A Beginner's Guide to New Testament Exegesis

by Erickson, Richard J.

• ISBN13: 9780830827718
• ISBN10: 0830827714
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2005-09-29
• Publisher: Intervarsity Press

Summary

"Richard J. Erickson's A Beginner's Guide to New Testament Exegesis introduces the essential methods of interpreting the New Testament, while holding out manageable goals and expectations - and encouragement. Numerous helps and illustrations clarify, summarize and illuminate the principles, and a wealth of exercises tied to each chapter are available on the web."--BOOK JACKET.

Author Biography

Richard J. Erickson is associate professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary at Fuller Seminary Northwest in Seattle, where he has taught exegesis to students for over twenty years.

Table of Contents

Preface: Read Me First!	13	(191)
1 FRAMING YOUR MIND, OR HOW TO PRONOUNCE ZMRZLINA	17	(15)
1.1 Some Assumptions at the Outset	18	(2)
1.2 An Exegetical Frame of Mind	20	(7)
1.3 A View from the Top	27	(3)
1.4 A Look at What's to Come	30	(2)
2 TEXT AND TOOLS: Mowing the New Testament Lawn	32	(25)
2.1 The New Testament Text: Originals, Copies, Translations and Editions	32	(2)
2.2 Textual Criticism: Establishing the Text for Exegetical Purposes	34	(16)
2.3 The Tools for the Job	50	(7)
3 TEXTS AND THEIR STRUCTURE: Walls of Stones	57	(12)
3.1 Synthesis: Structure and the Whole	57	(5)
3.2 Analysis: Structure and the Parts	62	(5)
3.3 Top-down and Bottom-up: Inductive and Deductive Decisions	67	(1)
3.4 Coming Up for Air	68	(1)
4 SYNTACTICAL AND DISCOURSE ANALYSIS: Some Dis-assembly Required	69	(25)
4.1 Defining Terms	70	(4)
4.2 Analyzing Sentences	74	(6)
4.3 Analyzing Discourse	80	(12)
4.4 Summing Up	92	(2)
5 HISTORY AND CULTURE IN EXEGESIS: You Can't Eat a Denarius	94	(20)
5.1 Meaning as a Function of Place in Context	95	(3)
5.2 Two Types of Historical-Cultural Setting	98	(2)
5.3 Biblical Texts as Culturally Determined	100	(11)
5.4 Cultural "Relevance" and Cultural Transference	111	(1)
5.5 Probabilities, Ambiguities and Alternatives	112	(2)
6 LETTERS: Reading Someone Else's Mail	114	(20)
6.1 Genres and Subgenres	114	(3)
6.2 Historical Context: Who's on the Other End?	117	(7)
6.3 Argument	124	(6)
6.4 A Simplified Procedure for Epistle Exegesis	130	(4)
7 NARRATIVES I: Telling the Old, Old Story	134	(24)
7.1 The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles as Self-Contained, Coherent Stories	135	(3)
7.2 History or Literature?	138	(1)
7.3 Historical-, Form- and Source-Critical Approaches to the Gospels	139	(6)
7.4 Redaction Criticism	145	(4)
7.5 Using a Gospel Synopsis	149	(9)
8 NARRATIVES II: Thickening the Plot	158	(21)
8.1 Stories with Plot, Character and Setting	160	(6)
8.2 Type-Scenes and Parallel Accounts	166	(4)
8.3 Old Testament Citations and Allusions	170	(2)
8.4 Speeches and Logia	172	(4)
Summary Passages	176	(3)
9 APOCALYPSE: Alternative Education	179	(25)
9.1 What Is Is It?	180	(12)
9.2 Reading the Apocalypse Now: Avoiding the Extremes	192	(2)
9.3 A Look at Some New Testament Apocalyptic Literature	194	(9)
9.4 Conclusion	203	(1)
10 MOVING ON: What Do We Do Now'	204	(17)
10.1 Exegesis in Its Context	205	(3)
10.2 Exegesis and the Broader Theological Context	208	(5)
10.3 Exegesis, Preaching and Teaching	213	(4)
10.4 Exegesis for Life	217	(4)
Glossary	221	(4)
Annotated Bibliography	225	(8)
Subject Index	233	(4)
Scripture Index	237