Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

Understanding the First Five Books of the Bible

Narrative and Development of the Pentateuch
How We Read the Pentateuch
Ancestor Stories in the Book of Genesis
The Beginning of Gods Revelation
The Great Flood
Abraham and the Patriarchs
The Blessing of Jacob
Joseph and His Brothers
The Book of Exodus
The Wandering of the People in the Wilderness
The Mosaic Law Codes

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

Source Theory for the Pentateuch

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

The Two Stories of Creation

First Story of Creation
Second Story of Creation
Genesis 1:12:4a
Genesis 2:4b25
seven days of creation
setting is barren land
the setting is water
order of creation: human,
plants, animals
Order of creation: plants,
God creates man out of the
animals, humans
man is created at the same mud and breathes life into
man
moment in the image of
man is named: Adam and Eve
God

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

Religious Truths Revealed in the Stories of

Creation
1. There is only one God.
2. God planned creation.
3. Everything God made is good.
4. The Sabbath is a special day
of rest and worship.

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

How We Read the Pentateuch

1. Any and all parts of Scripture must be read and
interpreted in relation to the whole.

No matter the various sources and human authors of

the Pentateuch, Scripture must be read as a unity
by reason of Gods plan, of which Jesus is the center
and heart, open since his Passover (CCC, 112).

2. The Church has the primary role in arbitrating the

meaning of Scripture
What characterizes Catholic exegesis is that it
deliberately places itself within the living Tradition
of the Church. . . . (Pontifical Biblical Commission)

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

Two Main Kinds of Writing in the Pentateuch

1. Narrative stories collected in two main
groups:
(a) the Ancestor Stories of Genesis
(b) the Moses/Exodus Story
2. The Collections of Mosiac Laws

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

Truths Revealed by Gods Creative Actions

1. God alone created the universe freely,
directly, and without any help.
2. God created everything through the eternal
Word, his begotten Son, Jesus.
3. Creation is the common work of the Holy
Trinity.

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

Covenants Between Human Beings and God

Covenant with Abraham
Isaac speaks to Jacob
Jacob takes the name Israel
Covenant with Moses
The giving of the Law
The New Covenant of Jesus Christ

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A Pentateuch

The Fall of Man

Second Story of Creation

Gods Response

Harmony of original holiness

An immediate offer of his mercy

Harmony of original justice

The first promise of a Redeemer

Original Sin
A voluntary sin committed by
our first parents
The loss of original holiness
and original justice
Man preferred himself to God

I will put enmity between

you and the woman
and between your
offspring and hers; He
will strike at your head,
while you strike at his
heel. (Gn 3:15)

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

The Great Flood

Unique teachings of the Hebrew version:
Humanity is to be destroyed because they are evil and
constantly doing violence to each other.
Noah is saved because he is a righteous man.
Noah only takes animals while the Gilgamesh
hero takes money on the ark.
The Hebrew version represents a
second creation story. Noah takes
the place of a new a new Adam.

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

The Tower of Babel

Tells how the sin of pride brought into the world by the
sin of Adam increased to the point that an entire city
tried to make itself God.
Secondarily, it shows in an imaginative way how
the many different languages of the world came
to be a hopeful gesture to humankind.
It takes place in Shinar an ancient biblical
reference to Babylon, itself symbol for
any oppressive empire or state.

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

What the primeval history of Genesis tell us

about the Hebrew people:
Gods will is to create a people in his image.
Gods will is peace, not violence.
Gods will is trust and truthfulness.
Gods will is care for creation.
Gods will is joyful diversity.
God is not impressed with material accomplishments
but with how we care for each other and also how we
care for the created environment.

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

The Patriarchs
Key figures:
Abraham chapters 1223, 25 (13)
Isaac chapters 24, 2627 (3)
Jacob chapters 2835, 49 (9)
Joseph chapters 3748, 50 (12)
God used these very human personalities to accomplish

the divine will: the creation and preservation of a special

People who would reveal God to all the nations.

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

Important elements of the Abraham story:

1. Gods message always travels as seen in the stories of
Abraham, the Exodus, the Jewish Diaspora, St. Paul.
2. Gods assures Abraham that the Divine Word would come about
and be maintained through his posterity.
3. Requirements of Gods covenant with Abraham:
a. Abrahams: Go forth from the land of your
kinsfolk to a land that I will show you.
b. Gods: I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you All the communities
of the earth shall find blessing in you.

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

Parallels between the stories of Abraham and

Moses:

Abraham

Moses

He wondered throughout
the known world

The Hebrews journey out

of Egypt following the
Exodus

Signs of the covenant: he

and his wifes names are
changed; the symbol of
circumcision

Sign of the covenant: the

giving of the Law

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

Threats in the patriarchal stories

Sarah experiences the captivity of Pharaoh, and thus
anticipates the later oppression of the Hebrews
Sarah has doubts that she really is going to be the
bearer of the promised descendents of Israel
Abrahams near sacrifice of Isaac
Christians read the passage about Abraham
and Isaac as an anticipation of another Father
who is anguished at the human demand
that he sacrifice a son on the Cross

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

The Exodus
These stories were likely collected and edited at the time
of the Babylonian exile.
They tell of the miraculous release of the Israelites from
Egypt, their journey across the Red Sea to Mount Sinai,
where they entered into a special covenant with God.
At Mount Sinai, through Moses, God gave the Israelites
the Law which allowed them to become a holy people.
The Exodus marked the beginning of Israels history as a
separate nation: God singled them out to witness to the
one, true Lord.

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

Liberation
God will use Moses as the instrument to liberate his people
I am who I am is a mysterious name because God is a
mystery
The plague stories:
a. teach us about God and the formation the Israelites
b. teach that God liberates the oppressed
c. teach that earthly powers cannot maintain
oppression when God wills liberation
d. teach that with liberation comes responsibility

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

The Sinai Covenant

The Israelites became a Chosen People at Mount Sinai
and the reception of Gods Law
Results of the Sinai Covenant:
1. It bound God and the Chosen People in a loving union
2. It revealed Gods special love and mercy for them
3. It stipulated how Gods People were to respond to his
love and uphold their part of the covenant: following
the commandments and being faithful to God through
obedience and worship

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

The Mosaic Law Codes

There are three different collections of the Law: (a) the
Covenant Code (Ex 2023), (b) The Deuteronomic Code
(Dt 528), and the Levitical Code (Book of Leviticus)
All three collections contain civil laws and religious laws
All three collections reflect what was valued in the early
life of Israel: family, integrity, property, and animals
The emphasis of biblical laws is not on guilt and
punishment, but on restoration of the community and
the maintenance of social life

Sacred Scripture: A Catholic Study of Gods Word

Part 1A The Pentateuch

The Levitical Code

1. Laws of Sacrifice the sacrificial gift represented
repentance and sorrow, and served as the symbolic
act of asking God for forgiveness
2. Purity Laws reflected a minority society concerned
about threats of assimilation with foreign cultures
3. Laws of Jubilee show a radical concern
for social justice and reflect a concern
to deal with fair distribution of resources
on a regular basis