HERMENEUTICS

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HERMENEUTICS

• Understanding N.T. Epistles
• How to Read the Bible for All its Worth (3rd ed.)
  by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, Chapter 3
• How to Read the Bible as Literature by Leland
  Ryken, Chapter 9

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Epistles Key Questions

• What form do epistles generally follow? How
  closely does this epistle (the one I am studying
  or reading) follow that form?
• What is the occasion of the writing of the
  epistle?
• What is the historical context of this epistle?
• What is the literary context of this epistle?

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Epistolary form
Part Function
Greeting / Salutation To identify the sender and greet the recipients
Icebreaker / Thanksgiving To form and/or strengthen bonds and get the readers attention
Body To state and develop the main points of the epistle
Paraenesis / Exhortation To give final moral directions to the readers
Closing / Farewell To wish well and say goodbye

• .

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Lets Try This Out 1 Corinthians
Part Beginning Ending Point
Greeting / Salutation
Icebreaker / Thanksgiving
Body
Paraenesis / Exhortation
Closing / Farewell
5
Lets Try This Again 2 Corinthians
Part Beginning Ending Point
Greeting / Salutation
Icebreaker / Thanksgiving
Body
Paraenesis / Exhortation
Closing / Farewell
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Sniff Out the Occasion

• What specific situation brought about the need to
  write?
• We will not succeed in understanding the epistle
  if we
• Fail to realize the occasional nature of all
  epistles in general
• Fail to look hard for the occasion of the epistle
  we are reading
• Task theology is the product of each epistle

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What was the occasion of

• Philemon?
• Paul has come upon an escaped servant, Onesimus,
  of a believer named Philemon (vs. 10)
• 2 John?
• Many deceivers have gone out into the world (vs.
  7)
• Jude?
• Godless men have secretly slipped in among the
  believers (vs. 4)
• 2 Thessalonians?
• Someone had told them that the day of the Lord
  had already come (21-2)

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Why is knowing the occasion of an epistle so
important?

• Clues to authorial intent
• Experiential immediacy
• Demonstrates the pragmatic value of Christian
  faith
• Limits the interpretation options

9
Historical context

• Reconstruct the setting
• External resources may be very helpful for this
• Read the whole epistle through in one sitting
• Take notes
• What do you notice about the recipients
  themselves?
• What is the writers attitude toward them?
• What clues can you gather about the occasion of
  the epistle?
• What are the epistles logical, natural divisions?

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Literary context

• READ THINK paragraphs
• Note where one paragraph ends and the next begins
  
• What (if anything) links the two?
• Ask, Whats the point of this paragraph?
• Ask, Why did the writer use this word (or
  phrase) and not a similar word?

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Dealing with problem passages

• What do you know for certain?
• What meanings are possible but not certain?
• What difference does each of the possible
  meanings make to the main points of the epistle?
  
• Can I afford to suspend judgment about this
  passage?
• The things you can be certain about in an epistle
  will often lead to logical answers to the problem
  passages.
• Remember the occasion of the epistle.

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Literary genres within the NT epistles

• Proverbs
• 1 Cor. 1533
• Formulas
• Jas. 113-15, 41
• Creeds Hymns
• Phil. 26-11, 1 Ti. 316, Col. 115-20

• Vice lists
• Gal. 519-21, Rom. 129-31
• Virtue lists
• Gal. 522-23, 2 Peter 15-7
• Imperative clusters
• 1 Thes. 516-22, Col. 318-46

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Literary devices within the NT epistles

• Metaphor
• 1 Corinthians 1553
• Simile
• 1 Corinthians 926
• Rhetorical questions
• Romans 1015
• Paradox
• 1 Corinthians 1542-44
• Question-and-exclamation
• 1 Corinthians 1535-36

• Apostrophe
• 1 Corinthians 1554-55
• Repetition
• 1 Corinthians 1543-44
• Balance
• 1 Corinthians 159-11
• Antithesis
• 1 Corinthians 1521-22
• Parallelism
• 1 Corinthians 1553

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2 BASIC RULES OF HERMENEUTICS

1. A TEXT CANNOT MEAN WHAT IT NEVER COULD HAVE MEANT
   TO ITS AUTHOR OR TO THE ORIGINAL AUDIENCE
2. WHENEVER WE SHARE COMPARABLE SPECIFICS WITH THE
   NT SETTING, GODS WORD TO US HAS THE SAME MEANING
   AS GODS WORD TO THEM

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THE PROBLEM OF EXTENDED APPLICATION

• A TEXTS MEANING MAY NOT ALWAYS BE APPLIED TO A
  CONTEXT WHICH IS NOT SPECIFIED BY THAT TEXT
• CORROBORATION IS NEEDED

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THE PROBLEM WITH PARTICULARS THAT ARE NOT
COMPARABLE

• DETERMINE HOW THE ANSWERS TO 1ST CENTURY ISSUES
  APPLY TO CONTEMPORARY ISSUES
• FIND THE PRINCIPLE
• COMPARE MORALLY RELEVANT PARTICULARS
• RESIST THE URGE TO OVER-APPLY

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THE PROBLEM OF CULTURAL RELATIVITY

• Gods eternal Word has been given to us in
  historical particularity
• Distinguish between core and periphery
• Distinguish between what is inherently moral and
  what is not inherently moral
• Distinguish between issues where the NT has a
  uniform, consistent position, and issues where
  the NT reflects differing positions

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THE PROBLEM OF CULTURAL RELATIVITY (continued)

• Gods eternal Word has been given to us in
  historical particularity
• Distinguish between principle and specific
  application
• Consider the options available to the NT writer
  in his culture
• Be alerted to possible differences between 1st
  and 21st century cultures
• Practice Christian charity in resolving disputes

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THE PROBLEM OF TASK THEOLOGY

• Epistles give theology as a response to a task
  being worked on
• Our understanding of the full occasion is
  limited, so dont presume more than is probable
• Your question may not be the one being answered
  by the epistle
• Dont proof-text!