Scriptural Interpretation

Opening Prayer

Contexts of Interpretation

Uses and media

Teaching / Education / Edification / Exploration
Doctrinal argument / Legal and ethical direction
Liturgy / Lectionary
Poetry / Symbolic speech / Pictorial art

People and structures

individual vs group
Christian / Jewish / Muslim
Eastern / Western
Evangelical / Catholic
Ecclesiastical / Academic

Intertextuality in Hebrew Bible

Examples:

Samuel-Kings and Chronicles

Second Isaiah's use of Exodus

growth of midrash cf Matthean infancy stories to early Exodus; crucifixion to Psalm 22

New Testament times, etc.

Hillel

Seven middoth: rules of interpretation for Torah, similar to rules used in Greek culture for interpreting Homer. Further developed by Akiva. kol va-h.omer (from minor premise to major), gezerah shavah (comparison of similar expressions), kelal u-ferat (general and particular), etc.

Early church

Hebrew scripture as scripture for early church ; use of common methods (including pharisaic/rabbinic) in biblical interpretation Literalist Antiochean interpretation vs. allegorical Alexandrian interpretation

Middle Ages

fourfold interpretation:

literal
allegorical
moral
anagogical

Each of these methods had various uses - and some who thought them inappropriate. There were other methods in occasional use. Exactly what meant by each not uniform: e.g., typology sometimes considered variant of allegory - sometimes considered alternative.

Renaissance and Reformation

influence of new outlook and questions of changing societies

looking back at golden age to find "purer" expressions

rediscovery of sources: classical, eastern, Jewish, philosophical

Modern

Literary-critical Method(s)

"Criticisms" / ...Geschichte

text criticism
source criticism [earlier called "literary criticism"]
Formgeschichte
Redaktionsgeschichte
Tradition history

Additional contemporary methods

social-scientific criticism [using "models"]
canonical criticism
narrative criticism
ideological criticism [marxist, feminist, liberation, etc]
deconstruction

Readings:

2.3 Clement of Alexandria

fourfold interpretation: literal, allegorical (sign), tropological (moral), anagogical (prophetic)

2.4 Hippolytus

typological interpretation - example of ship

2.6 Origen

body, soul, and spirit

2.8 Augustine

literal and allegorical (spiritual) ; The use of the allegorical sense was denied by the Manicheans, but emphasized by Augustine. On this, as on several issues related to the Scriptures, Augustine and Jerome had very different emphases, with Jerome minimizing (but not totally denying) the allegorical interpretation.

2.11 Bernard of Clairvaux

an example of allegorical treatment of Song of Songs: Both Jews and Christians by the earliest centuries of our era were treating the Song of Songs as an allegory, sometimes even denying any literal sense. Not all such allegories were as far-fetched as this one.

2.12 Stephen Langton

example of tropological interpretation of scripture, Amos and Amasius; mediaeval commentaries make extensive use of glossing. This also reflects the mediaeval recognition of the possibility of pride and evil in the church.

2:13 Jacques Lefèvre

two literal senses of scripture: literal-historical and literal-prophetic ; the question of intention

2.14 Martin Luther

1516 lectures on psalms. contrast between historic and prophetic versions of literal, allegorical, tropological, and anagogical interpretations. even at this date, nothing to be established unless clear in literal sense in some text. a few touches of humanist methods, but still basically mediaeval

2.27 Rudolf Bultmann

demythologization. Much of Bultmann's technical work is not dependent on his demythologization, but reflects methods of study of ancient texts in vogue amongst European critical scholars of the time. Bultmann's demythologization project was heavily influenced by existentialist philosophy.

2.29 Phyllis Tribble

feminist interpretation. Phyllis Tribble is a prominent scholar of Hebrew Bible; her feminist approach is quite conservative, claiming continuity with the Judaeo-Christian tradition. Many other feminists, male and female, have rejected Christianity.

2.30 Donald G. Bloesch

christological approaches. academic options: protestant scholastic orthodoxy; historicism (liberal enlightenment); existentialist; bloesch's christological hermeneutic (theological supplement to historico-critical). Notice the growth of a strong non-fundamentalist group of conservative evangelical biblical scholars

video In search of Jesus

various searches for the historical Jesus ; Schweitzer ; relationship between historical Jesus and biblical Christ ; Jesus seminar ; question of historicity and canon

Throughout the centuries, the synagogue and church used traditional methods plus newer methods adopted and/or adapted from then current methods of interpretation used in the society at large. The methods themselves were sometimes considered controversial in themselves; at other times, their use contributed to other controversies.

Some Suggested Resources

World Wide Web Bible resources
Smart, James D. The interpretation of scripture. Philadelphia: Westminster, 1961.
Hayes, John H., ed. Dictionary of biblical interpretation. 2 vols. Nashville: Abingdon, 1999.
McKenzie, Steven L., and Stephen R. Haynes, eds. To each its own meaning: an introduction to biblical criticisms and their application. rev. and expanded ed. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 1999.
Ackroyd, P. R., C. F. Evans, G. W. H. Lampe, and S. L. Greenslade, eds. Cambridge history of the Bible. 3 vols. Cambridge: Cambridge, 1963-1970.

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This page last modified 21 September 2000.