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मुख्य The Catholic Study Bible: New American Bible Revised Edition
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The Catholic Study Bible Third Edition Editors and Contributors Kelly Coblentz Bautch The Later Histories: Tobit, Judith, Esther (with Leslie J. Hoppe), 1 & 2 Maccabees (with Richard J. Bautch) Richard J. Bautch The Chronicler's History: 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah Dianne Bergant The Wisdom Books: Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Wisdom, Sirach Laurie Brink Biblical History and Archaeology: New Testament Susan A. Calef The Gospel According to Mark John J. Collins, Editor Daniel and the Minor Prophets Christopher Frechette The Pentateuch: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy Mary Ann Getty, Editor Paul (with Carolyn Osiek): Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon Daniel J. Harrington The Bible in Catholic Life Katherine M. Hayes The Major Prophets: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Baruch, Ezekiel Leslie J. Hoppe The Deuteronomistic History: Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 & 2 Samuel, 1 & 2 Kings Luke Timothy Johnson The General Letters (Hebrews, James, 1 & 2 Peter, 1, 2, & 3 John, Jude) and Revelation Kevin Madigan Catholic Interpretation of the Bible Carolyn Osiek Paul (with Mary Ann Getty): Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon Pheme Perkins The Gospel According to Luke, The Gospel According to John Eileen Schuller The Bible in the Lectionary Donald Senior, Editor General Introduction, The Biblical Texts and Their Background, The Catholic Study Bible, The Gospels and Acts, The Gospel According to Matthew Ronald A. Simkins Biblical History and Archaeology: Old Testament Justin Taylor The Acts of the Apostles Ronald D. Witherup Biblical Translation and Pastoral Interpretation The Catholic Study Bible THIRD EDITION Donald Senior • John J. Collins • Mary Ann Getty EDITORS The New American Bible Revis; ed Edition Translated from the Original Languages with Critical Use of all the Ancient Sources Authorized by the Board of Trustees of the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine and Approved by the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide. Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and certain other countries Published in the United States of America by Oxford University Press 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016, United States of America Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, Revised Edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, by license, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reproduction rights organization. Inquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above. You must not circulate this work in any other form and you must impose this same condition on any acquirer Oxford General and Introductory Articles, Reading Guides, Charts, Maps, Timelines, Measures and Weights, Glossary, and Index copyright © 1990, 2007, 2011, 2016 by Oxford University Press Notice for the New American Bible: Revised Edition NEW TESTAMENT Nihil Obstat Imprimatur Stephen J. Hartdegen, O.F.M., L.S.S. +James A. Hickey, S.T.D., J.C.D. Censor Deputatus Archbishop of Washington August 27, 1986 OLD TESTAMENT RESCRIPT In accord with canon 825 §1 of the Code of Canon Law, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops hereby approves for publication The New American Bible, Revised Old Testament, a translation of the Sacred Scriptures authorized by the Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. The translation was approved by the Administrative Committee of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in November 2008 and September 2010. It is permitted by the undersigned for private use and study. Given in the city of Washington, the District of Columbia, on the Feast of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church, the 30th day of September, in the year of our Lord 2010. Francis Cardinal George, O.M.I. Archbishop of Chicago President, USCCB Notice for the General and Introductory Articles, Reading Guides, Charts, Maps, Timelines, Measures and Weights, Glossary, and Index In accordance with c. 827, permission to publish is granted on August 18, 2015, by Very Reverend Ronald A. Hicks, Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Chicago. Permission to publish is an official declaration of ecclesiastical authority that the material is free from doctrinal and moral error. No legal responsibility is assumed by the grant of this permission. Illustrations on pp. RG 122 and 159 are from Michael Coogan, The Old Testament: A Historical and Literary Guide to the Hebrew Scriptures, third edition. Copyright © 2013 by Oxford University Press USA. Used by permission. ebook ISBN 978–0–19–026726–1 Printed in the United States of America by Thomson Reuters Core Publishing Solutions 1 3 5 7 9 8 6 4 2 Contents List of Sidebar Essays, Charts, and Drawings List of Maps Alphabetical Listing of the Books of the Bible Abbreviations of the Books of the Bible Key to References General and Introductory Articles General Introduction – Donald Senior The Biblical Texts and Their Background – Donald Senior Using the Catholic Study Bible – Donald Senior The Bible in Catholic Life – Daniel J. Harrington Biblical History and Archaeology: Old Testament – Ronald A. Simkins Biblical History and Archaeology: New Testament – Laurie Brink Catholic Interpretation of the Bible – Kevin Madigan Biblical Translation and Pastoral Interpretation – Ronald D. Witherup The Bible in the Lectionary – Eileen Schuller Reading Guide The Pentateuch – Christopher Frechette Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy The Deuteronomistic History – Leslie J. Hoppe Joshua Judges Ruth 1 & 2 Samuel 1 & 2 Kings The Chronicler's History – Richard J. Bautch 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah The Later Histories – Kelly Coblentz Bautch with Richard J. Bautch, and Leslie J. Hoppe Tobit Judith Esther 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees The Wisdom Books – Dianne Bergant Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Wisdom Sirach The Major Prophets, Lamentations, and Baruch – Katherine M. Hayes Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Baruch Ezekiel Daniel and the Minor Prophets – John J. Collins Daniel The Twelve Minor Prophets Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi The Gospels and Acts – Donald Senior, Susan A. Calef, Pheme Perkins, and Justin Taylor Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Paul and His Writings – Mary Ann Getty and Carolyn Osiek Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon The General Letters and Revelation – Luke Timothy Johnson Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation The Old Testament of the New American Bible Revised Edition Preface to the New American Bible: Old Testament Preface to the Revised New American Bible: Old Testament The Pentateuch The Book of Genesis The Book of Exodus The Book of Leviticus The Book of Numbers The Book of Deuteronomy The Historical Books The Book of Joshua The Book of Judges The Book of Ruth The First Book of Samuel The Second Book of Samuel The First Book of Kings The Second Book of Kings The First Book of Chronicles The Second Book of Chronicles The Book of Ezra The Book of Nehemiah Biblical Novellas The Book of Tobit The Book of Judith The Book of Esther The First Book of Maccabees The Second Book of Maccabees The Wisdom Books The Book of Job The Book of Psalms The Book of Proverbs The Book of Ecclesiastes The Song of Songs The Book of Wisdom The Wisdom of Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus) The Prophetic Books The Book of Isaiah The Book of Jeremiah The Book of Lamentations The Book of Baruch The Book of Ezekiel The Book of Daniel The Book of Hosea The Book of Joel The Book of Amos The Book of Obadiah The Book of Jonah The Book of Micah The Book of Nahum The Book of Habakkuk The Book of Zephaniah The Book of Haggai The Book of Zechariah The Book of Malachi The New Testament of the New American Bible Revised Edition Preface to the New American Bible: First Edition of the New Testament Preface to the Revised Edition The Gospels The Gospel According to Matthew The Gospel According to Mark The Gospel According to Luke The Gospel According to John The Acts of the Apostles The New Testament Letters The Letter to the Romans The First Letter to the Corinthians The Second Letter to the Corinthians The Letter to the Galatians The Letter to the Ephesians The Letter to the Philippians The Letter to the Colossians The First Letter to the Thessalonians The Second Letter to the Thessalonians The First Letter to Timothy The Second Letter to Timothy The Letter to Titus The Letter to Philemon The Letter to the Hebrews The Catholic Letters The Letter of James The First Letter of Peter The Second Letter of Peter The First Letter of John The Second Letter of John The Third Letter of John The Letter of Jude The Revelation to John Glossary Measures and Weights Lectionary The New 3-Year Cycle of Readings for Sunday Mass Readings for the Major Feasts of the Year Weekday Readings Index to Reading Guide Collaborators on the Old Testament of the New American Bible 1970 Collaborators on the Revised Psalms of the New American Bible 1991 Collaborators on the Revised New Testament of the New American Bible 1986 Collaborators on the Old Testament of the New American Bible 2010 Collaborators on the Book of Psalms of the New American Bible 2010 A Concordance to the New American Bible List Of Sidebar Essays, Charts, and Drawings The Major Divisions of Genesis The Toledoth ("Generations") Lists The Family Tree of Abraham Calendar Structure of the Tabernacle Purity, Cleanliness, and Ritual Tribal Lists in Genesis, Numbers, and Deuteronomy "Hear, O Israel" The Temple and Palace of Solomon Chronology of the Two Kingdoms The Temple of Solomon according to 2 Chronicles The Kings of Persia The Four Stages of Return from Exile The Structure of the Book of Psalms Hebrew Poetry Acrostic Poems in Hebrew Rulers during New Testament Times Parables in the Synoptic Gospels List of Maps Table of Nations Geography of Ancestral Narratives Probable Exodus Routes according to the Bible Journey from the Wilderness to Canaan Conquest of Canaan according to the Book of Joshua Levitical Cities Important Cities Mentioned in Judges Battles of Gideon The Twelve Judges Five Cities of the Philistines Sites Mentioned in Benjaminite War Places in Ruth The Activity of Samuel Wanderings of the Ark The Kingdom of Saul according to 1 Samuel The Kingdom of David according to 2 Samuel Solomon's Twelve Administrative Districts The Divided Monarchy Places Associated with Elijah Places Associated with Elisha Campaign of Tiglath-pileser III Campaign of Sennacherib Nebuchadnezzar's Campaign The Levitical Cities according to 1 Chronicles The Kingdom of David according to 1 Chronicles The Kingdom of Solomon according to 2 Chronicles The Divided Monarchy according to 2 Chronicles Exile of Northern Kingdom Exile of Southern Kingdom The Return from Exile The Persian Empire The Campaigns of the Maccabees and Hasmoneans The Jerusalem Vicinity Places Mentioned in the Oracles against the Nations The Assyrian Empire Jeremiah's Journey to Egypt Tribal Territories in the Restored Israel The Neo-Babylonian Empire Alexander's Empire The Ptolemaic and Seleucid Kingdoms Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus Sites of Jesus' Travels in Galilee and Vicinity Sites of Jesus' Journey to Jerusalem and within It Geography of the Gospel of John The Native Lands of Pentecost Pilgrims Sites of Early Christian Missionary Activities First Missionary Journey of Paul Second Missionary Journey of Paul Third Missionary Journey of Paul Paul's Journey to Rome Paul's Journeys to Asia Minor The Seven Churches Alphabetical Listing of the Books of the Bible Acts Amos Baruch Ben Sira (Ecclesiasticus) 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Colossians 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Daniel Deuteronomy Ecclesiastes Ecclesiasticus (Ben Sira) Ephesians Esther Exodus Ezekiel Ezra Galatians Genesis Habakkuk Haggai Hebrews Hosea Isaiah James Jeremiah Job Joel John 1 John 2 John 3 John Jonah Joshua Jude Judges Judith 1 Kings 2 Kings Lamentations Leviticus Luke 1 Maccabees 2 Maccabees Malachi Mark Matthew Micah Nahum Nehemiah Numbers Obadiah 1 Peter 2 Peter Philemon Philippians Proverbs Psalms Revelation Romans Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) Song of Songs 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Tobit Wisdom Zechariah Zephaniah Abbreviations of the Books of the Bible Old Testament Gn Genesis Ex Exodus Lv Leviticus Nm Numbers Dt Deuteronomy Jos Joshua Jgs Judges Ru Ruth 1 Sm 1 Samuel 2 Sm 2 Samuel 1 Kgs 1 Kings 2 Kgs 2 Kings 1 Chr 1 Chronicles 2 Chr 2 Chronicles Ezr Ezra Neh Nehemiah Tb Tobit Jdt Judith Est Esther 1 Mc 1 Maccabees 2 Mc 2 Maccabees Jb Job Ps(s) Psalms Prv Proverbs Eccl Ecclesiastes Song (or Sg) Song of Songs Wis Wisdom Sir Sirach (Ecclesiasticus) Is Isaiah Jer Jeremiah Lam Lamentations Bar Baruch Ez Ezekiel Dn Daniel Hos Hosea Jl Joel Am Amos Ob Obadiah Jon Jonah Mi Micah Na Nahum Hb Habakkuk Zep Zephaniah Hg Haggai Zec Zechariah Mal Malachi New Testament Mt Matthew Mk Mark Lk Luke Jn John Acts Acts of the Apostles Rom Romans 1 Cor 1 Corinthians 2 Cor 2 Corinthians Gal Galatians Eph Ephesians Phil Philippians Col Colossians 1 Thes 1 Thessalonians 2 Thes 2 Thessalonians 1 Tm 1 Timothy 2 Tm 2 Timothy Ti Titus Phlm Philemon Heb Hebrews Jas James 1 Pt 1 Peter 2 Pt 2 Peter 1 Jn 1 John 2 Jn 2 John 3 Jn 3 John Jude Jude Rev Revelation Key to References For greater clarity and convenience, the footnotes and cross references are printed at the bottom of each page and cross-indexed in the text itself. An asterisk (*) in the text indicates that there is a footnote to the text in question. Each footnote is in turn clearly marked with the number of the chapter and the verse to which it pertains. Similarly a superior letter (a) in the text indicates that there is a cross-reference to a particular verse. The reference itself is also clearly marked with the same letter. Hence, the reader is always aware of a footnote or a cross-reference simply by reading the text. Key to Scripture References Gn 1:1 refers to Genesis, chapter one, verse one. Gn 1:1a refers to Genesis, chapter one, first part of verse one. Gn 1:1f(f) refers to Genesis, chapter one, verse one and the following verse (verses). Gn 1:1–10 refers to Genesis, chapter one, verses one through ten. Gn 1:1–10, 24 refers to Genesis, chapter one, verses one through ten and verse twenty-four. Gn 1–5 refers to Genesis, chapters one through five inclusive. Gn 1:1–2:3 refers to Genesis, chapter one, verse one through chapter two, verse three inclusive. Gn 1:1; 2:3 refers to Genesis, chapter one, verse one and chapter two, verse three. The Catholic Study Bible Third Edition General and Introductory Articles General Introduction The book you hold in your hand contains one of humanity's greatest treasures. No one can deny that the Bible has had a profound impact on world civilization. Its epic stories, its powerful language and images have left their imprint on human history, especially in cultures touched by Judaism and Christianity. For the Christian, the Bible has an importance far more profound than its impact on culture. The Christian believes that through the turbulent and wonderful chapters of biblical history, God speaks to us. Although expressed in genuinely human terms and through very human authors, the Bible is, at the same time, the Word of God for us. Therefore, as Christians we reverence and love the Scriptures, and seek to understand them as much as we can. The purpose of this newly revised and updated Catholic Study Bible is to enable the reader to read the Scriptures with new understanding and depth. The primary audience of this Study Bible is Roman Catholic. Some of the comments in the notes to the text, the Reference Articles, and the Reading Guides deliberately reflect Catholic experience and Catholic interests. However, the editors do not wish to exclude other Christian readers from the focus of this book. In most instances, the materials included here will be useful for all Christians who want to enter deeply into the mysteries and marvels of the Bible. In this general introduction and the two following articles, we hope to: (1) Provide a general introduction to the Bible as a whole: the nature and diversity of its contents, and how it came to be; (2) introduce the reader to the special resources for understanding the Bible provided in this new edition of the Catholic Study Bible and to suggest more profitable ways of using them. Introducing the Bible Although it is bound under one cover and bears a single title, the Bible is not a single, unified book. It is, in fact, a collection of some seventy-three different works by different authors, using very different styles and perspectives, composed over a span of several centuries, and in three different languages (Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek). Most of the Old Testament (forty-six books) was written in Hebrew, but parts of the books of Daniel (2:4–7:28), Ezra (4:6–6:18; 7:12–26), and one verse from Jeremiah (10:11) were originally composed in Aramaic, a Middle Eastern language related to but different from Hebrew. The book of Wisdom is written in Greek but some scholars believe it was originally composed in Hebrew. All twenty-seven of the New Testament books were composed in Greek. The rich diversity of the Bible is one of its glories because it allows the story of God's people to be told from various perspectives. It also presents a challenge to the reader who should be aware of the different cultural, historical, and literary contexts of each biblical book. But there is a deeper unity to the Bible that binds together these individual pieces of literature. Through the many biblical books flows the continuing saga of God's love for Israel and for the church. Each of the biblical authors, no matter how much separated in time, culture, and literary style, shares a conviction that God's presence is felt in human history and that God invites the human family to respond with faith and integrity. The Writing of the Bible As its diverse makeup implies, the Bible was not written at a single point in history. The events covered in the Old Testament span nearly two thousand years of history, from the time of Abraham and the patriarchs (around 1800 bc) to the period of the Maccabean wars (140 bc). If one includes the epic accounts of the creation and prepatriarchal stories such as Noah and the flood, then the reach of the biblical saga goes back to the beginning of time. But the actual formulation of the biblical accounts, although making use of earlier stories and traditions, is confined to a narrower period of time, probably beginning with the monarchy (around 1000 bc) and concluding in the century before the birth of Christ. The New Testament books were all written during the latter half of the first century ad, although some recent scholars assert that the Gospel of John and the Acts of the Apostles may have been composed in the early part of the second century. The letters of Paul were probably the earliest New Testament works to be put in writing, dating mainly from the decade of the fifties of the first century. The sayings of Jesus and the many stories about his ministry circulated in the Christian community all during these early decades of the church but were probably not put in writing until shortly after ad 70, with Mark the first Gospel to be written. Matthew, Luke (and his second volume, the Acts of the Apostles), and John follow, with the compositions of their Gospels taking place sometime during the last quarter of the first century. The other non-Pauline letters and writings, including the book of Revelation or the Apocalypse, also date from this period. Forming a "Bible" from Diverse Books: The Story of the Canon The gathering of these diverse writings into a single collection or "book" (the literal meaning of the word Bible) was itself a long-term and laborious process. The technical term for designating which books belong to the Bible is canon (from the Greek term for "rule" or "measuring stick"). Both Judaism and Christianity had to make choices about which books to include and which books to exclude from their respective Bibles. Judaism would not make any official decision about which books belonged to its Bible until the end of the first century ad, but that does not mean it was without a Bible for so much of its history. There was little or no dispute about the major books of the Old Testament, those that were constantly used in Jewish liturgy and teaching, but there was debate about the inclusion of later and less central works such as Tobit or the Wisdom of Solomon. The Jewish or Hebrew canon ultimately recognizes thirty-nine books, divided into three major categories: 1. The Law (sometimes referred to as the Pentateuch, or first five books of the Bible): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. 2. The Prophets: Subdivided into the "Former Prophets": Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings; and the "Latter Prophets": Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the "Twelve": Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi. 3. The Writings: Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes, Esther, Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah, 1 and 2 Chronicles. As we shall explain below, not included in the official Jewish or Hebrew canon are seven other books that Roman Catholics (and Orthodox Christians) consider part of their Scriptures. Judaism reverences these books and considers them sacred, but they are not part of their canon or official list. These books are: Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach/Ecclesiasticus, and Baruch. There are also some additional passages in the books of Daniel and Esther. The formation of the Christian canon also took place over a considerable period of time. In fact, the official Roman Catholic decision about the canon did not come until the Council of Trent (1545–63), but by that time the choice of which writings were to be included in the Bible was well established. There were many sacred writings in the early decades of the church, which presumably could have been included in the Bible. We cannot always tell what criteria or decision-making processes were used to establish the canon. Some "gospels" evidently portrayed Jesus in a way unacceptable to the vast majority of Christians and so were not included. Other early writings, however, such as the Didache (Greek for "teaching")—a short handbook of moral behavior and church practice—seem perfectly acceptable in content and tone but were still not included. Probably the early church considered a work's content, its authorship, and the frequency of its usage in the liturgy and teaching of the churches as important criteria for judging if a sacred writing was inspired by God and worthy of inclusion in its official canon or Scriptures. Some recent scholars have asserted that the present New Testament canon was formulated by Orthodox church leaders in collaboration with Roman imperial authorities in order to maintain ecclesiastical control and to suppress more charismatic elements in emerging Christianity, but far more important and decisive was the reception and use of these canonical books by the faith communities of the early Church. All Christians agree on the twenty-seven books in the New Testament, but there is a dispute about some of the books in the Old Testament. As noted earlier, Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians agree on the forty-six books that make up the Old Testament (the Orthodox include additional books in their canon: 1 and 2 Esdras; the Prayer of Manasseh; Psalm 151; 3 Maccabees). Judaism and Protestant Christians hold for the shorter list of thirty-nine books listed above; the remaining seven are designated as the "apocryphal" books. The reason for this divergence is that earliest Christianity used an ancient Greek translation of the Old Testament (called the Septuagint and prepared by Jewish sages) as its Bible. This Greek version of the Bible included forty-six books. Since most of the early Christians were Greek-speaking, this is the Bible they preferred. But when Judaism officially set out to determine its canon at the end of the first century, it drew up a shorter list of thirty-nine books: those written in Hebrew. In the Reformation period, Protestants went back to this shorter, Hebrew canon, considering it more authentic. Today, many of the doctrinal tensions that separated Catholics and Protestants have eased. Some Protestant editions of the Bible include the seven apocryphal (what Roman Catholics call deuterocanonical) books in an appendix of their Bibles or in a special section between the Old and New Testaments. Following usual Catholic practice, the New American Bible integrates the deuterocanonical books into the order of the Old Testament canon. The Diverse Literary Forms and Historical Value of the Bible The broad span of biblical history and the fact that the Bible is a collection of various books signal its rich diversity. The reader of the Bible needs to be attentive not only to the historical context of a particular passage but to the varieties of literary forms and the specific style and intent of each biblical author. The prophetic oracles of Isaiah or Jeremiah are very different in literary style from the legal codes of Leviticus or the narratives of Exodus. The long lists of wise sayings in Proverbs are dramatically different in tone, style, and theology from the sweeping liturgical poetry of the Psalms. So, too, do the parables of the Gospels differ greatly from the letters of Paul or the dramatic apocalyptic scenes in the book of Revelation. The notes and Reading Guides found in this Study Bible help the reader understand more about these various literary forms and their implications for interpreting the meaning of a particular biblical passage. The presence of various literary forms or means of expression in the Bible also complicates the issue of the historical value of the Bible. Some Christians, particularly fundamentalist Christians, fear that admitting the Bible contains poetry, stories, and other literary forms is somehow an attack on the veracity of the Bible and dilutes its witness to history. They prefer to regard the story of creation in Genesis, or the episode of Jonah's sojourn in the belly of a great fish, as literally true. Roman Catholic teaching—and that of many other Christian denominations—sees no incompatibility between recognizing the truth of the biblical witness and the fact that it is expressed in many forms of literary expression characteristic of human communication. Credible witness to the truth of history is not confined to an "objective" reporting of the facts in the manner of a police report or a mere "factual" description of what happened. All reporting of history involves a degree of interpretation, and such means as poetry, hymns, stories, myths, and other literary forms can also communicate historical truth about past events and the perspectives of our ancestors. Undoubtedly, both the Old and New Testaments contain many accurate historical facts and descriptions reflecting the times and events of biblical history. But the biblical writers also wanted to interpret the meaning of that history and present it unabashedly from their perspectives. Previous traditions are given new interpretations and adapted to the circumstances of a different generation. In most instances their intent was not to provide a historical archive for subsequent generations but to see in the events of this history the presence of God's grace, and to communicate that conviction to their readers. The Bible is a witness to the vitality of the people who lived its events and pondered their meaning in a spirit of faith. Each biblical passage, therefore, must be evaluated on its own terms in attempting to distinguish between factual historical data and the theological and historical interpretation provided by the biblical writer. The Transmission of the Biblical Text and its Modern Translations Each modern reader of the Bible is in debt to countless numbers of people—Jewish and Christian—who lovingly handed on to the next generations the treasures of the Bible. For much of biblical history, such transmission of the biblical tradition was done orally, not in written form. Stories, sayings of great teachers and leaders, hymns, and poetry were lovingly memorized and handed down from parents to children, teacher to disciple, from leader of prayer to congregation, and, thereby, formed the growing body of the biblical heritage. In ancient (and some modern) cultures, oral transmission of important literature was not a casual, haphazard affair. For our modern culture, so dependent on written and electronic means of communicating information, it is hard to realize that in oral cultures subtle and often unspoken rules govern how information is shaped, retained, and transmitted from one person and one generation to another. But as styles of writing and writing materials became more sophisticated in Israel, and when it had the social organization under the monarchy to have archives and develop an educated class of scribes, then undoubtedly some parts of the Bible were preserved in written form as well. In the New Testament, many of the Gospel materials were first preserved in oral form. Sayings of Jesus, his parables, the stories about his healings, his conflicts with opponents, and the narrative of his Passion would have been preserved and transmitted in a variety of settings such as the liturgy, instruction within the home or small Christian communities, or, perhaps even more formally, in some early centers of Christian learning. But eventually these oral materials were gathered and put in written form by the evangelists. It is likely that the oral transmission of the biblical materials, both Old and New Testaments, continued to exist and be employed even after the biblical text had been put into writing. Paul's letters and other New Testament texts such as the Catholic Epistles and the book of Revelation were composed or dictated into written form immediately. No original manuscript of any biblical book exists. Copyists from one generation to the next transcribed the biblical materials and enabled them to be available for subsequent generations. The earliest written manuscripts we have of some Old Testament biblical materials date from the first century bc. These were part of the wealth of written materials discovered in 1948 on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea and thereafter called the "Dead Sea Scrolls." Most of the other early written materials for both the Old and the New Testaments would be papyrus fragments of biblical passages dating from the early second century ad and more complete manuscripts of the Bible on parchment from the third and fourth centuries ad. The biblical texts of the ancient church did not have the neat format of our modern Bible. Division into the present system of chapters and verses was introduced only in the Middle Ages. Prior to that, demarcations between individual sentences and sections of a particular biblical book were much more casual and fluid. The hands of many copyists, with different personal interests and levels of skill, inevitably introduced some variations and errors into the numerous editions of the biblical text. Ancient translations or versions of manuscripts into other languages, such as Latin or Syriac or Coptic, could also introduce errors or varying interpretations not found in the original biblical language. The science of textual criticism attempts to trace the relationships of ancient manuscripts to each other and to reestablish the most reliable form of the biblical text. The discovery of biblical texts among the Dead Sea Scrolls rolled back our acquaintance with extant biblical manuscripts several centuries. Surprisingly, although some variants exist, there is still remarkable correspondence between the state of the biblical text in the first century bc and the third or fourth century ad—testimony to the accuracy and care with which ancient peoples handed on the biblical tradition. The New American Bible Translation Most modern translations, including that found in the revised edition of the New American Bible (NAB) used in this Catholic Study Bible, are based on the most reliable texts of the Bible we have and are translated from the original biblical languages rather than using any intervening translations. Many previous Catholic translations had been based on the Vulgate, or Latin version of the Bible, first prepared by Jerome in the fifth century. As the preface to the NAB states (see pp. 3–6 of the Old Testament section), its translation was a collaborative achievement of some fifty Catholic biblical scholars, determined to use the best of modern scholarship to bring a fresh and accurate translation of the Bible to the American Catholic community. The first full edition of the Old and New Testaments appeared in 1970. A revision of the New Testament appeared in 1986, and the NAB Revised Edition in 2011. It is this fully revised edition that is used in this latest version of the Catholic Study Bible. Every translation, no matter how accurate and faithful, falls short in attempting to communicate the subtlety and meaning of another language. All translators have to make decisions about the purpose and audience of their translation, and the consequent principles they will use in translating the Bible from its original languages to a modern language such as American English. And, to some degree, every translation is a subtle "interpretation" of the biblical text. The translators of the NAB wanted as much as possible to accurately reflect the nuance and form of biblical Hebrew and Greek, while recasting the language to make it compatible with the rules and style of modern English and in harmony with traditional Catholic interpretations of Scripture. The translators, however, wanted to avoid making the NAB a "paraphrase" or quasi-interpretation of the biblical text. Some modern translations attempt this. While such paraphrases perhaps make the biblical texts more palatable to a modern audience, they also risk a high degree of subjectivity in recasting the contents of the Bible. The NAB translation is faithful to the biblical text and takes its place alongside rigorously literal translations such as the Revised Standard Version. This makes it particularly suitable for deeper study of the biblical message, as well as its use in prayer and liturgy. Accuracy of translation from one language to another also involves issues that are more than linguistic, such as cultural and social expectations. For instance, the editors of the revised New Testament translation had to struggle with the question of inclusive language. This is a sensitive issue in modern American culture and in the Catholic Church in particular. The translators adopted a compromise stance here. Where the original biblical language clearly intended a generic reference to human beings, the translation is careful to use inclusive language. Where the original text uses a gender specific reference, however, such as many references to God through male pronouns, the translation does not attempt to use inclusive language. Modern political issues can also cause difficulties for the translator. Such geographical terms as Israel or Palestine have highly charged meanings in the political arena of today's Middle East. But their appearance in the biblical translation of the NAB implies no endorsement of any modern political stance on these difficult issues. So, too, can modern religious sensitivities come into play. Judaism in all its modern forms, out of reverence, avoids the use of the name Yahweh for God. Readers in the synagogue, for example, will substitute Adonai ("my Lord") wherever the divine name appears in the biblical text. The modern translator and commentator have to make a decision on whether to try to respect this understandable religious sensitivity. It should be noted that the Reading Guides and major Reference Articles included in the Catholic Study Bible attempt throughout to use inclusive language, and, wherever possible, to avoid offense to modern religious, cultural, or political sensitivities. The editors believed that such a spirit is in accord with both the biblical witness and sound Catholic tradition. Some use of the geographical terms Israel and Palestine was unavoidable in some of the Reading Guides, but no reference to modern geopolitical realities is intended. Reading, Studying, and Praying the Scriptures From the beginning of its existence, the Bible has been the object of intense study, prayerful reading, and even heated debate. The Bible is not meant to be a coffee-table book. One could say that the Bible was formed in a context of prayer and reflection. The various biblical authors reflected on significant events in the life of Israel, of Jesus, and of the early church. Their discovery of God's presence working within history gives the Bible its force. For all Christians the Bible has unique authority as writings inspired by God's Spirit working within the communities of Israel and the Church, and impelling the biblical writers to give expression in human words to their faith perspective. (For a Catholic view of biblical inspiration, see "The Bible in Catholic Life," rg 19–32 and "Biblical Translation and Pastoral Interpretation," rg 88–99.) Judaism has always maintained a rich tradition of reflection on its Scriptures. The rabbis lovingly studied every detail of the biblical text and saw an infinite possibility of applications to everyday life. The Scriptures were reverenced as God's Word and took a central place within the prayer life of the synagogue. Christian tradition has had the same character. Until the Late Middle Ages (ca. 1300–1500), almost all of the Church's theology and teaching was little more than an elaboration of the biblical text. Some of this biblical focus was lost in the Catholic Church when philosophical analysis—always important—became overdominant and theological reflection could often be far distant in focus and spirit from our biblical foundations: While biblical symbols remained dominant in Catholic liturgical life and architecture, however in popular preaching and much popular piety the Bible was often a more distant echo. In the past fifty years, that trend has been radically reversed. The Second Vatican Council gave a strong impetus to a biblical renewal in every dimension of Catholicism as has subsequent papal documents such Pope Benedict XVI's exhortation, Verbum Domini (The Word of the Lord) and that of Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium ("The Joy of the Gospel"); see further: "The Bible in Catholic Life," rg 19–32, and "Biblical Translation and Pastoral Interpretation," rg 88–99. One can approach reading and study of the Bible from several vantage points. The Historical Approach. One purpose in reading the Bible can be to comb through the biblical books, seeking leads to the historical context of a given period or culture. While this is a legitimate historical enterprise, it does not correspond to the fundamentally religious character of the Bible. The Bible does have strong historical value, but its purpose is not simply to inform the reader about history but to probe the meaning of past history for the life of faith. The Theological Approach. Another way of entering the biblical world is to seek what the Bible, or a particular biblical book, has to say on a specific doctrinal or moral issue. What, for example, does the Bible say about violence? Or what is the biblical perspective on justice? Because the Bible is such a rich and diverse body of literature, we soon discover that the Bible will yield many perspectives on such important issues. There is seldom a single or uniform biblical viewpoint on any specific theological or moral issue. Only by first understanding the context of each biblical period and biblical book, and then interrelating the Bible's varied approaches to profound questions of faith, can one weave together a coherent biblical theology. The Inspirational Approach. For most Christians, reading the Bible has a more modest, yet still important goal. They turn to the Scriptures for inspiration in living out their life of faith. Such inspiration can be gained in many different ways. For some, the Scriptures are an important stimulant for prayer. The words of the Psalms, the challenge of the prophets, the compassionate mission of Jesus, the soaring words of Paul—all of these give form and expression to the longings of our own hearts as we seek the face of God. Very often the biblical words are able to express the feelings and fears and hopes we could not put into words ourselves. And in reaching out to the Bible we unite ourselves with the faith of countless generations of Christians who found the same solace and strength in the Scriptures. For others, probing the Scriptures either in private or with a group of fellow Christians helps guide and illumine their daily life. Study of the biblical text and discussion of its meaning with other thoughtful Christians can help us understand our own experience of faith and expand our perspective on what it means to be a believer in the modern world. This approach works best when the participant is not afraid to reflect on his or her own experience, and can then relate that reflection to the ideas and images of the Bible. Very often the Bible opens its treasures when we bring to it questions and hopes that spring from our everyday experience and our life of faith. Then, in turn, the biblical message can give new insight and nourishment to our faith experience. A profound sense of grief or loss, for example, might lead a Christian to read with new understanding the lament psalms of the Old Testament (rg 279–80) or the Passion of Jesus. And these biblical passages, in turn, can bring new strength to the one who suffers. Whatever approach one takes to reading and praying the Bible, it is important from a Catholic perspective that it not be done in isolation. The Bible is the Church's book, not a private library. Only in the context of the Church's faith and tradition as a whole can the full meaning of the Bible be discovered. Some Christians who isolate themselves from common sense and from the sound wisdom of the Church community can interpret the Scriptures in a bizarre and even destructive manner. That is why the effort to understand the biblical text in its context and to take into account the entirety of the Scriptures, to sound out its possible meaning with other thoughtful Christians, and to be open to the guidance of the Church and its teaching forms the best context for full integration of the Bible into our lives (on this see the 1993 statement of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church. This statement, as well as the reflections of Pope Benedict XVI in Verbum Domini, fully endorses the historical critical method and stresses the importance of biblical interpretation for a community of faith.). This newly revised and updated Catholic Study Bible is designed to open the beauty and power of the Bible to the reader. The editors and the Oxford University Press hope that the guides, reference articles, and other resources provided in this unique volume will serve you well as you step into the marvelous world of the Bible. Donald Senior, C.P. Editor The Biblical Texts and Their Background Donald Senior The biblical writings were created over a wide expanse of time. That broad historical and cultural canvas is one important cause for the Bible's rich diversity. In this Study Bible, the Reading Guides provided for each biblical book, and the introductions provided in the notes to the biblical text itself, offer specific information about the historical background of the individual books of the Bible. A clear and succinct historical summary is provided in the reference articles "Biblical History and Archaeology" (rg 33–71). The following paragraphs sketch the relationship of the biblical books to that evolving history. The accounts of creation and the stories about the first ancestors of the human family, such as the tragic rivalry between Cain and Abel, and the story of Noah and the flood, obviously do not have the same historical grounding that later traditions could. These stories answer the question about the origin of humanity and its plight in history. Firm historical traditions begin only with the forging of Israel into an identifiable people, an event that did not begin until probably around 1250 bc. Traditions about the earlier patriarchal period starting around 1850 bc are much less certain historically, and even events from the time of Israel's sojourn in Egypt and during the period of the Exodus and early settlement in the land are sketchy; at that point in Israel's history there were few means for the biblical peoples to preserve historical archives. The Major Periods of Biblical History The Time of the Patriarchs (1850–1250 BC) The period from Abraham to Joseph is recounted in Genesis 12–50. Historically, this was a period of vast migrations in the Middle East, with clans of herders moving freely from Mesopotamia down through the Fertile Crescent into present-day Israel. Egypt had been a dominant power in the Middle East for more than two thousand years prior to that time. Egypt's might was counterbalanced by a succession of powerful dynasties at the eastern end of the Fertile Crescent, including the Persians, Assyrians, and Babylonians. Israel, located geographically between those two areas, would often be the battleground for those opposing forces. (See map #6.) Few firm historical traditions exist from this period, but the general picture provided in the biblical traditions about the patriarchs does reflect something of the nomadic lifestyle and familial religion typical of the period. The Exodus, Wilderness Wandering, and Settlement in the Land (1250–1130 BC) This period is covered in Exodus, Deuteronomy, Numbers, and Joshua. The story of Israel as a unified people begins in Egypt with the stories about Moses and the miraculous exodus from Egypt. During a period of wandering in the desert, the covenant was formed with Yahweh, the Lord, the God of Israel. Under the leadership of Joshua, Israel finally breaks through into the Promised Land, driving the native Canaanites before them. There is considerable debate about the historical background to this period. Some scholars, particularly conservative ones, are willing to accept the biblical portrayal at face value: namely that there was a mass migration of Hebrews from Egypt and that they invaded the regions of Israel with military force and thereby gained possession of the land. The lack of clear archaeological evidence supporting such a vast military conquest, and some ambiguity in the biblical traditions themselves, have led other historians to surmise that both the migration from Egypt and the possession of the land took place over a longer period of time. Some Hebrew tribes may have already settled in Israel prior to the Exodus and joined with the incoming tribes at a later period. While some Canaanite cities may have been taken by force, some of the land was probably settled in a peaceful and more evolutionary fashion. In any event, the Bible sees this process as a dramatic act of deliverance by God and as the historic beginning of the story of Israel. The Period of the Judges (1130–1020 BC) This early period of Israelite history is narrated in the book of Judges. It is clear that the Israelites at first resisted the idea of a strong central government. They preferred a loosely organized federation of clans or tribes ruled by charismatic leaders called judges. Only the Lord could claim the right to be called king. This independent spirit and aversion to the monarchy goes deep into the consciousness of Israel. The Monarchy (1020–587 BC) This long, but in fact highly diverse, period of Israel's history is taken up in the books of 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, and a parallel account in 1 and 2 Chronicles. The transition from the more informal and charismatic leadership under the judges to the more institutional form of the monarchy begins with Saul (about 1020–1000 bc) but reaches its zenith with David (1000–960 bc) and Solomon (960–930 bc). Threats from surrounding peoples and the need for more complex social organization gradually led Israel to adopt a monarchical form of government. David eventually unified diverse groups of people under a single government system and ruled from his new centrally located capital of Jerusalem. Under David and his son Solomon, Israel's territories greatly expanded. The united kingdom forged by David did not last very long. Solomon strained it by increasing taxation and by lack of sensitivity to the old tribal loyalties. When Solomon's son Rehoboam ascended to the throne, the seams between north and south split, and the separate kingdoms of Judah in the south and Israel in the north began. This divided monarchy would last until 724 bc, when the Assyrian empire would crush the Northern Kingdom. Judah would survive until the Babylonian invasion of 587 bc. The biblical account has little respect for the northern rulers and takes a critical view of most of the kings of Judah as well, considering them unfaithful to the covenant. During this period the great prophetic movement would ignite in Israel. Elijah, Elisha, Amos, and Hosea were prophets in the northern kingdom. Isaiah served as court prophet to the kings of Judah. Exile and Return (587–332 BC) This crucial period of Israelite history is narrated in 2 Kings 24–25 and in the books of Ezra and Nehemiah. The Babylonian captivity would last almost fifty years. Systematic deportation as a way of subduing conquered peoples had been used first by Assyrians and then by the Babylonians. Only a small remnant of Israelites was left behind under the firm control of Babylonian officials. When the exiled Jews eventually returned to Judah, they considered the people who had stayed behind as somehow corrupt and would not allow them to take part in the reconstruction of their nation, a source of bitterness that would lead to the sharp divisions between Jews and Samaritans so obvious in the New Testament period. Under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah, Jerusalem and its Temple were rebuilt. But Israel was now only a small and fragile nation, clustered around Jerusalem and very concerned with preserving its identity. The Greek Conquest and the Rise of the Hasmoneans (332–39 BC) This is a turbulent part of Israelite history, reflected in 1 and 2 Maccabees and Daniel. Alexander conquered Palestine in 332 bc, beginning a period in which Greek culture would have a strong impact on the life of Israel. After his death, the Middle Eastern portion of Alexander's empire was divided between the Seleucid dynasty, which ruled from Syria, and the Ptolemies who ruled from Egypt. The Ptolemaic dynasty controlled Israel from approximately 332 to 199 bc. Their generally benign rule gave way to the Seleucids, who attempted to impose Greek culture and taxation in a more rigorous fashion, driven in part by needing to respond to the increasing encroachment of the Roman Empire in the eastern part of the Mediterranean. Seleucid ruthlessness eventually triggered the Maccabean revolt, which by 160 bc had thrown off the yoke of the Seleucids against incredible odds. The Jewish dynasty of the Hasmonean family now began a hundred-year reign. The Hasmonean kings proved to be as corrupt and ruthless as the foreigners who had preceded them. Reactions by pious Jews to the compromises of the Hasmoneans and their Jerusalem aristocracy would give rise to protest groups such as the Essenes and Pharisees. By 60 bc, Roman influence was becoming more dominant in the Middle East and brought pressure on Israel itself. The Hasmonean period came to an end with the outbreak of civil war among various factions and the eventual successful emergence of Herod the Great, a vassal of the Romans, who would unify the country and hold it in his grip. The Roman Period (39 BC–AD 100) The New Testament writings emerge during this period of biblical history. With the death of Herod in 4 bc, the Romans divided Israel among Herod's three sons. Eventually the Romans removed the cruel and incompetent Archaelaus, taking over direct rule of Judah and Samaria. Herod Philip and Herod Antipas would continue to govern in the regions of Upper Galilee, Lower Galilee, and the Transjordan (see map #12) Roman rule and its heavy taxation eventually proved intolerable to the Jewish people. Tensions mounted all during the first half of the first century, exploding into revolution in ad 66. That revolt would be violently suppressed by the Romans, climaxing with the destruction of Jerusalem and its great Temple in ad 70. That event would change the complexion of Judaism forever. Another short-lived revolt would break out in ad 132. The Romans would continue to occupy Palestine until the time of the Byzantine empire. All of these events left a profound impression on the writings of the New Testament. Using The Catholic Study Bible Donald Senior How to use this Study Bible This one-volume Catholic Study Bible offers a full range of aids to help the reader discover the meaning of the Bible. The following description of its contents, and suggestions for using the book, might help you take full advantage of its unique resources. The Resources of the Study Bible There are seven major sections in this volume: The Revised Edition of the New American Bible Beginning on page 7 of the Old Testament section, you will find the full text and notes of the revised edition of the NAB. Each major section of the Bible and each biblical book has a brief introduction. Extensive notes explaining words or individual verses are found at the bottom of the page. Asterisks (*) or other sigla alongside a particular word or verse signal to you that an explanatory footnote is provided for that biblical text. These footnotes are the official notes that were prepared by the editors of the NAB, and they provide a wealth of specific information for the studious reader. The NAB also provides cross-references to other related biblical passages. These cross-references are indicated by a small italic letter printed within specific verses. The cross-reference is found at the bottom of the page. Finally, along the side margins there is another set of cross-references, directing you to the Reading Guides and Reference Articles found in other sections of the Catholic Study Bible. These cross-references are indicated by page numbers enclosed within a shaded box. Page numbers referring to the Reading Guides and Reference Articles are preceded by the letters rg. The Reading Guides One of the most important special features of this Study Bible is the Reading Guides found in the front section beginning on page rg 109. There are Guides for each book of the Bible, and their purpose is precisely to lead the reader through the structure and basic message of each biblical book. The notes found at the bottom of the page with the NAB translation provide information on specific details of a given verse. The Reading Guides, on the other hand, add a new perspective by taking a broader look at each biblical book, tracing its major sections and themes, and making suggestions about its meaning for today. Each of them also provides references to other books and articles for readers who want to continue their study of specific issues. Reference Articles Another helpful feature of the the Catholic Study Bible is that it provides extensive and detailed reference articles on key issues for understanding and using the Bible. These articles will prove especially valuable for those who want to probe deeper into a particular question. In addition to this introduction, the reader will find the following Reference Articles: • "The Bible in Catholic Life" explains the Roman Catholic view of Scripture and the meaning of biblical inspiration. • There are two articles on history and archaeology—"Biblical History and Archaeology: Old Testament" and "Biblical History and Archaeology: New Testament." These offer a succinct overview of the major periods of biblical history along with a helpful explanation of the methods and major discoveries of biblical archaeology. • "Catholic Interpretation of the Bible" traces the history of the Church's approach to the meaning of Scripture. • "Biblical Translation and Pastoral Interpretation" considers how translating a sacred text from one language to another is both an art and a science, and also explores from a Catholic perspective how the Scriptures are to be interpreted within a community of faith. • "The Bible in the Lectionary" explains the role of the Bible in liturgy and, in particular, shows the rationale for the selection of biblical passages in the Lectionary. This will be useful for preachers or those who prepare liturgies. A number of other helpful resources can be found at the back of the volume: Glossary. The glossary provides clear explanations of less familiar or more technical terms used in the Bible or in the Reading Guides and Resource Articles. Concordance. This word index provides key citations for important biblical names and terms. Measures and Weights. This provides modern equivalents for measures and weights mentioned in the Bible. Lectionary. This provides the complete listing of the biblical texts assigned for the Sunday and Daily Readings in the three-year Catholic Lectionary. Index to the Reading Guides. This is a useful index to names and topics covered in the Reading Guides. Biblical Maps and Index. This includes an extensive set of Oxford bibical maps, which provide the reader with the entire geographical canvas on which the bibical drama is portrayed, along with an index to help locate names of places found in the maps. Suggestions for Use The resources of the Catholic Study Bible enable the reader to use it in a variety of ways and settings. For Individual Reading or Study If your goal is to read and reflect on a single biblical book or major passage of the Bible, the two key sections of the Study Bible to use are the biblical text itself and the Reading Guides. Both should be used in tandem. You may wish to read through the introductions to the biblical book first, both the one found in the Reading Guide and in the NAB text. In turning to the Gospel of Luke, for example, one would read the introduction in the Reading Guide on rg 442–57 and then turn to the Bible section on pp. 1433–85. After that the reader can pick his or her way through the Gospel, noting the major characteristics of the biblical passage and its major motifs by attentive reading of the biblical text and its accompanying notes, and by referring to the information provided in the Reading Guide. For the more ambitious reader, the "Suggested Readings" at the end of the Reading Guides and in the Reference Articles offer leads to further study. For Group Study The Catholic Study Bible lends itself well to group use. If each member of the group has a copy, then the leader could suggest the reading of a specific biblical text and the accompanying section from the Reading Guide as a good means of preparing for the group session. Preparation always enhances group Bible study. Often the Reading Guide will provide some points of reflection that a group might find helpful as a starting point for discussion about the meaning of a passage. Some of the articles, such as the ones on "The Bible in Catholic Life" and "The Bible in the Lectionary," could also be fruitful sources for group study and discussion. Where the group itself does not have access to individual copies, the Catholic Study Bible can serve as a resource for the leader or can be on hand for reference when the group discussion generates a question that needs further information. The availability of the Glossary for checking the meaning of technical terms or unfamiliar bibical concepts, along with the Concordance for looking up biblical texts relating to a specific topic or theme is also valuable. Likewise, the Index to the Reading Guides can lead the reader to further information. Teaching Resource The Catholic Study Bible is particularly useful for the college or religious education classroom. It provides teacher and student with virtually a one-volume textbook and reference library on the Bible. Experienced and imaginative teachers will find their own ways to best utilize a book like this. A few suggestions might help. The Study Bible can certainly serve as a textbook for a course on the Bible as a whole or for introductions to the Old or New Testaments. Here again interplay between pertinent sections of the Reading Guides, the biblical text and notes, and the Reference Articles and other resource materials is very important. Teachers in a Catholic setting may want to give special attention to the article on "The Bible in Catholic Life" and the article on "Biblical Translation and Pastoral Interpretation," as both are important summaries of Catholic teaching on the role of the Bible in the Church's life and thought. "The Bible in the Lectionary" will help Catholics (and Christians from other mainline denominations) understand how the liturgy is a major source of biblical inspiration for Roman Catholic tradition; the complete list of biblical readings assigned in the Lectionary will also illustrate this point. The volume will also support a course on the history and geography of the Bible. The articles on the history and archaeology of the Bible provide clear and useful information. The accompanying maps and index enable the teacher to discuss the geography of the Bible in detail. The maps can especially be a useful illustration when studying such narratives as Exodus, the historical books, the Gospels, Acts, and Paul's letters. Sermon and Liturgy Preparation The thematic approach of the Reading Guides and the attempt they make to relate the biblical message to spirituality and Church teaching should prove useful for sermon and liturgy preparation. The reference article on "The Bible in the Lectionary" provides important and often neglected information on the rationale for the selection and arrangement of biblical passages in the Lectionary, and offers good suggestions about relating the Bible to the liturgical year. The list of biblical readings found in the Catholic Lectionary alerts the preacher to upcoming selections in the Sunday and Weekday liturgies throughout the year. Here, too, the Concordance and Index to the Reading Guides can provide leads to the interpretation of specific passage. Conclusion Few one-volume study bibles contain the wide variety of practical resources and leads for study and pastoral use of the Bible as found in this revised and updated edition of the Catholic Study Bible. We hope it provides our readers great help in the work of bringing the Word of God to our Christian communities and to our world. The Bible in Catholic Life Daniel J. Harrington Church Life Today One of the great achievements of the Second Vatican Council (1962–65) has been the renewal of interest in the Bible among Catholics. How dramatic this renewal has been can be grasped by comparing Catholic practice around 1950 and the situation in the early years of the twenty-first century. At mid-twentieth century the Scriptures were read at Mass in Latin. There were few selections from the Old Testament, and a rather small number of New Testament passages dominated the one-year cycle. In response to the mandate of the Second Vatican Council we now have a three-year cycle of Sunday readings and a two-year weekday cycle. (See "The Bible in the Lectionary," rg 100–108.) The Old Testament is very prominent, and almost the entire New Testament (Gospels and Epistles) is represented. The passages, of course, are read in the vernacular (English, Spanish, or whatever is the dominant local language). In the 1950s study of Bible texts was not an integral part of the primary- or secondary-school curriculum in Catholic schools. At best, Bible content was conveyed through summaries of the texts. Catholic college students might work through parts of the Bible with the aid of cautious and approved textbooks as guides. But now the texts of the Bible form a primary resource for Catholic religious education at all levels. And Bible courses and Bible study groups have become especially popular forums for adult education. At this same time, Catholic seminarians took most of their Scripture courses toward the end of their theology programs. In comparison with dogma and moral theology, Scripture study was considered a minor course. Now biblical studies are a major component of the seminary curriculum at all stages. And such courses are very popular. Students in Catholic seminaries assume that much of their preaching and teaching in the future will be devoted to the Bible, and so they study it with eagerness. There is also a lively dialogue and interdisciplinary cooperation between professors of Scripture and their theological colleagues. Since Vatican II the Bible has become prominent not only in Catholic liturgy and education but also in popular piety. The revised prayers for the sacraments and other liturgical actions use biblical language almost entirely. Charismatic groups and base communities have found biblical reflection and prayer to be the source of great spiritual energy. Even traditional Catholic observances like the Rosary are (and always have been) thoroughly biblical. The language of Catholic prayer in almost every instance derives from the Bible. The Scriptures have also been a major element in the ecumenical movement since the Vatican II. The serious historical and theological differences between the Christian churches remain, but the most progress has been made where the different church groups have focused on the Bible as their common heritage and have reexamined their differences in light of the Bible's language and thought patterns. When this has occurred, the usual result has been the recognition that what unites the Christian churches is more important and fundamental than what divides them. In the new and more positive relationship that has emerged between Christians and Jews in recent years, Bible study has been a vital force toward greater mutual understanding and respect. Catholic theology since the council gives far more attention to biblical sources and is likely to express itself more in biblical than in philosophical language. Official church documents on theological matters or current problems almost always begin from Scripture and try to ground their arguments in biblical texts. The Catholic Church today is far more biblical than it was in the mid-1950s. Bible Study in History In order to understand the Bible's place in Catholic thinking today, it can be helpful to see how Christians in other times and places thought about and interpreted the Bible. The Bible has not always been studied according to the principles of modern historical criticism. Nor should scientific study of the Bible be understood as superseding, and thus making obsolete, all earlier approaches. A brief history of biblical interpretation will reveal important insights that remain valid today. The Old Testament constituted the Bible for Jesus and the early Christians. According to the Gospels, Jesus sometimes quoted or alluded to Old Testament texts in order to establish a theological point or to suggest a way of acting. He clearly accorded these texts a certain degree of authority. Nevertheless, Jesus emerges from the New Testament as displaying flexibility toward the Old Testament and even asserting his authority over it. He distinguishes what comes from God and what comes from Moses (see Mk 10:1–12), goes beyond certain scriptural teachings (Mt 5:21–48), and rates love of God and neighbor (Mk 12:28–31) over strict observance of the Sabbath. New Testament writers such as Paul and Matthew looked upon the Old Testament Scriptures as "fulfilled" in Jesus Christ. Basing themselves on what apparently was a widespread early Christian understanding, they interpreted the Old Testament Scriptures in the light of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Like other Jews of the time, they understood the Old Testament to be a "mystery"—that is, something that could not be understood without guidance or explanation. Whereas the Qumran community (the Jewish group that gave us the Dead Sea Scrolls) found the key to the Scriptures in their own sect's history and life, the early Christians discovered Jesus to be the key that opened up the mystery of the Hebrew Bible. By the time of the Fathers of the Church (the patristic period), the Christian Bible contained two Testaments—Old and New. These early theologians generally adopted one or the other of two basic approaches to the reading and interpretation of Scripture: the allegorical and the literal methods. The allegorical method, favored particularly by those theologians who lived in Alexandria in Egypt, emphasized uncovering the spiritual truths beneath the surface of the biblical stories. This method had been developed by Greek thinkers who interpreted the stories in Homer's Iliad and Odyssey as symbolizing emotional or spiritual struggles within the individual. It had also been adopted by Jewish interpreters, like Philo of Alexandria, who used the method on the Hebrew Bible in order to appeal to non-Jews and especially to Jews who had come under the influence of Greek philosophy and culture. Christian theologians who used this method included Origen and Clement of Alexandria. In contrast to this method was the more literal reading of the Bible, favored by those Christian thinkers who lived in Antioch, the capital of Syria in Roman times. The literal method focused more on the historical realities described in Scripture, and insisted that any higher or deeper sense should be based firmly on the literal sense of the text. John Chrysostom and Theodore of Mopsuestia were among those who favored this approach. It is important to recognize that these different emphases were not completely opposed to each other. Thus the allegorical method did not deny the historical truth of events in Scripture, nor did the literal method deny the spiritual meaning of those events. Later theologians tended to blend the two approaches, though favoring one tendency or the other. Augustine, for instance, tended toward the allegorical and Jerome toward the literal. Medieval interpreters, building on both these approaches, distinguished four senses in a scriptural text: literal (what took place), allegorical (the hidden theological meaning), anagogical (the heavenly sense), and moral or tropological (the significance for the individual's behavior). The classic example was the word Jerusalem (see Gal 4:22–31), which can refer to a city in Palestine (literal), the church (allegorical), the heavenly home of us all (anagogical), and the human soul (moral). Since this wide-ranging approach to Scripture could easily degenerate into subjectivity, careful interpreters like Thomas Aquinas insisted that "nothing necessary to faith is contained under the spiritual sense that is not elsewhere put forward by Scripture in its literal sense." Thomas Aquinas also used human reason as a tool in explaining the Scriptures and tried to bring together philosophical truth (especially as proposed by Aristotle) and biblical truth. With the Renaissance and the rise of Humanism came a new interest in studying the Scriptures in their original languages and their historical settings. Erasmus produced a new edition of the Greek New Testament to go along with his revision of the Latin Vulgate translation. He also used the Greek and Roman classics of paganism along with the writings of the Church Fathers to interpret the biblical texts. Catholic enthusiasm for the study of the Scriptures cooled, however, in response to the claims for the Bible (sola scriptura or Scripture alone) made by Martin Luther and other Protestant Reformers, especially their statements about the clarity of Scripture (so that there is no need for the church as the final interpreter) and its sufficiency (so that there is no need for church tradition). The rationalist claims of the European Enlightenment made matters even more complicated for Catholic interpreters of the Bible. For example, the philosopher Baruch Spinoza maintained that when Scripture and philosophy come into conflict (as in the case of miracles), then Scripture is to be rejected in favor of "reason." Thus the Catholic Church was backed into being the defender of biblical "truth," sometimes with unfortunate consequences. This survey reveals some abiding principles of Catholic biblical interpretation: the central significance of Christ; the struggle to be faithful to the literal meaning while searching for spiritual meaning; the conviction that faith and reason are not opposed; the insistence that the Bible should be interpreted in the Church; and the emphasis on biblical truth against the attacks of rationalism. Modern Developments The gradual Catholic acceptance of scientific biblical criticism (or the historical-critical method) while remaining true to the Church's heritage can be traced with reference to a series of official Roman documents issued during the late nineteenth and the twentieth centuries. For a full collection of official Roman Catholic documents pertaining to the study of the Bible, see The Scripture Documents: An Anthology of Official Catholic Teachings (ed. Dean R. Bechard, Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2002). A cautious beginning was made with the papal encyclical Providentissimus Deus by Pope Leo XIII in 1893, only to be blunted by fears of Modernism under Pius X and by Benedict XV's encyclical Spiritus Paraclitus issued in 1920. A new age dawned with the encyclical Divino Afflante Spiritu promulgated by Pius XII in 1943, in which the historical study of the Bible was given official approbation. The approach outlined by Pius XII was put into practice by the Pontifical Biblical Commission in its 1964 Instruction Concerning the Historical Truth of the Gospels. The culmination of official Catholic pronouncements on biblical studies was the Second Vatican Council's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation. The nature of these documents is cumulative; that is, the latest document generally restates the teachings contained in previous documents and clarifies matters not discussed earlier in detail. However, the document of an ecumenical council has far more official weight than a papal encyclical or an instruction from the Pontifical Biblical Commission. Moreover, the Council's document on Scripture was a "dogmatic constitution," the most authoritative kind issued by Vatican II. Thus Vatican II's Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation can be taken as the authoritative climax of a long series of developments in the Church's attitude toward the Bible. Vatican II was a pastoral council. It sought to address the needs of the Church and the world in the twentieth century and beyond. Its constitution on divine revelation (also known by its Latin title, Dei Verbum) was addressed not so much to scholars or theologians as to the Church at large. In effect, the bishops were saying, "This is what the Catholic Church thinks and believes about the Bible and related matters." The document had a rocky history from its first draft in 1962 to its final form in 1965. Pope John XXIII's rejection of the initial draft, which favored a propositional understanding of revelation (revelation consists of statements of abstract truths) and a theory of two sources of revelation (Scripture and tradition), set the Second Vatican Council on its path of aggiornamento (Italian for "bringing up to date"). (All quotations are from the translation by Liam Walsh and Wilfrid Harrington in Vatican Council II: The Conciliar and Post-Conciliar Documents, ed. Austin Flannery [Northport, NY: Costello, 1975] 750–65.) The six chapters in Dei Verbum treat divine revelation itself, the transmission of divine revelation, sacred Scripture—its divine inspiration and its interpretation—the Old Testament, the New Testament, and sacred Scripture in the life of the Church. What the constitution teaches on these topics will be taken up in the remaining parts of this essay. Here, only what it teaches about scientific biblical criticism will concern us. The conciliar statement about biblical criticism appears in paragraph 12, which is part of the chapter on the inspiration and interpretation of Scripture. It is prefaced by an acknowledgment that since God speaks in Scripture through human beings, and so in human fashion, interpreters should give careful attention to the ways in which the sacred writers thought and expressed themselves: In determining the intention of the sacred writers, attention must be paid, inter alia, to literary forms for the fact is that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression. Hence the exegete must look for that meaning which the sacred writer, in a determined situation and given the circumstances of his time and culture, intended to express and did in fact express, through the medium of a contemporary literary form. Rightly to understand what the sacred author wanted to affirm in his work, due attention must be paid both to the customary and characteristic patterns of perception, speech and narrative which prevailed at the age of the sacred writer, and to the conventions which the people of his time followed in their dealings with one another. The statement, which is really a condensation of Pius XlI's 1943 encyclical Divine Afflante Spiritu, makes three points. First, it insists that we take into account the various literary forms in which the Bible is written, and it warns us against confusing historical, prophetic, and poetic texts. Next, it urges us to pay attention to the historical setting in which the sacred author wrote, suggesting that such historical awareness is necessary for grasping what the author intended. Finally, it recommends that we learn about the literary conventions and cultural assumptions that people accepted at the time when the biblical books were composed. Thus the conciliar document encourages the literary, historical, and sociological study of biblical texts. The acceptance of biblical criticism, of course, does not reduce the sacred Scriptures to the status of other, strictly human books. In fact, the very next sentence in the document affirms the divine authorship of the biblical texts and urges biblical interpreters to take that into consideration: But since sacred Scripture must be read and interpreted with its divine authorship in mind, no less attention must be devoted to the content and unity of the whole of Scripture, taking into account the Tradition of the entire Church and the analogy of faith, if we are to derive their true meaning from the sacred texts. In this way the conciliar document achieves a balance between the human and the divine contributions to Scripture. Interpreters are thereby encouraged to apply all the tools of biblical criticism, while bearing in mind the Church's long-standing conviction that the Bible contains "the Word of God in the words of men." In 1993, to mark the one hundredth anniversary of Providentissimus Deus and the fiftieth anniversary of Divino Afflante Spiritu, the Pontifical Biblical Commission, with the full approval of Pope John Paul II, issued a document titled "The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church." Prepared by an international team of distinguished Catholic biblical scholars, this document describes various methods of and approaches to biblical interpretation, examines certain questions of a hermeneutical nature, reflects on the characteristic features of a Catholic interpretation of the Bible, and considers the place that biblical interpretation has in the life of the church. This document spells out in some detail many of the directions recommended in the papal encyclicals and in Vatican II's Dei Verbum. The Pontifical Biblical Commission's document describes the historical-critical method as "the indispensable method for the scientific study of the meaning of ancient texts." While giving attention to the many possible contributions from certain "new" literary and social-scientific approaches, it criticizes fundamentalism as "dangerous" and even as inviting people to "a kind of intellectual suicide." And it insists on the pastoral significance of the whole exegetical enterprise when it states: "Exegesis produces its best results when it is carried out in the context of the living faith of the Christian community, which is directed toward the salvation of the entire world." Methods of Biblical Interpretation The term biblical criticism refers to various methods of scientific biblical study that have as their goal establishing the text, understanding the content and the literary style of biblical books, and determining their origin and authenticity. This undertaking is sometimes called the "historical-critical method"—"historical" because it focuses on the original historical settings of the biblical texts and the historical processes that gave rise to them, and "critical" because it applies reason to the texts and makes judgments about them in the effort to be as objective as possible. Biblical criticism aims to understand what a text was saying to its original audience and to make clear its significance then (and now). Textual criticism (sometimes called "lower criticism") seeks to establish the wording of the biblical text as the biblical authors wrote it. Since we no longer have direct access to the manuscripts written by the biblical authors (autographs), textual critics try to come as close as possible to the original form of the texts by gathering all the pertinent manuscript evidence (Hebrew and Aramaic for the Old Testament, Greek for the New Testament, ancient translations for both Testaments). When the evidence has been assembled, textual critics determine where the ancient manuscripts differ and proceed to decide which reading is original and to explain how the other readings arose. The rejected readings may have been unconscious mistakes (for example, confusing similar letters of the alphabet, omitting words or phrases, inserting marginal comments into the main text) or deliberate modifications (e.g., harmonizing with parallel texts, correcting grammar or style, removing "offensive" material). The accepted readings should be consistent with the content and style of the document and follow the rules of grammar and good sense. Literary criticism attends to the words and images, the characters and their relationships, the structure and progress of thought, the literary form, and the meaning. These processes are used today in studying all kinds of literature; they are by no means confined to biblical study. Bible concordances, dictionaries, and encyclopedias make it possible to trace the development of a word (for example, faith) or a theme (for example, covenant) and to locate a particular occurrence within such a framework. Careful inspection of a text enables one to chart out the interactions among the characters or to outline the progress of the argument. The biblical writers used many different literary forms. The Old Testament consists of law codes, narratives, psalms, prophecies, proverbs, visions, and even love poetry. The New Testament contains stories of Jesus's words and deeds (Gospels), the actions of some apostles (Acts), letters (Epistles), and visions (Revelation). Rather than stating theological truths in the form of theses or propositions, the biblical authors conveyed their message in artistic and memorable ways. Literary criticism helps us to read the biblical books on their own terms and thus to appreciate their artistry and their truth. Historical criticism concerns the world behind the biblical texts; that is, the origin and growth of the biblical documents. Scholars assume that sometimes a complicated process of composition lies behind a finished book of the Bible. Smaller literary units—for example, a saying from Jesus, or a hymn—were told and retold, or used orally in worship. Later, perhaps, a collection of sayings or hymns was generated. Still later, a writer created a longer narrative into which various sayings were fitted, or which quoted a hymn in order to make a point. At each stage, the original small unit was being used in a slightly different context, and it may have been changed in small ways in order to fit its new use better. Scholars have various names for this sort of investigation of a biblical text, depending on what level they are examining. Source criticism attempts to establish where previously existing material (for example, a hymn, a saying, or a vision account) has been used by a later author in a longer work, either by accepting what is stated in the work itself or by noticing differences in content, vocabulary, and literary style. Form criticism seeks to classify literary genres or forms, and to isolate the historical settings in which the forms developed and functioned before they became part of the main text. A sermon, for instance, will have characteristics that are different from those of a letter or a story. Redaction criticism deals with the ways in which a biblical author or editor (redactor means editor) used sources, and sometimes changed them, to address problems and concerns facing his readers. So biblical criticism takes account of historical settings at three levels: the sources, the small units, and the finished document. Archaeological excavations and textual discoveries, such as the Ugaritic texts and the Dead Sea Scrolls, can shed light on the material world and culture in which the biblical books were written. For example, ancient epics outside the Bible have helped us to appreciate the creation stories in the book of Genesis. And the Dead Sea Scrolls, besides providing the earliest extant manuscripts of the Hebrew Bible, have illumined the thought and organization of the early church. The interpretive process can also be enriched by the application of concepts and methods used in the social sciences such as sociology, cultural anthropology, and psychology. These approaches help in exposing the cultural assumptions about the human condition and the world that people in biblical times took for granted, and in explaining the development of ancient Israel into a nation and the early Christian communities into what we call the church. Historical criticism is sometimes defined narrowly to refer to the reality of the event behind the text, to determining what actually occurred at (for example) the first Passover or the first Easter. What really happened in detail is sometimes hard to discern, since the biblical authors were often more interested in the meaning of the events than in their precise details. Some historical critics (in the narrow sense) rule out the miraculous and divine intervention on philosophical grounds and make negative judgments about the communities that handed on the biblical texts. But this is not true of all historical critics, nor is it at all consistent with the Catholic approach to Scripture, which assumes that the biblical texts tell the "honest truth" about the events described in the texts. While the classic historical-critical method is oriented mainly to illumining the history of the text and the world behind the text, certain new methods of literary analysis focus more on the text as it now stands (the world of the text) and on its effects on the reader today (the world before or in front of the text). Rhetorical analysis explores the capacity of a biblical text to persuade and convince the reader, while narrative analysis investigates how a text works in the sense of its success in telling a story involving plot, characters, and point of view. Structuralist analysis and semiotic analysis are modern linguistic methods that examine the various temporal and spatial relationships in a text, with an eye toward revealing the deeper patterns of meaning underlying the text. Another set of approaches to biblical interpretation privileges the interpreter and the social location of the interpreter. Liberation theology takes as its starting point the lived experience of poor people today and enters into conversation with biblical texts (e.g., Israel's exodus from Egypt, or Mary's Magnificat in Lk 1:46–55) as a way of illumining both the biblical text and the present situation of the poor. Feminist interpretation calls attention to the prominence of certain women in the Bible, exposes the patriarchal or male-centered assumptions of the cultures in which the Bible was originally produced, and challenges interpreters to recognize the liberating contributions of women to the biblical story of salvation. Other reader-oriented resources in biblical interpretation include the history of interpretation (how a text has been understood by Jewish and Christian readers throughout the centuries) and the history of effects (the impact or influence that a text has exercised in the course of history). Canonical criticism focuses on the final canonical form of a biblical text, explores its place within the biblical canon as a whole, and considers its significance for the church's faith and way of life. Hermeneutics is concerned with discerning the present significance of a biblical text. While this is what preachers have always done, the hermeneutical phase of the interpretive task is open to and incumbent upon all Bible readers. It involves the fusion of horizons between the ancient text and the reader in the present, and envisions a process by which the reader is changed intellectually and spiritually by encounter with the biblical text. Two terms that have recently become prominent with regard to Catholic biblical interpretation and its practical impact in church life are actualization and inculturation. The Christian Scriptures are ancient texts, and so they need to be presented in ways in which they can speak to peoples of different times (actualization) and places or cultures (inculturation). The Scriptures are made "actual" whenever their spiritual insights are presented in such a way that they can address the problems and possibilities of the present day. Likewise, the Scriptures are "inculturated" whenever they are translated, interpreted, and applied in terms that peoples from outside the ancient Mediterranean world can understand and so live out their challenges and opportunities. One traditional way of bringing together all these different methods in a simple and coherent framework is through the traditional Catholic approach developed in monastic circles and known as lectio divina (divine or spiritual reading). There are four steps. The first step is lectio (reading); that is, a careful reading of the text from various critical perspectives (literary, historical, and theological) and the assimilation or appropriation of the text on both intellectual and emotional levels. The second step is meditatio, which explores what this text may be saying to me (or us) now. One can open up the text by focusing on a theme or a few phrases, by applying the senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, touch) to the biblical scene, and by trying to make connections between the text and one's present situation. The third step is oratio (prayer) in which on the basis of reading and meditating one may speak words of praise, petition, adoration, and/or thanksgiving to God. The fourth step may take the form of contemplatio (relishing the religious experience generated by the encounter with the text and resting in the mystery of God) and/or actio (coming to a decision about one's life, or finding new ways to express what one has learned—through dance, drama, artwork, group sharing, homily, etc.). Catholic Biblical Research Catholic institutions and scholars make important contributions to scientific biblical research. The Vatican Museum and other such institutions conserve and make available important manuscript evidence. The publishing programs of the Pontifical Biblical Institute (Rome), the Catholic Biblical Association (Washington), and the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum (Jerusalem) are among the most ambitious and respected. The research of Catholic scholars appears in prestigious journals published under Catholic auspices: Biblica, Biblische Zeitschrift, Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Estudios Biblicos, Revue Biblique, and Rivista Biblica Italiana. Of course, non-Catholic scholars are welcome to publish in these Catholic scientific journals. Catholic scholars routinely write for periodicals not under Church auspices: Journal of Biblical Literature, New Testament Studies, Novum Testamentum, Vetus Testamentum, Zeitschrift für Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, and so forth. The major bibliographical services—Old Testament Abstracts, New Testament Abstracts, the Elenchus of Biblica, and the International Review of Biblical Studies—emanate from Catholic institutions. Articles on biblical topics frequently appear in Catholic theological journals; popular periodicals (The Bible Today) and books make available to a general audience the results of scientific biblical research. Many Catholic biblical scholars have received their professional training at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome, the Ecole Biblique in Jerusalem, the Studium Biblicum Franciscanum in Jerusalem, as well as at European Catholic universities such as Louvain, the Catholic theological faculties at German universities, and the departments of theology at Catholic universities in the United States (Boston College, Catholic University in Washington, Notre Dame, Loyola of Chicago, etc.). Others have gotten philological and archaeological training at Harvard, Yale, Johns Hopkins, University of Chicago, Emory, and many other institutions. A major professional organization for biblical scholars in the United States is the Catholic Biblical Association. Catholic scholars are also heavily involved in the nondenominational Society of Biblical Literature, the American Schools of Oriental Research, and the Society of New Testament Studies. Modern biblical scholarship is an international and interconfessional enterprise. The Catholic Church contributes to this dialogue by providing well-trained scholars and channels for publishing research. Some good examples of Catholic biblical scholarship in the United States are the New American Bible, the New Jerome Biblical Commentary, and the Sacra Pagina series of New Testament commentaries published by Liturgical Press. Scripture as Tradition The official Catholic emphasis on attention to the literary forms, historical settings, and cultural assumptions of the biblical writings flows from the nature of the books themselves. Far from being individual creations generated in solitude, the biblical books include many ideas, traditions, and even small pieces that already existed before being integrated into the texts in which they now stand. Biblical literature is thoroughly and deliberately traditional. The traditional character of the Old Testament has long been acknowledged. The first five books, which are customarily called the Pentateuch or Torah, are generally recognized to incorporate material from at least four different sources (Yahwist, Elohist, Deuteronomist, Priestly; see "Introduction to the Pentateuch"). The historical books (Jos–2 Kgs, Chr, Ezr, and Neh) include earlier accounts, memoirs, genealogies, and the like. The prophetic books are anthologies of short pieces of poetry and prose, and the wisdom books contain ideas and sayings that circulated in the ancient Near East for centuries. The Psalms are a collection of varied kinds of songs used mainly in the Jerusalem Temple; in the Psalms there may even be remnants of non-Jewish hymns (see Ps 29). So complicated and so rich is the process of transmission that it is difficult in most cases to speak of the author of a biblical book as one may speak of an author today. The situation is further complicated by the fact that in biblical times personal creativity and originality were not important values. One displayed real creativity by using traditional ideas and expressions in new settings and in new combinations. Given the nature of the Old Testament and the ancient concept of creativity, one would expect the New Testament to be thoroughly traditional also—and it is. The earliest complete documents in the New Testament are Paul's letters. Even these highly original and occasional pieces rely at key points on preexisting material (e.g., Rom 1:3–4; 1 Cor 13:1–13; 15:3–5; Phil 2:6–11). Those epistles whose direct Pauline composition is doubtful (e.g., the Pastorals, Eph, Col, 2 Thes) are best understood as later attempts to bring the figure and teaching of Paul to bear on situations facing the churches in the late first century. We often regard Paul as a creative genius. However, not only did he use some traditional material, but also almost all his undisputed letters contain some indication of joint authorship (see 1 Thes 1:1; 1 Cor 1:1; Rom 16:22; etc.). Moreover, throughout his letters Paul gives credit to his co-workers and encourages the collection for the Jerusalem community as a sign of solidarity with the mother church there. The complicated process of tradition and composition also applies to the Gospels. Most scholars today place the final composition of the four canonical Gospels in the late first century: Mark around ad 70, Matthew and Luke around ad 80–90, and John around ad 90–100. Yet all scholars acknowledge that the evangelists used already existing material in their Gospels. For example, Matthew and Luke each seem to have read both Mark's Gospel and a collection of Jesus's sayings that modern scholars call Q (from the German word Quelle, meaning "source"). John utilized a collection of miracle stories (signs) and perhaps also some revelation discourses. The Markan and Johannine Passion narratives surely contain much traditional information, accounts that had been passed from one person to another. The Gospels and the traditions incorporated in them tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified around ad 30. Like other Jewish teachers of his time, Jesus taught by word (parables, proverbs, debates, other sayings) and deed (example, healings, symbolic gestures). His disciples remembered and retold his words and deeds, thus providing the basic materials for what became the Gospel tradition. Jesus did not write books. What we know of Jesus comes to us through the process of tradition from Jesus to the early church and finally to the evangelists. The nature of the Gospels demands that interpreters attend to three stages in their development. The Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (Dei Verbum 19) captures that development in this marvelously concise statement: The sacred authors, in writing the four Gospels, selected certain of the many elements which had been handed on, either orally or already in written form, others they synthesized or explained with an eye to the situation of the churches, the while sustaining the form of preaching, but always in such a fashion that they have told us the honest truth about Jesus. The council's document affirms that the Gospels tell us the "honest truth" about Jesus. It recognizes that there was an intermediary stage in which traditions about Jesus circulated in oral and written forms as "preaching" about the significance of Jesus. It acknowledges that the evangelists give us only a selection (see Lk 1:1–4; Jn 20:30–31; 21:25) of the traditions about Jesus. It also recognizes that the evangelists used the traditions about Jesus to address the situations of their own day. Therefore Cat