RELIGIOUS STUDIES 207

THE BIBLE

OUR COURSE CHALLENGE:

DEVELOPING

BIBLICAL LITERACY

Mapping The Bible

Developing Biblical Literacy:
Course Objectives

To Identify and Understand:

• Differing approaches to the study of the Bible, particularly the difference between the academic study of biblical literature and Bible study within a given faith community.

Developing Biblical Literacy

To Identify and Understand:

• The historical, cultural, and literary foundation of the major sections of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) and the New Testament.

• The major biblical themes, characters, and plot

Developing Biblical Literacy

• the function and power of biblical concepts and the impact of biblical ideas on believers as well as non-believers

• the impact of biblical interpretation on American cultural experience

• the 1^st century relationship between Judaism and Christianity

• the ways in which the Bible confronts and challenges us today

Why it is important to understand the Bible

• For 2,500 years the Bible has shaped the worldview of Western civilization

• Key biblical ideas:

– God’s covenantal relationship with humanity

– The battle between good and evil

– Ethical and social responsibility

– Freedom and justice are moral absolutes

– Time as history

The Bible & American Culture

• Historically & mythically, the story of the United States is a replication of the biblical story of Israel’s creation:

– A “chosen people” in a covenant with God

– A divinely-sanctioned manifest destiny

– Prosperity is dependent on morality

– American democratic ideals are the model that all the world will eventually follow

The Bible and Religion

• The Bible is the sacred text for approximately:

– 13 million Jews; the Hebrew Bible (called the Old Testament by Christians)

– 1 billion, 300 million Christians in as many as 900-1000 different religious denominations (most Christians add the New Testament to the Hebrew Bible)

Common Human Experience

• All human beings in all cultures and in all eras of human history have pondered the same existential questions:

– Who am I?

– Where did “all this” come from?

– What is the meaning & purpose of life?

– How should human beings live?

– What is the “good life?”

– How do I find happiness?

– I know that I will die. What happens, then?

The Power of Religion

• In the face of shared existential needs, the Bible provides believers with:

– a sense of meaning and purpose to life

– answers to profound life questions

– a sense of belonging or community

– social order by imposing on its adherents a set of behavioral standards

“Real Religion” – everyday use of the Bible

• Real religion “works” in the day-to-day experience of people as a combination of:

– Values, morals, traditions, customs, mores

– Social constructions regarding belief & behavior

– Biblical theology (in America)

– Common sense experience

– Emotive symbols, myths & rituals

“Truth” and the Bible:
2 Types of “Truth”

• Referential truth: a statement is true if it refers to something that can be verified empirically; evidence can be found in the “real world” to prove or disprove phenomena:

– Did biblical events actually happen?

– Did key biblical figures actually exists?

“Truth” and the Bible

• Symbolic truth: does not depend on whether something actually happened but on how it sheds light on fundamental questions about the meaning and purpose of life

• The “debate” about “truth” is outside of our goals and objectives for REL 207

APPROACHES TO STUDYING THE BIBLE

• Two different approaches:

1. Faith Community = using the Bible as the central text in the quest for religious certainty; theology; includes Jewish and Christian communities around the world

2. Religious Studies (what we do in REL 207) = the academic approach to studying religion

Faith Community Approach
…to studying the Bible

• The Bible is a divinely-inspired guide to life in the present

• The Bible reveals the Will of God

• Religious leaders create doctrines (belief systems) based on their interpretation of biblical stories; the interpretation defines the Bible’s relevance for the faith community

Sacred Texts, Faith, and Spiritual Guidance

SACRED TEXT

(THE BIBLE)

+

THE BELIEVER

RELIGIOUS TRUTH

SPIRITUAL GUIDANCE

A UNIQUE & SPECIAL, LIVING RELATIONSHIP

The Academic Approach
…to studying the Bible

• Studies the Bible WITHIN its cultural and historical context

• DOES NOT attempt to use biblical stories as a guide for understanding current events or as a personal spiritual guide on life’s journey

• offers an open-minded, doctrinally unbiased approach to the Bible

The Academic Approach
…to studying the Bible

• Uses literary criticism, historical criticism, redaction criticism, form criticism, and archeology; in RELIGIOUS STUDIES 207 the study of the Bible is interdisciplinary

• MORAL and ETHICAL ideas are “bracketed” - these are important and left to the FAITH COMMUNITIES

The Academic Approach

• The Historical-Analytical Method

– Literary criticism - by understanding ancient languages, scholars attempt to discern exactly what the author meant, WITHIN THE CULTURAL CONTEXT = themes, plot, character-development, setting, etc.

– “criticism” means study or analysis

The Academic Approach

• Historical Criticism - attempts to understand the historical circumstances in which a text was first written.

– Investigates time & place of writing

– Tries to determine the identity of the author(s)

– Who was the intended audience?

– Example = the quest for the Historical Jesus

The Academic Approach

• Form Criticism - combines the tools of literary and historical analysis

– Pericopes = building blocks of the biblical text; letters, parables, sayings, miracle stories, etc.

– Form criticism analyzes these building blocks in an attempt to establish time and place

The Academic Approach

• Redaction Criticism - analyzes how the biblical materials were shaped and edited by individual writers:

– Mark = an apocalyptic author(s)

– Matthew = Jewish author(s)

– Luke = Gentile author(s)

– John = Gnostic-influenced author(s)

ARCHEOLOGY AND THE BIBLE

• 3 PRINCIPLES:

– TELL = an artificial “hill” that encases history; excavation by layer or strata

– CLASSIFICATION OF OBJECTS according to age, form, and style; highly technical today

– SYSTEMATIC RECORDING OF DATA

– The Bible guides archeologists; archeology explains biblical data; keys to ancient languages; discovers biblical documents

A Journey into Three Worlds

• The Literary World = the biblical texts themselves, including the stories, concepts, images, insights, and types of literature

• The Historical World = the events, places, and people that form the context in which the Bible was written

• The Contemporary World = the assumptions, points of view, and questions modern readers bring to the Bible; the ways it is used today

WHAT IS THE BIBLE?

• “Bible” = “Little Books -- “Biblia”

• A collection of many “books” (actually scrolls) written over a period of more than 1000 years

– Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)(Tanak)

– Begun about 1000 B.C. E. (or B.C.)

• Torah (400 B.C.E.)

• Prophets (200 B.C.E) 39 books

• Writings (100 C.E)

WHAT IS THE BIBLE?

• New Testament -- 27 Books

• 50 C.E. Paul’s earliest letters

• 150 C.E. Final form of II Peter

– 4 Gospels

– ACTS History of Early Church

– 21 Letters (most attributed to Paul)

– An Apocalypse (Revelation)

FORMATION OF THE BIBLICAL CANON

CANON = “kanon” - Greek for norm; a standard by which something is evaluated.

2 Key Purposes:

1. To clarify beliefs within the religious community; to provide written authority for universal belief and practice.

2. To provide a unifying force for Jews and Christians scattered throughout the world.

OLD TESTAMENT PLOT

• Creation and Primal History

• Liberation and Exodus

• Covenant at Mt. Sinai

• Conquering the “Promised Land”

• The Kingdom - Saul, David, Solomon

• Break-up and the Fall of Israel and Judah

• Exile in Babylon

• Return to Palestine

Structure of the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament)

• Torah

• Prophets (Nevi’im)

– Former prophets

– Latter prophets

• Writings (Kethuvim)

• TANAK = an acronym, meaning the Hebrew Bible, derived from “T-N-K”

THE TORAH

The Torah (Pentateuch = “five scrolls”)

• “The Books of Moses” in Jewish and Christian tradition

• The Torah: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy

• Sets the mythic tone for the entire Bible

• Presents the idea of Covenant – a living relationship between God and Humans

THE PROPHETS:Nevi’im

Part 1: Joshua – Kings

• First composed during the reign of King Josiah (640-609 b.c.e.)

• Presents a Deuteronomistic history written by the Temple priests

• Obedience to the Covenant (God’s morals) brings prosperity; disobedience brings personal and national disaster

THE PROPHETS: Nevi’im

Part 2: Divergent voices respond to corruption and catastrophe in Israel and Judah

• Arranged according to length rather than chronological place in history

• Major prophets = Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel

• Minor prophets = Hosea – Malachi

• Prophetic activity extends from around 1000 b.c.e. to around 500 b.c.e.

THE WRITINGS: (Kethuvim)

• Represents a diverse anthology of Hebrew literature written after 539 b.c.e.

• Books of Poetry = Psalms

• Wisdom literature = Job or Proverbs

• Short Fiction = Ruth or Esther

• Sacred History = Chronicles or Ezra

• Daniel = mid-2^nd Century, b.c.e.

THE APOCRYPHA

• Means “hidden books” in Greek

• 6 or 7 additional books (plus additions to Daniel and Esther) included in the Septuagint but not in Masoretic Text (final canon) of the Hebrew Bible

• Found in Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Bibles, but not most Protestant Bibles

• Examples = 1 Maccabees, 1 Esdras, Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon, Judith, etc.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT

• The N.T. and the Hebrew Bible

• “Old Testament” -- Mosaic Covenant

– An agreement between God and humans

– Torah = 1st 5 books of the Bible

– Davidic Covenant / Covenant with Noah & Abraham

Structure of The New Testament

• The 27 books of the New Testament are composed between 50 and 120 c.e.

• For almost 4 centuries the New Testament canon goes through many different organizational forms

• 367 c.e. = Athanasius, Bishop of Alexandria, finalizes the canon in his Easter Letter

NEW TESTAMENT LITERARY FORMS

• Gospels - “evangelion” - “good news”

• History of the Early Church - Book of Acts -written by the author of Luke

• Letter or Epistles - 21 letters written by Paul, Pauline disciples, Peter, James, Jude, John

• Apocalypse - The Revelation to John - an eschatological study of the end of the world

Parallelism in Biblical Structure

Hebrew Bible New Testament

• Torah < > Gospels

• Former Prophets < > Acts

• Latter Prophets < > Paul’s letters

• Writings < > Hebrews,

catholic epistles,

Revelation

Documentary Hypothesis

• A THEORY to explain textual duplications and discrepancies in the TORAH (1st 5 books - Hebrew Bible)

– two creation stories

– Combination stories = the Flood story; parting of the Red Sea; giving of the Law on Mt. Sinai

– accounts for different tone and style of the various narrative accounts

Four Principal Sources of the Pentateuch (Torah)

• J = Yahwist; anthropomorphic, personal God; 950-850 b.c.e.

• E = Elohim; style more abstract; composed in N. Israel; 850-800 b.c.e.

• D = Deuteronomist; reflects the style & attitudes o Josiah’s reform; 650-621 b.c.e.

• P = Priestly; reflects concerns of the Temple priests; legalistic; 550-400 b.c.e.

When was the Bible First Translated?

• The SEPTUAGINT (LXX)

• mid-3^rd century (b.c.e.) in Alexandria, Egypt

• Language = Hebrew to koine Greek

• The Legend = 72 scholars labored 72 days and produced 72 exact copies

• This was the Bible of the early Christians

• Contains the Apocrypha

How Has the Bible Text been Preserved through History?

• No original copy of any biblical book has survived.

• The Masoretic Text (MT) = oldest complete copies of the Hebrew Bible.

• Date from the 9^th and 10^th centuries, c.e.

• The MT is the standard form of the Hebrew Bible used today.

THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS

• oldest existing biblical documents dating from 150 b.c.e. to the 1^st century, c.e.

• Written by the Essenes in Qumran near the Dead Sea (found in caves in 1947).

• Contain more than 200 documents, including fragments of every book in the Hebrew Bible except Esther.

• Complete scroll of Isaiah is 25 feet long!

NEW TESTAMENT HISTORY

• The oldest fragments date from the 2^nd century c.e. (125 c.e., fragment of John)

• 4^th Century = the oldest complete NT

• 4^th Century = St. Jerome translates the Vulgate Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin; last translation for 1000 yrs.

• Becomes the official Bible of the Roman Catholic Church

Translation in to English

• 730 c.e. = The Venerable Bede translates part of Vulgate into Old English

• 1384 = John Wycliffe completes an OT & NT translation into English; in 1408, the text is condemned by The Church and future translations are forbidden.

• 1455 = Johannes Gutenberg invents “moveable type” for printing books.

Translation into English

• 1517 = Protestant Reformation

• 1522-1534 = Martin Luther translates Hebrew/Greek texts into German.

• 1534 = William Tyndale completes an English translation.

• 1536 = Tyndale is accused of heresy, strangled to death, then burned at the stake.

Translation into English

• 1535 = first complete English Bible is printed; Henry VIII allows distribution; translated by Miles Coverdale

• 1539 = The Great Bible

• 1568 = The Bishop’s Bible

• 1611 = 54 scholars commissioned by King James I complete the AUTHORIZED, or, KING JAMES, VERSION.

The King James Bible

• A masterpiece of English literature at a time when the language was at its richest and most vivid.

• Renaissance vocabulary similar to that used by Shakespeare.

• Scholars note that the older language and archaic diction may obscure the meaning of texts for the modern reader.

King James Revisions: The Literary Quest for Accuracy

• 1885 = the first Revised Version of the King James Bible.

• 1946 - 1952 = Revised Standard Version (using the latest studies in archaeology and linguistics).

• 1991 = New Revised Standard Version with the Apocrypha

• 2001 = New Oxford Annotated Bible; NRSV with the Apocrypha

Some Modern English and American Translations

• New International Version (1970s) = reflects a Protestant viewpoint

• New American Bible (1970) = popular Catholic translation

• Jerusalem Bible (1966)

• New English Bible (1970, 1976) = product of Jewish, Catholic, & Protestant scholars

• Good New Bible, Living Bible = paraphrase the ancient languages

Doctrine, Interpretation, and Translation in the Bible

• Religious doctrines are belief systems that bring clarity or focus to the stories (myths) in sacred texts (or oral traditions).

• Religious doctrines provide order or direction on how to replicate ancient rituals in an experientially appropriate manner.

Doctrine, Interpretation, and Translation in the Bible

• Original biblical texts are in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek.

• Translation is, inevitably, an exercise in doctrinal interpretation.

• From Jerome’s Latin Vulgate to the Living Bible the process of translation & interpretation is ongoing.