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Exegetical Step Three. The Literary Context. Overview This Step. Purpose: To determine how the passage fits into the overall purpose/argument of the book Three Sub-Steps for this Step: ID the literary type ID the limits of the text ID the role of the passage in the larger context.
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Exegetical Step Three The Literary Context
Overview This Step • Purpose: To determine how the passage fits into the overall purpose/argument of the book • Three Sub-Steps for this Step: • ID the literary type • ID the limits of the text • ID the role of the passage in the larger context
1. ID the Literary Type • Genre makes a huge difference in how you read a text. • Fee summarizes four main types of texts • Letters-comprised of paragraphs • Gospels-comprised of pericopes • Acts-comprised of narratives and speeches • Revelation-apocalyptic literature • Each of these four types includes subtypes (parables, sermons, miracle stories, etc.)
2. ID the Limits of the Text • Read the surrounding context and look for shifts in idea, person, argument, etc. There are at least three things you can do: • 1. Read the context yourself. • 2. See how the GNT has divided the text into paragraphs. See pp. 39-45 in UBS4 • 3. Note the outlines in some leading commentaries. Do not look at anything else in the commentary.
3. ID the Passages Role in the Larger Context • No text exists in a vacum • How does the paragraph contribute to the argument of the page, and eventually the book? • Look for not only what the author is saying but also what the author is doing. • ID the larger section that is the context • Spell out in one sentence the purpose or function of each smaller unit.
Helpful Books at this Stage • Grant Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral (available on Logos)
Helpful Books at this Stage • Ryken, Leland. How to Read the Bible as Literature • Hagner, D. New Testament Exegesis and Research: A Guide for Seminarians (Available from Logos). • Fee, G. New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors