Bible Books
013
What the Bible Really Says
Edited by Morton Smith and R. Joseph Hoffman
(Buffalo, NY: Prometheus, 1989) 256 pp., $21.95
Morton Smith, one of the editors of this collection of essays, states in his preface that the intention of this volume is to present to the reader what the Bible really says about certain topics especially important in today’s world. These topics, and the authors who write about them, are capital punishment (Baruch Levine), the future (James Tabor), government (John Priest), marriage and divorce (Gerald A. Larue), miracles (Stevan Davies), segregation and intolerance (Bernhard Lang), slavery (Morton Smith), war (Robert P. Carroll), wealth (R. Joseph Hoffmann), wisdom (John Townsend), women in the Old Testament [Hebrew Bible] (Mary Callaway), women in the New Testament (Judith L. Kovacs) and the world (Thomas Podella and Paola Xella).
Smith claims that his concern with presenting “what the Bible really says” is taken quite literally, and that it arises out of a belief that the study of what the Bible really says has been neglected. “The concern,” Smith states, “is for what it says, not what it ‘means.’ What it ‘means’ is usually a matter of interpretation (the pretentious word for ‘guess work’), but what it says is a matter of observable facts” (p. 8). While admitting that some sections of the Bible are not terribly clear, he nevertheless asserts that the “plain sense” of the Bible is “obvious” and that it is not necessary to interpret or to understand the background of the biblical text in order to get at its plain sense.
Smith explains that what was requested of the contributors were “bare statements of the bare facts, presented so far as possible by quotations of the essential texts, with … neither exegesis nor moral judgments” (p. 9). He further notes that “Few found these requests easy to comply with. Scholarly training produces neurotic compulsions to annotate the obvious and to explain what one does not understand—probably lingering symptoms of adolescent anxiety” (p. 9). “Some of these decorations [i.e., interpretations] remain in the present text; it is hoped that they will inform some readers and amuse others” (p. 10).
Smith is reacting in the preface both against fundamentalist interpretations of the Bible and against contemporary biblical scholars’ specialized approaches to the interpretation of biblical literature. Among the approaches that offend Smith are libera1, eschatological, neo-orthodox, existentialist, liberationist and feminist methods of interpretation. These he perceives as “[trying] to obscure or explain away whatever evidence has contradicted them” (p. 7). He also objects to the interpretations made by scholars who are “distracted” by archaeology, ancient Near Eastern studies, comparative religion, etc. “What the Bible says is far more important than what its interpreters say” (p. 7).
I emphasize Smith’s statement in the preface for several reasons. First, the tone of the preface is condescending, and Smith’s intention appears to be to alienate a significant portion of his potential audience, especially those who engage in the practice of blatant “interpretation.” Among the offenders specifically identified are some of the contributors to this volume!
Second, Smith’s statements raise a question about whether the type of articles he solicited for the volume are even necessary. Why not just publish a topical concordance that lists the biblical passages in question? This would be sufficient for the purposes he outlines.
Third, Smith’s assertions raise questions of definition. His implied definitions of “facts,” “meaning” and “interpretation,” to name a few, are not in accord with what many scholars understand these words to mean. How does one identify “observable facts,” especially when dealing with ancient literature? Is it possible to divorce language (what is said) from meaning? Smith presents a somewhat naive picture of the interrelationship between reader and text. Reading is, in itself, a part of the process of interpretation, and one cannot read without deriving some sort of meaning.
Fortunately for the readers of this volume, the contributers did have difficulty complying with Smith’s criteria, and interpretation abounds. There are some very fine essays that provide syntheses of the results of past and present interpretations of biblical material from both the Hebrew Bible and the New Testament. Many of the essays provide some historical background and most provide relative chronologies of the texts and sources considered and considerations of genre. In some cases the relevant Hebrew and Greek terminology is explained. Some essays consider the presuppositions, ideological concerns and social and historical backgrounds of the biblical writers and how these may have affected their views. Contradictions and inconsistencies in the biblical writers’ evaluations of the topics are noted. Several of the contributors point out the necessity of interpretation and include methodological considerations. Although some of the authors rely on past interpretations and theories that have recently been called into question, and some engage in over-interpretation (basing interpretations on assumptions for which no evidence is supplied), overall the essays are examples of sound, traditional biblical scholarship. Good, brief lists of recommended readings appear at the end of each chapter.
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Baruch Levine’s essay on capital punishment—to give one example—defines capital punishment, explains the biblical terminology that conveys the concept of capital punishment, and outlines the circumstances and types of crimes that are said to incur this type of punishment and the passages in which they occur. He also identifies methods of execution and the types of judicial authorities involved in imposing them, identifies the types of biblical literature in which concepts associated with capital punishment are found and gives the relative chronologies of the law collections. In addition, Levine points out some presuppositions of the biblical writers and how some of the biblical laws reflect social stratification, provides background information for understanding some of the laws and notes contradictions in the biblical texts.
Morton Smith himself, despite his professed intentions, moves beyond describing what the Bible really says and engages in a good bit of interpretation. In his chapter on slavery, Smith notes the problems of translating the Hebrew and Greek terms associated with slavery and applies to the biblical texts that refer to slavery the chronological frameworks established by previous interpreters. He also identifies the genres of some of the texts with which he deals and discusses the possible transmission and editing of some biblical traditions associated with slavery. Going beyond what the bible really says, Smith suggests, for example, that Sarah may have bought Hagar while visiting Egypt (p. 138) and that Jonathan was David’s “former lover” (p. 140).
Whereas Smith’s preface seems bent on alienating scholars, R. Joseph Hoffmann’s “afterward” seems more concerned with smoothing over any ruffled feathers that might arise from the claims implied in the book’s title. Hoffmann raises a concern that “facts” have been buried beneath the refinements of method and procedure, and he refers to the dangers of extreme interpretation by either fundamentalists or contemporary biblical scholars (he calls the latter “obscurantism”). However, in contrast to Smith’s acerbic criticism of contemporary scholarship, Hoffmann states:
“We do not believe that the methods and vocabularies of the newer modes of interpretation are useless. We do not dismiss their value out of hand. We do not suppose for a minute that our view of what the text ‘really’ says is uninformed by such methods … we do not assume that we are not interpreting. What we assume—very deliberately—is that our interpretation [emphasis mine] of the text more faithfully conveys what the writers said—and does so, insofar as this is possible, without theological (or other) sleight-of-hand or any attempt to disguise the clear import of the text’s meaning [emphasis mine]” (p. 240).
Overall, this lucid book will prove useful to scholars, clergy and laypersons who are interested in gaining a general overview of the specific topics covered, both in terms of what the biblical writers have to say about them and how biblical scholars have interpreted them. Many readers will be “amused” (or perhaps offended) by the preface and “afterward,” but it is hoped that they will be “informed” by the essays.
What the Bible Really Says
Edited by Morton Smith and R. Joseph Hoffman
(Buffalo, NY: Prometheus, 1989) 256 pp., $21.95
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