Sitz im Leben

In Biblical criticism, Sitz im Leben (German pronunciation: [ˈzɪts ʔɪm ˈleːbm̩]) is a German phrase roughly translating to "setting in life". It stands for the context in which a text, or object, has been created, and its function and purpose at that time. The Sitz im Leben is also used to refer to the social, ethnic and cultural setting of a site at a particular era. When interpreting a text, object, or region, the Sitz im Leben has to be taken into consideration in order to allow a proper contextual interpretation.

Origins

The term originated with the German Protestant theologian Hermann Gunkel and originally was stated in the Bible. The term Sitz im Volksleben ("setting in the life of the people") was employed for the first time in 1906 and the term Sitz im Leben in 1918.^[1] The term Sitz im Leben was used by classic form critics, as discussed by Chris Tuckett, "...it has been pointed out that the term Sitz im Leben was used in a rather peculiar way by the classic form critics. In fact the term is a sociological one, describing a typical situation within any community"^[2] so that the meaning of the text is bound up with its function in the community,^[3] and social context.^[4] Some have noted that it is also used in Biblical language.^[5]

References

1. Prophets and paradigms: essays in honor of Gene M. Tucker ed. Gene M. Tucker, Stephen Breck Reid 1996, p. 113, Form-Criticism of the Old Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1971
2. Christopher Mark Tuckett Reading the New Testament: methods of interpretation 1987 – 200.14"
3. Wolfgang Kraus, R. Glenn Wooden Septuagint research: issues and challenges 2006 p. 23 "With the introduction of the term Sitz im Leben we see that for NETS the meaning and significance of the text is bound up with its inferred function within the community that produced it."
4. Rolf Rendtorff The Old Testament: an introduction 1985 "Gunkel's term Sitz im Leben'Sitz im Leben denotes a particular situation of communication with which a genre – or even several genres – may be connected. In a more comprehensive sense the term can therefore also denote the social context in ..."
5. W. S. Vorster, J. Eugene Botha – Speaking of Jesus: essays on biblical language, gospel narrative 1999 p. 336 ("The use of the term Sitz im Leben has become very misleading and problematic, see Guttgemanns 1970:82ff.")