The Holy Bible

1. What Is the Bible?
Document #: TX001066
The Bible Course

2. Bible(English)
=
Biblia(Greek)
“Books”(Literal Meaning)
=

3. The Bible
is a library
of books.
©
Saint
Mary’s
Pres/Paul
Casper

4. How many books of the Bible can you
name?

5. ©
Saint
Mary’s
Press
/
Catholic
Youth
Bible
®
,
Third
Edition
What are the main sections of the Bible?

7. ©
Saint
Mary’s
Pres/Paul
Casper
Books of
Law
The first five
books of the
Bible, the heart
of the Old
Testament
Prophetic
Books
Eighteen books
recording the
warnings and
promises of
Israel’s prophets
Wisdom
Books
Seven books
of poetry and
wise sayings
Historical
Books
Sixteen books
of religious
history and a
few “historical
novellas”

8. Connect the Old Testament Books
to Their Sections
Micah
2 Chronicles
Song of Songs
Jeremiah
Deuteronomy
Proverbs
Exodus
Judges
BOOKS OF LAW
HISTORICAL BOOKS
PROPHETIC BOOKS
WISDOM BOOKS

9. ©
Saint
Mary’s
Pres/Paul
Casper
Non-Pauline
Letters
Seven letters
written by Christ’s
Apostles or their
disciples to provide
teaching and to
correct abuses in
the early churches
Gospels
The story of Jesus’
life and ministry and
the start of the
Church, told from
four complementary
faith perspectives
Pauline Letters
(Epistles)
Fourteen letters by
Saint Paul or his
disciples written to
provide teaching
and to correct
abuses in the early
churches
Revelation
A book written
as apocalyptic
literature,
during a time
when
Christians
were being
persecuted
Acts
This books tells
about the early
Christian community

10. Connect the New Testament Books
to Their Sections
2 John
Mark
Galatians
John
Revelation to John
Romans
James
Acts of the Apostles
GOSPELS
ACTS
PAULINE LETTERS
NON-PAULINE LETTERS
REVELATION

11. Images
-
©
The
Crosiers/Gene
Plaisted,
OSC
The Bible Is the Story of Our Salvation

12. • The Bible is a library of seventy-three books.
• The Bible has two main sections: the Old
Testament and the New Testament.
• Testament is another word for covenant.
A covenant is a sacred vow.
• The Old Testament covenants are between
God and his Chosen People, who are called
Hebrews, Israelites, or Jews.
Points to Remember

13. • The New Covenant (New Testament) shows
how the former covenants are fulfilled by the life,
death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• The Old Testament is divided into four sections
of books.
• The New Testament can also be divided into
four sections.
• In the Bible God reveals his plan for our
salvation.
Points to Remember (cont.)

15. ©
Saint
Mary’s
Pres/Paul
Casper
Books of
Law
The first five
books of the
Bible, the heart
of the Old
Testament
Prophetic
Books
Eighteen books
recording the
warnings and
promises of
Israel’s prophets
Wisdom
Books
Seven books
of poetry and
wise sayings
Historical
Books
Sixteen books
of religious
history and a
few “historical
novellas”

16. The Pentateuch or Torah
Associated to Moses
Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
Deuteronomy
Historical Books
Trace the history of the Israelites from
exodus from Egypt, entrance to the
Promise Land (Canaan), Saul, David,
Solomon, Division of Israel (Israel and
Judah), Defeat from the Assyrians and
Babylonians, Babylonian Exile, Coming
back to Jerusalem and Judea
Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1
and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra,
Nehemiah, and Esther, Tobit, Judith, 1 and
2 Maccabees
Prophetic Books (Major) Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Baruch,
Daniel, Lamentations, (Minor) Hosea, Joel,
Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah,
and Malachi
Wisdom Books Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes,
Songs of Solomon, Sirach

17. ©
Saint
Mary’s
Pres/Paul
Casper
Non-Pauline
Letters
Seven letters
written by Christ’s
Apostles or their
disciples to provide
teaching and to
correct abuses in
the early churches
Gospels
The story of Jesus’
life and ministry and
the start of the
Church, told from
four complementary
faith perspectives
Pauline Letters
(Epistles)
Fourteen letters by
Saint Paul or his
disciples written to
provide teaching
and to correct
abuses in the early
churches
Revelation
A book written
as apocalyptic
literature,
during a time
when
Christians
were being
persecuted
Acts
This books tells
about the early
Christian community

18. The Gospels Matthew (Winged Man)
Mark (Winged Lion)
Luke (Winged Ox)
John (Eagle)
The Acts of the Apostles Associated to St. Luke as the writer
The Epistles or Letters of St. Paul
Pauline Letters
Non-Pauline Letters
Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians,
Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians,
Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2
Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus,
Philemon
Hebrew, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 3 Peter, 1
John, 2 John, Jude
The Book of Revelations Associated to St. John (Isle of Patmos)

20. KNOWING GOD’S WILL
Scripture Tradition
Magisterium
Dei
Verbum, 21

21. The Bible
• Divinely inspired
• Written by man
• Library of books
• Salvation history
• Scripture is used in Liturgy
• Scripture is used to “prove points”

22. The BIBLE
Sacred Scripture: the books which contain the
truth of God’s Revelation and were composed
by human authors inspired by the Holy Spirit
(105). The Bible contains both the forty-six
books of the Old Testament and the twenty-
seven books of the New Testament (120).
– Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic
Church, 2nd Ed. (Washington, DC: United States
Catholic Conference, 2000), 868.

23. Hebrew scripture
• Transmitted orally for centuries. After the Jewish
Diaspora* fewer Jews spoke Hebrew and for
them a Greek version of the Bible was produced.
• Legend has it that Ptolemy II in 275 BC ordered
72 scholars, working separately and isolated in
72 rooms to translate the Scripture into Greek.
• At the end of 72 days they all emerged with an
identical translation
• The Septuaginta, Latin for 70, abbreviated LXX
*The first exile was the Assyrian exile, the expulsion from the Kingdom
of Israel (Samaria) by Tiglath-Pileser III of Assyria in 733 BC. Continued
with the exile of a portion of the population of the Kingdom of Judah in
597 BC with the Babylonian exile.

24. What the Bible means, and
what the Bible meant
• No issue if the writer and the readers are the
“same”
• “Real” meaning intended by the author or
• Once it leaves the author, it has a life of its own
• Meant
– Literal sense
– What was happening in the day
• Means
– How it is interpreted
– Symbols, signs, language

25. Other Bibles
• Martin Luther included 73 books in his edition of the Bible -
he placed the seven so-called apocryphal OT books in an
appendix between the OT and NT
• Ulrich Zwingli produced a Bible with only 66 books.
• The Gutenberg Bible – the first printed Bible – was a
complete 73-book Catholic edition
• The first edition of the King James Bible in 1611 contained
the so-called apocrypha - treated as an appendix between
the OT and NT
• Over 300 years after the Reformation – the first major edition,
published by the British and Foreign Bible Society, eliminated
the deuterocanon/apocrypha altogether.
• In 1885 the King James Bible was published as a 66-book
edition

26. Apocrypha Books
• Sirach
• Wisdom
• Judith
• Tobit
• Baruch
• 1 Maccabees
• 2 Maccabees
• Longer version of Daniel
• Longer version of Esther

27. Inerrancy (in the Bible)
• Word not used in official church language
• Better choice of words – without error
• The Catholic position on “lack of error” in
the Bible embraces only doctrinal and
moral teaching, not scientific or historical
• Allows for growth in the moral perspective
in the Bible, recognizing that moral insight
deepens over time

28. "The most highly valued
treasure of every family library,
and the most frequently and
lovingly made use of, should be
the Holy Scripture. We trust
that no family can be found
amongst us without a correct
version of the Holy Scriptures".
Pastoral Letter of the Third Council of
Baltimore, 1844

29. Not every teaching of the
Church can be found in Sacred
Scripture
The Holy Spirit continues to
guide the Church to understand
God’s revelation as it evolves
and is revealed through the
ages.

30. BE CAREFUL
• EXEGESIS
– Interpreting FROM Scripture
from what is there
• EISEGESIS
– Accidentally(or intentionally)
reading INTO Scripture
something that is not there

31. Catholics recognize the canonicity of the Bible.
Formal decision by the early church:
46 books in the Old Testament
27 books in the New Testament
Bidirectional
Scripture helped form the community of the Church
The Holy Spirit guided the process about the books

32. Bible (Greek “biblia” meaning
books)
Old Testament
• Stories about an
agreement between God
and the Hebrews, as
revealed to Moses.
• Tells how the agreement
works out
• Development of rules,
behaviors, laws and how
to maintain the covenant
• The story of our family
history
New Testament
• Stories about an
agreement between God
and the people based on
the life and teachings of
Jesus
• Stories of the early life of
the church

34. Grouping the Books of the OT
• The Law (Pentateuch)
• Historical Books
• Prophets
• Wisdom / Writings

35. Grouping the
OT Books • The Law
– Genesis
– Exodus
– Leviticus
– Numbers
– Deuteronomy

36. Grouping the
OT Books
• Historical
– Joshua
– Judges
– Ruth
– 1 & 2 Samuel
– 1 & 2 Kings
– 1 & 2 Chronicles
– Ezra
– Nehemiah
– Tobit
– Judith
– Ester
– 1 & 2 Macabees

37. Grouping
the OT
Books
• The Major Prophets
– Isaiah
– Jeremiah
– Ezekiel
– Lamentations
– Daniel
• The Minor
Prophets
• Hosea
• Joel
• Amos
• Obadiah
• Jonah
• Micah
• Nahum
• Habakkuk
• Zephaniah
• Haggai
• Zechariah
• Malachi
• Baruch

38. Grouping
the OT
Books • Wisdom &
Writings
– Job
– Psalms
– Proverbs
– Ecclesiastes
– Song of Solomon

39. GENRE OF THE
BIBLE
new Testament
27 books

40. New Testament
• Gospels - proclamations of the "good news" about Jesus
intended to establish and/or strengthen people's faith in him;
quasi-biographical, semi-historical portraits of the life,
teachings, and actions of Jesus (Mark, Matt, Luke, John)
– The NT Gospels contain many sub-genres of literature (see
below)
• Acts - a partial narrative account about the beginnings and
the growth of early Christianity; not a complete history of the
early Church, since it focuses only on the actions of a few
missionary leaders (Acts)
• Letters - real letters addressing practical and theological
issues relevant to particular communities (esp. Paul's)
• Church Orders - collections of instructions for the practical
organization of religious communities (1 Tim, Titus)

41. Grouping the Books of the NT
• Gospels
• Acts
• Pauline letters
• Other letters

42. Grouping the
NT Books
• Gospels
–Synoptics
• Matthew
• Mark
• Luke
–John

43. Grouping
the NT
Books
• Acts of the
Apostles

44. Grouping
the NT
Books
• Pauline Letters
– Romans
– 1 & 2 Corinthians
– Galatians
– Ephesians
– Philippians
– Colossians
– 1 & 2
Thessalonians
– 1 & 2 Timothy
– Titus
– Philemon

45. Grouping
the NT
Books • Hebrews
• James
• 1 & 2 Peter
• 1, 2 & 3 John
• Jude
• Revelation

46. Old Testament in the Lectionary
http://catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/index.html

47. New Testament in the
Lectionary
http://catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/index.html

48. Overview of the Bible
•Best selling book for over 2000 years
•Not a history book, but a book of salvation history
•It is the inspired and revealed Word of God, written and compiled by
man
•Scripture is the life of the Church (CCC 131 – 133)
•Scripture is the genuine spiritual food for the Christian, and the
church opens the Scriptures to the faithful for their edification
•The Old and New Testament reveal the unity of the Father’s plan
(CCC 128 -130)
•The Old Testament prefigures and prepares for the coming of Christ
•The Old Testament is revealed in the light of the Paschal Mystery
which brings the Father’s divine plan of salvation to fulfillment

49. Overview of the Bible
• The New Testament DOES NOT render the Old
Testament as void (CCC 123)
• The text matters - different texts available: CATHOLIC:
Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Douay-Rheims,
OTHERS: New Revised Standard Version Good News
Bible, King James, Mormon, red letter bibles. etc…
• Scholarly research leads to new revelation and revised
translations – Advances in language interpretation and
understanding; Archaeological findings; Historical
research
• Explanation of B.C. and A.D.
• Understanding the numbers (Chapter and verse)…

50. B. C. vs. A. D.
•B.C. Before Christ
•A. D. Anno Domini
Year of our Lord

51. Chapter and Verse
• Jn 3:16
– John
• Chapter 3
– Verse 16
•Ps 118:8
•Psalms
•Chapter 118
•Verse 8

52. Look up Mk 9:23-24
• RSV – “And Jesus said to him…’All things are possible
to him who believes.’ Immediately the father of the child
cried out and said, ‘I believe; help my unbelief’”
• NAB – “And Jesus said to him…’Everything is possible
to one who has faith.’ Then the boy’s father cried out, ‘I
do believe, help my unbelief!.’”
• NJB – “…’Everything is possible for one who has faith.’
At once the father cried out, ‘I have faith. Help my lack
of faith!’”
• NIV – “…Everything is possible for him who believes.’
Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, ‘I do believe;
help me overcome my unbelief!”