EXEGESIS AS AN EVERYDAY ACTIVITY AND

AS A SPECIALISED DISCIPLINE

P 17-24

What is Exegesis? We do exegesis every day. It is the process of understanding what we hear or read. Exegesis is about communication and understanding :

listening, reading. It is about asking questions. E.g. was that a question or

a statement? Is the speaker trying to communicate thoughts or commands? What is that? Are the works literal or symbolic? What am I meant to do? Is it a joke? Is it news?

In daily life the spoken communication happens in familiar ways. We work things out because we know the situation and the person speaking.

Words are important in written texts. We can read between the lines sometimes, especially if we know the person writing in some way. Exegesis is happening. We work out what is meant, what the person wants to communicate.

We often interpret texts without knowing who wrote it. E.g Reading road signs.

We read a variety of things every day, and work out the meaning almost automatically: newspapers, letters, poems, labels, announcements, articles etc.

Some documents that require careful exegesis: work of lawyers, judges, diplomats etc.

Some texts require detailed analysis, an understanding of special vocabulary or of symbols or metaphors.

There are two important factors to consider. The level of common understanding and experience

between the speaker and the listener. The level of specialised content and special forms of

expression. Compare a family letter or one that is about technical information

(eg about book-keeping, or a scientific concept. An Essay about Paris in Springtime or one on the influence of Renaissance architecture on Paris buildings)

7 elements of exegesis

1. The third party perspective. 2. The language 3. Cultural gap’ 4. Historical gap. 5. Number of authors 6. Multiple texts of the same document 7. Some texts are Sacred and are treated

in a special way.

Characteristics of Sacred texts

May or may not have the characteristics of a classical piece of writing: being well written, be about important human issues, have a richness that enables it to be understood in multiple ways

Sacred texts are Scriptures. They have the following characteristics:

A special authority for someone or a group. Hold an official place in the group or community. They

inform the life of the community. Hold a truer or better reflection and understanding of

reality than other writings. Reflect the word, thought, voice of God and reality itself Considered sacred by communities and have a special

place and role.

     

1 The third party perspective.  

Always the case.Eg Paul writes to Romans, Galatians etc.

2 The language may be different, and the interpreter has got to get a good translation, or learn the language. 

Old Testament: Ancient Hebrew, AramaicNew Testament: Ancient Greek.

3 There may be a ‘cultural gap’ between the document writer and the exegete.  

Huge gap in all ways. Eg. Patriarchal, authoritarian, Slavery widespread, travel slow etc.

4 There may be a big historical gap.  

We are 20 centuries away.Also they were written over long periods of time themselves.

5 The documents may have been written by a number of authors and even over a long period of time.  

There was a lot of collective contribution. We don’t actually know the names of any OT authors. Eg. Amos contains historical data, speeches, biography, and autobiography. Isaiah 1-39 is in an 8th C BC historical context and style, while Isaiah 40-46 is 6th C BC.

6 Multiple, differing texts of the same document, sometimes in different languages.  

The oldest OT copies were from A.D 1000 until discovery of Dead Sea Scrolls.The oldest NT copies are from A.D. 200There are 5000 Greek manuscripts/ fragments of the NT.Bible was also translated into various languages.

7 Some texts are considered Sacred and have to be treated in a special way

Exegete today needs to be aware of original traditions and studies ever since then.

Good to remember:

No book has been studied like the bible There are many resources and tools available. A lot of careful reliable scholarly work has been

done.