Using Hapax Legomena in Exegesis as a New Perspective in the Practical and Academic Work

Abstract

This article presents the theoretical and practical aspects of what we have called MEMO-Exegesis. This acronym stands for “The Method of Emphasis Modelling Exegesis.” It has been developed based on the German and Anglo-Saxon interpretational background, the main feature of which is the communicational power and role of New Testament hapax legomena. How this exegetical method functions in practical terms, has been demonstrated within a longer textual context, namely, the whole Letter to the Galatians. Its practicality has been pointed out in that we needed only 32 words to implement the MEMO-Exegesis. It has been argued that when it is done for the first time, it might take a longer period of time to successfully implement it, but it will be shorter than to analyse, word-by-word, the whole context of the biblical passage under investigation. The article has also highlighted the fact that when one employs MEMO-Exegesis for the second time, it will be more accessible. And that both students and scholars will thus have a practical tool at their disposal to make a short and exact interpretational analysis of NT passages.

Keywords

• hapax legomena
• linguistics
• mia-graphe
• intertextual
• semiotic certainty