Biblical Interpretation - Exam 2

Hermeneutics

the study of the interpretation of texts (thinking about thinking!)

Exegesis

A careful study of Scripture to best determine the author’s meaning in the original context. This involves reading the text carefully and asking the right questions of the text.

Meaning

Meaning is of the author, inscribed in the text, and addressed to the intended audience for purposes of engagement

Contextualization

Often referred to as application, contextualization means bringing the biblical author’s meaning to bear in other times and cultures

Why is interpretation necessary?

If some passages were taken at face value, they would be misunderstood and applied incorrectly. Depending on the passage, this could have negative consequences. 

Guidelines for reading at a distance

Consider the following:

• Genre: Each genre has its own rules for interpretation (literal vs. figurative readings, chronological vs. thematic structure)

• Literary Context: 

  • The material before and after a given passage

  • The basic unit is the book in which the passage appears

• Social Setting: Historical and cultural contexts

What is the role of the Holy Spirit in interpretation?

Because the Spirit is still active, it is working in us as we encounter and engage God’s word. Thus, Bible study is always a spiritual task. The Spirit helps our minds understand, our hearts surrender, and our wills obey. It guides us into truth, making us aware of sin and righteousness. The Spirit brings us into the presence of God.

Three faulty approaches to reading Scripture

• The Pre-Packaged Approach: only reading and studying another person’s study of Scripture

• The Heart-Warming Approach: only reading and studying passages that appeal to our emotional needs

• The Deductive Approach: approaching Scripture to find evidence for our preexistent ideas and beliefs

What is the nature of inductive study?

• We observe facts and build to general principles from those facts

• Requires a spirit of openness and willingness to have our preconceived notions challenged by what we find in the text

• Once referred to as “the scientific method of Bible study.” Thus, we must be careful to remember that the Spirit is still alive through the Word today. It should not become a lifeless study.

Inductive Study vs. Deductive Study

• Deductive study begins with certain presuppositions that we apply to our interpretation of the text

• Inductive study looks at the evidence of the text itself in order to construct meaning

What is the importance of attending to the book as a whole?

• The genre is only evident at the book level

• The larger themes of a book give context to individual stories

• Helps to avoid proof-texting (taking a verse out of context to fit it to your meaning)

Intertextuality

When a biblical author intentionally cites or alludes to another text, most often another biblical passage

Powell’s Criteria for Determining a Reference

• Availability: does the author have access to the text?

• Degree of Repetition: how closely does the reference follow the wording of the other passage? 

  • The more closely, the higher the likelihood that the reference was intentional 

• Thematic Coherence: does the theme of the earlier text provide sufficient parallel to the later text?

Canonical Context

Together, the 66 books of Scripture tell the story of a God who is working to redeem humanity. The interpreter should consider how a book reflects the overarching narrative of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. 

Recurrence

repeated terms and phrases

Introduction

background or setting

Comparison

association of like things (like, as)

Contrast

association of opposites (but, however, though, although)

Causation

move from cause to effect (so, therefore)

Substantiation

move from effect to cause (for, since, because)

Instrumentation

• Purpose: explains why (in order that, so that)

• Means: explains how (by, through)

Interrogation

a problem or question followed by a solution or answer

Particularization

move from general to specific

Generalization

move from specific to general

Climax

movement from lesser to greater

Cruciality

use of a pivot point to radically reverse the direction

Interchange

alternating blocks of material (ABAB)

Inclusio

repetition of words or phrases at the beginning and end of the unit

Intercalation

insertion of one literary unit into another literary unit

Chiasm

repetition of elements in inverted order (ABCBA)

Kinds of Context

• Historical/Socio-Cultural

• Literary

• Canonical

Collectivism vs. Individualism

• Individualism:

  • Identity comes from distinguishing oneself from those around you

  • Most important entity is the individual person

  • Highest goal is being true to oneself

  • Supreme value is the sovereignty of the individual 

• Collectivism:

  • Identity comes from fulfilling one’s place in one’s family, tribe, or country

  • Most important entity is the community

  • Highest goal is supporting the community

  • Supreme value is preserving harmony

• Paul would not have written his letters by himself. He would have written them in public with input from others. 

Honor and Shame

Honor is the positive value of a person in his or her own eyes plus the positive appreciation of that person in the eyes of his or her social group. It is a claim of positive worth and a register of social rating, indicating a person’s standing in society.

What aspects contribute to honor and shame?

• Power

• Gender

• Position on the social scale

Ascribed vs. Acquired Honor

• Ascribed Honor: born into it 

• Acquired Honor: can be obtained through one’s efforts

Stereotypes in the ancient world

• Family and clan

• Place of origin

• Group of origin/ethnicity

• Trade or occupation

• Parties/Groups

Challenge-Riposte

A means of acquiring honor through a type of social communication where the sender issues a challenge publicly (word, gift, invitation, slap, etc.) and the receiver must reply. This could only occur between equals. This occurs in Acts 16:35-40 when Paul and Silas are released from the Philippian jail.

Gender differences in honor/shame

• Male honor is honor

• Female honor is called shame, which is a positive value, especially in the area of sexual purity. Being “shameless” for a female is the same as being shamed for a male.

Patron-Client Relationships

Social relationships between individuals based on a strong element of inequality and difference in power. Patrons fulfill the needs of clients. Clients repay the patron through proclaiming their loyalty and honoring their patron. 

Whole-Book Context in Matt. 25:40

Reading the whole book of Matthew, we understand that all those who do the will of God are Jesus’ brothers and sisters. Therefore, treating the least of these brothers and sisters well refers to how we treat lowly Christians, not just the poor. 

Whole-Book Context in John 3:16

The whole book of John reveals that true saving faith is a faith that continues in the Word and perseveres in following Jesus until the end. Therefore, one cannot say they believe in Jesus and then live however they want.

Whole-Book Context in Romans 7

The seemingly contradictory language about the law in Romans 7 is made clearer when recognizing that Paul is speaking about trying to achieve righteousness by the law through our own human effort. The problem is not with the law itself, but our refusal to accept the free gift of righteousness from Jesus.

Whole-Book Context in 1 Corinthians 13

Contextually, this passage about love occurs in the midst of a conversation on the appropriate use of spiritual gifts. Proper love is the key virtue in using gifts to build up the church. This type of love is the opposite of how the Corinthians have been acting, so Paul’s description of love acts as a critique.

Whole-Book Context in Acts 1:26

Looking back at the beginning of Luke (which is the first volume of Luke-Acts), we see God control the lot that selects Zechariah to serve in the temple. Additionally, God controls the lot throughout the OT. Therefore, it is not wrong for the disciples to cast a lot for the selection of Matthias before they receive the special guidance of the Spirit.

Analogy of Faith

Scripture is in right relationship with the core doctrines of the Christian faith. Scripture should be used to interpret scripture because no passage can contradict another. Rather, all passages of Scripture are united.

Determining vs. Discovering Meaning

• Determining meaning is eisegesis; the reader decides what a word means

• Discovering meaning is exegesis; focuses on what the biblical author meant when he used a particular word

English-Only Fallacy

Basing your study on the English word, rather than looking at the underlying Greek or Hebrew word

Root Fallacy

Thinking that the real meaning lies in the root of the word when this is often not the case

Time-Frame Fallacy

• Using a later definition to interpret an earlier word

• Using an earlier definition when it has become obsolete

Overload Fallacy

Thinking that a single word includes all of its possible meanings simultaneously

Word-Count Fallacy

Insisting that a word has the same meaning every time it is used

Word-as-Concept Fallacy

Thinking that you have studied an entire concept after studying a single word

Selective-Evidence Fallacy

Choosing the meaning that best fits your argument and ignoring evidence to the contrary

How do you choose words to study?

• Look for words that are crucial to the passage

• Look for repeated words

• Look for figures of speech

• Look for words that are unclear, puzzling, or difficult

Semantic Range

All the possible meanings of a word

The one rule to rule them all!

Context determines word meaning

Circles of Context

• Passage

• Immediate context

• Rest of section

• Rest of book

• Other books, same author

• Rest of Bible

Helpful Questions for Determining Context

• Is there a contrast or a comparison that seems to define the word?

• Does the subject matter or topic dictate a word meaning?

• Does the author’s usage of the same word elsewhere in a similar context help you decide?

• Does the author’s argument in the book suggest a meaning?

• Does the historical-cultural situation tilt the evidence in a certain direction?

Genre

A type of literature. Genre uses a constellation of literary features (form, style, subject matter) to communicate with readers.

“Normative Process of Reading” Assumptions

• The narrative is to be read sequentially and completely

• Readers desire consistency and make connections to resolve tension

• Readers know some background information and do not know other pieces of background information

• Readers accept the value system that undergirds the stories they read

Implied Author

What the final form of the text reveals/implies about the author

Implied Reader

The reader envisaged by the text. Clues in the text help us determine characteristics of the reader.

Considerations in Analyzing Plot

• Order, duration, and frequency of events

  • Chronological or thematic order?

  • Flashbacks or predictions?

  • The amount of time spent describing an event indicates significance 

• Conflict

  • Is conflict resolved?

  • How is conflict resolved?

  • There are different types of conflicts

  • Multiple conflicts may occur in one story

Flat vs. Round Characters

• Flat Characters: few, predictable traits

• Round Characters: wide variety of traits

Static vs. Dynamic Characters

• Static Characters: remain the same throughout the narrative

• Dynamic Characters: develop and change throughout the narrative

What information should we use when analyzing characters?

• Dialogue

• Actions

• Thoughts

How do you analyze empathy?

Look at how the author intentionally develops empathy between the reader and the characters. Do not look at how you feel about the story. 

Point of View

POV is like where a camera focuses. Who is telling the story? Whose perspective is left out?

The 5 “Planes” of Point of View

• Spatial: the “eyes” the reader sees through

• Temporal: narration in present tense or past tense

• Psychological: the inner thoughts/motivations of a character

• Phraseological: distinct speech patterns from one character to another

• Ideological: biases, attitudes, and worldviews of a character or narrator

How does setting affect narrative?

Where the story is located and in what time period and culture the story is set can give us background information about the story.

How do you analyze symbolism and irony?

Look for how irony, metaphorical language, or other figures of speech alter what otherwise might be the “obvious” meaning of the text. 

How do you analyze intertextuality?

Biblical authors will often employ other Scripture (or other sources) to support the theological theme they wish to promote. Consider the meaning of the intertextual passage in its original context to see how it is used in the latter context. 

The importance of the relationship of a story to its whole

Individual stories shape the larger narrative and larger narratives inform the meaning of the individual story.

Differences between interpreting OT and NT narratives

• OT: the context of God’s covenant with Israel is front and center

  • Torah, land, and Temple are key

• NT: the context of God’s fulfillment of his promises to Israel through the Messiah Jesus are front and center

  • This includes the promise that Israel would be a light to the Gentiles

Objections to Narrative Criticism

• Treats texts as mere stories rather than as records of history

• Ignores the vast range of potential responses that real readers may have

• Adoption of the implied reader’s perspective prevents dialogue with what is objectionable in texts

• May anachronistically apply modern concepts to ancient literature

Parity Covenant vs. Suzerainty Covenant

• Parity Covenant occurs between equals

• Suzerainty Covenant occurs between a lord and his subjects

  • Lord unilaterally establishes the terms and conditions

Relationship of Covenant to Law

Covenant declares a relationship between God and his people. Once established, the law dictates how this relationship can be maintained so God’s people may continue to enjoy his blessings. Covenant comes first, then the law. The law is a reaction to relationship, not the requirements for relationship.

How many OT laws are there?

Over 600

OT Laws vs. Laws of Surrounding Nations

There is a striking similarity between the OT laws and the laws of surrounding nations in content and wording. Most of these laws were casuistic.

Casuistic vs. Apodictic Laws

• Casuistic Laws

  • Case law

  • Grouped more thematically

  • “If…then” form states a condition and a resulting penalty 

  • Tend to adjudicate civil or criminal cases

• Apodictic Laws

  • Absolute law

  • Occur in a series

  • Absolute directives or commands (not conditional)

  • Primarily address moral or religious matters

What is the threefold distinction of OT laws?

• Moral/Ethical: deal with timeless truths regarding God’s intention for human behavior

• Civil: deal with courts, economics, land, crimes, and punishment

• Ceremonial/Cultic: deal with sacrifices, festivals, and priestly activities

What are the problems with the threefold distinction of OT Laws?

• Arbitrary distinction not in the Bible

• Difficult to classify many laws

• Too ambiguous and inconsistent 

Interpretive Keys to Keep in Mind

• Consider the narrative and covenantal contexts

• Understanding cultural context for prohibitions is important for understanding meaning

• Pay attention to groupings of laws, which give insight into important themes

• Christ ultimately fulfills the Law, so we cannot apply the OT Law apart from the lens of Christ

• Laws have principles outside their specific meaning

• Law reveals our sin and need for God’s grace