Introduction to The Bible

FROM THE EARLIEST DAYS OF OUR CHRISTIAN HISTORY, INDIVIDUAL CHRISTIANS AND THE CHURCH HAVE USED THE
BIBLE IN VARIOUS WAYS SUCH AS:
1 .TEXT FOR PREACHING
2. SOURCE OF INFORMATION OR UNDERSTANDING OF LIFE
3.GUIDE FOR WORSHIP
4. PRIMARY SOURCE FOR THE
5. SUSTENANCE FOR

FORMULATION OF THEOLOGY

SPIRITUAL FORMATION IN

THECHRISTIAN LIFE

6. GUIDE FOR PASTORAL CARE

CANON AND DIVISIONS OF THE BIBLE

HEBREW BIBLE (TANAK)
1. Torah
It is the Law or Instruction and the so-called books of Moses. Torah is the written document of the covenant of God and
Israel. There are 5 books that comprises the Torah.
A. Genesis- story of the beginning of creation
B. Exodus- narrates the departure of Israelites in Egypt
C. Leviticus- contains laws for the priestly tribe of Levi
D. Numbers- contains census lists and number of names
E. Deuteronomy- Summary of Law of Moses

2. Nebiim

-the Prophets
-divided into two main groups:

FORMER PROPHETS (historical in content)

- Joshua
- Judges
- Samuel
- Kings
LATTER PROPHETS
(the great preachers of Israel)
3 MAJOR:
- Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel
12 MINOR:
- Hosea, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Obadiah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi
3. Kethubim
- the writings, books of poetry and wisdom.
- shows important place of temple worship
A. Psalm
B. Proverbs
C. Job
D. Magiloth or scrolls
-Song of Songs
-Ruth
-Lamentations
-Ecclesiastes
-Esther

E. Daniel
F. Ezra-Nehemiah
G. Chronicles

SEPTUAGINT TEXT (LXX)- 3rd Cent. B.C.E.

It is the Greek translation of the Bible.
LXX= the first translation of the HB into a foreign language before the time of
versions throughout the history of the Christian Church.

Christ,he most important of the

DIVISIONS/CLASSFICATIONS OF THE BOOKS

(1) Pentateuch
A. Genesis

B. Exodus

C. Leviticus

D. Numbers

E. Deuteronomy

(2) Historical Books

A. Joshua
G. Ezra

B. Judges
H. Nehemiah

C. Ruth

D. 1,2 Samuel

I. Tobit J. Judith

E. 1,2 Kings

K. Ester

F. 1,2 Chronicles

L. 1,2 Maccabees

(3) Poetry and Wisdom

A. Job

B. Psalm

C. Proverb

D. Ecclesiastes

F. Wisdom of Solomon

E. Song of Songs

G. Sirach

(4) Prophetic Writings

A. Isaiah

B. Jeremiah
G. Amos

C. Baruch

H. Jonah

D. Lamentations
I. Nahum

E. Ezekiel

J. Zephaniah

F. Hosea
K. Haggai

L.

Zechariah
M. Malachi
N. Daniel
R. Habakkuk

O. Joel

P. Obadiah

Q. Micah

Deutero-Canonical Books
1. Tobit
2. Judith
Daniel and Esther

3. 1&2 Maccabees

CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

4. Wisdom of Solomon

5. Sirach

6. Baruch

7. some parts of

The Catholics, Orthodox and Protestant accept the canon of 27 new testament books. The new testament is an
anthology of books, originally written in Greek.
There are four literary types that comprise the new testament.
(1) Gospels
(2) Acts of the Apostle
(3) Letters
(4) Revelation
3 STAGES OF THE GOSPEL TRADITION3 STAGES OF THE GOSPEL TRADITION
1. A.

Jesus Event - words and

deeds

of Jesus Himself

2. B. Apostolic Teachings the apostles preached the things that they remembered Jesus did,
Palestine and then in the Hellenistic world

first in

3. C. Written Gospels
from the stories and sayings of the Apostles came the written and later on edited sacred texts, like the four
Gospels

Four Criteria for Canonicity (why certain books were eventually accepted into the NT Canon, while
others were rejected):
1 Apostolic Origin - attributed to and/or based on the preaching/teaching of the first-generation
apostles (or their closest companions).
2 Universal Acceptance - acknowledged by all major Christian communities in the
Mediterranean world (by the end of the fourth century).
3 Liturgical Use - read publicly along with the OT when early Christians gathered for the Lord's
Supper (their weekly worship services).
4 Consistent Message - containing theological ideas compatible with other accepted Christian
writings (incl. the divinity and humanity Jesus).

Evolution of the Concept of Biblical Inspiration

FATHERS OF THE CHURCH = believed that the human author was POSSESSED by God, lost consciousness of
self, and totally
surrendered himself, including his communicatory powers, to the
divine spirit!

MIDDLE AGES = emphasized the DIVINE ORIGIN of the bible.

= with little interest in its human authors

= DICTATION THEORY : God communicated to the human

authors the very words

of the bible.
Biblical inspiration = mechanical/stenographic dictation
1. Verbal inspiration = the very words of the bible are those chosen by God.
2. Plenary inspiration = every word, letter is inspired!

RENAISSANCE/REFORMATION = serious speculation on the nature of biblical

inspiration

MARTIN LUTHER & JOHN CALVIN = stressed the concept of ACCOMODATION while advocating God
as the author of the bible.

ACCOMODATION = God adapting the divine message to human capacity through words that
accomodated their limited understanding.
VATICAN I (1869-70) = affirmed the traditional view that God is the Deus auctor
biblical inspiration in the sense of CAUSAL INSTRUMENTALITY =
biblical authors were seen as instruments at the disposal of God

however, it understood

ENLIGHTENMENT = use of modern biblical criticism in the 19th cent.

= MBC (textual and historical criticisms) enriched our understanding of
biblical
backgrounds,
customs and
mores through the discoveries of the ancient manuscripts and appreciation of original
biblical languages
VATICAN II = Dei Verbum affirmed: the bible is both HUMAN & DIVINE

INCARNATIONAL APPROACH = as divine, we approach it in FAITH ; as human, we approach it with

methods of historical and literary criticisms.

THE QUESTION OF INERRANCY

20TH CENTURY = produced indispensable evidence of historical

inaccuracies in the Bible

Cardinal Koenig of Austria: errors do exist in the biblical books, which are deficient in accuracy as
regards both historical and scientific matters.

VAT. II (DEI VERBUM) = no reference to the notion of dictation, no explicit reference to instrumental
causality, no mention of inerrancy.

This is not the case though in the writings of some conservative and evangelical Protestant
authorsthey believe in BIBLICAL LITERALISM, TOTAL INERRANCY, including PERFECT FACTUAL

ACCURACY!
To uphold inerrancy = to undermine the fact that the authors were writing from the vantage point,
which is necessarily limited!

Translation Philosophies/Principles:
Generally, there are two basic philosophies or styles of translation, formal correspondence and
dynamic equivalence.
D.1 Formal Correspondence Translations try to stick as closely as possible to the original
wording and word-order of the Hebrew and Greek texts. Thus they may seem more accurate or
"literal," but often require detailed explanations in footnotes to avoid being misinterpreted by
modern readers. They are good for in-depth academic study of the Bible, but may be less suited
for public proclamation, since they can be difficult to understand when heard or read aloud.
D.2 Dynamic Equivalence Translations try to put the sense of the original text into the best
modern English, remaining close to the ideas expressed but not always following the exact
wording or word-order of the Hebrew or Greek originals. Thus they may seem less literal than
the formal correspondence translations, but can be just as faithful to the original text, and are
therefore generally better suited for public proclamation or liturgical use.

For example, the system of measuring time in ancient Israel was very different from our own. They
counted twelve hours from sunrise to sundown, and subdivided the night into three (or sometimes
four) "watches." Thus the same time that is called "the eleventh hour" in a formal correspondence
translation would be translated "five o'clock in the afternoon" in a dynamic equivalence version.1
An update on the revision of some English translations of the Bible:
Older Translations:

Updated Translations:

Douay-Rheims (no abbrev. - 1582 NT; 1609-10 OT)

(some revisions 1749 and 1941, but no recent

revision)

King James Version (KJV - 1611)

New King James Version (NKJV - 1979-82)

Revised Standard Version (RSV - 1946 NT; 1952

OT)

New Revised Standard Version (NRSV - 1989)

Amplified Bible (AB - 1958 NT; 1964-65 OT)

(combined edition reprinted in 1987, but not revised)

New English Bible (NEB - 1961)

Revised English Bible (REB - 1992)

Today's English Version (TEV - 1966)

Contemporary English Version (CEV - 1996)

Jerusalem Bible (JB - 1966)

New Jerusalem Bible (NJB - 1985)

New American Bible (NAB - 1970)

(only the NT & Psalms revised so far - 1987)

New International Version (NIV - 1973 NT; 1978

OT)

(not yet revised)