Bibliographical details:
Barton, John (ed.) (1998). The Cambridge Companion to Biblical Interpretation. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Publisher’s information:
This book provides the first complete guide for students to the present state of biblical studies. The twenty-one specially commissioned chapters are written by established scholars from North America and Britain, and represent both traditional and contemporary points of view. The chapters in Part one cover all the methods and approaches currently practised in the academic study of the Bible, while those in Part two examine the major categories of books in the Bible from the perspective of recent scholarship – e.g. historical books of the Old Testament, Gospels, prophetic literature. Major issues raised are: the relation of modern ‘critical’ study of the Bible to ‘pre-critical’ and ‘post-critical’ approaches; the place of history in the study of the Bible; feminist, liberationist and New Historicist concerns; the relation of Christian and Jewish scholarship; and recent interest in the Bible as literature.
John Barton is Oriel and Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture, University of Oxford.
Table of contents:
Notes on contributors … ix
Glossary … xiii
Introduction (John Barton) … i
Part one: Lines of approach
1. Historical-critical approaches (John Barton) … 9
2. Literary readings of the Bible (David Jasper) … 21
3. The social world of the Bible (Keith W. Whitelam) … 35
4. Poststructuralist approaches, New Historicism and postmodernism (Robert P. Carroll) … 50
5. Political readings of Scripture (Tim Gorringe) … 67
6. Feminist interpretation (Ann Loades) … 81
7. Biblical studies and theoretical hermeneutics (Anthony Thiselton) … 95
8. The Bible and Christian theology (Robert Morgan) … 114
9. Biblical study and linguistics (William Johnstone) … 129
10. Aspects of the Jewish contribution to biblical interpretation (Stefan C. Reif) … 143
11. The Bible in literature and art (Stephen Prickett) … 160
Part two: Biblical books in modern interpretation
12. The Pentateuch (Joseph Blenkinsopp) … 181
13. The historical books of the Old Testament (Iain Provan) … 198
14. The prophetic books (Robert R. Wilson) … 212
15. The poetic and wisdom books (Robert Alter) … 226
16. The Synoptic Gospels and Acts of the Apostles: Telling the Christian story (Pheme Perkins) … 241
17. John and the Johannine literature: The woman at the well (John Ashton) … 259
18. The Pauline Letters (James Dunn) … 276
19. The non-Pauline Letters (Frances Young) … 290
20. Apocalyptic literature (James C. VanderKam) … 305
General index … 323
Index of biblical references … 331
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