Biblical studies is the academic study of the
Judeo-Christian Bible and related texts. For
Christianity, the Bible traditionally comprises
the
New Testament and
Old Testament, which together are sometimes
called the "Scriptures."
Judaism recognizes
as scripture only the
Hebrew Bible,
also known as the
Tanakh, an acronym for the
Hebrew names of its divisions:
Torah (Law),
Nevi'im
(Prophets) and
Ketuvim (writings). Other
texts often examined by biblical scholars include the Jewish
apocrypha, the Jewish
pseudepigrapha, the Christian
apocrypha, the many varieties of ante-Nicene
early Christian literature, and
early Jewish literature.
There are two major approaches towards Biblical studies. The first
approach studies the Bible as a human creation and is also known as
Biblical criticism; This approach
is practiced in the secular academic world. In this approach,
Biblical studies can be considered as a sub-field of
religious studies.
The other approach is the religious study of the Bible, where it is
assumed that the Bible has a divine origin. This approach is a
branch of
theology, and is also known as
Biblical
interpretation.
Methodologically and theoretically, the field draws on many
disciplines, including
history,
archaeology,
literary criticism,
philology, and increasingly the
social sciences. Practitioners of Biblical
Studies do not necessarily have a faith commitment to the texts
they study. In fact,
Biblical
criticism seems at times to contradict commitment to the
inspiration of the text and is sometimes even considered heresy,
although many "orthodox" scholars from both Christianity and
Judaism utilize these methods while recognizing a more nuanced
understanding of divine inspiration.
In Judaism
In
Judaism, especially among the
Orthodox, traditional Bible study entails
the study of
Tanakh with medieval and modern
rabbinic commenataries or with
Midrashim.
Jews
traditionally study in the home or in institutions like the
yeshiva.
Jewish
academic institutions where Bible studies may include less
traditional approaches include Hebrew Union College (Progressive Judaism), the Jewish
Theological Seminary
(Conservative)
and Yeshiva
University
(Modern
Orthodox) in the United States
; and all major universities in Israel
, whose
Bible department actually concentrates on
Biblical criticism.
In Christianity
In
Christianity, the theological
interpretation of Biblical passages is called
biblical exegesis. Other branches of Bible
study aim instead at elucidating the
provenance, authorship, and chronological order
of Biblical texts. This is a branch of
philology more than theology, and sometimes comes
into conflict with theology. "
Higher
criticism" and its findings, including the well known
documentary hypothesis which suggests
that the
Bible was compiled from the writings
of several different hands, and the work of the
Jesus Seminar, which attempted to cull
"inauthentic" sayings of
Jesus from the
"authentic" ones contained in the
Gospels,
are examples of Biblical studies whose results have been
particularly controversial in theology.
Bible Study is the activity
in which Christians read and reflect on the Bible individually or,
including discussion, in small
groups or base communities.
Additionally,
Biblical Studies is a common
discipline offered in the Bible colleges,
Bible institutions or schools and some secular colleges. It
centered on the study of the Scriptures as found in the Bible. In
the U.S., it is not listed as an academic discipline following the
pursuit of academic studies in normal stream colleges and
universities. In Europe, however,
Theology
is a faculty in many respectable universities (e.g. Oxford and
Cambridge) although several countries have transferred the training
of priests and ministers to their respective churches.
It seems that the discipline of Bible studies in many U.S.
institutions is practically the same as theology in more
traditional institutions. A distinction should be made, therefore,
between
- Biblical studies which concentrate on the Bible and its
interpretation, as in Exegesis.
- Biblical studies as an all-around name for minister
training.
Presently in the U.S., "Biblical studies" are taught mainly in
non-academic schools and institutions under the support of many
Christian denominations and
missionary organizations.
In traditional churches, the training of
priests and ministers includes the study of
theology, which is a wider field incorporating more
aspects of religion. Typically this takes place in a university or
a
seminary, depending on country and
denomination.
Background
Biblical Studies involve the studies of the Bible and can be
studied as a subject for themselves or as a subdivision under
Theology. It is often offered as a
postgraduate course in some Christian colleges or Bible
institutions as a non-academic study course. In contrast with most
divinity schools, seminaries or older theological schools, Biblical
Studies does not attempt to criticize the Bible as in higher (or
literary criticism) or lower (or
textual criticism) form. In this,
it differs markedly from the usual scientific method or from the
approach used in this Wikipedia article. However, its content
varies but usually covered a wider scope including the
following:
Principles of Biblical interpretation
The Bible is the holy scripture for most Christian denominations
and its interpretation forms part of the core of each
denomination's faith. Therefore, there are very few clear rules
accepted by all who consider themselves Christian and making a
neutral point of view clarification of principles is most
difficult.
Exegesis using the
inductive method is used in
understanding the texts in scriptures. Some guides or rules of
interpretation have been formulated and are, in some circles known
as
Principles of Interpretation, in others as
Hermeneutics. According to the Bible it is the
word of God and gives these rules . However, no clear consensus on
them exists. Typically a biblical passage may be understood
- literally, as meaning exactly what is written.
- figuratively, meaning that there is a clear parallel to
something else.
- allegorically, meaning that the passage is an allegory of something more
In addition, in some denominations, any of these may be either
addressed to its historical audience or to mankind in general. All
three ways may even be correct simultaneously. According to most
denominations, the only way to choose a right interpretation is
through use of
Holy Spirit, which may be
found, depending on denomination, from person's conscience, from
tradition or from some combination of them. Typically, old churches
stress the use of tradition, while Protestant churches stress the
use of personal inspiration. However, most denominations do draw a
line somewhere in the literal interpretation, accepting some
traditional standpoints.
Hermeneutical exegesis focuses on the origin writer’s sense in
relation with the expected audience response. The rule of context
applies, and "scriptures interpret scriptures". The ideas and
meanings are likely to be in harmony within the language and
cultural context. Therefore the rule allow
for the meaning to be limited and interpreted within the intent and
purpose of the original writers. This interpretative view obviously
leads to more focus individual understanding than collective
interrelated consensus.
Biblical canon scriptures are
accepted by many Christian's as God-
inspired. Thus, attention is given to
accepting the divine
Holy Spirit who is
thought to be the original inspiration or Author of all scriptures.
However, there are several different doctrines on the nature of the
inspiration, ranging from "word" inspiration to context
inspiration.
Exegesis is different from the
traditional method of literary study but approaches it when moving
towards religious philosophy.
Hebrew and Greek languages
The study of original languages within the
Bible is usually considered an imperative to any
correct interpretive work, although a minority of U.S. Christians
hold that
King James Version is
the sole, inspired, true word of God. Most seminaries and
Universities, in fact, require their candidates for doctorates in
divinity to possess adequate knowledge of
these two disciplines. Although Aramaic was the verbal language of
the inter- and New Testament period, many schools do not provide
the study of this ancient language but leave it to the faculties of
Arts. The
Septuagint translation of the
Old Testament into Greek is also important while trying to
understand the religious life of the early church. The New
Testament is written in
Koine Greek, a
form which probably carried
Hebrew and
Aramaic influences.
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is a secular, scientific approach to the study
of the Bible, based on the assumption that the Bible is a human
creation, rather than divine. Thus while apparent contradictions
are interpreted in
theology as having
deeper or different meaning, they are interpreted in Biblical
criticism as originating from the human writers. Prophecies
fulfilled after the alleged time of writing are interpreted in
Theology as a proof for the divine origin
of the text, and in Biblical criticism as a proof that the real
time of writing was later than claimed.
According to Jewish tradition, different books of the Bible were
written in different times by different people. Biblical criticism
extends this idea, and assumes that different parts (even different
verses in the same chapter) may have been written in different
times by different people, and later edited by other people. Some
are based on local traditions, and others have been added to
reflect the writer's political or religious agenda.
Biblical criticism uses mostly the following study tools:
- Study of the language used in different parts of the Bible.
According to the critical approach, this may teach us, for example,
about the period at which each part was written, and perhaps about
the writers as well.
- Comparison of different but similar stories and verses from
different parts of the Bible. According to the critical approach,
this may teach us, for example, about the identity of the writer,
his agenda and how different stories and ideas may have originated
from each other.
- Comparison of different ancient versions of the same text, such
as the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint (basis of the Old Testament in European languages).
- Comparison to ancient myths and to later Midrash.
- Archaeology may sometimes also serve
as an aiding tool, though there are different approaches among
scholars to its use as a scientific tool.
References
See also
External links
Further reading
The Conclusion of the New Testament by Witness Lee at
http://www.ministrybooks.org/conclusion.cfm
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