Exegetical Tool Research Articles

Rethinking a fundamentalist literalist reading of Mark 16:18 by some new prophetic churches

Some of the New Prophetic Churches apply the fundamentalist literalist reading of the biblical text in their sermons and theology because of a lack of knowledge and application of proper reading and interpretation of scripture. The fundamentalist literalist reading of scripture particularly Mark 16:18 is linked here to the abuses by some of the pastors in New Prophetic Churches. In addressing these challenges, this article proposes a proper exegetical study of Mark 16:18 that pays attention to the context of the text, the historical background and the grammar of the text. This will be achieved by giving a background to a fundamentalist literalist reading of scripture in Pentecostalism particularly as practised by New Prophetic Churches in South Africa. The article will also highlight some of the challenges posed by the fundamentalist literalist reading of scripture. The final section is an exegetical study of Mark 16:18, which is interpreted by recognising the whole passage of Mark 16:9–20 even though some New Testament scholars do not recognise this longer ending. This article reflected on this passage in response to the fundamentalist literalist reading among New Prophetic Churches not necessarily to enter the debate between the short ending and longer ending.Contribution: This article challenges fundamentalist literalist reading of scripture in New Prophetic Churches. The article proposes a thorough exegetical reading of Mark 16:18 that recognises the exegetical tools such as history, grammar and the context of the text.

The Disposition of Christians to Political Governance in Nigeria in Relation to Romans 12:14 - 13:10

There have been controversies about Christians’ disposition towards political leadership or civil authorities. The Apostle Paul (Romans 12:14-13:1-10) instructs Christians to submit to political authorities; given that certain Christians had shunned all restraint because of their heavenly calling and lost respect for earthly authorities. The burden of this study is the appropriate attitude required from adherents of Christianity towards unfair, ungodly, and despotic leaders. Christians are facing high-level of opposition and marginalization in Nigeria especially in recent times. For instance, most scholars usually treat Romans 13:1-10 thus neglecting Romans 12:14-21. Whereas Romans 12:14-21 is the preceding part of Romans 13:1-10. Therefore, the study employed a historical-critical reading of Romans 12:14-13:10 as a composite unit and its applicability to Christians’ socio-political responsibilities in Nigeria. Primary data is elicited from the Bible with the aid of exegetical tools, while secondary data were sourced from works referencing the selected biblical text and on political governance in Nigeria. Data was content-analysed within the ambit of a phenomenological approach whereby attention is placed on Christians’ disposition towards political leaders and civil authorities. Political obligation theory has been found appropriate and deployed for this study. Hence, the paper recommends that Christians should avoid contemptuous or indifferent disposition to civil authorities and political leaders. Christians occupying political offices should enliven their Christian virtues amidst persecution and repression.

Luke 10–24 by Barbara E. Reid, OP and Shelly Matthews

Reviewed by: Luke 10–24 by Barbara E. Reid, OP and Shelly Matthews Sheila Klassen-Wiebe barbara e. reid, op, and shelly matthews, Luke 10–24 (Wisdom Commentary 43B; Collegeville, MN: Liturgical Press, 2021). Pp. x + 373. $49.95. The second volume on the Gospel of Luke, by Barbara E. Reid and Shelly Matthews, is a welcome addition to the Wisdom Commentary series. Since it begins immediately with Luke 10:1, readers will benefit from having the first volume at hand, not only to read the valuable Introduction but also to access the many references to the first volume. Like other commentaries in the series, this one aims to "offer detailed feminist interpretation" of the biblical text. R. and M. focus on gender inequities, but they are attentive to the intersection of patriarchy with oppression based on race, class, sexuality, physical ability, religious difference, and so on. For example, they reflect on how the story of the woman freed from a crippling spirit might perpetuate a "victim theology" when read through the lens of disability studies (13:10–27). They decry the use of the master–slave metaphor to characterize the divine–human relationship, and they resist drawing out moral teachings from parables built on "slave logic" (e.g., 12:35–48; 17:7–10). The co-authors of this commentary utilize a range of methodologies and exegetical tools in their interpretation of the text. Gender analysis is employed to interrogate passages in which demons "penetrate" vulnerable wo/men and virile men wage war against Satan (pp. 347–48, 375–77). Understanding cultural values of honor and shame illumines the countercultural nature of the friend at midnight, who "shamelessly" disregards social norms to provide hospitality (pp. 370–72). R. and M. also weigh in on historical questions; for example, they argue that it is "historically implausible" that Jewish leaders would have handed Jesus over to Rome on the charge of blasphemy (pp. 593–94), and they note the historical reference to Archelaus in the parable of the pounds (p. 509). Throughout the commentary, they rely heavily on redaction criticism and the conviction that Luke deliberately modified Mark's Gospel. This shapes their conclusions on some key issues. In volume 1, R. and M. identify two perspectives they prioritize in their study of the Gospel: Luke's portrayal of women and his attitude toward Jews who do not accept Jesus as the Messiah. Although Luke's Gospel is often viewed as the "friendliest" toward women, R. and M. challenge this perception. For example, the commentary dispels the myth that [End Page 361] women had no power in Judaism or Greco-Roman society by citing evidence of their participation in synagogues and symposia, but Luke includes no meal scenes where women participate in table talk (p. 433). Luke 22 and 23 reveal Luke's tendency to privilege "the twelve male apostles while rewriting traditions concerning women's agency in the direction of subordination and silence" (p. 558). By making the parable in 18:1–8 about persistent prayer, "Luke tries to tame the image of an unconventional widow who intrudes in traditionally male spaces" (p. 490). Although Luke's anti-Jewish proclivities are evident throughout the Gospel, they are particularly strong in the passion narrative. Jesus's lament in 19:41–44 "embodies the theology that Jerusalem deserved its destruction … because it rejected Jesus as messiah" (p. 520). Repeatedly in the passion narrative Luke shifts blame for Jesus's death from Rome to "the Jews" and fails to critique imperial power, even embracing an "elite ideology of just crucifixion" (pp. 613–14). Despite their overall negative conclusions regarding Luke's stance on women and Judaism, R. and M. not only employ a hermeneutics of suspicion but also search for what is liberative. For example, the anti-family sayings in 12:49–53 challenge traditional patriarchal households as the norm even as they fail to disrupt assumptions about slavery (pp. 405–6). The teachings on service and humility in 22:24–27 can perpetuate systemic injustice for those without power, but they may also "serve as resources in struggles toward justice" when read "as a call to renounce power and engage in solidarity...

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

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

Spiritual and Material Conversion in the Alchemical Work of Zosimus of Panopolis

Zosimus of Panopolis was a Graeco-Egyptian alchemist of the 3rd century whose alchemy was imbued with both technical and Gnostic elements. In this way, the notion of conversion is met in the corpus of Zosimus in both its material and spiritual aspects. The aim of this paper is to present these two kinds of conversion by having a special focus on the role of the spirit (pneuma) in their procedures. Hence, in the first part of the study I present how pneuma is involved in the conversion of metals, while in the second I deal with the spiritual–Gnostic aspects of his alchemy, which pertain to the notion of the “divine spark.” In the last part of the study, I examine the relation between pneuma and divine water in the work of Zosimus, which serves in turn as an exegetical tool for the Coptic-Gnostic source which is found in the Gospel According to Philip (61, 12b–20a).

Aristotelian and Stoic Syllogistic in the Anonymous Commentary on Plato’s Theaetetus

Abstract The present paper investigates the question as to how and for what purposes the Middle Platonic author of the Anonymous Commentary on Plato’s Theaetetus uses Aristotelian and Stoic syllogistic in his interpretation of the Platonic text. This investigation shows that the commentator employs Aristotelian categorical syllogistic as an exegetical tool for reconstructing arguments in the Platonic text, enabling him not only to uncover doctrinal statements that are in his view hidden in the Platonic text, but also to dissociate Plato from unwelcome propositions. By contrast, the commentator uses Stoic hypothetical syllogistic as a polemical tool for constructing ad hominem arguments against the Stoics. More precisely, the author exploits the Stoic type of deductive reasoning to draw anti-Stoic conclusions from premises that are accepted by the Stoics, and in doing so, he manages not only to refute Stoic doctrines, but also to corroborate the corresponding Platonic theories.

What Does it Mean to Be Self-So?

Abstract This article aims to understand Guo Xiang’s concept of self-so in the perspective of the metaphysical agenda of the Xuanxue movement. After reviewing the core features of this metaphysical agenda, I show that Guo Xiang’s original use of self-so could be understood as an exegetical tool to deal with the challenges addressed to language in the Zhuangzi, as well as with its conception of reality as ever-transforming. I attempt to show that although Guo Xiang dismisses the metaphysical quest for a first principle, his philosophy can nevertheless be read as an enquiry into the most fundamental feature of reality.

From English to ‘englishes’: Appropriating Language and Narration in Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things

The paper examines the problematics of the splintering of English into “englishes” in the postcolonial context and deciphers how the postcolonial exegetical tools have been employed by the Indian English novelists of the late twentieth century. The writers have been successful in creating a new identity by adapting their own linguistic, cultural and sociological contexts in their writings. The new-words which have been invented, borrowed, or however devised in any given culture have their own resonances and their own connotations. The need to preserve one’s identity and culture to resist the hegemony of globalization is one of the most pressing concerns of these writers. To elaborate upon this, the paper will discuss the narrative technique and language as creatively employed by Arundhati Roy in her debut novel, The God of Small Things. It will analyse how the text succeeds in “writing back to the empire” through the linguistic processes of appropriation and abrogation. Roy has freed herself from the shackles of traditional stiffness in the usage of English and has in the process created a new ‘english’ to absorb the nuances of her region. Small Things has been applauded for its fresh innovative language, its narrative energy and its willingness to raise questions that are socially relevant.

Accommodating Embodied Thinkers

AbstractThe principle of divine accommodation posits that revelation is accommodated to human cognitive capacities. It is regularly cited throughout the history of theology as an exegetical tool, as a doctrinal rationale, or as a condition for theological knowledge in general. This article proposes that divine accommodation invites an engagement with cognitive science, since findings in cognitive science illuminate the human cognitive capacities to which theological knowledge is accommodated. This article aims to demonstrate the fruitfulness of such an engagement by considering how theological concepts might be accommodated to accounts of human conceptualisation emerging from cognitive science. In particular, a case study considers the ‘conceptualisation hypothesis’ from ‘embodied cognition’, an emerging paradigm in cognitive science. This hypothesis suggests that human concepts are ‘grounded’ in sensorimotor states. If this scientifically‐motivated theory applies to all human concepts, it poses a potential theological dilemma: namely, if God‐concepts are grounded in sensorimotor states they prima facie risk being idolatrous, whereas if they are not so grounded, they may be un‐conceptualisable by humans. I suggest that one way to address this dilemma is to draw upon Athanasius’ insight that the incarnation plays a crucial role in accommodating human understanding. By examining the incarnation as an accommodation to human capacities uncovered by cognitive scientists, we gain a more comprehensive account of the epistemological reason for the incarnation. This account offers new lines of thinking about debates on the doctrine of the incarnation, such as the possibility of multiple incarnations.

Reading Sacred Scripture with Thomas Aquinas: Hermeneutical Tools, Theological Questions and New Perspectives ed. by Piotr Roszak and Jörgen Vijgen

Reviewed by: Reading Sacred Scripture with Thomas Aquinas: Hermeneutical Tools, Theological Questions and New Perspectives ed. by Piotr Roszak and Jörgen Vijgen David Whidden Reading Sacred Scripture with Thomas Aquinas: Hermeneutical Tools, Theological Questions and New Perspectives edited by Piotr Roszak and Jörgen Vijgen (Turnhout: Brepols, 2015), xvi + 601 pp. One of the curiosities of Thomistic scholarship is that Aquinas's primary role as a Dominican master was to lecture on Scripture, yet until recently there has been relatively little attention paid to his engagement with Scripture. Scholarship on Aquinas's biblical commentaries has been neglected relative to the size of its presence in his corpus. A positive contribution to redressing this imbalance is in this recent text edited by Piotr Roszak and Jörgen Vijgen, who provide us with a collection of essays that investigate Aquinas's use of Scripture. Including the introductory essay, in twenty essays from international scholars we are presented with a variety of ways of understanding the role of Scripture in Aquinas's theology, the tools he used, how he thought about Scripture, and how his use of Scripture illuminates a variety of theological and philosophical questions. As with any other good collection of essays, the editors provide a thematic guide and summary of the work in their introduction, beginning by reiterating Étienne Gilson's claim that Aquinas's "entire theology … is a commentary on the Bible" (vii), and making their own argument that "the thought of Aquinas undoubtedly operates within a biblical horizon" (viii), a claim that is further strengthened by the variety of ways the other nineteen essays reinforce the primacy of Scripture in Aquinas's thought. The contribution of this book, however, is not just to describe the primacy of Scripture in Aquinas's thought, but to take into account his hermeneutical [End Page 331] perspective as we understand it now while pointing to future research directions. Likewise, the essays do not just look backward historically, but also provide fruitful links to contemporary issues. After the introduction, the next eleven essays are organized around the theme of hermeneutical tools. In these essays the authors attempt to provide an understanding of the Aquinas's basic exegetical approach, both in his theology of Scripture and in the variety of exegetical tools and methods he used. Several themes emerge out of these essays. One theme that is taken up is that of the multiple senses of Scripture and how Aquinas deploys them. On one hand Gilbert Dahan (50–52) argues that, while Aquinas speaks of the four senses of Scripture inherited from Stephen Langton, he also engages with the threefold sense of Scripture from Hugh of St. Victor. But, contrary to Aquinas's description in Summa theologiae I, q. 1, a. 10, Dahan argues that the four senses of Scripture are not really functional in Aquinas's exegesis (52) and that "the backbone of his hermeneutical system" is engaging with the texts through narrative, parabolic, and poetic modes (58). On the other hand, Elisabeth Reinhardt, in an essay describing how Aquinas's inaugural lectures programmatically shape his future exegesis, shows how the four senses of Scripture are operative in his exegesis of the Book of Romans (80–82). Likewise, Roszak shows how Aquinas's use of scriptural citations tends to have a more spiritual sense when used in his commentary on the Psalms (135–37), and Jeremy Holmes shows how Aquinas reads the Old Testament primarily through the spiritual sense, a reading based on a participation metaphysics that allows Aquinas to preserve the theological value of the Old Testament through a Christological reading of those texts. These essays helpfully point to a possible difference between Aquinas's theory of the senses of Scripture and how he actually deploys that theory in his actual exegetical practice, a difference that deserves further study. A second theme that emerges from these essays is the Christological shape of Aquinas's exegesis. Contrary to modern forms of exegesis, Aquinas sees Christ as the "center and summit of Sacred scripture and ultimately the reason for its unity" (Reinhardt, 88), so much so that, as Dahan points out, it is Christ who "gives the text its truth" (70). For...

An Introductory Bibliography for the Study of the Dead Sea Scrolls

The present article contains an introductory bibliography for the use of students of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It focuses on the editions of the manuscripts and additional exegetical tools as well as resources necessary in initial and further research. Short notes added to some entries are intended to help the interested reader to get acquainted with the content and relevance of a particular publication. The second part of the article includes an updated list of archeological, philological and bibliographical sources needed for a proper exegetical approach to the scrolls.

Moralna wymowa gestu namaszczenia stóp i głowy Jezusa w Quaestio de Maria Magdalena et Maria sorore Lazari et Marthae Joachima z Fiore

Joachim of Fiore (1135-1202) – a Middle Age exegete and mystic – is the author of an impressive work on the vision of history, whose most renown ele­ment is the tertius status, i.e. the age of the Holy Spirit which precedes the end of the world and the Final Judgment. As an author, Joachim was also interested in the history of religious life in the Middle Ages and in various exegetical tools which he developed to analyze this subject. In his works, especially the minor ones, he also discusses practical problems related to religious life in the 12th century. The small tractate, Questio de Maria Magdalena et Maria sorore Lazari et Marthae, has been preserved in a single 13th century manuscript and is kept in the Biblioteca Antoniana in Padua. In his exegesis on various Gospel passages which deal with the anointing of Jesus’ feet and head in Galilee and Bethany, Joachim of Fiore intends to show that the actions of women who performed this gesture pos­sess a hidden moral significance: the certainty concerning the internal unity that occurs between contemplation and the virtue of humility. An example of this unity is Mary of Bethany who anointed the feet of Jesus and wiped them with her hair (cf. Jn 12:3) as a person who is humble and – at the same time – given to contem­plation. Still – according to Joachim – as a righteous person, she had the right to reach for the head of the Savior.

A Chorus of Prophetic Voices: Introducing the Prophetic Literature of Ancient Israel, written by Mark McEntire, 2015; and Interpreting Prophetic Literature: Historical and Exegetical Tools for Reading the Prophets, written by James D. Nogalski, 2015

A Chorus of Prophetic Voices: Introducing the Prophetic Literature of Ancient Israel, written by Mark McEntire, 2015; and Interpreting Prophetic Literature: Historical and Exegetical Tools for Reading the Prophets, written by James D. Nogalski, 2015

Veils and Lap Cloths: The Great Cover Up of Bynum and the Bible in Black Churches

ABSTRACTDr. Juanita Bynum serves as a proxy for modern-day patriarchal men who police women’s bodies in much the same way men policed women’s bodies in the biblical world. In sum, Bynum and biblical writers advance the patriarchal agenda of controlling the female body by employing barriers in the form of veils and lap cloths. In this article, I challenge the “cover up” projects of Bynum and the Black Church(es) by examining the use of veils in the Old Testament. After considering the five Hebrew words most often translated as “veil” in the Old Testament, I employ the exegetical tools of sociohistorical and rhetorical criticism to read these biblical stories of veiling, which undoubtedly undergird the practices of covering up (physically and metaphorically) in Black Church traditions. I also connect Bynum’s project to a history of stereotyping Black women and respectability politics.

Narratives of the Prophet’s Early Life in Ṣaḥīḥ Al-Buḫārī: An Analytical Study of Qurʾānic References in Sīra Nabawiyya

Abstract Research into early Muslim sources has demonstrated that some verses of the Qurʾān have been seen by Muslim scholars as containing direct references to the events of the Prophet’s early life. Modern scholars, however, have questioned the appropriateness and authority of these Qurʾānic references as being accurate sources of information for the Prophet’s biography. Since the ḥadīṯ are regarded as an authoritative exegetical tool for understanding the meaning of Qurʾānic verses, the ḥadīṯ and scholars’ views on the scripture and its relationship to the narratives of sīra nabawiyya must be undertaken. The objectives of this present study are to explore the narratives of the Prophet’s early life as found in Ṣaḥīḥ al-Buḫārī and analyse al-Buḫārī’s perspective on the role of ḥadīṯ as an exegetical tool for Qurʿānic references in sīra nabawiyya. The study is qualitative in nature, as it utilises both critical and analytical approaches for its methodology. The study suggests that al-Buḫārī employed innovative and novel approaches when presenting narratives of the Prophet’s early life. At certain places in his al-Ṣaḥīḥ, by adducing certain ḥadīṯ in detail, al-Buḫārī endeavours to convey one distinctive and irrevocable message to the reader.

Die Kanaan-Karten des R. Salomo Ben Isaak (Raschi) – Bedeutung und Gebrauch mittelalterlicher hebräischer Karten-Diagramme

AbstractR. Shlomo Yitṣḥaki (Hebrew: שלמה יצחקי), generally known by the acronym Rashi, was a medieval French rabbi who lived between 1040 and 1105 in Troyes (Champagne). Rashi was the author of two comprehensive commentaries on the Talmud and on the Tanakh. His commentary on the Talmud, which covers nearly all of the Babylonian Talmud (a total of 30 tractates), has been included in every edition of the Talmud since its first printing by Daniel Bomberg in the 1520 s. His commentary on the most books of the Tanakh – especially on the Chumash – is still an indispensable exegetical tool to almost all students of the Hebrew Bible. This perush al ha-Torah supplemented almost all printed Hebrew Bibles or Chumash Editions and initiated more than 300 super-commentaries, which analyze and elucidate Rashi’s choices of exegesis, grammar, variant readings, Masora and midrash citations. The manuscript editions of his commentary were augmented with various map diagrams of Erets Israel, which disappeared in the printed editions of the Rashi commentary. Abraham Berliner mentioned this loss and recent scholarship is rediscovering these Rashi diagrams and maps. This paper elucidates the so-called Numeri 34 map-diagrams in the oldest extant manuscripts of the Rashi commentary, and their refinement and recycling within the Masora (figurata) of Ashkenazi bible manuscripts.

Digital Greek Patristic Catena (DGPC). A brief presentation

The project is to develop a database, which is planned to include all available information on the use of the Bible in the patristic works of Migne's Patrologia Graeca. Utilization of the data will be available through a web page equipped with necessary tools for developing data mining techniques and other methods of analysis. The main aim of the project is to revive the catenae, the ancient exegetical tool for biblical interpretation.

Experiencing Chance: A Sixteenth-Century Italian Minister Studying the Bible in Chiavenna

ABSTRACTThe subject of this article is Scipione Lentolo, who for 30 years was Reformed minister of Chiavenna, the largest and most influential Italian-speaking Reformed church of the Grisons bordering on the Swiss Confederation. The article considers how Lentolo handled the Bible, which exegetical tools he had at his disposal, how his readings were reflected in the way he instructed his own congregation, and finally how some Reformed colleagues influenced his approach. The analysis is based on both printed and manuscript sources and it focuses in particular on two recent archival discoveries: a manuscript work of exegetical nature by Lentolo meant for the instruction of the congregation of Chiavenna, and his annotated personal Bible. More generally, the article casts light on the Bibles (Latin and vernacular) which were read by Italian émigré Protestants in the sixteenth century.

Sīrah Of The Prophet’s Early Life In Musnad of Aḥmad: An Analytical Study Of Qurʿānic References In Sīrah Nabawiyyah

Reviews of early Muslim sources confirm that some verses of the Qur’ān have been perceived by Muslim scholars as direct references to the narratives of the Prophet’s early life. These selected verses are deemed to contain information about Muḥammad’s genealogy, birth, childhood and other aspects of his youth. Modern scholars have, however, argued about the appropriateness and authority of these Qur’ānic references as being the true bearers of information of the Prophet’s biography. Since the ḥadīth is regarded as an authoritative exegetical tool employed to explore more deeply the meaning of the Qur’ān, and one of which contains a vast source of information about the Prophet’s life, it is indispensable to analyse the works of ḥadīth and its scholars’ views on the narratives of sīra nabawiyya. This study aims to explore the narratives of the Prophet’s early life in Musnad of Aḥmad and analyse Aḥmad’s perspective regarding Quranic references to the Prophet’s early life. The study is qualitative in nature in which the researcher utilised both critical and analytical approached as its methodology. The study in its finding espouses that the rarity of Qur’ānic reference to Muḥammad’s early life in Musnad of Aḥmad, an enormous inventory of ḥadīth of the ninth century, indicates one scholar’s views about Muḥammad’s early life. It is obvious that Aḥmad make no connection between the Quran and the narratives of the Prophet’s early life, even though verses that are widely used by the author of sīra as an allusion to Muḥammad’s early life.

THE USE OF ANOINTING OIL IN MARK 6:13 IN AFRICAN CONTEXT

The use of oil and saliva was a common therapeutic technique in the ancient world. The ancient people believed that the anointing oil and the saliva of a holy man of God was therapeutic and had healing effect on whomever the oil was placed upon or to whom the saliva was spitted upon. African scholars have been passionately advocating for the use of mystical powers as an alternative therapy to improve the standard of living of the African people. These scholars have concluded that, mystical powers were made to assist human beings and tapping its resources for the benefit of mankind is useful. Mystical practices that utilize materials in form of oil, herbs, roots, animal parts and body wastes are around us. They are affordable and accessible, what do we do with them? African Christian worldview attaches demonism to every mystical techniques because it is incongruous to Christian faith and practices. They believe that mystical practices are occultic and can jeopardize the Christian faith. So, Christians should have nothing to do with them. But is this true? Thus, this paper discusses the use of anointing oil by Jesus' disciples in Mark 6:13 from an African world view. Applying exegetical tools in an intercultural hermeneutics, this study demonstrates that the use of anointing oil as one of the healing techniques of Jesus' disciples in Mark is mystical and is similar to mystical techniques of healing among traditional healers in Africa, the paper thus submit that the use of anointing oil for healing can be adopted as one of the methods for achieving wholeness in Africa.