Essay 1 | Methods of Biblical Interpretation

Question 1

What are the various categories into which the methods may fall & What are some specific methods that might fit into those categories?

Answer 1

• Historical Criticism
  o Concerned with what the text meant- what was the context of the text in biblical times
  o A product of the enlightenment and concerned with reason
  o Look to:
  • Redaction criticism
  • Source criticism
  • Form Ciriticism- Gunkel/ Sitz im Leben/Genre
  • Comparative ANE texts
  • Social-Scientific-Mendenhall & Gotwald/ honor & shame societies
• Literary Criticism
  o What does the text mean on the basis of the text itself (actual words)
  o Final form is concerned with what the text means as it stands and not with the redaction histories
  o Looks at rhetorical functions and literary devices
  • Narrative Analysis
  • Poetic Analysis
  • Rhetorical Analysis
• Reception History
  o one of the 4 main categories of methods
  o the study of a text by looking at its various interpretations and the interactions of those interpretations as it is received by different communities over the centuries
  o It draws attention to the importance of context of the writer and more importantly of the various readings of the text.
• Post Critical/Ideological/Situated Readings
  o Brought on by post modern concerns
  • Feminist Criticism (5 major positions)
  • Womanist Readings
  • **SLIDE 21 1st lecture look to 1 or 2 types

Question 2

How are methods like rules for a game?

Answer 2

• It is when we play a game together we all know the rules and presuppose that all that is needed is there to play a game
• There is a limit to the game metaphor- although every reader has a method to bring to the text reading the text is not a game- there are serious consequences to interpreting the text and the consequences that affect peoples lives.

Question 3

How does one’s method influence one’s reading of a text?

Answer 3

• Common set of presuppositions and questions that readers are bringing to the text to allow for discussion of the text to happen

Question 4

Are some methods more suited for certain types of literature than others?

Answer 4

• Yes, depending on what features are in the text will guide what method is used to guide the reading and discussion of the text
  o Ex. Using Narrative method is not helpful in poetic text due to no narrative throughout the text

Question 5

Are there particular methods you find less or more helpful? Why?

Answer 5

• Personal interpretation & be sure to say why!