Article 4 - Introduction to the Old Testament
Written and Edited by
Mr J Aloysius Ignatius, Fr Gerard J D’Silva and Fr Trevor D’Souza, OFM
Note The ‘fill in the blanks’ at intervals below will help you to focus on essentials and to interact with the text more actively. For best effect, it must be filled in by memory from what you have just read in that section. If necessary you may even read the section more than once. Only when you are unable to fill in the blanks from memory should you go back to the text to fill in the blanks. It should not be used as a mere cut and paste exercise.
1. The word Bible is derived from the Greek word biblos, which means “book.” The Bible itself is a collection, or a library of various books, inspired by God and written by human beings. The Bible contains the authentic, inspired record of the revelations made to mankind by God about himself and his will for people. The Bible contains saving truths.
Q1. The word “Bible” means ……….
Q2. The Bible is a collection of various ………. inspired by ………. and written by ………., ……….
Q3. The Bible contains ………. truths.
2. The Bible has two parts: the Old Testament (OT) and the New Testament (NT). The OT was mostly written in Hebrew at different times between about 1200 BC and 165 BC, that is, before Christ, while the NT was written in Greek by the Christians in the first century AD, that is, after Christ. The books of the Bible were written in various styles. The various styles of books in the bible are for example, historical books, prophetic books, wisdom books, songs or psalms, gospels, letters and apocalypses. These various styles are called genres. When reading the Bible it is important to keep in mind the genre of the book or text that is being read.
Q4. The Bible has two parts: the ………. Testament (OT) and the ………. Testament (NT).
Q5. The Old Testament was mostly written in ………. (language).
Q6. The Old Testament was written before ……….
Q7. The New Testament was written in ………. (language).
Q8. The New Testament was written after ……….
Q9. The books of the Bible are written in various ……….
Q10. The various styles in which the books of the Bible are written are called ……….
Q11. Some of the genres of the books of the bible are ………. books, ………. books, ………. books, ………., and ………. (Name any 5 genres).
Q12. When reading the Bible it is important to keep in mind the ………. of the book or text that is being read.
3. Thirty-nine (39) books of the OT were written entirely in Hebrew by the authors in Israel. Seven (7) books of the OT were written in Greek outside Israel during the captive period and subsequently translated to Hebrew. These 7 books are called deuterocanonical books and are not found in the Jewish canon (the word canon means a collection of books or writings that are considered as “core Scripture” or “authorized writings” of a particular religious group) of Scripture or in Protestant Bibles. The deuterocanonical books (from the Greek meaning "belonging to the second canon") are books and passages considered by the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Oriental Orthodox Churches and the Assyrian Church of the East to be canonical books of the Old Testament but are considered non-canonical by Protestant denominations.
Protestant Bibles do not include the seven (7) deuterocanonical books. The deuterocanonical books are: 1 and 2 Maccabees, Judith, Tobit, Baruch, Sirach and Wisdom. The twentyseven (27) books of the NT are found both in the Catholic and Protestant Bibles.
Q13. The word “canon” means a collection of books or writings that are considered ………. Scripture or ………. writings of a particular religious group.
Q14. The 7 books in the Old Testament not found in Protestant Bibles but found in Catholic Bibles are called ………. books.
Q15. The 7 deuterocanonical books are 1 and 2 ………., ………., ………., ………., ………. and ……….
Q16. The 27 books of the NT are found both in the ………. and ………. Bibles.
4. The term deuterocanonical can be misleading as it means “second canon”. However, the deuterocanonical books are not seen as secondary level of Scripture by the Catholic Church. They belong to one canon of Scripture and are seen as fully inspired by God.
Q17. The deuterocanonical books are not seen as ………. level of Scripture by the Catholic Church and are as valid as the other books of the Bible.
5. It must be remembered that Jesus and the apostles frequently referred to the deuterocanonical books, thus giving them authenticity. It was the Jews that did not accept Christ who originally dropped the seven deuterocanonical books from the Jewish canon.
Q18. Jesus and His apostles frequently quoted from the ………. books.
Q19. It was the Jews who did not ………. Christ who first dropped the seven deuterocanonical books from the Jewish canon.
*Catholic Bible*: 46 (39+7) books (OT) + 27 books (NT) = 73 books
(Refer Annexure – I)
*Protestant Bible*: 39 books (OT) + 27 books (NT ) = 66 books.
Q20. The Catholic Bible has a total of ………. books.
Q21. The Protestant Bible has a total of ………. books.
Q22. The Catholic Bible has a total of ………. books in the OT.
Q23. The Protestant Bible has a total of ………. books in the OT.
Q24. Both the Catholic Bible and the Protestant Bible have ………. books in the NT.
6. In about 367 AD, St Athanasius came up with a list of 73 books for the Bible that he believed to be inspired. This list was approved by Pope Damasus I in 382 AD and formally approved by the Church Council of Rome in the same year (Church councils are authorized gatherings of bishops for the purpose of discussing ecclesiastical problems with a view to passing decrees on matters under discussion). Later councils at Hippo (393 AD) and Carthage (397 AD) ratified this list of 73 books. Subsequent councils also reaffirmed St Athanasius’ original list of 73 books as the list of inspired book of Scripture. At the Council of Trent (1546 AD) the 73 books was declared by the Catholic Church to be the “Canon” ( authoritative list of inspired books) of Scripture.
Q25. The list of 73 books of the Bible was first approved by Pope ………. in 382 AD.
Q26. ………., ………. are authorized gatherings of bishops for the purpose of discussing Church problems with a view to passing decrees on matters under discussion.
Q27. The Council of ………. (382 AD), the Council of ………. (393 AD) and the Council of ………. (397 AD) ratified the list of 73 books of the Bible.
Q28. The Council of Trent in 1546 AD declared the 73 books to be the ………. of Scripture.
7. Although the Bible was written over many centuries by many different human authors in several languages, it is a unified whole because all its books are inspired by the Holy Spirit and together, they reveal God’s plan of salvation. Since God inspired the human authors, God is the principal AUTHOR of Scripture. Everything asserted by the inspired authors or sacred writers must be acknowledged as solid and faithful teaching and without error, truth which God wanted to be put into the sacred writings for the sake of our salvation. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16).
Q29. The writings of the Bible form a ………. whole because its books are inspired by the ………., ………. and together they reveal God’s plan of ……….
Q30. ………. is the principal author of Scripture.
8. The word “Testament” can also be translated as “Covenant”. Covenant literally means a “contract”. In the Bible, a covenant is an agreement between God and his people. The Old Testament tells how God made a series of covenants, in which he promised blessings in return for loving obedience. *Noahic Covenant* - God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth” (Gen 9:1). *Abrahamic Covenant* - When Abraham was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to Abraham and said to him “I am God Almighty, walk before me and be blameless and I will make my covenant between me and you, and will make you exceedingly numerous” (Gen 17:1,2). *Mosaic Covenant* (Deut 11:13-21). This passage declares that as long as Israel is faithful to God it will be blessed with ample crops and should it follow other gods the land will not support it. *Davidic Covenant* – “I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come forth from your body. He shall build a house for my name , and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12,13). The New Testament tells how God fulfilled this promise of blessing by means of a new and everlasting covenant in his Son, Jesus Christ (Luke 22:19-20).
Q31. The word “testament” means ………. or ……….
Q32. In the Bible, a covenant means an agreement between ………. and his people.
Q33. In the covenants described in the OT, God promises blessings in return for loving ……….
Q34. The OT describes how God made covenants between himself and ………., ………., ………. and ………..
Q35. The New Testament (NT) tells how God fulfills his promise of blessing to David by means of a new and everlasting covenant in his Son, ………. ………..
9. Each book of the Bible is linked to the other books by the “narrative thread” of God’s plan. If we do not understand this plan - which includes why we have been created, what went wrong at the beginning, and how God set about making things right- it is difficult to make sense of the Bible as a whole. From the very beginning, God taught his people to pass down the story of all he had done for them. As the story continued, his people would refer to the past events and look forward to things God had promised. If we enter the story in the middle, the importance and meaning of many people, places and events may be unclear. Reading the Bible without knowing the larger story makes the book difficult to understand. The Catechism of the Catholic Church reminds us that we must be “attentive to the content and the unity of the whole” when reading the Bible (CCC 112), as well as to “the way and the truth of the faith hang together among themselves and within the whole plan of Divine Revelation” (CCC 114).
Q36. Each book in the Bible is ………. to the other books by the narrative thread of God’s ………..
Q37. If we do not understand this ………. of God which includes ………. we have been created, what went ………. at the beginning and how God set about making things ………. it is difficult to make ………. of the Bible as a whole.
Q38. From the very beginning, God taught his people to ………. ………. the story of all he had done for them.
Q39. If we enter the story in the ………. the ………. and ………. of many people, places and events may be unclear.
Q40. Reading the Bible without knowing the ………. ………. makes the book difficult to understand.
References:
https://www.catholicculture.
Very interesting. I also like the fill in the blanks ,which ensures that one has understood and recollected what he has read.
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