This approach asks us to build on the findings of the Form Critics; moving from the life situation (‘sitz im leben’ described above) to a guess on how the texts were used in their original contexts and to follow their changing use throughout history. In other words, to ask what these stories, speeches, poems and prophesies looked like before they ended up in their current form and the reasons for those changes.
Many Biblical texts existed in an oral state long before they were written down. We can presume that as each generation received the tradition from their parents they adapted it in the light of their current situation. This is the same process by which we interpret scripture in our meetings and Bible colleges. By the time it came to be written down the information had changed from its original form. However, even after being ‘trapped’ on paper things continued to change (see Textual criticism).
The work of the tradition critic changes subtly to ask how written texts were understood and used by the faith communities that read them. Hayes and Holladay sum up like this:
The biblical writings both receive and interpret earlier sacred traditions, but they have also become sacred traditions, used and transmitted by the two communities of faith, Israel and the church. What they record attests the various aspects of the faith and life of both Israel and the church, and quite often, how Israel and the church have participated in this process of transmission is as vital to understanding the final form of the written text as anything else. It is this dimension of the text which tradition criticism addresses. (Hayes and Holladay, 98)
This exciting aspect of Biblical criticism allows us to see the Bible as a living document that breathes and grows to encompass its cultural situation and speak to members of that culture. In this way, the Bible is truly an international book.
Biblical Exegesis: A Beginners Handbook, Hayes and Holladay. SCM Press Ltd, 1982
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