historical criticism

preassumptions behind historical criticism
dale martin

1. looking for the human author's intention

2. looking for the meaning to the original readers

3. modern historical consciousness
- the ancient world is just not like our world
- the ancient meaning of the original language and the knowledge of the historical context is important for the interpretation

4. don't interpret the Bible canonically
- each individual document must be studied in its own right and for its own content
- include non-canonical materials

5. source analysis

6. questioning of the authenticity of authorship

7. avoidance of anachronism
- don't think back into the ancient text something that actually arose later

8. avoidance of eisegesis
(eisegesis = reading into the text something that's not in the text)

9. consciousness to the gap between the world of the Bible and our world