Re: Context and Exegesis
Posted: January 28th, 2016, 2:28 pm
I very much appreciate and affirm the substance of the propositions that Jonathan has set forth in his response to Stephen. Insofar as I have anything to add, it is my understanding of the implications of that response, an understanding that may or may not be shared by others but one that I think is worth setting forth.
Participants in this forum all value and read the Biblical text with care, seeking as best we can to understand precisely what it says. In this forum especially we seek to understand the Greek text of the New Testament and the Greek version of the Hebrew scriptures or Old Testament as well as the text of early Christian writers who composed in Greek. It is the Greek text of these documents that is our primary focus.
Although we don’t talk about it, I think it is generally clear to all participants that we approach the Biblical text from a broad spectrum of hermeneutical perspectives, i.e. we hold individually a range of understandings of the Biblical text’s authority and inspired status, understandings that ordinarily are bound up with our faith-commitments and the faith-communities of which we are individually members. It is important to take this into consideration when we talk about whether exegesis is “off topic.”
My dictionary defines exegesis thus: “critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture”. Unquestionably that is what we are doing when we analyze a Biblical Greek text in terms of its syntax, diction, discourse patterns, etc., etc. and endeavor to set forth as clearly as possible what it is that the Greek text is saying. I think that we all recognize that this is the heart of our endeavors as students of Biblical Greek: the quest to understand what the Greek text of the Bible is saying.
For many, however, the exegetical task extends beyond clarification of what the Greek Biblical text is saying and involves exploration of what that text implies for faith and action within our faith-communities. That is to say, exegesis in this broader sense extends to drawing out the theological and moral implications of the text in itself or in association with other Biblical texts and the Biblical corpus as a whole. In our B-Greek Forum we deliberately choose not to engage in this extended exegesis for the reason that exegesis of that sort is necessarily sectarian, grounded in our several faith-commitments and faith-communities rather than in our shared understanding of the Greek language and our shared commitment to explore what the Greek Biblical says as a Greek text.
More needs to be said than that, however. It is important, I believe, to be clear about Biblical Greek texts that enunciate ethical or doctrinal propositions. Any of us could point out in the gospels and in the letters of Paul and elsewhere texts that bear profound theological and/or ethical significance. Some of these are what are called “hard sayings” (e.g. Mt 5:20 or Mt 5:29) ; some are scarcely intelligible and subject to considerable dispute (e.g. 1 Cor 5:3-5, 1 Cor 15:29); there are some that I find deeply disturbing (e.g. Rom 9:21-23). I think we can reach agreement about what each of these passages is saying as a Greek text; on the other hand, we may very well come to very different understandings of the implications of these verses for faith and behavior, depending on the hermeneutical assumptions we bring to bear upon the texts in question. In my judgment, we ought in this forum to limit ourselves in discussion of such verses to such exegesis of the texts as sets forth as clearly as possible what it is that the Greek text is asserting and we should steer clear of discussion of theological or doctrinal implications of these texts.
There are other forums for discussion of theological and doctrinal implications of these texts; there are other forums for apologetics and explorations of “proof texts” that some wish to employ to promote or defend one variety of faith or attack another variety of faith. I think we need to steer clear of those endeavors in this forum.
Participants in this forum all value and read the Biblical text with care, seeking as best we can to understand precisely what it says. In this forum especially we seek to understand the Greek text of the New Testament and the Greek version of the Hebrew scriptures or Old Testament as well as the text of early Christian writers who composed in Greek. It is the Greek text of these documents that is our primary focus.
Although we don’t talk about it, I think it is generally clear to all participants that we approach the Biblical text from a broad spectrum of hermeneutical perspectives, i.e. we hold individually a range of understandings of the Biblical text’s authority and inspired status, understandings that ordinarily are bound up with our faith-commitments and the faith-communities of which we are individually members. It is important to take this into consideration when we talk about whether exegesis is “off topic.”
My dictionary defines exegesis thus: “critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of scripture”. Unquestionably that is what we are doing when we analyze a Biblical Greek text in terms of its syntax, diction, discourse patterns, etc., etc. and endeavor to set forth as clearly as possible what it is that the Greek text is saying. I think that we all recognize that this is the heart of our endeavors as students of Biblical Greek: the quest to understand what the Greek text of the Bible is saying.
For many, however, the exegetical task extends beyond clarification of what the Greek Biblical text is saying and involves exploration of what that text implies for faith and action within our faith-communities. That is to say, exegesis in this broader sense extends to drawing out the theological and moral implications of the text in itself or in association with other Biblical texts and the Biblical corpus as a whole. In our B-Greek Forum we deliberately choose not to engage in this extended exegesis for the reason that exegesis of that sort is necessarily sectarian, grounded in our several faith-commitments and faith-communities rather than in our shared understanding of the Greek language and our shared commitment to explore what the Greek Biblical says as a Greek text.
More needs to be said than that, however. It is important, I believe, to be clear about Biblical Greek texts that enunciate ethical or doctrinal propositions. Any of us could point out in the gospels and in the letters of Paul and elsewhere texts that bear profound theological and/or ethical significance. Some of these are what are called “hard sayings” (e.g. Mt 5:20 or Mt 5:29) ; some are scarcely intelligible and subject to considerable dispute (e.g. 1 Cor 5:3-5, 1 Cor 15:29); there are some that I find deeply disturbing (e.g. Rom 9:21-23). I think we can reach agreement about what each of these passages is saying as a Greek text; on the other hand, we may very well come to very different understandings of the implications of these verses for faith and behavior, depending on the hermeneutical assumptions we bring to bear upon the texts in question. In my judgment, we ought in this forum to limit ourselves in discussion of such verses to such exegesis of the texts as sets forth as clearly as possible what it is that the Greek text is asserting and we should steer clear of discussion of theological or doctrinal implications of these texts.
There are other forums for discussion of theological and doctrinal implications of these texts; there are other forums for apologetics and explorations of “proof texts” that some wish to employ to promote or defend one variety of faith or attack another variety of faith. I think we need to steer clear of those endeavors in this forum.