Title: 2'1 History of Interpretation
12.1 History of Interpretation
- OT/HB Hermeneutics - 2006
21. History of the History of Exegesis
- 1.1 "The Reformation's understanding of the
biblical text, the influence of the
Enlightenment, the rise of the historical-critical
method, all combined to eliminate the history of
exegesis from the biblical scholar's repertoire
except in a very restricted sense. Until recently
most of the histories of exegesis that have
appeared in the last hundred years have concerned
themselves with the history of the critical
period, that is covering the period of
approximately the 19th and 20th centuries."
Cahill, "The History of Exegesis and Our
Theological Future"
31. History of the History of Exegesis
- ". . . a history of exegesis is seen in the
emergence of catenae, first in the Greek-speaking
East and then in the Latin-speaking West. Early
medieval biblical commentary is characterized by
the respectful repetition of the opinions of the
Fathers, though this does not necessarily
inhibit the expression of personal insight and
opinion." - "Gradually, we see the glossed biblical text
come into being, resulting in the marvelous
Glossa ordinaria of the High Middle Ages. In a
sense this represents the canonization of the
history of exegesis. . . . "
41. History of the History of Exegesis
- "A similar manifestation of the status of the
history of exegesis is Pope Urban IV's
commissioning of Thomas Aquinas in the middle of
the 13th century to produce what would come to be
known as the Catena aurea, a special sort of
continuous commentary on the text of the Four
Gospels drawn from the writings of the Latin and
Greek Fathers."
51. History of the History of Exegesis
- 1.2 "While interest in the history of exegesis is
not an entirely new phenomenon, today's degree of
enthusiasm for the subject is something that
needs to be accounted for. Some would say that
the smouldering embers were fanned into flame by
the winds of dissatisfaction disillusionment
with the predominance of the historical-critical
method in biblical studies." - However Cahill points out that the
dissatisfaction may be based on something other
than sound criticism. - Postmodernism "I recognize it as an influence
profoundly affecting all intellectual,
hermeneutical, and even pastoral activity.
Postmodern theology is an accurate articulation
of the way the world is. Postmodernism at the
very least signals a dissatisfaction."
61. History of the History of Exegesis
- 1.3 Why study the History of Exegesis /
Interpretation? - Negatively
- 1. "Knowing the history of exegesis will help us
to avoid repeating the mistakes of the past." - 2. "Use the ancient commentators in so far as
they share our historical-critical methods." - 3. "Check the older exegetes to see if they have
seen something that we missed." - 4. "The history of exegesis is important because
of 'the superiority of pre-critical exegesis'." - 5. "Patristic exegesis is better because it is
more spiritual."
71. History of the History of Exegesis
- Positively
- 1. ". . . an interest in the history of exegesis
does not repudiate the historical-critical
method. It does not and cannot replace that
method." - 2. "It is the historical-critical method that can
control and challenge extreme relativities and
irrationality, just as it control the
relativities, often very disconcerting, exposed
by the history of exegesis. Historical-critical
analysis will ensure that the virtues of
postmodernism, including, for example, hard-nosed
challenging of facile dogmatism, will be
preserved and its weaknesses, for example the
tendency to irrationality, curbed."
81. History of the History of Exegesis
- 3. "An essential element in the proposed program
is that no period is to be rated better and none
worse than any other in an a priori manner. The
history of exegesis allows all to speak though
without any guarantee of eventual endorsement.
The particular contribution in a specific area
may and must be rated on its merits."
9From Biblical to Late Jewish Antiquity
- Inner-Biblical Jewish Interpretative Influences
101. Before Scripture
- 1.1 "There was not always a Bible.... Thus the
time of the Bible was a time when the Bible was
not yet there. It is ironic that we use the term
biblical studies to designate our work on this
period. Biblical faith, the faith of the men of
the Bible, was not in its own nature a scriptural
religion." Barr, Holy Scripture Canon,
Authority, Criticism, 1
111. Before Scripture
- 1.2 "Within the Bible itself religion was not a
scriptural religion in the sense that it later,
and especially after the Reformation, became
normal to supposed." - "The actual relations between faith, creative
originality, and the formation of traditions
(eventually to become scripture) were different.
In the Bible faith was not controlled by
scripture rather, scripture derived from faith.
Thus the attitudes of passive acceptance of
scriptural control, which Protestantism often
inculcated into its people, were substantially
different in quality from the attitudes which the
men of the Bible themselves maintained." - "In this respect the traditional view of the
Bible contained serious inner contradictions in
particular, it encouraged the reader to read into
the words of scripture meanings that were not
there at all."
122. Inner-Biblical Exegesis
- 2.1 Michael Fishbane has argued that the first
steps toward exegesis begins in the Scriptures
themselves - 1. "The Hebrew Bible (HB) is thus a thick texture
of traditions received and produced over many
generations. In the process, a complex dynamic
between tradition (traditum) and transmission
(traditio) developed since every act of
traditio selected, revised, and reconstituted the
overall traditum. To be sure, the contrast
between authoritative traditum and ongoing
traditio is most clear at the close of ancient
Israelite literature."
132. Inner-Biblical Exegesis
- 2. ". . . the canonical corpus contains a vast
range of annotations, adaptations, and comments
on earlier traditions. We call this
'Inner-Biblical Exegesis'." - 3. Scribes ". . . the scribal traditio
transmitted each traditum to new groups and
times. It was in the context of this copying that
clarifications (of words and terms) and other
considerations (bearing on the theological tone
or legal consistency) were often introduced. The
class primarily responsible for such matters were
the scribes a title attested over centuries for
different groups." - 4. Fishbane's genre divisions Legal, Aggadic
Mantological
143. Collected Works - Canon
- 3.1 The Era of Pluriformity
- The period 250 BCE 100 CE was an era when the
Scriptures were pluriform. - The "proto-Masoretic," "proto-Samaritan
Pentateuch," Old Greek with its Hebrew Vorlage,
the Greek translational emendations, Targumic
beginnings, rewritten Bibles, possibly sectarian
versions (?) - Some OT scholars have argued that the "all/every"
scripture of 2 Timothy 3.16 referred to the
pluriform state of the Scriptures.
153. Collected Works - Canon
- 3.2 Was a Canon developing?
- "Use of the Greek term "canon" comes from New
Testament studies. It is typical of a Christian
view of the Bible and in addition belongs to a
very late period in the history of the formation
of the NT canon, the 4th cent. CE." Julio
Trebolle Barrera, The Jewish Bible and the
Christian Bible An Introduction to the History
of the Bible - Jewish scholar, Sid Z. Leiman argues that the
whole Bible must have been complete by 150 BCE. - Roger Beckwith argues that it was during the
Maccabean period, i.e., 164 BCE. - Sundberg Barton Only the Torah closed, while
Barton argues that the Prophets, etc. were open
in the NT period.
163. Collected Works - Canon
- 3.3 Different Approaches to the so-called Canon
- Qumran Community
- Pharisees
- Sadducees Samaritans
- Septuagint with what F. F. Bruce called the
Septuagint Plus - What was the role of the Rewritten Bibles?
173. Collected Works - Canon
- 3.4 What does this Canon Development Mean?
- The early Christians view the OT as Holy
Scripture into the second century. However
problems such as a new Jewish translation to
rival the Septuagint Marcion and Gnostic
rejection the OT, forced a renewed thought. - ". . . a Christian problematic of the Old and New
Testament, each isolated from the other, simply
does not exist. From the outset Christian faith
puts the question - which engages us to this
moment - as to how the two Testaments belong
together."
184. Early Jewish Exegesis
- 4.1 Qumran
- 1. In everyday life the Qumran community showed
signs of strict Torah observance and a commitment
to Scriptural study. - 2. Their primary means of exegesis was the
Pesher - 2.1 Timothy Lim has identified 15 text that are
considered "continuous pesher," "thematic
pesherim," and other technical works that may be
considered "pesher."
194. Early Jewish Exegesis
- 2.2 "A type of biblical interpretation found in
the Qumran scrolls in which selected biblical
texts are applied to the contemporary sectarian
setting by means of various literary devices, the
word pesher (pl. pesharim) may refer either to
the employment of the technique itself or to a
genre comprised of a series of such
interpretations." Berrin
204. Early Jewish Exegesis
- 4.2 Philo of Alexandria
- 1. Aristobulus as a predecessor of Philo
(180-145 BCE) - Although the literal meaning is primary,
Aristobulus saw it necessary to use metaphorical
interpretation at times and argued that the text
could have multiple meanings. - 2. Philo (10 BCE 45 CE)
- Philo cites the Torah as primary, although his
Scripture includes the prophets hagiographa. - Since he uses the Greek Bible, Sirach and the
Wisdom of Solomon are quoted.
214.2.1 Philo, On the Migration of Abraham
- There are some who, because they consider the
literal laws to be symbols of things that pertain
to the intellect, are extremely attentive to the
latter but flippantly make light of the former. I
for one would blame those who treat the literal
meaning so lightly. For it is necessary to take
care with both both a more accurate
investigation of the unseen meanings and to be
beyond reproach in the way you preserve the
visible aspects of the text. - But instead such individuals act as if they live
privately in a desert alone or like they have
become disembodied souls. they do not recognize
city or village or house or human company at all.
They overlook what seems important to most people
and search out the naked truth itself for its own
sake. - The sacred word teaches them to concentrate on
good reputation and not to abandon anything from
the customs that were set down by divinely
inspired men greater than those of our time.
Certainly the seventh day is a teaching about the
power of the one who was not created and about
the passivity of that which is created. But we
should not abandon those things that have been
put into force as laws for the seventh day.
224. Early Jewish Exegesis
- 4.2.2 Summary of Philo's Hermeneutics
- "In this crucial passage, Philo as it were
summarizes his attitude as an exegete. The
symbolical, though higher and more important,
practically never invalidates the literal.
(Exceptionally, Philo discards the literal
meaning altogether or allows it only a limited
role). Philo combines literal and symbolical
methods of exegesis, stressing symbolism against
literalists and the literal sense against
over-spiritualization." Borgen
234. Early Jewish Exegesis
- ". . . Philo's use of "literal" and allegorical
interpretations represents an extreme exploration
of what we called the 'symbolic link'. The basic
rule is things which have something in common
are ipso facto a reference to each other. Thus
the whole cosmos becomes a universe of
cross-references. For modern readers wanting to
understand Philo it is crucial to free themselves
from the monopoly of causal thinking which has
become undisputed since the great successes of
experimental science. But in ancient thought -
and in poetry of all times-things may be
interconnected by a relationship of meaning
without acting on each other." Siegert
24Allegorical Exegesis
- "The chief goal of allegory is to extract the
profound spiritual sense hidden in the wording of
a literary production inspired by the Logos, and
to lay it open to man's understanding.
Hellenistic Judaism, just as Judaism in the
Palestinian motherland, set out from the
inspiration of its Holy Scriptures, and, as the
example of Philo of Alexandria indicates, made
expert use of the allegorical method. From that
point, the allegorization of texts makes its way
to the New Testament, as shown by Galatians
4.21-31 and for example, Hebrews 3.6. It is not
surprising, therefore, that allegory was at once
taken up in the church and to a degree actually
gained the mastery." Stuhlmacher
254. Early Jewish Exegesis
- 4.3 Josephus
- 4.3.1 The Nature of the Bible Josephus Used
- "The nature of his Vorlage is a huge and still
unsettled problem some thing that he used
primarily Greek texts throughout others find
more evidence of a Semitic source in the early
books, and so surmise that he only later opted
for the Greek - perhaps through the weariness of
translation." Mason Kraft - É. Nodet has argued that Josephus utilized a
Hebrew source that could have been similar to the
Vorlage of the LXX, along with a Greek text,
which we may consider as part of the pluriform
witnesses, for his work on the Pentateuch and
that it could have been one that came from the
Jerusalem Temple. - Josephus may, in some instances, have consulted
a Hebrew text or Aramaic targum, but the evidence
for such Semitic sources, and particularly for
the use of targum, is slender at best." Attridge
264. Early Jewish Exegesis
- 4.3.2 Rewritten Scriptures
- 1. "Many of the non-scriptural details in
Josephus's paraphrase are paralleled in various
re-writings of Scripture from the Second Temple
period, such as Jubilees and the Liber
antiquitatum biblicarum erroneously attributed to
Philo. Josephus may have used such materials or
may have relied on oral traditions familiar from
his youth in Jerusalem or form diaspora
exegetical traditions. It is clear in any case
that he was not a slave to any particular
exegetical tradition, but used a variety of
sources with a good deal of flexibility."
Attridge
274. Early Jewish Exegesis
- 2. "Josephus elaborates his sources in various
ways. He condenses and systematizes non-narrative
material, such as the legal sections of the
Pentateuch (3224-86, 419-301), promising a
fuller treatment of such matters in a planned,
but never published, work 'On Customs and Causes'
(3223, 4198, cf. 125, 20268). Similarly,
prophetic books generally receive very summary
treatment. Narrative material, suitable as it is
for Josephus' historical aims, receives more of
his attention, and he expands it in several
regular ways." Attridge
285. Samaritans their Interpretation
- 5.1 "The antagonism between Samaritans and Jews
is reflected in Scriptural exegesis. The tenth
commandment of the Samaritan Pentateuch (SP),
which counts the Masoretic commandments as nine
and adds a composition of Deut 1129-30 and
272-7 to Exod 2017 (and to Deut 518), is an
injunction to worship on Mt. Gerizim. In Deut
1129-30, it is charged that when the Hebrew
enter the Promised Land, they should set a
blessing for keeping the law upon Mt. Gerizim and
a curse for disobeying it on Mt. Ebal. Deut 27
describes the rite in more detail. According to
the MT text, the blessing shall be pronounced on
Mt. Gerizim (2712), but stones inscribed with
the Law and an altar are to be erected on Mt.
Ebal (274-5). In the SP, however, Mt. Gerizim is
the place for th altar and the stones." Fossum
295. Samaritans their Interpretation
- 5.2 "The canon of the Samaritans is the
Pentateuch alone. For the Jews around the turn of
our era, the Prophets and the Writings certainly
did not have the same claim to authority as the
Torah, so the rejection of the Prophets and the
Writings on the part of the Samaritans does not
have to be regarded as being bound up with the
schism. Like the Samaritans, the Jewish group of
the Sadducees accepted the Pentateuch only. On
the other hand, the rejection of the Prophets
found in the addition to Exod 2018 (SP, v.21 a)
is clearly anti-Jewish. Here the Samaritans add
Deut 528b-31 and 1818-22. The latter passage,
which contains the prophecy of the advent of a
Prophet like Moses and a warning against false
prophets, splits the former." Fossum
306. Hillel's Middoth
- 6.1 "Hillel is attributed with seven rules for
scriptural interpretation, so-called middoth. In
the beginning of the second century CE, Rabbi
Ishmael increased the number to thirteen. Later
we hear about no less than thirty-two middoth."
Fossum - 1. Rule of "light and heavy," is simply an
application of the ordinary argument "from less
to greater." - 2. Rule of "equivalence," infers a relation
between two subjects from the occurrence of
identical expressions.
316. Hillel's Middoth
- 3. Rule of "extension from the special to the
general." - 4. The fourth rule was the explanation of two
passages by a third. - 5. The fifth rule was inference from general to
special cases. - 6. The sixth was explanation from the analogy of
other passages. - 7. The seventh was the application of inferences
which were self-evident. See Farrar
327. Mishnah
- 7.1 Pre-History
- 1. No Rabbis before the destruction of the Second
Temple, leaders of renown are known as Pharisees.
- 2. The Rabbis are not considered "scribes."
- 3. The Rabbis replaced the Jewish leadership in
the wake of a post-Bar Kokhba vacuum. - 4. The Rabbinic movement may be considered
basically non-apocalyptic over against early
Christianity and the Bar Kokhba debacle. - 5. Rabbinic hermeneutics seems to have been
influence by Hellenism in their analytical
methodologies. See David Daube, HUCA 22
337. Mishnah
- 7.2 Quotations of Scripture
- ". . . the simple fact is that the Mishnah
quotes Scripture relatively rarely. To be
precise, I count a total of approximately 265
quotations of Scripture in the Mishnah (excluding
references to liturgical recitation of Scripture
and (excluding tractate ?Aboth). There are 517
chapters in the entire Mishnah (again, excluding
?Aboth), meaning that Scripture is quoted only
slightly more than once every two chapters."
Kraemer - The Mishnah tends to quote Scripture to support
an argument and not as the subject of exposition. - "The rabbis in the Mishnah (as later) do not
insist upon literal or simple readings of
Scripture, and their interpretations are
sometimes quite inventive. . . . The Hillelites
are less bound by the literal meaning of the
words, whereas the Shammaites seem to require a
more literal application of what the words say."
347. Mishnah
- "Perhaps the most overarching principle
informing rabbinic readings of Scripture, already
in evidence at this stage, is the assumption
that, divinely inspired as they are, all of
Scripture's words, and even individual scriptural
features, are meaningful." Kraemer
35Midrash as Interpretative Method
- "The term Midrash (plural, Midrashim) is used by
modern scholars in a bewildering variety of ways.
In the following pages, we use. . . . the term
only in its traditional senses, to refer either
to (1) a rabbinic interpretation, virtually
always of a scriptural word, phrase, or verse,
which searches, or ferrets out, a meaning which
is not immediately obvious upon first encounter
with the text (2) a compilation of such
interpretations (3) the totality of all rabbinic
compilations of such interpretations and (4) the
act of interpreting Scripture in the manner
described above. We rely on the context to
establish clearly which meaning we intend."
Kalmin - It is debatable whether Midrash is present in the
Mishnah. - The Midrashic literature co-mingles with a
proof-texting methodology.
368. The Talmud
- 8.1 "The voluminous body of talmudic literature -
the Oral Law - is essentially a compilation of
hermeneutic, interpretative, and analytic
exegesis of the Bible - the Written Law.
According to rabbinic tradition, Moses not only
received the Oral Law on Mount Sinai, but also
the definitive explanation of the meaning buried
in the Torah's compact and cryptic literary
style." Zimel
378. The Talmud
- 8.2 "The Mishnah, Sifra, Yerushalmi, and Bavli
repeat themselves endlessly, because, they say
the same thing (respectively) about many things.
It is that same thing - that is, the
hermeneutics - that in the Mishnah sets forth one
set of categories, in Sifra, an account of the
right modes of taxic conceptualization, in the
Yerushalmi, an altogether different set of
categories, and in the Bavli, a vast
re-presentation of the received categorical
structure and system, now in a theological
formulation. The agendum of hermeneutics
encompasses the issue of the author's - in
theological context, God's -original meaning in
revealing the Torah and yields the secular
question, what do we think the original writer or
compiler of a given document meant by saying
things in one way, rather than in some other, and
how does a single program of thought and
expression govern the document as a whole."
Neusner
385 Hermeneutical Rule of Bavli
- 1. Defining the Torah and the Context for Meaning
- "The Torah consists of free-standing statements,
sentences, sometimes formed into paragraphs, more
often not and we are to read these sentences
both on their own - for what they say - and also
in the context created by the entirety of the
Torah, oral and written."
395 Hermeneutical Rule of Bavli
- 2. Specifying the Rule for Making Sense of the
Torah - "The first is that the Torah is perfect and
flawless. The second is that the wording of the
Torah yields meaning. The third is that the Torah
contains, and can contain, nothing contradictory,
incoherent, or otherwise contrary to common
sense. The fourth is that the Torah can contain
no statement that is redundant, banal, silly or
stupid. The fifth is that our sages of blessed
memory when they state teachings of the Torah
stand for these same traits of language and
intellect sound purpose, sound reasoning, sound
result, in neat sentences."
405 Hermeneutical Rule of Bavli
- 3. Identifying the Correct Medium of Discourse,
which is the dialectical argument. - "Since our principal affirmation is that the
Torah is perfect, and the primary challenge to
that affirmation derives from the named
classifications of imperfection, the proper mode
of analytical speech is argument. That is because
if we seek flaws, we come in a combative spirit
proof and conflict, not truth and consequence.
Only by challenging the Torah sentence by
sentence, at every plausible point of
imperfection, are we going to show in the
infinity of detailed cases the governing fact of
perfection."
415 Hermeneutical Rule of Bavli
- 4. The Harmony of What is Subject to Dispute, the
Unity and Integrity of Truth. - "Finding what is rational and coherent the final
principle of hermeneutics is to uncover the
rationality of dispute. Once our commitment is to
sustained conflict of intellect, it must follow
that our goal can only be the demonstration of
three propositions, everywhere meant to govern
1 disputes give evidence of rationality,
meaning, each party has a valid, established
principle in mind 2 disputes are subject to
resolution 3 truth wins out."
425 Hermeneutical Rule of Bavli
- 5. Knowing God through the theology expressed in
hermeneutics. - "Finally, in a protracted quest for the unity of
the truth, detailed demonstration that beneath
the laws is law, with a few wholly coherent
principles inherent in the many, diverse rules
and their cases - in that sustained quest, which
defines the premise and the goal of all talmudic
discourse the second Talmud's writers maintain,
is where humanity meets God in mind, in
intellect, where that meeting takes place in
accord with rules of reason that govern God and
humanity alike."
439. Targum
- "Within rabbinic literature, it is the
Palestinian Targum which we propose as a starting
point. This text cannot be considered a version,
but belongs to a very different genre it is much
closer to Midrash, properly speaking, than to a
version. It even is probable that it originally
was a homiletic midrash, or simply a series of
homilies on Scripture, read in the synagogue
after the public reading of the Torah . . . .
During the study of the Jerusalem Targum, it
became obvious to us that this Targum lies at the
base of later aggadic tradition, that by serving
as an immediate extension of scripture given, it
acts as a sort of hinge, a bridge between the
Bible and later rabbinic literature, and that it
represents the starting point, not of the
midrashic genre as such (which is already present
in biblical literature), but of Midrash, properly
so-called, all of whose structure and themes it
already contains." R. Bloch
449. Targum
- 9.1 Definition "The word targum signifies
translation and derives from the verb tirgem
meaning to translate, to explain, or to read
out (compare Ezra 47) it is a denominative of
turgeman ( interpreter) to which an Akkadian
origin is generally attributed." Le Déaut - 9.2 Reason "The origin of the Targum is to be
explained by a double necessity that of
promoting a knowledge of the Torah among the
people and, consequently, that of expounding this
knowledge in a language known to all." Le Déaut
459. Targum
- 9.3 Exegesis "The targum is invariably
declarative rather than argumentative it never
cites sources, and it never provides exegetical
logic. The wide diversity between various
targums, and the fact that mutually contradictory
elements may be found within the same targum
testify to a dynamic conception of interpretation
that resisted the dogmatic pressures to impose a
single, 'official' reading and interpretation of
Scripture. To force this variegated text into a
dogmatic mould would be procrustean ex
definitione, for in the Judaism(s) of late
Antiquity there were neither dogmatic credal
formulae nor authorities empowered to promulgate
them. The targum reflects an eclectic use of
sources, variant purposes to which its midrash
was put, and flexibility of the genre itself."
Levine
469. Targum
- "In many respects the targum continues the
earlier scribal tradition of glosses marginalia
later incorporated into the biblical text itself.
Their functions were a) to resolve textual
difficulties by interpreting obscure words or
simplifying syntax, b) to harmonize conflicting
texts, c) to reconcile the biblical text with
accepted tradition, d) to incorporate specifics
of Pharisaic-rabbinic Judaism into the text, e)
to provide specificity to historical, juridical
or religious allusions, f) to either strengthen
or mitigate the force of a scriptural passage."
Levine
47From the New Testament to the Medieval Church
481. New Testament
- 1.1 "The New Testament authors did not consider
themselves as writers who provided the holy
Scripture of Israel with a new conclusion that
supposedly included an ultimate validity because
they were proclaiming an ultimately valid
message. They were firmly convinced, however,
that their writings had final authority."
Hübner - 1.2 "For the New Testament authors the Scripture
of Israel was not the Old Testament. The correct
formulation can only be the New Testament
authors were theologically dealing with the
Scripture of Israel which for them exclusively
was holy Scripture and, thus, the literal word of
God announcing Christ by divine authority."
Hübner
492. NT Septuagint
- 2.1 " The problem of the historical and
theological relation of Old Testament and New
Testament is, to a large extent, understood as
the relation between the Biblia Hebraica and the
Novum Testamentum Graece. It is symptomatic that
in academic education, the Hebrew original text
of the Old Testament receives a lot of attention
in contrast to the Septuagint, the Greek
translation produced in the Egyptian Alexandria.
But during the process of translation a certain
shift occurred toward Hellenistic thinking Based
on this translation, a considerable Hellenizing
of the Old Testament cannot be denied, even if
the extent may be debatable. In the Septuagint
the spiritual attitude of Hellenistic Judaism in
the diaspora is expressed one may refer to its
greater emphasis on universalism." Hübner
503. Paul
- 3.1 ". . . Isaiah 28 (25) Psalms 20 (20)
Deuteronomy 15 (13) Genesis 15 (12) Exodus 5
(5) Hosea 4 (3) Leviticus 4 (2) Proverbs 3
(3) 3 Kings 2 (2) Job 2 (2) Habakkuk 2 (1)
Malachi 1 (1 Joel 1 (1) furthermore 4 (3)
quotations which cannot be identified with
certainty." - 3.2 "For him, the Old Testament is the word of
God which he, indeed, by virtue of the Holy
Spirit bestowed upon him by God, understands as
the word of God in messianic promises." - 3.3 ". . . Paul could adopt Old Testament
passages for central issues of his theological
argumentation in such a way that the
christological understanding of Old Testament
passages does not mean denying, but expanding its
original meaning. Thus Paul places the Old
Testament passage with its genuinely literal
meaning in a larger, qualitatively different,
theological grid. The original literal meaning is
not negated, but newly understood within the new
situation of salvation, and thus within a newly
created reality."
514. Mark, Matthew, Lukan John
- 4.1 Mark "We cannot consider highly enough the
fact that the Gospel of Mark starts with an Old
Testament quotation which, as a fulfilment
quotation, is the theological heading of the
oldest Gospel." - 4.2 Matthew
- "Regarding its basic concept, the Gospel of Mark
is more determined by the Old Testament than
generally assumed. The Gospel of Matthew,
however, is indisputably the synoptic writing
whose theological concept is specifically
expressed in its Old Testament quotations." - "At the most we may ask whether the
evangelist's approach sometimes is typological
as, for instance, in Matt 215 where he quotes
Hos 111 as the Son of God, Jesus has
typologically superceeded Israel which was the
first son of God." - "Regarding the Old Testament adoption by the New
Testament, the theology of Matthew is
characterized by a second kind of fulfilment
besides the christologically interpreted
fulfilment of the prophets' promises the
fulfillment of the law which, in Matthew, plays a
very important role."
524. Mark, Matthew, Lukan John
- 4.3 Lukan
- "That the evangelist did recognize the text as
the text of the Septuagint in the hymns can be
seen in Acts. His phrasing there being naturally
freer than in the Gospel, he received from the
Septuagint as his holy Scripture regarding "the
language material - to present the holy
apostolic period, in particular in Palestine"." - "We can state that the question whether
something is in accordance with Scripture is an
essential and central element of the theology of
the Gospel of Luke. It finds its clear expression
in the quotations from Scripture and in the
programmatic, redactional statements of the
evangelist mentioned above." - "Scripture and Scripture interpretation
necessarily belong together. Only with Christian
interpretation is Scripture understandable
Scripture. Also Luke points out that preaching
and Scripture interpretation are specific to the
adoption of the Old Testament in the New. Only
comprehended Scripture is God? holy Scripture!"
534. Mark, Matthew, Lukan John
- 4.4 John
- "We encounter literal correspondence to the text
of the Septuagint (however only four exact
quotations from the Septuagint). Yet
modifications of this text are clear. Sometimes
the evangelist possibly referred to the Hebrew
original, but at other instances neither the
Septuagint nor the Hebrew Bible can be identified
as the main influence. It is not always clear
which passage of the Old Testament was consulted.
. . ." - ". . . we are to conclude that he adopted the
text of the Septuagint where it fit his
theological concept, but that he considerably
changed the text at his own discretion where, for
the sake of the theological statement, he
considered it as appropriate, if not as
inevitable. Therefore by modification of the Old
Testament text, the evangelist expresses his
theological or, more precisely, his
christological concept."
545. Hebrews Revelation
- 5.1 Hebrews "The author of Hebrews, first of
all, has a christological intention when he
quotes God speaking. In the context of an
argumentation of this kind, the function of these
quotations is to provide proof from Scripture. In
the other New Testament writings we encounter the
proof from Scripture as the written word of God
yet in Hebrews, even though quotations are - of
course! -written down, we find the proof of the
spoken word of God. For the author it is beyond
question that what God says is theologically
indisputable and, therefore, cannot be
questioned." - 5.2 Revelation "The Revelation of John does not
have a single formal quotation from the Old
Testament, but yet like no other book of the New
Testament it is influenced by the Old Testament
in terms of language and content. The last book
of the New Testament can only be fully
comprehended in its spiritual, religious, and
theological structure if its content is
understood in the language of the Old Testament
and its intentions. In the New Testament, no
other book is influenced so thoroughly by the Old
Testament as Revelation, not even the Epistles to
the Romans or to the Galatians."
554 Evangelical Models
- 1. The full human intent school (W. C. Kaiser,
Jr.) holds that all that is asserted in the OT
passage must have been part of the human authors
intended meaning. - 2. The divine intent - human words school (S. L.
Johnson, J. I. Packer, E. E. Johnson) holds that
all that is asserted in the OT passage must have
been intended by God if not by the human author. - 3. The historical progress of revelation and
Jewish hermeneutic school (E. E. Elish, R.
Longenecker, W. Dunnett) uses historical factors
in assessing the relationship of OT to NT. The
event is the key dynamic that leads to the
realization of the prophetic meaning. - 4. The canonical approach and NT priority school
(B. K. Waltke) holds that the texts intention
became deeper and clearer as the parameters of
the canon were expanded. thus the OT is to be
reread ultimately in the light of the NT.
56Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. Doing Old Testament
Theology Today
- 1. "First, one must remember that, compared to
the OT, the NT has a narrower focus. It is does
not set aside, revise, or update the OT rather,
its primary preoccupation is to interpret the
significance of the Christ-event and to set up
the fledgling Christian church on a solid
footing. . . . the point is that the NT does not
see itself as replacement of the OT, so that
latter retains full authority for Christians." - 2. "Second, however, a well-intentioned desire to
retain the value of the OT and the unity of the
testaments should not blind one to the glaring
differences between them. That is, besides
fulfilling the OT, the NT goes beyond it." - 3. "Most important, Jesus does more that simply
fulfill OT prophetic hopes - He actually exceeds
their expectations by radically reforming
Israels religion and by inaugurating a new era
of Gods dealings with humanity."
57Robert L. Hubbard, Jr. Doing Old Testament
Theology Today
- 4. "Fourth, the principle of analogy is the key
link that unites the testaments. In other words,
both share analogous concepts with each other-
e.g., a self-revealing creator-God, a people of
God, gifts given to them by God, concepts of
salvation, etc." - 5. Fifth and finally, one must define how Jesus
Christ relates to the OT since He is the heart of
the NT. Obviously, Christians regard Him as the
fulfillment of some OT theological ideas. . . .
On the other hand, Christ provides a new, final
interpretive key for the Bible. Christians view
everything within the Bible from the point of
view of Christ."
58Patristics
- Early Church to Augustine
591. Introduction
- 1.1 "In many respects, Christian literature of
the period 30-250 CE may be said to be one single
large commentary on the Scriptures, the Hebrew
Bible. Judaism was a religion of the holy
Scriptures." Skaraune - "The exegesis of the primitive Christian Church
was a direct and unself-conscious continuation of
the type of exegesis practised by ancient Judaism
in its later period. . . ." Hanson - 1.2 Three Main types
- 1. Proof-text the idea is proving that Jesus is
the Messiah - 2. The Paraenetic Homily.
- 3. Biblical antiquities.
602. Marcion
- 2.1 "To the heresiologists of later centuries,
Marcion was the most formidable heretic of the 2d
century CE. His teaching sprang from a radical
emphasis upon the discontinuity between
Christianity and Judaism. The God of Jesus, he
asserted, was not the same as the God of the
Hebrew Scriptures. While this ditheism was an
important element of Marcionism, theological
innovation was not Marcions hallmark. In fact,
he was a radical Paulinist who rejected the OT
writings and organized a church with strong
ascetic tendencies. The scripture of his church
comprised one gospel (a version of Luke), ten
letters of Paul (not including the Pastorals and
Hebrews), and his own work entitled Antitheses
- a catalog of contradictions between the
teaching of Jesus and that of the OT."
612. Marcion
- 2.2 "While not all scholars agree that Marcion
forced the creation of the Christian canon, we
cannot deny that his was the first. His influence
in this matter is manifest in the composition of
the NT canon that was later to emerge. . . . It
should be noted that the primary difference
between Marcions canon and the Christian canon
is that the former is singular and the latter
plural." Clabeaux - "A conscious step in the direction of diversity
was taken by anti-Marcionite Christians of the 2d
and 4th centuries. The vociferous insistence of
anti-Marcionite Christianity on the validity of
the OT within the canon is a point which should
not be missed in our time."
622. Marcion
- 2.3 "The OT set forth, in Marcion's view, not the
good God of Jesus Christ, but a second divinity,
the inferior demiurge who made the world . . . .
The OT promises by this deity refer not to the
Christians' Christ, but to a warlike messiah whom
Jews rightly expect. Marcion therefore solved the
problem of relating the Testaments by cutting the
knot. . . . It is noteworthy that Marcion,
eschewing symbolic interpretation, assessed the
OT as no more than just, but true. He and his
followers characteristically noted weaknesses and
inconsistencies in the OT, but their position
could be presented so as to set the Christian
above the Jew, but the Jew still well above the
gentile, with regard to divine illumination."
Horbury
633. Typological Exegesis
- 3.1 The Method
- "The spiritual sense (Rev. 11.8) was discerned
especially by recognition of types and allegories
(Rom. 5.14, Gal. 4.24). Typology can be said to
differ from allegorical interpretation in that it
takes seriously the historical setting of an OT
law or event type and antitype identify some
correspondence between different stages in a
sacred history, whereas allegory elicits timeless
truth form beneath the veil of the biblical
letter, which may be regarded as having no
reference to history." Horbury
643. Typological Exegesis
- 3.2 Irenaeus
- 1. "For every prophecy, before it comes about, is
an enigma and a contradiction to men but when
the time comes, and what was prophesied takes
place, it receives a most certain exegesis. And
therefore when the Law is read by Jews at the
present time, it is like a myth for they do not
have explanation of everything, which is the
coming of the Son of God as man. But when it is
ready by Christians, it is a treasure, hidden in
the field but revealed by the cross of Christ. .
. . The true exegesis was taught by the Lord
himself after his resurrection."
653. Typological Exegesis
- 2. "Irenaeus also formulated the principle that
obscure passages should be interpreted in the
light of clear ones. In taking some early Gnostic
Christian heretics to task for focusing on the
obscure, he says If anything is clear in
Scripture, it is that there is only one God who
created the world through his Word. This is an
article of scriptural faith which the Gnostics
denied most vehemently."
663. Typological Exegesis
- 3. "Irenaeus, in his battles against groups on
the fringes of Christianity who had perverted its
main teachings, also introduced the idea of
authoritative exegesis. The true meaning of
Scripture is invested in the church, where
apostolic authority was preserved. Although part
of what he said was true (the church is invested
with the knowledge of Scriptures meaning), this
began a long tradition of finding authoritative
meanings in the early church leaders rather than
in careful exegesis of the biblical text itself,
which culminated after the Reformation in the
Council of Trents affirmations of ecclesiastical
infallibility." McCartney Clayton
674. Allegorical Exegesis
- 4.1 The Method
- "The ecclesiastical interpretation of scripture
which was to draw on this canon of Old and New
Testament and lift from it the biblical witness
to truth in service to the church now required a
method which would penetrate to this spiritual
witness and at the same time effectually bind the
biblical literature with the communitys faith.
This method lay ready to hand in the shape of the
theory of the multiple or, better,
multi-dimensional sense of scripture and the
so-called allegorical exposition yielding this
sense. Allegorical interpretation was shaped
since the third century BC in the centers of
Hellenistic learning, Alexandria and Pergamum . .
. ." Stuhlmacher
684. Allegorical Exegesis
- 4.2 Clement of Alexandria
- 1. "Criteria. Clement briefly mentions the
criteria of interpretation. First, those common
to all men should be considered. Then comes the
technical criteria acquired by education. Most
important, however, are the moral criteria
avoidance of self-conceit, readiness to
persevere, and energy of soul to take the canon
of truth from the truth itself."
694. Allegorical Exegesis
- 2. "Heretics. Surprisingly, perhaps, Clement
agrees with Tertullian, not that scripture should
be ruled off limits for heretics, but as least
that it is barren for them. Heretics wrest
scripture to suit their desires. Failing to take
the canon of the truth from the truth and
falsehood. While using scripture, they come to
it with their own systems, picking out ambiguous
phrases... plucking out a few scattered
utterances, perverting the bare letter as it
stands. They attend to the words alone, while
they change the meaning, neither understanding
them as they are spoken, nor even using in the
natural sense such extracts as they adduce."
704. Allegorical Exegesis
- 3. Hermeneutical Rules
- 3.1 Nothing is literally true which is unworthy
of God. - 3.2 No interpretation can be accepted which
contradicts the Bible as a whole. - 3.3 Literal meaning is meant to excite interest
in understanding deeper meaning. Bromiley - 4. Although Clement quoted more from the NT than
the OT, he clearly recognized its Scriptural
status in the Theodotian tradition of the
Septuagint. - 4.1 Clement wrote, "There are four ways," he
writes, "in which we can receive the meaning of
the Law it may present a type it may show a
symbol it may lay down a precept for right
conduct it may pronounce a prophecy" (Strom.
1.179.4)."
714. Allegorical Exegesis
- 4.3 Origen
- 1. Assumption 1 Scripture is divinely inspired.
Therefore - 1.1 Its legal precepts are superior
- 1.2 It is powerful in changing lives
- 1.3 Biblical prophecy comes true
- 1.4 Like Jesus, the Bible is divine but in human
form - 1.5 The Bible contains hidden secrets.
724. Allegorical Exegesis
- 2. Assumption 2 Scripture should be interpreted
according to its nature. Therefore - 2.1 Not every text has a literal meaning, but
every text does have a spiritual meaning. - 2.2 The spiritual meaning is not always plain or
easily understood - 2.3 Scripture has a threefold meaning, a body
(literal meaning), a soul (a psychical meaning
relating to the will), and a spirit (spiritual
meaning which speaks of Christ). - 2.4 The problems in Scripture are there to hinder
us from being too enamored of the literal meaning.
734. Allegorical Exegesis
- 3. Origen the OT
- 3.1 "Origen's contribution to the Christian
interpretation of the Old Testament was immense.
He was the first Christian as far as we know to
attempt to establish an accurate text of the LXX
by reference to the external criterion of the
Hebrew original. His production of the Hexapla is
testimony to the importance he attached to his
textual endeavours, and indirectly to the
importance he attached to the OT itself." Paget - 3.2 "He was the first Christian to attempt to
construct a systematic theory of hermeneutics.
When interpreting the OT, more than any Christian
writer before him, he saw it as appropriate to
consult Jewish exegetes . . . ." - 3.3 "He was interested in bringing order to the
discipline of OT exegesis, of establishing
criteria by which to distinguish a good
interpretation from a bad one."
744. Allegorical Exegesis
- 3.4 "Origen saw the OT as much more than the
foreshadowing of events in the NT. While it was a
shadow of the good things to come, not all those
good things had in fact come." - 3.5 "Origen wrote much more on the OT than the
NT, and together with the evidence of the Hexapla
this implies that he probably spent more time
studying it. The reason for this lay partly in
the fact that the OT was a much larger body of
literature. Furthermore, it was a more difficult
set of texts containing in it much that appeared
strange and irrelevant. But in assessing why
Origen wrote so much on the OT, we should not
lose sight of the context out of which much of
his extant exegesis emerged. Caesarea was a city
with a large Jewish population, some of whom were
Rabbis skilled in the interpretation of
Scripture."
755. The Literal Sense
- 5.1 Introduction
- "The importance of types and allegories in second
and third-century OT exegesis did not overwhelm
more literal interpretation. It appeared
negatively in Apelles, but more positively when
the laws were viewed as having been mandatory in
their times or indeed as still in force and
literal interpretation of the promises was
popular. Gen. 1-3 were likewise commonly taken
literally, perhaps in rebuttal of gnostic views
of the cosmogony as well as in accord with the
hope for the last things. A Refutation of the
Allegorists by the Egyptian bishop Nepos (about
240) rebutted spiritualization of the millennium
(Dan 7.18-27, Rev. 20.3-6), and Denys of
Alexandria replied On Promises (Eusebius, History
Eccl. 724, 1-3)." Horbury
765. The Literal Sense
- 5.2 Antiochene School Theodore of Mopsuestia
- 1. "Unless the NT actually cites the text it is
not messianic. Allusion is not sufficient to
establish a text as messianic. Even when the NT
cites an OT text, it may be only illustrative
rather than an indication of a messianic meaning
. . . ." McCartney Clayton, 89-90 - 2. NT does give indications of actual literal
fulfilment of OT prophecy.
776. Thomas Aquinas
- 6.1 4-Fold Interpretation
- 1. Literal
- 2. Spiritual allegorical moral anagogical
- 6.2 Rule or Interpretation
- 1. All Interpretation rests on the Literal
- 2. We can argue only from the Literal
- 3. Nothing essential is contained in the
spiritual sense a passages which is not clearly
expressed in the literal sense of another.