Sitz im Leben
Encyclopedia
In Biblical criticism
, Sitz im Leben is a German phrase roughly translating to "setting in life".
. The term Sitz im Volksleben ("setting in the life of the people") was employed for the first time in 1906 and the term Sitz im Leben in 1917. The term Sitz im Leben was used by classic form critics, as pointed out by Chris Tuckett, "...it has been pointed out that the term Sitz im Leben was used in a rather peculiar way by the classic form critics
. In fact the term is a sociological one, describing a typical situation within any community so that the meaning of the text is bound up with its function in the community, and social context
. However some have noted that use in Biblical exegesis
can be problematic.
were written for, and is often called the "genres" of the Bible. Simple examples of Sitz im Leben include the classification of material into letters, poems of lament, parable
s, psalms
, and songs. However, Sitz im Leben can also involve many other considerations; who the speaker of a passage was, his role in life, the nature of his audience, and so on. Taken out of its original context
, the original meaning of a passage is often lost. So for example, a psalm may have its Sitz in the ritual of the temple cult, or as an artistic votive offering, or in the sense of injustice arising from a power structure in Jerusalem society, or lament in defeat. A major aim of hermeneutics (contextualizing interpretation
) is to uncover such things.
..." is a group of children deciding among themselves who will play in a game; when the children chant the song, we know that they are choosing who will play, but if we are unaware of this context, the rhyme appears merely to be nonsense about tigers.
In linguistics
the Sitz im Leben is determined by the text pragmatics
.
Biblical criticism
Biblical criticism is the scholarly "study and investigation of Biblical writings that seeks to make discerning judgments about these writings." It asks when and where a particular text originated; how, why, by whom, for whom, and in what circumstances it was produced; what influences were at work...
, Sitz im Leben is a German phrase roughly translating to "setting in life".
Origins
The term originated with the German Protestant theologian Hermann GunkelHermann Gunkel
Hermann Gunkel was a German Protestant Old Testament scholar. He is noted for his contribution to form criticism and the study of oral tradition in biblical texts. He was an outstanding representative of the "History of Religion School."...
. The term Sitz im Volksleben ("setting in the life of the people") was employed for the first time in 1906 and the term Sitz im Leben in 1917. The term Sitz im Leben was used by classic form critics, as pointed out by Chris Tuckett, "...it has been pointed out that the term Sitz im Leben was used in a rather peculiar way by the classic form critics
Form criticism
Form criticism is a method of biblical criticism that classifies units of scripture by literary pattern and that attempts to trace each type to its period of oral transmission. Form criticism seeks to determine a unit's original form and the historical context of the literary tradition. Hermann...
. In fact the term is a sociological one, describing a typical situation within any community so that the meaning of the text is bound up with its function in the community, and social context
Contextualization (sociolinguistics)
Contextualization in sociolinguistics refers to the use of language and discourse to signal relevant aspects of an interactional or communicative situation. Basil Bernstein uses contextualization when referring to the reformulation of scientific knowledge in pedagogical contexts, for instance in...
. However some have noted that use in Biblical exegesis
Exegesis
Exegesis is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially a religious text. Traditionally the term was used primarily for exegesis of the Bible; however, in contemporary usage it has broadened to mean a critical explanation of any text, and the term "Biblical exegesis" is used...
can be problematic.
Contextualization
At its simplest, it describes what occasions certain passages in the BibleBible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
were written for, and is often called the "genres" of the Bible. Simple examples of Sitz im Leben include the classification of material into letters, poems of lament, parable
Parable
A parable is a succinct story, in prose or verse, which illustrates one or more instructive principles, or lessons, or a normative principle. It differs from a fable in that fables use animals, plants, inanimate objects, and forces of nature as characters, while parables generally feature human...
s, psalms
Psalms
The Book of Psalms , commonly referred to simply as Psalms, is a book of the Hebrew Bible and the Christian Bible...
, and songs. However, Sitz im Leben can also involve many other considerations; who the speaker of a passage was, his role in life, the nature of his audience, and so on. Taken out of its original context
Context principle
In the philosophy of language, the context principle is a form of semantic holism holding that a philosopher should "never ... ask for the meaning of a word in isolation, but only in the context of a proposition"...
, the original meaning of a passage is often lost. So for example, a psalm may have its Sitz in the ritual of the temple cult, or as an artistic votive offering, or in the sense of injustice arising from a power structure in Jerusalem society, or lament in defeat. A major aim of hermeneutics (contextualizing interpretation
Contextualization (Bible translation)
In the field of Bible translation and interpretation, contextualization is the process of assigning meaning as a means of interpreting the environment within which a text or action is executed...
) is to uncover such things.
Development
Today the term is also used outside theological research, when it is needed to examine a text for its sociologically relevant aspects. For example: the Sitz im Leben of a counting rhyme like "eeny, meeny, miny, moeEeny, meeny, miny, moe
"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe", which can be spelled a number of ways, is a children's counting rhyme, used to select a person to be "it" for games and similar purposes such as counting out a child that has to be stood down from a group of children as part of a playground game...
..." is a group of children deciding among themselves who will play in a game; when the children chant the song, we know that they are choosing who will play, but if we are unaware of this context, the rhyme appears merely to be nonsense about tigers.
In linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
the Sitz im Leben is determined by the text pragmatics
Pragmatics
Pragmatics is a subfield of linguistics which studies the ways in which context contributes to meaning. Pragmatics encompasses speech act theory, conversational implicature, talk in interaction and other approaches to language behavior in philosophy, sociology, and linguistics. It studies how the...
.
External links
- "Form Criticism" at bibledudes.com