Biblical criticism Modern Biblical criticism (as opposed to pre-Modern criticism) is the use of critical analysis to understand and explain the Bible without appealing to the supernatural. During the eighteenth century, when it began as ''historical-biblical c ...

, () is a German 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 branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

theologian Hermann Gunkel 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 The social environment, social context, sociocultural context or milieu refers to the immediate physical and social setting in which people live or in which something happens or develops. It includes the culture that the individual was educated ...

. 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

{{Authority control Biblical criticism Biblical exegesis Literary criticism German words and phrases Discourse analysis 1900s neologisms 1906 quotations