Biblical Hermeneutics

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PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL HERMENETICS ; M. M. NINAN While the wisdom books, particularly Ecclesiastes, note that punishment may follow from poor choices, the laws of goodness and rightness are God's and should be followed because they are ordained good by God. Wisdom is represented as the result of human reflection, and thus as the guide in all the affairs of life but predetermination of good remains God's prerogative (in Wisd. of Sol. and in parts of Prov. and Ecclus., but not in Eccles.). The wisdom texts emphasize human powers as bestowed directly by God; it is identified with the fear of God (Job 28:28; Prov. 1:7; Eccles. 15:I ff.), an extension of which is obedience to the Jewish law (Ecclus. 24:23). There are instances in the book of Proverbs where Wisdom is personified as a female. Female imagery begins the book of Proverbs in Chapters 1-9 and also ends the book in chapter 31. “The Lord by wisdom (Hokhmah) founded the earth; by understanding (tevunah) He established the heavens. By His knowledge (be-da’ato) the depths are broken up” (Prov. 3:19—20). “Depths” refers to the sea. “Wisdom” is the fear of the Lord; as you read, “Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom (hokhmah); and to depart from evil is understanding (binah) (Job 28:28). “Knowledge” (da’at) means one who recognizes his Creator (ha-makkir el bore'o); as you see in the verse, “Because there is no...knowledge (da’at) of God in the land” (Hos. 4:1), and as it says, “that he understands and knows (ve-yado’a) Me (Jer. 9:23).12 In Proverbs 9:1-6 she is depicted as a figure with a home inviting those in need of wisdom to enter. She says "Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Lay aside immaturity, and live, and walk in the way of insight." In Proverbs 8:15-21, she not only identifies herself as the divine companion, but also as the source of order in society and success in life. Some have interpreted Wisdom as a companion to the divine, an abstraction, an extension to the divine, or a Goddess. Further information about the nature of Wisdom is found in Proverbs 8:22-30. In these verses "wisdom speaks of herself as having been created before anything else and as Yahweh's companion and even assistant at the creation of the ordered world." It has also been argued that personifying Wisdom as a woman adds a mythical nature to proverbs. This would line up with the ancient Near Eastern view that every male deity had a female counterpart. • Poetry: Psalms, Song of Solomon, Lamentation These are the prose and rhyme books such as Psalms, Song of Solomon, and Lamentations. Poetry is found mostly in the Old Testament and is similar to modern poetry. Since it was written in Hebrew, it does not translate into English very well as Poetry. The Hebrew Poetry is also based on parallelisms, rhythm, or various types of sound mixings, as is our music. A significant amount of Israel's literature is poetic in form. The book of Lamentations is a set of five poetic laments over the destruction of Jerusalem. A high percentage of the Latter Prophets is poetry. Even narrative literature occasionally contains poetic inclusions, such as the Blessing of Jacob (Genesis 49), the Song of the Sea (Exodus 15), and David's dirge on the death of Saul and Jonathan (2 Samuel 1). Hebrew poetry is based on a tempo of stanzas and phrases re-told differently called “synonymous parallelism”, conveying the same ideas and meaning in contrasting or similar ways. Some called “synthetic parallelism,” also have 65
PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL HERMENETICS ; M. M. NINAN extra ideas and words inserted. “Antithetic parallelism” is mostly contrasting stanzas, and is very predominant in Proverbs. Some Bible books are all poetry (Psalms, Song of Songs, and Lamentations), and some books only have a few verses such as in Luke. • Prophecy: Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi • Apocalyptic: Daniel, Revelation • Gospel: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and possibly Acts • Epistle (letter): Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, Jude The principles of hermeneutics differ widely between these various genre of literary forms. 66
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PRINCIPLES OF BIBLICAL HERMENETICS
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Prof. Madathilparampil Mammen Ninan
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Life, Legacy and the Theology of Dr
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Biblical Hermeneutics

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