Biblical Interpretation

by Robert Morgan, John Barton

This book defines interpretation and examines the special issues that surround biblical interpretation. The authors analyze the development of traditional literary and historical criticism and more recent social, scientific, and literary approaches, focusing on the key figures from Reimarus to Gerd Theissen, and exposing the underlying theological issues. They reveal a pattern in the relationship between religious interests in the texts and the rational methods used to interpret them, providing guidance for a theologically sensitive use of the Bible today. The book includes an annotated index with detailed information on over two hundred fifty biblical scholars and other interpreters.

Genres: Christianity, Religion

352 pages, Paperback

First published November 17, 1988

About the author

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Reviews

[Daniel Clemence · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is heavily academic in its style and gives an overview of the problems facing Biblical interpretation since the emergence of modernist enlightenment theories that have threatened Bible interpretations since the 18th and 19th centuries. Biblical Interpretation gives multiple responses to this including liberal developments of Barth, Bultmann and Baur.

I think what stands out is the importance of hermeneutics in interpretation of scripture. What Robert Morgan and John Barton put forward is that the Bible is interpreted through a certain theological lens, which informs the interpretation of the hermeneutics of the reader. There is supplementation of exegesis within the context of biblical understandings of the histories surrounding the writers but for the most part, the book argues that hermeneutics is supplemented by the interpretations of the reader.

This is further emphasised in its understanding of social sciences including anthropology. The question about deconstruction is later analysed in the book. The main takeaway from the book is a rationalist interpretation of the Bible is a possibility. One of the better things about the book is its synoptic linking of other texts to its overall ideas. This text is best for someone who wants to study the interpretations of the Bible in a modern context.