We continue to make our way through Lent, and our book study of Roger Ferlo’s Opening the Bible. Our discussion this time is focused on Chapter 3, “Scanning the Page,” which is a discussion of some of the “technical” aspects of the construction of the Bible’s printed page, headers, titles, annotated notes, and a host of other items. I will review a few of the items below which I believe will have the greatest impact on reading, understanding, and comparative study. I will leave some of the other details for individual exploration.

The first topic the author takes up is identifying Scripture. This comes first in the form of where the Books of Scripture and letters may be found (both by Chapter & Verse, and most simply by page number), and by the titles of each Scripture. The titles of each Scripture are noted as a relatively late innovation, as the ancients would have committed much of this to memory. The Christian tradition has generally assigned names to Old Testament Scripture based on theme, whereas the Jewish tradition would most often use the beginning words of the Book. For example, the Book of “Exodus” (so named in the Christian tradition for the journey of the Israelite people under the leadership of Moses) is known by its opening sentence in the Jewish tradition: We’elleh semot (“And these are the names.”) In the ancient world, the oral tradition of keeping Scripture in your memory made the title of the opening sentence a helpful tool for beginning the Book. The New Testament letters and Gospel accounts are often titled after the author, or more accurately after the one thought to be closely in relationship with the author or the author’s teachings. Several of Paul’s letters were written by him (according to the majority of scholars, the number is seven), while many others simply bear his influence.

A second important topic taken up by Ferlo is the use of midrash and allegory. These themes take up the important topic of how Scripture is interrelated and how the faithful people of God have interpreted and translated Scripture throughout the generations. Describing the method of reading Scripture, Ferlo writes: “After the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem by the Romans during the first Jewish revolt in 70 CE, the Pharisees and their successors in the later rabbinical movement embraced an immensely sophisticated method of reading called midrash. It is a word hard to translate, but is closely related to English words like ‘research’ and ‘searching’…A central conviction of the midrashic sensibility is that God’s voice, hidden in the sacred text, can be heard in the midst of the human voices reading the text.” (pp. 36-37). Interpreting Scripture is something that is important for our understanding, and something that is best accomplished in community. This is not to imply that individual reading and praying with Holy Scripture should not be done, but that community discernment of Scripture allows for the great mystery of God’s Word to be heard and commented on by many people and their understandings, providing a fuller view of God’s Word.

A final point worth mentioning is the multiple traditions found in the compilation of the Old Testament. Four distinct traditions seem to be present: the “E tradition,” the “J tradition” (both named for their preferred use of the name of God), the “Priestly tradition” (so named for its focus on rituals and cultic matters, including much of Leviticus and Numbers), and the “Deuteronomic tradition.” (so named for its emphasis found in the Book of Deuteronomy, and its concern with the history of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel and Judah). Understanding these traditions help the reader gain perspective on the context of the writing, much as understanding the author of New Testament writings help the reader understand the context and concerns of the writer and the writer’s intended community. The Bible is an ancient and holy collection of writings, but in many, many ways these writings continue to speak to us in unique ways, based on our own world and the context of our lives.