Orthodox Reading of the New Testament

Week 2

Modern HermeneuticsHistorical-critical methods

‘Lower’ criticism: textual criticism

‘Higher’ criticism: source, form, redaction criticism

Responses to historical-critical methods:

anti-critical:

fundamentalism

post-critical:

new literary criticism (e.g. reader response)

lens / ‘embodied’ methods

canonical approach

narrative theology / critical-realism

Fr John Behr on Patristic ‘Theoria’

central importance of education and learning

particularly, knowledge of rhetoric and literature

we learn these skills from ‘secular’ literature, from the academy / scholarship

theoria (= contemplation) for the Fathers is not only prayer, but it is an essentially literary term

does this provide a path forward for our use of modern critical tools?

“I take it as admitted by men of sense, that the first of our advantages is education; and not only this our more noble form of it, which

disregards rhetorical ornaments and glory, and holds to salvation, and beauty in the objects of our contemplation: but even that external

culture which many Christians ill-judgingly abhor, as treacherous and dangerous, and keeping us afar from God. For as we ought not to

neglect the heavens, and earth, and air, and all such things, because some have wrongly seized upon them, and honour God's works instead of God: but to reap what advantage we can from them for our life and

enjoyment, while we avoid their dangers; not raising creation, as foolish men do, in revolt against the Creator, but from the works of nature

apprehending the Worker, and, as the divine apostle says, bringing into captivity every thought to Christ (2 Corinthians 10:5)…”

–St Gregory of Nazianzus (the Theologian), Oration 43.11

“…and again, as we know that neither fire, nor food, nor iron, nor any other of the elements, is of itself most useful, or most harmful, except according to the will of those who use it; and as we have compounded healthful drugs from certain of the reptiles; so from secular literature we have received principles of enquiry and speculation, while we have rejected their idolatry, terror, and pit of destruction. Nay, even these

have aided us in our religion, by our perception of the contrast between what is worse and what is better, and by gaining strength for our doctrine from the weakness of theirs. We must not then dishonour

education, because some men are pleased to do so, but rather suppose such men to be boorish and uneducated, desiring all men to be as they themselves are, in order to hide themselves in the general,

and escape the detection of their want of culture.”

–St Gregory of Nazianzus (the Theologian), Oration 43.11

“Not to ignore theological terms but to endeavour to trace out the hidden meaning in every phrase and in every syllable — that is not the characteristic of those who are idle in piety, but rather of those who

know the mark of our calling (Phillippians 3.14). What is set before us is to become like God as far as it is possible for human nature. Likeness does not happen without knowledge; knowledge comes from lessons;

and the beginning of lessons is speech (logos). And the parts of speech are syllables and words. So then the investigation of syllables is

not beside the point. Truth is always a quarry hard to hunt, and therefore we must look everywhere for its tracks. Just as with crafts,

so also with the acquisition of piety, we grow little by little. Apprentices must despise nothing. If someone despises the first elements as small

and insignificant, he will never reach the perfection of wisdom.”

–St Basil the Great, On the Holy Spirit 1.2

Development of the New Testament ‘Canon’

Meaning of the word κανών

‘a straight rod’ (level or ruler)

criterion or standard (Latin: norma)

cf. Galatians 6.16: “Peace and mercy be upon all who walk according to this rule (κανών)”

‘canon of scripture’: list of texts that a community considers normative and authoritative

Irenaeus of Lyons: the true κανών is Christ

Development of the New Testament ‘Canon’

Kesich: “The Early Church’s Adherence to the Gospels”

written and oral tradition (into 2nd c.)

apocryphal Gospels (note differences with canonical Gospels)

the Church and Marcion (first attempt at ‘canon’)

criteria for inclusion in the New Testament canon

Diatessaron (Tatian) and ‘evangelion tetramorphon’ (St Irenaeus)

NT Manuscript Traditions and Translations

Why talk about manuscripts and translations? No original manuscripts

Extant manuscripts contain numerous textual variations (‘textual variants’)

Important manuscript discoveries in last 200 years Uncertain meanings of Biblical texts

Ancient languages and forms of writing are very different from modern languages Every translation is an interpretation

All living languages evolve

Cultural developments

Manuscript Families or ‘Traditions’Alexandrian text-type

ca. 2nd-4th centuries

includes Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus

most modern translations

Western text-type

ca. 3rd-9th centuries

common in western church in Middle Ages

Byzantine text-type

also ‘textus receptus’ of Erasmus

ca. 5th-16th centuries

95% of all manuscripts

New Testament Textual Criticism

terms to know: papyrus, uncial/ majuscule, parchment/vellum, great uncials, miniscule, palimpsest

New Testament Textual Criticism

textual history + palaeography + philology + literary criticism

goal: to reconstruct the ‘original’ text (aka autograph)

result: ‘critical’ text (eg Westcott-Hort 1881, Nestle-Aland from 1952, 28th edition 2013 / UBS5)

eclectic vs ‘Byzantine’ priority (cf Maurice Robinson)

text critical work precedes translation

English translations of NT begin with Anglo-Saxons

ca AD 990 - Wessex Gospels

Fæder ure þu þe eart on heofonum, si þin nama gehalgod. To becume þin rice, gewurþe ðin willa, on eorðan swa swa on heofonum. Urne gedæghwamlican hlaf syle us todæg, and forgyf us ure gyltas, swa swa we forgyfað urum gyltendum. And ne gelæd þu us on costnunge, ac alys us of yfele. Soþlice.

Matthew 6.9-13

AD 1382 - John Wycliffe

Oure fadir that art in heuenes, halewid be thi name; thi kyngdoom come to; be thi wille don in erthe as in heuene; gyue to vs this dai oure breed ouer othir substaunce; and forgyue to vs oure dettis, as we forgyuen to oure dettouris; and lede vs not in to temptacioun, but delyuere vs fro yuel. Amen.

Matthew 6.9-13

AD 1538 - Myles Coverdale

Oure Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name.Thy kyngdome come. Thy wyll be fulfilled upon earth as it is in heauen. Geue us this daye oure dayly bred. And forgeue us oure dettes, as we also forgeue our detters. And lede us not into temptacion, but delyuer us from evell. For thyne is the kyngdome, and the power, and the glory for euer. Amen.

Matthew 6.9-13

AD 1611 - Authorised (King James) Version

Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Matthew 6.9-13

English Translations TodayTranslation philosophies

‘Formal correspondence’

‘Dynamic equivalence’

‘Biblical paraphrases’

Different manuscript traditions

Textus receptus / Byzantine text

Critical texts

Douay-Rheims (1582 NT; 1609-10 OT): some revisions 1749 and 1941, but no recent revision Authorised / King James Version (AV or KJV - 1611) -> New KJV (NKJV - 1979-82) (and Orthodox Study Bible) Revised Version (1885) American Standard Version (1901) Revised Standard Version (RSV - 1946 NT; 1952 OT) -> New Revised Standard Version (NRSV - 1989) Amplified Bible (AB - 1958 NT; 1964-65 OT)  New English Bible (NEB - 1961) -> Revised English Bible (REB - 1992) Today's English Version (TEV - 1966) -> Contemporary English Version (CEV - 1996) Jerusalem Bible (JB - 1966) -> New Jerusalem Bible (NJB - 1985) New American Bible (NAB - 1970) -> NAB (NT & Psalms revised - 1987; OT revised - 2011) New International Version (NIV - 1973 NT; 1978 OT) -> Today’s NIV (TNIV - 2002)

Text-based Tools for New Testament Study

To supplement our NRSV Study Bible:

Other English translations (including side by side comparisons)

Gospel parallels

Concordances

Interlinear translations (Greek / English), e.g. BibleHub.com

Historical-Critical School and Canon

Brevard Childs (1923-2007), OT professor at Yale 1958-1999

Reaction to historical-critical school: “indispensable teacher” but… a surrender of the “theological” (“The Rationale of a Canonical Approach”, p45)

outlines his method in “Methodology of Canonical Exegesis” (from The New Testament as Canon)

The ‘Canonical’ Methodbegins with canonical form of the text; the interpreter stands consciously within the tradition, as part of the church’s ongoing exegetical work

involves reading the text towards discovering its theological / kerygmatic purpose (the preaching of the apostles bearing testimony to Christ), based on the assumption that it was shaped toward engendering faith

takes writer’s intention seriously, but notes larger meaning within the canonical corpus

looks for canonical ‘shaping’, eg structure, such as attention in Gospels to the way narratives features render material, or authorship, such as ‘Pauline’ Epistles

pays attention to overt historical context, but not purported ‘hidden’ contexts not opposed to historical investigation (particularly to hear different ‘voices’ within the canonical texture, rather than ‘monolithic block’), but to how it is used

Gospel of Matthewunique genre: ‘Gospel’ (Old English: gōd-spell = ‘good news’ or ‘glad tidings’, a calque of εὐαγγέλιον = good message)

authorship, date, location

source critical focus: Mark and ‘Q’

Two-Source Hypothesis

Gospel of Matthewinsight from the canonical method:

“The canonical approach contests the literary model which makes the interpretation of Matthew dependent on the exegete’s ability to reconstruct the diachronistic relationship between the Gospel and its sources.”

Childs, The New Testament as Canon, 61

Gospel of Matthewoverall structure

Bacon’s ‘Five Books’

“When Jesus had finished these words…” Matthew 7.28-29, 11.1, 13.53, 19.1, 26.1 five sections of narrative plus didactic discourse

Krentz’s two sections based on temporal transitions

Matthew 4.17: “From that time Jesus began to preach…” Matthew 16.21: “From that time Jesus began to show his disciples…”

Gospel of Matthewinsight from the canonical method:

“…there are significant signs of structural breaks and repetitions within the composition which reflect conscious accentuations… However, it does seem likely that the concern to determine a comprehensive structure reflects a modern mentality and attitude to literature which were not shared to the same extent in the ancient world. Moreover, from a theological point of view, the canonical shape of the Gospel — how it functioned religiously within the community of faith — does not appear to be integrally attached to an overarching formal structure.”

Childs, The New Testament as Canon, 64

Gospel of Matthewoverall themes

the church’s access to Christ

role of the disciples

Jesus and the Old Testament

the Torah (law) and righteousness

the church of the Messiah

Gospel of Matthew“To summarize, Matthew actualizes the gospel in terms of the presence of an exalted Lord of the church who fulfilled the promise of Israel’s Messiah in his words and deeds. By his teaching of the will of God he opened the way to the kingdom of heaven whose eschatological reality is already manifest among those doing the will of God.”

Childs, The New Testament as Canon, 78

Gospel of Matthew“Jesus reminds [Matthew 28.16-20] his disciples of the consummation of all things. He seeks to draw them further on, that they may not look at the present dangers only but also at the good things that last for ever… Having invigorated and roused their minds by the remembrance of that coming day, he sent them out. Those who live faithfully, with good works, should strangely desire that day even as those who lack good works should fear it.”

St John Chrysostom, Homily 90.2