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Subject: Biblical Hebrew Forum

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  • From: Tsadowq AT aol.com
  • To: b-hebrew AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: Exegetical theology is not the final authority.
  • Date: Wed, 30 Aug 2000 19:09:48 EDT



Previous thread: Re: The 24 hour "evening and mornings" ???

Hello,

In a message dated 08/29/2000 9:02:36 AM Mountain
Daylight Time, dwashbur AT nyx.net writes:

<< God forbid I should agree with Ian :-) but he's absolutely right.
The text is supposed to be the basis for deriving "sound theological
answers" rather than the reverse. If one begins with theological
presuppositions, exegesis becomes a matter of wresting the text
to support one's ideas. That's backwards. >>

Maybe you have misunderstood what I said, or maybe
I was unclear as to what I meant. Let me try again.

It was never my intention (nor is it my belief) that we
should throw out exegetical theology in preference of
another form of theological examination.

There are four classifications for establishing doctrine.

I will list them here, in no specific order.

1) Exegetical theology
2) Historical theology
3) Dogmatic theology
4) Biblical theology

The study of biblical Hebrew is only one fourth of
the equation; it is a PART of that which is available
and should be studied by any person dedicated to
understanding more from the text.

Not a single person on this list may claim that they
fluently speak and completely comprehend the
ancient Hebrew tongue, and it may appear rather
pious to insist that those who interpret the MSS
have the "final say"-- as this is simply not the case.

This list has proven many times over -- that even
those who study the exegetical value of any
given passage -- do not always or consistently
agree on what the passage means.

Exegetical arguments are ultimately based on
our limited knowledge of ancient language, and
if this form of theology could stand alone, then
we would find that EVERY person would agree
with EVERY answer derived from it's usage.

But this is not the case, and this proves that
the exegetical analysis of ANY passage is
only PART of the equation.

My prior point was that:

1) The text of Genesis 1 does not specifically indicate
24 hour periods, and exegetical theology therefore,
has little to say on the issue.

2) Linguistical arguments which contradict sound theological
answers (specifically, linguistical arguments which clearly
contradict evidence from the other three categories of theo-
logical classification) should be taken with a grain of salt
the size of Lot's wife.

The above should especially prove true when there are no
"native speakers" who may presume to speak with authority
as to what the text actually means.

Best Regards,
Glen











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