Related Links:
http://www.gpte.org..

Preach

The RSV OT uses "preach" or "preacher" only to render the hiphil of naµt\ap_ (in Ezekiel, Amos, and Micah) and qoµhelet_ (in Ecclesiastes). The AV occasionally uses "preach" to translate the piel of baµsøar (or (RSV "tell the glad news," Ps. 40:9 [MT 10]; "bring good tidings," Isa. 61:1; see also Good News) and qaµraÆ (RSV "proclaim," Neh. 6:7; Jonah 3:2; cf. qƒréÆ<aÆ, Jonah 3:2; AV "preaching"; RSV "message").

A. The Root nt\p. This root occurs in the OT nine times in the qal form, each time with the meaning "drip" (whether of rain, myrrh, wine, or honey; in Job 29:22 it is metaphorically applied to Job’s words, which are compared to the welcome spring rains [v 23]). The same root occurs nine times in the hiphil form. In Am. 9:13 it means simply "drip" or possibly "let drip," referring to wine (cf. qal, Joel 3:18 [MT 4:18]); but in the other eight occurrences it clearly refers to an act of speech, usually (apart from Mic. 2:11) in synonymous parallelism with "prophesy." Thus the RSV renders it "preach." The use of the verb root in Job 29:22 may suggest that here also it denotes a "dripping" of words. Equally plausible is H. W. Wolff’s suggestion (p. 315) that the verb describes impassioned speech by a vivid reference to the accompanying spray of saliva from the speaker’s mouth (cf. the English expression "spewing forth"). In any case, this use of naµt\ap_ has a range in tone similar to that of Eng. "preach"; e.g., while in Ezk. 20:46; 21:2 (MT 21:2, 7) it refers to speech commanded by the Lord, the tone is just as clearly pejorative in Mic. 2:6, 11 (contra Allen, pp. 294f n 57; cf. NEB "rant," "ranting") and possibly in Am. 7:16 (NEB "drivelling on" cf. Zimmerli, p.422).

B. Qoµhelet_ This term occurs seven times in the OT, all in Ecclesiastes (1:1f, 12; 7:27; 12:8–10), and is traditionally, though somewhat doubtfully, translated "the Preacher" (NEB "the Speaker"). The term is a qal fem part of the common root qhl ("assemble") — which is curious both because it is feminine and because the verb is elsewhere unattested in the qal. Some have argued plausibly that qoµhelet_ is the title of a functionary, perhaps best rendered "the Assembler" or "the Gatherer" (see Gordis, pp. 203f; but Whitley [pp. 4–6] has suggested "the Sceptic"). Kidner (p. 13) has pointed out that, while qoµhelet_ may refer to the "gathering" of a congregation of people (hence LXX Ekkleµsiasteµ�s), the book’s climactic passage (12:9–12) suggests that it may instead refer to the "gathering" of wise sayings, so impressively exemplified in the book of Ecclesiastes.

Of the fourteen Greek terms translated "preach," "preacher," or "preaching" by the RSV, by far the most characteristic are the four members of the keµryŒssoµ word group (seventy-two times) and the two members of the euangeléŒzoµ word group (forty-two times). The last fifty years have seen a growing scholarly consensus (acknowledged also in the more recent popular manuals; cf. J. E. Adams, Preaching With Purpose [1982], pp. 5f) that "preach" is somewhat infelicitous as a rendering for these two word groups. "Preach" accurately conveys the typically public and authoritative character of the various speech acts intended by these Greek terms; but it is a misleading translation to the extent that common English parlance uses "preach" to refer to formal sermonizing directed to the faithful, while the NT uses both keµryŒssoµ and euongeléŒzomai to refer primarily (though not exclusively to evangelistic activity directed to non-Christians.

The RSV occasionally uses "preach," "preacher," and "preaching" to render a variety of more general Greek terms for speech, presumably to convey the authoritative and public character of the speech acts in these passages. In most of these instances the RSV departs from the practice of the AV. For example, leŒgoµ (usually "say") in Mt. 23:3 is rendered "preach" by the RSV but "say" by the AV and NEB. LaleŒoµ (usuatty "speak"), on the other hand, is rendered "preach" by both the AV and RSV of Mk. 2:2. In several passages the RSV tses "preaching" to translate the nouns loŒgos (cognate of leŒgoµ) and rheµ�ma, both of which are usually translated "word." KatangeleuŒs, which occurs only in Acts 17:18 (RSV "preacher"; AV "setter forth"; NEB "propagandist"), is derived from the verb katangeŒlloµ, "proclaim." (See also heading.)

B. KeµryŒsso and Related Terms The RSV characteristically translates the keµryŒsso word group by various appropriate forms of "preach," although it occasionally uses other terms. It usually renders keµryŒssoµ itself "preach" (forty-nine times; cf. also the one occurrence of prokeµryŒssoµ in Acts 13:24), but it also uses "proclaim" (ten times; e.g., Mt. 10:27; Mk. 5:20; 7:36; Lk. 4:18f) and "talk" (Mk. 1:45). It renders keµ�ryx twice as "preacher" and once as "herald" (2 Pet. 2:5). For keµ�rygma it uses "preaching" five times, "message" twice (1 Cor. 2:4; 2 Tim. 4:17). and "what one preaches" once (1 Cor. 1:21).

a. Existentialist interpretation Analysis of the keµryŒssoµ word group, which is so determinative for the NT concept of preaching, has been complicated in modern times by the regrettable practice of using "kerygma" as a technical term of twentieth-century biblical theology. Certain existentialist theologians (esp Bultmann and his school) have posited a radical dichotomy between the Jesus of actual history and the "kerygmatic Christ" who confronts people through the message (kerygma) of the early Church. This use of "kerygma" can give the unwary reader the misimpression that the anglicized Greek term preserves the original NT meaning, and hence that the preaching (keµ�rygma) of the earliest Christians was not concerned with historical facts. For a critical analysis of this specialized usage of "kerygma," see DNTT, III, 57–60.

b. C. H. Dodd The publication of C. H. Dodd’s seminal work, Apostolic Preaching and its Developments (1936), marked a turning point in the modern treatment of keµryŒssoµ and its cognates. With surprisingly modest argumentation Dodd seemed at first to win the day for two crucial propositions. For convenience these are treated here in reverse order.

Dodd’s second thesis was that an analysis of the NT writings yielded a discernible pattern underlying the primitive apostolic proclamation to unbelievers (the "kerygma") — a pattern that followed a six-point outline: (1) The age of fulfillment has arrived. (2) This has occurred through the ministry, death, and resurrection of Christ. (3) In His resurrection Christ was exalted to the right hand of God as messianic head of the new Israel. (4) The Holy Spirit in the Church is the evidence of Christ’s present power and glory. (5) The messianic age will be consummated shortly in the return of Christ. (6) The kerygma always closes with the message of repentance, forgiveness of sins, the promise of the Holy Spirit, and eternal life for those who enter the "elect community." (See Dodd, pp. 21–24.)

A half century of almost relentless analysis and criticism seems to have left Dodd’s thesis in shambles. M. Green (pp. 60f) cites a parade of modern scholars who have replaced Dodd’s original six-point outline with outlines varying from three points to seven — each scholar equally convinced of having at last recovered the earliest kerygma. The cumulative effect of their varying outlines is to discredit the entire enterprise as overly optimistic. More recent scholars generally prefer to speak not of a primitive "kerygma" but rather of "kerygmata" — plural because of the now-established pluriformity and diversity of the early Church’s message, though that message everywhere finds its center in Jesus Christ. (See also Kerygma.)

Dodd’s first thesis was that "the NT writers draw a distinction between preaching and teaching.… Teaching (didaskein) is in a large majority of cases ethical instruction.… Preaching, on the other hand, is the public proclamation of Christianity to the non-Christian world" (p. 7). Accordingly, Dodd distinguished preaching from teaching both by its content and by its audience, with the latter distinction ("preaching" being aimed at non-Christians) posing the sharpest possible contrast with modern day preaching — at least as perceived from the pew!

This thesis, too, has had its share of detractors. Numerous scholars have pointed out that Dodd’s rigid distinction between preaching and teaching is simply not honored in the NT (nor in the LXX). R. Mounce (pp. 40ff), e.g., cites various parallel passages in the Synoptic Gospels to demonstrate that what one Gospel terms "preaching" the others will at times term "teaching" (e.g., cf. Mt. 4:23 with Mk. 1:39; Lk. 4:44). Perhaps more compelling is the observation that even within a single Gospel the same activity can be referred to both as "teaching" (Mk. 1:21) and as "preaching" (v 38).

This evidence can be accommodated, however, if Dodd’s thesis is modified to allow for the well-established broad semantic range of didaŒskoµ in the NT (see Teach). Thus in the NT "teaching" can include "preaching" without these terms being considered merely synonymous. In support of Dodd, it remains striking that in the vast majority of cases (though not every case, contra Dodd) "preaching" in the NT is, in fact, directed to unbelievers.

(See also DNTT, III, 60–67; McDonald.)

2. Extrabiblical Literature G. Friedrich (TDNT, III, 683–694) has amassed an impressive sampling of evidence to help establish the classical and Hellenistic background for the keµryŒssoµ word group. The following selective arrangement of that evidence departs somewhat from Friedrich’s by placing greater emphasis on keµryŒssoµÕs distinctly political usage as over against its cultic or philosophical usage. Although superficial parallels can be found between Christianity and the Hellenistic religions or Stoic philosophy, the organizing rubric for the NT’s usage of these terms (esp in the teaching of Jesus) lies clearly in the political sphere, i.e., "preaching the kingdom of God."

Two distinct uses of this word group are readily apparent from the classical and Hellenistic evidence: each of these is attested in biblical usage.

In its broadest and most general (though not the most common) use, keµryŒssoµ describes the making of a loud, attention-getting noise or of a public oral announcement; hence it can simply be translated "proclaim." A biblical example occurs in Zeph. 3:14, LXX, where Israel is enjoined to "shout aloud" (keµryŒssoµ) its joyful praise to the Lord (cf. also Ex. 32:5; Hos. 5:8; Joel 2:1; Zec. 9:9; Rev. 5:2).

Far more common is the narrower use of keµryŒssoµ to refer specifically to the proclaiming of a keµ�ryx ("herald" or "preacher"), i.e., one who speaks as a representative of another. The party represented might be a private individual, in which case the "preacher" was frequently the ancient equivalent of an auctioneer. Or the party represented might be an official of a court, a temple, the Areopagus, or even a deity, as in the case of the Stoic philosophers (cf. Epictetus Dissertationes iii.22.69). Interestingly, the noun keµ�ryx occurs in the NT much less frequently than the verb. M. Green (p. 292, n 98) has suggested that, given the superficial similarities between the early Christians and these self-styled emissaries of the pagan gods who left home, possessions, and family (Dissertationes iii.22.46ff) to bring a supposed divine revelation (iii.1.36ff) offering a peace purported to surpass even the pax Romana (iii.13.9f), it is not surprising that the NT authors show restraint in appropriating the noun keµ�ryx: presumably they wished to avoid these unwelcome associations.

Typically, however, the party represented was the king himself (esp in the Homeric period) or, later,the state. While modern scholars have drawn attention to the great variety of menial tasks performed by these "preachers" as members of the royal court — e.g., mixing wine or preparing a bath (cf. TDNT, III, 684) — these activities were clearly peripheral to their "preaching."

Acting in his official capacity as an envoy of the king, and so bearing the official insignia of the king, the keµ�ryx was granted the inviolable status of the king he represented. To reject him was to reject the king who commissioned him; to harm him was to harm the king and, worse, to incur the wrath of the gods (cf. Demosthenes Orationes xii.4). In contrast to the ambassador (preŒsbys), who had the authority to engage in negotiations without explicit instructions, the keµ�ryx was required simply to deliver any message exactly as it was given to him and to return at once (TDNT, III, 688).

The Bible offers numerous instances of this more narrow use of the keµryŒssoµ word group (cf., e.g., LXX Ex. 36:6; 2 K. 10:20; 2 Ch. 36:22; Dnl. 5:29). Yet (apart from Jonah) these occurrences are notably lacking where one would most expect to find them, namely, in descriptions of the prophets as spokesmen for their Lord. To explain this surprising absence, proper account must be given to a third usage of these terms attested in the extrabiblical sources.

The third use of the keµryŒssoµ word group is really just a special development of the second; but because it refers to the work that made the herald most vital to the state and lent his office its greatest dignity, this special use should not be uncritically lumped with the more general description treated above. Expressed most simply by the tenth-century a.d. Greek lexicographer Suidas, "a herald [keµ�ryx] is in time of war what an ambassador preŒsbys] is in peace." Suidas was referring to the Greek practice of sending a keµ�ryx into enemy territory ahead of an advancing army to warn the enemy of certain destruction unless they accepted the proffered terms for peace. In this situation the keµ�ryx was empowered either to accept surrender on behalf of his king or to declare war if those terms were rejected.

This practice, designed to avoid conflict, is attested throughout the ancient world; cf. Dt. 20:10: "When you draw near to a city to fight against it, offer terms of peace to it" (Josephus rendered the last phrase "send an embassy with heralds [keµ��rykes]," Ant. iv.7.41 [296]; cf. also the keµ�ryx sent by Neco to warn Josiah in x.5.1 [75]). What was new with the Greeks was their practice of choosing for this obviously dangerous job people who were otherwise relative nobodies and were therefore considerably more dispensable than, e.g., the Tartan, the Rabsaris, the Rabshakeh sent by the Assyrians (2 K. 18:17)! Julius Pollux (Onomasticum vi.128) can therefore list heralds alongside brothel keepers and other wastrels. This by no means implies, however, that harm to such a keµ�ryx would be taken lightly by his king. The swift and fierce retribution incurred by such acts was more than sufficient to establish the seriousness with which the herald’s diplomatic immunity was held and so to inspire almost unimaginable feats of courage among their ranks.

A striking example of this kind of outraged response to the murder of a keµ�ryx occurs in Plutarch Pericles 30, which describes how Pericles’s keµ�ryx Anthemocritus was murdered by the rival city state of Megara, and how this atrocity resulted in an Athenian decree of irreconcilable and implacable enmity between the Athenians and the Megarians. (For another vivid example, see Herodotus vii.131ff; cf. also Rengstorf, pp. 106–121.)

Examples of singular bravery among the "preachers" of Greece are plentiful. Thucydides i.29, e.g., relates an incident in which seventy-five Corinthian ships, boarding some two thousand hoplites, set sail to wage war against the Corcyraeans. Incredibly, when their fleet reached Actium "the Corcyraeans had sent out a keµ�ryx in a dinghy to forbid their advance"! When the keµ�ryx returned, having failed to secure peace, the Corcyraeans’ amusing strategy had bought them sufficient time to prepare for their ultimately victorious counteroffensive.

a. Among the Prophets Against this background, it is not surprising that the LXX (and NT; cf. Mt. 12:41) uses keµryŒssoµ for none of the OT prophets except Jonah; for of the prophets, Jonah alone was commissioned to bring the demand of unconditional surrender into non-Israelite territory ahead of his Lord’s advancing armies. With similar import the NT describes Noah as a "herald" to the hostile worid of his day as it awaited the approaching judgment of God (2 Pet. 2:5).

When the NT describes John the Baptist’s ministry and later that of Jesus as "preaching [keµryŒssoµ] …‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand"’ (Mt. 3:1f; 4:17), it depicts their preaching as a dire warning, marking a drastic change from the OT period when Israel had not yet fully become "enemy territory" (as Nineveh was for Jonah). The "prophetic lawsuit" (réÆb_) had reached its dreaded final stage. This interpretation is supported by J. R. Michaels’s observation (p. 23) that John’s use of baptism — paralleling proselyte baptism — reduced even the most religious "son of Abraham" to the level of an outsider needing the ritual of initiation into Israel.

b. Authority Like the Greek heralds or "preachers," Jesus’ preachers possessed no special inherent stature in the eyes of the world (cf. 1 Cor. 1:20–29, esp v 26: "not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth"). But when Jesus commissioned His disciples to preach the kingdom (Mt. 10), He invested them with His own authority and the inviolable status of the King of kings they would represent. Distinguishing them with the unmistakable insignia of their Lord — His servant attitude and miracle working power (vv 8–10), Jesus sent them to proclaim the dire warning and promise, "the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (v 7). Though He sent them as "sheep among wolves" with the warning that persecution awaited them (vv 16–39), He comforted them with the promise that "he who receives you receives me" (v 40), and that "it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for [the town that rejects them]" (vv l4f; cf. also 2 Cor. 5:20).

c. The "Preacherhood" of All Believers While it is true that preachers are not self-appointed ("how can they preach unless they are sent?" Rom. 10:15), it should be noted that Jesus commissioned not merely the Twelve but also the rank and file of His disciples to preach the kingdom of God (cf. the extensive parallels between Mt. 10 and Lk. 10, though the latter lacks the term keµryŒssoµ). Likewise, in Luke’s account of the "Great Commission" (that "repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations," Lk. 24:47) Jesus’ immediate audience included other disciples (e.g., Cleopas and his unnamed companion; cf. also v 33) in addition to the apostles.

Acts 8:1–4 stresses that it was not the apostles (v 1) but all the other believers in Jerusalem who "were scattered" and so "went about preaching the word" (v 4). Since v 3 specifically mentions that women were included among the believers who were persecuted, the text does not warrant an interpretation that excludes women from those who fled Jerusalem and "went about preaching the word." Here as elsewhere the NT upholds the principle of the "preacherhood of all believers."

It is therefore not surprising that "preachers" and "preaching" are conspicuously absent from the various lists of offices and gifts in the NT (Rom. 12:6–8: 1 Cor. 12:8–10, 28–30; Eph. 4:11; 1 Pet. 4:10f). The call to preach is not reserved for some elite few among Jesus’ followers or for those with special abilities in public speaking. It is the duty and privilege of every believer — for all who would not be ashamed of Jesus and His words (Mk. 8:38).

(For a discussion of the larger question of the role of women in the Church, see Woman.)

4. The Message The pervasive NT practice of associating "preaching" specifically with the "kingdom of God/ heaven" (e.g., Mt. 4:23; 10:7; Acts 20:25; 28:31) makes sense when preachers are understood as envoys sent into enemy territory ahead of their kingdom’s approaching armies, bearing their Lord’s terms for peace. Likewise, it is not surprising that the message is so often focused on the summons to "repent" (e.g., Mt. 3:1f par 4:17 par; Mk. 6:12), with the ultimatum to count the cost of discipleship (cf. Lk. 14:25–33; indeed, discipleship costs the surrender of all to Christ, but the alternative of judgment is unaffordable).

But because Jesus’ coming means not merely a threat of well-deserved judgment but most of all a promise to set free those tyrannized by the guilt of sin, the message preached can also be characterized more fully as "the gospel of the kingdom" (cf. keµryŒssoµ toŒ euangeŒlion teŒs basileéŒas, Mt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14). Accordingly, keµryŒssoµ often has merely euangeŒlion ("good news" or "gospel") for its content (Mt. 26:13; Mk. 1:14; 13:10; 14:9; Lk. 8:1; Gal. 2:2; Col. 1:23; 1 Thess. 2:9); cf. the parallels between "preach [keµryŒssoµ] the word" and "do the work of an evangelist [keµryŒssoµ toŒ euangeŒlion teµ�s basileéŒas]" in 2 Tim. 4:2, 5, and between "do all for the sake of the gospel" and "preach" in 1 Cor. 9:23, 27. Reflecting the same emphasis on the good news that is preached, the NT frequently uses euangeléŒzomai interchangeably with keµryŒssoµ in descriptions of the same speech acts (e.g., cf. Lk. 4:43 and 9:6 [euangeléŒzomai] with parallels in Mk. 1:38 and 6:12 [keµryŒssoµ]). Other passages characterize the content of the preaching (keµryŒssoµ or keµ�rygma) as "Jesus Christ" (2 Cor. 1:19; 11:4; Phil. 1:15; 1 Tim. 3:16) or Christ’s death and resurrection (1 Cor. 1:23; 15:12, 14). It is through the preaching of the crucified and risen Christ that salvation is made available to all who believe the good news (cf. Acts 10:39–42; Rom. 10:14; etc.).

The AV of 1 Cor. 1:21 ("it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe") has at times been misconstrued to mean that Paul was denigrating the act of preaching as foolishness. Such an interpretation may seem to gain support from Paul’s admission that his own preaching appeared unimpressive since he lacked eloquence and was with them "in weakness and in much fear and trembling" (2:1–5); but since the Greek word for "preaching" here is not the verb but the noun keµ�rygma (cf. RSV "what we preach"), Paul’s main point is that it is the message (not the method) that appears to be "foolishness" — "to those who are perishing" (v 18).

The Path to Godliness Leads through the Valley of Suffering

Rejoice in the midst of Sufferings

Mailing Address:  James King, 1143 Northern Blvd, PMB 213, Clarks Summit, Pa 18411