Historical-Cultural Background

Question

Define the phrase “historical-cultural background.” What is the significance of this material in interpreting the Bible properly? Describe the process of “contextualization.” How would you explain contextualization to a new believer that wanted to learn more about the historical-cultural background of the Bible? Why is the “historical-cultural background” important? What are some steps useful in retrieving the “historical-cultural background” of Scripture?

Response

The meaning of the phrase “historical-cultural background” is inherent in the phrase itself, the historical background and the cultural background surrounding the text under examination. More specifically, Scott Duvall and Daniel Hays suggest the definition of historical-cultural background “relates to just about anything outside the text that will help you understand the text itself.”[1] The significance of the historical-cultural background is threefold. First, William Klein, Craig Blomberg, and Robert Hubbard explain that the historical-cultural background provides the perspective of the original author and audience.[2] Perspective is critical for interpretation because meaning does not live apart from the environment and circumstances of the communicators. Second, the historical-cultural background provides insight in to the mindset of the original communicators, which may describe both the attitude and inclinations of the participants.[3] Finally, the historical-cultural background assists in contextualizing the text, which utilizes perspective and mindset to look back into the biblical world for the original meaning of the text and simultaneously look forward to how the original meaning may apply to the modern world.[4] If a new believer wanted to learn more about the historical-cultural background of the Bible, then it would be important to explain that not only is it important to understand the meaning of the original text, but that it is also important to understand how to apply or contextualize the text so it may live on in the lives of believers.

The historical-cultural background is important because meaning lives within the original environment of the communicators. Thus, without understanding the historical and cultural background the meaning becomes allusive. Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart state the importance of historical-cultural background more poignantly by stating, “A text cannot mean what it never could have meant to its author or readers.”[5] Joseph Fantin offers three steps in retrieving the historical-cultural background of Scripture in addition to being familiar with the original author, readers, and era: (1) investigate relevant practices and customs relating to the text, (2) research historical matters pertaining to the text, and (3) explore literature that may have influenced the text.[6] More specifically, Duvall and Hays suggest a number of useful tools for historical-cultural background research, which include Bible handbooks, Old and New Testament introductions, surveys and histories, exegetical and background commentaries, Bible atlases and dictionaries, as well as specific study material that pertains to the life and culture of the Ancient Near East and Second Temple Judaism.[7] Modern interpreters  would do well to apply suggested practices into their study of Scripture to determine its proper meaning.

Bibliography

Duvall, J. Scott, and J. Daniel Hays. Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012.

Fantin, Joseph D. Interpreting the New Testament Text: Introduction to the Art and Science of Exegesis. Edited by Darrell L. Bock and Buist M. Fanning. Wheaton: Crossway, 2006.

Fee, Gordon, and Douglas Stuart. How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014.

Klein, William W., Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard. Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004.

References

[1] J. Scott Duvall and J. Daniel Hays, Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2012), 118.

[2] William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard, Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2004), 229.

[3] Ibid., 230.

[4] Ibid., 231.

[5] Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2014), 77.

[6] Joseph D. Fantin, Interpreting the New Testament Text: Introduction to the Art and Science of Exegesis, ed. Darrell L. Bock and Buist M. Fanning (Wheaton: Crossway, 2006), 169.

[7] Duvall and Hays, Grasping God’s Word: A Hands-On Approach to Reading, Interpreting, and Applying the Bible, 124–35.