Bibl 350 Study Guide 1
Module 1 Study Guide Chapter 1 • Know the four basic steps of the interpretive journey. o Grasping the Text in Their Town o Measuring the Width of the River to Cross o Crossing the Principlizing Bridge o Grasping the Text in Our Town • Know the order of these four basic steps.
Why is order important in following the interpretive journey? o Because in doing so we take the ancient meaning for the ancient audience and cross over the river to the legitimate meaning that it has for us today. • What is a theological principle? o The meaning that the text has for us today Does it apply only to modern readers, or did theological principles apply to the original recipients of Scripture as well? o It applied to both, but it means different things to each generation of people. • What are some of the barriers that constitute the “river” distancing readers of the Bible from an accurate understanding of the meaning of the text? o Culture, Language, Situation, Time, and often Covenant • Are theological principles always culturally bound, or can they transcend culture? o They can transcend culture • What differences exist between modern readers and the biblical audience? One of the biggest things is that we have Christ and the people in the Old Testament did not. Another aspect is time and how governments and life itself has changed. • How does this affect how we determine the meaning of the text? o It shows that we have to look deeper into the text instead of just looking at what is one the outside. We have to dig into the text and pull from it what we can that is relevant for us today.
Chapter 2 • Know that at the level of observation, we are not yet determining the meaning of the text. Rather, we are simply seeking to know the facts that lie before us. Know and be able to distinguish between elements of discourse for which keen observers should look in sentences. These are listed in the textbook and include the repetition of words, contrasts, comparisons, etc.
o Repetition of Words- Look for words and phrases that repeat. o Contrasts- Look for ideas, individuals, and/or items that are contrasted with each other. o Comparisons- Look for ideas, individuals, and/or items that are compared with each other. Look also for similarities. o Lists- Note where the text mentions two or more items.
o Cause and Effect- There may be more than one effect mentioned from a single cause. Figures of Speech- Look for expressions that convey an image, using words in a sense other than the literal sense. o Conjunctions- Notice terms that join units, like “and,” “but,” “for. ” Note what they are connecting.
o Verbs (Where all action is) – Note whether the verb is past, present, or future; active or passive; also look for imperatives. o Pronouns- Identify the antecedents for each pronoun. Chapter 3 • Be able to describe the general-to-specific literary feature that biblical authors often use to communicate ideas to their audiences. Most biblical authors would state a general statement in a verse, and then, in the following verses, explain the statement out so that the reader would understand the passage more clearly.
Also the authors sometimes did the opposite and went from Specific-to-General. • Know which literary and grammatical features are important in the observation of paragraphs. These are listed in the textbook and include question and answer, purpose statements, conditional clauses, etc. o Questions and Answers- Note if the text is built on a questions-and-answers format. o Dialogue- Note is the text includes dialogue. Identify who is speaking, and to whom.
Means- Note if a sentence indicates if something was done by means of someone/something (answers “how? ”). Usually you can insert the phrase “by means of” into the sentence. o Purpose/Result Statements- These are a more specific type of “means,” often telling why.
Purpose and result are similar and sometimes indistinguishable. In a purpose statement you can usually insert the phrase “in order that. ” In a result clause, you can usually insert the phrase “so that. ” o General-to-Specific and Specific-to-General- Find the general statements that are followed by specific examples or applications of the general.Also find specific statements that are summarized by a general one. o Conditional Clauses- A clause can present the condition by which some action or consequence will result.
Often such statements use and “if…then” framework (although in English the “then” is often left out). o Actions/Roles of God- Indentify actions or roles that the text ascribes to God. o Actions/Roles of People- Identify actions or roles that the text ascribes to people or encourages people to do/be. o Emotional terms- Does the passage use terms that have emotional energy, like kinship words (father, son) or words like “pleading”? Tone of the Passage- What is the overall tone of the passage: happy, sad, encouraging, and so on? Chapter 4 • How does the textbook use the term “discourse”? o It is used to refer to units of connected text that are longer than paragraphs. Other words that are similar: genre, story, pericope, episode, unit of thought, and chapter. • When observing discourse, what does the term “interchange” describe? o It describes the contrasting or comparing of two stories at the same time as part of the overall development. • What does this feature look like in narrative literature? o Usually the narrative will move back and forth from ne story to the other, too often to show contrast.
• Know which literary and structural features are important in the observation of discourse. These are listed in the textbook, and include story shifts, interchange, chiasm, etc. o Connections to other paragraphs and episodes- How does the passage connect to the one that intercedes it and the one that follows it? o Shifts in the story/pivots- Is the passage being used as a key to understanding a dramatic shift in the story. o Interchange- Does the passage shift back and forth between to scenes or characters. o Chiasm- Does the passage have any chiastic arrangements, like a-b-c-d-c’-b’-a’?