Defining the Literary Context of the Bible: A Comparison of Fokkelman and Gottwald

Scott Nikaido

Two different approaches to the study of biblical literature are compared in this study: the text-centered approach of J. P. Fokkelman and the sociological approach of Norman Gottwald. The distinguishing characteristic between these approaches is how ÒcontextÓ is defined. For Fokkelman, the "context" of a literary work is fixed in the linguistic structure of the text itself. Therefore, all meaning, both realized and potential, is inherently contained in the text and its linguistic substratum. However, since this approach does not go beyond the text for understanding, it often leads to excessive subjectivity. Gottwald, in contrast to Fokkelman, insists that the interpretation of a text is derived from its social milieu which cannot be separated from the text. One of the difficulties with this approach is that the ancient society in which the literature originated can only be poorly reconstructed. It is important to discern the ideologies behind the two methods, their strengths and weaknesses, and not just look at the method itself.

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