WEEK 1

INTRODUCTION
To let the students, learn and appreciate the initiative of God in intervening in human history just to bring
back people to the right path and to guide them not to commit the same mistakes being done by our fore-
fathers. This course will discuss the different ways on how God visited His people starting with the calling of
Abraham and the prophets, the peak of His revelation through His Son Jesus Christ and His vision of the
Kingdom, and His continuing guidance of the people through the Holy Spirit who is present in the Church
and her celebrations.

LEARNING CONTENT:
God created all things, (world and the human persons). They were in "paradise" which means, there was
harmony, justice, peace, and joy. Despite the very good conditions of life that they were in, the first human
beings ("Adam" and "Eve") still committed sin. SIN

The Sacrament of God is Jesus and the Sacrament of Jesus is the Church (John 20:21, Acts 1:8)
The Church started as a religious renewal "movement"/group in Jerusalem, Israel by no other than Jesus
Christ. Jesus grounded the Church on the foundation of the Apostles and it spread from Jerusalem to the
Roman Empire world until throughout all the earth.
The first "name" of the Church was The Way (Acts 9:2), the members of the Church were called Christians
in Antioch (Acts 11: 26). The Church was persecuted by the Roman Empire (which was still pagan) until the
Conversion of the Emperor Constantine in 313 AD which paved the way for Christians to infiltrate Rome
until Christianity was declared as the official religion of the Roman Empire in 380 A.D by Emperor
Theodosius.
Way back in 45 A.D, the first apostle who went to Rome and started the Church there was no other than
Peter. Later, reflecting on the mission of Jesus which He passed on to the Church, the Church's official
"name" or title evolved into: One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic.
From the Church developed the Hierarchy (Bishops, priests, and deacons - with the Pope as the overall
head for the sake of division of work and maintaining the unity of the Church while it spreads the Kingdom
of God on earth.
From the Church comes the different "kinds" of priests according to spirituality or mission area.
A. DIOCESAN - a term use for priests serving their local places;

B. MONKS - started in the 3rd century AD in Egypt and in Syria with a life of simplicity or asceticism.
Monks who are composed of sisters (not priests) only came out later. Example of few monks in
Cagayan who are sisters are those at the St. Claire monastery in Iguig.

C. MISSIONARIES - are group/community of priests who really want to go to serve remote places not
yet evangelize.
Examples of missionaries are the following:
c.1. THE DOMINICANS who was founded by St. Dominic in Prouille, France in 1216. (Dominic was a
Spanish priest).
c.2. THE AUGUSTINIANS which started in 1244 in Italy (group or no specific founder).
c.3. THE JESUITS OR CALLED SOCIETY OF JESUS who was founded in 1540 by Ignatius of Loyola,
formerly a Spanish soldier who became priest.
c.4. The CICM and other missionary groups only came out later.
THE CICM was founded by a diocesan priest Theophile Verbist in 1862 in Scheut, Anderlecht, Brussels,
Belgium. CICM is just one of the missionary groups which is an arm of the Church for evangelization.
One of the strategies for missionaries to evangelize people especially the youth to prepare them to become
also evangelizers in the future is to establish schools. With this, the missionary schools and even in the
schools established by the local Church, the core of the curriculum is the Christian Faith Education of the
young (children to college). In a wider sense, the Christian formation of the Community who are in the
school. The CICM established schools for such purpose.
Here at the University of Saint Louis, our motto for us to always remember this is "Mission and Excellence"
and among the core values of our University's Vision-Mission, the first is Christian Living.
EDUCATIONAL PHILOSOPHY
The University of Saint Louis upholds the philosophy that education is for building of self and persons for
the Church and the Society. Wisdom builds. To these ends, the following are the core values of University
of Saint Louis; integral in the formation of every member of the Louisian community.

A. Christian Living D. Innovation, Creativity, and Agility

We are witnesses to the Gospel
values as taught and lived by Christ thus
making God's love known and experienced by
all.
B. Excellence
We are witnesses to the Gospel
values as taught and lived by Christ thus
making God's love known and experienced by
all.
C. Professional Responsibility
We are committed to efficiently and
responsibly apply the learned principles,
values and skills in the chosen field of
discipline, taking initiative and command
responsibility in one's professional
advancement.
We keep ourselves relevant and
responsive to the changing needs of our
stakeholders by, being flexible, solution
oriented, and having cutting-edge decisions
and practices
E. Social Awareness and Involvement
We engage ourselves with society by
listening to the prevailing issues and concerns
in the society, thereby initiating and
participating in constructive and relevant We
keep ourselves relevant and responsive to
social activities for the promotion of justice,
peace, and integrity of creation and for
people's wellness and development
consistent with the CICM charism.
WEEK 2

THE FORMATION OF THE BIBLE

The Bible did not come out as a book/compiled from the beginning. The process was God’s revelation to
people, oral tradition by which the people preached and passed it to the next generations, and the writing
stage. The whole Bible was written over a period of more than 1000 years. From about 1000 BC (OT) to
about 100 AD (NT).

The Call of Abraham

The call of Abraham (Gen 12:1-3) marked the very beginning of God's historical intervention in the lives of
humans to bring them back to His fold, since they have been going astray. This was the actual start of
God's mission of bringing Salvation (total wellbeing, true meaning of life) to humanity. God made a
covenant with Abraham (Gen. 17:7-8) which will be followed up by the Israelites, the descendants of
Abraham being formed into one nation who will live the covenant and statutes of God.

The Exodus and the Covenant at Mt. Sinai

This event speaks about God's direct intervention Israelites from their slavery in Egypt through Moses
Decalogue or 10 Commandments at Mt. Sinai. The 10 Commandments made God's intention clearer, to
free or to save people from going astray using the Israelites, His chosen people as starting point.

The Establishment of the Kingdom

With the Kingship of David, the kingdom of Israel was finally established. This was the most prosperous
and peaceful time for the Israelites. So, David became the model king for the Israelites. This was made
possible because of his faithfulness to God. Despite the exemplary kingship of David, the succeeding kings
failed to emulate or even just to sustain, it led to the unfaithfulness of the Israelites. This unfaithfulness
came in the of the Kingdom form of idolatry or believing and worshipping other gods, and even oppressing
their poor co-Israelites. God will again intervene by sending the prophets to remind them their covenant
with God which they should be faithful to. The prophets will only write their messages usually at their old
age if not, by their "disciples." Despite the coming out of the prophets the situation even became worst
which will lead to their exile.

The Babylonian Exile

With the unfaithfulness of the Israelites, God allowed them to be conquered by other countries until their
exile in Babylon by King Nebuchadnezzar. The Babylonians burned Jerusalem and the temple and exiled
all the rich and proud Israelites in Babylon and made them their slaves. This experience in Babylonian exile
made the Israelites realize their unfaithfulness and their being unjust to the poor and decided to remorse
and return back to God. This was the time that they wrote some of their concept about God such as the
Creation Story and others which was usually passed orally. So, they started to worship God in small groups
in small places which will be called Synagogue by praying and studying theTorah (commandments).
King Cyrus of Persia defeated Babylon and freed the Israelites and later allowed them to go back to Israel
in 538 BC with the guidance of the prophets Ezra and Nehemiah. Later when there will be no more
prophets, Israel tried to look for other guidance for a meaningful life and so this was the time they have
written their wisdom books.
Jesus is the perfect embodiment of God's mission. The same process with that of the Old Testament, that
there was Jesus who personally worked for the kingdom, later the apostles will continue Jesus' mission by
preaching (oral tradition) and at their old age will be the writing. The evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John) wrote their gospels at the second half of the 1st century A.D (50-100 AD) which was the stage of the
early Church. Aside from the Gospels, the other books of the New Testament such as the Pauline letters
and other Epistles were written at this era and even later. The Catholic Church (recall the evolution of the
Church from The Way to Becoming One Holy Catholic and Apostolic in week 1 topic) started to compile all
the books which they believe to be inspired by the Holy Spirit from the time of Prophets until after the Jesus'
event which they will call BIBLE. The compiled books of the Bible since 360 AD were all 73. 46 books of the
Old Testament which includes the 7 Deutero-canonical and 27 books of the New Testament. The Church
carefully discerned the canon/books of the sacred scriptures. It was Tertulian (200 AD) who introduced the
"Old Testament" for the Jewish/Israelites Scriptures and "New Testament" for the Christian Scriptures.
(From the very beginning there were no protestant churches yet since they started emerging in the 16th
century and they will later follow the Canon of the Israelites who did not accept the Seven Deutero-
canonical books as inspired by the Holy Spirit.)
The Israelites who did not acknowledge Jesus as the Messiah and stick to their Old Testament beliefs and
practices called their religion Judaism in 70 A.D. They only finalized the compilation/canon of their sacred
scriptures (which were Old Testament books) around 930-1009 AD. They called their canon of Sacred
Scriptures TaNak which stands for Torah (Law/Pentateuch), Nevi'im (Prophets/Prophetic books), Ketuvi'm
(Writings/wisdom books). The TaNaK is composed of 24 books. In their counting it is 24 but if you count
their books individually it is actually 39. They only have 39 books since they did not include the 7 Deutero-
canonical books. This counting of the books of the Old Testament will be the basis of the Protestants (who
only emerged in the 16th century) when they had their version of the Bible.

BIBLE
The word bible is derived from the Latin biblia, a singular word derived from the Greek word biblia, meaning
"books". The Greek word biblion, which means "book" or "roll" is derived from Byblos, because the
collection of written materials was made of papyrus, the Greeks called it biblia. Eventually, the plural form
biblia was used by Latin-speaking Christians to denote all the books of the Old and New Testaments.

HOLY WRIT
"Writ" literally means something that is written, the Bible is also called Holy Writ because it I contains
salvation history that started with the call of Abraham and climaxed with Jesus' Paschal Mystery.
HOLY SCRIPTURES
The bible is also called Holy Scriptures which was taken from the Latin scriptus, meaning "written" and
Greek graphe, Hebrew (mikra), the word refers to religious writings thatare considered authoritative,
foundational, and/or sacred by some religious groups.
THE WORD OF GOD
The Greek term used is logos, which means "a word as embodying a concept or " discourse." It is also
used of the "revelation of God's word."
THE ORACLE OF GOD
This name is used in Rom. 3:2 and Acts 7:38 where it is translated as oracles. For Christians, the whole
Bible can be called "The Oracles of God because it contains God's divine utterance for humanity.
THE LAW AND THE PHROPHETS
This name looks at the Old Testament from the perspective of its divisions (which will be discussed to you
as we move towards learning) -the law, the prophets and the writings.
THE LAW (TORAH)
The Jews call their Scriptures as Torah or Law, because the whole of the Old Testament is authoritative as
God's Word of instructions to humanity on how to live well as human being

WEEK 3
EXPLANATIONOFTERMS:
Etymologically the word Canon comes from Latin 'Canon' which is a translation of Greek word, derived from
Hebrew, meaning bar or rod used for measuring. As a tool for measuring, like a ruler or T-square it is used
as a basis to draw a straight line. Symbolically, the word canon is applied as norm or standard in
proclaiming an official teaching of the Church. Adopted with Christian importance the word was used in the
Canon of Saints, Canon of the Mass, and Canon of the Bible. These examples suggest that there are
official contents which we must observe as standard, thus, outside these lists, invalidates its connection to
the Church's teachings.

BIBLICALCANON
It is a collection or a list of books which the Church receives as divinely inspired and which she
considers as norm of faith and morals. We say that the Bible is a library --- books within a book. Librarians
must make an A account of all the books which the library had acquired. Like a librarian, the Church takes
into account the list of books to be treated as the official roster which we should uphold as divinely inspired.
Thus, the Church has the authority to approve and reject a book to be included in the Scriptures.
With these in mind, let us look at the relationship of Biblical Inspiration and Biblical Canon.
Inspiration is the work of the Holy Spirit while canonicity is the work of the Church. Inspiration is
simultaneous with the composition since the Holy Spirit inspired the human authors. Canon of the Bible
simply means the Church just collected and compiled into one the books which passed the criteria as being
inspired by the Holy Spirit. The Church recognizes this book as the Word of God for our Salvation. As
sacred and inspired, it becomes Canonical.

TWO GROUPS OF CANONICAL BOOKS: Protocanonical and Deuterocanonical Books

PROTOCANONICAL
Proto is a Greek word which means first. Protocanonical Books belong to the first collection of books
(Canon) of which the Church had no difficulty in accepting their inspired character. They easily passed the
criteria as being inspired by the Holy Spirit. These are the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 books
of the New Testament.
DEUTEROCANONICAL
Deutero is also a Greek word, meaning second. Deuterocanonical Books belong to the second canon.
These books were carefully discerned and even disputed before being accepted by the Church as inspired.
The Deuterocanonical Books are the books of Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Wisdom, Sirach, 1 Maccabees and 2
Maccabees. Moreover, there are some books which came out after the death of the Apostles which are not
inspired. These books are called Apocryphal Books. The word apokriptus in Greek means hidden. Thus, in
order for the readers not to be misled with the teachings of the uninspired books, the Church invalidates its
credibility as a norm of faith and morals. In order not to be confused with the Bible editions that we have
today, it is also good to know that the Protestants who only came out later in the 16th Century followed the
Jewish groups who did not recognize the Deuterocanonical Books as inspired. So, in order to know if our
Bible is a Catholic one, we look at its list if the Deuterocanonical Books are included.
EVENTS THAT WILL SUPPORT THE INCLUSION OF THE 7 DEUTERO-CANONICAL BOOKS
1. SEPTUAGINT OR LXX:
This was a Greek translation of the Old Testament by 72 Jewish Scholars in Egypt upon the
request of King Ptolemy Philadelphus around 300-200 BC. The Jewish scholars translated their
scriptures from Hebrew to Greek and they came out with 46 copies (OT). This means that the 7
deutero-canonical books had their original bases but these copies may have been destroyed or
were not preserved. This Septuagint version of the Old Testament was also used by the Apostles.

2. DEAD SEA SCROLLS

This event had happened after the Canon of the Bible was finalized, but greatly proves that
the inclusion of the 7 deutero-canonical books in the Bible is correct. Between the years 1947 and
1956 they discovered scrolls in eleven caves along the Northwest shore of the Dead Sea which
were ancient copies of all the 46 Old Testament books, these copies were most likely written by the
Essenes around 200 BC.
  The canon of Scriptures is divided into the books written before Jesus’ life (Old Testament) and
those written after (New Testament). Guided by the Holy Spirit, the Church determined the inspired
and normative New Testament Books in terms of their apostolic origin, coherence with the essential
Gospel Message, and constant use in the Church’s Liturgy. After 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.
BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
As divinely inspired, the Bible carries truth. Moreover, in getting the meaning of the text we must treat truth
objectively. The meaning of the text is not always in its literal sense but employing some methodic ways of
hermeneutics, there is a need to dig the meaning of it. We should also understand that in reading the Bible,
we may encounter a lot of scientific and historical errors. Even though the Bible is speaking about science
and history, it is not trying to present facts about them, for the purpose of the Bible is the self-disclosure of
God to us and treating this as the Word of God for us and for our salvation.
The Bible Is a book written in different literary styles. Thus, in order for us to be led to the meaning of the
text it is deem necessary to discuss some literary genres present in the Scriptures.

SOME OF THE MAJOR GENRES WITHIN THE HEBREW BIBBLE (OLD TESTAMENT)

 MYTHS and LEGEND

Narratives about the beginning of the world, the first generations of humans, early years of
nation, intended to provide a foundational worldview upon which people base their communal and
individual lives. (Ex. Gen, parts of Exod., Num, and Deut
  LEGAL CODES
Collection of laws by which the people are to live (Lev, parts of Exod, Num, Deut)

 GENEALOGIES
Lists of inter-relationships between peoples, either of successive generations or different
nations (Parts of Gen, much of Num)

 PROPHETIC BOOKS
Collection of oracles or words of God spoken to the people through human intermediaries
and the symbolic actions they perform at God's direction for the people's benefit (Isaiah, Jeremiah,
etc.)

 PSALMS
Poetic lyrics of songs/ hymns intended for communal worship and individual prayer.
(Psalms)

 LAMENTS
Words addressed by people to God. especially reflecting situations crisis or laments

 APOCALYPSES
Symbolic narratives that interpret historical crises through God's eyes to provide hope for a
better future. (Dan)

 PROVERBS
Generalized sayings and aphorisms containing advice on how they live well: "do good and
avoid evil

 ANNALS
Semi-historical narrative accounts of decisive events in a nation's life that gives emphasis on
the political and military exploits of its leaders. (Josh, Jdg, 1 & 2 Sam, 1 & 2 Kings)

SOME OF THE MAJOR GENRES WITHIN THE NEW TESTAMENT

GOSPELS ACTS LETTER/EPISTLES

proclamation of the a partial narrative real letters addressing

"good news" about account about the practical and
Jesus intended to beginnings and the theological issues
establish/ strengthen growth of early relevant to particular
people's faith in Him; Christianity; not a communities
quasi-biographical, complete history of the
semi-historical early Church, since it
portraits of the life, focuses only on the
teachings, and actions actions of few
of Jesus (Mt, Mk, Lk, missionary leaders.
Jn) The gospels
contain many sub-
genres of literature.
 HOMILY/SERMON HOMILY/SERMON HOMILY/SERMON

an exegetical sermon more stylized works in a vividly symbolic

that cites and letter format; circular narrative that "reveals"
interprets older biblical letters intended for God's views about a
texts in reference to broader audiences. (1 historical crisis in
Jesus. (Heb) & 2 Pt) order to provide
encouragement for a
difficult present and
hope for a better
future. (Rev)

Smaller Genres and Sub-Genres within New Testament:

 The New Testament Gospel contain narrative materials, discourse materials, and some
mixed genres:
 Narrative genres include the following:
            -genealogies
            -narrators introductions, transitions and summary passages
            -miracle stories
            -call and sending stories
            -conflict or controversy stories
 Discourse genres include the following:
            -parables and allegories
            -laws and legal interpretations
            -short exhortations: individual sayings or proverbs
            -longer speeches: discourses or monologues
 
There are two kinds of interpreting the Biblical Text, Exegesis and Eisegesis. The first one is Exegesis, It is
the exposition of a text based on a careful, objective analysis. The word exegesis literally means “to lead
out of” that means that the interpreter is being led to his conclusions by following the text.
EXEGESIS is drawing out the meaning of the text after considering its background or context such as the
background of the author, his styles of writing and delivering his message to his audience, the audience of
the author, the time and situation of the audience to mention few. With this method, the interpreter will be
able to determine the message of the Biblical text. According to Catechism of Filipino Catholics 92-96,
there are at least four factors which play significant part in interpreting the 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.
EISEGESIS is the interpretation of a passage based on a subjective, non-analytical reading. The word
eisegesis literally means "to lead into," which means the interpreter injects his own ideas into the text,
making it mean whatever he wants. This kind of interpretation may be implied during reflection, Bible
sharing, and personal prayers. However, the task of giving an authentic interpretation of the Word of God
has been entrusted to the living teaching office of the Church alone. (Dei Verbum No. 10)
Between the two methods of interpreting the text in the Bible, Exegesis is the proper or highly
recommended, as it is being used by the official interpreters of the Bible.
Why is the need to do exegesis in interpreting the Bible?
First, we must know or be aware that we do not have the copy of the original Sacred Scriptures which were
written in Hebrew and Greek. All the Bible editions that we have today are just translations from the original
manuscripts. Even in the process of translating the scriptures, there is/are "dagdag-bawas" if the translator
is not careful. Remember that the translations/editions are most often not in exact words ornotliteral. This
means that the words in the translations may not capture the exact meaning of the words in the original
manuscript. Second, we are not the original audience of the authors of the Sacred Scriptures. These were
the Israelites. This means that the worldview and message of the authors were focused on their direct
audience. Third, the situation of the original audience may not be the same with our situation at present.
So, with these important reminders, we cannot directly apply the words of the Bible to us but a lot of it
should be re-appropriated or be contextualized to our situation at present.

Chapters and Verses

            When the Bible was compiled, there were no chapters and verses yet.  Stephen Langton,
Archbishop of Canterbury divided the Bible into chapters only in 1227. Later, Robert Stephanus divided the
Bible into verses only in 1551.
How to read Chapters and Verses in the Bible?
            Genesis 3:16 - The word Genesis represents the book, the first number before the colon (3)
represents the chapter while the number after the colon (16) represents the verse. The above sample reads
as Genesis chapter 3 verse 16.

WEEK 4
The Patriarchs
For us to understand the importance of the Patriarchs in the history of the Israelites or in modern term
called Jewish people, let us make a glimpse of the stories before the calling of the first Patriarch ---
Abraham. These stories are called "reconstructed history" by some Biblical Experts.

Same cycle is also applied in the story of the children of Adam and Eve-- Cain and Abel. In Genesis
4, Cain out of jealousy murdered his brother Abel, who was a more favored son because of his best
offering to God. Clearly, in this story sin was present in the act of killing and the feeling of jealousy by Cain.
After which the punishment was when the Lord said' " ... and now you are cursed from the ground ... When
you till the ground, it shall no longer yield you its produce; you shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on earth.
Cain was fearful of becoming a fugitive and wanderer and said "My punishment is greater than I can
bear ... you have driven me ... and I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me
will slay me." However, as a response on the fear of Cain, the Lord answered, "Not so! If anyone slays
Cain, vengeance shall be taken on him seven-fold. And then the Lord put a mark on Cain, lest anyone who
came upon him should kill him." (Genesis 4, 15) Even though the Lord cursed him to be a fugitive and
wanderer, yet the blessing came when He promised that Cain will never be killed.

The pattern is also the same in the Story of Noah in Genesis 6. The wickedness of mankind made
God plan to wipe out all people on earth. As a symbol for cleansing, the great flood wasthe punishment.
However, Noah was presented as the blessing when he builds the ark to save them from the flood. After
the flood subsided, there was only one nation under the descendants of Noah.
 When people grew in number sin comes into the fore again in the story of the tower of Babel. The
building of the tower of Babel was a desire to have fame so that their names will spread throughout all the
earth and the next generation instead of that of God (Genesis 11:4). It was also a sin of disobedience since
they did not spread throughout all the earth as God commanded their forefathers. Their desire to be the
ones to be glorified instead of God was shattered when the Lord differentiated their languages. Thus, they
really were scattered on earth as God planned for people.

The cycle in the stories before the calling of the Patriarchs presents the people’s act of
always turning away from God despite God’s act of always restoring them. This act of committing
sin was continuous from the forefathers to the next generations. This will lead to God’s calling the
first Patriarch Abraham to start journeying with His people.

THE CALL OF ABRAHAM

GENESIS 12:1-3
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to
the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and
make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 31 will bless those who bless you, and him
who curses you I will curse; and by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves."

So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five
years old when he departed from Haran. And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his < brother's
son, and all their possessions which they had gathered, and the persons that they had gotten in
Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan,
Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the
Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, "To your descendants
I will give this land." So, he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
Let us analyze the words of God to Abram in Genesis 12:1-4. What are the three things that
God promised to Abraham? Among those three promises, which one is clearly telling us that God
calling Abraham was just the beginning of His plan to give salvation to humanity? Obviously, the
first promise was the land which is Canaan as found in Genesis 12:5. For the second promise
which Abram did not immediately believe was the son since he had no heir with Sarai. How can
Abram become a great nation if he will not have children or even a son? The third promise which
may also be very remote for Abram was God's plan to save or journey with His people starting with
Abram and his descendants who will be the Israelites. This third promise was greatly implied in
Genesis 12: 4, when God said, "all the families of the earth will find blessing in you."

GOD'S COVENANT WITHABRAHAM

With the plan of God for all people as greatly implied in the calling of Abraham, there are events
that will slowly give signs on how it will be carried out starting with With the promises of land and a
son to Abram, the next would be the changing of their names and the circumcision (Genesis 17:1-
22). Circumcision is a sign of cleanliness and holiness, which means that one must walk
blameless with God. The changing of names has a deep and greater implication. In Genesis 17:5,
15, God will change the names of Abram and Sarai into Abraham and Sarah. Change of names in
the Bible greatly implies the change that the person must undergo, and the name greatly signifies
one's mission that he will carry out. One good example of this is the name "Jesus" which means
savior (Matthew 1:21). With this, Abraham's mission was to become the "father of a multitude of
nations".
HOW WILL ABRAHAM BECOME THE “FATHER OF A MULTITUDE NATION”
Biologically, Abraham was the father of the Hebrew nation only or the Israelites. As said in Genesis
12:3, how can we gain blessing through Abraham? With this, we must ask the question, what was really the
covenant between God and Abraham in its fullest sense? In Genesis 17:7- 8, it is greatly implied that God
will slowly introduce Himself as the God not only of Abraham but even his descendants. So, the covenant
was "I will be your/their God. While Abraham and his descendants were the only ones being mention here,
we need to go back to the wider context of God's words to Abraham which was "all the families of the earth
will find blessing in you." Back to the question, how will Abraham become the "father of a multitude of
nations" or how can we call Abraham our father?
The people descended from Abraham would be the trustee, the chosen people, called to prepare for
that day when God will gather all his children into unity. They would be the root onto which the gentiles
would be grafted once they come to believe. So, what would connect us with Abraham? It is our faith in the
God (YHWH) who called Abraham and the patriarchs. So, Abraham is not our biological father, but he is
our father of faith. This is why we hear many people singing "Father Abraham has many children, and I am
one of them ... " Still, we have to ask the question of how will God bless all the families of the earth through
Abraham? Who is the person from the lineage of Abraham who will bless all the families on earth? Going
back to the background of the calling of the patriarchs, it was because of the people continuously
committing sin. So, it is now very clear that the person who will bless us all is no other than the Savior, the
Word or the promise of God who became flesh. It is now clear that Abraham is our father of faith.
Readers may be troubled by God's choice of Abram. Is Abram somehow special, or better, or more
religious than other people? Again, God called people not because they are perfect or holy, but God would
intervene and comes to our rescue because of our sinfulness. Abraham's faith was tested many times
when he questioned his being childless, but again, this is where God's power and love would work. The
ultimate test of his faith was when God asked him to offer his only son Isaac which was just a proof that
Abraham now would fully trust God after all his encounters with Him. So, with faith in God, His grace will
overcome our human weaknesses.
CONCLUSION
The Story of Abraham is the actual starting point of God bringing salvation to humanity although this
has been planned since when the first persons committed sin. Abraham became the father of the Israelites
whom God will continue touse as instruments in spreading His Love / salvation for all. From the Israelites
would come the peak of God's promise to give blessing to all the families on earth.

THE NEXT PATRIARCHS

The major theme of Genesis 12-50 is how God overcomes obstacles in order to keep His covenant
and the promises that goes with it. From Abraham to the next patriarchs until their formation as God’s
chosen people, God would sustain His covenant with them. He was a God who really journeyed with them.

After Abraham, the next patriarchs would be his son Isaac, who is the father of Jacob and his twelve
sons who would become the founders/fathers of the Israelites until they will be formed as one nation.
Among the sons of Jacob, the one who would become famous since he was God's instrument for saving
Jacob's family from the great famine would be Joseph. The story of Joseph going first to Egypt could not
also be understood by many until its peak which was his becoming the acting pharaoh of Egypt who will
eventually rescue his family when the great famine even affected Canaan where his parents and brothers
lived.
Joseph was the 11th son of Jacob. He was considered the favorite son of Jacob and was a dreamer
and an interpreter of dreams. One of his dreams when he was young was that the sun and the moon and
eleven stars were bowing down to him. His brothers were so envious that they tried to kill him but later
decided to sell him. They sold him to the Ishmaelites, but the Midianites traders pulled and took Joseph to
Egypt and sold him to Potiphar who was a courtier and chief steward of the Pharaoh. By the way, the term
"Pharaoh" is a "title" for the king of Egypt. Joseph's refusal to have an affair with the wife of Potiphar who
reversed the story sent Joseph to the prison cell.
Despite the hardships in Egypt his name became great because of his interpretation of the
Pharaoh's dream. This will eventually promote him to become the governor or the acting Pharaoh of Egypt.
Pharaoh's dream was about a great famine who would come after years of good harvest. The famine for
which the Egyptian greatly prepared for with the leadership of Joseph did not only affect Egypt but even
Canaan where Jacob's family was. With such great crisis in food, Jacob asked his sons to go to Egypt to
buy food which will lead to their discovery of Joseph who will eventually let them settle in Egypt.
In the stories of the next patriarchs, God would always remind that He is the God of their forefathers
and would always sustain His covenant with them.

WEEK 5
Introduction
Let us continue to study a concise history of the Chosen People of God in the Torah. The identity of
the Israelites started from the calling of Abraham, the first patriarch. Patriarch means father of a family, tribe
or of a nation. In the context of the Israelites patriarchs would strictly refer to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
who was also named Israel when he encountered an angel. The twelve sons of Jacob/Israel may also be
included as patriarchs in a wider context as they were part of the foundations of the Israelites when they will
grow as a nation.
The increase of the Israelites in number and growth as a nation started in Egypt when they settled
there during the great famine which affected Canaan, the place of the first patriarchs. The death of Joseph
and the pharaohs who knew him and the Israelites would change the condition of the Israelites in Egypt.
Pharaoh by the way is a title of a king in Egypt just like an emperor in Rome or a president in a republic.
The new pharaoh who did not know anything about Joseph and the great things he did for Egypt
would have a negative suspicion with the growing number of the Israelites in Egypt. He would suspect that
these Israelites might take over and rule Egypt in the future. With this suspect in mind, he would make a
drastic move to stop the growth of the Israelites in number by killing all the male infants/babies of the
Israelites and making the male Israelites slaves. This scene will lead us to the story of the Prophet Moses.

IS MOSES SO IMPORTANT IN THE LIFE OF THE ISRAELITES?

The story of the prophet Moses is common to most Christians and is so important for the Israelites.
As an infant, he was rescued by no other than the princess, who was the daughter of the Pharaoh who
ordered the killing of the male babies of the Israelites. Consequently, Moses grew in the palace of the
Pharaoh as a prince. Despite growing in the palace, Moses knew very well that he was an Israelite. Moses
was so upset with the condition of his co-Israelites who being slaves were also maltreated by most
Egyptians. With this, he did something bad in the eyes of the Egyptians and the Pharaoh. He had to run
away for his life and fled to a place called Midian. He met Jethro and later married Zipporah, one of the
daughters of Jethro.

THE CALLING OF MOSSESS

Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Mid'ian; and he led his
flock to the west side of the wilderness, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. And the angel of the
LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and lo, the bush was
burning, yet it was not consumed. And Moses said, "I will turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush
is not burnt." When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, od called to him out of the bush, "Moses,
Moses!" And he said, "Here am I." Then he said, "Do not come near; put off your shoes from your feet, for
the place on which you are standing is holy ground." And he said, "I am the God of your father, the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at
God.
Then the LORD said, "I have seen the affliction of my people who are in Egypt, and have heard their
cry because of their taskmasters; I know their sufferings, and I have come down to deliver them out of the
hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land to a good and broad land, a land flowing with
milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Per'izzites, the Hivites, and
the Jeb'usites. And now, behold, the cry of the people of Israel has come to me, and I have seen the
oppression with which the Egyptians oppress them. Come, I will send you to Pharaoh that you may bring
forth my people, the sons of Israel, out of Egypt." But Moses said to God, "Who am I that I should go to
Pharaoh, and bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt?" He said, "But I will be with you; and this shall be the
sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve
God upon this mountain."
God called Moses at the time when Moses has chosen the paths father of a father and a shepherd
of sheep. He does this in the des Moses apparently isolated himself from the misfortunes of his people.
This calling of Moses marks the beginning of God's direct intervention in the history of the Israelites. God
asked Moses to return to Egypt to deliver the Israelites out from their slavery.
Who is this God who called Moses? How did He introduce Himself to Moses and why does this
God intervene in the situation/life of the Israelites in Egypt? Let us analyze some words or verses in the
calling of Moses. First, God asked Moses to remove his sandals and staff since the ground where he stood
is holy. Therefore, this Gok is a Holy God. This God deserves the highest respect from anyone. Even the
ground or place where God called Moses is considered holy. This is one of the bases of the practice of the
Catholic Church of respecting holy place, things, and other matters that God uses as an instrument in
communicating with His people. This also tells us that anything, or person or other matters that God uses
as instruments is holy.

The holiness of God radiates to these instruments or medium. The presence of God or His
grace will convert the person to become holy. This is why most theologians would say "God does not
call the qualified, but He qualifies the ones whom He will call for a mission". Moses even had to hide his
face, knowing that looking at God could cost him his life (v. 5). In the beliefs of the Israelites, one is not
worthy to see God, that is why they must cover their face whenever they encounter God "face to face".
Second, God said, He saw the sufferings of His people in Egypt and heard their cry. This means that this
God is a Compassionate God. God's intention to deliver the Israelites from Egyptian bondage is not only
motivated by His holiness, but also by His compassion for them in the midst of their affliction. Third, why did
God say "my people" referring to the Israelites in verse 7? How did the Israelites become people of God?
This reminds us of the covenant that God made with their forefather Abraham when he told him that he will
become a father of multitude and He will be their God. Here we can see the very reason why God called
Moses; that this God is a very FAITHFUL God. He is faithful to His covenant with Abraham, which He
sustained with Isaac, with Jacob, until the formation of the Israelites, His chosen people. This was very
clear when God introduced Himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that there is a
covenant and the promise attached with it that God is maintaining. In a wider context, that God's plan to
bring salvation to humanity beginning with the Israelites has to be fulfilled.

If we continue reading the call of Moses, he also asked the name of this God, and God said "I AM" /
YHWH. For many Biblical experts, this "YHWH" or "I AM" is not really a name. This is becauselin the strict
sense, God has no name since giving a name to God would put limitations on Him. The two great
implications of this "name" YHWH/I AM are: first, God is here, God is Alive, or this God is a living God.
This means that this God/YHWH is existing; it is not just an imagination or a wish. Second, "I AM" means I
am here, and I will be with you or will accompany you. This assurance of God's presence to those whom
He will send for the mission will be God's consistent word to the next prophets until the Apostles
(Matthew 28:19-20) that God called and will send for the mission. One important question in the events
before the calling of Moses was, why did Moses grow in the palace of the pharaoh? Aside from being
saved from the killing of the male babies, Moses grew in the palace for him to be prepared as a leader in
the future; to lead the Israelites out from Egyptian bondage to be formed as God's chosen people.
What will be the role of Moses as a leader for the Israelites and what will be the source of his strength as a
leader? Moses will be the "mouth" of God for the Israelites and he will be God's spoke person to Pharaoh
when he will convince the Pharaoh to free the Israelites. Moses' strength or source of authority will be God
whom he represents and who is accompanying him. This was clear during his calling when God said, "I will
be with you" when Moses was so hesitant to go to Pharaoh. With this, it is very clear that when God calls
someone for a mission, God will accompany him. God will always accompany someone or people
He will send for a mission. This is like the case of our priests or ministers and missionaries. These people
that God called are not doing their personal mission, but they are performing God's mission. They personify
God in their mission areas. On the part of a prophet or a missionary, it is also very important that they
should always have God's presence with them which is done through a constant conversation or
closeness with God. This will be the case when Moses later will withdraw to a mountain to have a
communion with God. In our present situation, this will be done through constant prayer, recollections, and
retreat if longer period.