Biblical criticism Biblical criticism is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical criticism,'' it was based on two distinguishing characteristics: (1) the concern to ...

, () is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

phrase roughly translating to "setting in life". It stands for the context in which a text, or object, has been created, and its function and purpose at that time. The is also used to refer to the social, ethnic and cultural setting of a site at a particular era. When interpreting a text, object, or region, the has to be taken into consideration in order to allow a proper contextual interpretation.

Origins

The term originated with the German

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

theologian

Hermann Gunkel Hermann Gunkel (23 May 1862 – 11 March 1932), a German Old Testament scholar, founded form criticism. He also became a leading representative of the history of religions school. His major works cover Genesis and the Psalms, and his major in ...

and originally was stated in the Bible. The term ("setting in the life of the people") was employed for the first time in 1906 and the term in 1918. The term was used by classic form critics, as discussed by Chris Tuckett, "...it has been pointed out that the term was used in a rather peculiar way by the classic form critics. In fact the term is a sociological one, describing a typical situation within any community" so that the meaning of the text is bound up with its function in the community, and social context. Some have noted that it is also used in Biblical language.W. S. Vorster, J. Eugene Botha – ''Speaking of Jesus: essays on biblical language, gospel narrative'' 1999 p. 336 ("The use of the term has become very misleading and problematic, see Guttgemanns 1970:82ff.")

References

Biblical criticism Biblical exegesis Literary criticism German words and phrases Discourse analysis 1900s neologisms {{bible-criticism-stub