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BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION

Ch. 6What is the Bible and how do we use it?

Ms. Vincent – Intro to Catholicism – Freshman Theology Fall 2008

WHAT IS THE BIBLE?

The bible is God’s self-disclosure. He speaks to human beings in human fashion. = OBJECT!

Scripture and Tradition form everything we need to know about salvation (a.k.a. the deposit of faith) Deposit of Faith: The heritage of faith contained in Sacred Scripture

and Tradition, began with the apostles and the Magisterium interprets and explains the divinely inspired revelations. The Magisterium is infallible = WITHOUT ERROR!

Sources of Revelation: Bible and Jesus Christ… Definition: God’s communication of himself, by which he makes

known the mystery of his divine plan. Means: “to unveil”

The Bible…

The Word Bible is Greek for biblia = “the books”

Latin translation of the Bible = Vulgate made by St. Jerome

Greek translation of the Bible = Septuagint made by Jewish Scholars

The key message of the Bible is that God is a loving Creator who saves us.

Define Testament:

Testament: Means covenant or promise Old Testament = 46 Books

Recounts the history of salvation New Testament = 27 Books

Tells the saving work of Jesus & the Church.

Rules of Interpretation

1. God is the Author.

2. The authority of interpretation is given to the Church.

3. Through the power of the Holy Spirit the authors are inspired to write the Words of God in human form.

4. The books are complete, true, and infallible.

5. Culture, Time, and Context must be considered for understanding and interpretation.

6. The genre must be considered in order to gain the meaning behind the words.

Hebrew Scriptures

Pentateuch (Law): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Historical Books: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemia, Tobit, Judith, Esther, and 1 and 2 Maccabees.

Writings: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, Sirach.

Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel, Daniel, and the minor prophets.

Christian Scriptures

Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

Acts of the Apostles: Narrates the beginnings of the Church.

Epistles: Letters by the apostles to individuals or communities for the purpose of educating and guiding them.

The Book of Revelation: Last book of the Bible written to the persecuted Christians.

MATH LESSON

Your math lesson for today: Sacred Scripture + Sacred Tradition = The Word of

God

Sacred Scripture: The Bible, the Word of God

Sacred Tradition: The rituals and beliefs passed down from the apostles.

Magisterium: The Leaders of the Church given the authority to interpret scripture.

Big “T” or Little “t”It’s ALIVE!!!!!!!!

The Magisterium is infallible: their interpretations of scripture are without error.

Canon: From the Greek word “kanon” which means a “reed or straight rod,” and refers to the correct number of books in the Bible.

Tradition: With a big “T” refers to the teachings/rituals of the Catholic Church. Don’t confuse this with DOGMA!!!

tradition: With a little “t” refers to the beliefs and customs handed down through generations.

The Church is the LIVING TRADITION!

It all starts with:

Oral Tradition: The living transmission of the message of

the Gospel in the Church. The oral preaching of the apostles is conserved and handed on as the deposit of faith through the Church.

Easy Understanding…

Picture: The Bible tells us what God the creator is like.

Mirror: We can see ourselves in the story of the Israelites.

Road Map: The Bible directs us to God.

Letter: God communicates through the Bible’s words.

Library: The Bible is a collection of books.

Beginning to Understand

Stories Epics Laws Liturgy Poems Oracles Epistles Parables Songs

So, if the Bible is a collection of books… What kind of books are they?

Now that we know what books...

LITERAL SENSE: It is important to understand the meanings of symbols that the authors use and to more importantly remember that the author writes exactly what they are inspired to write. “The meaning of Scripture based on the meaning of the words in the literary and historical context.” Example: Moses’ crossing of the Red Sea (Exodus

14:15) It actually happened and took place. It is not a figure of

speech!

How do we READ them?

Types of Literal Sense

Literal Sense Proper: Method of interpreting scripture in which the author intends precisely what he was inspired to write.

Literal Sense Improper: Method of interpreting scripture in which the author is inspired to use figures of speech.

More ways to read them…

SPIRITUAL SENSES: The category of senses of scripture that deal with a deeper understanding of the text.

Allegorical: Explains how people and events in salvation history point forward to other times. Example: Scripture repeats itself.

Moral: Shows us how we can use the things the heroes of Scripture did as a pattern for our own lives.

Example: We learn to turn toward good and away from evil. Cain and Abel Story.

Anagogical: The events we see in scripture point upward to help us learn about the Kingdom of God.

Scriptural Senses:

Scriptural Senses: A category for ways to look at the Bible where you recognize more than just the literal sense.

Plenary Sense: Look at the full picture of what the Holy Spirit wants us to express. It is intended, complete, but possibly not immediate.

Typological: The explanation that parts of the Old Covenant or Old Testament are fulfilled by Jesus in the New Covenant/New Testament.

Vocabulary Terms

Apocryphal: The books that were rejected from the Bible because they lacked genuineness and canonicity.

Protocanonical: The Books of the Bible mostly in the Old Testament that were not questioned by the Church Fathers at the time.

Deuterocanonical: Books of the Bible in both testaments that were controversial in early Christian history.