OT-1-2 Exegesis Helps still apply!

Please NOTE, from syllabus, page and format requirements:

5-6 pages, true double-spaced; Times New Roman 12 point font.

Please read Academic Handbook, about style and format, and about documentation of quotations and paraphrases.

In addition to OT-1-2"Helps for Old Testament Exegesis":

You may find much more variety in translation. Poetry uses interesting, often obscure, words to make points specific. Since some of these occur only once in the Hebrew Bible, interpretation of their meaning depends on context. If these differences in translation matter in your passage, you should present alternatives and your conclusions.

A true picture of a prophet will include his or her place in society, support network, and forebears in passing on a theological tradition:

e.g., if the prophet bears Zion theology, might he or she have a priestly background at the Jerusalem temple? Might the prophet be a Judean royal official?

To understand what they meant in their time, it's vital to understand as well as possible the specific situation(s) they were addressing. This includes reality that's

political: united? or divided kingdom? war? civil unrest? exile?

social: injustice? class division?

economic: prosperity? disaster?

religious: united? syncretistic? idolatrous? dissension among prophets?

You get at this by reading

the details in your passage

more broadly in the rest of this prophet's book, and

connections with other prophets' and "historical" books.

If the historical situation remains unclear, this may also be important in showing the intent of the passage or book.

Here it may be harder to fix a time period. Language (use of specific words and structures) and themes may help. The social or religious setting (see Form Criticism, below) may be more helpful for understanding.

If the passage is poetry, it's helpful to present it in versified form, showing cola:

e.g. Why do you make me see wickedness?/ do you look upon trouble?//

Both havoc and violence are before me,/ there is strife, and contention arises.//

(Habakkuk 1:3)

Note: BHS and translations make their choices of where the pauses come; in your exegesis you decide.

This can occur in prose but is a predominant feature of poetry.

This often takes the form of:

"A is so/ and what's more, B//"

If it does, what further understanding is given by B? by the pair?

Types of parallelism:

Semantic: synonymous? antithetical? other?

Grammatical: structure of sentence? verbal mood or form? contrast in number?

What corresponds? What does not?

How does the parallel structure enhance meaning?

Some (not all) poetry has these. If yours does, what does it add to the meaning?

b. Literary Devices (see Stuart, 34)

These include: allegory, chiasm, contrast, hyperbole, inclusio, irony, metaphor or simile, onomatopoeia, personification, paronomasia (play on words).

For those who read Hebrew:

rhythm of lines (sometimes you get this in English)

alliteration

assonance

acrostics (see Psalms 9-10, 25, 34, 119, etc: BHS shows these well)

puns

a. Is this poetry? Why or why not? (see above)

b. What is the genre?

e.g., lament, lawsuit, indictment, song of thanksgiving, word of woe

(Possible helps: Rendtorff, The OT, especially 99-105, 108-124; Stuart, OT Exegesis; Tucker, Form Criticism)

What is its usual structure? (Give cross-references)

Are the usual features present? modified? (comparison with others may help)

c. What is the usual setting (Sitz im Leben) of this genre? Is that the setting here?

d. What is its usual intention? Is that its intention here? (e.g., prophetic use of funerary cry)

NOTE: Knowing the passage's ancient intention may well help with determining its modern relevance and application.

Please refer to questions in "Helps for OT Exegesis", especially under Canonical Shape and Function, and Exposition.

How has your passage and/or its context been canonically shaped?

e.g., Do superscriptions or appendices mold the passage?

Is the passage grouped in a particular way or specially placed within its context?

Does the canonical shaping of your passage help you see its biblical and theological meaning?

All these aids help us hear these passages in their beauty at greater depth, to understand what their writers intended. From these we then can begin to see their forward trajectory to meaning and application in our time. Our exegesis must begin with what is actually in the text; it doesn't stop there. Please be careful that your application(s) are deeply rooted in the details of the text!