BEX 500-99 Introduction to Biblical Interpretation Sara Fudge, PhD
Cincinnati Christian University Office 513.244.8445
Spring 2013
IT
Course Description
This class is a survey of issues and methods of biblical exegesis with a view to the needs of practical ministry. This course prepares students to relate Scripture appropriately in sermons, lessons, small group studies and counseling.
Rationale
The Bible is the foundational document of the Christian faith. Skills in biblical interpretation, understanding basic theories and practices are essential for practical ministry. This is a foundational course that prepares the student for advanced studies in Bible and ministry.
Course Outcomes
1. Describe the various fields of biblical study related to hermeneutics.
2. Understand where the Bible came from and the function of the various English versions we have today.
3. Identify and explain different literary forms and genres found in the Bible.
4. Identify and explain the different figures of speech and literary devices used throughout Scripture.
5. Be able to analyze passages of Scripture using the various fields of biblical study covered in class.
6. Be able to apply these hermeneutic tools to the study of specific biblical passages with sound critical thinking in teaching or counseling.
Required Texts
Fee, Gordon D. and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. 3rd ed. , Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.
*Fee, Gordon. New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors. 4rd ed., Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009.
Sheeley, Steven M. & Robert N. Nash, Jr. The Bible in English Translation: An Essential Guide. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 1997.
*Stuart, Douglas. Old Testament Exegesis: A Primer for Students and Pastors. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press, 2002.
Virkler, Henry and Karelynne Gerber Ayayo A. Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation. 2nd ed., Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007.
(*You are required to read one or the other of these two books.)
“Objectives” boxes listed each week on the Moodle site and in the agenda below
Each week you will find a list of objectives for the class. This list lets you know what is most significant in our studies that week. You do not need to formally respond to this list each week, but your midterm exam will be taken from these ideas. Your weekly assignments are listed below the objectives ("Assignments due") and need to be turned in each week. You may do this by uploading your work into Moodle at the assignment icon displayed with the assignments.
Major Learning Experiences and Course Requirements
1. Read Virkler. Write a two-page outline of each chapter (main point and sub points). These will be due the Friday of the week assigned (see agenda). Times New Roman, single-spaced. These outlines serve as reference/study guides for you. They take the place of classroom lectures, so define the terms and ideas so you understand what they are at a glance.
2. Read Fee & Stuart. This text will be followed closely in class. Note on your final exam the percent of this book you read.
3. Complete the assigned exercises listed in the agenda (the same should be listed on the weekly Moodle site). Write a 350-450 word solution to the scenario found in the exercise using the principles covered in your readings. Focus on the hermeneutic skill covered that week. These will also guide our forum discussions. Just a note to those with counseling experience: please focus on the biblical hermeneutical principle rather than your “counseling” principles since this is a bible class. The exercises should be single-spaced, Times New Roman font. Turn these exercises in each week on Friday along with the outline of Virkler. These can be uploaded as one document. I have included an example of one of these exercises to help you see what is expected from this assignment, see below just before the agenda.
4. Forum Discussions: There are three forums for class discussion. The first is used as an opportunity for you to introduce yourself to the class. The next two will be discussions drawn from the exercises in Virkler. Each student is asked to post a 200-250 word response to the assigned exercise. In addition to your initial post to the discussion forums, you are asked to contribute two follow up responses to other student’s postings. All postings need to be:
a. Respectful and gracious to other students.
b. Written in standard English form.
c. Show an interaction with the materials we are studying and use of hermeneutical tools.
5. Create a handout entitled “Which Bible to Read When” which you could give to people in your church/group/etc. In this handout, describe the strengths and weaknesses of the major English translations (NASB, NIV, NLT, KJV, The Message). Include an occasion when to use each version (ex., group study, in-depth study, new Christian, personal, etc.). Use Sheeley & Nash’s text as your resource for this project.
6. Midterm Exam: This exam will cover the chapters in Fee & Stuart and Virkler covered in class to this point. Questions will come from the objective boxes found in the agenda below. The student can access the exam on Moodle. See agenda for due date.
7. Read Old Testament Exegesis by Douglas Stuart or New Testament Exegesis by Gordon Fee. Use this book in writing your final exam (exegetical paper, see next point #8). You will also need to report that you read the complete book.
8. Final exegetical paper. Choose one of the exercises from Virkler you’ve already done. Develop that exercise to include all the skills (as many as are applicable) you’ve learned in class. One example may be exercise #13 on page 94. In this exercise we only covered the Historical-cultural analysis. For the final exam, you would use this exercise and develop its interpretation to include a fuller discussion of what you already wrote as well as a development of all the hermeneutic skills (that are applicable) covered in class. You will want to choose an exercise that addresses a passage of Scripture that will allow you to use several of the hermeneutic principles. Outline your paper to follow the “Six Steps of Hermeneutics.” This is a 2100-2400 word exegetical paper. You will need to include a bibliography and footnotes using resources such as our textbooks, commentaries, lexicons, dictionaries and any other resources you deem useful to your research. Please submit your paper single spaced (for some dumb reason I prefer to read single spaced papers). The exam is due Monday, May 6th.
Course Procedures
A week in this course ends on Friday. All work specified to be completed each week must be completed on the course website no later than 11:50 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Friday, unless otherwise specified. Assignments turned in after 11:50 p.m. on Friday are late. It is at the discretion of the instructor to accept late work. Generally, late work is not accepted.
Please contact me before the assignment is due if you have an extenuating circumstance that prevents you from completing an assignment on time.
The primary form of communication is through Moodle. It is your responsibility to check this website regularly to keep up with course assignments, announcements, etc. If you have specific questions please contact me through email (see top of syllabus). If you are having difficulty contacting me through email, do not hesitate to call the number that is at the top of the syllabus.
I usually check email Monday – Friday before 4:00. I will normally respond to your email inquiries within 48 hours and during those times. When you email me, please use standard conventions of spelling, grammar, capitalization, and punctuation as you would in a business and/or academic setting. No slang or abbreviations, please.
Due to the on-line nature of this course, it is imperative that you have access to Moodle each week. Therefore, you should have a primary computer set up for Moodle use on a regular basis as well as a back-up plan in case the primary computer becomes unavailable.
Students who require academic accommodations due to any documented physical, psychological, or learning disability should request assistance from their local Academic Support Director within the first two weeks of the course. Students receiving news that they are entitled to accommodations bear the responsibility to notify the instructor and provide the appropriate documentation as soon as possible so that reasonable accommodations may be made.
As Christians, students are expected to be honest in all they do. Dishonesty, including plagiarism or cheating on exams or assignments, will result in a zero for that particular assignment and other possible actions. Note: The quizzes, exams, and other assignments for this course are open-note and open-book, not open-friend, unless specifically stated otherwise. Do not share quiz or exam answers. Written assignments should be each student’s individual work.
Technical Support
Should you experience any technical problems, please consult IT at during regular school hours. Your professor is totally unqualified, disinterested and unequipped to help you here!
Course Evaluation
Reading of Virkler, outlines, exercises 35%
Reading of Fee & Stuart 10%
“Which Bible to Read When” outline 10%
Midterm Exam 20%
Final Exam 25%
Example: Virkler Exercise #12
A Christian man lost his job due to company downsizing. He and his wife interpreted Romans 8:28 (“All things work together for the good.” NRSV) to mean that he lost his job so that God might give him a better-paying one. Consequently he turned down several lower-or equal-paying job opportunities and remained on unemployment for over two years before returning to work. Do you agree with his way of interpreting this verse? Why, or why not?
Hermeneutical principle violated: contextual analysis to find out the author’s (Paul’s) definition of “good.”
The man in this scenario interpreted “good” to mean something along the lines of pleasure, physical benefit, or monetary advancement. We know from experience that this is not always the way things happen for Christians.
In a larger context, Paul’s letter to the Romans was to a largely Gentile community. This letter includes the most extensive outline of Paul’s theology and the need for unity in the church at Rome (“Letter to the Romans,” Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, p. 1411).
This verse falls within a passage that is about being filled with the Spirit, walking in the Spirit (not in the flesh), and the groanings of creation waiting “for our adoption as sons.” The immediate context of this passage is the Spirit who intercedes for the saints that they may be: conformed to the image of His Son…justified,…glorified. It is about hope. These are the “all things” that God promises to His saints. Nothing can keep us from God’s love. Verse 8:28 set in this context is not about monetary gain or advancement but about conforming to the image of Jesus.
Reading this verse in a couple of translations may be helpful, but they show only slight difference. I would not place too heavy of a difference between them. The NAS and KJV seems to imply that God causes/makes everything happen as they do. The NIV seems to imply that God works in the things that happen.
NAS Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.
NIV Romans 8:28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
This verse teaches that not all things work together for good by themselves (for we know of situations that cause people to become bitter, etc.), but that God is lovingly involved in all the situations of our lives, helping us to reap good even from the tragedies and unfair situations that come our way.
The man in our scenario made two mistakes: 1) he took the verse out of context to mean what he saw as good rather than what Paul was defining as good, 2) he believed that God would change his circumstances to reflect this “good” fortune for him rather than using the circumstance he was in to make him more like Jesus.
Notice the use of the steps covered in Fee/Stuart and Virkler.
· The use of more than one translation
· Placing the verse within the context of the passage
· Placing the verse within the context of the book
· Noting who the verse addresses
· Noting specific words that can be misunderstood in its context
· Use of a Bible Dictionary to help understand the backgrounds of the book
As you move through Fee/Stuart and Virkler you will include other hermeneutical principles and tools that may apply to your passage and exercise scenario.
Disclaimer
This syllabus is intended to suggest the general nature and direction of this course. Details may be changed and adjustments may be made at the discretion of the instructor.
Bibliography: Recommended Texts
Fee, Gordon D. and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. 3rd ed. , Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.
Fee, Gordon. New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors. 4rd ed., Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2009.
Goldingay, John. Models for Interpretation of Scripture. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1995.
Green, Joel and Michael Pasquarello III. Eds. Narrative Reading , Narrative Preaching. Grand Rapids: Baker, 2003.