Maiju Lehmijoki-Gardner

An Introduction to Theology
Loyola University Maryland

followers and their

lives as Christian
The Old Testament

Lecture summary 2 (the

Bible) The Bible is a book of books.
The history of its writing and the
production of its canon is complex. This
section of the class will help you to
understand what parts constitute the Bible
and when its texts were written. You will
also learn about the different canons of
the Old Testament. After these lectures
you will be familiar with such concepts as
canon, deuterocanonical, the apocrypha,
and the Vulgata.

The parts of the Bible

The Bible (< Gr. biblia, scroll of

books)
o The Hebrew Bible/ Tanak /
The Old Testament
Broadly
understood focus:
The complex
relationship
between God and
his people
Specific focus: The
complex
relationship
between God and
the Israelites (the
Jews)
The Covenant
o The New Testament
Focus on Jesus, his
life, teachings,
death, and
resurrection
Focus also on
Jesus first

Written in Hebrew (a few

sections in Aramaic)
From oral tradition to written
form
Written by many authors
between about 1000 B.C. and
100 B.C.
The Hebrew canon (< Gr. kanon,
rule) established during the
first century A.D.
May be divided into three main
sections
o The Law / The
Pentateuch
(Christianity) /the Torah
(Judaism)
Genesis
Exodus
Leviticus
Numbers
Deuteronomy
o The Prophets
The former
prophets, e.g.
Joshua, Judges
the latter
prophets, e.g.
Isaiah
the twelve
prophets, e.g.
Jonah
o The Writings
E.g. Psalms,
Proverbs, Job, Song
of Songs

Two canons of the Old Testament

The Hebrew Canon was

established during first century
A.D.

Does not contain the socalled Apocrypha

o Accepted today by the
Jews and the Protestants
The Septuagint Canon of the
Old Testament was established
during the two centuries B.C.
o The Septuagint: the
translation of the OT into
Greek
o Ca. 200100 B.C.
o Contains the so-called
Apocrypha /
Deuterocanon
E.g. Tobit, Judith,
The Book of
Wisdom, and
Sirach
o Accepted today by the
Roman Catholics and the
Eastern Orthodox
o

The New Testament

Written in Greek
Written between about A.D. 50s
100
The canon mostly established
ca. A.D. 130, but confirmed only
in late 4th century
May be divided into four
principal sections
o The Gospels
The Synoptic
Gospels
Mark is the
oldest (ca.
A.D. 60s or
70s)
Matthew is
the longest
Luke is
interested in
narratives
and history

The Gospel
according to John
Written ca.
A.D. 100
Philosophic
al and
topical
The Acts of the Apostles
Written by the
author of the
Gospel according
to Luke
Development of
the church
The genre of
Apology

The Letters
Letters of direction
to various early
Christian
congregations
Especially by Paul
The Book of Revelation
Eschaton /
Apocalypse
Rich symbolism
A society in crisis
Belief in final
judgment and
second coming of
the Christ

A brief history of the translations

of the Bible

During the first Christian

centuries Latin became
increasingly important
During the 4th century most
parts of the Bible were
translated into Latin
The Vulgate

The widely accepted

translation of the Bible
into Latin
o Executed by Jerome (ca.
341 420) during the
early 5th century
The Roman Catholics used Latin
Bible during the Middle Ages
and until the 1960s
o Also masses were chiefly
in Latin
Today were are many different
English translations of the Bible
o Many U.S. Catholics use
translation known as
New American Bible
o Many other Christian
Churches use The New
Revised Standard Version
o

Different Traditions of Biblical

Interpretation

Canonical Exegesis
o < Gr. kanon (rule)
o Interbiblical referencing
and intertextual
explanation
o Practiced by the writers
of the Bible themselves ,
important also today
Four senses of the Scripture
o Esp. from early Christian
writers to ca. 1500

Looking for spiritual

meanings of the text (Gr.
Dianoia)
o four levels of explanation
(senses)
Literal retelling of
the story
Allegorical focus
on the relationship
between the Old
and New
Testaments & key
theological
teachings
Tropological focus on virtues
Anagogical focus
on afterlife
Historical-Critical Exegesis
o The dominant academic
method today
o From the 19th c. onward
o Using the methods of
history, linguistics, and
archeology
o Reconstructing the
events as they were
historically
Liberation theology, feminist
theology,
o

Interested to know more?

The HarperCollins Bible Dictionary.
General Editor Paul J. Achtemeier.
HarperSanFrancisco 1996.