Therefore we know what God has said by the faithful and accurate interpreta- tion of the Scriptures. This is the primary and basic need of hermieneutics: to ascertain what God has said in Sacred Scripture; ito determine the meaning of the Word of God.
Assumptions
It is the study of the Sacred Canon which determines the boundary of Scrip- ture. General hermeneutics refers to those rules which pertain to the interpretation of the entire Bible.
16 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION Protestantism, the soundness of which has been confirmed
11 Thomas Home, An Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures (eighth edition. A knowledge of the history of biblical interpretation is of in- estimable value to the student of the Holy Scriptures.
24 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION A. A LLEGORICAL S CHOOLS
The “allegorical,” the “mystical,” the. pneumatic,” and the “spiritual,” are practically synony- mous. v) They believed that Greek philosophy was in the Old Testament and it was the allegorical method which dis- covered it. vi). Clement of Alexandria found five possible meanings to a passage of Scripture.” (i) The historical sense of Scripture, i.e., taking a story in the Old Testament as an actual event in history; (ii) the doctrinal sense of Scripture, i.e., the obvious moral, religious, and theological teachings of the Bible; (iii) the prophetic sense of Scripture including predictive prophecy and typology; (iv) the philosophical sense which follows the Stoics with their cosmic and psychological meaning (which sees meanings in natural objects and his- torical persons); and (v) a mystical sense (deeper moral, spiritual and religious truth symbolized by events or persons).
32 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION Origen is in the Aristobulus-Philo-Pantaenus-Clement tra-
Not all of the Bible is allegorical by any means, and much of it is both literal and allegorical. However, whatever was allegorized was in theory to be built upon the literal and historical meaning of the text. iv).
40 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION (3). The Catholic interpreter accepts all verses which the
HISTORICAL SCHOOLS
Beryl Smalley, The Study of the Bible in the Midde Ages (re- vised edition), Chapters III and IV. Any fusion of the Law and Gospel was wrong (Catholics and Reformed who make the Gospel a new law), and any repudiation of the Law was wrong (antinomian- ism).
66 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION attainable in knowledge or power by ordinary human nature
68 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
It is dubbed “propositional revelation” and an attack on “propo- sitional revelation” is one of the typical themes of neo- orthodoxy. It finds its norm&ive use of the Bible in terms of its doctrine of revelation.
72 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION occurs. Revelation is thus both God speaking to me of grace
The same is true of such a saying as “I am the true vine.” The literal meaning here is the intention of the imagery employed. Hence a historical understanding of the Bible is not a superfluity which can be dispensed within biblical interpretation,. The form-criticism of the Old (Mowinckel, Gunkel) and of the New (Bultmann) Testaments are examples of an improper use of the cultural approach to the Scriptures (sitx im Zeben).
It is not a method to rule out the prophetic and supernatural aspects of the text.
PROTESTANT SYSTEM OF HERMENEUTICS 101 3. CriticuZ
The function of the cultural principle is not to do away with Biblical religion or theology, but to serve as a guide to the proper understanding of the Bible. The standing protest of Protestantism to Catholicism is that Catholicism may dogmatically define the meaning of a text or the meaning of a doctrine, and the justification is the cZuim of the Church to be un infallible teacher. A very devout and God-fearing servant of the Lord told this writer that the Lord was sure to come before 1940.
Fortunately the sheer duration of time settled this speculation, but what if one should move the date up to the turn of the second millennium after Christ.
104 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL IN.TERPRETATION siderations as grammar, logic, etymology, history, geography,
PROTESTANT SYSTEM OF HER.MENEUTICS 105 tises of individual books (e.g., Lightfoot’s works on some of
That this is the teaching of the New Testament may be argued from the following. As Maas has properly assert_ed, “The true sense of the Bible cannot be found in an idea or thought historically untrue.” 6. The unity of the sense of Scripture does not intend to deny that there is figurative language in the Bible.
Others find the “one Faith” in the dogmatic teachings of the Church e.g., Anglicans and Catholics.
THE SPECIFIC PRINCIPLES OF PROTESTANT INTERPRETATION
By following the analogy of faith we part with the critics who constantly oppose one writer of the Bible to another. Further, liberals claim there is no one theology of the Bible-only theo1ogies.m They speak of Johannine, Petrine, and Pauline theologies. It would forbid interpreting Romans 8 to mean the security of the believer, and then interpreting Hebrews 6 as teaching the amissibility of salvation.
The principle of analogy of the faith or the harmonious interpretation of the Bible is rooted in the conviction that if the Scriptures are inspired of God they contain only one true system of t’heology, even though that system might not be easy to reconstruct.
H AVING enunciated the basic theory of Protestant herme neutics, and given its panoramic principles, we must now
A beliejin the inerrancy of the Bible does not mean that all the Bible is clear. Belief in the inerrancy of the Scriptures leads us to afirm there are no contradictions in the Bible. Belief in the inerrancy of the Bible does not demand the original manuscripts nor a perfect text.
No objection can be brought against inerrancy because the language of the Bible is phenomenal.
194 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION Maas suggests in this citation that our interpretations
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Some exegesis of the Old Testament in the name of typology is forced, to be sure. Torm prefers to speak of the typological method of thinking (Betruchtung- weise) rather than the typological method of interpretation (Audegung). Our Lord’s own use of the Old Testament is His invitation to us to find Him in the Old Testament.
These New Testament words referring to the nature of the Old Testament establish the typical character of the Old Testament.
212 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION into the accessories of the text, then brings forth what is not
212 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION into the accessories of the text, then brings forth what is not.
214 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION prophecy, but a symbol is a timeless figurative representation
It was used in the Taber- nacle for its lightness, durability, and resistance to insects. Ancient There is no question that there is a basic symbolism of. numbers in the Bible.”. A study of the Tabernacle reveals a very even or regular proportion among the various dimen- sions, and in the articles of furniture themselves.
There are never less than 36 righteous in the world because the numerical value of “upon him” of Isaiah 30:18 is 36.
218 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION literature simply does not make the fine color distinctions
BIBLIOGRAPHY Terry, Biblical Hermeneutics (revised edition)
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY A. C ONFUSION OF TERMINOLOGY
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 221 literal exegesis about heavenly or spiritual matters, and con-
Examples of this sort of spiritualizing would be such as tiding Greek philosophy in Moses, or taking the Taber- nacle as a diagram of the soul, or calling Abraham f&h or Joseph virtue. This is the sort of spiritual interpretation carried on among mystics, metaphysical cults, Christian Sci- ence, and the like. Many scholars use the expression mystical interpretation as synonymous with spiritual Meaning D (i.e., the study of the types and prophecies of the Old Testament which refer to the New).
To some allegorical interpretation (Meaning A) refers to the sort of speculation found among many of the Fathers and equivalent to spiritual Meaning E.
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 223 p&t that they renounce Meaning A2 and follow Meaning B
Meaning D among these scholars corresponds to what Catholic herme- neutics calls allegorical interpretation, incidentally adding to the terminological confusion. In Meaning E spiritual interpretation means to retie to ideas or principles, or to read into the document extraneous ideas. A word as ambiguous as spiritual must be used with care and with a sense of fair play.
To others (Meaning B) allegorical interpretation is the same as spiritual Meaning D, and still others (Meaning C) the term is equivalent to typological exegesis.
224 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION code of well-detied meanings of words could be followed,
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 225 country is made a plain, and two great rivers pour out of
226 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION visionary in that it is speaking of the future and painting it.
226 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION visionary in that it is speaking of the future and painting it
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 227 (i) We must, to begin with, give careful attention to the Zan-
Further, as Girdlestones explains, much of the prophetic description of the future is in the language of past, historical events. Much of Isaiah is illuminated by a knowledge of the political maneuvers in Israel and among the surrounding nations. Although it is a principle of general hermeneutics it needs to be reemphasized here that diligent attention must be paid to the context and&w of the discussion in the interpretation of prophecy.
The interpreter will look beyond these divisions and discover the natural divisions and connections of the Scripture.
232 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION fulfilled or unfulfilled. A prophecy that is conditional and
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 233 Israel? or Judah? or the Messiah? or the inter-Biblical events?
234 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION manifold fuMment of a generic prophecy preserves the one
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 235 meaning is his meaning-that he is moving among realities,
236 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION which tells him when to stop “liferalizing” or to limit sym-
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 237 interpretation calls for the fulfillment of many Old Testament
238 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION national restoration and some do not. But a measure of
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 239 Equally contestable is the frequent allegation that the
240 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 241 Testament prophetic exegesis? The answer to this must be
242 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION meaning of the Scripture this does not at all prejudice the
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 243 of that principle, and Wyngaarden has pointed out a measure
244 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 245
Fifth, the context of the passage associates the mediatorial office of Christ with the New Covenant. The care given the treading oxen of the Old Testament is typical of the care to be given the servants of Christ (1 Cor. 9 :9). The veil covering the face of Moses is typical of the spiritual darkness of present un- believing Israel (2 Cor. 3:13-16).
The law written on tablets of stone is typical of the gospel written on the human heart (2 Cor. 3 :l).
248 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION referred to the millennium could refer to the future state in
THE INTERPRETATION OF PROPHECY 249 ordinary or extraordinary. (5) Scripture genealogies are to lead
Any doctrine of the kingdom or eschatology which ignores a care- ful study of the parables cannot be adequate. Christ came preaching a gospel of the kingdom and announc- ing that a kingdom was at hand. Many of the parables directly state that they are about the kingdom, and others not specifically stated cannot be divorced from the kingdom.
The rightful Heir of the kingdom must come in the power and the glory of his kingdom.
260 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION kingdom of God and Christology, but also from the cultural
In Luke 15 occurs the triadic parable of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son. The parable of the Tower and the King (Luke 14:25 ff.) is a parable of Christian service, not of salvation as indicated by the context (note v. 33, “He cannot be my disciple’,). The comparative rule-compare the parable with any possible Old Testament association, and with the parable as recited in one or more other of the Gospels.
Both our Lord and his listeners were familiar with much of the content of the Old Testament.
THE INTERPRETATION OF PARABLES 263 Further, the interpreter must take a harmony of the Gos-
And the Pharisees and scribes murmured saying ‘This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them.’ ” The parables that follow are a justification for eating with sinners and publicans. And the Pharisees also, who were covetous, heard all these things and derided him” (Luke 16:14). We must attune our thinking to be sensitive to possible Old Testament references in the para- bles.16 Dodd l7 notes that such things as vineyards, fig trees, harvests, and feasts have Old Testament referents, and the Old Testament referent must be understood if we are to bet- ter understand the parable.
264 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION tard seed to a tree, and the permeation of the meal by the.
264 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION tard seed to a tree, and the permeation of the meal by the
THE INTERPRETATION OF PARABLES ‘265 Pearl is the Church. Millennial views are established on
266 PROTESTANT BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION Taylor, The Parables of Our Savior
EPILOGUE
Believing it to be the veritable word of G o d , we must exercise all the human pains possible to keep from overlaying it with a gossamer pattern of our own spinning. Let us then steer a straight course through the Holy Bible, neither turning to the left side of heresy nor to the right side of unbridled imagination. He will need a constant and vivid apprehension of the sacredness of all truth, more especially of scriptural truth, which God has revealed for the sanctification and salvation of men.
Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” These words of the Savior he will do well to ponder night and day, till they become a part, of his spiritual life;.
