Pardes is a Hebrew word that is really an acronym.
P – Peshat – this is the plain, literal or ‘simple’ meaning of the text
R – Remez – this is a ‘hint’ that there’s an allegorical or symbolic meaning of the text
D – Derash – this is to interpret or discover an ethical or moral lesson in the meaning of the text
S – Sod – this is a secret or esoteric, mystical meaning of the text, usually by Kabbalists
These are the four primary methods of the study of hermeneutics, the exegeting or interpreting of the Bible that have historically been used by Jews. The first three are universally accepted, while the fourth is mostly used by those who believe in Kabbalah, the mystic arm of Judaism.
Hermaneutics is basically the theological term for interpreting the Scripture, and within this there are some other terms that need clarification.
Exegesis: This is the critical explanation or interpretation of a text, especially of Scripture. The Greek word means ‘to lead out’, to look at the original, meaning of the text in its context and it’s historical, cultural environment and present the clear meaning of it.
Eisegesis: This is the process of interpreting a portion of text using the biases, presuppositions and agendas of the one studying the text. It’s often referred to as ‘reading into the text’ what you want it to say and often, it means ignoring or dismissing as unnecessary, the original meaning, culture and historical context the text was originally written in.
Then there’s a new more modern term that has come into play in recent years which is called…
Narcegesis: This is where the person studying a given text reads themselves into the text as though the text is talking about them.
The word ‘Pardes’ developed in the Middle Ages as an acronym for these four methods of Biblical interpretation, so it’s been used for a very long time. We’re going to look at each of these methods and some examples, but the general rule of thumb for all of them, is that the plain, simple direct meaning of the written text must never be undermined, diminished or overruled because the text as it was written, was done so by God through the agency of the Holy Spirit to human writers. If an interpretation diminishes the plain, surface meaning of the text, it must be rejected. The Jewish Talmud actually says, “No passages loses its Pashat”. (b.Shab. 63a; b.Yeb. 24a)
Be careful if you’re in a Bible study and each person gets to share what they ‘think’ a given passage means. The plain meaning of the text is the meaning of the text, not our infusing or opinion being pushed into the text. That’s eisegesis and we don’t have that right or authority.
Peshat
This is the keystone, the most important level of Biblical interpretation, and to disregard the plain meaning of the text means we lose our capacity to understand any of it. Peshat means to study the plain, historical, grammatical meaning of the text. That means the grammar, the background historical setting is essential to understand what the passage means. This is the ‘default setting’ for reading and studying the Bible.
Genesis 1:1, ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’
Peshat looks at this verse and the plain meaning expressed in it, looks at the fact that before God created anything there was nothing and He alone is responsible for everything.
Genesis 1:2, ‘The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.’
Peshat looks at this verse, using the contextual setting of the first verse and concludes what was taking place in the natural environment and how the Spirit of God brought the supernatural power of God into that natural environment and began the process of creation.
Matthew 27:35, ‘And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots.’
Peshat looks at this verse and concludes that when Jesus was crucified there were Roman soldiers gathered near Him, they took His clothing and gambled to determine who would get to keep it as a souvenir.
Peshat also takes into consideration obvious figures of speech, allegories that have been written into the text and things like puns that are also part of cultural speech.
Again, Peshat is the primary and most important level of Scriptural interpretation and it takes the plain, obvious, straight meaning of the text, taking special care to understand the cultural setting, the traditions and historical environment that the writing took place in and the original meaning of the words used. By this measure, you get a true and accurate interpretation of the text.
Any interpretation that negates, weakens, undermines or changes the original meaning must be rejected.
In our next program we’ll learn about the second level of Jewish interpretation of the Scripture which is ‘remez’.
Shalom
Mandy
