A History of Biblical Interpretation, Vol. 1: The Ancient Period

by Alan J. Hauser (editor)

At first glance, it may seem strange that after more than two thousand years of biblical interpretation there are still major disagreements among biblical scholars about what the Jewish and Christian Scriptures say and about how one is to read and understand them. Yet the range of interpretive approaches now available is the result both of the richness of the biblical texts themselves and of differences in the worldviews of the communities and individuals who have sought to make the Scriptures relevant to their own time and place.A History of Biblical Interpretation provides detailed and extensive studies of the interpretation of the Scriptures by Jewish and Christian writers throughout the ages. Written by internationally renowned scholars, this multivolume work comprehensively treats the many different methods of interpretation, the many important interpreters who have written in various eras, and the many key issues that have surfaced repeatedly over the long course of biblical interpretation.This first volume of A History of Biblical Interpretation explores interpreters and their methods in the ancient period, from the very earliest stages to the time when the canons of Judaism and Christianity gained general acceptance. The first part of the book concentrates on the use of the Scriptures within Judaism. Chapters examine inner-biblical exegesis in the Tanak, the development of the Septuagint, the exegetical approach of Philo of Alexandria, biblical interpretation in the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Targumim, the nature of rabbinic midrash, the stabilization of the Hebrew Bible, and the interpretation of the Bible in the Jewish Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha.The second part of the book probes themes specific to Christian interpretation of the biblical texts. Chapters here discusses how Israel's Scriptures are used in the New Testament writings, the hermeneutical approaches of the Apostolic Fathers and the Apologists, Alexandrian and Antiochene exegesis, the contributions of Jerome and Augustine, the formation of the New Testament canon, and the interpretation of Scripture in the New Testament Apocrypha and Gnostic writings.In addition to these in-depth studies, the volume includes a substantial introduction by the editors that gives readers both a broad overview of the primary issues and features of ancient biblical interpretation as treated in this volume and a means of sampling the ways in which the key figures, schools of interpretation, and issues discussed interweave and contrast with each other.Up to date, balanced, and engagingly written, this superb work -- and those to follow -- will soon become a standard resource on the history of biblical interpretation.Contributors:Peder BorgenDennis BrownJames H. CharlesworthPhilip R. DaviesCraig A. EvansHarry GambleLeonardGreenspoonAlan J. HauserDonald H. JuelMartin McNamaraEsther MennRichard A. Norris Jr. Gary G. PortonJames A. SandersJoseph TriggDuane F. WatsonFrances Young

Genres: Theology, Biblical Studies

558 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2003

Reviews

[Alan Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent history of biblical interpretation from inner-biblical exegesis to the time of Jerome and Augustine.

“The history of modern historical criticism of the Bible has indeed shown that the "assured results" of one generation of biblical criticism are often challenged by the next.” Loc 3402

The postmodern perspective has seriously challenged a number of the assumptions and methods of "higher-critical" scholarship. There is no discussion of the biblical appropriation and reinterpretation of mythic patterns from the greater ancient Near East. The Chaldean search for God within the created order led to the recognition that the world is not sovereign but dependent on its Maker.

“The natural human bent is toward polytheism because it seems to grant humans more control of the world in which they think they live.” Loc 1830

While Rabbinic midrash tended to atomize the biblical text, early Christian interpretation often used typology and allegory. Metaphor and allegory naturally led to avenues of interpretation of a text other than the literal and historical.

“Allegorical interpretation, while not a respected mode of interpretation among contemporary scholars, was an accepted strategy for dealing with texts up to the time of the Enlightenment.” Loc 4077

In an allegory, both the created order and the text of Scripture were symbolic of the eternal world of spiritual realities. Literal reading stemmed from the treatment of texts in the rhetorical schools, allegorical from the handling in the philosophical schools. Allegories understood spiritual as intellect and the gospels as testimonies of religious truth.

[Glenn Crouch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first volume in a set looking at Biblical Interpretation throughout the History of the Church (and includes handling by Judaism). It is quite a scholarly work - not aimed at the novice - and has a different author for each "chapter". So better to think of these as more like the essays you would read in an Academic Journal. This is in no way a criticism, rather an explanation as multi-volume works can be done in a variety of ways.

The essay approach does mean that there is quite some difference between one "chapter" and another. I would say that I enjoyed the Jerome chapter the most - and whilst I got something out of every "chapter", some authors I found a little too arrogant in their scholastic approach (no consideration or thought given to any academic thoughts that might be a bit more conservative than the authors). Thus I felt a bit like each author was arguing (and often well) for his/her topic - but there really were no other views even mentioned, let alone argued for - and this can tend to give that indication that everyone in the field agrees with the author. To counter-balance this, each "chapter" has an extensive bibliography, thus allowing the reader to read further on the topic - and I do like that :)

I haven't made the next volume a high priority on my reading list at this time.