Osborne kicks off his comprehensive work in Biblical interpretation by devoting the first chapter to the discussion of context. The five chapters under the rubric of general hermeneutics deal with the respective topics accordingly: context, grammar, semantics, syntax, and historical and cultural backgrounds. The first chapter dealing with context is foundational. Without it the subject matter becomes absolutely meaningless.
Osborne divides his chapter into three key components within the subject of context. He begins by briefly examining the historical context of a biblical book. He encourages the use of commentaries, OT/NT Introductions, as well as reference works (i.e. dictionaries and encyclopedias). These works are all helpful in gathering the “preliminary data.” He stresses that these are not authoritative or final, but are merely helps and guides which aid the interpreter in understanding the ancient setting and milieu. The goal in the historical study is to grasp the authorship, date, audience, and intent of the biblical book. The historical context acts as a “filter” in which the text must be sifted through.
The logical context is the second component which Osborne observes, and the bulk of his chapter is spent discussing this most basic factor. An inductive study of a biblical book requires that the interpreter 1) studies the book as a whole and 2) diagrams the paragraphs within the book. After an elementary and inspectional perusal of the book has been read and the paragraphs within have been ascertained, a more thorough examination of those paragraphs must follow. Because the paragraph is essential to the flow and development of thought within a book, Osborne gives three stages in which the interpreter should read the paragraphs in order to determine the overall purpose of the book.
In studying the book as a whole Osborne first encourages the reader to skim through the paragraphs while taking notes in order to gain a big picture idea. Second, after charting through the text, the reader must then scrutinize the breaks in pattern or thought. Repetition and progression are key, and the greater the reader’s ability to highlight development and replication, the greater his understanding of the original intent. Third, Osborne promotes the subdividing of major sections within a unit of thought. This step regresses back from the first two steps and broadens the scope beyond the paragraph. Basically, the last step aids the reader by utilizing the data from the first two steps and stepping back in order to see how the patterns fit into the overall structure of the book.
Once the overall structure is established Osborne moves from studying the whole to examining the parts. Of course, the paragraph is where he begins, and he gives various methods of diagramming a paragraph (eg. grammatical, phrase or sentence flow, block, etc.). He prefers the block diagram simply for its ease and function. Although it is not as detailed as other methods, block diagramming helps “visualize” the possible flow of thought rather than rigidly “deciding” the details of the text.
Determining between the major and minor clauses is absolutely essential. A firm understanding of conjunctions (coordinating and subordinating) is also vital. Osborne’s healthy observation is right on when he points out two caveats when diagramming. First, he again emphasizes that diagramming is merely “preliminary;” it is not final. Second, the syntactical relationships within the text “aid” the reader in determining the patterns and breaks, but they do not always determine them automatically. He emphasizes that when the finer elements of exegesis are employed, the diagram must always be subject to revision.
The third and final major component in his chapter on context is the rhetorical or compositional patterns in communication. He refers to this as the “macro level of the organizational pattern” of a text. The grammar, semantics, and syntax he refers to as the “micro” level because of their more detailed structure. Osborne lists five rhetorical categories or patterns: 1) collection relations (repetition), 2) cause-effect and problem-solution, (question-answer, purpose, result, substantiation), 3) comparison (interchange, similarities/contrasts), 4) description (continuation, extension, summation, inclusio, chiasm), and 5) shifts in expectancy (climax, cruciality, omission).
Overall, this chapter on context sets the foundation for the rest of Osborne’s work. For him, rhetoric is different from genre studies in that the latter is peripheral to the communication process. His method of ascertaining the big picture first, through the examination of major structural patterns and breaks is crucial. Too often preachers and theologians stay in the minutiae or the micro-level, and they end up missing the main point of the authorial intent simply because they seldom or at times never step back and observe the macro level.
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