Approaches to Understanding the Scriptures
In the Scriptures, God spoke to humankind in a way we could understand. To interpret Scriptures correctly, the reader must be aware of what the human authors truly wanted to affirm and what God wanted to reveal in their words. Bishops, priests, and laypeople educated in theology have spent untold hours puzzling over the meaning of the words and stories of the Bible.
The Bible is a work of history and literature, switching from genealogy and historical accounts to poetry and parables. It is an ancient text that has been copied by scribes over and over again. Furthermore, it is a work in translation from ancient Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, languages spoken thousands of years ago.
In 1947, Bedouin shepherds in the Judean Desert found a cave with jars that contained ancient scrolls. Over the next decade, archeologists searching the area discovered thousands of scroll fragments from eleven caves. We know these writings as the Dead Sea Scrolls. Carbon dating established that the scrolls dated from the third century
Keeping all this in mind is important. Readers must remember that while there may be a literal meaning to many Bible stories and passages, there is nearly always a spiritual meaning as well. In fact, a rich reading of Scriptures should encompass four senses:
The literal sense: The literal meaning of the passage as a story or instruction.
The allegorical sense: A more profound understanding of events in the Old Testament can be achieved by understanding their parallels in the New Testament.
The moral sense: The Scripture is written for our instruction and ought to lead us to act justly.
The anagogical sense: We can view today's events in terms of their eternal significance. (
Anagogical comes from the Greekanagoge , “leading.”)
Catholics believe the Bible is a historical work. It reflects a history of a certain people, the tribes of Israel in the Old Testament, followed by a history of the early Christian Church in the New Testament. Catholic scholars and historians agree on the historicity of the Gospel tradition, but they may differ about the extent to which each Gospel story can be affirmed as historical. The Church accepts that many writings were influenced by the historical context of the time, and they might have much less relevance for succeeding generations.
The stories of the history of the Israelites and Abraham's descendants are one of the ways that God shows us his presence in the world. God communicates himself to man gradually, with his deeds as well as his words. These include the great flood, the choice of Abraham to lead God's people, and the Exodus from slavery in Egypt. The divine plan of revelation begins in the Old Testament, but the plan is not clear or fully revealed until the New Testament. In the Hebrew stories, God is preparing man to the person and mission of the incarnate Word, Jesus Christ.
Symbols and Metaphors
Catholic interpretations accept that the Bible is full of symbols and metaphors that are not meant to be taken literally. As science and human knowledge progress, the Church has been able to reconcile the stories of the Bible with current knowledge. By contrast, some Protestant faiths take the Bible literally and believe, for example, that human history began 6,000 years ago with Creation.
Catholic scholars point out the myth and legend involved in some biblical stories, which may have been written down after being passed on orally for generations. The Creation myth is one example of using symbols to show God's plan for the world. The Church does not insist that it is pure history. Instead, it is willing to accept the theory of evolution and scientific theories that attempt to explain the origin of the earth. The Creation myth is seen as a metaphor for God's master plan for the world. God made everything that exists and everything he made is good. Throughout evolution, he allows higher forms of beings to emerge from lower, less complex forms. His pinnacle of creation is man.
The rainbow is a powerful symbol of God's covenant with Noah and his successors. The crossing of the Red Sea is a sign of Christ's victory and also of Christian baptism. A journey in the wilderness is a powerful metaphor for a spiritual search — Jesus performed such a journey, following the example of his forefather Moses and of the prophets. Water is a recurring symbol throughout the Bible — it washes away sin and symbolizes new life.
Bible as LiteratureCatholics see the Bible as a literary work that was written by people who were speaking to their contemporaries. As a piece of literature, it contains imagery and storytelling that best illustrates the points the writer wanted to emphasize.
Like all literature, some books of the Bible are stronger than others. The Church regards some pieces as better written, some as more filled with the power of the Holy Spirit than others. The Book of Job is often held up by both theologians and writers as a work of great literature. Some books, such as the Psalms and the Song of Songs, were written as poetry.
The Gospel writers took great pains to tie Jesus' birth and the events of his life to the messianic predictions of the Old Testament. There are mystical parallels running through biblical stories: the forty days of Noah's journey and Jesus' forty days in the wilderness; Jonah's three days in the whale and Christ's three days in Hell. Jesus' new commandment, to love one another, is an extension of the ten given to the Jewish people by Moses.
Stories emphasize the way Jesus lived his message. For example, he is frequently shown working with the poor, the sick, and the social outcasts. Symbols such as the tree and the cross, the vine and the vineyard, the bread and the wine appear repeatedly in the texts to illustrate Jesus' covenant with the world. The parables — Jesus' anecdotes that illustrate man's relationship with God — are powerful stories within the Gospels.
Bible as a TranslationIt has been the practice of the Church to provide newly converted nations with vernacular versions of the Scriptures. In the first five hundred years of the Church's history, translations of the sacred writings were common. In its second millennium, the Church began to fear heresies and misinterpretation of the book and the spiritual welfare of untutored people who might read the translations.
In 1564, however, Pope Pius IV began to allow vernacular editions of the Bible to be studied among learned men. Many later clergy had doubts about the laity having access to translations of the Bible, but in the evangelical age, when the Church was sending missions to all corners of the globe, the Bible was widely translated.
The Catholic Church understands that any vernacular Bible is an imperfect translation of God's original message. Words and phrases in both Greek and Hebrew can have several meanings. A scholar educated in these languages must go back to the earliest versions available to make a fuller interpretation.
