Exegetical Approaches Research Articles

Visual Exegesis of Herodias and Salome from Feminist Rhetorical Criticism: The Construction of a Myth

The biblical account of Salome has been marked throughout history by two main themes: on the one hand, the princess’s dance in front of the main rulers of Galilee, and on the other hand, the request for the head of John the Baptist to King Herod, instigated by his mother Herodias. The reading of this passage has been strongly marked by the different patriarchal exegetical approaches, which have modulated the reception of both female characters being traceable through the visual and literary arts, to the point of taking on the concept of femme fatale. Really, in both moments Salome is the executor of the actions, not as a result of her capacity for agency, but due to her influenceable character. Through a critical–historical analysis of the biblical passage, Herodias and Salome emerge with characteristics quite different from what 19th-century Art History inherited. The methodology of feminist rhetorical criticism allows for an approach to the visual re-imaginings of this biblical passage that have shaped the iconography of these two figures. The field of visual arts, particularly the production of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, will be the great receptacle for the genesis of the fatality and assimilation of these female biblical figures.

An Unstable Presence in the House: Rethinking the Threat of Disability in 2 Sam 5:6–8 and the Mephibosheth Story

In this article, I survey exegetical approaches to the “blind and lame,” using disability studies and close readings to expose ableist bias. I also present my reading, in which I propose that the blind and lame are disabled persons whom David hates not just because of who they are, but also because of the fears they provoke. He is afraid. Disabled bodies can be unpredictable, untamable, and uncertain. David has no idea what his enemies are capable of, because “blind” and “lame” are vague and amorphous labels. Parading blind people and lame people on the ramparts does not display the weakest people in a strong city but displays people of unknown strengths.

로마서 1:16-17에 대한 주석적 연구

본 논문의 목적은 로마서의 주제 구절로 알려진 1:16-17을 그 문학적, 역사적 문맥에서 주석하는 것이다. 1:16-17에 대한 주석을 통해 논문은 다음과 같은 주장을 끌어낸다. 첫째, 1:16-17의 문학적 구성면에서 볼 때, 1:16-17은 ABCB"A"와 같은 교차대구법을 보여준다. 그리고 1:16-17을 구성하고 있는 주요 어휘들인 복음, 의, 믿음, 구원 등이 사실상 로마서 전체 내러티브를 이끌어간다. 둘째, 1:16-17의 해석을 통해 다음의 사항을 끌어낸다. 1) “내가 복음을 부끄러워하지 아니하노니”(16a)라는 바울의 고백적 선언은 “내가 복음을 자랑스럽게 여긴다”라는 역설적인 수사적 표현이다. 2) “복음이 믿는 모든 사람을 구원하는 하나님의 능력”(16b)인 이유는 복음의 선포를 통하여 하나님이 역사하시기 때문이다. 3) “먼저는 유대인이요 그다음은 헬라인이라”(16C)는 말은 하나님의 구원에 있어서 유대인이 우선권이 있음을 보여준다. 4) “하나님의 의”(17b)는 로마서 전체를 이끌어가는 핵심 어휘로서 어떤 획일적인 의미만이 아니라, “하나님의 언약적 신실하심”, “하나님의 구원 활동”, “하나님의 법적 선언”, “하나님의 구원 선물” 등 다양한 의미를 지닌다. 5) 17b의 “믿음에서 믿음에”라는 문구는 하나님/그리스도의 신실하심을 지칭하지 않고, 신자들의 믿음을 강조하는 수사적 표현이다. 6) 하박국 2:4(17c) 인용은 기독론적으로서가 아니라, 구원론적으로 이해되어야 한다. 7) 명사 ‘의인’과 동사 ‘살리라’의 가운데 위치하는 “믿음으로”의 문구는 명사나 동사 어느 하나만이 아니라, 양쪽을 다 수식할 수 있다. 덧붙여 본 논문은 로마서 1:16-17이 로마서 전체 내러티브와 관련되어 있다는 사실과 함께 한 사람의 1:16-17의 이해는 로마서 전체 내러티브에 대한 이해와 깊이 연관되어 있다고 주장한다. The primary purpose of this paper is to explore the meaning of Romans 1:16-17 in its literary and exegetical context. Throughout literary and exegetical approaches to the paragraph, the article claims: First, with the literary composition of 1:16-17, the paragraph shows a very logical rhythm of ABCB"A", a kind of chiasmus with three words each. Next, with the interpretation of the theme paragraph, 1) Paul’s confessional declaration of “I am not ashamed of the gospel”(16a) was a solid paradoxical rhetorical expression of “I am proud of the gospel.” 2) In connection with the fact that “the gospel is God’s power to save”(16b), the reason is consisted of that God works through the gospel and that salvation is cosmic and apocalyptic, not just man, but the restoration of all creatures under God"s rule. 3) “All who believe, first Jews, then Hellenists”(16C) emphasizes that the object of salvation is only one who personally believes in the gospel and that it is clear that the Jews have priority in God’s salvation, but that it does not mean a different way of salvation. 4) With the interpretation of “the righteousness of God’s being revealed in the gospel”(17b), the vocabulary of “righteousness of God” is the core vocabulary that constitutes the entire narrative of Romans. The vocabulary of righteousness was used in various rich meanings in LXX, the main background of Paul’s “righteousness,” not in any uniform sense. Based on this confirmation, Paul does employ “righteousness” in various ways, including “the covenantal faithfulness of God,” “the activity of God’s salvation,” “God’s legal declaration,” and “God’s gift of salvation.” 5) With the phrase “from faith to faith” in 17b, the phrase should be viewed simply as a rhetorical expression that emphasizes the belief of believers in similar phrase 16c, not the so-called “the faithfulness of God/Christ and faith of man.” 6) Finally, the Habakkuk 2:4 quotation passage(17c) should be understood soteriologically, not Christologically.

Contesting the Exegetical Approaches of Muhammad Abduh and Fazlur Rahman to the Qur’ān

The exegetical approaches that Muhammad Abduh and Fazlur Rahman used to study the Qur’ān are this study’s main focus of discussion. The research is essential to enrich the literature of contemporary Islamic studies by contesting the two scholars’ interpretation approaches. This article will answer whether the contextualized interpretation model is still relevant today by comparing and contrasting Abduh and Rahman’s respective interpretive approaches and providing examples of the verses mentioned. Hence, this study is qualitative-library research, whereas data processing relies on content analysis and comparative methods. Nevertheless, reading Abduh and Rahman’s ideas within contemporary situations is still necessary because of its rational-contextual interpretation, which is compatible with modern society and needs.

Elisabet Nord, Vindicating Vengeance and Violence: Exegetical Approaches to Imprecatory Psalms and Their Relevance for Liturgy

N/A

Elements of Biblical Exegesis: A Basic Guide for Students and Ministers

Elements of Biblical Exegesis: A Basic Guide for Students and Ministers

Introduction

The ancient scholia to the Iliad—excerpts of ancient scholarship and commentary on the Iliad that have been preserved as marginal and interlinear notes in major medieval manuscripts—constitute a uniquely rich and challenging source for anyone interested in Greco-Roman antiquity. A mass of material that includes textual criticism, lexical debate, and literary interpretation, the scholia range in quality from the tralaticious to the dazzlingly insightful, and they reflect multiple critical and exegetical approaches employed over many centuries. These responses to one of antiquity’s most important texts provide vital information about ancient literary exegesis, textual criticism, and education, and contain valuable evidence for the state of the Homeric texts in antiquity. But despite a recent surge of interest in Greek literary scholarship and scholiography,1 the Iliad scholia remain relatively underexploited by all but a limited group of specialists. Philological analyses have traditionally characterized handling of this material, and these methods...

Jy moet jou naaste asook jou vyand liefhê: Liefde in Lukas 6:27–38 en 10:25–37

You must love your neighbour as well as your enemy: Love in Luke 6:27–38 and 10:25–37. The background of this study is found in the common perception that love as concept is linked to Jesus as basic ethical commandment and identity marker of Christians. This view has been challenged lately, and will be reconsidered in light of Luke. The question addressed as objective of this article is whether the Lukan Jesus may be called the ‘Jesus of love’, as Jesus refers only twice (Lk 6:27–38 and 10:25–37) to intense personal love (ἀγαπάω – akin to love typical of family or friends). Following established exegetical approaches, all the uses in Luke of the word groups ἀγαπάω/ἀγάπη and φιλέω/φίλος were analysed, illustrating the diverse ways in which these words are used by Luke. The two contexts referring to intense love were analysed in more detail and it was shown that love functions as the overarching term for other terms referring to concepts such as mercy, compassion, good deeds, non-retaliation and other concepts linked to the underdogs, enemies, the poor, oppressed or women in Luke. The result of the investigation was that, although the Lukan Jesus does not use the term ἀγαπάω frequently, the idea of love as overarching term is indirectly attested through the use of these other terms describing compassion, respect, assistance, mercy, et cetera. In this sense, the Lukan Jesus is the ‘Jesus of love’.Contribution: The contribution to research lies in the detailed description of the semantics of love in Luke and showing that Jesus’ ministry might, with good reason, be described as a ministry of love.

Wrestling with Spirits: A Medieval Internal Jewish Debate on the Nature of Biblical Angels and its Arabic and Latin Sources

Abstract The article’s point of departure is a debate that took place in about 1290 between Zeraḥyah b. Isaac Ḥen and Hillel b. Samuel, two Jewish-Italian thinkers, that presents us with a surprisingly great variety of Arab, Jewish, and Latin-Christian exegetical and cosmological approaches regarding angelic nature. Zeraḥyah, following the dominant attitude among Arab, Muslim, and Jewish philosophers, strives to interpret the biblical angel-figure either naturalistically or allegorically. Conversely, Hillel cleaves more closely to Christian scholastic conceptions, adhering to the biblical narrative in the literal sense. The struggle between Jacob and the angel (Gen 32) posed one of the most challenging cases, presenting the interpreter with a situation in which an angel did not only appear but was also engaged in bodily contact. In the case of Hillel, his dual commitment as a Jewish Maimonidean heavily influenced by Latin Scholasticism led to the development of a highly unique solution.

James K. Aitken and Hilary F. Marlow (eds). The City in the Hebrew Bible: Critical, Literary, and Exegetical Approaches

<scp>James</scp> K. <scp>Aitken</scp> and <scp>Hilary</scp> F. <scp>Marlow</scp> (eds). <i>The City in the Hebrew Bible: Critical, Literary, and Exegetical Approaches</i>

Interpretation Approaches For Biblical Apocalyptic Literature: An Evaluation

Apocalyptic literature is one of the literature that has been subjected to numerous exegetical approaches due to the difficulty of understanding its content. This has resulted in misinterpretation among Christians. After discussing the available models for apocalyptic literature in this study, it was understood that the eclectic approach remains a preferable alternative for interpreting apocalyptic literature. Its steps must be utilized as a whole to yield intended results for a sound interpretation of apocalyptic literature for both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Keywords: Apocalyptic literature, Preteristt Approach, Idealist Approach, Futuristic Approach, Historicist Approach, Propheticist Approach, Eclectic Approach, Revelation.

Philosophy of Qur’ānic Weltanschauung in the Light of Different Exegetical Modes: A Discourse of Traditional-cum-Modern Scholarship

This paper aims to highlight the role of different exegetical approaches considering traditional to that of modern scholarship to comprehend possible dimensions of Qur’ānic worldview regarding a particular topic. This discussion has been demarcated generally into four major phases succinctly with further minor segments where scholars’ elaborations are also important elements expressing their own opinions and vantage points. For example, proportionality and coherence among various Qur’ānic subjects, contextual framework in addition to the involvement of thematic exegetical methodology, etc. where each dimension contributes well up to the possible extent. Employing the analytical method, we may examine the question of Qur’ānic Worldview to judge the text to contextual domain considering traditional vis-à-vis modern scholarship. Hence, this paper finds that in contemporary context together with epistemological concern, the mutual nexus between traditional-cum-modern scholarship supplements each other concerning different exegetical modes concerning cultural fluctuations depending upon the scholar’s capability of inference and insight. All these factors revolve around the various modes integrating the whole concept intermingling number of facets collectively that may project the possible Whole Part Relation Paradigm (WPRP) with a homogeneous view. It leads one to know, highlight, and demonstrates the Qur’ānic weltanschauung.

Scripture Re-envisioned: Christophanic Exegesis and the Making of a Christian Bible by Bogdan Gabriel Bucur

Reviewed by: Scripture Re-envisioned: Christophanic Exegesis and the Making of a Christian Bible by Bogdan Gabriel Bucur Corine B. Milad Bogdan Gabriel Bucur Scripture Re-envisioned: Christophanic Exegesis and the Making of a Christian Bible The Bible in Ancient Christianity 13 Leiden: Brill, 2019 Pp. xiv + 332. $179.00. In this indispensable addition to the growing field of patristic exegesis, Bogdan Bucur argues that contemporary terminology for early Christian interpretation fails to account for a dominant and widespread approach to the handling of theophanic narratives in the Old Testament that has profound ramifications for our understanding of patristic use of Scripture. Scripture Re-envisioned: Christophanic Exegesis and the Making of a Christian Bible traces the reception history of Old Testament theophanies, showing how the earliest Christians provided a literal christological interpretation of theophanies; that is to say, they read these theophanic narratives as appearances of the Logos-to-be-incarnate. Bucur shows that such interpretation did not result from contrived exegetical fancy footwork; rather, this interpretation flowed necessarily from the theological presupposition [End Page 337] that Israel’s kyrios was the “Lord Jesus,” and Bucur traces this “YHWH Chris-tology” within the New Testament writings themselves. Bucur considers the reception history of eight OT theophanies: the theophany at Mamre (Gen 18); the burning bush theophany (Exod 3); the Tabor theophany considered in light of the Sinai theophany (Matt 17 and Exod 33); the call to “worship at his footstool” as an injunction to venerate the cross (Ps 98/99.5 and Ps 131/132.7); the prophetic vision of Isaiah (Isa 6); the vision of Habakkuk interpreted in light of the throne-theophanies of Isaiah and Ezekiel (Hab 3.2 LXX); Daniel’s vision of the Son of Man and the Ancient of Days (Dan 7); and lastly, the theophany of the three young men in the fiery furnace (Dan 3). Bucur illustrates how early Christians read these various narratives predominantly as manifestations of the Logos-to-be-incarnate. Representative in this respect is Irenaeus’s straightforward identification of ὁ ὤν (Exod 3.14; cf. Rev 1.8) in the burning bush theophany with “the Son Jesus Christ our Lord” (Irenaeus, Haer. 3.6.2). Bucur demonstrates the ubiquity of this “YHWH Christology” not only within exegetical commentaries but also, indeed more importantly, within liturgy, hymnography, and iconography. These literal christological interpretations of theophanies gradually gave way to symbolic Trinitarian interpretations. Augustine’s interpretation of the burning bush narrative, for example, identifies the theophanic appearances not with Christ, but with a created manifestation (i.e., an angel) that signifies the Trinity. Despite this “trinitarian turn,” however, the literal christological interpretation continued unabated in hymnography and iconography. Bucur sharply distinguishes between these two interpretations: while the earlier patristic tradition read these divine encounters as truly “epiphanic,” the later tradition read them as merely “symbolic”—an “exegetical and theological convention” (65, 190, 207, 259, 266). Bucur argues that current scholarship conflates the two exegetical approaches, as many scholars label exegesis that identifies Christ within OT narratives as “typological” or “allegorical.” These exegetical labels—as well as contemporary favorites such as “figural” and “figurative” or “ikonic mimēsis” and “symbolic mimēsis”—fail to capture the epiphanic character of this significant strand of exegesis. The earliest Christians understood Christ as present within the Old Testament, not simply as signified prophetically (typologically or allegorically), but as encountered historically. The opening and concluding chapters of Scripture Re-envisioned helpfully structure the overall argument. The prolegomenon of the first chapter comes full circle in the constructive proposal of the concluding chapter. The opening chapter considers the encounter on the Emmaus road (Luke 24) as a prolegomenon to the interpretive approach that is discussed in subsequent chapters. Bucur first establishes the Emmaus encounter as a theophany: he traces verbal and conceptual links between Luke 24 and various other biblical theophanies. He then argues that this particular theophany offers “a forceful articulation of the principle of a distinctly Christian entry into the Scriptures, and of the proper medium and method of Christological exegesis” (9). This medium and method is a ritual-liturgical and transformational context. The breaking of the bread and subsequent recognition of the resurrected and glorified Christ...

The City in the Hebrew Bible: Critical, Literary and Exegetical Approaches ed. by James K. Aitken, Hilary F. Marlow

The City in the Hebrew Bible: Critical, Literary and Exegetical Approaches ed. by James K. Aitken, Hilary F. Marlow

قضية رحمة الله في التفسير الصوفي الإشاري

Some exegetes explained the Qur’anic verses about the mercy of Allah through ṣūfī al-ishārī (mystical allegorical allusion) interpretation which is one of the exegetical approaches to describe the meaning of the Qurʾān. This interpretation is based on hidden symbolic imagery contrary to the conventional interpretation of the Qurʾān. The purpose of this article is to extrapolate the concept of raḥmat Allāh (the mercy of Allah) in Quranic verses with reference to tafsīr ṣūfī al-ishārī. This research is based on the textual study by using content analysis method in criticism and evaluation. The paper opines that adopting tafsīr ṣūfī al-ishārī in the concept of the mercy of Allah is in agreement with the conditions of conventional tafsīr.

The City in the Hebrew Bible: Critical, Literary and Exegetical Approaches

The City in the Hebrew Bible: Critical, Literary and Exegetical Approaches

Interpreting texts and the matter of context: Examples from the Book of Ruth

This article aims to explore the matter of context in biblical exegesis and interpretation. Several exegetical approaches are discussed, namely, text-immanent, intertextual comparison, reader-response criticism, which is subdivided into feminist and postcolonial studies, and historical criticism. The pros and cons of each approach will also be indicated. The Book of Ruth (RB) is subjected under all of these forms of exegesis in order to illustrate how a single text can be interpreted in various, even divergent ways, depending on the approach chosen by the exegete. Intradisciplinary and/or interdisciplinary implications: This article aims to explore the matter of context in biblical exegesis and interpretation. It examines the biblical Book of Ruth by employing literary and theological theories. Different interpretations are illuminated according to the methodology chosen by the exegete.

Mrs. Lot: Vilified or victim? Sinner or salt?

Patriarchal and punitive characterization often casts the silenced Mrs. Lot as a disobedient and unfaithful sinner who ignored God’s command not to look back. Because she did, a common conclusion is that she ostensibly lusted after the depravity of Sodom or Gomorrah as the towns were cataclysmically destroyed by God’s judgment with rains of fire. Feminist and womanist exegetical approaches to the biblical text reject the brunt of patriarchal castigation. As a practical theologian, I analyze the praxiological intent of Mrs. Lot’s actions in the Abram–Lot saga. I approach the Hebraic text using a triadic womanist theoethical method to: (a) deconstruct the hegemonic hermeneutics by critiquing oppressive epistemological presumptions; (b) analyze lived experiences as narrative description to center, name, and validate historically margined or silenced voices; and (c) construct a counternarrative affirming personhood by valuing praxis to resist devaluation. I propose a counternarrative view of Mrs. Lot by deconstructing a patriarchal focus privileging Lot. I describe a narrative of Mrs. Lot’s lived experiences relational to Lot’s questionable ethics in light of societal mores. I then construct a premise for God’s mercy rather than punishment as evidenced in Mrs. Lot’s transformation. The proposal is timely in light of the revelatory publicity of the #MeToo campaign, wherein female voices shed light on past and present abusive experiences. My aim is to urge women and men to resist the normativity of domestic abuse that goes unchecked in the Genesis narrative and in present societal practices. I argue that Mrs. Lot’s lived experiences give ‘voice’ to what must be retold in the symbolism of a salt pillar, which Christ later taught had life-altering properties. Her vilification ends here. Enough.

Affliction without Affliction: A Translation of the Nakulapitāsutta and its Commentaries

This article consists of a study of two commentaries to the Nakulapitāsutta, a Buddhist text from the Pali Khandhasaṃyutta. This sutta addresses the key concept of liberation from the perspective of illness, decay and death, and offers an incisive description of the five aggregates of personality. The two commentaries present variegate exegetical approaches to the root-text, mostly based upon a sophisticated system of cross-references wisely intertwined with a bulk of original elucidations. This combination illustrates some prominent aspects of Pali Buddhist philosophy and provides a precious series of lexicographical interpretations that surely deserve further studies.

Methodological Developments in Biblical Exegesis: Author – Text – Reader

The methods used in biblical exegesis follow the developments within literary criticism, although at a certain distance.Every text analysis, both in biblical exegesis and literary criticism, has to deal with the triplet: author – text – reader. This triplet is in itself very obvious; but this is not the case for the chosen focus in this triplet. In this paper, I would like to describe the developments in the exegetical approaches from the view point of the three possible focusses in this triplet, against the background of the developments in literary criticism. After abstracting all sorts of details and various side-developments, I distinguish three phases: a first phase with a focus on the author from the 17th century onward, a second phase, with a focus on the text from the 60’s of the last century onward, and a third phase with a focus on the reader, existing since the last couple of decades.Because biblical exegesis is not just about theoretical approaches towards a text, but also about the concrete analyses of biblical texts, I will use especially Amos 7:10-17, the well-known story about the clash between the priest Amaziah and the prophet Amos, as an example of the three phases of exegetical methods, without giving an exhaustive exegesis, but pointing out some characteristic aspects of the exegesis in these three phases.I will conclude my paper by presenting my communication-oriented exegetical method, in which I integrate all three focusses of the three phases I distinguish.