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September 30, 2012 |
| Hyperbole in the Bible | ||
Is the Bible literally true? Many people don't believe so. But even among those who do believe so, they understand "literal" in different ways. In this lesson we will look at whether the Bible is literally true and what that means.
Part of the problem with determining whether the Bible is literally true comes from the multiple meanings of the word literal. The two meanings that apply here are "strictly adhering to the basic meaning" or "without exaggeration"1.
In this lesson we will look at only one of these aspects, whether the Bible is free from exaggeration.
We believe the Bible is the word of God, given through the Holy Spirit, written by the hand of men and therefore it is true and does not contain any lie. It also does not contain any exaggeration because exaggeration is a statement that goes beyond the truth. Exaggeration is usually part of an attempt to deceive.
But the Bible does contain something that is similar to exaggeration, called hyperbole (hy-per'-bo-lee). Hyperbole is a statement that uses an obviously extreme example to make or emphasize a point. As used in the Bible the extreme example is true. The intent is not to deceive. Instead the extreme example is used to show the importance of the point that the speaker is making.
Ancient authors use other literary devices as well such as alliteration, rhyming, rhythm, double meanings, etc. This study isn't only about hyperbole but also about those things that Jesus felt were so important that he used hyperbole to emphasize them.
Beginning in Matthew 5 Jesus gives what is called the Olivet Discourse or the Sermon on the Mount. It is a very long message and in it many times he uses hyperbole.
But if your right eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and cast it from you, for it is profitable for you that your one member be lost, and not that your whole body should fall into Gehenna. 30 And if your right hand causes you to stumble, cut it off, cast it from you, for it is profitable for you that one of your members be lost, and not that your whole body fall into Gehenna. (Matthew 5:29-30)
Jesus has been talking about committing adultery in the heart when he says the words above. His point is more general than that though. It applies to all sin.
How can we know that he is using hyperbole? How can we know that he doesn't mean this literally? Easy, we just have to ask some questions about what he says. Is it the hand, acting by itself, that steals stuff? Is it the hand that hits people? Is it the eye that lusts or which eye was it that lusted? No, of course not. Therefore the hand and the eye are not the problem.
Then, what is it that causes us to stumble, to steal stuff, hit people, or lust?
When your body dies and begins to rot away and all that is left is your spirit, why is it the spirit is punished or rewarded for what was done in life? That's because the spirit has authority over the body. Everything done by the body was done because the spirit wanted to do it or allowed it. The spirit, the real "us", always has the choice. God will not allow temptations to overwhelm our ability to choose. Very early in the Bible God makes it clear.
[…] But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it. (Genesis 4:6)
Going back to the verses from Matthew we see Jesus is using hyperbole to make the point about how important it is to have control over your body. He is not saying that if we see a person and lust after them we should cut out our eyes. I suppose if there was no other way to control your body that would be an option - but there is another way.
The point Jesus is making is that failure to control our bodies will cause us to be thrown into the Lake of Fire. That would be so terrible that to lose an eye or hand would be nothing in comparison.
We see some more examples of hyperbole in Matthew 6. This is still part of the Olivet Discourse.
But you, whenever you do charity giving, let not your left [hand] know what your right [hand] is doing. 4 So that your charity may be in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in public. (Matthew 6:3-4)
Jesus is not saying that the charity given by your right hand should literally be hidden from your left hand, an obvious impossibility. He also isn't saying that giving charity in the site of others is wrong or that your charity is invalidated if someone knows about it. Jesus' words are extreme statements that are made to emphasize a point - a hyperbole.
His point is to give charity for the right reason and with the right heart. He uses the example of the religious leaders who made a big show of the money they were giving so that people would see what they were doing. So their charity was for the wrong reason. It wasn't done for the benefit of the poor; it was for their own benefit.
This doesn't mean you can always give charity in public. There are situations when charity is best given discretely. We need to be careful here though. Some people say that charity should be given so that the person receiving the charity will not be exposed publicly and perhaps feel shame. I find that to be human thinking and not Biblical. It ignores the motivational effect of the desire not to be exposed as being in need.
In the Bible one way people who needed charity received it was to ask for it publicly. This required them to humble themselves, which is always a good thing. That encouraged them not to ask unless they really had a need. It also gave them a perspective which allowed them to appreciate everything they received. Asking publicly also helps to eliminate the frauds because they can be seen by people who know if they are really in need.
Another way that people received charity in the Bible was to take advantage of God's laws. Two of these laws were that farmers would not harvest to the edges of their fields and would not go back over them a second time. This allowed the needy to receive charity but it required that they put in the effort and did so publicly.
We see another example of hyperbole immediately after this, in Matthew 6.
And when you pray, be not like the pretenders who like to stand in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets to pray, that they may be seen by the children of men, and truly I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But you, when you pray, enter into your closet and lock your door, and pray to your father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward you in public. (Matthew 6:5-6)
In this case the hyperbole is "when you pray, enter into your closet and lock your door." Just like the previous example the hyperbole, the extreme example, stresses the importance of praying with the right heart. There is nothing wrong with praying in the street corners. And all of our prayer does not need to be done in our closets, behind locked doors.
The verse above is marked where Jesus describes the goal for prayer of a person with a bad heart - he prays that he might be seen and glorified by men. The religious leaders were praying in public so that people would think how pious and good they were. Therefore the prayers they prayed were worthless.
Because it is a matter of the heart it is possible for two men to be praying on street corners and the prayer of one of them is worthless and the prayer of the other is heard by God.
Also in Matthew 6 Jesus says this
And when you are fasting, do not be gloomy like the pretenders, for they disfigure their faces, so that they may appear to the children of men to fast, and truly I say to you, that they have received their reward. 17 But you whenever you fast, wash your face and anoint your head. 18 So that you may not appear to the children of men to be fasting, but to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees in secret will reward. (Matthew 6:16-18)
In this case the hyperbole is "whenever you fast, wash your face and anoint your head." If it was taken literally it would mean that every time we fast we must keep our face washed for the whole time and anoint our heads with oil periodically. If everyone did this in our time, people would know who is fasting.
In Jesus time, washing your face and putting some oil in your hair was how you prepared to go out and see people. So the message is to live your life as you normally would and not do anything that would indicate to people you are fasting.
This point is really the same point as the previous two - doing it for the right reason. Jesus isn't saying that when we fast we must anoint our heads. He is saying that we should do nothing for the purpose of obtaining the praise of others. If we do it for their praise then there will be no praise for us from the Father.
All three of these uses of hyperbole are making the same point, that we need to do these things with a proper heart and motive. How we do them is less important. So wisdom says that fasts should be conducted, as much as possible, without others knowing. Not that it is wrong for them to know, but so that you don't fall into the trap of doing it for the praise of others.
Over and over again in the Olivet Discourse Jesus makes the point that "it's what's in your heart that matters", that desire that motivates you to do what you do. Early in that discourse he makes it clear when he says
27 You have heard that it was spoken, "You shall not commit adultery." 28 But I am saying to you, everyone who looks at a woman so as to lust for her, immediately commits adultery with her in his heart. (Matthew 5:27-28)
He then applies that principle to many specific examples. In the ones we've studied here he uses hyperbole to emphasize them.
In each case it is what's in the heart that matters.
1 Encarta Dictionary, Microsoft Word 2010