F O R M AT I O N O F T H E B I B L E

JUDAISM
• “chosenness” is the belief that the Jewish people were
singularly chosen to enter with a covenant with God;
• Is Jewish belief, chosenness is to make God known to
the world (similarly, the essence of Baptism is being
baptized to proclaim God’s Word)
RABBI LOUIS JACOBS

•“The world owes to Israel the idea

of the ONE GOD of righteousness
and holiness.”
JEWISH HISTORY
•Very crucial to the formation of the
books in the Bible because of God’s
interventions in their events as a Chosen
People
THE PROCESS OF BIBLICAL
F O R M AT I O N
DEI VERBUM

•“God taught Israel to acknowledge

Him through Abraham, Moses, and
the prophets.”
N O S T R A A E TAT E ( 4 )
• Christians have a special spiritual bond with Israel
• The Church received the revelation of the Old
Testament through the people of Israel
PONTIFICAL BIBLICAL
COMMISSION
The Jewish People and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible,
33
--The idea of election is fundamental, that is, through the history of
God’s Chosen People, we can trace the formation of the Bible.

Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC, 63)

--Israel is the priestly (elected) people of God
S TA G E S O F F O R M AT I O N
STAGE 1: God’s intervention in the crucial events of Israel
STAGE 2: Oral tradition
--Words were proclaimed/sung from one generation to another
(Miqra: “qara” [Heb]=to call or proclaim)
--Israelites were basically nomads, that is no distinct and
recognizable nation
STAGE 3: Written traditions
--these traditions started when the Israelites became a nation
THE CRUCIAL EVENTS
A.) THE EXODUS AND THE
C O V E N A N T AT M T. S I N A I

Events: Results of the events:

• Desire to know their origins • Genesis
• Liberation from Egyptian slavery • Exodus
• Formulation of laws to govern their newly- • Laws found in Exodus, Leviticus, and
formed society Numbers
• Census to determine the membership and • Numbers
leadership of the new people of God (lists of
names & tribes)
A.) THE EXODUS AND THE
C O V E N A N T AT M T. S I N A I
Events:
• The edition of laws previously given to
Moses
• Yahweh’s providence in Israel’s liberation
and their journey in the dessert (defeating
the pharaoh and the original settlers of
Canaan; repeated forgiveness; the Promised
Land)
Results of the events:
• Deuteronomy (deutero-second; nomos-law=
the Second Law)
• The Israelites understood that God is
trustworthy and His Word is everlasting;
from horizontal (communal) to vertical
(personal) relationship with God.
B . ) T H E E S TA B L I S H M E N T O F T H E
KINGDOM

Events: Results of the events:

• Israelites’ experience of division • Joshua and Judges
(confederation of 12 tribes)
• The preparation of Israel’s Kingdom • Ruth and 1 Samuel 1-8
• Israelites’ experience of unity and division of • 1 Samuel 9 to 2 Samuel; 1-2 Kings and 1-2
the Kingdom into 2 Chronicles
• Infidelity of Israel’s Kings and its people to
• Prophetic books (message of doom)
God
B . ) T H E E S TA B L I S H M E N T O F T H E
KINGDOM

Event: Result of the event:

• Israelites’ unwillingness to heed the • It led to Israel’s enslavement, dispersal, and
denunciation of the prophets for their blatant dishonor in the Exile
abuses against the poor and immoral
idolatrous practices
C.) THE EXILE
Events:
• The Exile itself
• The hardships (destruction of the Temple in
Jerusalem) and loneliness (exile of most
priests) brought by Exile (message of doom)
Results of the events:
• Prophetic books like Ezekiel and most of the
minor prophets
• Priestly tradition and Deuteronomic history
(messages of hope—Ezra, Nehemiah, Judith,
Esther, Tobit, Psalms, Lamentations,
Proverbs, Qohelet, Sirach or Ecclesiasticus,
Book of Wisdom)
D.) THE JESUS EVENT

Events: Results of these events:

• Jesus’ Paschal Mystery (birth, public • Dev’t of the four versions of the Gospel
ministry, passion, death, and resurrection)
• Continuation of the Gospels in different
perspectives of the early Church
• Acts of the Apostles
• Reminders of the early Church’s failure to
live out the Christian values • Letters to early communities of Christians
(Pauline)
E . ) F O R M AT I O N O F T H E C A N O N
Events:
• St. Damasus I gathered a representation of
bishops from the Christian world (synod) in
382 A.D.
• The Church, through its bishops, verified
and defined the Canon of the Bible (CCC,
120)
Results of the events:
• Definition of the Canon of Scripture for the
Whole Church
• Determination of criteria for canonicity:
special relation to God (inspiration);
prophetic/apostolic origin; and used in early
Church services
HOW TO LOCATE A
BIBLE VERSE
A – Book Name
B – Chapter
C – Verse
 ASYNCHRONOUS
ACTIVITY (take note!)
On a 1/2 sheet of paper (crosswise, front
page only), reflect on and answer the
following statement and question:
Name and describe one most "crucial
event" in your life. What are the
significant changes (5 AT MOST) that
took place in your life as a
consequence/s of this event?
This activity is home-based. Thus, it will be
submitted next meeting. You must write your
name on the upper left side, and the grade &
section, and submission date will be on the
upper right side. Your answers must be
expressed in NOT MORE THAN TEN
SENTENCES. Use black or blue pen only. This
activity is under written work, which is 40%
of your grade.