Introduction To Biblical Interpretation

by Hubbard & Klein & Blomberg

• ISBN13: 9780785252252
• ISBN10: 0785252258
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-07-08
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson Inc

Summary

The authors of this book have combined years of expertise and devotion to Scripture to provide a truly unique volume that sets forth concise, logical, practical guidelines for discovering the truth in God's Word.  Ten years after its initial publication, the authors now have thoroughly updated it in light of the latest scholarship."This is a remarkably comprehensive study of the whole area of biblical interpretation.  Thoroughly evangelical, it also interacts with nonevangelical interpretational stances.  No other volume available on biblical interpretation does so much so well."- Douglas Stuart, Professor of Old Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Author Biography

Craig L. Blomberg is Distinguished Professor of New Testament at Denver Seminary.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	xv
Preface	xxi
Introduction	xxv
PART I---THE TASK OF INTERPRETATION
The Need for Hermeneutics	3	(20)
Why Hermeneutics?	4	(1)
Hermeneutics Defined	5	(8)
The Art and Science of Interpretation	5	(2)
The Role of the Interpreter	7	(1)
The Meaning of the Message	8	(1)
The Text	9	(1)
The Author and the Audience	10	(3)
Some Challenges of Bible Interpretation	13	(4)
Distance of Time	13	(1)
Cultural Distance	14	(2)
Geographical Distance	16	(1)
Distance of Language	16	(1)
Eternal Relevance---The Divine Factor	17	(2)
The Goal of Hermeneutics	18	(1)
Conclusion	19	(4)
The History of Interpretation	23	(40)
Jewish Interpretation	23	(8)
Hellenistic Judaism	25	(2)
The Qumran Community	27	(1)
Rabbinic Judaism	28	(3)
The Apostolic Period (ca. A.D. 30--100)	31	(3)
The Patristic Period (ca. A.D. 100--590)	34	(8)
The Apostolic Fathers (ca. A.D. 100--150)	35	(2)
Alexandrian School (ca. A.D. 150--400)	37	(3)
Church Councils (ca. A.D. 400--590)	40	(2)
The Middle Ages (ca. A.D. 590--1500)	42	(3)
The Reformation (ca. A.D. 1500--1650)	45	(5)
The Post-Reformation Period (ca. A.D. 1650--1800)	50	(2)
The Modern Period (ca. A.D. 1800---Present)	52	(11)
The Nineteenth Century	52	(3)
The Twentieth Century	55	(1)
Post-World War I	56	(3)
Post-World War II	59	(4)
Recent Literary and Social-Scientific Approaches to Interpretation	63	(40)
Literary Criticism	64	(7)
Narrative Criticism	65	(1)
Applications	65	(5)
Critique	70	(1)
Poststructuralism	71	(7)
Reader-Response Criticism	73	(2)
Deconstruction	75	(3)
Social-Scientific Approaches to Scripture	78	(25)
Classification	78	(1)
Social History	79	(4)
Application of Social-Scientific Theories	83	(4)
Advocacy Groups	87	(1)
Liberation Hermeneutics	87	(3)
Cultural Criticism	90	(6)
Feminist Hermeneutics	96	(7)
The Canon and Translations	103	(32)
The Biblical Canon	103	(1)
The Canon of the Old Testament	103	(6)
The Development of the Canon	103	(6)
The Order of the Canon	109	(1)
The Canon of the New Testament	109	(6)
The Development of the Canon	109	(5)
The Order of the Canon	114	(1)
Criteria of Canonicity	115	(1)
Canon Criticism	116	(3)
Texts and Translations	119	(16)
Textual Criticism	120	(5)
Techniques of Translation	125	(2)
The Major English Translations	127	(3)
Choosing a Translation	130	(5)
PART II---THE INTERPRETER AND THE GOAL
The Interpreter	135	(34)
Qualifications of the Interpreter	135	(7)
A Reasoned Faith	136	(2)
Obedience	138	(1)
Illumination	139	(2)
Membership in the Church	141	(1)
Appropriate Methods	141	(1)
Presuppositions for Correct Interpretation	142	(12)
Presuppositions about the Nature of the Bible	143	(7)
Presuppositions about Methodology	150	(3)
Presuppositions about the Ultimate Goal of Hermeneutics	153	(1)
Preunderstandings of the Interpreter	154	(15)
Definition of Preunderstanding	154	(1)
The Role of Preunderstanding	155	(3)
A Philosophy of Interpretation as Preunderstanding	158	(4)
Testing Preunderstandings	162	(2)
A Christian Preunderstanding	164	(1)
Preunderstandings Change with Understanding	165	(2)
Preunderstandings and Objectivity in Interpretation	167	(2)
The Goal of Interpretation	169	(44)
Levels of Meaning	171	(14)
Does the Text Have One Fixed Meaning or Several Levels of Meaning?	171	(14)
Author-Centered Textual Meaning	185	(7)
What Kind of ``Meaning'' Ought to Be the Goal of Interpretation?	185	(7)
Legitimate Reader-Response Interpretation	192	(9)
How Can We Assure that We Give the Reader Full Due?	192	(9)
Validating Our Interpretation	201	(1)
How Can We Validate Our Interpretation?	201	(12)
PART III---UNDERSTANDING LITERATURE
General Rules of Hermeneutics: Prose	213	(60)
Literary Context	214	(15)
The Importance of the Literary Context	214	(3)
Principles of Hermeneutics Relating to Context	217	(2)
Circles of Contextual Study	219	(10)
Historical-Cultural Background	229	(11)
The Significance of the Historical-Cultural Background	229	(3)
Principles for Historical-Cultural Interpretation	232	(5)
Retrieving the Historical-Cultural Background	237	(3)
Word Meanings	240	(17)
Crucial Issues about the Nature of Words	241	(6)
Steps for Performing Word Studies	247	(10)
Grammatical-Structural Relationships	257	(16)
The Importance of Grammatical Relationships	259	(5)
Steps for Discovering Structural Relationships	264	(9)
General Rules of Hermeneutics: Biblical Poetry	273	(50)
The Dynamics of Poetry	274	(2)
The Sounds of Hebrew Poetry	276	(8)
Rhyme and Meter	276	(3)
The Sounds of Poetic Words	279	(5)
The Structure of Hebrew Poetry	284	(19)
Parallelism	284	(2)
Basic Units of Parallelism	286	(2)
How Parallelism Works	288	(1)
Types of Parallelism	289	(8)
Other Poetic Structures	297	(6)
The Language of Poetry	303	(13)
Imagery	304	(1)
Devices of Poetic Language	304	(1)
Similes and Metaphors	304	(5)
Other Poetic Language Devices	309	(6)
How to Interpret Poetic Language	315	(1)
Larger Units of Poetry	316	(7)
Sense Units	316	(7)
PART IV---UNDERSTANDING BIBLE GENRES
Genres of the Old Testament	323	(76)
Narratives	325	(16)
Old Testament Narrative Genres	326	(1)
Reports	327	(2)
Heroic Narrative	329	(3)
Prophet Story	332	(2)
Comedy	334	(1)
Farewell Speech	335	(1)
A Sample Narrative: Judges 7:1--15	336	(1)
Embedded Genres	337	(1)
Popular Proverb	337	(1)
Riddles, Fables, and Parables	337	(1)
Songs	338	(1)
Lists	339	(2)
Law	341	(10)
Types of Old Testament Legal Material	341	(1)
Casuistic Law	341	(1)
Apodictic Law	342	(1)
Legal Series	343	(1)
Legal Instruction	344	(1)
Principles of Interpretation---Law	344	(6)
A Sample Legal Text: Exodus 21:7--11	350	(1)
Deuteronomy	350	(1)
Poetry	351	(8)
Types of Old Testament Poetry	352	(1)
Prayers	352	(2)
Songs	354	(2)
Liturgies	356	(1)
Wisdom Psalms	357	(1)
Principles of Interpretation---Poetry	357	(2)
Prophecy	359	(28)
Basic Types of Prophecy	359	(1)
Prophecy of Disaster	359	(2)
Prophecy of Salvation	361	(1)
Woe Speech	361	(2)
Prophetic Dirge	363	(1)
Prophetic Hymn	363	(1)
Prophetic Liturgy	364	(2)
Prophetic Disputation	366	(1)
Prophetic Lawsuit	367	(1)
Prophecy Against Foreign Nations	368	(1)
Prophetic Vision Report	369	(1)
Prophetic Narratives	369	(1)
General Principles for Interpreting Old Testament Prophecy	370	(1)
Interpreting Prophetic ``Forthtelling''	371	(3)
Interpreting Prophetic ``Foretelling''	374	(4)
The Many Ways of Fulfillment	378	(3)
Specific Principles for Interpretation---Prophecy	381	(1)
A Sample Prophetic Text: Isaiah 5:1--7	382	(2)
Apocalyptic Prophecy	384	(3)
Wisdom	387	(10)
Types of Wisdom Literature	387	(1)
Proverbs	387	(3)
Instruction	390	(1)
Example Story and Reflection	391	(2)
Disputation Speeches	393	(4)
A Sample Wisdom Text---Proverbs 30:24--28	397	(1)
Conclusion	397	(2)
Genres of the New Testament	399	(52)
The Genre of the Gospels	399	(19)
Implications for Interpretation	401	(1)
Historical Trustworthiness	401	(2)
Reading Horizontally and Vertically	403	(3)
The Gospels' First Audiences	406	(1)
Key Theological Issues	407	(1)
The Kingdom of God	407	(2)
The Ethics of Jesus	409	(2)
The Forms Within the Gospels	411	(1)
Parables	411	(4)
Miracle Stories	415	(2)
Pronouncement Stories	417	(1)
Other Forms	418	(1)
The Genre of Acts	418	(8)
Implications for Interpretation	419	(1)
Thinking Vertically	420	(2)
The Significance of Pentecost	422	(2)
Acts as Narrative	424	(2)
The Genre of the Epistles	426	(14)
Implications for Interpretation	426	(1)
General Considerations	426	(4)
Specific Considerations	430	(3)
Distinctives of Hebrews and the ``General Epistles''	433	(2)
Individual Forms in the Epistles	435	(1)
Creeds or Hymns	435	(1)
The Domestic Code	436	(1)
Slogans	436	(2)
Vice and Virtue Lists	438	(1)
Key Theological Issues for the Pauline Epistles	438	(1)
The Center of Pauline Theology	438	(1)
Is There Development in Paul's Writings?	439	(1)
The Genre of Revelation	440	(8)
Revelation as an Epistle	440	(2)
Revelation as Prophecy	442	(2)
Revelation as Apocalyptic	444	(4)
Conclusion	448	(3)
PART V---THE FRUITS OF INTERPRETATION
Using the Bible Today	451	(26)
To Gain Information and Understanding	451	(1)
To Worship	452	(3)
To Create Liturgy	455	(1)
To Formulate Theology	456	(9)
To Preach	465	(2)
To Teach	467	(2)
To Provide Pastoral Care	469	(2)
For Spiritual Formation in the Christian Life	471	(4)
For Aesthetic Enjoyment	475	(1)
Summary	475	(2)
Application	477	(28)
The Importance of Application	478	(1)
Avoiding Mistakes in Application	479	(3)
Total Neglect of Any Context	480	(1)
Partial Neglect of the Literary or Historical Context of a Passage	481	(1)
Insufficiently Analogous Situations	482	(1)
A Four-Step Methodology for Legitimate Application	482	(21)
Determine the Original Application(s)	484	(1)
Evaluate the Level of Specificity of the Original Application(s)	485	(13)
Identify the Cross-Cultural Principles	498	(3)
Find Appropriate Applications that Embody the Broader Principles	501	(2)
The Role of the Holy Spirit	503	(2)
ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY	505	(39)
Hermeneutical Tools	505	(1)
Annotated Listing	506	(38)
INDEXES	544	(1)
Index of Subjects	544	(3)
Index of Scripture and Ancient Writings	547	(9)
Index of Authors and Names	556