Once, there was a debate among the sages regarding the purity status of a specific type of oven. This oven, known as the "Oven of Akhnai (Serpent). The debate was over the question of whether a that was cut widthwise into segments, and placed sand between each and every segment, would be ritually pure. because of the sand, its legal status is not that of a complete vessel. Rabbi Eliezer deems it ritually pure, or in other words, an incomplete vessel. And the Rabbis deem it ritually impure, as it is functionally a complete oven.
To prove his point, Rabbi Eliezer performed several miracles:
-
Carob Tree: He said, "If the law agrees with me, let this carob tree prove it." The carob tree then uprooted itself and moved a significant distance. However, the sages replied, "We do not derive legal proof from a carob tree."
-
River: Rabbi Eliezer then said, "If the law agrees with me, let the stream of water prove it." The stream of water began to flow backward. Again, the sages responded, "We do not derive legal proof from a stream of water."
-
Walls of the Study Hall: He then declared, "If the law agrees with me, let the walls of the study hall prove it." The walls began to lean in, as if to fall. Rabbi Joshua, another sage, rebuked the walls, saying, "If the students of the sages defeat one another in debate, how is it your concern?" The walls did not fall out of respect for Rabbi Joshua but did not straighten out of respect for Rabbi Eliezer, and they remain leaning to this day.
Finally, Rabbi Eliezer said, "If the law agrees with me, let it be proven from Heaven!" A voice (Bat Kol) from Heaven then proclaimed, "Why do you dispute with Rabbi Eliezer, with whom the law always agrees?"
Rabbi Joshua stood up and declared, "It is not in Heaven!" (Deuteronomy 30:12). This meant that the Torah had already been given at Mount Sinai, and it is now up to the sages to interpret it. The Torah is interpreted based on majority rule among the sages, not heavenly voices.
Upon hearing this, God is said to have smiled and remarked, "My children have defeated me, my children have defeated me."
After the Oven of Akhnai incident, the sages convened and decided to take action against Rabbi Eliezer due to his persistent refusal to accept the majority decision. They concluded that they must excommunicate him to maintain unity and authority in their interpretations of the law.
Rabbi Akiva, a student of Rabbi Eliezer and a highly respected sage, was chosen to deliver the news. Knowing how deeply this would affect Rabbi Eliezer, Rabbi Akiva approached him gently, wearing black and sitting at a distance.
Rabbi Eliezer asked, "Akiva, why is this day different from all other days?" Rabbi Akiva, trying to soften the blow, replied, "My master, it seems to me that your colleagues are distancing themselves from you."
Rabbi Eliezer understood immediately and, in his grief, tore his clothes, removed his shoes, and sat on the ground.
רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר אוֹמֵר . . . . וֶהֱוֵי מִתְחַמֵּם כְּנֶגֶד אוּרָן שֶׁל חֲכָמִים, וֶהֱוֵי זָהִיר בְּגַחַלְתָּן שֶׁלֹּא תִכָּוֶה, שֶׁנְּשִׁיכָתָן נְשִׁיכַת שׁוּעָל, וַעֲקִיצָתָן עֲקִיצַת עַקְרָב, וּלְחִישָׁתָן לְחִישַׁת שָׂרָף, וְכָל דִּבְרֵיהֶם כְּגַחֲלֵי אֵשׁ:
Rabbi Eliezer said . . . warm yourself before the fire of the wise, but beware of being singed by their glowing coals, for their bite is the bite of a fox, and their sting is the sting of a scorpion, and their hiss is the hiss of a serpent, and all their words are like coals of fire.
רַבִּי אֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן הוֹרְקְנוֹס, בּוֹר סוּד שֶׁאֵינוֹ מְאַבֵּד טִפָּה . . . . הוּא הָיָה אוֹמֵר, אִם יִהְיוּ כָל חַכְמֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל בְּכַף מֹאזְנַיִם, וֶאֱלִיעֶזֶר בֶּן הוֹרְקְנוֹס בְּכַף שְׁנִיָּה, מַכְרִיעַ אֶת כֻּלָּם.
Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus is a plastered cistern which loses not a drop . . . . He [Rabbi Yohanan] used to say: if all the sages of Israel were on one scale of the balance and Rabbi Eliezer ben Hyrcanus on the other scale, he would outweigh them all.
וְלָא סָמְכִינַן אַנִּיסָּא.
Pesachim 64b
We don't rely on miracles
~2 Timothy 3:16-17
Immediate Questions: What scripture was Paul referring to? (hint: not his own writing!)
What does “inspired” mean, especially when you have oral traditions from different sources blended together and influenced by their cultural contexts and the goals/biases of the authors?
Six ways of reading the Bible (from Walter Taylor in “The Lutheran”)
A. Sacred Cow - Inerrant, unchanging, textbook and rule book for life
B. Traditional - Inspired. Prescriptions for life are valid unless culturally peculiar
C. Neo-Traditional - Inspired. Traditional but understanding has been flawed or biased by context
D. Source of Principles - Human. Overarching norms, not specifics (love one another, do unto others, etc)
E. Source of Identity and Dialogue - Human. Sacred text for our historical identity as a people
F. White elephant - an antiquated and outdated relic with no relevance today except anthropological / historical / literature
<- - >
A B C D E F
In terms of scripture, where are you in this continuum? Where do you think I am?
Hermeneutics – adapted from https://seminary.grace.edu/what-is-biblical-hermeneutics/
Enter hermeneutics, a word that is misspelled as often as it is argued about. So let’s break this word down and cut through the confusion. Biblical hermeneutics is the branch of knowledge that deals with interpretation. The word most often refers to how to interpret the Bible or other sacred texts from other religions. This is not to be confused with exegesis. Where exegesis refers to the interpretation of a specific Biblical text, hermeneutics is deciding which principles we will use in order to interpret the text. There are four major types of biblical hermeneutics that have arisen throughout history, although only the first is widely accepted today amongst evangelical/conservative churches.
Literal Interpretation
This approach seeks out the “plain meaning” of a biblical text. This is not to imply that every passage of Scripture should be interpreted literally, but rather the plain meaning be accepted as truth. Historically “inerrancy” or “Fundamentalism” developed in order to use scripture as “facts” to combat evolution. It is a new and dangerously flawed way of seeing scripture that ignores Biblical scholarship and science.
Moral Interpretation
Originally practiced by Jews who believed their laws, poems, and historical narratives had multiple layers of meanings, this approach supposes to reveal the ethics behind any text. One popular example is the Epistle of Barnabas, where the author believes the Old Testament food laws were misunderstood by the people of Israel. Rather than restricting diet, he believes the laws were meant to avoid behavior which was associated with these animals.
Allegorical Interpretation
Closely associated with moral interpretation, this type of hermeneutics viewed the biblical narratives as having a secondary level of meaning. Most often this meant interpreting people and events as only foreshadowing people and events in the New Testament, usually Jesus and his actions. One such case would be Noah. Rather than focusing on whether or not a worldwide flood actually happened, viewing the story as an allegory allowed the readers to conclude what type of person God was seeking as followers.
Anagogical Interpretation
Defined as mystical or spiritual, this approach sought to interpret Scripture in view of the life to come. Relying significantly on numerical values of Hebrew letters and words, the focus here was on Messianic prophecies and the study of the last days. Similar to moral and allegorical interpretation, importance was not given to the actual story but to a perceived deeper meaning behind the story.
What are the different rules of hermeneutics?
As you can see, there are multiple approaches and disagreements about which branch of hermeneutics should be utilized, and we haven’t yet interpreted a single verse from the Bible! Unfortunately, it’s true that people can find anything to argue about. All of this may have you asking the question, ‘How do I integrate biblical hermeneutics?’
While there are various branches of hermeneutics, we will be discussing the literal interpretation branch. We believe this allows us to understand both the original intent of the authors as well as discover how it applies to us. Here are four great rules for your personal study.
Define the Terms
When you are first attempting to understand the Bible, knowing the definitions of the words used by the authors is a great first step. But you should also know if you’re reading a historical narrative, poetry, or a parable. Each literary style comes with its own rules of interpretation, undoubtedly understood by the authors who penned them. Use a commentary. Do research. Consider the original language
Context is king
Laughing at a joke is appropriate. Laughing at a joke during a funeral may not be as appropriate. Knowing the context is key to being able to interpret anything, including the stories from the Bible. Understanding how words would have been interpreted by the original audience and asking how much is culturally based or biased is an important step to being able to properly apply scriptures to our own lives.
Look through the lens of faith.
For Christians, every story, poem, or verse has significance through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and should be read through the lens of love. The big themes matter more than little details. To quote the Episcopal Church’s Presiding Bishop, “God is love. If it’s not about love, it’s not about God.”
Start with Prayer
Start with prayer, end with prayer, and make sure prayer permeates every step along the way in your interpretation of the Bible. Since God will be most concerned with our application of the Bible, it follows God would be most interested in ensuring we utilize biblical hermeneutics correctly.
On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there, 2 and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding. 3 When the wine was gone, Jesus’ mother said to him, “They have no more wine.”
4 “Woman,[a] why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.”
5 His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”
6 Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.[b]
7 Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water”; so they filled them to the brim.
8 Then he told them, “Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet.”
They did so, 9 and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
11 What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signsthrough which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.
5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a] the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God.2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.
4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”
5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”
6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken,10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.
Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.