With the explosive increase in availability of English Bible translations, the question can easily be asked, "Why bother with the hard work of biblical exegesis?" Computers can translate foreign languages and our English texts can take us very close to the original meanings, so why exegete? Answer: because the deepest truths of the Bible are found through the deepest study. This book teaches the principles, methods, and fundamentals of exegeting the New Testament. It also has examples of textual exegesis that clearly and helpfully show the value of exegeting a text well. Any serious student of Scripture would benefit from utilizing this book in the study of the Bible.
The editors of this book contend that one of the world's best-known and most influential bodies of literature is one of the least understood. This is due both to the proliferation of modern hermeneutical approaches and to the lack of understanding of the historical backgrounds of the New Testament. In their sequel to their earlier work, New Testament Criticism and Interpretation, Black and Dockery present essays on current issues and methods with the purpose of enhancing New Testament interpretation, teaching, and preaching, and providing a useful means of learning what the New Testament is all about.
A succinct and accessible text for teaching students how to interpret the New Testament This new textbook effectively introduces students to the art and craft of biblical interpretation. New Testament scholars Sherri Brown and Francis Moloney begin by orienting students to the world of the Bible, exploring contemporary methods for interpreting the biblical literature, and showing how the Old Testament is foundational to the formation of the New Testament. The book proceeds to lead readers through the books of the New Testament by genre: * The Narratives: Gospels and Acts * Paul and His Letters * Hebrews and the Catholic Epistles * Apocalyptic Literature and the Book of Revelation Unlike book-by-book introductory textbooks that tend to overshadow the primary biblical text with lots of detailed information, Brown and Moloney’s Interpreting the New Testament actually facilitates the study of the New Testament itself. Their concluding chapter reflects on the challenge of the New Testament to our present world.
An introduction to the study of Revelation reviewing the book's linguistic structure, vocabulary, and variant readings, as well as differences of opinion regarding its message.
This is a helpful introduction to many different approaches to the interpretation of the New Testament. Experts from around the world and across many disciplines contribute specialised explanations, while Gooder's discussions apply each form of criticism to actual New Testament textual examples.
New Testament Interpretation through Rhetorical Criticism provides readers of the Bible with an important tool for understanding the Scriptures. Based on the theory and practice of Greek rhetoric in the New Testament, George Kennedy's approach acknowledges that New Testament writers wrote to persuade an audience of the truth of their messages. These writers employed rhetorical conventions that were widely known and imitated in the society of the times. Sometimes confirming but often challenging common interpretations of texts, this is the first systematic study of the rhetorical composition of the New Testament. As a complement to form criticism, historical criticism, and other methods of biblical analysis, rhetorical criticism focuses on the text as we have it and seeks to discover the basis of its powerful appeal and the intent of its authors. Kennedy shows that biblical writers employed both "external" modes of persuasion, such as scriptural authority, the evidence of miracles, and the testimony of witnesses, and "internal" methods, such as ethos (authority and character of the speaker), pathos (emotional appeal to the audience), and logos (deductive and inductive argument in the text). In the opening chapter Kennedy presents a survey of how rhetoric was taught in the New Testament period and outlines a rigorous method of rhetorical criticism that involves a series of steps. He provides in succeeding chapters examples of rhetorical analysis, looking closely at the Sermon on the Mount, the Sermon on the Plain, Jesus' farewell to the disciples in John's Gospel, the distinctive rhetoric of Jesus, the speeches in Acts, and the approach of Saint Paul in Second Corinthians, Thessalonians, Galatians, and Romans.
The second in the series organized around common FAQs, 40Questions about Interpreting the Bible tackles the major questions thatstudents, pastors and professors ask about the hermeneutics of reading thebible (i.e. understanding the bible).
"This is not an ordinary 'Introduction' but a manual for exegetical work written for the serious student of the New Testament. Rather than suggesting some easily accessible generalities, the book challenges the readers to apply themselves to the texts, and it will guide such efforts step by step as it leads the readers through the methodological rigors of scholarship. In scholarly method it represents the very best that has been developed primarily in the work of German biblical interpretation over the last hundred years. But it is not theory of exegesis that is taught; it is applied exegesis, exegetical praxis. Those who will follow the advice which this book gives will be richly rewarded as they become more conversant with the living voice of the gospel that is enshrined in the words, phrases, and sentences of Scripture." " Helmut Koester, Harvard University, The Divinity School "This unique and comprehensive handbook will be a boon to any serious student of the New Testament. The authors are expert guides to the current state of research as well as to the tasks and methods of exegesis." " Victor Paul Furnish, Southern Methodist University
This concise guide by a leading New Testament scholar helps readers understand how to better study the multitude of Old Testament references in the New Testament. G. K. Beale, coeditor of the bestselling Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, focuses on the "how to" of interpreting the New Testament use of the Old Testament, providing students and pastors with many of the insights and categories necessary for them to do their own exegesis. Brief enough to be accessible yet thorough enough to be useful, this handbook will be a trusted guide for all students of the Bible. "This handbook provides readers with a wonderful overview of key issues in and tools for the study of the use of the Old Testament in the New. I expect it to become a standard textbook for courses on the subject and the first book to which newcomers will be directed to help them navigate through these sometimes complex waters."--Roy E. Ciampa, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
