0 Is Ous Lady of Perpetual He Catholic ChurchP H Chattanooga TN

Opening Prayer

Let us begin: t In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Lord, we thank you for guiding us through the course of this day's work. In your compassion forgive the sinswe have committed though human weakness and bless all who are making the RCM journey.We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, oneGod, for ever and ever.

l' In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

The Word of God

October 11, 2009Twenty-eight Sunday in Ordinary Time

Mark 10:17-30

The Lord be with you. And also with you.A reading from the Gospel of Mark. Glory to you Lord.+ May the gospel always be on my mind, + on my lips, + and in my heart.

The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

As Jesus was setting out on a journey, a man ran up, knelt down before him, and asked him, "Good teacher,what must 1 do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus answered him, "Why do you call me good? No one is good butGod alone. You know the commandments: You shall not kill; you shall not commit adultery; you shall not steal;you shall not bear false witness; you shall not defraud; honor your father and your mother." He replied and saidto him, "Teacher, all of these 1 have observed from my youth." Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him,"You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to the poor and you will have treasure inheaven; then come, follow me." At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had manypossessions.

Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, "How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom ofGod!" The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, "Children, how hard it is toenter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for one who is rich toenter the kingdom of God." They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, "Then who can besaved?" Jesus looked at them and said, "For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things arepossible for God." Peter began to say to him, "We have given up everything and followed you." Jesus said,"Amen, 1 say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father orchildren or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now inthis present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, andeternal life in the age to come."

ft

P H Chattanooga TN

Catechism of the Catholic Church

Liturgical Calendar

1858 - Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the richyoung man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud,Honor your father and your mother." The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. Onemust also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against astranger.

2728 - Finally, our battle has to confront what we experience as failure in prayer: discouragement duringperiods of dryness; sadness that, because we have "great possessions," we have not given all to the Lord;disappointment over not being heard according to our own will; wounded pride, stiffened by the indignity that isours as sinners; our resistance to the idea that prayer is a free and unmerited gift; and so forth. The conclusion isalways the same: what good does it do to pray? To overcome these obstacles, we must battle to gain humility,trust, and perseverance.

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with seed in it accordingto their kinds. And Godsaw that it was good."And there was evening,and there was mains-the third day:

"And God said, 'Let there belights in the expanse of thesky to separate the dayfrom the night, and letthem serve as -signs tomark seasons and daysand year,, "and let thembe lights in the Munn ofthe sky to give light on theearth." And it was so."God made two vestlights-the greater light tocoven the day. and theFester' fight to govern thenight. He also made the

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The Word of God •

Isaiah 55:3, 6-11

our story ThemeThe Word of God is inspired but is also written by and for real people. It is •the Word of God in human words.

Genesis: God created all things and saw that they were good. (Genesis 1- The Story2:14)Exodus: God brought people from slavery, through the sea, into the desertand made a covenant with them, forming them into a people.Jesus: God sends Jesus who dies for us and rises, giving life to the peopleand forming them into a new covenant. (John 10:10, John 15:9-17, Luke22:14-20)How does it feel to have new life or a new lease on life?Church: We enter into the death of Christ to partake in new life. (Romans'6:3-11)

John 14:23—God will dwell with us.

Who are the people in the Old Testament or New Testament who are impor-tant in your life: Why?

How are the Old Testament and New Testament people just like us in theirstruggles with faith and life?

Prayer

Reflections

Other ScriptureQuestions toPonder.

• 70

2. WHY DO CHRISTIANS HAVE DIFFERENT BIBLES?

Scene at a hypothetical Bible study on repentance:

Trying to be helpful, an Orthodox member readsfrom her Bible. I found an illuminating passagein the Prayer of Manasseh: 'Therefore, You 0 •

• Lord, God of Righteousness, have not appointedrepentance for the righteous such as Abraham,Isaac and Jacob who did not sin against you, butfor me a sinner in need of repentancam Witheyebrows raised, the Protestant and Catholicexchange glances of bewilderment

A brown-skinned man with a foreign accentchimes in with a verse from 1 Enoch: "Then Wis-dom shall be given to the elect of God. And theyshall have life and sin no more, either by beingwicked or through vainglory; those who PossessWisdom shall be humble and sin no more" (St).

The group falls silent, utterly amazed that booksthey've never even heard of before are beingquoted as Scripture.

Why do Christians have different in this*article I hope to make a brief, unbiased survey.as to how this all came about

The Jews and Their Bible •In order to understand' Christian Bibles, it is firstnecessary _to take a look at the Jewish Bible. It is

by Bro. Daniel F. Sfrarnam, O.S.B.

A Protestant believer has just declared, "I don'tneed to repent anymore now that I've acceptedJesus." A Catholic participant responds by quot-ing from Sirach: "He who fears the Lord con-Standy bears about repentance in his heart"(21:6), Puzzled, the Protestant rejoins, 'That'snot in my Mel'

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS /YEAR FOUR

divided into three sections the Law, theProphets, and the Writings. The Law consists ofthe five books Of Moses (Genesis to Deuteron-omy). These formed the core of the canon.Canon is a Greek word meaning "reed,' "mea-suring rod." The Law, therefore, was the canon,the measuring rod by which all later works wereJudged for correctness.

The neb.ctiewish division of the OT (Old Testa

merit) is the Prophets. This section containsbooks written by prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah,etc., and books telling about thi activities ofprophets, such as the Books of Samuel.

The last divbion of the OT is the Writings, aquite diverMied group; for example, Psalms,Proverbs; Ruth and the apocalyptic work ofDaniel. As centuries went by, the number ofbooks in the Writings increased

What is the Septiagint?The Septuagint (from the Greek meaning 'Nev.,entyl is a Greek translation of the HebrewBible as well as other Jewish religious writingsthat are no longer part of the present-dayHebrew Bible. The Septuagint (abbreviated byits Roman numerals 1.)0() is the work of manytranslators. It was produced in the 3rd and 2:.ndcenturies B.C. for Greek-speaking Jews.The UOChas more books in the section knovin istheWritings than the modem Hebrew Bible.

What Bible Did Jesus and His Disciples Use? •

Strictly speaking, there was no 'Me' then aswe have it today. The canon wastet dosed or'fixed during Jesus' lifetime. There was no author-

Since there are over 500 different English translations of the Bible, the above chart lists oily a few ofthe most popular or important ones. For more information about these and many other Englishtranslations, including a very helpfig chart showing how the translations are related to each other andto the Hebrew and Greek Bibles, see the webpage Our Bible: How It Came To Us, from theCanadian Bile Society.

Translations Grouped by "Translation Philosophy":

a irsemisrd Correspondence' translatiom: Donapatheims, KW/NM, RSV/NRS'V, NAB, NAT• 'Dynamic Equivalence" translatkms: NEB/REB, IEWCEV, HUM• The Amplified Bilge is neither (or bath); it "amplifiee the text by adding lots of extra Words &

phrases.

Translations Sponsored/Approved by various Churches:

• 1TrONStalle translations: KW/NKN, TEV/CEV, NIV

RSV/NRSV• There are also several good "Jewish" tranidatitms of the Hebrew Bible, but these obviously do

not contain the New Testament. •

Additional Notes:

, • the Authorized Version (AV) is another name for the KW; the Good News Bible (GNB) isexactly the same as TEV.

• if you use other translations, try to find out when they were translated, by whom, and whattranslation philosophy was used

• many other editions of the Bible are based on the above translations; the Oxford AnnotatedBible uses the RSV, the Catholic Study Bible uses the NAB, and the HalperCollins Study Bibleuses the NRSV; so these are not separate translational

• for academic study of the Bible by anyone who does not know Hebrew or Greek, it is good tocompare at least three oriole drent modem translations; use at least one "dynamiccpivalence and one "formal correspondence" translation.

• the following convenient editions containing nmitiple trandations are available in LMEJ libraryreference:

O The Complete Parallel Billie. New York Oxford University Press, 1993. - ccmtainsNRSV, REB, NAB,11311

O The Precise Parallel New Testament. New York Oxford University Press, 1995. -contain' the Greek NT, kW, Donay-Rheims, AB, NW, NRSV, NAB, NASB. •

httpliclawww.Immecluifacultylflust/Bible/English Trmislations.htm 10/22/01

1

SUPREMOITARY RUMMY; / YEAR Faun

itative list; Hence many of Jesus' sayings areInfluenced by the Book of Strad (not found inthe Hebrew }pale, but ptrt of the pcg. Anyscholarly, objective approach to the NT (New •Testament) substantiates numerous parallels tothe "extra" books containedin the DOC. The ear-liest Apostolic Fathers freely quote from thewhole of the UGC as being inspired.

When Did the Jews Close Their Canon?Around A.D. 100 rabbis held a Council at Jam-

. Ma, Israel.. Since the temple had been destroyed• In A.D. 70, Jews needed to secure their identity,especially in opposition to Jews believing in •Jesus as Messiah. It is believed that at this meet-ing they decided on the preseaday JewishBible. However, the authority of such books asEsther, Proverbs, Songs, Ruth, Ecclesiastes andEzeldel were challenged at the meeting andeven later. Even the Book of Sirach, supposedlyrejected at the Council, was quoted by rabbis asinspired for centuries afterward.

When any. people is persecuted, it naturallyregroups' and stresses Its national history andlanguage. Thus in AD. 130, after much foreignoppression, the rabbis forbade Jews to read theScriptures in Greek from the 110C.Jew5 were to

tians had been quoting the DOC to win converts;Jews could refute their arguments on the basisof a "faulty translation.' By thus emphasizingHebrew language and tradition, the rabbis pre-served Jewish social identity.

•How Then Did the Church Dedde Which orBooks to Accept?;F. rem AD. 90 onward, Christian writers =paddy • -

quote from the "metre hooks of the tXX. Whenthe NT gmtites the OT, 85% of the time it is -from the DM But in the 2nd century, as Chris- •dans -debated with Jews trying to convert them, -

they needed to meet them on their own ground,Le., the Hebrew canon. As certtin ChurchFathers stopped using the "extra' books indebates, some Christians came to doubt theirinspiration. However, facts show that whenthese same Church Fathers taught In their owndrdes, they employed the full I.XX.

The Septuagint was accepted as the official andinspired version of the CT because of its long-standing and consistent use by the Apostles and

Council of Hippo approved the list of books ascontained in the present Catholic Bible. This Waslikewise ratified at Carthage in397 and 419 andby the church pmcdcet of Rome.

Then Why Do Christians Have Deferent OldTesbments?

The early Christian Church was Greek-speaking;it therefore used the DOC Even though the DOCsometimes gave different readings than the otig-inal Hebrew and had "extra" books Interspersedwith the rest, the early Church believed it to beinspired. "With regard to whatever is in the Sep-tuagint that is not in the Hebrew manuscripts,we can say that the one Spirit wished to saythem.thmugh the writers•of the former rather sthan through the latter in order to show that'both the one and the other were inspired' (St.Augustini, City ofriod 18:43).

Hence the Orthodox Church uses only the DOCand not the original Hebrew as the offidal •Inspired OT. The LXX, compared to the HebrewBible, has the following additional books*: TobkJudith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch (inducing theLetter of Jeremiah); 1-3 Maccabees, Prayer ofManasseh, Psalm 151, 1 Esdras, additions toEither and Daniel', and very rarely, 4 Maa-imbees. The Orthodox Church, however, neveraccepted 4 Maccabees since it wasn't widelyavailable and was never considered Inspired.

72

Since the Christians In the West spoke Latin,they translated the Bible into Latin, beginningabout A.D. 150. But this was firit of &clonefrom the WC, not the Hebrew. It wasn't until theend of the 4th century that St. Jerome made atranslation from the Hebrew. It was then that hediscovered that the Jews had a cliffirent Bible.Bellevinsthat Jesus never used anything otherthan the Hebrew Bible, Jerome wished to adopttheir canon. Modem historical studies haveshown, however, thatthe Jews did in fact havethese other books and read them during Christ'stime. Jerome was merely ill-informed, and theTradition of the Church prevailed. Hence theLatin Bible (known is the Vulgate) contained the.same books as the DOC

Increasingly, copies of the Latin Bible droppedout 1 Esdras, 3 Maccabees, Prayer of Manassehand Psalm 151. Consequently when theCatholic Church responded to Protestantism atthe Council of Trent, the Latin Vulgate that itmade official on April 8, 1546, did not indudethese four works. •

•Protestantism, initiated by Martin Luther,accepted the Jewish Canon. Like Jerome, believ-ing that Jesus used only the Hebrew Bible, Lutherexcluded the additional books found in the DOC.He also !ejected the role of Oral Tradition asbeing equally authoritative with Scripture. Hencehe questioned the Church's right to say whichbooks were canonical. He himself, though, repu-diated Esther and James and looked askance atthe Book of Revelation. Had Protestantisrp fol-lowed Luther's preferences in the NT, CIA-ten-dom would not only have different Old Tata-ments, but different New Testaments as ;Nell.

Besides Catholics, Orthodox and Protestantshaving varying Old Testaments, the unfortu-nately torsotten and yet venerable cripdc andEthiopian Churches include one book morethan the Orthodo:c the Book of Enoch. The Let-

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS / YEAR Form

ter of Jude 14-15•Is a direct quote from 1 Enoch1:9-Scholarship has shown that the Book ofEnoch also lidluenced at least 15 other NTbooks. It was widely used and consideredinspired. by numerous Church Fathers up untilthe 4th century. The West lost it because t was •never translated into Latin. Later in the East italso fell into clisiare because of some hereticalmisuse.

Because of local church councils and rifler-ences in language, Coupled later on with a lackof histodcid critkiim and knowledge, modemOuistendorn now has four Old Testaments.

What Are the Disputed Books Called?Quitafrankly, it's a bit confusing and you need achard in the one on the next page, column 1shows the Protestant lisdng. Whatever books ofthe DOC are not part of the Hebrew Bible, theycall Apoaypha, meaning 'hidden!' Anything •outside of the DOC, Protestants call Pseud&pigrapha, meaning "false writings'

Catholics call the books accepted by the JewsPmtocanonlca4 meaning -the 'first canon.' Theothers listed form the Deutemcanonical books,the asecrind canon.' All the rest they callAP0aWha•

The Orthodox follow suit but have additionalbooks in the list of Deuterocanonkais. Anythingnot found in the DOC is called Apocrypha-

Copdcs would group 1 Enoch along with-the •Deuteroamonkal books and call any otherancient writings Apoaypha.

Testament!

Wel— it iNasn't until the end of the 5th centurythat all Christians had the same NT. Out of the

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS / YEAR Fault

many books in circulation, different provincesacceirted various canons. The Church approveda book if it was apostolic in its origin. Thatdoesn't mean that it literally had to be writtenby an Apostle, but that it was influenced by himand his followers. Tradition was primary in theformation of the canon of the Bible. Thus the'Church accepted the Gospel of Luke and Actson the basis of Luke's being a disciple of Paul.The Gospel of Mark records the teachings ofPeter.

Some churches, however, didn't know towhom to attribute boob suchas Hebrews orRevelation. The East accepted Hebrews asPauline; the West rejected it The Westaccepted Revelation as from the Apostle John;the East rejected it 2 Peter and 2-3 John, Jamesand Jude endured prolonged scrutiny anddoubt 1-2 'Timothy and Titus only faced somequestioning. Certain churches, however,

accepted other works attributed to Paul. TheSyrian Church accepted a third letter to theCorinthians till the 5th century. The West alsoemployed an Epistle to the Laodiceans for ashort time.

How Was the Problem. Solved! •

73

But besides these writings, 'still others were con-sidered inspired in various places and at diffez.ent times; such as: 1 dement, Merle, Shep: —herd of Hermes, Apocalypse of Peter, andBamabas.

The test of Apostolic Tradition was the mainfactor. Could the book be ascribed to some.Apostle or group of disciples? Also, was thebook widely used and accepted throughout all •of Christendom? Hence, 1 Cement, eventhough internally claiming inspiration andbeing acclaimed as inspired by some

74

churches, wasn't used everywhere andtherefore was not held to be canonical.That's not to say it couldn't be inspired,but rather the book isn't normative.Canonicity and inspiration are two differ-ent things.

What's Become of These Other Books?

First of all, let me make a list of books sowe know what we're talking about 1 •Enoch, 3 Maccabees, prayer of Manasseh,T Esdras, Psalm 151,1 Clement, Didache,Shepherd of Hernias, 3 Corinthians, andthe Apocalypse of Peter. These works stillexist today. At one time they were consid-ered to be Inspired and canonical. Some,as explained above, still are so considered.Anyone can read these and spirituallyprofit by them. I 'mow I have. These booksare witnesses to, and help make up, whatwe call Tradition. They are testimonies of theHoly Spirit working in the People of God.

•

Several inspired-books are now lost and notpart of the Bible. For example:-The Books ofJashar (J05 10:13, 2 Sam 1:18), of the ProphetNathan (1 Chr 229, 2 Chr 9:29), of theProphet Gad (1 Chr 29:29), and the Scripturebehind James 45, just to mention a few. Thecanon is a rule of thumb, a guideline, a measur-ing rod. Not everything that is inspired is in thecanon; but everything in the canon is inspired.When Jesus spoke, his words were inspiredand authoritative. But not all of his worsis werewritten down. That is why Oral Tradition Is-sovery important Whether one accepts theaforementioned books as canonical or not,they are still part of Tradition, which is equallyauthoritative. Yet they, like Scripture; are to beInterpreted onlY within and by the one, holy,catholic, apostolic Church, for they came forth

• from her.

SUPPLEMENTARY READINGS / YEAR FOUR

mThe result of establishing a New TestamentCanon was that a fixed context was set for under-standing the gospel. Often it consisted of estab-lishing boundaries inside of which the true witnesswas to be found. Thus, there were four evange-lists, not more;...Sometimes a check was estab-lished to prefrent a misreading of a witness, suchas the function of James which guarded against afalse reading of Paul....The canon rnariced thearena in which each new generation of believersstood and sought to understand afresh the natureof the faith. It did not establish one doctrinal posi-tioli, but often balanced several or fixed the limitswithin which Christians might rightly disagree.

Brevard S. ChildsThe New Testament as Canon

Objedions Often Raised

Some reject the 'extra' books because they arenever quoted verbatim in the NT. in that case,however, one should also exclude Esther andNahum, etc., for they too are never directlyquoted.

Others cite Rev. 22:18 as proof that one can-not add books to or delete them from theMe. This verse, though, applies only to tam-pering with the Book of Revelation. Besides,the Gospel of Jahn, 1-3 John, and 2 Peter werewritten after the Book of Revelation wascompleted.

Well, is the Canon Closed?For a Catholic, technically "no.' The Council ofTrent only specified which books were definitelyInspired; though indeed the Church has said cer-tain books are heretical. Thus Catholics could

•7;:'t.f4

••

Suriumermay READINGS / YEAR Foua 73

eventually have the same canon is the Ortho-dox and even Coptic Churches. There Is muchroom for Christian dialogue.

But what is most Important is that the Word ofGod became flesh In us just as it did in the Vir-gin Mary. "Clearly you are a letter of Christ... aletter written not with ink but by the Spirit of theLiving God, not on tablets of stone but ontablets of flesh in the heart' (2 Cor 3:3). Howdearly do we reflect the Word who is-Life? Dowe dearly hear the voice of the Holy Spirit inwhatever canon we possess? if we as Christiansconcern ourselves with these questions, thenbelieve one day we will be one Church withone Bible.

For a more thorough and scholarly presentation pleasemath

The Jerome Biblical Commentary, secdons 6649The New Catholic Encyclopedia, Bible Ill, CanonThe Old Testament Pstsuclepigrapha, edited by James

H. Chadisworth, Vo1.1-2.

JewishCanonTANAKTorah (Toad!).Genesis •Exodus •LeviticusNumb=DeuteronomyPnwhets(Wevrint)19sbfla-

Judges 1Former.•

lau8s •Isaiah 'lerembh •Ezekiel..71*MT...heHosea •PAL •• • ••Obadbh •

,Mkah. •'Nahum.•Habakimk

Millet. •Ezta4sligternfahauonides

Comparison, between the Jewishan4 'Christian Canons

Four.Boole ofLatterProphets

1/.•,_•••11. • •

Mabcht •

litritings(Ifetimvint) %Psalms - •• % .• --

naves !!!! • •:*Ruth • .• - • :

Ecclesiastes_ _Lataentadons

•

Protestant

TETTAMEIAITPella*** •GenesisExodusLeviticus:-NumbersDeuteronomyHistorical BooksJoshuaIldr •

&2•Saimel1 fanny;I /CZ CbronidesEzra •NebembhEsther ••WisdomPsalmsProverbsEccledastesSong of SongsProphetsIsaiahlerembdt

• Lamentation• Ezeldel •

; DanielHoseaJoel. •AmosObadbhJonah

••• Micah• NahumHabakkuk

- Zephaniah

• Idlqadd

• t•

71-44Zemg-tk •Warial.4j 9,cs •

k1tle043 /7 546,

•

Roman r,tholic CanonOLD TESTAME4T

• Pentateuch' Genesis: •

ExoduSLeviticus.Numbers ' •DeuteronomyHistorical•Books

•=21 •

$r ZSaeinelErIgbigial Chronidel •

Ezta .ih . 'Neltenkk •• •.•• ../rididt.:- • •• - • -

*•.. Esther maws)••• I al' •

• ••Wisdiiizt • • eJob ••: • •• ,•Psalms. • •Proverbs •

• ofSakenan ,Ecc!iiFtastrae(orrtrada)

Lialah:.! t.' - : : •

- •

• • Etaiith and Izttor..offenottintst Ezekiel •-• :• •

•• Daniel (phrs.tire,.frazytir of

• litorkik of *Three •• YSwaáBdand- the Dorton) •( Hosea • %•• Joel • •

Any);Jonah: •)Alcah • •

• Nahum s_Hibakturk ' • "a." Zepfimsbh- : • • HagPi

• • laaladd

1.•

A CHRONOLOGICAL claiiT OF THE OLD TESTAMENT EiA

As might be expected, there are different datings for themany significant events in the lives of the Chosen People.The following chart is composed according to the scholarshipprepared by the following...authors:

Bernhard Anderson' Understanding the Old Testament John Bright, A Hist5iTia Israel Peter Ellis/ The Men and Message of the Old Testament

Joseph Jensen, 0.S.B., God's Nord to Israel

1850 BC1290-1288 BC1250-1200 BC1200-1020 BC1050 BC1020-1000 BC1000-961 BC961-922 BC922 BC

* c. 582 BC

Significant KingsNorth (Israel)

eroboam / (922-901 BC)0=1 (876-869 BC)Ahab (869-850 Be.)Jehu (842-815 BC)Jeroboam.= (786-746 BC)Pekah (737-732 BC)Hoshea (732-724 BC)

* c. 722-721 BCC. 701 BCc. 609 BCc. 598-7 BC

c. 587 BC

.* c. 538 BC •

a. 323-200 .BCc. 200-198 BC

* c. 168-7 BC* c. 166-160 BC

c. 164-5 BC

The Call of AbrahamThe Exodus from EgyptThe Conquest of the Land of Canaan

*The Period of the JudgesThe Fall of ShilohThe Monarchy Under Saul

• The Monarchy Under DavidThe Monarchy Under SolomonThe Division of the United Kingdom:

, North (Israel) - c. 922-722 BCSouth (Judah) - c. 922-587•BC

in Israel and JudahSouth (Judah) Rehoboam (922-915 BC)Jehoshaphat (873-849 BC)

Uzziah (783-742 BC)Ahaz (735-715 BC)

Hizekiah (715-687 BC)Josiah (640-609 BC)

Fall of the Northern KingdomSennacherib Invades JudahDeath of Josiah at. MegiddoFirst Invasion of Judah and Deportation to

BabylonFall of Jerusalem and

.BabylonFinal Deportation to

ment of New CapitalEdict of Cyrus

,Rebuilding of the Temple at JerusalemRule of Alexander the greatThe Jews Live Under the PtolemiesThe Seleucid Conquest of PalestineThe Profanation of the Temple at JerusalemThe Militia Under Judas MaccabeusThe Rededication of the Temple

Second Deportation to

Babylon and Establish-.at Mizp;th

Call of•Abraham

ca. 1850 BC

The Exodusfrom Egyptca,.1290. -

1280.BC

• LEGEND • MOSAIC ORAL TRADITION:'. FIRST MANUSCRIPT:

(dots)(solid line) •

• ••."1.1.40#02,"

••„.. n7/0 zAw 640 B.C. 6. 500 B.C.(North)'... ' ir I .elo

ty .. .. .•-•

• • • . 1St 750 • • . •

• •••••• 1 700 B. C.YA1PNIST • I I E H !STORY***** • • •

4

(South) I ssa B.C.

sl********** •

...... ... Exile...... 587z

.....1 538..

THE FORMATION OF THE PENTATEUCH

Exegesis of tho Priactly Account of Creation

•••••• •

•538-323: 2ndTemple & Es-dras' CANON.PRIESTLY (SO.)

32343:Hellenismvs. JUDAISMEgypt & theSEPTUAGI NT

ober';OrganyV:;A::'171.'

c.,ciion

Ppbiyçh

• '8 00 .0•

;767.1

.............................• •4•1? . .............

e...fen tMeeanornca

e.c.4jc.e.:•G".;•••••::::,V!:;"?0;:q

0 e...

, •

ct::

76.

1

iPoiófltàOfl

5

a

The Sunday LectionaryEach Sunday there are three readings and a psalm.

These readings are not selected by the priest or by theparish. All Catholic churches throughout the world use thesame Scriptures. In fact, not only Catholics, but Protestantstoo. The Episcopalian, Methodist, Lutheran, Presbyterianand United Church of Canada all use a lectionary modeledafter the one developed by Vatican IL Although there aresome differences, most of the readings, especially theGospels, are the same. The lectionary has not only helpedCatholics become more familiar with the Bible, it has alsobrought the Churches closer together.

The first reading is from either the Old Thstament or,during the Easter season, from the Acts of the Apostles.After the reading is completed, the community respondsby reciting or singing the responsorial psalm. The secondreading is always from one of the New lestament letterswritten by St. Paul or another early Christian writer such asSt. John. The third reading is always from one of the fourGospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.

How are the Sunday Gospels arranged?The Sunday Scriptures are organized in a three-year

cycle (A,B,C). Each year, on the first Sunday of Advent anew cycle begins. During year A the Gospel of Matthew isread: during year B, the Gospel of Mark; and during yearC, the Gospel of Luke. Although it does not serve as thebasis for a particular cycle, the Gospel of John is notneglected. In fact it is saved for the seasons of Lent andEaster. This is an ancient tradition and is because of therich theological nature of John's Gospel, "in which themystery of Christ is sounded out to greater depths' t (CSL,Introduction 1969, 7). John's Gospel is also used on thesecond Sunday of each year and five segments from John6 are inserted during the Marcan (3) cycle.

How is the first reading selected?The first reading, which is usually from the Old

Thstament, is selected to complement the Gospel. Some-times there is a common theme in both readings. Forexample, on the fifth Sunday of year C the Gospel fromLuke 5 tells the story of Jesus calling Peter. Jesus tells thedisciples to put down their nets one more time, and theycatch a huge number of fish. Peter falls at the knees of •Jesus and says, "Leave me, Lord, I am a sinful man." Thefirst reading on this Sunday is from Isaiah. Isaiah receiveshis calling in a vision of God's glory. He cries out, "Woeis me! For I am a man of unclean lips...Yet my eyes haveseen the King, the lord of Hosts!" So in both readings wefind the theme of the Lord calling us in spite of oursinfulness.

A different way in which the first reading maycomplement the Gospel is when something from the Old

What is in the lectionary?The lectionary is divided into six parts:

for the Sundays and weekdays of the church year.r:

2. The Proper of the Saints: This section contains thecalendar of the saints' days and any specific readingsselected for those days. For example, on the Feast ofSt. Matthew on September 21 we read the story of Mat-thew's call to follow Jesus from Matthew 9. This is a goodexample of how the Scriptures are selected to highlightsome moment or aspect of the saint's life.

3. The Commons: Many saints do not have specificreadings assigned for them. On these occasions the lection-ary offers a variety of common readings from which onecan select an appropriate reading for the specific saint'slife. These are grouped under headings such as the Com-mon of Martyrs or the Common of Doctors of the Church.For example, on October 18, the feast of St. Isaac Jogues,the4ectionary does not recommend any specific reading.The priest may then turn to the common of martyrs toselect an appropriate passage.

4. Ritual Masses: The Council called for a reneweduse of the Bible not only at the Sunday Eucharist but alsoat all sacramental celebrations. This part of the lectionarycontains suggested sets of readings for baptisms, wed-dings, funerals, etc.

'kstament foreshadows or suggests something in the New.Often an event in the life of an Old lbstament figure is seenin parallel with an event in the life of Jesus. For example,Jonah preaching in Nineveh is paired with Jesus preachinghi Galilee (Third Sunday, Year B). Moses teaching theIsraelites about the covenant is paired with Jesus teachingthe two great commandments (Fifteenth Sunday, Year C).Or the cure of Naaman the Syrian of his leprosy by theprophet Elisha is paralleled with Jesus' cure of the Samari-tan leper (Twenty-Eighth Sunday, Year C).

The third reason behind the selection of a particularOld Testament passage is that the Gospels often quotefrom the Old lbstament. So, for example, when Jesus.saysto the people of Capemaum, "A people living in darknesshas seen a great light," he is quoting from Isaiah. On thatSunday (Third Sunday, Year A) the first reading is thispassage. from Isaiah.

October 1990CU 1090

How is the Responsorial Psalm chosen?The psalm, which follows the -first reading; is also

usually chosen because it complements the first reading.When, for example, the first reading describes Adam andEve's sin, the psalm recounts God's mercy (Tenth Sunday,Year B). Sometimes if the Gospel quotes a psalm, it is usedas an anticipated response to the Gospel. When Satantempts Jesus to throw himself from the temple height,Satan quotes Psalm 91: "He will bid his angels to watchover you." On this day (First Sunday of Lent, Year C)Psalm 91 is the responsorial psalm.

Some psalms have a long tradition of use on aparticular day and the lectionary continues this tradition.That is why, for example, on Easter Sunday the responsori-al psalm is Psalm 118, "The stone which the buildersrejected has become the cornerstone." Since there are oftena number of psalms which could serve as a fitting response,the compilers of the lectionary sought to incorporate asmany psalms as possible. On Sundays more than 80different psalms are used. The lectionary as a whole uses130 of the 150 psalms.

How is the Epistle selected?The second reading is called the Epistle. An epistle is

a letter. In the New Testament there are 22 epistles, 13 ofwhich are written by or attributed to Paul. The remaining

epistles are attributed toother apostles such as John,James or Peter.

Unlike the other tworeadings or the psalms, thesecond reading is not usual-ly chosen to complementthe others. Thus it may of-ten seem to float there with-dut any real connection.The exception to this occursduring the seasons of Ad-vent, Christmas, Lent andEaster. But for the rest of theyear, which is called Ordi-nary Time, the secOnd read-ing is chosen simply to helpChristians become familiarwith the epistles of the Newlbstament.• Over the three-yearcycle portions of 16 of the

22 epistles are read (see the accompanying chart). DuringLent or the other seasons, parts of three others are read.Only the second and third letters of John and the letter ofJude are not read on any Sunday of the year.

The seasons of the yearThroughout the year, the Church recalls and cele-

brates the events of our salvation in Christ. At the center ofthe liturgical year is Easter. A second central event is thecelebration of Christ's birth. Both of these feasts areextended over a number of weeks. The Christmas seasonlasts until the feast of the Baptism of the Lord, the Easterseason until the celebration of Pentecost. There is also a.time of preparation for each of these seasons: as Lentprepares for Easter, so Advent prepares for Christmas.

The liturgy expresses the spiritual character of each ofthese seasons in various ways: through the prayers of theMass, through music, through the color of the vestmentsand through the flowers and banners that decorate thechurch. One of the richest and most important ways tounderstand the meaning of a season is through the readingsfor that season. Through prayer and reflection on thereadings of the season, we can come to a deeper apprecia-tion of Christ's continued presence with us and respondmore fully to his call as it is expressed in the season of theChurch's year.

TOM'S RUTH IN MIMI0 1979 St, Anthony Messenger Press, 1615 Republic St. Cincinnati OH 45210

seVenmostdaskeo questionsmout the emeNewAmerican

lundreds of letters come each year to the question•and-nswer column of St Anthony Messenger. They a.* aboutverything from the metal used in the California mission bells3 how to get a saint canonized and why Lade Catholics makene Sign of the Cross from-left to right while Eastern Catholicslake it from right to loft -

est among the most Polluter questions asked are those iboutle Bible and God'sholy Word. The seven questions this'afro& Update tries to answer ate not only some of those •lost asked by St Anthony Messenger readers, but questionsmost everyone asks about the Bible. Though more Ur leisnreiated, the quesdons are arranged here in the same orderley might occur to readers making their way through thepening pages of Genesis to the closing pages of Revelation.ut let's start with the mosifundamental question if lust how;ad inspired the Bible.

• ;0) • How Is God the Author of the Bible?.

; the Bible written by human beings or by God? if GUtt. .13 itsAim, how do You account for the different writing styles?nd how do we know the right Interpretation toifollovqs_

The Catholic Church has always insisted that Godinspired theBible, that human beings were moved by God to write downthose things and only those things God wished them to write.God was present to the whole process, and therefore the Bibleis really God's word and he Is its principal author.

How God did this is 'clearly described by Vatican ll's decu-.meat on Myhre Reaelation. It shows how God chose certainhuman beings to compose the sacred books and how he usedthem in such away that "they made use of their powers andabilities." With God "acting irt them and through them" theyworked as "true authors," putting Into writing "everything •and only those things which he wanted." •The human authors that God used did not lose their ownpersonalities or their own language. Some wrote as poets,some as storytellers, some as historians. To understand whatGod'wished td communicite to us in a given book, we havetp do a little detective work and get into the mind of the •.human author.We have to go back in spirit to the ancient times of the writers.SO says Pope Plus XII in the encyclical Div/no Afflante Spirltu. •Above: The illuatrated soma from the Bible am o from a 16thcantruy altarpiece located at the anchmati Art Museum.

CATHOLICUPDATE

The Adam and Eve story in Genesis should not be seen as an "eyewitne

We have to study their languages, customs and cultures. We haveto uncover the kind of literature people wrote in those days.By digging into the past we come to understand what the hu-man authors intended—and what God intended through them.

As the Vatican II document on Divine Revelation reminds us,all of God's revelation comes to a head and is summed up inChrist the Lord. Jesus, in turn, commissioned the apostles tohand on this revelation, assuring them that the Holy Spiritwould keep it intact

But only gradually was the preaching of the apostles writtendown. In any case, the first disciples and believers carefullypreserved the tradition of the apostles and passed it on inspeech and in writing. As part of their teaching mission, thesuccessors of the apostles took on the responsibility ofexplaining and interpreting what had been handed on.

Pointing out where we should look for reliable interpretationsof Scripture, the document on Revelation says: "The task ofgiving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God, whetherIn its written form or in the form of Tradition, has been en-trusted to the living teaching office ofthe Church alone."

Were Adam and Eve Reid?How should we understand Main and Eve? Did they reallyexist or were they only symbols?'

The more we look at the Book of Genesis in the light ofmodern discomery,. the more we realize that the answers toquestions like this are not easy or simple.

This much we know: The authors wrote this book millions ofyears after the creation_efatworld took place and oth—utands•731-0.---a—maitornstuara2ppralattp

'Wirth. Genesis is not an "eyewitness" account of the eventsnot even the first bookof the Bible to be written down. Thefirst book written was Exodus; Genesis came later on.

Careful study also reveals that the author of the creationaccount is telling us some very important religious truths in akind of dramatic story 'form. He wants us to understand:• God is the creator of the world and all that is in it, includ-

ing men and women. He made it out of nothing.• God is good, loving and provident; what he. made is good.• Humankind was ungrateful to God. •• The human race sinned and introduced evil into the world.• Despite our sinfulness there is still hope for us because of

the goodness and mercy of God.

In looking at Genesis we cannot be sure of individual details,and we can't always find neat answers to our questions. Forexample, is the author really trying to tell us that there. werejust one man and one woman created in the beginning? Foralong time we thought so. And when theories proposing a kind.of group creation began to emerge, Pope Pius XII wrOte in theencyclical Human! Genesis that these theories did not seem tosquare with Church teaching. Pope Paul VI in his Creed of thePeople of God simply affirmed that "in Adam all have sinned."But Pope Pius did not really rule out the pesilbility that Cath-•

olic teaching could be reconciled with the idea of a multiplecreation of human beings.

Today many Catholic Scripture experts believe that God maywell have created a number of human beings in the beginning.,After all; the very word used:for the first man, Adam, is the

Adam and Eve might possibly stand for a number of men andwomen who appeared in the beginning.

Perhaps a contemporary example will help us see all this inperspective. A recent political cartoon (a modern literaryform all Its own) depicts a mean-looldng character in a stripedcoat'and a tie with the initials OPEC on it. The man holds a-knife in WI-right hand, With his left hand he is grabbingfor

• the neck of a frightened woman with hair standing on end andeyeballs bulging. She has "olloonsumers" written on her purse.It is hard to imagine what a generation living a hundred or a.thousand years from now—In a different part of the world and •

• speaking a different janguage—might make of this cartoon. We• know that the figures are symbolic and we know the point the

cartoonist is trying to make. We know, for 'example, that theman. Withthe knife represents the oil-producing economic car-tel and that the frightened woman represents. 911-consuming

...illations at the mercy Of the opts!:

But might It not be possible for some future generation in" •some totally differentcuthire to consider that the, man withthe knife is areal person named Opec,,who for some reason ISpreytngen a womenwitha strange inscription on her purse?The cartoon and iti,symbolA certainly convey a treth,,butintheir own ivay. ••

•aftx

!tail ccisnes back to how important it is to know. the inten- • Itkms of an author,, the literary form being used and something

, aboutthe authines•thrie and culture in order to understa_r_twhat a given writer is saying.

What Was the Original Sin?Can we pinpoint the exact nature of the sin of Adam and Eve?What was the real evil they committed in eating the forbiddenfruit?

, „

ccount• of the events described or as selections from Adam's diary!We simply do not know the details of Adam's sin. All we canconclude is that the sacred writers looked at the world inwhich they lived and, seeing the evil in it, tried to express howit all came about and what its real meaning was. With the helpof God, they wrote the story in Genesis to teach that from thebeginning the human race sinned, bringing upon itself the evilthat prevails in this world.

The writers drew upon the literature of the ancient Near Eastfor symbols and types. They knew, for instance, a story abouta plant that would confer. immortality (something like thefountain of youth). And they were familiar with a story abouta hero who was innocent until he was seduced by a harlot. Inthe worship of false gods practiced by their neighbors, theyknew how the images of serpents were used in such rituals andhow the serpent was a symbol of wisdom.

The sacred writers may have used this imagery to depict theOriginal Sin because they knew that at the moment Israel'sgreat sin was worshiping therr neighbors' false gods.

Alexander Jones, in Unless Some Man Show Me, thinks theclue to Adam's sin is in the serpenes words, "Ye shall be asgods knowing good and evil," and in God's words, "BeholdAdam is become like one of us, knowing good and evil."Jones believes that Adam's sin was indeciding for himselfwhat is good and evil and acting accordingly! And he im-plies that sin is still rampant in the world today where wehave "so many Adams determining each for himself whatis good and what is evil."

...Roma:WO

We can say for certain that human beings were not made sin-ners by God. Sin is a human being's free choice. The sinfulchoices of one generation affect the next. Andcertainly wecan say that the Original Sin was one of disobedience becauseany sin is disobedience of God.

Conjecture that the Original Sin was one against charity orchastity is today commonly rejected.

How Does Isaiah's Famous ProphecyApply to Jesus?

How do you interpret Isaiah 4:14-15: "therefore the Lordhimself will give you this sign: The virgin shall be with child,and bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel"? Did Isaiahhave Jesus clearly in mind?.

Not many commentators today would say that Isaiah is speak-ing directly of Jesus. A common interpretation of this text isthat while the prophecy is eventually completely fulfilled inJesus, Isaiah does not have Jesus, but a more immediate suc-cessor to David in mind.

At the time of Isaiah there was great fear that the Davidic linewould be overthrown, that foreign kings would invade Judahand impose a puppet ruler on the country. This, of course, •meant catastrophe because Judah saw the fulfillment of God'spromises In the continuation of the Davidic line. As long asthere was a prince of the house of David on the throne, theJews saw God as present with his people.

In the face of this threat of invasion, Isaiah counsels KingAhaz to act as a man of faith—to put his trust in God ratherthan in a foreign alliance. And Isaiah invites King Ahaz torequest a sign from God that he will be with Judah. Ahazhypocritically refusal to ask for a sign because ho is deter-mined on an accommodation with Assyria. Exasperated andangry with Ahaz, Isaiah then prophesies and promises a sign.

Many commentators believe that sign is the birth of Hezechia,who will continue the Davidic line and succeed his fatherAhaz. As Isaiah prophesies, the mother of Hezechia Is prob-ably a young unmarried woman (almah, loosely translated"virgin") at the court of Ahaz.

At the same time, the Church has always followed St. Matthewin seeing the complete fulfillment of this prophecy in the birthof Jesus from the Virgin Mary. As the footnote in the NewAmerican Bible indicates, Isaiah himself need not have knownthe full force and complete fulfillment of his words.

What Is Meant by the 'Brothers' of Jesus?The New Testament refers several times to the brothers ofJesus. How does that square with the virginity of Mary?

This has been a popular question from at least the fourth cen-tury. True, the New Testament frequently refers to the broth-ers of Jesus, such as in Matthew 12:46; John 2:12; Acts 1:14.The names mentioned are four: James, Joseph (loses), Simonand Judas (see Matthew 13:55).

Brother, however, in the usage of the Jews and early Chris-tians, could mean not only a blood brother but brother in abroader sense. It commonly meant a relative, kinsman orcousin. After all, this was the time•of the extended or patri-archal family. The oldest living male, the patriarch, was thefather of the family, and air members of the tribe or clan werebrothers.

Can we give evidence for this claim? Of the four brothers men-tioned by name in the New Testament, it is clear that Jamesand Joseph are not sons of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Theyare mentioned in Matthew 27:56 and Mark 15;40 as sons ofanother Mary who was among the women at the foot of thecross and those who went to anoint the body of Jesus onEaster morning.

"Paul recognizes that before God there is no place for putting men above women!'And if they were sons of-Jesus' mother, it is difficult toimagine why Jesus would not have entrusted Mary to theircare rather than•to the care of the apostle John (John 19:26).And finally, if any of these texts had been understood to meanblood brothers of-Jesus, how-did the ancient tradidon of •Mary's perpetual virginity ever get started? This is the belief ofthe Church today - because it goes back to the very beginning.

Interpreters of the Bible have been pointing out for some timethat the Word of God as found in the Bible is very much condi-tioned by the surrounding culture. It was taken for trantet In'New Testament times that it was proper for Vi9ri.lerl-t0: obey

their husbands. The biblical writers are thus telling themia do'• •the right thing for the conditions of that time.

A somewhat parallel case may be the institution of slavery.From 1 Corinthians 7, Philemon and elsewhere, we gather thatSt. Paul simply accepted slavery as a fact. He tells slaves toobey their masters. Most of us today say that slavery is wrong.

One very interesting text of St Pauli however, is Galatians3:28. Here he says: "There does not exist among you Jew orGreek, slave or freeman, male or female. Ali are one in ChristJesus." it seems that Paul Is recognizing here that before Godthere is no place for putting men above women (or vice versa).The more we reflect on this, the More we may come to the:onciusion that In all situations and circumstances there is noiustification for exalting one sex above the other.

How do you explaimpassagei in St Paul such as "Women, besubject to yourlinsbands" (Colossians 3:18) or l'Aicordbig to,the rule observed in ail the monthlies of believers, warnedshould keep snaps !much gatherings"' (1 Corinthians 14:33)7 •

• • ••••• .•It Is not always clear how to best interpret such Units How-ever, the words of one of the above verses suggest St. Paul'sadmonitions are based on custom. Paul speaks about "the ruleobserved in all the assemblies of believers." Seemingly, he isreferring to the practice of the time rather than to the intrin-sic nature of women. As we look at the customs of those days,we do discover that women were generally treated as inferiorto men. We would expect, then, that such customs and ideaswould influence the Church and its writers.

• Who Is the Anti-Christ?Is the Anti-Christ a person? Is It someone living today, iotne-me out of the past, or some tigtwe whowilt appear at the endif the world? Or should we see Bas the force of evil in anyVie?

The-concept of the Anti-Christ is rooted in the OldTestunentboos, especially among the prophetic books.which containapocalyptic passages In these Old Testament passages there isthe expectation of a final struggle between the forces of goodand evil, between those faithful to God and those hostile tohim-This struggle will end with a battle in which the victorywill be won by God himself intervening on behalf of his peo-ple in the midst of greet disturbances in the earth and planets.

In the New Testament Book of Revelation (Apocalypse), St.-lohn takes up this theine and concept. But St. John tells the

• story in the context of the early Church. In very symbolic• and mystical language, he presents himself as part of the peo-

ple of God persecuted for their faith. The people of God is, of••St, John wants to strengthen his brethren by showing themthe meaning of their oppression and the glorious goal of theirsuffering. The peopJe of God must in the end overcome be-anie God is at their head as they struggle against the RomanEmpire headed by Satan.

In this book, atin the Old Testament prophets, the And-Christ appears. He is a symbolic figure. Pictured as variouskinds of beasts or monsters, he is evil incarnate. In theeschatological passages of the Pauline epistles, this figurealso appears as "the Wicked One" who will lead many astray• (2-Thessalonians 2). Those who make him into a living histori-catcharacter have identified him with everyone from Nero toJoseph Stalin.

During the period of the Reformation, the contending rail:gious forces-often identified the Ant-Christ with their enemies..Catholic Writers depicted heretics and schismatics as Anti-Christ% Many Protestants (and still today some fundamental-ists) identify the Anti-Christ as the Pope. ,..;•••••••••••••••1r

-- , • - •

• not any particular individual, but rather a symbol of all evil,and all die evil forces Interfering with the establishment of thelengdom of God on earth.

In the end, our faith tells us, the forces of good as embodiedin the incarnate Christ will prevail. The. same Power thatraised Jesus from the dead will bring about the destruction ofall evil and the salVation of the world. Thitli The Good Newtcontained in the Bible as a whole. C•

•••

Merman Pant is a Franciscan priest and associate editor of StAnthony Messenger. He is vice provincial of the ClordenatibasedFranciscans of St. John the Baptist Province and a member of themandage tribunal of the archdiocese of anchmad.

nodis Yellow Par. Page 1 of 3

• Abundant lifeo John 10:10

• CitizenshipO Romans 13:1-7 o Titus 3a.

• Cleanliness

• ConsecrationO RomanallasZ

• ContentmentO Philippians 4:11-13o 1 Timothy 6:6

• Courageo Psalm 27:14

• Diligenceo Romans 12:11

• DutyO JiAke 20:21-25

• Enduranceo Luke 21:9-19 o7 Timothy 2:3

• FaithO Matthew 8:5-13 o Mark 11:22-24

• Faithfulnesso Matthew 25:23

• Forgiveness

O Ephesians 4:31,32• Freedom

O John 8:31-36• Fruitfulness

O John 15:14• Godliness

O 1114111144• Happiness

o Matthew 5:3-12• Holiness

o 1 Peter 1:13-16• Honesty

O Mitinthiallidial• Honor: Parents, others

o Ephesians 6:1-3o 1 Peter 2:17

• Hopeo lieteLL13—

• HumilityO Luke 18:9-14

Christian virtues & character

http://web2.aimmilmetidoe1aye11ow/ye1low2.htm 10/20/2008

God's Yellow P.nes

• Afraido Psalm 34:4 o Matthew 10:28 o 2 Timothy 1:7o Hebrews 13:5,6

• Anxious0 EaaWAfiO Maithewita2=340 Philipplanuk6

• BackslidingO Entail

a Bereavedo Matthew 5:4 o 2 Corinthians 1:3,4

• Bitter - Criticalo 1 Corinthians 13

• Conscious of sin0 Entymen210

o Romans 8:31-39• Depressed

0 haW1.4• Disaster threatens

0 klakoll0 patthallagA

• Discouragedo Psahn 23o Psalm 42:6-11 o Psalm 55:22 O MaRligytlalao 2 Corinthians 4:8-18o Philippians 4:4-7

• Doubtingo Matthew 8:26 o Hebrews 11

• Facing crisisO ramin.1211

O mtbremill• Faith fails

o Psalm 42:5 o Hebrews 11

• Friends fail

http://weblairmall.netidpeldyellow/yellowl.htm

Where to look when:

Page 1 of 3

10/20/2008

nod's Yellow Pages

• Adultery0 Matthew 5:27-32

• Adversityo Matthew 10:16-39

• Angero Matthew 5:22-24

e AnxietyO mankelys• Conceit

O Luke 18:9-14• Covetousness

O markzakal• Crime

o Matthew 15:17-20• Death

o John_11124,26• Depravity

o John 3:19-21 • Divorce

O markm2,42

O Matthew 14:28-31 • Drunkenness

O Luke 21:34-36• Excuses

O Luke 14:15-24• Extravagance

o 1 Timothy 6:7-12 • Fault finding

o Matthew 7:1-5 • Fear

o Luke 12:5 • VIM'

o Romans 13:14o Greed

O Lilke-1115:21• Hatred/Enemies

O Matt ew 5:43-48 • Hypocrisy

• JudgingO Matthemla

• Lip serviceo Matthew 7:21

• LustO Mark 4:18,19

• Self-exaltationO Luke 14:11

Teachings about life's problems

Page 1 of 2

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God's Yellow Parc. Page 2, of 3

o Romans 12:14,17,19,21

• Leaving homeO knimillo Matthew 10:16-20

• LonelyO Pattlin_U

• Needing God's protectionO Psalm 27:1-3O klaintil

• Needing guidanceO bakalltao Proverbs 3:5,6

• Needing peaceo John 14:1-4o John 16:33 o Romans 5:1-5o Philippians 4:6,7

• Needing rules for lifeo Romans 12

• OvercomeO ratliM1o Romans 8:31-39O 1 John 1:4-9

• PrayerfulO ftik_ut 4O raelmAZ

O John 17O 1 John 5:14,15

• ProtectedO Psalm 18:1-3 o Psalm 34:7

• Sick - In painO kaabunO mammy/aka

O 2 Corinthians 12:9,10O 1 Peter 4:12,13,19

• Sorrowful11 psalm 51 o Matthew 5:4 o John 14

O 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18• Tempted

o Psalm 1 O Psalm 139:23,24 O Matthew 26:41

http://weblairmall.net/dpekiyellow/yellowl _him 10/20/2008

God's Yellow 'Pones Page 2 of 3

O Philippians 2:3-11 • Joy

o Luke 10:20o John 15:11

• Kindnesso Colossians 3:12,13

• Laboro John 9:4

• LoveO Ladolag7O LCadathignam

• Obedienceo John 14:15-24O Acts 5:29

• Overcomingo John 16:33

o Hebrews 10:36 • Peacefulness

o John 14:27 O Romans 12:18

• Perseveranceo Mark 13:5-13

• Prayero Luke 11:1-13 o Rphesians 6:18

• Pure thinkingo kkffipphinkfi

• PurityO Illatthem12142O 2rimfdlly2a1

• Reading the Bibleo John 5:39O Psalm 1:2 O Psalm 119:97

• ResolutionO gphesians 6:10-18

• RighteousnessO Matthew 5:6o Matthew 6:33

• Sincerityo Philippians 1:9,10

• Steadfastness

• StewardshipO LCoriatkimula

• Temperanceo 1 Thessalonians 5:6-8

• TrustO Psalm 37z3-5

littp://welaaimuulmet/dpelelyellow/yellovaltm 10/20/2008

elerl's Yellow Pages

• Self-righteousnesso Luke 18:11,12

• Sino John 8:34-36

• Submissiono I Peter 2:13-17

• Swearingo Colossians 3:8

• Tribulation0 John 16:33

• Worldlinesso I John 2:15-17

13•3ge 1 of 2

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nes Yellow Pv-c• P•Te 3 of 3

O ICattathinst11111- 4o Philippians 4:8 o James 4:7O 2 Peter 2:9,3:17

• ThankfulO bala1011

O Hebrews 13:15 • Traveling

O Emalm121• Trouble, in

O Psalm 16+31 O John 14:1-4O Hehtemaal

• WearyO EntiallO matthemuaND

o Galatians 6:9,10• Worried

O Matthew 6:19-34O 1 Peter 5:6,7

http://webaairmail.netidpelcivellowNellowl.htm 1 0/20/2008

neA's Yellow Pages 1?age 3 of 3

o Proverbs 3:5,6• Truth

o John 14:6o John 17:17o Ephesians 4:14,15

• Victoryo 1 Corinthians 15:57o 1 John 5:4

• Watchfulnesso Mark 13:34-37

• Worshipo John 4:23,24

• Zealo Romans 12:11

http://weblainnail.net/dpeldyellow/yellowahtm 10/20/2008

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piossary of Biblical Terms http://catholic-resources.org/BibldGlossmy.ht

A Glossary of Important Terms for Biblical Studiesby Felix Just, Si.. PhD.

Basic Terms I Ancient Jewish Scriptures I Non-Biblical Jewish Literature I Christian Scriptures I Research Tools I Other Terms

Basic Terms:

Scripture - Originally just meaning "writings" (<1.atin scriptus = "written"; cf. Greek ypcohl graphe, Hebrew mikra),"scripture" now almost always refers to religious writings that are considered authoritative, foundational, and/or sacred bysome religious group (see Matt 26:54-56; Luke 24:27-45; 2 Tim 3:16; 2 Peter 3:16). Thus, there are not only Jewish scriptures andChristian scriptures, but 8193 Muslim scriptures, Hindu scriptures, etc.

Canon - An official list or collection of writings that a particular religious group considers as its "core scriptures" or"authorized books," which are used by the group as the basis for its religious beliefs, moral precepts, and communalpractices. The Greek word toxvcov ("kanon") originally meant "measuring rod; rule; criterion" (cf. 2 Cor 10:13-16; Gal 6:16),but later came to mean such a list of writings that met certain criteria. "Canonization" or to be "canonized" refers to theprocess by which a book was accepted into the official list of core scriptures (such as the Bible) by a particular religiousgroup.A scriptural canon is usually considered "fixed" or "closed," meaning that no additional books will be added to it.

Bible - An authorized collection of Jewish scriptures (the "Hebrew Bible") and/or Christian scriptures(often simply "the Bible). We usually think of this as one "book"; but it is really a whole "library," acompilation of many different books of various literary genres. The word comes from the Greek ta,(341Xta ("ta biblia"), which is a plural word meaning "books" (see John 21:25; 2 Tim 4:13; Rev 20:12).Actually, one should always ask, "Whose Bible?" - because the Jewish Bible, the Catholic Bible, theProtestant Bible, and other "Bibles" are significantly different from each other (containing 24, 66, 73, ormore books, as explained below). Although "Bible" is used metaphorically in many non-religious settings (a Golf Bible, a Biblefor computer programmers, etc.), it does not properly refer to the scriptures of other religions (i.e., there is no "MuslimBible" or *Hindu Bible").

Testament / Covenant - These terms originally referred to a "formal agreement" (Hebrew berith, Greek diatheke, Latin

testamentum) between two parties, with obligations on each side and consequences for breaking the agreement. "Testament"is later also used to refer to the written "covenants" between God and the Jewish and/or Christian people, as contained in the"Old Testament" and/or the "New Testament" (see Jer 31:31; Luke 22:20; Heb 8:7-9:17).

scriptural I canonical / biblical - When used by Jews or Christians, these adjectives seem interchangeable, referring to anybooks contained in their Bibles (i.e., part of the "canon" of the Jewish and/or Christian scriptures). But remember: whichbooks are considered part of the Bible depends on whom you ask! The 27 books of the New Testament are considered"scriptural/biblical" by all Christians, but not by Jews; and several books of the Old Testament are considered"canonical/biblical" by Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians, but not by Jews or Protestant Christians (asexplained in detail below). Moreover, the "scriptural" writings of any non-JudeolChristian religion should not be called"biblical"; and they should only be called "canonical" if they are part of an "official list" of writings considered sacred by thatreligion.

non-biblical / non-canonical / non-scriptural books - Ancient writings that are not part of the Bible, including the OTPseudepigrapha (Jewish), and many early Christian writings (many of which also called Gospels, Acts, Epistles, andApocalypses). But again, beware: the same writing might be considered "biblical" by one group and "non-biblical" by anothergroup!

Caution with some possibly ambiguous terms:

(Mc for ancient Jews and early Jewish-Christians who spoke Greek).

both testaments in their Bibles.

ancient and modern Greek-speaking Christians).

"c 1 I /2/111116 1-20

Glossary of Biblical Terms http://catholic-resources.orgiBible/Glossary.hto

of 8

Ancient Jewish Scriptures:Hebrew Bible (KB) - A collection of 24 "books" (or large "scrolls"), traditionally called the Mikra inHebrew (orMigra, lit. "writings"), now often referred to as the "TaNaK" or "Tanakh" (from the Hebrewnames of its three main sections: Torah + Nevitim + Khetuvim),It is closely related, but not identical, to

what Christians call the "Old Testament" (see below). Most of the books in the IEB were composed betweenthe 10th and 6th centuries BCE, although they also contain some older source materials. Most were originally written inHebrew, but a few books (or parts of them) were composed in Aramaic, a closely related ancient language. Throughouthistory, Jews have used these books as their "scriptures," although many ancient Jews (esp. Greek-speaking Jews livingoutside of Palestine) had even larger collections of scriptures (some from more recent times, some composed in Greek; seethe LXX below). The official "canon" of the NB was not determined until around 90 AD, when the leading Jewish rabbis ofthe time limited their biblical collection to the 24 Hebrew (or partly Aramaic) writings that came from the 6th century BCEor earlier. The BB is divided into the following three categories (with the second category frequently sub-divided in two):

Torah - often translated "Law," but more accurately meaning "Teaching" or "Instruction" in Hebrew. Strictly

speaking "Torah" refers to the first five books of the KB (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy),considered the "core" of the Bible by all Jews-, they are sometimes also called the "Five Books ofMoses" (due to

the traditional opinion that Moses himself wrote all of them). More broadly, the word "Torah" is sometimes usedto refer to the entire "Tanak" Many Jews also distinguish between the "Written Torah" (in the Bible) and the "OralTorah" (other instructions given to Moses on Mount Sinai, but not written down until much later, in the "rabbinic literature"of the 3rd to 7th centuries).

Nevitim - meaning "Prophets"; subdivided in Jewish Bibles into the "Former Prophet? (Joshua, Judges,

Samuel, Kings - which also contain stories of early "prophets" like Elijah, Elisha, Samuel, Nathan, etc.), and the"Latter Prophets" (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and "The Twelve" Minor Prophets; note that Jews do not includethe Book of Daniel among the "Prophets," but in the following category).

Kduvim (or Khetuvim) - meaning "Writings"; this "miscellaneous" group includes the books of Psalms, Job,

Proverbs, Song of Solomon, and Ecdesiastes (called "Wisdom Literature" by Christians), the books of Ruth,Esther, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Chronicles (considered "Historical Books" in Christian Bibles), and the books ofDaniel and Lamentations (placed among the "Prophets" in Christian Bibles).

Septuagint (00C) - A collection of up to 53 books of ancient Jewish Scriptures written in Greek, including translations ofall 24 books of the BB (Daniel, Esther, and Jeremiah are longer in the Greek versions than in the original Hebrew), as wellas seven or more additional books (the "Deuterocanonical Books") that are not found in the BB. Several versions of the DOChave been preserved, some of which are slightly larger than others. The I.JOC was first translated and compiled around 250BCE, probably in or near Alexandria, Egypt. The name "Septuagint" (meaning "seventy") comes from an ancient Jewishlegend that tells how 70 (or 72) scholars translated the whole collection (or at least the Torah) in 70 days. All the books ofthe DOC were considered "scriptures" by most Greek-speaking Jews and early Christians; thus it became the basis of theChristian "Old Testament" (see Immo/ In contrast to the three divisions and 24 books of the BB, the DOC rearranges,renames, subdivides, and/or expands some of the books, and adds several more books, thus resulting in up to 53 books infour main divisions:

Pentateuch (Greek, lit. "five scrolls") - the same five foundational books as in the "Torah" of the BB: Genesis,Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

Historical Books - includes not only the four "Former Prophets" of the BB (although two are subdivided andrenamed: Joshua, Judges, 1 Kingdoms, 2 Kingdoms, 3 Kingdoms, 4 Kingdoms), but also several of the bookscategorized as "Writings" in the BB (Ruth, Esther, 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah), and several books notfound in the KB (Judith, Tobit, 1 & 2 Maccabees, and sometimes 1 Esdras and 3 & 4 Maccabees).

Poetic Books - includes some of the miscellaneous "Writings" of the HB (Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon,Ecclesiastes, and Job) and several more books not found in the III3 (Wisdom of Solomon, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus,and often Psalm 151, Odes, and Psalms of Solomon).

Prophetic Books - placed at the end as a fourth category; includes not only the "Latter Prophets" of the HB(first the Minor Prophets, counted as 12 separate books, then the three Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah,Ezekiel), but also the books of Daniel and Lamentations (considered "Writing? in the NB), and a few otherwritings associated with Jeremiah and Daniel but not found in the BB (Baruch, Letter of Jeremiah, Susanna, Bel

11 teilint14 1•2i1

Glossary of Biblical Terms http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Glossary.ht

.4' CP

& the Dragon)

Deuterocanonical Books I OT Apocrypha - seven (or more) entire books that are found in the LXX but are not part of theHB (Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus, Bamch - think of the mnemonic "T. J. Mc WEB"), as well assome additions to the books of Esther and Daniel (longer in the 1.30C than in the HB). These texts are considered part of thebiblical canon by Orthodox and Catholic Christians (although recognized as later additions, and thus called"Desiterocanonical," meaning a "second canon"), but they are not considered canonical by Jews and most ProtestantChristians today (who call them "Apocryphal"). Some Protestant Bibles include the Apocrypha in a separate section betweenthe OT and NT; and some Orthodox Bibles contain even more books that are not considered canonical by Catholics (1 & 2Esdras, 3 & 4 Maccabees, Psalm 151, etc.; see HCSB viii).

Shorthand Summaiy: DLY =i the ancient Greek translation of the JIB books + the "Apocrypha" or "DeuterocanonicalBooks.'

Overview Chart: see my comparative chart of the arrangement of the MI I OT books in the Jewish, Orthodox, Catholic,and Protestant versions of the Bible.

Non-Biblical Ancient Jewish Literature:

Pseudepigrapha - refers broadly to other ancient Jewish writings which are not part of the HB nor of the MC, but are often attributed to abiblical figure (e.g. Jubilees, 1 Enoch, the Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs, etc). They were popular among ancient Jews, and thus arevery valuable for historical purposes, even if they were never considered biblical by most people.

Inter-Testamental Litemture - another collective term for an even broader range of Jewish literature written "between" the Old Testament

and the New Testament.

Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) - several collections of ancient writings (2nd century BCE to 2nd century CE) discovered between 1947 and 1956in various caves near the NW shores of the Dead Sea; most famous are the large scrolls and numerous small fragments found in elevencaves near the rains at Khirbet Qumran, associated by most scholars with the Essenes (a monastic group in Ancient Judaism); althoughcopies of most books of the Hebrew Bible were also found there, more important are the original writings of the Essene/Qumran groupitself.

Philo - an important Jewish writer who lived in Alexandria in the early Id cent CE (roughly contemporary with Jesus); he used Greek

philosophical language and images to interpret Jewish biblical traditions (and vice-versa).

Josephus - the most important Jewish historian from the late 111 century CE, he was a general at the beginning of the First Jewish Waragainst Rome, but surrendered early and then wrote a history of the "Jewish War."

Rabbinic Literature various collections of Jewish writings from the 3'd through 71h centuries CE, although they contain some traditionsattributed to earlier rabbis, including some famous contemporaries of Jesus. Many Orthodox and Conservative Jews believe that the chainof tradition goes all the way back to Moses, who received both the written Torah (the Bible) and the Oral Torah (other traditions) fromGod at Mount Sinai. The most important rabbinic writings include the Mishnah, Tosefta, Tabnudim, and various collections ofMidrashim.

Camden: the DSS contain both biblical and non-biblical writings, but neither the Pseudepigmpha, nor the writings olPhilo. Josephs's. theRabbis, or any other Intertestamental Literature" is considered "biblical' by anyone!

Christian Scriptures:Pre-Note: Remember that the Christian Bible includes two parts: both the "Old Testament" and the"New Testament"

Old Testament (07) - A collection of 53, or 49, or 46, or only 39 ancient Jewish books (dependingon which Bible you have), including the history of God's interactions with the people of Israel and related literary works fromancient Judaism Although Jesus, his disciples, and the first few generations of Jewish Christians spoke Aramaic and usedthe Hebrew Bible (), the vast majority of early Christians spoke Greek (including the four Evangelists, Paul, and all otherNT authors); thus, they read and quoted from the Septuagint (UM) version of the ancient Jewish Scriptures. Some2nd-century Christians thought that the God of the OT was so different from the God and Father of Jesus that they wanted tothrow away the HB and replace it with the Gospels and writings of the Apostles. Most early Christians, however, used the

Glossary of Biblical Terms http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Glossazykin

of 8

newer Christian writings (eventually called "New Testament") in addition to the Jewish Scriptures (which were contrasted asthe "Old Testament"). Some modern scholars refer to the CoT as the "First Testament," in contrast to the NT as the "SecondTestament" Just like the DM version of the Jewish Scriptures, the Christian OT is divided into four categories:

Numbers, Deuteronomr,• Historical Books - the large collection of "Historical Books" from the DM covering the history of the people of

Israel, from the time of Joshua to the Maccabees (thus covering from the late 13th century to the early 2nd centuryBCE);

Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, and a few smaller writings associated with them, such as Lamentations and Baruch),followed by the twelve "Minor Prophets" (note these are called 'minor" not because they are less important than the"major" prophets, but only because their books as significsinrly shorter!).

Orthodox vs. Catholic vs. Protestant Versions of the OT - Some of the Eastern Orthodox Churches today include up to 53books in their Old Testament, based on the largest version of the Septuagint. By the late Middle Ages, however, the WesternChurch (i.e. the Roman Catholic Church, but before the Protestant Reformation), had accepted only 46 books in its OldTestament (including the "Deuterocanonical" books of Tobit, Judith, 1 & 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Ecclesiastes, and Baruch,but omitting such books as 1 & 2 Esdras, 3 & 4 Maccabees, Psalm 151, etc.). In the early 16th century, however, MartinLuther and other Protestant reformers noticed that their Bibles contained several books that were not in the Hebrew Biblesused by their Jewish neighbors ("the Synagogue down the street," so to speak). Since they knew the OT was originally theBible of the Jewish people, Luther decided to remove those extra books from. his Bible (calling them "Apocrypha"), thusreducing the number of OT books to 39. The Protestant Reformers did not, however, go back to the arrangement of the HB,but retained the same order and categorization of the OT books as found also in the Catholic and Orthodox Bibles, based onthe LXX version of the ancient Jewish scriptures (see my Comparative Chart of Jewish and Christian Bibles). Thus, it istotally wrong to say that the Catholic Church (and/or the Eastern Orthodox Churches) added some extra books to the Bible.Exactly the opposite is true: the Protestant reformers were the ones who removed several books that were part of the OT fromthe very beginnings of Christianity (recall that the UGC was composed around 250 BCE).

New Testament (INIT) - A collection of 27 early Christian writings composed by various authors from the middle of the 1st tovery early 2nd centuries CE; it is sometimes called the "Second Testament," especially by Jewish scholars, in contrast to the

"First Testament" (the HB).

• All 27 of these books and letters were originally written in Greek (the "Koine" or "common" Greek of the time),although some may have had older Aramaic sources.

• Most of these writings were already considered "biblical" or "scriptural" by Christians by the end of the 2nd century.• There were hundreds of other works written by Christians in the first few centuries that were not included in the New

Testament.• The official list of 27 approved writings (the NT "canon") was not finalized until the end of the 4th century.• The NT consists of a variety of different works in different literary genres, including the following categories:

Gosnels - early Christian narratives about the words and actions, the life and death of Jesus. The word "Gospel" is derivedfrom the Old English "god-spel" (god = good; vel = news), which is equivalent to Greek eu-angelion (eu = good; cmgelion =

message; angelos = messenger). Originally "gospel" referred to oral proclamations (see Mark 1:14-15), but it is later used for

a particular genre of written literature (based on its use in Mark 1:1).

• The NT includes three "Synoptic Gospels" (Matthew, Mark, Luke), called "Synoptics" because they see Jesus "withthe same eye",and the "Fourth Gospel" (John), which is substantially later than and different from the Synoptics in content, style,and theology.

• Wetnow of about 30 other early Christian "Gospels" that were not accepted into the New Testament (called"non-canonical Gospels).

• All four canonical Gospels were originally written in Koine ("Common") Greek between the late 601s and early 90's of

the 1st century.• The Gospel authors are usually called the four "Evangelists' (from Greek euangelion, lit. "good news").• The official titles are "The Gospel according to..." (although we often use the shorter but less accurate titles "Gospel

of...")

111911A114 1•1111 in •

glossary of Biblical Terms http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Glossaryll

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• The 0-Document ("Quelle" = "source" in German) is a hypothetical collection of sayings & teachings of Jesus. Manyscholars think it was a written source (from the 50's?) used later by Matthew and Luke, but it is now lost.

Acts of the Apostles - an early partial account of the historical spread of Christianity; not a complete "history" of 1st-centuryChristianity, since it focuses only on a few people and a few events from a particular perspective, but leaves out most of whatwe would want to know about how Christianity spread to other parts of the early Roman Empire and beyond.

• It was written by the same person who authored the third Gospel (the evangelist called "Luke").• Thus Luke/Acts together should be considered a two-volume work, even if the two parts are now separated by John's

Gospel

Epistles or Letters - written by some of the early apostles to various Christian communities or individuals, including:

• Thirteen "Letters attributed to Paul" (Rom, 1 & 2 Cor, Gal, Eph, Phil, Col, 1 & 2 Thess, 1 & 2 Tim, Titus, Phhn);these are often subdivided into:

O seven "authentic" or "undisputed Pauline Letters' (Rom, I & 2 Cor, Gal, Phil, I Thess, Phhn), since almost allscholars agree that Paul himself wrote these,

O and six "disputed" or "deutero-Pauline Letters" (Col, Eph, 2 Thess, 1 & 2 Tim, Titus), since some scholars thinkthese are "authentic" [written by Paul], while others argue they were written by Paul's followers;

O the three letters written to early "pastors" (I & 2 Tim, Titus) are usually also called the "Pastoral Epistles."• An anonymous sermon apparently written "To the Hebrews" (but not written by or even attributed to Paull),• And seven "Catholic Epistles" (James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1 & 2 & 3 John, Jude); "Catholic" means "universal, general",

indicating that these letters were written to a wider audience of many different Christians, not just one community.

Book of Revelation (not plural!) - also called "The Apocalypse A book containing seven short letters addressed to the

"Churches of Asia," and a long series of highly symbolic "visions" attributed to a certain man named "John," culminating inthe destruction of all evil and the establishment of "a new heaven and a new earth," and "the new Jerusalem."

Translations and Editions of the Bible:

kale, or Old Latin - Christians in the Western Roman Empire (Italy & environs) began translating the Christian scriptures(both OT & NI) into their own native language, Latin, during the 3rd and 4th centuries. The OT books were usuallytranslated from the MC (the Greek translation and expansion of the NB - see above), while the NT books were translated from theoriginal Greek texts.

Vulgate - a Latin version of both the Old and New Testaments, translated in the late 4th and early 5th centuries by St.Jerome at the request of Pope Damasus; it became the "official" Latin version of the Catholic Church for many centuries (le.,the one used for the readings proclaimed during the Mass, as found in the official "Lectionaries"), intended to replace the variousdifferent "Old Latin" versions. As a true biblical scholar; Jerome was familiar not only with the Old Latin and the Greekversions of the New Testament, but also with the Old Latin, Greek (WO) and Hebrew (HB) versions of the Old Testament.While comparing all these versions, Jerome based his own new Lath translation on the original language of each book, asfar as possible. Thus, he translated the books of the HE from Hebrew into Latin, the deuteroomonical books (the extra OTbooks found in the UDC but not in the BB) from Greek into Latin, and the NT books from Greek into Latin.

Medieval Translations - Since the Vulgate was the dominant edition of the Christian Bible in the West from the 5th centuryonward, the earliest translations of the Bible into Anglo-Saxon, German, Fueich, and other European languages were alltranslations of the Latin Vulgate, rather than being produced from the original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, or Greek for thevarious books of the OT; Greek for the books of the INTD. In other words, they were translations of translations!

Modern Translations - From the time of the Reformation onward (I6th century), scholars have stressed the need to translateeach biblical book from its original language, as far as possible. That is, rather than translating the book of Isaiah from itsversion in the Latin Vulgate or the Greek Septuagint, one should use the original Hebrew version of Isaiah. One seriousdifficulty still remains, however, when there are several significantly different Hebrew versions of certain books, as is thecase with Isaiah. There is not only the "Masoretic text" (medieval Jewish text), but several different Hebrew versions werediscovered in the 20th century among the Dead Sea Scrolls.

Summary Chart - to avoid confusion between so many different editions and versions and sections of "The Bible":

III. *Mg.", oft db OU

Glossary of Biblical Terms hurficatholic-resourceserg/BibidGlossarykir

Some Important Tools for Biblical Research [see also my NT Bibliography page]:Study Bible - an edition which prints not only the biblical text itself (as in a "Reader's Bible"), but also extensive "editorialmaterial," including introductions, footnotes, cross-references, and appendices with maps, charts, time-lines, etc.

Bible Atlas - a book containing lots of maps and diagrams, and often also pictures and helpful discussions of biblical

geography, good ones include the Harpers Bible Atlas and the Macmillan Atlas of the Bible.

Bible Commentary - a book of modern scholars' explanations of biblical texts, arranged in biblical order (book-by-book,chapter-by-chapter, verse-by-verse); it usually includes notes on items necessary for understanding the text (historical,geographical, linguistic, etc.), and a scholar's interpretation of its meaning (theological, rhetorical, and/or narrative); goodone-volume commentaries covering the whole OT and NT include the New Jerome Biblical Commentary and the HarpersBible Commentary, multi-volume commentary series go into much more depth on each biblical book.

Bible Dictionary - contains articles on most biblical names, places, images, themes, and other words in alphabetical order;the best ones currently available are the Anchor Bible Dictionary (ABD; 6 vols.; 1992), the Interpreters Dictionary of theBible (DB: 4 vols. 1962; and MB& a "Supplement" vol. 1969), and the HoperCoilins Bible Dictionary (1996).

Lexicon - a dictionary explaining the meaning of ancient Hebrew or Greek words, and usually also providing somereferences for where and how they are used in ancient literature.

Concordance - a book listing all the passages in the Bible (OT and Ni) in which a particular word is used; be careful when

using English concordances, since a particular Hebrew or Greek word might be translated with various different Englishwords; so always also look up related words and synonyms!

Parallel Bible - an edition which prints several English translations (often 4, 6, or 8 different ones! - and sometimes also the

original Greek or Hebrew text) in parallel columns on the same pages so you can compare them easily; the texts follow thebiblical order from Genesis to Revelation (or Matthew to Revelation if it covers only the NT).

Gospel Synopsis - a book which prints similar pericopes from the Gospels (either the Synoptics only, or possibly all fourGospels) in parallel columns on the same pages for easy comparison; it uses only one English translation (and/or Greektexts). Our Synopsis of the Four Gospels, edited by K. Aland, is based on the RSV (Revised Standard Version). Pericopesare arranged roughly from the beginning of Matt to the end of John, but since pericopes are in different orders in theSynoptics, and most of John's material is not in the Synoptics at all, many pericopes have to be printed out of biblical order orprinted twice.

Interlinear Bible - an edition in which each line of the original biblical text (OT Hebrew or NT Greek) is followed by a line

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containing a literal English equivalent directly underneath each Hebrew or Greek word; since the word order of the ancientlanguages is very different from any modem languages, the English equivalents seem very strange, chopped up, and out oforder, thus a smooth English translation is usually also provided in the margins.

Other Important Terms:Genre the literary "form" or "category" of a text (not just biblical, but any literature); larger genres in the NTinclude Gospels, Letters, Acts, Apocalypses, Novels, Biographies, etc.; smaller genres within the Gospelsinclude parables, sayings, controversy dialogues, healing miracles, exorcisms, nature miracles, etc.

Pericope (not "periScope"; pronounced "peh-IITH-cuh-peel - an individual "passage" within the Gospels, witha distinct beginning and ending, so that it forms an independent literary "unit"; similar pericopes are often foundin different places and different orders in the Gospels, pericopes can include various genres (parables, miraclestories, evangelists summaries, etc.)

Parable - a metaphorical story featuring common images and vivid comparisons, but usually with a twist; many(but not all) of Jesus' parables are about the Reign of God. Caution: "parables" are only stories told BY Jesus,but not all stories about Jesus; the Gospels' descriptions about Jesus' actions are better called "passages,""paragraphs," "stories," or "pericopes."

Exegesis - thecareful investigation of the original meaning of a text in its historical and literary contexts, theword comes from a Greek verb meaning "to lead out or (Greek "ex" = "out"; "ago" = "to lead/go/drawl; theopposite is Eisegesis, which means "reading [your own opinions] into" the text (not a good idea in biblicalstudies!)

Criticisms - various methods of doing biblical exegesis, each having a specific goal and a specific set ofquestions; biblical "criticism" does not mean "criticizing" the text (i.e. what you don't like or don't agree with),but asking "critical" questions (based on "criteria" that are as clear, careful, and objective as possible).

Some Contrasting Pairs:

Primaty Literature - writings or sources from ancient times, such as the biblical texts themselves

Secondary Literature - anything written by modem scholars, often interpreting the ancient texts

Manuscripts ancient (or modern) texts "written by hand"; often copies of copies of copies, with significantdifferencesPrint Editions - printed copies; made after the invention of printing by Johannes Gutenberg in 1456

Ancient Versions - translations into other ancient languages, such as Latin, Coptic, Syriac, Armenian, etc.

Modem Translations - translations into English, Spanish, German, and other modern languages

Papyrus - an Egyptian plant; a paper-like writing material made from it; cheaper, but not as durable; see esp.P52 and P75Parchment (Vellum) - animal skins prepared for writing much more durable, but also much more expensive;see Vellums

Scroll (Roll) - long sheets written on one side only, then rolled-up (could be made of papyrus or vellum)Codex - written on both sides, then bound in book form (could also be made of papyrus or vellum)

Majuscule - early manuscripts written in

ALLCAPfrALLETTERSUSUALLYWITHOUTPUNCTUATIONORSPACESMinuscule - later manuscripts written with small letters, with punctuation and spaces

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THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF PSALMS AND PROVERBS:

• The book of Psalms is a collection of 150 poems praisingYahweh, whereas the book of Proverbs is a collection of astuteobservations that will help others mature and live good lives.

Psalms are probably more familiar to the worshippingcommunity than any other part of the Bible, and it was used forresponses; whereas Proverbs was good advice to live on in theirmemory;

There are 5 basic types of Psalms:

Three types of Proverbs:

Both Psalms and Proverbs are done in parallelism where one linereinforces the other line—which helps in memorization.

One line may mean one thing and it is repeated orone line may mean one thing and the second line isopposite.

Hymns of praise, such as Ps. 8 which were used forreflection or response

Community lament, such as Ps. 44 and Judith 4:8,where the leader called the worshipping communitytogether and they poured out their hearts to God

Royal Psalms, such as Ps. 2, used at the time of acoronation of a new king which paid tribute toGod but highly exalted the king

Individual lament, such as Ps. 3 which was used in aprivate situation and for personal forgiveness ofsins

Thanksgiving Psalms, such as Ps. 30, thanking God forhis greatness.

Instructional proverb where the father is instructing hisson

Wisdom proverbNumeral sayings in which numbers were used to make

illustrations.

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written traditions. CREATION IS NOT AN• EVENT WHICH ANY HUMAN BEING WITNESSED.

The writer was not concerned with the fact that he hadthe world with fight but no sun!

The writer organized his writing in accordance with awork week.

The writer lived at a time when his society worked sixdays and honored the Sabbath.

The writer expects us to recognize that he has chosen toteach us a spiritual truth through a story.

This particular kind of story is known as a "myth."The writer uses symbols and images to speak of a reality

which Is beyond our understanding. This storyteaches a troth in relation to that reality.

God made all that exists, and everything God made is good.

The Bible has been treasured for 2000 years because people offaith have found that it speaks to the deepest and most importanttruths of our lives.

These truths involve our relationship with God, who is thesource of our existence. They involve the reason for our existence.Why are we alive? What is our purpose? Does God exist? What isGodlike? What is our final destiny?

The people who lived before the able was written, and thepeople who wrote what we reed in the Bible looked to their ownexperiences to find answers to thse most important questions.

They looked into the experiences of their own lives, to theevents in their own lives, to see how God was being revealed inthese experiences and events.

The writer of Genesis looked around himand asked "What is the source of all thatexists?

IfyoureadthatGeorgeWashingtonandJohnKennedyhada conversation, you would know that the writer of this sentencewas not writing a historical sentence. If a person from another•country who knew nothing of American history read this sentence,that person would take it for a fact that these two men weretalking together. Why could this not be?

Understanding that the Bible is a library of different kinds ofwritings will help us not make that mistake.

THE BIBLE

Known also as THE BOOK, THE WORD OF GOD,. SACREDSCRIPTURE, THE WORD

The Bible is divided into two parts:Old Testament or Hebrew ScripturesNew Testament or Christian Scriptures

Hebrew Scriptures are the covenant God made with theIsraelites through Abraham and Moses. You willbe my people and I will be your God

Hebrew Scriptures contain the stories of Salvation History.

Christian Scriptures are the covenant that God made with allpeople through Jesus Christ.

There are 73 books In the Catholic Bible and only 66 in theProtestant Bible. Catholic Bible has 7 more thanProtestant Bible.

The first 5 books of the Hebrew Scriptures are called thePentateuch.

Themes in Genesis --There is one GodGod Is the creator of everythingEverything God created is goodHumans sin-repent-forgivenGod promises us a savior.

All Scripture is inspired by God which means that God was thedriving force behind the writers. The writers were open to God'spresence in life and events and so became people of spiritualperception.

The writer of Genesis is teaching that the world wascreated and that all that exists was created by aloving God.

The writer was not a historian or a scientist.The writer lived before the scientific age and his

writing Included God.He could not choose to write as a historian because

history is about those events which werewitnessed and about which we have oral or

Books of the Bible P-azzleBible? Takd a few minutes to find out. In the following paragraph there

are sixteen books of the Bible. See how many you can find. One preacherfound fifteen f books in 28 minutes... but it took him three weeks to find the•sixteenth one. Have fun!

-I once made a remark about the hidden books of the Bible -

it was a lulu, kept people looking so hard for facts, but for others

it was a revelation. Some were in a jam, especially since thenames of the books were not capitalized, but the truth finally strucklome to numbers of readers. Toothers, it was a real job. We want it to be a most fascinating few momentsfor you. Yes, there will be •really easy ones to spot,. others may require judges to help them. twill quickly aamit it usually takesa minister to find one of them, and there will be loud lamentations when it is found. One woman saysshe brews a cup of tea so she can concentrate better. See how well you can compete. Relax now, forthere really are sixteen books of the Bible in the story.

•

We know our readers are all true Bible sCholars and will quickly find all sixteen books of the Bible. For added- -fun, time yourself or make this a family activity and se who finds them all first. If you have exhausted all efforts andneed help, you can send a self-addressed stamped envelope (no phone calls please) and we will promptly send you a

list of the sixteen hidden books of the Bible.• 1, •••

A.D. -30First one-third

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A.D. 30-70(Second third of the century)

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and James died in the '60's)

Writings incorponning Christiun Reflection on the Churchla Problems

50's

I-II ThesaloniansI-II CorinthiansGalatians, Romans

Philippians

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Pastoral Letters(I-II Timothy,Titus) ???

I Peter???James ???Jude ???

Mark

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70

Writings concerned with the words und deeds of Jesus (Gospels)

A.D. 70•100(Third third of century)

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Luke

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Gospel Author Date Audience

injatdsttv Jewish-Christian 80's Jewish-Christians

attorit perhaps John-Mark, missionaryhelper of Paul& Peter

auks Gentilecompanion ofPaul; a doctor;also wrote Acts

"beloved disciple"

65-70 a sufferingChristiancommunity,perhaps in Rome

80's a Gentile-Christian church,perhaps insouthern Greece.

90's several Christianchurches aroundthe RomanEmpire — Ephesus,Antioch in Syria,Alexandria, Egypt

(Adapted; Living the Message of the New Testament, M. Pennock, 1992)

Major TheologicalThemes

Jesus is thefulfillment ofJudaic prophecies;he is the newMoses impartingthe new law ofLove.

Jesus is theSuffering ServantMessiah; imitateJesus' fidelity bynot losing heart;the way to glory isthrough the cross.

Jesus' salvation isopen to everyone,• especially, poor,despised & womenUniversal Savior.

most theologicallysophisticated of allthe gospels: Jesusis the Eternal Wordof God, God's Sonwho came asBread for oureternal salvation;he is the Way, theTruth, & the Life.

BI3LICAL RIDDLE

When was baseball first played in the Bible? In the big inning.On what did the earliest people do arithmetic lessons? God told than to

multiply on the fame of the earth.

Who was the champion runner of all time? Adam* first in the human race!What was the longest day in the Bible? The one with no Eve!

Did Eve ever have a date with Adam? Nos it was, an apple!Why did Adam bite the apple? Because he didn't have a knife!

Hour were Adam and Eve prevented from gambling? They lost their paradise.What did Adam and Eve never have but left to each of their Children? Parents!

What evidence is there that Adam and Eve were noisy? They raised Cain.How long did Cain hate his brother? As long as he was Abel.•

How do we know that three people went into the ark before Noah? The Bible statesthat Noah came forth.

Why couldn't people play cards on the ark? Noah sat on the deck.

When was paper money first mentioned in the Bible? When the dove broughtthe green back to the ark

Why was Lot's wife turned into a pillar of salt? Because she was dissatisfiedwith her Lot.

When was tennis first played? When Joseph served in Pharaoh*.s court.When Moses didn't feel welly whet did God give him? Two tablets.Why was Goliath astonished when David hit him with a stone? Such a thinghad never entered his bead before.

Who was the most successful doctor in the Bible? Job -- be had the most patienseeHow was John the Baptist like a penny? He was one sent.What is the sharpest tool in the New Testament? The Acts of the Apostles.What is the worst insect in the Bible? The wicked flee.Whet three noblemen are mentioned in the Bible? Barren fig tree. Lord haw long.

Count your blessings.Who set the record for the high jump in the Bible? Probably Jesus when he

cleared the temple.

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English Translations of the Bible Page 3 of 4

Since there are over 500 different English translations of the Bible, the above chart lists only a few ofthe most popular or important ones. For more information about these and many other Englishtranslations, including a very helpful chart showing how the translations are related to each other andto the Hebrew and Greek Bibles, see the webpage Our Bible: How It Came To Us, from theCanadian Bide Society.

Translations Grouped by "Translation Philosophy":

• "Dynamic Equivalence" translations: NFB/REB, TEV/CEV,• The Amplified Bible is neither (or both); it "amplifies" the text by adding lots of extra words &

phrases.

Translations Sponsored/Approved by various Churches:

• "Protestant" translations: KIV/NLIV, TEV/CEV, NW

RSV/NRSV• There are also several good "Jewish" translaticms of the Hebrew Bible, but these obviously do

not contain the New Testament.

Additional Notes:

• the Authorized Version (AV) is another name for the KJV; the Good News Bible (GNB) isexactly the same as Tot.

• if you use other translations, try to find out when they were translated, by whom, and whattranslation philosophy was used.

• many other editions of the Bible are based on the above translations; the Oxford AnnotatedBible uses the RSV, the Catholic Study Bible uses the NAB, and the HcrperCollins Study Bibleuses the NRSV; so these are not separate translational

• for academic study of the Bible by anyone who does not know Hebrew or Greek, it is good tocompare at least three or four different modern translations; use at least one "dynamicequivalence" and one "formal correspondence' translation.

• the following convenient editions containin8 multiple translations are available in LW libraryreference:

o The Complete Parallel Bible. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. - containsNRSV, REB, NAB, NJB

o The Precise Parallel New Testament. New York Oxford University Press, 1995. -contains the Greek NT, KJV, Douay-Rheims, AB, NW, NRSV, NAB, NASB.

http://clawww.Immedu/faculty/gust/Bible/English Translations.htm 10/22/01

English Translations of the Bilge

• "Formal Correspondence Translations" try to stick as closely as possible to the ceiginalwording and word-order of the Hebrew and Greek texts. Thus they may seem more accurate orliteral," but often require detailed explanations in footnotes to avoid being misinterpreted bymodern readers. They are good for in-depth academic study of the Bible, but may be less suitedfor public proclamation, since they can be difficult to understand when heard or read aloud.

• "Dynamic Equivalence Translations" try to put the sense of the original text into the bestmodem English, remaining close to the ideas expressed but not always following the exactwording 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, andare therefore generally better suited for public pmclamation or liturgical use.

• "Biblical Paraphrases" are not (and do not even claim to be) accurate translations, althoughthey are usually still called "Bibles.' These popular books (esp. those intended for children orteenagers, or the "Living Bible" of 1971) not only condense and/or omit much of the material,but they freely change the wording of the original texts to make the stories easier to understandand/or more "relevant" for their intended readers.

biblical manuscripts that have been discovered in the last 50 to 150 years which are much older (andthus closer to the originals) than the manuscripts that were available to the translators of previouscenturies.

Translation Philosophies:

There are two basic philosophies or styles of translation, "formal correspondence" and "dynamicequivalence." Other popular versions of the Bible in English are not really "translations" but are"paraphrases" instead.

For example, the system of measuring time in ancient Israel was vety different from our own. Theycounted twelve hours from sunrise to sundown, and subdivided the night into three (or sometimesfour) "watches." Thus the same time that is called 'the eleventh hour" in a formal correspondencetranslation would be translated "five o'clock in the afternoon" in a dynamic equivalence version (andmight simply say "in the late afternoon' in a Weal paraphrase).

For more explanation of the difference between 'Tomei correspondence" and "dynamic equivalence"translations of the Bible, see chapter 3, "Transhtticins," in Daniel I. Harrington, Interpreting the NT.Many of the translations discussed by Hanington have been revised since his book was published, sothe following chart gives some updated information:

Page 2 of 4

01

English Translations of the Bible Page 1 of 4

English Tra slafions of the Bibleby Prof Felix IttsA S.J - Loyola Marytnount University

Introduction: The Bible was not written in English — not even "King James English"! Most of thebooks of the Old Testament were originally composed in Hebrew (with a few portions inAramak),while the entire New Testament was originally written in Greek (although some books may alsoincorporate Aramaic sources). Tims, what most people today read is not the original text, but otherpeople's translations of the Bide

But why are there so many diffetent English translations of the Bible? And why can't churches orscholars agree on just one translation?

• No original manuscript of any biblical book has survived! All of the texts written by thebiblical authors themselves have been lost or destroyed over the centuries. All we have arecopies of copies of copies, most of them copied hundreds of years after the original texts werewritten.

• The want manuscripts contain numerous textual variations! There are Bundy thousands ofdifibrences in the surviving biblical manuscripts, many of them minor (spelling variations,synonyms, different word orders), but some of them major (whole sections missing or added).

• Important old snatuescripts werefound in the last 200 years! Recent discoveries of oldermanuscripts (esp. the Dead Sea Saar and the Codex Sinaiticus) have helped scholars getcloser to the original text of the Bible, so that modern translations can be more accurate thatmedieval ones.

• The meanings of some biblical tevis are unknown or uncertain! Some Hebrew or Greekwords occur only once in the Bible, but nowhere else in ancient literature, so their exactmeanings are =blown; and some biblical phrases are ambiguous, with more than one possiblemeaning.

• Ancient languages are very dfferentfrom modern languages! Not only do Ancient Hebrewand Greek use completely different alphabets and vocabularies, but their grammatical rules andstructures (word order, prepositions, conjugations of vetbs, etc.) are very different from modernEnglish.

• Evay "translation" is already inevitably ass 'Interpretation"! Anyone who knows more thanone modern language realizes that "translations" often have meanings that are slightly claretfrom the original, and that different people inevitably translate the same texts in slightly differentways.

• All firing languages continually change and devekr over time! Not only is "ModemEnglish" very different from 16th century English, but the language used in Great Britain,America, Australia, and other countries are slightly different from each other (in spellinggrammar, idioms, word meanings, etc.).

• Cultural developments require mew sesuldrities in language! Recent awareness of the evilsof racism, sexism, anti-Semitism, and other forms of discrimination have shown have certainlanguage is slanted or biased, with corresponding efforts to develop more "inclusive" languagealternatives.

Thus, no translation is tipetlect" (none of them can be completely "literal" or 100% identical to theoriginal texts) and there is no "best" translation (all of them have some advantages and somedrawbacks). In general, however, the most recent translations (1980's or 1990's) are better than theolder ones (esp. the KW or the Douay-Rheims, both about 400 years old), not only since the Englishlanguage has changed significantly over the centuries, but more importantly because of the ancient

http://clawww.hu.edii/cuIty/ust/Bibl&Pnglish_Trandations.htzn 10/22/01

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1000-925 BCTime of the Davidic &Solomonic monarchyHeight of nationalunithhola; vision,& trust.- Basically the productof the South

850-750 BCThought to be a docu-ment ofthe North; anattempt to changeand correct Southernbeliefs; a groupstruggling for powerand independence

rh ambit), BC

Probably from theNorth in origin, butalso Southern influ-ence is finmd ;- Dtrifts begun about550 BC

587-530 BCThought to be a pro-duct of the exile ex-perience. Believed tobe redactors of thePentateuch

Literary Characteristics

— Use of the name ofYAHWEH (almost slavishly,even in pre-Israelite period)

— A style that is crisp and lively;a "saving" history for Israel— A colorful and vivid manifestation of thesinfuhtess of key individuals

Favors, speeches on the lips of famousindividutds

Frequent use of the name of Whim

in dreams or through divine messengers

— Distinguishes key characters as persons oflearheverence;

— Special names used: HOREB for SinaiAMOKIES for Canaanites— Likes titles of honor: prophet

— Legal language

—Repeated expression: 'love the Lordwith all your heart, ntind, and strength"

—Dent as a Prologue to the Thrills

— Varied forms of the divine names

— Descriptive of divine presence, temple,& cult

The unique and one Gt3d; the only God for all times

A personal God who acts in life of IsraelIntended to remind Israel of its electionthe special choice of Israel by GodEmphasizing that God's love and mercy willexceed the power of sin; with the forces of evil

To heighten the fulfilhnent of God's promise madethrough God and chosen MUMS.

Speaking of God as the "God of gods"Thought to present a transcendent God of the covenant;by this, the distance bhv God and humanity is heightened

This highlights the persons as individuals who hold Godin awe, and therein receive God's blessings

• Influenced by the ethical concerns of the prophetictradition

Calling for fidelity and obedience to the covemmtprecepts, if the people expect to receive blessing

As God gives all good things to Israel, so is alldemandedThe fine of Israel is not meaningless; there is a justpmishmen4 God is true to his wordExplain the &kends and promises of the Covenant;IsraePs history ill to be interpreted in light ofDeut

Expresses care and precision about the doctrinal matters;sense of solenmity

Solidifies & establishes ties in history;shows God's care & election of sp.personsTo be a creative force and hope for the people

Important to show God's approval on their religiousinstitutions; importance of the central cult.

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Session 2: Introducing Biblical Criticism

their experiences with fundamentalism.As a supplement, you may wish to present the following chart:

52

FundamentalistBible Is the wordof God

Text is infallible

Concentrate on text

Read text prayerfully•

Emphasis is onliteral truth

CatholicBible is the wordof God in human,wordsText is.incatnationalConcentrate oncontextRead textprayerfullyEmphasis is onreligious truth

•

SecularBible is a humancreation only

Text is equivalentto any other text

Read text asliteratureEmphasis is onreaders' subjectiveexperience• -