THE READING OF SACRED TEXTS IN THE CONTEXT OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY

• Published in: Neotestamentica Vol. 27; no. 2; pp. 263 - 282
• Main Author: DECOCK, Paul B
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Pretoria The New Testament Society of South Africa / Die Nuwe-Testamentiese Werkgemeenskap van Suid-Afrika 01-01-1993; New Testament Society of Southern Africa; New Testament Society of South Africa
• Subjects: Actualisation; Authority of the Bible; Bible; Biblical inspiration; Christianity; Eschatology; Exegesis and biblical criticism; General subjects; Historical context; History and sciences of religions; Interpretation criticism; Jewish literature; Judaism; Old Testament; Overall studies; Sacred texts; Talmud; Theology; Torah; Wisdom; Primitive christianism; Qumran; Reading; Rabbinic judaism; Exegesis; Scripture
• ISSN: 0254-8356; 0254-8356

The article focusses on the question when the text of Scripture became fixed and unchangeable, on the practice of actuaiising the received text, and on exegesis as a charismatic activity or even a kind of divination. Understanding the meaning of God's Word was not a matter of establishing the original, historical meaning of the text, but of letting Scripture become part of the present life of the readers. This is probably the reason why the text of Scripture remained fluid for so long. Furthermore, Scripture by itself was not seen as the complete revelation of God's Word. For Christians it was completed when read in the light of the Christ event; for Qumran, when read in the light of their eschatological revelations. The same is true for rabbinical Judaism: Scripture was read together with the oral Torah, and the work of discovering the will of God remained an open-ended task, even after the letters of the text were fixed.