Biblical Hermeneutics - Biblical Training · Biblical Hermeneutics Robert Stein 6 viii. The Bishop's Bible The Bishop’s Bible was authorized by the Church of England and published

BIBLICALTRAININGwww.biblicaltraining.org

BiblicalHermeneuticsRobertStein

LectureNotes

ThesenoteshavebeencompiledfromaseriesoflecturespresentedbyDr.RobertStein.TheydonotrepresentactualclassnoteswrittenbyDr.Stein.

ScripturereferencesarefromtheESVunlessnoted.


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Contents

1. IntroductiontotheClass ………….……………………………………… 3 2. EarlyBeginningstothePresent ………….……………………………………… 4-6 3. HermeneuticalIssuesInvolvedinTranslation ………………………….. 7-84. VariousInvolvedwithTranslation …………………………………………………. 9-105. AnIntroductiontoHermeneutics-Part1 ……………………………………… 11-136. AnIntroductiontoHermeneutics-Part2 ……………………………………… 14-157. AVocabularyforInterpretation-Part1 ……………………………………… 16-198. AVocabularyforInterpretation-Part2 ……………………………………… 20-219. AVocabularyforInterpretation-Part3 ……………………………………… 22-2310. TheRoleoftheHolySpirit …………………………………………………. 24-2711. TheMiraculousinScripture ………….……………………………………… 28-3012. G.B.Caird,TheLanguageandImageryoftheBible ………………………….. 31-3213. Proverbs ………….………….……………………..……………………………………… 33-3514. TheGenreandLanguageofProphecy ……………………………………… 36-3715. FurtherExamplesofProphecy …………………………………………………. 41-4416. ProphecyandtheBeginningDiscussionofMark …………………………… 45-4717. ProseandPoetry,andExamplesfromtheOldTestament ……………….. 48-5118. TypesofPoetryintheBible ………….………………………………………. 52-5419. Idioms ……………………..……………..……………………………………………… 55-5720. TheGenreofExaggeration-Part1 ………….……………………………………… 58-5921. TheGenreofExaggeration-Part2 …………………………………………………. 60-6122. IntroductiontoParables ……………………………………………………………… 62-6523. InterpretationofParables ………….…………………………………………………. 66-7024. AllegoryandHistoricalNarrative …………………………………………………. 71-7525. CluestoInterpretingHistoricalNarrative ………….…………………………… 76-7826. UnderstandingtheLettersintheNewTestament ………………………….. 79-8127. HowSentencesAreUnderstood …………………………………………………. 82-8528. TheGenreofCovenant ………….…………………………………………………. 86-9029. Psalms ………….............……………………………………………………………… 91-9330. TheBooksThatMakeUptheBible ………………………………………. 94-99


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1.IntroductiontotheClass

I. OverviewoftheCourse

II. RecommendedReading• IntroductiontoBiblicalInterpretation,RevisedEditionbyWilliamsW.Klein,Craig

L.Blomberg,andRobertL.Hubbard,Jr.

• BasicGuidetoInterpretingtheBible:PlayingbytheRulesbyRobertH.Stein

• JourneyfromTextstoTranslations:TheOriginandDevelopmentoftheBibleby

PaulD.Wegner

III. GoaloftheCourse• IntroducestudentstoanoverviewofthehistoryoftheEnglishBible

• IntroducestudentstoaconceptualframeworkforBibleinterpretation

• Masteravocabularyforbiblicalinterpretivestudies

• DiscussionofthevariousgenresfoundintheBibleandtheirrespectiverulesofinterpretation


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2.EarlyBeginningstothePresent

I. EarlyBeginningstothePresent

a. TheMakingoftheEnglishLanguage

i. Anglo-SaxondialectTheAnglo-Saxondialectbeganinthe5thcenturyasanamalgamationoflanguages.SometimesreferredtoasOldEnglish,itbecamethecommondialectofEngland.

ii. FrenchinfluenceInthe11thcentury,WilliamtheConquerorfromFranceconqueredEnglandandthusbroughtaFrenchinfluencewhicheventuallybecametheEnglishlanguage.

b. EarlyTranslationsTheLatinVulgatewasthebibleoftheearlychurchbutmostpeopleinEnglandcouldn’treadorwrite.Biblestorieswerelearnedthroughart;e.g.paintings,stainedglasswindows,travelingtroubadourswhotoldstoriesthroughsongs.

i. JohnWycliffeJohnWycliffetranslatedthe1stbibleintotheEnglishlanguagefromtheLatinVulgatein1382.Hewasapre-Luther/Calvinreformer.Thistranslationoccurredbeforetheprintingpressandwasthushandwritten.ThistranslationledtocriticismoftheclergyaspeoplebegantoreadtheBibleforthefirsttimeandrecognizediscrepanciesinthecharacterandpracticesofthereligiousleaders.Inresponse,therewasa“clampingdown”ontheuseoftranslationsinthecommonlanguage.By1414,itbecameacapitaloffensetobecaughtreadingtheBibleintheEnglishlanguage.

ii. WilliamTyndaleIn1526,WilliamTyndalepublishedthe1stBibleinEnglishtobetranslatedfromGreekandHebrewtexts.ItwasprintedinGermanyduetooppositionfromHenryVIIIinEngland.ThiswasanexcellenttranslationthatservedasabasisformostEnglishtranslationsthatfollowed


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includingtheKJV.TyndalewasaLuthersupporterandadoptedLuther’srevisedorderofNTbooks.TyndalewaskidnappedbyfollowersofKingHenryVIIIandwasburnedatthestakeoutsideofBrusselsin1536.

iii. MilesCoverdaleCloverdalewasadiscipleofTyndalewhoprintedthe1stBibleintheEnglishlanguageincompletion.Hewasthe1stpersontoseparatetheApocryphafromtherestoftheOT.Previously,thesebookswereintermingledwiththeOTbooksoftheoriginalHebrew.TheCloverdaleBiblewasalsothe1stBibletouseversification.Previoustranslationsdividedbooksbychapters,butnotbyverses.

iv. ThomasMatthew(JohnRogers)JohnRogerswasanotherfollowerofTyndalewhopublishedtheMatthewBiblein1537.Hewasalsomartyredafterhistrueidentitywasdetermined.

v. RichardTavernerTheTaverner’sBiblewaspublishedin1539withKingHenryVIII’sapproval.ThiswaslargelyarevisiontotheMatthewBible.KingHenryVIIIbecamesupportiveofthereformersduetohisdesirefordivorce.Bythetimeofhisdeath,in1545,Englandhadbecomeapredominatelyprotestantsociety.

vi. TheGreatBiblePublishedin1539,thisBiblewasnamedduetoitssize.Itwasthe1stauthorizedBible(authorizedbyHenryVIII).ThisBiblesoughttobemorepalatabletotheRomanCatholicclergybyrevertingbacktothetraditionalorderingoftheNTbooks.

vii. TheGenevaBiblePublishedinGeneva,thisbiblewasveryCalvinist(asevidencedinthesubstantialmarginalnotes)andwasthepopulartranslationduringthereignofQueenElizabeth.


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viii. TheBishop'sBibleTheBishop’sBiblewasauthorizedbytheChurchofEnglandandpublishedin1568.ItwastheresultofarejectionoftheGenevaBiblebytheBishopsinEngland.

ix. TheKingJamesVersionIn1604,KingJamesIorderedanewofficialtranslationwithoutfootnotes;tobeassembledbyEngland’stopscholars.TheKJVwaspublishedin1611andbecameoneofthegreatesttranslationsintheEnglishlanguage,supersedingallprevioustranslations.Interestingnote:almost90%ofthistranslationhadTyndaleroots.

x. TheDouay-RheimsVersionThisversionwasadirectresultoftheCouncilofTrent.InanefforttosatisfyEnglishspeakingRomanCatholics,itwasderivedfromtheLatinVulgateratherthantheoriginalHebrew/Greektexts.AccordingtotheCouncilofTrent,theLatinVulgatewasdeemedtobethefinalauthority.ThisisnolongerthepositionofRomanCatholicscholars.

c. ModernVersionsOvertheyears,thenumberofnewtranslationshaveincreaseddramatically.Existingtranslationsareconstantlybeingrevisedwithminorupdates,usuallyresultingingradualandlessdramaticchanges.


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3.HermeneuticalIssuesInvolvedinTranslation

II. HermeneuticalIssuesInvolvedinTranslation

a. Thereisnoonetoonecorrespondencebetweenlanguages.AccordingtoC.H.Dodd,the1staxiomoftranslation:Thereisnosuchthingasanexactwordequivalentwhengoingfromonelanguagetoanother.Differentlanguagesaswellasdifferentculturesposeproblemsfortranslators.E.g.inMat1:18MaryissaidtobebetrothedtoJoseph.Laterinverse24,Maryisreferredtoashiswife.Inthatculture,anengagementwaslegallybindingandrequiredadivorcetobreak.Ourculturehasanentirelydifferentunderstandingofanengagement.

b. Agoodtranslationshould:

i. bebasedonthebestmanuscripts.Generallyspeaking,manuscriptsdatingclosertotheoriginalwritingarepreferredsimplywithrespecttothelikelihoodofcopyerrors.Tyndale,andlatertranslatorsfortheGenevaandKingJamesBible,usedaGreekNewTestamentpublishedbyErasmusofRotterdaminthe16thcentury.ErasmususedthebestGreekmanuscriptsavailableatthetime.Subsequently,thousandsofGreekNTmanuscripts,datingcenturiesearlier,havebeendiscovered.Thus,moderntranslationshavetheadvantageofusingthese.

ii. bebasedonthelatestknowledgeoflanguageandculture.E.g.biblicalpoetrywasn’trecognizedorunderstooduntilthe17thcentury.

iii. beaccurate.Libertiestakenbytranslatorscanleadtoinaccuracies.Therearealsoexampleswheretranslationswerecarefullymadebuterrorswereintroducedinadvertentlyintheprinting.

iv. beunderstandable.Sometranslationscanbeaccurateintheirformalequivalenceofwords,buttheresultingsentencescanbedifficulttounderstand.


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v. becontemporary.Language/wordmeaningstendtoevolveovertime.Thisisespeciallytrueinmoderntimeswherewordmeaningscanchangeoverarelativelyshorttimeframe.Thiswillresultintheneedofneworrevisedtranslationsonamorefrequentbasis.

vi. beuniversal.Sometranslationshavetargetedspecificgroups.Thisbecomesproblematicandleadtomisinterpretationswhenothergroupsareexposedtoit.Translationcommitteesshouldbediversifiedtohelpminimizethisissue.

vii. bedignified.Atranslationshouldbeaccuratebutavoidbeingunnecessarilyharshorcrude.

viii. avoidatheologicalbias.Thisishardtodobut,nevertheless,shouldbeagoalintranslation.Sometranslationsareblatantlybiased.E.g.TheNewWorldTranslationistheofficialBiblefortheJehovahWitnesses.ThistranslationgoestogreatlengthstorewriteoravoidreferencestotheDeityofChrist.


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4.VariousIssuesInvolvedwithTranslation

III. VariousIssuesInvolvedwithTranslation

a. NeedfornewtranslationsNotranslationcaneverbethefinalone,duetotheevolvingnatureoflanguage.Changesinwordmeaningoccurevenmorefrequentlytodaythaneverbefore.

b. Whatdoesitmeantobe"withouterror?"Inerrancypertainstowhattheoriginalauthorsmeantbytheirwords.Atranslationiserror-freetotheextentthatthetranslatorsfaithfullyreproducedwhattheoriginalauthorsintended.

c. TranslationPhilosophyi. Word-for-word

Aword-for-wordtranslationseekstofindthenearestEnglishequivalent,onawordbywordbasis.TheTyndaleGreatBible,theKJV,theRSV,andtheNASwouldallbeconsideredword-for-wordtranslations.

ii. Thought-for-thoughtInathought-for-thoughttranslation,thegoalistoreproducewhattheauthorwasexpressingratherthanmerelyfindingtheclosestwordequivalent.Examplesofthought-for-thoughttranslationsincludetheNIVandtheRevisedEnglishBible.

d. TranslationPreferenceThought-for-thoughttranslationsarepreferableforreadingthroughlargerportionsofScripture,simplybasedonreadabilityandunderstanding.However,formoredetailedstudy(e.g.literaryanalysisandcomparisonsoftheGospels)aword-forwordversionisrequired.

e. ComparisonofRSVandNRSVTheNRSVhasdoneagoodjobre-phrasingversesthatarenolongercontemporaryorsimplystructuredpoorly.E.g.:Zec.3:3“NowJoshuawasstandingbeforetheangel,clothedwithfilthygarments.”(RSV)


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“NowJoshuawasdressedwithfilthyclothesashestoodbeforetheangel.”(NRSV)“Thou”and“thines”werechangedto“you”and“yours”intheNRSV.However,theNRSVhasperhapsgonetoofarinitsefforttoavoidsexistlanguage.Luke’sGospelintentionallyplacesmaleandfemaleexamplessidebysideinstoriesandparables.ThiseffecthasbeenlostintheNRSV.

f. Individualvs.CommitteeTranslationsCommitteetranslationsaremorereliablejustbythefactthatagroupcanresistthepreferencesormistakesofoneindividual.

g. TheuseoffootnotesCautionshouldbetakenconcerningfootnotes,particularlyinastudybible.Toomuchcredencecanbegiventoacommentsimplybecause“it’sinmyBible”.ItisgoodtorememberthatitisScripturethatisinfallibleandnotsomeone’sopiniononthemeaningthathappenstobeincludedasanoteatthebottomofthepage.

h. ComparisonofGalatians3:23-29AcarefulcomparisonofthispassagebetweentheKJV,theNRSV,theNASB,theNIV,TheREB,andtheLivingBible;willrevealsometheologicaldifferences.Whilenoneofthesearesevereenoughtoleadtoheresy,thedifferencesexist,nonetheless.


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5.AnIntroductiontoHermeneutics-Part1

I. AnIntroductiontoHermeneutics(part1)

a. Originoftheword"hermeneutics"HermeneuticsisatransliterationofaGreekverb,hermeneu,whichmeans“tointerpret”.

b. ThreeComponentsInvolvedinCommunicationi. Theauthor(encoder)

ii. Atext(code)

iii. Areader(decoder)

c. Whatdeterminesmeaning?Threetheories:

i. Thetextgivesmeaning.

1. SemanticautonomyInthisviewpoint,thetextitselfisautonomous.Thetexthasmeaningapartfromtheauthor’sintentions.Infact,theauthoristotallyirrelevant.

2. ProblemTheproblemwiththisviewisitfailstoacknowledgethattextsareinanimateobjects.Theabilitiestothinkandreasonarenecessarytogivemeaning.Paperandinkcertainlydon’thavethatcapacity.Itisinaccuratetosay,“Thetextmeansthis”,becausethetextitselfcan’tmeananything.

ii. Thereadergivesthemeaning.

1. DominantviewoftodayThemorecurrentviewtodayistosaythatthereaderisthedeterminerofmeaning.Thisisnottosaythatthereader


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deciphersordiscoversthemeaning;thereaderactuallygivesmeaning.Withthisviewpoint,itfollowsthattherecanbemultiplemeaningsforthesametext.Thetextfunctionsmuchlikeaninkblot,witheachpersonseeingsomethingdifferent.

2. ProblemIftheBiblereallyhasallthesemeanings,itreallydoesn’tmeananything.

iii. TheauthorgivesthemeaningThetraditionalapproachtohermeneuticsistorecognizethatitistheoriginalauthorwhoisthedeterminerofmeaning.IfthereisadebateonmeaninginoneofPaul’sletters,andPaulwalkedintheroom;thedebatewouldbesettled.IfyouweretryingtodeterminewhatPaulmeantinaparticularpassageinRomans,youmightlookatwhathehassaidonthesamesubjectinGalatians.Thisisthecommonsenseapproach.TheBibleshouldnotbetreatedassomeautonomouspieceofartbutrather,aformofcommunication.

1. BibletranslationInevaluatingatranslation,youshouldnotconsiderhowmuchyoulikethelanguageofthetext;ratheryoushouldaskhowaccuratelythetranslatorsreflecttheintendedmeaningoftheauthor.

2. LawAcurrentdebatetodayinvolvestheConstitution.ShouldtheJusticesbefreetodeterminemeaning(readerapproach)orshouldtheirjobsberestrictedtointerpretingwhattheoriginalFoundersoftheConstitutionmeantbytheirwords.

3. ArtThesamedebatehasoccurredwithart,e.g.intherestorationofMichelangelo’spaintingsintheSistineChapel

4. Music

5. Literature


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Whetherart,music,law,orliterature;theimpetusonmakingthereceptorthedeterminerofmeaningisreallyarebellionagainsttheauthorityoftheoriginator.

iv. Objectionstoauthorialmeaning

1. "Intentionalfallacy"ThisexpressionwascoinedbyWilliamK.Winsatt,Jr.andMonroeBeardsleyin1954.

a. CannotexperiencethelifeoftheauthorThefirstobjectiontoauthorialmeaningistosaywecan’tgobackandexperiencewhattheauthorwasexperiencingwhenhewrotethetext.Thisistrue,butwearen’ttryingtorelivehisinnerfeelings/emotions.Thegoalissimplytounderstandwhathewasseekingtocommunicate.

b. AuthormaynotbecompetentThismaybehypotheticallytruebutasChristians,webelievethatthebiblicalauthorswereinspired.ThismeansthatGod,throughHisSpirit,enabledthemtoadequatelyexpresswhatHeintendedtocommunicatethroughthem.

2. "RadicalHistoricism"Thisrecognizesthevastamountoftimeandculturedifferencesbetweentodayandancienttimes.Thisisarealproblemthatshouldnotbeminimized.However,therearecertainaspectstohumanitywhichdonotchange,basedonthefactthatwehaveallbeencreatedintheimageofGod.Thiscommonalityisacriticalassetininterpretingthemeaningofancientwriters.


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6.AnIntroductiontoHermeneutics-Part2

I. AnIntroductiontoHermeneutics(part2)

d. TheRolesoftheThreeComponents

i. Author

1. Meaningishistoryandthereforeunchangeable.Theauthormaychangehisvieworevenrecantwhathewrotepreviously.However,theauthorcannotgobackandchangehisoriginalintendedmeaning.Thisislockedinhistory.

2. Theauthorwillsameaning.Theexistenceofatextmeansthattherewasanintentionaleffortonthepartofanauthortocommunicatesomething.

3. Meaninghasimplications.Anauthorisnotgoingtocommunicateaprinciplebylistingeveryhypotheticalsituation.Weneedtoaskthequestion,“Whatisthe‘patternofmeaning’orprinciplethatisbeingconveyed?”Theseimplicationsmayextendeventounconsciousmeanings.E.g.Paulsaid,“Donotgetdrunkwithwine…”Obviously,theimplicationisnottotakesubstancesintoyourbodythatwouldcauseyoutolosecontrolofyourfaculties.Thiswouldhaveimplicationsforbourbon,marijuana,etc.;substancesthatPaulwouldnothavebeenawareofinhisday.Note:Theliteralmeaningofatextiswhattheauthor(writer)ofthetextmeantbythewords.Literalinterpretationdoesnotmeanweinterpreteverythingliterallybecause,inmanycases,imageryorhyperboleisusedthatwasnotintendedbytheauthortobetakenliterally.

ii. Text1. Share-abilityofsymbols

a. Normsoflanguage–words


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Nooneseekstowriteabookwhichcannotbeunderstood.Insteadtheyabidebythenormsoflanguage,usingwordsinaccordancetohowtheywillbeunderstoodbytheintendedaudience.Ifawordisusedoutsidethenormsoflanguage,anoteofexplanationshouldbeadded.(E.g.John2:19-21.JohnaddsanotetoexplainthatJesuswasreferringtohisbodywhenheusedtheword“temple”.

b. Normsofutterance–contextHowwordsareconstructed(rulesofgrammar)aswellascontextareessentialincommunicatinginawaythatwillbeunderstood.

2. SubjectmatterThesubjectmattercanbestudiedstrictlyforinformation.Thisisaperfectlylegitimatereasonforstudyingatext.However,ifyourgoalistolearnaboutmeaning,youhavetoaskmorethan“Whatwaswritten?”Youbegintoask,“Whywasitwritten?”

iii. Reader1. Mustdecipherliteraryform

Determiningtheliteraryformisthe1ststepbecausedifferentformshavedifferentwaysofconveyingmeaning.E.g.aparablewouldnotbeinterpretedinthesamemannerasnarrative.

2. AscertainauthorialmeaningsofsymbolsTherearesymbols,etc.thatwereusedbytheoriginalauthorandunderstoodbytheoriginalaudiencebutarenowforeigntous(2-3,000yearslater).Itisimportanttoseektolearnthemeaningofthesesymbolsinordertoarriveatthecorrectinterpretation.

3. SeeksignificanceWecandiscoverimplicationsbutwedon’tcreatethem.Theauthorretainscontrolofmeaningandthustheimplicationsofwhatwaswritten.Thisextendseventothe“unconscious”implications.Ontheotherhand,thereaderhascontroloverthesignificanceofwhatwaswritten.Significanceishowthereadergivescredenceorcredibilitytowhattheauthorsaid.


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7.AVocabularyforInterpretation-Part1

II. AVocabularyforInterpretation(part1)

a. MeaningDefinitionofmeaning:Thepatternofmeaningtheauthorconsciouslywilledtoconveybythewordsorshareablesymbolshe/sheusedAllthreeentitiesarepresentinthisdefinition.Theauthorwillstocommunicate.Thetextisrepresentedbythewords/symbols.Thereaderispresentbytheshareablenatureofthesymbols.

b. ImplicationsDefinitionofimplications:Thosemeaningsinatextofwhichtheauthorwasunawarebutneverthelesslegitimatelyfallwithinthepatternofmeaninghe/shewilled.

i. Galatians5:2Look:I,Paul,saytoyouthatifyouacceptcircumcision,Christwillbeofnoadvantagetoyou.PaulwasspeakingtopeoplewhowerebeingpersuadedthatfaithinChristalonewasnotsufficient.TheJudaizerswereconvincingthemthattheymustalsobecircumcisedinordertobesaved.Paulrefutesthisspecificallyintheconsciousmeaningofhiswords.InMartinLuther’sday,thechurchwassellingindulgencesinexchangeforgrace(thepromiseofbeingsaved).Paulwouldhavehadnoknowledgeofindulgences;theydidn’texistinhisday.However,iftheycouldbeexplainedtoPaul,hewouldsaythatisexactlythesortofthingIwastalkingabout.TheimplicationsofPaul’spatternofmeaningwouldincludeanythingthataddsastipulationtobeingsavedbygracethroughfaithinChristalone.

ii. Deuteronomy22:8Whenyoubuildanewhouse,youshallmakeaparapetforyourroof,thatyoumaynotbringtheguiltofblooduponyourhouse,ifanyoneshouldfallfromit.


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Inbiblicaltimes,theroofwasacommonplacetogotoexperienceaneveningbreeze.Mostpeopletodaydon’thaveroofsthatareaccessible.Thisdoesn’tmeanthatthispassageisirrelevanttothemodernreaderwithasteeppitchedroof.Thereareallsortsofimplicationsofwhichthebiblicalauthormaynothavebeenawarebut,nevertheless,fallwithinthepatternofmeaninginregardstoconcernforthesafetyofothers.E.g.afencearoundaswimmingpoolshouldbetheresponsibilityofanownerfortheprotectionofchildren.

iii. 1Corinthians16:20Allthebrotherssendyougreetings.Greetoneanotherwithaholykiss.Howagreetingisexpressedwillvaryfromculturetoculturebutthewarmnessofthegreetingdoesnot.

iv. Psalm150LetEverythingPraisetheLORD.PraisetheLORD!PraiseGodinhissanctuary;praisehiminhismightyheavens!Praisehimforhismightydeeds;praisehimaccordingtohisexcellentgreatness!Praisehimwithtrumpetsound;praisehimwithluteandharp!Praisehimwithtambourineanddance;praisehimwithstringsandpipe!Praisehimwithsoundingcymbals;praisehimwithloudclashingcymbals!LeteverythingthathasbreathpraisetheLORD!PraisetheLORD!Shouldworshipbelimitedtoonlyincludetheinstrumentsspecificallylistedbythewriter?TheimplicationseemstobepraisingGodwiththetotalityofwhatwehaveavailable.

v. Deuteronomy6:6-9AndthesewordsthatIcommandyoutodayshallbeonyourheart.Youshallteachthemdiligentlytoyourchildren,andshalltalkofthemwhenyousitinyourhouse,andwhenyouwalkbytheway,andwhenyouliedown,andwhenyourise.Youshallbindthemasasignonyourhand,andtheyshallbeasfrontletsbetweenyoureyes.Youshallwritethemonthedoorpostsofyourhouseandonyourgates.


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TheuseofphylacteriesandmezuzahsmaystillbepresentinJewishtraditionbutnotinChristiantradition.However,theprinciplehereisforGod’speopletokeepHiswordbeforethem.

vi. Mark7:5-7AndthePhariseesandthescribesaskedhim,“Whydoyourdisciplesnotwalkaccordingtothetraditionoftheelders,buteatwithdefiledhands?”Andhesaidtothem,“WelldidIsaiahprophesyofyouhypocrites,asitiswritten,“‘Thispeoplehonorsmewiththeirlips,buttheirheartisfarfromme;invaindotheyworshipme,teachingasdoctrinesthecommandmentsofmen.’"ThisisinterestingbecauseJesuspullsanimplicationoutofthewordsofIsaiahandappliesittothePharisees.ThesewerenotthehypocritesthatIsaiahhadinmindbutitfitshispatternofmeaning.

vii. Mark7:20ffAndhesaid,“Whatcomesoutofapersoniswhatdefileshim.Forfromwithin,outoftheheartofman,comeevilthoughts,sexualimmorality,theft,murder,adultery,coveting,wickedness,deceit,sensuality,envy,slander,pride,foolishness.Alltheseevilthingscomefromwithin,andtheydefileaperson.”Thisisanotherexampleofimplicationsfoundwithinthetext.IfyoucomparetheparallelpassageinMatthew(Mat.15:10-20),youwillseethatsomeofthesinslistedinMarkareomittedinMatthewwhileothersinsareaddedinMatthew’sversion.ThereisnotaproblemwiththesetwoEvangelistsfailingtorecordexactlywhichsinsJesusspecificallymentioned.Itwouldbeperfectlyacceptableforeachoftheseinspiredwriterstoincludetheirownimplicationsbasedonspecificissuesthatwerepresentintheirrespectiveaudiences.

viii. Exodus21:28ffWhenanoxgoresamanorawomantodeath,theoxshallbestoned,anditsfleshshallnotbeeaten,buttheowneroftheoxshallnotbeliable.Butiftheoxhasbeenaccustomedtogoreinthepast,anditsownerhasbeenwarnedbuthasnotkeptitin,anditkillsamanorawoman,theoxshallbestoned,anditsowneralsoshallbeputtodeath.Ifaransomis


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imposedonhim,thenheshallgivefortheredemptionofhislifewhateverisimposedonhim.Thismaynotseemrelevant,especiallyinourculture,butwhetherornotyouhaveanox;thepassagehasimplications.Anowner’sresponsibilityforananimalinregardstothesafetyofothersisdifferent,dependingonwhetherornottheanimalisknowntobedangerous.Note:Itisimportanttorememberthattheauthorisincontroloftheimplications.Itisnotthetextitselfbuttheauthorwhowordedthetext(andwhatthatauthormeant)thatdeterminesthelegitimateimplicationsthatflowoutofit.

ix. Exodus22

x. NarrativeThestoriesfoundintheBiblehaveimplicationsaswell.Careshouldbetakentodeterminethemainpointofthenarrativebeforepullingoutimplications.E.g.thestoryofJesuscalmingthestormisaboutHissupremeauthorityandpower,evenoversomethingasunpredictableanduntamedastheweather.ThemainpointofthisstoryisnotaboutgivingnauticalfactssurroundingtheSeaofGalilee.

xi. Acts1:8ButyouwillreceivepowerwhentheHolySpirithascomeuponyou,andyouwillbemywitnessesinJerusalemandinallJudeaandSamaria,andtotheendoftheearth.TheimplicationsofthiscommissionarethatGod’speoplewillwitnessforHimthroughouttheworld.Thishasspecificimplicationsforeachbelieverinregardstotheirpersonalcircumstanceinlife.


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II. AVocabularyforInterpretation-Part2

c. SignificanceHowareaderrespondstothemeaningofatext,anactofthewill.Whilemeaningandimplicationsaredeterminedbytheauthor,significanceisdeterminedbythereader.Itpertainstothevolitionalaspectofhowwe,asreaders,aretorespondtothetext.

d. SubjectmatterThecontent(or"stuff")talkedaboutinatext.Thispertainstothedescriptivedata/factsfoundinthetext;notnecessarilyconcernedwithmeaning.

e. UnderstandingThecorrectmentalgraspoftheauthor’smeaningIftwopeoplehavethecorrectunderstandingitwouldmeantheyhavethesameunderstanding.

f. InterpretationTheverbalorwrittenexpressionofareader'sunderstandingoftheauthor'smeaning.Understandingbetweenpeoplecanbethesamebuttheirinterpretationcanbedifferent.Iffact,thesamepersoncanexpresstheirunderstandingusingadifferentexample.Therefore,interpretationsmayvaryevenwhenunderstandingisconsistent/correct.Onceanunderstandingisexpressed,itbecomesaninterpretation.

g. MentalactsTheexperiencestheauthorwentthroughwhenwritingthetext.(C.S.Lewis,"FernseedandElephants")Attemptsatreconstructingtheexperienceofanauthorashewrote,isseldompossibletodowithaccuracy,evenwithacontemporarywriter.Tothinkonecanaccomplishthiswithabiblicalauthorthatwrote2000yearsago,inanentirelydifferentculture,isbeyondoptimistic.OurjobasinterpretersisnottotryandguesswhatwasgoingthroughPaul’smindashewrotetheletter.Ourjobisunderstandwhathemeantbywhathewrote.


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h. NormsoflanguageTherangeofmeaningsallowedbythewordsortheverbalsymbolsofatext.Thenormsoflanguagepermitmultiplemeaningsforthesameexpression.Adictionaryishelpfulindeterminingthisrangeofmeaning.

i. NormsofutteranceThespecificmeaningthattheauthorhasgiventoaword,phrase,sentenceandthelikeinatext.Weareabletomovefromnormsoflanguagetonormsofutterancebyconsideringcontext.Thisisthesentence,paragraph,story;inwhichthewordisused.Themosthelpfultooltodeterminespecificmeaningisaconcordance.Hereyoucanfindwheretheauthorusedthesamewordelsewherewhichcanbeveryhelpfulinunderstandinghisspecificuseoftheword.

j. LiterarygenreTheliteraryformusedbytheauthorandtherulesthatgovernthatform.Determiningtheformofliteratureandapplyingtheappropriaterulesareessentialforcorrectinterpretation.

k. ContextThewilledmeaningthatanauthorgivestotheliterarymaterialssurroundingthetext.Contextismorethanjustthewordssurroundinganexpression.Contextinvolvesthemeaningthatisbeingcommunicatedbytheauthor.


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II. AVocabularyforInterpretation(part3)

l. DiscussionofKlein,Blomberg,andHubbardonMeaning

i. "OurgoalremainstohearthemessageoftheBibleastheoriginalaudienceswould[should]havehearditorasthefirstreaderswould[should]haveunderstoodit."(pg.11)Thisisdifferentthanthedefinitionofmeaninggiveninthisclass.However,thereferenceto“shareablesymbols”bringsinthereader.Ingeneral,ifweunderstandhowtheoriginalaudiencewouldhaveunderstoodwhatwascommunicated,thenyouwillunderstandwhattheauthormeant.Itshouldbepointedoutthattherearetimeswhentheoriginalauthorismisunderstoodbytheoriginalaudience.E.g.2ndThessalonianswasneededtoclarifythe1stletter.Therefore,the“shouldhaveheard”ispreferableto“wouldhaveheard”.

ii. "Weareconvincedthatthegoalofhermeneuticsistoenableinterpreterstoarriveatthemeaningofthetextthatthebiblicalwritersoreditorsintendedtheirreadertounderstand."(pg.97)Thisismuchclosertothedefinitionusedbythisclass.

iii. "Wepresupposethegoalofhermeneuticstobethemeaningthebiblicalwriters'meant'tocommunicateatthetimeofthecommunication,atleasttotheextentthatthoseintentionsarerecoverableinthetextstheyproduced."(pg.98)Again,thisisfairlyclosetothewordingforthisclass.

iv. "Thoughagivenpassagemaybecapableofbeingunderstoodinseveralways,ourgoalistodeterminewhat(ofthosevariouspossiblemeanings)thetextmostlikelywouldhavemeanttoitsoriginalreadersbecausethatiswhypeoplecommunicate:theyintendforwhattheycommunicatetobeunderstoodastheycommunicatedit."(pg.133)Thebiblicalwritersintendedtocommunicateaspecificmeaningandthereforeusedlanguagethatwouldbeunderstood.Theoriginalaudienceisthepeoplemostlikelytounderstandbecausetheywerethewriters


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intendedaudience.Onceagain,weshouldsay“shouldunderstand”ratherthan“wouldunderstand”.

v. "Themeaningofatextis:thatwhichthewordsandgrammaticalstructuresofthattextdiscloseabouttheprobableintentionofitsauthor/editorandtheprobableunderstandingofthattextbyitsintendedreaders."(pg.133)Thisbringstheideastogetherbut,inthisclass,wewillstaywiththeonedefinitionofmeaning.


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10.TheRoleoftheHolySpirit

III. TheRoleoftheHolySpirit

a. Quotes

i. J.RobertsonMcQuilken,UnderstandingandApplyingtheBible“AlthoughGoddesirestocommunicatetoallpeople,notjustanyonecanunderstandScripture.TheBibleisveryclearonthatpoint.FaithistheprerequisitefortrulyunderstandingGod’sWord.Apersonwhoreadswithoutfaithmayunderstandsomerevealedtruth,buthecannotexpecttofullyunderstandanytruthrevealedinScripture.Thereareseveralaspectsoffaith,allofwhichareessentialforthestudentwhowouldinterpretthemeaningofScripture.” See 1 Cor. 2:6-16; 2 Cor. 2:15-18

ii. MillardErickson,ChristianTheologyEriksonwrites:“Theobjectiveword,thewrittenScripture,togetherwiththesubjectiveword,theinnerilluminationandconvictionoftheHolySpirit,constitutesauthorityfortheChristian.TheReformersfromtheReformationonspeakverymuchabouttheilluminationandconvictionoftheHolySpiritintheprocessofbiblicalinterpretation.Itisacombinationofthesetwofactorsthatconstitutesauthority”

“Bothareneeded.Thewrittenword,correctlyinterpreted,istheobjectivebasisofauthority.TheinwardilluminatingandpersuadingworkoftheHolySpiritisthesubjectivedimension.”

“Thisdualdimensionpreventssterile,cold,drytruthontheonehandandover-excitabilityandill-advisedfervorontheother.TogetherthetwoyieldamaturitythatisnecessaryintheChristianlife.Acoolheadandawarmheart.Notacoldheartandahothead.Asonepastorhasputitrathercrudely,‘IfyouhavetheBiblewithouttheSpirit,itwilldryup.Ifyouhave


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theSpiritwithouttheBible,youwillblowup.Ifyouhaveboth,theBibleandtheSprittogetheryouwillgrowup.’”

Again,readingfromErickson,

“HumannatureincludingreasonhasbeenadverselyaffectedbytheFall.Maninthenaturalstatehasbeenunabletorecognizeandrespondtodivinetruth.Whenregenerationtakesplacehowever,thespectaclesoffaithvastlyimproveone’sspiritualeyesight.Evenafterregenerationhowever,thereisneedforcontinualprogressivegrowth,whichwecallsanctification.Inaddition,theHolySpiritworksinternallyinthelifeofabelieverwitnessingtothetruthandcounteringtheeffectsofsinsothattheinherentmeaningoftheBiblecanbeunderstood.”

iii. WestminsterConfessionofFaith“ThewholecounselofGodconcerningallthingsnecessaryforhisownglory,man'ssalvation,faithandlife,iseitherexpresslysetdowninScripture,orbygoodandnecessaryconsequencemaybededucedfromScripture:untowhichnothingatanytimeistobeadded,whetherbynewrevelationsoftheSpirit,ortraditionsofmen.Nevertheless,weacknowledgetheinwardilluminationoftheSpiritofGodtobenecessaryforthesavingunderstandingofsuchthingsasarerevealedintheWord”

iv. JamesDeYoungandSarahHurty,BeyondtheObvious:TheDeeperMeaningofScripture“SincetheHolySpirit,notthehumanauthoristheultimateauthoroftheScripture,meaningsofthetextunknownandunintendedbythehumanauthorsarepossibletodiscoverthroughthecontinuingdirectrevelatoryworkoftheHolySpirittobelieversbothintheirreadingoftheBibleandapartfromtheScripture.”The“intentionedmeanings”inthisquoteshouldbeofgreatconcern.TheHolySpiritisnecessary;butwehavetobecarefultorememberitistheinspiredauthor’swilledmeaningthatisthegoal.Theconvicting,persuadingwordoftheSpiritfitsmoreintheareaofsignificance.


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b. CananunbelieverunderstandthemeaningofScripture?Folly(foolishness)referstovaluejudgmentratherthanunderstanding.Godseesthewisdomofthisworldasfolly(see1Cor.3:14).Thisdoesn’tmeanthatGoddoesn’tcomprehendthewisdomoftheworld;hesimplyassessesitasfolly.Likewise,when1Cor.2:14saysthatanunspiritualmancannotunderstand;itisreferringtohislackofacceptanceratherthanhismentalgraspofthewords.

c. ScriptureTextsi. 1Corinthians2:14

TheunspiritualmandoesnotreceivethegiftsoftheSpiritofGodfortheyarefollytohim.Andheisnotabletounderstandthembecausetheyarespirituallydiscerned.1Cor.2:14

Folly(foolishness)referstovaluejudgmentratherthanunderstanding.Godseesthewisdomofthisworldasfolly(see1Cor.3:14).Thisdoesn’tmeanthatGoddoesn’tcomprehendthewisdomoftheworld;hesimplyassessesitasfolly.

ii. 1Corinthians1:20Whereisthewiseman?Whereisthescribe?Whereisthedebaterofthisage?HosGodnotmadefoolishthewisdomoftheworld?1Cor.1:20

iii. 1Corinthians3:19ForthewisdomofthisworldisfollywithGod.Foritiswritten“Heknowsthethoughtsofthewisearefutile”.1Cor.3:19

iv. Mark9:32Buttheydidnotunderstandthesayingandwereafraidtoaskhim.Mark9:32

d. Correctmentalgraspvs.avaluejudgmentIntheverseabovefromMark,JesusspeaksoftheSonofManbeingdeliveredintothehandsofmenandtheywouldkillhim.Afterthreedayshewouldrise.Theyunderstoodthewordsbutdidn’tacceptthetruthofwhathesaid.

e. FactofsinBelieversandunbelieversalikecanbeprejudicedorclosedtoacertainteachingbecauseofsin.


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f. Implicationsv. Generalvi. Personal

Personalimplicationsarethosethatarespecifictotheindividual.E.g.Act1:8implicationscanbedifferentatanindividuallevel.Personalimplicationsandsignificanceresultinapplication.ThisisanareawheretheHolySpirit’sguidancecomesintoplay.

g. DefinitionofUnderstandingIfunderstandingisdefinedasacorrectmentalgrasp,thenunderstandingofabelievermustbequalifiedinsomeway-authenticunderstanding,savingunderstanding,realunderstanding,deeperunderstanding,etc.

h. EffectsofsinTherearetimeswhensinbeginstoaffectapersonsomuchthatwhatisevidentandclear,theyrefusetoseeand,inasense,refusetounderstand.

i. LuthertoErasmus-Twokindsofclarity“TherearetwokindsofclarityinScripture,justtherearealsotwokindsofobscurity:oneexternalandpertainingtotheministryoftheWord,theotherlocatedintheunderstandingoftheheart.Ifyouspeakofinternalclarity,nomanperceivesoneiotaofwhatisintheScripturesunlesshehastheSpiritofGod.

j. Klein,Blomberg,andHubbard,IntroductiontoBiblicalInterpretationSomestatementsinthisbooktendtoseemtobeoncontradictionconcerningunderstanding.However,theypointoutadifferenceinunderstandingofabelieverwithaqualifier:“…throughtheircarefulwork,bothmaycometothesameunderstandingofatext’smeaning.Butdietotheirdifferentfaithcommitments,onthebelievercanperceivethetext’struesignificanceandbewillingtoobeythetruthconveyed.”

k. Illustration-Interpreting"Mammon"inMatthew6:24Itispossibletohavethetechnicaldefinitionofmammonandnotgraspthesignificanceofthispassage.ItisalsopossiblenottoknowthedefinitionofmammonandyetreadthispassageandbegintoreflectonthingsthatwouldpreventyoufromfullyservingGod.Theformerrepresentsamentalgrasp;whilethelatterindicatesapersonalimplicationandconvictionofsignificancethatispartoftheroleoftheHolySpirit.


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11.TheMiraculousinScripture

IV. TheMiraculousinScripture

a. ThreeApproaches

i. TheSupernaturalApproach(Traditional)

1. Theeventsreallytookplace.

2. Theeventshappenedasrecorded.

3. Thetextproclaimsadivineevent.

4. SinceGodperformedthisevent,searchforanaturalcauseisirrelevant.Godisnotlimitedbyourabilitytounderstandorexplainanevent.

5. Aclosedcause-effectcontinuumisdenied.Opennessinhistoryismaintained.Thereisacausefortheeventthatliesoutsideofcreation.

6. Theintentionofthetext(author'smeaning)ismaintained.Theauthorintendstosaythatamiraculouseventhastakenplace.

ii. TheRationalistApproach

1. Theeventscouldnothavetakenplace.Thisapproachbeginswiththepresuppositionthatmiraclesdonothappen.

2. Theeventshappeneddifferentlythanrecorded.

3. Thetextcontainsanaturaleventbehindit.Arealeventhasoccurredbutitcannotbeasupernaturalevent.

4. Thenaturalcauseofthiseventcanandshouldbelearned.


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5. Aclosedcause-effectcontinuumaffirmed.Opennessinhistoryisdenied.

6. Theintentionofthetext(authorialmeaning)isnotmaintained.Themeaningoftheauthorisnotaccepted.

iii. TheMythicalApproach

1. Theeventscouldnothavetakenplace.Thisissimilartotherationalistapproachinitspresuppositionthatmiraclesdonothappen.

2. Thetextproclaimsadivineevent.Thetextistalkingaboutasupernaturalevent,similartothetraditionalapproach.

3. Thesearchfornaturalcauseisirrelevant.

4. Thereisneitheradivinenornaturalcause,sincethetextproclaimsamyth.Thisaspectisuniqueamongthethreeapproaches.

5. Aclosedcause-effectcontinuumaffirmed.Opennessinhistorydenied.

6. The"deeper"intentionofthetext(authorialmeaning)ismaintained.Thisapproachseekstounderstandthesub-consciousmeaningoftheauthorwhichgavebirthtothemythinhissoul.

b. Presuppositions

i. EugeneB.BorowitzBorowitz(ofaliberalpersuasion)wroteaboutcontemporaryChristologiesintermsofliberalversusconservativeapproaches.HerecognizedthatthefundamentaldividebetweenthetwocampswasadifferingepistemologyratherthansimplyadifferenceinhowScriptureisinterpreted.Therealdifferencehastodowiththesourceof


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knowledge/truth.ConservativesholdthatreligionisGodgiven.Truthcomesfromheaven,divinelyrevealed.Liberalsholdthattruthcomesfromthehumanexperience,humanwisdom,etc.AnhonestdiscussionismorelikelybetweenaconservativeChristianandanOrthodoxJew;ratherthanaconservativeChristianandaliberalChristian.

ii. RudolphBultmannBultmannarguesthatitispossibletoapproachexegesiswithoutpresuppositionsifyouarereferringtopresumingtheoutcome.However,itisnotpossibletostartexegesisfreeofpresuppositions.HewouldagreewithReformersinahistorical/grammaticalmethodofinterpretation.However,hedivergeswithhispresuppositionthathistoryisaclosedcontinuumofcauseandeffecteventsthatprecludeanyinterruptionofhistorybyadivine,miraculousevent.Thisisthebasicpresuppositionofallliberalapproaches.Ifyouareopentothesupernatural,youareinonecamp.Ifyouareclosedtothesupernatural,youareinanothercamp.Thispresentsaradicalforkthatwillleadtodivergentconclusions.


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12.G.B.Caird,TheLanguageandImageryoftheBible

I. G.B.Caird,TheLanguageandImageryoftheBible

a. Chapter1-TwoKindsofLanguage

i. Referential1. Informativelanguage-totalkaboutpeople,thingsandideas2. Cognitivelanguage-expressionofthought

ii. Commissive

1. Performativeandcausativelanguage-todothingsandtogetthingsdone

2. Expressiveandevocativelanguage-todisplayorelicitattitudesandfeelings

b. Chapter2-TypesofMeaning

Inchapter2,Cairdtalksaboutvariouswaysofexpressingmeaning:

i. Referent=SubjectmatterMeaningwithrespecttothereferentisinregardstothe“stuff”,orsubjectmatter.

ii. Value=SignificanceMeaningwithrespecttovaluehastodowithwhatthisclasshasdefinedassignificance.

iii. Entailment=ImplicationGoingbeyondtheimmediatemeaning,onemightask,“Whatdoesthisentail?”Inthisclasswehaveusedanotherwordforthis:implication.

iv. Sense=MeaningThisisthesimplemeaningofacommunication.

v. Intention=Meaning(ifauthoriscompetent)Meaningwithregardtointentionisthesameastheauthor’s(willed)meaning,assumingtheauthoriscompetent.


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vi. Publicmeaning=normsoflanguage

vii. User’smeanings=normsofutterance


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13.Proverbs

II. TheGenreofProverbs

a. Definition:Ashort,pithysayingthatexpressesageneraltruth-exceptionsareallowed.

b. Examples

i. Proverbs3:9-10HonortheLordwithyourwealthandwiththefirstfruitsofallyourproduce;thenyourbarnswillbefilledwithplenty,andyourvatswillbeburstingwithwine.Thisisgenerallytruebutyoucanfindexamplesofgodlypeoplewhohaven’tfaredthatwellandungodlypeoplewhoseemtomakeoutquitenicely.

ii. Proverbs10:3-4TheLorddoesnotlettherighteousgohungry,buthethwartsthecravingofthewicked.Aslackhandcausespoverty,butthehandofthediligentmakesrich.Ingeneral,ifyouworkhardyouwillberewardedandifyouarelazy,youwillsuffertheconsequences.However,thisdoesn’tholdtrue100%ofthetime.

iii. Proverbs13:21Disasterpursuessinners,buttherighteousarerewardedwithgood.Ingeneral,lifestyleswillaffectwhathappenstopeople,butagain,thereareexceptions.

iv. Proverbs15:1Asoftanswerturnsawaywrath,butaharshwordstirsupanger.Thisisgoodadvicethatwillgenerallyhavegoodresults;butnoteverytime.

v. Proverbs22:6Trainupachildinthewayheshouldgo;evenwhenheisoldhewillnotdepartfromit.


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Thishascreatedguiltamongparentswhomisinterpretthisasanabsolutestatementmeaningthatchoicesmadebychildrenastheymature,areentirelytheresponsibilityoftheparents.

vi. Proverbs22:16Whoeveroppressesthepoortoincreasehisownwealth,orgivestotherich,willonlycometopoverty.Somepeopleseemtodowellbyoppressingthepoor,atleastintheshortterm.However,thisisgenerallyatruestatement.

vii. Matthew6:21Forwhereyourtreasureis,thereyourheartwillbealso.Jesus,Himself,taughtusingproverbs,aswiththisexample.

viii. Matthew26:52Forallwhotaketheswordwillperishbythesword.ThisisanotherillustrationofJesusmakinguseafaproverb.

ix. Luke16:10Onewhoisfaithfulinaverylittleisalsofaithfulinmuch,andonewhoisdishonestinaverylittleisalsodishonestinmuch.

x. 1Corinthians15:33Donotbedeceived:Badcompanyruinsgoodmorals.MostparentswouldinstinctivelyagreewiththisgeneraltruthfromPaul.

c. DifferencebetweenbiblicalproverbsandotherproverbsBiblicalproverbsarewiseobservationsoflifethathavebeenfilteredthroughthetruthofScripture;thewisdomisthereforemorereliable.

d. TheProblemofJobThefollowingversesareexamplesofJob’sfriendsquotingproverbstoJob.Theproblemistheyuniversalizethegeneraltruth-likenatureofaproverb.Jobistheexceptionbuthisfriendsfailedtorecognizeit.Theyfailedtorealizethatproverbsteachgeneraltruthsbuttheycannotbeapplieduniversally.


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i. Job4:7-9Remember;whothatwasinnocenteverperished?Orwhereweretheuprightcutoff?AsIhaveseen,thosewhoplowiniquityandsowtroublereapthesame.BythebreadthofGodtheyperish;andbytheblastofhisangertheyareconsumed.

ii. Job5:15Buthesavestheneedyfromtheswordoftheirmouthandfromthehandofthemighty.

iii. Job8:3-4,5-7DoesGodpervertjustice?OrdoestheAlmightyperverttheright?Ifyourchildrenhavesinnedagainsthim,hehasdeliveredthemintothehandoftheirtransgression.IfyouseekGodandpleadwiththeAlmightyformercy,ifyouarepureandupright,surelythenhewillrousehimselfforyouandrestoreyourrightfulhabitation.Andthoughyourbeginningwassmall,yourlatterdayswillbeverygreat.


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14.TheGenreandLanguageofProphecy

III. TheGenreofProphecy(part1)

a. JudgmentProphecy

i. Rule-Judgmentprophecyassumes,evenifnotstated,thatifthepeoplerepentjudgmentwillnotcome.

ii. Examples

1. Jonah3:1-4,10ThenthewordoftheLordcametoJonahthesecondtime,saying,“Arise,gotoNineveh,thatgreatcity,andcalloutagainstitthemessagethatItellyou.”SoJonaharoseandwenttoNineveh,accordingtothewordoftheLord.NowNinevehwasanexceedinglygreatcity,threedays'journeyinbreadth.Jonahbegantogointothecity,goingaday'sjourney.Andhecalledout,“Yetfortydays,andNinevehshallbeoverthrown!Jonah3:1-4WhenGodsawwhattheydid,howtheyturnedfromtheirevilway,Godrelentedofthedisasterthathehadsaidhewoulddotothem,andhedidnotdoit.Jonah3:10ThisexampleofanunfulfilledprophecydoesnotmakeJonahafalseprophet.Iftheprophecyisoneofjudgment,andrepentancetakesplace,thejudgmentisaverted.“ReadersofthebookofJonahhavecommonlybeenpreoccupiedwithproblemsofmarinebiologytopayattentiontothemuchmoreimportanttheologicaldifficultythatJonahisorderedtoprophesysomethingthatdoesnothappen.”C.B.Caird

2. Jeremiah18:7-10IfatanytimeIdeclareconcerninganationorakingdom,thatIwillpluckupandbreakdownanddestroyit,andifthatnation,concerningwhichIhavespoken,turnsfromitsevil,IwillrelentofthedisasterthatIintendedtodotoit.AndifatanytimeIdeclare


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concerninganationorakingdomthatIwillbuildandplantit,andifitdoesevilinmysight,notlisteningtomyvoice,thenIwillrelentofthegoodthatIhadintendedtodotoit.Jer.18:7-10Thisstatesexplicitlythatintheeventofrepentance,ajudgmentprophecywillgounfulfilled.Note:ThisisnotastatementthatdeniesGod’sforeknowledgeoromniscience.

3. Micah3:12(cf.Jeremiah26:16-19)ThereforebecauseofyouZionshallbeplowedasafield;Jerusalemshallbecomeaheapofruins,andthemountainofthehouseawoodedheight.Micah3:12Thisdidnothappenbecausethepeoplerepent.SeeJeremiahbelow:Thentheofficialsandallthepeoplesaidtothepriestsandtheprophets,“Thismandoesnotdeservethesentenceofdeath,forhehasspokentousinthenameoftheLordourGod.”Andcertainoftheeldersofthelandaroseandspoketoalltheassembledpeople,saying,“MicahofMoreshethprophesiedinthedaysofHezekiahkingofJudah,andsaidtoallthepeopleofJudah:‘ThussaystheLordofhosts,“‘Zionshallbeplowedasafield;Jerusalemshallbecomeaheapofruins,andthemountainofthehouseawoodedheight.’DidHezekiahkingofJudahandallJudahputhimtodeath?DidhenotfeartheLordandentreatthefavoroftheLord,anddidnottheLordrelentofthedisasterthathehadpronouncedagainstthem?Butweareabouttobringgreatdisasteruponourselves.Jer26:16-19

4. 1Kings21:27-29AndwhenAhabheardthosewords,hetorehisclothesandputsackclothonhisfleshandfastedandlayinsackclothandwentaboutdejectedly.AndthewordoftheLordcametoElijahtheTishbite,saying,“HaveyouseenhowAhabhashumbledhimselfbeforeme?Becausehehashumbledhimselfbeforeme,Iwillnotbringthedisasterinhisdays;butinhisson'sdaysIwillbringthedisasteruponhishouse.1Kings21:27-29


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iii. QuotefromC.B.Caird,pp.56-57

b. TheLanguageofProphecy-Cosmicterminologyi. Rule-Prophetstendtospeakinfigurativelanguage,usingcosmic

terminology.

ii. Examples1. Isaiah13:9-11

Behold,thedayoftheLordcomes,cruel,withwrathandfierceanger,tomakethelandadesolationandtodestroyitssinnersfromit.Forthestarsoftheheavensandtheirconstellationswillnotgivetheirlight;thesunwillbedarkatitsrising,andthemoonwillnotsheditslight.Iwillpunishtheworldforitsevil,andthewickedfortheiriniquity;Iwillputanendtothepompofthearrogant,andlaylowthepompousprideoftheruthless.Isa.13:9-11Thelanguagesoundsliketheendofhistoryhowever,thischapterinIsaiahbeginsasanoracleagainstBabylon,anexistingempireintheprophet’sday.Ithenormsoflanguage,Isaiah’sreaderswouldhaveunderstoodthisreferencetothekingdomupnorth.

2. Jeremiah4:23-28Ilookedontheearth,andbehold,itwaswithoutformandvoid;andtotheheavens,andtheyhadnolight.Ilookedonthemountains,andbehold,theywerequaking,andallthehillsmovedtoandfro.Ilooked,andbehold,therewasnoman,andallthebirdsoftheairhadfled.Ilooked,andbehold,thefruitfullandwasadesert,andallitscitieswerelaidinruinsbeforetheLord,beforehisfierceanger.ForthussaystheLord,“Thewholelandshallbeadesolation;yetIwillnotmakeafullend.“Forthistheearthshallmourn,andtheheavensabovebedark;forIhavespoken;Ihavepurposed;Ihavenotrelented,norwillIturnback.Jer.4:23-28Again,thisisanexampleofcosmiclanguageusedbyaprophetthatappearstotalkaboutendtimes;yettheprophecywasdeliveredtoJudahconcerningthedestructionofJerusalemwhichwouldbeexperiencedbythepeopleofthatday.


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3. Isaiah24:23Thenthemoonwillbeconfoundedandthesunashamed,fortheLordofhostsreignsonMountZionandinJerusalem,andhisglorywillbebeforehiselders.Isa.24:23

4. Joel2:10,31;3:15

Theearthquakesbeforethem;theheavenstremble.Thesunandthemoonaredarkened,andthestarswithdrawtheirshining.Joel2:10Thesunshallbeturnedtodarkness,andthemoontoblood,beforethegreatandawesomedayoftheLordcomes.Joel2:31Thesunandthemoonaredarkened,andthestarswithdrawtheirshining.Joel3:15ThisismorecosmiclanguagethatseemstobedescribingtheendtimesbutfromPeterwelearnthatthisisaprophecyaboutthecomingoftheHolySpiritatPentecost.(Acts2:16-21)

5. Jeremiah15:9Shewhoboresevenhasgrownfeeble;shehasfaintedaway;hersunwentdownwhileitwasyetday;shehasbeenshamedanddisgraced.AndtherestofthemIwillgivetotheswordbeforetheirenemies,declarestheLord.Jer.15:9ThispoeticlanguagepersonifiesJerusalem.

6. Amos8:9Andonthatday,”declarestheLordGod,“Iwillmakethesungodownatnoonanddarkentheearthinbroaddaylight.Amos8:9

7. Ezekiel32:7-8WhenIblotyouout,Iwillcovertheheavensandmaketheirstarsdark;Iwillcoverthesunwithacloud,andthemoonshallnotgiveitslight.AllthebrightlightsofheavenwillImakedarkoveryou,andputdarknessonyourland,declarestheLordGod.Ezek.32:7-8


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8. Habakkuk3:11Thesunandmoonstoodstillintheirplaceatthelightofyourarrowsastheysped,attheflashofyourglitteringspear.Hab.3:11

Alloftheseexamplesservetoremindusthatmuchofthelanguageoftheprophetsisthelanguageofpoetry.Assuch,itshouldbeinterpretedsymbolicallyandnotliterally.ThecosmiclanguageisapoeticwayofdescribingtheactionsoftheGodwhocontrolstheuniverse.


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15.FurtherExamplesofProphecy


c. Isaiahi. Isaiah11:1-9

Thewolfshalldwellwiththelamb,andtheleopardshallliedownwiththeyounggoat,andthecalfandthelionandthefattenedcalftogether;andalittlechildshallleadthem.Thecowandthebearshallgraze;theiryoungshallliedowntogether;andthelionshalleatstrawliketheox.Thenursingchildshallplayovertheholeofthecobra,andtheweanedchildshallputhishandontheadder'sden.Theyshallnothurtordestroyinallmyholymountain;fortheearthshallbefulloftheknowledgeoftheLordasthewaterscoverthesea.Isa.11:6-9

ii. Isaiah35:1-2,8-10Thewildernessandthedrylandshallbeglad;thedesertshallrejoiceandblossomlikethecrocus;itshallblossomabundantlyandrejoicewithjoyandsinging.ThegloryofLebanonshallbegiventoit,themajestyofCarmelandSharon.TheyshallseethegloryoftheLord,themajestyofourGod.Isa.35:1-2Andahighwayshallbethere,anditshallbecalledtheWayofHoliness;theuncleanshallnotpassoverit.Itshallbelongtothosewhowalkontheway;eveniftheyarefools,theyshallnotgoastray.Nolionshallbethere,norshallanyravenousbeastcomeuponit;theyshallnotbefoundthere,buttheredeemedshallwalkthere.AndtheransomedoftheLordshallreturnandcometoZionwithsinging;everlastingjoyshallbeupontheirheads;theyshallobtaingladnessandjoy,andsorrowandsighingshallfleeaway.Isa.35:8-10

iii. Isaiah65:25Thewolfandthelambshallgrazetogether;thelionshalleatstrawliketheox,anddustshallbetheserpent'sfood.Theyshallnothurtordestroyinallmyholymountain,saystheLord.Isa.65:25

AllofthesedescriptionsofparadisearefoundinIsaiahbutdotheyconflictwitheachother?Willlionsbethereornot?Theyarealldescribingaplaceofblissandtranquilityusingpoeticlanguage.Thelanguageismeanttostirtheimaginationandnotdescribeliteralcircumstances,thereforethereisnocontradiction.


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d. Revelation

i. Cosmiclanguage-GodactinginhistoryInRev.21:1thereislanguageaboutanewheavenandearth;andtheoldpassingaway.ThisisapictureofGodactinginhistoryjustasheactedintheoriginalcreation.ThecosmiclanguagecallstheattentiontoGod.

ii. ImpressionisticpaintingInRev.21:9ff.,thereispoeticlanguagedescribingtheNewJerusalem.Thegreatwallsare144cubitsbutthe12gatesarewideopen.Thismakesnoliteralsensebutinthefigurativesense,bothofthesepointtosecurityandtheabsenceofanoutsidethreat.Pavingthestreetswithgoldwouldbefoolishdueitssoftproperties,butthisisaperfectlyeffectivewayofdescribingthepreciousnessofheaven.Theemotivelanguageinvitesustostepbackconsiderourimpressionratherthanoveranalyzethedetails;muchasonewouldstepbackandengageanimpressionisticpainting.

e. Acts2AndIwillshowwondersintheheavensaboveandsignsontheearthbelow,blood,andfire,andvaporofsmoke;thesunshallbeturnedtodarknessandthemoontoblood,beforethedayoftheLordcomes,thegreatandmagnificentday.AnditshallcometopassthateveryonewhocallsuponthenameoftheLordshallbesaved.Acts2:19-21Here,PeterexplainstheeventsatPentecostbysaying“thisiswhatwasspokenthroughtheprophetJoel.TheversesabovewereincludedbyPeter,demonstratingthatthecosmiclanguageusedbyJoelwasmeanttodescribethedemocratizationoftheHolySpiritatPentecostratherthanan“endoftime”event.

f. Lukei. Luke3:4-6

AsitiswritteninthebookofthewordsofIsaiahtheprophet,“Thevoiceofonecryinginthewilderness:PreparethewayoftheLord,makehispathsstraight.Everyvalleyshallbefilled,andeverymountainandhillshallbemadelow,andthecrookedshallbecomestraight,andtheroughplacesshallbecomelevelways,andallfleshshallseethesalvationofGod.Luke3:4-6


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JohntheBaptistisreferringtothepresentmissionofJesusbuttherewerenoactualgeographicchangestakingplace.Thisisapicturesquewayofsaying“makehispatheasy”.

ii. Luke14:11Foreveryonewhoexaltshimselfwillbehumbled,andhewhohumbleshimselfwillbeexalted.Luke14:11

Luke18:14

Itellyou,thismanwentdowntohishousejustified,ratherthantheother.Foreveryonewhoexaltshimselfwillbehumbled,buttheonewhohumbleshimselfwillbeexalted.Luke18:14ThisisanotherwayofsayingthatthenormsoftheworldwillbeturnedupsidedownwhenitcomestotheprinciplesofGod’skingdom.

iii. Luke4:18ff(18-19)TheSpiritoftheLordisuponme,becausehehasanointedmetoproclaimgoodnewstothepoor.Hehassentmetoproclaimlibertytothecaptivesandrecoveringofsighttotheblind,tosetatlibertythosewhoareoppressed,toproclaimtheyearoftheLord'sfavor.Luke4:18-19ThisisaspeechbyJesusatthebeginningofhisministry.Therewerenoliteralprisonerswhowerereleasedfromjailasaresultofhisministry.Thisreferstobeingreleasedfromtheoppressionofsinanditsconsequences;throughforgiveness.

g. Matthew2andHosea-ImplicationsoftheprophecyWhenIsraelwasachild,Ilovedhim,andoutofEgyptIcalledmyson.Themoretheywerecalled,themoretheywentaway;theykeptsacrificingtotheBaalsandburningofferingstoidols.Hosea11:1-2ThisisafairlyclearreferencetotheExodusunderMoses.However,MatthewusesthispassagefromHoseainreferencetoJosephandMarytakingJesustoEgyptinordertoescapeHerod:


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AndheroseandtookthechildandhismotherbynightanddepartedtoEgyptandremainedthereuntilthedeathofHerod.ThiswastofulfillwhattheLordhadspokenbytheprophet,“OutofEgyptIcalledmyson.”Mat.2:14-15MatthewsawinHoseaa“patternofmeaning”whichhadimplicationsforJesusbeingtakentoEgypt.Godpromisedhispeoplealand,Canaan.IfthiswastrueforthewaywardnationofIsrael,howmuchmorewouldthepromiseapplytohisonlybegottenSon?MatthewwassayingthatGodusedaforeignnationastemporarysanctuarybuthewouldneverleavehispeopleindefinitelyinthatposition.Somepeopleraisethequestionofasensusplenior-theexistenceofadeepermeaningofwhichanOTprophetwasunawarebutislaterknownandinterpretedbyaNTwriter.ThisispossibleforaNTwriter(whowasinspired)butthisinspirationisn’ttransferredtothereader.Inaddition,ifaprimarymeaningisindicatedbytheauthor,thereisnorealreasontosearchforadeepermeaning.

h. Whythiskindoflanguage?Whyspeakofthesunbeingdarkenedandthemoonturningtoblood?Thisimagerycouldpossiblybeusedtodescribeacitybeingdestroyedduringatimeofwar.Inthiscase,itwouldbeausefulwaytofigurativelydescribejudgment.


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16.ProphecyandtheBeginningDiscussionofMark


i. DiscussionofMark13Mark13beginswithJesusdescribingacomingdestructionofthetemplewherethestoneswouldbethrowndown.Heisaskedbyhisdisciples,“whenwillthesethingsbe,andwhatwillbethesignwhenallthesethingsareabouttobeaccomplished?”Jesusresponded:Andwhenyouhearofwarsandrumorsofwars,donotbealarmed.Thismusttakeplace,buttheendisnotyet.Fornationwillriseagainstnation,andkingdomagainstkingdom.Therewillbeearthquakesinvariousplaces;therewillbefamines.Thesearebutthebeginningofthebirthpains.“Butbeonyourguard.Fortheywilldeliveryouovertocouncils,andyouwillbebeateninsynagogues,andyouwillstandbeforegovernorsandkingsformysake,tobearwitnessbeforethem.Andthegospelmustfirstbeproclaimedtoallnations.Andwhentheybringyoutotrialanddeliveryouover,donotbeanxiousbeforehandwhatyouaretosay,butsaywhateverisgivenyouinthathour,foritisnotyouwhospeak,buttheHolySpirit.Andbrotherwilldeliverbrotherovertodeath,andthefatherhischild,andchildrenwillriseagainstparentsandhavethemputtodeath.Mark13:7-12NormallywhenyouhearareferencetowarsandrumorsofwaritisconsideredinconjunctionwiththeLord’sreturn.Here,itseemsthattheoppositemessageisgiven:“don’tbealarmed;thismusttakeplace,buttheendisnotyet”Butwhenyouseetheabominationofdesolationstandingwhereheoughtnottobe(letthereaderunderstand),thenletthosewhoareinJudeafleetothemountains.Lettheonewhoisonthehousetopnotgodown,norenterhishouse,totakeanythingout,andlettheonewhoisinthefieldnotturnbacktotakehiscloak.Andalasforwomenwhoarepregnantandforthosewhoarenursinginfantsinthosedays!Praythatitmaynothappeninwinter.ForinthosedaystherewillbesuchtribulationashasnotbeenfromthebeginningofthecreationthatGodcreateduntilnow,andneverwillbe.AndiftheLordhadnotcutshortthedays,nohumanbeingwouldbesaved.Butforthesakeoftheelect,whomhechose,heshortenedthedays.Andthenifanyonesaystoyou,‘Look,hereistheChrist!’or‘Look,thereheis!’donotbelieveit.Forfalsechristsandfalseprophets


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willariseandperformsignsandwonders,toleadastray,ifpossible,theelect.Butbeonguard;Ihavetoldyouallthingsbeforehand.Mark13:14-23The“abominationofdesolation”isreferredtointheOTinthebookofDanielwhereitisprobablydescribinganeventin167B.CwhentheSyrianking,AntiochusEpiphanesdesecratedthetemple.Jesusseemstobesaying,whenyouseesomethinglikethishappeningagain,beware.HeisdescribingthefallofJerusalemtotheRomansin70A.D.Theinstructionstofleewithhaste(don’tturnbackforacloak)isfigurativelanguage.Inreality,theRomanstypicallypracticedaveryslowmethodicalsiege.Noneofthisseemtodescribetheendtimesorthe2ndComing.Manyhavereadthedescriptionofthetribulationthatfollowed(hasnotbeenfromthebeginningofcreation…)asareferencetotheendtimes.However,ifthisisunderstoodascommissive(expressive/evocative)language,thenitwouldeasilybeunderstoodasadescriptionofthehorrificconditionsthatexistedduringtheRomansiegeofJerusalem.Butinthosedays,afterthattribulation,thesunwillbedarkened,andthemoonwillnotgiveitslight,andthestarswillbefallingfromheaven,andthepowersintheheavenswillbeshaken.AndthentheywillseetheSonofMancomingincloudswithgreatpowerandglory.Andthenhewillsendouttheangelsandgatherhiselectfromthefourwinds,fromtheendsoftheearthtotheendsofheaven.Mark13:24-27Nowtheseversespresentsomedifficulties.Does“inthosedays”refertothefallofJerusalemin70A.D.ortotheendtimes?“Inthosedays”isatechnicaltermfortheendtimes,thereforethissoundslikeadescriptionofthe2ndComing.However,thecosmiclanguagethatfollowssoundsmuchliketheimpressionisticlanguageusedintheOTtodescribeactualhistoricevents.Fromthefigtreelearnitslesson:assoonasitsbranchbecomestenderandputsoutitsleaves,youknowthatsummerisnear.Soalso,whenyouseethesethingstakingplace,youknowthatheisnear,attheverygates.Truly,Isaytoyou,thisgenerationwillnotpassawayuntilallthesethingstakeplace.Heavenandearthwillpassaway,butmywordswillnotpassaway.Mark13:28-31TheseversesseemtobereferringtothefallofJerusalemin70A.D.butinthefollowingversesbelow(13:32-37),Markisdescribingthe2ndComing.Hadverses


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24-27beenplacedafterverse31,itwouldbeeasiertoseethoseaspartofthe2ndComingdescriptionaswell.Butconcerningthatdayorthathour,nooneknows,noteventheangelsinheaven,northeSon,butonlytheFather.Beonguard,keepawake.Foryoudonotknowwhenthetimewillcome.Itislikeamangoingonajourney,whenheleaveshomeandputshisservantsincharge,eachwithhiswork,andcommandsthedoorkeepertostayawake.Thereforestayawake—foryoudonotknowwhenthemasterofthehousewillcome,intheevening,oratmidnight,orwhentheroostercrows,orinthemorning—lesthecomesuddenlyandfindyouasleep.AndwhatIsaytoyouIsaytoall:Stayawake.Mark13:32-37Summarycomments:ItisunlikelythatthelanguageusedintheNTtodescribethe2ndComingismeanttobeunderstoodasscientific,literaldescriptionsofwhatwilltakeplace.JustasintheOT,theeventwillliterallycometruebutthelanguageusedbytheauthortodescribeitisfigurativeinnature.Inthispoetictypelanguage,theliteralmeaningoftheauthorisnotthesameastheliteralmeaningofthewords.


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17.ProseandPoetry,andExamplesfromtheOldTestament

IV. TheGenreofPoetry(part1)a. Prosevs.Poetry

Proseandpoetryaredifferent.Inpoetry,wordscanbelimitedbyrhythmorrhymeandtherefore“poeticlicense”isemployedwhichallowsthewritertousewordsthatmaynotbeaspreciseorexact;asinthecaseofprose.Inmoderntranslations,translatorshelpusidentifythepoetrybyutilizingbrokentype.IntheBible,therearetwoinstanceswherebothformsareplacesidebyside,todescribethesameevents.ThisoccursinJudgesandinExodus.

b. Examplesi. Judges4&5

Inchapter4ofJudgeswearegivenaproseaccountofDeborahandBarakleadingIsraelinbattleagainstSisera.Inchapter5,thesameaccountisrecordedinpoeticlanguageintheformofasong(ballad).WhenSiserawastoldthatBarakthesonofAbinoamhadgoneuptoMountTabor,Siseracalledoutallhischariots,900chariotsofiron,andallthemenwhowerewithhim,fromHarosheth-hagoyimtotheriverKishon.AndDeborahsaidtoBarak,“Up!ForthisisthedayinwhichtheLordhasgivenSiseraintoyourhand.DoesnottheLordgooutbeforeyou?”SoBarakwentdownfromMountTaborwith10,000menfollowinghim.AndtheLordroutedSiseraandallhischariotsandallhisarmybeforeBarakbytheedgeofthesword.AndSiseragotdownfromhischariotandfledawayonfoot.AndBarakpursuedthechariotsandthearmytoHarosheth-hagoyim,andallthearmyofSiserafellbytheedgeofthesword;notamanwasleft.ButSiserafledawayonfoottothetentofJael,thewifeofHebertheKenite,fortherewaspeacebetweenJabinthekingofHazorandthehouseofHebertheKenite.AndJaelcameouttomeetSiseraandsaidtohim,“Turnaside,mylord;turnasidetome;donotbeafraid.”Soheturnedasidetoherintothetent,andshecoveredhimwitharug.Andhesaidtoher,“Pleasegivemealittlewatertodrink,forIamthirsty.”Sosheopenedaskinofmilkandgavehimadrinkandcoveredhim.Andhesaidtoher,“Standattheopeningofthetent,andifanymancomesandasks


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you,‘Isanyonehere?’say,‘No.’”ButJaelthewifeofHebertookatentpeg,andtookahammerinherhand.Thenshewentsoftlytohimanddrovethepegintohistempleuntilitwentdownintothegroundwhilehewaslyingfastasleepfromweariness.Sohedied.Andbehold,asBarakwaspursuingSisera,Jaelwentouttomeethimandsaidtohim,“Come,andIwillshowyouthemanwhomyouareseeking.”Sohewentintohertent,andtherelaySiseradead,withthetentpeginhistemple.SoonthatdayGodsubduedJabinthekingofCanaanbeforethepeopleofIsrael.Judg.4:12-23Thisisaverystraightforwardaccountandeasytounderstand.Nowcompareittosomeexcerptsfromchapter5whichrecordthebattleinpoeticform:Lord,whenyouwentoutfromSeir,whenyoumarchedfromtheregionofEdom,theearthtrembledandtheheavensdropped,yes,thecloudsdroppedwater.ThemountainsquakedbeforetheLord,evenSinaibeforetheLord,theGodofIsrael. Judg.5:4-5Therewasnoliteralearthquake,thisisfigurativelanguagedescribingtheliteralfactthatGodledhispeopleinbattlethatday.Thekingscame,theyfought;thenfoughtthekingsofCanaan,atTaanach,bythewatersofMegiddo;theygotnospoilsofsilver.Fromheaventhestarsfought,fromtheircoursestheyfoughtagainstSisera.Judg.5:10-20Thestarsdidn’tliterallyfight;thiswasn’tsomesortofmeteorshower.ThisisawayofsayingthatGodfoughtfromhisplaceinheaven.

ii. Exodus14&15Exodus14recordsthecrossingoftheRedSeainprose:ThentheLordsaidtoMoses,“StretchoutyourhandovertheseathatthewatermaycomebackupontheEgyptians,upontheirchariots,andupontheirhorsemen.”SoMosesstretchedouthishandoverthesea,andthe


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seareturnedtoitsnormalcoursewhenthemorningappeared.AndastheEgyptiansfledintoit,theLordthrewtheEgyptiansintothemidstofthesea.Thewatersreturnedandcoveredthechariotsandthehorsemen;ofallthehostofPharaohthathadfollowedthemintothesea,notoneofthemremained.ButthepeopleofIsraelwalkedondrygroundthroughthesea,thewatersbeingawalltothemontheirrighthandandontheirleft.Exod.14:26-29Nowcomparethistosomeofthepoeticlanguageinchapter15usedtodescribethesameevent:ThenMosesandthepeopleofIsraelsangthissongtotheLord,saying,“IwillsingtotheLord,forhehastriumphedgloriously;thehorseandhisriderhehasthrownintothesea."Exod.15:1Pharaoh'schariotsandhishosthecastintothesea,andhischosenofficersweresunkintheRedSea.Exod.15:4Inthegreatnessofyourmajestyyouoverthrowyouradversaries;yousendoutyourfury;itconsumesthemlikestubble.Attheblastofyournostrilsthewaterspiledup;thefloodsstoodupinaheap;thedeepscongealedintheheartofthesea.Exod.15:7-8

iii. Colossians1HeistheimageoftheinvisibleGod,thefirstbornofallcreation.Forbyhimallthingswerecreated,inheavenandonearth,visibleandinvisible,whetherthronesordominionsorrulersorauthorities—allthingswerecreatedthroughhimandforhim.Andheisbeforeallthings,andinhimallthingsholdtogether.Andheistheheadofthebody,thechurch.Heisthebeginning,thefirstbornfromthedead,thatineverythinghemightbepreeminent.ForinhimallthefullnessofGodwaspleasedtodwell,andthroughhimtoreconciletohimselfallthings,whetheronearthorinheaven,makingpeacebythebloodofhiscross.Col.1:15-20Eventhoughmosttranslationsdonotbreaktheselinestoindicatepoetry,thisismostlikelyapre-PaulineChristologicalhymnthatherecitesinhisletter.Understandingthepoeticrhythmoftheoriginal


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languagehelpsexplainwordsthatwouldotherwiseseemtobeinconflictwithScripture’steachingagainstuniversalism.

iv. 1Corinthians15ForasinAdamalldie,soalsoinChristshallallbemadealive.1Cor.15:22InthisverseweseeanotherexampleofPaulusingabalancedrhythmtosaysomethingthatisnotintendedasastatementsupportinguniversalism.

v. Romans5Therefore,asonetrespassledtocondemnationforallmen,sooneactofrighteousnessleadstojustificationandlifeforallmen.Rom.5:18InRomans5:15,17,18,&19;Paulutilizesabalancedrhythmyetagain.Thepointistorecognizethese,andnotletyourtheologybedefinedbyinstanceswherethewordsarecontrolledrhythm.ThereareplentyofplaceswhererhythmisnotutilizedfromwhichwecandeterminethatPaulwasclearlynotteachinguniversalism.

vi. Psalm18Psalm18isagoodexampleofpoetryfoundusedbypsalmists.Here,DavidissingingforJoybecauseGodheardhispleaforhelpwhenfacingenemies.TheLordalsothunderedintheheavens,andtheMostHighutteredhisvoice,hailstonesandcoalsoffire.Andhesentouthisarrowsandscatteredthem;heflashedforthlightningsandroutedthem.Psalm18:13-14

vii. 2Samuel1SaulandJonathan,belovedandlovely!Inlifeandindeaththeywerenotdivided;theywereswifterthaneagles;theywerestrongerthanlions.2Sam.1:23ThisisfromalamentbyDavidforSaulandJonathan.Aeulogyisaperfectlygoodplacetousepoeticlanguagetohonorsomeone.


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18.TypesofPoetryintheBible

IV. TheGenreofPoetry(part2)

c. TypesofPoetryintheBible

i. SynonymousParallelism

1. Matthew7:7-8Ask,anditwillbegiventoyou;seek,andyouwillfind;knock,anditwillbeopenedtoyou.Foreveryonewhoasksreceives,andtheonewhoseeksfinds,andtotheonewhoknocksitwillbeopened.Matt.7:7-8Ask,seek,andknockareessentiallyallexpressingthesamethought.Synonymousparallelisminpoetryrepeatsthesamethoughtinavarietyofwaysusingarhythmicpattern.

2. Luke6:27-28ButIsaytoyouwhohear,Loveyourenemies,dogoodtothosewhohateyou,blessthosewhocurseyou,prayforthosewhoabuseyou.Luke6:27-28Thisisanotherexample.Theideaoflovingyourenemiesisdescribedbyarepetitionofactionsthatportrayitsmeaning.

3. TheLord'sPrayer“Hallowedbethyname.ThykingdomcomeThywillbedone.”Thisisfollowedby“Onearthasitisinheaven”whichgoeswithallthreeoftheexpressions.Knowingoneofthesehelpsustounderstandtheothers.

ii. AntitheticParallelismTheoppositeofasynonymousparallelismisanantitheticparallelisminwhichtheoppositethoughtisrepeated.


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Examplesofantitheticparallelisms:

1. Matthew7:17-18So,everyhealthytreebearsgoodfruit,butthediseasedtreebearsbadfruit.Ahealthytreecannotbearbadfruit,norcanadiseasedtreebeargoodfruit.Matt.7:17-18

2. Luke16:10Onewhoisfaithfulinaverylittleisalsofaithfulinmuch,andonewhoisdishonestinaverylittleisalsodishonestinmuch.Luke16:10

3. ProverbsThereisnotasharpdistinctionbetweenpoetryandproverbs.Manysayings(includingsomeentirechapters)foundinProverbsareintheformofantitheticparallelisms.E.g.ThewisesonisajoytohisfatherButthefoolishsonisasorrowtohismother.

iii. Step/ClimacticParallelismInastepparallelism,the1stand2ndlinesareneithersynonymousoropposite;ratherthe1stlineisadvancedbythe2ndline.Examples:

1. Matthew10:40Whoeverreceivesyoureceivesme,andwhoeverreceivesmereceiveshimwhosentme.Matt.10:40

2. Matthew5:17DonotthinkthatIhavecometoabolishtheLawortheProphets;Ihavenotcometoabolishthembuttofulfillthem.Matt.5:17

iv. ChiasmicParallelismTheseareparallelrhythmsinwhichyoufindapatternofpartsthatfollowanascendingthendescendingorder.(E.g.A,B-B,A)Examples:

1. Matthew23:12Whoeverexaltshimselfwillbehumbled,andwhoeverhumbleshimselfwillbeexalted.Matt.23:12


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2. Mark8:35Forwhoeverwouldsavehislifewillloseit,butwhoeverloseshislifeformysakeandthegospel'swillsaveit.Mark8:35

v. Whyusepoeticlanguage?Countedtogether,thereareover200examplesofsynonymousandantitheticparallelismsintheGospels.Thisrhythmic-typelanguagelendsitselftomemorizationwhichwasespeciallyimportantinanon-literalsocietywhichexistedinthe1stcentury.Thisisevidentinthewayarhythmishelpfulinrememberingthewordstoasong.


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19.Idioms

V. TheGenreofIdioms

Idiomsareaformofexpressionthatiftakenliterally,inthecontext,wouldmakelittleornosense.

a. Examples

i. "Godblessyou."(Inresponsetoasneeze)

ii. "Breakaleg."(Asayingwhensomeonestartsanewtheatreplay)

iii. "Howareyou?"(Actually,asimplegreetingratherthanaquestion)

b. BiblicalExamples

i. Joshua8:17,Judges4:16,2Kings10:21-"Noonewasleft.”(Exaggeratedterminology)

ii. 1John3:17-"Shuttethuphisbowels."It’sanidiomthatmeans“havenopity”

iii. Genesis22:17ff,Genesis41:43,Joshua11:4,Judges7:12-"Sandsoftheseashore."

iv. Matthew17:20,1Corinthians13:2-"Faithtomovemountains"

c. Howtodetectidioms

i. Foundfrequently

ii. Cannotbeinterpretedliterallyincontext

d. Specificexample-"LoveandHate"


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Thelove-hatelanguageisfoundfrequentlyinScripture.

i. Malachi1:2-3,Romans9:13Ihavelovedyou,”saystheLord.Butyousay,“Howhaveyoulovedus?”“IsnotEsauJacob'sbrother?”declarestheLord.“YetIhavelovedJacobbutEsauIhavehated.Ihavelaidwastehishillcountryandlefthisheritagetojackalsofthedesert.Mal.1:2-3Asitiswritten,“JacobIloved,butEsauIhated”Rom.9:13

ii. ExplanationfromGenesis29:31SoJacobwentintoRachelalso,andhelovedRachelmorethanLeah,andservedLabanforanothersevenyears.WhentheLordsawthatLeahwashated,heopenedherwomb,butRachelwasbarren.Gen29:30-31Gen.29:31statesthatLeahwashatedbutwhencomparedtotheprecedingverse,thetruemeaningofthisbecomesclear.Jacob’saffectionforRachelwasgreaterthanhisaffectionforLeah.

iii. Deuteronomy21:15-17Ifamanhastwowives,theonelovedandtheotherunloved,andboththelovedandtheunlovedhavebornehimchildren,andifthefirstbornsonbelongstotheunloved,thenonthedaywhenheassignshispossessionsasaninheritancetohissons,hemaynottreatthesonofthelovedasthefirstborninpreferencetothesonoftheunloved,whoisthefirstborn,butheshallacknowledgethefirstborn,thesonoftheunloved,bygivinghimadoubleportionofallthathehas,forheisthefirstfruitsofhisstrength.Therightofthefirstbornishis.Deut.21:15-17TheaboveversesarequotedfromtheESV.Theword“unloved”istranslatedas“disliked”intheRSV.IntheoriginalHebrew,theliteralwordusedis“hated”.Thusthisisanotherexampleofthelove/hateidiomaticimageryfoundbothintheOTandtheNT.


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iv. Luke14:26Ifanyonecomestomeanddoesnothatehisownfatherandmotherandwifeandchildrenandbrothersandsisters,yes,andevenhisownlife,hecannotbemydisciple.Luke14:16Whatisevidentthroughtheseexamplesisthefactthathate(inthelove/hateidiomreallymeanstoloveless.It’sarelativeexpressionratherthanaliteralexpressionoftwoextremes.

v. Proverbs13:24Whoeversparestherodhateshisson,buthewholoveshimisdiligenttodisciplinehim.Prov.13:24

e. MeaningisdeterminedbytheauthorTheuseofidiomsisagoodillustrationofthefactthatthemeaningofwordsisdeterminedbytheauthor.Thetextcan’t,inandofitself,bearmeaningbecauseitissimplyacollectionofwordswhich,iftakenliterally,couldsaysomethingquitedifferentfromtheintendedmeaningoftheauthor.

f. LearninganewlanguageAlllanguageshaveidiomaticexpressions.It’simportanttolearnthoseinordertoavoidsomepotentiallyembarrassingsituations.TheBiblemakesfrequentuseofidiomsanditisimportanttorecognizethoseinordertomakeavalidinterpretation.


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20.TheGenreofExaggeration-Part1

VI. TheGenreofExaggeration(part1)

a. RecognizingExaggerationintheTeachingsofJesus(part1)

Inhisteaching,Jesususedoverstatementwhichissimplyexaggerationforeffect;andhyperbole.Hyperboleisliterallyimpossiblewhileoverstatementisliterallypossiblebutnotintendedtobeinterpretedinaliteralfashion.Exaggerationcanhaveanegativeconnotation,i.e.someonestretchingthetruth.However,thisisaperfectlyacceptableandlegitimategenreaslongasbothpartiesareawarethatitisexaggeration.ThiswasthecaseforJesus’teachingintheNT.

i. Hyperbolic-literallyimpossibleHyperboleisexaggerationthatissogreatitisliterallyimpossible:Youblindguides,strainingoutagnatandswallowingacamel!Matt.23:24

ii. ConflictswithwhatJesussayselsewhereAnotherwaytodetectexaggeratedlanguagebyJesusistonoteifitobviouslyconflictswithhisteachingelsewhere.Ifanyonecomestomeanddoesnothatehisownfatherandmotherandwifeandchildrenandbrothersandsisters,yes,andevenhisownlife,hecannotbemydisciple.Luke14:26Weknowthatthisisnotintendedtobeinterpretedliterallybecauseheteacheselsewheretohonoryourfatherandyourmother.

iii. ConflictswithJesus'behaviorandactionselsewhereButwhenyoupray,gointoyourroomandshutthedoorandpraytoyourFatherwhoisinsecret.AndyourFatherwhoseesinsecretwillrewardyou.Matt.6:6


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Thisisanexaggeratedmessagemeanttodiscourageshowyprayersforthepurposeofcallingattentiontoyourself.Obviously,thisisn’tsayingyouhavetoprayinsecret.E.g.theLord’sPrayerismeanttobeacorporateprayer.InMatt.5:33-34,Jesusseemstobeteachingagainsttakinganytypeofoath.HoweverweseehimplacinghimselfunderoathathistrialbeforetheHighPriest(Matt.26:62).ThiswasinobediencetowhatisstatedintheLaw,inLev.5:1ff.,whichstatesthatyoumustanswerinplacedunderoath.Jesuswasusingexaggeratedspeechtoteachabouthavingthesortofcharacterthatmakesanoathunnecessary.

iv. ConflictswithteachingsoftheOldTestamentTheinstructionstohateyourfatherandmotherareclearlyinconflictwiththe5thCommandmentwhichtellustohonoryourfatherandyourmother.

v. ConflictswithteachingsoftheNewTestamentNoticetheuniversallanguageinMatthewconcerninggivingtoabeggar:Givetotheonewhobegsfromyou,anddonotrefusetheonewhowouldborrowfromyou.Matt.5:42Thisisaformofexaggerationbecauseweseeanexceptiontothisinstructioninthefollowingverse:Forevenwhenwewerewithyou,wewouldgiveyouthiscommand:Ifanyoneisnotwillingtowork,lethimnoteat.2Thess.3:10


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21.TheGenreofExaggeration-Part2

VI. TheGenreofExaggeration(part2)

a. RecognizingExaggerationintheTeachingsofJesus(continued)vi. Interpretedbytheevangelistinanon-literalway

DonotthinkthatIhavecometobringpeacetotheearth.Ihavenotcometobringpeace,butasword.Matt.10:34Takenliterally,thissoundslikeJesuswasadvocatingapoliticalrevolutioninvolvingwar.However,MatthewexplainsinthefollowingversesthathewastalkingaboutthepotentiallydivisivenatureofaligningwithJesus,evenwithinafamily.ForIhavecometosetamanagainsthisfather,andadaughteragainsthermother,andadaughter-in-lawagainsthermother-in-law.Andaperson'senemieswillbethoseofhisownhousehold.Whoeverlovesfatherormothermorethanmeisnotworthyofme,andwhoeverlovessonordaughtermorethanmeisnotworthyofme.Matt.10:35-37

vii. NotalwaysliterallyfulfilledinpracticeInMark13,JesusprophesiedtohisdisciplesconcerningthefallofJerusaleminwhichhesaysnotonestoneofthetemplewallwillbeleftuponanother.ThetemplewasdefinitelydestroyedbytheRomansin70A.D.,butthereareportionsofthewallthatremainedintactdowntothefoundationrock,evenuntiltoday.Ask,anditwillbegiventoyou;seek,andyouwillfind;knock,anditwillbeopenedtoyou.Foreveryonewhoasksreceives,andtheonewhoseeksfinds,andtotheonewhoknocksitwillbeopened.Matt.7:7-8Thiscan’tbeliterallytruewithnoexceptions.Ratherthantryingtoqualifytheexceptions,Jesuswantedtoteachtheimportanceofprayer.


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viii. LiteralfulfillmentwouldnotachievethedesiredgoalIfyourrighteyecausesyoutosin,pluckitout.Thiswouldnotsolvetheproblemoflustingwithyourlefteye.Jesusisusingoverstatementtoexpresstheseriousnatureofsin.

ix. ThestatementusesaparticularliteralformpronetoexaggerationProverbs,prophecyandpoetryareallliteraryformsthatmakecommonuseofexaggeration,oftenthroughmetaphoriclanguage.

x. ThestatementusesidiomaticlanguagethatnolongerbearsitsliteralmeaningE.g.thegnashingofteethexpresseshorrormorethanwhatisliterallygoingoninsidethemouth.

xi. Thestatementusesall-inclusiveanduniversallanguageE.g.“Givetoeveryonewhobegsyou…”inLuke6:30.Or“allthingscanbedonefortheonewhobelieves.”Matt.9:23

b. Whyuseexaggeration?Itisnotenoughtosimplyrecognizeexaggeratedlanguageandsay,“Idon’tneedtointerpretthatliterally”;thenmoveon.Theverypurposeoftheoverstatementistocallattentiontowhatisbeingtaught.Itindicatesthatthissubjectisverysignificantandrequiresourattention.


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22.IntroductiontoParables

VII. Parables(Part1)

Parablesarebrieforextendedcomparisons.

a. HistoricalInterpretationsConsidertheParableoftheGoodSamaritan:Jesusreplied,“AmanwasgoingdownfromJerusalemtoJericho,andhefellamongrobbers,whostrippedhimandbeathimanddeparted,leavinghimhalfdead.Nowbychanceapriestwasgoingdownthatroad,andwhenhesawhimhepassedbyontheotherside.SolikewiseaLevite,whenhecametotheplaceandsawhim,passedbyontheotherside.ButaSamaritan,ashejourneyed,cametowherehewas,andwhenhesawhim,hehadcompassion.Hewenttohimandbounduphiswounds,pouringonoilandwine.Thenhesethimonhisownanimalandbroughthimtoaninnandtookcareofhim.Andthenextdayhetookouttwodenariiandgavethemtotheinnkeeper,saying,‘Takecareofhim,andwhatevermoreyouspend,IwillrepayyouwhenIcomeback.’"Luke10:30-35

i. Marcion-140A.D.Madefirstreferencetothisparable.MacionwasaGnosticwhorefutedtheincarnation.HeallegorizedJesusastheGoodSamaritanandconcludedthiswasJesus’firstappearanceinhistory.

ii. ClementofAlexandria-180A.D.(earlyChurchera)Clementcontinuedthepracticeofallegorizingthisparable,pressingeachdetailformeaning.

iii. Origen-(earlyChurchera)Origenreasonedthathumanshadatri-partnature(body,soul,andspirit)from1Thess.5:23.HemadetheleapofsayingthereforeScripturehadatri-partnature-aliteralmeaning,amoralmeaning,andspiritualmeaning.Origencontinuedthepracticeofallegorizingparablesbutintroducedthislayeredapproachtointerpretation.

iv. St.Augustine-(earlyChurchera)


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AugustineprobablyhasthemostfamousallegorizedinterpretationoftheGoodSamaritan.Twobasicreasonswhyallegorytendedtobethedominatemethodofinterpretingsacredliterature.

• Jesusofferedanallegoricalinterpretationwithhisparableofthesoils.

• Itwasacommonwayofhandlingsacredwritingsthatweredifficulttointerpretinaliteralway.

v. JohnCassian-(MiddleAges)Cassianaddeda4thlevelofmeaning(aheavenlymeaning).

vi. ThomasAquinasOneofthegreattheologiansoftheMiddleAges,continuedwiththeallegoryinterpretationandwiththefourlevelsofCassian,(literal,moral,spiritual,&heavenly)

vii. MartinLuther-(ReformationPeriod)ManyofthechainsofallegoricalinterpretationintherestofScripturebegantobebrokenduringthereformation.However,Luthercontinuedtoapplyittoparables.TheReformersdidnotrecognizepapalauthorityorthetraditionoftheEarlyChurchFathers.ItisnotsurprisingthatLutherdisagreedstronglywithsomeoftheirformerinterpretations.

viii. JohnCalvinJohnCalvinisthefirstknowntheologianinallofchurchhistorytosaythatthisparableisnotastoryaboutJesus.“Noneofthisstrikesmeasplausible.WeshouldhavemorereverenceforScripturethantoallowourselvestotransfigureitssensesofreely.AnyonemayseethatthesespeculationshavebeencookedupbymeddlersquitedivorcedfromthemindofChrist.”JohnCalvin

ix. R.C.Trench-19thCenturyTrenchpublishedabook,NotesontheParablesofourLord,inwhichheoffersaliteral,thendeeperspiritualmeaningoftheparables.Hemakesstronguseofallegoryinhisinterpretivemethod.

x. AdolfJülicher-1888


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Jülicherpublishedabook,ParableTalksofJesus,inwhichhepointedoutthedifference=betweenanallegoryandaparable.Anallegorygivesmeaningtodetailsandtheauthorinvitesyoutodiscoverthosemeanings.AclassicliteraryexampleofthiswasPilgrim’sProgress.Parables,ontheotherhand,tendtobecomparisonsofonebasicpoint.Ifdetailsarepresentinaparable,theyaretheresimplytheretomakethestoryinterestingormemorable.

b. PrinciplesforInterpretingParables

i. Parablesgenerallyteachonemainpoint.Thereareexceptions,butessentiallyaparableisacomparisonthatisteachingoneprimarylesson.Avoidtryingtoreadintothetext(eisogesis)bypressingthedetailsofthestory.Readoutofthetext(exegesis)bylookingforthemainpoint.

ii. Seektounderstandtheparableasthe1stcenturyaudience.C.H.Doddstressedthissimple,yetsometimesoverlooked,pointinhisbookParablesoftheKingdom.Avoidjumpingtoimplicationandsignificancebeforefirstconsideringhowtheoriginalaudiencewouldhaveunderstoodthemessage.(Thereandthenbeforehereandnow.)Anotherwaytostatethisprincipleistosimplyask,“WhatdidJesusmeanbythisparable?”

iii. ConsiderwhattheGospelwritersweretryingtoteachfromtheparable.RedactionCriticismledtotherealizationofspecialemphasesthatweremadebytheindividualinspiredEvangelists.

iv. Askhowitappliestous;toourcurrentsituation.Askthequestion.“WhatdoesGodwantmetodoinregardtothisparable?”

c. ApplyingthePrinciplestoTheGoodSamaritan

i. Principle#1Basedontheprecedingverse(Luke10:29)andtheversethatfollowstheparable(Luke10:36);itisapparentthattheparableisaboutwhoisaneighbor.Inessence,Jesustwiststhequestionattheendbyasking(fromthestory)“Whoprovedtobeaneighbor?”Thisisthemainpoint-what


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doesitmeantobeagoodneighbor?Notethatthelawyer’squestionwas,“Whoismyneighbor,i.e.whoshouldbetherecipientofmylove?”Jesusanswersthemoreprudentquestion,“Whatdoesitmeantobealovingneighbor?”

ii. Principle#2UnderstandingthelongestablishedhatredbetweenJewsandSamaritansthatexistedinJesus’daygreatlyenhancestheforceofthisparable.Thiswouldnothavebeenreceivedasawarmandfuzzystoryofcompassion,especiallybythereligiousleadersoftheday.Thiswasadamningindictmentofsocial,racial,andreligioussuperiority.

iii. Principle#3IntryingtounderstandtheparticularemphasesofLuke,itishelpfultonote(bothinhisGospelandinActs)thathehasparticularconcernforoutcasts,women,publicans,andsinners.OfalltheGospelwriters,Lukeistheonlyonewhoincludesthisparable.Also,heistheonlyonewhoincludesastoryofJesusmeetingandhealingaSamaritan.

iv. Principle#4Thequestionherehastodowithourowncircumstancesandopportunitiestoasbeingalovingneighbortothoseweencounter.


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23.InterpretationofParables


d. DiscussionofVariousParables

i. ParableoftheHiddenTreasureThekingdomofheavenisliketreasurehiddeninafield,whichamanfoundandcoveredup.Theninhisjoyhegoesandsellsallthathehasandbuysthatfield.Matt.13-44Thisverybriefparableisanexampleofasimilitude.ThesimplepointhereistoteachthatGod’sKingdomisthegreatesttreasureonecanhave.ThisisplacedbesidetheParableofFinePearlswhichhasthesamepoint.Thereisnoneedtopressthedetailsfurtherbytryingtoanalyzethecharacteroftheman,etc.

ii. ParableofTenVirginsThenthekingdomofheavenwillbeliketenvirginswhotooktheirlampsandwenttomeetthebridegroom.Fiveofthemwerefoolish,andfivewerewise.Forwhenthefoolishtooktheirlamps,theytooknooilwiththem,butthewisetookflasksofoilwiththeirlamps.Asthebridegroomwasdelayed,theyallbecamedrowsyandslept.Butatmidnighttherewasacry,‘Hereisthebridegroom!Comeouttomeethim.’Thenallthosevirginsroseandtrimmedtheirlamps.Andthefoolishsaidtothewise,‘Giveussomeofyouroil,forourlampsaregoingout.’Butthewiseanswered,saying,‘Sincetherewillnotbeenoughforusandforyou,gorathertothedealersandbuyforyourselves.’Andwhiletheyweregoingtobuy,thebridegroomcame,andthosewhowerereadywentinwithhimtothemarriagefeast,andthedoorwasshut.Afterwardtheothervirginscamealso,saying,Lord,lord,opentous.’Butheanswered,‘Truly,Isaytoyou,Idonotknowyou.’Watchtherefore,foryouknowneitherthedaynorthehour.Matt25:1-13Thisisaninterestingandthereforememorableparable.Thepointisnottomakeastatementonwhatpercentageofvirginswillmakeittoheaven;ortoinstructChristiansoftheneedtosharetheGospel(even


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thoughthisistrue).ThesimplepointbeingmadeisforChristianstobeready(prepared)becausewedon’tknowthehourorthedaywhenwewillmeettheLord.

iii. ParableoftheDishonestManagerHealsosaidtothedisciples,“Therewasarichmanwhohadamanager,andchargeswerebroughttohimthatthismanwaswastinghispossessions.Andhecalledhimandsaidtohim,‘WhatisthisthatIhearaboutyou?Turnintheaccountofyourmanagement,foryoucannolongerbemanager.’Andthemanagersaidtohimself,‘WhatshallIdo,sincemymasteristakingthemanagementawayfromme?Iamnotstrongenoughtodig,andIamashamedtobeg.Ihavedecidedwhattodo,sothatwhenIamremovedfrommanagement,peoplemayreceivemeintotheirhouses.’So,summoninghismaster'sdebtorsonebyone,hesaidtothefirst,‘Howmuchdoyouowemymaster?’Hesaid,‘Ahundredmeasuresofoil.’Hesaidtohim,‘Takeyourbill,andsitdownquicklyandwritefifty.’Thenhesaidtoanother,‘Andhowmuchdoyouowe?’Hesaid,‘Ahundredmeasuresofwheat.’Hesaidtohim,‘Takeyourbill,andwriteeighty.’Themastercommendedthedishonestmanagerforhisshrewdness.Forthesonsofthisworldaremoreshrewdindealingwiththeirowngenerationthanthesonsoflight."Luke16:1-8Tryingtopressthedetailsofthisparablecanleadtoallsortsofdistortedinterpretations.However,thesimplepointtoseeisthatthemanwasfacingjudgmentandhepreparedhimselfaccordingly.Hewasnotcommendedforhisintegrity;hewascommendedforhisshrewdness.Areweatleastassmartasthisscoundrel?Arewepreparedforjudgment?

iv. ParableoftheLostSheep(CompareLuketoMatthew)Sohetoldthemthisparable:“Whatmanofyou,havingahundredsheep,ifhehaslostoneofthem,doesnotleavetheninety-nineintheopencountry,andgoaftertheonethatislost,untilhefindsit?Andwhenhehasfoundit,helaysitonhisshoulders,rejoicing.Andwhenhecomeshome,hecallstogetherhisfriendsandhisneighbors,sayingtothem,‘Rejoicewithme,forIhavefoundmysheepthatwaslost.’Justso,Itellyou,therewillbemorejoyinheavenoveronesinnerwhorepentsthanoverninety-ninerighteouspersonswhoneednorepentance."Luke15:3-7


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"Whatdoyouthink?Ifamanhasahundredsheep,andoneofthemhasgoneastray,doeshenotleavetheninety-nineonthemountainsandgoinsearchoftheonethatwentastray?Andifhefindsit,truly,Isaytoyou,herejoicesoveritmorethanovertheninety-ninethatneverwentastray.SoitisnotthewillofmyFatherwhoisinheaventhatoneoftheselittleonesshouldperish."Matt.18:12-14NoticeinLukethesheepisdescribedaslostwhileinMatthewitisdescribedasgoingastray.Matthewusesaverbthatmeans“straying”.Intheend,LukereferstorepentancewhereasMatthewrefersto“theselittleones”whichisatermMatthewusesearlierinthechaptertorefertoyoungChristians.Probably,Luke’sversionisclosertotheactualparableastoldbyJesus.ThiswasinresponsetoJesusbeingaskedwhyheatewithsinners.Hisanswerisconcernedwithsalvationforthe“lost”.Matthewappearstohavetakenthe“patternofmeaning”andappliedittoasituationinwhichheiswritingtoachurchwhichhasmemberswhohavedriftedawayfromthebody.Matthewistakingtheoriginalparableandshowingtheimplication.MatthewwasinspiredthereforehisversionoftheparableisstillGod’sWordeventhoughitisprobablynottheprecisewordsofJesus.

v. LaborersintheVineyard“Forthekingdomofheavenislikeamasterofahousewhowentoutearlyinthemorningtohirelaborersforhisvineyard.Afteragreeingwiththelaborersforadenariusaday,hesentthemintohisvineyard.Andgoingoutaboutthethirdhourhesawothersstandingidleinthemarketplace,andtothemhesaid,‘Yougointothevineyardtoo,andwhateverisrightIwillgiveyou.’Sotheywent.Goingoutagainaboutthesixthhourandtheninthhour,hedidthesame.Andabouttheeleventhhourhewentoutandfoundothersstanding.Andhesaidtothem,‘Whydoyoustandhereidleallday?’Theysaidtohim,‘Becausenoonehashiredus.’Hesaidtothem,‘Yougointothevineyardtoo.’Andwheneveningcame,theownerofthevineyardsaidtohisforeman,‘Callthelaborersandpaythemtheirwages,beginningwiththelast,uptothefirst.’Andwhenthosehiredabouttheeleventhhourcame,eachofthemreceivedadenarius.Nowwhenthosehiredfirstcame,theythoughttheywouldreceivemore,buteachofthemalsoreceivedadenarius.Andonreceivingittheygrumbledatthemasterofthehouse,saying,‘Theselast


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workedonlyonehour,andyouhavemadethemequaltouswhohavebornetheburdenofthedayandthescorchingheat.’Butherepliedtooneofthem,Friend,Iamdoingyounowrong.Didyounotagreewithmeforadenarius?Takewhatbelongstoyouandgo.IchoosetogivetothislastworkerasIgivetoyou.AmInotallowedtodowhatIchoosewithwhatbelongstome?Ordoyoubegrudgemygenerosity?’Sothelastwillbefirst,andthefirstlast.”Matt.20:1-16BothIrenaeusandOrigenattemptedtomakeanallegoricalinterpretationinwhichvariousgroupsthroughoutredemptivehistorywererepresentedbytheworkershiredatdifferenthours.OthershavecitedGod’ssovereigntyasthemainpoint.However,themasterofthehousewasn’tfreeinregardstothefirsthourworkers.Hewasrequiredtopaythemwhatwaspromised.Otherssaythepointisjustificationbyfaithsincethe11thhourworkersgotpaid.However,the1sthourworkersdidworkfortheirpay.Sub-rulesforinterpretingparables:

• Determinethemaincharacters-Whenthereareseveralcharactersinaparable,thereareusuallytwomaincharacters.Thiswouldbe1sthourand11thhoursincetheyaretheonlyonesmentionedinthepayment.

• RuleofEndStress-Whatcomesattheendisthemostimportant.• Whatgetsthemostpress-Theendoftheparableis

confrontationaldialogbetweenthe1sthourworkersandthemasterthatincludesseveralverses.

ThepointoftheparableistoteachagainsthavingabegrudgingattitudetowardsGod’sgraceandgenerosity.TheoriginalstorywasdirectedattheattitudeofthePhariseesandScribesbutitcertainlymakesarelevantpointintheheartsofmodernbelievers.

vi. TheProdigalSon

Themaincharactersappeartobethefatherandtheoldestson,basedonhowthestoryendsandtheamountofdialogbetweenthemintheend.Lukeofferssomeadditionalinsightbydescribingthesituationinwhichthestorywastold:


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Nowthetaxcollectorsandsinnerswerealldrawingneartohearhim.AndthePhariseesandthescribesgrumbled,saying,“Thismanreceivessinnersandeatswiththem.Luke15:1-2ThescribesandPhariseeshadtheattitudeoftheolderson.ThisappearstobethesamepointmadeasintheParableoftheLaborersfoundinMatthew20.


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24.AllegoryandHistoricalNarrative


e. Detectingallegoryinaparable

i. WouldJesusandHisaudiencehaveattributedmeaningtothedetails?

ii. WouldtheEvangelist’saudiencehaveunderstoodthedetailsasallegorical?

f. Examplesofallegoricalparables

i. TheParableoftheTenants

Andhebegantospeaktotheminparables.“Amanplantedavineyardandputafencearounditanddugapitforthewinepressandbuiltatower,andleasedittotenantsandwentintoanothercountry.Whentheseasoncame,hesentaservanttothetenantstogetfromthemsomeofthefruitofthevineyard.Andtheytookhimandbeathimandsenthimawayempty-handed.Againhesenttothemanotherservant,andtheystruckhimontheheadandtreatedhimshamefully.Andhesentanother,andhimtheykilled.Andsowithmanyothers:sometheybeat,andsometheykilled.Hehadstilloneother,abelovedson.Finallyhesenthimtothem,saying,‘Theywillrespectmyson.’Butthosetenantssaidtooneanother,thisistheheir.Come,letuskillhim,andtheinheritancewillbeours.’Andtheytookhimandkilledhimandthrewhimoutofthevineyard.Whatwilltheownerofthevineyarddo?Hewillcomeanddestroythetenantsandgivethevineyardtoothers.HaveyounotreadthisScripture?:“‘Thestonethatthebuildersrejectedhasbecomethecornerstone;thiswastheLord'sdoing,anditismarvelousinoureyes’?”Andtheywereseekingtoarresthimbutfearedthepeople,fortheyperceivedthathehadtoldtheparableagainstthem.Sotheylefthimandwentaway.Mark12:1-12IncomparingthistoIsaiah5:1-7,itisfairlyobviousthatJesusisplayingofftheOTpassagefromIsaiah.Jesus’audiencewouldhavebeenwellversedintheOTandunderstoodthatthiswasaparableaboutthenation


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ofIsrael(representedbythevineyard).Itwouldalsobeapparenttothemthattheservants,sentbytheowner,representedOTProphets.Clearly,thereisadistinctionbetweenthesonandtheservants,thereforeaChristologicalimplicationwouldhavebeendrawnbyJesus’audience.TheparallelaccountsofthisparableinMatthewandLukehaveaninterestingtwist.Inbothoftheseaccounts,thesonisfirstthrownoutofvineyardbeforehewaskilled.JesuswascrucifiedoutsideJerusalem.TheywerereinforcingtheChristologicalconnectionandthusdemonstratedthattheyunderstoodthisparableallegorically.Thisisaclearinstanceofanallegory.BothJesus’audienceandtheEvangelistsaudiencewouldhaveseenthesymbolismofthedetails.

ii. ParableoftheGreatBanquetWhenoneofthosewhoreclinedattablewithhimheardthesethings,hesaidtohim,“BlessediseveryonewhowilleatbreadinthekingdomofGod!”Buthesaidtohim,“Amanoncegaveagreatbanquetandinvitedmany.Andatthetimeforthebanquethesenthisservanttosaytothosewhohadbeeninvited,‘Come,foreverythingisnowready.’Buttheyallalikebegantomakeexcuses.…Sotheservantcameandreportedthesethingstohismaster.Thenthemasterofthehousebecameangryandsaidtohisservant,‘Gooutquicklytothestreetsandlanesofthecity,andbringinthepoorandcrippledandblindandlame.’Andtheservantsaid,‘Sir,whatyoucommandedhasbeendone,andstillthereisroom.’Andthemastersaidtotheservant,‘Goouttothehighwaysandhedgesandcompelpeopletocomein,thatmyhousemaybefilled.ForItellyou,noneofthosemenwhowereinvitedshalltastemybanquet.’”Luke14:15-24Lukeisfairlyspecific,therearetwosendingouts:onetotheimmediateareaandonefurtherout.LukewouldhaveexpectedTheophilustounderstandtheparableallegorically.TheKingdomofGodisfrequentlylikenedtoagreatbanquet.ItwasnotonlytheoutcastsofIsraelwhowereinvited,buttheoutcastsoftheGentileworld(the2ndsendingout).Theophiluswouldhaveunderstoodthisconnection.Intheparable,thosethatyouwouldhaveexpectedtobefrontandcenteratthedinnerdidnotcome.Jesus’audiencewouldhavecaughtonthathewastalkingaboutthescribesandPharisees.


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g. FinalInterpretiveDiscussionsonParables

i. TheFinalJudgmentWhentheSonofMancomesinhisglory,andalltheangelswithhim,thenhewillsitonhisgloriousthrone.Beforehimwillbegatheredallthenations,andhewillseparatepeopleonefromanotherasashepherdseparatesthesheepfromthegoats.Andhewillplacethesheeponhisright,butthegoatsontheleft.ThentheKingwillsaytothoseonhisright,‘Come,youwhoareblessedbymyFather,inheritthekingdompreparedforyoufromthefoundationoftheworld.ForIwashungryandyougavemefood,Iwasthirstyandyougavemedrink,Iwasastrangerandyouwelcomedme,Iwasnakedandyouclothedme,Iwassickandyouvisitedme,Iwasinprisonandyoucametome.’Thentherighteouswillanswerhim,saying,‘Lord,whendidweseeyouhungryandfeedyou,orthirstyandgiveyoudrink?Andwhendidweseeyouastrangerandwelcomeyou,ornakedandclotheyou?Andwhendidweseeyousickorinprisonandvisityou?’AndtheKingwillanswerthem,Truly,Isaytoyou,asyoudidittooneoftheleastofthesemybrothers,youdidittome.’“Thenhewillsaytothoseonhisleft,Departfromme,youcursed,intotheeternalfirepreparedforthedevilandhisangels.ForIwashungryandyougavemenofood,Iwasthirstyandyougavemenodrink,Iwasastrangerandyoudidnotwelcomeme,nakedandyoudidnotclotheme,sickandinprisonandyoudidnotvisitme.’Thentheyalsowillanswer,saying,‘Lord,whendidweseeyouhungryorthirstyorastrangerornakedorsickorinprison,anddidnotministertoyou?’Thenhewillanswerthem,saying,‘Truly,Isaytoyou,asyoudidnotdoittooneoftheleastofthese,youdidnotdoittome.’Andthesewillgoawayintoeternalpunishment,buttherighteousintoeternallife.Matt.25:31-46Thealmostmonotonousrepetitionofdoingactsofloveisprobablyanexampleofsynonymousparallelism;butthekeyquestiontoanswerinunderstandingthemeaningis,“whoare‘mybrothers’,intheparable?”


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TheGreekword,adelphos,istranslatedbrothersorbrethren.Thiscansometimesrefertophysicalbrothers(whichisnotplausibleinthecontextoftheparable)oritisusedmetaphoricallytorefertoJesus’disciples.(SeeMatt.23:8;Matt.28:10;Matt.10:40)ThemeaningofthisparablewouldhavebeenunderstoodtobeabouthowyoushouldtreatGod’smessengers;notageneralcallforsocialjustice.I.e.thewayyoureceiveGod’speopleindicateswhetherornotyouareoneyourself.

ii. TheRichManandLazarusTherewasarichmanwhowasclothedinpurpleandfinelinenandwhofeastedsumptuouslyeveryday.AndathisgatewaslaidapoormannamedLazarus,coveredwithsores,whodesiredtobefedwithwhatfellfromtherichman'stable.Moreover,eventhedogscameandlickedhissores.ThepoormandiedandwascarriedbytheangelstoAbraham'sside.Therichmanalsodiedandwasburied,andinHades,beingintorment,helifteduphiseyesandsawAbrahamfaroffandLazarusathisside.Andhecalledout,FatherAbraham,havemercyonme,andsendLazarustodiptheendofhisfingerinwaterandcoolmytongue,forIaminanguishinthisflame.’ButAbrahamsaid,‘Child,rememberthatyouinyourlifetimereceivedyourgoodthings,andLazarusinlikemannerbadthings;butnowheiscomfortedhere,andyouareinanguish.Andbesidesallthis,betweenusandyouagreatchasmhasbeenfixed,inorderthatthosewhowouldpassfromheretoyoumaynotbeable,andnonemaycrossfromtheretous.’Andhesaid,‘ThenIbegyou,father,tosendhimtomyfather'shouse—forIhavefivebrothers—sothathemaywarnthem,lesttheyalsocomeintothisplaceoftorment.’ButAbrahamsaid,‘TheyhaveMosesandtheProphets;letthemhearthem.’Andhesaid,‘No,fatherAbraham,butifsomeonegoestothemfromthedead,theywillrepent.’Hesaidtohim,‘IftheydonothearMosesandtheProphets,neitherwilltheybeconvincedifsomeoneshouldrisefromthedead.’Luke16:19-31PeoplehavequestionedwhetherthisisaparableoratruestorybecauseofthefactthatLazarusiscalledbyname.However,theintroductionisverysimilartomanyotherparablesrecordedbyLuke.(SeeLuke10:30;Luke14:16;Luke15:11,Luke16:1;Luke19:2)Theyareallintroducedin


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thesamemanner:acertain(unnamed)man…).Thisindicatesthisshouldbetreatedasaparableandnotatruestory.

VIII. HistoricalNarrative

a. MeaningfulnessinBiblicalnarrativeQuestion-Didthisreallytakeplace?

Untilthe1700’s,questioningthedifferencebetweentheaccountandwhatreallyhappened;wasneverasked.Untilthen,interpretersallassumedthatthesewerehistoricalaccounts.Eventhoseusingallegoricalinterpretationbelievetheeventswereliterallytrue.

In1974,HansFreipublishedthebookTheEclipseofBiblicalNarrativewhichaddressedthedistinctionsbetweenliteralmeaning,religiousmeaning,andsignificance(meaningfulness);ofnarrativetext.


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25.CluestoInterpretingHistoricalNarrative

VIII. HistoricalNarrativeFromtheearlychurchandupthroughmostofthe17thcentury,thefacticityofBiblicalnarrativewasnotanissue.Theenlightenmentbroughtrationalisminwhichpeoplebegantodoubtthemiraclesincludedinthehistoricalnarrativesofthebible.Theresultwasapolarizationoftwoextremes:supernaturalistsandnon-supernaturalists.

b. Interpretivemethods

i. SupernaturalistsThisgroupacceptedthemiraclesashistoricaleventsandthereforesawtheliteralmeaningandthehistoricalcontentofthetextasbeingunified.

ii. Non-supernaturalists(naturalists)Thisgroupdidnotacceptthemiraclesasfactbutsoughtotherwaysofdeterminingmeaningfulness(significance)inthenarratives.Intheirattemptstofindmeaning,threegroupsemerged:

1. RationalistsInterpretationshouldbelimitedtothereader’sunderstandingofwhattheauthor’sconsciousintendedmeaning.However,therationalistsintroducedanhistoricalassessmentaspecttointerpretation.Therewasatendencytolookformeaninginwhatactuallyhappenedratherthanfindingmeaningwithwhattheauthorwasteaching.Thispresentedaproblembecausewhenmanyoftheeventswere“demiraculized”,therewasnothingleftofsignificance.

2. AccommodationistsInthisview,theBiblicalauthorsknewthatthemiraclesdidn’treallytakeplace.TheywrotetopeoplewhobelievedinmiraclessotheyusedfabricatedmiraclesinordertoteachChristianvalues/principles.Thisviewpreservedtheintellectualcapacityofthewriterbutnottheintegrityofthewriter.ThisapproachishardtoacceptbecauseyouhaveessentiallydishonestwritersteachingmoralChristianvalues.


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3. MythicalapproachThemythicalapproachpreservedtheintegrityoftheauthorsbutbroughtintoquestiontheirintellect.Inthisview,theauthorsbelievedthemiraclesbutdidn’tconsciouslyunderstandwhattheywerereallytryingtocommunicate.It’sleftuptothereadertofindthesubconsciousmeaningofthenarrative.Tryingtofindsomehypotheticalsubconsciousmeaningpresentsobviousproblemsbutthemainproblemwiththisapproachisingenre.Biblicalnarrativesarenotwritteninmythicalliteraryform.Realeventsaredescribedwithrealpersons,inrealplaces,andatrealtimes.

c. Cluestointerpretinghistoricalnarrative

Thepurposeofbiblicalnarrativeisnotmerelytotellwhattookplaceinthepast.Rather,itistorelatethesepasteventstobiblicalfaith.Thus,themeaningofsuchtextsinvolvesnotsimply“whathappened”butrathertheinterpretationofwhathappened.Unlikelegalmaterialsorletters,however,themeaningofanarrativeistaughtimplicitlyratherthanimplicitly.RobertStein

i. ContextThe“hermeneuticalcircle”-Thereaderseekstounderstandtheparticularnarrativeinlightofthewholebook.Inturn,understandingtheparticularaidsinunderstandingthewhole.Theauthorassumesthathisreaderwillbefamiliarwithhiswholebookandwillinterpretaparticularstoryinlightofthat.Thisissimilartothewayonewoulduseasinglepieceofapuzzlebasedonwhereitfitsinthewhole.

ii. AuthorialCommentsManytimes,theauthorwilladdacommentthatwillgivethereaderaclueabouthowtointerpretthetext.E.g.:becauseDaviddidwhatwasrightintheeyesoftheLordanddidnotturnasidefromanythingthathecommandedhimallthedaysofhislife,exceptinthematterofUriahtheHittite.1Kings15:5HewalkedinallthewayofAsahisfather.Hedidnotturnasidefromit,doingwhatwasrightinthesightoftheLord.Yetthehighplaceswerenot


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takenaway,andthepeoplestillsacrificedandmadeofferingsonthehighplaces.1Kings22:43Thesecommentsarenotpartofthenarrativeperse.Theseareeditorialcommentsaddedwhichaidthereadersinunderstandingthemeaning.Often,theseinsertionscantaketheformsummarystatements.

iii. RepetitionAnotherwaytheauthorshareshismeaningwiththereaderisbyrepetitionofkeythemes.Highlightingtheauthorialcommentsisagoodwaytoidentitytheserepeatedthemes.E.g.intheBookofJudges,therearetworepeatedthemes:

• Israel’scyclicalexperienceofrebellion,retribution,repentance3,andrestoration.

• Theabsenceofleadership(See17:6,18:1,19:1,21:25)

iv. AuthoritativeSpeakersWhentheauthorattributeswordsdirectlytoGodorJesus,thereaderknowsthattheauthorwantshim,orher,toacceptwhatisbeingsaidastrue.ThisisalsothecaseforwordsattributedtofaithfulservantsofGod;suchaspatriarchs,prophets,andapostles.

v. Directdiscourse

DialoguesbetweenGodandhisservants,orbetweenJesusandhisdisciples;canindicatethenarrator’sintenttofocusthereaderonacertainsubjectorprinciple.


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26.UnderstandingtheLettersintheNewTestament

IX. Epistles-Part1

a. Howwordsareused

i. FindingtheimportantwordsHowdoesareader/studentknowwhichwordsareimportanttostudy?

1. Frequency-Ifatermoccursseveraltimesinapassage,itisagoodindicationthatthemeaningofthewordisimportanttothemeaningofthepassage.E.g.theverbtranslated“toreckon”isfound11timesinRomanschapter4.ThatisanimportantwordtounderstandwheninterpretingPaul’smessageinthischapter.

2. Theroleofawordinthesentence-Sometimesaparticularwordplaysanessentialpartofasentence.“Bygraceyouweresavedbyfaith…”Paul’sparticularmeaningofgraceisimportantknowinunderstandingthesentence.

3. Authordefinition-Importantwordsaresometimesnotedforthereaderwhentheauthorprovidesadefinition.E.g.PaulreferstotheGospelin1Cor.15:1;thenproceedstodefineitinverses15:3ff.

ii. EtymologyIssues

Etymologyreferstothestudyofwordsthroughtheirrootmeaning.Generallyspeaking,rootmeaningsareoflittlevalueinbiblicalinterpretation.Whenlookingatadiachronicmeaningofaword(overalongperiodoftime)wefindwordscantakeondramaticallydifferentmeanings.Inthe1600’s(timeofKingJamestranslation)theword“let”actuallymeanttohinder.Todayitmeanstogivepermission.

iii. MovingfromnormsoflanguagetonormsofutteranceNormsoflanguageinvolvestherangeofmeaningofaterm.Forthis,adictionaryisavaluabletool.However,letterscontainfinelywordedarguments,thereforeitisimportanttoseekthespecificmeaningofaword,astheauthorintendedinaparticulartext(thenormsof


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utterance).Thefollowingaresometoolsfordeterminingwordmeanings.Movingfromlessspecifictomorespecific:

1. GreekclassicalliteratureThereisamassiveamountofclassicalGreekliteraturethatenablesustodeterminethemeaningofGreekwords.However,theclassicalwritersdidnothavethesamemindandpurposeastheNewTestamentwriters.

2. TheEarlyChurchFathersTheEarlyChurchFathers,writinginthe2ndand3rdcenturywouldthinkmoreliketheBiblicalauthorsandthereforebeabettersourcefordeterminingthemeaningofGreekwordsusedinScripture.

3. TranslatorsoftheHebrewOldTestamentTheSeptuagint(LXX)wasaGreektranslationoftheHebrewOldTestamentcompleted2-300B.C.ThesetranslatorswouldhavehadamindandvocabularyevenclosertotheNTwritersthantheEarlyChurchFathers.

4. LetterswrittenbythesameauthorThebestwaytodeterminehowawriterisusingaparticularwordistolookathowheusesthatwordelsewhere.E.g.Paulspeaksof“workingoutyoursalvation”inPhil.2:12.BylookingathisuseofthesameGreekwordforwork(katergazomai),usedinRom.15:18&2Cor.12:12;itbecomesclearthatthisworddoesnotimplyearningormeritingsalvationasitisusedinPhilippians.

5. UseofthewordinthesameletterorpassageOftentimes,itisnotnecessarytogotoadifferentletter.Theauthorwillusethewordmorethanonceinthesameletterinawaythatishelpfulinarrivingathisintendedmeaning.BycomparingPaul’suseof“folly”in1Cor.3:19tohisuseofthesamewordin1Cor.2:14;wecanseethatheusesitavaluejudgmentratherthanawayofdescribingincomprehension.


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6. ComparinghowwordsareusedbydifferentauthorsBothfaithandworksareuseddifferentlybyPaulandJames.Investigatingtherangeofmeaningandtheneachauthor’sspecificmeaning,helptodemonstratetheydonotholdcontradictorypositions.

• FaithJamesspeaksaboutafaiththathasnoworksandisofnovalue.(James2:14ff).HementionsonebelievesinGodbutpointsouteventhedemonsbelieve.Paul,ontheotherhand,isclearlyusingadifferentmeaningoffaithwhenhesays“bygraceyouhavebeensavedthroughfaith”.

• WorksJamesdescribesworksasclothingpeople,feedingthehungry;i.e.actsoflove.Pauluses“works”torefertoobeyingthelawthroughcircumcisionorkeepingtheSabbath.Bothofthesemeaningsfallwithintherangeofmeaningbutareverydifferentintheirspecificuse


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27.HowSentencesAreUnderstood

IX. Epistles-Part2

b. HowSentencesareUnderstoodThekeytoolforunderstandingstatementsisgrammar,whichinvolvessyntaxstructures.Thisvariesbetweenlanguages.InEnglish,thepositionofthewordsinasentencedeterminesthemeaningofthesentence.InGreek,theorderofthewordsareirrelevant;ratherit’stheendingofthewordsthatdeterminesmeaning.IntheabsenceofknowingGreek,areaderisonestepremovedfromtheoriginallanguageandthusreliesontheEnglishtranslator.Whilethereareobviousadvantagesinhavingaccesstotheoriginallanguage,itisnotedthatmostEnglishtranslationsareveryreliableintheirabilitytoaccuratelyexpresswhatthebiblicalauthorsintended.

i. UnderstandingPropositions

1. ClausalrelationshipsPayingattentiontohowwordsandclauseswithinasentencerelatetoeachotherisextremelyimportantinunderstandingthemeaningofthesentence.FromDr.Stein’sbook,thefollowingareexamplesofhowclausescanrelate:

• Cause-(A)isbecauseof(B);i.e.(B)isthecauseof(A)• Result-(B)istheresultof(A)• Purpose-(B)isthepurposeof(A)• Condition-(A)istheconditionof(B)• Concession-Despite(A),(B)tookplace• Means-(A)isthemeansbywhich(B)isaccomplished• Manner-(A)isdoneinthemannerof(B)

2. Distinguishingbetweenmeansandcause

Recognizingthedifferencebetweenmeansandcausecanbeimportantincorrectlyinterpretingcertainpropositions.Examinethefollowingverses:


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Forbygraceyouhavebeensavedthroughfaith.Andthisisnotyourowndoing;itisthegiftofGod,notaresultofworks,sothatnoonemayboast.Eph.2:8-9Graceistheinstrumentalcauseofsalvation.Wearenotsavedbecausewehavefaith.WearesavedbecauseJesusdiedforoursinsanddefeateddeathbyhisresurrection.ThisactofgracebyGodisthecauseofsalvation.Faithisthemeansbywhichgraceisappropriated.Ananalogytothiswouldalife-savingmedicinegiventhroughahypodermicneedle.Theneedledoesn’tsavethelife;itisthemeansbywhichthemedicineisdelivered.

ii. FollowinganArgumentLookatthefollowingexampleinRomans:Leteverypersonbesubjecttothegoverningauthorities.ForthereisnoauthorityexceptfromGod,andthosethatexisthavebeeninstitutedbyGod.ThereforewhoeverresiststheauthoritiesresistswhatGodhasappointed,andthosewhoresistwillincurjudgment.Forrulersarenotaterrortogoodconduct,buttobad.Wouldyouhavenofearoftheonewhoisinauthority?Thendowhatisgood,andyouwillreceivehisapproval,forheisGod'sservantforyourgood.Butifyoudowrong,beafraid,forhedoesnotbeartheswordinvain.ForheistheservantofGod,anavengerwhocarriesoutGod'swrathonthewrongdoer.Thereforeonemustbeinsubjection,notonlytoavoidGod'swrathbutalsoforthesakeofconscience.Forbecauseofthisyoualsopaytaxes,fortheauthoritiesareministersofGod,attendingtothisverything.Paytoallwhatisowedtothem:taxestowhomtaxesareowed,revenuetowhomrevenueisowed,respecttowhomrespectisowed,honortowhomhonorisowed.Rom.13:1-7

1. Leteverypersonbesubject…Thisisageneralexhortation.

2. ForthereisnoauthorityexceptfromGod…Noticethe“for”-thecause.Thisistheologicalgroundsfortheexhortation.

3. whoeverresiststheauthorities…willincurjudgment


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Thisistheresult,theconsequenceofthetheologicalgrounds.

4. Forrulersarenotaterrortogoodconduct,buttobad.Thisbeginsanewargumentnotedbyanother“for”.Whatfollowsisapositiveexample.

5. dowhatisgood,andyouwillreceivehisapprovalApositiveexamplefortheargument.

6. ifyoudowrong,beafraid,forhedoesnotbeartheswordinvain.ForheistheservantofGod,anavengerwhocarriesoutGod'swrathonthewrongdoer.Thisisanegativeexamplefortheargument

7. Paytoallwhatisowedtothem:taxestowhomtaxesareowed,revenuetowhomrevenueisowed,respecttowhomrespectisowed,honortowhomhonorisowedTheargumentiscompleted.Itbeganwithageneralexhortationandendswithaconcludingexhortation.

Oncethisargumentisunderstood,onemustaskifitshouldbeuniversallyapplied.IfaChristianisunderanevilgovernment,thiswouldnotappeartofitPaul’sdescriptionof“God’sservantforyourgood”.However,itshouldbenotedthatinwritingthisletter,PaulmusthavehadtheRomangovernmentinmind.Therefore,onecouldconcludethatthegovernmentwouldnothavetobeidealorperfecttoqualifyinthispassage.

c. TheFormofanAncientLetter

i. GreetingorsalutationAseculargreetingorsalutationwouldincludethewriter’snameandtherecipient(s)name.IfitwasaJewishletterthegreetingwouldincludeshalomwhichistypicallytranslatedaspeaceinEnglish.ChristiansaddedgracesothatmostoftheNTletterscontainbothofthese-“Gracetoyouandpeace…”

ii. ThanksgivingorprayerE.g.“IthankGodforyouinJesusChrist”;etc.


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iii. Thebodyoftheletter

ThelengthofthebodycanbebrieforverylengthyaswithPaul’slettertotheRomans.

iv. ConclusionThereisnostandardkindofconclusion.Sometimestheconclusionisasimplewishforpeace.Inotherlettersitmightconsistofaconcludingautographorabenediction.

v. Insightsfromconsiderationofform

1. GreetingscanbecomelengthyandpregnantwithintroductionmaterialinsomePaul’sletters.(E.g.Romans)Thelongerintroductionsaretypicalwhenheiswritingtoachurchhehasnotfounded.

2. AllofPaul’slettersincludedawordofthanksgiving/praise,evenhisletterofadmonishmenttothechurchinCorinth.TheonlyexceptionishislettertotheGalatians.Hemovesstraighttothebodyoftheletterwhichbeginswithastrongrebuke.Thelackofthanksgiving/prayerrevealsmuchaboutPaul’sviewofthesituationthere.


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28.TheGenreofCovenant

X. TreatiesandLaw

a. Twotypesofcovenants

i. ParityCovenantThisisacovenantmadebetweenequals.

ii. SuzerainCovenantStudiesinA.N.E.(AncientNearEastern)literature,haverevealedaformoftreatyorcovenantthatstronglyresemblestheformofcovenantfoundintheOT.Unlikeaparitycovenant,theSuzerainCovenantwasaonewaytreatyfromthekingornobletothepeople.Theseweretypicallyacceptedbythepeopleduetothegenerallygraciousnatureofthecovenant.

b. AbrahamicCovenant

WhenAbramwasninety-nineyearsoldtheLordappearedtoAbramandsaidtohim,“IamGodAlmighty;walkbeforeme,andbeblameless,thatImaymakemycovenantbetweenmeandyou,andmaymultiplyyougreatly.”ThenAbramfellonhisface.AndGodsaidtohim,“Behold,mycovenantiswithyou,andyoushallbethefatherofamultitudeofnations.NolongershallyournamebecalledAbram,butyournameshallbeAbraham,forIhavemadeyouthefatherofamultitudeofnations.Iwillmakeyouexceedinglyfruitful,andIwillmakeyouintonations,andkingsshallcomefromyou.AndIwillestablishmycovenantbetweenmeandyouandyouroffspringafteryouthroughouttheirgenerationsforaneverlastingcovenant,tobeGodtoyouandtoyouroffspringafteryou.AndIwillgivetoyouandtoyouroffspringafteryouthelandofyoursojournings,allthelandofCanaan,foraneverlastingpossession,andIwillbetheirGod.”AndGodsaidtoAbraham,“Asforyou,youshallkeepmycovenant,youandyouroffspringafteryouthroughouttheirgenerations.Gen.17:1-9ThisisthebeginningofthecovenantGodmadewithAbrahamandhisoffspring.NoticethatAbrahamandGodarenotnegotiatingtheterms.Itisone-sidedinthatregardbutitisgraciousinnature.


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c. CovenantlanguageinScripture

i. InExodus2,GodhearsthegroaningofIsraelunderthebondageofslaveryinEgypt.GodremembershisformercovenantwithAbraham

ii. InMark14,JesustookthecupattheLastSupperandsaid,“Thisismybloodofthecovenant,whichispouredoutformany”.

iii. Peter,preachingatPentecostinActs3:22ff,recalledtheAbrahamicCovenantbyquotingfromtheOT.“YouarethedescendantsoftheprophetsandofthecovenantthatGodgavetoyourancestors,sayingtoAbraham…”

iv. InwritingtothechurchinCorinth,PaulspeaksabouttheLord’sSupperandreferstothecupastheNewCovenant.

d. PartsofaCovenant

i. MosaicCovenantatMtSinai(Exodus20:2ff)

1. ThePreamble“IamtheLordyourGod”Inthepreamble,thecovenantmakeridentifieshimself.

2. ThePrologue“whobroughtyououtofthelandofEgypt,outofthehouseofslavery”Theprologuegivesanhistoricalaccountofhowthecovenantmakerhasactedgraciouslytowardthepeople.

3. TheStipulationsThestipulationsconsistsofalistofrequirementsinorderforapersontoremaininthecovenantrelationshipInthiscasethestipulationsaretheTenCommandmentsfoundinverses3through17.Importantnote:Thesearenottocauseonetoenterthecovenant.Thecovenanthasalreadybeenenteredintograciouslybythecovenantmaker.Thesestipulationsspelloutwhattherecipientmustdotoremainfaithfulinit.


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4. ProvisionforContinualReadingThenhetooktheBookoftheCovenantandreaditinthehearingofthepeople.Andtheysaid,“AllthattheLordhasspokenwewilldo,andwewillbeobedient.Exodus24:7

5. WitnessesThereisusuallyareferencetothevariouswitnessespresentandsometimesastoneormemorialerected.MosescameandtoldthepeopleallthewordsoftheLordandalltherules.Andallthepeopleansweredwithonevoiceandsaid,“AllthewordsthattheLordhasspokenwewilldo.AndMoseswrotedownallthewordsoftheLord.Heroseearlyinthemorningandbuiltanaltaratthefootofthemountain,andtwelvepillars,accordingtothetwelvetribesofIsrael.Exodus24:3-4

ii. CovenantwithJoshua(Joshua24:1ff)

1. PreambleJoshuagatheredallthetribesofIsraeltoShechemandsummonedtheelders,theheads,thejudges,andtheofficersofIsrael.AndtheypresentedthemselvesbeforeGod.AndJoshuasaidtoallthepeople,“ThussaystheLord,theGodofIsrael,Josh.24:1-2a

2. HistoricalPrologue(extensiveinthiscase)‘Longago,yourfatherslivedbeyondtheEuphrates,Terah,thefatherofAbrahamandofNahor;andtheyservedothergods.ThenItookyourfatherAbraham…“‘ThenIbroughtyourfathersoutofEgypt,andyoucametothesea.AndtheEgyptianspursuedyourfatherswithchariotsandhorsementotheRedSea…ThenIbroughtyoutothelandoftheAmorites,wholivedontheothersideoftheJordan.Theyfoughtwithyou,andIgavethemintoyourhand…ThenBalakthesonofZippor,kingofMoab,aroseandfoughtagainstIsrael…AndyouwentovertheJordanandcametoJericho,andtheleadersofJerichofoughtagainstyou,andalsotheAmorites,the


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Perizzites,theCanaanites,theHittites,theGirgashites,theHivites,andtheJebusites.AndIgavethemintoyourhand…Igaveyoualandonwhichyouhadnotlaboredandcitiesthatyouhadnotbuilt,andyoudwellinthem.Youeatthefruitofvineyardsandoliveorchardsthatyoudidnotplant’.Josh.24:2b-13

3. StipulationsNowthereforefeartheLordandservehiminsincerityandinfaithfulness.PutawaythegodsthatyourfathersservedbeyondtheRiverandinEgypt,andservetheLord…Josh24:14-21

4. ProvisionforContinuousReadingAndJoshuawrotethesewordsintheBookoftheLawofGod.AndhetookalargestoneandsetitupthereundertheterebinththatwasbythesanctuaryoftheLord.AndJoshuasaidtoallthepeople,“Behold,thisstoneshallbeawitnessagainstus,forithasheardallthewordsoftheLordthathespoketous.Thereforeitshallbeawitnessagainstyou,lestyoudealfalselywithyourGod.Josh.24:26-27

5. WitnessesThenJoshuasaidtothepeople,“YouarewitnessesagainstyourselvesthatyouhavechosentheLord,toservehim.”Andtheysaid,“Wearewitnesses.”Hesaid,“Thenputawaytheforeigngodsthatareamongyou,andinclineyourhearttotheLord,theGodofIsrael.Josh.24:22-23

iii. TypesoflawintheOTThelawsoftheOTareessentiallystipulations.Assuch,itisamistaketoviewthemassomesortofmeansofenteringthecovenant.Thereforelegalism;theideaofkeepingthelawtotheextentitwarrantsGod’sgraciousness,isnotapossibility.TypesoflawfoundintheOT:

1. Civillaws-ThesehadtodowithcivilissuesofgovernanceforthenationofIsrael.E.g.Deut.22:1ffYoushallnotseeyourbrother’soxorhissheepgoingastrayandignorethem.Youshalltakethembacktoyourbrother.Andifhe


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doesnotlivenearyouandyoudonotknowwhoheis,youshallbringithometoyourhouse,anditshallstaywithyouuntilyourbrotherseeksit.Thenyoushallrestoreittohim…

2. CulticlawsSacrificiallawanddietarylaws;E.g.Lev.2-6.

3. MorallawsE.g.theTenCommandments

ThemorallawsarestillapplicableastheyareareflectionofGod’scharacterwhichdoesnotchange.


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29.Psalms

XI. Psalmsa. Structure

ThebookofPsalms,thelargestbookofthebible,actuallyconsistsof5books.Eachofthesebooksendswithadoxology.

i. Book1-Psalms1-41;closingwith:BlessedbetheLord,theGodofIsrael,fromeverlastingtoeverlasting!AmenandAmen.Psalm41:13

ii. Book2-Psalms42-72;closingwith:Blessedbehisgloriousnameforever;maythewholeearthbefilledwithhisglory!AmenandAmen!TheprayersofDavid,thesonofJesse,areended.Psalm72:19-20

iii. Book3-Psalms73-89;closingwith:BlessedbetheLordforever!AmenandAmen.Psalm89:52

iv. Book4-Psalms90-106;closingwith:BlessedbetheLord,theGodofIsrael,fromeverlastingtoeverlasting!Andletallthepeoplesay,“Amen!”PraisetheLord!Psalm106:48

v. Book5-Psalms107-150;closingwith:LeteverythingthathasbreathpraisetheLord!PraisetheLord!Psalm150:6Note:theentirePsalmisadoxology.

c. Authorship73PsalmsareattributedtoDavid;12toAsaph;and11tothesonsofKorah.Muchofthearrangementsofthesebooks,andtheeditingworkwasdonebyunknowneditorialists.Thisunderstandthisworkasbeingdivinelyauthorized.HowthePsalmsarearrangedhelpsintheirinterpretation.

d. CategoriesofPsalms


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i. PsalmsofZionZionspeaksofthecityofGod.WhenyouspeakofthegloryofZion,youarespeakingofthegloryofGod.ExamplesincludePsalm46,76,84,87,&122.

ii. RoyalPsalmsThesearepsalmsaboutthekingofIsrael,God’sanointedruleroverhispeople.Typically,whatistrueforthiskingiseventruerfortheultimateKingofkings,Jesus.ThereforethereareMessianicimplicationsintheseRoyalPsalmsthattheNTwritersrecognized.Examplesinclude:Psalm2,18,20,21,45,72,89,101,132,&144.

iii. HymnsExamplesinclude:Psalm19,24,29,47,95-100,&104.

iv. WisdomPsalmsPsalm1,37,49,73,112,127,128,&133

v. PenitentialPsalmsThesePsalmsexpresspenitenceforsinandapleaforforgiveness.Examplesinclude:Psalm6,32,38,51,102,&130.

vi. ImprecatoryPsalmsThesearepetitionstoGodforjudgmentonenemies.Thelanguagecanbedifficultbutwearemostlyshelteredfromthekindofbrutalitytowhichancientpeoplewereexposed.ItisimportanttorememberthatthePsalmistisnotaskingforpersonalvengeance;rathertheyarecallingforGodtoexecutehisjustice.ExamplesincludePsalm35,58,69,83,109,&137.

vii. PraisePsalmsSomeoftheseareindividualinnature.Examplesinclude:8,18,30,32-34,40,66,75,81,92,103,104,106,108,111-113,116,118,135,&138,145-150.OtherpraisePsalmsareclearlycorporateinnature:Psalm65,67,107,114,117,124,&136


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viii. LamentPsalmsAlmostathirdofallthePsalmsarelaments.Thesearenotoftentaughtinchurchservicesbutitisamistaketoavoidthem.Sufferingispartoflifeandtheyareextremelybeneficialisthisregard.Afewexamplesofthemanylamentsare:Psalm13,71,&142.Lamentshaveatypicalfromconsistingof5parts:

1. AddresstoGod

2. Complaint(thedescriptionoftheproblemorsourceofmisery)

3. Prayerforhelpordeliverance

4. Confessionofconfidence(affirmationthatGodwilldeliver)

5. Praise


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30.TheBooksThatMakeUptheBible

XII. TheCanonofScripture

a. Backgroundinformation

i. ScriptureinJesus’dayInJesus’day,theOldTestamentwasalreadyfairlywellestablished.ItconsistedoftheLaw,theProphetsandtheWritings.TheProphetsweresubdividedintoformerandlatterProphets(containingtheMajorandMinorProphets).FortheJewsinJesusday,the12MinorProphetswereconsideredasonesinglebook.

ii. ScriptureintheearlychurchAtPentecost,theBibleofthechurchwastheOldTestament.TheyalsohadtheJesusTraditions.ThesewerethedeedsandwordsofJesusthatwerecirculatedwithgreatcareduringtheperiodbetweenthedeathandresurrectionofJesus,andthewritingoftheGospelsandotherbooksoftheNT.

b. Theriseofcanonconsideration

i. TheheresyofMarcionMarcionwasaGnostic,aChristianheretic,whodeniedtheOTandalltheGospelsexceptLuke.HeendedupclaimingaBiblethatconsistedofLukeand10lettersofPaul.ThiswasrejectedbyChristiansbutitbeganthediscussionaboutwhatbooksshouldbeconsideredasScripture.

ii. CodexinventionCodexwasanewformofwritingmaterialthatreplacedthescroll.Scrollsweretypicallylimitedtoabout20feetorless.Withtheadventofcodex,multiplebookscouldbeassembledtogether.Thiscausedthechurchtocontinuetowrestlewiththeproblemofwhichbookswouldbeincludedintheassembledcodex.

iii. Persecution


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Opponentsofthechurchsoughttodestroythesacredwritingsduringperiodsofpersecution.ThissituationforcedChristianstodecidewhichbookstheywerewillingtodiefor.

c. HistoricalDevelopment

i. NewTestamentreferencesTherearenumerousreferencesintheNewTestamentthatindicatethepassingonoftheJesustraditionsandtheacknowledgmentofauthoritativeScripturebeyondtheOldTestament.TheserepresentthebeginninggermformofacanonofScripture.

1. ColossiansLukethebelovedphysiciangreetsyou,asdoesDemas.GivemygreetingstothebrothersatLaodicea,andtoNymphaandthechurchinherhouse.Andwhenthisletterhasbeenreadamongyou,haveitalsoreadinthechurchoftheLaodiceans;andseethatyoualsoreadtheletterfromLaodicea.Col.4:14-16ThisindicatesthatduringthelifeandministryofPaul,hisletterswerebeingexchangedandcollectedamongthevariouschurches.

2. 1ThessaloniansIputyouunderoathbeforetheLordtohavethisletterreadtoallthebrothers.1Thess.5:27“Toallthebrethren”indicatesthisletterwastobedistributedbeyondthechurchinThessalonica.

3. 2Peterashedoesinallhisletterswhenhespeaksinthemofthesematters.Therearesomethingsinthemthatarehardtounderstand,whichtheignorantandunstabletwisttotheirowndestruction,astheydotheotherScriptures.2Pet.3:16ThisacknowledgesacollectionofPaul’slettersand,moreimportant,itreferstothemasScripture.


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4. 1TimothyFortheScripturesays,“Youshallnotmuzzleanoxwhenittreadsoutthegrain,”and,“Thelaborerdeserveshiswages”.1Tim.5:18ThisisareferencetoDeuteronomy25.However,itisinterestingtonotethatthelastcommentaboutalaborerdeservinghiswages,isnotfoundintheDeuteronomy.ItisfoundinMatt.10:10andLuke10:14.ThisisevidencethatPaulwaseitherquotingthewrittenGospelofLukeor,bothwerequotingfromanoraltradition.Eitherway,itisrecognizedasauthoritative.

5. ActsInallthingsIhaveshownyouthatbyworkinghardinthiswaywemusthelptheweakandrememberthewordsoftheLordJesus,howhehimselfsaid,‘Itismoreblessedtogivethantoreceive.”Acts20:35Thereisnoquotationlikethisinanyofthe4Gospels.Thisismoreevidenceoftheexistenceofanauthoritativeoraltradition.

ii. Earlychurchwritings

1. 1stClementWritteninA.D.96,ClementofRomereferredtoRomans,1Corinthians,Hebrews,andprobablyLukeandActs;aspartofthescrollstheyheldasScripture.

2. DidacheThisearlydocumentofthechurch,writtenbetweenA.D.75and125,hasseveralpossiblereferencestothevariousGospels.

3. WritingsofPapiusPapiuswrote6volumeswhichwerecommentariesontheGospels,suggestingtheywererecognizedaspartofthecanonofScripture.

4. EpistleofBarnabasThiswaswrittenbetweenA.D.70to150andquotesMatt.22:14asScripture.


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5. DiatesseronThetitleofthiswork,writtenaroundA.D.170,means“throughthefour”;referringtothe4Gospels.ThiswasanearlyGospelharmonywhichindicatedthatby170,thechurchrecognizedthefourGospelsasScripture.

6. MuratoriancanonMuratoriwasacardinalintheRomanCatholicChurchwho,in1740,discoveredthediaryofan8thcenturymonkwhichcontainedafragmentlistingsthebooksoftheNewTestamentthatwererecognizedasScripture.Thefragmentitselfdatestothe7thcenturybutthereareindicationswithinthetextthatitwascopiedfromaGreekoriginaldatingbackasearlyasA.D.170.ThishasbecomeknownastheMuratoriancanon.ThisappearstoshowthatthechurchhadabasicNewTestament,datingbacktothe2ndcenturythatcontainedthefollowingbooks:The4Gospels,Acts,theLettersofPaul,JudetoJohannineRevelation,theWisdomofSolomon,andtheApocalypseofPeter.

7. WritingsofIreneusIreneus,oneoftheearlychurchfathers,wrotedescribingthesituationofcanoninA.D.200.HecategorizedScriptureintotwogroups:

• Homolegoumena-thosebooksuniversallyconfessed• Antilegomena-thosebookswhowereconfessedbymost

butdisputedbysome.

Amongthebooksheidentifiedasantilegomenawere:James,Jude,2John,3John,2ndPeter,Hebrews,andRevelation.Byincludingthesebooks,youhaveaNewTestamentthatisveryclosetowhatProtestantshavetoday.

d. ClarificationoftheCanonofScripture

i. EusebiusEusebiuswasagreatchurchhistorianwhosummarizedthewritingsoftheNewTestamentandwhocharacterizedtheantilegomenabooksasbeingacceptedbythemajority.Thisdemonstratedthat,byEusebius’day,the27booksofourNewTestamentwereacceptedbythemajority.


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ii. Recognitionofour27NTbooksFurtherrecognitionofthe21NTbooksascanonicalwasmadeby:

• JeromeinA.D.400• Augustine• TheChurchCouncilofHippo

iii. TheProtestant-RomanCatholicdebate

Thebasictheologicaldebateconcerningcanonicitywasbasedonthequestion:IstheNTanauthorizedcollectionofbooksoracollectionofauthoritativebooks?I.e.couldthechurchpassauthoritytothecollectionordoesthechurchsimplyhavetheabilitytorecognizebookswhichareauthoritative.TheProtestantsheldthelatterview.

e. Factorsinrecognizingauthoritativebooks

i. ApostolicauthorshipWasthebookwrittenbyanapostleoronecloselyassociatedwithanapostle?E.g.Mark’sassociationwithPeterandLuke’sassociationwithPaul?

ii. ContinuoususageWasthebookusedfromtheearlyyearsofthechurchorwasita“Johnny-come-lately”?

iii. UnityandagreementDidthebookcontainconflictswithotherbooksofthecanon?

iv. SuperintendenceoftheHolySpiritIntheprovidenceofGod,HenotonlyguidedwriterstorecordtheScripturesthroughinspiration;Healsoguidedthepreservationandrecognitionofthoseinspiredbooks.

f. ThearrangementofNTbooksTheNTbooksarearrangedinlogicalorderratherthanchronologicalorder.ThefourGospelsweregroupedtogether,followedbyActs.Paul’sletterswerearrangedbysize.HebrewswasassociatedwithPaulandwaslocatedattheendofhisletters.Thiswasfollowedbythecatholic(universalepistles).Revelationtakesustotheendofhistoryandis,therefore,placedattheendoftheBible.


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g. Concludingcomments

i. InerrancyAlthoughmanuscriptcopiesareextremelyaccurate,itispreferabletotalkaboutinerrancyinthecontextoftheoriginalautographs.

ii. InspirationThewritersrecognizedthatwhattheywerewritingwasinspiredandthereforauthoritative.(References:1Thess.5:27;2Thess.3:14;1Cor.14:37;1Cor.7:17;

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Biblical Hermeneutics - Biblical Training · Biblical Hermeneutics Robert Stein 6 viii. The Bishop's Bible The Bishop’s Bible was authorized by the Church of England and published