Deep Dive into Introduction to Biblical Interpretation by William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard Jr. - Genres of the New Testament

The New Testament documents fall into four major literary categories—Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelation—each requiring specialized interpretive strategies.

The canonical Gospels are defined as theological biographies. While formally resembling Hellenistic biographies, they are uniquely Christian because their core message concerns God’s saving work through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. Interpreting them demands both vertical reading, prioritizing the thematic organization and unique structure of the specific Gospel, and horizontal reading, comparing parallel accounts to identify the distinctive theological emphases of each evangelist. For instance, Matthew’s rewording of the heavenly voice at Jesus’ baptism (from "you are" to "this is") shifts the emphasis from a private affirmation to a public declaration for the crowd. Smaller forms like pronouncement stories function chiefly to introduce a key proverbial saying of Jesus.

The book of Acts is best characterized as theological history, a narrative of selected events chosen to communicate theological truths about the geographic and cultural expansion of Christianity. Its purpose is laid out in the programmatic outline of Acts 1:8, detailing the gospel’s spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.

Epistles are the most occasional of the New Testament genres, written for specific audiences facing unique problems. The greatest challenge in interpreting these didactic letters is reconstructing the original context to separate timeless principles from situation-specific applications. This difficulty is amplified by the use of slogans—concise, proverbial views held by the audience (such as those in 1 Corinthians) that Paul quotes only to qualify with a "yes-but" logic. These letters employ structural subgenres like the Diatribe (e.g., Romans 1–11) or the Exhortation Letter (e.g., 1 Thessalonians).

Finally, Jesus’ central teaching, the theology of the kingdom, is succinctly summarized by the slogan: "already but not yet," reflecting its inauguration at his first coming and its consummation at his return. Revelation, a blend of epistle, prophecy, and apocalyptic, uses highly symbolic and figurative imagery, often mediated by otherworldly beings, to encourage a beleaguered community by assuring them of God’s ultimate triumph.

Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian

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