For the Love of God's Word: an Introduction to Biblical Interpretation

by Andreas J. Köstenberger

An introduction to a clear method of biblical interpretation
For the Love of God's Word is an abridged, less technical version of K�stenberger and Patterson's acclaimed Invitation to Biblical Interpretation. Students, teachers, and pastors alike will find this introduction to biblical hermeneutics to be an accessible resource with both breadth and substance.
Built on the premise that every passage requires careful scrutiny of its historical setting, literary dimension, and theological message, this volume teaches a simple threefold method that is applicable to every passage of Scripture regardless of genre. In addition, the book sets forth specific strategies for interpreting the various genres of Scripture, from poetry to epistle to prophecy. A final chapter is devoted to helpful Bible study resources that will equip the reader to apply Scripture to life.
This book will serve as a standard text for interpreting Scripture that is both academically responsible and accessible for pastors, teachers, and college students. This volume will enable students of Scripture to grow in love for God's Word as they grow in the disciplines of study and discernment.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Biblical Studies, Religion, Nonfiction

480 pages, Hardcover

First published May 27, 2015

Reviews

[Jessi · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a dry, repetitive book. I'm sure there are better books on interpretation and hermeneutics out there; use those. The main qualms I have with this book are repetition of basic principles and terms (I don't need an explanation on similes every chapter. We got it the first time around) and how the information is laid out. I felt like I needed a flow chart for every page because Kostenberger would say something like: "This topic can be separated into Thing One and Thing Two. Thing One can be separated into A, B, and C. A can be separated into alpha and beta. Alpha is part of this related study, which can be broken down into this and this...." You get the idea. I didn't. The reason it gets two stars at all is because technically the information is still good; it's just really badly strung together.

[David J. Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A condensed version of Köstenberger and Patterson's Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, this book offers a surprisingly detailed introduction to Christian hermeneutics in just under 400 pages. The most important conversations are here, with careful guidance and thorough clarity.

[Zachery Whitehead · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” 2 Timothy‬ ‭2‬:‭15‬. The goal of this book is to build up Christians to rightly handle the word of truth. Another way of putting this is to use different tools to find the intended message of the author of Scripture. I believe it succeeds in doing so at a cursory level. The book is broken into 3 main sections: history, literature, and theology. The historical section advocates for a contextual understanding of each book in the Bible, then provides a cursory overview of Biblical history. Roughly 70% of the book is dedicated to the literature aspect of interpretation. This section explores the canon of scripture (OT and NT distinctions), particular genres within the two canons (majority of the literature section), and then a treatment on linguistics. The final section is then theology. This section introduced the idea of Biblical theology and application.

The literature section was the most useful in that it provided the most clear tools for interpretation with some examples scattered throughout the book. History was helpful in developing a surface level context. Theology provided methodologies for coming to the author’s intended conclusions, which, in practice, may prove helpful. The assumption of the book seemed to be that this would be an introduction to hermeneutics but certainly not the end. More reading and researching will need to be done. This you can’t fault the book for doing what it set out to do: be an introduction to Biblical interpretation, even if you are left wanting more.

[Josh G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an accessible, robust, and challenging book on hermeneutics. Kostenberger and Patterson cover the bulk of the exegetical landscape, providing helpful principles and pitfalls to avoid. The section on exegetical fallacies was very helpful.

Yes, it's a bit dry—but what do you expect? It's a technical book on hermeneutics, not a collection of sermons or essays on spiritual formation. I would argue, however, that solid books on hermeneutics (like this one) are needed to evaluate such sermons or essays for their exegetical merit. Just because it preaches, feels good, or provides explanatory power/scope doesn't necessarily mean it's the intended meaning or implication of a given passage.

Sound application is built upon sound exegesis. Books like this are a solid resource to aid with both.

[Peter Lundahl · Rating 4 out of 5]

A happy medium between Klein et al's Introduction to Biblical Interpretation and Kimball's How (Not) to Read the Bible Study Guide plus Streaming Video: Making Sense of the Anti-women, Anti-science, Pro-violence, Pro-slavery and Other Crazy Sounding Parts of Scripture. A helpful introduction to biblical hermeneutics and how exactly we should go about reading, interpreting, and applying the Bible.

[Joey Coons · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good! I prefer Stuart and Fee’s “How to Read the Bible for All It’s Worth” as my go to hermeneutical guide, but this is another valuable one to have alongside. No major issues with this book with me.

[Rebecca Pate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had to read the second half of this book for class. Did not read the first half.

[Dan Absalonson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book on interpreting the Bible. Well thought out and organized. Read it for seminary.

[Dustin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for seminary. It's a textbook, but gives a pretty easy to follow overview of various elements in how we should responsibly interpret the bible.

[Nolan Bechtold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read for Seminary.

[Michael Boling · Rating 5 out of 5]

There is a definite issue afoot when it comes to sound biblical interpretation and for that matter, biblical literacy. Many sermons are certainly preached in churches across the world and many are being trained in bible colleges and seminaries. With that said, do people in the pews, the pastors delivering the sermons, the students in school, or the professors and academics training those bound for the ministry accurately understanding and applying Scripture? Unfortunately in some cases the answer is a resounding no.

This means there is the need for sound biblical interpretation and to better practice the discipline known as hermeneutics. Now this discipline is not just for academics. However, many of the books on this subject matter are written with the scholar, academic, and bible college/seminarian in mind with the average laymen often left out in the proverbial cold. Kregel Academic, in an effort to address this disparity, has provided an abridged version of Andreas Kostenberger and Richard Patterson’s excellent larger work Invitation to Biblical Interpretation. This abridged effort aptly named For the Love of God’s Word makes the discipline of hermeneutics accessible to the laity, providing them a solid foundation upon which to understand and engage in sound biblical interpretation.

Kostenberger and Patterson rightly note that “Biblical interpretation is hard work. The one who wants to master the handling of God’s Word must be like the apprentice of a master craftsperson. Over time, and through practice, that apprentice will learn to skillfully use many tools. Likewise, the biblical interpreter must know what interpretive tools to use and how to use them. This is what it means to “correctly handle” the word of truth.”

Throughout this excellent book, the authors provide the reader with those necessary tools of the biblical interpretation trade. By first setting the groundwork and foundation of the “hermeneutical triad” of history, literature, and theology, the authors enable the reader to have a working understanding of how to approach the biblical text. God’s Word was written within the confines of actual history. Thus, when we read Scripture we are reading about real life events involving actual people, actual nations, both with impacts on not just salvation history, but all of history in general. Understanding the setting of the prophetic books for example, is essential in grasping what those prophets were addressing. Each book of Scripture is written in a specific genre meaning there are hermeneutical rules for engaging history as opposed to grasping books of poetry. Finally, after engaging those two parts of the triad, one can dive into the theological meaning and application of the passage.

I truly appreciated that the authors provide objectives for the reader to reach and the fact these objectives are provided at the beginning of each chapter. This approach gives the reader something to think about as they are reading, helping them to hone in on the specific purpose the author is getting across in that chapter. Furthermore, an outline is provided so the specific topics of that chapter are not a mystery.

Overall, I found the discussion and information to be sound, informative, insightful, and written in a manner that all believers will find useful. There certainly are what I would call “nerdier” discussion points provided in some of the chapters such as an engagement of how to identify a chiastic structure in a passage or noting the various types of prophetic narrative. Even when those more academic minded aspects of hermeneutics are discussed, the information is presented in a way that will not be over the head of those who have never seen or heard such terms before. In fact, they make it their focus to present the information in as practicable a manner as possible so that terms are not just nerdy terms, but rather are tools that can be used in everyday Bible study.

All believers are commanded to be students of Scripture. For that reason, I highly recommend For the Love of God’s Word as an essential treasure trove of information for those both new to the disciple of hermeneutics and even those who are familiar with and use all of the tools noted in this book. Most importantly, the information provided in this book will help you better understand God Word and any book that has that focus and successfully accomplishes that mission will receive a resounding vote of support from me. This book does just that so I encourage you to get a copy and use the tools contained within its pages.

I received this book for free from Kregel Academic for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

For the Love of God's Word is an introduction to biblical hermeneutics. Andreas Köstenberger and Richard Patterson have teamed up again to help serious Bible students interpret scripture well (they previously authored Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, and this book is an abridgment of that text). Köstenberger and Patterson have a three part approach to interpreting scripture, what they call 'the Hermeneutical Triad': History, Literature and Theology. This is similar to the approach of my own professors of Hermeneutics and Exegesis and does real justice to the interpretive task.

Köstenberger and Patterson are at their most brief in part I (, where they give a brief overview of Biblical history, discuss the contribution of archaeology to our understanding of Ancient Near East and Greco-Roman culture, and they give some interpretive suggestions for distinguishing which biblical customs remain normative and those which are 'limited in application.' They do all this in about twenty pages.

Part II is far more substantive, occupying the largest chunk of the book . Köstenberger and Patterson discusses Literature, focusing on three units: canon, genre, and language. In discussing canon, they discuss the applicability of the Old Testament, the concept of covenant and the way the Old Testament testifies to Jesus as the long-awaited Messiah. They go on to discuss how the various parts of the New Testament augment and supplement each other. They then move on to discussing the distinctives of each genre in scripture: historical narrative, poetry and Wisdom, prophecy, the narratives of the Gospel and Acts, parables, epistles and Apocalyptic. Finally they look at language (discourse structure and the meanings of words).

Part III examines theology. Köstenberger's and Patterson's focus is to make sure that our theology flows from the text (rather than our theology determining our reading of the text). The resources they suggest here are from the discipline of Biblical theology, rather than the theological tradition. Their final chapter puts together a hermenuetical approach to getting an application out of the text.

This is a text book intended for an introductory course in hermeneutics. However, its readable and understandable for the working pastor or any lay Bible teacher. For example, their section on interpreting biblical genres can be a reference point for preachers planning to launch into unfamilar biblical terrain. Or at least a refresher. My criticism of the book would be constricted to what's not here (i.e. an in-depth examination of narrative technique and poetic structure, discussion of how the wider theological tradition informs our understanding of the text, discussion of what the reader brings to the text, the role of the Spirit in interpretation, etc). However this is an introductory text and does a great job directing people on how to interpret the Bible in culturally and literary sensitive and canonically aware way. As a pastor I can readily see ways their approach is helpful to me. Those that follow Köstenberger's and Patterson's will read the Bible well. I give this five stars.

Note: I received this book from Kregel Academic in exchange for my review.

[Doug Hibbard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love books on understanding God's Word better. And I usually enjoy books from Kregel Academic and Ministry. So, I am pre-biased in favor of For the Love of God's Word by Andreas Kostenberger and Richard Patterson. Throw in that this is an abridgment of their Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, which I really liked, and I must admit that it would have taken a complete hack for me to dislike this work.

For what it's worth, I hope the authors don't mind that I start by saying this isn't a complete hack. In fact, it's a quite useful work for the shelf of the local pastor. While you should, if that's you, have the larger work, here's why this one is worth your shelf space as well:

1. It's only half the weight, and about an inch and a half thinner than the large volume. Having just moved, that's a bigger deal to me than it is to you.

2. The material remains solid. The Kostenberger/Patterson idea of the "hermeneutical triad" is an excellent concept for studying Scripture. The three sides: history, literature, and theology are all critical for grasping the concepts in a text. While all of these are more clearly teased out through the book, here's the summary: "history" refers to the actual setting of writing; "literature" to the specific genre of the selected text; "theology" to how the text fits within the Bible's overall message.

3. Throughout the book, these ideas are developed in better detail, including specific applications for each genre of the text. The second chapter provides an overview of the historical setting of the Bible. Obviously, deeper study needs specialty books in each of these areas, but this is a great introduction.

4. I like this as a "deeper" training work for ministry development. For example, if you are working on mentoring future ministers and teachers without needing the academic information in a larger text, this is a good book for that. There is no major dependence on original language knowledge, allowing the text to work early in the mentoring process.

5. The title sums it up nicely: for those of us who love God's Word, it's worth studying well and doing it right.

I did receive a copy of this book from Kregel Academic in exchange for the review.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Christian are often told to love the Word, but the Word is often a difficult book to read and understand. This book however will be a helpful book for any christian. This book aims to be a substantial introduction for christians teaching them to do basic hermeneutics and exegesis.

What readers should know is that this book is an abridgement of the thicker volume Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature and Theology. This book will help serious christian learnt he nooks and crannies of studying the bible.

First the authors helps readers understand the three perspectives that the authors want readers to understand. These are literature and theology. They showed how each of these topics helps a christian understand the bible better.

The difference between this book and the thicker volume lies is what is being covered in the history section. This book does not elaborate too much on this aspect, however they help readers see how history is important to interpreting the bible.

Next, they move to the literature portion which really helps readers understand the literary aspect of the bible. First they give a rough overview of each of the testament, next they showcase each of the genres found in both testaments, and give pointers on how to read, understand and exegete the different genre.

Lastly, the authors bring in the importance of theology in the pursuit of understanding the bible and shows how our theology should be derived from the Word, and not of anything else.

Having read the thicker volume, seminary students or pastors are certainty recommend to read that volume. However, if you are a lay christian, or someone who is motivated to take up a substantial book, this will be one that you can turn to. The authors are able to explain and distill their knowledge in an easily understandable format, but being a book that is more than 400 pages, you need to be discipline and motivated to make full use of this book. This book is good for those who are new to this topic. For those who are familiar in this area, they are recommended to turn to the larger volume.

Rating: 4 / 5

Disclaimer: I was given this book free from the publisher in exchange for an honest review