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Understanding the First Five Books of the Bible Narrative and Development of the Pentateuch

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s Word Part 1A The Pentateuch. Understanding the First Five Books of the Bible Narrative and Development of the Pentateuch How We Read the Pentateuch Ancestor Stories in the Book of Genesis The Beginning of God’s Revelation The Great Flood

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Understanding the First Five Books of the Bible Narrative and Development of the Pentateuch

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  1. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch • Understanding the First Five Books of the Bible • Narrative and Development of the Pentateuch • How We Read the Pentateuch • Ancestor Stories in the Book of Genesis • The Beginning of God’s Revelation • The Great Flood • Abraham and the Patriarchs • The Blessing of Jacob • Joseph and His Brothers • The Book of Exodus • The Wandering of the People in the Wilderness • The Mosaic Law Codes

  2. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch Source Theory for the Pentateuch

  3. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch The Two Stories of Creation • First Story of Creation • Genesis 1:1–2:4a • “seven days of creation” • the setting is water • Order of creation: plants, animals, humans • man is created at the same moment in the “image of God” • Second Story of Creation • Genesis 2:4b–25 • setting is barren land • order of creation: human, plants, animals • God creates man out of the mud and “breathes life” into man • man is named: Adam and Eve

  4. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch Religious Truths Revealed in the Stories of Creation 1. There is only one God. 2.God planned creation. 3.Everything God made is good. 4.The Sabbath is a special day of rest and worship.

  5. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch How We Read the Pentateuch 1. Any and all parts of Scripture must be read and interpreted in relation to the whole. No matter the various sources and human authors of the Pentateuch, Scripture must be read as “a unity by reason of God’s plan, of which Jesus is the centerand heart, open since his Passover” (CCC, 112). 2. The Church has the primary role in arbitrating the meaning of Scripture “What characterizes Catholic exegesis is that it deliberately places itself within the living Tradition of the Church. . . .” (Pontifical Biblical Commission)

  6. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch Two Main Kinds of Writing in the Pentateuch 1. Narrative stories collected in two main groups: (a) the “Ancestor Stories” of Genesis (b) the Moses/Exodus Story 2. The Collections of Mosiac Laws

  7. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch Truths Revealed by God’s Creative Actions 1. God alone created the universe freely, directly, and without any help. 2. God created everything through the eternal Word, his begotten Son, Jesus. 3. Creation is the common work of the Holy Trinity.

  8. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch Covenants Between Human Beings and God • Covenant with Abraham • Isaac speaks to Jacob • Jacob takes the name Israel • Covenant with Moses • The giving of the Law • The New Covenant of Jesus Christ

  9. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A Pentateuch The Fall of Man • Second Story of Creation • Harmony of original holiness • Harmony of original justice • God’s Response • An immediate offer of his mercy • The first promise of a Redeemer • Original Sin • A voluntary sin committed by our first parents • The loss of original holiness and original justice • Man preferred himself to God 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.(Gn 3:15)

  10. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch The Great Flood Unique teachings of the Hebrew version: • Humanity is to be destroyed because they are evil and constantly doing violence to each other. • Noah is saved because he is a righteous man. • Noah only takes animals while the Gilgamesh hero takes money on the ark. • The Hebrew version represents a “second creation story.” Noah takes the place of a new a new “Adam.”

  11. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch The Tower of Babel  Tells how the sin of pride brought into the world by the sin of Adam increased to the point that an entire city tried to make itself God.  Secondarily, it shows in an imaginative way how the many different languages of the world came to be – a hopeful gesture to humankind.  It takes place in “Shinar” an ancient biblical reference to “Babylon”, itself symbol for any oppressive empire or state.

  12. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch What the primeval history of Genesis tell us about the Hebrew people: •God’s will is to create a people in his image. •God’s will is peace, not violence. •God’s will is trust and truthfulness. •God’s will is care for creation. •God’s will is joyful diversity. •God is not impressed with material accomplishments but with how we care for each other and also how we care for the created environment.

  13. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch The Patriarchs Key figures: √Abraham – chapters 12–23, 25 (13) √ Isaac – chapters 24, 26–27 (3) √Jacob – chapters 28–35, 49 (9) √ Joseph – chapters 37–48, 50 (12) God used these very human personalities to accomplish the divine will: the creation and preservation of a special People who would reveal God to all the nations.

  14. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch Important elements of the Abraham story: 1. God’s message always “travels” as seen in the stories of Abraham, the Exodus, the Jewish Diaspora, St. Paul. 2. God’s assures Abraham that the Divine Word would come about and be maintained through his posterity. 3. Requirements of God’s covenant with Abraham: a. Abraham’s: “Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk … to a land that I will show you.” b. God’s: “I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you … All the communities of the earth shall find blessing in you.”

  15. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch Parallels between the stories of Abraham and Moses: • Abraham • He wondered throughout the known world • Signs of the covenant: he and his wife’s names are changed; the symbol ofcircumcision • Moses • The Hebrew’s journey out of Egypt following the Exodus • Sign of the covenant: the giving of the Law

  16. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch Threats in the patriarchal stories Sarah experiences the “captivity” of Pharaoh, and thus anticipates the later oppression of the Hebrews  Sarah has doubts that she really is going to be the bearer of the promised descendents of Israel  Abraham’s near sacrifice of Isaac  Christians read the passage about Abraham and Isaac as an anticipation of another “Father” who is anguished at the human demand that he “sacrifice a son” on the Cross

  17. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch The Exodus  These stories were likely collected and edited at the time of the Babylonian exile.  They tell of the miraculous release of the Israelites from Egypt, their journey across the Red Sea to Mount Sinai, where they entered into a special covenant with God.  At Mount Sinai, through Moses, God gave the Israelites the Law which allowed them to become a holy people.  The Exodus marked the beginning of Israel’s history as a separate nation: God singled them out to witness to the one, true Lord.

  18. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch Liberation  God will use Moses as the instrument to liberate his people  “I am who I am” is a mysterious name because God is a mystery  The plague stories: a. teach us about God and the formation the Israelites b. teach that God liberates the oppressed c. teach that earthly powers cannot maintain oppression when God wills liberation d. teach that with liberation comes responsibility

  19. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch The Sinai Covenant  The Israelites became a “Chosen People” at Mount Sinai and the reception of God’s Law  Results of the Sinai Covenant: 1. It bound God and the Chosen People in a loving union 2. It revealed God’s special love and mercy for them 3. It stipulated how God’s People were to respond to his love and uphold their part of the covenant: followingthe commandments and being faithful to God throughobedience and worship

  20. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch The Mosaic Law Codes  There are three different collections of the Law: (a) the Covenant Code (Ex 20–23), (b) The Deuteronomic Code (Dt 5–28), and the Levitical Code (Book of Leviticus)  All three collections contain civil laws and religious laws  All three collections reflect what was valued in the early life of Israel: family, integrity, property, and animals  The emphasis of biblical laws is not on guilt and punishment, but on restoration of the community and the maintenance of social life

  21. Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of God’s WordPart 1A The Pentateuch The Levitical Code 1. Laws of Sacrifice – the sacrificial gift represented repentance and sorrow, and served as the symbolic act of asking God for forgiveness 2. Purity Laws – reflected a minority society concerned about threats of assimilation with foreign cultures 3. Laws of Jubilee – show a radical concern for social justice and reflect a concern to deal with fair distribution of resources on a regular basis

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