Old Testament

1
Old Testament

• An Introduction to the Canon

2
What is the Old Testament?

• The book of the people of God
• How and why we (the people of God) came to be
• Family album
• Formation through Gods free action
• Blueprint
• Insight into God and what He expects
• How to be Gods people
• History (of a special sort)
• Insight into the action of God in history, not
  photorealism
• Span of action is about 2000 years
• Key for understanding ourselves and our situation
• Large, old and diverse
• Span of writing is over 1000 years
• Different writers, various kinds of writing,
  changing circumstances

3
Salvation history

• Patriarchal period (2000? 1500?)
• Looked back on from later perspective no
  contemporary writings
• Creation, fall, beginning of redemption
• God appears as a character, interacting with a
  few key figures
• Egyptian period
• Hebrews increase, but are enslaved
• Exodus Wilderness Wanderings (c.1250-1200)
• God intervenes dramatically
• Leadership of Moses
• Hebrews brought out of Egypt
• Sinai covenant

4
Allotments of the Twelve Tribes
5
Salvation History (2)

• Conquest of Canaan Period of Judges
• Loose confederation of tribes
• Holy war (incomplete)
• Cycles of drift into idolatry, repentance, rescue
  by a charismatic leader (judge)
• Monarchy (1030586)
• David secures borders, establishes capital at
  Jerusalem
• Solomon constructs temple
• Nation splits into north and south kingdoms
  (Israel Judah)
• Prophets protest idolatry other abuses
• Exile (586529)
• Temple destroyed, monarchy ended
• Thousands of leading Israelites deported to
  Babylon
• Economic infrastructure devastated

6
Near East in Sixth Century
7
Salvation History (3)

• Persian period (529-331)
• Jews allowed to return
• Second temple built
• Early Judaism (local worship in synagogue
  centrality of Torah)
• Greek period (331167)
• Many Jews settle outside Palestine
• Scriptures translated into Greek (Septuagint,
  LXX)
• Persecution under Antiochus
• Independence Roman rule
• War of liberation by the Maccabees (167)
• Further OT writings in Hebrew and Greek
• Annexation by Rome (63)
• Temple overhauled by Herod

8
Important OT themes

• Revelation of God
• A God who speaks to humans
• God is One
• God as Creator, and providence
• The human person (greatness wretchedness)
• Created in the image of God
• Marred by sin
• God as liberator and savior
• Saves the people from outside threats, in the
  exodus and later
• Saves the people from its faults
• Saves individuals from death or oppression
• Salvation after death (hinted at)

9
Important OT themes (2)

• Election of Israel
• Initiative is Gods (not earned)
• Called to know love God, and be a light to
  other nations
• Brings responsibility, not entitlement
• The Covenant
• You shall be treasured
• You shall be holy, as God is holy
• The Law
• A gift (!)
• A blueprint for how to respond to Gods love (how
  to become holy)

10
Important OT themes (3)

• Prayer and Cult
• Privileged moments of communion with God
• Special times and places
• Divine Reproaches Condemnations
• Idolatry
• Injustice
• Promises
• Descent from Abraham
• Promised land
• Salvation of Israel
• Reign of God
• Son and successor of David

11
Canon

• From the Greek word kanon
• Hebrew qaneh
• Measuring stick or line

12
Groupings of the OT Books
THE OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS as Listed and Grouped in
the Hebrew OT
THE OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS as Listed and Grouped in
the Septuagint (LXX) Greek OT
THE OLD TESTAMENT BOOKS as Listed and Grouped in
the New American Bible OT
13
Hebrew Scriptures

• Law Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy)
• Prophets
• Deuteronomistic History (Joshua 2 Kings)
• Latter Prophets (Isaiah through Malachi)
• Writings (everything else)
• Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah
• Wisdom Literature
• Apocalyptic (Daniel)

14
Torah

• (also called Books of Moses or Pentateuch)
• Genesis
• Exodus
• Leviticus
• Numbers
• Deuteronomy

15
An Outline of the Pentateuch

• Creation of World and Human Way of Life (Gen
  1-11)
• Gods Choice of the Patriarchs (Gen 12-50)
• Liberation from Egypt (Exodus 1-18)
• Formation of Israel through the Torah at Sinai
  (Exodus 19 Leviticus 26)
• Formation of Israel through Wanderings (Nbrs
  1-36)
• Formation of Israel on the Plains of Moab (Deut
  1-30)
• Concluding Blessings and Transitions (Deut 31-34)

16
The PatriarchsGenesis 1250
Terah
Abraham Sarah
Nahor
Haran
Lot
Bethuel
Moabites, Ammonites
Laban
Isaac Rebekah
Israel
Jacob
Esau
Edomites
Jacob Leah
Jacob Rachel
Reuben Simeon Levi Judah Issachar Zebulon
Dinah
Joseph Benjamin
Manasseh Ephraim
17
Stained glass at Temple Sinai, Glendale CA
18
The Torah as a Collection

• First part of the canon established
• Earliest datable material Song of Deborah
  (Judges 5), Blessing of Jacob (Genesis 49), Song
  of Miriam (Exodus 15), Prophecies of Balaam
  (Numbers 22-24)-- 10th C. BCE
• It was pulled together after the fall of
  Jerusalem in 587/86 BCE.
• Regarded as fixed by the 4th century BCE
• Most authoritative

19
LITERARY PATTERNSGenesis 39-18 and 49-16

• Where are you?
• The woman you gave me
• What have you done (Eve)?
• Cursed is the ground
• Land to be toiled without giving strength

• Where is Abel?
• Am I my brothers keeper?
• What have you done?
• Cursed are you from the ground
• Land to be toiled without giving strength

20
LITERARY PATTERNSGenesis 2713529
Isaac dying
Jacob/Esau conflict
theophany
Jacob/Laban conflict
Leah/Rachel conflict
BIRTH OF 12 SONSand 1 daughter
Jacob/Laban reconciliation
theophany
Jacob/Esau reconciliation
Isaac dies
21
LITERARY PATTERNSExodus 715111
The Plagues of Egypt
22
Formation of the PentateuchThe Documentary
Hypothesis
23
Formation of the PentateuchThe Documentary
Hypothesis
24
Law vs. Torah

• What does Law bring to mind today?
• Torah is translated Law, but had different
  connotation
• Psalm 14719-20, 1191, 11997
• What are themes of these verses?
• Nobody else has Torah
• Were lucky to have Torah
• Torah is the way to God

25
Prophets (Nebiim or Neviim)

• Former Prophets
• Joshua
• Judges
• Samuel
• Kings

• Latter Prophets
• Major Prophets
• Isaiah
• Jeremiah
• Ezekiel
• Minor Prophets
• (Book of the 12)
• Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum,
  Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi

26
(No Transcript)
27
The Prophets as a Collection

• Prophecy does not mean telling the future it
  is about the action of God in history
• Prophet speaks on Gods behalf, in His name
• No new commandments, but the people are called to
  account, and warned of the consequences of their
  ignoring the covenant.
• Increasing understanding of Gods universality,
  and His plan to redeem all peoples
• Moral ethical sensitivity reach levels
  unsurpassed in world literature
• This collection is far more diverse. It was
  closed by the 2nd century BCE.
• We know that because Daniel (c. 164 BCE) was not
  included.

28
Basic Historical Data

• 1000 BCE United Monarchy
• 922 BCE Secession of North Israel
• 722 BCE Assyria defeats N. Israel
• 587 BCE Babylon defeats Judah

29
The United Monarchy, 1000-931

• King Saul of the tribe of Benjamin emerges as
  warleader of United Israel c. 1030 BC?
• Effective in war and seen to enjoy divine favour
• How to unite diverse tribes and establish royal
  administration?

30
David, 1005-970 BC

• King of Judah, then conquered Israel to establish
  United Monarchy
• Establishes Jerusalem as royal and religious
  centre
• Transformation from pastoral, tribal culture to
  hierarchical society with urban emphasis

31
Solomon, 970-931

• Benevolent monarch or Near Eastern potentate?
• Greatest project the Temple, crafted by
  Phoenicians
• Divided Israel into tax districts fortified and
  garrisoned
• Seen as favouring Judah in place of Israel

32
Divided Monarchy, 931-722 BC

• Israel, aka Samaria allied with Tyre, rich but
  geographically vulnerable falls in 722 BC
• Judah, protected by geography and fortified
  capital of Jerusalem, falls in 597

33
Themes of Prophets

• Not just predictions of what will be, but also
  exhortations to avoid what might be
• Three major themes of prophets
• Abuse of power by leaders (2 Samuel 12)
• Treatment of the poor (Amos 26-7)
• Idolatry

34
Babylonian Exile, 597-538

• Failed rebellion against Babylonian rule
• King Jehoiachin and many citizens were removed to
  Babylon Temple and palace were looted burned
• Exile community refined and purified religious
  practices returned to Judah under Persian rule

35
Themes of the Deuteronomistic History

• Deuteronomistic History is the books Joshua,
  Judges, Samuel, Kings
• So called because style and outlook are very
  similar to Deuteronomy
• These books are also called the Former Prophets
  (i.e. earlier prophets)
• God has chosen Israel to be a special people
• This choice leads to giving of a covenant in the
  Torah
• The Torah leads to life
• Sacrifice to God must occur in Jerusalem
• Ethics and Worship go hand-in-hand
• Sinful behavior of the people leads to divine
  punishment
• Repentance of the people leads to divine
  forgiveness
• God does not abandon Israel even when they sin
• God raises up leaders (judges, then kings) to
  bring about restoration
• Prophets call both rulers and subjects to be
  faithful to the covenant

36
Writings (Kethubim or Kethuvim)

• Psalms
• Proverbs
• Job
• Song of Songs
• Ruth
• Lamentations

• Ecclesiastes
• Esther
• Daniel
• Ezra-Nehemiah
• Chronicles

37
The Writings as a Collection

• Different formulations existed over time (compare
  Mt 712 to Lk 2444)
• Greek-speaking Jews outside Palestine had a
  slightly larger collection
• Expanded versions of Esther and Daniel
• Judith, Tobit, Sirach, Wisdom of Solomon, 12
  Maccabees, Baruch
• Also, sometimes, Esdras, 34 Maccabees, Psalms of
  Solomon
• This became the OT initially used by the
  Christian Church
• Esdras, 34 Maccabees, Psalms of Solomon were not
  used in the western Church, so Catholics do not
  include them in the OT books
• Following the destruction of the second temple in
  Jerusalem (70 CE), the pressure rose to close the
  canon
• Last additions to the Palestinian canon were at
  Jamnia about 90 CE
• Ecclesiastes was probably declared officially
  in at this time.
• No surviving statement that the canon was now
  closed, but there were in fact no additions after
  this.

38
Writings

• Wrestle with application of the Law and Prophets
  to the post-Exilic world
• Who can be a member of the Community?
• Will God continue to take care of us?
• Reveal a vital, reflective community of faith
• Great variety of voices different responses to
  tradition
• But clearly the tradition is still central in the
  life of the community, still speaking powerfully

39
Psalms

• Show prayer and worship continue to be central in
  sustaining the faith community
• Songbook and prayer book
• Show broad range of feelings emotions it is
  proper to bring to worship of God
• Lots of complaint psalms, but they typically
  end in thanksgiving
• Longest single book in the Bible
• Core component of the Churchs Liturgy of the
  Hours
• Also a key component of the Liturgy of the Word
  at Mass
• Expresses the Churchs response to the proclaimed
  Word

40
Megillot

• Read publicly at Jewish seasonal feasts
• Commemorate foundational events in communitys
  life
• Song of Songs, read on Sabbath of Pesach
  (Passover)
• Commemorates Gods rescue of the people from
  slavery in Egypt
• Ruth, read on festival of Shavuot (Weeks)
• Commemorates giving of Law at Sinai
• Ecclesiastes, read on intermediate Sabbath of
  Sukkot
• Lamentations, read on fast day of Tisha BAv
• Commemorates Gods chastisement of the people
  with the fall of Jerusalem, and his continuing
  love
• Esther, read on Purim
• Commemorates Gods rescue of the people from
  intended massacre in Persia

41
Wisdom literature

• Nature wisdom
• Observations of the natural world, that allow us
  to understand it and coexist with it
• Lists of names (trees, animals, )
• Practical wisdom
• Analyzed the social order
• Judicial wisdom
• Sought ways to settle disputes
• Theological wisdom
• Sought answers for puzzling or troubling
  questions
• human suffering
• unpunished injustice

42
Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah

• Closely related to each other in date, style, and
  viewpoint
• Less literary merit than the other OT books
• Ezra, Nehemiah tell the story of the return from
  the Exile, and the rebuilding of Jerusalem and
  the temple
• Chronicles overlaps with the Deuteronomistic
  History
• Different viewpoint from the Deuteronomistic
  History
• Glass is half-full (Deut Hist is half-empty)
• Focus on establishing ties between repatriated
  Jews and earlier times

43
Process of Canonization

• Stuff Happened
• People sang and spoke about the stuff that
  happened
• People wrote down what others sang and spoke
  about the stuff that happened
• People worked earlier sources into longer
  documents
• The books reached canonical form

44
The Masoretic Text (MT)

• The Tanakh is written primarily in Hebrew
• We do not have any original manuscripts we only
  have copies of copies
• Codex Leningradensis is the oldest complete
  Hebrew manuscript we have. It dates to 1008 CE

45
Septuagint

• Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible
• Done in Alexandria, Egypt
• 3rd century BCE
• Greek was the lingua franca of the region

• Letter of Aristeas
• Also known as the LXX
• Included the Apocrypha
• 15 hidden books
• Written between 200-100 BCE
• Written in Greek
• Included in the early Christian canon

46
Vulgate

• Jeromes translation of the Tanakh and NT into
  Latin
• Commissioned by Pope Damasus in 382 or 383 CE to
  produce an authoritative Latin version
• Word means common or common translation.

• Jerome knew Greek, but learned Hebrew, Aramaic,
  Syriac, and Arabic to translate from as many
  different manuscripts as possible

47
Translation

• Formal Correspondence
• Maintain the vocabulary, grammar, structure of
  the original as closely as possible
• NAB, RSV, NRSV, are all examples
• Dynamic Equivalence
• More emphasis on creating coherence in the
  receptor language
• JB, NJB, NEB, TEV or Good News are all examples

• Compare the NAB and TEV translations of Ruth
  39b
• NAB And she replied, I am your servant Ruth.
  Spread the corner of your cloak over me, for you
  are my next of kin.
• TEV Its Ruth sir, she answered.
• Because you are a close relative, you
• are responsible for taking care of me.
• So please marry me.

48
Inclusive Language

• Background
• What is the primary sense of man? Older
  dictionaries say human being, but many would
  now disagree, especially in the United States.
• Problem
• Rendering adam or anthropos as man can
  introduce a sexist tinge that is foreign to the
  original text.
• God speaks to man only men? Not men and
  women?

49
Inclusive Language

• Typical workarounds
• Change singular to plural
• Change any man to anyone, no man to no
  one, etc.
• Change brothers to brothers and sisters,
  sons to children, etc.
• Examples
• Ps 11a RSV Blessed is the man adam who walks
  not in the counsel of the wicked
• RNAB Happy those who do not follow the counsel
  of the wicked
• Ps 84 RSV what is man that thou art mindful of
  him, and the son of man that thou dost care for
  him?
• RNAB What are humans that you are mindful of
  them, mere mortals that you care for them?
• Acts 2321a RSV But do not yield to them for
  more than forty of their men aner lie in ambush
  for him,
• RNAB but do not believe them. More than forty
  of them are lying in wait for him

50
Inclusive Language Translations

• Many newer translations (1983 and later) strive
  for gender-neutrality (or gender-equity), in
  varying degrees.
• NAB, JB, RNAB, NJB are specifically Catholic
  versions
• RSV-CE (which has a handful of alterations of the
  RSV, all in the NT) is also approved for some
  official Catholic uses
• This is the English version used in the Catechism
  of the Catholic Church

51
Liturgiam Authenticam (Vatican, 2001)

• Says systematic switching from singular to plural
  is not a good workaround
• In particular, man implies a type (human
  nature), humans or men and women implies a
  set of individuals.
• So, theres no good substitute for between God
  and Man.
• Particular care is to be taken to ensure that
  the fixed expression Son of Man be rendered
  faithfully and exactly. The great Christological
  and typological significance of this expression
  requires that there should also be employed
  throughout the translation a rule of language
  that will ensure that the fixed expression remain
  comprehensible in the context of the whole
  translation.
• Just as has occurred at other times in history,
  the Church herself must freely decide upon the
  system of language that will serve her doctrinal
  mission most effectively, and should not be
  subject to externally imposed linguistic norms
  that are detrimental to that mission.
• Single English translation should be used across
  all English-speaking countries as was done for
  the Catechism of the Catholic Church

52
Current Status

• Re-revised RNAB lectionary promulgated in US in
  2002
• Approved by Rome and the US Bishops
• Does not match any available version of the
  complete Bible
• Previously available options (RNAB, NJB, RSV-CE)
• No new English Bible translation in the works
• Mostly negative response to Liturgiam Authenticam
  by US bishops (and the Catholic Biblical
  Association of America).
• Bishop Donald Trautman (Erie), a strong proponent
  of inclusive language, became Chairman of the
  (US) Bishops Committee on the Liturgy in 2004.
• Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, a strong proponent of
  Liturgiam Authenticam, became Pope in 2005.
• Stay tuned

53
Old and New Testaments

• Reciprocal relationship
• NT demands to be read in the light of the OT
• Church rejected Marcions 2nd C. attempt to
  discard OT
• Christians re-read OT in the light of the
  Christ
• Re-reading
• Discovers or develops a meaning not originally
  explicit
• Examples occur within the OT itself (e.g.
  Chronicles)
• Does not negate (or replace) the original reading

54
Making sense of a passage

• Literal sense
• What passage meant to original author / editor /
  audience
• Not always obvious!
• Different kinds of writing need to be read
  differently
• Language, cultural differences can get in the way
• Allegorical other senses need to be grounded in
  the literal sense (Aquinas, Pius XII, Vatican II)
• Canonical sense
• Passage can take on a different color in the
  light of other passages in scripture
• Church has sometimes declared what a passage
  means in the life of the Church

55
Scripture and Theology

• Inasmuch as it is the word of God set in writing,
  the Bible has a richness of meaning that no one
  systematic theology can ever completely capture
  or confine.
• One of the principal functions of the Bible is to
  mount serious challenges to theological systems
  and to draw attention constantly to the existence
  of important aspects of divine revelation and
  human reality which have a times been forgotten
  or neglected in efforts at systematic reflection.
• Pontifical Biblical Commission,
• The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church,
  1994