Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Divine dictation – does not respect freedom of creatures & differences in biblical
writings
Negative assistance – does not allow unique character of Bible as Word of God
Subsequent approbation – if so, how would we understand Bible as Word of God
2 important points
God is actively present in a unique manner in the composition of the biblical books –
divine activity approached in faith
The freedom of the human authors in making use of their own talents & resources, in
cooperation with the spirit of God, in composing the sacred books – use of all possible
sciences to understand the intended meaning of authors
Revelation & the Bible
Took place in history – Patriarchs, exodus, history of Israel, Jesus’ LPDR (life, passion,
death and resurrection)
Thru written form – for correct interpretation & preservation
CANON OF THE BIBLE
Qinah/kanna = a reed used as a measuring stick
Canon – “list” of inspired books
Canonization – process of recognizing which are the inspired books
o For Catholics, most with authority is
o WHEN: in 1546 Council of Trent
o WHO: thru magisterium
o HOW: thru standards like inner unity/cohesiveness of books, apostolic origin,
ability to foster prayer and love, and most, the acceptance of local community
Old Testament Canon
621 BCE: Finding of Deuteronomic code
400 BCE: five books of Moses/Pentateuch/Torah
Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings
200 BCE: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, minor prophets (12) (Heb: Nevi’im)
Wisdom literature (Heb: Ketuvim)
Torah (first 5 books): Nevi’im (Prophets), Ketuvim (Writings) = TNK (Tanakh)
First Jewish Revolt (66 – 74 C.E.)
Fall of Masada
Destruction of Jerusalem Temple – Wailing Wall
90 C.E. – Rabbis at Jamnia – ‘oral law’
End of 1st C.E. – gradual separation between Jews and ‘Christians’
Two Main Jewish Traditions
Palestinian Canon
o Rabbis at Jamnia (70s) under Johanan ben Zakkai
o 39 books
Alexandrian Canon
o Gk speaking Jews
o Accepted 39 books + 1- 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch
and parts of Daniel and Esther (Deuterocanonical)
o Catholics follow this list
ca. almost the same time as Mt, written by a Greek convert (?); two-volumes
Did not need reassurance like Mt’s community but wanted to know the origin of
their Christian faith so with explanations of Jewish traditions & origins
John
Concordance: Alphabetical listings of words and phrases in the Bible showing where the terms
occur throughout all the Biblical books
Commentaries: Special book that gives a lot of information about the bible. Books that are
highly specialized
Syn – same
Optic – lens
HISTORICAL APPROACH
involves looking at the text with a historical perspective and in terms of its historical
context
“the indispensable method for the study of the meaning of ancient texts” since Scripture
is the Word of God in human language
4 Stages: textual, source, genre/form, redaction
1. TEXTUAL
2. SOURCE
attempts to trace the source(s) for biblical materials, whether written or oral
traditions
3. GENRE/FORM
seeks to identify the literary genre/form and the situation that gave rise to them
4. REDACTION
studies how the biblical documents were edited for a particular purpose in their
final form.
In the gospels, it considers how a passage fits in with the general message of the
particular gospel writer to the particular Christian community.
1. CANONICAL APPROACH
Interprets biblical text in the light of the canon or in how the Bible is received as
the norm of faith by a community of believers; situates text in the plan of God &
its relevance for our time
2. JEWISH TRADITION
Used since the time of the Church Fathers/ Patristics in interpreting OT & NT just
as St. Paul did in elaborating scriptures
Uses the context of ancient Judaism
3. INFLUENCE OF THE TEXT
Assesses the development of the text over the course of time under the
influence of the concerns readers have brought to the text
1. SOCIOLOGICAL APPROACH
looks at the social condition of the text; focuses on the economic and
institutional aspects
2. CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
Considers the wider cultural system than the sociological approach “seeking to
define the characteristics of different kinds of human beings in their social
context” (whether urban or rural), with attention paid to the values recognized
by the society in question.
3. PSYCHOLOGICAL APPROACH
n/a
CONTEXTUAL APPROACHES
1. LIBERATIONIST READING
concerns itself with letting the Bible speak to the people of today, particularly
the victims of oppression. It hinges on the fact that exegesis cannot be neutral,
but must, in imitation of God, take sides on behalf of the poor and be engaged in
the struggle to liberate the oppressed (IBC,67)
2. FEMINIST READING
3. ECOLOGICAL HERMENEUTICS