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God’s Word comes to us clothed in the

particular culture and historical experience of the chosen people to whom He revealed His will with

divine inspiration.

God’s Word comes to us clothed in the

particular culture and historical experience of the chosen people to whom He revealed His will with

divine inspiration.

reading the Bible in contextreading the Bible in context

the hall of heroesthe hall of heroes

The Bible was not written in a day or

even in just a thousand years...

...rather, it GREW and developed out of the collective experience, learning and faith of

a community.

Revelation +

Inspiration

Tradition oral & written

compilation redaction

Codex

Canon

translations

versions

translationstranslations

editions

Revelation +

Inspiration

Tradition oral & written

compilation redaction

Codex

Canon

translations

versions

translationstranslations

editions

Season 1Season 1TORAHTORAH

Leaders of the Leaders of the WayWay

The Old Testament

Quick factsQuick factsThe Hebrew Bible, in full

Also known as the Hebrew Canon

Completely written in Hebrew

Three words are concealed in the acronym: TANAK. These are the Hebrew names given to

the three sections into which the Jewishpeople divide their Bible.

TANAK is to the Jews asOld Testament is to the Christians.

It is the acronym often used bythe Jewish people to refer totheir Bible. It reveals how the

Old Testament is divided.

TORAHTORAH

* Refers to the first five books of the Old Testament

* The word “Torah”: from a Hebrew verb which means“to direct”, “to point theway”.

Usually used to refer to divine instruction or guidance.

Often translated as “law”; used in reference to the many laws found in the Old Testament (613 in the first 5 books alone!)

* The first part of the Old Testament to be translated into a foreign language (Greek - Alexandria, Egypt, between 280-230 BC)

* a.k.a. PENTATEUCH (from the Greek: “ρεητε”=five; “τεμχος”= a scroll), telling us no more than that the first part of the Jewish Bible was written on 5 scrolls.

NEVI’IMNEVI’IM

The word Nevi’im means “Prophets”.

This is a more apt title for the second section of the Old Testament rather than the one used by Christian Bibles: The Historical Books.

There is no book of the Bible that intends to provide history lessons, only religious instruction in particlar historical contexts. So, strictly speaking, “historical books” is misleading. So, Prophets it is: earlier and later, major and minor. (21 books in all)

KETHUBIKETHUBIMM

The word Kethubim means “The Writings”.

This last section consists of 13 books in the Hebrew Canon. We add six more books included in the Catholic Canon.

Books in this section come from varied times and places and are of varied literary types. The common strand or theme running through most, if not all, of them is Wisdom.

RCC

Source CriticismSource Criticisma.k.a. LITERARY CRITICISM

the attempt to establish the sources used by the author and/or redactor of the final text.- identify & date for historical reliability- detailed study of the biblical text itself

(how a text is written-- style, vocabulary, grammar, etc.)

- extant source which can be compared

source

source

source

source

rereddaactctoror

redaction criticismredaction criticism

form criticism / tradition historyform criticism / tradition history

Conclusion:Conclusion:The material of the Pentateuch is

composite-- that is, composed and/or compiled from a variety of previously

existing documents or sources-- written by different people or different

communities over a long period of time.

Documentary Hypothesis

Documentary Hypothesis

proposed in 1876 by Julius Wellhausen and eventually supported by many scholars,

even by the Church, over the next 100 years.

Identified 4 main sources of the Pentateuch, represented by the letters

J E D P Yahwist Elohist Deuteronomist Priestly

four sourcesfour sourcesYahwist(J)

Material that primarily used the proper name for God (YHWH).

Written or preserved in the Southern Kingdom of Judah,

between 9th & 8th century BC.Most of it is epic narrative,

traditional recounting of the origins of Israel as a people and their journey through history under

God’s guidance.Contains traditions of Davidic

monarchy and Jerusalem as center of worship.

Has an extremely eloquent style.1/2 of Genesis, 1st half of Exodus,

plus fragments of Numbers.

Yahwist(J)Material that primarily used the proper name for God (YHWH).

Written or preserved in the Southern Kingdom of Judah,

between 9th & 8th century BC.Most of it is epic narrative,

traditional recounting of the origins of Israel as a people and their journey through history under

God’s guidance.Contains traditions of Davidic

monarchy and Jerusalem as center of worship.

Has an extremely eloquent style.1/2 of Genesis, 1st half of Exodus,

plus fragments of Numbers.

four sourcesfour sourcesElohist(J)

Material similar to J, but used the generic term for deity: Elohim, in

referring to God.Originated in the Northern Kingdom

of Israel. Majority of the scholars date its origins to around the 8th century BC (some opinions differ,

saying it could be older than J)Contains tribal traditions of the

conquest of the land and traditions about the covenant and worship

centers outside Jerusalem.Has moderately eloquent style.

1/3 of Genesis, 1st half of Exodus plus fragments of Numbers.

Elohist(J)Material similar to J, but used the generic term for deity: Elohim, in

referring to God.Originated in the Northern Kingdom

of Israel. Majority of the scholars date its origins to around the 8th century BC (some opinions differ,

saying it could be older than J)Contains tribal traditions of the

conquest of the land and traditions about the covenant and worship

centers outside Jerusalem.Has moderately eloquent style.

1/3 of Genesis, 1st half of Exodus plus fragments of Numbers.

four sourcesfour sources

Deuteronomist (D)Instructional or preaching material that used language, concepts and

theological perspectives very similar to that of the Book of Deuteronomy

and some of the Prophets (e.g. Jeremiah).

Exact time frame of composition under debate: could have been a tradition subjected to constant

reapplication and revision from as early as 621 BC to the post-exilic

period.Contained much of the legal material focused on faithfulness to God based on the covenant, and obedience as

proper response to God’s grace.Most of Deuteronomy and fragments

in other books that contain references to the Law.

Deuteronomist (D)Instructional or preaching material that used language, concepts and

theological perspectives very similar to that of the Book of Deuteronomy

and some of the Prophets (e.g. Jeremiah).

Exact time frame of composition under debate: could have been a tradition subjected to constant

reapplication and revision from as early as 621 BC to the post-exilic

period.Contained much of the legal material focused on faithfulness to God based on the covenant, and obedience as

proper response to God’s grace.Most of Deuteronomy and fragments

in other books that contain references to the Law.

four sourcesfour sources

Priestly (P)Material that focused on the

concerns of priests serving in the Jerusalem temple. Partly duplicates J and E, but alters details to stress the

centrality of the priesthood.Most of the material now extant was produced after the exile, in the 5th century BC or later, but contains

traditions from all periods of Israel’s history (like D).

Included technical record keeping (lists, dates, numbers, genealogies,

laws)related to the proper functioning of the temple and associated actvities, as well as

theological material related to the keeping of religious law.

1/5 Genesis, portions of Exodus and Numbers and most of Leviticus.

Priestly (P)Material that focused on the

concerns of priests serving in the Jerusalem temple. Partly duplicates J and E, but alters details to stress the

centrality of the priesthood.Most of the material now extant was produced after the exile, in the 5th century BC or later, but contains

traditions from all periods of Israel’s history (like D).

Included technical record keeping (lists, dates, numbers, genealogies,

laws)related to the proper functioning of the temple and associated actvities, as well as

theological material related to the keeping of religious law.

1/5 Genesis, portions of Exodus and Numbers and most of Leviticus.

QuestionsPossibility of some sources not written

but oral traditions?

The redactor: simply a compiler? or editor? or a creative writer himself?

What was the intention of the author/redactor in arranging materials this

way or that?

What can we learn about God from a particular arrangement of material?

DevelopmentsDevelopments“Sources” still generally accepted but with significant

modifications and vastly simplified.Rather than “sources” as specifically written

documents, scholars now talk of TRADITIONS:Scripture grew out of the on-going life of a

worshipping community rather than being simply composed by a single individual at one time and

merely edited.Focus not on the “authors” of Scripture, but to its function within the community.Shift of concerns from historical to canonical and

theological, from studying components of a canon to discerning why it was “shaped” that way.

MODERATOR MODERATOR ADVISORYADVISORY

We will not go into detailed, exhaustive analysis of Biblical texts (Exegesis).

Rather, we study significant features ofeach book, hoping to clarify certain issues

anddrawing up lessons that are relevant for

our faith and life as Catholics.

Episode 3Episode 3A Good A Good

BeginningBeginning

Genesis=“origin, beginning”.

The book opens with the words: “In the beginning...” Genesis= Book of Beginnings

Apparently covers all human history (?) from creation to the death of Joseph (the dreamer).

Stories in it told over many years, put together over a long period- finalized only about 500

years BCOur first example of a book put together out of many different traditions over a long period of

time

The Creation StoryThe Creation StoryGenesis 1-3Genesis 1-3

The Creation StoryThe Creation Storysynopsissynopsis

The Creation StoryThe Creation Storyfeaturesfeatures

God’s creative power over the world, from the very beginning of all life (transforming nothingness into goodness)

The stewardship of humans over creation (caretaker of the integrity of creation)

Sin as man’s abuse of God’s trust, attempting to appropriate life for himself without God

Life= fidelity, both of God and humans

The Creation StoryThe Creation Storyissuesissues

the existence of creation stories in almost alll cultures: different views of one reality-- supreme good being, origin of the universe, humans as “special” creatures

Evil in the world as consequence of sin

Complementarity of man and woman (no room for a third sex?)

The Flood StoryThe Flood StoryGenesis 6-10Genesis 6-10

The Flood StoryThe Flood Storysynopsissynopsis

The Flood StoryThe Flood Storyfeaturesfeatures

God as ship architect: the specifics of the ark that Noah built

The flood as chaos opening to a second creation

details of descendants of world population from Noah’s sons

The Flood StoryThe Flood Storyissuesissues

Again, existence of flood stories in other cultures outside Israel

the question of a very “human” God- deciding to destroy then promising not to do it again.

The The PatriarchsPatriarchs

GenesisGenesis12-5012-50

The PatriarchsThe PatriarchsAbram / abrahamAbram / abraham

The PatriarchsThe Patriarchsishmael & isaacishmael & isaac

The PatriarchsThe Patriarchsesau & jacobesau & jacob

The PatriarchsThe Patriarchsthe 12 sons of JACOBthe 12 sons of JACOB

The PatriarchsThe Patriarchsjoseph the dreamerjoseph the dreamer

Guided ReflectionGuided Reflection

The Grace of our Origins...The Grace of our Origins...

The Grace of our The Grace of our Origins...Origins...

Where did I come from? - ancestry, conception, birth-- culture & history

The Grace of our The Grace of our Origins...Origins...

How did I grow and develop? - training, education, learning, value-formation-- social links, relationships, significant others

The Grace of our The Grace of our Origins...Origins...

Who/what influences me most? - personal life, work, faith-- decisions, choices, commitments

Essay:Essay:THE BEST OF MY THE BEST OF MY

ORIGINSORIGINS

HomeworkHomework

Read:Read:THE BOOK OF THE BOOK OF EXODUSEXODUS

especially these sections:especially these sections:- the burning bush- the burning bush

- the Passover dinner- the Passover dinner- the 10 commandments- the 10 commandments- the Ark of the Covenant- the Ark of the Covenant

HomeworkHomework