Interpreting Biblical Literature

This handbook provides a comprehensive guide to methods, terms, and concepts used by biblical interpreters. It offers students and non-specialists an accessible resource for understanding the complex vocabulary that accompanies serious biblical studies. Articles, arranged alphabetically, explain terminology associated with reading the Bible as literature, clarify the various methods Bible scholars use to study biblical texts, and illuminate how different interpretive approaches can contribute to our understanding. Article references and topical bibliographies point readers to resources for further study. This handbook, now updated and revised to be even more useful for students, was previously published as Interpreting the Bible: A Handbook of Terms and Methods. It is a suitable complement to any standard hermeneutics textbook.

A fusion of biblical hermeneutics and homiletics, this thorough and well-researched book offers a holistic contemporary approach to the interpretation and preaching of biblical texts, using all the scholarly tools available and focusing especially on literary features. Greidanus develops hermeneutical and homiletical principles and then applies them to four specific genres: Hebrew narratives, prophetic literature, the Gospels, and the Epistles.

In this volume, Richard J. Clifford seeks to make the biblical wisdom literature intelligible to modern readers. It is easy to quote the occasional proverb, say a few things about "the problem of evil" in Job, or quote "vanity of vanities, " but far more rewarding to read the whole book with an appreciative and informed eye. Opening chapters of The Wisdom Literature comment on the striking similarities between ancient and modern "wisdom literature" and on the comparable literature from ancient Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Canaan. Thereafter, a chapter is devoted to each biblical wisdom book (Proverbs, Job, Ecclesiastes, Song of Songs, Sirach, and Wisdom of Solomon), studying not only its content but also its rhetoric -- how it engages the reader.

An authoritative guide to accurately interpreting and applying God's Word In this second edition of Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, Andreas Kostenberger leads the reader step-by-step through the process of interpreting and applying God's Word. The primary principle is the hermeneutical triad, which consists of history, literature, and theology. Readers are equipped to explore the historical background of a biblical passage, analyze its literary genre and features, and derive its theological meaning in light of the biblical canon. Numerous examples are provided throughout to illustrate the concepts. A concluding chapter provides direction on practical application, preaching, and helpful tools for Bible study. Additional features include key words and definitions at the end of each chapter, study questions, and practical exercises for applying the material. An appendix lists numerous resources for Bible study, including recommended commentaries for every book of the Bible. The second edition updates these resources, as well as the sources cited throughout, and includes a revised chapter on the Old Testament canon. Instructors, students, pastors, and anyone who desires to interpret Scripture accurately will find this volume to be an indispensable addition to their library.

In this accessible guide to interpreting the Bible, senior New Testament scholar Robert Stein helps readers identify various biblical genres, understand the meaning of biblical texts, and apply that meaning to contemporary life. This edition has been completely revised throughout to reflect Stein's current thinking and changes to the discipline over the past decade. Students of the Bible will find the book effective in group settings. Praise for the first edition "Stein's work is both a fine introduction to the task of biblical hermeneutics for the novice and an innovative refresher for the veteran teacher or pastor."--Faith & Mission

Both the Bible and the Constitution have the status of “Great Code,” but each of these important texts is controversial as well as enigmatic. They are asked to speak to situations that their authors could not have anticipated on their own. In this book, one of our greatest religious historians brings his vast knowledge of the history of biblical interpretation to bear on the question of constitutional interpretation. Jaroslav Pelikan compares the methods by which the official interpreters of the Bible and the Constitution—the Christian Church and the Supreme Court, respectively—have approached the necessity of interpreting, and reinterpreting, their important texts. In spite of obvious differences, both texts require close, word-by-word exegesis, an awareness of opinions that have gone before, and a willingness to ask new questions of old codes, Pelikan observes. He probes for answers to the question of what makes something authentically “constitutional” or “biblical,” and he demonstrates how an understanding of either biblical interpretation or constitutional interpretation can illuminate the other in important ways.

Biblical Studies Biblical texts create worlds of meaning, and invite readers to enter them. When readers enter such textual worlds, which are often strange and complex, they are confronted with theological claims. With this in mind, the purpose of the Interpreting Biblical Texts series is to help serious readers in their experience of reading and interpreting by providing guides for their journeys into textual worlds. The controlling perspective is expressed in the operative word of the title--interpreting. The primary focus of the series is not so much on the world behind the texts or out of which the texts have arisen as on the worlds created by the texts in their engagement with readers. Although these books of the prophets are based upon the careers and experiences of some of the most talented and provocative individuals of their times, the books must be read first as literature. Each book displays its own unique organization, literary characteristics, and theological outlook in presenting the prophets. In the case of Jeremiah, interpreters must even consider two distinctive forms of the book in the Hebrew Bible and the Greek Septuagint. By guiding the reader through the literary structure and language of each of the prophetic books as well as the social roles of the individual prophets, this volume opens the reader to greater understanding and appreciation of the prophets of Israel and Judah. "Fact packed and crystal clear, Marvin Sweeney’s Interpreting Biblical Texts: The Prophetic Literature invites readers to tour the landscape of ancient Israel’s Latter Prophets corpus. Sweeney serves as a first-rate guide, equipping readers with basic knowledge to grasp, and grapple with, the literary legacies of the canonical prophets. True to the series title, he interprets texts with an eye to major, dynamic themes in Jewish and Christian traditions. The volume proves a reliable guidebook for readers wishing not only to survey, but also to engage in dialogue with, ancient Israel’s canonical prophets." Katheryn Pfisterer Darr, Professor of Hebrew Bible, Boston University "The aim of the series Interpreting Biblical Texts is pedagogical. This well-written, easy to follow, and coherent book serves its purpose well. More importantly, it certainly invites and guides its readers in the enterprise of interacting with the prophetic books in a way that is informed by recent, academic scholarship on this literature." Ehud Ben Zvi, History and Classics & Interdisciplinary Program of Religious Studies, University of Alberta "This is a new and interesting approach to the prophetic literature, which will be illuminating for theological reflection in our own post-Holocaust era." John J. Collins, Holmes Professor of Old Testament, Yale Marvin A. Sweeney is Professor of Hebrew Bible, Claremont School of Theology, and Professor of Religion at Claremont Graduate University.