PART I-THE TASK OF INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER l-THE NEED FOR HERMENEUTICS, p.3

Why Hermeneutics? p.4

Hermeneutics Defined, p.5

The Art and Science of Interpretation, p.5

The Role of the Interpreter, p.7

The Meaning of the Message, p.8

Some Challenges of Bible Interpretation, p.12

Distance of Time, p.12

Cultural Distance, p.14

Geographical Distance, p.15

Distance of Language, p.15

Eternal Relevance-The Divine Factor, p.16

The Goal of Hermeneutics, p.18

Conclusion, p.19

CHAPTER 2-THE HISTORY OF INTERPRETATION, p.21

Jewish Interpretation, p.21

Rabbinic Judaism, p.23

Hellenistic Judaism, p.25

The Qumran Community, p.27

The Apostolic Period (ca. A.D. 30-100), p.28

The Patristic Period (ca. A.D. 100-590), p.31

The Apostolic Fathers (ca. A.D. 100-150) , p.31

Alexandria versus Antioch (ca. A.D. 150-400) , p.33

Church Councils (ca. A.D. 400-590), p.36

The Middle Ages (ca. A.D. 590-1500), p.37

The Reformation (ca. A.D. 1500-1650), p.39

The Post-Reformation Period (ca. A.D. 1650-1800), p.42

The Modern Period (ca. A.D. 1800-Present) , p.44

The Nineteenth Century, p.44

The Twentieth Century, p.45

Post-World War I, p.46

Post-World War II, p.49

CHAPTER 3-THE CANON AND TRANSLATIONS, p.53

The Canon of the Old Testament, p.54

The Canon of the New Testament, p.59

Criteria of Canonicity, p.64

Canon Criticism, p.65

Texts and Translations, p.69

Textual Criticism, p.69

Techniques of Translation, p.74

The Major English Translations, p.75

Choosing a Translation, p.78

PART II-THE INTERPRETERAND THE GOAL

CHAPTER 4-THE INTERPRETER, p.81

Qualifications of the Interpreter, p.82

Faith, p.82

Obedience, p.83

Illumination, p.84

Membership in the Church, p.85

Appropriate Methods, p.86

Presuppositions for Correct Interpretation, p.87

Presuppositions about the Nature of the Bible, p.88

Presuppositions about the Nature of the Interpreter, p.93

Presuppositions about Methodology, p.95

Presuppositions about the Goal of Hermeneutics, p.97

Preunderstandings of the Interpreter, p.98

Definition of Preunderstanding, p.99

The Role of Preunderstanding 100

A Philosophy of Interpretation as Preunderstanding 103

Testing Preunderstandings 108

A Christian Preunderstanding 109

Preunderstandings Change with Understanding 113

Preunderstandings and Objectivity in Interpretation 115

CHAPTER 5-THE GOAL OF INTERPRETATION, p.117

Levels of Meaning, p.119

Does the Text Have One Fixed Meaning or Several Levels of Meaning? 119

Textual Meaning 132

Is Textual Meaning the Singular Goal of Interpretation? 132

Legitimate Reader-Response Interpretation 138

Can We Achieve a Legitimate Reader-Response Interpretation? 138

Validating Our Interpretation 145

How Can We Validate Our Interpretation? 145

PART III-UNDERSTANDING LITERATURE

CHAPTER 6-GENERAL RULES OF HERMENEUTICS-PROSE 155

Literary Context 156

The Importance of the Literary Context 157

Principles of Hermeneutics Relating to Context 160

Circles of Contextual Study 161

Historical-Cultural Background 172

The Significance of the Historical-Cultural Background 172

Principles for Historical-Cultural Interpretation 174

Retrieving the Historical-Cultural Background 179

Word Meanings 183

Crucial Issues about the Nature of Words 183

Steps for Performing Word Studies 189

Grammatical-Structural Relationships I99

The Importance of Grammatical Relationships 201

Steps for Discovering Structural Relationships 205

CHAPTER 7-GENERAL RULES OF HERMENEUTICSOLD
TESTAMENT POETRY 215

The Dynamics of Poetry 216

The Sounds of Hebrew Poetry 218

Rhyme and Meter 218

The Sounds of Poetic Words 221

The Structure of Hebrew Poetry 225

Parallelism 225

Other Poetic Structures 236

The Language of Poetry 241

Imagery 241

Devices of Poetic Language 242

How to Interpret Poetic Language 251

Larger Units of Poetry 252

Sense Units 252

PART IV-UNDERSTANDING BIBLE GENRES

CHAPTER 8-GENRES OF THE OLD TESTAMENT 259

Narratives 261

Old Testament Narratives 261

Embedded Genres 271

LAW 274

Types of Old Testament Legal Material 275

Deuteronomy 283

Poetry 284

Types of Old Testament Poetry 285

Prophecy 292

Basic Types of Prophecy 292

General Principles for Interpreting Old Testament Prophecy 302

Apocalyptic Prophecy 311

Wisdom 313

Types of Wisdom Literature 313

Conclusion 322

CHAPTER 9-GENRES OF THE NEW TESTAMENT 323

The Genre of the Gospels 323

Implications for Interpretation 325

Key Theological Issues 332

The Forms Within the Gospels 336

The Genre of Acts 344

Implications for Interpretation 345

The Genre of the Epistles 352

Implications for Interpretation 352

Individual Forms in the Epistles 361

Key Theological Issues for the Pauline Epistles 364

The Genre of Revelation 366

Revelation as an Epistle 367

Revelation as Prophecy 369

Revelation as Apocalyptic 370

Conclusion 374

PART V-THE FRIJITS OF INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER 10-USING THE BIBLE TODAY 377

To Gain Information and Understanding 378

To Worship 378

To Formulate Liturgy 381

To Formulate Theology 382

To Preach 390

To Teach 392

To Provide Pastoral Care 393

For Spiritual Formation in the Christian Life 396

For Aesthetic Enjoyment 398

Summary 398

CHARTER 1 l-APPLICATION 401

The Importance of Application 401

Avoiding Mistakes in Application 403

Total Neglect of the Literary Context 404

Partial Neglect of the Literary or Historical Context 405

Insufficiently Analogous Situations 406

A Four-Step Methodology for Legitimate Application 406

Determine the Original Application(s) 407

Evaluate the Level of Specificity of the Original Application(s) 409

Identify the Cross-Cultural Principles 421

Find Appropriate Applications that Embody the Broader Principles 424

The Role of the Holy Spirit 425

RPPENDIX--MODERN APPROACHES TO INTERPRETATION 427

Literary Criticism 428

Structuralism 428

Narrative Criticism 432

Poststructuralism 438

Social-Scientific Approaches to Scripture 443

Classification 443

Advocacy Groups 450

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHT-HERMENEUTICAL TOOLS 459

INDEXES 493

Index of Authors 493

Index of Scripture and Ancient Writings 502

Index of Subjects 516

The authors provide an extensive annotated list of books that students will find extremely helpful in th practice of Bible interpretation. "At its core we believe the Bible to be God's written revelation to His people,' the authors affirm. "It records in human words what God desires." Having com-mitted their lives to studying and teach¬ing the Bible, they offer this volume as a valuable guide for understanding and implementing the truths in God's Word.
DR. WILLI AM W. KLEIN both edited and contributed to this volume. Like all the authors, he is on the faculty of Denver Seminary, serving as Professor of New Testament. He previously wrote The New Chosen People: A Corporate View of Election. DR. CRAIG L. BLOMBERG is Associate Professor of New Testament.
His previous books include The Historical Reliability of the Gospels and Interpreting the Parables. DR. ROBERT L. HUBBARD, JR. is Professor of Old Testament, He authored the volume on Ruth In the New International Commentary on the Old Testament and served as editor for Studies in Old Testament Theology. Consulting editor DR. KERMIT A. ECKLEBARGER is Associate Professor of New Testament. He also served as consulting editor for Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary.
Jacket Design: Steve Diggs & Friends, Nashville
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