List of documents of the Pontifical Biblical Commission

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The list of documents of the Pontifical Biblical Commission contains, among other things, the responses of the Pontifical Biblical Commission ( Pontificia Commisio de re biblica ) to controversial questions ( Dubia ) of biblical studies submitted to it . For Roman Catholic exegetes, they formed the binding basis for their work on the Old and New Testaments. With the Motu proprio Praestantia Scripturae (November 18, 1907), their binding force was equated with that of the decrees of the Holy Congregations.

The documents of the Pontifical Biblical Commission are to be understood in the context of the three biblical encyclics:

The then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger summarized the development of the papal teaching on the subject of the Bible in 1993 as follows: “If Leo XIII. [1893] in the time of an extremely self-assured and almost dogmatically appearing liberalism had expressed predominantly critically, without excluding the positive of the new possibilities, so fifty years later, due to the fruitful work of great Catholic exegetes, Pope Pius XII. In his letter Divino afflante Spiritu of September 30, 1943, he encouraged especially positive encouragement to use modern methods for understanding the Bible. The Constitution of the Second Vatican Council on divine revelation, Dei Verbum , of November 18, 1965, took up all of this; it has given us a synthesis between the lasting insights of paternal theology and the new methodological insights of modernity, which remain authoritative. "

Because Fulcran Vigouroux was the first secretary of the Biblical Commission from 1903 to 1913 , his exegetical positions on introductory questions were widely used in Catholic biblical studies.

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Pius X.

Circa citationes implicitas in S. Scriptura contentas February 13, 1905 A Catholic exegete may only in exceptional cases refer to passages of the Holy Scriptures as quotations from the work of another, uninspired author.
De narrationibus specietenus tantum historicis in S. Scripturae libris qui pro historicis habentur June 23, 1905 Only in exceptional cases can a Catholic exegete refer to biblical texts as parables, allegories, etc., which are not reports of actual historical events.
De mosaica authentia Pentateuchi June 27, 1906 The view that the Pentateuch did not have Moses as the author, but was compiled from sources, is rejected. But this need not be understood as if he had written the entire Pentateuch with his own hand or dictated it to someone; he can also have commissioned several people to write it down and finally approve their work. When writing the Pentateuch, Moses himself may have used sources (written documents or oral traditions). According to the judgment of the Church, it is possible that the text of the Pentateuch contains traditional errors.
De auctore et veritate historica quarti Evangelii May 29, 1907 The apostle John is the author of the Gospel of John . The entire content of the gospel is historical truth; Jesus Christ gave the speeches as they are in the Gospel.
De libri Isaiae indole et auctore June 28, 1908 Essence and author of the book of Isaiah. The view that chapters 40–66 are not from the prophet Isaiah is rejected. The historical person Isaiah had, by virtue of prophecy, the ability to relate to events that occurred long after his death. The prophets did not only refer to their contemporaries with their message, but also addressed future generations. With this in mind, chapters 40–66 are written by Isaiah and given comfort to Jews in exile in Babylon. Philological arguments in favor of writing Isa 40–66 later are not convincing. The opinion that it was not Isaiah alone but several people who wrote the book of Isaiah is also rejected.
De organo officiali Commissionis biblicae February 15, 1909 The official organ of the Pontifical Biblical Commission.
De charactere historico trium priorum capitum Geneseos June 30, 1909 The historical character of Genesis 1–3: Among other things, the creation of a prehistoric couple in the state of justice, integrity and immortality, the fall of man and the expulsion of the first parents from paradise. Understanding as sagas or allegories is rejected. However, since the Church Fathers interpreted Genesis 1–3 in different ways, it is possible for Catholic exegetes to understand individual formulations as metaphors or anthropomorphic idioms. The Bible text is not a scientifically exact description of how the world came about. This is why Catholic exegetes can freely discuss whether the term “day” is to be understood literally as a natural day or in the figurative sense as a period of time.
De auctoribus et de tempore compositionis Psalmorum May 1, 1910 Authors and date of origin of the psalms: King David is the main author of the psalms. According to the testimony of the New Testament and the Fathers of the Church, some psalms are messianic and prophetic in character, referring to the suffering, death and resurrection of the Savior; the Jewish interpretation of the Psalms is therefore incorrect.
De auctore, de tempore compositionis et de historica veritate Evangelii secundum Matthaeum June 19, 1911 Author, date of origin and historical truth of the Gospel according to Matthew : The apostle Matthew is the author of the book named after him, he wrote it in the language of the Jews of Palestine (= Aramaic ) and earlier than the three other Gospels.
De auctore, de tempore compositionis et de historica veritate Evangeliorum secundum Marcum et secundum Lucam June 26, 1912 Author, date of origin and historical truth of the Gospels according to Mark and Luke:
  • The author of the Gospel of Mark was John Mark , the student and translator of Simon Peter . The author of the Gospel of Luke was Luke , companion of Paul of Tarsus .
  • The text Mk 16,9-20 is not a later addition.
  • The childhood stories and the prayer struggle of Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane cannot, as heretics suggest, be viewed as afterthoughts.
  • The Magnificat must not be attributed to Elizabeth .
  • The historical order in which the Gospels were written is identical to their order in the New Testament.
  • Mark did not write his gospel after the destruction of Jerusalem .
  • Luke completed his work during the Roman imprisonment of the Apostle Paul.
  • Mark and Luke wrote as students of the apostles Peter and Paul and did not use any other sources beyond their teaching.
De quaestione synoptica sive de mutuis relationibus inter tria priora Evangelia June 26, 1912 Synoptic question : relationship of the three older Gospels to one another. The two-source theory (Mark priority and existence of the logic source Q ) is wrong.
De auctore, de tempore compositionis et de historica veritate de libri Actuum Apostolorum June 12, 1913 Author, date of origin and historical truth of the Acts of the Apostles of Luke : The author of the Acts of the Apostles is the Evangelist Luke. The change from the 3rd person plural to the 1st person plural ("we pieces") is not a reference to sources.
De auctore, de integritate et de compositionis tempore epistolarum pastoralium Pauli apostoli June 12, 1913 Authorship, integrity and drafting of the pastoral letters of the Apostle Paul: The Pastoral letters were written by the Apostle Paul himself. It is certain that Paul was imprisoned twice in Rome, and the letters to Timothy and Titus are to be set in the window of time between his release from his first prison stay and the apostle's death.
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Benedict XV

De auctore et de modo compositionis epistolae ad Hebraeos June 24, 1914 Author and composition of the Letter to the Hebrews : The Apostle Paul is the author of the Letter to the Hebrews. Whether the letter as it stands now was written as a whole by Paul is left to the further judgment of the church.
De parousia seu de secundo adventu Domini nostri Iesu Christi in epistolis Sancti Pauli apostoli June 18, 1915 Information in the letters of the apostle Paul about the parousia or second coming of Jesus Christ: The apostle did not write down his personal opinion on this topic, but what he wrote was inspired and corresponds to the other biblical teaching that the time of the parousia is not known .
De additione variarum lectionum in editionis versionibus Vulgatae Novi et Veteris Testamenti November 17, 1921 Addition of varying readings in the editions of the Vulgate.
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Pius XI.

De falsa duorum textuum biblicorum interpretatione July 1, 1933 Wrong interpretation of two biblical texts: Ps 16: 10-11 can only be understood to mean that the text refers to the resurrection of Christ. Mt 16.26 and Lk 9.25 refer to the eternal salvation of the soul and not just to earthly human life.
De opere RD Friderici Schmidtke, cui titulus «The immigration of Israel into Canaan» February 27, 1934 Assessment of the work of Friedrich Schmidtke : The immigration of Israel in Canaan (1933). The Wroclaw Old Testament scholar Schmidtke disregarded the document De mosaica authentia Pentateuchi and recognized tribal traditions in the patriarchal traditions, he also assumed that not the whole people of Israel was in Egypt, but only a part. In doing so, he contradicted the encyclicals Providentissimus Deus and Spiritus Paraclitus . Catholic exegetes are reminded that proper interpretation of Scripture is incumbent on the Church and that it is not permissible to interpret the Scriptures differently from what the Church Fathers unanimously did and what the Church teaches.
De usu versionum Sacrae Scripturae in Ecclesiis April 30, 1934 Use of Versions of Scripture in Churches.
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Pius XII.

De experimentis ad lauream July 16, 1939 Doctoral Regulations.
De experimentis ad prolytatum July 7, 1942 Examination regulations for the licentiate.
De versionibus Sacrae Scripturae in linguas vernaculas August 20, 1943 Versions of the Scriptures in the vernacular.
De usu novi Psalterii latini extra horas canonicas October 20, 1947 Use of the new Latin Psalter outside the canonical Liturgy of the Hours.
Des sources du Pentateuque et de l'historicité de Genèse 1-11 (letter to Archbishop Emmanuel Suhard ) January 16, 1948 The sources of the Pentateuch and the historical truth of the biblical prehistory: On the subject of the documents of June 27, 1906 (Moses as author of the Pentateuch) and June 30, 1909 (historicity of the stories of creation and the fall of man in Genesis). A scientific examination of these questions in the future still seems possible, the Commission will not present any opinions on these topics. The question of whether there are sources of the Pentateuch is difficult and requires further investigation by Catholic exegetes. The literary nature of Gen 1–11 (prehistory) is a complex subject. One can neither generally deny the historicity nor ignore the literary forms of these texts and apply criteria to them that do not correspond to them.
De Scriptura sacra in Clericorum seminariis et Religiosorum collegiis recte docenda May 13, 1950 Teaching the Holy Scriptures in seminaries and quorums.
De opere RD Bernardi Bonkamp, ​​cui titulus «The Psalms» June 9, 1953 Assessment of the work of Bernhard Bonkamp : The Psalms based on the Hebrew basic text (1949). It does not correspond to Catholic hermeneutics and must not be used in seminars and colleges.
De consociationibus biblicis et de conventibus ac coetibus eiusdem generis December 15, 1955 Bible associations and Bible seminars.

Paul VI

De historica Evangeliorum veritate April 21, 1964 Historical Truth of the Gospels. “The new studies show that the life and teaching of Jesus were not reported simply for the sole purpose of being remembered, but that they were 'preached' in order to provide the basis of faith and morals for the Church; therefore, by carefully examining the evangelists' testimonies, the exegete should be able to show more deeply the immortal theological value of the Gospels and shed full light on how necessary and important the Church's interpretation is. "
Ratio periclitandae doctrinae - Candidatorum ad academicos gradus in Sacra Scriptura 7th December 1974 Examination regulations for obtaining academic degrees in biblical studies.
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John Paul II

De Sacra Scriptura et christologia 1984 Bible and Christology.
Unité et diversité dans l'Église April 11, 1988 Unity and Diversity in the Church.
Interpretation of the Bible in the Church April 15, 1993 “The incarnation of the Eternal Word took place in a certain period of history, in a precisely defined social and cultural environment.” The fundamentalist reading of the Bible does not do this justice; Exegesis is necessary for a proper understanding of the Bible. The application of the historical-critical method "at least in its main features" is indispensable. This diachronic approach can be usefully supplemented by synchronous approaches (rhetorical, narrative, semiotic and other methods); the historical-critical method has no monopoly in exegesis.
The Jewish people and their scriptures in the Christian Bible May 24, 2001 The results of the Jewish-Christian dialogue are formulated with the often quoted core sentence: “Christians can and must admit that the Jewish reading of the Bible is a possible reading that is organically derived from the Jewish scriptures of the Second Temple period, by analogy to the Christian way of reading, which developed in parallel. Each of the two ways of reading remains true to the respective view of faith whose fruit and expression it is. So one cannot be traced back to the other. "
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Benedict XVI.

Bible and Morals. Biblical roots of Christian action May 11, 2008 The biblical wisdom writings are compatible for interreligious dialogue: "The openness of Israelite wisdom for the peoples and the clearly international character of the wisdom movement can provide a biblical basis for a dialogue with other religions and for the search for a global ethic."
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Francis

Scripture inspiration and truth February 22, 2014 After clarifying the relationship between inspiration and truth, the document deals with selected biblical texts that appear problematic from a historical, ethical and social point of view and shows examples of what modern exegesis can contribute to the understanding of these texts:
  • God's promise and Abraham's faith (Gen 15),
  • Passage of the Israelites through the sea (Ex 14),
  • Books of Tobit and Jonah (they contain “a series of events which one may wonder about whether they really happened”);
  • the childhood gospels according to Matthew and Luke were designed as an introduction to the respective book and therefore differ;
  • Miracle stories;
  • Easter tales;
  • Violence in the Bible, especially the ordination of annihilation (required in Deuteronomy, faithfully implemented by Joshua and at the beginning of the monarchy, 1 Sam 15) ;
  • the prayer for retribution and the "enemies" of the Psalmist;
  • social position of women, especially in the letters of Paul: “He does not propose new social models, but, without changing the order of his time, he invites the social relationships and rules that were in his time, in the first century, were regarded as permanent and unchangeable, to be designed from within in such a way that they can be lived in harmony with the gospel. "

Web links

  • Pontifical Biblical Commission: List of published documents
  • University of Würzburg, Theological Faculty: The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church ( PDF )
  • German Bishops' Conference: The Jewish People and their Holy Scriptures in the Christian Bible ( PDF )
  • German Bishops' Conference: Inspiration and Truth of the Holy Scriptures ( PDF )

literature

  • Heinrich Denzinger : Enchiridion symbolorum definitionum et declarationum de rebus fidei et morum. Compendium of Creeds and Church Doctrinal Decisions. Latin - German . Herder, 44th edition Freiburg / Basel / Vienna 2015.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger: Preface to the document of the Biblical Commission The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church , p. 23 f.
  2. ↑ a b c d e Cf. The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church , p. 30 f .: “This is how the“ document hypothesis ”developed in the 19th century, which the editorial staff of the Pentateuch tries to take into account. Four partially parallel documents or source writings from different epochs would have been merged: the Yahwist (J), the Elohist (E), the Deuteronomy as a source (D) and the priestly scriptures (P). The latter would have served the final editor to structure the whole thing. Similarly, the two-source hypothesis was invoked to explain the similarities and differences observed between the three synoptic gospels; according to this hypothesis, the gospels of Matthew and Luke would have originated from two main sources: the gospel of Mark on the one hand, and a collection of Words of Jesus (called Q = source ). Essentially, these two hypotheses are still represented in scientific exegesis today, but they are also controversial. "
  3. ↑ De charactere historico trium priorum capitum Geneseos , III: “… formatio primae mulieris ex primo homine; generis humani unitas; originalis protoparentum felicitas in statu iustitiae, integritatis et immortalitatis; praeceptum a Deo homini datum ad eius obedientiam probandam; divini praecepti, diabolo sub serpentis specie suasore, transgressio; protoparentum deiectio from illo primaevo innocentiae statu ... "
  4. ↑ "... sive sensu proprio pro die naturali, sive sensu improprio pro quodam temporis spatio ..."
  5. ↑ De historica Evangeliorum veritate , 2: “Cum ex eis quae novae inquisitiones contulerunt appareat doctrinam et vitam Iesu non simpliciter relatas fuisse, eo solo fine ut memoria tenerentur, sed“ praedicatas ”fuisse ita ut Ecclesiae fundamentum fidei et morum testaeberent indefesse perscrutans, vim theologicam perennem Evangeliorum altius illustrare et quantae sit Ecclesiae interpretatio necessitatis quantique momenti in plena luce collocare valebit. "
  6. ↑ The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church , p. 114.
  7. ↑ The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church , p. 114.
  8. ↑ Irmtraud Fischer, Edith Petschnigg: The “Judeo-Christian” dialogue changed the churches . Böhlau, Vienna / Cologne / Weimar 2016, p. 129 f.
  9. ↑ Kerstin Rödiger: Wisdom - a social-ethical category in the biblical writings? In: Marco Hofheinz, Frank Mathwig, Matthias Zeindler (eds.): How does the Bible get into ethics? Contributions to a basic question of theological ethics . TVZ, Zurich 2011, pp. 101–126, here p. 101.
  10. ↑ Inspiration and Truth of Scripture , p. 177.
  11. ↑ Inspiration and Truth of Scripture , p. 206.