VERY IMPORTANT POINTS

Exegesis vs. Eisegesis

These two are Greek words. They both have something to do with the Biblical interpretation.

Exegesis means drawing out the true meaning of a Bible passage, and it should be the goal of all
Bible study. It means understanding the meaning of all the words in a passage. It means putting
the passage in the proper historical and textual context to determine what it meant to its original
audience. Finally, it involves thought and prayer to determine how it applies to today's world and
to our own lives.

Eisegesis means reading one's own ideas into interpretation of the Bible. We all have our own
beliefs, world view and biases, and letting them influence our interpretation of the Bible is an
ever-present danger!

Sometimes we think we understand a passage and unintentionally read our own meaning into it
without going through the steps required for proper exegesis. Emotionally charged topics like
abortion, sex, salvation and church doctrine pose a great temptation to prove a point by quoting a
verse out of context or quoting selected verses while ignoring other relevant passages. But we
must let God speak to us through the Bible and not try to make it say what we would like to hear.

GOD, THE FATHER, JOURNEYS WITH HIS PEOPLE

Timeline of Salvation History - UnderstandChristianity.com. The Bible tells the story of how
God entered history to save humanity from sin and destruction, and to invite us to a new and
eternal life in Christ.

In this course, we call this as God's Journey with His People. When we look at it from another
point of view, it is commonly called salvation history―the history or story of God’s saving love.

In this chapter, we will walk through the Bible in our following the path of God's Journey with
us.

SALVATION HISTORY (PART 1)

THE MONARCHY, KINGDOMS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL

At the end of the period of the Judges, the Israelites want their own king. God reluctantly
answers their plea. He has Samuel―the last of the Judges―anoint Saul as the first king of Israel.
David follows Saul as the next king. David is a mighty warrior and unites all the twelve Tribes
into one kingdom. David’s son, Solomon, builds a Temple at Jerusalem, the capital city. After
Solomon’s death, there is disagreement between the tribes, and the kingdom splits in two. Israel
is the name of the northern kingdom and Judah the southern kingdom. Many of the kings of
Israel and Judah worship foreign gods and allow injustice in the kingdom. So God raises up
prophets (e.g. Amos, Hosea and Isaiah) to call the people to obey their Covenant with God.

INTRODUCTION

Dear students

Before we proceed to the different books or groups of books of the Bible, we will look at the big
picture or an overview of salvation history, sometimes called “Salvation History Timeline.”
Following the Breakthrough Bible for Young Catholics, we will divide our salvation story into
eight blocks of time, namely:
Block #1: Primeval History―Beginning of Time to 2000BC (Genesis chapters 1-11).

Block #2: The Patriarchs―2000BC to 1700BC (Genesis chapters 12-50).

Block #3: Egypt and the Exodus―1400BC to 1250BC (Bible Book, Exodus).

Block #4: Conquest of the Promised Land, Era of the Judges―1250BC to 1050BC (Bible Books,
Joshua and Judges).

Block #5: The Monarchy, Kingdoms of Judah and Israel―1050BC to 587BC (Bible Books, 1 &
2Samuel, 1 & 2Kings).

Block #6: Exile and Return―587BC to 1AD (Bible Books, Ezra, Nehemiah and 1 Maccabees).

Block #7: Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus― 1AD to 33AD (Bible Book, Luke).

Block #8: Early Christian Church―33AD to 100AD (Bible Book, Acts of the Apostles).

The dates given, especially in the first blocks of the story, are of course very approximate.

PRIMEVAL HISTORY

The first eleven chapters of Genesis tell us about the creation of the world, the fall of the first
man and woman, and the spread of sin. The first eleven chapters of the Bible are often referred to
as “primeval” history because they deal with events that occurred before recorded history.

THE PATRIARCHS

In this period of salvation history, God comes into the life of a nomad called Abraham and enters
into a covenant relationship with him. God promises Abraham that his and his wife’s
descendants will be as numerous as the stars of the sky and will inherit a land of their own―the
Promised Land. The rest of Genesis tells the story of Abraham and Sarah’s son, Isaac, their
grandsons, Jacob and Esau, and great-grandsons, Joseph and his brothers. Jacob’s twelve sons
become the Founding Fathers of the Twelve Tribes of Israel. The term Patriarchs omits the role
of these men’s wives in salvation history, without whom God’s story would not have moved
forward. The names of the matriarchs are Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.

EGYPT AND THE EXODUS

At the beginning of the book of Exodus, we discover that the descendants of Jacob’s
children―now called Israelites―are in slavery in Egypt. God hears their cries for freedom and
calls Moses to lead the people out of Egypt. On their way to the Promised Land, the people stop
at Mount Sinai where God extends the covenant he made with Abraham to all the Israelites.
Then he gives Moses the Ten Commandments which spell out how the people are to relate to
God and each other. During their journey through the desert, the people complain and lose faith
in God. As a result, they wander in the desert for forty years before they enter the Promised
Land.

CONQUEST OF THE PROMISED LAND, ERA OF JUDGES

Moses dies before the Israelites enter the Promised Land. God calls a new leader, Joshua, to lead
the people into the land, much of which is inhabited by other people. The Israelites must fight to
gain control of the land. When they trust God, they are successful in their battles; when they do
not trust God, they fail. Eventually they gain control of the land, and each of the twelve tribes is
given its own section of the land. New invaders, the Philistines, try to capture the land. At this
time, the Israelites have no king because God is their ruler. But God calls special prophets and
warriors, called Judges, to help deliver justice and defend the land against the Philistine invasion.

THE MONARCHY, KINGDOMS OF JUDAH AND ISRAEL

At the end of the period of the Judges, the Israelites want their own king. God reluctantly
answers their plea. He has Samuel―the last of the Judges―anoint Saul as the first king of Israel.
David follows Saul as the next king. David is a mighty warrior and unites all the twelve Tribes
into one kingdom. David’s son, Solomon, builds a Temple at Jerusalem, the capital city. After
Solomon’s death, there is disagreement between the tribes, and the kingdom splits in two. Israel
is the name of the northern kingdom and Judah the southern kingdom. Many of the kings of
Israel and Judah worship foreign gods and allow injustice in the kingdom. So God raises up
prophets (e.g. Amos, Hosea and Isaiah) to call the people to obey their Covenant with God.

EXILE AND RETURN

Despite the prophets’ warnings, the people of Israel and Judah continue to turn away from God’s
covenant with them. So God let their kingdoms be conquered. Israel is conquered by the
Assyrians in 721BC. Judah is conquered by the Babylonians in 587BC. Many of the people are
taken into captivity, so this period is called the Exile. Prophets like Ezekiel comfort the Israelites
with the promise that God is still with them. Seventy years pass in exile. Then King Cyrus allows
the people ―now called Judeans or Jews―to return to rebuild Jerusalem and the Temple. The
people see God’s hand at work. 7 When Alexander the Great comes along, the Greeks rule Israel.
About 150BC the Maccabees, a Jewish family, leads a successful revolt against the Greeks to
restore Jewish independence. During this troubled time, the people are hoping for a messiah, or
savior, to make them great again.

LIFE, DEATH AND RESURRECTION OF JESUS

God never abandons his Chosen People even though they often do not keep their part of the
covenant. In the fullness of time, God sends his only Son, Jesus, into the world. When Jesus is
born, the Romans rule Israel. Some of the Jews are hoping for a mighty warrior-king like David
who will drive the Romans out. Instead, Jesus shows a different way. He preaches love, justice,
and forgiveness. He heals and works miracles as signs of God’s power. Jesus’ followers, called
disciples, come to see that he is the Messiah, the Savior. Jesus shows that salvation comes
through faith and a change of heart, not through violence and political power. When Jesus is
killed by the Romans―with the approval of the Jewish leaders―his followers think that all is
lost. Instead, after three days, God raises Jesus from the dead!

EARLY CHRISTIAN CHURCH

After his Resurrection, Jesus instructs his closest followers, the Apostles, to go and spread the
Good News of salvation to all people. After Jesus ascends to heaven, Peter and the other
Apostles receive the Holy Spirit who gives them the courage to tell others about Jesus Christ.
They start by first preaching to other Jews. Sometimes they are persecuted by Jewish leaders
who do not believe in Jesus. One of those persecutors―whose name is Paul― has a vision of
Jesus and becomes a Christian. God reveals to Paul that Christ has come for all people. Paul
begins preaching to non-Jews, who are called Gentiles. Wherever he travels, he starts new
Christian communities and is helped by many other believers, women and men. Soon
Christianity spreads through the whole Roman Empire―even to Rome.