This views the text as a window, a source of information about the author, the addressees and the world in which they lives including but is not limited to the social, ecological, cultural background that gave rise to the text. The world of the author is known to be the world behind the text. There are various ways to determine how the world of the author influences and shapes the message of the Bible. This includes different Biblical Criticism

1. THE THREETHE THREE
WORLDSWORLDS

3. The relationship among the different
Biblical Criticism tools
Historical Criticism
Author, Historical
situations and
theological concerns
Historical Criticism
Author, Historical
situations and
theological concerns
Literary Criticism
Analysis of the text
as it stands
Literary Criticism
Analysis of the text
as it stands Audience Criticism
Contemporary
receiver of the text
and/or process of
reading
Audience Criticism
Contemporary
receiver of the text
and/or process of
reading
Before 18th
ce
It was believed that
Pentateuch is
written by Moses
After that who are
the authors? The 4
traditioons P J D E
Genesis 1-11 are
literature: narratives,
etiology…
Gen. 1:28
Go &
multiply
Subdue/
Dominion

4. I. World Behind The Text
There are various ways to determine how the
world of the author influences and shapes the
message of the Bible. The following are the
different tools of Biblical criticism
1. Historical Criticism
2. Redaction Criticism
3. Textual Criticism
4. Source Criticism

5. 1.Historical Criticism
• Historically and culturally conditioned- Biblical authors
drew both their imagery and their thought patterns from
the milieu in which they lived. The Bible has to be studied
in the spirit in which it had been written.
One does not only rely on Biblical Evidences but also considers
historians, archaeologists and other related sciences which digs the
ancient past
Ancient Historians:
•Josephus – 1ce Historian
•Lucian of Samosata was a 2 ce Greek satirist
•Cornelius Tacitus -56 ce Roman Historian
•Pliny the Younger – 61ce Magistrate of Ancient Rome
•Babylonian Talmud- Jewsih Rabbnical Writings (70-200ce

6. Historical
criticism is the
attempt to verify
the historicity of
and understand
the meaning of
an event that is
reported to have
taken place in
the past
Example:
•The Birth of Jesus in
Bethlehem Judea, under
Caesar Augustus
•The Baptism of Jesus in the
Jordan River by John the
Baptist
•Josephus, 1ce historian
•The census of Lk.2:11-
Inscripted in lapis venetus, giving
evidence of census in Apamea (Syria) by
order of Quirinus, legate in Syria
(LK.2:2)

7. Historical Jesus
• Most scholars agree that Jesus
was a Galilean Jew, born around
the beginning of the first
century, who died between 30
and 36 AD in Judea. The general
scholarly consensus is that Jesus
was a contemporary of John the
Baptist and was crucified by
Roman governor Pontius Pilate,
who held office from 26 to 36
AD. Most scholars hold that
Jesus lived in Galilee and Judea
and did not preach or study
elsewhere.

8. Digging into other materialsDigging into other materials
• See videos: Nile & Archeology
• Gospel Evidence
• Ancient Historians:
Josephus – 1ce Historian
Pliny the Younger -
Cornelius Tacitus -

9. Applying historical method• The gospels offer several clues
concerning the year of Jesus' birth.
Matthew 2:1 associates the birth of Jesus
with the reign of Herod the Great, who
died around 4 BC, and Luke 1:5 mentions
that Herod was on the throne shortly
before the birth of Jesus. Although this
gospel also associates the birth with the
Census of Quirinius which took place ten
years later.

10. • Luke 3:23 states that Jesus was "about thirty
years old" at the start of his ministry, which
according to Acts 10:37–38 was preceded by
John's ministry, itself recorded in Luke 3:1–2
to have begun in the 15th year of Tiberius'
reign (28 or 29 AD). By collating the gospel
accounts with historical data and using
various other methods, most scholars arrive
at a date of birth between 6 and 4 BC for
Jesus, but some propose estimates that lie in
a wider range

11. 2. Redaction Criticism
• It examines the intentions and theologies of
the editors (called redactors) who compiled
the biblical texts out of earlier source
materials. (Four-fold Roles: Selectors, arrangers,shapers,
proclaimers)
The Matthean
community produced
materials within a
Palestinian culture
The Matthean
community produced
materials within a
Palestinian culture
the Lukan
community
within a
Hellenistic
culture
the Lukan
community
within a
Hellenistic
culture
the Markan within
a Roman culture.
the Markan within
a Roman culture.

12. TO WHOM?
implied
audience?
WHY? community
circumstances &
author's purpose?
mostly Gentiles, fairly
new in
their faith, and facing
persecutions
to encourage a
group
undergoing difficult
trials
and persecutions
better educated
Jews who
believe in Jesus,
but argue
over the Law
to teach a community
with
internal divisions and
external enemies
wealthier Gentile
Christians
in an urban setting,
becoming
complacent
to challenge
believers to put
their faith into
practice more
fully
very mixed: mostly
Jews,
some Gentiles,
Samaritans,
etc.
to strengthen a
group
ostracized by other
Jews for
their faith
Mark Matthew Luke John

13. Christ/Messiah
Son of God
Suffering Son of Man
Eschatological Judge
Son of David & Son of Abraham
New Lawgiver
Great Teacher (like Moses)
Emmanuel; King of Jews
a great Prophet
(in word & deed);
Lord (of all nations);
Savior (esp. of the poor)
Eternal Logos
Divine Word made Flesh
Only-begotten Son, sent from Father
Passover Lamb; "I Am” ; "Equal to God
Who is Jesus
for the Evangelists?
Mark
Matthew
Luke
John

14. 2. Redaction Criticism
Pericope Matthew Mark Luke
The
Temptation
4.1-11 1.12-13 4.1-13
better educated
Jews who
believe in Jesus,
but argue over
the Law
mostly
Gentiles, fairly
new in their faith,
and facing
persecutions
wealthier
Gentile
Christians in
an urban setting,
becoming
complacent

15. Matthew Mark Luke
The Lord's
Prayer
6.7-15 11.25 11.1-4
Matthew Mark Luke John
The Marriage
at Cana
2.1-11
The
Discourse
with
Nicodemus
3.1-21

16. 3. Textual Criticism
 3.1 Textual Criticism is the discipline
which would help us reconstruct a text as
close as possible to the original. It does
by means of a two-fold task:
 3.1.1 the collection and comparison
of the ancient manuscripts, versions and
citations the attempt to explain the
agreements and disagreements among
the different manuscripts and versions.
 3.1.2 The reading that is best able
to offer explanations for itself when
compared with other readings is
considered the most authentic.

17. Word for Word Study of the Text
1. ERROR IN EYESIGHT
• Parablepsis - Literally "looking by the side." This
refers to mistakes made by a scribe when his or her
eye "jumps" to the wrong place in a text and he/she
either leaves out text (haplography) or repeats it
(dittography).
• Homoioteleuton - means "identical ending."
• Homoioarcton - means "identical beginning.“
2. ERROR IN HEARING
3. ERROR IN JUDGMENT
FINDING MISTAKES IN THE TEXT

18. FINDING THE MEANING
OF THE TEXT
• PHILOLOGY
Love (gk) Agape
1 Cor.13:4-7
Ancient Greek has four
distinct words for love:
agápe, éros, philía, and
storgē.

19. Source Criticism
4.1 Source criticism determines the
presence of sources in our present
texts.
4.2 It investigates where the
sources came from, how they were
used and what they meant then and
mean now in the present use of the text
Matthew and Luke have independently
used Q, taken to be a Greek document
with sayings and narrative.
It believed that Luke used Samuel
Compare Lk.1.46-55 & 1Sam.2:2-10

20. WHO?
traditionally
attributed
author?
WHO?
implied
author?
"John Mark of
Jerusalem"
(Acts 12:12; 15:37;
Col 4:10;
Phlm 1:24;
1Pet 5:13)
bilingual (Aramaic &
Greek)
Christian of the 2nd
generation; "young
man" of
14:51-52?
tax collector &
apostle
(Mark 3:18;
Matt 9:9; 10:3; Luke
6:15;
Acts 1:13)
multi-lingual
(Aramaic &
Greek) early Jewish
Christian; trained
"scribe"of
13:52?
physician &
companion of
Paul
(Col 4:14;
2Tim 4:11;
Phlm 1:24 only)
Gentile Christian
convert;
well educated Greek
"historian";
client of
Theophilus (1:1-4)?
John, son of Zebedee;
one
of 12 apostles (Mark
1:19;3:17;
cf. John 21:2)
the "beloved disciple"
and
his Jewish Christian
followers (19:35;
21:20-24)
Mark Matthew Luke John

22. auasdp