Principle #6

For it is written in the Law of Moses, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He? 1 Corinthians 9:9

Is He? – Does God care about oxen? Of course He does! Doesn’t the general principle (remember #5) apply here? God loves His creation, therefore He cares about oxen. So, why does Sha’ul ask the question? Because Sha’ul is about to apply the sixth principle of rabbinic interpretation; keyotza bo bamakom acher (“as comes from it in another place”), that is, a teaching based on what is similar in another passage. This is exegetical analogy. It isn’t oxen Sha’ul wants us to notice. What he wants us to notice is that just as God cares about oxen, so He also cares about those who labor on behalf of others. Oxen are fed in their labor. So should the servants of the Lord be fed and cared for by those whom they serve. Sha’ul draws an analogy based on the similarity of circumstance, that is, reward for laboring.

Frankly, a verse about feeding oxen has nothing to do with paying ministers. The context isn’t the same. The historical period isn’t the same. The language isn’t the same (unless your pastor is like a bull). One verse doesn’t seem to be connected to another verse, except by this process of rabbinic analogy. Then it makes sense. But if you were asked to find biblical support for rewarding pastors, I’ll bet you would never have thought of a verse about oxen – unless you were a brilliant rabbi like Sha’ul.

Sometimes this principle is used in even more mysterious ways. Rabbinic thought connected many apparently unrelated verses because they shared the same letters or words. The actual context or meaning of the individual verses had little to do with the rabbinic insight. Consider this example:

Lamentations 3:41 says, “Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens.” Deuteronomy 11:13 tells us “to love the Lord your God and to serve Him with all your heart.” From these two verses, the rabbis connect the word “heart” and conclude that serving God with all your heart means praying. Do you see the principle at work here? Taken independently, you might never conclude that serving the Lord was the work of prayer, but when principle #6 is employed, the two verses share something in common (the word lev) and that means they must somehow be related.

As Greek thinkers, we resist this principle. We want a logical connection. Otherwise, we complain the verse is taken “out of context.” But of course it’s taken out of context. Context doesn’t matter here. It is the analogy or the similarity that matters. Maybe we need to put our nice, neat, logical criteria on the shelf for awhile and listen to the sages. Maybe we would learn something important.

Topical Index: principle #6, keyotza bo bamakom acher, I Corinthians 9:9, oxen, Lamentations 3:41, Deuteronomy 11:13, heart, prayer