1. Stan Meyer, PhD Sun, April 11, 2021
S620 Messianic Jewish Hermeneutics
Part 3
How we got the Bible • History of Bible Interpretation (100 BCE - 300 CE)
3. Range of Meaning
1. Range of linguistic (exegetical) meaning
2. Range of interpretive meaning
4. Range of Linguistic Meaning
The word “tree”
Referential My immediate & specific meaning The large apple tree in my backyard
Denotative Linguistic definition
A woody perennial plant, typically having a single stem or
trunk growing to a considerable height and bearing lateral
branches at some distance from the ground.
Connotative Suggested Meaning Have you ever explored your ancestry tree
Contextual How the word is used in a sentence
1. I love my apple tree (referential)
2. Trees will slow global warming (denotative)
3. Have you explored your ancestor tree (connotative)
Klein, p. 47
5. Meaning of ִיפַּאְב & הָ֣
ָדְחק
Referential immediate & specific meaning
אפי My nose—the nose on my face
קדחה Burning — feeling intense pain
Denotative Dictionary definition
Nose: The sensory organ on the front of the face
Burning: On fire
Connotative Suggested Meaning I am Angry! (And I feel it in my nose)
Contextual How the word is used in a sentence
I am so angry at you for breaking my law that it feels like my
nose is on fire!!
6. Range of Interpretive Meanings
• Exegetical meaning - grammatical, syntactical, cultural understanding of text
• Writer’s meaning - what the writer intended to communicate
• Audience’s meaning - how writer’s audience understood
• Interpreter’s meaning - how the modern interpreter understands
• Application - meaning contextualized to the interpreter’s audience
7. You shall not muzzle an ox when
it is treading out the grain.
(Deut 25:4 ESV)
Who serves as a soldier at his
own expense? Who plants a
vineyard without eating any of its
fruit? Or who tends a flock
without getting some of the
milk?…Does not the Torah say the
same? It is written…“You shall not
muzzle an ox when it treads out
the grain.” Is it for oxen that God
is concerned?…It was written for
our sake…If we have sown
spiritual things among you, is it
too much if we reap material
things [back] from you?
(1 Cor 9:7–12 ESV)
8. Meanings of the Biblical Text
You shall not muzzle an ox when it is treading out the grain (Deut 25:4)
• Exegetical Meaning: Agricultural - Don’t put a muzzle on an ox treading grain
• Writer’s Meaning: Moral - Allow an ox to eat as he is working
• Paul’s Meaning: Principles in Ministry - Those who do ministry deserve to be paid
• Paul’s Application: Paul & Barnabas should be paid for their ministry
• Modern Application: Messianic Cong’s - Messianic rabbis should receive a salary!
10. Autographs
Proto Masoretic (H)
Greek (LXX) (G)
Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) (Q)
1000 - 400 BCE 100 BCE - 100 CE 400 CE 2021
Tanach
600-900 CE
Masoretic (MT)
?
150 CE
Greek
Syriac
Aramaics
Hebrew
Hebrew
Latin
Vulgate (𝔘)
Samaritan Pentateuch (⅏)
11. NT Autographs
New Testament
Manuscripts
Latin Bible
Greek NT
Coptic NT
Syriac
50 - 90 CE 100 - 200 CE 400 CE
New Testament
350 CE
Coptic NT
Alexandrine Texts
Byzantine Texts
300 CE
Peshitta NT
Latin
Greek (Critical)
Greek (KJV)
Coptic
Syriac
Codex Vaticanus
Codex Sinaiticus
13. Citations of the OT & NT
OT Citations in
Prayer Books
200 AD
OT Citations in
The Talmud
200 - 500 AD
OT Citations in
The New Testament
50 - 90 AD
NT Citations in the
Ante/Post Nicene Fathers
200 - 500 AD
OT Citations in
Pseudepirapha
300 BC - 100 AD
NT Citations in the
Ancient Church Liturgy
200 - 500 AD
Tanach New Testament
21. Types of Early Literature
200 BCE - 150 CE
• Pseudepigraphic Literature
• Qumran Pesharim
• Greek Allegorical Literature
• Philo of Alexandria
•Justin Martyr
22. Types of Early Literature
200 BCE - 150 CE
•Why does this literature exist?
•What is their method of interpretation?
•What is its value for us today?
25. What is Pseudepigraphal Literature
200 BCE - 100 CE
• Second Temple (Pre 70 CE)
• Expansion on stories in the Old Testament
• Pseudegraphs - Fictionally attributed to OT characters
• Represented a religious community
• Apocalyptic Genre
26. What is Apocalyptic Literature?
Apocalypse’ is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative
framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly
being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality
which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological
salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural
world, intended to interpret present, earthly circumstances in light
of the supernatural world and of the future, and to influence both
the understanding and the behaviour of the audience by means of
divine authority.
Collins, Adla. Ed. 1986. “Apocalypse” . Semeia: Journal for Biblical Criticism. Vol 36. p 2.
27. Book of Similitudes
• 1 Enoch 37-71
• Date (conserv) 40 BCE - 10 CE
• MSS in Ethiopian (Ge’ez)
• Originally Aramaic
(Bocaccini & Charlesworth, 2007)
28. Behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one
like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of
Days and was presented before him. And to him was
given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all
peoples, nations, and languages should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall
not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be
destroyed. (Dan. 7:13–14 ESV)
29. Used exclusively in a religious context to
worship the God of Israel, or a pagan deity
TDOT, Gzella, 2018, p. 607
Dictionary Targumim, Jastrow, 1926, V. 2 p. 1178
Dictionary of Palestinian Aramaic, Sokoloff, 2002, p. 435
פלח To Serve (Aramaic)
30. πάντα τὰ ἔθνη τῆς γῆς κατὰ γένη καὶ πᾶσα δόξα αὐτῷ λατρεύουσα·
Every nation of the earth according to their offspring, and all
honor was worshipping him (Daniel 7:14, LXX-NETS)
31. To serve in religious contexts. Religious devotion. To serve
God or gods, idols (Ex. 3:12; 4:23; 7:16; 8:16; 10:26; 20:5;
Lev 18:20.
λατρεύουσα to Serve/worship (LXX)
Lust, J. Eyunikel, E. Hauspie, K. 2015. “λατρεύω” Greek-English Lexicon of the Septuagint (3rd Ed.)
32. I saw the One to whom belongs the time before time. And his
head was white like wool, and there was with him another
individual, whose face was like that of a human being. His
countenance was full of grace like that of one among the holy
angels. And I asked the one—from among the angels—who
was going with me, and who had revealed to me all the secrets
regarding the One who was born of human beings, “Who is
this, and from whence is he who is going as the prototype of
the Before-Time?” And he answered me and said to me, “This
is the Son of Man, to whom belongs righteousness, and with
whom righteousness dwells (1Enoch 46:1–3 Charlesworth)
33. Before the creation of the sun, moon [and] stars, he was
named in the presence of the Lord….He is the light of the
gentiles and…the hope of those who are sick…All those who
dwell on earth shall fall and worship before him. (1Enoch 48:3–
5, Charlesworth)
On that Day when they see the Son of Man sitting on the
throne of his glory kings and governors, [will]…fall down before
him on their faces, and worship him. (1 Enoch 62:5–9,
Charlesworth)
35. Pesher Interpretation
100 BCE - 100 CE
• The word פשר Aramaic for interpretation. (Daniel 5:12) Interpreter of dreams.
• Fifteen Peshar Compostions
• Sequential Biblical citations followed by the formulaic phrase “its pesher
concerns”
36. Pesher Interpretation
100 BCE - 100 CE
Pesher interpretation does not aim simply to explain [exegete] the biblical
text or expand upon it…Rather, it aims to identify the “true” historical
setting for biblical prophecies. Etymologically, the word pesher is
associated with dream interpretation, and this is how the Aramaic
cognate is used in the book of Daniel. Just as dreams function in the
Bible as sources of revelation when interpreted by specially endowed
individuals, so too pesher treats biblical prophecy as a repository of
divine messages that can be deciphered by an inspired human agent.
(Tsoref, 2010. “Pesharim”. Dictionary of Early Judaism)
37. Pesher Interpretation
100 BCE - 100 CE
Pesher interpretation does not aim simply to explain [exegete] the biblical
text or expand upon it…Rather, it aims to identify the “true” historical
setting for biblical prophecies. Etymologically, the word pesher is
associated with dream interpretation, and this is how the Aramaic
cognate is used in the book of Daniel. Just as dreams function in the
Bible as sources of revelation when interpreted by specially endowed
individuals, so too pesher treats biblical prophecy as a repository of
divine messages that can be deciphered by an inspired human agent.
(Tsoref, 2010. “Pesharim”. Dictionary of Early Judaism)
39. Self-Glorification Hymn
4Q471b
• Probably a priest within the Qumran community
• Saw himself as the Teacher of Righteousness
• He is transformed into a divine being in the course of the liturgy.
• “The liturgical context…indicates he is most likely a member of the Qumran
community who should be considered eschatological…he leads them to an
experience of heavenly glorification.”
• The members of the community will participate with him as angels in a
celestial temple.
Angel, Joseph. October 2010. “The Liturgical-Eschatological Priest”. Revue de Qumran. Vol. 24. No. 4 pp. 585-605.
40. Who is like you, O LORD, among the gods? Who is like you,
majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?
(Exod 15:11 ESV)
God has taken his place in the divine council; in the midst of the
gods he holds judgment: (Ps 82:1 ESV)
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has
the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him
like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no
form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we
should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man
of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men
hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isa
53:1–3 ESV)
41. [… I am ]recko[ned with the gods and my abode is in the]
holy [congregation.]
W[ho is considered as contemptible as I am? And who] has
been despised like m[e? And who] like me is rejected [by
men? And to whom] shall you compare me in my teaching
[…] Who is like me among the gods [… the utterance] of
my lips who can endure, who [can summon me …] the
beloved of the king, an[cient] companion […] no one
compares.
(4Q471b f1a_d:1–10)
Wise, Michael, Abegg, Martin. 2009. Qumran Non-Biblical Manuscripts: A New English Translation. Harper Collins
44. Origins of Greek Interpretation
331 Macedonian Conquest
• Alexandrian Egypt - Jewish community
• Helenistic Jewish communities in Mediterranean
• Rise of Jewish Platonism
Levy, Carols. Spring 2018. “Philo of Alexandria” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
45. Platonism
• Essence lay behind Phenomena
• Phenomena can deceive
• Texts true meaning (essence) may be contrary to its literal (phenomena)
Levy, Carols. Spring 2018. “Philo of Alexandria” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
46. Philo’s Allegorical Interpretation
First Century BCE
• Contradictions in text’s literal meaning point to the allegorical (essential)
• Oudeneia - Human Ontological dependence on an ultimate divine being
• “The only way to have real existence was to admit that one is nothing without
God”
Levy, Carols. Spring 2018. “Philo of Alexandria” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
47. Philo’s Allegorical Interpretation
On The Creation. Book 1
The creation of man, on the sixth day, is for Philo an occasion to
develop some of his main themes: the resemblance of the
human being to God, based on the Platonic and Stoic idea that
the intellect holds the same position in the human being that the
Great Creator holds in the cosmos; the concept of the powers
of God, introduced with his exegesis of the words, “let us make
a human being after our image and likeness”.
Levy, Carols. Spring 2018. “Philo of Alexandria” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
48. Philo’s Allegorical Interpretation
On The Creation. Book 1
1. Was Philo use Greek philosophy to interpret the Torah?
2. Or was Philo subordinating Greek Philosophy to the Torah?
3. Or was Philo showing Greeks consistency of Torah to Greek Philosophy
Niehoff, Maren. 2010. “Philo, Allegorical”. Dictionary of Early Judaism.
49. Philo’s Allegorical Interpretation
On The Creation. Book 1
1. Philo was employing academic inquiry to solve Biblical questions.
Such as two accounts of creation in the Torah
2. Philo was employing Greek philosophy to explain theology in Bible
Niehoff, Maren. 2010. “Philo, Allegorical”. Dictionary of Early Judaism.
50. Philo’s Allegorical Interpretation
On The Creation. Book 1, XLVI (134-135)
Philo, for the first time in Jewish exegesis, addresses the question of why
there are two creation stories that apparently convey contradictory accounts of
man’s creation. Philo solves this problem by arguing that the two stories refer
to two types of man…Gen. 1:26 speaks of man’s creation in the image of
God, thus implying an ideal form of man who has nothing terrestrial about him,
while Gen. 2:7 mentions man’s creation out of the earth and thus speaks
about a material (terrestrial) creature. The ideal man was created first, serving
as a model for his terrestrial equivalent. Philo thus adopts the Platonic notion
of ideal forms, which are perfect and absolutely transcendental, serving as
models for material creations.
Niehoff, Maren. 2010. “Philo, Allegorical”. Dictionary of Early Judaism.
51. Philo’s Allegorical Interpretation
On The Creation. Book 1, XLVI (134-135)
When Philo dwells on the second account of creation, he gives
special attention to the notion of divine breath entering the dust
from the ground (Gen. 2:7). This gives him the opportunity to
dwell on the relationship between mind and body. Philo
assumes with Plato that the mind at first existed independently
in a spiritual realm before it descended into the body, thus
being imprisoned in the material world.
Niehoff, Maren. 2010. “Philo, Allegorical”. Dictionary of Early Judaism.
53. Patristic Interpretation of the Old Testament
Justin Martyr, Clement, Origen
• Dependence on Church Tradition (Christian Oral Torah)
• Literal meaning of the text
• Moral meaning of the text
• Allegorical Meaning of the text
• Dependence on types (ex. Types of the Cross)
• Pesher interpretation of the text
• Ex. Rome as Babylon, the Church as Israel
Aune, David. 1966. “Justin Martyr’s Use of the Old Testament”. Journal of Evangelical Theological Society pp. 179-197.
55. Justin Martyr
Dialogue with Trypho
• First to identify differences between LXX and Hebrew Scriptures
• Claimed that the Jews altered the Hebrew Scriptures to obscure Messianic
passages.
• Made use of Philonic Hermeneutics.
• Begins with NT use of OT
• Ends with Greek Allegory
Aune, David. 1966. “Justin Martyr’s Use of the Old Testament”. Journal of Evangelical Theological Society pp. 179-197.
