THE MEANING OF INSPIRED SCRIPTURES

THE MEANING OF INSPIRED SCRIPTURES

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE IN THE CHURCH, The Pontifical Biblical Commission (1993)



The Literal Sense
 It is necessary in Biblical Interpretation
 It is that which is directly expressed by the inspired human authors. Hence, it is also called author-meaning.
 How does one arrive at the author’s intended meaning? One has to ask the right questions in order to get at the author-meaning.

 Two basic categories of good exegetical questions:
a) questions of content (what is said)
b) questions of context (why it is said)

 The questions of context are two kinds
a) Historical—has to do both with:
1. the historical setting of a document (e.g., the city of Corinth, its geography, people, economic and socio-political situation),
2. the specific occasion of the document (i.e., why it was written, e.g., Gal. 2:11-14)
b) The literary context—has to do with why a given thing was said at a given point in the narrative. For example, the Finding of the Child Jesus in the Temple (Lk. 2:41-52)

One key question for interpretation is: Why did Luke place this account between the infancy and public ministry accounts? An exegete can perceive that by placing the episode of the Finding of the Child Jesus at this point of the narrative, Luke has constructed a very persuasive Christological sequence. In the Annunciation, an angel proclaims that Jesus is God’s Son (Lk. 1:35); at age 12 Jesus, when speaking for the first time, makes clear that God is His Father (Lk. 2:29); at age 30 at the beginning of His public ministry, God’s own voice from heaven says, “You are my beloved Son” (Lk. 3:22-23).

 The questions of content are basically four kinds:
a) Textual criticism—the determination of the actual wording of the author
b) Lexical data—vocabulary and meaning of words (e.g., Gen. 2:20)
c) Grammatical data—the relationship of words to one another (e.g., Gen. 2:20)
d) Historical-cultural background—the relationship of words and ideas to the background and culture of the author and his readers (e.g., Gen. 2:23)

Thus, the aim to exegesis is to come up with a clear understanding of the author’s original intention.
Two Elements: the author and his readers

The Spiritual Sense
 The Spiritual Sense is the meaning expressed by the biblical texts when read:
1. under the influence of the Holy Spirit,
2. in the context of the paschal mystery of Christ
3. and of the new life in the Spirit

Thus, one can discover another meaning of the text more than what the human author originally intended.
For example, 2 Sam. 7:12-13 speaks of God’s promise to David through the prophet Nathan that his son shall sit on his throne and his reign shall be everlasting. Originally, this would refer to the succeeding sons of David to seat on his throne.

But in the light of Jesus event, this would refer to Christ who rules forever, not only on the earthly throne of David. This was not intended by the original author of 2 Samuel.

There is a profound element of continuity as well as a move to a different level.

This Spiritual Sense is also seen in the typologies like Adam as the figure of Christ (Rom. 5:14), the flood as the figure of baptism (1 Pet. 3:20-21), etc.

The Fuller Sense
 The Fuller Sense (sensus plenior) is defined as a deeper meaning of the text, intended by God but not clearly expressed by the human author. The Fuller Sense can be found in the biblical text when one studies the text in light of:
1. other biblical texts
2. the authentic doctrinal tradition (official teachings of the Magisterium)

Examples:
1. The context of Mt. 1:23 gives a Fuller Sense to the prophecy of Isa. 7:14 in regard to the virgin who will conceive.
2. The Patristic and conciliar teaching about the Trinity expresses the Fuller Sense of the teaching of the New Testament regarding God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
3. The definition of original sin by the Council of Trent provided the Fuller Sense of Paul’s teaching in Rom. 5:12-21.

This affirms our belief that through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, given the new context of our times and the succeeding generation, the text will bring our fresh meanings that had lain hidden in the original context. In this way the Bible continues to speak through all generations at different periods of history.