Bible Interpretation, Student Workbook, SW05

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B I B L E I N T E R P R E T A T I O N

9. Of all the different approaches to biblical criticism, which do you believe offers orthodox students of Scripture the best and most useful support in their efforts to interpret the Word accurately? 10. Why can we be confident that our translation of the Scriptures is reliable and authoritative, even in light of the deep skepticism shown by many scholars today regarding the authority and inspiration of the Word of God?

Read the Appendix “Christ’s View of the Bible” by Paul Enns to gain a critical perspective on the way in which Jesus of Nazareth both perceived and used the OT Scriptures, and how he foresaw through the apostles the coming NT.

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The Nature of Modern Biblical Scholarship

Summary of Key Concepts

The multiplicity of methods currently available for biblical exegesis is confusing and can tempt the interpreter to focus on method(s) rather than on the dynamics of the process of understanding. When the full scope of the problem (including its “ontological” dimensions) is taken as the point of departure, it becomes possible to classify methods in terms of the specific aspect they address and to select the most suitable method in each case. The historical aspect of the problem has mainly to do with the relationship between sender and message. From this important area of research a number of specialized techniques evolved. Background studies (Zeitgeschichte) focus on the historical environment fromwhich the text emerged. Form criticism assumes an oral tradition behind the written text and is interested in its transition from the pre-literary form to the literary form. Source criticism studies the relationship between individual texts in a wider literary context and their dependence on sources. Redaction criticism proceeds from the assumption that the individual authors of biblical books had a strong influence on their eventual form and analyzes the composition of these texts from the perspective of the final redactor. Textual criticism is a specialized and technical discipline aimed at restoring the presumed original form of the text as accurately as possible. Questions of authorship, the history of individual books, and the formation of the canon all have to do with the historical aspect of the relationship between sender and message.

~ Bernard C. Lategan. “Hermeneutics.” The Anchor Bible Dictionary . D. N. Freedman, ed. Vol. 3. Doubleday: New York: Doubleday, 1997. pp. 152-153.