3.1 interpreting the text Flashcards
what is the focus of biblical criticism?
to examine books in the Bible like the gospels to try to shed light on:
– how they came to be written.
– their reliability as sources for the life and teachings of Jesus.
– their purpose
What is oral tradition?
- the teachings of Jesus and accounts of the events in his life from eyewitnesses that were passed on by word of mouth among the early Christian communities
What is source criticism?
examines where the material within a text came from to establish the original source
What is form criticism?
seeks to identify the different ‘forms’/types of writing in the text and the historical context within which they were written
What is redaction criticism?
aims to identify how the author shaped their material; the Evangelist is seen as an editor/redactor in the creation of the text
what is the synoptic problem?
The question of literary relationship between the first three gospels and the sources each gospel used
how did Augustine explain the interdependence between the gospels?
The priority of Matthew
what is Griesbach’s synopsis?
– Highlighted the similarities and differences between Matthew Mark and Luke it allowed scholars to see:
– where the evangelist agreed whether all three or two of them
– where material was used by just one of them
– similarities in the actual wording
What did Griesbach’s synopsis lead to?
- all used a common source
- either one or two of them used a different source
- all shared common written sources, possibly Greek translations of Jesus’ Aramaic words
What is the proto-gospel hypothesis?
- based on the theory that there is a lost gospel
Was the proto-gospel matthew?
- Bishop Papias = Mt collected together the sayings of Jesus in Hebrew and Mk and Mt interpreted them the best they could, Mt then translated this into the canonical gospel
HOWEVER:
- this can no longer be verified as the letter no longer exists, neither does the copy of Mt in Hebrew
Was the proto-gospel Mk?
- there might’ve been a proto Mk that had less material in it, and that the author later supplemented, and Mt and Mk used this proto version when writing
HOWEVER:
- this doesn’t account for the fact that sometimes Mt and Lk agree against Mk and at other times Mt and Mk agree against Lk
What is the two-source hypothesis?
the theory that Mt and Lk used both Mk and Q when writing their gospels
Who first proposed the two-source hypothesis?
Weisse in 1836
How many verses to Mt and Lk share in common?
about 200 verses, which are mainly sayings and parables of Jesus
What priority does the two-source hypothesis support?
Markan priority
What is the four-source hypothesis?
in addition to Mk and Q, Mt and Lk also used material from independent sources, known as M and L
Who first proposed the four-source hypothesis?
Streeter in 1924
What is source M?
228 verses - mainly Jewish-type material, including use of the OT and the birth narratives
What is source L?
490 verses - contains 14 parables and reference to Mary, Martha and Zacchaeus(women and outcasts)
What is a problem with the four-source hypothesis?
- no evidence for Q or M and L
- instances where Mt and Lk are similar but Mk is different, implying that they knew each other’s texts
- examples where Mk and Lk appear to have copied Mt e.g Jesus teaching the greatest commandment
- Farrer = proposed that Mk was used as source material by Mt, and that Lk used both Mk and Mt
Why do scholars argue for the priority of Mk?
- the shortest gospel and omits the birth narrative and Lord’s prayer
- gospel based on the preaching of Peter, so is dated soon after his death 64 CE
- very little unique material, whereas Mt used nearly all of Mk
- evidence that MT and Lk edited Mk e.g the calming of the storm
- Mt and Lk appear to use a better style of Greek
- in Mk, Jesus is often harsher to the disciples
Why do some scholars still support the Augustinian view that Matthew was written first?
- external evidence from the Church fathers, e.g. Irenaeus testified that Mt’s gospel was written first
- there are parallel accounts in Mt and Mk it is easier to see that Mk edited Mt rather than Mt edited Mk
- Griesbach argued that Mk was the last as he provided a short summary of the other two gospels
What is the purpose of form criticism?
to identify each different type of unit of writing then classify them into the different forms
Why is the form of the writing so important?
it shows the importance that a writer would place on a particular teaching/event
What is the name for the units of text?
pericopae
How many different pericopae are there in the Bible?
- At least 5:
1. exhortations - wise sayings
2. tales - longer stories such as miracles
3. myths - stories
4. paradigms - brief stories
5. legends - set an example
What is an example of an exhortation in the Bible?
MK 2:23 = ‘Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath’
What is an example of a myth in the Bible?
Mt 4:11 = explores deep issues about faith
sitz im leben - the ECC were criticised for worshipping a magician
What is an example of a legend in the Bible?
LK 2:41-52 = The boy Jesus at the Temple
What did M Dibelieus propose about pericopae?
they had to regarded in terms of their sitz im leben - their situation in life was adapted to fit the needs of the ECC
What did Bultmann argue about the Gospels?
we need to demythologise the Gospels to get back to their original meaning and truth about Jesus
What are some implications and weaknesses of using form criticism?
- casts doubt on whether it is possible to reconstruct a ‘historical Jesus’
- too dismissive of the reliability of the oral tradition
- presents most passages as fictional or wildly exaggerated
What is the purpose of redaction criticism?
to focus on the whole book and attempt to work out how the material has been adapted to fit the authors own understanding of Jesus by focusing on what distinctive things the evangelists bring to their material
What are some distinctive elements of Mk?
- messianic secret
- paraousia was imminent
What are some distinctive elements of Mt?
- Jesus as fulfilment of OT prophecy
- Jesus as Son of David
- Jesus as a new Moses
What are some distinctive elements of Lk?
- salvation history
- Jesus’ message for all people
- paraousia further in the future
Where can the evangelists’ individual theologies be seen in the Bible?
The Calming of the Storm
- Mt emphasises discipleship - Jesus reproached the disciples then calmed the storm
- Mk emphasises Jesus’ authority - Jesus stilled the storm then reproached the disciples
John the Baptist
- Mk = John doesn’t recognise Jesus as anyone special and so baptises him (secrecy motif)
- Mt = makes it clear that the baptism is to fulfil scripture (OT prophecy)
What are some weaknesses of redaction criticism?
- relies on Q and the 4 source hypothesis
- reliability is thrown into question
