The Bible was not written in a vacuum, but emerged in history. Thus, all books of the Bible are also contemporary witnesses and report from their own cultural context. This context is part of the Bible. Perceiving them is important for understanding, as is recognizing that we live in a different cultural context today. This changes word meanings and much more.
The altar for the unknown god
“When I went around visiting your shrines, I also found an altar on which was written: to the unknown God.”
Acts 17:23
Not everything in the Bible is to be understood literally. Figurative language, for example, is by definition not to be understood literally. It is the same with reports, other cultures, customs and opinions of people. We read several references to a culture in Acts 17. Paul speaks the words quoted earlier when he is in Athens. The quote comes from a speech in which he gives an account of his faith and expectation.
The Athenians were all very religious and there were many altars in the city. Paul had already talked to several people at the market. That was noticed. These conversations led them to seize the apostle and lead him to the Areopagus. The Areopagus is a hill in Athens, but at the same time it is the name of the highest council in Athens. Paul was probably led before a noble panel. Here he was allowed to report on this new teaching, which he was already proclaiming in the market. He was allowed to “speak and answer”.
Now in his speech, Paul talks about walking through the streets of Athens and seeing many shrines there. He also found an altar on which was written:
“To the unknown God”
Paul makes a reference here to the culture of the Greeks, specifically the culture of the Athenians, who had erected such an altar. For Paul it was the connecting point to speak about the good news of Jesus Christ. He found something from the everyday life and the world of experience of the Athenians that he could tie in with. Paul used this as an image to talk about Christ.
Cultural references can be many and varied. They are part of the Bible. Many countries and customs, cultures and people are reported. The stories of the Bible are in the middle of the world, just as we are in the middle of the world. As a matter of course, we also talk about the issues of our time and use them in conversations with others. This has always been the case. In the same speech he makes another reference to the experience of the Greeks when he writes:
“For in him we live and move and are, as also some of your poets have said: For we are also his race.”
Acts 17:28
All are references according to themes, incidents or stories that have an origin outside the Bible and are not further explained in the Bible itself. They are assumed to be known, so to speak, and the Bible writers referred to them without clarifying the context. Let’s call that cultural references.
Read differentiated
All Scripture is “God-breathed,” Paul says in 2 Timothy 3:16. It is permeated by God’s Spirit, and the Bible testifies that people did not write on their own initiative, but by God’s Spirit (2Pet 1:21). Each part of today’s Bible was written for a specific purpose. If we understand the Bible in its own context, the words have meaning from which we can learn. The Bible is reliable, but we cannot read it blindly as if everything happened today. Whoever “interprets” the Bible from today’s understanding runs the risk of merely making a projection. It takes differentiation and an understanding of our culture as well as the culture of the time.
The words “to the unknown God” are in the Bible, but it is not a biblical revelation about God as if God Himself were “unknown”. On the contrary, the God of the Bible reveals Himself. He makes himself known (Heb 1:1-2). Rather, the words “to the unknown god” were an inscription on an idol altar. It was a remarkable statement, however, since the people of Athens were obviously so religious that they would not rule out an unknown god under any circumstances. So they built an extra altar for the unknown god. Paul was able to draw on this religiosity and very specifically on this inscription to tell people about Jesus and about the resurrection, which were still unknown to the Athenians.
There are other such cultural references in the Bible. They illustrate in a certain way another story, or fit into the narratives of the time. We should understand cultural references as such, and not confuse them with biblical revelation about God, about His nature or His actions. One recognizes cultural references – as in the story of Paul in Athens – when one considers the text in context. The example of Paul is particularly clear. This is not always the case. Now let’s look at another example.
Jannes and Jambres
Jannes and Jambres are two names mentioned only once in the Bible. Paul quotes them in his second letter to Timothy. He wants to use it to illustrate a situation in the community. This is also a cultural reference. However, we read nothing more about Jannes and Jambres in the Bible. From this it is clear that Paul is referring to an extra-biblical story.
“But in the same way that Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, so do these [Leute] resist the truth; they are men of utter depravity, unfit for the faith.”
2Tm 3.8
Paul says, “In the same way as…”, and then names Jannes and Jambres. The two are brought in as a comparison. For just as these two resisted Moses, so some around the church resist the truth. So Paul was concerned with the church, not with Jannes and Jambres. He quotes a well-known story so that he can illustrate this for Timothy. The names must have been known, because they are not explained further in the Bible text.
But what can we learn about them? Jannes and Jambres resisted Moses, we read. The reference is to Egypt, when Moses and Aaron stood before Pharaoh. According to tradition, Jannes and Jambres were Pharaoh’s magicians who stood against Moses and Aaron (Ex. 7:10). They were the sons of Balaam, the head of the sorcerers. Jannes and Jambres did see the miracles that Aaron performed with his staff by God’s power, and they saw that Aaron’s miracles were much more than they accomplished. Nevertheless, they did not recognize the truth. This is the story according to Ginsberg, Legends of the Jews, Part 2.
Paul now writes to Timothy. He wants to inform his employee about the community and the dangers to the community. This is the main issue. Jannes and Jambres were quoted only as a comparison: Just as these (in tradition) resisted Moses, so there were people in the churches who resisted the truth. But let us also consider what Paul was not concerned with. His concern was not to set up a doctrine about Jannes and Jambres or to document with it, for example, the lineages of the Egyptian magicians.
The world of experience of the audience
The example of Jannes and Jambres shows, as is the case with figurative language, that the biblical writers always connect with the world of experience of the listeners. For us, unfortunately, some things are no longer directly known. Therefore, background information is occasionally needed so that we can learn to understand the statements in their own context. However, it doesn’t have to be difficult, because usually the context already provides information about these things.
- In Paul’s speech before the Areopagus, the details are given directly by name. It is easy to see that the statement “To the unknown God” comes from the Athenians’ world of experience and is not a statement about the God of the Bible.
- In the example of Jannes and Jambres, it is just the other way around. No reasoning is given here and there is a lack of further statements in the Bible about either person. The very absence of biblical references here suggests that this is an extra-biblical story cited only for illustration.
If we read the Bible in a differentiated way, then we do not derive any teaching from the above examples that God is, for example, “unknown”, nor do we conclude wild stories about Jannes and Jambres. The Bible is sober, and always well anchored in the time of the Bible writers. It serves to enrich us. Paul describes the value as follows: “the consecrated Scriptures … which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus”(2 Tim. 3:15 CNT ). The scriptures point to Christ. It does this by all means, logically following the world of experience of the listeners of the time. Wouldn’t we do the same?
Dealing with the verbal inspiration
“Verbal inspiration” is an understanding of the Bible according to which the Bible is God’s Word and is permeated by His Spirit down to the words and letters and is therefore reliable down to the letter. I share this understanding, but – as outlined in this post – only when taking a differentiated view.
The doctrine of verbal inspiration originated in the 19th century. More about this in the article “Bible, Zeitgeist and Development in the Understanding of the Bible”. The apprenticeship is relatively “young”. It was created against a specific background and must be understood in its own context. The Bible itself was not yet known as a single book in the 1st century. Even the Old Testament, the Tenach, was first canonized only at the end of the 1st century. The canonization of the New Testament (the determination of the parts) was made much later. The churches at the time of Peter and Paul had the testimony of the apostles and various writings which were also passed around, but there was no “Bible” as we know it today. We must therefore use a statement such as “the Bible is God’s Word” with caution. What the Bible is and how it is to be understood are questions with far-reaching consequences for doctrine and faith.
One of my experiences is that the Bible is reliable. The inner cohesion of the texts is very strong. The statements are – despite all the different contexts – consistent overall. If it appears otherwise, that is usually a flaw in my understanding and not a flaw in the testimony. There is a development between the different parts. However, verbal inspiration goes a step further and declares every letter to be divine, to the point of widespread assumptions that the Bible and God are virtually equated. This makes the Bible infallible. There were times when I “believed in the Bible.” However, this is strange, because shouldn’t we “believe in God”? The Bible is only a help for this. There may be a shift in the teaching of verbal inspiration that is not healthy.
There were times when I “believed in the Bible.” However, this is strange, because shouldn’t we “believe in God”?
As a result of this shift from the content of faith – away from God and toward the Bible – the Bible is recognized as having divine attributes, such as “infallibility” and “eternity.” Read with the right ideological glasses, every Bible word must then be able to be interpreted from today’s point of view and what I then subjectively read out should be valid for all times. This view is extremely problematic. It is more a projection and eisegesis than an understanding and exegesis. I’m deliberately sketching this a bit edgy here so that you can continue to exchange ideas about differentiation.
No, I’m not throwing out the baby with the bathwater here. It is a concern for a better understanding of the Bible that we also explore the limits of what it says. Some statements are imagery, other statements are cultural references. These are things we must learn to recognize if we are to read the Scriptures with profit.
Summary
It is all God’s Word, namely part of the Bible, but some of it is figurative language, some statements are cultural references, some parts refer to human action and walk. It is precisely in this diversity that God’s Word shows itself to be a reliable and living witness. Contrasts are created that allow us to listen in, think along, and then fully engage with His message. But we should not confuse His message with “such and such a letter”, as if the Bible had magical qualities. The Bible is the carrier of the message, not the message itself. The message was written in its own cultural context, which often differs from our context. An understanding of each’s own contexts then and now is an aid in understanding the Bible.
The message is having an effect, as Paul describes it:
“And therefore we also thank God continually, that when ye received from us the word of tidings from God, ye received it not as the word of men, but, as it is true, as the word of God, which also worketh in you that believe.”
1Thess 2,13
