The Bible - Origin Etc

8/3/2019 The Bible - Origin Etc

1/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE

Page 1ttp://biblescripture.net/Bible.html

CHRISTIANITY

"It is written, `Man shall not live by bread alone,

but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

Gospel of Matthew 4:4

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,

that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

Gospel of John 3:16


2/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


THE BIBLE

The Bible is a book about God our Creator who reveals his undying love for h

creation mankind. The Bible presents salvation history: how God revealedhimself and his plan for the redemption of fallen mankind. Promise found in th

Old Testament finds fulfillment in the New Testament: God giving his only so

Jesus Christ to save humanity, and sending the Holy Spirit to guide us. The

Bible provides direction for a happy life on earth, gives prophecy on the end

times, and helps us reach heaven in the after-life.

OUR INTERNET SITE

Just click on the name you would like to visit:

The Holy Trinity

God the Father

Jesus Christ our SaviorThe Holy Spirit

The Ten Commandments of God

The Eight Beatitudes of Jesus

The Lord's Prayer

The Seven Words of Jesus on the Cross

The Alphabet of Biblical Hebrew

Readings from the The Book of Genesis

Genesis 3:15 - The First Gospel

The Canon of the Old Testament

The Book of the Prophet Daniel

The Greek Alphabet


3/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


St. Paul on Conversion

Prologue to the Gospel of John

Blessed Virgin Mary

Mary in the Bible

Angels in the BiblePrinciples of Medical Ethics

Love, Marriage, and Family

Life Begins at Conception!

Historical Foundations of Christianity

Poetry

In God We TrustThe American Indians

The Pilgrims of Plymouth Colony

Early American Writings

Declaration of Independence

The U. S. Constitution

U. S. Bill of Rights

The Gettysburg Address


4/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


THE BIBLE

The Bible is the Word of God and is composed of both the Old and NewTestaments.

The Old Testament relates God's Creation of the world and his Word to Israe

He reveals his undying love for his creation mankind, in spite of man's sin an

disobedience, through the promise of a Redeemer. There are over 100

Messianic prophecies in the Old Testament, among them Genesis 3:15,

Deuteronomy 18:15-18, 2 Samuel 7:14-16, l Chronicles 17:12-14, Psalm 22

Isaiah 7:14, Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Daniel 7:13-14, Micah 5:2, and Zechariah 9:9

The Old Testament is Hebrew Scripture or Tanakh, and is composed of the

Law, the Pentateuch or Torah, the Prophets orNeviim, and the Writings, th

Hagiographa or Kethuvim. The threefolddivision - and original order - of


5/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


Hebrew Scripture was evident at the time of Jesus, who referred to "The Law

Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms (Luke 24:44)." The Old Testament wa

composed in Hebrew, except for the following written in Aramaic - Genesis

31:47, Jeremiah 10:11, Ezra 4:8-6:18 and 7:12-26, and nearly half of the Boo

of Daniel (2:4-7:28).

The writings of the Old Testament were preserved in three languages - Hebrew

Aramaic, and Greek, and have been passed on to us mainly through 4

manuscripts: the Greek Septuagint from Alexandria; the Masoretic Hebrew

text; the newly discovered Dead Sea Scrolls of the Essenes; and the Targums

translations of Scripture into Aramaic. The differing traditions have led to the

disparity found in the Old Testament canons among Christian religions. See th

Canon of the Old Testament for a more complete discussion.

The oldest surviving translation of Hebrew Scripture was the Greek

Septuagint, which was undertaken in the third century BC in Egypt by Jewis

scholars who had migrated there during the Diaspora. The Greek codices

arranged the books in afourfolddivision, a different way than Hebrew

Scripture, by placing the Law of Moses first, then the Historical Books, then

the Psalms and Wisdom Literature, and then the Prophets. The three major

Christian religions follow the Greek pattern, and will serve as the outline for

this discussion.

The Law contains the five Books of Moses or the Pentateuch. Genesis

describes the creation of the world, our first parents Adam and Eve, Noah an

the Flood, and God's Covenants with Noah, Abraham, the Patriarch of Israel

and his son Isaac. The historical pattern of covenant, fall, judgement, and

redemption that begins in Genesis remains consistent throughout the OldTestament. Exodus records the history of Moses, the Ten Commandments an

the Ark of the Covenant, the first Passover and the Exodus from Egypt.

Leviticus relates the laws pertaining to religious observances and conduct, suc

as to love your neighbor (19:18), and to refrain from tattoos (19:28) or consu


6/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


fortune tellers (19:31). Numbers is so named because of the census taken of

the Israelites, and their wandering in the Sinai Desert for forty years because o

their disobedience to the Lord God. Deuteronomy repeats the Ten

Commandments and religious laws, and delineates how the Israelites should

live in the Promised Land, and prophesizes the consequences of their behavio

The Historical Books include Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Kings,

Chronicles, as well as Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther, the Books of the

Restoration. Joshua records the entry of the Israelites into the Promised Land

and the conquest of Canaan. Judges describes the time when the Lord raised u

Judges, such as Samson, to save his people, a time when there was no king in

Israel. Ruth traces the ancestry of the Davidic dynasty. The Books of Samue

and Kings were made into two books each. In First Samuel, the prophetSamuel anointed Saul, who failed as the first monarch because of his

disobedience; the young shepherd David was faithful to the Lord and defeate

Goliath. In Second Samuel, David united all twelve tribes and became King o

all Israel; he brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, which became th

capital of the United Kingdom of Israel. First Kings begins with David's son

King Solomon who built the first Temple of the Lord, which housed the Ark o

the Covenant. Disobedience to the Mosaic Law led to the Divided Kingdom o

Israel and Judah. Second Kings records the preponderance of Kings who brok

covenant with the Lord, and the subsequent capture of the Northern Kingdom

by the Assyrians in 722 (or 721) BC, and the destruction of the Jerusalem

Temple with the Babylonian Captivity in 587 (or 586) BC. Chronicles

records the time from the reign of Saul to the return from the Babylonian Exil

The Historical Books also include the history of the Restoration, the return o

the Jewish people from the Babylonian captivity, through the eyes of two

leaders: Ezra restored the Mosaic Law, while Nehemiah restored the gates anwalls of Jerusalem. The Second Temple in Jerusalem was rebuilt during this

time and completed in 516 BC. The (complete) Book ofEsther records how

God through Esther spared the Jewish people during the period of the

Restoration.


7/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


The Wisdom Literature consists ofJob, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, an

the Song of Songs.

The Prophets include the Major Prophets - Isaiah, the Book of Jeremiah and

Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel; andthe Prophets of the Book of theTwelve, which include Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum

Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi.

The Hebrew canon for Judaism developed through the ages, and was refined b

the Pharisees at Jamnia, particularly the Writings. They recognized 10 books

less than the Greek Septuagint. The Masoretic Text developed from the eight

through tenth century reflected this Hebrew canon.

St. Jerome translated both Old and New Testaments into Latin; he completed

the translation of the New Testament into Latin in 384, and the Old Testamen

in 405. St. Jerome translated from both Greek and Hebrew manuscripts of the

Old Testament and noted the difference between the larger canon of the Gree

Septuagint and the shorter Hebrew canon, and called those books comprising

the difference the "hidden or secret books," or the Apocrypha. To support th

traditional use of the Greek Septuagint as the source of the Christian Old

Testament, St. Augustine and the Synod of Carthage in 397 AD preserved

seven books of the Apocrypha in the OT Canon, known as the

deuterocanonicalbooks: the Books ofTobias (Tobit), Sirach,Baruch,

Wisdom, First and Second Maccabees, andJudith, as well as the Greek

portions of Esther, and Daniel which includes the Prayer of the Three Young

Men, the story of Susannah, and Bel and the Dragon. St. Jerome included thes

as well for a total of46 Books in his Latin Old Testament. The Latin VulgatBible served as the standard Bible for Western civilization for over 1000 year

In summary, modern Christianity reflects the lack of uniformity found in the

canon of the Old Testament, for Catholics and Eastern Orthodox continue to


8/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


refer to the Greek Septuagint as Old Testament while Protestants chose the

Masoretic Hebrew text. See the Canon of the Old Testament for a more

complete discussion.

It was St. Augustine who best explained the relationship of the Old and New

Testaments:

"The new lies hidden in the old, the old is made manifest in the new."


9/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


The New Testament recorded the oral tradition of the Life and Teachings of

Jesus, his Passion, Death and Resurrection, and the formation of the early

Christian community, the Church.

Jesus and his Apostles spoke Aramaic, as this was the common language at th

time in Palestine. Several Aramaic words and expressions were preserved in thwritings of the New Testament that is available to us in Greek. Jesus addresse

God in prayer, using the Aramaic wordAbba, the affectionate term for "Fathe

(Mark 14:36). Jesus raised the child by calling out Talitha cumi, which mean

"little girl, arise" in Mark 5:41. He cured the man who was deaf and dumb by

speakingEphphatha, meaning "be opened" in Mark 7:34. Jesus refers to hell

Gehenna in Mark 9:42-50. Jesus cried out from the crossEloi, Eloi, lama

sabachthani, that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"(Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34). Jesus used Aramaic words twice in referring t

Peter: he used the prefix Bar-, "the son of," (not the Hebrew Ben) when he

called PeterBar-Jonah, the son of Jonah (Matthew 16:17); and he called Pete

Cephas, the Aramaic word for rock in John 1:42.

The canon of the New Testament is exactly the same for all of Christianity!

There are 27 Books in the New Testament.

No original manuscript by the author of a biblical book has yet been

discovered!

Thus we cannot truly say when the books of the New Testament were actuall

written. An important observation is that not one of the New Testament write

mentions the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. The earliest available

manuscript is the Codex Vaticanus, which dates as late as the mid-fourth

century AD, and was written in Greek.

The New Testament writers accorded to the Old Testament the value of Divin

Revelation. They proclaimed this revelation found its fulfillment in the life, i

the teaching, and above all, in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus, sour


10/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


of forgiveness and of everlasting life. They frequently drew upon the Old

Testament writings, primarily to confirm Jesus Christ as the Messiah, or to

serve as a source for moral instruction, or for the interpretation of events.

Typology in Biblical studies finds an Old Testament story serving as a

prefigurement or symbol for an event in the New Testament. Referring to

Christ, Paul called Adam "a type of the one who is to come" (Romans 5:14). IHebrews 12:24 the blood of Abel speaks to the "blood of Jesus, the mediator

a new covenant." Peter saw the flood during the times of Noah as a figure of

baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21). In a direct quotation, the Gospel writer

acknowledged the source, and directly quoted the Old Testament, as Matthew

1:22, after Jesus is born of the virgin Mary, quoted Isaiah 7:14 that prophesize

the Messiah will be born of a virgin. An example of moral instruction would b

Mark 10:2ff, when Jesus quoted Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 in his instruction onmarriage. Paul explained Christ's reception of Gentiles by referring to multipl

sources such as Isaiah 11:1 in Romans 15:8-12. An allusion occurs when an

obvious Old Testament source is woven in the text without acknowledging th

source, such as Paul who refers to Genesis 3:15 in Romans 16:20, and John

who refers to that "ancient serpent" of Genesis 3 in Revelation 12:12. And

finally the source may be unknown, as Matthew 2:23, when he refers to the

prophecy, "He shall be called a Nazarene." In addition, New Testament

writings were considered Scripture as well in the beginnings of the Church (

Timothy 5:18, 2 Peter 3:16).

The Tradition of the Church Fathers was important to the early Church, for

they were the ones who had an important role in the process of the formation

the canon of the New Testament, as well in the interpretation of Scripture.

Irenaeus of Lyons around 180 AD was among the first to propose a canon fo

the New Testament. Three Fathers of the Church - Athanasius of Alexandria ihis Letter of 367, Jerome at Bethlehem in 384, and Augustine at the Council o

Hippo in 393 - agreed 27 Books were the inspired Word of God. The Canon o

the New Testament was confirmed at the Third Council of Carthage in 397 AD


11/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


The Books of the New Testament are the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, an

John, the Acts of the Apostles, the 14 Letters of the Pauline corpus, the 7

catholic or universal Letters, and the Book of Revelation.

The Four Gospels ofMatthew, Mark, Luke, and John, proclaim the "Good

News" of the coming of Jesus Christ. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, called theSynoptic Gospels as they parallel each other, record Jesus teaching in

Parables. Each of the Synoptics is noteworthy on their own, such as the Gosp

of Matthew, which contains the Beatitudes and the Lord's Prayer. The

Synoptic Gospels also record Jesus' prophecy of the destruction of the Templ

(Matthew 24:1, Mark 13:1, Luke 21:5-6), occasioned by the Romans in 70 AD

The Gospel of John is an unique spiritual and theological work. All four

Gospels present the Miracles of Christ Jesus, and the Passion, Death, andResurrection of the Lord. There are three stages in the development of the

Gospel narrative: the teachings of Jesus himself; the oral tradition of the

Apostles, who handed down the teachings of Jesus to the early Christian

community, the Church; and finally, the inspired written Word of Scripture.

The Bible was written within the Church. Considering the impact of his life an

teaching, it is remarkable the Ministry of Jesus lasted such a short time!

The Acts of the Apostles is the second Book written by Luke, and describes

the explosive growth of Christianity following the Pentecost, the Descent of th

Holy Spirit. Acts describes the growth of the early Christian community, the

Church, from Jerusalem and Antioch to Asia Minor and Rome, focusing

primarily on the activities of Peter and Paul.

The Pauline corpus begins in the New Testament with the Letter to the

Romans, which emphasizes God's righteousness that saves all who believe inJesus Christ. The letter begins and ends with the ideal Christian response to ou

merciful Saviour, "the obedience of faith" (Romans 1:5, 16:26). First

Corinthians gives us an insight into the early Christian community, and

includes the beautiful passage on love. Second Corinthians is personal in


12/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


nature and reveals much about Paul's character. We are reminded that God's

grace is sufficientfor us. The Apostle to the Gentiles emphasizes the way to

salvation is through Christ and the Cross in Galatians. Ephesians is the

Pauline letter on the Church. Paul's first Christian community were the

Philippians, and the letter shows his great love for the Gospel and his convert

Colossians continues the discussion of the relationship of Christ and hisChurch. The first writings to become part of the New Testament were First an

Second Thessalonians, written in 51 AD. First and Second Timothy and

Titus are the Pastoral Epistles. He breathes love and equality into the ancien

and accepted institution of slavery in the Letter to Philemon. The Letter to th

Hebrews is an outstanding treatise on the priesthood of Jesus, who perfected

Revelation and redeemed mankind by his one Sacrifice, which established

God's New Covenant. Of the 14 letters of the Pauline corpus, all but the Letteto the Hebrews begin with the name of Paul. St. Jerome attributed Hebrews t

Paul, when he translated the Greek version of the New Testament into Latin i

the Fourth Century.

The seven catholic or universal Letters of James (1), Peter (2), John (3), and

Jude (1) are so called because they are addressed to all the Churches, unlike th

letters of Paul, which are addressed to a particular community (Romans,

Corinthians, and so on). They were open letters that concerned themselves wi

different themes pertinent to Christians. The Letter ofJames emphasizes tha

faith without works is dead. First Peter shows us the mission of the early

Church in the midst of a hostile society, and provides direction for Christian

behavior in the world. Second Peter offers Peter's witness to the

Transfiguration of Jesus, commentary on interpretation of Scripture, and speak

of the Parousia. First John expresses God's love and forgiveness in the face o

the universality of sin, and asserts the humanity and Divinity of Jesus ChristSecond John also serves as a warning against heresy in the early Church, whi

Third John is a valuable testimony to the fidelity of the early Christian

communities. The Book ofJude gives encouragement to fidelity in the

Christian faith and notes the moral implications of the Gospel message. The


13/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


mysterious Book of Jude also describes a phenomenon noted in some

anesthetic patients with near-death experiences: "They are like wild waves o

the sea, foaming up their shameless deeds, wandering stars for whom the gloo

of darkness has been reserved forever" (Jude 1:13 NAB).

The Book ofRevelation is the final Book of the New Testament, and isapocalyptic in nature. The Book of Revelation is at once frightening, as it

speaks of the rise of the antichrist and the end of the age, dramatic as it

describes the final battle of good and evil, and, above all, optimistic, as it poin

to the triumph of Jesus Christ over evil and the dawn of a new creation. Writte

by John, it has fascinated readers for centuries, as it prophesizes about the En

Times, a time which may be drawing near.


14/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING

1 Minto AL.Introduction to Scripture, 1998, toDiscipleship and Mission in

Luke-Acts, 2005. Course Lectures and Texts, Franciscan University,

Steubenville, Ohio.2Revised Standard Version of the Holy Bible. Ignatius Press, San Francisco

1965.

3The 1611 Authorized King James Version of the Holy Bible. Hendrickson

Publishers, Peabody, Massachusetts, 2010.

4RSV Navarre Bible Series. Four Courts Press, Dublin, Ireland, 1999-2005


15/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


5The Douay-Rheims Holy Bible. Old Testament, English College of Douai

1609; New Testament, English College of Rheims, France, 1582. Revision,

Bishop Challoner, 1749-1752, England. John Murphy, Baltimore, Maryland

1914.

6 Pontifical Biblical Commission. The Interpretation of the Bible in the

Church. Pauline Books & Media, Boston, Mass, 1993.7 Fitzmyer JA.A Wandering Aramean. Scholars Press, Missoula, Montana

1979.

8 The Second Vatican Council.Dei Verbum - On Divine Revelation,

November 1965. Vatican Council II, Austin Flannery (ed); Dominican

Publications, Dublin, Ireland, 1998.

9 Brown RE, Fitzmeyer JA, Murphy RE (eds): The New Jerome Biblical

Commentary, especially Chapters on Pentateuch, Canonicity, Texts andVersions. Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1990.

10 Johnson LT. The Writings of the New Testament. Augsburg Fortress Pres

Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1999.

11 Jensen J. God's Word to Israel. Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota

1988.

12 Oden TC, Editor.Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture.

InterVarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2001.

13 Young FM.Biblical Exegesis and the Formation of Christian Culture.

Cambridge University Press, 1997.

14 Ratzinger JC.Introduction to Christianity. Ignatius Press, San Francisco

2004.

15 Tannehill RC. The Narrative Unity of Luke-Acts: A Literary

Interpretation, in 2 Volumes. Fortress Press, Minneapolis, 1990.

16 Wall RW. The Acts of the Apostles, in The New Interpreter's Bible, Volum

10. Abingdon Press, Nashville, pages 344-368, 2002.17 Montague GT. The Apocalypse. Servant Publications, Ann Arbor,

Michigan, 1992 and 1998.

18 Lienhard JT. The Bible, The Church, and Authority - The Canon of the

Christian Bible. Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota, 1995.


16/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


19 VanderKam JC. The Dead Sea Scrolls Today. WB Eerdmanns, Grand

Rapids, Michigan, 1994 and 2010.

20 Evans CA. The Dead Sea Scrolls. Holman QuickSource Guides, B&H

Publishing Group, Nashville, Tennessee, 2010.

21 Mansoor M.Biblical Hebrew - Step by Step,Volume One. Baker Book

House, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1980, 24th Printing, 2007.22 Mounce, WD.Basics of Biblical Greek Grammar, Third Edition.

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2009.

23 Brisco, Thomas.Holman Bible Atlas. Holman Reference, Nashville

Tennessee, 1998.

24 Rendsburg GA.A New Look at Pentateuchal HW'. Biblica 63:351-369,

1982.

25 Nodet E. On Jesus' Last Supper. Biblica 91:348-369, 2010.


17/17

8/23/11 4:0HE BIBLE


The Bible - Origin Etc

Documents

Transcript of The Bible - Origin Etc