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Essential Bible Basics |
Paul’s letter to the Romans says: "For whatever was written previously was written for our instruction, that by endurance and by the encouragement of the scriptures we might have hope." (Rom 15:4) By reading and studying the Sacred Texts of Scriptures we gain a new spiritual life from a personal encounter with Christ found there. Begin your exploration by learning the basic facts about the most important book ever written.
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Important terminology |
Canon: from the Greek kanon (κανον) meaning “measuring rod,” and later came to mean a rule by which something was judged. It came to be used as a term to mean the official list of individual books that make up the Scriptures.
Deuterocanonical: in Greek (δευτερος), this term means “second canon.” These books are those texts not found in the Hebrew canon, but were added to the Greek translation, the Septuagint, and then copied into Latin by the Church. These books are Sirach, Wisdom, Baruch, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith and additions to Ester and Daniel. These books were not added to the protestant canon.
Gospel: from the Greek word euangelion (ευαγγελιον) meaning “good news,” and is unique to describe the good news of Jesus Christ.
Old Testament: The word “testament” means “covenant.” There are 46 books that make up what we call the “Old Testament.” These scriptures, known to the Hebrew people by the time of Jesus, are divided into different categories of texts according to the type of writing. These books are the story of the covenant God had with his people and the foundation for the “New Covenant” that was ushered in with Jesus Christ. Some refer to this as the “Hebrew Scriptures.” The first reading at mass is from this part of the bible.
New Testament: The “new covenant” God made with his people through the Incarnation. These 27 books continue to tell the story of God’s plan for our salvation through the retelling of the ministry of Jesus, the ministry of His Followers, and the life of the early Church. In the mass the Gospel and Sunday’s second reading are from this part of the bible.
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Old Testament
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- The Pentateuch
- The Historical Books
- The Prophets
- The Writings
Pentateuch (the Law):
The five foundational books that comprise the Jewish Torah give basis for the telling of the origins of God’s people and their unique relationship with God, through the Covenant at Mount Sinai.
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Genesis
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Exodus
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Leviticus
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Numbers
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Deuteronomy
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These books recount the period of Israelite history from about 1250 to 100 B.C.
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Joshua
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Judges
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1 & 2 Samuel
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1 & 2 Kings
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Ruth
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1 & 2 Chronicles
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Ezra
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Esther
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Nehemiah
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1 & 2 Maccabees |
Judith
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Tobit
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These books give us a reflection of the experience of the Jewish people with God and the world. These writings comprise beautiful poetry, songs as well as instruction on living a virtuous life.
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Job
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Song of Songs
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Psalms
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Wisdom
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Proverbs
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Sirach
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Ecclesiastes
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The prophets reminded the people of the covenant they made with God. Despite human misbehavior and subsequent misfortune, God was always faithful to the Covenant and ready for them to return to Him.
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Isaiah
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Hosea
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Nahum
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Jeremiah
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Joel
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Habakkuk
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Lamentations
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Amos
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Zephaniah
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Baruch
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Obadiah
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Haggai
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Ezekiel
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Jonah
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Zechariah
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Daniel
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Micah
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Malachi
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The New Testament
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The New Testament contains 27 books which can be divided as follows:
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Matthew
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Mark
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Luke
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John
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The Epistles (Letters)
The Letters of St. Paul
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Romans
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1 & 2 Corinthians
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Galatians
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1 & 2 Thessalonians
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Philippians
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Ephesians
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Colossians
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1 & 2 Timothy
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Titus
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Philemon
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The Catholic Letters
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James
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1 & 2 Peter
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1, 2, and 3 John
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Jude
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