THEOLOGY 101: SALVATION

HISTORY (OLD TESTAMENT)

BASIC BIBLE ORIENTATION

THE BIBLE
• Working Description of the Bible
• “is the Word of God”
• For whom?
• “For us humankind”
• Purpose
• “For our salvation”

• In other words, “the Bible is the Word of God,

for us mankind, and for our salvation.”
In addition:

= it is a “collection of many Books

(Library of Holy Books).”
= written by many authors (Sacred
Writers) for many thousand
years.
= its origin is God (God’s Word).

• The Holy Bible is revered by the

Catholic Church with great
homage since its existence
because its origin is God Himself.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BIBLE

…if the person is open to the Spirit if God:

= it gives inspiration, guidance, and assurance

of God’s love for humanity.
= the Word of God affects one’s life and destiny.

Further:

= the Holy Bible, expresses the truth about our loving God.
= in the O.T. and N.T., God makes His promises and fulfills
them.
= His Words and Deeds are like “Sun” in the dark.
Quotation from the letter to the
Hebrews 4:12, which says:

“Indeed, the word of God is living and effective, sharper

than any two edged sword, penetrating even between soul
and spirit, joins and marrow, and able to discern reflections
and thoughts of the heart.”

• The letter to the Hebrews attests to the power of the Words

of God.
• Our human experiences concerning one’s
word can be a source of consolation or
desolation to one’s heart.

• Our word can have a marked effect to the one whom it is

addressed.
• The same is true with God’s word.
• The word of god is good news but for those who do not
want to listen, God’s word is something not very
inspiring.
• However, for most of us, we believe that God’s word is
truly good news, source of inspiration, guidance and
assurance of our loving God.
TWO MAJOR DIVISIONS OF THE BIBLE

1. Old Testament and

2. New Testament

• What does the word “testament” mean in the

Bible?

• The word “testament” mean, “covenant or

agreement” between God and His chosen
people.
1. The Old Testament

• It deals with the story of the chosen

people of Israel in the light of the various
agreements between God and His people Israel.

2. The New Testament

• It deals with God’s fulfillment of His promise of

redemption through the incarnation of His divine
son Jesus Christ, our Lord, savior and mediator
between God and mankind (John 1:14).
CANONS OF THE BIBLE

• What does the word

“Canons” mean
in the Bible?

• The word “Canons” in the Bible means,

“collections of inspired books in both Old and
New Testaments.
1. The Old Testament – is a compilation of “sacred
books” of the Hebrews written around a period
of 900 years.
• It prepares and announces the coming of a
savior or redeemer or mediator between God
and mankind.

The books of the Old Testament:

1. Pentateuch
2. Historical Books
3. Wisdom Books
4. Prophetical Books
CANONS IN THE OLD TESTAMENT

1. Alexandrian Canon and

2. Jewish or Palestinian Canon

1. The Jewish or Palestinian Canon

• The Rabbi who met at Jamnia, a town of Jerusalem, ca.

70 A.D. under Johanan ben Zakkai accepted thirty-nine
books (39).
• This is based on the Jewish method of dividing the Old
Testament Canon which counted as twenty-four.
• The 39 books are known as the Jewish or Palestinian
Canon in the Old Testament.
2. The Alexandrian Canon

• The Jewish-Greek speaking group who lived

outside Palestine and shepherded by the Rabbi in
Alexandria, accepted seven additional books.

• These are the following: 1 & 2 Maccabees, Tobit,

Judith, Sirach, Wisdom, and Baruch.

• Parts of Daniel and Esther are also included in the

additional books incorporated in the Old
Testament Canon.

• Alexandrian Canon was produced and translated

by Jewish Bible scholars or elders into Greek
mainly for the use of the Jews living outside
Palestine in Alexandria.
• Most of the Christians (Catholics and
Protestants) used the Alexandrian Canon
in order to have the whole listing and
complete set of Old Testament books.

• However, some Christians still adhere to

the Jewish or Palestinian Canon.

• Moreover, the additional books which

were incorporated later into the so called
Alexandrian Canon are also known as the
“Deutero-Canonical Books.”
DESCRIPTION OF EACH CLASSIFICATION
(FOLLOWING ALEXANDRIAN CANON)

1. Pentateuch

• This consists of five books attributed to Moses.

• These books express the will of God for His
chosen people from creation since the time of
Adam & Eve, call of Abraham, Jacob, Moses, up
to the story of Joshua.
• These books narrate the story of God and His
people Israel as well as how God chose and
formed Israel.
2. Historical Books

• These books narrate the stories of Israel after

her deliverance from Egypt as slaves going to
the Promised Land.
• After the chosen people were punished in
the desert for almost 40 years, God’s people
began to build their nation.
• These books narrate the difficulties, the pain
as well as the glory and triumphs
experienced by Israel.
3. Wisdom Books

• These books, although written many

centuries ago, are still sources of
inspirations, hope and assurance from God.
• These books abound with simple sayings
which are full of wisdom.
• They also include proverbs, prayers or
psalms about greatness and goodness of
God, frustrations and thanksgiving and love
of God for His people.
• They also express trust and confidence, fear
and anxieties during the people’s dull
moments and captivity under foreign
power.
4. Prophetical Books

• These books express God’s message to

His people through the prophecies of
the prophets.
• The prophets always appear every time
there is disorder and chaos in their
community.
• They warn and guide, console and
challenge the people to act immediately.
• They also assure the people of God’s
enduring love in spite of their
wickedness and unfaithfulness to God’s
covenant.
 DIVISIONS OF THE OLD TESTAMENT

ALEXANDRIAN CANON JEWISH CANON

(46 BOOKS) (39 BOOKS)
PENTATEUCH TORAH (LAW)
1. Genesis 1. Genesis
2. Exodus 2. Exodus
3. Leviticus 3. Leviticus
4. Numbers 4. Numbers
5. Deuteronomy 5. Deuteronomy
 ALEXANDRIAN CANON JEWISH CANON
(46 BOOKS) (39 BOOKS)
HISTORICAL BOOKS PROPHETICAL BOOKS
1. Joshua 13. 1 Chronicles (Former)
2. Judges 14. 2 Chronicles 6. Joshua 10. 1 Kings
3. Ruth 15. Ezrah 7. Judges 11. 2 Kings
4. 1 Samuel 16. Nehemiah 8. 1 Samuel
5. 2 Samuel 17. Esther 9. 2 Samuel
6. 1 Kings 18. Judith (Latter)
7. 2 Kings 19. Tobit 12. Isaiah 13. Jeremiah 14. Ezekiel
8. 1 Chronicles 20. 1 Maccabees
9. 2 Chronicles 21. 2 Maccabees (12 minor Prophets)
15. Hosea 21. Nahum
WISDOM BOOKS 16. Joel 22. Habakkuk
22. Psalms 26. Job 17. Amos 23. Zephaniah
23. Proverbs 27. Wisdom of 18. Obadiah 24. Haggai
24. Ecclesiastes Solomon 19. Jonah 25. Zechariah
25. Song of Songs 28. Sirach 20. Micah 26. Malachi
 ALEXANDRIAN CANON JEWISH CANON
(46 BOOKS) (39 BOOKS)
PROPHETICAL BOOKS WISDOM BOOKS/WRITINGS
27. Psalms
(Major) 28. Job
29. Isaiah 32. Lamentations 29. Proverbs
30. Jeremiah 33. Ezekiel 30. Ruth
31. Baruch 34. Daniel 31. Song of Songs
32. Qoheleth
(Minor) 33. Lamentations
35. Hosea 39. Obadiah 43. Zephaniah 34. Esther
36. Amos 40. Jonah 44. Haggai 35. Daniel
37. Micah 41. Nahum 45. Zechariah 36. Ezrah
38. Joel 42. Habakkuk 46. Malachi 37. Nehemiah
38. 1 Chronicles
39. 2 Chronicles
2. New Testament – is the
fulfillment of God’s
promise to His Israel, as
Jesus Christ reveals God
the Father’s love for
humanity, through His
works of redemption, His
life, ministry, suffering and
death, resurrection and
glory for the whole
creation.
CANON IN THE NEW TESTAMENT

• There is only one Canon in the New

Testament for both Catholic and
Protestant Christians.
• They have the same number of books.
• They differ only in their interpretation of
the New Testament and in their manner
of proclaiming it.
• Both have the same intention in
proclaiming the good news about God’s
love through Jesus and His Church, the
redemption of humanity and the whole
creation.
DIVISIONS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT (27)

DESCRIPTION OF THE BOOK

1. Gospels (4)
• These are written by the Evangelists Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John.
• They discuss the life, death, resurrection and
triumph of Jesus including His promise of
redemption to those who believe in Him and do
God’s will.

2. Acts of the Apostles (1)

• This book discusses the ministry of the Apostles,
how the Apostles spread the teachings of Jesus
through His words and deeds.
• This is believed to be written by Luke, the
Evangelist.
3. Christian Letters in General (21)
• These are the letters or writings by the Apostles
like Peter, Paul, James, John, and Jude.
• They try to get responses and give exhortation
to those Christian communities they had
established which were inspired by Jesus’ Spirit.
• They are somehow directly in-charged of those
communities.

4. Book of Revelation (1)

• This book is written by John the Evangelist.
• The book contains many events that will happen
in the future, based on the experiences of men
right here and now.
• The approach and style is futuristic.
THE CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS

1. Oral Tradition

• At the early stage of the history of the chosen

people, there were no written materials.
• Everything was passed on by word of mouth.
• Their experiences and relationship with God,
fellowmen and creation were stories for their
younger generations to evaluate.
• This was the common practice at that time in
handling down their experiences, beliefs,
traditions, and customs.
• This process is known as “Oral Tradition.”
2. Written Tradition

• After the chosen people achieved some

kind of peace and stability, they began to
write their experiences.
• Their gifted men and women in their
community wrote these experiences in
story form.
• They were inspired by the Spirit of God to
write His message and the people’s stories
concerning their relationship with their
God.
• This written form is commonly known as
the “Bible” or the “Written Tradition.”
• These refer to both the Old and the New
Testament.
HOW THE BIBLE CAME INTO BEING
To start the lesson, here is a
quotation from the 2nd Letter of Paul
to Timothy:

“All Scripture is inspired by God

and is useful for teaching, for
refutation, for correction, and for
training in righteousness, so that
one who belongs to God may be
competent, equipped for every
good word (2 Tim 3:16-17).”
• Indeed, God’s word is found in the Holy
Bible.
• To be acquainted with God means to be
acquainted with the Bible and that means
doing His “Will” also.
• Knowing God is learning about us, others,
nature and the whole of God’s creation.
• In other words, God is all and in
everything.

• However, it is essential to know how His

message was delivered and evolved before
it became a “written message.”
• Here are some important things for us to
know in relation to the “formation of the
Word of God.”
1. Revelation in the Bible

• What is “Revelation” in the Bible

mean?
• From the side of God, it is the
initiative of God in showing,
manifesting, or uncovering of
Himself to mankind.
• He reveals Himself to us so that we
can understand and have basic
knowledge about Him, His
creation, including us or
everything.
2. Inspiration and Authority in the Bible

• How “Inspiration and Authorship” in the Bible

took place? In here, we have to consider two
important things, namely:

• Firstly, God is actively present in a unique manner

during the composition of His “Word” through
the cooperation of the “sacred writers.”

In second letter of Peter, it says:

“Know this… no prophecy of scriptures that is a

manner of personal interpretation, … but rather
human beings moved by the Holy Spirit spoke
under the influence of God.” (2 Pet 1:20-21)
• Secondly, there is an element of freedom of
the “sacred writers” in making use of their
own talents and resources. In other words, the
human writers (sacred writers) were
cooperated and acted as instruments of God to
write His message for humankind.
• This is the reason why we say, “The Holy bible
is the ‘Word of God’ in the words of men.”

In the gospel of Luke, it says:

“Since many have undertaken to compile a

narrative…events that have been fulfilled
among us… I have decided to write…” (Luke
1:1-4)
3. Inerrancy in the Bible

• How “Inerrancy” is possible in the Bible?

• In the whole Bible, the written message of
God is free from any human errors objectively,
since the Holy Bible is the message of God
Himself.
• This means that the Holy Bible is teaching
without error concerning the truth about God.
• However, it could have errors in the spelling,
grammar and topographical composition but
not in the message itself concerning the truth
about God.
• The Holy Spirit assisted and guided the
“sacred writers” in writing God’s message
using “human language” as God’s way to
communicate His “Divine Will” to humankind.
4. Canonicity in the Bible

• How “Canons” in the Bible were

established as “inspired” by God?
• In the Bible, “Canonicity” refers to the
process whereby the books in the Bible
are organized as “inspired” by God.
• In the Roman Catholic Church, the
“Magisterium with its councils” has the
“teaching authority” to determine and
establish the so called “inspired Canons”
in the Bible.
5. Translation and Interpretation
concerning the Bible

• How “translation and interpretation”

were done during the early period?
• Most parts of the Old Testament were written in Hebrew.
• Few sections were written in Aramaic, the contemporary
language of Hebrew existing at that time.
• Some later Old Testament books were composed in Greek
for the Jewish-Greek speaking people.
• Around two hundred years before Christ (ca. 200 yrs.
Before C.E. <Christian Era>), the whole Old Testament was
translated in Greek.
• It is known as the “Septuagint” or “Seventy.”
• It refers to the numbers of Jewish scholars who worked for
the translation into Greek.
 St. Jerome translated the Bible (5th century
A.D.) from Greek to Latin known as the
“Vulgate” and was later officially recognized
as the official translation of the Catholic
Church.
 Moreover, when Pius XII issued an Encyclical
Divino Afflante Spiritu in 1943, the door
was opened for new Catholic translation.

 From then on “different interpretations”

had sprung up. Because of the explosion in
knowledge of the ancient languages, many
new English versions had been published.
 The degrees of their interpretations from
the original text create differences especially
among Christian Catholics and Protestants.
6. The Literary Genres and
Forms in the Bible

• How different “Literary Genres”

uses by the “sacred writers” in
the Bible?
• The “Literary Genres” are the
forms of expressions which the
“sacred writers” chooses to
present their thoughts.
• The Literary style of a particular
author is an indication of how the
author would like to be
understood.

• These are some “Literary Forms”

commonly used in the Bible:
A. Poetic Genre

In “Poetic Genre”, expect metaphors,

simile, a exaggerations in poetry. To
understand ancient poetry of the
Israelites, we have to understand their
beliefs, environment, outlook in
life and their use of parallelism.
Here is an example taken from the Book of Psalm:

“Bless the Lord, Oh my soul! Oh Lord, my God, you are great

indeed! You are clothed with majesty and glory, robed in
light as with a cloak. You have spread out the heavens like a
tent-cloth; you have constructed your place upon the
waters. You make the clouds your chariots; you travel on the
wings of the wind. You have the winds your messengers,
and flaming fires your ministers.” (Ps 103:1-4)
B. Apocalyptic Genre

• This genre implies “revelation” made by God to

man concerning hidden things.

• The authors who use it encourage the

imaginations of his readers to “run wild.”

• The authors employ all kinds of imagery, symbols,

visions, dreams, numbers, colors, stones, beasts
with many heads and horns, etc.

An example of this type is from the Book of Isaiah:

“The earth will burst asunder, the earth will be

shaken apart, the earth will be convulsed… then
the moon will blush and the sun grow pale, for
the Lord of hosts will reign on Mount Zion and in
Jerusalem glorious in the sight of his elders.” (Is
24:14-23)
C. Historical Genre

• This genre presents the “theological aspect” of what had

happened but not the historic-critical situation.
• The Biblical history is somewhat interested in revealing the
Lord of History, which is the account of God’s revelation of
Himself through acts accomplished in our world.

The best examples are the following OT books:

1. Books in Pentateuch
2. Book of Joshua
3. Book of Judges
4. 1 & 2 Book of Samuel
5. 1 & 2 Book of Kings, etc.
THE PENTATEUCH
• The authors of the Pentateuch have given us history, but it
is history written from a religious point of view.
• This history of Israel was written to teach the Jews who
they were, how God had chosen them, and what things had
He done for them.

1. The Books in Pentateuch

a. Definition Description of Pentateuch

• "Pentateuch "comes from the two Greek words "Penta" and

"Teuch'” Penta means five, and Teuch means scrolls or
books.
So, put together it means, "the
five books or five scrolls."
The Jews call this collection of
books "Torah", the law of the
Hebrews.
The Pentateuch is a product of
long traditions that go back
during the time of Moses.
This is also the reason why it
was attributed to Moses as the
organizer of the Pentateuch
b. Descriptions of the books in Pentateuch

I. Genesis - it is about creation of the

universe, call of Abraham up to the
story of Joseph and the chosen people.
2. Exodus - it is about the exile and departure of Israel
from Egypt under the leadership of Moses with the
help of Joshua, Aaron, and Miriam.
3. Leviticus - it is about worship, offerings and sacrifices
led by the Levites.
4. Numbers - it is about census, tent or temple
constructions.
5. Deuteronomy - it is about the second giving of the
law (10 commandments), exhortations and farewell of
Moses.
2. The Traditions in Pentateuch

• The Pentateuch is a result of long

traditions which were woven
together after the Babylonian Exile.
• This means that the Pentateuch
used different traditions and
information from various sources.
• These sources or traditions went
back as far as the time when people
were living in different places and at
different times in the Old Testament.
These traditions are the following:

1. The Yahwistic Tradition.

• This group uses the name
"Yahweh" when speaking of God.
• This tradition represents a
Southern Tradition and was
written down around a thousand
years before Christ.
• It is the oldest tradition found in
the Pentateuch. This group also
considers God as somebody who is
very near to human beings.
• They use anthropomorphic
language in describing the
interaction of God with human
beings.
• Here is an example in Genesis 1:4,
“God saw how good the light was.”
• In Genesis 1:6,
“Then God said, "Let there he
dome...”
• In Genesis 1:26 b,
“ Let us make man in our image....”
• In Genesis 2:2b,
"...he rested on the seventh day ...”

• Using anthropomorphic language gives

God human qualities or attributes in
human form, like God has eyes (Gen.
1:6), lips (Gen. 1:6), hands (Gen.1:26b),
body (Gen.2:2b) etc.
2. The Elohistic Tradition.
• This group uses the name
"Elohim" when speaking of
God.
• This represents the Northern
tradition and was written
down around 750 B.C.
• This tradition is less vivid and
colorful than the Yahwist.
• This group considers God as
somebody who is transcendent
or afar.
• They avoid the use of
anthropomorphic language.
• Here is an example in Exodus 3:8,
“…therefore I have come down
...”
• Another examples;
“ God is there up on the Clouds ...”
" God is up there on the
Mountains ...”
“ God is watching ...”.

• This examples are just indications

that God is remote and invisible
but caring for His people.
3. The Levitical or Priestly Tradition.

• This group shows a great interest with everything

that pertains to worship, sacrifices and offerings.
• This tradition is the work of priests or Levites who
took the materials during the Babylonian Exiles
ca.587-38 B.C. and added new material concerning
sacrifices and legal purity.
4. The Deuteronomistic Tradition.
• This group shows a great concern
with legislation in the community.
• The do's and dont's within the
community have a theology which
sees the Jews as the chosen
people of God, who owe Him
complete, undivided, all-absorbing
love and fidelity.
• Faithfulness to God will bring
reward and blessedness; infidelity
will result in punishment and
retribution.
a. The unity of the Traditions in
Pentateuch

• The four traditions can be

recalled from the period in which
the chosen people was formed as
one nation under the leadership
of Moses.
• Moses played a dominating
character in the formation of
Israel and its old-age traditions.
• This is the very reason why the
Pentateuch is attributed to Moses
as its author.
b. The main Theme in Pentateuch

• The fundamental theme of the Pentateuch is that it is a divine,

immutable plan which progresses gradually toward an objective which
is the formation of Israel as a nation under one God.
• God created the world, called the Patriarchs like Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, Moses, and Joshua to give them the land of Canaan.
• After their sojourn and captivity *in Egypt, God freed His people from
the slavery.
• He proved His love by many Divine favors and finally brought -Israel to
the promised land.
• In this land all they needed 'in life were there.