Year Three Students' Summer Reading and Book List

All students studying in the Advanced Year this fall (students in the third and fourth years of their studies) are to purchase the textbooks listed under the ORANGE/YEAR FOUR curriculum (CBS 400), as indicated in the registration materials circulated last spring.

This includes the summer reading assignment, The Wisdom Literature, by Kathleen O'Connor. The Wisdom Literature should be read this summer by all students entering their third and fourth years of study. The written assignment that coordinates with this book needs to be completed BEFORE Opening Scripture Day on September 14, 2013.

Here is a link to the page with the questions you'll need to answer: http://www.orehartford.org/joomla3/index.php/our-programs/catholic-biblical-school/registration-classes (Click on "AdvWisdomLink" near the bottom of the page.)

And just to be crystal clear, below is the list of required textbooks for the Advanced Year Orange Curriculum (CBS 400) this year:

1. The Catholic Biblical School Student Workbook Year 4: Old and New Testaments Concluded: The Word in the Hellenistic World (Paulist Press, 2010) This text must be purchased through the Office of Religious Education and Evangelization.
2. The Wisdom Literature, by Kathleen M. O’Connor (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 1993) $19.95. (ISBN 9780814655719)
3. Companion God, revised edition, George T. Montague (Paulist Press, 2010) (ISBN 9780809145010)
4. “Ezekiel, Daniel,” Toni Craven, Collegeville Bible Commentaries (Liturgical Press, 1986) (ISBN 9780814614235)

Please note: Third-year students will NOT be using textbooks listed for CBS 300 (Green/Year Three curriculum) this academic year.

Biblical Archeology in the News

UHartford Archaeologist Richard Freund

An interesting archaeological note from UNotes Daily, submitted to the Catholic Biblical School for distribution from Dr. Richard Freund and the University of Hartford: 

"Professor Richard Freund, director of the University’s Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies and a noted biblical archaeologist, was interviewed live on the FOX News channel on Thursday morning, Aug. 1. Freund offered his insights and analysis regarding the Israeli Antiquities Authority and archeologists' announcement that they have discovered what they believe to be the palace of King David at a site just west of Jerusalem."

The ostraca pictured in the video seems to confirm the emergence of Hebrew writing in the time of King David, a theory supported by most Catholic biblical scholars. It adds to the growing body of evidence which shows serious problems with fringe arguments that claim David and Solomon might have been fictional characters "invented" by later biblical writers.

Watch the interview for yourself on YouTube by clicking on this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aOVU1CaAgQ0

Silly Summer Sallies

Cartoon of the Week*: (Acts 16:25)
 

Joke of the Week:
 Q. What excuse did Adam give to his children as to why he no longer lived in Eden?
A. "Your mother ate us out of house and home."

*Copyright 2000-2003, Kevin Frank.Used by permission. http://www.kevinfrank.net/bible.asp

Chai Means "Living"...

So what is the Hebrew word "Chai" doing in the Shema, on this bracelet? It's a mystery I've been pondering since Sr. Maria Louise Edwards, of the Felician Franciscan Sisters, gave me this bracelet at the end of school year:

Inserting the word "living" (chai) seems to be a "circumlocation" (circling around the point) for the name of "the LORD" (YHWH), which is the Hebrew word found in the Shema:

"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD alone! Therefore, you shall love the LORD, your God, with your whole heart, and with your whole being, and with your whole strength." (Deuteronomy 6:4-5: NABRE)

Of course Jews consider "the name" (Heb ha-shem--another circumlocution) too sacred to be pronounced, and Catholics, in reverence, no longer pronounce the name in our liturgies.

Since God is LIFE, the substitution makes a certain amount of sense, though I would have expected "Adonai" (my Lord), which for thousands of years Jews have pronounced in place of the divine name when reading from Scripture. The Hebrew script for "chai" (het yod--see right) also resembles an abbreviation (yod yod) of the divine name (yod he waw he). (Transliterations from Lamdin, Introduction to Biblical Hebrew)

The Shema is one of only two prayers commanded in the Torah, "recited morning and evening since ancient times." (Source: the website Judaism101--http://www.jewfaq.org)