David Being a Prophet by Benjamin Sargent

Author:Benjamin Sargent [Sargent, Benjamin]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: De Gruyter
Published: 2014-05-08T00:00:00+00:00

4.3 Excursus: A theological approach to historical hermeneutics in practice

It has not been the purpose of this chapter to recommend a new model of historical exegesis to replace historical criticism; rather it has sought to assert the continuing value of interpreting biblical texts by referring them back to the historical contexts in which they were authored or redacted. However, this plea for a renewed theological use of history in hermeneutics begs the question of how this might appear in practice. Would it necessarily lead to different exegetical techniques and different conclusions when compared with historical criticism? Needless to say, there is no clear answer to this question. The primary challenge to historical criticism which this study permits and attempts to address relates to the philosophical and theological assumptions of the approach. It is clear that certain features of historical criticism (which, of course, is a diverse collection of approaches and interests) must be significantly reconsidered in the light of this philosophical and theological challenge. For example, the traditional criteria for assessing the historicity of Historical Jesus material, as used by the Jesus Seminar, are incompatible with a theological account of history and provide perhaps the least ambiguous example of Enlightenment prejudice against Theology in Biblical Studies. However, when it comes to interpreting particular passages there is a wide variety of possible outcomes.

Consider, for example, Luke 10:25 – 37: Jesus’ encounter with a teacher of the law and his subsequent telling of the story of the Good Samaritan. How might this be read theologically as a contingent product of an historical process? One might begin, as any reader of this Gospel would who has not approached this particular passage outside of its literary context, by having in mind what the author has said about his work. One might be aware of two particular claims made by the author which may help interpret this passage. Firstly, the author is not himself a witness of the events in the life of Jesus he is describing but has constructed his work upon material which παρέδοσαν ἡμῖν οἱ ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς αὐτóπται καὶ ὑπηρέται γενóμενοι τοῦ λóγου (Lk 1:2).497 Furthermore, the author has described his work as an ἀκριβῶς καθεξῆς (1:3), a work which aims to have some sort of narrative coherence, a work which is more than simply a collection of material gathered from others.498 These statements of the author’s intent, detailing his understanding of what his text is, are derived from the text itself and are not so much the product of abstract theorising of the kind of which one might accuse historical criticism. However, the exegetical approaches one might then choose to advance from these statements could bear a striking resemblance to form criticism and perhaps narrative criticism.

Since the author admits to arranging his material in such a way as to create an ordered account of the life of Jesus, one might wish to read the account of the lawyer’s question and Jesus’ visit to the home of Mary and Martha as related.

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