Words & The Word: Explorations in Biblical Interpretation & Literary Theory - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0830828982 ISBN 13: 9780830828982

Publisher: Ivp Academic, 2009

Synopsis

In recent decades scholarly study of the Bible has taken a literary turn. Now literary theory has taken its place at the hermeneutical table and demands a voice in the conversation. Words and the Word, edited by David Firth and Jamie A. Grant, offers eight informative and stimulating essays that will bring readers abreast of this conversation. This volume's contributors are united in their belief that a proper understanding of key aspects of literary theory can make a significant contribution to biblical interpretation. Their essays survey general issues in the field, take a look at some specific approaches, and outline the relevance and contribution these make to the task of biblical interpretation. Students of biblical interpretation who have moved beyond the basics will find Words and the Word to be a wonderful introduction to the major ideas, methods and thinkers in literary interpretation of the Bible.

About this title

Review

"Words and the Word provides a masterful guide to a profitable literary analysis of the biblical text. The essays are learned and insightful and will enrich the readers' interpretation of the biblical text. I recommend it highly not only for scholars, but also and especially for ministers and seminary students."--Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College

"Two general papers titled 'Literary theory and biblical interpretation' (G. Osborne, who discusses narrative theory as a 'test case') and 'A structural-historical approach to the exegesis of the Old Testament' (S. Syman) are followed by six more papers that deal with speech-act theory (R. Briggs), genre criticism (J.K. Brown), ambiguity (D.G. Firth), poetics (J. Grant), and discourse analysis (T. Wardlaw). Each article has a bibliography. --Recommended."--International Review of Biblical Studies, 2008-2009

"Succeeds admirably in what it set out to do. It presents a wide array of topics in an introductory yet thorough manner, engages current scholarship outside of the boundaries of evangelicalism while showing the benefits and applicability of these resources to those within that interpretive community, and points the way towards further research for those whose interest has been piqued by the discussion."--Laura J. Hunt, Criswell Theological Review, Fall 2009

From the Author

Biblical studies has often looked for dialogue partners. And as it has conversed with other disciplines new questions have opened up regarding the Bible's interpretation, which at the same time have suggested new ways in which the Bible might speak to the world. The question, though, has often been who these dialogue partners should be.

In the early centuries, and even up to the time of the Reformation, the main collaborator was philosophy, especially as the biblical text was often relegated to the task of supporting established doctrine. Of course, great interpreters such as Augustine, Nicholas of Lyra or Calvin did considerably more than simply engage with philosophy or extract verses out of context to support doctrine. But it is impossible to read these authors without recognizing the extent to which they engaged with the dominant philosophical questions of their age. Theology was unavoidably drawn into the metaphysical debates of the day, and so these questions became the principal reference points for interpreters of the Bible throughout many generations.

Without abandoning philosophy altogether, a significant shift occurred with the advent of the Enlightenment . For biblical studies, increased historical awareness brought about crucial changes in the practice of academic theology, most obviously in the development of the so-called historical-critical method. This has given rise to significant debates about the Bible's historicity: can we trust its testimony and if so, to what extent?

One of the problems of historical criticism was its tendency to atomize texts and look at the world behind the text, often privileging hypothetical sources over the finished text. This is not to disparage historical inquiry into texts and how they develop, but it is perhaps akin to seeking to learn to drive a car by pulling it apart rather than understanding first how the whole works. The literary turn often associated with postmodernity changed this basic approach by beginning to look at texts as wholes, and this was not restricted to biblical studies. Whether or not postmodernity is really something new or simply the latter stages of modernity, clearly one important shift in recent years has been that scholars now more commonly foreground their methodological concerns. In line with other disciplines, biblical studies has become far more aware of the need to be conscious about the theory that underpins interpretation and how it shapes the questions we ask.

In making this move, we have also reached a point where, rather than philosophy or history dominating, biblical interpreters now draw on a plurality of disciplines, engaging with issues such as rhetoric, gender, postcolonialism and
psychoanalytic theory.

In spite of this plurality, {literary theory} is a conversation partner of continued and increasing importance for biblical interpretation, though, as is clear from this collection, literary theory too takes multiple forms. Some of its aspects, such as {speech acts}, are strongly rooted in contemporary philosophy. Others, such as {rhetoric}, draw on a range of classical sources as well as modern theorists to understand how the text seeks to persuade. But whichever aspect of literary theory is emphasized, it is crucial that biblical interpreters have a proper understanding of this discipline if they are to draw fruitfully on its insights. This does not mean we must become expert in each of them, but we do need to have enough grounding in these theories to appreciate how they can contribute to the ongoing task of interpreting the Bible so we can hear its ancient message clearly today.

The contributors to this volume are united in their belief that a proper understanding of different aspects of literary theory can make a significant contribution to the interpretation of the Bible. Though none would claim to cover the whole of literary theory, since it is a sprawling and growing discipline, each brings expertise in a specific area. Therefore, those contributors discussing a particular method both outline the issues related to that method and show how it applies to the interpretative task. Thus we hope to integrate theory with practice so that the process of applying a set of analytical tools will expand the ways in which we understand them.

At the same time, these are only explorations in literary theory and biblical interpretation. There is considerably more that could be said about each approach, and there are also many more aspects of literary theory (such as metaphor, intertextuality, film theory) that could be considered. Guidance on these is offered in the opening chapters by Grant Osborne and Fanie Snyman, both of whom offer different, yet complementary, overviews on the relationship between literary theory and biblical interpretation.

We hope these essays will stimulate discussion of the importance of literary theory as applied to biblical studies, and at the same time encourage students to draw on the possibilities these methods suggest. Literary theory is not the only conversation partner for modern biblical interpretation, but these chapters suggest it is a vital one if we are to continue to hear the living word of the living God.

Edition details

• Publisher: Ivp Academic
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0830828982
• ISBN 13: 9780830828982
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 317
• Editor: Firth David G., Grant Jamie A.