Failed Methods And Ideology In Canonical Interpretation Of Biblical Texts

This volume by the late Bernd J. Diebner presents an anthology of studies previously published only in German from 1971 to 2020 on a wide range of topics in biblical studies. The 18 essays in this collection offer profound insight into the works of German scholarship which have strongly influenced biblical studies and related research in the 20th century. Being an important, but lesser recognized ‘member’ of the Copenhagen school, Diebner voiced serious criticism of contemporary biblical scholarship which is discussed in the first seven chapters. The remaining chapters offer challenging new perspectives on well-known themes, narratives, and compositions related to history, ideology, and archaeology, on the one hand, and text and canon, on the other, as alternatives to traditional historical–critical approaches. Now published in English for the first time, this volume makes these essays available to Anglophone students and scholars of biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies.

This volume by the late Bernd J. Diebner presents an anthology of studies previously published only in German from 1971 to 2020 on a wide range of topics in biblical studies. The 18 essays in this collection offer profound insight into the works of German scholarship which have strongly influenced biblical studies and related research in the 20th century. Being an important, but lesser recognized member' of the Copenhagen school, Diebner voiced serious criticism of contemporary biblical scholarship which is discussed in the first seven chapters. The remaining chapters offer challenging new perspectives on well-known themes, narratives, and compositions related to history, ideology, and archaeology, on the one hand, and text and canon, on the other, as alternatives to traditional historical-critical approaches. Now published in English for the first time, this volume makes these essays available to Anglophone students and scholars of biblical and ancient Near Eastern studies.

This volume presents an anthology of 19 seminal studies, some for the first time in English, that explore the history and tradition of the ancient relationship between Samaritans and Jews. The book is arranged into three parts: Methods, Traditions, and History; Samaritan and Jewish Pentateuchs; and Studies in Bible and Tradition, each of which is chronologically ordered. It represents a collection of the author’s previous publications on the relationship between Samaritans and Jews, expanding and supplementing the conclusions of her published books. Recent archaeological developments on Mount Gerizim have demonstrated that our paradigms for writing the ancient histories of the kingdoms and provinces of Samaria and Judah in the Iron II, Persian, and Hellenistic periods must change. These developments also affect how we evaluate and read ancient literary traditions, and several chapters offer challenging new perspectives on well-known themes, narratives, and compositions in this subject area. Samaritans and Jews in History and Tradition: Changing Perspectives 10 will be of interest to students and scholars of biblical studies, theology, comparative religion, the ancient Near East, and in particular, Samaritan and Jewish studies.

In this essay collection, the authors describe the trend toward synchronic methods in biblical exegesis, or interpreting biblical texts as the result of a literary rather than a historical process, and discuss and apply fifteen specific methods to interpreting Old and New Testament texts.

Previous attempts to critique the canonical approach of Brevard Childs have remained largely theoretical in nature. One of the weakness of canonical criticism, then, is its failure to have generated new readings of extended biblical passages. Reviewing the hermeneutics and the praxis of Childs' approach, Lyons then turns to the Sodom narrative (Gen 18-19) as a test of a practical exegesis according to Childs' principles, and then to reflect critically upon the reading experience generated. Surprisingly, the canonical reading produced is a wholly new one, centred around the complex, irreducible-even contradictory-request of Abraham for Yahweh to do justice (18:23-25).

The Canonical Approach makes a detailed assessment of Brevard Childs' 'canonical approach' to biblical interpretation. A careful analysis of Childs' work identifies a number of historical, hermeneutical, and theological issues that are central both to Childs' programme and to the wider methodological debate. These include the adequacy of the historical-critical tools, their relationship to the more recent, 'synchronic' approaches, the role of the interpreter's own presuppositions, the viability of working from a specific faith-commitment, and ways in which the ancient texts can 'speak' to the modern Church. After an incisive discussion of these questions it is suggested how Childs' programme can be set on a sounder methodological basis. This book is particularly notable for its clarification of Childs' approach, and for its original solutions to a number of central methodological problems.

Appearing in English for the first time, this classic introduction to the field of hermeneutics covers a wide range of approaches to biblical interpretation. Presenting a brief history of philosophical hermeneutics, Manfred Oeming uses a clear structure to emphasize why there are, and why there must be, different and differing approaches to the interpretation of a text, in this case particularly the biblical text. The often confusing multiplicity of approaches to biblical interpretation are introduced along accessible lines, concluding with an argument for an acceptance of a multiplicity of approaches to account for the many layers of the biblical text. Incorporating discussion of the German hermeneutical tradition, exemplified by the work of Heidegger, Bultmann, and Gadamer, this book helps to bridge Anglo-American and German scholarly traditions. It will be of great assistance to students, teachers and preachers.

Uses film and literature to engage the biblical texts and demonstrates the ways that the boundaries of canons are artificial and unhelpful. >