Introduction to Unit Delimitation in NT Texts

This is a narrated PowerPoint presentation I have used in my course on Interpreting the New Testament at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. It is slightly dated, but may be of some help to Bible translators and others who are beginning to explore New Testament exegesis (as are the students in that course).

Extracted text from UnitDelimitation.mp4:

Establishing the boundaries and coherence of the text . When do we consider a series of verses or sentences a unit . This is an important subject since if we tried to find the meaning of a group of verses or a group of sentences and in fact those sentences don't all belong together but belong to different units of text then we're only going to get ourselves confused . So we need to know where does a unit begin and where does it end . To establish the boundaries of the text we want to observe those features of the text that suggest or indicate a movement from one unit to another . In general we want to look for a change in topic or theme . For example Galatians 6 11 . Paul's been discussing of writing different topics and then in Galatians 6 11 he says see with what large letters I am writing to you with my own hand that comes out of nowhere and introduces a whole new topic suggesting we're moving on to a new unit . Or we might find a generic preview or a summary statement for example in Matthew 7:28 . We find the following at the end of the Sermon on the Mount . Matthew writes and when Jesus finished these sayings the crowds were astonished at His teaching for he was teaching them as one who had authority and not as their scribes . The reference to finishing these sayings in verse 28 is some restatement referring back to the whole sermon and indicating it's now coming to a conclusion . We're wrapping up this text or this unit and getting ready to move into another . Something else we could possibly find would be a rhetorical question . For example in Romans 6 one year after discussing other benefits of salvation Paul says What shall we say then are we to continue in sin that grace may abound . And by means of this rhetorical question he's introducing the topic that he wants to discuss that need to not continue in sin for whatever reason including some argument that Grace might abound . We sometimes find what is called a sandwich structure or in technical language it includes you . An example would be in Galatians 4 1 through 7 . In a sandwich structure includes you at the beginning and end of the unit . The author mentions the same theme or the same terms and it's a way of bringing together brings some closure to our unit . Preachers often use this they'll open a sermon with an illustration . And then as you're approaching the very end of the sermon they go back to that opening illustration and the the audience the congregation gets a sense OK we're coming back full circle we're wrapping things up in Galatians 4 1 . Paul mentions he says I . I mean that the air as long as he is a child is no different from a slave . So he's the owner of everything . He discusses you know different parts of this idea in the following verses but notice when he gets to over 70 so so you're no longer a slave but a son and a son that an heir through God . So in the first and last verses of this unit we have references to heirs slaves . And in verse 1 to a child and in verse seven to a son and you'll find that that language also is found throughout these verses . But especially those terms those key terms come at the very beginning and the very end and if you go on to the following verses you note that you're into a whole new unit . Sometimes we find what's called a tail head linkage and a tail head linkage an author or writer or speaker mentions an idea and a concluding line to one subject which seems a bit out of place . But then he ends up moving into that and the next line the next paragraph and it becomes clear that it was a bit of a point of a transition it's about to be made . For example inhalations 3:29 . We find Paul mentioning if you are Kreiss then you are Abraham's offspring heirs according to the promise . Now he's been discussing a number of different things with this whole idea of being heirs came out of nowhere in that preceding passage if you went back and looked at the early verses you'd see that there isn't anything about heirs discretion being sons and being baptized and Jews and Greeks and whatever . Then he says at the very end where is cloy talking about Abraham's offspring and being Christ that all ties into the prime material but then he has this offhand reference to being heirs according to promise . But the next verse this ends up becoming a key theme I mean that the air as long as he is a child is no different from a slave . That was the owner of everything because he is he being the heir . And so all of this ends up being about what it is to be an heir according to promise . So we have what's called the tail in verse 29 . Just an offhand reference which introduces the head of the air in verse one which is going to end up being a major theme . You may not have arrived to discussions or Jinan of absolutes but agender of absolute construction entails the usage of a participle in the genitive with a . A subject is also in the genitive form and these are almost always used as transitional markers . Introducing new subjects new people into the discussion we have one case in X 1812 . There are the June of absolute is used to indicate but when Galileo was proconsul of Ikea the Jews maybe not an attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal but you can see the transition . I mean here it comes on an English translation in terms of a temporal distinction . In verse 11 talked about how Paul stayed a year and six months teaching the Word of God in Corinth . But then here is discussing a particular time when Galileo was proconsul of Akeda . Here you can see . The Genov absolute . As the verb here a me in the genitive being . And this is . Galileo being again in the genitive So this is our genitive absolute at the beginning which does translate but when he was Proconsul and I care . When trying to establish the boundaries of a text we want to look for more than one piece of evidence not any one of these is necessarily sufficient to indicate that we're entering into a new unit or completing a unit of text . We want to look for as many things as we can . Keep in mind that chapter divisions are modern developments and they can't always be trusted so the fact that there's a chapter division doesn't necessarily mean turn into a new unit . We look for special things in narrative literature and gospels and Acts and other pieces of narrative . For instance an indication of a change in location such as Matthew for one . Where it says that Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil and the rest of this takes place in the wilderness . So you can imagine if you are filming this scene you'd have to go to black or have some sort of transition and then start a new scene in this new place in its typical way of indicating you're entering into a new unit of tax . We may have a change in time . As in Matthew 8 1 . To Matthew 8 one comes out after the end of the Sermon on the Mount and says when he came down from the mountain great crowds followed him . In fact if I'm not mistaken we also have this indicated by way of a genitive absolute . We do . Here's the part of form a genitive in a subject an agenda of that's he having come down from the mountain great crowds followed him and so here is a genitive absolute marking a temporal change . You may have a change of Kaster participants of a key participants role in the storyline so on . Matthew 3:01 we have the introduction of John the Baptist in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea . He had not been discussed earlier it was all about Jesus but now it's going to be about John the Baptist and Mark are worth going into a new unit of tax . For the maybe a new crisis to be resolved or the introduction of a new complication and the ongoing plot of the narrative line the narrative story when we're reading epistolary or non-narrative literature we may find in introductory introductory Voc. . Paul refers to his readers as brothers or brothers and sisters . That doesn't always come at the beginning of a new unit but it usually does . We may have a switch and tense aspect or mood that is moving from verbs that are mainly say in the arrest . Where the imperfect or switching from verbs that are mainly indicative to mainly imperatives or subjectives those things can sometimes indicate that we've moved from one unit of text to another . We may have a change in predominant pronouns so that text goes from talking but they this they that to you this and the other thing or two but I am like this and this is my approach . And so the pronouns if they change from predominantly being one kind to another it may indicate that you've moved into a new unit of tax . Of course sometimes within the same unit text it's unit of Texas not unusual to have various pronouns or front of various people a speech or ajor such as I say to you or I beseech you typically comes at the beginning of a new unit . So keep your eyes open for those . Sometimes a new semantic domain as well as a different theme can indicate that we've moved from one unit to another . So for instance in Galatians 4 . We were looking just a little while ago . Let me see if I can find Galatians 4 again here we are . To go through Galatians 4 1 through 7 . That whole passage is full of language from the semantic domain of the wealthy household wealthy Greco-Roman households who have references to an heir and slaves if you have a household and a child . I have the owner of everything the Guardians and managers mentioned here would be people who manage the household for the wealthy father . Then we have children . You have the Son born of woman adoption as sons . Now we have more theological language in here but it's still tied into language of family . We have the father . So you're not a slave but a son and an heir . This is all the language of the household . But when you first move into verse 8 I mean you have reference to being enslaved but basically the household language disappears and if you go back and look before . This you don't really find household language except in that tale part . We're looking at the the tail had linkage of Abraham's offspring mentioned here as well . But basically this language of the household permeates . Relations for one through seven and tends to disappear before and after . One when we're talking about Semitic structure analysis you'll see how this seems and semantic structure analysis can also help you establish the boundaries of the text . We've been talking about those things that establish boundaries . But we also want to think about those features of a given unit that give it coherence What is it what is the glue that ties a passage together . And so again this can be the repetition of luck seems that his word roots or Leck seems or words that fall within the same semantic domain . So in Galatians 4 1 to 7 all that language of the household of the family that we saw not only does that distinguish it from what comes before and after that passage but that's also part of the glue that holds it together . The use of certain pronouns that contrast with what is found in previous or succeeding units can also serve as glue . We have the use of in a fork or Katta fork references and for our references refer back catafalque references refer for forward . Or the assumed continuing subject or conjunctions that closely associated things can tie things together so bite in a fork reference I mean something like for instance it can simply be the DeMoss or pronoun this . This is why we should continue to love God . In a case where clearly this is referring back to what the person just said in cases like that it ties in the line that has this with what comes before . But sometimes you'll have a demonstrative pronoun this which points forward to something that comes later . This is why you should love God because He first loved us . In that case the line with this is being tied in to what follows that would be a categoric reference and it is part of the glue that indicates what pieces go together by an assumed continuing subject . I'm referring to all those places where Greek will have a verb that has . You know the implied subject indicated simply by the verb ending . And they don't give an explicit subject to a new noun or pronoun in the nominative because it's understood we're still we still have the same subject as the previous line and that's typically used usually used in text . It's all part of the same unit or passage . And again once you learn more about Semitics structure analysis you'll see how the integrated nature of any of us mix structure can indicate that we're still . That's part of the coherence of a unit of cat . For example citing from dialler and Romans 12 1 there are at least five signals of a major new unit . There's the vocative brothers a speech or reenter . I beseech you . The conjunction therefore that introduces the series of exhortations that follows the one series of grounds which have preceded it . Some rephrased by the mercies of God referring to in summarizing the previous seven chapters at least in a switch to hortatory discourse that is exhortations as evidenced by the words I beseech you plus two imperative verbs in the following verse . So here we have at least five different signals of a major new unit . We want to look for as many signals as we can in each case . So for homework . Take a look at first John 1 7 trying to decide what unit is it . Is it a part of . So what is the evidence for the coherence and cohesion of that unit and what is the evidence that for boundaries you know where does that unit begin and where does it end . Sophie Gohde first John 1 7 . Want to back up and look at it in its context . And verse 7 is not a unit by itself it is part of a passage . We can look at other translations if we want to . Here is the net Bible . And you can see that according to the net Bible verse seven is part of a unit that begins in chapter 1 verse 5 and goes all the way down to Chapter 2 Verse 2 . But if we take a look at the in our s v . Will say they divided up differently in the in RSV verse 7 as part of a unit that starts in verse 5 and goes down to verse 10 . If I look at the NIV . I'll see that they break it up . Slightly differently . They have it as a unit that begins in verse 5 and goes to seven . They have another paragraph verses 8 through 10 but all of those are under one heading which also continues further on down . Now even if all of these . Translations are agreed it would not serve . As evidence . Even if they all agreed it would not serve as evidence that that's how it should be divided . But it would be evidence that someone thought there was evidence and for the record Jesus paper you want to distinguish between evidence and evidence that someone thought there was evidence . That is if all of the commentaries and all of the translations break it up in a particular way . That means that they all thought they saw something in the text indicating it should be divided that way . It's whatever it is that they thought they found that you want to look for . So the things that I've been highlighting in the previous slides are Arling linguistic and or literary evidence the fact that many translations or commentators divide the text up a certain way isn't evidence that it should be divided up that way . But at best evidence that they may have seen evidence to that effect . So look for whatever evidence you think might have led them to that division . Perhaps they were just following a long tradition . Be sure to refer not only to the first and last verses of your chosen unit for instance let's say you decide first John 1 7 as part of a unit that goes from first John 1 5 through first John 1 10 . To establish that you don't just want to tell me about what you see and first John 1 5 that makes it look like something new starts there but you might want to look at first John 1 4 to see if there's evidence that that's the end of something the end of its unit and the same thing . If you think that the unit ends at verse 10 you may have evidence in verse 10 that the unit is ending there . But it could also be that some of the best evidence is found in verse 11 that indicates that that starts a new unit . So again don't just refer to the first and last verses of it shows in unit but also to the previous and following verses . Since the best evidence that your unit starts where it does may be found in evidence of the previous verse brings its unit to completion . And the best evidence that your unit ends where it does may be found in evidence that the following verse start something new and different . Don't merely provide an outline and try to find something more than a change of topic if possible . See how many pieces of evidence you can find for the beginning and end of your unit . Here's some bibliography in case you're interested in reading a little bit more on these kinds of issues .