Getting the meaning

Biblical scholar Ben Withington has an interesting (and long) article about biblical meaning. Here is his summary:

1. Biblical texts have meanings
2. we need help to understand them
3. historical criticism is not the bogeyman, it is a good Sherlock Holmsian process that helps us understand the meaning of these texts
4. we should not listen to those who suggest ‘meaning is in the eye of the behold’ or in the ‘act’ of the reader’, if by ‘meaning’ we mean the plain Biblical sense of the text, not what I would like to find in there
5. historical criticism is in many ways the best hedge against misunderstanding and misinterpreting the text, and we should be glad for that if we care about the truth of the Word God, and desire to handle it prayerfully and carefully.

Note: when he uses "historical criticism" he does not mean being critical of the biblical texts, but studying them with a discerning eye to get to the meaning.< /b>

But Ben makes strong points about uncovering the meaning of a text rather than simply asking, "what does this mean to you?" which implies too much about the importance of the reader and not enough about the intent of God through the author.

Read what he has to say. Click here.

Ruth: beginnings

It should have felt better to see the familiar buildings, Naomi thought to herself as she lifted the heavy pack one more time. “That’s Bethlehem,” she told Ruth.

“Small,” Ruth said quietly.

“We have a house here,” Naomi said. “It’s better to die among family.”

Ruth laughed. “We didn’t come here to die!”

The dust of the journey was gray on Naomi’s hair. “God has brought me back empty,” she said. “I am dead already.”

Naomi and Ruth believe they have reached the end of their journey but it has only begun. We will join them in a fresh look at the book of Ruth in the coming weeks.

If you have room in your journal after our study of Luke, plan to make new notes as we go through Ruth.

Ruth is a short book – four chapters – but one of the literary gems of the Bible. Try to read it this week – preferably in one sitting. We’ll dive in next week.

Galatians: an introduction

The churches planted in the area of Galatia were Paul’s first church starts and he wrote this letter bristling like a protective dad to defend his churches from false teachers. Judaizers – Jews who claimed that first you had to adopt the Jewish way before you could become a Christian – were trying to lead the new believers down a road of effort, not grace.

The book of Galatians reminds believers that we were set free from bondage. Paul reminded his readers that the Jewish law did not deliver, Jesus did. Why return to the bondage of the law?

Paul also reminded the Galatians that the covenant was based on faith, not observance of the law.

The stakes were high. Since the first Christians were Jews, some wondered if the way to Jesus was through the Jewish observances. Paul strongly opposed that.

The way to Jesus was through faith. Salvation comes by grace, not by what we do. The Spirit came by belief, not by observing the law. The Gentiles were adopted into God’s family not because they became Jews but because they saw Jesus as their Redeemer.

Judaizers were trying to lead the new believers down a path of law but Paul called that the path of slavery, of following the way of Hagar. A follower of Jesus had the path of freedom, adopted into Abraham’s family and heir to his promises.

Why, then, return to the yoke of the law? A believer had started his new life following Jesus and his freedom. Why trade freedom for the slavery of the law?

Those are the issues of the book of Galatians.

I’m starting a Monday Bible study which, for next six weeks, will look at the book of Galatians. Try to read chapter 1 before next Monday, when we discuss authority.

Dive In: prooftexting

Although I haven’t added a Dive In entry for awhile, I always reserve the right to throw one on the table when the urge hits. If you haven’t read the Dive In series, take a look here.

One of the handiest tools we have in our Bibles is the chapter-verse divisions laid out by Stephen Langton in the 13^th century. One of the biggest hurdles to understanding our Bibles is the chapter-verse divisions laid out by Stephen Langton in the 13^th century.

What frequently happens in modern-day Bible studies is a microscope approach to the text, where the point is “proved” by referencing a single verse or perhaps a short passage. But that approach, although simple and easy to approach, generally misses the nuances of the context.

And the system can lead to prooftexting, which happens when a verse is used as proof for a doctrinal belief. Pulling verses out of context can be misleading and may well ignore other passages that might modify or even change the conclusion.

Our churches love topical Bible studies today (and they can be very practical and easy to apply). The danger with topical studies is prooftexting, using stand-alone verses to make points.

Here are a couple of examples:

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

Isaiah 40:31

We often use this verse to comfort those who are suffering, weary in their difficult time. If you read chapter 40 and 41, you will see that the context is dealing with idolatry. The people of Israel were choosing to trust golden statues and wooden icons over God. So this verse, although a comforting verse, has more to do with choosing God rather choosing other methods of hope or comfort.

Context doesn’t reverse the meaning of Isaian 40:31 but does change the focus somewhat. It’s not about rushing to God in times of trouble, but choosing God over other gods in times of trouble.

Another example:

Peter said to her, "How could you agree to test

the Spirit of the Lord?" Acts 5:9

This is the story of Ananias and Sapphira, the couple who tried to polish their spiritual resume by donating money from a land sale to the church, even while they were lining their pockets with the portion they secretly withheld.

This verse seems to be about testing the Spirit of God, but the larger context adds nuances. The spark for Ananias and Sapphira came at the end of Acts 4, where Joseph (also known as Barnabas) sold some land and gave the money to the church. Many in the church at that time were sharing everything they had and many freely gave money to the church to be used to help the poor.

We could surmise, then, that Ananias and Sapphira concocted this grand scheme out of greed while hoping to impress other believers, perhaps nudged by competitive zeal. In that context, the verse we looked at refers more to the sin of seeking people’s favor over God’s heart. Other believers were donating money because ownership meant nothing to them. Ananaias and Sapphire were clinging to their own goods while trying to impress others with their spirituality.

In our examples, the larger context didn’t reverse the meaning but enriched and sharpened it.

There’s nothing wrong with singling out a verse to help make a point, but you’ll find that reading the larger context will almost always enrichen the conclusions – and may sometimes reshape them.

God’s Word is beautiful. Ignore the chapter-verse divisions and read it as the authors intended. You’ll uncover veins of gold throughout.

Dive In: Digital Tools

This is our last regular entry of Dive-In, although I will probably publish additions intermittently. We’ve studied 16 units together and, although there is much more that can be discussed, it’s time to move on.

Today I want to tell you about the computer program I use. There are many other excellent programs and I’m not trying to push this one. But in the telling, I hope you can see some of the benefits of computerized studies.

I use Bible Navigator, which is a first-cousin to Bible Explorer. There are several levels, of course, and I am annoyed with most computer programs because they bundle a lot of things that are outside copyright and therefore free to anyone. The book count is bloated by the old-and-free. Bible Navigator is no exception.

So don’t be blown away by the number of books you get if you choose a particular program. Instead, look carefully at what you will use. You won’t use a lot of the books.

Here’s what I’d suggest:

Have several Bible translations so that you can compare. Right now, when I read, I usually have open three: NIV, NRSV, and NASB. The NASB is open because it is linked to a Strong’s Concordance so I can easily do a word search. But you don’t need 20 obscure translations that you’ll seldom use.

Other Bible translations that are helpful are KJV and NKJV. I also like the NLT and the Message, for a change of pace. The Holman Bible is pretty good, too. You may have translations you use a lot and you’ll want those in your Bible studies package.

Plan on buying a commentary for your computer program. The included commentaries are usually o-l-d and, although somewhat insightful, often inadequate on their own. Don’t rely on Matthew Henry alone. Frequently the old commentaries blended preaching and scholarly work, coming with a bias that suppresses some insights while over-emphasizing others. Some of the old commentaries by Calvin and Luther are helpful.

A newer (and sometimes free) commentary that I like is the Jamieson-Fausset-Brown. But the best are the ones you have to buy. Don’t plan on buying an entire set at once. Buy a single-book commentary on the book you’re studying or teaching right now. Be patient. You’ll build a good library. I wrote about some commentary suggestions a few weeks ago.

Devotionals are often packed into the program package. If it includes one you want to read daily, then grab that. Often they pack in many devotionals that aren’t read. I have Oswald Chambers’ My Utmost for His Highest in Bible Navigator, but know it’s available in more modern text online. So I wouldn’t pay for that devotional.

Be sure you have a good dictionary and atlas. We discussed those topics recently. Also, a Strong’s Concordance is vital. Usually several word study books are included and you need at least one concordance. Vine’s Expository Dictionaries (both Old Testament and New) are helpful. Get a Nave’s Topical Bible. That will greatly help your studies over the years.

Those are the basics. Often you can pick up literature from online sources and don’t need to buy those for your biblical studies. As you discover a church leader or writer, first check sources online, like CCEL, to see what’s available.

For example, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs can be located on the internet, so don’t spend extra to get that in a computer program.

Those are my basic suggestions. I’d like to hear what program or online resources you use and what you like about them. Do you recommend them? I’d like to know more about you have found and like.

Dive In: Location, location, location

Tension crackles as Isaac follows his father up the mountain, the wood creaking in a bundle on his back. The story may be familiar, a father keeping his commitments and a son obeying his father.

In fact, the location is vital. Abraham took his son to Moriah, to a mountain where God told him to go. Although we don’t know precisely where the sacrifice scene unfolded, we know that it was on the mountain where Jerusalem would later sit.

In other words, a father kept his commitments and a son obeyed his father very near to where Jesus would someday be sacrificed.

A good atlas is invaluable in studying biblical texts. I was once geographically illiterate and had no idea where Jesus walked the earth or where Moses took the tables of stone from God.

It’s a good idea to notice the location of each narrative, and when the location changes. Place names sometimes change over the centuries, but locations do not. Seeing what happened in certain locations helps unveil some of the meaning of the story.

Bethlehem, for example, is a town besieged by evil over most of its history. There are two atrocious stories at the end of Judges involving murder and idolatry, Both have a strong connection to Bethlehem.

The Bethlehem Trilogy closes with the book of Ruth, where the City of Bread provides redemption. And, of course, we see the redemption of Bethlehem in serving as the birth place of Jesus.

Places matter and when they’re listed in a biblical text, we need to locate and pay attention.

Some study Bibles have a set of maps included in the back. Those can be helpful but if you’d like a more extensive and detailed set, here are some suggestions:

The Carta Bible Atlas. Aharoni, Yohanan, Michael Avi-Yonah, Anson F. Rainey and Zeev Safrai, eds. (Older editions are known as the MacMillan Bible Atlas)

Holman Bible Atlas. Brisco, Thomas V. Cleave, Richard.

The Holy Land Satellite Atlas

The Carta Bible Atlas includes lengthy descriptions of biblical scenes as well as very detailed maps. Be aware that the authors are historically and geographically accurate but not coming from a position of faith. This book is like eating fish: take the meat and leave the bones.

The Holman Bible Atlas is a good alternative. It is a beautiful book with chapters of historical background laced between the many maps.

The Satellite Atlas has beautiful images shot from, well, satellites.

As you dive into texts, train your eye to notice the location and take the time to find it on a map. You may find more in meaning than you ever expected.

Dive In: The Audience

The teenagers almost whispered their distress: “In our spare time, we even pulled weeds to help them.”

They had returned from a week-long trip to a different culture, full of love for the children there and also annoyed with the adults who displayed none of the initiative the teens expected.

They couldn’t even pull their own weeds.

That culture did not value landscaping as we do. Their time was better spent carrying soup to the elderly, playing games with the babies, painting vibrant colors on pottery.

In not examining the culture of the people, the teens missed the values of the village. Where they might have seen beauty, they saw laziness.

In examining biblical texts, we must tread carefully. We read through our 21^st century western eyes what was written to ancient eastern people.

Last week, we discussed the author’s intent in writing. Today, we look at the intended audience.

For example, the book of Psalms is a beautiful collection of Hebrew songs. We are certain, however, that an editor gathered many poems and songs into the equivalent of a hymnal, a book to be used in worship.

There are many signs of this editor’s work. Several weeks ago we looked at the beginning of Psalm 23, where David is identified as the author. It’s probable that David did not write that about his own poem, but it was added later by an editor. Editing does not diminish the inspiration of the text. In fact, if we can accept the concept of inspiration in the writing, surely we can embrace inspiration in editing as well.

But this final text of Psalms was probably completed a couple of hundred years before Jesus’ birth. By this time, Jews had been scattered throughout the civilized world. Where once the Hebrews had worshipped as one in the temple, now they had a series of synagogues in the faraway places where they lived.

Once, the priest addressed the people in one place during festivals and ceremonies. Now, many could not return to the temple easily and instead worshipped in many places.

The Psalms were collected to provide instruction in theology and worship in the synagogues.

So the editor of the Psalms brought the poems together in five books which paralleled the five books of Moses (the Torah). In doing that, the editor communicated that this book was like the Torah, a new book to instruct the people. The Torah dealt with the law, the Psalms dealt with God’s nature.

The poems were probably not changed but their purpose was tweaked. They became part of a brilliant teaching effort. The people, many far separated from the temple and its festivals, could still learn about God’s nature – from a book rather than a priest’s lips.

Psalms was copied and distributed to many synagogues. That book helped Jews learn God’s nature and worship him with wisdom.

Knowing the original audience helps us understand the intent of the work.

Once we identify the author’s idea for his intended audience, we can make application to our own life.

When we understand that the purpose of Psalms is to introduce wisdom (notice the scope of Psalm 1 as the foreword to the entire collection), we read the psalms in a new way. We can connect worship and wisdom. If we know God’s nature, we can worship more effectively.

The Psalms were written to help early Jews worship God out of knowledge and understanding. Psalms instructs. We can take the same idea and use it in our own lives.

Part of provenance is identifying the author and the culture. Another part is recognizing the needs of the original audience. How they received the text helps us understand the ideas which may also affect our lives.

We can’t read biblical texts assuming they were written by modern authors to modern audiences. Their setting was different from ours and part of the challenge is to identify that situation.

Meaning is richer when we discover it by looking through the original lens.

Dive In: Author's intent

Water pours (pun intended) through the book of John. I’ll illustrate shortly. Diving into a text means that we notice the author’s design, and use those elements to lay open deeper meanings.

The author’s point is key. We cannot look at a text and lay our design on it. Our first step must be to discover the author’s meaning. If we believe in the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, then the author’s intent reflects the intent of God as well.

It should not be compromised by the all-to-common “this what the text means to me.”

But let’s go back to John for illustration.

Reading should always be done both with a microscope and a wide-angle lens. If you look at the first four chapters of John (that’s the wide-angle approach), you’ll see water imagery. Notice:

• John the Baptist uses water to baptize many in John 1. We know from Acts that this was referred to as a baptism of repentance.
• In John 2, we have water turned to wine. Large jars that usually held water for ceremonial cleansing were instead filled with water then transformed into wine for drinking.
• Although Jesus, in the latter part of John 2, does not specifically use water, he cleanses the temple in Jerusalem.
• When Jesus counsels Nicodemus, he explains the idea of being born of water and of the spirit. (John 3:5)
• In the latter verses of John 3, our focus returns to John baptizing. He wants nothing of the spotlight, however, taking a dispute about purification (cleansing?) as an opportunity to point to Jesus.
• John 4 is obvious: Jesus meets the woman at a well and discusses living water.
• The healing of the nobleman’s son happens at the end of John 4.. Although water is not obviously a key factor, our author points out to us that this miracle happened at Cana, the same town were water was turned to wine.
• In John 5:1-15, we read about the cripple at the pool of Bethsaida, hoping the water would heal him but instead Jesus did.

I have some thoughts on the author’s intent here but I’d like to hear something of yours. Would you share a comment about something you think the author was trying to communicate? Don’t feel you need a lengthy discussion. We can build an interesting discussion through several insights.

Remember, the idea is to share a thought on what the author may have been trying to communicate. I’m anxious to hear what you notice.

Dive In: Commentaries

I was only 17 at the time, so the meetings were welcome. All the Sunday school teachers gathered every other week while our pastor taught us the lesson we were to teach to our children. I had 5-year-olds and didn’t want them infected with wrong doctrine.

Today, my feelings about those meetings are a bit mixed. They were helpful to me as a young teacher but the more experienced teachers refused to do any study on their own. Their preparation consisted of repeating what the pastor told them.

We do the same thing with our Bible study when the first resource we pick up is a commentary. I have challenged you to read-read-read your Bible and to examine with care, noticing detail and also trying to discern the big picture.

A commentary should be one of the last books you pick up as you dive into the text. Commentaries are written by people who, in spite of their labor, cannot help bias and limitation. No commentary can fully capture the meaning of any text.

Add in to that that biblical scholarship continues to develop. New discoveries have added depth to biblical understanding. The Dead Sea Scrolls have added great richness to biblical scholarship, for example, because old texts were discovered, allowing translators to better discern word usage and syntax of first century writings.

For centuries, biblical scholarship tried to explain the lack of archeological evidence for the Assyrian nation. Many assumed it had not existed but then an ancient Nineveh was discovered. Discoveries help us better plumb biblical meaning.

All this to say that older commentaries are somewhat limited. They didn’t have the benefit of the Dead Sea Scrolls and archaeological finds. They worked with the knowledge of their day and they have very helpful insights. But don’t rest your analysis of a text on ancient commentaries alone.

Just like reading different translations of the Bible helps reveal meaning, reading more than one commentary helps produce a balanced presentation.

I will make some recommendations. Please know these are not inexpensive books. You may never own the entire set of them. I try to buy a text as I study a particular book, depending on financial resources. However, these will enrich your study.

My favorite commentary is The New American Commentary from Holman Press. It is evangelical and conservative, scholarly and deeply steeped in Hebrew and Greek research. Each volume is $20-$30 new. I’ve found used volumes for less.

Another suggestion is New Testament Commentary by Baker Press. It is from a Reformed standpoint. It is written by two authors so isn’t quite as consistent as the NAC, but still a valuable commentary.

Some helpful scholarly authors are: F.F. Bruce, Ben Witherington, Howard Marshall, Douglas Moo, Leon Morris, Craig Blomberg, Walter Brueggemann, Brevard Childs. This is a very limited list, but it might give you a foothold into further study.

Often you can find articles on the internet by these authors.

My basic tools for Diving In are several translations of the Bible, the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, a good atlas (we’ll look at those another time), and The New American Commentary.

First, study the details of the biblical text, noticing its design and provenance. Try to discover the author’s point to his original audience and see if that idea still resonates today. THEN dig out commentaries to see if others agree with your analysis. If no one has seen what you’ve seen, maybe you’ve better go back to the text and do some more digging. Use a commentary as sort of a answer sheet to check your work, not the place to begin.

Don’t just repeat what a commentary tells you. Dive in and drink the text for yourself. You’ll be revived and renewed by what you discover.

Dive In: Provenance II

We’ve already put our toes in the stream of provenance, discussing the idea that we must know the origins as we dive deeper into biblical texts.

Today, we’ll get an example of that through a non-biblical text, an 18^th century painting by William Hogarth entitled The Graham Children. I want you to look carefully at the painting, noticing any details that might contribute to the artist’s intent.

In examining this painting, you are doing the equivalent of studying the design of a biblical text. If you recall, there are three major steps to understanding a work:

• Design
• Provenance
• Idea (meaning)

In examining the design of this painting, you have probably noticed the four children and their setting. Maybe you noticed the baby’s buggy gilded in gold leaf or the silver basket of fruit. Maybe you noticed the clock in the background or the bird in the cage.

This is Hogarth’s most ambitious painting, a life size portrait of the Graham children. Henrietta, 9, wears a blue dress. Richard, playing a serinette (bird organ) is seven. Anna Marie, 5, wears a flower-printed dress and the baby, Thomas, sits in the buggy.

Hogarth, in his choice of objects, illustrates the lifestyle of the family. They obviously had some wealth.

But something you may not know was that Thomas died before the painting was finished. In the early 18^th century, child mortality was high. To symbolize the death of the baby, Hogarth painted a winged cherub with a scythe and an hourglass, mounted on a clock in the background. Two carnations lie beside the child, stalks crossed.

There’s more. Notice the clock on the mantelpiece is decorated with the figure of Cupid holding a scythe and standing beside an hour-glass, symbols of death in that day. We know that the baby was dead when the portrait was painted, and this must account for the sombre references to mortality, at a time when many children died in infancy.

Those items signaled the 18^th century viewer of the baby’s death. The viewer of that day understood that the family had lost baby Thomas.

Take a look at the cat in the background. The cat's claws are out, gripping the furniture. His eyes are focused solely on the fluttering goldfinch. The gilded cage could be seen as the rich protector of the innocent, then released into a dangerous world. Hogarth placed an allegory of the child becoming an adult and having to deal with an altogether more dangerous reality. The cord that cuts the corner of the painting and so obviously supporting the suspended cage, is symbolic of the fragility of life and especially of child mortality.

There’s much more in the painting but I think we’ve made my point, that knowing the provenance helps pry loose meaning. This painting would not have been made today. The loss of children does not hang over us as it did in that day.

The symbols of Hogarth’s painting are foreign to us today. We have to do some research to understand their meaning, but in doing so, and understanding the backdrop of the times, Hogarth’s meaning becomes clearer.

Obviously wealth couldn’t shield a family from the realities of life. In that day, the loss of children was the great equalizer. Rich and poor shared in the grief.

In our discussion, provenance is an important key in revealing meaning. Never settle on the author’s intent until you’ve examined his timeframe.

Remember that provenance is determined by the author’s time, not by the time of the story. We will visit provenance again. In the Old Testament, application often pops out when we understand the time of the text.

What insights did you gain from The Graham Children?

Dive In: John

“If only I could have talked to Jesus….” Kim was wistful in her longing. “I wish God would talk to me today so I could hear him like I hear you.”

We long for that personal touch, don’t we? Many are sure belief would be easier if they had lived in Jesus’ time.

How do we learn about events when we weren’t present for the happening? Often we seek out an eyewitness account. The news media is trained to search for eyewitnesses. The legal world prizes the eyewitness in a court case. The impossible is a little more likely if someone actually saw it happen.

John’s gospel takes a new direction from the synoptics (Matthew, Mark and Luke). John makes his purpose clear in John 20:31:

But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.

John 20:31

He writes so that others may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and so receive eternal life.

John leaves out much of the synoptic material and includes material unique to his gospel, evoking plenty of questions about his purpose. Was John writing to correct the synoptics? To supplement them? Why is his central theme so different from the synoptics?

Who did he write to? The Greek word that could be translated “continue to believe” or “now believe” appears well over 20 times in John. Scholars debate John’s audience. Was he writing evangelically, to move non-Christians to belief? Or was he writing to Christians, urging them to continue in their belief? There are many theories.

In the last 100 years, scholars suggest that John wrote to evangelize Gentiles while others say John wrote to evangelize Greek-speaking Jews of the Diaspora (those scattered). Most probably, John’s purpose was to evangelize Jews and Gentiles while encouraging Christians. The same arguments that could cause one to come to faith would cause another to continue in that faith.

John’s gospel is fascinating in its uniqueness. He chose seven signs – indicating in 21:25 that there were many more – to make specific points about Jesus’ authority. Those seven miracles showed Jesus’ power over nature, time, distance, quantity – those things that seem impossible to overcome, thereby showing Jesus’ divinity.

For the many who would question Jesus’ divinity, John tackled the topic head-on with eye-witness reports on Jesus’ power.

Those who doubted the divinity of Jesus had to explain John’s eyewitness reports. John saw the signs personally.

John 2:23 summarizes the process: many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name.

People were eyewitnesses: they saw Jesus’ work and they believed.

Today, we have those eyewitness reports. Who needs to read John today?

Dive In: Luke

The third gospel, Luke’s report, takes a different tack than either Matthew or Mark. Luke was not an eyewitness of Jesus’ life and makes clear in the first four verses of his gospel that his purpose is to present an orderly, well-researched and truthful account of Jesus’ ministry.

Luke was a well-educated man, a Gentile, and an historian. He seems to be writing largely to Gentiles in Syrian Antioch as a shepherd or pastor, although scholars suggest he had three more purposes: to make a historical record, to teach theological truths, and to defend Jesus’ teachings.

Christians in Rome were accused of being law-breakers, because they considered God’s Word to be above Roman law. Luke may have been explaining and defending Christian practices to the Romans.

Luke wrote a lot. The gospel and Acts make up nearly half of the New Testament. A brilliant historian/writer, Luke’s research and attention to detail is amazing. His command of Greek is impressive.

While Matthew aimed his universality at getting Jews to see outside their Jewish limits, Luke’s universality was aimed at Gentiles and social outcasts. He cared for people, especially the poor and outsider.

Matthew concentrated on Jesus and the Kingdom (Jesus as King) and Mark focused on Jesus as Servant God. Luke concentrated on Jesus and the people.

Luke emphasized Jesus’ humanity, including His compassion for the unclean, women, sick and poor. Luke also emphasized Jesus’ role as savior and teacher. Luke includes 15 unique parables and devotes a huge chunk of his gospel to the gospel teaching of Jesus, including 28 parables.

Today many confuse Jesus with a moral teacher or a strict disciplinarian. Luke paints a different story. Through Luke’s account, we see Jesus as the lover of the poor and downtrodden.

Tomorrow, we’ll look at John.

Dive In: Mark

Mark’s gospel, considered by scholars for centuries to be a “Reader’s Digest” version of Matthew (sort of a Matthew lite) , has finally begun to receive attention in its own right.

The gospel, an action-filled, picturesque telling of parts of Jesus’ life, is thought to be accurate but probably not in strict chronological order.

Mark was an assistant to Peter and traveled with him as the early church was being established. Some interesting things about the author: He belonged to one of the founding families of the Christian church, he was an eyewitness to Jesus’ death and resurrection, he experienced failure in his own discipleship (he abandoned Paul on his first missionary journey and probably fled when Jesus was arrested), and he was a companion of both Peter and Paul.

Why did Mark write his gospel? There are many suggestions: as an instruction book for new converts, to clearly establish Jesus as Messiah, to encourage persecuted Christians, to reveal Jesus’ influence by emphasizing his miracles.

Mark’s theme is simple: following Jesus. He writes an action-filled gospel, moving quickly from story to story, emphasizing Jesus’ works – including miracles – over His teachings. Jesus proved his clout through his actions in the book of Mark. Jesus is worth following through difficulty and sacrifice, Mark shows, because he has authority and power.

The gospel has much to say about the failures of Peter and the failures of the disciples. Yet the forgiveness and redemption of God’s supremacy shine through the narrative. Mark had failed Jesus more than once. He had special sensitivity to the mercy and forgiveness of Jesus, as did Peter, and included that insight in his gospel- an insight that would encourage some modern-day readers.

Who might be encouraged by reading Mark today?

Tomorrow, Luke.

Dive In: Matthew

Why the book of Matthew?

The Gospel of Matthew, probably written by Mathew who was one of the “lesser” apostles and also a tax collector (not exactly an honored profession in first-century Palestine), reveals the viewpoint of a man familiar with money, organization, and vice – a tax collector.

The most common assumption is that the evangelist wrote to Jews to convince them that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Yet the book is not that simple. On one hand, there are many references to Old Testament text to prove Jesus fulfilled prophecy. Matthew stresses Jesus’ role as son of David, His genealogy, Jewish customs and traditions.

Yet Matthew also emphasizes the universalism of Jesus’ ministry, including four Gentile women (and some with questionable pasts - like Matthew) in Jesus’ genealogy and recounting parables that predict the end of the Jewish leadership. The Great Commission at the end of Matthew shows the disciples sent to “all nations” not just Jews. Those don’t seem like the approach of a man focused only on the Jews. Was he writing to Jews or to all?

Scholars debate Matthew’s purpose, since he doesn’t specifically list it, as did Luke and John. Matthew may have been written to evangelize the Jews. Or perhaps as a manual to help disciple new believers. Was the gospel written as an apologetic manual to debate the Jews? Or as a church manual? Perhaps the gospel was meant to be a help for the persecuted church. Many scholars think it is an intricate weaving of most, if not all, those purposes.

Matthew brought a distinct viewpoint, that of a disciple rescued from a stained past where he had been rejected by his own people. Did his gospel reflect a second chance?

Who would be drawn to such a treatment of Jesus’ life? Would an artist? An engineer? A free spirit? Would the family downtrodden by tragedy rush to Matthew for some compassion and insight?

What do you think?

Tomorrow, we’ll look at Mark.

Dive In: Provenance

We’ve spent several weeks discussing the design of a book of the Bible. There many elements of design and we’ve only scratched the surface there. But we need to look at the second leg of our stool for balance.

There are three aspects to a careful reading of a biblical text:

• Design
• Provenance
• Idea

We will begin our discussion of provenance today.

Provenance means, simply, the origins or beginning of something. Ultimately it is from Latin provenire, from pro-, "forth" + venire, "to come."

As we look at a biblical text, we must ask its origin. It’s tempting to look at the story in the text and assume that was when the author did his work.

However, take a look at Ruth 4:7

"Now this was the custom in former times in Israel concerning redeeming and exchanging: to confirm a transaction, the one took off a sandal and gave it to the other; this was the manner of attesting in Israel."

The author added this explanation because his reader did not know the custom being described in the text. That alerts us immediately that the narrative was written many years after the events actually occurred.

There are many other examples like this in the Bible, enough for us to know that many times a history was written years after the actual events.

We know, for example, that Ruth was probably written after David was king of Israel. Many scholars suspect that Ruth was written, in part, as comment on David’s reign. Did God want David to be king? Ruth answers that question with a triumphant yes!

The idea then becomes that the true kings of Israel come from David’s line. From the barrenness of Naomi and Ruth, God brought forth new life that became the future of Israel. The book endorses David’s rule and also opens the door to Christ’s reign someday, although the original reader probably would not have recognized that aspect like we do today.

When the text was written is important to the ideas it expresses.

So, as we begin our study of a text, we must ask:

Who was the author?

Who was the audience?

When was the work written?

What were some of the cultural and historic backstories for the text?

Tomorrow we’re going to apply those questions to the book of John. John’s ideas begin to spring to life as we examine these questions.

Next Tuesday, we’ll look at provenance further by examining a painting, The Graham Children, done by William Hogarth in 1742. If you get a chance, take a look at the painting and see what you observe in it. I think we’ll find next week that studying design alone won’t spring the meaning like studying the provenance.

(Thank Dr. Frank Ames, my Old Testament professor, for presenting these concepts so profoundly.)

This week, begin asking the questions of provenance, especially when. It’s vital to your understanding of the text.

Dive In: Resources I

Your bookshelf is now going to be front and center in our discussion. You may wonder what my delay has been.

In diving deeper in the Bible, the first text you have to use is the Bible. You have to read it, ask questions, see patterns, look for the context and big picture. You have to begin to identify the design of the pericope. Several translations are very helpful.

The second thing you should open, after a Bible, is not a commentary. Commentaries are written by scholars with bias. They can’t help it, any more than you can help your bias. Commentaries are often helpful but never the final word. There is no commentary that can replace thoughtful reading of the biblical text. (We'll discuss them more later because I have some specific advice for them.)

In fact, the first extra-biblical text I’d suggest for your bookshelf is a good Bible dictionary. Don’t buy the two-nine-five paperback at the grocery store. Save up some money, ask for it as a birthday gift, have a yard sale. Do what it takes (short of breaking the law or selling a child) to get a good dictionary

Here are my suggestions for a helpful Bible dictionary:

Dictionary of Biblical Imagery. Edited by Leland Ryken, Jim Wilhoit, Tremper Longman, Colin Duriez, Douglas Penney and Daniel G. Reid. Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 1998.

Dictionary of Biblical Interpretation. Edited by John H. Hayes. 2 vols. Nashville: Abingdon, 1999.

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible. Edited by David Noel Freedman, Allen C. Myers and Astrid B. Beck. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2000.

HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. Edited by Paul J. Achtemeier. Rev. ed. San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1996.

Holman Bible Dictionary. Edited by Trent C. Butler. Nashville: Holman, 1991.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Edited by Geoffrey W. Bromiley. 4 vols. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995. (ISBE)

Remember: always always always read a reference book like you eat a fish: keep the meat and spit out the bones. There are no perfect reference materials. You may be biased or the author may be biased, but the final word comes from the Bible. What does the Bible say about a particular topic?

Dictionaries are helpful in showing us cultural background and context, reminding us of locales and genealogies, identifying people and history. I like to keep one close when I’m reading.

My favorite book in the above list is the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, although I use it together with the ISBE.

Here’s an example of the help I get from the DBI.

I’ve been puzzling over the Sodom and Gomorrah account. Here’s something I read that gave me a toehold on meaning:

The contrasting of Lot and Sodom with Abraham is highlighted by parallels in the hospitality extended toward the divine messengers (Gen 18:1-8, 19:1-3). But the story in Genesis 19 quickly degenerates into a spiral of sin. The attempt at sexual violation by the entire male population, the offer of Lot’s daughters in the messengers' stead, the mocking of his future sons-in-laws, Lot’s hesitation to leave Sodom and his plea not to have to flee far away, and the fateful backward glance of his wife fill out this portrait of rejection of God’s ways (Gen 19:4-26). All Abraham sees afterward is the smoke of the judgment (Gen 19:27-28).

—Dictionary of Biblical Imagery

Suddenly I was comparing Gen 18 and Gen 19, looking for parallels and for contrasts. The dictionary didn’t give me the meaning, but helped provide information to pry loose the intent of the author. It’s a resource that helps me see comparisons across time and history when I might otherwise miss them.

Another entry tells me that salt is a sign of barrenness or sterility. Lot’s wife becomes a pillar of salt, although she had earlier had children, while Abraham’s wife, who earlier was without child, became the mother of the nation. That certainly gives traction to some ideas in the text.

Would you tell me what dictionary you like and use? Or what other resources you’d like me to discuss in coming weeks?

Keep reading and diving in.

Dive In: Questions

If I gave you two tools for deeper Bible study, they would be to read the Bible regularly and to ask good questions.

Questions are important. Scriptures are not diminished by our hard question.

I’ve been puzzling over Terah lately. Join me on a journey in Genesis 11. Take a moment to read Gen 11:26-32.

We see a pattern in the last half of Genesis 11, with each descendant of Shem getting two verses. You can almost cut and paste the names into the template. But the pattern is broken when we get to Terah? Why?

We meet three of Terah’s sons as well as a nephew and two daughters-in-law. Why? I know that Abram occupies several chapters in Genesis, but why are Haran and Nahor mentioned? Why do we need to know the wives’ names?

Why are we told that Terah intended to move to Canaan? Did he leave Ur because he grieved over his son? Why did he stop at Haran? Did he name Haran after his deceased son?

Why did Nahor stay behind? Why did Lot go with Terah?

Is Terah mentioned anywhere else in scripture? What can we learn from those passages?

As you ask questions and notice details, you’ll form a theory. Hold theories loosely because as more information from the Bible is revealed, the theory may need to be tweaked or even tossed aside.

Here’s a theory I have regarding Terah. I think he left Ur because he grieved his son’s death and established the town that he named after his son. He intended to go to Canaan but did not.

Take a look at a reference to Abraham (formerly named Abram) in Isaiah:

look to Abraham, your father,
and to Sarah, who gave you birth.
When I called him he was but one,
and I blessed him and made him many.

Isaiah 51:2

Notice the words “when I called him...” Abram was called to Canaan; Terah was not.

Why not?

Joshua 24:2 tells us that Terah worshipped other gods, as did Abram and Nahor at that time, while they lived across the Euphrates. Abram had a spiritual awakening. God spoke to him, inviting him to go. But God prevented Terah from going into Canaan.

Terah may have longed for Canaan – perhaps to flee memories of a lost son -but could not complete the trip. God kept him out, for God intended for Abraham to go there, as the faithful son of God, not as the idolatrous son of Terah. Notice that God called Abram to leave his country, people and father’s household to go to the land. (Gen 12:1) God separated Abraham from Terah. The death of one son, Haran, foreshadowed the separation of a second son, Abram.

By spending several verses on Terah, we are torn from the cadence of a lineage to the beginning of God’s family. Our attention moves from a formal list to a family torn by grief and idolatry. We see the eventual separation of Terah and Abraham. Genesis 12 begins a new story, one focused on Abram and his family rather than all mankind.

And it began with Terah, who was separated from his son in God’s plan.

Questions are vital to our understanding of a pericope. Choose a passage and ask many questions, looking carefully for details and inquire why.

Dive In: Textual Error?

Someone just handed you a sheet of paper with 10 sentences on it. Here’s the first:

The flowers are red and blooming in my front lard.

Here’s the second:

The flowers are fed and blooming in my front yard.

And the third:

Rhe flowers are red and blooming in my front yard.

Do you think you could come up with the correct sentence even though every one of the 10 sentences was different? I'm think this is easy pie.

We rest our defense of God on his errant, inspired Word, so you should be aware of arguments that may be thrown in your face:

• We do not have any original texts of biblical writings.
• Many of the copies of the original texts have mistakes.

Both of those statements are true. However, we have roughly 5000 copies of the original texts. That’s bushel baskets more than any other historical writing. Scholars would love to have five copies of some of the ancient Greek poems.

Let’s go back to our example at the beginning. The mistakes in the biblical copies are those kinds of mistakes. The original texts were copied by scholars who used scrupulous methods. One technique had a teacher to read a text to 10 or 20 scribes. Their job was to write down exactly what he said. They provided a safeguard for his possible slip of tongue plus they could compare with each other.

They worked very hard to get every mark exactly right, but sometimes “typos” happened. A letter was forgotten or two words run together. Maybe a scribe did what we sometimes do. Ever quoted a Bible verse and added “The Lord Jesus Christ” when that particular verse said, “The Lord”? Those kinds of errors happened, too. A scribe may have added a phrase from common usage, even if it wasn’t in that particular verse. He may have forgotten a mark that changed a letter.

The discovery of the Dead Sea scrolls underlined the overall accuracy of the copy system. Many very early copies were discovered. The closer the copy is to the original text, the more accurate it is assumed to be. So biblical scholars were anxious to compare more recent copies to the old copies discovered with the Dead Sea collection. What they discovered were that very few mistakes had been made.

The newer texts were extremely accurate, and many of the errors were of the sort we’ve discussed – easily recognized and understandable.

I’m discussing the area of textual criticism. (Don't think of criticism as disapproval but as serious examination of a subject.) There are many resources available but one I’d recommend is James White’s The King James Controversy. It has several excellent chapters that explain textual criticism in non-scholastic terms.

This is an important area for us as we dive in to the text, because many bash the Bible as error-filled. Although written texts can have errors, the ideas contained there are inerrant. Today, a typo in a Bible does not diminish its value as the inspired word of God and the same principle applies to the texts carried forward over the centuries.

God’s Word is not limited by ink and frail human hands, but has been protected from ancient times to today. We can trust His Word and can defend it against charges of error.

If you comment on today’s lesson on your blog, would you link to it below? We’d all enjoy gaining your insights and/or questions on the subject.

Dive In: Beginning

“What are the first words of the 23^rd Psalm?” asked our Old Testament professor one day.

This sounded like a trick question and we were slow to bite. He had us open our Bibles and take a look, where we found he was using a little trickery. The first words are: “A Psalm of David.” Now, your translation may have something like “A Davidic Psalm” but you get the idea. It’s not “The Lord is my shepherd” like we assume.

As we dive into the design of Bible passages, we have to look at the beginning. In the case of the 23^rd Psalm, we learn the genre: a Psalm (also known as a song or a poem. The book of Psalms was the hymnbook for the Jews.)

We need to know the genre. It makes a difference in our understanding if we realize we’re reading a poem or a genealogy, a narrative or law. There are many kinds of genre in the Bible and we analyze the text differently depending on the genre.

A quick note: a book is not necessarily only one genre. Look at Ruth, which is mostly a narrative with a genealogy at the end. (Some suggest that the genealogy was added later but I would suggest that it is vital to the meaning of the book. I will discuss that with you at some point.)

But let us return to Psalm 23. Because we know this writing is a poem rather than a genealogy, we analyze the design of the material in that light. We want to look for repeated words, phrases, images because Hebrew poems used those extensively.

You might want to print out a copy of the Psalm, so that you can underline and mark it.

• Underline all the first person pronouns: me/my/I, etc.
• Now circle “Lord” and “he.”
• Now draw a box around the second person pronouns: “you.”

We want to notice the location of these repetitions in the Psalm. Do you see how the “self” pronouns are scattered throughout the Psalm while “Lord” and “he” are in the first part only? “You” is used in the second half of the Psalm.

We quickly see a transition from referring to God as “he” to addressing God personally: “you.”

We learn that through the repetition of the pronouns, noticing what kind of pronouns they are. David writes about God in the first half of the Psalm and writes to God in the second half.

Is that important?

I’m going to go through this quickly for now – although it deserves a much richer study at some point. In the first half of the Psalm, notice that the imagery is of shepherds, fields, grass, valleys. There’s a strong agricultural motif to those verses.

Hospitality is more of the theme in the last half of Psalm. We see a table, anointing, a cup, a house. Our scene has moved from the field to the home.

That may imply a change in relationship, moving into closer intimacy as we move from an outside scene to one inside the home.

Notice the very middle line of the Psalm. Count the lines (don’t count “A Psalm by David”) and you’ll see there are 19 lines. In Hebrew writing, often the very middle of a text is very significant. For example, if you look at the exact middle of Exodus, you’ll find the 10 commandments.

Here, the very middle is the point of the Psalm: “for you are with me…”

That’s the point of the 23^rd Psalm: God, you are with me. You protect me and comfort me because you are with me.

This week, I would like you to begin to examine the design of a poem or a song. Psalms is a good place or you might look at other songs, such as Miriam’s song or Hannah’s song. There are many.

We’ve studied three steps so far and I want you to experiment with them on your text, to see if that opens some meaning.

The steps of design we studied today:

1. Start at the beginning. Read carefully. What can you learn from the beginning?

2. Search for repetition. Do you see an image, a word, a pronoun repeated? Do you see a motif – like the pasture setting in Psalm 23?

3. Check the very middle of the text. Is there anything significant there?

If you choose to share your findings on your own blog, please enter the specific blog post below so that others can share. We’ll look more at design next time.