Alejandra Gómez

PORTFOLIO 3

When talking about the Bible, we must bear in mind that it is not a book like any other,

but one of the most influential in the history of humankind, considering the importance

of Christianity in the destiny of the West and the rest of the world. During the Christian

Middle Ages, it constituted the legal book by

which the Catholic Church governed the ways of

life in Europe. And nowadays, not only has been

the best seller, but has been translated into more

than 2,000 languages.

It is curious that the Bible has texts from different origins and periods originally written

in different languages such as Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek. And it is taken for granted

that there is no single view of the Bible within each religion or sect, knowing that, for

example, the Jewish tradition considers only the Old Testament as valid, while the

Christian tradition also considers the New Testament that with the old one, makes up the

Christian Bible. Which is understandable, since taking into account only the Old

Testament, both information and data that may be useful and important for the

interpretation and understanding are, in a way, lost.

The Bible is not a book about God, but a text about human condition, is first and foremost

the book of doubts, dilemmas, and efforts to find God’s whereabouts. And locating God’s

whereabouts is not only a task of identifying him, but also a task of placing him in a lot

of contexts. The oral narratives, and later the texts and myths that became the Bible, bring

together thousands of years of memories and traditions, and even if it is set in history and

contains historical facts, is noy such a history book, but a collection of books about

morality, (Bioul, 2019). And like all texts, they were meant to be interpreted, because if
 Alejandra Gómez

there’s no interpretation there is no text. But the great virtue of the Bible is that it never

loses its relevance, its permanence lies in its ability to highlight moral conflicts, and its

ability to demonstrate that the many moral discrepancies of today are still similar or even

the same as those of thousands of years ago.

I think in the Bible there is quite a lot of wisdom concentrated, and a great source of

inspiration for shaping one’s own thinking and behaviour, but at first it was a bit

confusing for me to understand it, so I thought about the books of Harry Potter, and I

make a kind of ‘comparison’ to make it a little clear.

Regarding the literacy genre, the one I found more interesting was the sapiential one,

because of the ancient, critical, and religious wisdom. Firstly, ancient means: prudence,

skill or expertise, and this wisdom is in a way, accessible to anyone. And it comes not by

miraculous visions but by careful observation of everyday life. Wisdom enables the

individual to manage his or her life, achieve solutions against possible situations, but

wisdom is not neutral, this one described in the Old Testament is God-centred, and

biblical wisdom not only teaches us how to live but also how to die, which means to face

the inevitability of death in faith. (Donato, 2005). And the basis: ‘God is good, the world

created by him is good, human beings must be good’, has a good principle.

I also found quite interesting the fact that the apostles,

after the revelation and oral preaching of Jesus tried to

write it down as precisely as possible. And I agree with

the fact that both the Old and New Testament have to

be interpreted in a different way, as they come from

different moments and cannot be seen form the same

context and perspective.

Exercise 1:

• La Biblia de las Américas: ¡Oh Señor, Señor nuestro, cuán glorioso es tu nombre
en toda la tierra, que has desplegado tu gloria sobre los cielos!

Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your
glory above the heavens.

• Reina Valera (1989): ¡Jehová, Señor nuestro, cuán grande es tu nombre en toda la
tierra! ¡Has puesto tu gloria sobre los cielos!

Jehovah, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth, you have set your
glory upon the heavens!

• Biblia de Jerusalén: ¡Oh Yahveh, Señor nuestro, qué glorioso tu nombre por toda
la tierra! Tú que exaltaste tu majestad sobre los cielos.

Oh Yahveh, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth! You made
your glory higher than heaven!

• Biblia del Peregrino: ¡Señor dueño nuestro, qué ilustre es tu nombre en toda la
tierra! Quiero servir a tu majestad celeste.

Lord our Lord, how illustrious is your name in all the earth! I want to serve your
heavenly majesty

• Nueva Biblia Española: ¡Señor dueño nuestro, qué admirable es tu nombre en toda
la tierra! Ensalzaré tu majestad por encima del cielo.

Oh Lord our Lord, your greatness is seen in all the world! Your praise reaches up
to the heavens.

• Biblia de América: ¡Señor dueño nuestro, qué admirable es tu nombre en toda la

Our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth! Your glory is sung
above the heavens

Exercise 2: Translation of the following terms

• a) And these words that I command you today shall be on your lēb (Dt 6,6).

Heart, because it may have an emotional meaning, in which we keep something

• b) O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my nefeš thirsts for you; my
flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water (Ps 62
(63),2). Throat, because of the word ‘thirsts’ for you.

• c) As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my nefeš for you, O God (Ps
42,2). Breathing as is used because of the word ‘pants’.

• d) But to this day the LORD has not given you a lēb to understand or eyes to see
or ears to hear (Dt 29,4). Reason (to understand)

• e) His nefeš kindles coals, and a flame comes forth from his mouth (Job 41,21).

Stomach because it’s related to the mouth.

• f) And I will raise up for myself a faithful priest, who shall do according to what
is in my lēb and in my mind (1Sam 2,35). Heart because before we have the word
‘mind’.

• g) Bless the LORD, O my nefeš! O LORD my God, you are very great! You are
clothed with splendor and majesty (Ps 103 (104),1). Being as it is the most general
one and fits better.

Exercise 3:

• a) It's the snake who [to deceive-perfect] me (Gn 3,13). It’s the snake who has
deceived me.

• b) The tree that I [to order-perfect] that you [not eat-imperfect]? (Gn 3,11). The
tree that I prefer have ordered that you don’t eat.

• c) And Yhwh said to Moses: I [to be-imperfect] who [to be-imperfect] (Ex 3,14).

I am who I am.
 Alejandra Gómez

Exercise 4:

• But they have no root in themselves but are inconstant; and (arising) tribulation
or persecution for the sake of the Word, they succumb (Mc 4,17). And tribulation
or persecution arises…

• (Talking) they come to the house of the synagogue chief saying, "your daughter
is dead." (Mc 5,35). While they talk...

• (Seeing) the crowd, he climbed the mountain, sat down and his disciples
approached him (Mt 5,1). When he saw the crowd…

Exercise 5: Interpretation

• Blessed Yhwh thy God who has pleased you and placed you on the throne of Israel
forever, because of love of Yhwh for Israel (1Ki 10,9). As God loves them, he
has given them all.

• As a roar of lion, the indignation of the king (Pr 20,2). The king’s indignation

• I'm going to make with you an eternal alliance, steady loyalty of David (Is 55,3).
He will be loyal to people who are loyal to David.

• It comes with his salary and his reward precedes him (Is 40,10). The salary is
the reward that he receives.

Exercise 6:

1(en) …in… the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the
Word was God. 2 He was (en) …in… the beginning with God. 3 All things were
made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. 4 (en)
with/by… him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines (en)
…in… the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.

16 For
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. (en)
…by… him all things were created, (en) …in… heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were
created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and (en) …by…
 Alejandra Gómez

18 And
him all things hold together. he is the head of the body, the church. He is
the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that (en) …as… everything he might
be preeminent. 19 For (en) …by… him all the fullness of God was pleased to
dwell, 20 and (en) …by… him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth
or (en) …in… heaven, making peace by the blood
of his cross.

If I had to define Jesus with a word, I would choose

I do not think we can know absolutely everything about the person and life of
Jesus, because it is almost impossible, but I do believe that we can know
something. Because there’s evidence that Jesus existed and after his dead, his
followers formed a sect, which has grown in strength ever since. They believe that
he rose from dead, and that he is in fact God.

Within a century of his death, Jesus was mentioned as a real person by the Roman
historians, Suetonious and Tacitus, by the Jewish leader and writer Josephus. And
his followers also complied various accounts of his life, known as gospels which
mean ‘good news’, attributed to the apostles of Jesus, Mark, Matthew and Luke
widely held to date from 60 to 80 AD. And the fourth, John’s Gospel, that was
probably written after 100 AD.

Besides, all the early sources, Christian and non-Christian, take it for granted that
Jesus was a real, historical person, and the gospels provide fuller accounts
although these are strongly colored by theological interpretations of Jesus’ life.

And the examination of the Gospels in the light of what we know of contemporary
Judaism as an historical methodology does allow us to draw a tolerably clear
picture of the Jesus perceived by his earliest followers and given that many of
these followers knew Jesus, this perception must have a relation to the underlying
 Alejandra Gómez

historical reality of Jesus himself. So, sketching a reasonably accurate picture of

I think I have learned a lot of facts that I didn’t know before and it has awakened
some interest in me and has made me look for more answers in other sources. I
would say that the non-believer will explain the enduring success of the Christian
religion by appealing to its doctrinal, institutional, and emotional power, or even
to the continuing ability of Jesus to be all things to all men without disappearing
entirely, and even though this is right, we must admit the immense contribution
to the development of European culture, art and thought and especially to the
humanitarian and universalist ideals.

Honestly, I hardly think about death, I try to live day by day and make the most
of every moment, but it is true that the dreaded subject of death that everyone
knows is coming sooner or later, comes to mind from time to time.

Rather than making me afraid, it makes me feel insecure and gives me uncertainty,
because you never really know what is really like, and it is a real mystery. The
religious response might help many people with this issue, especially those who
are more religious, but depends on each person, because in the end, everyone
understands death in their own way and feels different, considering the
experiences and education each one has had throughout his life. But that doesn’t
mean that it can’t be of help to people who find themselves a bit lost and need to
make sense of it.

Regarding the sentence ‘Yes to Jesus not, not to the Church’, again depends,
because in one hand, there may be people who admire the figure of Jesus deeply,
and are believers and yet do not defend the Church at all because they are
somehow disappointed by the reactions and attitudes towards certain issues, or
because they disagree with the role is playing, but on the other hand, it can also
be the main place for people to connect and encounter with God, and going to the
Church is a way of preserving their faith. I still think that as every organization a
profit is sought and even the principle is different, at this moment, the Church may
be a little far from Jesus, and its purpose is different from what it was in its
 Alejandra Gómez

beginnings. For that reason, apart from the fact that times have changed and not
so many people go to church, the Church will have to cope in a long term and in
some way with its survival as its main challenge. I would also add that woman
should play a role as well as men and they should have more importance in the
decision-making processes, in fact, women have been found to have been
successful in managing difficult situations.

For me, the fact that the Church has been involved in so many abuses towards
children it was quite a surprise, and I could have never imagined anything like it.
When they are precisely the ones who are most against it, and what they preach is
the opposite. Besides, the role of helping those in need and fighting for a better
world, apart from being related to this, is the one I found more attractive and
interesting. From the very first moment I thought the Church gets its money from
special or big private donations, until I realized I was wrong, and the everyday
collections of the masses was their main source of income. And I would say that
Catholics in Spain are quite open minded and progressive although obviously
there are also conservative people who are still resistant to change.
 Alejandra Gómez

Bibliography
Bioul, B. (2019). Los Evangelios a la luz de la Historia. Madrid, Madrid: Edaf.

Donato, C. (2005). Ancient Wisdom, Godliness. Tabletalk Magazine.

Groves, A. O. (2012). JESUS, a graphic guide. United Kingdom: Icon Books.