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Exegesis and Spirituality 175 this tension results in a longing for the (perceived) simplicity, the harmony of the early church within which the Bible was read, by allegorical means, as directly nourishing a relationship with God. For a range of reasons, Bible and faith were (experienced to be) at one; exegesis and spirituality, a duet in harmony. Could it be that critical Bible reading has cost us our faith? Has contextual exegesis (for all scholarly methods reflect either implicitly or purposively the context of their origins and uses) come to mean the end of spirituality? Can we read the Bible and at the same time find ourselves being read by the Bible; that is, can a literary encounter lead to an existential/spiritual encounter? 14 Put in more explicit terms of faith: 15 can we still hear a word from God from the Word of God? 16 Gabler (1787) between dogmatic and historical theology; perhaps Protestant exegetes are more inclined to be influenced by the presuppositions of modernism because of a less developed sense of explicit spiritual identity?—cf. Zimmerling, Evangelische Spiritualität, 15–21; Nae, “Presentation.” Different presuppositions thus inform the theological matrix of the exegetes concerned. The way in which the Sola Scriptura concept has come to be interpreted in post- Reformation Protestantism may well add to the difficulties exegetes from this tradition (in which I also find myself) experience; cf. C. J. S. Lombaard, “The Old Testament between Diachrony and Synchrony: Two Reasons for Favouring the Former,” Journal for Semitics/Tyskrif vir Semitistiek 15, no. 1 (2006): 22– 23, drawing on F. E. Deist, Witnesses to the Old Testament (The Literature of the Old Testament, vol. 5; Pretoria: NG Kerkboekhandel, 1988), 1–7, 199, and H. W. Rossouw, Klaarheid en Interpretasie. Enkele Probleemhistoriese Gesigspunte in verband met die Leer van die Duidelikheid van die Heilige Skrif (D.Th. proefskrif, Vrije Universiteit; Amsterdam: Drukkerij en uitgeverij Jacob van Campen N.V., 1963). 14 Cf. K. Stendahl, “The Bible as a Classic and the Bible as Holy Scripture,” in Beyond Form Criticism. Essays in Old Testament Literary Criticism (ed. P. R. House; Winona Lake: Eisenbrauns, 1992), 39–46. 15 Cf. C. J. Wethmar, Dogma en Verstaanshorison: ‘n Histories-Sistematiese Ondersoek in verband met die Hermeneutiese Funksie van die Kerklike Dogma met Besondere Verwysing na die Teologie van Gerhard Ebeling (Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1977), 159–200; M. Schneiders, “Biblical Foundations of Spirituality,”
176 The Old Testament and Christian Spirituality 2. A Simple Life? Naturally, we should guard against oversimplification. Clearly, the reading of the Bible in the early church was no simple act of faith. Both the church controversies and the exegetical turns the interpreters had to make in order to find a useful meaning in the text (the unfolding development of the fourfold sense of Scripture, for instance) indicate that a romanticised view of the unity of exegesis and spirituality would fit those contexts poorly. Equally, as I have argued elsewhere, 17 a simple change in exegetical methods in our times would neither bring clarity of theological understanding nor unity of research findings. 18 As with the princes of Pss 118:9 and 146:3, our trust should not be placed in method. 19 in Scripture as the Soul of Theology (ed. E. J. Mahoney; Collegeville, Minn.: Liturgical Press, 2000), 4–12. 16 It seems ever more clearly that the topic of revelation-interpretation (see Schneiders, “Biblical Foundations of Spirituality,” 9–22) or revelationinspiration (see F. L. Canale, Back to Revelation-Inspiration: Searching for the Cognitive Foundation of Christian Theology in a Postmodern World [Lanham, Md.: University Press of America, 2001]; Nae, “Presentation”) is being placed on the agenda of Bible scholars. 17 See Lombaard, “The Old Testament between Diachrony and Synchrony,” 18– 31. 18 I have argued my preference for the historical methodologies as the most suitable among the exegetical approaches, because these fit the historical nature of the Christian faith best; see C. J. S. Lombaard, “What Is Biblical Spirituality?—Perspectives from a Minor Genre of Old Testament Scholarship,” in Seeing the Seeker. Explorations in the Discipline of Spirituality (ed. H. Blommestijn et al.; Festschrift for Kees Waaijman; Studies in Spirituality Supplement 19; Louvain, Belgium: Peeters, 2008), 139–53; C. J. S. Lombaard, “The Old Testament between Diachrony and Synchrony: Two Reasons for Favouring the Former,” in The Pentateuch between Synchrony and Diachrony (ed. J. H. le Roux and E. Otto; New York: T&T Clark, 2007), 61–70. For examples of the latter approach, cf. e.g. C. J. S. Lombaard, “Genealogies and Spiritualities in Genesis 4:17–22, 4:25–26, 5:1–32,” in The Spirit That Moves. Orientation and Issues in Spirituality (ed. P. G. R. de
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Table of Contents Betwixt Text and
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viii Introduction various coloniali
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The Old Testament in Christian Spir
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Undervaluation of the Old Testament
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A Central Theme to “Scriptural Sp
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11 A Central Theme to “Scriptural
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Four Recent Books on Spirituality a
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Spirituality of the Psalms 55 • F
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Spirituality of the Psalms 57 in th
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Spirituality of the Psalms 59 emplo
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Spirituality of the Psalms 61 This
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Spirituality of the Psalms 63 uncon
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Spirituality of the Psalms 65 a rep
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Spirituality of the Psalms 67 the f
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Spirituality of the Psalms 69 celeb
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Spirituality of the Psalms 71 Psalm
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Spirituality of the Psalms 73 into
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7. Conclusion Spirituality of the P
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Spirituality of the Psalms 77 varie
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Spirituality of the Psalms 79 Cragh
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Spirituality of the Psalms 81 —
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Genealogies and Spiritualities in G
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3.3 Genesis 5:1-32 (P) Genealogies
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