Bible Basics part 2-- The Difference Between Catholic and Protestant Bibles and the new Hebrew Canon of 2nd Century A.D.

The Old Testament was written over the course of approximately 1000 years.   The stories in the Bible were handed down orally before the written word. Most of the Old Testament was written at the time of the Babylonian Exile.  The collection of the books of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) are divided into three parts:

     1.  The Law (TORAH) which are the first five books of the Bible also known as the Pentateuch:  Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.

     2. The Prophets (Nevi'im) consisting of the "former prophets" (the historic books running from Joshua to Kings) and the "latter prophets," (the prophetic books from Isaiah to Malachi).

     3. The Writings (Kethubim) [Kethuvim] Psalms, Wisdom Literature, (such as Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, and Job) prophetic writings, (such as Lamentations and Daniel) and Historical books, (such as Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 & 2 Chronicles, and Esther).

This collection of books in the Jewish Cannon is called the TaNaK shorthand for Torah (Law) Nebi'im (Prophets), and Ketubim (Writings).

The Law and the Prophets sections of the Bible were accepted in First Century A.D. Judaism (the time of Jesus Christ), but the Writings were more loosely accepted.  Jesus referred to this third group as "The Psalms." (Luke 24:44)  The Essenes, a first century sect of Judaism, had an even more broader collection of sacred books which includes Tobit, Sirach, parts of Baruch (known as the Letter of Jeremiah), and other ancient (non-biblical) writings such as Jubilees and 1 Enoch.

In the third and second century B.C., The Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scripture)  was widely used, especially by the Jews of the Diaspora.  (Dispersed Jews who were exiled from the kingdoms of Israel by Assyrian forces (721 B.C.) and from Judah as Babylonian captives (587 B.C.) who never returned to their homeland.)  The Septuagint contained 39 protocanonical books (First canon--books of the Bible accepted early into the biblical canon without serious controversy) as well as seven deuterocanonical books (Second canon--books and passages of the Christian Old Testament that are not part of the Hebrew Canon which was formed at the end of the first century A.D.) .  The Scriptures Jesus  and the Jews of his time used were the Septuagint.  As a matter of fact, two thirds of the Old Testament passages that are quoted in the New Testament are from the Septuagint.  The Catholic Church (called Christians at that time) had already been in existence and using the Septuagint Scriptures in its teachings, preachings, and worship for almost 60 years, just as the Apostles had done.  The Septuagint was embraced by Jesus and his Apostles which is why the Roman Catholic Church clings to that version of the Old Testament.   

In 90 A.D.,  the Hebrew Canon was formed, after the Council of Jaminia, by remaining Jews from Palestine who survived the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 70 A.D.  This was the first time the Jews settled on an official canon.  Debate continued on whether some of these books belonged, (Song of Songs and Ecclesiastes) well into the second century A.D. By the end of that century, a definitive Hebrew Canon (TaNaK) consisting of only 39 books  was formed and they had to follow this criteria:
1. The books had to conform to the TORAH
2.They could not have been written after the time of Ezra ~400B.C. (Ezra led a group of Jewish Exiles living in Babylonia back to Jerusalem after the captivity, where he reintroduced the TORAH in Jerusalem.)

3.The Books had to be written in Hebrew, and inside Palestine.

At the Reformation, the Protestants chose to use the Hebrew Canon as the source for their Old Testament breaking away from the Roman Catholic Old Testament.

The 7 extra Septuagint books found in the Roman Catholic Old Testament are often called Apocrypha (Greek for "hidden, deep, obscure") by Protestants. However the newer term, deuterocanonical, is coming into use so as to not confuse them with other books such as Jubilees and  Enoch  that are not found in any contemporary canon and are called Pseudepigrapha by Protestants and Apocrypha by Roman Catholics.

This table clarifies the 3 different Canons and the Books they contain. 

Jewish TaNaK (Hebrew Canon)	Protestant Bibles (Hebrew Canon + New Testament)	Roman Catholic Bibles (Greek Canon + New Testament)
TORAH (PENTATEUCH)	PENTATEUCH	PENTATEUCH
Genesis	Genesis	Genesis
Exodus	Exodus	Exodus
Leviticus	Leviticus	Leviticus
Numbers	Numbers	Numbers
Deuteronomy	Deuteronomy	Deuteronomy
NEBI’IM (PROPHETS)	HISTORICAL BOOKS	HISTORICAL BOOKS
Former Prophets	Joshua	Joshua
Joshua	Judges	Judges
Judges	Ruth	Ruth
1-2 Samuel	1-2 Samuel	1-2 Samuel
1-2 Kings	1-2 Kings	1-2 Kings
Latter Prophets	1-2 Chronicles	1-2 Chronicles
Isaiah	Ezra-Nehemiah	Ezra-Nehemiah
Jeremiah		Tobit
Ezekiel		Judith
The Twelve (Hosea – Malachi)	Esther	Esther + Additions
		1-2 Maccabees
KETUBIM (WRITINGS)	WISDOM BOOKS	WISDOM BOOKS
Psalms	Job	Job
Proverbs	Psalms	Psalms
Job	Proverbs	Proverbs
Song of Songs	Ecclesiastes	Ecclesiastes
Ruth	Song of Solomon	Song of Songs
Lamentations		Wisdom (of Solomon)
Ecclesiastes		Wisdom of Ben Sira (Sirach/Ecclesiasticus)
Esther	PROPHETS	PROPHETS
Daniel	Isaiah	Isaiah
Ezra-Nehemiah	Jeremiah	Jeremiah
1-2 Chronicles	Lamentations	Lamentations
		Baruch
	Ezekiel	Ezekiel
	Daniel	Daniel + additions
	The Twelve (Hosea – Malachi)	The Twelve (Hosea – Malachi)
	NEW TESTAMENT (27 BOOKS)	NEW TESTAMENT (27 BOOKS)

Aside from the difference in the makeup of the 3 Canons, there are also many different translations; each newer one improving on the previous older translations.  For example, The New American Bible Revised Edition (NABRE) (Catholic) went back to the original languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek) that the books were written in to make its translation.  It also took into account a greater understanding of the history, culture, and language of the Near East as well as being faithful to the original text and to contemporary American English.  There are many excellent translations out there aside from the NABRE, for example, the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV) (Protestant) from the Revised Standard Version of the King James Version (KJV) of 1611; the Jerusalem Bible (French Catholic Bible translated into English); and the New English Bible, NEB not based on the KJV but a new translation based on the original languages and which also has a new revision (REB).

The revisions mentioned above are all examples of ecumenical cooperation, where the translation committees consist of Catholic and Protestant scholars working together.

The many varieties of translations make it easier for believers to find a bible that fits their needs as far as language and opening one's heart to new insights about God's presence in their lives.  Reading different translations opens up our wonder of God's works and his WORD.  In my own Bible studies, when someone would read a verse from another translation, we would find it opening up more meaning and better understanding of the Word of God to the whole group.  Through the ages, God has spoken to us in "partial and various ways," but God's Word has always remained "living and effective" (Heb1:1; 4:12).  Whichever Bible Translation we use, when we read devoutly with prayer, we will always be filled with the awesomeness of God and his Good News:

"The WORD became flesh and made his dwelling among us" (JN 1:14).

.

ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS -- Jesus explains the Scriptures Episode 1

Picture by Robert Zund

On the road to Emmaus two disciples of Jesus are heading back to their home after the death of Jesus.   They are trying to console themselves after witnessing his horrifying death, feeling they have lost everything.  They truly believed that he was the Messiah they had been waiting for. The Messiah spoken about by the prophets; the one who would return Judah to its former glory and renew its kingdom.  But now with his death...there was nothing to hope for anymore.  On the road, they meet a fellow traveller who seems oblivious to what had just happened -- how could he not have heard about this Jesus that had brought healing to the sick, who raised Lazarus from the dead, and who spoke of God with such words and such love that it stirred their hearts in such a way they could barely comprehend.  The stranger smiled at them when they told him about the empty tomb and were so perplexed as to what that meant.  He said to them, "Oh how foolish you are! How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!  Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and enter into his glory?" (Luke 24: 25,26) And then the stranger began to open up the Scriptures to them of everything that had been written about the Messiah.

From the very beginning of the Bible, Jesus has been revealed. The all-knowing God knew that His creation would fall into sin. Although His plan was to have a personal one-on-one relationship with us, walking in the Garden of Paradise together, He knew that at first this would be temporary, that man would disobey Him and would need to be redeemed.  But in spite of that, He created us anyway.  His love is so boundless it did not matter to Him.  He wanted us to love and He wanted to share His existence with us. 

So we can start at the very beginning of the Bible to the act of creation itself  where we first see Jesus as God uses His Word to bring about His Creation. Jesus IS the WORD of God. (Gen1:3)  He was not yet HIS SON, nor was He JESUS.  In the history of man, at this moment in time, HE was the Word. And together, God, His Word, and His Spirit (The Trinity) brought about creation in all its glory, wonder and beauty.  God didn't just  create a "place" for us to live, but he created a vast universe of beauty and splendor and awe. God did not love in a small way, but only in a marvelous uncontained symphony of love.

But we betrayed that love through Adam and Eve's (our) sin of disobedience and of pride as they wanted to be equal with God.  But God, out of his immense love, did not forsake us.  He promised us that someday we would be able to win back our salvation through the greatest gift he could give us--His own Son.

"I will put enmity between you and the woman,

 and between your offspring and hers; 

He will strike at your head, 

while you strike at his heel." (Genesis 3:15)

There are many interpretations of this verse.  "You" of course refers to the serpent, the fallen angel Lucifer, the devil.  Who, through the same sin as Adam and Eve's pride, lost all that God had given him when he wanted to be as good and maybe even more glorious than God.   The woman refers to Eve, but it may also refer to Mary the mother of Jesus, whose offspring will strike at the evil in this world by his suffering, death and resurrection that will set straight God's creation on the intended path towards eternal life with God.

St Paul, through his Letters to the Romans and the Corinthians speaks of Jesus as the New Adam.  He makes clear that the obedience of the New Adam negates the disobedience of the First Adam.  How his humbleness, which culminated in His coming in the form of man, would bring him eternal glory where every knee shall bend with the mention of His name.   JESUS CHRIST.  A statement in itself, the most perfect prayer, the complete meaning of love.  

St Paul's Comparison and Contrast

between

Adam and Jesus

ADAM	JESUS
First Human being (Hebrew, ‘adam)	Last Adam (new creation)
A living being	A life-giving spirit
A natural being	A spiritual being
An earthly being	A heavenly being
Humans bear the earthly image	Christians bear the heavenly image
Pride-filled	Humble
Disobedient	Obedient
Led to sin	Leads to salvation
Led to death in the world	Leads to resurrected life in the world to come
All ultimately die	All ultimately have eternal life
Is a “type” (Greek, typos) of Christ	The one who was to come, prefigured in Adam

(Gen 2:7; Romans 5:12-14; 1 Cor 15:45, 49; 2 Cor 5:17)

In the next episode of "ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS"  we will continue our journey in Genesis of the Old Testament Scriptures that reveal  the promise of the Messiah.

BIBLE BASICS Part 1 : A Logical Way to Approach the Bible

My first attempt to read the Bible cover to cover failed miserably. Genesis was pretty easy, after all I knew most of the stories it contained.  Exodus... I saw the movie THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, so that was a breeze too.  But then I came upon Leviticus...and it all started to come to a grinding halt....Holocausts, cereal offerings, peace offerings, guilt offerings, sin offerings...that was enough for me.    

I found that my failure to accomplish my reading of the Bible was that I knew very little about it. I had little knowledge of the types of  books in the Bible and how those books related to each other.    I never did a Bible study before so I never had the really big picture of the complete work.  I knew that I needed to get a fundamental idea of how the various books of the Bible were organized, as it surely wasn't chronologically.  The Bible seemed to jump around and I had no idea what the prophets were talking about and what time period they were referring to.  I began to limit myself to the New Testament as that made more sense....but I knew that I was missing a very important part by not reading the Old Testament...after all I kept hearing St. Augustine's words "The New Testament lies hidden in the Old and the Old Testament is unveiled in the New." ...I needed the whole story of salvation!

Fortunately I found a great Bible study "The Little Rock Scripture Study"  Series.  My parish brought that in as one of its ongoing adult faith formation classes and I was eager to give it a try.  After a few years, I was so enthralled with it all that I took over as the Facilitator and have been running the group for fourteen years and in my class I have a core group that have been with me from the beginning and new members trying it out and staying with us as we revel in God's word.  So my first recommendation, if you want to read the Greatest Stories Ever Told... join a Bible Study Group.  But if that is not possible for whatever reasons, let my try to give you some basic knowledge in understanding the Bible and how to read it for the first time.

The Bible is not just one book, it is not just two books either (Old Testament and New Testament), rather it is a collection of many books of varying literary styles.  

The books of the Bible and the Hebrew Scriptures, in large part, are grouped by literary style.  First are the Historical books, then Poetry, Wisdom literature, Prophecy and finally The Letters.  Unfortunately by grouping the books in this way (by type) the Bible does not follow a strict chronology which can make reading the Bible from cover to cover difficult.  In order to follow the "history of the Bible", to get an overall picture,  it would be best to read these books first:  Genesis, Exodus, Numbers, Joshua, Judges, 1 Samuel, 2 Samuel, 1 Kings, 2 Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah, 1 Maccabees, The Gospel of Luke and finally The Acts of the Apostles.

To help understand the history of the Bible it can be divided into 12 Periods of Biblical History:

      1. The Early World--From Creation to the Tower of Babel (Genesis chapters 1-11)

      2. The Patriarchs--From Abraham to Jacob/Joseph (Genesis chapters 12-50)

      3. Egypt and the Exodus (Book of Exodus)

      4. Desert Wanderings (Book of Numbers)

      5. Conquest and Judges (Joshua and Judges)

      6. Royal Kingdom (1 and 2 Samuel; 1 Kings chapters 1-11)

      7. Divided Kingdom (1 Kings chapters 12-22; 2 Kings)

      8. Exile (2 Kings)

      9. Return from Exile (Ezra and Nehemiah)

    10. Maccabean Revolt (1 Maccabees)

    11. Messianic Fulfillment (Luke)

    12. The Church (Acts)

If you are determined to read the Bible cover to cover try ordering your reading by the above historical timeline, and also add the Supplemental books that pertain to that era.  Supplemental Books of each era:

                                                                   

Early World  (none);  Patriarchs  (Job); Egypt and Exodus (Leviticus); Desert Wanderings (Deuteronomy); Conquest and Judges (Ruth); Royal Kingdom (Psalms, 1-2 Chronicles, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon [Songs]) ;  Divided Kingdom (2 Chronicles, Obadiah, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Hosea, Isaiah, Micah); Exile (Tobit, Nahum, Habakkuk, Daniel, Ezekiel, Judith, Lamentations, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Baruch);  Return from Exile (Zechariah, Haggai, Esther, Malachi);  Maccabean Revolt (2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach);  Messianic Fulfillment (Matthew, Mark John); The Church (Paul's Letters, Other New Testament Letters, Revelation).                                                                                                     

Hopefully this way of reading the Bible will help to give you the overall picture of Biblical and Salvation history.  And I hope that you will soon be as enthralled as I was with the Bible that you will seek out a Bible Study near you where you can grow and share your faith with others.

Now that you are ready to embark on your Biblical Journey your next choice....which Bible to choose... yes, there are many versions, There is the  Catholic Bible which has more books in it than a Protestant Bible.  Why is that?  And if that perks your interest, did you know that  the Hebrew Scriptures of today are not what they use to be at the time of Jesus?  How could this be?  I will get into that in my next posting in Part 2 of the BIBLE BASICS. 

The Road to Emmaus, the First Celebration of the Mass in the New Testament (Luke 24:13-35)

 ^{By Robert Zünd - joyfulheart; upload Dezember 2008;}

 ^{upload by Adrian Michael,}

 ^{Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5537171}

It is the Sunday after the death and burial of Jesus of Nazareth. Two of his disciples are walking away from Jerusalem to the town of Emmaus seven miles away.  In Luke, one of the disciples is named Cleopas.  Some biblical experts think Cleophas was a brother to St. Joseph, the deceased husband of the Virgin Mary; but according to John 19:25, he was the husband of Mary, the sister of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the father of the Apostle, St. James the Less.  Either way, he would have been an uncle to Jesus.  The logic that the "other disciple" on the road to Emmaus was his wife Mary and not some other disciple makes the most sense; however, Luke may have had a reason not to name the "other disciple" using it as a technique for the reader to insert himself into the story.

On the way to Emmaus, the two disciples are talking and trying to understand and console each other about all that had happened in the past two days.  They had just witnessed the horrifying death of Jesus and feel they have lost everything.  They had come to believe that this man Jesus was the hoped for Messiah, but now that all seemed to be fading away quickly with his death.  Surely, Mary had told her husband what she experienced early that morning.  Before leaving for Emmaus with her husband, Mary had been to the tomb with the other women to bring the spices for the burial.  She had seen the empty tomb, but did not understand what that meant.  On the way, they may have even talked about the possibility of the claim that Mary Magdalene actually saw the Lord that day, but it was more than they could comprehend.  Even Peter and John had seen the empty tomb, but still it was too much to hope for.

As they continued on their way, a stranger came up behind them and asked what they were talking about.  They were surprised that this stranger had not heard of everything that had happened in Jerusalem for the past few days.  How could he be unaware of how the great prophet, Jesus of Nazareth, who had healed so many people and preached in a way that no one else has ever preached, had been arrested and put to death.  They told this stranger, who they thought this Jesus was.  He was the hoped for Messiah that they expected would save Judea from the Romans and the one who would become their king.  "Save" them, odd that they should have used that word as that was precisely what Christ's death on the cross did for them.  Jesus Christ saved them from sin.

They were unaware that this person they were talking with was Jesus, as their unbelief blinded them.  They could not see what their hearts were trying to tell them.  After they told this stranger all that had happened, Jesus felt such compassion for their lack of faith that he began to tell them of all the scriptures that came before that would explain what they had just witnessed.  As they walked on to Emmaus, Jesus opened up the Scriptures to them and a spark of faith and hope began to ignite in their hearts, it was what they would need to recognize Jesus who was walking with them.

Upon reaching Emmaus, it appeared that the stranger was going to continue on with his journey, but they implored him to stay with them and to continue to open up the truth behind the Scriptures. Jesus agreed as he wanted to elevate their feelings of hopelessness to true acceptance of his salvation.  The disciples were beginning to rise from the deep darkness of their sorrow as the Light of the Word of God became brighter to them. But it was not fully comprehended until they sat down to supper when Jesus took the bread, broke it, and blessed it.  At that moment, at that first Eucharist celebration after the Resurrection, their eyes opened and shone brightly as the reality of the living Jesus Christ before them became ever so clear in his glorified presence now so tangible in front of them.  They immediately felt the joy of the Easter Miracle and with that, Jesus smiled at them and vanished from their sight.  Their joy was so great they exclaimed; how did we not see this?  How did we not believe as we listened to every word he spoke?  Weren't our hearts burning within us?

Pope St. John Paul II said that when the two disciples urged Jesus to stay with them, Jesus responded by giving them a way to stay in Him, by entering into "a profound communion with Jesus" through the "Sacrament of the Eucharist".  This presence remained in them as they immediately returned to Jerusalem on a mission to spread the Good News that they had just experienced and to tell the other Disciples of Christ's appearance to them!

The Road to Emmaus is often seen as the first celebration of the Mass in the New Covenant.  The formula for the Mass can be seen throughout the Gospel story.  The explanation by Jesus of the scriptures is our Liturgy of the Word, which begins every Mass. The breaking of the bread, where the real true presence of Our Lord is made known to those two disciples is our Liturgy of the Eucharist where the true presence of Jesus is given to all of us and Christ physically dwells in us.  And finally, the Blessing and Dismissal "Ite Missa Est" ("Go forth the Mass is ended"), the Latin word "Missa", the derivative of the English word "Mass" carries the sense of mission.  Just as Cleopas and Mary immediately set out in the darkness of the growing night to return to Jerusalem on a mission to tell their story.  They could not wait to tell the other disciples that they had truly seen the risen Lord. They desperately needed to tell them what they had learned about the Book of Genesis.  How the "seed" of the woman who would bruise the serpent's head, was Jesus.  How they now understood the sacrifice of Isaac, the son of Abraham, as a foreshadowing of the sacrificial death of Jesus, and how God brought forth the nation of Israel as the light to the world that would bring blessings to the nations of the world.  From Exodus, Cleopas and Mary now understood how Jesus would be perceived as the Passover Lamb. From the Book of Numbers, he was the rock in the wilderness from whom we receive the life-giving water.  In the Book of Joshua, he was the captain of the Lord's hosts.  In the Psalms and in the Prophets they saw His suffering, death, and resurrection. And in Ezekiel, Daniel and other books they now saw His second coming in great power and glory.  And finally, in the very last book of the Old Testament, Malachi describes Jesus as the Son of Righteousness raised with healing in His wings.  "But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings..."  (Malachi 4:2 New American Standard Bible)

These great gifts--the opening and understanding of the Scriptures and the recognition of the risen Jesus, are the desire of all who believe.  Because when we read and study the Bible and its meaning is opened to us, we see the Lord Jesus Christ as HE is. Through the Holy Spirit, we are opened to an understanding that will forever change us.  The Word of God will no longer be misunderstood.  It will have meaning.  It will make sense.  And, it will bring us comfort, for within its covers we will see Jesus, who died for us so that we would live eternally with him.  And finally, our hearts will burn as Cleopas and Mary's as we hurry out to spread what we have learned on our own Road to Emmaus.

By Abraham Bloemaert - web, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=6236988

In future posts, I will bring forth some of the Scriptures that reveal the coming and the mission of Jesus Christ.  Stay tuned for more insights in the series of posts entitled:

"ON THE ROAD TO EMMAUS"

Thanks to Malcolm Muggeridge and his book, Jesus Rediscovered (Fontana, 1969) for this inspiration