Textual Criticism
This discipline is called “lower
criticism.” You have to know what the correct text is before you
start trying to understand and interpret it.
Manuscript
Evidence. Homer’s Iliad is probably the most well attested
document of classical antiquity (ca. 650 mss).
The NT has over 5,000 Greek manuscripts that contain all or part of the
NT, and over 15,000 early translations.
Putting
all these together, we can be sure of the accuracy of the text we have.
-Copying
errors
1. “Unintentional” errors-
a. Copying from one manuscript. Examples?
b. Copying from dictation. Similar sounds. Examples?
2.
« Intentional » changes-
a. Forced agreement. Why would someone want to force agreement
like this? Examples?
b. Clarified doctrine. Examples?
-What
are text critics looking for?
-Prefer older over newer readings
(like 1 Jn. 5:7).
-Prefer the shorter over longer
readings (e.g., Mt. 6:13). Why?
-Prefer the more difficult over
easier readings (Mk. 1:2- some omitted “Isaiah”).
-Prefer quality over quantity of
witnesses.
-Accuracy?
-The oldest surviving manuscripts of
the OT are the Dead Sea Scrolls, which date back to ca. 150 BC. Oldest manuscript of OT before this was ca.
AD 850. Dead S. S. proved they were transmitted
quite accurately.
-The oldest surviving papyrus of the NT
is known as “p52,” the John Rylands papyrus, which is
a portion of the Gospel of John that dates back to c. AD 100-125. What does this prove?
Translation
What
do you think makes a good translation?
-Translation is an , not an exact science. Different ways to translate
a sentence.
-Literal vs. Dynamic
translation. The more
literal, the less readable.
Literal
Dynamic
(N)KJV NASB (N)RSV (T)NIV ETR Message/Phillips/LB
-Choosing
a translation
-Read the preface to find out about
the translation process used in the version.
-Both readability and accuracy are
important; but try to maintain balance.
If
you emphasize one, you sacrifice the other.
Occasionality
The NT
documents were written to address a specific need in a specific time and
place. They were written mostly to
address problems.
What is the problem Paul is
addressing in Romans? Many interpreters
ignore the possibility of there being a specific problem. This is because he never explicitly states
the problem he’s addressing. But the
whole letter is the resolution to the problem.
Once you know the problem, it puts the whole letter or book into
context.
Warning:
Don’t speculate too much into the background and construct a hypothetical
situation behind the text. But just
realize there’s always a situation to which the author is writing.
NEW TESTAMENT BACKGROUNDS
Read a Brief Historical Introduction to
the New Testament, at http://www.abu.nb.ca/courses/ntintro/History1.htm
See also E. Ferguson, Backgrounds of Early Christianity; J.
Jeffers, The Greco-Roman World; M. Tenney, New Testament
Survey, chs. 1-5; Encountering the New Testament, chs. 1, 2, 13.
Jewish State
Seleucid dynasty ruled Syria and
fought Egyptian Ptolemies for Palestine. To make the Jews mad, Antiochus IV Epiphanes set up a statue of Zeus in the temple and
sacrificed a pig on the altar. Ca. 168
BC, Mattathias and his sons revolted against
him. They cleansed the temple, and even
though there wasn’t enough oil to burn the lamps in the temple, they kept
burning for a week. Judas Maccabeus and
his brothers continued to fight until they were completely independent of
Syrian rule in 142 BC.
Herod the Great ruled as a vassal
king over Judea when Jesus was born? He
had some wives and many sons executed.
He built strongholds all over Palestine to protect him if needed. His three remaining sons each wanted to be
sole ruler, but the Roman emperor divided
Herod
Agrippa I lived under strict Jewish law and opposed all pagan practices.
Jewish Religion
Judaism’s monotheism and morality
stood in sharp contrast to other religions.
Synagogue.
Synagogues probably arose in the dispersion in the absence of the
temple. Jewish Christians still attended
synagogue for a generation.
Sacred Year.
Sabbath
(Saturday).
Passover celebrated deliverance from
Egyptian slavery. Barley
harvest.
Pentecost/Feast of Weeks was 7 weeks
(50th day) after the sheaf offering at the end of Passover.
Feast of
Tabernacles/Booths.
Feast of
Lights/Dedication. Observed for 8
days; established in 164 BC.
Purim.
Day of
Atonement/Yom Kippur. Lev. 16. The high
priest took the blood of one goat into the Holy of Holies. The other goat was taken outside the camp and
given to Azazel.
Both bore the sins of the people for the year. This was the most important and solemn day of
the Jewish year.
Literature.
a. LXX. LXX began to be translated under Ptolemy II Philadelphus in 3rd cent. BC. See the story from Letter of Aristeas (70 identical translations of Pentateuch).
b.
Apocrypha. Josephus claimed that no
Scripture was written after the reign of Artaxerxes
(d. 424 BC). Apocryphal books were
greatly revered, but were never included in the Hebrew Bible. 2 main messages of Apocrypha: 1) Sacredness
of law and call for fidelity to it. 2)
Apocalyptic ideas that give hope in the present and look to future salvation.
c.
Josephus was a Jew who wrote several historical books about the Jewish people,
including his own autobiography. In the
war against Rome in AD 70, Josephus, a very well educated man, was captured and
became a friend of the Roman emperor, the Flavian
dynasty (Vespasian, Titus, Domitian). Thus, Flavius Josephus.
His most famous works are Antiquities
of the Jews (a history of Jewish people and OT), and Jewish Wars. He gives
valuable insight into 1st cent. Jewish life, as
well as how 1st cent. Jews interpreted their history and the
events of the 1st cent.
d.
Mishnah (AD 200+), part of the larger Talmud, is the gathering of the oral laws
that had been developing among rabbis for centuries.
Sects of Judaism.
a. Pharisees. Prominent Jewish group in
gospels. Theology founded on
entire canon of OT (Tanak).
b.
Sadducees. Composed
almost entirely of aristocracy and well-to-do elite. Controlled priesthood, but faded away in
their conflict with Rome after 70.
c. Essenes. Perhaps to be identified with Qumran
community. Some of their
characteristics:
1. Interpretation of
Scripture by pesher
(interpretation), looking to current application.
2. Doctrine of salvation
included faith in the Teacher of Righteousness and obedience to the law.
3. Strict
separatism.
4. Highly disciplined
life intended to protect purity of community.
In NT, there is similar emphasis on holiness, but Christian freedom also
pervades NT.
5. Strong eschatological
orientation. Expectation
of coming prophet and priestly and lay Messiah.
6. Highly structured,
hierarchical society: Priests, Levites, laymen, proselytes.[1]
d. Zealots. Cf. Sikarioi (cf.
Acts 21:38), violent political assassins (like terrorists).
e. Samaritans. Jew/Gentile mixture.
Greco-Roman
Hellenistic Kingdoms.
Hellenism (from Hellas) is the
attempt to understand and structure the civilized world based on principles
developed in ancient Greece. Hellenization
set the tone for the Gentiles and even some Jews who first responded to the
gospel.
The Roman Empire.
Know select emperors, and be able to say something intelligent about
them.
1. Octavian, Augustus- Nephew of
Julius Caesar. Reigned
when Jesus was born.
2. Tiberius- With
Tiberius, the “temporary” imperial power of Augustus was transferred to
Tiberius for life.
3. Claudius- Had a strong antipathy
for foreign cults.
4. Nero- Good
emperor at first.
5. Vespasian- Was a career military
man who suppressed revolts in the north.
6. Titus- Vespasian’s son, finished the destruction of Jerusalem in 70. Was emperor when Mt.
7. Domitian- Another son of
Vespasian. He demanded emperor worship
during his lifetime. Revelation was
probably written in response to his persecution.
The Social World.
Social and economic conditions had an impact on the diversity of the
church itself, and sometimes caused problems and divisions within congregations
(e.g., 1 Cor. 11).
The ancient Mediterranean world was
characterized more by its corporate personality than our rugged
individualism. What one person does affects the whole community, good or bad (e.g., Adam’s
sin). This corporate personality
extended to the past, too.
The Religious World.
There was a cornucopia of religious
options. Romans distinguished between religio and superstitio. Christianity did not link any particular
nation of people with God and had little to do with the political state, so it
was considered superstition (or “cult”).
Early Christians were despised for their cultural inferiority, accused of
appealing only to the lower classes of society.
The Mystery Religions.
Mystery cults offered cleansing from sin, security from evil forces, and
immortality.
Philosophies.
In classical Greek philosophy,
represented by Plato and Aristotle, there is a tentative move toward
monotheism.
Epicureans. Founded by Epicurus (b. ca.
342 BC). Made
pleasure the goal of life.
Stoics. Founded by Zeno, who taught at the Stoa. Stoics believed in determined fate and
providence, which they equated with God.
The most famous Roman Stoic was Seneca (d. AD 65), who was Nero’s tutor
and advisor, and contemporary with Paul, who pursued philosophy as a means to
virtue. Epictetus (50–138) (former
slave) emphasized human ability to will virtue and victory over sin. Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–80) persecuted Christians
because of his zeal for polytheistic worship, which he saw as the duty of a
good citizen.[2]
Both Epicurean and Stoic
philosophies were dominant in the 1st cent., after the decline of
Platonism and Aristotelianism.
SYNOPTIC GOSPELS
Form Criticism. Oral
traditions. The basic assumption
of form criticism is that, as the first century progressed,
the oral stories about Jesus evolved and expanded, taking on new lives of their
own. But scholars such as E. P. Sanders
have shown that there is no definite trend toward expansion of material in
later gospels.
Source Criticism. Written
traditions. Proposed solutions:
1) All three based on oral traditions (related to form
criticism). 2) Mutual literary interdependence. Church fathers generally assumed that Mt, Mk,
and Lk were written in that order. “Q”
(Quelle) is the material common to Mt. and Lk. not appearing in Mk.
Some version of the 2-Source hypothesis and its variations is dominant
today.
Mk Q
Mt Lk
The
2-source hypothesis assumes Markan priority.[3] Markan priority seems more likely to me, but not completely
convincing.
Redaction (Editorial) Criticism (that the gospel writers were
editors/redactors of received tradition).
1. Began in 1950s.
2. Looks for distinct theological
emphases of each evangelist.
3. Problems? See CM 108-10.
Maintain the integrity of each
story. (Harmony of
Gospels, not for harmonizing as much as for contrasting.) This will be helpful for teaching the gospels
in a church setting, and can largely be done without intricate source theories.
Literary Criticism. Attention to
literary and rhetorical devices that authors used to get the message across. E.g., Chiasmus, Inclusio.
Genre.
C.S. Lewis said, “The first
qualification for judging any piece of workmanship from a corkscrew to a
cathedral is to know what it is—what it
was intended to do and how it is meant to be used.”[4] Witherington writes, “Addresses to Congress should never be
mistaken for funeral orations, nor should wills of
real people be treated like novels.”[5]
“Theological (hi)story.”
Titles and Authorship:
1. Late 2nd-cent. papyri have gospel titles.
2. Most scholars date titles to 2nd
cent., but Hengel to 1st.
3. Why would someone in the second
century want to legitimate a gospel by attaching the name of “Mark” to it?
See:
Diagram of Synoptic Relationships, by Allan Barr
Synopsis Quattuor
Evangeliorum,
by Kurt Aland (on Mk. 4, par.)
THE “HISTORICAL JESUS” AND
THE JESUS SEMINAR
Keith D. Stanglin
The amount of information concerning
Jesus’ biography is meager. Apart from a
few statements in secular history, the reports of Jesus’ life are contained in
the four gospels that the church has regarded as authoritative since the 1st
century.
One key for understanding the
Gospels is to understand the modern approaches to the study of the
Gospels.
Historical-critical
approach focuses on the history behind the text, rather than taking it at face
value.
Historical
Reliability of Gospels. Little details may be different. Examples?
Why
might a story in Mark be told a little differently in Luke?
We
should be willing to keep some things in tension.
What
can we really know for sure about Jesus?
“Jesus Seminar” tries to find out the real, historical sayings of
Jesus. Predicated on
the distinction between the “Jesus of history” and the “Christ of faith.”
Quest for historical Jesus. Criteria of authenticity:[6]
A.
Primary:
- Embarrassment (contradiction). Actions or sayings that would’ve created
difficulty for the early church.
- Discontinuity (Dissimiliarity). Looks for material that is discontinuous
both with known 1st cent. strands of
Judaism and with the early church, including redactional
emphases of the evangelists.
- Multiple attestation. Material that appears in more than one
of the gospel sources or passages identified by form critics.
- Coherence (consistency). Material that “fits” with the material
that passes the above criteria.
B.
Secondary (dubious). These are used more
for a posteriori confirmation of
decisions already made on the basis of the primary criteria.
1.
Palestinian environment. Accurate reflection of Palestinian culture.
2.
Semitic language. Semitisms or Gk that
is easily back-translated into Aramaic.
3.
Vividness of narration. Esp. details not
relevant to the main point indicate eye-witness testimony.
Overall
problems: They often get used negatively, i.e., ruling out saying and actions
of Jesus that don’t fit them positively.
The criteria are ambiguous.