ReEd 2 - Prelim Lessons

• The Bible is not one book but a library of 73 books
• Written by over 40 men over a period of 1,500 years (1400 B.C. to 110 A.D.)
• Contains over 10,000 events
• Despite having 40 different writers over 15 centuries, the Bible claims one author
• Of the 73 books, 46 were written before the birth of Jesus (Old Testament), and 27 were written soon after the death of Jesus (New Testament)
• The Old Testament consists of 46 books, all written before Jesus came, in Hebrew
• The New Testament consists of 27 books, all written after Jesus' death, in Greek
• Moses is attributed with writing the first five books of the Bible, also known as the Torah
• The first five books, from Genesis to Deuteronomy, look back from the death of Moses to the beginning of the world
• The Old Testament includes books of history, poetry, wisdom, and prophecies about a coming Savior and King
• The New Testament, written after Jesus' death, includes the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) which provide independent accounts of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection
• Biblical Exegesis is the study of the sacred page, the very soul of Sacred Theology
• Exegesis is the process of leading out the meaning from the text, while eisegesis is the process of leading one's own meaning into the text
• Exegesis refers to any act of interpretation or explanation
• Exegesis is in contrast with eisegesis
• Eisegesis means the process of leading one's own meaning into the text
• Comparison between Exegesis and Eisegesis:

  • Exegesis: This is what the text expresses effectively (objective)
  • Eisegesis: This is my understanding of the text (subjective)
• The standard for distinguishing interpretations of the Bible is whether it comes from the text (exegesis) or is placed into the text which the text itself did not mean (eisegesis)
• Exegesis means reading and understanding the Bible the way that the text itself expresses effectively
• Eisegesis means reading and understanding the text the way the reader understands it
• Exegesis is an objective way of interpreting the Bible, while eisegesis is a subjective way of understanding the text
• Three things to be careful interpreters of the Word of God:

  1. Admit the need for help

  2. Have faith in the sovereign goodness of the author

  3. Learn how to read with the kind of care that corresponds to the preciousness of the book
• 5 Cs as keys in doing exegesis:

  1. Content

  2. Context

  3. Comparison

  4. Culture

  5. Consultation
• Content:

  • Observing and understanding the passage's content
• Context:

  • Understanding the surrounding verses and the circumstances under which a narrative was written
• Comparison:

  • Comparing Scripture with Scripture to understand the coordinated message of the Bible
• Culture:

  • Not interpreting the Bible based on our culture but evangelizing the culture based on the lessons from the Bible
• Consultation:

  • Using tools like concordances, Bible dictionaries, handbooks, atlases, and commentaries to aid in studying the Bible
• The first five books written by Moses are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
• The forty writers of the bible were Shepherds, Kings, Fishermen, Peasants, Doctors, and Tax-collectors.
• The forty writers of the bible are from Rome, Jerusalem, Babylon (Iraq), Persia (Iran), Greece, and Turkey.
• Testament means covenant or agreement.
• All the Prophets, Priests and Kings of Israel were annointed with oil when they took their office, and it was like an inauguration ceremony
• Anoint is used in English terms, while Hebrew uses the word Messiah, and the Greek uses the word Christ.
• Which book in the Old Testament tells about the Creation of the world, First human family, Spread of evil, Worldwide flood, and Division of humankind into nations and languages?

  Genesis
• Which book in the Old Testament where God chooses the Fathers of the future nation of Israel?

  Genesis
• Which books in the Old Testament tells about the beginning of the nation and how God gave them His laws?

  Books 2-5
• Which books in the Old Testament tells about the possession of their land, the establishment of the kingdom, the captivity and return to their land?

  Books 6-17
• Which books in the Old Testament Job to Song of Solomon belongs, hence, they are books of poetry and Wisdom?

  Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon
• Job is about man’s question about suffering