Biblical studies is the academic study of the Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. For Christianity Adherents of Christianity, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible . Orthodox Christian theology claims that Jesus suffered, died, and was resurrected to open heaven to humans. They further maintain that Jesus ascended into heaven, and most denominations teach that Jesus will return to judge all humans,, the Bible traditionally comprises the New Testament The New Testament is the name given to the second major division of the Christian Bible, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament. The New Testament is sometimes called the Greek New Testament or Greek Scriptures, or the New Covenant and Old Testament In Christianity, the Old Testament refers to the books that form the first of the two-part Christian Biblical canon. These works correspond to the Hebrew Bible , with some variations and additions. In the Eastern Orthodox Church the comparable texts are known as the Septuagint, from the original Greek translation of the Hebrew scriptures. In the, which together are sometimes called the "Scriptures." Judaism Judaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts. Judaism presents itself as the covenantal relationship between the Children of Israel (later, the Jewish nation) and God. It is considered either the first or one of the first monotheistic recognizes as scripture only the Hebrew Bible The term Hebrew Bible is a generic reference to those books of the Bible originally written mostly in Biblical Hebrew with some Biblical Aramaic. The term closely corresponds to contents of the Jewish Tanakh and the Protestant Old Testament but does not include the deuterocanonical portions of the Roman Catholic or the Anagignoskomena portions of, also known as the Tanakh The Tanakh is a name for the Bible used in Rabbinic Judaism, also known as the Masoretic Text. The name "Tanakh" is a Hebrew acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah ("Teaching," also known as the Five Books of Moses), Nevi'im ("Prophets") and, an acronym for the Hebrew 1United States Census 2000 PHC-T-37. Ability to Speak English by Language Spoken at Home: 2000. Table 1a names of its divisions: Torah The term "Torah" , refers either to the Five Books of Moses (or Pentateuch) or to the entirety of Judaism's founding legal and ethical religious texts. When used with an indefinite article, "a Torah" usually refers to a "Sefer Torah" (סֵפֶר תּוֹרָה, "book of Torah") or Torah scroll, written on (Law), Nevi'im Nevi'im is the second of the three major sections in the Hebrew Bible, the Tanakh. It falls between the Torah (teachings) and Ketuvim (writings) (Prophets) and Ketuvim Ketuvim is the third and final section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), after Torah (teachings) and Nevi'im (prophets). In English translations of the Hebrew Bible, this section is usually entitled "Writings" or "Hagiographa." The Ketuvim are believed to have been written under the Ruach HaKodesh, a level less than that of (writings). Other texts often examined by biblical scholars include the Jewish apocrypha Apocrypha are texts of uncertain authenticity, or writings where the authorship is questioned. When used in the specific context of Judeo-Christian theology, the term apocrypha refers to any collection of scriptural texts that falls outside the canon. Given that different denominations have different ideas about what constitutes canonical, the Jewish pseudepigrapha Pseudepigrapha are falsely attributed works, texts whose claimed authorship is unfounded; a work, simply, "whose real author attributed it to a figure of the past." For instance, no Hebrew scholars would ascribe the Book of Enoch to Enoch, a character mentioned in Genesis 5, and few liberal Christian scholars would insist today that the, the Christian apocrypha Apocrypha are texts of uncertain authenticity, or writings where the authorship is questioned. When used in the specific context of Judeo-Christian theology, the term apocrypha refers to any collection of scriptural texts that falls outside the canon. Given that different denominations have different ideas about what constitutes canonical, the many varieties of anti-Nicene early Christian Early Christianity is commonly defined as the Christianity of the three centuries between the Crucifixion of Jesus and the First Council of Nicaea (325). The major primary source for first century Christianity (the Apostolic Age) is the Acts of the Apostles. At first, the church was centered in Jerusalem, and one of the leaders was James the Just, literature, and early Jewish literature.

There are two major approaches towards Biblical studies. The first approach studies the Bible as a human creation and is also known as Biblical criticism Biblical criticism is "the study and investigation of biblical writings that seeks to make discerning and discriminating judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work in its production; what sources; This approach is practiced in the secular academic world. In this approach, Biblical studies can be considered as a sub-field of religious studies Religious studies, or Religious education, is the academic field of multi-disciplinary, secular study of religious beliefs, behaviors, and institutions. It describes, compares, interprets, and explains religion, emphasizing systematic, historically-based, and cross-cultural perspectives.

The other approach is the religious study of the Bible, where it is assumed that the Bible has a divine origin. This approach is a branch of theology The term 'Theology' literally means the study of God, deriving from the Greek word theos, meaning 'God', and the suffix -ology from the Greek word logos meaning "the character of one who speaks or treats of [a certain subject]", or simply "the study of a certain subject". It now means the science of God or of religion,, and is also known as Biblical interpretation Biblical hermeneutics is the study of the principles of interpretation concerning the books of the Bible. It is part of the more broad field of hermeneutics which involves not just the study of principles for the text, but includes all forms of communication: verbal, nonverbal and written.

Methodologically and theoretically, the field draws on many disciplines, including history History is the study of the past, with special attention to the written record of the activities of human beings over time. Scholars who write about history are called historians. It is a field of research which uses a narrative to examine and analyse the sequence of events, and it often attempts to investigate objectively the patterns of cause, archaeology Archaeology, archeology, or archæology is the science that studies human cultures through the recovery, documentation, analysis, and interpretation of material remains and environmental data, including architecture, artifacts, features, biofacts, and landscapes. Because archaeology's aim is to understand humankind, it is a humanistic endeavor, literary criticism Literary criticism is the study, discussion, evaluation, and interpretation of literature of various forms. A book review is the most common form of literary criticism. Often literary criticism deals with particular literary works. Modern literary criticism is frequently informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its, philology Classical philology is the philology of the Greek, Latin and Sanskrit languages. Classical philology is historically primary, originating in European Renaissance Humanism, but was soon joined by philologies of other languages both European and non-European (Sanskrit, Oriental languages such as Persian or Arabic, Chinese etc.). Indo-European, and increasingly the social sciences The social sciences comprise academic disciplines concerned with the study of the social life of human groups, animals and individuals including anthropology, archeology, communication studies, cultural studies, demography, economics, human geography, history, linguistics, media studies, political science, psychology, social work, and sociology. Practitioners of Biblical Studies do not necessarily have a faith commitment to the texts they study. In fact, Biblical criticism Biblical criticism is "the study and investigation of biblical writings that seeks to make discerning and discriminating judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work in its production; what sources seems at times to contradict commitment to the inspiration of the text and is sometimes even considered heresy, although many "orthodox" scholars from both Christianity and Judaism utilize these methods while recognizing a more nuanced understanding of divine inspiration.

Contents

In Judaism

In Judaism Judaism is a set of beliefs and practices originating in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh), as later further explored and explained in the Talmud and other texts. Judaism presents itself as the covenantal relationship between the Children of Israel (later, the Jewish nation) and God. It is considered either the first or one of the first monotheistic, especially among the Orthodox Orthodox Judaism is a formulation of Judaism that adheres to a relatively strict interpretation and application of the laws and ethics first canonized in the Talmudic texts and as subsequently developed and applied by the later authorities known as the Gaonim, Rishonim, and Acharonim, traditional Bible study entails the study of Tanakh The Tanakh is a name for the Bible used in Rabbinic Judaism, also known as the Masoretic Text. The name "Tanakh" is a Hebrew acronym formed from the initial Hebrew letters of the Masoretic Text's three traditional subdivisions: The Torah ("Teaching," also known as the Five Books of Moses), Nevi'im ("Prophets") and with medieval and modern rabbinic Rabbinic literature, in its broadest sense, can mean the entire spectrum of rabbinic writings throughout Jewish history. But the term often refers specifically to literature from the Talmudic era, as opposed to medieval and modern rabbinic writing, and thus corresponds with the Hebrew term Sifrut Hazal . This more specific sense of "Rabbinic commenataries or with Midrashim Midrash is a Hebrew term referring to the not exact, but comparative (homiletic) method of exegesis (hermeneutic) of Biblical texts, which is one of four methods cumulatively called Pardes. The term midrash can also refer to a compilation of homiletic teachings (commentaries) on the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible), in the form of legal and ritual (Halakhah). Jews A Jew (Hebrew: יְהוּדִי‎, Yehudi ; יְהוּדִים, Yehudim (pl.); Ladino: ג׳ודיו, Djudio (sg.); ג׳ודיוס, Djudios (pl.); Yiddish: יִיד, Yid (sg.); יִידן, Yidn (pl.)) is a member of the Jewish people, an ethnoreligious group originating in the Israelites or Hebrews of the Ancient Near East. The Jewish ethnicity, traditionally study in the home or in institutions like the yeshiva Yeshiva or yeshivah (pronounced /jəˈʃiːvə/; Hebrew: ישיבה, "sitting " ; pl. yeshivot or yeshivas), or metivta or mesivta (Aramaic: מתיבתא)) also frequently referred to as a Beth midrash, Talmudical Academy, Rabbinical Academy or Rabbinical School is an institution unique to classical Judaism for Torah study, the study of.

Jewish academic institutions where Bible studies may include less traditional approaches include Hebrew Union College (Progressive Judaism Progressive Judaism is an umbrella term used by strands of Judaism which affiliate to the World Union for Progressive Judaism. They embrace pluralism, modernity, equality and social justice as core values and believe that such values are consistent with a committed Jewish life. The movement includes more than 1.7 million members spread across 42), the Jewish Theological Seminary The Jewish Theological Seminary comprises five schools: Albert A. List College of Jewish Studies, which is affiliated with Columbia University and offers joint/double bachelors degree programs with both Columbia and Barnard College, The Graduate School, The William Davidson Graduate School of Jewish Education, H. L. Miller Cantorial School and (Conservative Conservative Judaism is a modern stream of Judaism that arose out of intellectual currents in Germany in the mid-19th century and took institutional form in the United States in the early 1900s) and Yeshiva University Yeshiva University is a private university in New York City, with six campuses in New York and one in Israel. Founded in 1886, it is a leading research institution, ranked 50th in the United States among national universities in 2008. (Modern Orthodox Modern Orthodox Judaism is a movement within Orthodox Judaism that attempts to synthesize traditional observance and values with the secular, modern world. Modern Orthodoxy draws on several teachings and philosophies, and thus assumes various forms. In the United States, and generally in the Western world, "Centrist Orthodoxy" —) in the United States The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the; and all major universities in Israel Israel officially the State of Israel ( מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל (help·info), Medinat Yisra'el; Arabic: دَوْلَةُ إِسْرَائِيلَ‎, Dawlat Isrā'īl), is a country in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and, whose Bible Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew or Jewish Bible. It comprises three parts: the Torah , the Prophets, and the Writings. It was primarily written in Hebrew with some small portions in Aramaic.[citation needed] In Christian religions, the Tanakh is known as the Old Testament department actually concentrates on Biblical criticism Biblical criticism is "the study and investigation of biblical writings that seeks to make discerning and discriminating judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work in its production; what sources.

In Christianity

In Christianity Adherents of Christianity, known as Christians, believe that Jesus is the Messiah prophesied in the Hebrew Bible . Orthodox Christian theology claims that Jesus suffered, died, and was resurrected to open heaven to humans. They further maintain that Jesus ascended into heaven, and most denominations teach that Jesus will return to judge all humans,, the theological interpretation of Biblical passages is called biblical exegesis Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. Other branches of Bible study aim instead at elucidating the provenance Provenance, from the French provenir, "to come from", means the origin, or the source, of something, or the history of the ownership or location of an object, The term was originally mostly used of works of art, but is now used in similar senses in a wide range of fields, including science and computing. Typical uses may cover any, authorship, and chronological order of Biblical texts. This is a branch of philology Classical philology is the philology of the Greek, Latin and Sanskrit languages. Classical philology is historically primary, originating in European Renaissance Humanism, but was soon joined by philologies of other languages both European and non-European (Sanskrit, Oriental languages such as Persian or Arabic, Chinese etc.). Indo-European more than theology, and sometimes comes into conflict with theology. "Higher criticism Historical criticism or higher criticism is a branch of literary analysis that investigates the origins of a text: as applied in biblical studies it investigates the books of the Bible and compares them to other texts written at the same time, before, or recently after the text in question. In Classical studies, the new higher criticism of the" and its findings, including the well known documentary hypothesis The documentary hypothesis , sometimes erroneously called the Wellhausen Hypothesis, holds that the writings of the Pentateuch (the Torah, to use its Hebrew name) derive from originally independent narratives. The number of these is usually set at four, but this is not an essential part of the hypothesis which suggests that the Bible Modern Judaism generally recognizes a single set of canonical books known as the Tanakh, or Hebrew or Jewish Bible. It comprises three parts: the Torah , the Prophets, and the Writings. It was primarily written in Hebrew with some small portions in Aramaic.[citation needed] In Christian religions, the Tanakh is known as the Old Testament was compiled from the writings of several different hands, and the work of the Jesus Seminar The Jesus Seminar is a group of about 150 individuals, including scholars with advanced degrees in biblical studies, religious studies or related fields as well as published authors who are notable in the field of religion, founded in 1985 by the late Robert Funk and John Dominic Crossan under the auspices of the Westar Institute. One of the most, which attempted to cull "inauthentic" sayings of Jesus Jesus of Nazareth , also known as Jesus Christ, is the central figure of Christianity, and within most Christian denominations he is venerated as the Son of God and as God incarnate. Christians also view him as the Messiah foretold in the Old Testament; however, Judaism rejects this claim. Islam considers Jesus a prophet, while several other from the "authentic" ones contained in the Gospels In Christianity, a gospel is to be generally one of the first four books of the New Testament that describe the birth, life, ministry, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus. The four canonical texts are the Gospel of Matthew, Gospel of Mark, Gospel of Luke and Gospel of John, probably written between AD 65 and 100 (see also the Gospel according, are examples of Biblical studies whose results have been particularly controversial in theology.

Bible Study is the activity in which Christians read and reflect on the Bible individually or, including discussion, in small groups or base communities.

Additionally, Biblical Studies is a common discipline offered in the Bible colleges, Bible institutions or schools and some secular colleges. It centered on the study of the Scriptures as found in the Bible. In the U.S., it is not listed as an academic discipline following the pursuit of academic studies in normal stream colleges and universities. In Europe, however, Theology is a faculty in many respectable universities (e.g. Oxford and Cambridge) although several countries have transferred the training of priests and ministers to their respective churches.

It seems that the discipline of Bible studies in many U.S. institutions is practically the same as theology in more traditional institutions. A distinction should be made, therefore, between

Presently in the U.S., "Biblical studies" are taught mainly in non-academic schools and institutions under the support of many Christian denominations and missionary organizations.

In traditional churches, the training of priests and ministers includes the study of theology, which is a wider field incorporating more aspects of religion. Typically this takes place in a university or a seminary, depending on country and denomination.

Background

Biblical Studies involve the studies of the Bible and can be studied as a subject for themselves or as a subdivision under Theology. It is often offered as a postgraduate course in some Christian colleges or Bible institutions as a non-academic study course. In contrast with most divinity schools, seminaries or older theological schools, Biblical Studies does not attempt to criticize the Bible as in higher (or literary criticism) or lower (or textual criticism) form. In this, it differs markedly from the usual scientific method or from the neutral point of view approach used in this Wikipedia article. However, its content varies but usually covered a wider scope including the following:

Principles of Biblical interpretation

The Bible is the holy scripture for most Christian denominations and its interpretation forms part of the core of each denomination's faith. Therefore, there are very few clear rules accepted by all who consider themselves Christian and making a neutral point of view clarification of principles is most difficult. Exegesis using the inductive method is used in understanding the texts in scriptures. Some guides or rules of interpretation have been formulated and are, in some circles known as Principles of Interpretation, in others as Hermeneutics. According to the Bible it is the word of God and gives these rules[citation needed]. However, no clear consensus on them exists. Typically a biblical passage may be understood

  1. literally, as meaning exactly what is written.
  2. figuratively, meaning that there is a clear parallel to something else.
  3. allegorically, meaning that the passage is an allegory of something more

In addition, in some denominations, any of these may be either addressed to its historical audience or to mankind in general. All three ways may even be correct simultaneously. According to most denominations, the only way to choose a right interpretation is through use of Holy Spirit, which may be found, depending on denomination, from person's conscience, from tradition or from some combination of them. Typically, old churches stress the use of tradition, while Protestant churches stress the use of personal inspiration. However, most denominations do draw a line somewhere in the literal interpretation, accepting some traditional standpoints.

Hermeneutical exegesis focuses on the origin writer’s sense in relation with the expected audience response. The rule of context applies, and "scriptures interpret scriptures". The ideas and meanings are likely to be in harmony within the language and cultural context. Therefore the rule allow for the meaning to be limited and interpreted within the intent and purpose of the original writers. This interpretative view obviously leads to more focus individual understanding than collective interrelated consensus.

Biblical canon scriptures are accepted by many Christian's as God-inspired. Thus, attention is given to accepting the divine Holy Spirit who is thought to be the original inspiration or Author of all scriptures. However, there are several different doctrines on the nature of the inspiration, ranging from "word" inspiration to context inspiration. Exegesis is different from the traditional method of literary study but approaches it when moving towards religious philosophy.

Hebrew and Greek languages

The study of original languages within the Bible is usually considered an imperative to any correct interpretive work, although a minority of U.S. Christians hold that King James Version is the sole, inspired, true word of God. Most seminaries and Universities, in fact, require their candidates for doctorates in divinity to possess adequate knowledge of these two disciplines. Although Aramaic was the verbal language of the inter- and New Testament period, many schools do not provide the study of this ancient language but leave it to the faculties of Arts. The Septuagint translation of the Old Testament into Greek is also important while trying to understand the religious life of the early church. The New Testament is written in Koine Greek, a form which probably carried Hebrew and Aramaic influences.

Biblical criticism

Biblical criticism is a secular, scientific approach to the study of the Bible, based on the assumption that the Bible is a human creation, rather than divine. Thus while apparent contradictions are interpreted in theology as having deeper or different meaning, they are interpreted in Biblical criticism as originating from the human writers. Prophecies fulfilled after the alleged time of writing are interpreted in Theology as a proof for the divine origin of the text, and in Biblical criticism as a proof that the real time of writing was later than claimed.

According to Jewish tradition, different books of the Bible were written in different times by different people. Biblical criticism extends this idea, and assumes that different parts (even different verses in the same chapter) may have been written in different times by different people, and later edited by other people. Some are based on local traditions, and others have been added to reflect the writer's political of religious agenda.

Biblical criticism uses mostly the following study tools:

References

See also

External links

Recommended Reading: The Conclusion of the New Testament by Witness Lee at http://www.ministrybooks.org/conclusion.cfm

Categories: Biblical studies | Theology

 

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