalm.One also examines the use of the text in the variousliturgical prayers, and in the liturgy of the hours,again always attentive to the other readings andprayers that accompany the text and what theysuggest about the way the mind of the Church hasreceived and understood the text.

Finally, one considers the textual unit from the pers-pective ofmagisterial teaching, looking rst for anyconciliar or pontical denitions of the interpreta-

tion of the text. However, since the interpretation ofrelatively few texts has been dened by magisterial

authority, one also looks at non-infallible yet autho-ritative sources of the Churchs tradition, such as thefathers, doctors, saints, and papal writings. Thus,this stage of analysis aims to consider the text bothwithin the living tradition and the analogy of faith.

Our proposed system of six stages of exegesis in theCatholic tradition intends to enable to interpreter todetermine the literal and spiritual senses of the text,

in light of the Vatican Councils three criteria of (1)content and unity, (2) the living tradition, and (3) theanalogy of faith. While idealized, it may nonethelessserve as a useful paradigm for exegetical exercisesfor students of theology and biblical studies in theCatholic tradition.

Aquinas FiveReasons ChristRose rom the

DeadAquinas pores over the New Testament and comesup with ve reasons it was tting for Christ to risefrom the dead (STIIIa, q. 53, art. 1). Here they are.

1. It reveals Gods justice.

Because Christ humbled himself and died on thecross out of love and obedience to the Father, Godlifted him up by a glorious resurrection.

2. It was necessary or the confrmation o

our aith in Christ.

Thomas cites Paul, who explains that the resurrec-tion attests to the power of God (2 Cor 13:4).

3. It gives us hope or the resurrection o

our bodies.

This, of course, is the whole point of1 Corinthians

15. As Paul writes, Now if Christ be preached thatHe rose from the dead, how do some among you

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say, that there is no resurrection of the dead? (1Cor 15:12)

4. It means death to sin and new lie in

Christ or us.

Since we are united with Christ we have not onlydied with him but been raised with him to newnessof life. Thomas cites Romans 6:4, 11: We were bu-

ried therefore with him by baptism into death, sothat as Christ was raised from the dead by the gloryof the Father, we too might walk in newness of life11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sinand alive to God in Christ Jesus.

5. It completes the work o salvation.

This is an especially important point that is far toooften overlooked. Christs death is not the only aspectof his work for our salvation. Again, Thomas cites

Paul, who explains that Christ was put to deathfor our trespasses and raised for our justication(Rom 4:25). Most people forget about this verse andsimply profess that Jesus died for our salvationbutthats only part of it!

Notice that Thomas pays very close attention toPauls language in particular here.

Salvation involves two elements: (1) the paymentof the debt due to sin, which is accomplished on thecross (e.g., he was put to death for our trespasses)and (2) he is raised for our sakes as well (e.g., forour justication). Ultimately, Jesus resurrectionwasnt for his sake but for ours. The goal of salvationwas not simply to save us from sin, but to unite ourhumanity to God. Peter explains that we are called tobecome partakers of the divine nature (2 Pet 1:4).

Christs resurrection then is the cause of our sharingin the new life of gracethe unity of our humanitywith divinity. Salvation isnt just a matter of beingdelivered from the punishment due to sin, namely,

hellit also means being delivered to life in God(cf. also STIIIa q. 56, art. 2; cf. also IIIa q. 57, art.

6.; also see the Catechism of the Catholic Church,paragraph 654).

HallelujahHe is Risen!

Eighth DayDawning

April began with Palm Sunday this year, and EasterSunday falls on the eighth day. In so many ways, thisbrings us Christians back to our roots.

The early Church Fathers marked every Sunday asthe eighth day. Creation was complete in six days,and God rested on the Sabbathbut at the Resur-rection He began something new

The rst-century Epistle of Barnabas presents thematter in a prophetic oracle. With the Sabbath

with Saturday the epistle tells us, God set allthings at rest. With the new dawn, however, hewill usher in the Eighth Day, the beginning of anew world.

So here we are, at the beginning of a new world.

On Easter, God did not merely resuscitate a corpse.That would have been merely miraculous. Nor didhe merely vindicate His Son. That would have beenmerely triumphant.

No, on Easter Sunday we mark the moment whenhe who sat upon the throne said, Behold, I makeall things new (Revelation 21:5).

We are living in that moment. We are already livingin a day when heaven and earth are full of His glory.Christ is risen. He has been vindicated. He reignstriumphant. But the Good News is even better thanall of that. Through his rising he has gloried ourpoor esh and taken it to heaven. Through our sharein his death and resurrection, we have become par-

takers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). Through

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the sacraments he empowers us to live that life, notjust when we go to heaven, but even now.

Those early Fathers loved the Easter season becauseit was the time the Church admitted new membersthrough the sacraments of initiation. Easter wasthe season of a special preaching the Church callsmystagogy: the explication of the mysteries.

Through the grace of the sacraments, Christiansreceive eyes to see the new heaven and new earth(Revelation 21:3). A new Christian, newly healed andunaccustomed to such vision, might look out andsay, I see men; but they look like trees, walking(see Mark 8:24).

But the mystagogical teaching of the Fathers leadsus to see the world aright, as God has created it tobe, and as He has redeemed itas He is redeemingit even today. Mystagogy leads us to see Gods new

world awash in the river of the water of life, brightas crystal, owing from the throne of God and ofthe Lamb (Revelation 22:1). Mystagogy reveals thehidden manna of the Holy Eucharist.

By the light of the Easter Candle we can see so muchwe could not otherwise apprehend, because we arelooking now with eyes of faith.

Lets live this season as our most ancient ancestorsdid. Lets make it a moment of celebration of themysteries the sacraments Christ instituted forus and entrusted to the Church. Lets live Easter inprayerful study of the Scriptures, in the company ofthe Fathers. Let us come to see this new worldthe Church and her sacramentsfor all that Godhas made it to be.

The ardor of Easter is different from the rigors ofLent. It is pure joy, pure praise, a pure stream ofAlleluia and Gloria owing at last in a life we hadlaid waste.

You are good to share this moment of joy with meand my colleagues at the St. Paul Center. I promise

you our prayers, on the Eighth Day and beyond. Forour mission is mystagogyor, as I put it in the titleof a book for the Easter season,Living the Mysteries.

CatholicInterpretation o

Scripture

This is part of an on-going series discussing the fun-damentals of Catholic doctrine of Scripture. Thetopic for this post is interpretation. Click here toread the previous post.

***Self-conscious reection on the proper methodsof interpretation of Scripture began already withthe early Church Fathers. One of the most deni-tive patristic statements on interpretation is St.

AugustinesDe Doctrina Christiana, On ChristianDoctrine. While its title might lead the modernreader to expect a treatment of Church dogmain systematic form,De Doctrina is in fact a hand-book for the interpretation of Scripture. This factin itself is signicant: for Augustine and the otherfathers, Christian doctrine was the interpretationof Scripture. This truth continues to be armed bythe Second Vatican Council: the study of the sacredpage should be the very soul of theology (DV 11),and by Pope Benedict XVI: Dogma is by denitionnothing other than an interpretation of Scripture(Ratzinger 1983, 178).

Augustines De Doctrina represents a synthesis ofpatristic thinking on the interpretation of Scripture,and it continued to be used as a handbook for exege-sis throughout the medieval period. In the followingdiscussion of the Catholic interpretation of Scripture,we follow St. Augustines basic framework, eshedout with more recent teachings of the Church anddevelopments within biblical studies.

None of the Church Fathers was so nave as to believethat interpretation could be reduced to a certain

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method which would yield consistent results re-gardless of the character of the interpreter applyingit. Augustine was no exception: therefore his dis-cussion of the exegesis of Scripture falls essentiallyinto two parts: the preparation of the interpreter,and the principles of interpretation

The Preparation o the Interpreter

The fathers were quite conscious of the fact thatthere is no purely objective mode of interpretation.The character and dispositions of the interpreter willinvariably shape the interpretation; thus he needsboth spiritual and intellectual formation.

The Spiritual Formation o the Interpreter

The good interpreter should have made some pro-gress in growth in the theological virtues: faith,hope, and especially love. He must understand that

God is to be loved above all things, and all createdthingsincluding the Scripturesare to be usedto attain to the

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