The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture: The Word that Comes from God and Speaks of God for the Salvation of the World

In his 2009 post-synodal apostolic exhortation Verbum Domini, Pope Benedict XVI pointed out that “theological reflection has always considered inspiration and truth as two key concepts for an ecclesial hermeneutic of the sacred Scriptures” and that there is today the need “for a fuller and more adequate study of these realities, in order to better respond to the need of interpreting the sacred texts in accordance with their nature.”  The Inspiration and Truth of Sacred Scripture: The Word That Comes from God and Speaks of God for the Salvation of the World is the contribution of the Pontifical Biblical Commission toward a more adequate understanding of the concepts of inspiration and truth that respects both the nature of the Bible and its significance for the life of the Church. Drawing on a close reading of the Scriptures themselves, the document focuses on three main aspects:1.    The inspiration of Sacred Scripture and the exploration of its divine provenance2.    The truth of the Word of God, emphasizing the message about God and his project of salvation3.    Challenges that arise from the Bible itself, on account of certain aspects that seem inconsistent with its quality of being the Word of God  Reading this document, formally approved by Pope Francis, will strengthen the reader to receive the word of God—in the liturgical assembly and in every other place—in its theological, Christological, soteriological, and ecclesiological context in a way that corresponds ever more closely to this unique gift of God whereby God communicates his very self and invites us into communion with him.

Table of Contents:
Table of Contents Foreword   xiii General Introduction    xvii I.   The Liturgy of the Word and Its Eucharistic Setting   xviii II.  The Context for the Study of the Inspiration and Truth of the Bible   xx III. The Three Parts of the Document   xxi Part One The Testimony of the Biblical Writings on Their Origin from God   1 I. Introduction   1      1.1 Revelation and Inspiration in Dei Verbum and Verbum Domini   1      1.2 The Biblical Writings and Their Divine Provenance   2      1.3 The Writings of the New Testament and Their Relationship to Jesus   4      1.4 Criteria for Demonstrating the Relationship with God in the Biblical Writings   6 II. The Testimony of Select Old Testament Texts   7      2.1 The Pentateuch   8      2.2 The Prophetic and Historical Books   10            2.2.1 The Prophetic Books: Collections of What the Lord Said to His People through His Messengers   10                a) The “Prophetic Formulae”   11                b) The Prophets: Messengers of the Lord   12           2.2.2 The Historical Books: The Word of the Lord Has Infallible Efficacy and Calls to Conversion   12                a) The Books of Joshua–Kings   12                b) The Books of Chronicles   14      2.3 The Psalms   14           2.3.1 The Experience of God’s Intervention in the Life of the Faithful   15           2.3.2 The Experience of the Powerful Presence of God within the Sanctuary   16           2.3.3 The Experience of God, Source of Wisdom   17      2.4 The Book of Sirach   18      2.5 Conclusion   20 III. The Testimony of Select New Testament Texts   21      3.1 The Four Gospels   21           3.1.1 Jesus, Culmination of God’s Revelation for All Peoples   22           3.1.2 The Presence and Formation of Eyewitnesses and Ministers of the Word   23      3.2 The Synoptic Gospels   24           3.2.1 Jesus and His Unique Relationship with God   24                a) Jesus, Only Son of God the Father   25                b) Jesus, Full of the Spirit of God   26                c) Jesus Acts with the Power of God   26                d) Jesus Teaches with the Authority of God   27                e) The Death and Resurrection of Jesus as the Final Revelation and Confirmation of His Unique Relationship with God   27           3.2.2 Jesus and His Role in Salvation History   28                a) The Fulfillment of the Scriptures   28                b) The Fulfillment of History in the Triumphal Return of Jesus   29           3.2.3 Conclusion 29 3.3 The Gospel of John   30           3.3.1 Contemplating the Glory of the Only-Begotten Son   30           3.3.2 Explicit Eyewitness Testimony   31           3.3.3 The Teaching of the Spirit of Truth for the Witnesses   32      3.4 The Acts of the Apostles   33           3.4.1 The Apostles’ Direct, Personal Relationship with Jesus   34           3.4.2 The Discourses and Deeds of the Apostles   34           3.4.3 The Work of the Holy Spirit   36           3.4.4 The Fulfillment of the Old Testament   36           3.4.5 Conclusion   38      3.5 The Letters of the Apostle Paul   38           3.5.1 Paul’s Witness to the Divine Origin of the Scriptures   38           3.5.2 Paul Attests the Divine Origin of His Gospel   39           3.5.3 Paul’s Apostolic Ministry and Its Divine Origin   40           3.5.4 Paul Attests the Divine Origin of His Letters   41      3.6 The Letter to the Hebrews   41           3.6.1 The History of God’s Revelation   42           3.6.2 The Author’s Relationship to the Revelation of the Son   44      3.7 The Book of Revelation   46           3.7.1 The Divine Origin of the Text According to the Prologue (1:1-3)   46           3.7.2 The Transformation of John Accomplished by the Spirit Regarding Christ (1:10; 4:1-2)   47            3.7.3 Human Involvement in Enunciating the Prophetic Message (10:9-11)   48           3.7.4 The Integrity of the Inspired Book (22:1-19)   49           3.7.5 Provenance from God: An Initial Summary   49 IV. Conclusion   51      4.1 An Overall View of the “God–Human Author” Relationship   51           4.1.1 Brief Synthesis   51           4.1.2 Some Characteristic Qualities of Inspiration  53           4.1.3 The Right Way to Receive the Inspired Books   55      4.2 The Writings of the New Testament Attest the Inspiration of the Old Testament and Interpret It Christologically   55           4.2.1 Some Examples   56           4.2.2 The Testimony of 2 Timothy 3:15-16 and 2 Peter 1:20-21   56      4.3 The Process of the Literary Formation of the Biblical Writings and Inspiration   57      4.4 Toward a Two-Testament Canon   60           4.4.1 The Closure of the Collections of the Pauline and Petrine Letters   60           4.4.2 Toward a Two-Testament Canon   61      4.5 The Reception of the Biblical Books and the Formation of the Canon   62           4.5.1 The Pre-Exilic Period   63           4.5.2 The Post-Exilic Period   63           4.5.3 The Maccabean Period   64           4.5.4 The Old Testament Canon in the Fathers   65           4.5.5 The Formation of the New Testament Canon   66  Part Two The Testimony of the Biblical Writings to Their Truth   69 I. Introduction 69      1.1 Biblical Truth According to Dei Verbum   69      1.2 The Focus of Our Study of Biblical Truth   72 II. The Testimony of Select Old Testament Texts   73      2.1 The Creation Accounts (Gen 1–2)   73      2.2 The Decalogues (Exod 20:2-17; Deut 5:6-21)   75           2.2.1 The Literary Construction of the Two Decalogues   75           2.2.2 Commentary and Theological Implications   76      2.3 The Historical Books   77      2.4 The Prophetic Books   78           2.4.1 The Faithful God   79           2.4.2 The Just God   79           2.4.3 The Merciful God   80      2.5 The Psalms   82           2.5.1 The Omnipotent God (Ps 46)   82                a) The Power of God Ruling Nature: God as Creator   82                b) The Power of God Defends His People and Creates Peace: God as Savior   83           2.5.2 The God of Justice (Ps 51)   83                a) The God of Justice Loves the Sinner   84                b) The Justice of God Justifies, That Is, Transforms the Sinner into a Righteous Person (vv. 6, 16)   85      2.6 The Song of Songs   86      2.7 The Wisdom Literature   88           2.7.1 Wisdom and Sirach: The Philanthropy of God   88                a) The Book of Wisdom   88                b) The Book of Sirach   90            2.7.2 Job and Ecclesiastes: The Inscrutability of God   90                a) The Book of Job   90                b) The Book of Ecclesiastes (Qoheleth)   92      2.8 Conclusion   93 III. The Testimony of Select New Testament Texts   93      3.1 The Gospels   93      3.2 The Synoptic Gospels   94           3.2.1 The Truth about God   94           3.2.2 The Truth about Human Salvation   96      3.3 The Gospel of John   98           3.3.1 The Son’s Relationship with the Father   98           3.3.2 The Relationship of the Son and Savior with Humankind   100           3.3.3 Human Access to Salvation   103      3.4 The Letters of the Apostle Paul   104           3.4.1 Paul Knows Revelation from His Own Call and from the Church’s Tradition   105           3.4.2 God Reveals Himself in the Crucified and Risen Christ   106           3.4.3 Salvation Is Received and Lived within the Church, the Body of Christ   107           3.4.4 The Fullness of Salvation Consists in the Resurrection of Christ   108      3.5 The Book of Revelation   109           3.5.1 Introduction: A Revealed, Unique, and Evocative Truth   109           3.5.2 Global Truth: The Kingdom of God as Realized by a Creative and Salvific Design   111           3.5.3 In-Depth Study of the “Veracity” That Leads to the Entire Truth   113                a) The Truthfulness of God the Father   114                b) The Truthfulness Proper to Christ   114                 c) The Truth of the Inspired and Inspiring Words   116 IV. Conclusion   117      4.1 The Literary and Theological Pronouncements of the Old Testament   118      4.2 The Theological Pronouncements of the New Testament   119      4.3 The Need for and the Methods of a Canonical Approach to Scripture   119 Part Three The Interpretation of the Word of God and Its Challenges   123 I. Introduction 123 II. First Challenge: Historical Problems   125      2.1 The Abraham Cycle (Genesis)   125      2.2 The Crossing of the Sea (Exod 14)   127      2.3 The Books of Tobit and Jonah   128           2.3.1 The Book of Tobit   129           2.3.2 The Book of Jonah   130      2.4 The Gospel Infancy Narratives   131           2.4.1 The Differences   131           2.4.2 The Agreements   132           2.4.3 The Message  133      2.5 The Miracle Narratives   134           2.5.1 Narratives in the Old Testament   135           2.5.2 The Miracles of Jesus   136      2.6 The Easter Accounts   138           2.6.1 The Earthquake   139           2.6.2 The Behavior of the Women   140           2.6.3 The Source of the Easter Message   141           2.6.4 The “Theological Value of the Gospels”   142  III. Second Challenge: Ethical and Social Problems   143      3.1 Violence in the Bible   143           3.1.1 Violence and Its Legal Remedies   144           3.1.2 The Law of Extermination   145           3.1.3 The Prayer Calling for Vengeance   148                a) The One Who Prays: The Suffering Person   148                b) What Does the One Praying Request? “Deliver Us from Evil”   149                c) Who Are the Enemies of the One Praying?   150      3.2 The Social Status of Women   150           3.2.1 The Submission of Wives to Their Husbands   151           3.2.2 The Silence of Women in Ecclesial Gatherings   152           3.2.3 The Role of Women in the Assembly   153 IV. Conclusion   154      4.1 Brief Synthesis   154      4.2 Some Consequences for the Reading of the Bible   155 General Conclusion   157 I. The Divine Provenance of the Biblical Writings   158      1.1 In Consonance with the Word   159 II. The Plurality of the Modes of Attestation   160 III. The Truth of Sacred Scripture   162      3.1 Multiform Truth   163      3.2 Truth in Historical Form   164      3.3 Canonical Truth   165 IV. The Literary Traditions of Other Religions   165 V. The Interpretation of Difficult Parts of the Bible   166 Scriptural Index   169

Review :
Kudos to the Liturgical Press for bringing this latest statement of the Pontifical Biblical Commission to the English-speaking world. . . . Teachers and theologians can find here valuable material for further reflection on the scared nature of the Bible within the community of faith. Timothy Radcliffe, Stations of the Cross, The Bible Today I thank the members of the Biblical Commission for their patient and competent effort, and I express my desire that their work may contribute to a more attentive, grateful, and joyful listening to Sacred Scripture in the Church as the Word coming from God and speaking of God for the life of the world. From the Foreword by His Eminence, Cardinal Gerhard Ludwig Müller "This book is a very dense document due to the subject, but it is also remarkably accessible. It is neither excessively academic nor technical, though some background in biblical studies is necessary in order to assimilate its finer points. Nonetheless, any sincere layperson with a basic understanding of the historical context of the Bible and the Church's teaching on its proper interpretation will be able to make their way through it. If the reader views the book as an orthodox course in the Bible, and commits to a sustained reading of it, it will likely bear abundant fruits."Karl Schultz