The History of Biblical Interpretation

Consider the history of biblical interpretation and choose 1 time period and 1 person whose method offers the most promise for attaining a clear interpretation of Scripture today. Be sure to identify the person and the method with special focus on how that method aids a modern interpreter in understanding Scripture.

When considering the history of biblical interpretation, it is difficult to ignore the significant impact of the Reformation period, and specifically, the influence of Martin Luther’s method of biblical interpretation, which continues to offer promise for attaining a clear interpretation of Scripture today. Luther provides at least five principles of biblical interpretation that continue to apply: the authority of Scripture, the clarity of Scripture, the Christ-centered focus of Scripture, the literality of Scripture, and the practical impact of Scripture. First, according to William Klein, Craig Blomberg, and Robert Hubbard, Luther maintained that Scripture alone (sola scriptura) had authority, not church tradition or commentary.[1] In Luther’s words, “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Scriptures or by evident reason—for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves—I consider myself conquered by the Scriptures adduced by me, and my conscience is captive to the word of God.”[2] Certainly, the authority of Scripture, as opposed to denominational tradition or reliance on contemporary commentaries, must continue to play an important role to modern interpreters.

The second of Luther’s hermeneutical principles is the clarity of Scripture. Mark Thompson notes that, for Luther, Scripture’s clarity rests upon its context, which conveys a specific meaning based on the original setting.[3] According to Luther, an important method for uncovering the meaning of a text in its original setting was to use the context of the passage by focusing on “what precedes and follows.” [4] Without question, considering the context of a particular passage of Scripture continues to be crucial for proper biblical interpretation. The next principle of Luther’s method of biblical interpretation is the Christ-centered focus of Scripture. In fact, Luther insists that “all Scripture tends toward Him.”[5] Importantly, it does not appear that Luther is suggesting that every phrase written in the Law, Prophets, and Writings has Jesus lurking behind the scenes, but instead, that the totality of Scripture ultimately points toward Christ. Modern day interpreters would do well to heed the principle of a Christ-centered hermeneutic.

The fourth principle of biblical interpretation affirmed by Luther is the literality of Scripture that was in opposition to the medieval interpretive methods. Randall Gleason explains that medieval exegetes interpreted 2 Corinthians 3:6, “For the letter kills, but the spirit gives life,” to mean that the letter is the literal sense of biblical interpretation, and the spirit was the spiritual or illuminative nature of biblical interpretation necessary to properly explain a passage.[6] Accordingly, an allegorical interpretation was actually necessary for a proper hermeneutic. Alternatively, Luther rejected the standard fourfold pattern of allegorical interpretation (Quadriga), and instead, interpreted the “letter” in 2 Corinthians 3:6 as referring to the demands for personal holiness of the law and the “spirit” as the Holy Spirit providing the grace necessary to meet the demands of the law, not as a juxtaposition of interpretive methods.[7] The importance of the literality of Scripture continues to aid a modern biblical interpreter and warns against inappropriately using allegory when interpreting Scripture. The final principle of biblical interpretation Luther provides is the practical impact of Scripture. Thompson notes that in Luther’s lectures on the Psalms in 1519, he famously said, “Not understanding, reading, or speculation, but living, no, dying and being damned, make a theologian.”[8] All modern interpreters would do well to remember that living for Christ and dying to self trump all academic exercise of hermeneutics. Based on Luther’s five principles of interpretation, it appears reasonable that he may offer the most promise for attaining a clear interpretation of Scripture today.

Bibliography

Gleason, Randall C. “’Letter’ and ‘Spirit’ in Luther’s Hermeneutics.” Bibliotheca Sacra 157, no. 628 (October 2000): 468–85.

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

Luther, Martin. Luther’s Works, Vol. 32: Career of the Reformer II. Edited by Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1999.

———. Luther’s Works, Vol. 33: Career of the Reformer III. Edited by Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1999.

———. Luther’s Works, Vol. 35: Word and Sacrament I. Edited by Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann. Philadelphia: Fortress, 1999.

Thompson, Mark D. “Biblical Interpretation in the Works of Martin Luther.” In A History of Biblical Interpretation: The Medieval Through the Reformation Periods, edited by Alan J. Hauser, Duane F. Watson, and Schuyler Kaufman. Vol. 2. Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2009.

References

[1] Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard, Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 47.

[2] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 32: Career of the Reformer II, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1999), 112.

[3] Mark D. Thompson, “Biblical Interpretation in the Works of Martin Luther,” in A History of Biblical Interpretation: The Medieval Through the Reformation Periods, ed. Alan J. Hauser, Duane F. Watson, and Schuyler Kaufman (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans, 2009), 2:302.

[4] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 33: Career of the Reformer III, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1999), 213.

[5] Martin Luther, Luther’s Works, Vol. 35: Word and Sacrament I, ed. Jaroslav Jan Pelikan, Hilton C. Oswald, and Helmut T. Lehmann (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1999), 122.

[6] Randall C. Gleason, “’Letter’ and ‘Spirit’ in Luther’s Hermeneutics,” Bibliotheca Sacra 157, no. 628 (October 2000): 469–70.

[7] Ibid., 477–79.

[8] Thompson, A History of Biblical Interpretation: The Medieval Through the Reformation Periods, 311.