CHURCH TEACHING

Those divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in Sacred
Scripture have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. For
holy mother Church, relying on the belief of the Apostles (see John 20:31; 2 Tim. 3:16; 2
Peter 1:19-20, 3:15-16), holds that the books of both the Old and New Testaments in their
entirety, with all their parts, are sacred and canonical because written under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they have God as their author and have been handed on
as such to the Church herself.(1) In composing the sacred books, God chose men and
while employed by Him (2) they made use of their powers and abilities, so that with Him
acting in them and through them, (3) they, as true authors, consigned to writing
everything and only those things which He
wanted (Dei Verbum 11).

A. Inspiration and Inerrancy of Sacred

Scripture

Sacred Scripture is inspired and inerrant.

The notion of biblical inspiration is derived from a
word which means “breathed in” – meaning,
God himself guided the human authors who
wrote the books of the Bible whose intellects
were enlightened directly by the action of Holy
Spirit to write what God wanted them to write
Macgrath, James, (n.d.). [The Bible’s Authors
Were Inspired by God]. Retrieved July 14, 2021, without, however, impairing their freedom (Hahn,
from https://wp- 2004, p. 7). This uniqueness of the books of the
media.patheos.com/blogs/exploringourmatrix/
files/2012/09/Paul-prison2-300x224.jpg Bible makes God the principal author of
scripture, and the human authors also as real
authors because they acted as free and
intelligent instruments of the Holy Spirit.

The necessary implication of biblical inspiration is that the Bible contains no error;
it has God as its primary author. Literally, “inerrant” means does not err. So this means,
according to Hahn (2004), that “Scripture teaches truth, never error” (p. 7). But what is
that truth that the Bible teaches? “The Bible, according to Knox (2011), is free from error
in those religious affirmations that are made for the sake of our salvation” (p. 86).

This understanding of biblical inerrancy does not, however, make the Bible free
from scientific, historical and factual errors and contradictions because its content and
purpose is not to provide a scientific explanation of phenomena nor an accurate
historical reporting of events.

B. Canon of Sacred Scripture

 The books of the Bible are often referred to as canonical books. Canon is the
Greek for “rule” or “norm.” The canonical books form the rule, or norm, of faith for they
are recognized and accepted as inspired by God. In addition, the word “canon” also
came to mean “list.” The canon is the list of books, both the Old Testament and New
Testament, that the church recognizes as inspired necessary to your faith. So, the
inclusion of a book in the canon means that it was divinely inspired.

Two Versions of the Scriptures:

1. Alexandrian Canon or Septuagint:

Around 250 B.C.E., the original Hebrew of the Old Testament was
translated into Greek (the most commonly used language of the time) in
Alexandria, Egypt by seventy (70) scholars (hence, the name “Septuagint”).
In making their translation, the scholars added other well-known books that
were not originally written in Hebrew but in Greek, or Aramaic. The Catholic
Church accepted all the books of the Septuagint as canonical that
constitute the Old Testament (Knox, 2011, pp. 93 – 94). It has a total of forty-six
(46) books.

2. Palestinian Canon

After the sacking of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Temple by

the Romans in 70 C.E., some Pharisees gathered at Jamnia (modern Jabneh,
south of Tel Aviv) to draw up a canon of Scripture that contained only those
books originally written in Hebrew. This canon excluded books that were
written in Greek or Aramaic. It has thirty-nine (39) books. This is still the canon
accepted by Jews today. When the Protestants in the 16th century started
making translations from the original Hebrew, they used the Palestinian canon
(Knox, 2011, p. 94).

These seven (7) books that make up the difference between the
Alexandrian Canon and Palestinian Canon are referred to as
deuterocanonical — ”second canon”—to show that they are not accepted
in the Jewish canon. (1 and 2 Maccabees, Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Sirach, and
Wisdom). Many Protestant editions of the Bible, however, include these books
at the end under the title “Apocrypha.”

Books in the Hebrew Scripture, and Catholic and Protestant Bibles

HEBREW BIBLE CATHOLIC BIBLE PROTESTANT BIBLE

(Mikra or TaNaKh) (Based on the Alexandrian (Based on the Palestinian
Canon or Septuagint (LXX); Canon; retains the
 with the 7 Catholic order but
Deuterocanonical Books) without the
Deuterocanonical
books)
Torah/Books of Moses: Pentateuch (Law): Law (Pentateuch):
Bereshit/Genesis Genesis Genesis
Shemot/Exodus Exodus Exodus
VaYikra/Leviticus Leviticus Leviticus
BaMidbar/Numbers Numbers Numbers
Devarim/Deuteronomy Deuteronomy Deuteronomy
Nevi’im/ Former Historical Books: Historical Books:
Prophets: Joshua Joshua
Joshua Judges Judges
Judges Ruth Ruth
Samuel 1 & 2 1 Samuel 1 Samuel
Kings 1 & 2 2 Samuel 2 Samuel
Nevi’im/ Latter Prophets: 1 Kings 1 Kings
Isaiah 2 Kings 2 Kings
Jeremiah 1 Chronicles 1 Chronicles
Ezekiel 2 Chronicles 2 Chronicles
The Book of the Twelve: Ezra Ezra
Hosea Nehemiah Nehemiah
Amos Tobit* Esther (shorter version)
Jonah Judith*
Nahum Esther (Longer version) Wisdom Books:
Zephaniah 1 Maccabees* Job
Zechariah 2 Maccabees* Psalms (150)
Joel Wisdom Books: Proverbs
Obadiah Job Ecclesiastes
Micah Psalms (150) Song of Solomon
Habakkuk Proverbs Wisdom of Solomon*
Haggai Ecclesiastes Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)*
Malachi Song of Solomon
Ketuvim/Writings: Wisdom of Solomon* Prophets:
Psalms (150) Sirach (Ecclesiasticus)* Isaiah
Proverbs Prophets: Jeremiah
Job Isaiah Lamentations
Song of Solomon Jeremiah Ezekiel
Ruth Lamentations Daniel (12 chapters)
Lamentations Baruch (Inc. letter of Jer.)* Hosea
Ecclesiastes Ezekiel Joel
Esther (shorter version) Daniel (14 chapters) Amos
Daniel (12 chapters) Hosea Obadiah
Ezrah – Nehemiah Joel Jonah
Chronicles (1 & 2) Amos Micah
 Obadiah Nahum
Jonah Habakkuk
Micah Zephaniah
Nahum Haggai
Habakkuk Malachi
Zephaniah
Haggai
Malachi
Total no. of books: 46
*Deuterocanonical books (7 Total no. of books: 39
books)

C. Divisions of the Bible

1. Old Testament
This part of the Bible contains historical writings, stories, poetry, songs,
writings on human wisdom, writings on prophecy that span the whole extent of
the Jewish life. The Old Testament is also called the Jewish Scripture.
2. New Testament
Known also as the Christian Scripture, the New Testament is the inspired
testimony about Jesus Christ, the Son of God, and the New Covenant. It is
centered on Jesus of Nazareth, his life, death and resurrection, which are also
called as the Paschal Mystery. It presents Jesus’ ministry and teachings, and the
Church’s post resurrection understanding of who Jesus really was.
The word comes from the Latin “testamentum”, Hebrew “berith”, and the
Greek “diatheke,” meaning “formal agreement, or covenant between two (2)
parties. The term “Old Testament” was first introduced by Tertullian (ca 200 AD) to
refer to the Jewish Scripture and “New Testament” to the Christian Scripture.

D. Interpretation of Sacred Scripture

Two (2) Approaches of Interpreting the Sacred Scriptures
1. Exegesis
Exegesis is the exposition of a text based on a careful, objective
analysis. The exegesis literally means “to lead out of.” That means that the
interpreter is led to his conclusions by following the text. "Exegesis is an act
of love. It means loving the one who speaks the words enough to want to
get the words right. It is respecting the words enough to use every means
we have to get the words right. Exegesis is loving God enough to stop and
listen carefully" (Peterson, 999, p.10)
2. Eisegesis
Eisegesis is the interpretation of a passage based on a subjective,
non-analytical reading. The word eisegesis literally means “to lead into,”
 which means the interpreter injects his own ideas into the text, making it
mean whatever he wants.

Factors to Consider in Interpreting Sacred Scriptures (CFC 92-96):

1. the inspired human author’s intention
2. the text itself
3. the reader of the text
4. the common horizon connecting the original community context of the
text with our community reading today.