Chapter Preparing for the Journey · Bible to illuminate the literary, historical, and contemporary worlds. Together, Chapters 1 and 2 will serve as references to which you will want

26

Chapter 2Preparing for the JourneyAn Orientation to the Methods of Biblical Study

Archaeology in Israel. Workers in the excavation of the biblical city of Lachish are meticulously preparing to remove the bones of an infant found beneath the collapsed wall of a house in the Canaanite city that was destroyed in the late thirteenth or early twelfth century b.c.e. Archaeology is a particularly important method used in the study of the “historical world” of the Bible. Source: Photograph by William A. Young

Chapter2 • PreparingfortheJourney 27

InChapter1youreceivedanorientationtotheliterary,historical,andcontemporaryworldsoftheBible.Youknowwhatthethreeworldsare,buthowareyoutonavigateyourwaythroughthem?InthischapteryouwillencounteranoverviewofthevariousmethodsdevelopedbyscholarsoftheBibletoilluminatetheliterary,historical,andcontemporaryworlds.Together,Chapters1and2willserveasreferencestowhichyouwillwanttoreturnasyoujourneythroughtheBible’sfascinat-ingworlds.

First,wewillexaminethetypeofstudyappropriatetoajourneyintotheliteraryworld,the“worldwithinthetext.”Thegoalofthisapproachistounderstandthemeaningsoftheliteratureitself.Therefore,wecallthistypeofstudyintrinsic.Theassumptionofintrinsicstudyisthatbibli-caltextscreateuniqueworldsthroughtheirlanguage.Thegoalistorecreatethroughdescription,asfaithfullyaspossible,thedynamicsoftheseworlds.Becauseeachinterpreterinevitablyreadstextsfromacertainpointofviewthatcannotbecompletelydivorcedfromthedescription,andbecausethebiblicaltextsarerichandmultifaceted,intrinsicstudyyieldsnotone,butmanypossiblereadingsoftexts.Fromtheperspectiveofintrinsicstudy,thereisnoonerightorwrongdescriptionoftheworldofatext,butratherreadingsthataremoreorlessfaithfultowhatisactuallycreatedbytheliterature.Thus,theprimarycriterionforjudgingliteraryanalysisisthetextitself.Inthischapter,wewillclarifytwomethodsofinterpretationassociatedwithstudyoftheliteraryworld(formal criti-cism and rhetorical criticism)andoutlinespecificstepsthatmaybetakeninanintroductoryanalysisofthisworld.

StudyofthehistoricalworldoftheBibledrawsonevidenceoutsidetheBibletoreconstructthehistoryofwhichthebiblicaltextisapart.ItalsoutilizestheevidencefoundintheBibletode-velopandtesthistoricaltheories.Wecallthistypeofstudyextrinsicbecauseitrelatestotheworldoutsidethetext.Wewillfirstfocusourattentiononthestudyofthehistoryofthewritingandcol-lectionofthebooksoftheBible.Wewillsurveythefollowingmethodsutilizedinrecreatingwhatmightbecalledthe literary historyoftheBible:traditions criticism, form criticism, source criticism, redaction criticism, textual criticism,andcanonical criticism.WewillthendiscussthegeneralhistoricalmethodappropriateforusingtheBibleasasourceforthestudyofthehistoryoftheperiodsinwhichitwaswritten,emphasizingapplicationoftechniquesdrawnfromanthropologyandarchaeology.

AprincipalvalueofextrinsicstudyisthatithelpsusunderstandwhattheBiblemeantwhenitwaswrittenbyexploringhowitwaswritten,forwhomitwaswritten,andwhatsituationsmotivatedthewriting.Likeintrinsicstudy,extrinsicstudycandistorttexts.Zealousinterpreterssometimesde-scribecontextsthattheavailabledatadonotsupportwhenotherinvestigatorscheckthemout.Thetestforextrinsicstudyistoaskhowwellthereconstructedcontextsuggestedbytheinterpreter“fits”theavailableevidence—insideandoutsidetheBible.Yourtaskasareaderinassessingourhistori-calinterpretationwillbetoanalyzewhetherthecontextswedescribearesupportedbytheevidencewepresent.Aswithallextrinsicinterpretation,wearestatingwhatweconsiderthemostprobablereconstructions.Youmustaskwhetherwemaketoomuchortoolittleoftheevidence.

Finally,wewilldiscussmethodsofstudyingthecontemporaryworldoftheBible.Wewilltouchbrieflyonseveralapproachesdevelopedinrecentdecadesthatstronglyemphasizetheroleofthecontemporaryreaderininterpretingtexts:reader-response criticism, deconstructionist criticism, liberation criticism,and feminist criticism.Inthischapter,wewillalsodistinguishvarioususestowhichcontemporaryreadersputbiblicaltexts:theological, devotional, ethical, liturgical,andpolitical.EvaluationofclaimsaboutthecontemporaryworldoftheBibleischallengingandmustbedonecarefullyandrespectfully.Ontheonehand,inafreesocietyeachreaderhasarighttohisorherun-derstandingoftheimpactofabiblicaltext.Ontheotherhand,inanysocietythatpromotestheopenpursuitoftruth,eachofushasaresponsibilitytosubjectourinterpretationstothescrutinyofotherreaders.Hopefully,thequestionsattheendofthisandotherchapterswillencouragethatprocess.

28 PartOne • Introduction

IntrInsIc study: JourneyIng Into the LIterary WorLd

Introduction

Methodsofstudythatfocusontheintrinsicworldsofbiblicaltextssharetheassumptionthatanytextcreatesaworldofitsown.Adaptingtheprinciplesofthetwentieth-centuryschoolofliteraryanalysisknownasformal(ornew)criticism,somebiblicalscholarshavesoughttodescribecarefullyand,insomecases,meticulouslythoseliteraryqualitiesthatmakeeachtextunique.Somebiblicalscholarswhofocusonstudyoftheliterarystrategiespresentinparticular(especiallypoetic)textscalltheirmethodrhetorical criticism.Inthe“closereadings”associatedwithformalstudy,emphasisisplacedontheuseofliterarytechniquescommontoallliterature(suchaskeywords,themes,andmotifs)andliterarydevices(suchasmetaphors,hyperbole,andirony).FormalcriticsoftheBiblealsolookforthoseliteraryfeaturesparticularlycharacteristicofbiblicalliterature.

Ourassumptionisthattheplacetobeginanintrinsicstudyiswithrecognitionofformalliter-aryfeaturessuchasgenre,theme,and(surface)structure.

Wehaveidentifiedthefollowingstepsappropriatetoaninitialexaminationoftheliteraryworldofabiblicaltext:

1. establishingtheboundariesofthetextbeingstudied; 2. distinguishingthetype(s)ofliteraturefoundinthetext; 3. observingtheproseandpoeticqualitiesofthetext; 4. searchingforthetheme(s)ofthetext; 5. identifyingthe“surface”structuresofthetext; 6. presentinganintegratedreadingofthetext.

1. estabLIshIng the boundarIes Aphotographercanstandinoneplaceanduseonecam-eratotakeavarietyofpicturesofthesamesubjectmerelybychangingthelensofthecamera.Inthesameway,aninterpreteroftheBibledescribingitsliteraryworldscanpresentavarietyofreadingssimplybynarrowingorwideningwhatisinview.ItmakesconsiderabledifferencewhethertheworldbeingdescribedistheentireBible(JewishorChristian),onesection(suchastheTorah),onebook(suchasGenesis),onecollectionofliteraryunitswithinthebook(suchasGenesis1–11),onesingleliteraryunit(suchasGen.1:1–2:4),oronepassagewithintheunit(suchasGen.1:26–31).Itislegitimatetostudyanyoftheseworldsandtotrytodescribeitsuniquecharacteristics.However,themorelimitedtheboundaries,themorespecificanddetailedthedescriptioncanbe.Sometimesitisfruitfultocomparetwoworlds,suchasthetwodifferentaccountsofcreationinGenesis1andGenesis2(seeChapter3).

Inreadinganintrinsicstudyofabiblicaltext,beawareofthe limitsoftheworldbeingdescribed.Inthiswork,ourprimaryattentionwillbeonbooksoftheBibleandthemajorcol-lectionsofliteraryunitswithinthem.However,wewillsometimeschangethelensandlookforcharacteristicsofsectionsof theBible(suchas theTorah),andsometimesevenventurecom-mentsontheBibleasawhole.Onasmallerscale,wewillsometimesexamineindividualliteraryunitsasexamplesofrecurrenttypes.Formoredetaileddiscussionsofindividualpassages,read-ersshouldconsultcommentariesonthebooks, suchas thoserecommendedintheAnnotatedBibliography.

2. dIstInguIshIng the type of LIterature Intrinsicstudyalsodescribesthetypesoflit-eraturepresentintheworldbeinganalyzed.Asaframeworkforthisstep,wewilloutlinesomeoftheformsofliteraturefoundintheTanakandtheNewTestament.


IntheHebrewBibleweencountermanydifferenttypesofliterature,amongthemmyths,leg-ends,historicalnarratives,shortstories,sermons,genealogies,chronicles,songs,meditations,oracles,blessingsandcurses, legalsayingsandcodesoflaw,propheticsayings,proverbialsayings,poeticdialogue,andapocalypticvisions(seeTable2-1).

tabLe 2–1 Examples of Types of Literature in the Tanak

Type of Literature

Definition

Example(s) in the Tanak

Myth Foundational story establishing values, meaning, goals

Stories of origins of cosmos, humanity (Genesis 1–2)

Legend Story about characters or events presented as historical, but not closely verifiable

Stories of ancestors of Israel (Genesis 12–25); stories of heroes (Book of Judges)

Historical narrative Developed accounts of past events and people

Accounts of kingdoms of Judah and Israel (Books of Samuel, Kings)

Short story Stories with sustained plot, developed through closely connected scenes

Stories of Joseph (Genesis 37–50); Ruth, Esther

Sermon Address by individual speaking of God and God’s involvement in human life

Appeals by Moses to heed God’s commandments (Deuteronomy)

Genealogy List of names showing line of descent of people in a family, clan, tribe, or nation*

Table of nations (Genesis 10); descendants of Shem (Gen. 11:10–26); descendants of Levi (Ex. 6:16–25); Adam to descendants of Saul (1 Chr. 1:1–9:44)

Chronicle Account of past events or persons presented as a list, usually using a formula

Various books of the acts of the kings, alluded to in Kings (1 Kings 11:41–42, 14:19–20)

Song Poetic composition in praise of God; may have been put to music or performed

Songs of Moses and Miriam (Ex. 15:1–22); Song of Hannah (1 Sam. 2:1–10)

Meditation Poetic reflection on a theme Times and seasons (Ec. 3:1–9); justice of God (Psalm 73)

Oracle Utterance from an authoritative source (in the Tanak, God) regarding what is to happen

Oracles of Balaam (Numbers 23–24); oracles against the nations (Isaiah 13–23)

Blessing Effective pronouncement of well-being, introduced by the formula “Blessed be . . .”

Blessings of Moses (Dt. 28:1–14)

Curse Effective pronouncement of disaster, introduced by the formula “Cursed be . . .”

Curses of Moses (Dt. 27:14–26, 28:15–19)

Oath Ritual assurance, with conditional curse pronounced against oneself

Oath of a woman suspected of adultery (Num. 5:19–22)

*Someanthropologiststhinkitisimportanttodistinguishbetweenlinearandsegmentedgenealogies.Lineargenealogiesarecon-cernedaboutinheritance.Segmentedgenealogiestelluswhowaskintowhomataparticulartime,andhencewhoweshouldbefriendlywith(andmaybewhonot).


Althoughtodayweusethetermmythtospeakofstoriesthatareassumedtobefalse,wemustsetthatdefinitionasideifwearetounderstandthemythsintheBibleandinotherancientliterature.Ingeneral,mythsarestoriesaboutactionsofdivinebeings.IntheBiblethereareallusionstomythsofthistype,suchasthereferencetothedeedsofthe“sonsofGod”inGen.6:1–4.However,be-causetheBibleacknowledgesonlyonedeity,theuseofmyths(whichdominateotherancientNearEasternreligioustexts)isrestrained.Ratherthandevelopingnewmyths,theBibleadaptsthemythsofotherculturestoitsuniqueviewofGod.Forexample,asweshallsee,Genesis1adaptsamythaboutcreationthatwascommonintheancientworldtoabeliefinoneall-powerfulcreator.Mythsoftenanswersomeofthemostbasichumanquestions,suchaswhyarewehere?Wherearewegoing?Whatisthemeaningoflife—andofdeath?Tocallatextamythdoesnotmeanthatitisfalse,butratherthatitisastorycenteringondivineactionoutsidetherealmofhistory.BecausetheBibleisprimarilyhistoricalinitsorientation(i.e.,concernedabouttheworldoftimeandspace),mythsareusuallyadaptedtohistoricalsettings.Forexample,asweshallsee,Exodus15adaptsamythofdivinecombattoahistoricalsituation.

Manymoderninterpretersofreligiousliteratureusetheconceptofmythinamoregen-eral sense, torefer toanynarrative thatestablishes theworldviews forpeoplewhetherornotdivinebeingsareinvolved.Fromthisperspective,mythsarefoundationalstoriesthatestablishbasicvalues,goals,meanings,andacceptablemodesofliving.Theinterpreterwhoappliesthisbroaderunderstandingwill seemanymyths in theBible.Forexample, the storiesabout theancestorsofIsraelintheTorahestablishmodelsoffaithandpracticeforthepeoplewhopre-servedthem.Andthegospelaccountsof Jesusmightbecalledmythic in thesense that theyprovideparadigmsfordisciplesofJesus to follow.Althoughwerecognize thevalidityof thisunderstandingofmyth, inthis textbookweusemyth inthenarrower,moretraditional sensejustexplained.

Thecommondefinitionofa legend isanaccountregardedashistorical,butnotverifiable.Unlikemyths,legendsfocusonhumancharacters(butoftenwithdivineinvolvement).Formally,legendsfocusonasingleeventorseriesofevents,andonasinglecharacter,pairofcharacters,orfamily.Sometimes,legendsarecombinedintocyclestotellaconnectedstory.Althoughconcreteinform,legendsoftenhavebroaderimplications.Onetypeoflegendfocusesonancestorswhoreflectintheirlivesthequalitiesthepeopledescendedfromthemeitherhaveorshouldhave.ThestoriesoftheancestorsinGenesis(seeChapter3)includesuchlegendsandcyclesoflegends.Otherlegendsexplainwhysomethingisthewayitis.Theyarecalledetiological legends(legendsaboutorigins).Forexample,theaccountoftheTowerofBabelinGenesis11isanetiologicallegendthatexplainswhytherearesomanylanguages.Hero legendsdescribetheexploitsofmemorableleaders,suchasthedeliverersknownas“judges”(seeChapter5).

Historical narrativesaredevelopedaccountsofeventsandpeopleofthepast.ThehistoricalnarrativesoftheBibledealwitheventsandpeopleinthedevelopmentofthenationIsrael(Tanak)orearlyChristianity(NewTestament).CriticalhistoryisaninventionoftheEuropeanEnlightenment(seventeenthandeighteenthcenturies).TherearenohistoricalnarrativesintheBibleoranyotherancientwritingsinthemodernsense;thatis,accountsthatintendanobjective,verifiabledescriptionofthepast.IntheBible,historicalnarrativesalwaysrelatethepastinordertohighlightanunderly-ingmeaning,usuallyintermsofthedivinepurpose.Forexample,thehistoricalnarrativeintheearlychaptersofExodusdescribesthedeliveranceofthedescendantsofJacobfromEgyptfromtheper-spectiveofGod’splanforthesepeople.Disasters,suchastheBabylonianconquestofJudahnarratedinSecondKings,arepresentedasdivinejudgmentonthesinsoftherulersandpeople.Historicalnarrativeweavesothertypesofliteratureintoaccountsofthepast—legends,songs,stories,sayings,andsoon.


The short storiesoftheBiblearedistinguishedfromlegendsinthattheyarenarratives inwhichasustainedplotisdevelopedthroughaseriesofcloselyconnectedscenes.Theyarenothis-toricalnarratives,because,althoughtheymayrelatetoquestionsofhistory,theymovebehindthescenestofocusonamoreindividualstory.Theirstyleismorerefinedandpolishedthantheusualhistoricalnarrative.Typically,shortstoriesdonotpresentthedeityasanonstageactor.Thestoriesteachamoralorreligious“lesson”or“lessons”inanentertainingmanner.AmongtheshortstoriesoftheBiblearetheJosephstoryinGenesis37–50andthestoriesofRuth,Esther,and,possibly,Jonah.

AsermonisanaddressbyanindividualthatspeaksofGodandthedivineinvolvementwith,andpurposesfor,people.Sermonsusuallyexhortpeopletoactionandchallengepeopletobeobedi-enttoGod.IntheTanak,DeuteronomytakestheformofaseriesofsermonsbyMoses.

Genealogiesarelistsofnamespurportingtorecordthepedigreeofanindividualortherela-tionshipamongfamilies,clans,tribes,ornations.GenealogieslinkingAdamultimatelytoAbrahamarefoundinGenesis1–11,creatingcontinuityinthiscollectionofliteraryunits.

Chronicles,likehistoricalnarratives,giveaccountsofpasteventsandpersons.However,un-likehistoricalnarratives,chroniclessimplylist,usuallyusingaformula,theeventsandpersons,withnoattempttohighlightunderlyingcausesormeanings.TheBooksofChroniclesare,infact,morehistoricalnarrativethanchronicle.InKings,shortexcerptsfromchroniclesandreferencestothechronicles(i.e.,royalcourtrecords)areusedasasourceforthenarrative(e.g.,1Kings14:29).

Thetypesofliteraturedescribedsofartendtowardprose.Therestthatwewilldiscussaremorepoetic.Songsarepoeticcompositionsthatgiveindicationofhavingbeenputtomusicorper-formed.Forexample,Exodus15ispresentedasavictorysongusedatthetimeoftheExodusfromEgypt.

Meditationsarelongpoemsthatdonotseemtohavebeensung,butratherseemtoreflectonvariousthemes.SomemeditationsareontheTorah(suchasPsalms1and119).OtherpoemsreflectonthenatureandroleofWisdom(e.g.,Proverbs8andJob28),timesandseasons(e.g.,Ec.3:1–9),oldage(e.g.,Ec.12:1–8),thejusticeofGod(e.g.,Psalm73),orcreation(e.g.,Job38–39).

Oraclesareutterancesorpronouncementsfromanauthoritativesourceaboutwhatisgoingtohappeninthenearordistantfuture,introducedbyaformula.IntheTanak,oraclesarefromGod.Therearemanypropheticoraclesintroducedbytheformula“Thussays…”(seeChapter6),andafewarescatteredelsewhere(asinNumbers23–24).

Blessingsandtheiropposite,curses,arealsopronouncementswiththeformulaicintroduction“Blessedbe. . .”or“Cursedbe. . . .”Theyannouncewell-beingordisasterforpersonsorgroups.Blessingsandcursesarerootedinthebeliefthat,onceuttered,theycarryeffectivepowerthatcannotberevoked,becausetheyinvokethepowerofthedivine.AnexampleofablessingformulaisDt.28:6;acurseisfoundinDt.27:15–26.Onerecurrenttypeofblessing,developedintoanextendedpoem,isthedeathbedtestamentinwhichafatherblesseshischildren(Genesis49).Oathswerecon-ditionalcursespronouncedagainstoneselftoensurethetruthofastatementortheperformanceofanaction(Ruth1:17).Theaccusedinalegalcasemightbereleasedontakinganoathifevidencewasnotconclusive.

IntheNewTestamentwefindmanyofthesametypesofliteratureasintheTanak.Therearenomyths,assuch,intheNewTestament.However,somecontendthattheGospelofJohnadaptsamythinitsportrayalofJesusandthattheResurrectionaccountsandthestoryoftheTransfigurationofJesusaremythic.ThereisalsodisputeoverwhichNewTestamentaccountsshouldbecalledlegends.ThebirthnarrativesaboutJesusinMatthewandLukeseemtobethestrongestcandidates.Theonlysustainedhistorical narrative istheBookofActs,althoughthePassionnarrativesinthegospelsmightalsobesoconsidered.SermonsarefoundthroughouttheBookofActs(e.g.,2:14–36).


TherearegenealogiesofJesusinMt.1:1–17andLk.3:23–38.SongsintheNewTestamentareusu-allyhymnsinpraiseofGod(Lk.1:46–55)orChrist(e.g.,Col.1:15–20).TherearenolegalcodesintheNewTestament,butlegal sayingsarefoundintheSermonontheMount(Mt.5–7).Althoughsometimescalledahymn,theprologuetotheGospelofJohn(1:1–18)mightalsobeconsideredameditationontheWord(logos)ofGodmadeflesh.Thegospelshaveanumberofproverbial sayingsattributedtoJesus(suchasMt.5:13–15).ThebeatitudesintheSermonontheMount(Mt.5:3–12)areablessingformula.TheBookofRevelationincludesapocalyptic visions.

However,theNewTestamentalsointroducesnewtypesofliterature(seeTable2-2).ThereisnoprecedentintheTanakforthetwomostdominantliteraryformsoftheNewTestament:gospel(Chapter12)andletter(Chapter14).WithinthegospelsandlettersoftheNewTestament,thereareseveralothertypesofliteraturenotencounteredtoanysignificantextentintheTanak.ManyoftheteachingsofJesus inthegospelsare intheformofparables,briefnarrativesthatforcefullyillustrateapoint.TherearebutafewsuchnarrativesintheHebrewBible(asin2Sam.12:1–6).However,parablesandothersortsofanecdoteswereafavoriteteachingdeviceoftherabbisofJesus’stimeandlater.AnothercommonRabbinicliteraryform,themidrash,isfoundinanumberofNewTestamentbooks.Themidrashcitesoralludestoanauthoritativetext(inthiscase,fromtheTanak)andappliesittoanewsituation.Forexample,inGalatians3,PaulcitesandcommentsonaseriesofpassagesfromtheTanak.AnothertypeofmidrashistheallegoricalinterpretationofthestoryofHagarandSarah(foundinGal.4:21–31).Athirdtypeofmidrashisthetypologicalinterpretation,inwhichacorrespondenceisdrawnbetweenaformerandalaterpersonorevent.Forexample,inRom.5:12–21,theChristiscomparedandcontrastedwiththefirstman,Adam.Themidrashformisalsofoundelsewhere intheNewTestament(e.g.,Acts13:16–41andMt.8:16–17).Intheletters,wefindotherliteraryformsnotparalleledmuchintheTanak.Paulalsoadaptslists of virtues and vicessimilartothosefoundinGreekethicaltreatises(e.g.,Col.3:5–17).

3. observIng the Language Inadditiontodistinguishingthetypeofliterature,anintrinsicstudyrequiressensitivitytothenatureofthelanguageofthebiblicaltext.BecausetheBiblewaswritteninlanguagesquitedifferentfrommodernEnglish,studentsdependentontranslationsneedtomakeaspecialefforttobecomefamiliarwiththecharacteristicsofbiblicallanguagethatcanbeobservedintranslation.

Thebasicdistinctiontobemadeisbetweenpoeticandprosestyles.Thisdistinctionshouldnotbetoocloselydrawn,becausethestyleofbiblicallanguagedefiessuchneatcategorization.Oftenitisdifficulttosaywhetheratextispoetryorprose.Ratherthanthinkingofthemascategories,weshouldthinkofthedistinctionastwopointsonthesamecontinuum.Sometextshavelanguagethattendstowardthepoeticside;othershaveastylethattendstowardprose.Thereadermustbeawarethatlanguagetendingtowardthepoeticwillbemoresymbolicinnature,andmustbeanalyzedac-cordingly.

Poetrycanbedistinguishedfromprosebytheregularityofitsstyle.Proselanguagetendstohavesentencesofirregularlengthandrhythm.Ingeneral,poeticlanguageobservesconventionsthatgiveituniformityoflinelengthandrhythm(althoughtherhythmormeterofbiblicalpoetryremainslargelyanunsolvedmystery).

Theprincipalconventionofbiblicalpoetryhascometobeknownasparallelism.Itmightbet-terbecalledbalancing,seconding,orextending.Biblicalpoetryisalmostalwayscomposedoftwo-line(sometimesthree-line)unitsinwhichtheelementsofthesecond(andthird)line(s)balancetheele-mentsofthefirstbyreasserting,strengthening,orinsomeotherwaycompletingthem.Forexample,Ps.24:3asks:


tabLe 2–2 Examples of Types of Literature in the New Testament

Type of Literature

Definition

Example(s) in the New Testament

Historical narrative

Developed accounts of past events and people

Arrest, trial, and stoning of Stephen (Acts 6:8–15, 7:54–8:1a)

Sermon Address by individual speaking of God and God’s involvement in human life

Stephen’s speech at his trial (Acts 7: 1–53); Peter’s summary of the gospel (Acts 10:34–43)

Genealogy List of names showing line of descent of people in a family, clan, tribe, or nation

Descent of Jesus from Abraham and David (Mt. 1:1–17) and Adam (Lk. 3:23–38)

Song Poetic composition in praise of God or Christ Song of Mary (Magnificat) (Lk. 1:46–55), Phil. 2:6–11, Co. 1:15–20

Meditation Poetic reflection on a theme The Word (Logos) made flesh (Jn. 1:1–18)

Blessing Effective pronouncement of well-being, introduced by the formula “Blessed are . . .”

The beatitudes (blessings) (Mt. 5: 1–12, Luke 6:20–23); blessing of Peter (Mt. 16:17)

Curse Effective pronouncement of disaster, introduced by the formula “Woe to . . .”

Lk. 6:24–26, 11:42–52

Proverb Short saying, observing how life is and/or should be; often drawn from everyday life

Gal. 6:7–8

Parable Metaphorical saying or very short story with a figurative meaning in addition to a literal sense; often with a central point

The sower (Mk. 4:3–8, Mt. 13:3–8, Lk. 8:5–8); prodigal son (Lk. 15: 11–32)

Gospel Literally, “good news.” Narrative proclaiming God’s saving work in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus

Matthew, Mark, Luke, John

Letter Literary communication, greeting and instructing a group of Christians often after or in place of a personal visit by the sender

The letters of Paul (e.g., Romans, Galatians, Philippians)

Midrash An allusion to an authoritative text (the Tanak, in the case of the New Testament), applying it to a new situation

Promise to Abraham (Gal. 3:6–18); allegory of Hagar and Sarah (Gal. 4:21–5:2); the new Adam (Rom. 5:12–21)

List of virtues/ vices

Attributes describing either excellence or deficiency of character

Phi. 4:8, 2 Pet. 1:5–7, Col. 3:5–17

Vision Account of sights usually hidden, as of God on the heavenly throne or of a coming new age

Rev. 4:2–11, 21:1–22:9, 2 Cor. 12:1–4

Myth* Foundational story establishing values, meaning, goals

Stories of the passion (Crucifixion and Resurrection) of Jesus in the gospels

Legend* Story about characters or events presented as historical, but not closely verifiable

Birth stories of Jesus (Mt. 1:18–2:18, Lk. 2:1–40)

*ThereisacontroversyoverwhethermythsandlegendsareamongthetypesofliteraturefoundintheNewTestament.Forexample,thestoriesofthePassionofJesusandhisbirthareconsideredhistoricalnarrativesbysomescholars.


WhoshallascendthehilloftheLord?Andwhoshallstandinhisholyplace?

Noticehowthesecondlinebalancesthefirst,byrepeatingthethoughtsindifferentwords.Thephrase“Whoshallascend”isbalancedby“Whoshallstand,”and“hilloftheLord”isrepeatedas“hisholyplace.”

Biblicalpoetryiscomposedthenofthought units—wordsorphrases—thatarestructuredintwo(sometimesthree)linesofroughlyequallength.Thereisnorhyming.Rather,thelinesarere-latedthroughbalancingofthoughtunits.

Sometimes,asintheexamplefromPsalm24,thethoughtunitsofthefirstlinearebalancedbytheirrepetition,inthesameorder,inthesecondline.Inothercoupletsthesecondlinecontraststhethoughtofthefirst,asinPr.20:29:

Thegloryofyouthsistheirstrength,butthebeautyoftheagedistheirgrayhair.

Anothertypeofbalancingisstair-like;onepartofthelineisbalancedinthesecond,butthethoughtisdevelopedfurther.Psalm74:23isanexample:

Donotforgettheclamoroffoes,theuproarofadversariesgoesupcontinually!

Asthisexampleshows,parallelismoftenhasafunctionotherthansimplypatterningthelan-guage.Herethenotionoftherisingclamorofenemiesisexpressedinthebuilding,crescendoeffectoftheverse.Itisnotenoughmerelytocategorizethetypeofparallelisminabiblicalpoem.Itisimportanttoaskhowthebalancingcontributestotheworldbeingcreated.

Thelargersectionsofbiblicalpoems,consistingofgroupsoftwo-orthree-lineunits,areoftencalled stanzasor strophes.Thereisnosetlengthforthestanzasofbiblicalpoems,althoughtheyareusuallyshort.Sometimesarefrainmarkstheendofastrophe,asinPsalm107(vv.8–9,15–16,21–22,31–32).Onoccasion,thereisanacrostic(alphabetic)arrangementofstrophes,inwhicheachstanzabeginswithasubsequentletteroftheHebrewalphabet(e.g.,Psalm119).Usually,changesinstrophesaremoresubtlyindicatedbychangesinsubjectorgrammar.Areadershouldexamineapoemtodeterminethestanzasinit.Eachpresentsascenethatblendstogethertopaintaworldofwordsandimages.Bytheway,selah,foundinmanypsalms,doesnotseemtodemarcatestanzas.Wewishweknewitsmeaning!

Asweshallseeinouranalysesofsomebiblicalpoems,thereisoftenaparallelismamongthestanzasofapoem,withonebalancinganother.(See,e.g.,ourdiscussionofPsalm8inChapter7.)

Inonesense,biblicalpoemsarelikemusicalcompositions.Thearrangementisreallynotlinear.Rather,thereisaconcentricorderinginwhichthemesemerge,slipaway,andthencometo-getheragain.Or,similarlytopaintings,poemscreatepictures,usingwordsinsteadoflinesandcol-ors.Likeapicture,apoemmayhaveasubject,butnotonethatcanbereducedtoaneatsummary.Onemightsaythatpoemsarelikebutterflies—ifyoutrytopinthemdown,theydie.

BecausebiblicalpoetrydrawsonthestockofimagesofancientIsraelandtheancientNearEast,someofthepoemsneedclarification.Forexample,“pit”isnotaholeintheground,butametaphorforsheol,thedwellingplaceofthedead.Waterimageryisoftenawayofspeakingofthechaosthatopposesthedivineorderingoflifeandthereforethreatenshumanity.


The use of graphic language, including metaphor and simile, is as typical of ancientNearEasternpoetryas it isofEnglishpoetry.“Asa lilyamongbrambles,soismyloveamongmaidens,”singstheSongofSongs(2:2).Likebalancing,thiscanbeappreciatedintranslation.Unfortunately,manyofthepoeticdevicesofbiblicalpoetryarelostintranslation.Biblicalpoemsmakefrequentandeffectiveuseofalliteration(repetitionofsoundsatthebeginningofwordsorsyllables),paronomasia(wordplays),assonance(repetitionofsounds inaccentedvowels),andonomatopoeia(wordsthatsoundlikewhattheydescribe).Otherdevices,suchas irony,canbenoticedintranslation.

Biblicalpoetrywasmeanttobespokenandheard.Evenintranslationitsimpactcanbefelt.Whenyoureadbiblicalpoems,dosoaloud.Trytocapturethemoodorfeelingyoufindinthem.

TheothertypeoflanguagetobeobservedintheBibleisprose.Thisisusedprincipallyinhistoricalnarrativesandstories.Itisalsofoundinlegends,myths,sermons,gospels,andletters.WecangenerallydiscerninproseamovementofthoughtfromAtoBtoC,moresothaninpoetry.Thereaderobservesaflowtoproseandtriestounderstandtheplaceofindividualscenesinthatmove-ment.Innarratives,atensionisusuallyestablished,heightened,andperhapsmitigatedinsucceedingmovesuntilitattainsaclimax;theninsomewayitisresolved.Thisbasicpatterncanbeobservedagainandagaininbiblicalstoriesandhistoricalnarratives.

Bymodernstandards,biblicalproseisverysimpleandstraightforward.Indescribingornar-ratingscenes,biblicalstoriesgetrighttothepoint.Thereisaminimumofthebackgroundinfor-mationandasides,sotypicalofmodernstories.Biblicalnarrativedoesnotveryoftenpresentwhatcharactersarethinkingorfeeling.Infact,thebiblicalnarratordoesnotintrudeintothestoryatall(againunlikemodernstories).Theplotisdevelopedthroughstraightforwarddescriptionsofactions,or,frequently,throughreporteddialogueofcharacters.Thepaceisquick.Storiesarebroughtrap-idlytoaclimaxthroughaseriesofjuxtaposedscenes,sometimeswithlittleornothingtoconnectthem.Forexample,inthegospels,Jesusseemsto“jump”fromplacetoplacewiththefocusontheactionwithinthescenesratherthanontheconnectionsamongthem.

Giventhetersenessandbrevityofbiblicalproseanditsrefusalto lookintothethoughtsandfeelingsofcharacters,readersmustinfermotivesandintentions.InsteadoftellingusaboutthedivineplantocreatethenationIsrael,thenarrativesimplybeginswiththeLordspeakingtoAbraham(Gen.12:1–3).Fromthisutterance,oneinfersthedivineintention.AndinsteadoftellingusthatAbrahamwasamanoffaith,thenarrativefollowsthedivineaddresssimplybystatingwhatAbrahamdid,whichimplieshisfaith.

Anothercharacteristicofbiblicalnarrativeproseis foreshadowing.Oftentheoutcomeofastoryisindicatedatthebeginning(aswhenRebeccalearnsthatheryoungersonJacobwillsupplanthisolderbrotherEsau).Theactionthenrevolvesaroundhoweverythingfallsintoplacetobringthisabout.Oftenthereisatangledwebofeventsthatmakestheoutcomeseemimpossible.Therearealsointerludesthatheightenthetension,usuallyjustasitseemstheinevitablewillbethwarted.

Animportantcharacteristicofbiblicalproseandpoetryisrepetition.Keywords,phrases,andscenesrecur,givinganindicationofsomethingtowhichthepoemorstorywantstodrawouratten-tion.Repetitionalsoservestobuildtensionoraddanuancebybalancingtwoelements.Anobvi-ousexampleisPsalm150,whichreverberateswiththecallto“Praise!”nolessthantwelvetimes.TheprologuetotheBookofProverbs(1:2–6)leavesnodoubtthattheconcernofthebookiswith“wisdom,”butitcontainsanumberofsubtlenuancesonthemeaningof“wise”and“wisdom.”Theancestornarrativerepeatsthesceneofapatriarch’swifebeingtakenbyaforeignrulernolessthanthreetimes(Gen.12:10–13:1,20;26:1–11),butwithadifferenttwisteachtime.Withinastory,therepetitionofawordisacluetoacentralconcernofthenarrative,as,forexample,therepetitionofthewordblessingintheJacobstoryinGenesis.


Havingmadethedistinctionbetweenpoetryandprose,anddescribedsomeofthemajorchar-acteristicsofeach,weshouldreiteratethepointwithwhichwebegan.Thisdistinctionshouldnotbepushedtoofar.MuchprosehasapoeticqualityintheBible,andmuchpoetryhasthecharacterofprose.Nevertheless,askingwhetheratextismorepoeticormoreprose-likecanbehelpfulintryingtounderstanditsworld.

4 searchIng for themes Inanintrinsicreadingofatext,aninterpretershouldlookforthethemeorthemes.Athemeisanorganizingmotifthatdominatesaliteraryunit.Itisnotthesameasthesubjectofaunit,butratherisaperceptionofhowthesubjectishandled.Inotherwords,athemeisaninterpreter’swordforwhatisseentobedominant.Itistheinterpreter’sresponsibilitytoshowhowtheperceivedthemeaccountsfortheworkasitis.

Anexampleofathemeshouldhelptoclarifythistoolofintrinsicstudy.Areadermightask,“WhatisthethemeofthePentateuch?”Onestudysuggeststhatitis:

thepartialfulfillment—whichimpliesalsothepartialnon-fulfillment—ofthepromisetoorblessingofthepatriarchs.Thepromiseorblessingisboththedivineinitiativeinaworldwherehumaninitiativesalwaysleadtodisasterandare-affirmationoftheprimaldivineintentionsforman.1

Thethemesofparticularbookscanalsobeperceived.Forexample,theprincipalthemeoftheSongofSongshasbeenstatedas“theparadoxofloveinthe world.”2Insomecases,abookmayevenstateitsowntheme.ThethemeofPaul’slettertotheRomans,forexample,mightbedrawnfrom1:16,wherePaulstatesthatthegospelisthe“powerofGodforsalvationtoeveryonewhohasfaith,totheJewfirstandalsototheGreek.”

Inanintroductorystudy,theidentificationofthemescanbeaveryhelpfulwayforreaderstoentertheliteraryworldoftheBible.

Relatedtothemes,butdistinct,aremotifs.Theseareimagesthatrecurintextsbutdonotconstitutethetheme.Observingtheprincipalmotifsinatextisoftenimportant.Forexample,inthestoryofJosephinGenesis,clothes,andtheirbeingputonandtakenoff,isarecurrentmotif.

5. IdentIfyIng the structures Thelanguageoftextsformspatternsthatcanbeobserved,whichthenbecomemapstotheirliteraryworlds.Wehavealreadybeguntodiscussstructureintalk-ingofthephenomenonofparallelismorbalancing,bywhichpoeticlanguageispatterned.Inallud-ingtotypesofliterature,wehavealsobeguntospeakofstructures,foreachliteraryformhasatypicalstructure.Weshoulddiscriminatebetweentypical structures,thatis,patternssharedbyliteratureofacertaintype(e.g.,hymns),andunique structures,whicharetheindividualpatternsofseparatetexts.WewillidentifyauniquestructurewhenanalyzingtheliteraryworldofGenesis1inthenextchapter.

Weshouldalsodiscriminatebetweenwhatmightbecalledtheformalorsurfacestructuresoftexts,eithertypicalorunique,andwhathavecometobeknownasdeep structures.Thesearetheimplicitstructuresinthetextsthatmanifestculturallydeterminedoruniversalpatternsoflifeandthought.Inrecentdecades,amovementcalledstructuralismhasdeveloped,andmanystructuralistinterpretationsofbiblicaltextshavebeenattempted.Theygobeyondthescopeofanintroductorystudy(seetheAnnotatedBibliography).

1DavidJ.A.Clines.The Theme of the Pentateuch.Sheffield,England:JournaloftheStudyoftheOldTestament,1978,p.29.

2 MarciaFalk.Love Lyrics from the Bible: A Translation and Literary Study of the Song of Songs.Sheffield,England:AlmondPress,1982,p.97.


6. presentIng an Integrated readIng Thefinalstepinanintrinsicstudyisofferingareadingofthetextbeinginterpreted,drawingtogetherobservationsgatheredfromthestepsjustdiscussedaswellasothers.Thepointofintrinsicstudyisnotmerelytoanalyzetextsbutalsotooffersyntheticreadingsofthem.Therefore,inourintrinsicdiscussionsofbiblicalliterature,wewillnot“runthrough”thestepsofintrinsicstudy.Rather,wepresentsyntheticreadingsthatdrawonthevariousinsightsofthistypeofresearch.

extrInsIc study: enterIng the hIstorIcaL WorLd

TherearetwotypesofextrinsicstudyoftheBible,onethatfocusesonthehistoricaldevelopmentoftheliteratureitselfandanotherthatusestheBibleasahistoricalsource(alongwithothers)inanefforttoreconstructthehistoryofthebiblicalperiod.Theyareobviouslyrelated.However,inthefirstareaofextrinsicstudy,avarietyofspecificmethodsofanalysishavedeveloped.

Thosemethodsthatattempttoreconstructthestagesinthedevelopmentofbiblicaltextscanbeidentifiedasliterary history.Althoughtheydooverlap,eachtypeof“criticism,”asitiscalled,fo-cusesonadifferentstageinthehistoryofbiblicalliterature:theoralorpreliterarystage,thewrittensources,theeditingofsourcesintotheirfinalwrittenform,thetransmissionoftextsintheiroriginallanguages,andthecanonizingoftexts.

Toreconstructthehistoryofthebiblicalperiod,wewillusetheempiricalmethodofhistori-ography.Wewilldrawespeciallyonthedisciplineofarchaeology.

Literary history

TwomethodsofextrinsicstudyaimatuncoveringtheearlieststageinthecompositionoftheBible.Traditions criticismseekstoreconstructthedevelopmentofindividualelements(traditions)withintextstofindtheirpointoforiginandtotracehowtheyhavebeenadaptedastheyhavebeentrans-mitted.Althoughtraditionscriticismcarriesaninterpreterintothewrittenstagesinthecirculationoftraditions,thecentralconcernisthepreliterarystage,inwhichtraditionscirculatedorally.Thattradition(thehandingoverorpassingonofstories,beliefs,andpractices)wasimportantinthedevelopmentoftheBibleisevidentinsuchtextsasDt.6:20–25,whereafatherisinstructedtopassontheExodustraditionasanexplanationofwhyitisimportanttokeeptheTorah,and1Cor.15:1–11,wherePaulwritesaboutreceivingthetraditionabouttheResurrectionofJesusandpassingitoninhispreaching.

Asecondmethodutilizedinstudyingtheearlystages oftheliteraryhistoryoftheBibleisknownasform criticism.Incontrasttotheintrinsicanalysisoftypesofliterature,formcriticslookforcluestothecontextinwhichthetextmostlikelyfunctionedatthetimeofitswritingandevenearlier,atanoralstage.Forexample,thelament,aliteraryformcommonintheBookofPsalms(e.g.,Psalms13and74)andotherbooksoftheTanak(e.g.,Lamentations),impliesandilluminatesaritualsettinginwhichapersonalorcommunalcrisisisbeingacknowledgedandmourned.

NewTestamentformcriticshavestudiedthegospelstodeterminethesituationsinthelifeoftheearlyChristiancommunityinwhichparticulartypesofliteraturemayhavedeveloped.Forexample,aformcommoninthegospelsisthe“pronouncementstory”inwhichJesusisconfrontedwithaquestionandmakesa“pronouncement”onthetopic(asinMark12:13–17,whenJesusisaskedwhetheritislawfultopaytaxestotheRomanemperor).Theimplied“lifesituation”mayhavebeenadisputeprobablycommoninChristiancommunitiesoverwhethertheirloyaltytoChristshouldtakeprecedenceovertheirobligationtotheRomangovernment.

Formcriticismismosteffectivewhenthereisclearconfirmationoftherelationshipbetweenaformanditslifesituation,asintheconnectionintheBookofJoel(intheScrolloftheTwelve)


betweenthelamentformandaritualfast.Somescholarsquestionthemethodofformcriticismbeyondtheselimitedsituations,becauseitsreasoningcanbecircular.Aformisusedtopostulatealifesituation,andthehypotheticallifesituationisthendrawnontointerprettheform.Fromtheperspectiveofempiricalhistory,toclaimaliteraryformastheonlyevidenceforahistoricaleventismerelyspeculative.

Source(ordocumentary)criticismisatypeofanalysisthatseekstoidentifythevariouswrittensourcesusedinthewritingoftheBible,aspartoftheefforttoreconstructthehistoryofthelitera-ture.Thefirstresultofthistypeofstudywastheso-calleddocumentary hypothesis,whichclaimsthatbehindthePentateuchinitsfinalformwereaseriesofwrittensourcesand/orcyclesoforaltraditioncombined.WewilldiscussthishypothesisindetailinChapter3.FortheNewTestament,sourcecriticismhasresultedinhypothesesaboutthesourcesusedbythewritersofthegospels(seeChapter12)andotherbooks.

Whileformcriticismfocusesonthelifesituationsinwhichbiblicaltextsoriginallyemerged,andsourcecriticismanalyzesthewrittensourcestheauthor(s)ofthetextdrewoninwritingthetext,theliteraryhistoricalmethodknownasredaction criticismaddressesthefinalstageinwhichthetextisedited.“Redaction”means“editing,”soredactioncriticslookforevidenceoftheworkofaneditorwhohascombinedsourcestogethertocreateatextoraddedmaterialtoanexistingtext.Thisevidencecanbehelpfulinanalyzingthepointofviewoftheeditor(s)ofatextand/orthesituationstowhichthetextaseditedwasmostlikelyaddressed.

PerhapstheclearestandbestexampleofthevalueofredactioncriticismisitsapplicationtothefinalstagesinthecompositionoftwooftheNewTestamentgospels—MatthewandLuke.AsweshalldescribemorefullyinChapter12,sourcecriticshavedeterminedthattheauthorsoftheGospelsofMatthewandLukealmostcertainlyusedtheGospelofMarkandacollectionofsay-ingsofJesusassources.RedactioncriticshavebeenabletolearnmuchabouttheperspectivesfromwhichtheGospelsofMatthewandLukewerewrittenandthecontextsinandforwhichtheywerecomposedbycomparingandcontrastinghowtheirauthorsdrewdifferentlyonthesetwoprincipalsources—Markandthe“SayingsSource.”

Redactioncriticsalsopaycloseattentiontotheintroductions,conclusions,and“seams”be-tweensectionsofatextfortheyoftenrevealtheperspectiveofthetext’seditor.Forexample,theauthorsofMatthewandLukeprefacetheiraccountsoftheministryofJesuswithdistinctstoriesofhisbirth.Theseintroductions,addedbytheauthor/editorofeachgospel,yieldvaluableevidenceforunderstandingtheiruniqueperspectives.

WhileredactioncriticismhasprovenmorehelpfulinthestudyoftheliteraryhistoryoftheNewTestament,ithasalsobeenappliedtotheTanak.Forexample,sourcecriticshavedeterminedthattheeditorsoftheChroniclesmostlikelyusedthebooksofSamuelandKings,orperhapsthesourcesonwhichtheywerebased,aswrittensources.

Redactioncriticismismostvaluableincasesinwhichthereiscomparativeevidencetodemon-stratethatsourceshavebeenedited.Elsewhere,tointerpretthetextasbeingeditedismorespeculative.

Textual criticismexaminesthetransmissionofworksoncetheyhavebeenwrittenandseekstoreconstructthemostlikelyoriginaltexts.ThismethodanditsresultshavealreadybeendiscussedinChapter1.

Canonical criticismexaminesworksintermsoftheirplaceinthecollectionsdeemedauthorita-tiveintheJewishandChristiancommunities.Thehistoricalprocessdidnotendwhenbookswerewritten,butcontinuedastheywereselectedandorderedcanonically.Forthosewithinthecom-munitiesthatconsidertheBibleauthoritative,thisopensthedoortoseeingtheBiblenotmerelyasliteraturebutalsoasScripture.EvenforthosewhodonotrecognizetheauthorityoftheBible,canonicalcriticismisareminderthatthewholeismorethanthesumofitsparts.


the bible as a source for history

the empIrIcaL hIstorIcaL method TheAmericancomedian JackPaarused to endhismonologueswiththequestion,“Howwasthat?”Towhichadisembodiedvoicewouldrespond,“Ascomparedtowhat?”Thisisanillustrationoftheconceptofcontrol,whichisfundamentaltoallscientificinquiry.Controlmeanstheintroductionofastandardthatpermitsideasandevidencetobeevaluatedinanorderlymanner.Itisthecornerstoneofanyempiricalmethod,thatis,onethatdependsonobservableevidence.Theuseofcontrolpreventssubjectivepreferencefromdisplacingobjectivediscussion.Generallyspeaking,controlpermitsinvestigatorstokeeptheirbearings.

Themostfundamentalquestionthathistoriansseektoaskandtoansweris,“Whatactu-allyhappened?”Onemayalsoaskhowandwhyeventstranspiredastheydid,andquestiontheirsignificanceforfuturedevelopments.Historiansmayalsoreflectonthemeaningofeventsfortheparticipants,forpeopleofalatertime,orforourunderstandingtoday.

Historiansordinarilyapplyaformoftheempiricalmethodinthefollowingmanner.Theydevelopahypothesis,astatementofwhatmaybethecase(or,inhistory,whatmayhavebeenthecase).Thentheyexaminetheavailableevidence.Inhistoricalresearch,evidence(ordata)oftenmeansdocuments.Butthehistorianstudyingtheancientworld(includingthebiblicalperiod)musttakeintoaccountarchaeologicaldataaswell.Bothpositiveandnegativeevidenceareexamined,andthenjudgmentsconcerningthetruthorfalsityofthehypothesisaremade.Alternatively,ahistoriancansurveytheavailableevidenceandaskwhatthemostlikelyexplanationforitsexistenceis.Thatis,thehistorianmighttrytoframeanexplanatoryhypothesisthatdoesthebestpossiblejoboffittingtheevidenceintoameaningfulpattern.

hIstorIcaL anthropoLogy OneelementoftheempiricalmethodincreasinglyutilizedinthehistoricalstudyoftheBibleistheuseofmodelsborrowedfromthesocialsciences,particularlysociology,socialpsychology,andanthropology.Theadvantagetheyprovideforbiblicalhistoryisavarietyofmodelsofhumanbehaviorvalidindifferentcultures.Thisisespeciallytrueofanthropol-ogy.Weshalluseanthropologicalmodelsinaddressingissuesinbiblicalhistory,sothemethodweareusingmightalsobecalledhistorical anthropologyinsomecontexts.Butthesemodels,howeverappealingintheirownright,mustbewarrantedbyevidencerelevanttothetopicathandtomeritempiricalstanding.Theempiricalmethodresultsinprobable,notabsolute,conclusions.Thereisalwaysthepossibilitythatnewevidencewillproveanacceptedhypothesisfalse;suggestnew,moreprobable,hypotheses;orraisetotallynewissues.Theappealofthismethodisalwaysto“publicinformation,”thatis,datathatcanbeevaluatedbyanyonewhohasdevelopedthebasicskillsandinformationrequiredtostudythesubjectathand.

hIstorIcaL revIsIonIsm Historiansandotherscholarswhopresentviewsthatdiffermark-edlyfromcommonlyacceptedpositionsaresometimescalled“revisionists.”Ifrevisionistviewsareacceptedbyamajorityofscholars,theybecometheneworthodoxy.Revisionistsperformavaluableservicetotheirdisciplinesevenwhentheirviewsarerejectedbecausetheypreventsmugnessandobligepersonswithmoretraditionalviewstoreexaminethebasisoftheirconclusions.Sometimestraditionalviewsaremodifiedbecauseofarevisionistcritiqueevenwhentherevisionistthesis,assuch,isrejected.

ThemostvigorousrevisionistmovementinbiblicalstudiestodaymaybeagroupofscholarswhoarguethatthehistoricalbooksofTanakwereeditedsolatethattheycouldcontainnovalidhistoricalinformationaboutearlierperiods.Theydifferonthecutoffdate.Somewouldexcludetheancestral(“patriarchal”)age,otherstheExodusageandthesettlementinCanaan,otherstheUnitedMonarchy,stillotherstheentireageoftheJudeanandIsraelitekingdoms.Somemembersofthis


groupofscholarsalsoseemtorejectorexplainawayarchaeologicaldata.Becausetheyrejectsomuchinformationthatisaccepted(withvariousdegreesofreservation!)byotherscholars,theyhavebeendubbed“minimalists.”Othersoutsidetheircirclecallthem“nihilists.”Recentminimalistinterpre-tationshavegonetothepointofradicallyrevisingpaleographic/epigraphictablesandwidespreadconsensusconcerningarchaeologicaldata,althoughtheyhavenotpreviouslybeenamongthemoreprominentexpertsinthesefields.Someofthemostdistinguishedprofessionalarchaeologistshavebeenamongthemorevehementcriticsofminimalisttheories,suspectingthatmanyminimalistsdonotunderstandarchaeologyanditsmethodsanddonotrespectitsfindings.

Recentdiscoveriesseemtohavefurtherundercuttheminimalistposition.Forexample,ar-chaeologistEilatMazardiscoveredasubstantialstonewallintheCityofDaviddatedonceramicevidencetotheeleventhtotenthcenturyb.c.e.Thisdiscoveryhasalsostirredcontroversy,andMazar’squestion,“DidIfindKingDavid’spalace?”isclearlyspeculative.Moreconservativear-chaeologistsrefertoherdiscoveryas“thelargestonestructure.”Fromthestandpointofhistoricalresearch,whetherornotthestoneworkcanbeattributedtoDavid,theimportantpointisthattherewas,againcontrarytominimalistdoctrine,agovernmentcapableofproducingworksofmonumen-talarchitectureduringtheageoftheUnitedMonarchy.3

bIbLIcaL archaeoLogy Theareaofscholarshipknownasarchaeologyisaformofhistoricalinquiry.Itmaybedefinedasthestudyofhumanculturesthroughthedisciplinedinvestigationoftheirmaterialremains.Itisconventionallydividedintoprehistoricarchaeology,thearchaeologyofpreliteratecultures,andhistoricalarchaeology,whichmeansthathistoricalarchaeologymaybeas-sistedinitsinquiriesbytexts.Biblical archaeologyisabranchofhistoricalarchaeologyconcernedwiththestudyofthebiblicalworld.ItthuscentersonthelandofIsrael.ButfromtheveryoutsetitmustincludetheentireFertileCrescent(seeChapterFour).TheMiddleEastasawholeentersitspur-viewwiththePersianperiod,andtheeasternMediterraneanworldwiththeconquestsofAlexanderduringthelatterstagesofthehistoryunderlyingTanak.DuringtheageofClassicalJudaismand

3 Eliat Mazar. “Did I Find King David’s Palace?” Biblical Archaeology Review, 32:1 (January–February 2006), 18–27, 70.

Archaeological Technique—In Situ Pottery. A storage area in a house in the ancient biblical city of Lachish has been exposed by excavators. The pottery uncovered is left in place (in situ) so that it can be carefully drawn and photographed in its original locations before removal. Source: Photograph by William A. Young


theNewTestament,itspurviewexpandedtoRomeandthewesternMediterraneanworld.Somescholarswhoseemuneasywiththewordbiblicalhaveproposedalternativenames,butnonedoesjusticetothescopeoftheinquiry.Thebottomlineis,biblicalarchaeology,likeanyotherbranchofarchaeologicalinquiry,shouldexemplifythemostrigorousandup-to-datemethodsofthediscipline.Thewordbiblicaldoesnotmakeitanylessscientificthanothermodernarchaeology.Indeed,someattacksonbiblicalarchaeologyareessentiallyexpressionsofsecularhumanistdogmatism.

Itisnoexaggerationtosaythatarchaeologyhasrevolutionizedbiblicalstudiesoverthepastcenturyandahalf.Beforetheadventofmodernarchaeologyinthenineteenthcentury,theBiblewastheonlytextavailableintheWestthatreachedintodeepantiquity,priortoclassicalGreece.ArchaeologyrevealedtheculturesofIsrael’spredecessorsandneighbors,someonlynamesbefore-hand.TherecoveryoftheliteraturesofotherancientMiddleEasterncultureshascastagreatdealoflightontheunderstandingoftheBible.ArchaeologyhasrevealedthegloriesoftheEgyptianempireandofthegreatempiresofMesopotamia,aswellasthemoremodestmaterialcultureofancientIsrael.Thehistoricalandliterarydiscussionsinthisbookareenrichedbyarchaeologicalfindings.

Archaeologyinbiblical landsconcentratedformanyyearsonthesitesofcities,withtheirmonumentalarchitecturalfeatures.Morerecently,biblicalarchaeologistshaveturnedtotheinves-tigationofsmallersitesandto“environmentalarchaeology,”thestudyofancientlifeinitstotalecologicalcontext.Thishasledtoamuchfullerunderstandingofhowpeoplelived,includingwhattheyateandwhatparasitesmadethemsick.

Excavationofoccupationsitesisthemosttypicalactivityofarchaeologists.Thisdiggingisdonecarefullyandsystematicallyaccordingtoacontrolledplan.Theexcavationareaistypicallydefinedbyagridsurvey,andtheexcavatorattemptstofollowthelayers,orstrata,createdbysucces-sivehumanoccupationalactivity.Thegoalis“three-dimensionalrecording”ofallarchitecturalfea-tures,artifacts,andenvironmentalsamplessothattheycanbeunderstoodintheiroriginalcontext.Thisspatialcontextalsoimpliesatemporalcontext,sinceonegenerallygoesbackintimeasonegoesdownthroughthestrata(althougherosionorearlierdiggingmaycreatelocalizeddislocations).Thefactthatthestylesofmosthumanartifactschangethroughtimemeansthatanarchaeologi-calstratummaybedatedbytheartifactsfoundinit,especiallypottery(andcoins,aftertheywereinvented).Thegreatestcareisalwaysessential.“Archaeologyisdestruction”isanarchaeologist’sproverb.Youcanonlydigalocusonce,soyouneedtodoitrightthefirsttime!

Archaeological Technique—Pottery Reconstruction. Careful study of the evolution of pottery styles in ancient Israel has created a “ceramic chronology” used by archaeologists to date the levels of a site. Here a shattered pot discovered in the ancient biblical city of Lachish is being carefully reconstructed from the broken pieces (“shards”), so that its style can be determined. Source: Photograph by William A. Young


Archaeologistsalsoconductlarger-scalesurveystostudysettlementandlandusepatterns,andsoon.Archaeologicalfindingsmustbecarefullyrecordedinnotes,sketches,scaleplans,anddraw-ingsandphotographs,andartifactscarefullylabeled,iftheyaretohaveanyscientificvalue.Muchofthemostimportantworkgoesonafterthedig,whentherecordsarecollatedandartifactsstudiedandperhapssubjectedtovariouslaboratorytests.(Carbondatingistheonescientifictestusedinar-chaeologythatseemstobewidelyknown.Buttherearemanyothers,describedinmostarchaeologytextbooks.)Finally,theresultsmustbereportedinscholarlyjournalsandbookssothattheresultscanbeusedandinterpretedbyotherscholars.

Newarchaeologicaldiscoveriesornewinterpretationsofolderfinds,somewithprofoundimplicationsforourunderstandingofbiblicalhistory,areannouncedalmosteveryyear.Forex-ample,in2010,anewtheoryconcerningtheoriginsofthealphabetsinwhichthelanguagesoftheBible(Hebrew,Aramaic,andGreek)arewrittenwasadvancedbyDr.OrlyGoldwasser,ProfessorofEgyptologyattheHebrewUniversityinJerusalem.4

AtasitetodaycalledSerabitel-KhademlocateddeepinthemountainsofthesouthernSinaipeninsula,anEgyptianturquoisemineflourishedduringthereignsofthePharaohsAmenemhetIII(ca.1853–1808b.c.e.)andAmenemhetIV(ca.1808–1789).AtthesitewasatemplededicatedtoHathor,theEgyptiangoddessofturquoise.OnthepathleadingtothetemplewerestonepillarswithinscriptionsinvokingtheprotectionofHathorandotherdeitiesontheworkmenandtraderswhocametotheminefromEgypttothesouthandvarious“Asiatic”cultures,includingtheCanaanites,tothenorth.MostoftheinscriptionsareinEgyptianhieroglyphics.However,someareinanewformofwriting,asetofsimplepictogramsrepresentingsounds,mostlyadaptedfromthehieroglyphs,calledProto-Sinaiticbyscholars.AccordingtoProf.Goldwasser,thesignswerelikelydevelopedbyCanaaniteworkersatSeraphiswhowereunabletoreadorwriteEgyptianhieroglyphs.

AccordingtoProf.Goldwasserandexpertsonancientwritingwhohavestudiedthem,theseinscriptionsmaybethefirstevidenceofthecreationofthealphabet,awritingsystemwithfewerthan30signsandstraightforwardrulesassociatingsignswiththesoundsproducedbyconsonants(vowelscamelater).Bycontrast,toreadthehieroglyphsofEgyptandwedgeshapesimpressedinclay(cuneiforms)ofMesopotamia,thetwosystemsprevalentatthetime,requiredknowledgeofhundredsofsignsandcomplexrules.Withthealphabeticsystem,writingwouldnolongerbeunderthecontrolofprofessionalscribesandwouldbecomeavailabletomanymorepeople.

Thealphabeticsystemtookmanycenturiesandotherinfluencestoevolveinvariousforms.However, if this theory iscorrect,all threeof the languagesof theJewishandChristianBibles(Hebrew,Aramaic,andGreek)wereamongtheheirsofwhatmaybecalleda“democratic”systemofwritingdevelopedbyCanaaniteworkersengagedindangerousworkinadesolatearea,whowereinvokingdivineblessingandprotection.

Anothertheorybasedoninterpretationofarchaeologicalfindsdatingbackdecadeshasre-centlygainedwideattention,especiallyamongthoseinterestedinissuesrelatedtogenderinbiblicaltimes.Thetheory,popularizedbyAmericanarchaeologistWilliamDever,relatestohispropositionthatinancientIsraeladistinctionexistedbetween“elite”or“priestly”religionand“popular”or“folk”religions.AccordingtoDever“elite”religiondominatedtheclassthatwrotetheTanakandtookamostlymonotheisticperspective,condemningworshipofanygodotherthantheIsraelitedeityYahweh.“Folk”religionisnotrepresentedasclearly intheTanak(exceptwhere it isde-nounced),butismanifestinavarietyofarchaeologicalfinds.Inmakingtheclaimthathasdrawnthemostattention,Deverdrawsonagrowingbodyofarchaeologicalresearchtodefendthetheory,

4 OrlyGoldwasser.“HowtheAlphabetWasBornfromHieroglyphs.”Biblical Archaeology Review,36:2(March/April2010).Availableonlineatwww.bib-arch.org/bar.


firstdevelopedinthe1960s,thatmostIsraelitesworshippedanumberofgods,includingagoddess,consortofthegodYahweh,oftencalledAsherah.Inotherwords,inthefolkreligionofancientIsrael,“Godhadawife.”5

Thefactthatarchaeologicalfindsaresometimesvaluablehascreatedaninternationalindustryconsistingofclandestinediggers,smugglers,andshadyantiquitiesdealersinadditiontoanetworkoflegitimatedealersaroundtheworld.Thepurchasersofwhatmightbecalledundocumented,andinsomecasesillicit,antiquitiesareusuallyprivatecollectors.However,someprominentmuseumshavebeencaughtwithobjectsofdubiouspedigree,andtherehavebeencelebratedlawsuitsinwhichmuseumshavebeenobligedtoreturnobjectstothecountryoforigin.Thelootingofantiquitiessitesisaworldwidephenomenon.

Thevalueofartifactshasalsoledtothecreationoffakedartifacts.Themostspectacularal-legedforgeryinrecentbiblicalarchaeologyistheso-calledJamesOssuary.Ossuariesaresmallstoneboxesusedtostorebonesafterabodyhasdecayedinordertoallowtheburialspacetobereused.Manywereinscribedwiththenamesofthosewhosebonestheycontained.OssuarieswerecommoninIsraelduringthefirstcenturyofthecommonera.In2002anossuaryemergedbearingtheinscrip-tion“JamessonofJoseph,brotherofJesus.”

TheimplicitNewTestamentconnectionoftheJamesOssuarycreatedanimmediateinter-nationalsensation,anditwassoonclaimedthatitprovidedthefirstphysicallinktothefamilyofJesus.Theboxwasputondisplayandmadethesubjectofatelevisiondocumentary(seeChapter16).TheIsraelAntiquitiesAuthority(IAA)respondedtoitbycarefullyexaminingtheossuaryscien-tificallyandconcludedthatwhiletheboxcamefromthefirstcentury,theinscriptionwasamodernhoax.However,otherscholarschallengedthefindings,andtheongoingdebateresultedinaseriesofpublications.6

In2005fivemen,amongthemrespectedantiquitiescollectors,werechargedwithforgingtheJamesOssuaryandtryingtopassitoffastheactualburialboxofthebrotherofJesus.Prosecutorsclaimedtheyhaduncoveredaninternationalcriminalnetworkmakingmillionsordollarsinforgedantiquities.Prominentscholarswerenamedascomplicitintheconspiracy.SixyearslaterthetrialwasstilldraggingonintheJerusalemDistrictCourt,withonlytwoofthefivedefendantsremain-ingandmanyoftheoriginalchargesretracted.Archaeologistsandotherscholarshavetestified,bothdefendingandchallengingtheossuary’sauthenticity.

uses of the text: traveLIng Into the contemporary WorLd

Severalspecificmethodshavebeendevelopedrecently,stressingtherolereadersplayindeterminingthemeaningoftexts.Theyillustratetheattentionnowbeinggiventoredefiningourunderstandingofthe“contemporaryworld”oftheBible.

5WilliamG.Dever.Did God Have a Wife? Archaeology and Folk Religion in Ancient Israel.GrandRapids,MI:Eerdmans,2008.SeealsoRaphaelPatai.The Hebrew Goddess,3rded.WayneStateUniversityPress,1990(firstpublished1967);MarkS.Smith.The Early History of God: Yahweh and the Other Deities in Ancient Israel.GrandRapids,MI:Eerdmans,2002.6 See,forexample,HershelShanksandBenWitherington.The Brother of Jesus: The Dramatic Story and Meaning of the First Archaeological Link to Jesus and His Family.SanFrancisco:HaperSanFrancisco,2003;NinaBurleigh.Unholy Business: A True Tale of Faith, Greed, and Forgery in the Holy Land.NewYork:SmithsonianBooks/Collins,2008;andRyanByrneandBernadetteMcNary-Zak,ed.Resurrecting the Brother of Jesus: The James Ossuary Controversy and the Quest for Religious Relics.ChapelHill:UniversityofNorthCarolinaPress,2009.ShanksandWitheringtonconsidertheJamesOssuaryauthentic,whiletheothervolumesconcludethatitisafake.ForthemostrecentdevelopmentsintheJamesOssuarycontroversy,seehttp://jamesossuarytrial.blogspot.com.


Reader-response(orreception)criticismarguesthatthemeaningofatextisnotagiven,residinginthetextitselforinitshistoricalcontext,butintheuniqueinteractionbetweenaparticularreader(orgroupofreaders)inaparticularsituationwiththetext.Thesecriticsemphasizethedynamicsof“thereadingexperience”andpointoutthatreadersareoftenrequiredto“fillthegaps”inatext,tointerpretnotonlywhatispresentbutalsowhatismissing.

Oneofthemostcontroversialtypesofmoderninterpretationisknownasdeconstruction(orpoststructuralism).Fromourperspective, it isamethodologyappropriate to the“contemporaryworld.”Thosewhopractice“deconstruction”resistanyonedefinitionofthemethod(andindeedoftenrefusetocallita“method”),anditscriticscomplainvigorouslyabouttheincomprehensibilityofthewritingsofdeconstructionists,sothefollowingdescriptionisatbestahintatitscomplexity.Emphasizingtheambiguityinbothtextsandtheinterpretationoftexts,“deconstructive”criticsarguethatreadersactuallycreatetheirowntextsintheirencounterswithliterature.Thus,theideaoffixedtextsand“canons”ofauthoritativeliteraturewithsetmeaningsmustbe“deconstructed,”replacedbyawarenessthatalltextshavean“excessofmeaning”thatcontinuallyspillsoverastheyareencounteredbyparticularreaders.Deconstructiontheoryalsoincludesthecontentionthatclas-sical literatureproducedinWesternculture(includingtheBible)isbuiltonbinaryoppositions(suchassoul/body,male/female,white/nonwhite,andrational/irrational)inwhichthefirsttermisassumedtobesuperiortothesecond.Therefore,deconstructionistsseektobreakthroughtheseoppositionsbyseekingoutandemphasizingthemarginalelementswithintextsandbodiesoflitera-ture.Influencedbythistheory,interpreterschallengetheideathatthereareclassicaltextssuchastheBibleandworksofShakespearethatdeservetobestudiedontheirownmerits.Theyturninsteadtothewritingsofoppressedpeoples—minoritiesandwomen,forexample.In“classical”texts,suchastheBible,theylookforthemarginalelements,theseeminglyabsurdandirrational,whicharedeval-uedintraditionalcriticalinterpretation.

Deconstructivereadersalsoassertthattextsarenotlimitedtowrittenworks.Anythingthat“signifies”isatext.Fromthisperspective,virtuallyanyoneoranythingisatext,foreverythingsig-nifies.Somedeconstructivecriticsspeakofintertextuality,whichmeansthat,foreachreader,any“text”isactuallyaconstantlychangingwebofmanytexts(including,asoneofthesetexts,theread-er’sownexperience).Readerscreatetheirsenseofmeaninginrelationtothisfluidnetworkoftexts.

Byliberation criticismwemeanapproachestointerpretingthemeaningoftheBiblefromthecontextofoneormoreoppressedgroupsintheworldtoday.AllformsofliberationcriticismaffirmthattheBibletakesthesideofthosewhoarevictimsofoppressionandcallsfortheirliberation.TheycontendthatinterpretationoftheBiblemustemergefromandspeaktotheactualexperienceoftheweakandpowerless.Forexample,anumberofliberationcriticshavewritteninthecontextoftheexperienceofthepoorinLatinAmerica.Othersspeakfromtheperspectiveofotheroppressedcommunities.AnotherbranchofliberationcriticismapproachestheBiblefromtheperspectiveofAfricanAmericans.Allmovementswithin“liberationtheology,”asthismethodisalsocalled,em-phasizethatthecriterionforevaluatingallreadingoftheBibleispraxis(“action”).Inotherwords,studyoftheBiblemustleadtoinvolvementinGod’sworkofliberatingthepoorfromoppression.

Anotheremerginggroupofmethodsforstudyingbiblicaltexts,whichmightbeconsideredasabranchwithinliberationcriticismbutisalsowidelyconsideredanindependentschool,iscalledfemi-nist criticism.AllformsoffeministcriticismsharetheconvictionthattheBibleitself,andvirtuallyallinterpretationsoftheBible,have,untilrecenttimes,reflectedtheideologyof(white)maledominance(patriarchy).Feministcriticsmayusevariousformsofextrinsicandintrinsicanalysisintheirwork,buttheyareunitedinthegoalsofexposingpatriarchyintheBibleanditsinterpretation,andfindingalternativesthatsupportthedignityandequalityofwomen,children,andracial–ethnicminorities.Thisagendaplacesfeministcriticism,ingeneral,withinthecontemporaryworldoftheBible.


Onefeministscholarhasidentifiedfivecontemporaryperspectivesamongthosewhoempha-sizethepatriarchalcontextinwhichtheBiblewaswritten7:

1. Rejectionist: TheBiblemustberejectedasasourceofauthorityforcontemporarysocietybecauseofitsunrelentinglynegativeattitudetoward,andportrayalof,women.ContemporaryinterpretersmustexposethepatriarchyoftheBibleandpointthewaytonewsourcesofinspi-rationthattakeapositiveperspectivetowardwomen.

2. Loyalist: SincetheBibleistheWordofGod,itcannotbynaturebeoppressive,becauseGodisnotoppressive;whentheBibleisusedtosupportthesubmissionofwomentoday,thefaultiswiththeinterpreter,notthetext.InterpretersshouldrecognizeandemphasizethatthebasicthemesintheBiblesupportgenderequality,despitethepatriarchalperspectivesevidentinparticulartexts.

3. Revisionist: Apositiveperspectivetowardwomenisevidentnotonlyingeneralthemesbutalsoinparticularbiblicaltexts.However,thecrucialroleofwomen,oftenevidentintheBible,hasbeenobscuredbytheancientpatriarchyatthetimetheBiblewaswrittenandalsobytheandrocentricattitudeofinterpretersthroughouthistory.Contemporaryinterpretersmust,attimes,bewillingto“readbetweenthelines”ofthepredominantlypatriarchalbiblicaltexttorecoveraportrayalofwomenthatishealthyandempowering.

4. Sublimationist: Thereis,inbiblicalsymbolism,aglorificationofthefeminine,foundinim-ageryforGod,Christ(intheNewTestament),andalsopeopleoffaith(e.g.,IsraelasthebrideofGodintheTanakortheChristianChurchasthebrideofChristintheNewTestament).

5. Liberationist: ThisapproachjoinswiththeperspectivementionedabovetoemphasizethatthebiblicalproclamationofGod’sliberationoftheoppressedpeoplesincludesfreeingwomenfrompatriarchaldomination.

AnotherimportantdimensionofthereadingoftheBibleinthecontemporaryworldisthequestionofthevarioususesoftheBible.Religioustexts,suchastheBible,havetypicallybeenputtoatleasttwotypesofuses.Thesemightbedescribedasthetheologicalandthedevotional.Thetheo-logicalisthederivationofauthoritativereligiousteachingfromthetext,aswhentheologiansderivethedoctrinethattheworldwascreatedoutofnothingfromthebiblicalaccountsofcreation,orthedoctrineoftheTrinityfromtheNewTestamentlanguageabouttherelationshipbetweenGodtheFather,Jesus,andtheHolySpirit.Thedevotionaluseofreligioustextsmaybeeithercommunalorindividual,butitspurposeispersonalandexperientialratherthanintellectual.Thatis,personsareledtosomesortofreligiousexperienceorinsightthroughdevotionalstudy.TheBibleisalsofrequentlyusedinthedevelopmentofethicalteachings.TheBibleincludesnumerousdirectethi-calguidelines,suchastheinjunctionfoundinboththeTanakandNewTestamentto“loveyourneighbor.”Inaddition,interpretersfindimplicitinstructiononvirtuallyeveryethicalissue,frombirthcontroltoeuthanasia.However,itmustbenotedthatadvocatesofvariantethicalperspectivescontendthattheBiblesupportstheirpositions.

Inadditiontotheological,devotional,andethicaluses, somereligious textsaresuitedtoliturgicaluse,thatis,useinworship.LessonsfromtheBiblearereadinJewishandChristianservices.PsalmsandothersectionsofScripturemaybesung,chanted,orread.Atthemostintenselevel,bibli-caltextsmayserveasthebasisfortherecreationoftheeventstheydescribe.Forexample,theJewishPassovermakesliturgicaluseofthebiblicalaccountofthedeliverancefromEgyptsothatworship-perscansensethemselvesinthesamesituationasthosewhowereapartoftheoriginalExodus.

7 CarolynOsiek.“TheFeministandtheBible:HermeneuticalAlternatives.”Feminist Perspectives on Biblical Scholarship,ed.AdelaYarbroCollins.Chico,CA:ScholarsPress,1985,97–105.


TheChristiansacramentofHolyCommunion(theEucharist,ortheLord’sSupper)makesliturgi-caluseofNewTestamentpassagestoreenactthePassovermealJesusatewithhisDisciplesbeforehedied.Liturgicalusecan“remember”;itcanalso“anticipate.”BothPassoverandCommunionhavedimensionsoflookingaheadtoatimeoffuturedeliverance,givingparticipantsaforetasteoftheMessianicAgeortheKingdomofGod.

AnotheruseoftheBiblemaybecalledpolitical.WheneverinterpretersappealtoScripturetosupportaparticularactionby,for,oragainstgoverningauthority,theyareusingtheBiblepoliti-cally.Forexample,opponentsofabortionhaveusedtheBibletosupportactionaimedatendinglegalizedabortions.AndproponentsofgovernmentactiontoassistthehungryandhomelesshavedrawnontheBibletosupporttheirpositions.

AlltheseusesoftheBiblethatattempttoderiveacontemporarymeaningfromtextshavetheirproperplace.They“misfire”whentheirusesorappropriateplacesofapplicationareconfused.Therewillbenodeliberatetheological,ethical,devotional,orpoliticaluseofthebiblicaltextsinthisworkbecauseourconcernistodescribeobjectivelytheliteraryandhistoricalworldsoftheBible.However,werecognizethatthesequestionsareimportantandofgreatinteresttomanyreaders.Therefore,wewillconcludeeachchapterwithquestionsforreflectionanddiscussion,someofwhichwillraiseissuesoftheologicalanddevotionalinterpretation.Ifthisbookisbeingusedinagroupset-ting,wesuggestthatthevariousviewsofallparticipantsastothepropertheologicalanddevotionalinterpretationoftextsbeheardandrespected.However,onquestionsofliteraryandhistoricalinter-pretation,wesuggestyoubelesscordial.Youcan,andshould,discussvigorouslyvariousalternativeliteraryandhistoricalinterpretationsoftexts,thoseinthisworkandothers.Butthebottomlineindescriptivestudyis“Whatdoestheevidencesupport?”Thatshouldalwaysbethequestion.

WehavenowsurveyedthethreeworldsoftheBibleandthemethodsappropriatetostudyingthem.Wehavedistinguishedtheliterary,thehistorical,andthecontemporaryworldsandchartedacourseforenteringthem.Nowletusbeginthejourney.

SummaryHaving introduced the reader to the literary,his-torical, and contemporaryworlds of theBible inChapter1,inChapter2weoutlinedthemethodsofstudyappropriatetotheseworlds.Wecalledex-aminationoftheliteraryworldintrinsic study,sincethefocusiswithinthebiblicaltextsthemselves.Wedescribedtworecentlydevelopedmethodsthatfocusontextsthemselves:formalcriticismandrhetoricalcriticism.Wethenidentifiedthestepsappropriatetoanintroductorystudyoftheliteraryworld.Inanintrinsicstudy,onemustestablishtheboundariesofthetextbeingdescribed,distinguishthetype(s)oflit-eraturewithinthetextchosenforanalysis,payatten-tiontothepoeticorprosecharacterofthetext,iden-tifythetheme(s)presentasappropriate,andanalyzethestructureofthetext.Thegoalofintrinsicstudyisasyntheticreadingofthetext,drawingtogetherthevariousobservationsmadeofthetextitself.

Studyofthehistoricalworldisextrinsic,fo-cusing on the relationship between the text andevidenceoutsidethetext.Scholarshavedevelopedanumberofmethodsofstudyusefulinreconstruct-ing the history of the composition of the Bible.Inthischapter,webrieflydescribedeachofthesemethodsanditsroleinreconstructingthe literary historyoftheBible:traditionscriticism,formcriti-cism,sourcecriticism,redactioncriticism,textualcriticism,andcanonicalcriticism.Inthischapter,wealsodiscussedthewayinwhichhistoriansusetheempirical methodandtheinsightsofthesocialsciences(especiallyanthropology)inanefforttore-constructthehistoricalworldoftheBible.Wefo-cusedspecialattentiononthedisciplineofbiblical archaeology.

Finally, in thischapterwe identifiedseveralmethodsofstudyappropriatetothecontemporary


Questions for Discussion and Reflection

The Contemporary WorldCase Study

The Three Worlds of Psalm 150

Todevelopabettersenseofthemethodofstudy-ingtheBibleadoptedinthisbook,readPsalm150,and reflect on/discuss its literary, historical, andcontemporary worlds. Referring to some of thebiblicalcommentariesmentionedintheAnnotatedBibliography would be helpful, but first, try todrawonyourowninitialunderstandingofthevari-ousmethodsofstudyintroducedinthischapter,withthehelpofthefollowingobservations.

To appreciate the literary world of Psalm150,discussitspoeticstyle(notetheeffectofpo-eticbalancing inthepsalm,theseriesof impera-tives,anditsmusicalimagery),thecentralthemeofthepoem(howdoesitanswerquestionsofpraisingGodintermsofwhere,why,how,andwho?),anditsstructure(notetheenclosingframecreatedbytherepetitionofaphrasecreatingasenseoforder,butalsoitsopen-endedqualityasanextendedcalltopraise).

A discussion of the literary history of thepsalmmightincludethequestionofwhythispsalmwasplacedattheendoftheBookofPsalms,espe-ciallywhenithasanopenending.Tryalsotodrawonwhatyoufindinthepsalmandincommentar-ies to understand the manner of worship in an-cientIsrael.Whatweretheinstrumentsdescribed?Wherewasthesanctuarydescribedandwhatoc-curredthere?

AfteraliteraryandhistoricalstudyofPsalm150,engageinreflectionon/discussionofitscon-temporaryworld.Whatguidancedoes thepsalmoffer for structuring contemporary worship ser-vices?DoyouseeanyimplicationsforaddressingthecontemporaryenvironmentalcrisisinthewaythepsalmdescribestheextentofthecongregationpraisingGod?

Hereareafewothertextsyoumightuseasabasis fordeveloping initial familiaritywith the“threeworlds”approachtothestudyoftheBible:Genesis12:10–20,Amos1–2,Mark1:1–15,andPhilippians2:1–11.

worldofthetext(reader-responsecriticism,decon-struction,liberationcriticism,andfeministcriticism)andsomeofthecontemporaryusesoftheBible—theological,devotional,ethical, liturgical,andpo-litical.Weencouraged readers toengage inopen,respectfuldiscussionofthevariousmeaningsoftheBibleforcontemporarylife.Ourhopeisthatthede-scriptionsoftheliteraryandhistoricalworldsofthe

Bibleintheremainingchapterswillprovidehelpfulbackgroundinformationforsuchdiscussion.Wein-tendthequestionsattheendofeachchaptertopro-vokebothindividualreflectionandgroupdiscussionofthecontemporaryworldoftheBible.Theseques-tionsaresuggestionsandcertainlydonotexhaustthepossibleissuesseriousreadersmaywishtoraiseaboutthemeaningsoftheBibleforourtime.

1. ThischapterintroducedyoutoanarrayofmethodsofstudyingthethreeworldsoftheBible.Doyouthinkit is important tohave a clearlydefined“method”whenyoustudytheBible?Atthisinitialstageofyourstudy,whichofthemethodsdescribedinthischapterdoyoufindmostintriguingandmostconfusing?

2. Haveyouhadexperiencein“intrinsic”studyoftheBibleorotherliterature?Doyouagreethatapproachingthe Bible “intrinsically” will enhance your under-standingof theBibleas literature?Practicea little“intrinsic”analysisonanartformyouhaverecentlyexperiencedandenjoyed:amovie,asong,orabook.

Trytodescribethe“world”createdbythisartform,withoutreferencetoanythingoutsidethepiece.

3. Haveyouhadexperience in“extrinsic” studyof theBibleorotherliterarytexts?Tryraisingsome“extrinsic”questionsaboutthesameartformyouusedinyourexperimentwith“intrinsic”analysis.Whatdoyouknowabouthowitwascomposed,whocreatedit,whyitcameintobeing,itsintended“audience,”andhowitmightbeinterpretedbydifferentpersons?

4. Tobegintodevelopasenseofthecomplexityofthe“literaryhistory”oftheBible,tryreconstructingthe“literaryhistory”ofastoryinadailynewspaper.What


stagesmightthestorypassthroughbetweentheeventsreportedandtheactualpublicationofthepaper?

5. Aprominenttwentieth-centurybiblicalscholaroncesaid,“IcannottaketheBibleliterally,butIdotrytotakeitseriously.”Whatdoyouthinkthisinterpretermeantbythisdistinction?Aretheretypesofliteraturethatneedtobetakenliterally inordertobetakenseriously?Ifso,istheBiblethistypeofliterature?

6. Whathasbeenyourexperiencewithanyofthefol-lowing“uses”oftheBible—theological,devotional,ethical,liturgical,andpolitical?Whichdoyouthinkisthemostimportant“use”oftheBibletoday?Have

youobservedsituationsinwhichyoufelttheBiblewas“misused?”

7. Whatisyourinitialresponsetothevariousmethodsmentionedinthischapterofstudyingthecontempo-raryworldoftheBible?Doyouthinktheymightas-sistinunderstandingthecontemporarysignificanceofbiblical texts?Ontheotherhand,areyoucon-cernedthattheymightcauseconfusionaboutwhattheBiblemeanstoday?

8. Look further into the controversy regarding the“JamesOssuary”andformulateyourownpositiononwhetheritisauthenticorahoax.

Documents

Chapter Preparing for the Journey · Bible to illuminate the literary, historical, and contemporary worlds. Together, Chapters 1 and 2 will serve as references to which you will want