Preparing for the Journey

CHAPTER ONE

- Catholics include 46 books of the Old Testament and 27 of the New Testament as the Canon

- Old Testament is a collection of books written over a millennium

• Written predominantly in Hebrew

Books in the Old Testament

• Deuterocanonical books • 1 and 2 Maccabees • Judith• Tobit• Baruch• Sirach• Wisdom

Books in the Old Testament- Church included seven books not included in the

Hebrew Bible

- Called deuterocanonical “second canon” to show they are not accepted in Jewish canon

Books in the Old Testament- Protestants include the seven books

- They are printed in a separate section called apocrypha

• Means “hidden”

• The reason for the difference in Catholic and Protestant Bibles

- Names for God:

• Yahweh (I am)

• Adonai (Lord)

• Jehovah

Who is God?- Church tradition teaches God is “the fullness of Being and of

every perfection, without origin and without end.”

- The Old Testament contains books about Hebrew people learning about Yahweh over hundreds of years

- The Old Testament is not one continuous plot divided into chapters

- A loving relationship through history between a people and their God is a central relationship in the Old Testament

The Basic Story Line

- “To love” is the fundamental vocation of being human

The Basic Story Line-Man’s relationship with God is not always

amiable (first sin)

-This divine-human relationship exemplifies moments of:

JEALOUSY

DISAPPOINTMENT

FORGIVENESS

LOVECOMPASSION

• Canon

• Deuterocanonical

• Apocrypha

• Tradition

• Sin

Vocabulary

- Catholics believe that the Bible was written by human authors deeply moved by God

- Current church leaders have been inspired by the Holy Spirit in the same way these writers were

Inspired Readings

- Task of interpreting God’s Word is entrusted to the Magisterium

Inspired Readings- In order for us to interpret the Scripture correctly, we must

pay attention to both what the human author wanted to say and what the Holy Spirit intended to communicate

- For the author’s intentions, consider:

• Time and culture

• Literary forms of the time

• Manner of speaking

Criteria for Interpreting Scripture:

1.) Look closely at the content and unity of the whole scripture

2.) Read the Scripture within “the living Tradition of the whole Church”

3.) Be attentive to the analogy of faith

Inspired Readings- The Second Vatican Council offered three criteria for

interpreting Scripture in the light of the Holy Spirit

• Magisterium

• Psuedepigrapha

• Archaeology

• Artifact

Vocabulary

Arranging the Books- The Jews divided the books of the Hebrew Bible into three sections:

1.) Law (“Torah” in Hebrew)

2.) Prophets (“Neviim” in Hebrew)

3.) Writings (“Ktuvim” in Hebrew)

- The Bible is not in chronological order

- Events recorded in the first books did not all take place before the events in the next books.

- Largest portion edited after Fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C.

- The earliest of the Biblical books were based on oral traditions first written down around 900-700 B.C.

Arranging the Books

“The New Testament lies hidden in the Old, and the Old Testament is

unveiled in the New.”

- The Old Testament is “an indispensable part of the Sacred Scripture”

- It is the true Word of God

- The books are inspired by God and contain teachings of God, wisdom on human life; a treasure of prayers, and shows the mystery of salvation

Old Testament & The Church