MODULE 1:

INTRODUCTION TO THE
SACRED SCRIPTURES
BIBLE
Bible (74)
 comes from "Biblia" (books) derived from "Biblion" (paper, book or scroll) diminutive of the
word "Byblos" (Papyrus)
 Byblos is the root word for "Biblia"
o comes from the Phoenician port Byblos from whence Egyptian papyrus was
exported to Greece.
 223 A.D reffered as "Ta Biblia" (The Books)
o was used by Hellenistic Jews referred to their "Septuagint" (Greek version of the
Hebrew scriptures)
 Deuterocanonicals - Tobit, Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Baruch, 1 Maccabees, 2 Maccabees
 PROTESTANT EDITION
o 65 (or 66 depending on the counting)
o "Apocrypha" - (hidden)
 "Nihil obstat" (nothing hinders/nothing stands in the way)
o no doctrinal error
o an attestation by a church censor that a book contains nothing damaging to faith
or morals
 "Imprimatur" (let it be printed)
 
THE SCRIPTURES
 are the source of wisdom
 is a product of the faith experiences of the people. The Holy Spirit acted in and through
the authors' natural powers and abilities to convey God's message drawn from their
personal or communal experiences of God and his works.
Biblical Inspiration
o remind us that the Sacred Scriptures is the authoritative source of our knowledge of
God as He journeys with the Israelites and now journeying with us.
o Sacred and canonical books of the Old and New Testament, were written under the
inspiration of the Holy Spirit, so that we can call God their "author" and the Bible the
"Word of God"
 o Dei Verbum (word of God)
 divinely revealed realities which are contained and presented in Sacred Scripture
have been committed to writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
 Relying on the belief of the Apostles, the Old and New Testaments in their
entirety are sacred and canonical because written under the inspiration of the
Holy Spirit,
a. they have God as their author and have been handed on as such to the
Church herself.
b. In composing the sacred books, God chose men and while employed by
Him
c. they made use of their powers and abilities , so that with Him acting in
them and through them
d. they, as true authors, consigned to writing everything and only those
things which He wanted guided by the Holy Spirit
e. books of Scripture must be acknowledged as teaching solidly, faithfully
and without error that truth which God wanted put into sacred writings for
the sake of salvation. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)
 belief in and loving fulfillment of God's word revealed in Christ, through whom salvation
is given.
2 Timothy 3:16-17
o idea of oneness, a totality or the whole, thus referring to every passage of Scripture
and every word in every passage. No exceptions. Praise God that He has preserved
His Word!
o emphasizes the Holy Scriptures as inspired by God.
o Paul instructs Timothy to be steadfast to what he has been taught in the scriptures
Latin Vulgate renders it "divinitus inspirata".
 2 Peter 1:21
"no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will , but men moved by the Holy Spirit
spoke from God"
o on the contrary which presents a strong antithesis to the idea that prophecy originated
from the mind & will of men
o Holy Spirit
- were continually carried or borne along by the Spirit a beautiful figurative use of the
verb Luke uses to describe a sailing vessel being carried along by the wind
- principal author of the Holy Scriptures but the message that God wanted written is
embedded in human language.
o absolute negation = absolutely none - and placed first in the Greek for emphasis
o Men- the human instruments who "transcribed" as it were the the Words of God
  Vatican II said it best: “The books of Scripture, firmly, faithfully, and without error, teach
that truth which God, for the sake of our salvation, wished to see confided to the sacred
Scriptures” (Dei Verbum, no. 11).
True Authors(called in Dei Verbum)
 the word “author” in Latin means “producer” has wider range than writer.
 Bible’s human authors, using their skills to bring these truths to light.
 weren’t simply taking dictation but were genuine collaborators in the message they
rendered.
“All Scripture is inspired by God. God is its principal author, with the writer as the human
collaborator. Thus the scriptures are the words of God in human language. The books of the bible
are useful for teaching because as God's word, the scriptures share his divine authority. It is
exercised through those who are ministers of the word.”
 
Biblical Canonicity - process by which a book is accepted into the official list of core scriptures
Canon
 Greek 'Kanon'
 Early meaning "a measuring rod"
 Later meaning "A standard by which something is judged/A list"
Furthermore, the Catechism for Filipino Catholics reiterates the canon of the Scriptures
as it says:
 canon of Scripture is divided into the books written before Jesus' life(the Old
Testament) and those written after (the New Testament).
 Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church determined the inspired and normative
New Testament books in terms of their apostolic origin, coherence withe the
essential Gospel message, and constant use in the Church's liturgy.
 After the a long development, the Church finally accepted as inspired, sacred, and
canonical, the 46 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books of the New
Testament that we find in our Catholic bible." (CFC,88)
At least four factors play significant part in interpreting Scripture:
i. the inspired human author’s intention
ii. the text itself
iii. the reader of the text
iv. the common horizon connecting the original community context of the text with our
community reading today.
 
INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE
TWO APPROACHES:
Exegesis
  “to lead out of”
 Exposition of a text based on a careful, objective analysis.
 The interpreter is led to his conclusions by following the text.
 Critical explanation or interpretation of a
Text, especially of scripture
  
EXEGETE - an expounder or textual interpreter,
Especially of scripture.
Eisegesis
-“to lead into”
-Interpretation of a passage based on a subjective, non-analytical reading.
- The interpreter injects is own ideas into the text, making it mean whatever he wants.
EISEGETE - places meaning on a text which is not originally or inherently present in the
text

OLD TESTAMENTS(47) Judith Ezekiel

THE PENTATEUCH Esther Daniel
Genesis 1 Maccabees Minor Writing
Exodus 2 Maccabees Prophets
Leviticus WISDOM AND Hosea
Numbers POETRY BOOKS Joel
Deuteronomy Job Amos
HISTORICAL Psalms Obadiah
BOOKS Proverbs Jonah
Joshua Ecclesiastes Micah
Judges Song of Songs Nahum
Ruth Wisdom Habakkuk
1 Samuel Sirach Zephaniah
2 Samuel PROPHETIC Haggai
1 Kings BOOKS Zechariah
2 Kings Major Writing Malachi
1 Chronicles Prophets New Testament
2 Chronicles Isaiah NEW
Ezra Jeremiah TESTAMENTS(27)
Nehemiah Lamentations THE GOSPELS
Tobit Baruch Matthew
 Mark Romans 1 Thessalonians
Luke 1 Corinthians 2 Thessalonians
John 2 Corinthians 1 Timothy
Acts of the Galatians 2 Timothy
Apostles Ephesians Titus
PAULINE Philippians Philemon
LETTERS Colossians Hebrews
CATHOLIC LETTERS
James
1 Peter
2 Peter
1 John
2 John
3 John
Jude
APOCALYPTIC BOOKS
Revelation