Lecture notes
The Bible and Apocrypha
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- Goldsmiths, University Of London (GUL)
Lecture notes of 3 pages for the course Heresy, the Occult & the Millennium at GUL
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The Bible and ApocryphaBrief Introduction:
‘Bible’ – derives from the Greek term ‘biblos’ which came to mean ‘paper’ or ‘scroll’.
There are numerous translations and versions of the Bible – something which is still the case
and continues to this day. Naturally, this presents the area of Biblical scholarship with 2 key
issues: which books to focus on and how to interpret them.
The Bible was central to early modern European life; it was the single-most owned and read
book, it influenced everything – society, culture, politics, morality etc., and it was widely
regarded as a guide/reference point for how one should live his life.
The Christian Bible:
Contains the Old Testament and the New Testament
The Apocrypha:
A collection of ancient books found in a separate section between the Old and New
Testaments, or after the New Testament, depending on the edition (sometimes it is not
featured at all).
It was first published as a separate section in 1534 in Luther’s Bible, and became symbolic of
his conviction that these books belonged to the Biblical canon.
The Jewish Bible:
The Tonakh – known as the Christian Old Testament – told the story of the Israelites from the
Creation to the formation of Israel (1400-1000 BCE) to Babylonian captivity to the destruction and
the rebuilding. However the Jewish Bible also consists of 3 main sections:
1. The Torah (Law): Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy
2. The Prophets (Nevi’im): Joshua, Ezekiel, Jonah, Isaiah etc.
3. Other Writing (Ketuvim): the Psalms, Proverbs, Job, Song of Songs etc.
The Septuagint:
Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible
3rd century BCE: 3rd -1st century CE
72 translations
Abandoned the 3 sections of the Jewish Bible/ some textual differences: groupings of books
altered and some things were split into 2/ some books were included that were not present
in the Hebrew Bible.
Differs from the authoritative Hebrew Masoretic text of Judaism
Became the main Bible for Christians
The New Testament:
4 Gospels (Mark, Matthew, Luke, John) – Apostles, Epistles, Revelations
, By 382 CE = the complete set of books which comprised it was accepted as authoritative by
the Church Council.
Canon Formation:
“Canon” – derives from the Greek word for ‘measuring rod’. In this context it refers to the
books officially received as containing the rule of the Christian path.
Marcion of Sinope – famous for rejecting the entire Old Testament and most of the New
Testament. He was one of the first people to be declared a heresiarch.
4th Century: St Jerome rejected the Additional Books which were present in the Septuagint
but not in the Hebrew Bible; he questioned whether they truly belonged in the canon but
still translated them into Latin, choosing to distinguish them clearly.
Early Modern Bible
Printing – the Gutenberg edition of the Latin vulgate = the creation of a more stable and
consistent text that was effectively more reliable. It provoked an immense scholarly effort
to compare the various manuscripts and remove all of the errors.
Humanism – 1808: describes the emphasis on Greek and Latin classics = revival of classical
studies and a return to the sources. The theory behind this was to approach the source
directly as opposed to approaching it through commentary. It was a cultural movement
and a methodology that promoted specific educational and literary objectives, rather than
a philosophical system. It also asserted the conviction that the Bible should be read in the
original language, which supported the scholarly ideal of being fluent in Greek, Latin and
Hebrew.
Erasmus brought out an edition in Latin based on the Greek manuscript – he encountered
errors which led to the Trinity Issue.
The Polyglot Bible – renowned for being a vast scholarly edition as it paralleled the
Hebrew, Latin and Greek.
Vernacular Translations: German 1466/ Luther – 1534 (Old Testament) & 1541 (the Bible)
The English Bible – important in the spread of Protestantism:
15th century: offensive to translate the Bible (Lollard threat). For example, Tyndale’s
executed for Heresy in 1534 for their version of the New Testament.
This was based on the 1541 Great Bible which was issued by Henry VIII.
1560 Geneva Bible – Calvinistic leaning/popular with Puritans
1569 Bishop’s Bible – classical iconography as opposed to religion
Douai-Rheims New Testament – Catholic edition to rival the heavily popular Protestant
editions
Disagreements:
It was believed that everything found in the Bible was important, but the Bible itself was,
and is, open to interpretation and isn’t always clear.
This created the debate of whether it should be the scripture or the Church that holds
authority = key point of disagreement between Catholics (Church) and Protestants
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