Diocese of Baguio - Schools

Saint Louis School of Pacdal, Inc.

Siapno Road, Pacdal Circle, Baguio City 2600, Philippines
www.saintlouispacdal.com E-mail: [email protected] Phone. No. (074) 661-4223

Christian Character, Excellence, Servant Leadership & Stewardship

Christian Life Formation-Values Education

Quarter 3: Supplemental Lesson
I. TOPIC: THE BIBLE/SACRED SCRIPTURES
II. OBJECTIVES
1. Identify the books present in the Bible.
2. Describe the concept about the Bible
3. Reflect upon the importance of the Bible.
4. Conduct Bible Sharing
III. RESOURCES
Catholic Bible Edition
Catholic Bishop’s Conference of the Philippines. Catechism for Filipino Catholics, Manila: 1997.
Miller, Michael (trans.). YouCat. Youth Catechism of the Catholic Church, San Francisco: 2011.
Bondoc, Isagani. Placido, Dennis. Living the Fruits of our Christian Faith. Second Edition, Philippines. 2018.
Cadate, Michael. 2020. Christian Life Formation 10. Immaculate School of Sablan, Inc., Sablan, Benguet
Basic Bible Seminar, 3rd Edition, John Paul I Biblical Center, ICST, Vigan, I. Sur. 1989
INFORMATIONS:
a. Chapters and verses – was not made by original writers but was added much later to help
find the passage one wants to see.
b. Biblical/Scriptural Text – contains the name of the Book, the number of chapter and the
number of verse
c. Several systems of giving Scriptural references
I. New American Bible – chapter and verses are separated by comma; verses from
verses are separated by a period and chapters are separated from chapters by a
semicolon. e.g. Ex 13,17;4,1; Jn 3,16.19; 5, 1
II. Revised Standard version (RSV), and the Good News Bible (GNB) - chapter and
verses are separated by period; verses from verses are separated by a comma and
chapters are separated from chapters by a semicolon. e.g. Ex 13,17;4,1; Jn 3,16.19;
5, 1
III. Jerusalem Bible, Naimbag a Damag, Magandang Balita Biblia, etc. - chapter and
verses are separated by colon; verses from verses are separated by a comma and
chapters are separated from chapters by a semicolon. e.g. Ex 13:17;4,1; Jn 3:16,19;
5: 1
d. Some books are very short, so they consist only of one chapter. The book of the prophet
Obadiah in the Old Testament, the Letter of Paul to Philemon in the New Testament are
examples.
In the case of the letters of St. Peter and Saint John and some of the letters of St.
Paul there are figures before the name of the book; for example, 2 Pt 3,8-9 means the
second Letter of St. Peter chapter 3 verses 8 to 9; 1 Jn 5, 13-15 means the first Letter of
St. John, chapter 5 verses 13 to 15. So when there is a figure before Jn, it means the Letter
of John, but if there is no figure, it means the Gospel according to John.
In the Old Testament, for example 1 Sam 3,10 means the first book of Samuel
chapter 3 verse 10.
e. The Bible as a special Book
i. Most translated book - OT & NT= 724 (2022)’ NT =1, 617, smaller portion = 1,248
languages = 3,589
ii. Most studied book - In the past 50 years, the Bible has sold over 3.9 billion copies. It is the most
recognizable and famous book that has ever been published. Mar 24, 2021
iii. Most venerated book – in solemn Masses the Bible is venerated by means of
candles and incense

CONCEPT
A. Bible Defined
A.1. The Bible as Book of Books
 The term Bible comes from the Latin word “Biblia” which means Book
(singular) which in turn is derived from Greek word “Biblia” meaning “books”
(plural). So the Bible is really a collection of books. In a Catholic Bible, there are
73 books in total.
A. 2. The Bible “Library”- we can even call the Bible a library because it is a
collection of many
books or different writings:
Narrative – about Jesus, feeding of the 5,000 and other miracle stories, Gospels
and Acts of the Apostles, story of Joseph, of the young David, the Books of Genesis,
Exodus, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings are called historical books.
Poetic form and style, containing proverbs – Jesus-proverbs like “No prophet is
accepted in his own hometown” or “Not the healthy ones are in need of a doctor but the
sick”, entire books of the Book of Proverbs.
Prayers – “Lord’s Prayer” or the “Our Father” is found in the Bible, the “Canticle”
of the Blessed Mother, in the Old Testament an entire book contains only prayers –the
Books Psalms.
Laws and Regulations – best known of these is the great commandment of love of
God and neighbor. In the Old Testament the entire Books of Leviticus and Deuteronomy
contain laws and regulations.
A. 3. The Bible as “Scripture”
Scripture – scriptura (Latin) – “writing”, “something written”
The Bible is God’s revealed word in the language of man. The Bible are inspired
records of how God dealt with His people, and how they respond to, remembered and
interpreted that experience. The Bible was written by persons from the people of God,
for the people of God, about the God-experience of the people of God. (***From the
lived faith experiences and sacred traditions to a written record of these experiences
and traditions.)
B. Biblical Inspiration
Biblical inspiration is not just like a painter inspired to paint. Rather, biblical
inspiration means that the Bible, whole and entire, were written under the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit. God chose certain human authors, who made use of their human
powers and faculties, yet always guided by the Holy Spirit who enlightened their minds
and moved their wills, that they put down in writing what God wanted written. The
Bible, then, is the Word of God written in the language of man.
*******it and to make it available to all people at all They wrote from “faith to
faith” (cf. Rom 1,17). They inherited the faith of the community and put into writing in
order to build up, strengthen and enrich the community’s faith. This was
written down once and for all in order to preserve times. (BBS -3 Edition. p. 36)
rd

All writing of Sacred Scripture has been preceded by a long period of oral
tradition. We have to acknowledge that in the beginning there was no written word. The words
of the prophets, the songs of the psalmist, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ were all the word of
God in oral form handed down by word of mouth. If we put it in sketch, it will be like this:
First were the EVENTS

Then, ORAL TRADITION

Finally, WRITTEN RECORD

In the case of the historical books of the Old Testament:

EVENTS
GOD’S SAVING ACTS experienced by Israel. Example: Israel’s exodus from slavery to
freedom, Sinai events.
ORAL TRADITIONS
The Israelites’ experiences of God’s saving acts and their sacred traditions that evolved
based on their encounter with God were handed down from one generation to the next
generation by WORD OF MOUTH
WRITTEN RECORD
The SACRED WRITERS wrote down their community’s faith-experiences and sacred
traditions to build up, strengthen and enrich their community’s faith. Because of these
written records their faith experiences and traditions are preserved and available to all
people at all times.
In the case of the Gospels of the New Testament:
EVENTS
JESUS: HIS WORDS AND DEEDS, HIS LIFE, DEATH & RESURRECTION. His apostles
and disciples saw and heard him.
ORAL TRADITIONS
The apostle’s faith-experiences of Jesus and their sacred traditions that evolved based
on their encounter with Jesus were ORALLY PREACHED by the early Christian apostles
and leaders of Christian communities.
WRITTEN RECORD
The SACRED WRITERS wrote down their community’s faith-experiences and sacred
traditions to strengthen and enrich the faith of their community. Through these written
records and sacred traditions are preserved and made available to all people at all
times.
C. The Bible as the Word of God
What kind of book is the Bible? What type of reading does it require?
The Bible is the WORD OF GOD
IN WORDS OF MEN
FOR US AND OUR SALVATION

Since the Bible is GOD’S WORD. That is, since God himself speaks to me when I
read the Bible, then I have to open myself to him, have to listen to him with respect,
have to be ready and willing to receive and obey his message. This attitude of openness,
of listening and of readiness we call prayer. I must read the Bible prayerfully. The
attitude that would be proper to reading the Bible can be summed up in the prayer of
Samuel: “Speak, Lord, your servant is listening” (1 Sam 3,10)
The Bible is God’s word in WORDS OF MEN, that is, it is written in language of
people of another time, of a different culture, with different patterns of thinking and
ways of communicating. For that reason not everything in the Bible is easily
understood. To bridge the gap of time and culture, it is necessary to study. It is good to
know something about the historical circumstances in which the individual books were
written; it is useful to be acquainted with the different literary forms that were used.
Even though the Bible was written in the past – from 1,000 BC (Before Christ) to
125 AD (Anno Domini= after Christ) – it is written for all times; it was written also FOR
US AND OUR SALVATION. This is what Sacred Scripture itself tells us.
“Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we
might have hope through the patience and encouragement which the Scripture give
us.” (Rom 15,4)
“You study the Scriptures, because you think that in them you will find eternal
life. And these very Scriptures speak about me!” (Jn 5, 39)
***How can our reading, praying and studying the Bible lead us to salvation or to
eternal life? Only if we put into practice or if we live the message that God has helped
us to discover in his words contained in the Bible.
###The Bible is a special book. It is the WORD OF GOD IN WORDS OF MEN
FOR US AND OUR SALVATION. Therefore, we need to approach it with the
attitude of PRAYER, eager to STUDY it and willingly to LIVE God’s message. Thus
the Bible can rightly be called our BASIC PRAYER BOOK and our BOOK OF LIFE.
C. The Books in the Bible
There two (2) main Divisions of the Bible: Old Testament and New Testament. The
Old Testament has 46 books and the New Testament has 27 books.

1. THE OLD TESTAMENT

 The Old Testament followed the Hebrew Bible, which was called TaNaK.
 The TaNaK contains three (3) sections: The Torah (Law), Nebiim (Prophets), and
Kethubim (Writings).
  Until today, discussions continue about the exact number of books that should be
included in the Hebrew Bible.
 There are two main Jewish traditional canons namely the Palestinian and the
Alexandrian.
 The Jewish rabbis (teachers) who met in Jamnia, a town west of Jerusalem,
towards the end of the 1st Century AD (Anno Domini/Year of the Lord)
accepted 39 books are called the Palestinian Canon.
 The Alexandrian Canon accepted 7 additional books known as “Apocryphal
Books” or Deutero-canonicals (1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith,
Sirach, Wisdom and Baruch) and some additional parts of Daniel and
Esther.
 The Alexandrian canon was translated into Greek and became the Scripture
that was commonly used by early Christian authors.
 Today, Jews and most Protestants accept the Palestinian canon as the Bible.
 The Catholic Church followed the Alexandrian Canon thus having 46 books
present in the Old Testament.
 The Old Testament is divided into five (5) major parts: Pentateuch, Historical
Books, Wisdom Books, Major Prophets and Minor Prophets.
a. Pentateuch/ the five (5) books of
Moses
a.1. Genesis
a.2. Exodus c.24. Proverbs
a.3. Leviticus c.25. Ecclesiastes
a.4. Numbers c.26. Canticles/Songs
a.5. Deuteronomy c.27. Wisdom
c.28. Sirach
b. Historical Books
b.6. Joshua d. Major Prophets
b.7. Judges d.29. Isaiah
b.8. Ruth d.30. Jeremiah
b.9. 1 Samuel d.31. Lamentations
b.10. 2 Samuel d.32. Baruch
b.11. 1 Kings d.33. Ezekiel
b.12. 2 Kings d.34. Daniel
b.13. 1 Chronicle e. Minor Prophets
b.14. 2 Chronicle e.35. Hosea
b.15. Ezra e.36. Joel
b.16. Nehemiah e.37. Amos
b.17. Tobit e.38. Obadiah
b.18. Judith e.39. Jonah
b.19. Esther e.40. Micah
b.20. 1 Maccabees e.41. Nahum
b.21. 2 Maccabees e.42. Habakkuk
c. Wisdom Books e.43. Zephaniah
c.22. Job e.44. Haggai
c.23. Psalms e.45. Zechariah
e.46. Malachi
2. THE NEW TESTAMENT
 Like the Hebrew Bible, the Christian Testament is best understood as a collection
of 27 varied books.
 Each book is an effort to address the divergent situations in the life of the early
Church.
 The central point is Christ and His teachings spread by the apostles and the early
disciples of the Church.
 Like the Old Testament, the New Testament is also divided into five (5) major
parts: Gospels, Apostolic Book, Epistles of St. Paul, Catholic Letters and
Apocalypse.

a. Gospels 2. Mark
1. Matthew 3. Luke
 4. John d. Catholic Letters
b. Apostolic Book 20. James
5. Acts of the Apostles 21. 1 Peter
22. 2 Peter
c. Pauline Epistles 23. 1 John
6. Romans 24. 2 John
7. 1 Corinthians 25. 3 John
8. 2 Corinthians 26. Jude
9. Galatians
10. Ephesians e. Apocalypse
11. Philippians 27. Revelation
12. Colossians
13. Philemon
14. 1 Thessalonians VII. Biblical Verse to Remember
15. 2 Thessalonians “In the beginning was the Word, and the
16. 1 Timothy Word was with God and the Word was God…
17. 2 Timothy and the Word became flesh and lived among
us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as
18. Titus
of a father’s only son, full of grace and
19. Hebrews truth.”

John 1: 1; 1