Literary Criticism
Source Criticism
“Source criticism aims to understand the various sources that contributed to the development of a biblical book.”
Form Criticism
“This critical approach to the study of the Bible focuses on the various literary types (genres) found in the biblical books.”
Redaction Criticism
“The aim of redaction criticism is to reconstruct the theological themes or motifs reflected in the present form of the text that may be different from its original theological purpose.”
Canonical Criticism
Similar to redaction Criticism
More concerned with the theological message of the various books in light of the message of the entire canon.
Documentary Hypothesis
The application of source criticism to the biblical texts was what “led to the argument by Julius Wellhausen in 1878 that the Pentateuch was composed of four different literary and theological documents.” This came to be known as the “documentary hypothesis.”
Wellhausen labeled these four separate documents as J, E, P, and D.
He believed that these sources originated at different times between the 9th–5th centuries B.C.
J = Yahwistic
The texts attributed to the “J–Source” are the texts prior to Exodus 3 which use the name “YHWH” to describe God.
“J–Source” or the “Yahwist” is believed to be the oldest of the four sources, possibly dating to around 950 B.C.
“J–Source” is believed to make up around half of the books of Genesis and Exodus, as well as portions of the book of Numbers.
Focuses mainly on the history of the ancestors of the southern tribe of Judah.
Use of elegant language
E = Elohistic
The texts attributed to the “E–Source” are the texts prior to Exodus 3 which use the generic name “Elohim” rather than the personal name of “Yahweh” to describe God.
Visions and dreams are common in “E–Source.”
“E–Source” makes up one-third of the book of Genesis, and half of the book of Exodus, as well as small portions of Numbers.
“E–Source” is slightly less elegant in its use of language than is “J-Source.”
“E–Source,” or the “Elohist,” is believed to have been composed around 850 B.C.
Focuses mainly on the history of the ancestors of the northern tribes of Israel.
P = Priestly
The “P–Source,” or the “Priestly” source is thought to have been written by the priests of Israel.
“P–Source” seems to place a greater emphasis on the roles and importance of the priests in Israel’s history than other sources.
“P–Source” is believed to be the most recent of the four sources of the Documentary Hypothesis, and its date of composition is thought to be somewhere between 600 – 400 B.C.
Contains a lot of lists and does not use elegant language at all.
D = Deuteronomic
The “D–Source” or the “Deuteronomist” makes up most of the book of Deuteronomy.
Sums up the rest of the Torah.
“D–Source” sets the stage for the rest of the “Deuteronomistic History” that makes up the books of Joshua, Judges, 1st Samuel, 2nd Samuel, 1st Kings, and 2nd Kings.
“D–source” is believed to have been composed sometime between 650 and 550 B.C.
Controversy over Authorship of the Pentateuch
The Pentateuch or Torah is traditionally attributed to Moses. It is referred to as “The Books of Moses.”
Did Moses actually write “The Books of Moses”? The Torah never actually mentions who the author or authors were.
Reasons people began to doubt Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch:
How could Moses have recorded his own death?
Why would Moses say of himself that he was the “most humble man on the face of the whole earth”?
The perspective in the stories is of one who has already entered the Promised Land, and Moses never did.
Two different accounts of the naming of Beersheba.
Three records of the giving of the Decalogue (10 Commandments) by Moses.
Two different cases of Joshua’s appointment in both Numbers 27:12-13 and Deuteronomy 31:14-15, 23.
Two different orders of events in the creation story in Genesis 1-3.
Two different locations for Benjamin’s birthplace in Genesis 35:16-19 and 35:23-26.
Two different accounts of human language and its origins in Genesis 11:1 and 10:5, 20, 31.
Differences with at what point in history was the name Yahweh first introduced (Ex. 6:3; Gen. 12:7).
This evidence led people to believe that the first five books of the Bible have at least four different sources, and many different authors from a variety of traditions. Moses was perhaps one of these authors, but he did not write the Torah (Pentateuch) completely on his own.
Major Literary Forms (Genres) in the Old Testament
Narratives
Law
Poetry
Prophecy
Wisdom
Apocalyptic
An Inductive Method of Studying an Old Testament Text…
“Evangelical scholars support an inductive approach to the study of the Bible that attempts to draw out the meaning of the text by making observations and conclusions about the details presented in the text. The inductive method presupposes a methodical and systematic study of the text.”
“Exegesis is the actual process of bringing the meaning out of a biblical text by its modern reader.”
Step 1: Investigate the book in which the passage is located.
What section of the Old Testament does the book belong to?
What is the relationship of the book to other Old Testament books?
What period in Israel’s history does the book belong to?
What are the major theological themes of the book?
What is the major literary type/form in the book?
What is the literary structure of the book?
Step 2: Identify the literary unit that is the focus of the exegesis.
What is the theme or central idea of this particular passage?
What are the boundaries of this passage?
Do the characters change?
Does the setting change?
Does the writing style change?
Step 3: Identify the literary form (genre) and its purpose or intention.
Is this a Narrative section? Does it seek to explain the origins of something?
Is this a Law section? Does it contain commands and instructions?
Is this a Prophecy section? Does it give hope? Encouragement? Warning? Threaten judgment?
Is this a Poetry section? Does it contain prayers or worship language?
Is this a Wisdom section? Does it contain moral and ethical sayings and guidelines for human conduct and relationships?
Is this an Apocalyptic section? Does it reveal future events of God’s sovereign rule in the world?
Step 4: Discover the immediate setting of the biblical passage.
Who was the author?
Who were the recipients?
When did the message of the book first originate?
What is the particular historical situation of that period (political leaders and developments of the time)?
Does the text contain references to particular cultural customs of that period?
What were the religious practices or beliefs of the people being addressed?
What spiritual need prompted the writing of the message contained in the text?
Step 5: Establish the relationship of the text to the passages that precede and follow the text.
Is there a common theme throughout the surrounding passages?
What is the literary style of the surrounding passages?
Is this passage a part of a chronological sequence of events?
Does this passage appear to stand alone from the passages by which it is surrounded?
Step 6: Identify the literary structure of the text.
How does the text begin?
Does the text address specific people?
Does the text introduce a speaker?
Does the speaker utilize subthemes to expand the main idea?
Are there transitions within the passage?
How does the text end?
Step 7: Study the grammatical structure, relationship of words and phrases, and meaning of words and phrases.
Is the word structure of the passage poetic?
Is it prose?
Does the passage contain euphemisms?
Are there word plays and puns in the original languages?
What is the meaning of the words in their original ancient settings?
Does the passage contain commands?
Does a particular word or phrase have two or more meanings?
Does the passage contain theologically-loaded words?
Step 8: Make conclusions about the theological truth or lessons that the writer of the text intended to communicate to his ancient listeners.
How does God speak or respond to human acts and needs in this passage?
Does God respond with warnings, calls to repentance, threats of judgment, words of instruction, hope, assurance, comfort, promise of help, promise of salvation, revelations of His majesty and glory, a miracle to create faith, guidance, counsel, or admonition?
How do the people in the passage react when God reveals himself and his words to them?
Do the people respond to God with praise, worship, obedience, submission, humility, gratitude, disobedience, rejection of God’s word, rebellion, or stubbornness?
Step 9: Relate the text and its theology to the overall message of the Bible.
Does the theology of the text before us deal with a particular culture or specific situations in the life of ancient Israel or the early Christian church?
Do we find parallel expressions elsewhere in the book in which the text is located?
Do we find parallel expressions elsewhere in other books of the Bible?
Is the theology of the text consistent with the overall theological teachings of the Bible?
Do we find clarifications or expansions of the theology of the text elsewhere in the Old Testament?
Does the New Testament interpret the Old Testament text or clarify it or modify it?
Step 10: Apply the message of the text to contemporary Christian life.
Does the message of the text have universal application?
Does it promote divine characteristics and attributes?
Does it promote God’s plan of redemption for all humanity?
Does it promote proper moral and ethical conduct?
Does this passage allow for all human beings to become truly the image of God?
Have you prayerfully sought divine guidance and the assistance of the Holy Spirit to illuminate your mind to discern the mystery of God’s revelation?
Difficulties in Cultural Translation
Group Activity: Cultural Interpretations
Divide people into groups and have them read Luke 15:11-32
Have each group give a brief summary of the parable.
In most American groups, those retelling the story (to their own shock) will leave out a very important fact - the famine!
However, when this experiment was done in Russia, almost everyone mentioned the famine in their brief summary.
Why did the Americans leave out such an important fact? Because famine is foreign to the experience of most Americans; whereas most Russians have experienced famine.
Our own cultural experience and upbringing is a major influence over how we approach and interpret every text of the Bible. As long as we are aware of this, we can begin to try to understand each text in its original context.
Have each group give a brief summary of the parable.
In most American groups, those retelling the story (to their own shock) will leave out a very important fact - the famine!
However, when this experiment was done in Russia, almost everyone mentioned the famine in their brief summary.
Why did the Americans leave out such an important fact? Because famine is foreign to the experience of most Americans; whereas most Russians have experienced famine.
Our own cultural experience and upbringing is a major influence over how we approach and interpret every text of the Bible. As long as we are aware of this, we can begin to try to understand each text in its original context.
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Sources
Varughese, Alex, et al.
Discovering the Old Testament. Kansas City : Beacon Hill Press, 2003.
Kugel, James L. How to
Read the Bible: A Guide to Scripture Then and Now.
Mellish, Dr. Kevin. Lecture on Deuteronomistic History, Olivet Nazarene University, 2011.
Lyons, Christopher. Thinking Hebrew for the Pomophobic. Fishing the Abyss, 2006.
Vander Laan, Dr. Ray. Seminar on The Land, the Culture, the Book.
Richards, Randolph; O'Brien, Brandon. Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes. IntervarsityPress.
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