As Professor GeorgeLadd once put it, “The Bible is the Word of God, given in the words of [people] in history.” It is this dual nature of the Bible that demands of us the task of interpretation. After all, it is this matter of the here and now that brings us to the Bible in the first place.
The BiW ,Too~: (I A Co&d Trzlnslation
The KJV follows the medieval Hebrew text and reads "young men, a rather unlikely term to be used in parallel with "donkeys". The origin of the miscopy in the Hebrew text, which followed the ICY, is easy to understand .Should saint &U be translated as "the handshake of Christian love" in cultures where public kissing is offensive.
For 3:5-9, the umtmt deals with the nature and function of the leaders over whom they argue. So the details and the meaning of the practice are probably lost to us forever.
The Epistles: The
This is the twentieth first half, but now we want to ask further how these different texts apply to us.
Hermeneutical Questions W e come now to what we referred to previously as hermeneutical
Similarly, one should be prepared to distinguish betweeu what the New Testament itself sees as inherently moral and what is
Those elements which are intrinsically moral are therefore absolute and apply to every culture; those that are not inherently moral are therefore expressions of culture and may vary from culture to culture. On the other hand, washing feet, exchanging holy kisses, eating idols in the marketplace, covering women while praying or prophesying, Paul's personal preference for celibacy, or women teaching in the church are not inherently moral matters.
One must make special note of items where the New Testament itself has a uniform and consistent witness and where it
Paul, by the inspiration of the Spirit, says: "And this is what some of you said. Certain women were troublesome in the church at Ephesus (1 Tim.. 9), and they seem to have been a great part of the cause of the false are taught.
Their Proper Use
Note this carefully: every single Old Testament narrative (lower level) is at least part of the larger narrative of Israel's history in the world (middle level), which in turn is part of the ultimate narrative of God's creation and His redemption of it (the top level). Then go back and pay particular attention to the following implicit points the narrative makes.
Acts: The Question of Historical Precedent
However, the importance of Luke's purpose for hermeneutics makes it especially important to keep this question in front of you when you read or study exegete. But in this case, it goes from paragraphs to whole narratives and parts of the book. Description of the first geographical expansion into the Gentile world with Paul at the head.
Apart from John, the other apostles are not even mentioned, and Luke's interest in Paul is almost entirely in terms of the Gentile mission. Because in 6:8-&l Luke focuses on one of the Seven as a key figure in the first expansion out of Jerusalem. The account in 6:1-7, therefore, is not given to tell us about the first organization of the church into clergy and lay deacons.
Acts: A QUESTION OF HISTORICAL PRECEDENT 103 works to set the scene for the first expansion of the church beyond its Jerusalem fulcrum. A general maxim of hermeneutics is that the word of God can be found in the purpose of the Bible.
The Gospels: One Story, Many Dimensions
That is one of the reasons why we often find the same statement or teaching in different contexts in the Gospels. First, the parallels will give us an appreciation for the distinctive features of each of the Gospels. These words can hardly be part of the MCZL tradition (it says read+not hearer, and since there is no mention of Daniel in the earliest form [Mark], it is unlikely that it is a word of Jesus sent to Daniel refers).
We note that this is how the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Gospels. We can illustrate this with a passage like Matthew 20: 1-16, Jesus' parable of the workers in the vineyard. The point of the parable, God's gracious generosity toward the undeserving, certainly remains the same.
Three principles were at work in the composition of the Gospels: selectivity, arrangement, and adaptation. Instead, they function in the Gospels as quintessential illustrations of the power of the kingdom that permeates through the ministry of Jesus.
The Parables: Do You Get the Point?
All this can occasionally be found in discussions about parables. Furthermore, and of particular importance, the point of the parable is in the points of reference, as it would be in a true allegory. The key is to read the parable over and over again until its reference points become clear.
In Matthew, the parable is part of a collection of statements about relationships within the kingdom. But there is a much larger group of parables—the parables of the kingdom—that deserve special mention. But the essence of the parable is the urgency of the hour: 'Be careful how you listen.
You will notice that the point of the parable is not the unexpectedness of death. Therefore, it is necessary that you go deeper into the meaning of the kingdom in the ministry of Jesus.
The law(s): Covenant Stipulations for Israel
But most of the content of Deuteronomy 20 - Deuteronomy 33 L is legal formulation, so we will call it Old Testament law. We suggest six initial guidelines for understanding the Christian's relationship to the Old Testament law. Both the first statement of the Law (at Sinai, Exodus 20-Leviticus 27, with the addition in Numbers) and the second statement of the Law (just before the conquest as found in Deuteronomy) reflect this six-part form.
The answer is that some points of the Old Testament e&& law are actually repeated in the New Testament as applicable to Christians. Such casuistic or case-by-case laws make up a large part of the more than six hundred commandments found in the five-year law of the Old Testament. THE LAW(S): COVENANT STIPULAL7ONS FOR ISRAEL The Old Testament law for the benefit of Israel.
Do not see Old Testament law as binding on Christians in the New Covenant unless it is specifically renewed. Remember that the essence of the Law (the Ten Commandments and the two main laws) is repeated in the prophets and renewed in the New Testament.
The Prophets: Enforcing the Covenant in Israel
Events remote from their own time were the main concern of the Prophets. But generally speaking, in the narrative books of the Old Testament we hear many prophets and very few @PZ prophets. That one difference explains most of the problem people have in understanding the prophetic books in the Old Testament.
Most of the time, this is what the prophets are conveying, according to God's inspiration to them. The prophets were inspired by God to present the essential content of the covenant warnings and promises (curses and blessings). God raised up prophets to get the attention of the people to whom they were sent.
In the study of the prophets, the historical context can also be larger (their era) or more specific (the context of a single oracle). Usually what the prophets said in their books is presented in a continuous manner.
The Psalms: Israel’s Prayers and Ours
In the case of the Psalms this means understanding their nature, including their various verses, as well as their fbnrr and jutkm. Psalms: Israel's Prayers and Ours 191 and to translate into actual fact the most abstract symbolical notions of the Psalm may lead a person to err almost entirely. 192 Psalms: ISRAEL PRANR3 AND the letters of each line or verse work with the letters of the alphabet.
God works through intermediaries in society, and the praise for the function of these intermediaries is what we find in the royal psalms. But remember that this part of the psalm does not promise that God's people will be without trouble. The importance of balanced prayer (requests should be balanced by appreciation; complaints by expressions of trust) is perhaps at the top of the list.
202 THE PSALMS: ISRAEL'S PRA2T.m AND OURS that a wise discernment of the types will lead to a wise use of the Psalms themselves. From the use of the Psalms in both ancient Israel and the New Testament church, we can see three important ways in which Christians can use the Psalms.
Wisdom: Then and Now
So “‘the fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,’ – a basic theme of Proverbs. Why, you ask, is it in the Bible at all? The answer is that it is there as a counterweight, i.e., as a contrast to what the rest of the Bible teaches. This dialogue has a very important purpose: to convincingly impress upon the reader's mind that what happens in life does not always happen because God desires it or because it is fair.
But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of the grave. The words of the proverb point to this principle in a parabolic way, rather than in a literal, technical sense. The words (and images) of the passage tend to stay with the reader and provide helpful guidance when needed.
In the case of the Song, the totality was taken from other biblical love songs. The attitude of the Song itself is the antithesis of infidelity, both before and after marriage.
The Revelation: Images of Judgment and Hope
As with most other biblical genres, the first key to exegesis of Revelation is to consider the context of the literature that it is. On the one hand, the book is cast in the apocalyptic mold and has most of the literary characteristics of the apocalypse. We must be especially wary of overusing the concept of "%nalogy of Scripture" in interpreting Revelation.
One must be sensitive to the rich background of ideas that go into the composition of Revelation. All this is to say that the images are the most difficult part of the exegetical task. This distinction, it should be noted, is exactly consistent with the rest of the New Testament.
Thus, through the suffering of the church and God's judgment on the enemies of the church, we have been brought to the final triumph of God. The hermeneutical problems with Revelation are very similar to those of the prophetic books discussed above in chapter 10.
Index of Names