Linguistics & Biblical Interpretation

by Max Turner, Peter Cotterell

In this introduction to the use of linguistics in biblical interpretation, Peter Cotterell and Max Turner focus on the concept of meaning, the significance of author, text, and reader, and the use of discourse analysis.

Genres: Linguistics, Biblical Studies, Reference, Language, Nonfiction, Theology, Textbooks

348 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

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Reviews

[Greg Mathis · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know this book represents a significant contribution in the hermeneutics discussion, but I found it difficult to follow. It seems that the authors, while making valid points from their field's influence on interpretation, were more interested in raising problems than setting forth a positive construction concerning what linguistics brings to the table. In my 3-star review, I am attempting not to allow my personal dislike of the book to color my evaluation of its merits. However, I found myself often feeling bereft of a path forward with the information the authors presented. They quite adeptly explained what problems were introduced by the field of linguistics to common methods of interpretation. They did not convey as much confidence concerning how linguistics could be used profitably for getting to the best rendering of meanings.

[Drew Norwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book will give you a higher appreciation for language and for words, which is fitting because Jesus Christ is said to be the Word (John 1). For those who attempt to interpret Scripture (which should be all Protestant Christians), it’s important to understand how words function (and how they don’t), what the “meaning” of a text refers to, how the text, cotext, and context relate to one another, the difference between a text’s meaning and its significance, and how a clause, sentence, paragraph, and larger discourse are structured. Cotterell and Turner make a strong case for linguistics as an essential tool for any exegete, one who aspires to be “a worker who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.”

[Jo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho hum.

I was glad to have my memory of some concepts refreshed and to learn some new ones. On the other hand the book is dated and rather overbearing in its tone, and there are some lengthy stretches of commentary whose presence is poorly justified.

Also, for being experts in linguistics and discourse analysis the authors are surprisingly poor at constructing and punctuating sentences.

I wish Steven Pinker had written this book.

[Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Probably the most important book I've ever read on biblical interpretation. It opened my mind and allowed me to read the text of scripture more objectively than before.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

A general knowledge of language works would, in my mind, prevent a lot of interpretational errors and arguments over Bible translations that arise. This book will serve as a helpful starting point to getting more acquainted with how linguistics is beneficial to interpretation. That said, the book is longer than it needs to be and is not really all that accessible to the average person, rather limiting its reach. I'd like to see a book about the intersection of how language works and biblical interpretation that dispenses with the technical language and is written with the average person in the pew in mind.

[Robert Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book about how to read anything carefully, with specific examples being from the Bible. Only chapter 1 could be called a broad overview of language in general. Chapter 2 lays the real groundwork for the book: "meaning". Chapter 3 begins the appeal to look at paragraphs at a time. Chapter 4 is a critique of word-studies done in the past: Moises Silva would be proud. Chapter 5 is about lexicography. Chapter 6 is maybe the best part: it shows how nuclear sentences are connected, in a way very similar to John Piper's arcing method. Chapter 7 is a return to linguistics, focusing on deixis. Chapter 8 is about conversation and chapter 9 is about non-literal language. Overall, the approach is very SIL/tagmemic.

If I ever get to teach a class on linguistics at a seminary, this is the leading candidate for THE textbook. Other sources would be needed for phonology and syntax, but this is were it all ought to end up. Wonderful.

[E · Rating 3 out of 5]

The nuts and bolts of understanding the way language works in the Bible. I do not refer to understanding the vocabulary, grammar, etc. of the original languages. Think, instead, of linguistics more broadly. How do texts acquire meaning? How is the meaning communicated to the reader? How do we understand discourse?

These are the underpinnings of communication that we take for granted in our native world (for better or for worse) but are more readily apparent when the original communication occurred millennia ago and we are more or less merely "eavesdropping." Cotterell and Turner begin with words and lexical semantics before moving onto sentences and finally full discourses (introducing the reader to the field of "discourse analysis," which is becoming increasingly popular in Biblical hermeneutics). You might say this work is the foundation upon which a book I recently reviewed, The Art of Biblical Narrative, was constructed. So, the writers do not draw many conclusions about various exegetical hot topics, but they do attempt to point you in the right direction by providing tools both appropriate and necessary for the task.

[Josue · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book! The authors do a great job synthesizing and clarifying topics of discussion by Barr and many others (i.e. lexical semantics, sense/reference, discourse analysis, etc.). I was actually quite impressed at the amount of topics discussed in this book.

For a fairly thorough overview of linguistics and biblical interpretation, I have no hesitation recommending this book.