METHODS OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
The majority of scholars today contend that various methods of biblical interpretation
must be combined to arrive at a more comprehensive meaning of the Bible. They speak
of three “worlds”: the world behind the text (the world from which the text arose and
the subject of historical methods), the world of the text (the creation of the author and
the subject of many literary methods), and the world in front of the text (how we receive
it now). Below are very brief descriptions of the major methods of interpretation
available today.
HISTORICAL CRITICISM tries to reconstruct the historical situation out of which the
writing arose and how it came to be written. It means detecting the actual sense, i.e.,
what the author actually meant to say. This method is fundamental to all other forms of
interpretation. It involves determining the date and place of composition, as well as the
authorship (including both the identity of the author and the author's method of
composition). It also seeks to determine to whom the work was addressed and the
circumstances that existed between the author and the audience. Unless there are
clear indications in the text the method makes use of archeological evidence and nonbiblical writings from the same period to determine the dating.
 SOURCE CRITICISM has emerged as a sub-discipline of historical criticism. It
inquires about the written and/or oral sources used by a biblical author, and
the historical and cultural settings of such sources.
LITERARY CRITICISM examines a text as a finished piece of literature. It analyses the
use of the language, examines the style, recognises the various literary genres, studies
the unity and integrity of a text, asks questions about character portrayal and
interaction, analyses the plot, the mood, how tension is introduced and resolved, and
the literary perspective of the text. Its main focus then is what can be learned from
what is said in the text itself, rather than how the text came to be written or what we
can learn about the text from outside evidence.
 NARRATIVE CRITICISM is a branch of literary criticism and assumes that the work
of source, form, and redaction criticism has already been done. It focuses on the
unified narrative, the story being told and how it is told. It tries to distinguish the
real author (the person who actually wrote) from the implied author (the one
who can be inferred from the narrative), and the real (first) audience from the
implied audience (those the author has in mind when writing). It tries to
highlight the author’s main interest and counters the excesses of historical
investigation.
FORM CRITICISM is a hybrid of historical and literary criticism and seeks to determine
the particular genre of a text. It tries to get behind the underlying oral and written forms
that may have been used in the final written text. It attempts to determine the original
form, life setting and purpose of such oral and written forms. It focuses on small units of
biblical text.
Biblical Interpretation Teacher Background
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REDACTION CRITICISM is an outgrowth of form criticism and combines literary
and historical criticism to consider a biblical text in terms of its editor(s). It
recognizes that writers creatively shaped the material they inherited. It seeks to
determine what stages of editing a text has undergone, and how the particular
interests, theological perspectives and historical setting of the author/editor
could have influenced the text.
LIBERATIONIST CRITICISM views the biblical texts in terms of their relevance for and
usefulness in the struggle for peace and justice. It attempts to read the texts from the
viewpoint of the poor.
FEMINIST CRITICISM begins with women’s experience and explores the Bible as the
product of patriarchal culture. Using various approaches strategies it seeks to arrive at
alternative interpretations to those that over 2000 years have legitimated the
oppression of women so that the dignity of women is promoted and the misogyny and
devaluation of women is challenged.
LITERAL INTERPRETATION takes the meaning of the text as communicated by the words
only. It does not allow for the figurative or metaphorical meanings of the text and
privileges the reader’s context while excluding all other contexts. The Bible is
considered a word by word dictation of God to the Evangelists and there is no
acceptance that the text is expressed in human language in a variety of forms and styles
for particular purposes. The cultural context of the authors is not considered. Literal
interpretation sees the biblical world as an absolute that is they maintain that the text is
immediately understandable and needs no further interpretation.
The Catholic Church believes that the Bible must be read with the knowledge and
understanding of the Tradition who with the help of the Holy Spirit have gradually
deepened and enlarged our understanding of God’s revelation in history. The Catechism
makes it clear that Catholics are not to take the Bible literally but to
take into account the conditions of their time and culture, the literary genres in use at
the time, and the modes of feeling, speaking and narrating then current. ‘For the fact is
that truth is differently presented and expressed in the various types of historical
writing, in prophetical and poetical texts, and in other forms of literary expression.’
Catechism of the Catholic Church # 110
Sources:
 Brown, Raymond. (1996). An Introduction to the New Testament. London:
Doubleday.
 Achtemeier, Paul. (ed). (1996). HarperCollins Bible Dictionary. San Francisco:
HarperCollins.
 Pontifical Biblical Commission. (1993). The interpretation of the bible in the church.
Boston: Pauline Media.
Biblical Interpretation Teacher Background