MIDWESTERN BAPTIST THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

A PAPER ON THE HISTORY OF THE ANCIENT NEAR EAST AS IT PERTAINS TO THE NATION OF ISRAEL AND THE BIBLE

SUBMITTED TO MR. WILLIAM BECHTOLD FOR BIBLICAL BACKGROUNDS

BY STEPHEN SPRAGUE

KANSAS CITY, MO OCTOBER 11, 2012

Contextual method is the approach of studying scripture by becoming familiar with the cultural environment in which the books of the Bible were written. While the contextual method, in its methodology, is nothing new, more recent archaeological discoveries have allowed researchers to lend themselves in a much greater capacity to this field of study. The purpose of this paper is to provide a summary of the contextual method, while critically analyzing its strengths and weaknesses, and also to show how the contextual method can be used to aid in the study of Biblical Backgrounds. The purpose of the contextual method is to reveal the cultural dynamic and worldview in which a specific text of scripture was written. This can often be found by comparing and contrasting the culture with which the Old and New Testaments were written, and that of other Ancient Near East civilizations. While it is largely focused on comparing the two cultures, a natural and necessary contrasting of the cultures will occur. Walton notes that the similarities and differences of the Biblical culture and the other related cultures must be observed.1 Hallo writes, The intention is not to repudiate the comparative approach, but to define it, refine it, and broaden it, notably wedding it to the contrastive approach.2 It is this wedding that creates the contextual method. Walton lists four specific approaches to studying the culture of the Ancient Near East that altogether contribute to the contextual method and ultimately a better understanding of text of the Bible. These four fields are: History, Archaeology, Literature, and the study of Language.3 The comparing and contrasting of any one of these four fields can help

John H. Walton, Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible (Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2006), 26. 2 Hallo, William W. "Biblical History in Its Near Eastern Setting: The Contextual Approach." Pages 77-97 in Israel's Past in Present Research: Essays on Ancient Israelite Historiography. Edited by V. Philips Long, Sources for Biblical and Theological Study, vol. 7. (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999), 78. 3 Walton, 28.

reveal the culture and worldview in which the scriptures were written. This is the contextual method. The contextual method in its truest sense has little weakness. Rather, the credibility of the contextual method relies largely on how it is practiced and the intent by which it is practiced. The contextual method can be practiced in such a way that the outcome is poor, or it can be done in such a way that the outcome is a better understanding of the scripture. The purpose of contextual method in its use is threefold according to Walton. He writes that contextual method can be used for critical analysis, defense of the Biblical text, and exegesis of Biblical text.4 It is in the first two purposes that the greatest damage of polemical usage of the contextual method can be done. While polemical usage of the contextual method is not always wrong, it often is done in a poor fashion, focusing more largely on proving a specific point and obtaining a predetermined outcome. The opposite use of this focuses on using the contextual method to truly illuminate the culture and worldview surrounding the text.5 All this of course is not a weakness, but rather a misuse, of the contextual method. The strength of the contextual method lies in its ability to provide an accurate worldview of the biblical text to aid in the understanding of scripture. Without this provision of a different worldview, one would without doubt be looking at the scriptures with a modern worldview in mind.6 How does the contextual method relate to the study of Biblical backgrounds? The contextual method and the study of Biblical backgrounds go hand in hand. Without the contextual method, the study of Biblical backgrounds would be null. It is through the contextual method that an appropriate understanding of the history, archaeology, literature, and language of
4 5

Walton, 38 Walton, 37-38 6 Walton, 19-25,40.

the Ancient Near East can be obtained, and thus an accurate perspective of Biblical backgrounds can be illuminated. The contextual method is an integral part in understanding and defending the historical validity of scripture. Its strength lies in its ability to provide Christians with a more accurate perception of the cultures and worldviews in which the texts of the Bible were written, and it is an essential part of the study of Biblical backgrounds.

Bibliography

Walton, John H. Ancient Near Eastern Thought and the Old Testament: Introducing the Conceptual World of the Hebrew Bible. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Academic, 2006. Hallo, William W. "Biblical History in Its Near Eastern Setting: The Contextual Approach." Pages 77-97 in Israel's Past in Present Research: Essays on Ancient Israelite Historiography. Edited by V. Philips Long. Sources for Biblical and Theological Study, vol. 7. Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 1999.