In our context, to interpret means to explain and elucidate the meaning of a text; to construe the significance of a text. The word derives from the Latin interpres, a negotiator, that is, one who is able to find the resolution (or truth?) of a matter. This is of fundamental importance in understanding the Bible. If one takes the historical-grammatical approach—literalism in other words—as do the Dispensationalists, (or so they claim) one will never fully understand the Bible. This is why we need both the witness of the Ekklesia, which is the historical Church, and more importantly the illumination of the Holy Spirit in order to fully comprehend the true and intended meaning of Scripture. This is not to deny that most of Scripture is plain and clear—of course it is. It is rather simply to acknowledge the same truth as that mentioned by Peter, “There are some things in them [Paul’s letters, i.e. NT scripture] that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures” (2 Peter 3:16, italics added. See also Heb. 5:11). Nor is this to deny Sola Scriptura. We are not adding to or changing God’s Word by interpreting His meaning, otherwise the Holy Spirit would be a liar!
In this specific regard I believe that tradition, both Jewish and Christian, has much to teach us. And according to this tradition, there are actually four “levels” of Biblical interpretation. According to the post-apostolic church fathers as well as the Rabbis of Judaism, there are four potential levels of meaning for any given passage. The four levels are:
Simple (literal, plain, ordinary, obvious) At this level, the Bible uses words in the ordinary, everyday sense. We read for example in 2 Kings 6:1, “Now the sons of the prophets said to Elisha, ‘See, the place where we dwell under your charge is too small for us.’” In other words their quarters were too cramped. A huge portion of Scripture is this simple and straightforward. And no passage of Scripture loses the basic, simple meaning. If we eliminate this level, we are then interpreting Scripture according to our own biases and assumptions. The plain and simple meaning provides the context of the passage. Without context, our interpretation is cast adrift and we will often end up creating our own meaning instead of discovering the underlying revelation. This is the level known by Biblical scholars as the grammatical-historical. It is important to recognize that the grammatical-historical method of interpretation recognizes different kinds of language including the figurative, the symbolic and the allegorical. This level does not mean the commonly understood notion of literalness.
Hinted (oblique, secondary, implied) The next level includes more meaning, but often the meaning is not obvious. Nevertheless, the meaning of a hinted passage is based firmly on the simple and is empirical and experiential. We see this throughout Proverbs, as in 20:10, “Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD.” The simple meaning is a straightforward declaration for merchants to be honest in their economic activities because God hates dishonesty. But the hinted meaning implies that in all our dealings in life, we should be fair and honest, not just in economic transactions.
Comparative or conceptual (allegorical, symbolic, abstract)
The dictum “Scripture interprets Scripture” becomes important at this level. Here, one passage of Scripture is compared with one or more others in order to obtain clarification or elucidation of meaning or to see how the original meaning has been expanded or augmented. It now also becomes important to remember that one cannot justify a novel interpretation at this level by ignoring the meaning and context of the simple level. The simple level is never irrelevant; it is always applicable as the beginning of the interpretive process. To understand the Bible, one begins at the simple level, always. The conceptual or comparative level is the allegorical level. Allegory is defined as a statement of abstract ideas or principles through the use of representational language. It is symbolic in that one or more things including people, objects, places, actions, and events represents or stands in for another. A prime example of this is found in Exo. 12:5ff where the lamb takes the place of God’s people (v. 13). Another (related) example is the re-enactment of the Passover Seder in the rite of the Lord’s Table, (Mark 14:22-24, Matt. 26:26-28 and pars.) where the bread and wine are symbols of Christ’s body and blood. In fact, these instances are good examples in that not only is each symbolically self-contained, that is, the symbolism embedded within the passage explains the deeper significance of that particular passage but as well the first passage helps to explain why the second is so important. The second passage from the NT is a kind of unfolding of the first. In theological terms, the OT passage is a “type” of which the second is the “antitype” or fulfillment. It is a case of scripture interpreting scripture. However, this level is also dangerous because it is so tempting to fallen human nature to “invent” meaning in a passage that simply does not apply. We want the Bible to teach what we think it should. Beware!
The dictum “Scripture interprets Scripture” becomes important at this level. Here, one passage of Scripture is compared with one or more others in order to obtain clarification or elucidation of meaning or to see how the original meaning has been expanded or augmented. It now also becomes important to remember that one cannot justify a novel interpretation at this level by ignoring the meaning and context of the simple level. The simple level is never irrelevant; it is always applicable as the beginning of the interpretive process. To understand the Bible, one begins at the simple level, always. The conceptual or comparative level is the allegorical level. Allegory is defined as a statement of abstract ideas or principles through the use of representational language. It is symbolic in that one or more things including people, objects, places, actions, and events represents or stands in for another. A prime example of this is found in Exo. 12:5ff where the lamb takes the place of God’s people (v. 13). Another (related) example is the re-enactment of the Passover Seder in the rite of the Lord’s Table, (Mark 14:22-24, Matt. 26:26-28 and pars.) where the bread and wine are symbols of Christ’s body and blood. In fact, these instances are good examples in that not only is each symbolically self-contained, that is, the symbolism embedded within the passage explains the deeper significance of that particular passage but as well the first passage helps to explain why the second is so important. The second passage from the NT is a kind of unfolding of the first. In theological terms, the OT passage is a “type” of which the second is the “antitype” or fulfillment. It is a case of scripture interpreting scripture. However, this level is also dangerous because it is so tempting to fallen human nature to “invent” meaning in a passage that simply does not apply. We want the Bible to teach what we think it should. Beware!
The Mystical or Spiritual level
In our examples from Mark and Matthew, the physical elements described really existed. At the Passover Seder—that He would fulfill in the celebration of Lord’s Supper or Communion—Christ broke real bread and poured real wine, the simple level. However, these actions (and their elements), because tied ritualistically with the Jewish Passover, were also suggesting a deeper significance, the hinted or implied level. But the bread was also symbolic of His body and the wine of His blood, hence the conceptual, comparative, allegorical, or symbolic level. More than this, the broken bread of His body and poured wine of His blood were pointing to Christ’s atoning death in order to fulfill Scripture, thereby reconciling His elect (i.e. the true remnant spoken of by Jeremiah in 31:7 and 50:20). This is the mystical level. At this level, our minds and hearts are illuminated by God’s Holy Spirit—the Ruach ha’ Kodesh or Ruach Elohim—and are enabled to gain a glimpse of God’s ultimate plan of redemption embedded within His sovereign (and consequently hidden) will. Without the fourth and ultimate level of interpretation, revealed by the ministry of the Holy Spirit (who guides us into all—that is, ultimate—truth), we will be like those chained to a wall in Plato’s famous cave who are able to see only passing shadows of things as they move across the opposite wall, and not the things in themselves (The Republic).
While interpretation at the simple and hinted levels is available to any reasonably intelligent person willing to make the effort to investigate and understand, such is often not the case at the symbolic or allegorical level. And at the Spiritual or Mystical level, we are entirely dependent on the work of the Holy Spirit to illumine us with the reality of which all others are but passing shadows (John 3:8). But again, this level of interpretation will in no way do violence to the previous levels. It is not a case of one level being true—or truer—than any other is. All levels are true in their context, one building upon the other. If the Spiritual or Mystical level is true, it is axiomatic that the Simple and Hinted levels are also true, else God would be doing violence to and causing confusion by His own Word—an impossibility!
SOLI DEO GLORIA
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