354 research outputs found
Scripture and Its Readers: Readings of Israel’s Story in Nehemiah 9:6 – 37, Ezekiel 20:5 – 31 and Acts 7:2 – 60
No full textHow may a reader who wishes to read the Christian Bible as scripture well today be formed; and how may interpretations of scripture inform such concern? The present work is an exploration of this under-considered question in the field of contemporary biblical scholarship via sustained exegetical engagement with three biblical texts, namely Nehemiah 9:6 – 37, Ezekiel 20:5 – 32 and Acts 7:2 – 60, which offer three different inner-canonical readings of scripture in the form of three distinctive recitals of Israel’s story. The purpose is to consider how these retellings read scriptural traditions in relation to the wider context of the Christian canon; and to reflect on their enduring and formative significance as scripture for readers seeking to appropriate the scripture faithfully today.
Chapter one will indicate that the concern of the present work is not a recent one, but rather one that is integral to a Christian practice of reading scripture. This chapter will also consider how such a concern once under-explored in biblical scholarship is now receiving some renewed attention in the field of theological interpretation of scripture. An overview of selected works pertaining to such concern will be considered in chapter two as a means to set a context for articulating the approach and rationale of the present work. In chapters three through to five, each chapter will be devoted to each of the three biblical texts, Nehemiah 9:6 – 37, Ezekiel 20:5 – 31 and Acts 7:2 – 60, to consider how scriptural traditions are interpreted in these three texts in relation to the wider context of the Christian canon. The next step is to reflect on the implications of these three biblical texts as Christian scripture for readers seeking to interpret scripture faithfully today. For such concern, the three texts will be considered individually at the end of chapters three, four and five respectively and then in concert in chapter six
The Renewal of Song: Metalepsis and the Christological Revision of Psalmody in Paul
No full textThe productive yield of Richard Hays’ Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul for the study of Pauline intertextuality has not been matched by adequate reflection on questions of method, particularly on the character of the trope at the heart of the Haysian project: metalepsis, or “echo”. Nor has sufficient attention been given to the reception of biblical psalmody in Paul, and to the distinctiveness of psalmic discourse in relation to metaleptic process. This study accordingly attempts a close engagement with biblical psalmody as this appears at selected sites in Romans and 2 Corinthians, focusing on those sites which best demonstrate the distinctive character of psalmody, and so offer to refine an account of metalepsis. In particular, it examines quotations which are attributed or attributable to David or to Christ, and sites in which psalmody serves to modulate Paul’s discourse without recourse to quotation. In so doing, this study sets out to enrich the Haysian account of metalepsis by discerning and correcting two biases. In relation to method, Haysian metalepsis is found to license maximalist readings of intertexts on the presumption of narrativity, which cannot be fully sustained in relation to psalmody. In relation to hermeneutics, Haysian metalepsis is shown to privilege dialectical accounts of Pauline intertextuality, in which the voice of scripture is richly and sympathetically invoked in Paul’s discourse. By resisting these biases, the present study is able to offer a more nuanced account of metalepsis, one better suited to psalmody, and to discern a more complex picture of Pauline intertextuality. Within it, Christ is richly configured as a psalmist in Paul, rhetorically empowered and tendered for imitation, yet nearly always at the expense of David, subverting the mode of agency he represents, in hermeneutical gestures which are dialectical in form but heuristic in effect
Theological Interpretation and Isaiah 53: A Study of Bernhard Duhm, Brevard Childs, and Alec Motyer
No full textThis dissertation brings together the hermeneutical approaches of three Old Testament scholars, specifically as they pertain to the interpretation of Isaiah 52.13-53.12 in the framework of Christian theology. Contemporary discourse and hermeneutical discussions have led to the development of a point of confusion in theological hermeneutics, focusing on what relationship older frames of reference may have with those more recent.
Bernhard Duhm is presented as a history-of-religions scholar who does not easily abide by popular understandings of that school. This results in a theologically attuned reading of Isa 53. Brevard Childs moves outward from particular historical judgments regarding the nature of redaction and form criticism, attempting to arrive at a proximately theological reading of the poem. Alec Motyer’s evangelical commitments represent a large constituency of contemporary theological readership, and a popular understanding of Isa 53.
Following a summary and critical engagement of each interpreter on his own terms, the study proceeds to analyze the use of rhetoric behind the readings of Isa 53 outlined here. As each interpreter positions his hermeneutical location in opposition to perceived opponents, it bears revisiting to see in what ways these moves of rhetorical distanciation are, and are not, appropriate. Whilst commonality is found between the three in substantial ways, certain irresolvable problems arise. An outcome of this commonality-problematic relationship is that contemporary rhetorical categorizations of ‘pre-critical’, ‘critical’, and ‘post-critical’ do not accurately represent the highly involved nature of the task of interpreting the Old Testament – and Isaiah 53 – as Christian Scripture
"Scripture Is Both the Glosse and the Text": Biblical Interpretation and Its Implementation in the Works of William Perkins
No full textWilliam Perkins expounded Scripture throughout his works according to the method presented in The Arte of Prophecying. This intense scriptural focus emanated from Perkins’s belief that Scripture was God’s Word and the only adequate foundation for the reformation he sought for individuals, the church, and society. The fact that Scripture was God’s Word determined his hermeneutic—Scripture interprets itself. Though not reflected in most Perkinsian scholarship, Perkins consistently applied this method of biblical interpretation regardless of the genre in which he worked. Perkins pursued this strategy not only due to his convictions concerning Scripture, but also because he perceived the cause of further reformation as urgent during the reign of Elizabeth I.
Only the Word of God and its faithful exposition, exposition in line with the hermeneutical principles stated in The Arte of Prophecying, could accomplish the monumental tasks before sixteenth-century Puritans. Perkins, a Puritan, strove to transform an ignorant and immoral people, exhorting them to live up to the Reformation principles England had officially adopted. So in his preaching and practical works, he expounded Scripture. As a Cambridge man, Perkins played a role in educating the clergy for the vital pulpit and pastoral ministry. So in his practical works on ministry he explained Scripture. As part of the international Reformed community, Perkins was compelled to defend the precious doctrines of the Reformed tradition. So in his theological treatises he exposited Scripture. As one aware of the looming political threat the Church of Rome and its allies posed to England and the unsettled feel of the English Reformation, Perkins was obliged to defend his conception of the Christian faith. So in his polemics he explicated Scripture. The exposition of Scripture dominated all of Perkins’s endeavors, which challenges the perceived scholastic approach to theology in the post-Reformation Reformed tradition. Perkins was a creative man of his times who devoted his multifaceted career as preacher, teacher, theologian, polemicist, and popular author to the exposition of Scripture for the purpose of further reformation
The Living Body of the Lord: E.B. Pusey’s ‘Types and Prophecies of the Old Testament’
No full textIn his ‘Lectures on Types and Prophecy’ (1836-7), E. B. Pusey urges the recovery of a patristic and ‘Apostolic’ approach to the interpretation of the Old Testament. This thesis will argue that for Pusey finding types and ‘typical’ prophecies of Christ and his Church in the whole of the Old Testament is not an exegetical curiosity or option, but rather a necessary expression of doctrine and spiritual discipline. For Pusey, the unwillingness of interpreters guided by the apologetic and evidentialist approach to theology in his day to follow the Fathers’ example manifests important theological differences. He advocates both the recovery of patristic exegesis and the theological vision in which it makes sense. ‘Every thing is a type’, in the books of God’s works and words, because all created things bear the impress of their creator. Moreover, all types or images, in Scripture, in nature, and in the human soul, seek a fulfilment in a salvific return to the Trinity in Unity. Drawing on both patristic and Romantic sources, Pusey describes knowledge as a form of participation in the divine life in opposition to the rationalistic and procedural presuppositions he finds implicit in the apologetic approach. For Pusey, epistemology must be treated alongside sanctification and typology reflects Christology; a sacramental or ‘typical’ reading of prophecy transforms people made in the image of God to become more like God and hence able to know God and to read with understanding. Articulating these ideas was a project which occupied Pusey and his Tractarian colleagues during the most creative years of the Oxford Movement. While in many ways they gave voice to important High Church ideals, the puzzled response which greeted this part of their work reveals its radicalism and suggests possibilities for the contemporary search for the re-integration of theology and spirituality
The intertextual reception of Genesis 1-3 in Irenaeus of Lyons
No full textThis thesis explores the intertextual nature of Irenaeus’ reading of Genesis 1-3. In this study, we assume a different mode of investigation than previous works on Irenaeus’ use of scripture. Drawing from contemporary discussions on intertextuality in Fishbane, Boyrin, Hays, and Young, we challenge a tradition of investigation into Irenaeus’ exegesis that has marginalized the significance of scriptural networking inherent to his hermeneutic. This perspective is evident in the previous works on Irenaeus’ reading of Genesis in Orbe, Jacobsen, Kannengiesser, Steenberg, and Holsinger-Friesen. This thesis, on the other hand, brings together an appreciation for Irenaeus’ hermeneutic with respect to his exegesis of Gen 1-3. We show that in every instance Irenaeus interprets Gen 1-3, not in isolation, but in correlation with other texts by means of a variety of intertextual reading strategies that shape his theological polemic. In chapter one we investigate the nature of Irenaeus’ hermeneutical orientation based upon studies of patristic exegesis and his own descriptions of the exegetical task. We show that Irenaeus purposes to interconnect texts in his refutation and exegesis and we formulate a methodology that appreciates his reading of Gen 1-3 within this theological networking of texts. In chapters 2-6, we provide a literary analysis of the echoes, allusions, and citations of Gen 1-3 in each book of Adversus Haereses. In each case we isolate the allusions to Gen 1-3 and the corresponding interrelated texts that form a hermeneutically symbiotic relationship with Gen 1-3. We show how these textual relationships yield a more comprehensive appreciation for the meaning and function of Gen 1-3 in Irenaeus. In chapter 7 we conclude with a summary and cumulative evaluation of the intertextual relationships fashioned with Gen 1-3 and the reading strategies that guide his intertextual use of Gen 1-3. In doing so, this thesis exposes the intricacies of Irenaeus’ theological and intertextual reading of Gen 1-3 and the various ways that Irenaeus harmonizes scripture
Bishops and Presbyters and Their Ministries in the Holy Scripture
No full textSvoje razmišljanje o biskupskoj i prezbiterskoj službi u Svetom pismu autor započinje razlaganjem o terminološkoj distinkciji pojmova prezbitera, biskupa i svećenika. Prema svetopisamskim tekstovima one su pojmovno udaljenije od onoga što suvremeni čovjek misli kada govori o tim službama ili, bolje rečeno, osobama. Iz detaljne terminološke analize proizlazi kako u Svetom pismu postoji razlika između riječi prezbiter i svećenik. Na temelju dobivenih rezultata, prva bi označavala osobu koja se brine za profano, dok bi se druga odnosila na osobu koja se brine za svete stvari. Biskup je, s druge strane, osoba koja nadgleda zajednicu. Na temelju biblijskih tekstova autor u drugome dijelu rada iznosi svjedočanstva o utemeljenju i razvoju svećeničke, prezbiterske i biskupske službe pokušavajući obrazložiti prethodno utemeljenu terminološku razliku, kao i uočljivu promjenu situacije u novozavjetno vrijeme. Činjenica koja je stalna jest da su službe svećenika, prezbitera i biskupa funkcionalno i pojmovno, barem prema onomu što donose tekstovi Svetoga pisma, postavile temelje za daljnja razmišljanja i teološka utemeljenja tih službi.It is quite difficult to speak about bishops and presbyters and their ministries in the Holy Scripture since biblical terminology explains their functions quite differently than they are known today. According to this, the author primarily emphasizes the terminology and some scriptural evidences of ministries in question. The author explains words such as presbyter, bishop (episkopos) and priest, showing first how the biblical word for presbyter (=elder) diverges from the biblical word priest (kōhēn; hiereus). Similarly, the biblical word episkopos (bishop) does not have the same modern meaning as it has today, where it means the third order of ordained minister, while in the Bible it means a supervisor or a protector of the community. It is possible to say, the author concludes, that the offices of bishop (episkopos) and presbyter (=elder) should be considered in the sense of duty, while the priest (kōhēn; hiereus) deals with sacred things. Furthermore, basing the evidence on biblical texts, the author gives some clarification about the development of the offices of priests, presbyters, and bishops, both in the Old and in the New Testament. The scriptural data reveals that these offices have emerged and evolved in response to a variety of needs and leadership in the community. In conclusion, the author asserts that it is quite difficult to establish a clear terminological and functional link between biblical terms and duties of priests-presbyters-bishops and their actual offices. At least, according to the Scripture, it could be said that a priest, priest-presbyter, or a bishop-presbyter should be considered as offices that tend more to sacred and spiritual things rather than temporal things. Their ministries (as known today) are mostly linked with successive theological reflections, when they became more ordered, uniformed, and regulated
A dialogic reimagining of a servant's suffering: understanding second Isaiah's servant of Yahweh as a polyphonic hero
No full textA definitive identification of the Servant figure of Second Isaiah is notoriously difficult, as attested by centuries of conjecture and debate. The interpretive obstacles are profuse: the Servant is addressed as Israel-Jacob, but then spoken of in terms that are not consistent with the nation's experience; in some texts he seems to represent a community, while in others he speaks as an individual; he seems to suffer extreme hardship and persecution, but then is said to experience new life; some of his experiences appear to be historical, while others are best described as idealistic. Further hampering objective interpretations are the pervasive traditional approaches among Christian and Jewish readers, which associate the Servant, equally emphatically, with Jesus or Israel.
But a primary reason the Servant is so difficult to pin down is rarely considered, and that is that there exists no objective image of the Servant anywhere in Second Isaiah. As a literary character he is constituted entirely by dialogue; that is, by discourse addressed to him, spoken by him, and spoken about him by others in the form of a confession. His actions are never described, and his person is never defined. Scholars have referred to this as his 'fluid' nature, but have lacked the methodological tools for a fuller study of this literary curiosity.
The ideas of literary theorist Mikhail Bakhtin speak to this type of characterisation. His 'polyphonic hero' is a fictional character who is constituted by what is spoken to him or her, by what they overhear said concerning them, and by how they make that discourse, and the discourse of the wider world, an aspect of their own self-knowledge. They become known only by the discourse that converges on them, much as the Servant of Second Isaiah is constituted. This thesis develops a reading strategy based on Bakhtin's theory of the polyphonic hero, as well as his broader theories of dialogism. It reimagines the inner discourse of the Servant in order to comprehend him according to the dialogue by which he knows himself, and not according to conventional reading strategies that seek for a fixed, opaque image. In the process it discovers that there are not multiple Servants, which is often posited as a solution to the problem of his fluid nature, but one Servant, Israel-Jacob, whose self-knowledge as the faithful Servant of Yahweh calls empirical Israel to faith in a time of national distress. It concludes that the Servant is present in the collection of Second Isaiah as a 'voice-idea', the embodiment of a theologically critical position that calls many of Israel's theological and ideological presuppositions into question, in order to liberate her for a renewed history as a faithful 'witness' to Yahweh her redeemer
The voice of Jesus in six parables and their interpreters
No full text'Figures of speech' provide a suggestive key for approaching the question of Jesus' individual tone of voice. Apprehending a figure implies insight into an intention, and beyond intention to discern unconscious influences upon the speaker. This is the conceptual framework for a study of the 'voice of Jesus' in six parables peculiar to Luke (10:25-37; 15:11-32; 16:1-9; 16:19-31; 18:1-8; 18:9-14) and in commentaries upon them. In the premodern era commentators approached the parables with an immediacy of insight, seeking the divine intention behind the texts. Nevertheless we may hear the voice of Jesus echoing in their commentaries in morally specific tones. In the work of Jülicher 'insight', though repudiated, is still important, as he seeks the intention of Jesus through the figure of simile. Jülicher offers insight into Jesus as a passionate communicator, but goes beyond Jesus' intention in making him a propounder of generalities. More recently a concern with the intention of Jesus is replaced by a concern with how his voice was heard. The necessity of insight remains apparent in B.B. Scott's use of metaphor as an interpretative key. An impression is given of Jesus as a provocative subversive. In their context in Luke-Acts, the parables function as metonymies of the gospel, and yield an impression of the voice of Jesus as suggestively concerned with the life of this world. In the ministry of Jesus the parables function as synecdoches, offering hearers a realistic and hopeful 'part' of the world from which they must fashion a 'whole’. Against the background of Scripture the parables display a deep continuity with older forms of discourse, but also important tokens of newness. A stream of influence can be traced from the Old Testament, through Jesus and Luke, and on through their interpreters, though recently its course has been somewhat diverted
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