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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. The intent of hyperbole is not to deceive. The reader (listener) was not supposed to believe the extreme example was real. Instead the extreme example is used to show the importance of the point that the speaker is making.
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 Jesus uses hyperbole many times within it.
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 sins.
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 that 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 people 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 eternal torment. 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 know what your right 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. 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.
Jesus isn't saying that giving charity in view of others is wrong or that your charity is invalidated if someone knows about it. Jesus is not talking about the how, where, and why of giving. He is talking about the heart of the giver. Therefore you can give charity in public.
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 privately 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 a person in need.
There are good reasons not to give privately. In the Bible, one way people who needed charity received it was to ask for it publicly by begging at the temple. This required them to humble themselves, which is always a good thing.
That steward said to himself, “What shall I do? My Lord has taken the stewardship from me; I cannot dig, and I am ashamed to beg. (Luke 16:3)
That also encouraged them not to ask unless they really had a need. It also gave them a perspective that allowed them to appreciate everything they received. Asking publicly also helps to eliminate fraud because it 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 do 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 on the street corners. And all of our prayers do 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 before God.
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 this was taken literally, it would mean that every time we fast, we must keep our faces 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 by the smell of olive oil.
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 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.
Just in case you were thinking that the Olivet Discourse is the only place where hyperbole is used in the Bible, we'll look at an example from elsewhere in Matthew.
But you shall not be called "Rabbi", for One is your Rabbi, but you are all brothers. 9 And you should not call yourselves "Father", in the earth, for one is your Father who is in Heaven. 10 And you will not be called Leaders, because one is your Leader, the Messiah. (Matthew 23:8-10)
In this case, Jesus is talking about the titles of distinction that you call yourself, expect others to call you, and allow others to call you. There is nothing wrong with using the titles. In fact "father" is a commonly used title.
As we saw with the other examples, the problem, if it exists, is found in the heart. Are you elevating yourself to be equal to God?
Jesus wasn't the only Bible person who used hyperbole. Mark did as well.
Mark certainly quotes from Jesus a lot, but these words are his own.
And all the country of Judea and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and he baptized them in the Jordan when they confessed their sins. (Mark 1:5).
All the people from Jerusalem and Judea were not coming to see John the Baptist. The author is making the point that large crowds were coming, larger than would be expected.
Hyperbole wasn't only a literary technique of New Testament times. From the earliest times, people have used hyperbole to make their points.
Going back to the Israelites in the wilderness, we see the use of hyperbole.
There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. (Numbers 13:33)
Sometimes people fear that they are considering a teaching of Jesus to be a hyperbole, but that they are doing so to avoid what Jesus is saying because they don't like it. Very often in the church, people will interpret what someone said in a particular way so they can get it out of their way. So it's good that a person would wonder if they are doing the same thing.
And one came near and said to him, "Good teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?" 17 But he said to him, "Why do you call me good? There is none good except God alone. But if you want to enter life, keep the commandments." 18 He said to him, "Which ones?" But Yeshua said to him, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not testify falsely." 19 "Honor your father and your mother", and "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 20 That young man said to him, "I have kept all these from my childhood; what am I lacking?" 21 Yeshua said to him, "If you want to be perfect, go sell your possessions and give to the poor and you will have treasure in Heaven, and come after me."
22 But that young man heard this saying and he went away, as it was grievous to him, for he had many possessions. 23 But Yeshua said to his disciples, "Amen, I say to you, that it is difficult for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of Heaven. 24 And again I say to you that it is easier for a camel to enter the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God."
25 But the disciples when they heard, they were greatly amazed and they were saying, "Who then can have life?" 26 Yeshua gazed at them and he said to them, "This is impossible with the children of men, but everything is possible with God." 27 Then Kaypha answered and said to him, "Behold, we have left everything and we have come after you. What then will happen to us?"
28 Yeshua said to them, "Surely, I say to you who have come after me, in the New World when the son of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you also will sit on twelve thrones and will judge the twelve Tribes of Israel." (Matthew 19:16-28)
How can we know that "sell your possessions is a hyperbolic statement? How can we know that we aren't calling it hyperbolic so that we can avoid selling all the possessions that we have and love to have?
The answer comes from the text. When Jesus says that he is answering the young man's question, "What am I lacking?" What he lacks is God. In place of God, he has erected an idol of wealth. So Jesus is saying he needs to sell that idol and buy things that are everlasting.
Note that Jesus doesn't only tell him to sell all his possessions. He says … and give away the proceeds (money) from the sale.
Jesus knew it wasn't going to happen, but what if the young man had said, "I will do that. The things of this world are nothing to me, and I will become your disciple." Then Jesus would have had to explain it was a hyperbole. The effect of the story comes from the young man wandering off, still in love with his money and how it protects him and makes him powerful.
This is the only place that Jesus says a person should sell all of his possessions. That does not appear anywhere else, so it is not a general message about Christianity. Also we see Paul talking to the wealthy people in the churches, warning them about the danger of wealth. Those rich people didn't understand they were supposed to sell all their possessions, and Paul doesn't say they should.
The Bible also says we are to be good caretakers of the things that God has given us. We need to be careful not to cross the line and become worshipers of those.
It's easy to say that Jesus is the God of me, but is it really true? If Job-like circumstances landed on us and the economy crashed, and our investments became worthless, and we lost our jobs and our homes, would we still be worshiping God, or would we realize that our god had died?
The Bible uses many different literary techniques where the words are not meant to be understood literally. These include literary devices such as allegory (metaphor), multiple meanings, numerology, etc.
When we read the Bible, we need to be careful to understand when these techniques are being used, so we don't take them literally.
1 Encarta Dictionary, Microsoft Word 2010