Unit 5
Interpretive Journey
Old Testament
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
Narrative
Law
Poetry
Prophets
Wisdom
OT – Narrative
• Introduction
– Narrative – literary form with sequential action
involving plot, setting, and characters.
– Narrative shows us how to live or how not to live by
the actions of the characters.
– We use “narrative” and “story” interchangeably.
– Narrative (stories) comprise nearly half of the OT.
– The interpretive river is often wide in OT narrative.
• Reading narrative
– Reading OT narrative is a lot like reading the
Gospels, except that OT stories are longer.
– Observe carefully the
details of each story.
– Look for connections with surrounding stories.
• Literary features of narrative
(What? How?) The sequence of events
that ties together the story
• Exposition or setting
• Conflict or crisis
• Resolution
(When? Where?) Backdrop of the
story
• Time
• Place
(Who?) Characters carry the action
and move the plot forward
Usually the meaning of the story is tied to the
behavior of the characters.
(Why?) The narrator is the
one responsible for conveying meaning to the
readers through the story
The narrator often stays neutral and allows the
characters and events to speak for themselves.
Sometimes the narrator will express his views in
subtle ways.
Major literary technique used
in OT narrative to develop the plot and move the
story forward
• Rahab and Achan
• Hannah and Eli
• David and Saul
When the narrator’s intended meaning is
quite different from the surface meaning of an
episode
• Surface meaning – pagan Philistines capture the
ark and think they have defeated the Lord
• Intended meaning – The Lord invades Philistia
and defeats the enemy!
• Literary context – the big story
– Locate the story you are studying in the context of
the stories that surround it
– Keep relating the parts (individual stories) to the
big story of the entire book and the whole OT
God promises the land to
Abraham’s descendents in
Genesis 12
Israelites
refuse to enter
promised land
in Numbers 14
• Do “Good Guys” always wear white hats?
– Many theological principles derive from the main
characters
– Bible deals with real life and real people. People
are complex!
– Essential that we be able to discern good guys
from bad guys
– Not every character is a hero and most characters
exhibit both good and bad traits
Good Guys?
Solomon Sampson
Gideon
– God is a central character in OT narrative—let
God be God!
GOD
• Making the Journey in OT narrative
Step 1 – Grasp the text in their town
Rahab, the Canaanite prostitute, is contrasted with Achan, the
Israelite. She believes in the God of Israel and trusts him with her
life, resulting in deliverance of her and her family from the
destruction of Jericho. Achan, however, trivializes God and
ignores his strict commands, resulting in his death and that of his
family. The two trade places.
Step 2 – Measure the width of the river
We are under a different covenant than Achan. Our situation is
also different. We are not in the conquest and we are not involved
in any type of holy war. Nor are we Canaanites (or prostitutes)
living in a city about to be conquered. God has not given us the
same specific commands as he gave Achan.
Step 3 – Cross the principlizing bridge
God sees past superficial externals and saves unusual
people who place their faith in him. This is because
deliverance is based on true faith (demonstrated by
action) and not mere externals, such as ethnicity or
religious tradition. God is a God of grace. But
judgment comes on those who trivialize God and treat
him as if he does not exist.
New step for
Step 4 – Cross into the New Testament
the OT
The NT reaffirms that God looks beyond superficial
externals and saves people based on faith in Jesus
Christ. That God chooses some unusual people is
likewise reaffirmed in the NT. Mere association with
the people of God, rather than true faith, will not
result in salvation.
Step 5 – Grasp the text in our town
We tend to judge people based on externals. We meet a
clean-cult, middle-class American and think what a great
Christian he or she would make.
Likewise, when we see someone involved in open sinful
activity (drugs, prostitution, gambling, stealing), we tend
to write them off and assume they could never become
Christians.
This attitude is wrong, because God delights in saving the
most unusual people. He wants us to have the same
attitude towards these people as he does. There are no
unlikely candidates for coming to salvation in Christ.
Ryken’s Rules
1. Look upon the story as an invitation to share an
experience with the characters.
2. Pay attention to every detail of setting, and
analyze how the place, time and culture of the
story contributes to the message of the story.
3. Use every relevant detail in a story (direct
descriptions, responses of others, the
character’s own words and thoughts, selfdescriptions, and actions) to get to know each
character in the story.
Ryken’s Rules
4. Identify the nature of the plot conflicts (man with
environment, man with man, man with himself)
in a story, and discover how they develop and are
resolved.
5. Ask yourself as you read, “How is this story
creating in me suspense, interest, and curiosity?”
6. Pay attention to the protagonist (the one you
hope will win) in a story. Stick close to him,
because he is involved in a life experiment
whose goal will be to reveal something important
about human experience and values.
Ryken’s Rules
7. Try to determine what makes the story one story,
even if it has many episodes. This will lead you
to understand the story’s framework and parts.
8. Ask yourself as you read, “How is the
protagonist being tested?” and “What are the
choices being offered him?”
9. Notice what important changes happen between
the beginning and the end of the story, what
causes the changes, and how the changes
transform the characters.
Ryken’s Rules
10.Be on the watch for foils, dramatic irony, and
poetic justice in the narrative. Storytellers use
these to get a reaction from you, and to help you
grasp the story’s meaning.
11.Ask yourself, “What would the story be like if
this detail was omitted?” and you will have a
clue as to why the storyteller included it.
12.How does the story’s action and characterization
affect how you feel about the events and
characters? Look for a pattern of approval
and/or disapproval to tell you what the story
means.
8 Common Errors
1. Changing a narrative into an allegory
• Don’t look beyond the clear meaning in a
story and make all the details symbols of
something else, if the story is not an allegory
2. Decontextualizing a story
• Don’t ignore the historical and literary
contexts and concentrate only on small parts
of the story. You’ll miss the clues the writer
has given for interpreting the story as a whole
unit.
8 Common Errors
3. Selectively choosing what parts to interpret
• Don’t concentrate on only specific words and
phrases, ignoring others, and failing to
balance the parts and the whole.
4. Falsely combining elements in a story
• Like mixing a compound from whatever
chemicals you find at hand, this can have
explosive results.
8 Common Errors
5. Selectively choosing what parts to interpret
• Don’t concentrate on only specific words and
phrases, ignoring others, and failing to
balance the parts and the whole.
6. Falsely combining elements in a story
• Like mixing a compound from whatever
chemicals you find at hand, this can have
explosive results.
8 Common Errors
5. Redefining terms and sayings
• Don’t divert and constrict the meanings of a
story and its elements to deflect the impact
upon your own situation or condition.
•
6. Employing extracanonical authority
• Don’t use an external “key to the Scriptures”
to seek for truths in the story not otherwise
knowable.
8 Common Errors
7. Moralizing
• This happens when you automatically make
every story illustrate a moral, like Mother
Goose’s Nursery Rhymes or Aesop’s Fables do.
8. Personalizing or individualizing
• Not all parts of the Bible are intended to
impact every single person’s problems.
OT – Law
• Introduction
– Large portion of the Pentateuch (first five books of
OT) is comprised of law (over 600 commandments)
– Some of them are very strange:
• Exodus 34:26: “Do not cook a young goat in its mother's
milk.”
• Leviticus 19:19: “Do not wear clothing woven of two kinds
of material.”
– Why do we adhere to some laws and ignore others?
• Traditional approach to interpreting OT law
– Moral – deal with timeless truths regarding God’s
intention for human behavior (“Love your
neighbor as yourself”)
– Civil – deal with courts, economics, land, crimes,
and punishment (“At the end of every seven years
you must cancel debts.”)
– Ceremonial – deal with sacrifices, festivals, and
priestly activities (“celebrate the Feast of
Tabernacles for seven days after you have
gathered the produce of your threshing floor and
your winepress.”)
– Distinction between moral, civil, and ceremonial
law allowed the believer to know whether the law
applied to them:
• Moral – universal and timeless (still apply as law to
believers today)
• Civil and Ceremonial – applied only to ancient Israel,
not to believers today
– Problems with traditional approach:
• Arbitrary distinction not in the Bible (Lev. 19:18-19)
• Difficult to classify many laws (Lev. 19:19?)
• Too ambiguous and inconsistent
– We need a more consistent approach OT law
• Narrative context
– OT law does not appear by itself, but is firmly embedded
in the story of Israel’s exodus, wilderness wandering, and
conquest.
Exodus 1-19
(narrative)
Israel’s bondage in
Egypt, God’s mighty
deliverance, and
their journey to the
Promised land
Exodus 20-24
(law)
Part of the story of
God’s encounter with
Moses and Israel at
Mount Sinai
– The law is part of Israel’s story and the story provides an
important context for interpreting law.
– Don’t separate OT law from its narrative context!
• Covenant context
– OT law is tightly intertwined with the Mosaic
covenant. What is the nature of that covenant?
• Mosaic covenant is closely associated with Israel’s
conquest and occupation of the land
• Blessings from the Mosaic covenant are conditional
• Mosaic covenant no longer a functional covenant for
NT believers
Jesus is the mediator of a new covenant (Heb. 8:13)
• NT believers are no longer under OT law as part of the
Mosaic covenant
“Now that faith has come, we are no longer under the
supervision of the law.”
– Galatians 3:25
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or
the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to
fulfill them.”
– Matthew 5:17
• We must interpret OT law through the grid of NT
teaching. Jesus is the final interpreter of OT law.
• The OT law no longer applies as direct law for us.
However, the OT legal material still contains rich
principles and lessons for living that are relevant when
interpreted through NT teaching.
• Making the Journey in OT law
“Or if a person touches anything ceremonially unclean—
whether the carcasses of unclean wild animals or of unclean
livestock or of unclean creatures that move along the
ground—even though he is unaware of it, he has become
unclean and is guilty.”
–Leviticus 5:2
– Step 1 – Grasp the text in their town
• Leviticus deals with how the Israelites are live
with an awesome, holy God in their midst.
• Larger unit of 4:1-5:13 deals with purification
offerings for those who become ritually unclean
• 5:2 details what makes a person unclean
• 5:5-6 tells the people what to do to become
clean again
Step 2 – Measure the width of the river
• We are not under the old covenant and our sin is
now covered by the death of Christ.
• We also have direct access to the Father
through Christ and no longer need human priests
as mediators.
Step 3 – Cross the principlizing bridge
• God is holy!
• God’s holiness demands that his people keep
separate from sin and unclean things.
• If God’s people become unclean, they must be
purified by a blood sacrifice.
Step 4 – Cross into the New Testament
• God no longer resides in a tabernacle, but within
each of us through the indwelling Holy Spirit.
• His presence, however, still demands our holiness.
• NT redefines “clean” and “unclean” (Mark 7)
• Under the new covenant, sin is washed away by the
death of Christ, the Lamb of God.
• Confession of sin, however, is still important
(1 John 1:9)
Summary: Stay away from sinful actions and
impure thoughts because the holy God lives
within you. If you do commit unclean acts or
think unclean thoughts, then the death of
Christ allows you to confess your sins and
receive forgiveness.
Step 5 – Grasp the text in our town
• There will be numerous applications of this text.
• One application relates to the issue of Internet
pornography.
• God’s holiness demands that we lead clean lives.
• Viewing pornography clearly violates God’s
holiness and hinders our worship and fellowship
with God.
• Stay away from Internet pornography!
• If you do fall into this sin, confess your sin and
because of the death of Christ, you can be
forgiven and your fellowship with God restored.
• Conclusion
– Traditional approach to law (moral, civil,
ceremonial) is inadequate.
– Journey approach to interpreting law:
• Narrative context
• Covenant context
– Interpret all OT legal texts with the same method
OT – Poetry
• Introduction
– Over one third of the
Bible is poetry.
– OT poetry
focuses on our
emotional response
to God. It connects with
us down deep, both in joy and in despair.
• Jet engines and paintings
– Different literary genres of the Bible are like
different museums.
Air and Space Museum
National Gallery of Art
Appeals to logic, rational
arguments are central,
analyze grammar and syntax
Appeals to emotion,
images are central,
analyze figures of speech
• Elements of OT poetry
– Terseness g uses few words to enhance their impact
and power
Show me your ways, O Lord,
Teach me your paths.
– Psalm 25:4
– Structure g the most obvious is parallelism where
lines represent thought units and are usually grouped
in units of two or three:
•Synonymous – second line repeats idea of first line
•Developmental – second line further develops idea of first line
•Illustrative – second line illustrates first line
•Contrastive – second line contrasts with first line
•Miscellaneous – other types of parallelism not easily classified
– Figurative language
• OT poetry is more like a painting than an essay
• Literal, historical truth expressed in picture language
• Figures of speech involving analogy:
– Simile – comparison using “like” or “as”
“As the dear pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, O God.”
–
Psalm 42:1
– Metaphor – direct comparison
“The Lord is my shepherd.”
– Psalm 23:1
– Indirect analogy – comparison without stating it
“Roaring lions tearing their prey open their mouths
wide against me.”
– Psalm 22:13
– Hyperbole – exaggeration for the sake of effect
“My tears have been my food day and night.”
– Psalm 42:3
– Personification/anthropomorphism/zoomorphism – attributes to
one entity the characteristics of a totally different entity
“Life up your heads, O you gates.”
– Psalm 24:7
“Your face, Lord, will I seek.”
– Psalm 27:8
“He will cover you with his feathers,
And under his wings you will find refuge.”
– Psalm 91:4
• Figures of speech involving substitution:
– Effects and causes – substitutes the effect for the cause
“Let me hear joy and gladness;
Let the bones you have crushed rejoice.”
– Psalm 51:8
– Representation – substitute a part of an entity for the whole
“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust
in the name of the Lord our God.”
– Psalm 20:7
• Miscellaneous figures of speech:
– Apostrophe – when they address a person or
entity not actually present as if he was present.
“Therefore, you kings, be wise;
Be warned, you rulers of the earth.”
– Psalm 2:10
– Irony – when the writer says the exact opposite of what he really
means (as in God’s use of sarcastic irony below)
“Have you comprehended the vast expanses of the
earth? Tell me, if you know all this.
– Job 38:18
• Wordplays
• Interpreting OT poetry
As with any text in the OT we need to make the five
steps in the Interpretive Journey. Here are a few
guidelines for the poetry genre related to Step 1:
• In your observation, look closely for parallelism. Read
the two or three lines of parallelism as one thought.
• Locate and visualize figures of speech. Identify the kind
of figure you have in the passage. Also, try to enter into
the emotional world of the image.
• Unique aspects of the Psalms
– Does not present doctrinal guidelines so much as
examples of how to communicate our deepest
emotions and needs to God.
– When we find ourselves in deep despair or in
jubilant celebration, Psalms teaches us to be honest
and open with God.
– God wants us to pour out our hearts to him and he
wants to connect with us in the depths of our
emotional being.
• Conclusion
– In OT poetry we are dealing with
rather than
– Poetry is characterized by terseness, a high
degree of structure (parallelism), and figurative
language.
– OT poetry shows us how to communicate our
deepest emotions to God.
OT – Prophets
• Nature of OT prophetic literature
OT Prophets
Major
Isaiah
Jeremiah
Ezekiel
Daniel
Longer
books
Minor
Hosea
Joel
Amos
Obadiah
Jonah
Micah
Nahum
Habakkuk
Zephaniah
Haggai
Zechariah
Malachi
Shorter
books
– Little in our culture that resembles the OT prophetic
literature (Bob Dylan?)
– Only a small amount of OT prophecy deals with
events still future to us
“Less than 2 percent of Old Testament prophecy is
messianic. Less than 5 percent specifically describes
the New Covenant age. Less than 1 percent concerns
events yet to come.”
– Fee and Stuart
– Prophets proclaim more than they predict
– Prophets make extensive use of the figurative
language of poetry
– Prophetic books are primarily anthologies–
collections of shorter units, usually oral messages
called oracles proclaimed publicly to the people of
Israel or Judah.
•
•
•
•
Not usually arranged chronologically
Therefore, almost impossible to outline
Look for a few major themes repeated over and over
Yet the prophet’s message comes through loud and clear
– Historical-cultural and theological context
• Basic prophetic message
– Prophets function as God’s prosecuting attorneys
(covenant enforcement mediators), warning the
people of the consequences of covenant violation.
– Prophetic message has three basic points:
1. You have broken the covenant; you had better
repent!
• Idolatry—syncretism, faithful husband/unfaithful wife
• Social justice—widows, orphans, foreigners
• Religious ritualism—ritual substitutes for relationship
2. No repentance? Then judgment!
• Plea for repentance, but proclaim severe consequences of
rebellion
• Horrific invasions
• Loss of Promised land
3. Yet, there is hope beyond the judgment for a
glorious future restoration.
• New exodus (Isaiah), new covenant (Jeremiah), new
presence of the Spirit (Ezekiel and Joel)
• Messianic promises and future predictions
• Interpretation and application of basic message
1. You have broken the covenant; you had better
repent!
• Must pass through filter of NT teaching
• No longer under covenant of law, so different for
believers and unbelievers
• Focus on relational aspects of our sin (marriage analogy)
• Sinning against God causes him to hurt emotionally
• Idolatry – job, success, money, TV, clothes, grades …
• Social justice – poor, elderly, minorities, children …
• Religious ritualism – rituals function as means or ends?
2. No repentance? Then judgment!
• Sin is an offense against God and demands judgment
• NT g judgment of death for Christian’s sin transferred
to Christ
• If Christians fail to repent, their relationship with God
will be damaged
3. Yet, there is hope beyond the judgment for a
glorious future restoration.
• Ultimate fulfillment of promises in Christ
• God is in the business of forgiving and restoring people
• Predictive passages
– Small portion of prophet’s message to events that
are still future for us
Near View
or
Far View?
– Predictions could refer to:
• Return of Jewish exiles to Israel (past for us)
• First coming of Jesus Christ (past for us)
• Second coming of Jesus Christ (still future for us)
– Difficult to determine whether the prophets are
describing events that will occur within their lifetime
(near view) or events that will occur much later (far
view).
– We should be cautious about being overly dogmatic
when interpreting details of predictive prophecy.
– It is possible that the prophets have intentionally
blurred together these future events so that their
readers will focus on the broader theological
principles.
OT – Wisdom
• Introduction
– You have persevered the end of this book!
“Of making may books there is no end, and much study
wearies the body.”
–Ecclesiastes 12:12b
• Purpose of the wisdom books
– Law, narrative, and prophets stress “Believe!” and
“Obey!” while wisdom stresses “Think!”
– Call us to listen, look, think, and reflect
– Offer practical insights for living
– Goal is to develop wise and godly character for life
in the real world
• The big picture
– Four wisdom books balance each other
theologically. Read each one in context of all four.
Proverbs
Rational norms of life (what normally happens). Does
not present universals (what will always happen).
Song of Songs
Irrationality of
romantic love
between husband
and wife.
Ecclesiastes
Failure of the
rational, ordered
approach to
provide ultimate
meaning to life.
Meaning only
comes through a
relationship with
God.
Job
Righteous
and wise
suffer in
ways that
mere
humans
cannot
understan
d.
• Wisdom as poetry
– A large portion of wisdom literature is poetry.
– Wisdom books use parallelism as their standard
structural feature.
– The more emotional the tone, the more the book will
use figurative language:
Less Emotionally Charged,
Less Picture Language
Proverbs
Ecclesiastes
More Emotionally Charged,
More Picture Language
Job
Song of Songs
• Grasping the wisdom books
– Proverbs
• Proverbs – short, pithy sayings that teach practical
wisdom about life
• Individual proverbs reflect general nuggets of wisdom
about what normally happens in life (e.g., “Don’t be
lazy! Work hard!”).
• Proverbs are never to be taken as universal promises.
• The book of Proverbs does not deal with the exceptions
to the normal rules.
• Since each proverb presents a general principle, the river
of differences is usually quite narrow and shallow.
• But be careful how you define “blessing.”
– Job
• Job does all that Proverbs commands, but he receives
dead children, financial ruin, physical pain, and criticism
from his friends.
• Job is a story (in contrast to Proverbs) and we must take
the literary context of narrative seriously:
–1-2
–2-37
–38-42
–42
Job is afflicted
Job searches unsuccessfully for a rational answer
God answers Job’s accusations
Job’s friends are rebuked and Job is restored
• The differences between the ancient audience and us are
not great.
• Lessons from Job:
–God is sovereign and we are not
–God knows all and we know precious little
–God is always just, but does not always disclose his reasons
–God expects us to trust his character
• NT presents suffering as a normal feature of a godly life.
• Don’t repeat the mistake of Job’s friends and misuse
biblical truth.
• Book of Job teaches us that it is not wrong to cry out to
God in anger and frustration when unexplained tragedy
strikes.
• Our focus in grief should not be on “why” but rather on
God and his character.
• Comforting friends is different from having all the
answers.
– Ecclesiastes
• Ecclesiastes (like Job) must be interpreted as a whole
with the ultimate answer coming at the very end.
• The book is full of satire, sarcasm, and cynicism.
• The “Teacher” or “Preacher” declares that a strictly
rational search for meaning is “meaningless.”
• At the end of the book, the Teacher comes to his
conclusion: “Fear God and keep his commandments.”
• Apart from God, not even wisdom can give life meaning.
• River normally shallow in Ecclesiastes except for a
limited concept of death and the afterlife.
• The NT adds that apart from a relationship with Jesus
Christ, life is meaningless.
• Apart from a relationship with Christ, not even a college
degree can make life meaningful!
– Song of Songs
• Shocking book because it speaks openly and joyfully
about human sexuality (read 7:7-8).
• The book is organized into three sequential units:
–1-3 Courtship
–3-5 Wedding
–5-8 Life of Love
• Highly emotional and full of picture language as the man
and woman describe their love for each other
• Most scholars today caution against the allegorical
interpretation
• A model of the joy and irrationality of a married couple
madly in love
• Wise and godly people should express their marital love
in strong, emotional (mushy?) terms.
• We suggest a little updating of the figurative language
(hair like a flock of goats?)
"How beautiful you are, my beloved, how beautiful
you are!
Your eyes are like doves behind your veil.
... Your hair is like a flock of goats...
Your teeth are like a flock of newly shorn ewes...
Your lips are like a scarlet thread,
Your temples are like a slice of pomegranate...
"...Your neck is like the tower of David
built with rows of stones
on which are hung a thousand shields...
... Your two breasts are like two fawns,
twins of a gazelle
which feed among the lilies...
"... Your lips, my bride, drip honey,
Honey and milk are under your tongue...
And the fragrance of your garments
is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
Your belly is like a heap of wheat...
"... Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon,
which faces towards Damascus..."
From Song of Solomon chapters 4 and 7