Lecture 17 Handout - Catholic and Protestant Bibles

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— filed under: Historical, Theology, Foundations of Theology: Biblical and Historical, Biblical, Foundations of Theology

Catholic and Protestant Bibles

Consult the tables on pp. xxxvii, xxxix and xl in the Harper Collins Study Bible.

The Jewish Bible was written in the Hebrew language.

In the second century AD a group known as the Rabbis finalized a Hebrew version that would remain canonical, i.e. official, legally binding, from thence forward.
This Bible was divisible into three sections: Torah, Prophets and Writings.

Prior to this Rabbinic version, the Jewish Bible was highly variant in terms of what books were included in it. One version of this Hebrew text was translated into Greek by Jewish scholars in the 2nd century BC. It is known as the Septuagint or LXX.

The contents of the Greek version matches, for the most part, the Old Testament of what is now the Catholic Bible.
Though these books differ in number and order from the present day Jewish Bible [compare xxxvii with xxxix], one must remember that this Bible was nevertheless authentically Jewish when it was promulgated.
And many of the additional books found in the present day Catholic Bible were originally written in Hebrew.
But because only Jews were interested in copying these texts in Hebrew, once the Jewish Bible in the second century AD (see 2A) lost interest in them, they stopped being copied. Very soon, no Hebrew copies were in circulation.

Early Church adopts the LXX as its Bible

Few, if any Christians can read Hebrew in the second century
Quickly the Christian church is totally dependent on the Greek translation

In early 5th fifth century, St. Jerome is asked to translate the Bible afresh into Latin.

What version should he use? The LXX or the original Hebrew? He opts to learn Hebrew and translate directly from that language.
But he notes that the Hebrew Bible in his day (which is the Rabbinic Bible see xxxvii and 2A and B) does not have the same number of books as the LXX (see 3B and D).
He concludes, erroneously, that those extra books in the LXX never had a Hebrew original (see 3D)
In his view the books without Hebrew originals are of lesser significance
theologically. They are "deutero-canonical" that is, of secondary significance.
But because only Jerome knows Hebrew his arguments were lost on subsequent Christian thinkers and ignored.

Protestant Reformation is spurred on by two factors

Ad fontes – return to the original sources, a notion dear to the Renaissance.
Sola scriptura – the Bible has supreme theological authority
But which Bible? The Reformers were interested in returning to the Hebrew original (ad fontes) and spent many years mastering the language but they noted what Jerome saw – the order and number of books differed from the Christian Bible
They concluded that the books without a Hebrew original were of dubious value. They become the Apocrypha. In some early Protestant Bibles they were still printed. But soon this practice stopped.
Hence the current day Protestant Bibles uses the same number of books as the Jewish Rabbinic Bible but put them in the Septuagintal order.

Rise of Modern Biblical Scholarship in the 1800's and beyond

Discovery of ancient manuscripts (Dead Sea Scrolls and other such finds)
Discovery that many of the extra books in the Greek Septuagintal version had Hebrew originals!
Both Jerome and the Protestant Reformers were wrong in their estimation of how the Old Testament came into being. Some of those extra books originated in Greek but many of them were written in Hebrew.

The exact composition of the Christian Bible remains a challenge to the Churches

Copyright 2009, by the Contributing Authors. Cite/attribute Resource. administrator. (2006, September 07). Lecture 17 Handout - Catholic and Protestant Bibles. Retrieved November 07, 2009, from Notre Dame OpenCourseWare Web site: http://ocw.nd.edu/theology/foundations-of-theology-biblical-and-historical/lectures/Lecture%2017%20Handout%20-%20Catholic%20and%20Protestant%20Bibles.html. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.

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Lecture 17 Handout - Catholic and Protestant Bibles

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Course Contents Foundations of Theology: Biblical and Historical Home About the Professor Syllabus Readings Calendar Lecture Notes Homework Assignments Quiz Study Guides	Personal tools Log in Register You are here: Home → Theology → Foundations of Theology: Biblical and Historical → Lectures → Lecture 17 Handout - Catholic and Protestant Bibles
	Info Lecture 17 Handout - Catholic and Protestant Bibles Document Actions — filed under: Historical, Theology, Foundations of Theology: Biblical and Historical, Biblical, Foundations of Theology Catholic and Protestant Bibles Consult the tables on pp. xxxvii, xxxix and xl in the Harper Collins Study Bible. The Jewish Bible was written in the Hebrew language. In the second century AD a group known as the Rabbis finalized a Hebrew version that would remain canonical, i.e. official, legally binding, from thence forward. This Bible was divisible into three sections: Torah, Prophets and Writings. Prior to this Rabbinic version, the Jewish Bible was highly variant in terms of what books were included in it. One version of this Hebrew text was translated into Greek by Jewish scholars in the 2nd century BC. It is known as the Septuagint or LXX. The contents of the Greek version matches, for the most part, the Old Testament of what is now the Catholic Bible. Though these books differ in number and order from the present day Jewish Bible [compare xxxvii with xxxix], one must remember that this Bible was nevertheless authentically Jewish when it was promulgated. And many of the additional books found in the present day Catholic Bible were originally written in Hebrew. But because only Jews were interested in copying these texts in Hebrew, once the Jewish Bible in the second century AD (see 2A) lost interest in them, they stopped being copied. Very soon, no Hebrew copies were in circulation. Early Church adopts the LXX as its Bible Few, if any Christians can read Hebrew in the second century Quickly the Christian church is totally dependent on the Greek translation In early 5th fifth century, St. Jerome is asked to translate the Bible afresh into Latin. What version should he use? The LXX or the original Hebrew? He opts to learn Hebrew and translate directly from that language. But he notes that the Hebrew Bible in his day (which is the Rabbinic Bible see xxxvii and 2A and B) does not have the same number of books as the LXX (see 3B and D). He concludes, erroneously, that those extra books in the LXX never had a Hebrew original (see 3D) In his view the books without Hebrew originals are of lesser significance theologically. They are "deutero-canonical" that is, of secondary significance. But because only Jerome knows Hebrew his arguments were lost on subsequent Christian thinkers and ignored. Protestant Reformation is spurred on by two factors Ad fontes – return to the original sources, a notion dear to the Renaissance. Sola scriptura – the Bible has supreme theological authority But which Bible? The Reformers were interested in returning to the Hebrew original (ad fontes) and spent many years mastering the language but they noted what Jerome saw – the order and number of books differed from the Christian Bible They concluded that the books without a Hebrew original were of dubious value. They become the Apocrypha. In some early Protestant Bibles they were still printed. But soon this practice stopped. Hence the current day Protestant Bibles uses the same number of books as the Jewish Rabbinic Bible but put them in the Septuagintal order. Rise of Modern Biblical Scholarship in the 1800's and beyond Discovery of ancient manuscripts (Dead Sea Scrolls and other such finds) Discovery that many of the extra books in the Greek Septuagintal version had Hebrew originals! Both Jerome and the Protestant Reformers were wrong in their estimation of how the Old Testament came into being. Some of those extra books originated in Greek but many of them were written in Hebrew. The exact composition of the Christian Bible remains a challenge to the Churches Copyright 2009, by the Contributing Authors. Cite/attribute Resource. administrator. (2006, September 07). Lecture 17 Handout - Catholic and Protestant Bibles. Retrieved November 07, 2009, from Notre Dame OpenCourseWare Web site: http://ocw.nd.edu/theology/foundations-of-theology-biblical-and-historical/lectures/Lecture%2017%20Handout%20-%20Catholic%20and%20Protestant%20Bibles.html. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.