Commentaries & Concordances & Scripture problems

■ Commentaries

- the truth about commentaries...

-- Only as good as the scholars who wrote them

-- sets are usually uneven

-- Some are more scholarly' some more practical

-- the core of the pastor's library!

 

- Which commentaries should you read?

-- Which are the best individual commentaries?

-- Which are the best series of commentaries?

 

 

■ Which individual commentary?

- Commentary Surveys: Get these FIRST!

- T. Longman Ⅲ, Old Testament Commentary Survey(4th ed; grand rapids: baker, 2007)

- D.A. Carson, New Testament Commentary survey(6th, grand rapids: baker, 2007)

- J. Glynn, Commentary and Reference survey: a Comprehensive Guide to biblical resources(10th ed.; grand rapid; Kregel, 2007)

 

 

■ Which Commentary Series?

- Get ONE set, if you must, to cover the whole bible.

-- recommend evangelical one like; the expositors' bible commentary: EBC(Zondervan) or the NIV Application Commentary : NIVAC(Zondervan) or the Tyndale(OT/ NT) commentaries series: TOTC or TNTC(IVP); may be incomplete

 

- Be familiar with Commentary series by category and their abbreviations

 

 

■ Some Evangelical series

- Baker Exegetical Commentary: BEC

- Word Biblical Commentary: WBC

- New International Commentary on the OT./NT: NICOT/ NICNT

- New International Greek Testament Commentary : NIGTC

- New American Commentary : NAC

- Wycliffe Exegetical

 

■ Some Critical Series

- International Critical Commentary : ICC

- Anchor Bible : AB

- Hermeneia

- Interpretation

- (New) Cambridge Bible commentary : CBC, NCBC

 

 

 

 

Concordance

Lexicon

Bible Dictionary / Encyclopedia

Bible Atlas

Bible Introduction ; OT / NT

 

 

 

■ Genres of Scripture

- Old testament

-- Law /Narrative / Prophecy / Psalms/ Wisdom / Apocalyptic

 

- New Testament

-- Narrative / Gospel / Letters / Apocalyptic

 

 

■ Problems in interpreting Epistles

- Distance between then and Now

-- Historical Distance

-- Cultural Distance

 

- Epistles wrongly interpreted because

-- Assumed to speak to our situation

-- Assumed to be easily understood

 

- We like the epistles because they are practical

 

 

■ Nature of the Epistles

- Deissmann's distinction between "Letters" and "epistles"

 

- Letters

-- Written for private audience, more personal

-- Generally shorter

 

- Epistles

-- Written for public audience, less personal

-- Generally longer

 

 

■ Ancient Letter Forms

- Ancient letters follow a standard form(6 parts)

-- Name of letter writer

-- Nave of recipient(s)

-- Greeting

-- Prayer wish, thanksgiving

-- Body of the letter

-- Final greeting

 

- Example of Acts 15:23 - 29 (Jerusalem Council Letter)

 

■ Letters are Occasional

(Next Quiz - What Occasional means? )

- Some need or problem was the occasion for the letter

-- The letters all arise from a need of the first-century church

-- Ethics, doctrinal error, etc.

 

- Must have some idea of what the occasion was

-- we have the answers, but not the questions

 

- Letters are "task theology" or doing theology, not theological treatises

-- Some more than others: Romans VS. 1Corinthians

 

 

■ Interpreting the Epistles

- Occasional documents = must understand the Historical Context

 

- Reconstruct the situation (occasion) of the letter

-- Consult the bible dictionaries or introductions

-- Read the whole letter in one sitting

 

- Take notes to reconstruct the situation

-- what you notice about the recipients

-- Author's attitudes

-- Any specific things about occasion

-- The letters' natural, logical divisions

 

- Literary Context

 

- Think in paragraphs

-- What is the point?

-- Why does the author make this point here?

 

- Notice how the sentence fits, how the paragraph fits, etc.

 

- Dealing with problem passages

 

 

■ Problem passages

- What we know is limited by the distance

-- They knew, but we don't

 

- We may need to be content with ambiguity

 

- Get as much information as possible before making a decision

 

- Don't bet the farm on a problem passage

 

- Interpret in the light of biblical theology

 

 

■ Epistles : Hermeneutical Rules

 

- The basic rule

-- "A text cannot mean what it never could have meant to its author or his or her readers." (Fee 74p)

 

- The second rule

-- "Whenever we share comparable particulars (i.e., similar specific life situations) with the first-century hearers, God's Word to us is the same as his Word to them."(Fee p 75)

 

 

■ Problems In Ep. Hermeneutics

- The Problem of Extended application

-- How do we extend the application of a text so that the text is God's word to us in our own context?

 

- The problem of Particulars (that are not comparable)

-- How do we deal with particulars that do not have counterparts today?

 

- The problem of Cultural Relativity

-- How do we deal with shifting cultures then and now?

 

- The problem of Task Theology

-- how do we systematically understand the theology of the bible from occasional documents?

 

 

■ Example of 1 Corinthians 1:20-25

he speaking to Gentile believer. what's the issue? wisdom is the issue.(20) Division problem.

 

20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?

21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.

22 Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom,

23 but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,

24 but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.