Sunday, April 28, 2013

Jesus and the Gospels: An Introduction and Survey by Craig Blomberg


This is a useful resource for the pastor or lay reader.  While expansive in its breadth, it is suggestive in its depth.  Blomberg does not (or better, could not have in a single volume) delve deeply into any of the topics covered in "Jesus and the Gospels", but his bibliographies at the end of each chapter and the excellent footnotes give the curious reader a very firm direction to head in for further study.

The book is divided into five parts.  The first two are largely historical in nature covering the world of the first century (political, social, and religious climate), and the historical/critical approach to the Gospels themselves.  Part three is an overview of each of the Gospels highlighting their themes and structure.  Part four reads like a cross between the notes one would find in a study Bible and popular level commentary, but arranged more or less chronologically across all the Gospels (almost like a commentary on the Diatessaron?).  This is an excellent section, to be sure, and he well highlights (or reminds the reader) of the distinct approach of each Gospel writer.  The book concludes with two shorter chapters addressing the historical reliability of the Gospels and the Theology of Jesus.

This is really an excellent book, and I'm sure I will be pulling it off of my shelf as a reference tool.  Perhaps only the serious student or most voracious of lay leaders will plow through it cover to cover, but it is a great starting place for almost any topic related to the Gospels.  Again, the bibliography and foot notes give solid direction for further study from a wide range of scholars in the field.  All of the information in the book can be found in other places, but Blomberg has done anyone interested in Jesus, Christian or not, a great service by pulling it all together into a coherent, (relatively) concise (it is a 500 page book), readable volume.  For anyone interested in the study of Jesus, I say "tolle lege."



Tuesday, April 23, 2013

"Woman" in Luke 13.12 and God's Long Nose

This morning as I was eating breakfast, I read an article about the use of "woman" in Luke 13:12: "When Jesus saw her, he called her over and said to her, 'Woman, you are freed from your disability.'" The article was written in response to a blog post by Bill Mounce (author of Basics of Biblical Greek) who claimed that "woman" was essentially untranslatable into English in this case.  The response claimed that it should just be translated "literally" and the reader should be left to her own means (study Bibles, commentaries, sermons, etc.) to determine the meaning of γύναι (gunai) in its original context.  While "woman" as a vocative in English seems, at best, an unkind form of address today, is it so far culturally removed that translating it as such does more harm than good?


This discussion, I'm sure, may make some nervous.  If it says "woman" why not translate it "woman?"  To do otherwise would seem to conceal what the Bible actually says.  But that is not how translation works.  Take, for example, Exodus 34:6.  Here are a few translations:


NIV: And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness


ESV: The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,


NASB: Then the LORD passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;


KJV: And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,


NET: The LORD passed by before him and proclaimed: "The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, and abounding in loyal love and faithfulness,


I doubt that anyone would claim that these translations are being unfaithful by translating the highlighted phrase as "slow to anger" or "longsuffering," but that is not what the Hebrew says.  In Hebrew we learn that God has a long nose.  Translated in a woodenly literal fashion, these versions would say that God is "long of nose."  In Hebrew, one is angry when they are "red of face," so if one has a long nose it takes a long time for that redness to travel to ones face.  Thus, it is used to indicate that one is patient. 

I don't think that we have been done a disservice when the translators have taken this Hebrew idiom and translated it in a way that we can easily understand on a surface reading.  Of course, it could be left as is and we could see the footnotes, study Bibles, commentaries or so forth, but the above translations are actually more faithful as they translate the meaning, not the words, of this phrase.  To do otherwise would make this famous and important passage unintelligible for the English reader.


There are many similar examples.  One of my personal favorites is the storm in the book of Jonah which was "walking and storming" (Jon 1.11, 13- most translations render it as "growing worse" or other similar phrases).  The question that Mounce asks, then, is not a worrisome or strange question.  He simply asks if translating  γύναι (gunai) as "woman" places unnecessary barriers to understanding in our culture.  If translators are not asking these questions, it would be cause for concern.


I'm not convinced that Mounce is correct, and I'm not sure leaving it untranslated or translating it as "friend" is helpful (Mounce says as much himself).  Nor is this passage and the possible misunderstanding as critical as that in Exodus 34.6.  What it does show, though, is that pastors and vocational students of the Bible should be making an effort to study and use the original languages.  If we don't change the way we render "woman" our pastors must be able to answer the questions that arise from it's use.  Secondly, it should also give us some appreciation for the difficult task of translating.  We must appreciate that it is neither straightforward nor easy.  It's not an exact science in which each word has a precise corollary in the target language.  Our translators are not just translating from one language to another, but from one culture to another as well.  This takes outstanding sensitivity, care, and erudition.  Praise God for the many faithful students of His Word who have the skill and ability to make the Bible accessible in many different languages.




Saturday, April 13, 2013

Reading the Old Testament: Method In Biblical Study by John Barton

This book is a useful and beneficial read, but for a relatively specialized audience. I would not recommend this book to anyone who does not have a solid background in hermeneutics. I certainly would not recommend it for a lay reader. It will make little sense without some background in Biblical interpretation. Taken straight and without a context, it will prove ponderous at best, and damaging to one's faith at worst. Without a background in some of the issues and history, it can feel as if reading the Bible to gain any insight is a hopeless pursuit.

I would definitely recommend it for the seminary student who is looking for a solid introduction to the various methods of Biblical, and specifically, Old Testament, criticism. The book is, to be generous, uninterested in what we might call a conservative hermeneutic. While Barton does not land on a specific method and seeks to demonstrate the options, a conservative view of, say, Mosaic authorship is, for Barton, not possible. Where Barton is helpful is in taking us through the development of various methods of reading the Bible. For each, he suggests some background reading on the subject. After a discussion of each method, he applies these methods to a specific text (Ecclesiastes) to show how each works in practice. The methods he works with include Form, Redaction, Canonical, Structuralists, "New," and Reader Response Criticism.

What, you may ask, is the benefit for the conservative pastor or seminary student to be gained from reading a book that is somewhat antagonistic to the way we read the Scriptures while being agnostic on the rest? First, it helps one to see how the various methods of reading the Scripture developed. Secondly, it helps prevent a straw-man view of the various approaches. Given the presuppositions and what each movement is reacting against, one can see why and how they developed. Third, it makes one think about how the various methods can be appropriated in positive ways while rejecting the negative outcomes. This, of course, will take some serious engagement and thought, but if conservative Christians are to have a voice in the Scholarly world of Biblical Studies (which, I submit, we must), it is incumbent on us to understand the discussion and the methods applied to the Bible. This is hard work, and there will be much temptation to compromise, but we must be involved in these discussions, even if our voice largely falls on deaf ears. Fourth, it helps in engaging commentaries from a wide variety of perspectives. One could, of course, only read conservative commentaries, but there are excellent exegetes and linguists outside of Evangelical realm. This book gives one categories with which to engage such works and better helps the Evangelical pastor or student sift through the chaff to find the wheat. Finally, knowing the ways of reading the Bible that are current in scholarship will help us to engage those in our congregations who come from outside of Evangelicalism, and our children who engage these issues in university settings.

For some, Barton's book will be frustrating, but if the purpose of the book is kept in mind, I think it will prove beneficial. This is not meant to propose a method of biblical study, but to provide a survey of current opinion. For the student or pastor familiar with the issues and who would like to get a feel for the development, method, and application of the various approaches, Barton's book will prove beneficial and helpful.



Cor meum tibi offero, Domine, prompte et sincere.