Gutenberg Bible - Beinecke Library, Yale University (Adam Jones)
The Bible is the most privileged part of the Jewish and Christian traditions, but neither Jews nor Catholics consider it to be the whole of the tradition. Therefore, before we explore the content of the Bible in any detail, we begin with a general overview of salvation history, as understood by Jews and Christians. We also answer three initial questions people often ask as they begin Bible study.
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The Old Testament is a compilation of books from the ancient Jewish tradition. Many people from different cultures over a period spanning 1200 years (c. 1250 - 50 BC) contributed to the Old Testament, including the people who experienced the reported events, those who wrote about and interpreted the events, those who found additional wisdom after reflecting on these accounts, and those who edited and compiled the books into their current forms. As detailed on this other page, Catholics count 46 books in the Old Testament. Protestants omit 7 of these books for a total of 39. The Jewish Bible has the same scriptures as the Protestant Old Testament, but because they combine certain books together, they count them as only 24 books. Most Orthodox Christians have a few more books in their Old Testament than Catholics. It is appropriate to refer to the scriptures shared by all these groups as "the Jewish Bible" or "the Jewish scriptures."
The New Testament is a compilation of 27 books written in response to the life, teaching, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It is roughly one-third the length of the Old Testament, and most Christians agree on which books should be included. While the compilation of the New Testament is complicated, it is not nearly as complex as the assembly of the Old Testament. All the books of the New Testament were written by early Christians living within the Greco-Roman world over a span of approximately 70 years (c. 50 - 129 AD).
The Middle East: "Doorknob" to the Ancient World
The Old Testament has origins in times and cultures that are unfamiliar to most of us. Therefore, we need to discuss some general ancient history as well as the geography of the Middle East.
Map of the Fertile Crescent, c. 1000 BC - Nafsadh (Wikimedia Commons)
The Holy Land sits in a region often called "the Levant." The Levant is the extreme western end of the continent of Asia, providing the only land passage between Africa and Europe. (Some people also consider the Levant to include the islands within and the lands surrounding the eastern Mediterranean Sea, such as modern-day Crete, Greece, and Libya.) Although a thin stretch of the Fertile Crescent passes through the Holy Land, much of the Holy Land is arid. Therefore, the few passable routes through the Holy Land have been fought over for millenia. For example, over the past 7,000 years, the city of Megiddo in the Jezreel Valley has been built and destroyed 25 times! (Revelation 16:16 predicts that the final battle between good and evil will take place on the plains outside of Megiddo, a place often called "Armageddon.")
The following 2½-minute video illustrates the ever-changing political situation in the Holy Land over the past 5,000 years. (There is no need to turn on the sound for this video.)
Note that portions of the Holy Land have only been governed by a unified group of Israelites or Jews for three brief periods in the last 5,000 years. The ancient, indepedent, unified kingdom of Israel (designated in purple in the video above) only existed for roughly 80 years, c. 1010 - 930 BC, before breaking up into two less powerful, less organized kingdoms. The smaller Hasmonean kingdom (at the tail end of what the video above designates as "the Macedonian Empire" in bluish-teal) existed as an independent Jewish nation for a few decades, c. 110 - 67 BC. The current nation of Israel came into existence in 1948.
Geographical Uniqueness
No other part of the world contains as much geographical diversity in such a small area as the Holy Land. For a nation around the size of the state of Maryland, the modern Israel and the territories it occupies include snow-capped mountains, temperate farmland, beaches, and desert. The Holy Land includes part of one of the most remarkable geographical features on the planet, the Syro-African Rift, which forms the Sea of Galilee, the Jordan River, and the Dead Sea. The city of Jerusalem, where it occasionally snows (elevation 2600 feet above sea level), is only 20 miles away from the Dead Sea, where the average rainfall is less than 2 inches per year (elevation 1400 feet below sea level).
St. Jerome called the Holy Land "the fifth gospel," because Christians seeing it gain new insights into the life of Jesus Christ and his Jewish ancestors.
From Polytheistic Tribes into a Monotheistic Nation
The Bible can be understood as the history of the Semitic peoples of the region, caught between rival superpowers surrounding them. The Semitic peoples were originally organized in unrelated nomadic tribes. They were known as the ‘Apiru (dusty, dirty), from which we get the word “Hebrews.” Like all peoples of the ancient Middle East, they were polytheists. Each tribe had its own god, to whom members of the tribe appealed for good weather, fertility, and military victory when fighting other tribes.
Over the course of time, the ‘Apiru slowly came to see themselves as a single ethnic group, with the same god. Then, they came to see their god as the greatest of the gods, and eventually as the only God, creator of all things, omniscient, all powerful, caring for all people.
Remnants of earlier belief systems appear in the Jewish scriptures. For example:
Psalm 82 speaks of God as the father and judge of other gods.
The Song of Deborah (Judges 5:2 - 31)—one of the oldest passages in the entire Bible—tells of a time when four tribes joined in battle against Canaan, while another three tribes stayed home.
For modern Jews, Christians, and Muslims, the concept of monotheism is deeply ingrained in our traditions. But the advent of the Bible precedes this concept. It is only in the time of the prophet Jeremiah (c. 600 BC) that polytheism is finally stamped out of the Israelite belief system.
Six Eras of Salvation History, According to Christians
The "Prehistory," Before c. 1800 BC
The Creation of Man - Manasseh Johnson
The Bible begins with the "Prehistory," stories from before the dawn of written history. Most Jews and Christians do not interpret these stories—about the Creation, Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Noah and the Ark, and the Tower of Babel—as historical accounts of actual events. They regard them as fables that speak to the Judeo-Christian understanding of God and how human beings are called to relate to God. We detail the Prehistory on our page about chapters 1 - 11 of Genesis.
The Patriarchs, c. 1800 - 1250 BC
"Count the stars.... just so shall your descendants be." (Genesis 15:5) artist unknown
Salvation history begins in earnest with God promising Abram, later named Abraham, c. 1800 that he will make a great nation of his descendants in the Land of Canaan, which is approximately where modern-day Israel is located. Through an ongoing, personal relationship with Abraham, his son Isaac, Isaac's son Jacob (later named Israel), and Jacob's son Joseph, God guides the entire family to Egypt.
Abraham's descendants stay in Egypt for the next 400 years, growing more populous. But eventually they are enslaved by the Egyptians when they are ruled by a Pharoah "who knew nothing of Joseph" (Exodus 1:8).
The Exodus and the Collapse of the Bronze Age, c. 1250 - 1000 BC
The Semitic peoples' understanding of themselves as a united people is intertwined with a major world historical event not mentioned in the Bible: the collapse of the Bronze Age.
Before c. 1200 BC, the kingdoms of the Middle East had developed a sophisticated international trading network, with the Egyptian Empire (southwest of the Holy Land) and the Hittite Empire (north of the Holy Land) being the dominant economic powers. The network arose due to the kingdoms' need for tin, a relatively rare element found mostly in modern-day Afghanistan, to combine with copper to make bronze weapons.
For reasons that are still not clear, all the kingdoms in the region plunged into a tumultuous period c. 1200 BC often called "the first Dark Ages." It seems as if the collapse was abetted in part by severe droughts, numerous earthquakes, and the invasion of outsiders. Whatever the causes, tin was no longer widely available, and all the existing kingdoms collapsed around the same time. Some never recovered, but others began to re-emerge about 200 years later with the advent of iron tools. To learn more about this fascinating time in history, we recommend this 56-minute podcast from Throughline, in which Rund Abdelfatah and Ramtin Arablouei interview Eric H. Cline, author of 1177 B.C.: The Year Civilization Collapsed.
It is into this vacuum that the Semitic peoples begin to form a nation. God calls Moses, a Semitic man raised in the Pharoah's house, to lead Abraham's descendants out of Egypt. They escape the pursuing Egyptians through the miraculous parting of the Red Sea. God then gives Moses the Law (Torah) as a covenant between God and the Semitic peoples. Through 250 years of difficulties, the people come to understand themselves as one people united by God. With God's instruction, they conquer enough other residents of the Land of Canaan to establish themselves in the region. They are not always consistent in following God's Law or acting as a united people, but they gradually gain an identity as a people and as a nation called "Israel." Saul is named the first king of the nation. Upon his death, David is anointed the second king.
The nation Rises, Falls, & Awaits Salvation (c. 1000 - c. 30 AD)
The Visit of the Queen of Sheba to King Solomon - Edward Poynter
The Israelites now understand themselves as a people chosen by God, ruled by God's beloved leader David (c. 1010 - 970) and then by his son Solomon (c. 970 - 930), leading to brief period of great prosperity. But soon, the nation is in disarray. Civil war breaks the nation into two smaller kingdoms. Prophets arise to condemn corrupt kings and priests in both kingdoms. The northern kingdom (called "Israel," "Samaria," or "Ephraim") is ruled by kings who do not worship God, and after 200 tumultuous years, it is obliterated by the Assyrian Empire in 722. The southern kingdom (called "Judah"), containing the holy city of Jerusalem, is ruled by some kings who are faithful to God and others who are not faithful. Eventually, in 586, Judah is destroyed the Babylonian Empire. The aristocrats and priests of Judah are taken off by King Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon to be held in captivity.
The Flight of the Prisoners - James Tissot
The Babylonian captivity (586 - 538) is considered the low point in salvation history, leading to a religious crisis: How could God allow such tragedy to befall the chosen people? The religion we know today as Judaism (literally: of the people of Judah) is formed in this crucible of crisis, forced to wrestle with the complexities of life. Some of the most hopeful passages of the Bible (including Isaiah 40 - 55 and Ezekiel 33 - 48) are written at this time. The prophets begin to speak of a Christ—a Messiah, a special person anointed by God—who will come and set the captives free.
Freedom comes, but by a most unexpected means. When Babylon is defeated by King Cyrus of Persia, he allows the Jews to return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple, the city, and a vassal state of Judah that pays tribute to Persia. Over the next several centuries, other empires come to rule over the vassal state of Judah. By 63 BC, Judah—now called Judaea—is a province of the Roman Empire. But Judaism in the Greco-Roman Period still awaits a Messiah who will free the people from their captivity.
The Teaching, Death, & Resurrection of Jesus Christ (c. 30 AD)
Jesus of Nazareth grows up in this culture of Jews living in the Greco-Roman world. Around the age of 30, he emerges from obscurity and begins to teach. Even though he apparently does not have the formal training of most rabbis, people recognize the authority with which he speaks. A minority of Jews come to see him as the long-awaited Christ, or Messiah. Jesus is crucified by the Roman government, with the approval of some Jewish religious authorities, just outside the city wall of Jerusalem. His followers report that he has risen from the dead and that some of them interacted with him before he ascended to heaven 40 days later.
The Age of the Church (c. 30 to Present Day)
Mary, the Apostles, and many other disciples on the first Christian Pentecost
The earliest followers of Jesus Christ remain Jews, but for various reasons, they eventually form a separate religion called Christianity. Christians believe that together, they form the mystical Body of Christ still in this world, and that they are guided by the Holy Spirit.
The earliest disciples spread the message of Jesus Christ throughout the Roman Empire, mostly within major cities of the empire. The religion spreads quickly, and by the end of the first century, the vast majority of Christians are Greeks, not Jews. In the second half of the first century, Christians compile the teachings and stories of the life of Jesus into documents called gospels. Some of the epistles written by early disciples to others Christians are compiled, too.
Initial Questions, #1: Is the Bible True?
Is the Bible true? Yes, it speaks to great truths about God, faith and belief, and how humans relate to God. The Bible does not have the same sense of factual accuracy, however, that we expect in our modern, scientific times. There is a mix of genres in the Bible, including poems and fables, but even the "historical" books were never intended to meet the factual accuracy we expect of histories written today. Nevertheless, even with a confusing archaeological record to work with, we can speak to the historical accuracy of some events recorded in the Bible.
We have no historical/archaeological record of Abraham outside of the Bible, but at the time of Abraham (c. 1800 BC), people were migrating north and west from Sumer, as God directed Abraham to go.
We do not know if a man named Joseph became an administrator in Egypt, but we do have records of rulers in Egypt at that time (c. 1650) with Semitic names.
The archaeological record does not support the military campaigns as related in Joshua and Judges (c. 1200 - 1050), but it does support many of the events of the Books of Kings (c. 950 - 586).
The rise of the Israelites as a people corresponds to the period between the collapse of the Bronze Age (c. 1200) and the beginning of the Iron Age (c. 1000).
There is scant archaeological evidence of any events happening in the Holy Land in the last 3 centuries BC, most notably the events discussed in 1 & 2 Maccabees, because the Greek and Roman cultures dominating the area did not consider the region important enough to mention in their larger accounts of history.
While the four canonical gospels cannot be combined into a single account, due to discrepancies between them, there is sufficient proof that Jesus of Nazareth was born, was crucified by Pontius Pilate, and the movement he inspired led to the rise of Christianity.
Jacob Wrestling with the Angel - Alexander Louis Leloir
All this information may make the reader question if their faith can be solidly built upon such an odd combination of fact, fiction, and perspective. We who have written this Lectionary Guide believe that those who study the Bible are forced to wrestle with their beliefs, but like Jacob who wrestles with an angel (Genesis 32), they will be strengthened in faith. In fact, the very name Israel means "wrestles with God"!
Initial Questions, #2: Why is God So Violent in the Old Testament?
The Fall of the Walls of Jericho (Joshua 6:20 - 21)
There are portions of the Old Testament in which God seems petty, vengeful, and approving of violence. In giving Moses the Ten Commandments, God says, "I, the LORD, your God, am a jealous God, inflicting punishments for their fathers' wickedness on the children of those who hate me, down to the third and fourth generation" (Exodus 20:5). Understandably, the modern reader blanches at such characterizations of God.
Christians too often adopt a belief that Jesus Christ is the loving face of God, but that the Father (the Old Testament God) is petty, vengeful, and approving of violence. No! The teachings of Jesus repeatedly enforce that the Father is a God of love and mercy; see Luke 15:1 - 32 for three examples. But the Old Testament is filled with messages of God's love and mercy, too. In fact, the next verse after the one quoted above continues with God speaking of "bestowing mercy down to the thousandth generation, on the children of those who love me and keep my commandments" (Exodus 20:6).
From the earliest days of Christianity, some Christians wanted to reject the Old Testament outright. However, the Church has clearly and consistently decried such a position as a heresy called Marcionism. Perhaps a better way to understand the violent qualities attributed to God in the Old Testament is to realize that these books were written in cultures of much warfare and violence. It is more likely that the writers placed these attributes of themselves onto God, rather than God inspiring these authors to speak of violence and vengeance.
Initial Questions, #3: Are the Jews Are Still God's Chosen People?
Modern Catholicism Does NOT Uphold Supersessionist Views
Celebrating Hanukkah
Yes! The Jews ARE still God's chosen people!
For much of its history, Christianity made claims that the new covenant of Jesus (from which we get the name "The New Testament") completely replaces the old covenant of the Mosaic Law ("The Old Testament"). We can find such strains of thought in many of the early Church Fathers all the way into the teachings of the Church of the middle 20th century. Many have argued that the writings of St. Paul in the New Testament uphold similar supersessionist perspectives. (We detail our disagreements with such an interpretation on our page on the Letter to the Romans.)
Since the Holocaust of World War II, the Catholic Church has made great efforts to repudiate any such ideas.
As the Church wrote in Nostra Aetate at the Second Vatican Council in 1965:
The Church... remembers the bond that spiritually ties the people of the New Covenant to Abraham's stock. Thus the Church of Christ acknowledges that, according to God's saving design, the beginnings of [our] faith and [our] election are found already among the Patriarchs, Moses and the prophets.... All who believe in Christ... are included in the same Patriarchs' call, and likewise that the salvation of the Church is mysteriously foreshadowed by the chosen people's exodus from the land of bondage. The Church, therefore, cannot forget that [we] received the revelation of the Old Testament through the people with whom God in His inexpressible mercy concluded the Ancient Covenant.... Indeed, the Church believes that by His cross Christ, Our Peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles, making both one in Himself.... [The Church] also recalls that the Apostles, the Church's main-stay and pillars, as well as most of the early disciples who proclaimed Christ's Gospel to the world, sprang from the Jewish people....
God holds the Jews most dear for the sake of their Fathers; He does not repent of the gifts He makes or of the calls He issues—such is the witness of [Paul]. In company with the Prophets and the same Apostle, the Church awaits that day, known to God alone, on which all peoples will address the Lord in a single voice.... Since the spiritual patrimony common to Christians and Jews is thus so great, this sacred synod wants to foster and recommend that mutual understanding and respect which is the fruit, above all, of biblical and theological studies as well as of fraternal dialogues....
Although the Church is the new people of God, the Jews should not be presented as rejected or accursed by God, as if this followed from the Holy Scriptures. All should see to it, then, that in catechetical work or in the preaching of the word of God they do not teach anything that does not conform to the truth of the Gospel and the spirit of Christ.
Furthermore, in [our] rejection of every persecution against any [person], the Church, mindful of the patrimony [we] share with the Jews and moved not by political reasons but by the Gospel's spiritual love, decries hatred, persecutions, displays of anti-Semitism, directed against Jews at any time and by anyone. Besides, as the Church has always held and holds now, Christ underwent His passion and death freely, because of the sins of [people] and out of infinite love, in order that all may reach salvation. (#4)
Whenever we hear anyone speaking disparagingly of the Jewish religion or the people who follow it, we have an obligation to speak up on behalf of the people Pope John Paul II called "our elder brothers [and sisters] in the faith of Abraham"!
This concludes page 2 of 40 in our Lectionary Guide. For a comprehensive reading of the entire guide, we suggest going next to Structure of the Bible.