CHAPTER XIII

APPROACHES TO NEW TESTAMENT EXEGESIS

Ralph P. Martin

I. Different Ways of Interpreting the New Testament

Exegesis means interpretation and as we apply the term to the books of
the New Testament we may begin with a provisional definition of the task.
To practise exegesis in regard to the New Testament literature is to enquire
what was the meaning intended by the original authors. The process is one
of uncovering that meaning, and the technique is known as heuristics, i.e.
the study which explains how to discover the sense of a passage of Scrip-
ture. This is to be the interpreter's primary aim, requiring that his approach
to Scripture be one of honest enquiry and a determined effort to find out the
intended meaning of the author for his day.
But this approach, expressed in a way which at first glance commends
itself as straightforward and full of commonsense, both proceeds with some
assumptions which ought to be acknowledged openly and conceals several
hidden pitfalls. We can notice these as we set down some of the different
ways in which the approach to the interpretation of the New Testament has
been understood.

1. THE DOGMA TIC APPROACH

Under this heading we refer to a view of the New Testament Scripture

which sees it as an arsenal of proof-texts to be arranged, without much
regard given to their literary form, historical context, theological purpose, or
even their best translation into modern English, to form a network of
probative evidence.
Seen in this light, the meaning of Scripture is atomized by being regarded
as contained in key-words or key-phrases or isolated single verses treated
without respect to their neighbouring context. Little attention is paid to the
teaching of the passage or book in which the individual texts appear. There
is obvious danger in this method. It misuses the text of Scripture by appeal-
ing to a truncated part (a verse) instead of to the larger, more intelligible unit
(a paragraph or longer section, according to the writer's purpose). It cannot
escape the charge of subjectivism when isolated verses are chosen because
of their apparent suitability to "prove a point". And it is forgetful of God's

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providence in conveying his word to men not in fragmented or situation-less

dicta, but in the total context of the historical milieu of an ancient people
(Israel, the early church) and through the medium of a set of languages
which make use of non-prescriptive modes of expression. Failure to recall
this last point turns the New Testament into a legal code or a set of cold
facts, like a telephone directory.
On a different level another version of the dogmatic approach is evident
in those instances in church history when an ecclesiastical authority has im-
posed an interpretation on Scripture. To give one example, the Council of
Trent gave clear directive about the meaning of Jesus' eucharistic words to
the disciples in the upper rpom.
He said in plain, unmistakable words that he was giving them his own body and
his own blood ....
These words have their proper and obvious meaning and were so understood by
the Fathers. 1
This ruling by the Magisterium indicates an authoritative appeal to one,
highly particularized interpretation of Scripture and its use as a dogmatic in-
strument to establish church teaching. Again, as with the previous discus-
sion about Protestant proof-texting, Scripture has assumed the character of
a law-book.

2. THE IMPRESSIONISTIC APPROACH

The impressionistic approach may seem to be the exact antithesis of the

method just described. Its main characteristic is a way of approaching the
New Testament Scripture in which the reader equates the message of the
passage before him with the thoughts which fill his mind as he reads. The ex-
ercise is one of gaining impressions from the text which has its function in
exciting and engendering a series of "thoughts", triggered by the verses in
question. This is a popular treatment of the Bible with some recent
evangelical young people's groups, for example the Jesus people. 2
There can be no doubt that this approach is open to grave objection. It is
a treatment of Scripture which is at the mercy of human feelings; it fails to
submit to some objective control in a recognition of the plain sense of the
text, set in its historical context. Therefore it overlooks the reality that Scrip-
ture comes to us in historical dress and requires that we respect its contex-
tual setting in the day in which it was first given. Moreover, the approach ig-
nores the fact, only too painfully obvious, that the Bible is not an easy book
to understand and its study demands our full attention and the mental dis-
cipline of concentrated effort to grasp the import of the words before us if
we are to penetrate to their true meaning. It is a counsel of despair to turn
away from serious Bible study because it is difficult, in preference for the
easy way of impressionism.

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3. THE GRAMMATICO-HISTORICAL METHOD

The grammatico-historical method has everything to commend it as an

antidote to both of the approaches mentioned. It takes seriously God's
revelation which he has been pleased to communicate in verbal form in the
pages of holy Scripture. The New Testament is the word of God in the
words of men. 3 For that reason, the reader begins his enquiry into the
meaning of a passage with a conscious endeavour to know what the words
(Gr. grammata) meant in their historical setting. And that means that he will
strive to gain understanding of the text through the language-form which
any specific passage employs. Certain corollaries follow from this apprecia-
tion of what Scripture is and how God has been pleased to make it available
to his people. For one thing, there is the problem of the best text of the New
Testament in the original Greek. The student will want to satisfy himself, as
far as he is able, that either the Greek Testament in front of him or the
translation based upon it is the "best". By that word is meant that it is as
close to the original autographs as it is possible to get through the science of
textual criticism. The transmission of the New Testament text has been
affected by the contingencies of historical circumstances and, since we do
not possess the original autographs for inspection, it is incumbent upon us
that we use all the means available to recover the text which stands nearest
to the original.
The other matter is the ascertaining of the meaning of the Greek words
and their translation equivalents in our native language. For this we need the
help of grammar books, lexicons, dictionaries and concordances. To be
sure, there will also be a residue of places where the grammatical or syntac-
tical sense is unclear. The first epistle of John contains several instances of
this ambiguity and it is uncertain (e.g. at I John 4:17) exactly how the
prepositional phrases, dependent clauses and adverbial expressions fit
together as the author originally intended. Several permutations and com-
binations are possible. 4
Then, the clothing of God's saving revelation of himself in historical
events and their interpretation means that the present-day student must take
history seriously and be alive to the setting of Scripture's story as far as the
New Testament is concerned in the world of first century Graeco-Roman
society. Luke's notice in his gospel (3:lf.) shows the evangelist's purpose in
describing the historical framework in which the gospel events took place.
This anchoring of the saving message in history is of immeasurable impor-
tance. It was appreciated by the early Christians in their refusal to evacuate
the gospel of its historical content and to cut it loose from its historical
moorings - a refusal which led them to oppose gnostic influences as
heretical (cf. 2 Pet. 1:16ff.).
Furthermore, the grammatico-historical method enters a needed protest
against an inordinate desire for relevance which marks out the im-
pressionistic approach. According to the aim of the latter, the reader
professes a desire to study and to heed only those parts of Scripture which

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have an easily convertible theological and spiritual value and whose applica-
tion to life stands out most obviously. This proclivity to accept only parts of
the Bible as relevant and spiritually valuable has been severely criticized in
recent years, notably by J. Barr. 5
This is a tendency, however, to be held in check as we pay due recogni-
tion to the demands of the grammatico-historical requirements. They in-
clude the reminder that the scope of the Bible covers the entire range of life
and offers a comprehensive world-view which is distorted if we choose to
narrow it to our personal interests at any given moment of our Christian ex-
perience. A true corrective is supplied by our resolve to treat the whole cor-
pus of Scripture with serious intent and to hear what its total witness may be
by the rigorous and disciplined application of a method which seeks to
elucidate the message in its original setting and in its literal sense.

4. THE MEANING FOR THE TWENTIETH CENTURY

The question is now raised whether a Christian reader of the New Testa-
ment can remain content with a line of study which sets its aim only at the
ascertaining of the first century meaning. Granted that this is a legitimate
and necessary starting-point, must we not press on to enquire about the
meaning of the text for ourselves today? This second stage of enquiry is the
determining of the true transition point needed to move from "What did the
text mean?'' to "What does the text say and how do I understand it for
myself today?" The issue was first pinpointed by W. Dilthey when he drew
the distinction between explanation and understanding. 6
At this point we should notice an approach to the interpretation of the
New Testament which regards as totally unsatisfactory any attempt to stay
with the first century meaning of the text. This is the existentialist approach,
which is more fully described and criticized later in this book (pp. 294-300).
It will be sufficient to mention here its main emphasis since it is regarded as
the most serious rival to the view which has just been mentioned.
Its starting principle is the acceptance of the thesis stated by H.-G.
Gadamer (in his Wahrheit und Methode Tiibingen 1973 3 ) that a modern
reader is bound to understand the meaning of an ancient author in a way
different from the one which that author intended. This barrier led Gadamer
to enunciate the principle that interpretation inevitably includes translation
from one situation to another, and that the modern interpreter should ask
what the text is saying to him in his situation. Basically the approach of ex-
istential hermeneutics is: Granted that the text meant such-and-such to its
first writer and his readers, what does the text mean to me today even
though I cannot share the presuppositions of that ancient situation and am
separated by a barrier of world-view and culture from that old-world scene?
Put otherwise, this method of exegesis asks, What would the ancient author
have meant by his words if he had been living in our contemporary situation
and how does he speak to us today? We can hear his message by taking
what we think to be his meaning given long ago and bringing it over

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(trans-lating) into our frame of reference. The chief exponent of this way of
looking at and listening to Scripture is E. Fuchs. See further pp. 308fT.
But it would be wrong to imagine that this method has gained general
currency outside a limited constituency. Opponents of Bultmann (e.g. 0.
Cullmann, whose teaching on salvation history is based on the priority of
the grammatico-historical method), insist that we must listen to what the
New Testament meant to its first readers and give that our obedience
however unpalatable and "strange" its message may be. Writing from within
the Bultmannian school, E. Kasemann objects that the existential exegetical
method may lead to serious distortions of what the New Testament is all
about and set up a new norm by which the New Testament message is re-
quired to be tested. 7
One important way of bridging the gap between the poles of reading the
New Testament in order to ascertain the first century meaning and arriving
at the contemporary application of that message is the approach known as
the seeking of sensus plenior. By this term is meant the deeper meaning of
the text, a meaning not apparently intended by the author but seen to be in-
tended by God when we have regard to the further light which is shed on the
text by developing revelation. 8
A good example of this method is the exegesis of Old Testament
"Messianic" prophecies (e.g. Is. 7:14) which yield their full meaning to the
Christian believer when he reads them in the light of interpretation given by
the New Testament writers (e.g. Mt. 1:23). There is much value in this ap-
proach inasmuch as the New Testament itself encourages its readers to see
larger fulfilments of what appeared only in embryo or in part in the Old
Testament revelation (Heb. 1:1-3). But some firm control is needed, and the
principle of sensus p/enior is misused if it opens the door to the notion of a
tandem relationship between Scripture and tradition (even in the modified
form suggested by Y. M.-J. Congar 9 ) or suggests that the later church has
power to sanction as authoritative for Christian doctrine ideas and dogmas
which are held to be latent in Scripture and subsequently elevated to the
status of "articles of belier'. 10 The criteria by which we may decide what
constitutes sensus plenior are (a) an authorization in the New Testament
which gives warrant to the "fuller sense" to be accorded to an Old Testa-
ment passage. This credential would have the effect of placing the Old
Testament teaching in a wider context, and making it germane for the
history of salvation (e.g. the Immanuel prophecies in Isaiah). Then (b) the
New Testament's "larger fulfilment" should be congruous with the literal
sense. Examples of the possible homogeneity of two passages may be given
in the prophetic psalms 2 and 110 where the original setting in the Israelite
monarchy is capable of wider and deeper application to "great David's
greater Son".
A more cautious way of framing the interrelation between the Old Testa-
ment preparation for Christ and the fulfilment in the New is in terms of
typology.'' According to this method the emphasis is shifted from the words
in the Old Testament passages which are thought to contain hidden truth

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(which later became clarified through further revelation) to events or things

described in the Old Testament which are the subject of interpretative com-
mentary in the New. Thus we are encouraged to see in a series of historical
happenings (the Passover, the manna, the bronze serpent) and persons
(Adam, Melchizedek, Moses, David) the types (for the word typos see Rom.
5:14 and for the adverb typikos see 1 Cor. 10:11) of the later events in the
ministry of Jesus and the explications of the ways in which his person and
work were understood.

5. SALVATION HISTORY

This brings us to consider the method which goes right to the heart of the
Christian concern with Scripture, particularly the New Testament. We may
express it in terms of salvation history. 12 Scripture is the record of God's
redeeming acts and their interpretation, directed to his people and calculated
to evoke their response in obedience, love and service. The latter part of that
statement is important since it is sometimes objected that when "salvation
history" is narrowly conceived as a recital of dramatic events of God's
redemption it allows no room for the Wisdom literature in the Old Testa-
ment, or (say) the hortatory sections in Paul or the Epistle of James in the
New Testament. But these portions in the hortatory sections in Paul or in
the Epistle of James are to be classified under man's total response to the
grace of God and his salvation. The response is as wide-ranging as the
revelation of God and covers the whole of life.
Yet even with this caveat it still remains true that the multiform character
of the New Testament does not permit us to erect a "canon within the
canon" to the exclusion of some parts of the corpus which do not apparently
relate to the person and place of Jesus Christ. We may want to give
emphasis to those parts of the New Testament which (as Luther said) "pre-
sent Christ bright and clear" and so which "promote Christ". And in our
study of any given passage we should do well to begin with the question of
what the section may have to say to us about Jesus Christ as the focus of
God's saving purpose for the world and the church. But we may have to ad-
mit in all candour that the christological teaching is absent in any given sec-
tion (e.g. James). However, we shall place an appropriate value on that
passage and see it in the total perspective of the New Testament. In this
case, it will have something to say tp us as we enquire why it was that J ames
raised the objection that "faith without works is dead", perhaps in the con-
text of a misunderstanding of Paul's teaching of sola gratia, sola fide and of
a travesty of his gospel which turned freedom from the law into an-
tinomianism and libertinism (as in Rom. 3:8; 6:lff.).
The important guiding principle is that we should seek to begin with the
text in its original setting and try to ascertain all we can about the occasion
of its teaching. Then we shall be in a good position to read off the applica-
tion (if any) of that teaching for our situation. Isolated verses taken from
their context should be handled with caution (though there is no denying
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that the Lord of the Scripture may speak to his people in exceptional ways,
however much we may wish to hedge about the random method of Bible
selection and indicate its hidden pitfalls to the unwary). More safety is found
in the sense of a larger unity of Scripture - a paragraph, a whole incident or
a book of the New Testament. The recognition that the passage had a
message for its readers long before we set eyes on it will save us from
presumption and arrogance (as though the Scripture were written primarily
for our sakes: see 1 Cor. 14:36). This salutary reminder is an effective
answer to both dogmatism and impressionism.
The rigorous application of the grammatico-historical method will place a
check on any tendency either to personal idiosyncrasy in wanting to read
into the text what we wish it would say or a spiritualizing of the Bible which
allows its message to float in an undefined vacuum and untethered to the
historical events of the process of God's activity in salvation. That activity is
located in the time-and-space framework of the history of Jesus Christ and
the apostolic church; and whether we like it or not we are shut up to this
segment of world history for the locus of redemption and its inspired inter-
pretation. The New Testament both tells the story and supplies the key to
the story. For that reason it remains the indispensable source of our
knowledge of God and his ways with men.

Il. Some Principles of Exegesis

We turn now to consider some principles of interpretation which should
be kept in view as we approach any given passage. First, the principles will
be stated in the form of questions; then, we shall devote the remainder of the
essay to some illustrations of the type ofliterature which is found in the New
Testament.

1. LITERARY FORM
We may first ask the general question, what is the literary form
(technically known as genus litterarium) of the several New Testament
documents? The twenty-seven books of the New Testament are not written
in the same genre and it is important to know the chief classifications of the
New Testament "library" of books. One question regarding classification
has to do with the precise type of writing known as "gospel". Is it an
attempted "Life of Jesus" on the analogy of contemporary parallels in the
ancient world (such as Plutarch's Lives)? Or does the first Christian Gospel
(usually taken to be Mark) fall into no category for which antiquity can
produce a parallel? If so, is this unique literary type of writing the way we
should classify the later Gospels (e.g. Luke) which both follow Mark's
general outline and add features of a more "biographical" nature which are
not found in Mark?
A similar question has to be faced in regard to the segment of the New
Testament literature which goes under the caption of "letters". Are they

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pieces of private correspondence between (say) Paul and the churches? Or

were they composed consciously for publication and so fall into the
category of "epistles" (as Deissmann once suggested in his well-known dis-
cussion of the two classes of epistolary writing in the hellenistic world)? Ac-
cording to the decision taken in this matter, questions touching the manner
of Paul's composition, i.e. whether his letters were "occasional writings"
composed in the urgency of the moment or carefully constructed discourses
arranged with regard to some well-attested literary forms of the day and
showing evidence of a polished style, will have to be considered. Either way,
there is the problem set by the possibility that Paul may have used a scribe
to take down his oral messages. Indeed the existence of an amanuensis is
seen in Romans 16:22. Then, it becomes a matter of some importance to
know how much freedom Paul gave to a man such as Tertius and whether
the forms of speech and the actual words used are Paul's own or whether he
permitted his scribe to fill in the skeleton he suggested and gave the final
product his approval when he came to append his signature. The latter
method of scribal freedom is found in our knowledge of writing methods in
the Graeco-Roman world. 13

2. BACKGROUND

We can now turn to consider the literary problems presented by a given

text or passage in one of the books of the New Testament by asking, what
do the words mean in their obvious background? Sometimes this
background will be clearly the Old Testament as when the text is written in
conscious imitation of the poetry of the Old Testament psalms or in a Sep-
tuagintal style or with the use of expressions which are identifiable as
Semitic (e.g. hyperbole, gnomic or pithy sayings, liturgical formulas). At
other times, the setting will be that of the Graeco-Roman world, as evidenc-
ed by snatches of hellenistic philosophy, lines from the Greek theatre or the
use of language which is seen in the non-literary papyri. 14

3. CULTURAL SETTING

What is the cultural setting of the passage and how is it illumined by

knowing something of the customs, traditions, folk-lore of the people who
play a part in the narrative or who were the audiences for whom the sayings
or the writing were intended? 15 At a deeper level, we shall need to enquire
about the religious and theological milieu in which the people of the story
stood and to learn something of the presuppositions (e.g. cosmological
ideas, belief in evil spirits) which informed those religious beliefs.

4. THEOLOGICAL PURPOSE

Above all, we must ask what is the theological purpose of the author and
how does he express it. 16 Underlying our attempted exegesis will be the

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desire to learn what theological motivation (called a Tendenz) has inspired

the writer. Only in this way can we hope to appreciate the meaning which he
intended in his recording (say) of a parable of Jesus or a piece of descriptive
narration or a statement of religious conviction. This does not imply that we
think that the New Testament writers had an ulterior motive in their presen-
tations. But it does insist that no New Testament author wrote without some
definite purpose in view. Sometimes the purpose is openly declared (e.g. Lk.
1:1-4; Jn. 20:31; Col. 2:2-4; 1 Tim. 1:3ff.; 1 Jn. 2:1, 7, 12; 5:13) and at
other times it has to be teased out of the overall writing of the author as well
as discovered by a close inspection of the contextual setting of his individual
verses.
Another matter which is raised sometimes acutely for the modern reader
of the gospels emerges from the recognition that these evangelists were also
theologians in their own right. It was not their purpose simply to reproduce
the life and teaching of Jesus in a detached and neutral way. They were men
of Christian faith who wrote to confirm the faith of their readers and quite
probably to refute some erroneous teaching which had appeared in the
churches. The implicit refutation of docetism which lies in the background
of John's Gospel with its full stress on Jesus' humanity is a case in point.
Many students, however, find problems with another part of this un-
derstanding of the gospel tradition. Source criticism has shown more or less
conclusively that the evangelists used materials from the traditions they took
over, and redaction criticism has added the supplementary consideration
that the evangelists were not simply transmitters of that tradition but the
first commentators on it. Their work as editors implies that they adapted
and shaped the tradition in order to bring it into line with their own
theological purpose. It is this study of the pre-history of the gospel records
which causes some in;~portant questions to be asked. Specifically, it is asked
whether our exegesis is concerned with recovering "what actually
happened" in the story and "what Jesus really said" by pressing behind the
gospel data which include (in this view) the evangelists' interpretations and
editorial work. An example is the way in which many modern scholars treat
the parables of Jesus. We are faced with a recoverable setting of the stories
in Jesus' own ministry. But in addition the text both contains a transposed
setting in the life and activity of the early church and evinces a certain
embellishment to make the original message of Jesus relevant to life
situations in the later church. The question at issue is how much concern
should the modern exegete show about these adaptations and modifications
which are attributable to the early church's interest.
As a general principle - and we may refer to other sections of this book to
discuss the points in detail - we may concede that our interest should be a
double one. In so far as we can press back to recover the ipsissima verba of
Jesus, or at least to catch the overtone of his ipsissima vox which may or
may not be the same thing, 17 we must do so. For by this route of enquiry we
are assured of being in touch with the historical centre of our faith, the
earthly Jesus as he walked and talked in Palestine. But it is a serious mistake

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to think that we should discard as worthless the testimony of the early

Christians which has become woven, often inextricably, into the narrative.
That interpretative evidence has its own value as a witness, at once inspired
and authoritative, to what the first Christians believed and taught about
their Lord or how they responded to the original version of his teaching. To
that extent both strata of the gospel tradition have their distinctive roles to
play and they should not be set in antithesis.
Nor is it it a wise course to overlook the way in which several parts of the
New Testament were written against diverse backgrounds. An example of
this feature might be given in the use of the terms "faith" and "works" in
Paul and James. Neither writer is saying exactly the same thing by these
words. Conceivably, as we have mentioned, James is correcting a defective
understanding of Paul's teaching on the part of his followers. Or we can cite
the important place given to "righteousness" in Matthew's gospel which
looks as though the term there is a conscious rebuttal of the false notion of
"righteousness by faith" in the hands of some misguided Christians who
turned Paul's teaching into antinomian licence by supposing that Gentile
Christians were free to live as they pleased (see Rom. 3:31; 6:1ff.; Gal.
5: 13-15; 2 Pet. 2:17-22 in the light of 2 Pet. 3: 16). 18
In effect, this caution means that every section of the New Testament
must be interpreted in the light of the larger context of the overall purpose
and plan of the book of which it forms a part, and according to the purpose
for which it was intended. Often the purpose of individual verses can only be
known as we see the fuller purpose of the book or the epistle, and (paradox-
ically) the specific reason for writing is found in the sum of the individual
verses. This is the hermeneutical circle in which the modern interpreter finds
himself. 19
An example of this inter-relation of the whole and the parts is the book of
the Revelation. Starting from the premise (which in turn is deducible from
an examination of the chapters of the book) that this book of the New
Testament belongs to the literary genre of apocalyptic (see later, p. 234f.),
we may state that its primary purpose is that of the encouragement and
strengthening of the affiicted people of God as they undergo trial and
persecution. This conclusion is borne out by an inspection of individual
verses (e.g. 2:10; 13:10; 14:12) and thus it becomes a principle which helps
us to interpret the message of the whole book.

Ill. Literary Forms and Styles

We turn now to pass under review specimen exempla of the chief literary
forms which are found in the New Testament. Obviously some choice will
have to be made in this selection; and what governs that choice is the need
to single out such material as requires some comment if we are to be helped
in the task of exegesis. The literary forms, then, will not be discussed in their
own right as examples drawn from ancient literature but rather as data con-
tributing to a fuller appreciation of Scripture as God's word to man. That

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word was written in the style and manner of a first century writing. Our task
is to throw some light on the literary usages which the New Testament
writers employed as an aid to a clearer exegesis.

1. GENRE

The literature of the New Testament falls into four categories as we

classify it according to its literary genre: gospel, acts, epistle and
apocalypse.
(a) The literary type of "acts" need not detain us for the purposes of our
discussion. The term nea~eu; is known to have been applied to some
biographical works in antiquity but the author of the writing ad Theophilum
does not use the word. He uses A.oyo~ for his first volume (Acts 1:1) and he
calls the work of predecessors in that field by the title of "stories", bt7Jy~aet.
The canonical title of "The Acts of the Apostles" was added later to the se-
cond volume in the Lucan corpus and it seems "if anything an effort to
describe the contents rather than the form". 20 The later apocryphal Acts get
their name from the Lucan model, and in both instances there does not seem
to be any adherence to a stereotyped literary form in the choice of this title.
(b) The term "gospel" is restricted in the New Testament to the activity
and substance of the early Christian preaching. "To preach the gospel"
(Mk.1:14; 1 Cor.1:17;Gal.1:1l)isacommonexpression. TheNewTesta-
ment invariably connects "gospel" (i.e. the announcement of good news)
with verbs of speaking and responding, and never with verbs of writing and
reading. Even where the meaning is slightly ambiguous (2 Cor. 8: 18, AV)
there is no indication that the early Christians thought of the gospel as a
written composition. "Evangelist" in this period meant a herald, a
proclaimer of good news, and not a scribe busy with his reed-pen.
One of the earliest designations of the gospel records was "memoirs"
(Justin Martyr), but this term did not remain in vogue. Instead, the
Christians of the second and third centuries coined the title "Gospels" for
these books. 21
The reason for this is important, and provides a vital key to a reading of
the "gospels" today. No Christian "biographer" thought that he was pre-
serving by his literary records the memory of Jesus, which might otherwise
lapse and be forgotten. To imagine this is to overlook the Christian belief in
the risen Lord whose living presence was assured to the church in every
generation. It is true that Christians may well have desired a permanent ac-
count of Jesus' earthly life, words and activity, especially since his first
followers were being removed from the scene by death with the passing of
the first generation. But it still remains a factor of considerable importance
in our understanding of p&imitive Christianity that the church's thought and
life were not oriented to the past as though the believers were harking back
to some lost "golden age" when Jesus was here among men. His living
presence was vouchsafed by the Spirit and was made a present reality as
often as they acted upon his promise (Mt. 18:20; 28:19, 20) and broke

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bread "in remembrance of" him (1 Cor. 11:24f.).

So the first account of Jesus' ministry (the outline of it may be seen in
skeletal form in Acts 10:37-41) boldly carried as its title: Beginning of the
gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God (Mark 1: 1). Consistently thereafter
through Mark's account the term "gospel" refers to the content of the
proclaimed message which was designed to tell the story of God's saving ac-
tion in Jesus and of the human response to it. In this way the "gospels"
received their name because they gave the substance of the "gospel",
declared in Romans 1:16 to be God's power to salvation for all who believe.
· This, we may submit, is the first principle of gospel interpretation. We
place a high value on these four books because they contain the essence of
the saving events which formed the bedrock of the apostolic gospel. They
are kerygmatic (i.e. announcing the good news and calling for a decision in
regard to it) in nature and evangelical in design (i.e. intended to lead to faith
in Jesus Christ, according to Jn. 20:31). They are historical in the way in
which they root the life-story of Jesus in the world of first century Judaism
and the times of Graeco-Roman civilization, but it is history with a distinct
bias.
The history of Jesus is reported from a particular and individualistic
perspective in order to show the kerygmatic side of that history. That means
that the separate sections (the pericopae) and the gospels seen as whole
books were intended to direct their readers' faith to a living person, once
localized in Galilee and Jerusalem but now set free from all earthly limita-
tion, and exalted as Lord of heaven and earth as the one in whom alone
salvation is to be found. We might describe this history as salvation-history
or perhaps better as "interpreted history", that is, history angled in such a
way as to bring out the present significance of Jesus as the living Lord,
accessible to all who call upon him, and as the exemplar of faith who trod a
road of victory through suffering which his followers in every age are bidden
to take. This last mentioned feature of the gospel story suggests to A. N.
Wilder that the truest genre of the Christian gospels is re-enacted history
centred on a faith-story in which Christ is recalled as a pattern of meaning
or orientation for the believer. 22 The element of "mimesis" or re-enactment
implies that history is recalled not as a record of the past valuable for its
own sake but in order to contemporize Christ who comes out of the past to
greet his people in the present.
(c) The major part of the New Testament corpus as regards size falls into
the category of "epistle". 23 , As early Christianity spread across the
Mediterranean basin and churches were formed in different localities it
became necessary for lines of communication to be extended between the
various centres. In this way the role played by epistolary correspondence
assumed an importance spoken of by Polycarp in his description of Paul's
contact with the Philippians:
During his residence with you he gave the men of those days clear and sound in-
struction in the word of truth, while he was there in person among you; and even
after his departure he still sent letters which, if you will study them attentively,

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will enable you to make progress in the faith which was delivered to you (To the
Philippians 3 :2).
The fact of apostolic instruction by letter has produced a type of writing
for which there are no ancient parallels. "The letter of Christian instruction
was in fact almost as distinctive a Christian contribution to literary types as
the written gospel." 24
While this statement may be true in the strict sense of letters composed
for a didactic purpose, the format and style of Paul's letters follow conven-
tional patterns known to us from methods of letter-writing in the hellenistic
world. There were four parties involved: the author, the secretary, the
messenger, and the recipient. Three questions are important as they impinge
upon the exegetical task of understanding the New Testament epistles.
First, the two types of correspondence described by Deissmann need to
be borne in mind. He distinguished between an epistle, which is a conscious
literary effort intended for publication, and a letter, which is private in
character, written for a specific occasion and of ephemeral duration. If we
accept this distinction, it seems that the New Testament pieces of cor-
respondence without exception fall into the former category. Many signs in
the epistles point in this direction. (a) Paul and Peter compose in a carefully
thought-out style, the evidence for which we shall see later. John's first epis-
tle contains recurring patterns of thought which have bewildered the com-
mentators but the overall impression is that John is pursuing certain lines of
pastoral counsel with deliberate intention. (b) Apostolic authority runs
through the major epistles of Paul showing that he was conscious of his
teaching office as "apostle to the Gentiles". This is true even in those parts
of Pauline correspondence which are usually regarded as his "tender"
pastoral letters (Philippians: see 1:1; 2:12; 3:17) and private com-
munications (the note to Philemon is addressed to the church in his house,
verse 2, and speaks of Paul as an ambassador, verse 9}. (c) Paul intends that
his letters will be read out in assemblies of Christian worship (I Thes. 5 :27)
and will circulate among other Christian groups as they are sent on from the
addressees (Col. 4:16). (d) He has in his mind's eye a picture of the church
assembled for public worship as he writes (I Cor. 5:lff.; Col. 2:5) and in
greeting one part of the church in his epistle he takes into account also the
wider company of the church in every place ( 1 Cor. 1:2). This vision of an
"ecumenical" church (as in 1 Pet. 1:1, 5:9; Jas. 1:1) enforces the belief that
these epistles are all "catholic" inasmuch as their scope reaches out to em-
brace the Christian brotherhood in the world. Perhaps the only exceptions
to this rule are 2 and 3 John, which seem to be individual.
Secondly, Paul and Peter both make reference to a scribe (Rom. 16:22; 1
Pet. 5:12); and this has raised the question of how much liberty these men
were allowed in the actual composing of the epistles. 0. Roller's thesis has
been mentioned. According to this, letter-writing in the ancient world was
left to professionals who took down in shorthand the substance of the
author's thought and later, at their leisure since transcribing was a laborious
business, wrote up the letter. Then the completed letter was presented to the

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author for final approval and signature. In this way Roller reconstructed the
manner in which some of Paul's epistles came into being. But he also main-
tains that there is evidence for Paul's activity in writing the whole letter, as
in Colossians 4:18 where no scribe is mentioned. But this is offset by other
pieces of evidence, notably in the places where he seems to be adding his
final words (Gal. 6:11), appending his autograph (Col. 4:18), or supplying a
signature as a proof of authenticity (2 Thes. 3: 17). It has been claimed that
the mark of his revising hand is apparent in (e.g.) 2 Cor. 8:23f. with its
. broken syntax and in a sentence which has no main verb.
The "secretary hypothesis" has been invoked to account for the excellent
literary style of 1 Peter as well as the unusual features of word usage and
style in the Pastoral epistles. 25 Certainly 1 Peter 5:12 gives more
information than do the Pauline letters about the status of the scribe, though
it is premature for some scholars to conclude on the strength of this that
"the vocabulary and style are not decisive criteria for settling its authen-
ticity" since the secretary ex hypothesi took part in the composition of an
epistle. 26 W. G. Kiimmel has entered some important caveats regarding this
theory, namely that frequent breaks and interruptions in the flow of the
epistles (e.g. Phil. 3:1f.) show that these are due to pauses in dictation and
that the scribe is writing the letter directly from Paul's lips. Also he appeals
to a consistency of language throughout the Pauline homologoumena,
which suggests that even with scribal assistance it is the real Paul whose per-
sonality and teaching comes through the various pieces of his
correspondence. 27 On the other hand, Roller objects that Paul's style is
"mixed" and runs into that of his amanuensis. 28
Thirdly, there is a matter which offers more tangible help in the task of
Pauline exegesis. This is the apostle's custom of using a form of epistolary
thanksgiving in the opening section of his epistles. The investigation of P.
Schubere9 called attention to the use by Paul of the formula, "I thank God
for ... " or "I thank God upon ..." The two points which this discussion es-
tablished were (a) that as a consistent rule Paul uses the construction of the
verb and the preposition br:t with the dative case as a way of introducing the
cause for which thanks are offered; and (b) that, in the epistles, the
thanksgiving period introduces "the vital theme of the letter" or "the
epistolary situation". This discussion throws considerable light on the ex-
egesis of Philippians 1:3 and makes very probable the interpretation that
Paul is thanking God for all the remembrance the Philippians have had of
him, i.e. by their support of his ministry and sending of gifts to him. See
Moffatt's translation. This view, if accepted, disposes of the objection often
brought against the unity of the Philippian letter that Paul would not have
waited until chapter 4 to say "Thank you" for the gift brought by
Epaphroditus. On this reading of the text, his opening word is one of
acknowledgement and it introduces the "epistolary situation" of the letter.
J. T. Sanders has pursued this line of enquiry and maintains that the
epistolary thanksgivings are borrowed from the liturgical prayers of the
community after the model of the Qumran community's Hymns. 30 This
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 NEW TESTAMENT INTERPRETATION

hodaya formula expressing thankfulness to God reflects Paul's conscious

sense of oneness with the worshipping body of Christ, 31 and both in his use
of hodaya (I thank God) and beracha (Blessed be (God)) he is drawing upon
the liturgical vocabulary of the churches which in turn was modelled on
Jewish prayer forms (I Mace. 4:30-33; Genesis Apocryphon col. 20, lines
12fT.) and later set the pattern for early Christian liturgies (e.g. Polycarp,
Mart. 14; Didache, 9, 10; Acts of Thomas; I Clement 59-61; Apostolic
Constitutions 7). 32 The upshot of this investigation is to demonstrate that
Paul's prayer-speech and his requests for the communities were not as spon-
taneous and ad hoc as is sometimes thought, but that he was consciously
following Jewish patterns as a framework into which he fitted his exposition
of the Christian gospel. And all this served a didactic purpose in that he in-
tended to teach the congregation by means of the liturgical formularies
which were the common property of the churches. The importance of this
conclusion will be apparent when we come to consider Paul's use of Chris-
tian hymns in his epistles.
(d) The fourth literary genre is apocalyptic. The presence of this type of
Jewish material is found in the synoptic apocalypses (Mark 13; Matthew
24; Luke 21), 2 Thessalonians 2 and the book of Revelation. It is a necessity
for an understanding of these passages that the Old Testament and in-
tertestamental background should be appreciated (e.g. Is. 24-27; Zc. 9-14;
Joel 2, 3 and especially the section of Dan. 7-12 in the canonical Old
Testament; and such specimens of "apocalyptic" literature as Enoch,
Baruch, 4 Ezra and the Assumption of Moses which came out of the period
of the two centuries before Jesus and possibly span his lifetime). 33
The similarities of the New Testament apocalypses to the Jewish counter-
parts are important to notice, even if there are important differences. In the
area of likeness, there are the obvious features that both examples of this
genre of literature share a common religious purpose, namely (a) to
strengthen the faith of God's people under trial and in anticipation of the
decisive intervention of God which will be the denouement of history and
the ushering in of the rule of God over all the world; and (b) to express this
message of consolation and hope against a background of dualism 34 in
which, according to the time-scheme of the two ages, this age is one of
wickedness and persecution for the saints of God and the age to come is one
of triumph and vindication. There is, then, a double vision in apocalyptic
writing. Through the historical circumstances of the clash of earthly
powers 35 the reader is meant to see the nature of the real engagement
between God and evil in the universe. 36
Because the seer's vision includes both the earthly and the heavenly
worlds the language he uses is circumscribed, since he can only describe
events ostensibly set in the heavenly region in a language appropriate to the
earthly scene (e.g. what does Rev. 12:7 mean, if literally applied to the upper
world?). This is the problem of communication which the apocalyptist
solves by his recourse to the language of symbolism, the use of imagery, the
employment of mythological forms and anthropomorphisms. The book of

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Revelation is replete with examples of all these accommodations (e.g. sym-

bolic values attached to numbers in the descriptions of 7:4; 11:3; 12:6 and
20:3; the imagery of colour in eh. 4 and eh. 17; mythological ideas of the
dragon and the serpent in 12:7, which are interpreted for the reader in 20:2;
and pictures of the celestial Christ dressed in human form 1: 13-16;
19: 11-16). Unless we recognize the dramatic quality of this writing and
recall the way in which language is being used as a vehicle to express
religious truth, we shall grievously err in our understanding of the
Apocalypse, and mistakenly try to interpret its visions as though it were a
book of literal prose and concerned to describe events of empirical and
datable history. To attempt the latter course is to run into all manner of
problems of interpretation. More seriously it leads to a distortion of the es-
sential meaning of apocalyptic and so misses the great value of this part of
the New Testament as a dramatic assertion in mythopoetic language of the
sovereignty of God in Christ and the paradox of his rule which blends might
and love (see 5:5, 6: the Lion is the Lamb).

2. HYMNIC AND POETIC FORMS

One distinct advantage of reading the Old Testament in a modern version

is that one is able to see at a glance which parts of the text are cast in poetic
and hymnic style. The canonical Psalms are the obvious illustration, but by
no means are poetry and hymnody restricted to these psalms. Judges 5 is
possibly the earliest example of poetry in the Hebrew Bible, and the song of
Miriam (Ex. 15) is set in quasi-hymnic form.
(a) The reader of the New Testament needs the same guidance to show
him at a moment's glance what are the poetic portions of the literature. The
more apparent examples come in Luke 1, 2 which preserve some early can-
ticles doubtless treasured in the Jewish Christian community, and possibly
forming part of their liturgical worship. These are the Magni.ficat (Lk.
1:45-55), the Benedictus (Lk. 1:68-79), and the Nunc Dimittis (Lk.
2:29-32). All the Latin titles are drawn from the opening words of the
poetic pieces. Examples of Hebrew poetic forms 37 are to be seen in these
canticles. Synonymous parallelism appears in Luke 1:46, 4 7:
My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.
And to recognize this usage is to avoid the mistake of trying to distinguish
anthropologically between "soul" and "spirit" in this text. The two terms are
used synonymously.
(i) Antithetical parallelism shines through a later verse of the Magnificat
(1 :52). There is a good example of this feature in Luke 2:14. In the angelic
jubilation known as the Gloria in Excelsis the two lines are set in direct con-
trast, corresponding to the two spheres of acknowledgement:
To God in the highest, glory!
Peace to his people on earth!
Two additional comments may be made on this snatch of Advent celebra-

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tion. It contains a specimen of chiasmus; the lines cross in their agreements

and so form a diagram represented by the Greek letter chi ( x ). So the
phrase "in the highest (heaven)" matches the corresponding antithesis of
"on earth" but it is set at a different place on the lines, so forming a cross.
There are several other places in the New Testament where chiasmus has
been suspected,38 from the isolated cases in the gospels (e.g. Matt. 7:6 39 ) to
the elaborate attempt to construct Colossians 1:15-20 in chiastic form. 40
The other element in Luke 2:14 which comes to light when we have
regard to its literary formulation is the sense of Greek lv avlJewnot~ etl~mela~
which is decided by this construction. Apart from the textual difficulty, it
cannot now be doubted that the meaning is "Peace on earth to men to
whom God shows his mercy", and not "to men who have goodwill" or "all
those pleasing him" (The Living Bible). The emphasis must lie on God's ac-
tivity which unites the two spheres of heaven and earth and so "reconciles"
them - a theme which runs through the hymnic confessions of Colossians
1: 15-20 and 1 Timothy 3:16 where the chiastic device is pressed into the
service of a profound theological interpretation of the restoring work of the
cosmic Redeemer.
Antithetical parallelism produces one notable type of sentence which has
been closely studied in recent research. This is the form known as
"Sentences of Holy Law" 41 and these are all variations of the legal principle
of lex talionis. The basic form is seen in 1 Corinthians 3:17:
If anyone destroys the temple of God,
God will destroy him.
This is both antithesis, and chiasmus, and expresses in memorable style the
apocalyptic judgment formula: destruction to the destroyer. It is the applica-
tion of this "law" which accounts for the summary verdict pronounced on
Ananias and Sapphira (Acts S: 1-11). From this initial premise Kasemann
launches into a full discussion of the role of charismatic prophets and
apostolic authority in the New Testament church and throws some light on
the eschatological dimension which is presupposed in many prescriptive
standards (e.g. in the Gospels, Mark 8:38; in Paul, 1 Cor. 14:37; in the
Apocalypse, Rev. 22:18f.).
(ii) The Hebrew custom of setting two lines side by side, or two stichos in
the same line, is called by the Latin term parallelismus membrorum; and
there are several examples of this feature in Paul and Peter. The device plays
a significant theological role, when the early Christians developed the
christological scheme of setting side by side the two stages of Christ's "ex-
istence". He was described as Man by his incarnation; and as exalted Lord
by his enthronement to God's presence. The formula for this is given as xara
aaexalxara nvevp,a. Examples are seen in Romans 1:3fT:
Born of the family of David on his human side,
Appointed Son of God from the resurrection of the dead
by the power of holy spirit
and, at greater length, in 1 Timothy 3: 16 and 1 Peter 3: 18-22. The verse 1
Peter 1:20 is an example of a parallelismus membrorum, which utilizes the

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themes of pre-existence/incarnation, and employs the good classical form of

contrast p.ev. .. lie . .. ):
Foreknown before the world's foundation,
Revealed at the end of time for your sake.
One or two fragments of credal formulation apply the same form to a state-
ment of soteriology, as in 1 Corinthians 15 :3bff.:
Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures;
Christ was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures
or Romans 4:25:
Who was handed over on account of our trespasses,
But raised in proof of our justification.
(iii) This last mentioned verse also incorporates an Old Testament feature
of considerable exegetical value. It is the "divine passive". 42 There are
excellent grounds for believing that this mode of expression, i.e. using the
passive voice of a verb to denote the hidden action of God as the agent
responsible for the activity, was characteristic of Jesus' way of speaking. A
feature which began as a reverential way of avoiding the use of the sacred
name of God was picked up in the apocalyptic literature and used as a con-
cealed way of expressing divine secrets; and it became customary, with an
extended usage, on Jesus' lips. He uses it over 100 times (Jeremias, p. 11)
and some of the best examples are Matthew 5:4: "Blessed are those who
mourn, for God will comfort them", or Luke 12:7: "All the hairs of your
head are numbered (by God)." These are fairly obvious illustrations, once
we grasp the principle involved. A less clear case, but with equal theological
weight, is in Mark 1:14: "Now after John had been handed over (by God to
his fate), Jesus came ..." 43 where Mark's intention is to suggest a deliberate
parallel between John's fate and the destiny of the Son of man who will at
last be delivered by God into the hands of sinners (Mk. 9:31, 14:41). In a
similar vein we should understand Romans 4:25 and 1 Corinthians 11 :23:
"The Lord Jesus on the night when he was handed over (to his fateful
destiny by God) ... " 44
(iv) Snatches of hymnody based on the Old Testament model are seen in
the Apocalypse of John. Scattered through the series of visions are songs of
the heavenly world (Rev. 4:11; 11:17, 18; 14:7; 15:3, 4). While these lines
are placed on the lips of the heavenly worshippers, it is likely that in their
form they betray the influence of the synagogues of the Greek-speaking
world of the Dispersion. 45 The most illustrious example of these instances,
however, is the ejaculation which became embedded in the Christian liturgy
of the later church. From the opening words of Revelation 4:8 it is known as
the Ter Sanctus -the Thrice Holy:
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,
Who was and is and is to come. 46
(b) Poetic and hymnic forms were more consciously adopted and made
the vehicle of theological expression in the era when the church moved out
into the hellenistic world. Three prime examples of this style of writing are
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 NEW TESTAMENT INTERPRETATION

seen in the Pauline corpus. In each case there are good grounds for thinking
that Paul is quoting from some independent source and using a piece of
Christian liturgy (in some cases suitably edited by him) to enforce a point of
teaching.

(i) 1 Timothy 3: 16
The chief literary feature here is the use of antithesis to express two stages of
Christ's existence. These are denoted, as we have seen, by the terms:
flesh/spirit (cf. 2 Cor. 5:16 for the formula).
Since the pioneering work of E. Norden, 47 other literary forms have been
detected in this short, creed-like statement. The authority for these forms is
the rhetorian Quintilian in his Institutio Oratorio. The repetition of the verb
at the beginning of each line and in the same grammatical form produces a
species of rhythm known as parison and homoioptoton (Inst. Or. ix. 3. 76,
78). In the first couplet the verbs have the same syllabic length (5 beats) and
this leads to isocolon (Inst. Or. ix. 3. 80). Moreover, the phrases which close
the lines of the couplet:
ev aarpcl (in the flesh)
l:v :rr:vevpa-rt (in the spirit)
have a similar sound in their ending and this device is known as
homoiote/euton (Inst. Or. ix. 3. 77). These poetic forms make the short verse
one of the most precious instances of a literary piece in the entire New
Testament. 48

(ii) Ephesians 5: 14
This single verse provides another good example of Greek poetic struc-
ture. The text of this baptismal chant divides into three lines (a feature un-
fortunately overlooked by RSV) and there is a swinging trochaic rhythm
which cannot be reproduced exactly in English. The nearest we get to it is
offered in the translation:
Awake, 0 sleeper,
From the grave arise.
The light of Christ upon you shines.
Even that rendering fails to capture the assonance of the final syllables of
lines i and ii:
o "a8ev~wv
l" Twv ve"ewv
which employs the device of homoioptoton. It is interesting that it was
precisely this triplet-form which was used in the initiation chants of the
hellenistic mystery cults (especially the Attis formula 49 ) and in the Hermetic
literature.

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(iii) Philippians 2:6-11

This text yields to the same literary analysis. Since Lohmeyer's study 50
this passage has been recognized as hymnic in form and capable of division
into strophes. Lohmeyer postulated six such stanzas. Later attempts to im-
prove on this arrangement produced a three strophe hymn in which the
device of parallelismus membrorum was utilized and a tacit acceptance was
given to Aristotle's judgment that a perfect literary composition requires "a
beginning, a middle and an end" (Poetics 1450b 26). This is held to corres-
pond to the three states of Christ: pre-existent, incarnate, enthroned. 51 The
permanent contribution of Jeremias is that, in his view, the entire hymn is
built up in couplets, though his analysis suffers from some weaknesses. Yet
another proposal is to discard the notion of a hymn set in stanzas and to see
the passage as structured in the form of a set of antiphonal couplets. 52 When
this is done, the several rhetorical and lyrical features which we observed in
respect of 1 Timothy 3:16 are also seen to be present in this carmen Christi;
and the same is true in regard to Colossians 1:15-20 which has been sub-
jected to scrutiny with a view to discovering items of poetic structure such
as metrical quantity and syllabic length. According to Ch. Masson, there are
patterns of metre in Colossians 1:15-20 which are the result of the regular
sequence of syllables and stresses. If his case could be regarded as plausible,
this hymn to the cosmic Christ would be the nearest approximation in the
New Testament to a Greek poem, with both rhythm and rhyme. But his
case has not convinced many readers. 53

(iv) Some comments on New Testament hymns

It may be thought that the classification of parts of the New Testament
according to the basic patterns of poetic and hymnic form is an interesting
exercise but nothing more. This is not so; and at least three consequences
follow from our conclusion that these passages are set in lyrical form.
First, we are introduced to the worshipping life of the apostolic church
and reminded that the church which meets us in the pages of the New Testa-
ment is a worshipping company of believing men and women. This is clear
from the descriptions in the Acts of the Apostles (1 :42; 2:42, 46; 4:31; 5:12,
42; 13:1-3; 20:7-12) as well as from the statements of Paul in his letters
(notably 1 Cor. 10-14). Since the post-Pentecostal church and the Pauline
mission churches still retained the first flush of enthusiastic experience and
the dynamism of a new-found awareness of God, it is not unexpected that
this new life imparted by faith in the exalted Lord by the Holy Spirit and ex-
pressed in a "conquering newborn joy" would find an outlet and vehicle in
religious song. 54 For the modern reader it is a fact of some importance that
our study of the documents of the early church is not simply a piece of
academic research or an investigation of principles and practice of Christian
belief and behaviour in a clinically detached and "scientific" way. Rather we
are reading the literature of a highly charged religious movement, which was

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conscious of living in days of God's special grace and which reflected that
awareness of the divine presence and power in an uprush of spiritual energy.
The literary deposits of that activity are to be seen in the fragments of
creed-like hymns and confessions which lie just beneath the surface of the
literature and which put us into touch with pulsating life in the apostolic
communities.
Then, we see that much of the hymnic language is poetic and suggestive
of deep spiritual reality rather than prosaic and pedestrian. The early
Christians, giving vent to their deepest emotions as these were stirred by
God's Spirit (as we learn from I Cor. I4:I3fT., 26fT.; Eph. 5:I9 and Col.
3: I6: it has been maintained that glossolalia was a form of rhapsodic
prayer-speech "sung with the spirit"), were seeking to interpret their un-
derstanding of God's salvation in Christ in a way which defied rational and
coherent statement. Hence they had recourse to the language of symbol and
"myth". Examples of the symbolism used in the hymns will come readily to
mind, e.g. the imagery of light and darkness; Christ is likened to the sun
which banished gloom and the shadows; the totality of the universe is
summed up in phrases such as "every knee should bow, in heaven and on
earth and under the earth" (Phil. 2: 10), or "thrones or dominions or prin-
cipalities or authorities" (Col. I: I6). Exegetical questions which are raised
by these sonorous descriptions are more satisfactorily negotiated if we
remember that Paul's language is consciously poetic. Otherwise, we shall be
hard pressed to say exactly what is meant by demonic forces located in sub-
terranean regions or to explain how Christ's death on the cross of Calvary
in Jerusalem at a specific time in history affected the astral deities which
hellenistic man thought of as controlling his fate and destiny. Paul is dealing
with very real problems - specifically the overthrow of evil and the relaxing
of the grip which planetary powers exercised over his readers when they
were still victims of bad religion under the tyranny of "the elemental spirits
of the universe" (Col. 2:8, 20); but he is couching his thought-forms in a
language which his fellow-believers would appreciate and learn from; and in
some cases he is borrowing concepts and terms from his opponents'
vocabulary, and either arguing ad hominem for the sake of his churches or
disinfecting the terms by placing them in his own frame of reference. This is
very noticeable in Colossians I :I5-20. See the references given in footnotes
53 and 58.
This brings us to the vexed question of "myth". Some scholars deny out-
right that the New Testament makes use of myth at all, and there are sub-
stantial grounds for this conviction. ss Myth is set in antithesis to truth, and
the New Testament is shown to be exclusively concerned with the record of
"divine fact with all the weight of historical reality" (Stahlin, loc. cit., p.
786). There is no denying the force of the assertion that if "myth" means
non-historical make-believe or fairy tales or the product of the human inven-
tiveness, there is no evidence that the writers interpreted the gospel in this
way. Quite the opposite, as the Pastoral Epistles (I Tim. I :4, 4:7; 2 Tiro. 4:4)
make clear. But if the term "myth" is differently defined and regarded as a

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language-form needed to express in human terms and with human analogies

the transcendent world of God and angels and spirits, then it seems that we
must have recourse to pictorial and mythopoetic language. The issue is
whether, to avoid confusion, we should use a new term or at least qualify the
word "myth". 56 Within this restricted definition we should recognize that
Paul and John do use the scaffolding of the story of the heavenly Redeemer
who "comes down" from the high God and returns thither after his mission
of redemption (Phil. 2:6-11; Jn. 3:31; 6:62). But it is not the use of the
framework which is important nor the presence of a kinetic imagery to
denote the "movements" of katabasis and anabasis which is vital. Both
writers utilize the first century "stage props" and simply use the "myth" to
their own ends by re-casting it in terms of a human life of the earthly Jesus
whose feet stood firmly on Palestinian soil and who tasted the bitterness of
human misery and endured death before his exaltation to the rank of cosmic
Lord. The "evangelical" content which is fitted into the "mythical"
framework really destroys it. There is thus a "mythoclastic" element in the
New Testament. 57
Thirdly, this discussion brings us to the great contribution to exegesis
offered by a study of these "hymns to Christ". They are set in a polemical
context as part of the apostolic concern to defend the gospel against false
christological notions and to ward off heretical attacks on the infant
churches. Paul in particular makes appeal to the common deposit of Chris-
tian teaching in these hymns with a view to showing how the churches
should remain steadfast; and he enforces his teaching by supplementing the
"received text" of the hymns and modifying it to his own purpose. This is
very probably the case with Colossians 1: 15-20 where Paul has edited an
already existing hymn to bring it into line with his teaching. 58 A simpler case
is seen in Philippians 2:8 where most modern commentators see Paul's hand
in the insertion of Oavcl-rov 8e omveov (even the death of the cross) to
emphasize that Jesus' obedience to death meant a death on a cross and so a
death of atoning value (Gal. 3:13).

3. LITURGICAL EXPRESSIONS

Several words and phrases in the New Testament belong to the actual
liturgical vocabulary of primitive times. They are most easily recognized by
the simple token that in the Greek of the New Testament they have been
allowed to remain in their original Semitic form, sometimes with a Greek in-
terpretative translation to accompany them. The most interesting examples
are Abba, Amen, Hosanna, Hallelujah and Maranatha.
'Abba was Jesus' favourite name for God. While it was the child's title for
his earthly parents (meaning "dear father"), there is no evidence that the
pious Jew, either in private prayer or in the synagogue liturgy, ever used this
precise form for invoking God. 59 Instead he used a variant form such as
'Abi or 'Abinu ("My Father, Our Father"); but 'Abba was avoided because

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it was thought to be too daring and presumptuous for a mortal to call upon
God in this familiar way.
The wonder of this address to God is that Jesus used it as part of his filial
obedience (Mk. I4:32-9) and taught his disciples to use it in their approach
to God (Lk. II :2). Undeniably there is no mistaking in this word the ip-
sissima vox of Jesus; and so much of his characteristic teaching about God
as Father is expressed in this caritative form of the word for father. That it
quickly was seized upon and passed into the worshipping life of the Gentile
churches is seen from Paul's use of the exact word (in Rom. 8:I5; Gal. 4:6)
where he regards the invoking of God as 'Abba as the sign of the Spirit's
presence and the hallmark of the new life in Christ.
'Amen is known from the Old Testament times as a vocal response made
by people as they endorsed the words of the speaker (e.g. Ne. 8:6). The verb
underlying the cry means "to be firm, true" and is connected with the verb
"to believe". It has a place in the synagogue service when the congregation
replies to the precentor's call or the minister's prayers, and it serves to en-
dorse the worship or the prayer as something the people believe and accept.
There are many examples of this usage in the New Testament, usually at the
close of doxologies or ascriptions of praise (e.g. Rom. I :25, 9:25, II :36;
Eph. 3:2I; I Tim. I :I7, 6:I6; Heb. I3:2I; I Pet. 4:II et al.). It belongs too
to the scenario of the heavenly sanctuary and its worship (Rev. 5:I3, I4),
though as we indicated this probably reflects the worship of the Asia Minor
churches and is extrapolated from a liturgy with which John and his readers
were already familiar.
There are two special instances of the use of Amen in Paul's epistles,
which take on a distinct significance. First, in 2 Corinthians I :20fT., the
language is rich in liturgical overtones. Paul is probably alluding to baptism
under the figure of a seal applied by the Spirit. The thought is: As God is
faithful in fulfilling his pledge to give the Spirit to all who trust him, and con-
fess Christ in baptism, and we attest his faithfulness with our Amen, so we
as apostolic messengers can be relied on to keep faith with Christian people
and not to play false.
At I Corinthians I4:16 Paul is describing the scene at a worship
assembly at Corinth and points to the need for intelligibility in the service so
that an outsider who comes into the room and hears the church at prayer
may not be utterly confused but may know when to express his agreement
(by saying "Amen") with the prayer of thanks. It is shown by this incidental
allusion that Amen was in common use among the Pauline churches as the
worshipper's assent to what he heard from the lips of his fellow-believers.
Special interest attaches to Jesus' use of the single or double 'Amen placed
as a preface to his public and private teaching. As with 'Abba, this exact for-
mulation is unique; and by the stringent criterion of eliminating from the
records all that has parallels in Judaism and early Christianity, 60 the logia
which contain this usage manage to survive. In the gospels the prefacing
Amen (now to be taken as adverbial and meaning "certainly") is found only
on Jesus' lips (familiarly in the Johannine "verily, verily") and in all the

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strata of gospel tradition. 61 The fact that it is retained in its Semitic form
before the Greek A.eyw ilp.iv shows that the evangelists attached importance
to it. Its purpose was to draw attention to the vital words of Jesus who in
turn adopted the formula as One standing in the prophetic succession (the
prophets used "Thus says Yahweh" as a claim to an inspired utterance) and
going beyond them in his sublime authority to override the law of Moses
and to utter oracles in his own name as God's unique Son and messenger. 62
Hosanna is a Jewish ejaculation meaning "Save now!" and is addressed
as a petition to God the Saviour (Ps. 118:25). Other references to the
Hebrew expression (ho~i'an na1 are in 2 Samuel 14:4 and 2 Kings 6:26, but
these are non-significant for our purpose since they are cries addressed to
men.
Psalm 118 was used at the Feast of Tabernacles and the Passover, and at
the former celebration branches of trees were carried by the pilgrims and
waved. These branches took their name from the festival and were called
"hosannahs". This looks to be the most natural setting for the incident of
Mark 11:1-10 and par. 63 In view of the evangelist's silence as to what the
cry was intended to mean it is uncertain whether we should take it as an
appeal for God's aid or as a greeting or benediction addressed to Jesus.
However, the word soon found a place in Christian liturgy. In Didache 10:6
there is a strange snatch of liturgical dialogue in the form of a versicle and a
response. To the invitation -
May Grace come, and let this world pass away,
the congregation's reply is:
64
Hosanna to the God of David!
Hallelujah is another Hebrew ascription of praise (meaning "Praise be to
Jab", Israel's covenant God). It is found in the New Testament at Revelation
19:1, 6 as a song of triumph to celebrate the victory of the heavenly host.
Maranatha is a more decisive term, since it has considerable
christological interest. In the context of 1 Corinthians 16:22 it voices the
appeal of the community for the coming and presence of the Lord, and most
likely the Sitz im Leben of the word falls in the dialogue pattern of versicle
and response at the eucharistic service. These are the two conclusions reach-
ed by J. A. T. Robinson following suggestions made by H. Lietzmann and
G. Bornkamm, 65 viz.
(a) that in 1 Corinthians 16:20-24 the language is "not merely of
epistolary convention, but of one worshipping community to another, the
converse of the saints assembled for Eucharist" and (b) that in this pericope
there can be traced the remains of the earliest Christian liturgical sequence
which we possess, and which is pre-Pauline in origin.
These conclusions are now generally accepted; 66 and with this confidence
in a sententia recepta we can proceed to draw out some indications of the
ways in which exegesis is helped.
The meaning of the Aramaic expression Maranatha is a matter of some
debate since a decision about the division of the composite word affects its
sense. 67 Most commentators agree that it should be divided as Marana thil

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 NEW TESTAMENT INTERPRETATION

with the translation, "Our Lord, come" (cf. Rev. 22:20; Didache 10:6: both
contexts require an imperative) and this settles the nature of the expression
as a petition for the Lord's coming. In the light of the eucharistic setting of
the passage in I Corinthians 16 the cry seems to be one of invitation that the
risen Christ will come to meet his people at his table and be present with
them as they celebrate in his name. 68 But an eschatological "coming" is not
excluded (cf. I Cor. II :26), and probably is the dominant theme of the cry.""
The christological meaning of Maran (our Lord) is also a controverted
issue. The title cannot refer to God the Father (as was suggested years ago
by some German scholars 70 ), nor can it be placed in any other original
setting than the Aramaic-speaking Palestinian church (against Bousset who
wanted to locate it in a bilingual region of the hellenistic communities of An-
tioch, Damascus or even Tarsus). 71 It is now accepted that, on linguistic and
ideological grounds, this watchword is embedded in Palestinian Christianity
and represents a species of early christological belief. 72
But even with this admission it still becomes a question of debate whether
the term means that the early Jewish Christians offered cultic veneration of
Jesus (as Cullmann insists) 73 or whether this is no more than an expression
of hope that he will return as Lord-Son of man (so Fuller). 74 It is hard to
accept the attenuated significance given in the latter view, and when Fuller
writes that "even in the later Hellenistic church the exalted Jesus was never
the direct object of worship", the significance of such texts as Acts 7 :56-60;
Romans 9:5 and Pliny's report of Christian worship as carmenque Christo
quasi Deo dicere has been overlooked.
Marana tha stands as a monument to Christian belief in Jesus' present
lordship and the hope of the parousia. It places him on the side of God in a
unique way by appropriating a title which properly belongs to God and
shows that, from its inception, the Christian church has felt no incongruity
in confessing one God (I Cor. 8:6) and in the same breath in hailing Jesus as
Deus praesens, God-with-us.

4. FIGURES OF SPEECH AND LITERARY DEVICES

In this section we shall include a variety of literary forms which the reader
of the New Testament is likely to encounter and which need some brief com-
ment.

(a) Wisdom Sayings and Parables

We have already mentioned that much of the gospel speech-forms is
derived from Old Testament precedents, and this is only to be expected since
both Jesus and his hearers stood in that tradition. Jesus himself was regard-
ed as "teacher" and "prophet", and more than one aspect of his recorded
teaching is modelled on the wisdom literature of the Jewish people.
The most elemental "form" in this background is the masa/, a word which
contains several shades of meaning. It stands for an aphorism used to ex-
press succinctly some proverbial wisdom, a legal axiom, a philosophy of liv-

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 APPROACHES TO NEW TESTAMENT EXEGESIS

ing or a rule for conduct. The teaching of Jesus offers examples of all these:

Matthew 6:34: Do not allow tomorrow's troubles to affect you today.

Mark 8:38: Whoever disowns me will be disowned.
Luke 12:48: All who have great privileges have great responsibilities.
Mark 2:27: The sabbath day is for man's benefit not the other way
round.

Sometimes the ma~al takes on the form of another Old Testament

nuance, namely a riddle. Examples from the great sermon are: Matthew
5:13 (How can you season salt once it has lost its tang?); 6:27 (Can you in-
crease your height by worrying over it?); 7:16 (Can you pick figs off a this-
tle bush?). These are conundrums drawn from experience. Some of the
m'salim, however, are given to awaken interest at a deeper level and to set
the enquirer or the audience thinking about God and his kingdom and the
meaning of life. These are the "dark sayings" which needed Jesus' inter-
pretation (Mk. 4:11, 34); and often the disciples were utterly bewildered
(Mk. 8: 17; 9:6, 11; 10:10, 24; and the upper room sayings in John's gospel).
J. Jeremias points out that this type of saying was original with Jesus and
could not have been invented by the church which was interested in ex-
planations, not riddles. 75
When the masal is extended into a larger story or comparison drawn
from a life-situation, it forms a parable. The rabbis told parables and il-
lumined their teaching with analogies drawn from everyday life. 76 But the
parables of Jesus are in a class by themselves for many reasons: 77 (a) they
are not fables which make animals their main characters, nor do trees or
bushes speak (as in Jdg. 9:8-15; 2 Ki. 14:9; Ezk. 17:3-8, 31 :3-14); (b) little
use is made of extensive allegory (as in Enoch 85-90 where the history of
Israel is told in great detail by means of speaking animals: cf. the use of
animals and reptiles in Do. and Rev.). Mark 12:1-11 is the closest the
parables of Jesus get to the allegorical form; (c) the chief part of Jesus'
parables is not the tale as such so much as the "punch-line" which usually
comes at the climax of the story (cf. 2 Sa. 12: 1-7 which ends on the note of
a rapier thrust, You are the man!); and (d) Jesus used parables not to amuse
or to gain a hearing but to proclaim the kingdom as a present reality. In that
sense his words were performative of the grace of God which his message of
the kingdom brought with it (see Luke 15 especially). Where this message
was refused, his words took on judgmental force and were "weapons of war-
fare" (Jeremias78 ) attacking Pharisaic pride (Lk. 18:9) as well as announcing
the presence of the kingdom. Above all (e) Jesus' parables were calculated to
make the hearers feel that they were involved in the action of the story. The
parable brings home to the listener the "existential" dimension of Jesus'
teaching and confronts him here and now with a situation from which he
cannot escape but which forces him to take sides. See Mark 4:24, 25.

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(b) Gematria
A device that is likely to cause some trouble to the present-day interpreter
is known as gematria. Since neither Hebrew nor Greek had separate
characters for numerals, the letters of the alphabet were used by being given
a numerical value. When the letters were added together a sum total was
reached; and by reversing this procedure and using the aggregate number as
a cipher it was possible to convey a message in a cryptic way. The most ob-
vious case is Revelation 13: 18 where after the lurid description of the beast
which came out of the earth to embark on a persecuting rampage against
the saints the seer remarks to the reader: "Here is the key; and anyone who
has intelligence can work out the number of the beast. The number
represents a man's name, and the numerical value of its letters is six hundred
and sixty-six" (NEB). The commentaries should be consulted for a full dis-
cussion of this text. Solutions begin with the simplest idea that 666 falls
short of the "perfect" number of 777 just as the numerical addition of the
letters for the name "Jesus" in Greek is 888. The message then is that Jesus'
name is supreme, while the name of "Man" (generically considered) means a
persistent falling short. 79 A popular view sees here a concealed allusion to
Nero Caesar who is referred to in the image of the beast with a mortal
wound (13:3, 15). If this name is written in Hebrew characters and the
vowel letter (yodh) omitted, the sum of the letters is 666; if the Latin form of
the name is examined, it yields 616; this is a variant reading of the text of
13: 18. But this seems to be a complicated method of arriving at a solution,
however much it may be conceded that the myth of Nero redivivus as an
epitome of the church's enemy appears to underlie the Apocalypse's
message to the Asian churches. There is an even more intricate solution
offered by E. Stauffer who takes the five names by which the emperor
Domitian was known, and uses the first letters of those titles in Greek. In
this way the total of 666 is produced. 80 This idea has the merit of setting the
Apocalypse in the reign of Domitian where the early fathers placed it and
where it finds its most natural background. But there are difficulties. It is ob-
vious therefore that this verse has not yet yielded its secret.
The other instance of gematria is easier to see. In Matthew's birth list (eh.
1) the account of Jesus' ancestry has been set into the framework of selec-
tive periodization with groups of fourteen names built around king David.
This is artificially contrived, as we can see from a counting of the names;
and it leads to the suspicion that the evangelist is deliberately using the name
David with its numerical value of fourteen (Hebrew characters daleth-waw-
da/eth add up to 14) to set the pattern for this roll-call ( 1: 17) 81 and so to
prove that Jesus is "great David's greater Son".

(c) Greek Rhetorical Forms

Greek rhetorical forms, in addition to those we mentioned earlier, are
further represented by some passages in which Paul is the speaker. 82

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 APPROACHES TO NEW TESTAMENT EXEGESIS

They include Acts 17:22ff. (Paul's address on Areopagus) where the

speech falls into clearly defined sections corresponding to the rhetorician's
model of exordium (verse 22), narratio (verse 23), divisio (verses 24fT.) and
conclusio (verses 29fT.); and Romans 2, 3 which contain several direct
questions as though Paul were addressing a hostile audience. This is the
device of diatribe by which a speaker or writer enters into imaginary debate
with an interlocutor, raising points which he would make and objections he
would voice, which are then answered and refuted. 83 There are other brief
examples of this in Paul (1 Cor. 9 and 15:35, 36) and the influence of this
Cynic-Stoic method of argumentation has been traced in J ames, especially
2:2f. 84
Paul's versatility as a writer is seen in the epistle to the Romans. He can
move with agility from the employment of a hellenistic debating style such
as diatribe to a careful piece of exegesis based on the Old Testament. His
exegesis follows the rabbinic principle of g'zerah sawah and such
illustrations as the "light and the heavy". These are two principles of ex-
egesis which Hillel included in his list of seven (the middoth).
The principle of "analogy" (Heb. g'zerah sawah, lit. "similar decision")
states that when the same word or phrase is found in two passages of the
Old Testament, one can be used to illumine the other. This is Paul's key to
the Christian use of Genesis 15:6 adopted in Romans 4. 85
The principle of a minori ad maius (which is what the Hebrew, translated
literally "light and the heavy," means) is also seen in Romans (at 5:15;
8:32).
Perhaps these final exempla are themselves a parable, for they remind us
that Paul's exegetical methods are as varied and suggestive as the often un-
expected turns in his thought; and such versatility will put us on our guard
against reading Scripture without regard to its literary style and cultural set-
ting, and encourage us to bring as lively a mind to the interpretation of
Scripture as was employed, on its human side, in composing it.

NOTES

I. Denzinger and Schonmetzer, Enchiridion Symbolorum (1963) 1637, quoted by R. E.

Brown, The Jerome Biblical Commentary (London 1968) 71:87.
2. Cf. R. M. Enroth, E. E. Ericson, Jr., C. B. Peters, The Jesus People. Old-Time Religion
in the Age of Aquarius (Exeter/Grand Rapids, 1972), p. 167.
3. For an elaboration of this statement, see G. E. Ladd, The New Testament and Criticism
(London/Grand Rapids, 1967), eh. I.
4. I owe this example to Dr. J. P. Kane.
5. J. Barr, Old and New in Interpretation (London 1966), pp. 192-96: "One of the
theological functions of biblical interpretation is that it must expand our conceptions of what
is relevant and introduce new perceptions. Any attempt to judge relevance at the beginning of
our study must only perpetuate the value systems we previously accepted. Where this is so,
the relevance conception works like tradition in the negative sense" (p. 193).

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 NEW TESTAMENT INTERPRETATION

6. For the place of Dilthey, see later, pp. 313-315. See too the discussion in R. Kieffer,
Essais de methodo/ogie ni!o-testamentaire (Lund 1972), pp. 46-50, who distinguishes
between the text's "sens" and its "signification" and insists rightly that the two must be kept
separate: "Nothing can be more disastrous for investigation of the 'sens' (explanation) of our
text than to announce vigorously certain propositions which spring from an interpretation
required by the 'signification' (understanding) of that text" (p. 50). For a comment on the
New Testament problems seen in this light we may refer toW. Marxsen, Introduction to the
New Testament (Oxford 1968), p. 27 and more fully in his The New Testament as the
Church's Book (Philadelphia 1972).
7. See a critique of Fuchs and Ebeling in P. J. Achtemeier, Theology Today 23 (1966), pp.
101-19.
8. For a discussion of this definition of sensus plenior see R. E. Brown, The Sensus Plenior
of Sacred Scripture, Baltimore 1955), especially pp. 92f. supplemented by the same writer's
articles in CBQ 25 (1963), pp. 262-85 and ETL 43 (1967), pp. 460-69.
9. Y. M.-J. Congar, Tradition and Traditions (E.T. London 1967), especially pp. 63f. This
view of regarding tradition as having an interpretative function in bringing out truth from the
Scripture in a complementary way has been justly criticized by R. P. C. Hanson, Tradition in
the Early Church (London 1962), pp. 239-45. Cf. EQ 40 (1968), pp. 79fT.
10. Congar cites the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Papal Primacy and Infallibility, the
Assumption of Mary as dogmas which the Magisterium has decreed "either come from, or
are based on, Scripture" (op. cit., p. 64 n. 2).
11. See G. W. H. Lampe and K. J. Woollcombe, Essays on Typology (London 1957); and
the several contributions to Essays on Old Testament Interpretation ed. C. Westermann
(London 1963).
12. For this term, see 0. Cullmann, Salvation in History (London 1967).
13. For many of these questions we may refer to the study of G. A. Deissmann, Light from
the Ancient East (New York 1927), 0. Roller, Das Formular der paulinischen Briefe
(Stuttgart 1933), and B. Rigaux, The Letters of St. Paul (Chicago E.T. 1968). For a discus-
sion of Roller, see C. F. D. Moule, BJRL 47 (1964-5), p. 449.
14. See the chapters in the present volume, written by J. W. Drane and E. E. Ellis, on the
backgrounds of the New Testament writers.
15. To take a well-known illustration. Methods of shepherding in Eastern lands differ from
what are customary in rural districts in the Western countries. The meaning of John 10 is
greatly enhanced by a reading of George Adam Smith's description of "the grandeur of the
shepherd's character" (The Historical Geography of the Holy Land (London 1966 ed.), p.
210.
16. For the meaning of redaction criticism, which is concerned to investigate the Gospel
writers' theological interest, see S. S. Smalley's essay in the present volume.
17. See the distinction drawn by J. Jeremias, New Testament Theology, (London 1971), Vol.
I, eh. I.
18. For this view of Matthew's stress on the validity of the law and the call to a higher
righteousness see G. Barth, "Matthew's Understanding of the Law" in Tradition and Inter-
pretation in Matthew by G. Bornkamm, G. Barth and H. J. Held (London 1963), pp. 159fT.
19. SeeR. S. Barbour, Traditio-Historical Criticism of the Gospels (London 1972), p. 19.
See also J. I. Packer, "Biblical Authority, Hermeneutics and lnerrancy" in Jerusalem and
Athens: Critical Discussions on the Philosophy and Apologetics ofCornelius van Tit, ed. E.
R. Geehan (Philadelphia 1971), pp. 146fT.
20. H. J. Cadbury, The Making of Luke-Acts (London 1958 ed.), pp. 135fT. (p. 136).
21. The reasons for the development of this term are mentioned in my book Mark:
Evangelist and Theologian (Exeter 1972), eh. I.
22. A. N. Wilder, Early Christian Rhetoric (London 1964), pp. 36f.
23. See now W. G. Doty, Letters in Primitive Christianity (Philadelphia 1973).
24. E. J. Goodspeed, The Formation of the New Testament (Chicago 1926), p. 25.
25. See J. N. D. Kelly, The Pastoral Epistles (London 1963), pp. 25fT., who argues that the
linguistic and literary features of these letters may be accounted for on the supposition that
Paul employed a new secretary at this juncture in his life, "a Hellenistic Jewish Christian, a

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 APPROACHES TO NEW TESTAMENT EXEGESIS

man skilled in rabbinical lore and at the same time a master of the higher koini!''.
26. So A. Wikenhauser, New Testament Introduction (Dublin 1958), p. 348.
21. W. G. Kummel, Introduction to the New Testament (London 1966), pp. 178.
28. 0. Roller, Das Formular der paulinischen Briefe, p. 148.
29. P. Schubert, Form and Function of the Pauline Thanksgivings (Berlin 1939), pp. 71-82.
30. J. T. Sanders, "The Transition from Opening Epistolary Thanksgiving to Body in the
Letters of the Pauline Corpus", JBL 81 (1962) pp. 348fT. See the forthcoming study ofP. T.
O'Brien on "Pauline Thanksgivings". See too H. Boers, NTS 22 (1975-76), pp. 140--158.
31. This conclusion has been demonstrated by L. G. Champion, Benedictions and Dox-
ologies in the Epistles of Paul (Oxford 1934).
32. These are the chief data discussed by J. M. Robinson in "Die Hodajot-Formel in Gebet
und Hymn us des Fruhchristentums", Apophoreta: Festschriftfiir E. Haenchen (Berlin 1964),
pp. 194-235.
33. See for details D. S. Russell, The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic (London
1964).
34. Dualism is taken to be the characteristic of apocalyptic by C. E. Braaten, Christ and
Counter-Christ (Philadelphia 1972).
35. In the case of the synoptic apocalypses, it is the series of events prior to and including the
outbreak of the first Jewish war with Rome, A.D. 66-73; in the Revelation it is the conflict
between the church in Asia Minor and the emperor cult in the time of Domitian, A.D. 90--96.
36. For this understanding of a double vision, see Karl Heim, Die Konigsherrschaft Gottes
(Stuttgart 1948), pp. 55f. (as quoted by C. E. B. Cranfield, "Mark 13", SJT 6 (1953), p. 300):
"But all this (i.e. the destruction of Jerusalem and the events connected with it) is for Him
only a Transparent standing in the foreground, through which He beholds the last events
before the End of the world, in which all this will at last come to its real fulfilment." See too
the use of Heim made in Daniel Lamont, Christ and the World of Thought (Edinburgh
1934), especially eh. 16: Ethic and Apocalyptic.
37. For these forms see the discussion by K. Koch, The Growth of the Biblical Tradition
(New York 1969), pp. 91-100, and T. R. Henn, The Bible as Literature (London 1970), pp.
128fT.
38. See the full study by N. W. Lund, Chiasmus in the New Testament (Chapel Hill 1942).
This work needs to be supplemented by the more recent investigations, e.g. of E. Schweizer in
TDNT 6, pp. 416f. There is a critique of aspects ofLund's book in J. Jeremias, "Chiasmus in
den Paulusbriefen" ZNW 49 (1958), pp. 145-56.
39. For the Semitic backgrounp of this logion see M. Black, An Aramaic Approach to the
Gospels and Acts (Oxford 1967 ), pp. 200--2. Cf. G. Schwarz, "Matthaus vii 6a. Emendation
und Ruckubersetzung", Nov.T 14.1 (1972), pp. 18-25.
40. E. Bammel, "Versuch zu Col. I :15-20", ZNW 52 (1961), pp. 88-95. The clearest exam-
ple is in verses 16c and 20:
a rd ndvra b xal hlaVToV
b IJt' athOv xai a ni tuivra
But there is objection to the systematic way Bammel applies this method, voiced by H.-J.
Gabathuler, Jesus Christus. Haupt der Kirche-Haupt der Welt (Zurich/Stuttgart 1956), pp.
118-21.
41. E. Kiisemann's essay carries this title in his New Testament Questions of Today (London
1969), pp. 66-81. For a discussion seeK. Berger, "Die sog. 'Siitze heiligen Rechts' im N.T.",
Th.Z 28 (1972), pp. 305-330.
42. See J. Jeremias, New Testament Theology, Vol I, pp. 9fT. and W. Popkes, Christus
Traditus; Eine Untersuchung zum Begriff der Dahingabe im Neuen Testament
(Zurich/Stuttgart 1967).
43. See Popkes, op. cit., pp. 144: "Subjekt des Geschehens kann letztlich nur Gott sein ... "
It is wrong to translate: After John had been delivered into ~rison.
44. J. Jeremias, The Eucharistic Words ofJesus (London 1966 ) pp. 112.
45. See A. Hamman, La Priere 1: Le Nouveau Testament (Tournai 1959).
46. See W. D. Maxwell, An Outline of Christian Worship (Oxford 1936), pp. Sf. But see W.
C. van Unnik, "1 Clement and the 'Sanctus' ",VC 5 (1951), pp. 204-48.

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 NEW TESTAMENT INTERPRETATION

47. E. Norden, Agnostos Theos. (Stuttgart 1923), pp. 254fT., 272.

48. J. Schmitt, Jesus ressuscite dans la predication apostolique (Paris 1949), p. 100 speaks
of "un rythme hieratique". For a full study of this hymn see R. H. Gundry, "The Form,
Meaning and Background of the Hymn Quoted in 1 Timothy 3:16", in Apostolic History and
the Gospel, Essays presented to F. F. Bruce (ed. W. W. Gasque and R. P. Martin, Exeter
1970), pp. 203-22.
49. See the data displayed in H. Schlier's commentary, Der Brief an die Epheser (Diisseldorf
1957), p. 241.
50. E. Lohmeyer, Kyrios Jesus (Heidelberg 1926).
51. So J. Jeremias, "Zur Gedankenfiihrung in den paulinschen Briefen", in Studia Paulina in
honorem J. de Zwaan (ed. J. N. Sevenster and W. C. van Unnik, Haarlem 1953), pp. 154.
52. SeeR. P. Martin, Carmen Christi: Philippians ii. 5-11 (Cambridge 1967), pp. 36fT. and
idem, The Epistle to the Philippians (New Century Bible) (London 1976), pp.109-112.
53. Ch. Masson, L 'epitre deS. Paul aux Colossiens (Neuchatel 1950), pp. 105. Cf. C. F. D.
Moule, The Epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon (Cambridge 1957), p. 61:
"Arguments based on rhythm, parallelism, and supposed strophic arrangement are
precarious enough at the best of times, and most of all when there is no recognizable quan-
titative metre by which to judge." See a discussion of the literary background of Colossians
1:15-20 in R. P. Martin, Colossians and Philemon (New Century Bible) (London 1974), pp.
61-66.
54. See A. B. Macdonald, Christian Worship in the Primitive Church (Edinburgh 1934) for
an elaboration of this thesis.
55. G. Stahlin, in TDNT 4, pp. 781fT. See too C. K. Barrett, "Myth and the New
Testament", Exp.T 68 (1956-57), pp. 345-8,359-62. For a consideration of the meaning of
"myth" in the New Testament, see J. D. G. Dunn's contribution to the present volume.
56. T. R. Henn, op. cit., p. 19 borrows the term "mythologem" in place of"myth" from G.
C. Jung and C. Kerenyi, Introduction to a Science of Mythology (New York 1951).
57. To use the expressive word of A. N. Wilder, Early Christian Rhetoric (London 1964), p.
129.
58. For details see my essay in Reconciliation and Hope (Exeter 1974), pp. 104-124.
59. This is a conclusion maintained in the several works of J. Jeremias, most recently in his
New Testament Theology Vol. I, pp. 61-8.
60. See for this criterion u. R. Catchpole's essay in the present volume.
61. See J. Jeremias, op. cit., p. 35. One example may suffice. Luke 4:24: "Amen, I say to you
that no prophet is accepted in his own locality."
62. Therefore the occurrence of eyw lie .l.eyw vpiv in the Sermon on the Mount is highly
significant as Jesus displaces Moses' authority. See E. Kasemann, "The Problem of the
Historical Jesus", Essays on New Testament Themes (London 1964), pp. 37f.
63. Though a case has been made (by F. C. Burkitt, JTS o.s. 17 (1915), pp. 139-52) for the
dating of the Entry into Jerusalem at the Feast of Dedication (based on the incident of 2
Mace. 10:8); and this setting at a time when nationalist feelings were running high has
suggested to J. S. Kennard (JBL 67 (1948), pp. 171-76) that the crowd's cry had definite
political overtones. For the development of the meaning attached to the word, see E. Werner,
"'Hosanna' in the Gospels", JBL 65 (1946), pp. 97-122.
64. For the textual, question here, see J.-P. Audet, La Didache. Instructions des Apot res (Paris
1958), pp. 62-7, Audet supports the reading. "Hosanna to the house of David", and argues
that the liturgical prayers of Did. 9, 10 belong to a special breaking of bread service modelled
on a Jewish precedent (op. cit., pp. 422f.). For the later liturgical usage of Hosanna, see J. A.
Jungmann, Missarum sollemnia ii (Vienna 1949), pp. 161-67 (E.T. The Mass (New York
1951), pp. 379-84).
65. J. A. T. Robinson, "The Earliest Christian Liturgical Sequence?" JTS n.s. 4 (1953), pp.
38-41, reprinted in Twelve New Testament Studies (London, 1962), pp. 154-7. H. Lietz-
mann, Mass and Lord's Supper Fasc. i (Leiden 1953) pp. 186f., 192f. and G. Bornkamm,
"Das Anathema in der urchristlichen Abendmahlsliturgie", TLZ 75 (1950), cols. 228f.,
reprinted in Das Ende des Gesetzes: Paulusstudien (Munich 1961), pp. 123-32.
66. But see C. F. D. Moule, "A Reconsideration of the Context of Maranatha" NTS 6

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 APPROACHES TO NEW TESTAMENT EXEGESIS

(1959-1960), pp. 307-10 who revives E. Peterson's view that maranatha is part of the
anathema-formula which acts as a ban. So in I Corinthians 16:22 the term is not a
eucharistic invocation but a formula to sanction the "fencing of the table" preliminary to the
eucharist.
67. See K. G. Kuhn, TDNT 4, pp. 467-9.
68. So 0. Cullmann, Early Christian Worship (London 1953), pp. 13f.
69. So H. Conzelmann, History of Primitive Christianity (Nashville 1973), p. 51; "The
Supper turns the gaze toward the advent of the Lord; hence he is begged, 'Come!' - i.e.,
'Come soon!'"
70. For example, R. Bultmann, Theology of the New Testament (E.T. London 1952), Vol. I,
p. 52.
71. W. Bousset, Kyrios Christos (E.T. Nashville 1970), p. 129. Bousset's position was
vigorously opposed by A. E. J. Rawlinson, The New Testament Doctrine of the Christ (Lon-
don 1926), pp. 231-7.
72. R. H. Fuller, The Foundations of New Testament Christology (London 1965), pp. 156fT.
73. 0. Cullmann, The Christology of the New Testament (London 1959), p. 214; cf. F. F.
Bruce, "'Jesus is Lord'" in Soli Deo Gloria. New Testament Studies in Honor of William
Childs Robinson (Richmond 1968), pp. 3lf.
74. R. H. Fuller, ibid.; S. Schulz, "Maranatha und Kyrios Jesus", ZNW 53 (1962), p. 138
argues that the maranatha formula did not acclaim Jesus as divine Lord who was present,
but prayed for his coming as Son of man and judge.
75. J. Jeremias, New Testament Theology, Vol. I, p. 31.
76. See R. A. Stewart, "The Parable Form in the Old Testament and the Rabbinic
Literature", EQ 36 (1964), pp. 133-47.
77. See M. D. Goulder, "Characteristics of the Parables in the Several Gospels", JTS n.s. 19
(1968), pp. 51-69.
78. J. Jeremias, The Parables of Jesus (London 1954), p. 19.
79. L. Morris, The Revelation of St. John (London 1969), p. I 74.
80. E. Stau!Ter, "666", Coniectanea Neotestamentica I I (1947), pp. 237 IT.
81. See G. H. Box, "The Gospel Narratives of the Nativity", ZNW 6 (1905), p. 85; and M.
D. Johnson, The Purpose of the Biblical Genealogies (Cambridge 1969), pp. 223fT.
82. Other specimens are discussed by J. Weiss, A History of Primitive Christianity (New
York 1937), pp. 399-421 and J. Nelis, Nouvelle Revue Theologique 10 (1948), pp. 360-87.
See too the examination of rhetorical figures in Galatians by H. D. Betz, NTS 21 (1974-75),
pp. 353-79. Included here may be the few allusions in the New Testament to the world of
Greek literature. In Acts 17:28 Paul's reference to "For we are also his offspring" comes
from his fellow-Cilician Aratus (Phainomena 5), and the earlier part of his statement, "For in
him we live and move and have our being" is apparently drawn from a poem of Epimenides
the Cretan. In Titus I :12 the same Cretan poet is cited in a complete hexameter. Cleanthes'
Hymn to Zeus also contains a reminiscence of the Aratus quotation.
In I Corinthians 15:33 the Athenian comic poet Menander (4th cent., B.C.) is quoted as
the author of the moral tag, Bad friends ruin the noblest people (JB), from his play Thais.
83. See R. Bultmann, Der Stil der paulinischen Predigt und die kynisch-stoische Diatribe
(Tiibingen 1910).
84. Cf. M. Dibelius - H. Greeven, Der Brief des Jakobus (Gottingen 1957), pp. 120-22.
85. See J. Jeremias, "Zur Gedankenfiihrung", Studia Paulina, pp. 149fT., on rabbinic ex-
egesis in Romans 4.

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 NEW TESTAMENT INTERPRETATION

C. H. Dooo, According to the Scriptures (London: Nisbet 1952; Collins

Fontana 1965).
E. E. ELus, Paul's Use of the Old Testament (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd
1957).
R. T. FRANCE, Jesus and the Old Testament (London: Tyndale Press 197 I).
L. GoPPELT, Typos: die typologische Deutung des A/ten Testaments im
Neuen (Giitersloh 1939; rep. Darmstadt: Wissenschaftliche
Buchgesellschaft 1969; E.T. forthcoming from Eerdmans, Grand
Rapids).
R. H. GuNDRY, The Use of the Old Testament in St Matthew's Gospel
(Leiden: Brill 1967).
A. T. HANSON, Jesus Christ in the Old Testament (London: SPCK 1965).
- Studies in Paul's Technique and Theology (London: SPCK 1974).
J. R. HARRIS, Testimonies, 2 vols. (Cambridge University Press 1916,
1920).
L. HARTMAN, Prophecy Interpreted (Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup 1966).
D. M. HAY, Glory at the Right Hand: Psalm 110 in Early Christianity
(Nashville: Abingdon Press 1973).
T. HOLTZ, Untersuchungen uber die alttestamentlichen Zitate bei Lukas
(Berlin: Akademie-Verlag 1968).
R. N. LONGENECKER, Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period (Grand
Rapids: Eerdmans 1974).
0. MICHEL, Paulus und Seine Bibel (Giitersloh 1929; rep. Darmstadt:
Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft 1972).
M. REsE,Alttestamentliche Motive in der Christologie des Lukas Giitersloh:
Mohn 1969).
H. M. SHIRES, Finding the Old Testament in the New (Philadelphia:
Westminster Press 1974).
K. STENDAHL, The School of St Matthew (Lund: C. W. K. Gleerup 1954;
Philadelphia: Fortress Press 1968).
A. SuHL, Die Funktion der alttestamentliche Zitate und Anspielungen im
Markusevange/ium (Giitersloh: Mohn 1965).
G. VERMES, Scripture and Tradition in Judaism (Leiden: Brill 1961, 1973 2).

CHAPTER XIII

APPROACHES TO NT EXEGESIS

J. BARR, Old and New in Interpretation (London: SCM Press 1966).

R. E. BROWN, "Hermeneutics" in The Jerome Bible Commentary (London:
G. Chapman 1968) (section 71).
380
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

The Sensus Plenior of Sacred Scripture (Baltimore: St Mary's Univer-

sity, 1955)
W. G. DoTY, Contemporary New Testament Interpretation (Englewood
Cliffs, NJ :Prentice Halll972).
J. ERNST, Schriftauslegung (Miinchen: F. Schoningh 1972).
K. FRoR, Biblische Hermeneutik (Miinchen: Chr. Kaiser 1961).
T. R. HENN, The Bible as Literature (London: Lutterworth 1970).
J. JEREMIAS, New Testament Theology I: The Proclamation of Jesus
(London: SC M Press 19 71 ).
- The Parables of Jesus (London: SCM Press rev. edn 1963).
- Rediscovering the Parables (London: SCM Press 1966).
K. KocH, The Growth of the Biblical Tradition (New York: Scribners
1969).
G. E. LADD, The New Testament and Criticism (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans
1967).
E. LINNEMANN, Parables ofJesus (London: SPCK 1966).
A. B. MICKELSEN, Interpreting the Bible (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans 1963).
B. RIGAUX, The Letters of St Paul (Chicago: Franciscan Herald Press
1968). A survey of modern discussion.
J. ScHREINER, Einfuhrung in die Methoden der biblischen Exegese (Tyrolia:
Echter 1971).
J. D. SMART, The Interpretation of Scripture (London: SCM Press 1961).
K. STENDAHL, "Biblical Theology, Contemporary" in The Interpreter's
Dictionary of the Bible (Nashville: Abingdon Press 1962) (vol. 4, pp.
418-432).
N. TuRNER, Grammatical Insights into the New Testament (Edinburgh: T.
and T. Clark 1965). Based on the Greek NT, but with transliterated
characters.
R. A. WARD, Hidden Meaning in the New Testament (London: Marshal!,
Morgan and Scott 1969). Helpful exposition of key Greek terms, in
English characters.
U. WILCKENS, Was heisst Auslegung der Heiligen Schrift? (Regensburg: F.
Pustet 1966).
A.N. WILDER, Early Christian Rhetoric (London: SCM Press 1964).
American title: The Language of the Gospel (New York: Harper and
Row 1964).
H. ZIMMERMANN, Neutestamentliche Methodenlehre (Stuttgart: Verlag
Katholisches Bibelwerk 1974 4 ).

Best read: Doty (or Ladd).

381