prolegomena

Outcomes

The outcomes of this course are:

1.0 Explain the biblical metanarrative identifying themes, major historical figures and events. 1.1 redemption, covenant and revelation 1.2 creation, fall, redemption, restoration and consummation 2.0 Identify and analyse evidences for the authority, authenticity and reliability of the Bible. 2.1 Authenticity: internal and external (Manuscript and archeological) evidence 2.2 Reliable: claims of mistakes and contradictions 3.0 Identify and analyse the factors that influence interpretation of the bible. 3.1 nature and structure of the Bible, canon 3.2 presuppositions, linguistics, the hermeneutical gap, and the nature of Scripture 4.0 Explain the basic hermeneutical principles used in interpretation of the biblical text including those for different genres. 4.1 history of biblical interpretation 4.2 critical approaches are outlined 5.0 Implement accepted exegetical techniques for effective study of biblical texts 5.1 types of application

Content

The subject begins with an exploration of the biblical metanarrative tracing major themes including redemption, covenant and revelation of God. The chronology of the bible history is outlined through identifying key events in the people of God and major historical figures. Emphasis is placed on the themes of creation, fall, redemption, restoration and consummation. Attention then turns to the authority and authenticity of the bible. This is explored briefly with attention given to the claims of authority including internal and external evidence. Manuscript and archeological evidence is outlined that offers support for the reliability of the biblical text. Common claims of mistakes and contradictions in the biblical text are examined and responses offered. The nature and structure of the Bible is presented with particular attention paid to formation of the canon, authorship and types of literary genre. The remainder of the subject is focused on the establishment of hermeneutical principles for the interpretation of the biblical text. Exploration of the factors affecting interpretation including presuppositions, linguistics, the hermeneutical gap, and the nature of Scripture is undertaken. A brief history of biblical interpretation is outlined to allow students to understand the various methods employed and identify their contribution to contemporary methods. A range of biblical critical approaches are outlined. Emphasis is placed upon the need for and use of basic hermeneutical principles: recognition of genre, historical context, literary context and literary content and number of exercises are undertaken utilizing these principles. The difficulty of application, the final step in interpretation, is emphasised and students are required to assess and critically analyse commonly used types of application.

welcome

Welcome, my name

For semester 2, 2015

It was 1 of my favourite classes in my bachelor of theology

What do we have to and think about when we are reading scripture

Confidence in reading scripture

But also humility in approaching

Result of loving God and loving neighbour.

Unit Guide: what Scripture is, history, doctrine (which comes first), text genres.

The content of books is taken up in Intro OT, Intro NT.

Assessments

Textbook

More about me.

Kids: Literalism.

Online class has some challenges. Feedback is important for me to know what is going.

1st week has

Welcome.

The reader of the Bible

Adler

In Mortimer Adler’s book How to Read a Book[][#adler1972a:how-to-read-a-book:-;] is sets out to help readers become better readers and to “gain increased understanding”[3][#adler1972a:how-to-read-a-book:-;]. He finishes the book by offering a list of works that are “worth your while”[347][#adler1972a:how-to-read-a-book:-;] to read.¹ Both the Old Testament and New Testament make it onto his list.

Do you consider the Bible to be a ‘classic’ like Shakespeare or The Lord of the Rings? Why or why not? More importantly, to what extent should it be read like any other book?

He firstly examines the basics of reading and types of reading before moving to considerations for analytical reading and exploring how to reading various types of material. He finishes with a discussion of the fourth level - how to read several books on a given subject together.

Stage 1: Rules for Finding What a Book Is About

Classify the book according to kind and subject matter.
State what the whole book is about with the utmost brevity.
Enumerate its major parts in their order and relation, and outline these parts as you have outlined the whole.
Define the problem or problems the author is trying to solve.

Stage 2: Rules for Interpreting a Book’s Contents

Come to terms with the author by interpreting his key words.
Grasp the author’s leading propositions by dealing with his most important sentences.
Know the author’s arguments, by finding them in, or constructing them out of, sequences of sentences.
Determine which of his problems the author has solved, and which he has not; and as of the latter, decide which the author knew he had failed to solve.

Aim

The aim of this unit it to introduce you to the Bible, to make you familiar with it and the guide you in reading it well. Adler sets out the a number of rules in order to ascertain what the book is about and what it contains. These are a good way to think about what we are aiming for in this unit – that we know what the Bible is about and how we can understand what it contains.

Tools

A bible dictionary is a good investment

LA: Introductions

Learning Activity: Introduce yourself

Your response is to be posted into the Introductions forum in Moodle

Read the preface to your Bible
Take a photo of yourself with your Bible
Introduce yourself (upload your pic, your name, where are you studying from, family and church context, where are you at with your studies)
Answer the question: what did I learn about this Bible from the preface?
Answer the question: what approach to interpretation is used in your Bible?
Answer the question: what version am I using, what do I like about my Bible, why am I using this translation?
Answer the question: is there a burning question that I have about the Bible?
Answer the question: is there something that I struggle or wrestle with in regard to the Bible? (e.g. it may be the way you’ve seen it used, or one part of it is difficult to understand, etc)

LA: prodigal

Luke 15.11-37

Can you think of a time your heard someone talking about this famous story? How did they present it? Who was the emphasis on - the father, the rebellious son, or the older brother?

Read the passage

Who do you identify with more at the moment - the father, the rebellious son or the older brother? Why so?

Who is Scripture for?

I saw this tweet the other week:

https://twitter.com/BibleStdntsSay/statuses/488682008852168705

I think it captures a few dynamics about how we relate to the Bible. It is good to recognise that others have studied a lot or have gone before us. Yet, what is the purpose of the Scriptures? Is it for others to read and not us?

What is our stance toward studying Scripture? There have been times when I have presumed that the writer of a commentary, a professional student of Scriptures as such, would have all the answers. But this isn’t necessarily the case. Can you and I read and understand Scripture just as well as an ‘expert’? What the pastor or scholar see might be different to what you or I see. Likewise, what they miss might be something that you actually see.

“The overriding concern of the Fathers is not whether to believe the Bible but how to interpret it, not whether the Scriptures are authoritative but what they mean”[2][#fairbairn2009a.life-in-the-trinity:;].

This is by a contemporary writer and raises the question of what are our primary concerns when it comes to understanding Scripture and have they been the same across history?

Possible reasons for study:

History (Geography, Politics, Biology), Ethics, Theology, History of Religion, Self-help, Philosophy (Paul vs G-R), Anthropology,

Who are we as readers?

After your first reading from Duvall and Hays I hope you see that the where and when of the pastor and scholar, as well as us, influences the way we might see or what we can see in Scripture. Take some time to reflect and work through Assignment 7-1 (You don’t have to write up 5 pages).

I have set up a forum called Worksheet 7-1 for you to post your response to what you learned through the process.

Reading 1: D&H

In this next reading Duvall and Hays examine where and who we are when we read.

Duval & Hays, ch 7, pp. 137-146

Resources

Interpretive virtues

Are there any qualifications that we need to be read the Bible? What about to read Scripture well?

Vanhoozer describes a number of “interpretive virtues”[376-377][#vanhoozer2009a.is-there-a-meaning-i;] which is “a disposition of the mind and heart that arises from the motivation for understanding, for cognitive contact with the meaning of the text”[376][#vanhoozer2009a.is-there-a-meaning-i;].

(1) Honesty. “Honesty in interpretation means, above all, acknowledging one’s prior commitments and pre-understandings”.

(2) Openness. “The open-minded reader is willing to hear and consider the ideas of others, including those that conflict with one’s own, without prejudice and without malice”.

“Readers display interpretive openness when they welcome the text as other,”

(3) Attention. “The virtuous reader, far from being self-absorbed, is rather focused on the text”.

(4) Obedience.”The obedient interpreter is the one who follows the directions of the text rather than one’s own desires”.

Obedience also “means adopting a reading genre that corresponds to the genre of the text”.

“readers must be apprentices of texts and of their authors. Right reading—reading that both fosters and exemplifies virtue—is ultimately a matter of cultivating good judgment, of knowing what to do when. This is as much a spiritual as an intellectual and interpretive task. Indeed, moral and interpretive virtues alike are ultimately in the service of wisdom”[²377][#vanhoozer2009a.is-there-a-meaning-i;].

He then engages Hauerwas³ who “challenges the two “dogmas” of criticism: that biblical scholarship is objective and that biblical scholarship is apolitical. He maintains that the whole endeavor to interpret the Bible “on its own terms” is vain nonsense”.

“What is needed, says Hauerwas, are not scholarly tools but saintly practices.”

Hangout Agenda

What are our primary concerns when it comes to understanding Scripture?
Unit guide schedule
Unit guide assessments
Other questions

From intro forums

Aaron: “I wonder if there is more books that were lost or not to be put in the bible but were to word of God”.
Aaron: “the idea of suffering hard to understand” - what light does the Bible shed on this?
People: reading Revelation
Gillian: “I struggle when people use the bible to hurt and belittle people:(“
People noted the seriousness of translation
Sam: translation is ‘never finished’
Chris: “how to understand it as inerrant scripture”
Chris: “wisdom literature ‘borrowed’ from other cultures”
Chris:”One way I struggle with the bible is understanding how I should interact with the bible and God. Is the bible simply a product of God? Do I consider reading it an interaction with him, through Him or of Him? Can you idolise the bible? Was scripture perfect when Paul wrote it? Can verses be interpreted subjectively, or situationally, whilst retaining their objective meaning and message. How on earth did the early church survive without a complete Bible? Does that change the way I should relate to my bible? Etc.”
Sam: “I’m not a big of fan of when people quotes scripture out of context.” - What do we mean by context?
Tony: wanting to apply it well
Issue of Amplified Bible?
Matthew: “I have read it countless times and always find something new”
Matthew: “many that may have different meanings to different readers, and I guess this is where cultural and socio-economic variances result in the reader interpreting the word differently.”
Tom: first week; issue of “context, what part of the bible applies to me”

The story of your Bible

Intro video

Transcript paraphrase

I have an ESV bible which is quite standard, but I also have a NRSV that has ‘with the Apocrypha’ on it. The table of contents is the same, but there seems to be additional material there, which may be different to your Bible. I also have a Hebrew-English Bible that has the OT in it. It begins with Gen, Ex, Lev, but then they skip over Ruth. And the Prophets appear in a different order, not finishing with Malachi, but finishing with Chronicles. Job, Psalms and Proverbs are in a different order. What is going on here?

LA: cf canons

Examine a table that compares the canons of the various traditions.⁴

What might be the reasoning for the change in order between the Hebrew and Protestant canons?

Scripture: What is it?

Reading 1: Soulen

In my video I asked about the differences that I had found in a couple of Bibles that I had. In this reading Rogerson works through some of the reasons why these variations exist.

As you’re reading, ask yourself about the implications that these variations might have.

Resources

Notes

‘defile the hands’ as a motif for us getting into

Canon

Scripture: Canon

Reading: Kelly

In this reading Kelly looks at a number of people in the early church and their thoughts and writings on Scripture. You don’t have to know all the dates and names, but look for the views that were taken and what influenced them through the early centuries. Who was the first that we know of to write up a list of texts to be included? What were the driving issues in this time that shaped the formation canon? How is the New Testament seen in relation to the Old Testament? What sorts of theological reasons are given for particular approaches?

OT Canonization

NT Canonization

Canon questions

This week’s worksheet is some questions that come out of our readings.

How would you respond to the common statement that the Bible is just a human product?
How would you respond to another common statement that the Bible was the product of the powerful elite in the early centuries and the real/true/suppresed writings need to be read alongside or instead of the standard ones that we have ?

Translations

Reading 1: D&H

In this chapter from your textbook, Duvall and Hays look at the task and process of translation and how that relates to the Bibles that we read today.

Thinking back to that passage from Luke, would you revise your response to the number of people or steps in the process of reading that verse? How so?

Where does the translation that you mentioned in your introduction posting sit amongst the various translations?

It would be good to think about the assignments at the end of the chapter, but you don’t need to submit anything at the moment as we will pick them up in a later week.

Duval & Hays, ch 1, pp. 23-38.

Learning Activities

Compare our recent discussion on translation of Col 1.27? Jo was using NLT which brought it out much better than NIV and ESV

Further Resources

The Biblical meta-narrative

Why look at the metanarrative

In this short clip we see an explanation of why it is good to revisit the ‘big picture’ of Scripture and how that may help us better hear and understand Scripture. It is a promotional video for his book, but ignore the intro and outro and hear what he is suggesting about approaches to the grand narrative.

Why narrative?

One of the most famous verses in Scripture is John 3:16. It is notable that this is not a proposition about God, but a narrative about God.⁵ Narrative is the dominant genre of Scripture, yet it is not a single unified narrative. Bauckham suggests two ways that it is not a single unified narrative in the way that a modern story is[38-40][#bauckham2003a.reading-scripture-as;]. Firstly, we need to recognise how a text such as Proverbs or Esther fits with the idea of an overarching story. Here, each of the texts that make up Scripture recognises God as the sovereign creator. Secondly, Scripture doesn’t tell a single story from a single, particular viewpoint. For example, there are a number of styles of narrative (mythic, parable, historical narrative) as well as two parallel accounts that go from creation to around the exile (Gen-Kings and 1-2 Chronicles). There are four gospels which all tie themselves to the Old Testament, yet John begins with a creation-like account while Matthew and Luke use genealogies to link into the storyline.

One helpful way to understand the how the diversity fits with the unity is to consider the difference between a narrative and a story[43][#bauckham2003a.reading-scripture-as;]. There can be a number of narratives that tell the one story. Consider the narrative of the film Momento⁶ that tells the story of the main character but in a different order to what one would consider ‘standard’. The standard narrative of that story wouldn’t be anywhere near as interesting. Likewise the film Vantage Point⁷ tells the same story a number of times. It presents a number of narratives back to back, each from the viewpoint of a different key character in the one story. Note also that it may skip over a portion or emphasise another aspect, yet it is still the same story. In the same way we can see the Gospels as multiple narratives, each with their own ordering and emphasis, of one story.

Summaries of the Biblical metanarrative

This notion of a story that provides the shape to Scripture is also one that is found within Scripture. There are a number of summaries of the storyline of Scripture which reiterate key events, emphasise different elements of and build upon earlier aspects of the story. The following is a list of such passages:

Deut 6.20-24
Deut 26.5-9
Josh 24.2-13
Neh 9.6-37
Ps 78
Ps 105
Ps 106
1 Chr 16.8-36
Ps 135.8-12
Ps 136
Acts 7.2-50
Acts 13.17-41

Listen to the story line of the Bible.

Reflection for the forums:

Which parts of the story are least familiar to you?
Which parts are the most comforting?
Which are the more challenging?
Is there an ‘a-ha’ moment as you’ve thought about the Biblical meta-narrative?

Post-modernity and meta-narratives

Two dimensions that put in check a violent, totalising meta-narrative are that Scripture displays and promotes a “radical sensitivity to suffering” as well as “God’s overarching creational intent” which is far beyond any one person’s or group’s or society’s own agenda for the world[87][#middletonwalsh1995a.the-biblical-metanar;].

Further Resources

Questions

Redemption <-> Sin, Satan, Death

History and the Bible

Jeremiah - history

The book of Jeremiah prompts much thought about history and the Bible. If we take the opening few verses, we find that he began his ministry “during the reign of King Josiah” and that he continued to do so until “after Jerusalem had fallen”. There are some interesting things to note about the text that we have:

Born in Anathoth and he began his ministry during the reign of King Josiah and that he continued to do so until after Jerusalem had fallen (1:1-3)
He seems familiar with other, prior writings of Scripture (15.16).
And presents the people as being familiar with former prophets (28:8) including Micah (26:18)
He tells the people to flee the holy city of Jerusalem (6.1) and speaks out against the temple (ch 7) - why would he be criticising the central place of worship to God?
He addresses a number of parties in his later oracles (chs 49-50): Babylon, Ammonites, Damascus, Edom, Elam, Kedar and Hazor

These points raise a number of questions:

In fact who was Jeremiah, where is Ananoth?
When and where did he live?
What about all those kings mentioned in the book - when did they reign, what sort of kings were they, what was the political climate at the time?
And what of the places mentioned - Damascus is a city that we hear about in the news, but where is Elam, Kedar, and Hazor? Does they still exist? How might we find out some more about them and the peoples that inhabited them?
What was going on around him at the time - what might motivate him to attack Jerusalem and the temple?

But ultimately, our question is: How might we find out answers to these questions of historical context?

Jeremiah - textual development

When we turn to other parts of the book of Jeremiah we note

He had a scribe Baruch who wrote down what he spoke (36:4)
We find that he produced a scroll which ended up being read and burnt by the authorities (36:10, 21-23).
Why would a king burn a message of prophecy?
There appears to be some form of editing (51.64)
In 52.27 it seems to end where the opening (1.3) suggests Jeremiah’s ministry ends, with the people going off into exile. Yet, 52.31 picks up the story and talks about what happens over 30 years later - potentially after Jeremiah has died.

These raise the question - how did the text of Jeremiah come to us - was it a single composition whereby he sat down and wrote all 52 chapters as a unified whole? Or did he have a journal of sorts that he added to over time as he received various messages? There is evidence that points to a process whereby the various messages were collected together and narrative material was put around them to form the Hebrew text that we can read today. And the ending suggests that another person was involved at a later point - but to what extent? These points raise another dimension to historical study of the Bible - what is the history of the text before us?

Scripture: History around the text

When we talk about interpreting the Bible, we often hear the word ‘context’ being used. But what is meant by that term? When we look at ‘the context’ in which a particular text such as Jeremiah was written, we find that there are many different layers of context. There are political, geographical, social, contemporary literary, religious and economic layers - each of which influence the language, style, focus, rhetoric, inclusions and omissions of a text. In this reading from the textbook, we will find out why understanding these layers helps in our interpretive process as well as find out about some of the tools that can help us learn about these contexts.

Read: Duval & Hays, ch 6 pp.115-135

Resources

Scripture: and History

When it comes to studying Scripture, we must recognise that we are in the realm of the study of history in two ways. Firstly, the study of Scripture necessarily involves dealing with ancient languages. The study of these languages and thought forms, whether it be the study of the words and grammar or a particular genre or a culture or a worldview are historical concerns. Secondly, the text was formed a considerable amount of time in the past, so when we talk about ‘history’ we need to distinguish between (1) the history of the text we are reading (how did it came to be) and (2) the history ‘behind’ or ‘outside’ the text that it makes reference to, as well as (3) the history ‘in’ the text (the story that the Scriptures tell)[23][#fretheim1996a:the-pentateuch;].

In this reading by Coogan, we look at the history behind the text and see its relationship to the Bible. How does the Bible align with other historical documents, discoveries and depictions?

Read:

Scripture: History of the text

Next we examine the issues related to ‘production’ - the history of the text. In this reading Hughes examines a number of approaches that seek to understand how the text came to be. The names and dates aren’t that important, we are seeking to understand the aim and methods of each critical approach and in what way they shed light on the author and the text.

Read:

Interpreting: Words

Lexicography is the study of words. It is a historical science that seeks to find out where and how words are used, how they might relate to other languages and how they fit together in clauses and sentences to form a text. In this reading we are introduced to an important skill in finding out the words in the original languages behind our English translations. We will also find out how to see how a word has been used in Scripture and how that might help our understanding of the term.

Read: Duval & Hays, ch 9 pp.163-184

Resources

LA: word study

Anyone who has children and is trying to teach them English will know that time when you have to say “…well, that’s just English, it has some odd things about it”. But when we think about words, we find that the same letters can be used for words that mean different things. An example¹⁷ is ‘row’. It can be (1) a line of things, ‘a row of chairs’, (2) an action of a person sitting in a boat, ‘I will row’, or (3) a description of a argument, ‘the patrons got into a row’. The word has 3 areas of meaning.

Now if we take the word ‘column’ we can see it used firstly like ‘row’ in the sense that it is a line of items, such as a column of numbers in a table or a newspaper column. But there is also the architectural use of a vertical beam that supports another level or roof etc. A third usage is for a military column of troops or vehicles. But here we can see that they overlap in the sense that they both are about the alignment of something and when one is scanning from the start to the end it is usually an up and down type motion.

These areas are what is referred to as ‘semantic domains’. In the case of ‘row’ there are three distinct domains, yet the term ‘column’ has an overlapping domain as it refers to things of similar form.

D&H 9-1

1. a. dynamis b. 119 times c. Acts 1:8 , 3:12 , 4:7 , 4:33, 6:8 , 8:10 , 10:38 as power d. Acts 2:22 , 8:13 , 19:11 as miracles

2. a. yad b. 1616 c. 4:21 and 14:31; Ex 1:8, 9:16 ,15:6 , 32:11 are wrong - eng power, not heb.

1 Cor 4:3 - anakrino (#373) , 4:5 - krino (#3212), 6:5 - diakrino (#1359)

4. a. 35 (just 1828), 50 (if +1827) count of 56 is english term ‘hope’; or 40 if inc Heb; 44 if rom to end of NT; 35 + 8 = 43 if inc Acts b. 1828 is 0, 1827 is 1 in Matthew, Mark or Luke c. Yes, elpis is the same word used in 1 Cor 13:13

91Notes

Tanya 4a 35 Chris has yad as #10311; 4a 40 Anthony 4a 44 Sam 1b 73, 2b 30, 4a 39 Tom 1b blank, 1c = 1b? 2b ? 2c ? 4b wrong Louise 1b 120; 2b 1617 2c Ex 3.11 Laura 1b 1212b 1536; 2b wrong; 3 krisis?; 4 over 35, 120+, c?

D&H 9-2

G/K 3534
Merimnao; used 19 times
‘Worry about’ (5), concerned about (4), worry (4), worrying (2), anxious about (1), have concern (1), takes interest (1), worried (1).
Mt 6.25 worry about Mt 6.27 worrying Mt 6.28 worry Mt 6.31 worry Mt 6.34 worry Mt 6.34 worry about Mt 10.19 worry about Lk 10.41 worried Lk 12.11 worry about Lk 12.22 worry about Lk 12.25 worrying Lk 12.26 worry Lk 12.29 isn’t… #3577 1Co 7.32 concerned about 1Co 7.33 concerned about 1Co 7.34 concerned about 1Co 7.34 concerned about 1Co 12.25 have [equal] concern Php 2.20 who takes [a genuine] interest in your welfare - positive? Php 4.6 do no be anxious about

2Co 11.28 concern #3533 Php 2.4 not ‘own interests’ but others’ interests x2 Php 2.21 ‘own interests’

92notes

D&H 9-3

G/K #2047
Hagga 25x
Meditate (3), plot (3), (1): growls, lament, meditates, moan, moan mournfully, moaned, mutter, mutters, ponder, speak, speaks, tell, think, utter, utter a sound, muttering utters, utters, uttering, weighs 4. Jos 1.8 meditate Job 27.4 utter Ps 1.2 meditates Ps 2.1 plot Ps 35.28 speak Ps 37.30 utters Ps 38.12 plot Ps 63.6 think (ponder?) Ps 71.24 tell (cf v15 #6218) Ps 77.12 meditate Ps 115.7 utter a sound Ps 143.5 meditate (note parallel to #8488) Pr 8.7 speaks Pr 15.28 weighs Pr 24.2 plot Isa 8.19 mutter Isa 16.7 lament Isa 31.4 growls Isa 33.18 ponder Isa 38.14 moaned Isa 59.3 mutters Isa 59.11 moan mournfully (x2) Isa 59.13 uttering lies our hearts have conceived Jer 48.31 moan

Interpreting: Literary contexts

We have seen how words take their queues from the words and clauses around them. But there is also the contexts of the sentences and paragraphs amongst each other. Recalling our Jeremiah discussion, questions such as ‘how does this prophecy relate to the narrative I’ve just read?’ or ‘how does this scene relate to the previous scene?’ start to examine the literary context of the passage in question. In this reading Duvall and Hays show us how to determine the literary contexts of a passage.

Read: Duval & Hays, ch 8, pp.149-161

I haven’t set a worksheet for this chapter, but 8-2 would be a great little exercise if you have the time.

Resources

Further Resources

Videos

- Watch: Witherington on ‘Why study backgrounds?’ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wiIK8A2EFk”>https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wiIK8A2EFk)
Mike Bird on Are the Gospels ‘historical’?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXOJXynvubo&feature=youtu.be
Watch Bauckham and Witherington: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txv3nMpGFLQ”

Notes

As is noted in the Yarchin reading, from 1500 onwards there is a focus on the text and the author of it. This is coupled with a more scientific approach to both the world and history.

ModuleEnd

History, H-C

Formation of the text - H-C

“Author recorded the words of Jesus” - consider your readings, is the process always that straight-forward?
who decided what was to go into the bible and when did this happen?
“The use of sub-headings was also interesting. KJV did not have a subheading”

Hermeneutics

“then trying to uncover the meaning from the context of the verse”
“all the different versions essentially communicated the same events and ideas” - what then is the advantage of translations that aim for formal equivalence?
“How can the everyday churchgoer find a healthy way of interpreting Scripture that is valid and meaningful?” -> others,

Herm

Being mindful of the process of interpretation is important; but also the factors that influence
“more modern method of reader oriented interpretation. This seemed dangerously close to a relativism”
“How is allegory/figurative still relevant?”

Theological

Matthew 28:18-19. Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given complete authority in heaven and on earth”
“The use of the word ‘beginning’ is extremely important in this passage as it relates to Christ being part of the Trinity present with God from the beginning of creation”
“Some emerging church leaders emphasis the importance of not being to biblio-centric, but recognising that the living Word is beyond text.How does this post-modern mysticism align with solid biblical interpretation?” -> question of the HS’s role both then and now

History and

The issue

Augustine - “This method is very subjective”
Yet, Ok for Paul to allegorise
“The biggest issue I see is the lack of any validation for allegorical interpretation”
Augustine reasonable? “No, because it limits our reading of biblical text to what we need to change to live a moral life … It’s changing the meaning of what the author intended.”
“Yes, when your allegorical, anagogical or tropological interpretations create scriptural inconsistencies.” - H-C does this also - we have more division since the Reformation than before it!

Herm

“Both approaches agree on the authority and divine authorship of scripture”
Both Origen and Luther had existing frameworks of how to read scripture.
“Luthers method of understanding this Psalm brings out greater meaning … Luther’s method is based on what is clearly written, not on a hidden meaning in what is written”
“Augustine’s interpretation clearly draws on events that have not occurred yet”
”[Luther] seems to jump straight to applying the majority of the interpretation to a post resurrection time period.”
“not all stories in the bible are attempting to relay moral truths” -> what other things could they be communicating?

Others

“We are forced to trust so called experts and errors can be presented”
“Luther’s method shows us that God has not left us on our own to try and figure it all out”
“it sets up the educated clergy to be the only true interpreters of text”
“One main [issues] is where teachers of today use allegory with the same authority of Paul”
“with Luther’s approach you require someone who is extremely gifted in biblical interpretation. If they are not gifted in this area they will lead people astray with their writings.” => Is this a problem? How might we counter-act this leading astray?

Theological

“I cannot argue with the conclusion but rather the method” “Though Luther claims nothing heretical or inconsistent with scripture” - existing framework of ‘orthodox’
“Luther’s literal approach paralyzes the interpreter from correctly understanding allegorical/metaphorical passages. For example, God prophecies that ‘he shall bruise your head’ (Genesis 3:15), a passage that can only be correctly understood metaphorically as Jesus defeating Satan.”

Lk 15

Meaning

“Every time I approach it I relate to each character differently” - could this also be true of other readers at present? What then does this imply about meaning?
Tanya: “three levels” - 3 contexts, three focuses - interesting
“the emphasis can be on who ever you feel you are at the time of reading”
“Luke 15:11-32 speaks to different people in different ways … people in different circumstances can find appropriate meaning for their journey and where they are at”
“I believe this is one thing Jesus was talking about”
“I have never given much thought to the eldest son, and I realize that I am probably more like him” - did meaning change?

Reader-response - where does meaning happen?

Daniel: “depending on where I am at it speaks to my situation …Sometimes I look at myself as being the son”
“reminding me of God’s amazing grace”; “I can be tempted … It serves as a warning to me”
“I did feel like the son who ran away and came back”

Context of Text

“Jesus responds with three powerful stories” - why only one in Matt 18.12-13? Did he actually tell 3? Did Matthew lose 2 or did Luke add 2?
“Jesus commits himself to going for the one who has wandered off” Contrast with: “those who deliberately rebel or turn away from the Father are worth waiting for” Does God wait or pursue??
“God is always waiting with open arms to welcome anyone who is a sinner or lost back to Himself. “ - Compare the other 2 stories
“From this perspective, the parable highlights God’s undeserved favour upon His elect”
“when Adam and Eve-and consequently all humans separated themselves and broke”

=> What is the appeal made to? Meta-narrative, theology

Context of Us: Others/Experts

“Timothy Keller has written a book called ‘The Prodigal God’ that describes this parable in detail and focuses on the third character”
“Bell makes an emphatic point that the jealous son represents individuals who are in heaven”

My Comments

This is not a criticism of any one in particular, it is not to highlight that you are wrong. It is to ask you to reflect upon what processes and what assumptions are there in the statements that are being made and how do they help us to understand what is going on when we read the Bible

Me

Everything is a spectrum. Ie typology - nothing is typological to everything is a type.

Meaning with author’s intention

If you are willing to say that Origen/Augustine/Luther etc got it wrong:

How are you going to be able determine what is right? Is it just you and your Bible? Who else are you going to listen to?

As we have seen there are many, many people who are in the great chain that has led to you being able to ‘just read your Bible’.

Do you then go on to say that the doctrine(s) that they produced is/could be wrong also?

Q: What view of Scripture did they have that encouraged them to interpret in this way?

A: Each of them considered every verse to have relevant meaning for the reader and so interpreted through a framework that enabled them to locate that meaning for the reader.

Debates:

Pisitis Christou
Divorce
Polygamy is clearly ‘biblical’, with many heroes of the faith doing it

Amplified Version

“Obviously from point 1 the more thought for thought translations generally are more easily accessible to most as that is part of their aim. I always find the Amplified Bible interesting. It tends to shed light on a verse and extend my understanding The part [and carry out His purposes] whilst not part of the actual text puts an interesting perspective and effects directly how I interpret it. God doing immeasurably more than I can ask or think can easily take on a selfish materialistic reading if only looked on at face value. I have God’s power in me I can get whatever I want. The Amplified’s addition of ‘and carry out His purposes’ reminds me that it’s not about what I can get but what God is doing in me. This of course can be found in the second verse that all glory is for God, not me. But again this could be viewed simply as a nice finishing sentence for that chapter. Interestingly Duvall & Hays didn’t seem that impressed with the AMP version as a serious study Bible. They warned it puts us in danger of the overload fallacy. That being not every word brings every possible definition to every context. However it did seem a little harsh in that it implied all that was done was for each word/ phrase a thesaurus was consulted and whatever possible alternatives were found were thrown in. I don’t think this was the method nor the desire of the AMP version. That being said I should be aware of any biases it may create.”

God and the Bible

Introduction

We’ve taken a look at what the Bible is, an overview of what it contains and how it came to be as such. Now these questions can be asked of any book. Yet, there is a particular and special place that the Bible has in life of ‘the people of the book’. How does it attain this place? In response to this question language such as ‘it is God’s Word’ and ‘it has authority for a believer’ and ‘it is inspired’ are used to convey this special status. How are we to understand theses terms?

All of this points to the question: what is the relationship of God to this text? Why do we have a Bible? What is its nature or purpose? And when you or I read a passage from it, in what way(s) is God involved? Taking a step back, this also raises the issue of where do we start in thinking about God, which do we need to address first - God or Scripture?

First Theology

Vanhoozer has proposed the term ‘first theology’ to describe the relationship between one’s doctrine of God and their doctrine of Scripture[][#vanhoozer2002a:first-theology:-god-;]. He suggests that we sit in a loop whereby we find out about God through Scripture, yet we need an understanding of God in order to know and value the place of Scripture. As an example, the Reformer Calvin, who held Scripture to have sole authority states the following in the preface to his Institutes of the Christian Religion:

“my object in this work was to prepare and train students of theology for the study of the Sacred Volume, so that they might both have an easy introduction to it, and be able to proceed in it, with unfaltering step, seeing I have endeavoured to give such a summary of religion in all its parts, and have digested it into such an order as may make it not difficult for any one, who is rightly acquainted with it, to ascertain both what he ought principally to look for in Scripture¹⁸”

Here, he is providing a framework, a ‘summary of religion’ in his words, or ‘first theology’ for those who wish to go on to study the ‘Sacred Volume’. Here theology, as an understanding of who God is, comes first and then goes on to explain the nature of Scripture which is then leveraged to explore the question of who God is. In contrast, if you look at a number of modern systematic theologies, they begin with an account of Scripture and after establishing that go on to use Scripture to talk about God - see for example Grudem’s Systematic Theology¹⁹ or Bavinck’s Reformed Dogmatics.²⁰ This is in large part due to their wanting to establish a source of authority from which to do their theology because in modernist thinking the method provides the access as such to true knowledge.

Scripture: Billings

Reading 1: Billings

In the first reading Billings prompts us to examine our ‘first theology’. He first examines the notion of ‘revelation’ and puts forth two important statements. Firstly, either revelation is based on our own human capacities to think and reason our way ‘up’ to God, or it is based on the particular acts of God (‘coming down’) in space and time in the life of Israel and Jesus of Nazareth. Secondly, we can either have a deist (a remote, disinterested, uninvolved god) or a trinitarian approach to understanding and interpreting Scripture. Billings pushes towards revelation being the prior, and in a sense ongoing, act of the triune God. After examining revelation he then goes on to reframe our understanding of inspiration and then helps us to see the formation of the canon from a theological perspective. This is a little heavy-going, but it is a rich reading that helps to theologically tie together a number of parts that have been raised over the past few weeks.

Read:

Scripture: The role of Holy Spirit

Reading 2: D&H

One of the points emphasised by Billings is the work of the Holy Spirit in regard to the formation of Scripture ‘back then’. This Duvall & Hays reading links the work of the Spirit back into our ‘here and now’ process of interpreting Scripture.

Read:

Scripture: D&H: Inspiration & Canon

Another point discussed by Billings is that of inspiration. Duvall & Hays state that “the point of inspiration is that it gives the biblical text the same authority over us as if the words came from the mouth of God”[444][#duvallhays2012a.grasping-gods-word:-;]. The logic here is that we read that “all scripture is theopneustos (inspired/God-breathed)”

Duvall and Hays where they briefly examine inspiration, ‘first theology’, inerrancy and canon. In examining the idea of inspiration they often talk about the “divine origin” of Scripture and the writers being influenced by the Holy Spirit which pushes towards the question of first theology which they then address. D&H then address inerrancy and begin by asking a couple of questions that use different terms: ‘accurate’, ‘truth’ and ‘error’. How do you define these terms? You have already looked this chapter, but quickly scan through it again to see how they have described these matters.

Read:

Scripture: sufficient

A completely different take on the issue is presented by Paul Washer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXNXwAUHeTk

This concept of sufficiency has two aspects. Firstly, Scripture “contains everything necessary to be known and responded to for salvation and faithful discipleship” and secondly, “it ought not ultimately to be subject to any external interpretative authority … so is significantly ‘self-interpreting’“[730][#ward2005a.scripture-sufficienc;]

Sufficiency means that God continues to prompt, guide, direct disciples and the church. But it is sufficient only for a particular divinely intended purpose, rather than any or all of the questions that we may have and to the extent that we would like[730-1][#ward2005a.scripture-sufficienc;]

Scripture: Authority

Reading 3: Wright on the Authority of Scripture

Some of those interviewed spoke of the authority of Scripture. How might a parable have authority? And what about a Psalm? While we want to affirm that Scripture has a unique place in our lives and authority over them, we need to understand the nature of the way in which this authority works. In the following reading N. T. Wright examines this issue - “though authority belongs to God, God has somehow invested this authority in scripture”.²¹

Read:

Scripture: Inerrency 1

One of the outworkings of the understanding the Scripture is inspired is that it is ‘true’. This can also be stated in another way, that Scripture is inerrant, that is, without error. But are these the same thing? The case for inerrancy builds from the logic of inspiration - if God breathed these words and God is perfect and cannot lie, then these words will not lie and are ‘inerrant’ - without error. The term ‘inerrant’ is a negative one - the Bible is not with error, but are there positive terms that we can use? Would ‘true’ be a helpful term?

The inerrancy of Scripture has become a significant issue over the 20th century. Recently, a book was published that presented five different views on this question of inerrancy. Watch this short clip of two of the essayists Mohler and Enns:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2jC0XCQP9k0

Do you see where each of them is coming from and the logic of their case?

Scripture: Inerrency 2

If we take a passage such as Mt 20.29-34 and it parallels in Mk 10.46-52 and Lk 18.35-43 we find a number of ‘inconsistencies’. This issue stands that no-one can currently ‘resolve’ these differences, nor will anyone in the future. Is this a contradiction, an error, or something else? This is where the Boyd and Eddy reading for this week comes in. This reading presents two sides of ‘The Inspiration Debate’²² in a straight-forward way so that you can see the issues involved with this particular issue.

Have a read of the following quote:

“The terms inerrant and infallible are modern ways of attempting to make clear that the Bible tells the truth about whatever it intends to teach us about. I much prefer the positive terms truthful and trustworthy. When you start defining something negatively (saying what it is not) then you often die the death of a thousand qualifications, not to mention you have to define what constitutes an error. I am happy to say that the Bible has three main subjects – history, theology, and ethics, and that it tells us the truth about all three.”[][#bird2007a.ben-witherington-on-;]

Does saying ‘truthful and trustworthy’ make you an inerrantist or not?
One of the other essayist is Michael Bird. Watch the following clip and note the effect of the subtle changes in language around this issue:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-q1LVpbd10

Contradictions

Cleansing of temple in synoptics vs John.

Which commentators reconcile, which don’t

Bird: 1 or 2 men on entry or exit to town.

Models

In their overview of hermeneutics Porter and Stovell note two models: an evolutionary model of the text, that ‘behind’ the text that we have and a communication model that shifts focus to ‘within’ the text[17][#porterstovell2012a.introduction:-trajec;].

Scripture: Inspriation

###

Neo-orthodox
Limited insp
Dictation
Plenary insp

###

One way we could consider the issue is to think about where inspiration occurs along a continuum:

original markings
original words (oral)
original sentences as thoughts
Original manuscripts
edited work eg Jeremiah or Genesis
Luke uses Mark and other sources - original or his collection of materials?
not the individual books, but the collection has authority
Does a translation like LXX have authority etc? (It seems it did for the early church
Does a translation like NIV have authority? (So why do we read it privately and publicly?)

LA: Thoughts on this week

This week draws us into issues and debates and some heavy going discussions.

So in the forum I’d like you to respond to three questions:

What squares with my thinking?
What three points do I need to consider?
What questions are circling about in my mind?

I would also like you to engage at least 1 other person’s response - ask them a question, clarify, etc

My responses

Interpreting the Bible 1

Interpreting: the journey

Reading 1: Duvall & Hays

We have spent a reasonable amount of our time looking at and thinking through numerous issues relating to ‘reading the Bible’. Many of these we haven’t had to think much about up until now and so there can be a sense of overwhelm at this point by all the factors at play.

The question now becomes, is there are model or process we can use to help us consistently consider and work through these various issues as we go about interpreting the Bible? In this first reading Duvall and Hays present an overview of their model for doing just this.

Read:

Interpreting: Sentences

Readings

The meaning of a word can only be determined by the way it is used. For most words, they are found hanging out in groups called sentences. In other words, words get meaning “from the company they keep”[136][#ford1999a:theology:-a-very-sho;]. We have seen that we need to understand the historical nature of the words that we come across in Scripture and the range of meaning that an individual word can hold. In this reading we begin to focus in on the ways that individual words are put together in sentences and the ways that parts of sentences relate to one another. For some this may take you back to the English lessons of your schooling. But for many of us, who didn’t get taught much about the details of English grammar, this is an important lesson in both the basic usage of words, as well as the language used to describe that usage.

Read:

Duvall & Hays, ch. 3, pp. 51-63

Interpreting: Paragraphs

Reading 3: D&H ch 4

We continue to build upward in our observational skills. Sentences are grouped together in paragraphs which can be defined as a “unit of thought”. Yet, as with sentences, paragraphs can put together the sentences in a variety of relationships that convey information in different ways. In this chapter Duvall and Hays explore these relationships and give us more terminology for describing them.

Read:

Duvall & Hays, ch 4, pp. 69-82

Interpreting: Discourses

Reading 4: D&H ch 5

We now turn to the next level up as such, the discourse. In significant texts paragraphs are rarely found in isolation, they are joined with other paragraphs to form a discourse. And again, as with paragraphs and sentences, the relationship between the elements shapes it message.

Now there are exceptions to this. A proverb is a sentence, but doesn’t have the notion of paragraph. Poetry is slightly different in that it has sentences and groups of those, but they are called stanzas, so it is more of a terminology thing. Yet we can see that in both cases there is a common set of groupings at similar levels.

Duvall and Hays here get us to zoom out to make observations about the ways in which paragraphs and groups of paragraphs relate to and inform one another.

Read:

Application

See the comments in [][#johnson2003a.reading-the-scriptur;]

Hermenutics

Meaning

In previous weeks we have looked at the semantic domain of words and seen that a single word can have a number or range of meanings. An example of this was ‘row’: rowing a boat, form a row, two people have a row. If we see the single word ‘row’ on a page the meaning of this is what is called indeterminate - we cannot determine its meaning as it could be one of the three uses that we have mentioned above. When we add some words around it, that is, giving it a context, we are then better able to determine the meaning of the word.

For example adding “the trees were planted in a row” provides enough context for us to determine the meaning of ‘row’ to mean ‘a line or column’. Sometimes adding text is not enough, so adding “the couple rowed” does not gives us enough context to choose between us understanding that the couple are rowing a boat or that they had an argument - it remains indeterminate.

This helps us to understand why, when it comes to the interpretation of texts, we need to understand that while the text is to a large extent fixed, the meaning is not completely determined.²³

Humour

We can see this indeterminate aspect of text in a positive way when we look at humour. Take the following (bad?) joke:

A guy walks up to a nightclub and the bouncer tells him he can’t come in as the dress code states that he needs to be wearing a tie. He doesn’t have one, but he goes back to he car and rummages around to see if he can find something. The only thing he can find that even vaguely resembles a tie is a set of jumper-leads, so he ties them in a half-windsor know and heads back to the club. When he presents himself to the bouncer, the bouncer looks him up and down, looks at his tie and says “Go ahead. Just don’t go starting anything”.

The phrase “don’t go starting anything” in a club setting usually means “don’t start a fight”, but in this case the phrase in conjunction with the leads gives the story its humorous nature.

Humour in most cases, such as the play on words, relies on the indeterminate nature of the punchline, or rather two meanings of the punchline. The first is a train of thought that is carried along by the story and then there is a jump to an alternate meaning. Importantly, the punchline is not indeterminate to the point of having any meaning or no meaning, but it does have two meanings.

Exploring the notion of meaning is a difficult one that we are opening up this week. The question of where is meaning found or who determines meaning is a much discussed and debated area, particularly across the 20th century.

Interpreting: Who controls meaning

Reading 1: D&H ch 10

But if meaning can mean more than one thing, can it mean anything? We saw this possibility in the allegorical readings of the early church - it seemed like they were making up the meaning. In our first reading Duvall and Hays seek to answer the question of ‘who controls meaning’?

Duvall & Hays, ch 10, pp.191-201 Read:

NTW on ‘literal’

Video: On the term ‘literal’ (5min)

In this short clip, N.T. Wright is asked about taking certain parts of Scripture literally. His response is quite helpful as he examines what we might mean by the term ‘literal’ and gives us useful language to talk about meaning and how language works in this regard. You may need to play it a couple of times to grasp the subtleties of the language and concepts he is talking about.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/fxQpFosrTUk

Metaphor

One of the most prominent features of the Bible and the Old Testament in particular is its use of poetic form and language. One of key ways in which poetry works is through the presentation and development of a metaphor or image.

Metaphors and similes are first of all images and pictures that are to be experienced as images and we need to interpret them. They work because (1) they “establish a correspondence between two phenomena” and “declare that A is somehow like B” and (2) they are drawn from our experience of the world - “poets do not invent metaphors and similes; they discover them”[161, 166][#ryken1992a:words-of-delight:-a-;].

Key to understanding what metaphors are and therefore how they provide meaning is that they ask us to hold two ideas together at once and that in doing so we learn something about one from our understanding or experience of the other.

But this provides an important issue for the notion of meaning as the usage of metaphor relies on a double-meaning.

Figurative

Metaphor is a type or mode of communication that is non-literal. But as was spoken of by Tom Wright, it can refer to both concrete and abstract things. Alongside this usage of metaphor are two other types of non-literal communication that are used in Scripture - allegory and typology. We find allegory in passages such as the Parable of the Sower (Mark 4) and Daniel chapter 7. Here, the elements of the story or vision are non-literal and mean or refer to other things - ‘the word’ (abstract) and kingdoms (concrete). Typology “is literary foreshadowing and a method of biblical interpretation that establishes formal correspondence between Old Testament events, persons, objects, or ideas and similar New Testament events, persons, objects, or ideas by way of prototype”[23][#hill2003a.1–2-chronicles;]. We can see for example that the high priest in the Old Testament is a figure or type that foreshadows the work and role of Jesus and that the Exodus event is a type of the ‘new exodus’ where Jesus leads us out of bondage.

Interpreting: Levels of meaning

Reading 2: D&H ch 11

When we looked at the history of interpretation, we noted that the early church engaged in allegorical interpretation, a practice that seemed strange to us. In practicing this method, interpreters implied that while one may read and find meaning on the surface of the text - in a narrative, poem, or parable - the true meaning is found on another layer of meaning, the allegorical one. The Reformers rejected this idea and as we’ve inherited our interpretative practices more from them, we too, for the most part, frown upon allegory.

Yet, when we read a parable, or a poem for that matter, we are already engaged in a process where we do have two layers of meaning - the initial text of the parable or poem and the reality or truth to which it refers. For example, the parable of the lost coin (Lk 15:8-10) is a story about a person searching for a coin. This first layer of meaning makes complete sense as is - I could tell it to my children and they would understand it and go “that’s nice”. But there is also the meaning at another layer which is the reason that Jesus tells it (Lk 15.1-3) - it refers to the nature of God as the one who seeks and saves that which is lost (cf Lk 19.10).

So, the question is: can a text, can Scripture, and does it have more than one meaning? Duvall and Hays explore the issue in this reading.

Duvall & Hays, ch. 11, pp. 203-222 Read:

Interpreting: Application

Reading 3: D&H ch 13

Ultimately, what is the goal of “grasping God’s word”? After grasping it, then what? This is the question of application and Duvall and Hays work through the application of a popular verse (in fact it was the most bookmarked, highlighted and shared verse on the Bible App for 2013)²⁴ in a variety of examples.

Duvall & Hays, ch. 13 pp. 235-246 Read:

Note:

Interpreting: a model

My model with annotations is a variation of the hermeneutical circle.

As we saw in the first week, Adler helps us to read well by considering the overall nature of the work first and then reading in more and more detail after. This exemplifies a dimension of the hermeneutical circle which defines the relationship of the parts to the whole. A part of text only makes sense in relation to the whole of the text. This we have seen in another way when we talk about ‘literary context’.

Speaking of context, these too form ‘wholes’ that then inform our understanding of the part. So taking our example of the oracles in Jeremiah that speak of the nations surrounding, we see that the political landscape shapes our understanding of the particular text.

Another thing we examined earlier was what we bring to the interpretive process. One of the words for this is our ‘pre-understandings’. Our pre-understandings both inform and influence our understanding of the text. This is another dimension of the hermeneutical circle - our pre-understandings inform our reading of the text which then inform and shape our pre-understanding when we next read the text. For example our understanding of Paul will influence our understanding of our reading of Romans, which will inform our understanding when we read Colossians, which will modify our reading of Romans, and around and around we go.

This pre-understanding is not just informed and shaped by the Bible, it is shaped by all of the factors that we identified earlier - history, culture, our family, those that we have read, listened to, watched, those far from us in time or distance and those close to us, particularly family and teachers I would suggest.

Slavery in the text, slavery in history - abolitionist views

3 circles:

Parts and the whole
Preunderstanding and text
Doctrine of God and Doctrine of Scripture

Porter: Trajectories

This reading comes from the introduction to a book that presents five ways or models of ‘biblical hermeneutics’. The authors distinguish between types literature that one may find and then offers an overview of the history of hermeneutics, finishing with the important questions that hermeneutics tries to answer.

Intended meaning

Those of us who are parents have probably had the experience whereby one parent is speaking to the children about something and a statement that is made to the child also carries a message to the other parent. Wolterstorff gives an illustration²⁵ of this whereby a mother is speaking to her children with their father in earshot. She says to them “only two days to Christmas”. This statement is an expression of comfort to the children, like the phrase “nearly there”. But at the same time it is a warning or encouragement to the father - “you had better get on with the Christmas shopping!”. Here the author (mother) has made a statement to two different audiences with two different meanings.

Ricoeur

All of these examples point to ‘meaning’ being more than a fixed, single thing. But, it was rightly noted when we examined allegorical interpretations that if we step away from a view of a single, fixed meaning, we run into the question of validity and relativism.

Just because there is more than one does not mean that there are unlimited.

Truth

Here we need to recognise that the Bible is a whole, but is also made up of many parts. And some of those parts are quite different to others. In the same way that we might ask about the nature of the authority of say a parable, we can also as how is a parable ‘true’? And what about a psalm - how might we go about saying that “he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge” (Ps 91:4) is true? Historical aspects are often what is in view when the term ‘true’ is used of Scripture, but we need to understand ‘true’ in relation to all aspects of Scripture.

This then leads to an important issue in defining the nature of truth. A classic illustration is that some blind people come across an elephant one day and are asked to describe it. The first touches its side and says it is like a wall. The second grabs the trunk and states ‘it is rounded and muscular and long - like a thick snake’. The third says ‘No, it is thin and flat and rubbery, like a wing or membrane.’ A fourth third disagrees ‘No, it is hard and pointed like a spear’. The fifth feels the leg and says ‘It is more like a tree’. The point here is that they are all telling the truth, but that it is partial. No one blind man has a ‘total view’ of what is being described. Given the composite nature of scripture, there is a similar dynamic at work - a psalm does not have a total picture of God, or the world or humanity; but it provides a viewpoint on its topic. It may be true, but it is not complete. The gospels are a case in point, they offer four vantage points on the life of Jesus, each complementing the others and providing a larger view.

See Westphal: perspective, relative

Beyond foundations, beyond totality, toward the ‘other’

Plurality

When we looked at the nature of Scripture we noted that there is a significant diversity in the material it contains. This diversity is in numerous aspects - genre, date, authorship, purpose, perspective, . This diversity has been recognised more and more in many contemporary works.

Partial

At core we are finite creatures, this is a theological affirmation, but has a necessary corollary that we cannot see the whole, that is we have a perspective on the whole.

Perspective

SK was a perspectivist

We have noted previously that we all interpret from a context and that this context shapes the way we think, the questions that we have, and the language that we use.

This means that we, but also everyone else both living and dead, does the same. Everyone interprets from a location in time and space.

This, coupled with the partial nature of our seeing, means that there will be differences in what we see. And that is if we recognise that we is seen can be complementary

Notes

Readings

Ford, D. F. “Through the Past to the Present: Texts and History.” In Theology: a very short introduction, 135–54. Oxford University Press, 1999.

Further

Ricoeur on autonomy of the text
Shillington ch 3,4

Fallacies

see Carson

Ricouer

Poly-valent, semantic domains, surplus of meaning

Word studies

But not opposite direction

Everything the Bible says about love isn’t limited to verses where love is mentioned.

Intertextuality

“your watch” - giving a timepiece or changing of the guard

“Back” - anatomy (my back), prior (go back), movement (move back), position (back of room)

We polarise into either this or that

However when it comes to a text it is both determinate and indeterminate (Westphal)

Interpreting the Bible 2

Genres

As we have progressed through this unit we have looked at two key areas. The first looked at the way in which we read and how a text that we read is formed by the joining of words into sentences, then paragraphs, then discourses up to a ‘work’ such as a book. These parts join and inform the whole while the whole shapes and directs the parts. This is the area of the text.

The second area has explored the many factors that go into, and therefore influence, our processes of interpretation. We can summarise this by the term contexts and it looks at the many contexts of the text, both internal (canon, literary, etc) and external (author, social, political, etc) and ourselves as readers of the text.

One of the keys that holds these many factors together is what we will explore in this final section of the course and that is the area of genre. A genre is a type of text but it is also defined or informed by context. A contemporary example is a tweet. It has a structure and possible elements and fixed length - it is a particular type of text. Yet, anyone who read it at any other time in history would be confused by some of its elements (why this short?, why do some words have hash or an ‘@’ in front of them?). Similarly, a legal text or poem is a text, but the conventions will be informed by the contexts of their composition. Homer’s The Odyssey is a poem, but all of the lines don’t rhyme as some types of modern poetry does, nor does it only have five lines like a limerick.

In examining the genre of a text, we are seeing the way in which the text seeks to do what it is trying to do. For example, a poem is a text that aims at creating a picture or image in the reader’s mind. A letter might seek to inform or persuade. There are also other kinds of texts that we seldom think of as texts, but have significant influence on our lives - that of a constitution or a legal act. These too have a way in which they are trying to do something, sometimes aiming at giving something valued (“all people shall…”) or commanding something (“you shall not …”). Identifying the genre and interpreting ‘according to the rules’ of that genre are critical to a good reading of a text.

Due to the significance of genre, Duvall and Hays take us through the aspects of and ‘rules’ for understanding and interpreting a number of genres that are important to understand in the OT and NT. For the OT it is Narrative, Law, Poetry, Prophecy, Wisdom and for the NT it covers Letters, Gospels, Acts, Revelation. We will cover the OT section together over a fortnight and the NT genres over the following fortnight.

Law

Law - 2

Categories of law

As Duvall and Hays point out, it used to be common to distinguish law into categories of ‘civil’, ‘ceremonial’, ‘moral’ which did have the advantage of neatly corresponding to interpretive questions that seemed to resolve easily with the former two categories could be disregarded as contextual ‘back then’ and therefore non-binding on the contemporary Christian.

Given that this approach didn’t work other methods arose. Christopher Wright offers a helpful way to look at them by distinguishing five sociological categories of law:

‘criminal’ - against God or others
‘civil’ - private disputes, mostly casuistic
‘family’ - relationships, widows, etc
‘cultic’ - religious regulations, sabbath, tithes, sacrifice, etc
‘charitable’ - looking after the weak and vulnerable widows, orphans, aliens

Forms

Casuistic

This is impersonal, ‘if … then’ in style and describes the case and penalty, generally in regard to civil rather than religious matters. Exodus 21 contains a number of examples of this type:

[28]When an ox gores a man or a woman to death, the ox shall be stoned, and its flesh shall not be eaten; but the owner of the ox shall not be liable. [29]If the ox has been accustomed to gore in the past, and its owner has been warned but has not restrained it, and it kills a man or a woman, the ox shall be stoned, and its owner also shall be put to death (28,29).

Here, each verse is an example. The ‘when’ in v28 substitutes for ‘if’, but the ‘then’ is missing - it is replaced by a comma and is indicated by the vertical bar:

Apodictic

This type of law is more like a direct command. These can be framed in the absolute negative, ‘you shall not murder’ (Ex 20.13). Or, they can be the positive admonition ‘honour your father and mother’ (Ex 20.12).

Legal series

Sometimes the the laws are presented as a series or collection of instructions, famously as the 10 commandments (Ex 20/Dt 5). But other portions appear in a similar fashion in Exodus 21 and 22 dealing with servants (vv2-11), bodily injury (vv. 18-32) and property (22.1-15) as well as in Leviticus (chs 18,19).

Instruction

In other places the law reads more like explicit procedures for carrying out various religious rituals specific to the tabernacle and temple such as Priestly instruction (Lev 6-7,21) and ritual instruction (Lev 1-5). This type of material would be classified as ‘cultic’ by Wright as it has to do with the cultus - the worship and rituals of the people.

Law - Interpretation

Classically, there are two opposing views to the application of law material to the Christian:

‘Classic covenant’: all applies except what is repealed
‘Classic dispensational’: none applies, except what is repeated and affirmed

As we read what seems strange and arcane to us, we must remember that these portions of Scripture are Scripture and therefore are “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness” (2 Tim 3.16).

The OT law is not a comprehensive code for every legal matter that Israel had, and should be considered more a “select sample of illustrative cases or topics whose legal principles were to guide Israelite individuals, the larger community, and lawmakers in making decisions and in living out Israel’s wordview”.

The reader must “interpret law relationally” - in relation to God and the community and as Jesus pointed out, this is the most important point of the law.

Law - Motivation

When we look at a text such as Deuteronomy 25 (vv13-16):

13 You shall not have in your bag two kinds of weights, large and small. 14You shall not have in your house two kinds of measures, large and small. 15You shall have only a full and honest weight; you shall have only a full and honest measure, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 16For all who do such things, all who act dishonestly, are abhorrent to the Lord your God.

We note that there is both a purpose for this law ‘so that …’, as well as a reason or basis for it ‘for all who …’. Not all of the law has this, but the are numerous examples of what can be called the ‘motivation clauses’ that explain the ‘why’ of this particular law.

Dt 20.5

Sometimes a simple explanation is given:

“Then the officials shall address the troops, saying, ‘Has anyone built a new house but not dedicated it? He should go back to his house, or he might die in the battle and another dedicate it.”

Dt 5.14

Other times the rationale points to the conscience of the reader:

“But the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God; you shall not do any work—you, or your son or your daughter, or your male or female slave, or your ox or your donkey, or any of your livestock, or the resident alien in your towns, so that your male and female slave may rest as well as you.”

Lev 22.15-16

A theological motivation may be given, concerning the nature or character of God:

“No one shall profane the sacred donations of the people of Israel, which they offer to the Lord, causing them to bear guilt requiring a guilt-offering, by eating their sacred donations: for I am the Lord; I sanctify them.”

Dt 24.21-22

Finally, an religious/historical reason can be provided, appealing to the history of Israel:

“When you gather the grapes of your vineyard, do not glean what is left; it shall be for the alien, the orphan, and the widow. Remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt; therefore I am commanding you to do this.”

These motivational clauses allow us to move out of the historical-contextual steps fairly quickly and travel on the interpretive journey to the principle stage. They also can give us an understanding of what might be the basis for any other law material the we are interpreting.

Wisdom

Wisdom 1

Wisdom is built upon the idea of creation theology, that observing life and creation will reveal truths about what works and what does not work. It suggests that there is an order woven into creation and ties in with the notion of general revelation, albeit an “indirect, limited form of revelation”[313][#klein1993a:introduction-to-bibl;].

It is not a genre that is particular to Israel and can be found in both Egyptian and Mesopotamian literature. In fact, proverbial wisdom is found in contemporary sayings such as ‘the early bird catches the worm’ or ‘a stitch in time saves nine’.

Based around experience and observation, the logic of the proverb suggests that if you do A, you will get B. Importantly, these are probably true, but not a guaranteed outcome of irrevocable promise by God. They are more “patterns of conduct that, if followed, give on the best chance of success”[315][#klein1993a:introduction-to-bibl;].

The principles behind these expressions “are tentative because they may be overruled by the mysterious freedom of God or by the teaching of other direct revelation”[313][#klein1993a:introduction-to-bibl;] (Citing Job).

The aim of wisdom is concerned with gaining mastery in relation to the day to day issues of life. It is designed to be teachable and passed on to the next generation.

Wisdom 2

A **proverb is a short, pithy saying that may describe a truth²⁶ or is may prescribe a truth²⁷ aiming to promote ethical behaviour in the hearer.

They can come in the form of comparisons: “better a X than a Y” - “Better is a dinner of vegetables where love is than a fatted ox and hatred with it” (Pr 15.17).

Contrasting two types of people, or providing the response or antidote to the scenario: “Those who are hot-tempered stir up strife, but those who are slow to anger calm contention” (15.18) and “Anxiety weighs down the human heart, but a good word cheers it up” (12.25)

Sometimes it is a climactic list²⁸ (30.18-9):

Three things are too wonderful for me; four I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a girl.

Wisdom 3

For interpretation, as per Duvall and Hays’ 4th step, these must be balanced against other proverbs (wisdom literature?) and other scriptural teaching[315][#klein1993a:introduction-to-bibl;].

If we take a look at Pr 13.4:

The appetite of the lazy craves, and gets nothing, while the appetite of the diligent is richly supplied.

This is the rhetoric of the government at present, but is it always true, everywhere?

We need to note that (1) there is no denial of exceptions, and that the proverb does not include them either and (2) we can easily import modern, Western idea(l)s into the proverb - our desires, world views and experiences. When we look at Proverbs 25.6-7:

Do not put yourself forward in the king’s presence or stand in the place of the great; for it is better to be told, ‘Come up here’, than to be put lower in the presence of a noble.

We can see that occasionally wisdom offers a motivation (or paranesis) for the particular action (see Pr 22.22-23 and 25.21-22), similar to what we find with some of the law material.

Wisdom 4

Proverbs 26 provides an important clue for interpreting wisdom literature:

4 Do not answer fools according to their folly, or you will be a fool yourself. 5 Answer fools according to their folly, or they will be wise in their own eyes.

It is not about merely knowing the proverb, here we see that wisdom is about knowing when to apply the proverb. The goal is not wisdom as knowledge, it is about action - one’s ‘way’ - both their character and behaviour. Wisdom is a way of life and the ultimate goal is a proper relationship with Yahweh and life before him. The starting point is to recognise that wisdom comes from God and we need to acknowledge him.

Finally, there is warning to those that would loosely speak out a proverb:

[26.7] The legs of a disabled person hang limp; so does a proverb in the mouth of a fool. [26.9] Like a thornbush brandished by the hand of a drunkard is a proverb in the mouth of a fool.

Historical overview of Interp methods

pre-Rabbinic

Jewish

Yarchin distinguishes between pre rabbinic (150 BCE - 70 CE ) and rabbinic ( 70 CE - 1500 )

Philo

Dead Sea / Qumran

Scripture interpreting itself

Further Resource

Readings

Patristic (150 CE - 1500)

Clement

Ireneus

From [][#ferguson1988a:irenaeus;]

p. 340 “he united Asian [Eastern] and Western theological traditions” unity of the church was theologicaly important for him, hence his support of Montanists, Qua…

Demonstration###

is a biblical history, seeming to be in a catechismal format, looking at “the spiritual sense of Scripture”
creation, Moses, Law, Prophets, Christ, resurrection, apostles

Against Heresies###

5 books; 1&2 work through the teachings of the gnostic heretics and rationally refute
books 3-5 refute the heretical teachings from the apostolic writings

thinking###

he “was knowledgeable about philosophy and employed rhetorical devices in structuring his treatise”
emphasis on Scripture, creation, redemption and resurrection (cf Barth)
Scripture and tradition ad the same content for I [given his timing]
also against Marcion - unity of Scripture, historical revelation

p. 341

gnostics took their WV and viewed Bible through that lens
for I interpretation was “according to the canon of truth”
apostolic summaries represented “proper content of Scripture”
“correct understanding of apostolic teaching was preserved in the churches, which went back to apostolic times
Trinity: 2 hands of God
Adam was created as a child
Jesus “assuming real flesh and retracing the steps of humanity to perfection in himself (recapitulation)”
Atonement: “Christ’s perfect obedience reversed the effects of the first Adam’s disobedience, the blood of his death bringing forgiveness of sins and his resurrection a triumph over death, and so the devil was defeated”

Tyconius

A layman of some importance who was a part of the Donatist controversy.²⁹ He was attacked and condemned for some of his catholicizing views yet refused to join the Catholic Church[][#crosslivingstone2007a.tyconius;]. He is notable as he wrote ‘Liber Regularum’ (c 380) which was incorporated into book 4 of Augustine’s ‘De Doctrina Christiana’ (see below).

Further

Readings

Origen 2

He was one of the great scholars of the early church and wrote commentary and scholia (notes on texts and comparisons) on most of the Bible. Much of his work has been lost, but because others writers have quoted him we have reference to and fragments of it. The majority of his commentary on Matthew, John, Song of Songs and Romans still exist. He also wrote a number of other works: his most important ‘De Principiis’ has no original text, ‘Exhortation to Martyrdom’, ‘On Prayer’, ‘Contra Celsum’.

Medieval

Four senses

Literal, allegorical, anagogical, and tropological.

“If Scripture had but one meaning, and that resident in its literal sense, there would be no history of biblical interpretation. As we saw in our discussion of typology (chap. 5), the interpretation of Scripture begins within Scripture itself. Our short history describes a variety of ways by which Christian interpreters have gone behind the literal sense of texts in search of Scripture’s deeper meaning, the experience of the church being that the Word of God, particularly as moral imperative (e.g., Mic. 6:8; Luke 10:25-28 par.), is relevant not jusr to the past but to the present. Since human being is as diverse as life itself, the Word of God must a fortiori speak to the whole human condition, as the Quadriga of the Middle Ages affirmed (chap. 7): to faith (via allegoria), to hope (via anagogia), and to love (via tropology)”. Soulen

Nicholas of Lyra

(1270-1349) A Fransican who wrote detail commentary on the Bible, incorporating patristic and Latin writings. The result was two works Postillae Litterales and the Postillae Morales that complemented it. This effectively became the first modern commentary[][#crosslivingstone2007a.nicolas-of-lyra;].

Steinmetz?

Aquinas

Reformation

Calvin

John Calvin was born in northern France in 1509.³⁰ He appears to have been heading for church ministry during his teenage years. He moved to Paris (around 1521-3) to study Arts and then subsequently studied law (1528) in Orleans and Bourges and returned to Paris to study Letters (1531). During his study he came into contact with the ideas of the recently started Reformation, probably the writings of Erasmus and Luther. In 1533 there was public outcry at a speech given by the new rector at the University of Paris. The man was friend of Calvin’s and the speech was potentially written by Calvin. This outcry reflected the growing hostility in France to these reforming ideas which led Calvin to “resign his benefices” in 1534 and flee France for Basle (Basel), Switzerland in 1535.

To what extent does Calvin’s studies in law shape his thought and expression of that thought? What sort of person does it take to break from the faith of his upbringing? His strengths lay in his knowledge of languages (Greek, French, Latin), memory, writing style and in organisation - both his thoughts and of the church[267][#crosslivingstone2007a:calvin-john;]

Although Holy Scripture contains a perfect doctrine … yet a person who has not much practice in it has good reason for some guidance and direction, to know what he ought to look for in it … that he may always be pressing toward the end to which the Holy Spirit calls him[6][#calvin1960a:institutes-of-the-ch;].

Erasmus

Note

One of the chief ideas of this reformation was that the Bible became a book in the hands of the believer to be interpreted by them over and against a Bible that was to be read and interpreted only by authorised persons, usually the clergy. Luther and Wycliffe’s work saw the Bible translated into the vernacular of German and English respectively.

While there was agreement on ‘how’ interpretation was to be conducted, there where many instances where there was significant differences in ‘what’ Scripture said about a number of issues - for example, there was sharp disagreement over the Eucharist between Luther and Zwingli[48][#kleinblomberg2004a.introduction-to-bibl;].

One of the outworkings of this disagreement was that people and then groups of people began to disagree and form movements and counter-movements based upon their readings. This, McGrath terms a ‘Christianity’s Dangerous idea’

The idea … that the Bible is capable of being understood by all Christian believers – and that they have the right to interpret it and to insist upon their perspectivees being taken seriously … However, it [the dangerous idea] ultimately proved uncontrollable, spawning developments that few at the time could have envisaged or predicted …. [it] gave rise to an unparalleled degree of creativity and growth, on the one hand, while on the other causing new tensions and debates that, by their very nature, probably lie beyond resolution”[][#mcgrath2008a.christianitys-danger;].

Modern (1500-present)

Enlightenment

Author-oriented (Historical-Critical)

Textual Criticism

One of the first things to consider in the exegetical process is the text that we are reading. How did it come about? We do not have any original autographs, and therefore we are reliant on putting together the numerous³¹ copies to arrive at ‘the text’. In this process there can be differences between two copies, and the question is: how do we go about reconstructing the original text? This is the task of textual criticism. In making decisions about the text many factors are involved, what is the date of this copy? what language is it in? How many favour one version compared with another? Which is the more difficult reading? Which tradition or region is this copy from?

See:

Historical Criticism

See:

Source Criticism

See:

Form criticism

See:

Redaction Criticism

See:

Tradition Criticism

Hayes and Holladay define Tradition Criticism as examining the stages behind the text.

Combining the outputs of text criticism, source criticism, form criticism, redaction criticism[pp][#de-vito1999a.tradition-historical;].

See:

Text-oriented

Canonical Criticism

See:

Narrative Criticism

See:

Rhetorical Criticism

See:

Reader-oriented

Structuralism

Reception-history

Reader-response Criticism

See:

Post/late modern (1970-)

Interpreting: Contemporary approaches

Readings

This week we look at contemporary readings of Scripture. And that includes our own! As we have seen over the course, there are many factors that influence our reading of Scripture. Last week we looked at the where meaning is found and our first reading examines contemporary approaches that lean towards being reader-oriented. The results of these readings can be quite different to what we are used to and quite easy to dismiss because of their being ‘just different’. But often there is much to be learned from hearing other interpreters, particularly ones coming from different contexts to our own. Again, you don’t have to know the details, but just be aware of the various groups and movements, etc. The second part is to scan Appendix 2 of D&H noting the form and content of your major paper.

Read: Klein, William W., Blomberg, Craig and Hubbard, Robert L. (2004). Recent Literary and Social-Scientific Approaches to Interpretation. In Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. (Rev. and expanded ed.). (pp. 63–101). Nashville, TN.: Thomas Nelson.
Read Duvall & Hays, app. 2 pp. 455-7

Resources

Ideological Criticism

Classic areas that have been explored in this area are Liberation, Black, Feminist, Post-colonial and Ecological approaches.

See:

Post-structuralism

Post-colonial

Feminist

Exegetical Paper

Resources for writing exegetical papers

Process

Now, for the major paper. As the voting was reasonably even and a majority haven’t yet voted I think it best to offer a passage from each of Mark and Colossians. So, you can choose from either Mk 8.22 - 9.1 or Col 3.18-4.6.

While I have collected a number of resources together for each passage that I can post up, there a couple of things I need. (1) Observations about the passage, to demonstrate that you are making the exegetical journey (2) initial research questions from your observations (3) items for an initial bibliography.

So if you can email me with text or an attachment stating:

Your passage choice
10 observations at the word/sentence level
5 observations at the paragraph/discourse level - looking from the start of the book up until this point
5 research questions - these will generally be historical background type questions.
5 resources that you might use to follow up - these don’t have to be specific, but could be “dictionary article on Colossae” or “commentary for outline of Mark”

Once I have this I will put up your resource requests so that others can see what we have gathered so far and start giving access to them.

I hope this makes sense as I am trying to get good resources to you, but I am keen to see what we can find in these passages ourselves before we turn to them. Let me know of any questions that you have about this assignment.

Rohan

Passage selection

###

Col 1.9-23 or Col 3.18-4.6
Mk 2.1-12 or Mk 8.22 - 9.1
Jonah
Jn 13.1-17

Process and writeup

Hi everyone.

I’m sensing a little stress about this assignment, I understand the stress, you will make it, just keep on plugging away at it. Here are some tips:

Read Duvall and Hays appendix B. Read the Brown document in Moodle. Think about the course, what is each of these steps looking at? - you already know answers and how to find answers to some of this. After you have done some observations, what questions do you have, what tools can help? Observe again. And again! With your questions, what would give you an answer, how will you know you have answered it?

Make sure that you do your own work first.

All of your observations and notes are the research for the paper.

After you have done your research, begin to write it up, presenting what you have found and how it fits together and informs your understanding of the passage and informs your application. For example, don’t say “I observe a healing” or “I observe a repetition of healing”; say something like the “healing is a theme in Mark (add verse references) and we see another one here”. Or in the case of Colossians “Paul returns to the theme of mystery (verses) and …”

It is a formal essay and needs to have references to support your statements - whether biblical, historical, theological, etc.

Below is an outline where I have taken Duvall and Hays example (p456) and embedded where the work from Brown will (likely) fit.

I hope that it is not all stress, but that you enjoy what you are discovering in doing the journey.

Introductory Matters
Context Matters
- Historical Cultural Context (Brown #2)
- Genre, Literary Form (Brown #3)
- Literary Context (Brown #4)
- Literary Structure (Brown #4)
Content/Verse Analysis (Brown #5)
- Lexical Data (word studies)
- Grammatical Structure and Data
- Biblical Context (Brown #6,7)
- Theology and Meaning
- Conclusion
Purpose (Brown #8,9)
- Application
Bibliography
- Secondary Literature

Bio: landing this

Webster reminds us of that an unwillingness to submit to the text is problematic[80][#webster2001a:word-and-church:-ess;]

Rule of faith provides a rule of thumb for reading - steinmetz

Post-modernism reminds us that we are particular and contingent and relative. Both that things are indeterminate and determinate, that we are part of a community, that we are relative to our culture and questions and ideologies and commitments

The movement could be to throw our hands up and say that meaning is unable to be found, or we could aim for a recognition of our place within the Catholic whole.³²

We also cannot and ought not aim for the interpretation as this would mean that there would be no journey or no ongoing process, etc ‘beyond totality’[][#johnson2003a.reading-the-scriptur;]

the list can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Read_a_Book ↩︎
[377][#vanhoozer2009a.is-there-a-meaning-i;] citing Zagzebski, Virtues of the Mind, 224-226 ↩︎
[][#hauerwas1993a.unleashing-the-scrip;] ↩︎
such as http://catholic-resources.org/Bible/Heb-Xn-Bibles.htm ↩︎
I recall the John Goldingay mentions this, but I cannot recall there reference. ↩︎
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0209144/ ↩︎
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443274/ ↩︎
This background is indebted to [][#crosslivingstone2007a.origen] ↩︎
see [][#crosslivingstone2007a.hexapla;]. An example in print can be seen at https://archive.org/details/origenhexapla01unknuoft pp. xiv-xv. ↩︎
An overview of the Marcionism can be found at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcionism ; a reconstruction of the Marcionite bible can be viewed at http://www.marcionite-scripture.info/Marcionite_Bible.htm ↩︎
[IV.1.8][#origen1885a.de-principiis;] ↩︎
Homilies on Leviticus 5.1.3 in [89][#origen2010a.homilies-on-leviticu;] ↩︎
quoted in [447-8][#higton2003a.boldness-and-reserve;] ↩︎
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s1c2a3.htm ↩︎
Heidelberg (April 1518), Augsburg (1518), Leipzig (1519) ↩︎
Luther’s Works v14, p34 cited in [200][#dockery1983a.martin-luthers-chris;] ↩︎
This example is from Ben Witherington on ‘Why study backgrounds?’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wiIK8A2EFk ↩︎
http://www.ccel.org/ccel/calvin/institutes.ii.ix.html ↩︎
http://www.amazon.com/Systematic-Theology-Introduction-Biblical-Doctrine/dp/0310286700 ↩︎
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0801036488/ ↩︎
[14][#wright1991a.how-can-the-bible-be;] ↩︎
[][#boydeddy2009a.the-inspiration-deba;] ↩︎
My usage of ‘determinate’ and ‘indeterminate’ is drawn from [79][#westphal2012a.the-philosophical/th;] ↩︎
http://www.christianitytoday.com/gleanings/2013/december/sorry-john-316-youversion-top-10-bible-verses-shared-most.html?paging=off from http://www.christianpost.com/buzzvine/here-are-the-10-most-shared-bible-verses-of-2013-infographic-111899/ ↩︎
cited in [78][#westphal2012a.the-philosophical/th;] ↩︎
Murphy prefers ‘experiential/observational’ ↩︎
Murphy prefers ‘didactic’ ↩︎
see also Pr 6.16-9, 30.15b-16, 21-23, 29-31 ↩︎
This was a split by some churches in Africa due to the appointment of a bishop (Caecilian) who was consecrated by Felix who was previously involved in persecuting the church ↩︎
This summary is indebted to [][#crosslivingstone2007a:calvin-john;] ↩︎
There are thousands of manuscripts which are drawn from. refs? follow-up. ↩︎
these 2 paths are noted by Smith in [][#smith2012a.the-fall-of-interpre;] ↩︎

Tempting Shortcuts Working notes on the slower path

prolegomena

Outcomes

Content

welcome

The reader of the Bible

Adler

Aim

Tools

LA: Introductions

LA: prodigal

Who is Scripture for?

Who are we as readers?

Reading 1: D&H

Resources

Interpretive virtues

Hangout Agenda

From intro forums

The story of your Bible

Intro video

Transcript paraphrase

LA: cf canons

Scripture: What is it?

Reading 1: Soulen

Resources

Notes

See also

Canon

Scripture: Canon

Reading: Kelly

OT Canonization

NT Canonization

Canon questions

Translations

Reading 1: D&H

Learning Activities

Further Resources

The Biblical meta-narrative

Why look at the metanarrative

Why narrative?

Summaries of the Biblical metanarrative

Listen to the story line of the Bible.

Post-modernity and meta-narratives

Further Resources

Questions

Other readers of the Bible

Introduction

Origen

LA: Origen

Augustine

LA: Augustine

Cassian

LA: Cassian

Senses of Scripture

Luther

LA: Luther

Mark ch 4

Reading: Yarchin, Introduction

Further Resources

pre-critical

History and the Bible

Jeremiah - history

Jeremiah - textual development

Scripture: History around the text

Resources

Scripture: and History

Scripture: History of the text

Interpreting: Words

Resources

LA: word study

D&H 9-1

91Notes

D&H 9-2

92notes

D&H 9-3

Interpreting: Literary contexts

Resources

Further Resources

Videos

Notes

Tempting Shortcuts
Working notes on the slower path