Life and Teachings of Jesus: Exegesis

Guiding question: Which passage?

1. Selection of a text

Selection of a text for in-depth study is somewhat arbitrary. Reasons of selecting a particular text are not limited to the following.

1. Text may be assigned
2. Personal interest – selection may be in connection with devotional or academic study
3. Selection of text to address some issue, circumstance, etc.

The following classifications of texts may be helpful in selecting a passage for in-depth study.

• Prescriptive texts, instructive texts, indicate the way things ought to be among the people of God.
• Descriptive texts, as the name implies, describe practices or actions assumed appropriate at the time.
• Corrective texts deal with situations, problems, or misunderstandings among the people of God. The interpreter should seek to understand the situation that made the corrective necessary.[1]

       2. Resolve any Text Critical Issues

       Guiding Question: What does the text say?

Two methods for establishing the text are textual criticism and translation comparison. For interpreters who are adept at working with biblical languages and are familiar with textual critical methods, a study of textual variants is best. For interpreters unfamiliar with biblical languages and/or text critical methods, translation comparison will produce workable results.

A. Text Critical Analysis[2]

1. Old Testament Textual Criticism
2. New Testament Textual Criticism

B. Translation Comparison

Translation comparison allows the interpreter to identify potential textual and interpretive issues for further study.

1. Select versions from the translation philosophies or methods (i.e. literal or formal equivalence, dynamic or functional equivalence, and mediating or blend of functional and formal methods For example, compare the passage in the New English Translation (NET), English Standard Version (ESV), New International Version (NIV), and the New Revised Standard Version (NRSV).
2. Note any differences in the translations that would identify any interpretive ambiguities. Interact with the notes in study Bibles concerning translation preferences, key word analysis, interpretive ambiguities, and theological questions.
3. Comment on important features (possible interpretive ambiguities, idioms, etc.) revealed by the translation comparison.
4. Identify words or phrases for further study (e.g., background study or word study)

Summary of Translation Methods[3]

[1] Walter C. Kaiser, Peter H. Davids, F. F. Bruce, and Manfred T. Brauch. Hard Sayings of the Bible (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 27-9.

   [2] Ellis Brotzman, Old Testament Textual Criticism: A Practical Introduction (Grand Rapids: Baker Books, 1994); Harold J.  Greenlee, The Text of the New Testament from Manuscript to Modern Edition (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2008).

[3] Gordon D. Fee and Mark L. Strauss, How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding and Using Bible Versions (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007), 26-34.

Guiding Question: How does the meaning of the text correlate with the rest of the Bible?

1. What did the text mean to the original audience?

Summarize the meaning of the text for the original audience in a paragraph or two.

2. Consult the Biblical Map

a. Examine all relevant cross references. If this part of step four does not apply to the selected passage, move on the next part.

b. Examine all relevant parallel passages (e.g. Kings and Chronicles, Gospels, Pauline Letters). If this part of step four does not apply to the selected passage, move on the next part.

c. New Testament use of an Old Testament Passage [1]

How does tan examination of cross references, parallel passages, or use of other Scripture passages in the selected passage help to understand the meaning of the passage for the original audience?

3. Commentary Comparison

a. Interact with no less than one of the types of commentaries: critical, exegetical/homiletical, and devotional.

• Take note of similarities and differences in your interpretation of the selected passage and the commentator’s interpretations.
• Work through any differences.

4. Incorporate any additional essential insights gleaned from the commentaries that you did not already uncover in your own work.

Guiding Question: How does the Bible communicate as literature? 

1. Determine the Literary Genre[1]

Three features of genre that should be taken into consideration:

• Form – the framework (e.g., narrative, poetry, gospel, letter, apocalypse)
• Content – subject matter
• Function – the author’s purpose (i.e. to inform, persuade, criticize, praise, etc.)

a. Determine then define the literary genre of the book.

b.Determine then define the literary genre of the selected passage.

2. Apply interpretive principles appropriate for each respective genre.[2]

3. Observe the Text

A. Sentence analysis

• Observe the passage at the sentence level. Look for repetition of words, contrasts, comparisons, lists, cause and effect, figures of speech, conjunctions, verbs, and pronouns.
• Comment on important features of individual verses.
• Decisions to be made concerning the relevance of important features in the passage:

a. Relevance of the observations for determining the meaning of the passage. Repetition does not always point to relevance. Sometimes the relevant items are mentioned only once in a passage.

b. Relevance for application? How does repetition of items contribute to understanding the author’s intent and any action to be taken by the audience?

c. Key words or concepts for further study

B. Paragraph Analysis

• Divide the selected passage into paragraphs then provide reasons for your paragraph divisions. Comment briefly on the important features in the overall structure of the passage.
• Observe the selected passage at the paragraph level looking for questions and answers, dialogue, means, purpose/result statements, general to specific and specific to general, conditional clauses, actions/roles of God, actions/roles of people, emotional terms, and the tone of the passage.
• Identify the theme of each paragraph then state the theme in one sentence followed by any necessary justification, explanation of illustration. The theme may be a key sentence taken directly from the text or a statement in your own words summarizing an implied theme.

C. Determine the major themes in the book in which the selected passage appears.

1. Determine then list the major themes of the book in which the selected passage appears?
2. Determine the theme of the selected passage.
3. Determine how the themes of the selected passage relates to the major theme(s) of the book.

D. Discourse and Literary Analyses  

Observe the passage at the discourse level. Using three or more detailed outlines of the book, look for connections to other paragraphs and episodes, shifts in the story/pivots, interchange between scenes or characters, chiasm, inclusion, etc. You may choose an existing outline, modify an existing outline, or compose an outline of the book for further study. Answer the following:

1. What is the selected passage’s role, function, or purpose in the book?
2. What would happen if we removed this section from the book?
3. Why did the author include this section as a crucial part of the whole?
4. Comment on important features of the discourse.

E. Evaluate the placement of the selected passage in its immediate and larger contexts within the book in a 2-4 sentence paragraph.

4. Provide a synthesis of the meaning of the text for the biblical audience using past tense verbs and refer to the biblical audience.

[1] David E. Aune, The New Testament in Its literary Environment. Wayne Meeks, ed. (Philadelphia: Westminster John Knox Press, 1987), 32-6.

[2] Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All its Worth, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014). William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard, Jr., Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, revised and updated edition (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers).

Guiding Question: What is/are the theological principle(s) in this text?

1. Theological Principle

a. Identify/determine the broader theological principle(s) – the main theological point – reflected in the text. Interact appropriate sources to clarify any theological questions.

b. Write out the theological principle(s) in one or two sentences using present-tense verbs.

c. Provide a rationale or justification for the theological principle(s) by testing them using the criteria for formulating the theological principle. [1]

•  The principle should be reflected in the text.
• The principle should be timeless and not tied to a specific situation.
• The principle should not be tied to a specific culture.
• The principle should correspond to the teaching of the rest of Scripture.
•  The principle should be relevant to both the biblical and contemporary audience.

2. Revise the theological principle(s) if necessary.

Guiding Question: What did the text mean to the biblical audience?

Exegesis must precede application because: [1]

1. Exegetical questions must be answered before questions of theology and application can be legitimately asked.
2. Exegesis is the spadework for interpretation, i.e. determining meaning.
3. Interpretation and/or application that is uninformed by exegesis has no foundation.

1. Research the general historical-cultural setting (external context) of the selected passage.

Guiding Question: What is the relationship between the text and the world from which it emerged? Research the following:

• Geographic setting – e.g., location, geographic features, climate.
• Historical setting – e.g., historical period, politics, religion, economy.
• Social/cultural setting – e.g., institutions, customs groups such as Pharisees, etc. concepts, customs.

2. Research the immediate background of the book

1. Author: Who was the author? Is the author identified specifically or implicitly in the book? Is the author identified in Jewish or Christian tradition?
2. Recipient(s): Who were the recipients? Are the recipients specifically or implicitly identified in the text? Does Jewish or Christian tradition identify the recipients? What was the author’s relationship with them?
3. Date – When did the author pen the document? Determine what if any indications are there in the text that point to a specific time? What if any indications in contemporary literature that would indicate when the document was written.
4. Occasion/Purpose – Does the author explicitly state a purpose for writing? What issue or issues is the author addressing? What is the author’s position on the issue or issues?
5. List then describe the differences (unique aspects such as cultural differences, religious differences, etc.) between the biblical audience and us, the contemporary audience. Identify specific items for further study (Background Study) and summarize the historical data.

Provide a synthesis of the meaning of the text for the biblical audience using past tense verbs and refer to the biblical audience. 

Guiding Question: How should congregations and/or individual Christians live out the theological principle(s)?

There will be numerous possibilities for application of a theological principle. To explore the range of possibilities, ask yourself, “What does this principle, this truth, look like in my (our) world?” application of the theological principle(s) allows the interpreter to move beyond the science of interpretation to the art of interpretation - to use one’s creativity in applying a principle.

1. Common Pitfalls in Application [1]

a. Neglect of any context.

b. Interpreting the passage in light of the rest of the Testament (i.e., Old or New Testaments) in which it appears, while failing to take into account the full historical and literary contexts.

c. Correctly interpreting the passage in light of its literary and historical contexts but bringing its principles to bear on modern circumstances in which they do not apply.

2. A Method for Bringing the Bible into Our World [2]

a. Determine the original application(s) intended by the passage.

b. Evaluate the level of specificity of those applications in their original historical situations. If the original applications are transferable across time and space to other audiences, apply them in culturally appropriate ways. To evaluate the accuracy of perceived cross-cultural principles apply the following criteria. [3]

• Make sure a given principle has come straight from the selected text.
• Check to see if the principle incorporates all the main elements of the text and does not conveniently neglect an important component.
• Make sure the principle is not tied to a particular situation but can truly express its original intention in cultures all over the world and throughout history.
• Make sure the principle is in agreement with other comparable principles derivable from the rest of Scripture. 
• Express the principle in one or two sentences with present-tense verbs so that it is memorable and sounds relevant to the audience.

c. If the original applications are not transferable, identify one or more broader cross-cultural principles that specific elements of the text reflect.

d. Find appropriate applications for today that implement those principles. [4]

Complete the following chart:

e. List the principle or principles from the selected Passage in the space provided above.

f. In the left column, list situations reflected in the selected passage.

g. In the right column, list parallel situations in a contemporary setting.

h. Show how the principle works in the contemporary setting.

By creatively applying the truth of Scripture to contemporary settings, believers demonstrate the reality and relevance of the Christian faith in daily life.