The Old Testament at a Glance

The New Testament of the Catholic Bible is made up of _____ _____ _______. These were written by Christians during the_______ century that centers on the life, teachings and mission of ________ and theearly _________.

The Catholic Old Testament contains ____ _____ _____ of the Bible written before Jesus’ time. Time frame = beginning of ______________

…to shortly before the coming of Jesus…and…

…record the stories and events of God’s relationship with his __________ ________.

The original Hebrew scriptures were translated into the language of the Hebrew people who were living in Egypt around the year 100 B.C. (Before Christ).

The Septuagint, a word that means “_________” from the Latin, was complete and in common use among Jews outside Israel for one hundred years before the birth of _____________.

In time, the Church officially accepted the additional writings included in the Septuagint as the canon of the Old Testament because it was so widely used.

The Canon of Scripture is The list of writings officially recognized and accepted by the Catholic Church as inspired books of Sacred _____________. The word canon refers to a standard of measurement. Although other Gospels and letters were written they were not included in the canon because they were not considered divinely _______________.

Old Testament Origins The Bible itself shows signs of reworking of material. Many Scripture scholars agree that the books of the _____________ _____________ underwent several editorial phases.

Biblical writings came from prior oral tradition. Oral tradition refers to stores and sayings handed down by w______ of m_________ before writing became commonplace. Handing down stories, songs, poems, and proverbs was a sacred trust and individuals who specialized in memorizing and reciting them were often held in great respect.

Catholics have St. Jerome’s translation of the Bible since the early 600’s. After many different translations, the Catholic Church has several approved versions that are currently in use today.

In your assigned groups answer the following questions. Each member should record their own answer after it is discussed to use for notes. 1.How many books are included in the Catholic Bible? 2.Why did Jews want to translate their Scriptures into Greek? 3.What is the Septuagint? 4.What is the difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament? 5.Why do you think the New Testament writers used the Septuagint? 6.What is the canon of Scripture? 7.How did the oral tradition contribute to the Bible’s later development? 8.What did you find most interesting about the Bible’s history?