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Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Formula for Biblical Exegesis

So I was reading a book today that is unrelated to Biblical exegesis and a formula for Biblical exegesis popped into my head.  Here it is:

CONTENT + CONTEXT = INTENT

I don't know if I made this up or if perhaps I read it somewhere and forgot about it.  But allow me to explain it.

Step 1 in exegesis:  Establish the text.  Review the earliest manuscripts.  Make sure you've got a decent translation if you're using a translation.  Make sure you understand the ancient grammar.

Step 2 in exegesis:  Examine the context.  Now, I'm sure if you read academic books about exegesis that they'll explain this differently.  But here's my approach:  examine the context of the pericope, examine the intratextual context (e.g. if you're studying Acts 15 then study the context of the entire book of Acts), intertextual context (i.e. the entire Bible), and then study the historical context.

Step 3 in exegesis:  Using the data collected from steps 1 and 2, hypothesize as to the author's intent.

I hope this will help someone who was looking a simplified exegetical strategy.

Shalom,

Peter

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