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Daily Feed ScriptureScripture is the Bible composed of many books and lettersScripture is really the book of the Bible, which is actually a composite of many books and letters. It is basically divided into two main divisions - the Old and the New Testament. The Old Testament Scripture is borrowed from the Hebrew scripture. The New Testament Scripture are accounts on the life and teachings of Christ and was originally written in Greek. We must remember that none of the original manuscripts of the New Testament scripture have survived. We do not have direct copies of those original manuscripts. There are a group of manuscripts that were found in 1947 in caves near the Dead Sea. These are called the Dead Sea Scrolls. One important thing about these manuscripts is that they refer to Hebrew scripture several centuries older than what we know of now. Also, they give some information on the Jewish beliefs and practices around the time of Jesus. However, we really do not have direct access to the original manuscripts of Scripture. What we have are copies of copies. And as in any copy, even in Scripture - there may have been errors, additions, unintended deletions, and much more. Main types of text now recognized Just food for the biblical mind, here are a bit of information on the main types of text that have developed into the Scripture we know of.
Translations and versions of the Scripture The Old Testament is originally in Hebrew. It was translated together with the New Testament scripture into Latin by St. Jerome, calling the whole translation, the Vulgate. It is called Vulgate from the Latin meaning of "the language of the common people" because Latin was the common language during the time of St. Jerome. The Old Testament scripture also was translated into the Greek Septuagint - meaning 70-72 learned elders were commissioned to prepare this translation. The above are ancient translations. When the Scripture was taken to people who did not speak Greek, it had to be translated again. These other newer translations are called "versions" of the Scripture. Some biblical scholars refer to these Scripture versions as being mainly three: the Latin, the Syriac, and the Coptic (Sahidic and Bohairic). Other versions of less value from a textual point of view are: Ethiopic, the Gothic, the Armenian, the Georgian, the Arabic, the Slavonic, and the Persian. There are now modern translations of the Scripture. And for those who are into bible study, these translations are already familiar to them. We have the Jerusalem Bible, New American Bible, Revised Standard Version, The Good News Bible and the Christian Community Bible. These modern translations are in English. As of now, we have heard that there are even newer versions of these classic translations of the Scripture. But to give a fairly good idea of what these translations of the Scripture are good for, these are some of the suggestions of the bible scholars:
Scripture is inspired writing Many originally understood that God wrote the scripture. In a way, this is true. But a more scientific way of understanding this truth is that God authored the scripture by inspiring several writers to write His word according to the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Since scripture is inspired writing, it must be treated with reverence and respect. It is not a historical or scientific writing. If it were considered as such then surely many historians and scientists will find many inconsistencies and errors of facts and truths and realities in the texts. But what the scripture is, is a book of faith. It gives us moral truths in the form of myths, stories, parables and many more literary forms that were used in the earliest centuries to convey a wisdom and a truth. So, the scripture as inspired writing conveys wisdom and truth, not facts and data. This must be realized in order to differentiate the scripture as a book of faith and morals. Scripture is a revelation of God's love for us Scripture does not only give us wisdom and truth but more essentially, it is a book that reveals to us how much God loves His people - His chosen people Israel and how He guided them to the land of promise. After the covenant God made with Israel, which Israel transgressed many times and have broken in many ways, God renewed it again through the person of His only Son, Jesus Christ. Thus, God continues to reveal His love for us by giving us His only Son Jesus to redeem us from our sinfulness and our unredeemed nature. Every book of the scripture is thus witnessing to how much God shows His love to us through the three divisions of the Old Testament Scripture: the Law and historical books, the Prophets, and the Wisdom Literature. And He even more shows how intense this love is through the 27 books and letters of the New Testament - an account of how Jesus loved and taught us how to love. The Scripture we now use is canonical By canonical, it means that the Catholic church has declared the book to be really inspired by God. There are also other books which are extant but are not canonical - meaning they are not included in the present canon of scripture. Below is a listing of some of these noncanonical gospels:
Uses of the Scripture As we know, the sources of our Catholic faith are found in three basic things: Scripture, Church teaching and Tradition. Therefore, Scripture places a very high importance in living our Christian faith. One main and official use of scripture is in our liturgies, especially in the Eucharist. It is also used in the celebration of the other sacraments and in many para-liturgies that are composed for specific situations. Scripture is also used for study and for learning how to apply the teaching of Christ in our lives through bible sharing groups and prayer meetings. And as individuals having a personal relationship with God, Scripture is also important in deepening and strengthening our relationship with our Creator and Resurrected Lord. Other articles in this website you can refer to There are other articles in this website on scripture which you can also refer to. These are the following: A glossary on Old Testament Terms - On the Torah A glossary on New Testament Terms - Christian Life Guide Catholic Bible Study Lectio Divina Primer on the Bible The Gospel Organizing a Simple Bible Sharing Group What is the Basic Structure and Divisions in the Bible? Who Do You Say That I Am? Understanding the Gospel of Matthew Understanding the Gospel of Luke Source Composition and Structure of the Torah The Psalms |