Bible Study Guide
STUDY GUIDE: MODULE 1
Fee and Stuart.
1. Know: Hermeneutics is the art and science, or as some would say the theory and practice, of interpretation.
2. What do they say is the aim of a good interpretation? What is not the aim? The aim of good interpretation is not uniqueness; one is not trying to discover what no one else has ever seen before.
3. According to Fee and Stuart, what is the antidote to bad interpretation? Is not no interpretation but good interpretation, based on commonsense guidlelines.
4. They define “The Bible” in part as… The Bible is not a series of… propositions and imperatives; it is not simply a collection of “sayings from chairman God,” as though he looked down on us from heaven and said: “hey you down there, learn these truths. Number 1, there is no God but One, and I am he. Number 2, I am the Creator of all things, including humankind” – and so on, all the way through proposition number 7,777 and imperative number 7777.
5. Know the kinds of “communication” mentioned that God uses to convey his Word. Narrative history, genealogies, chronicles, laws of all kinds, poetry of all kinds, proverbs, prophetic oracles, riddles, drama, biographical sketches, parables, letters, sermons, and apocalypses.
6. “To interpret properly the “then and there” of the biblical texts, you must…” not only know some general rules that apply to all the words of the Bible, but you also need to learn the special rules that apply to each of these literary forms (genres).
7. Know and be able to discuss the two types of ‘context’ mentioned in the reading. Why are these items important?
Historical Context: Differs from book to book and has to do with several things: the time and culture of the author and his readers, that is the geographical, topographical, and political factors that are relevant to the authors setting; and the occasion of the book, letter, psalm, prophetic oracle, or other genre. Another important question
Fee and Stuart.
1. Know: Hermeneutics is the art and science, or as some would say the theory and practice, of interpretation.
2. What do they say is the aim of a good interpretation? What is not the aim? The aim of good interpretation is not uniqueness; one is not trying to discover what no one else has ever seen before.
3. According to Fee and Stuart, what is the antidote to bad interpretation? Is not no interpretation but good interpretation, based on commonsense guidlelines.
4. They define “The Bible” in part as… The Bible is not a series of… propositions and imperatives; it is not simply a collection of “sayings from chairman God,” as though he looked down on us from heaven and said: “hey you down there, learn these truths. Number 1, there is no God but One, and I am he. Number 2, I am the Creator of all things, including humankind” – and so on, all the way through proposition number 7,777 and imperative number 7777.
5. Know the kinds of “communication” mentioned that God uses to convey his Word. Narrative history, genealogies, chronicles, laws of all kinds, poetry of all kinds, proverbs, prophetic oracles, riddles, drama, biographical sketches, parables, letters, sermons, and apocalypses.
6. “To interpret properly the “then and there” of the biblical texts, you must…” not only know some general rules that apply to all the words of the Bible, but you also need to learn the special rules that apply to each of these literary forms (genres).
7. Know and be able to discuss the two types of ‘context’ mentioned in the reading. Why are these items important?
Historical Context: Differs from book to book and has to do with several things: the time and culture of the author and his readers, that is the geographical, topographical, and political factors that are relevant to the authors setting; and the occasion of the book, letter, psalm, prophetic oracle, or other genre. Another important question