Unit I: Introduction to the Hebrew Bible

The Bible

a tapestry of sacred writings composed by many human authors under the inspiration of God rather than as a single book.

Sacred Scripture

according to Dei Verbum, it is "the utterance of God put down as it is in writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit"

Divine Inspiration

the activity of the Holy Spirit by which Biblical authors wrote text that are not always "true", but are always "truth"

Covenant

a binding agreement meant to solidify the relationship between God and man

Canon

"official rule"; refers to the officially recognized texts found in the Bible

Deuterocanonical Books

Seven books included in the Catholic OT canon but not in the Hebrew or Protestant canons because they were not originally written in Hebrew

Pentateuch

the Greek name for the first five books of the Old Testament

Torah

the Hebrew name for the first five books of the Old Testament; it means "teaching"

Historical Books

Old Testament books which tell the story of Israel's history from the conquest of Canaan, the monarchy, the exile, and the return to Jerusalem

Wisdom Books

Old Testament books intended to teach the reader how to live wisely and faithfully

Prophets

Old Testament books which call God's people back to covenant faithfulness while proclaiming God's future plans of salvation

Allegorical Sense

a method of reading Scripture that identifies ways the events in the Old Testament foreshadow Christ and the Church

Moral Sense

a method of reading Scripture that tells the reader how they should live in response to God's revelation through Scripture

Anagogical Sense

a method of reading Scripture which directs readers toward eternal realities such as heaven, resurrection, and the fulfillment of God's Kingdom

Yahwist (J) Source

a literary source of the Torah that uses the divine name Yahweh, contains vivid storytelling and poetic descriptions, in which God is anthropomorphized

Elohist (E) Source

a literary source of the Torah that uses the divine name Elohim, contains narratives of historical traditions in which God is remote and communicates via dreams and angels

Priestly (P) Source

a literary source of the Torah that is concerned with genealogy, lists, rituals, laws that was written by priests during the Babylonian Exile in which God is depicted as exalted and transcendent

Deuteronomist (D) Source

a literary source of the Torah that uses long speeches and sermons instead of short narrative material that was written later than the other sources, during Josiah's reform

Tanakh

the abbreviation for Torah, Nevi'im, and Ketuvim which are the three sections of the Hebrew Bible

Nevi'im

the Hebrew word for the section of the Hebrew Bible containing the books of the Prophets

Ketuvim

the Hebrew word for the section of the Hebrew Bible containing the books of writing

Literal Sense

the sense of Scripture which seeks out "what the biblical authors intended and conveyed to their audiences by what they wrote."

Spiritual Sense

the idea that passages of Scripture contain meaning(s) intended by God, in addition to the literal meaning intended and conveyed by the human author

Primeval

the first age of existence and the beginning of world history as described in the first 11 chapters of the book of Genesis

Prehistoric

the period of time before writing systems or recorded history, but for which Archaeological and anthropological artifacts exist