Biblical ExegesisLayers

MethodologySources

Listen UP

SurveyO Clear your mind of any preconceived notions that

you may have had about the text.O Visit the pericope with fresh eyes

O Summarize what is in the textO Ask Questions

O Any Questions will work, the better questions you ask, the more research that will be provided

O The bible is a difficult text, you will no doubt have questions about its meaning

Historical ContextO Who is the author of the text?O Who is the intended audience?

O “What are the chief characteristics of the people addressed (often referred to as the “community”) by the passage? What can be known of their history? social location? beliefs and practices?”

Historical Context Cont’O “What ancient events, political realities,

places, customs, values, and beliefs are mentioned or alluded to in the text (sometimes called ‘historical background’ or extratextual realities’) that must be understood in order to comprehend the text?”

O “What circumstances, or what kind of situation, might have prompted the author to write this text?”

Literary ContextThe Bible is like an ocean, impossible to know all its depths, 

but you can know a part of it.

O What type of writing is the Pericope? (i.e. narrative, parable, discourse, poetry, song?”

O Find Context of passage, Where is it located in the overall book?

O “It has been said that a text without a context is a pretext – an excuse for finding one’s presuppositions confirmed by the text” (Gorman 74).

O “Does the material following the passage connect directly to it or help explain it?”

O Does the story appear any where else?

Synthesis

SynthesisO After having looked at many “trees” we now

try to get a view of the “forest” OR after having looked at many “pieces of the puzzle” we now try to get a sense of the whole assembled puzzle.

O Synthesizing is an act of integration; it is not just a restatement of the details!

O The goal of a synthesis is to answer: What is the main point of the pericope?

Exegetical LayersO Source Criticism: An examination of the

author’s sources (cross references) of OT and NT

O Literary Criticism: Understanding the genre that the historical author used when composing scripture: poetry, history, hyperbole, narrative, etc.

SourcesO Bible Commentary: A Source that comments

on every single passage of a given book, verse by verse and is dependent on the structure of the Biblical work.O New Jerome Biblical CommentaryO Anchor Bible Commentary

O Bible Dictionary: A source that places every term used in the Bible in alphabetical order.O A Concise Dictionary of Theology

O Biblical Criticism: A source that is structured more on the Exegete’s thesis and thoughts rather than structure of the biblical work.O B. XVI ‘s Jesus of Nazareth

O Catechism of the Catholic Church: A summary of the principles of Christian religion in the form of questions and answers, used for the instruction of Christians.

My First Meme