Sacred Scripture: The Inspired Word of God The Bible is one book with Christ at its heart. Both Testaments contain books of law, history, wisdom, and prophecy. The canon of Scripture was decided by the Church, which supports and safeguards translations of the Bible into the vernacular.

The Old Law Prepared The Way for The Gospel The Bible, consisting of two Testaments –the Old and the New, each containing many individual books written over a long period of time –is really one book whose principal author is God. The inner unity of Scripture is found in Christ and his Covenant, which are hidden in the Old Testament and revealed in the New Testament.

The Old Testament: Law, History, Wisdom, and Prophecy The Old Testament contains books of law, history, wisdom, and prophecy. The first five books of law: they contain the Mosaic Covenant God made with the Chosen People. The fourteen books of history tell the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the restoration of Jerusalem.

The Old Testament: Law, History, Wisdom, and Prophecy The two Books of Maccabees bring Jewish history up to the time of the Roman Empire. The seven books of wisdom tell stories in poetry or prose and offer advice to help guide life according to God’s wisdom. The prophets warned Israel of her infidelity, consoled her in her sufferings, and foretold the Messiah, Jesus Christ.

The Canon of Sacred Scripture The canon of Sacred Scripture was determined by the Magisterium of the Church. The canon of the Old Testament is found in the Septuagint, which was used by the Apostles and early Church, while the canon of the New Testament was based on the criteria of apostolic origin, orthodoxy of content, and catholicity.

The New Testament: Law, History, Wisdom, and Prophecy The New Testament can be said to mirror the Old Testament with books of law, history, wisdom, and prophecy. St. Matthew showed Christ is the heir to the Davidic Kingdom in his Gospel, which was written especially for Jewish Christians. Drawing on his close relationship with St. Peter, St. Mark wrote his Gospel for Roman Christians to show Christ is the leader of a new Exodus.

The New Testament: Law, History, Wisdom, and Prophecy St. Luke may have benefited from knowing the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ, in composing his Gospel written form Gentile Christians. The Gospel of St. John, written last, completes the other three Gospels, emphasizing Christ as the incarnate Word of God. St. Luke followed his Gospel with the Acts of the Apostles, an extraordinarily accurate history of the apostolic Church.

The New Testament: Law, History, Wisdom, and Prophecy The Epistles –the wisdom literature of the New Testament – addressed problems among members of the early Church to live holy lives. The Book of Revelation promises the final fulfillment of the New Covenant.

Translations of the Sacred Scriptures Originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the Bible has been translated into many languages over the past two millennia. The Latin Vulgate is the definitive translation of the Bible used in the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church.

Vocabulary words Ch # 4 Canon Bible New Testament Old Testament Septuagint Prophet Deuterocanonical Pentateuch, Torah Evangelist Epistle Vulgate Synoptic Revelation Analogy of Faith St Jerome St John St Matthew St Luke St Mark St Paul