Yijia Zou
THEO 111 Take-home Exam #1 (Revised)
02/20/2014

1) Swartley’s step #1: Observe carefully what the passage says. a) Ask who, what, why, where questions.
“Why would Jesus come down so hard with a blanket condemnation of anger, especially considering that it seems to be a natural human emotion?” (Leininger 1)
He is doing step #1(a) because he asks a why question about the passage.

“Anyway, are there not times when we SHOULD get angry?” (Leininger 1)
He is doing step #1(a) because he asks what time we should get angry.

“That is the kind of anger Jesus says to get rid of. Why?” (Leininger 2)
He is doing step #1(a) because he asks why we should get rid of that kind of anger as Jesus says.

“Why would Jesus come down so hard on something as seemingly trivial as name-calling?” (Leininger 2)
He is doing step #1(a) because he asks a question about name-calling.

“Does the punishment fit the crime?” (Leininger 3)
He is doing step #1(a) because he asks whether the punishment in the passage fits the crime. b) Look at the literary structure of the passage.
“Jesus starts off with one of the problems that ALL relationships sometimes face…anger.” (Leininger 1)
He is doing step #1(b) because he finds out the literary structure of the passage is all the problems relate to anger. c) Look at literary context of the passage
“The mirror we use today is the Sermon on the Mount, this incredibly detailed set of instructions concerning our relationships with God and with one another.” (Leininger 1)
He is doing step #1(c) because chapter 5 in the Matthew talks about the Sermon on the Mount. He looks at the chapter 5 to explain Matthew 5:21-26.

“The Lord became incensed at the callous commercialism there, the blatant money-grubbing of those who were taking advantage of honest worships by charging outrageous prices for sacrificial animals or something as simple as making change. He was angry enough to fashion a whip and lay it to the hides of those ‘thieves’ (for that is what HE called them) and chase them out.” (Leininger 2)
He is doing step #1(c) because he looks at Matthew 21:12-13, which are surrounded Matthew 5: 21-26, to explain God’s righteous anger.
“There was that incident in the synagogue on the Sabbath day where the Lord encountered a man with a withered hand. The scripture says that Jesus ‘looked around at them in ANGER…’ But note that he was not mad at anything they had done to him; rather, he was FURIOUS at the religious attitude which would ever make human compassion ‘illegal’.” (Leininger 1)
He is doing step #1(c) because this is the story mentioned around Matthew 5:21-26. d) Look at recurring themes in your passage.
He doesn’t mention the themes again and again.

2) Swartley’s step #2: a) Be sensitive to the literary forms of the passage.
He doesn’t mention the literary forms like commandant or sermons in the article. b) Be sensitive to the use of imagery & symbolism in the passage.
“All these gradations of punishment are not be taken literally.” (Leininger 3)
He is doing step #2(b) because he said all punishments weren’t taken literally.

3) Swartley’s step #3: Study the historical & cultural context of the passage.
The author didn’t mention the historical context of the passage.

4) Swartley’s step #4: Make wise use of different translations of the passage.
“In the original language and in many translations of scripture it is left in the Aramaic: RACA. In Aramaic, raca is a term of derision roughly comparable to ‘worthless one’ or ‘empty-head’ or ‘contemptible one’ or just plain gardenvariety ‘idiot.’” (Leininger 2)
He is doing step #4 because he compares different translations to understand deliberate insult.

“Actually, the compilers of the King James Version of the Bible in which many of us were nurtured could not believe Jesus really said it – that version’s condemnation is for the man who is angry with his brother ‘without a cause.’ But the words ‘without a cause’ are not found in the Greek.” (Leininger 1)
He is doing step #4 because he looks at King James Version translation.

5) Swartley’s step #5: Consider how the passage has been interpreted by others.
“William Barclay: All these gradations of punishment are not to be taken literally. What Jesus is saying here is this:…but [that one] is a murderer at heart.” (Leininger 3)
He is doing step #5 because he looks at how William Barclay interpreted the same passage, Matt 5.

6) Swartley’s step #6: Consider the message of the Bible as a whole, when trying to interpret your passage.
“There was that incident in the synagogue on the Sabbath day where the Lord encountered a man with a withered hand. The scripture says that Jesus ‘looked around at them in ANGER…’ But note that he was not mad at anything they had done to him; rather, he was FURIOUS at the religious attitude which would ever make human compassion ‘illegal.” (Leininger 1)
He is doing step #6 because he looks other parts of the Bible.
“The Lord became incensed at the callous commercialism there, the blatant money-grubbing of those who were taking advantage of honest worships by charging outrageous prices for sacrificial animals or something as simple as making change. He was angry enough to fashion a whip and lay it to the hides of those ‘thieves’ (for that is what HE called them) and chase them out.” (Leininger 2)
He is doing step #6 because he looks at other sermons in the Bible.

“The Psalmist spoke of ‘the fool who has said in his heart ‘There is no God.’” (Leininger 3)
He is doing step #6 because he looks at the chapter of Psalm.

“The advice of the letter to Ephesians is apropos here: ‘do not let the sun go down on your anger’” (Leininger 4)
He is doing step #6 because he looks at Ephesians 4:26.