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JBTM Jeffrey G. Audirsch<br />

47<br />

9. Collectively, these questions build up to the final question: How does the psalm fit<br />

within the shape and shaping of the five books of the Psalter?<br />

These nine principles are general guidelines for interpreting the book Psalms. Depending<br />

on the psalm, not all of the principles will be applicable or needed for interpreting a<br />

text. It is after working through these questions that Brueggemann’s approach becomes<br />

helpful. Bridging the gap between ancient meaning and contemporary society can easily be<br />

connected to his “orientation-disorientation-reorientation” motif.<br />

Guiding Principles for Interpreting Poetry<br />

As interpreters of the Bible, we should seek analysis and explanation of a biblical text<br />

in the intended historical, literary, and cultural contexts. 72 Unfortunately, identifying the<br />

“intended” context(s) can be conjectural, especially when dealing with biblical poetry. In<br />

this section, I outline eight guiding principles for interpreting biblical poetry.<br />

1. Define the text. The text under consideration must be a self-contained, literary<br />

unit. 73<br />

2. Consult a variety of translations. This interpretive principle is grounded in the<br />

notion that an English translation does not always express the vivid and figurative<br />

language of the poetic text in a coherent or appropriate manner. For example, the<br />

syntactically and linguistically difficult text of Isa 28:10 certainly highlights the<br />

need to consult a variety of translations. 74<br />

not loose sight of the way and manner in which the poem continues to instruct. David Firth makes<br />

this observation in his essay entitled “Preaching Praise Poetry,” in Reclaiming the Old Testament for<br />

Christian Preaching, ed. Grenville J. R. Kent et al. (Downers Grove: InterVarsity, 2010), 89.<br />

72<br />

For a similar argument, see Wendland, “The Discourse Analysis of Hebrew Poetry,” 2.<br />

73<br />

Wendland suggests that interpreters should look for “borders” that are easily identifiable and<br />

defendable. Additionally, by isolating a smaller literary unit, the interpreter should always be keenly<br />

aware of how the text relates/fits within the larger literary unit. He continues to state that delineating<br />

a literary unit of poetry is not a difficult task, save in the prophetic books. In this case, readers should<br />

be aware of the oracles and visions in the prophetic works. See Wendland, “The Discourse Analysis<br />

of Hebrew Poetry,” 7. Similarly, Grant R. Osborne argues that interpreters should focus on strophic<br />

patterns (i.e., literary structure between lines and strophes) within biblical poetry. See Grant R.<br />

Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (Downers<br />

Grove: IVP Academic, 2007), 238. For similar arguments, see Rick Byargeon, “Listening to the Lyrics:<br />

Interpreting Old Testament Wisdom Literature and Poetry,” in Biblical Hermeneutics: A Comprehensive<br />

Introduction to Interpreting Scripture, ed. Bruce Corley, Steve Lemke, and Grant Lovejoy (Nashville: B<br />

& H Publishing, 2002), 203; and Köstenberger and Patterson, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, 306.<br />

74<br />

Wendland begins his essay highlighting the difficulty of translation of Isa 28:10; however, he<br />

does not provide a comparison of translations. See Wendland, “The Discourse Analysis of Hebrew<br />

Poetry.”

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