Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning [Hardcover]

Walter C. Kaiser Jr. (Author), Moisés Silva (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 30, 2007

Since its publication in 1994, An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics has become a standard text for a generation of students, pastors, and serious lay readers. This second edition has been substantially updated and expanded, allowing the authors to fine-tune and enrich their discussions on fundamental interpretive topics. In addition, four new chapters have been included that address more recent controversial issues: * The role of biblical theology in interpretation * How to deal with contemporary questions not directly addressed in the Bible * The New Testament's use of the Old Testament * The role of history in interpretation The book retains the unique aspect of being written by two scholars who hold differing viewpoints on many issues, making for vibrant, thought-provoking dialogue. What they do agree on, however, is the authority of Scripture, the relevance of personal Bible study to life, and why these things matter.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Bernard Ramm's Protestant Biblical Hermeneutics, published in 1956, attracted a broad spectrum of Bible readers and set the tone of biblical interpretation for a whole generation of evangelical students. An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics could have a similar role for this generation at the end of the twentieth century. Almost every assumption that Ramm made has been challenged and tested by the winds of modernity and post-modernity. The severity of the changes from earlier patterns of thinking is reflected in the subtitle to this book, The Search for Meaning. This book is distinctive from others on hermeneutics in that the authors, rather than writing from a single viewpoint, hold differing opinions on many issues. There are more areas where they agree than disagree, including the authority of Scripture and the primacy of authorial meaning; but where they disagree is precisely where the issues are most crucial for the future. So the readers are invited , in effect, to eavesdrop on a vibrant dialogue between two scholars and to reach their own conclusions. Despite the convivial tone, the readers must not mistake how great the stakes are. In a culture that prizes individuality and personal freedom, the primary question is no longer "Is it true?" but rather "Does it matter?" hence the question of relevancy has taken precedence over the questions "What does the text mean?" This book therefore confronts the question of meaning and shows how evangelicals may still clearly hear the Word from God amid the cacophony of the age. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Walter C. Kaiser Jr. (PhD, Brandeis University) is distinguished professor emeritus of Old Testament and president emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. Dr. Kaiser has written over 40 books, including Toward an Exegetical Theology: Biblical Exegesis for Preaching and Teaching; The Messiah in the Old Testament; and The Promise-Plan of God; and coauthored An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning. Dr. Kaiser and his wife, Marge, currently reside at Kerith Farm in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin. Dr. Kaiser's website is www.walterckaiserjr.com. SPANISH BIO: Walter C. Kaiser, (hijo) (Ph.D., Brandeis University) es profesor distinguido de Antiguo Testamento en el Seminario Teologico de Gordon-Conwell.

Moises Silva taught biblical studies at Westmont College, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Gordon-Conwell Seminary. He is the author or coauthor of eight books and the revising editor of the Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 18 and up
  
• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Zondervan; Rev Exp edition (October 30, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0310279518
• ISBN-13: 978-0310279518
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 7.5 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #127,054 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Walter C. Kaiser Jr. (PhD, Brandeis University) is distinguished professor emeritus of Old Testament and president emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. Dr. Kaiser has written over 40 books, including Toward an Exegetical Theology: Biblical Exegesis for Preaching and Teaching; The Messiah in the Old Testament; and The Promise-Plan of God; and coauthored An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics: The Search for Meaning. Dr. Kaiser and his wife, Marge, currently reside at Kerith Farm in Cedar Grove, Wisconsin. Dr. Kaiser's website is www.walterckaiserjr.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars This is a valuable contribution to hermeneutics, September 5, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (Columbus, Ohio) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics, An (Hardcover)

_An Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics_ is an exchange between two 'legends' in the field of modern biblical studies, at least from an evangelical perspective. Dr. Silva's chapter on "The Case for Calvinistic Hermeneutics" is worth the price of the book alone. In it, he shows that the pursuit of biblical interpretation (i.e., hermeneutics) cannot be fruitfully accomplished without an awareness of one's theological bias. As part of the 'hermeneutical spiral', the direction of biblical interpretation to theology is never only one way. There is a constant interaction between theology and interpretation. And, in Silva's view, it is not only good for us to admit this, but fundamentally flawed if we try to pretend that biblical interpretation could be done any other way. Biblical interpreters are no more _tabula rasa_ than anyone else. That illusion is the product of a so-called enlightened age that after two centuries is finally going the way of the dodo, even in the bastions of mainstream scholarship.

But Silva would not have us say, therefore, that, since we reject monolithic 'neutrality', all approaches are now de facto 'correct'. No, we must approach the text from the position it demands, which is to say, we must approach it as Christians. This 'bias' is the only way we can approach the Scripture with the hope of understanding it correctly, for this is precisely the framework through which its human authors wrote, and it is to just such a 'biased' audience as this that it is addressed to. It itself is no mere 'neutral' text, but "profitable" for the "man of God" (II Tim. 3:16). We do well to remember to adopt this approach, even as we seek to have this framework refined (and yes, challenged) by the insights we learn from diligent study

31 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rightly Dividing The Word of Truth, October 13, 2000

By 

Mark Jones (Watkinsville, GA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics, An (Hardcover)

This work was the central text for a seminary course in Hermeneutics, and I had anticipated a somewhat dry, calculated, formula based approach to Biblical interpretation. What I received was a tool chest of invaluable exegetical tools with which to treat the Word of the Living God with the highest honor that it deserves. Drs. Kaiser and Silva are very obviously not only theologians and scholars of the first order, they are lovers of God's Word, and they pursue Him in their lives and work. Their instruction shines the very passion of knowing and following Jesus, while using every intellectual tool that He has given us. This book has changed my approach to preaching and teaching, and will maintain a spot in my library...I plan to read and refer to it till the covers fall off!

29 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Right Place to Start on Biblical Hermeneutics, April 19, 2005

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theologicalresearcher "theologicalresearcher" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Introduction to Biblical Hermeneutics, An (Hardcover)

For those wanting to know how one does proper hermeneutics this book is a good place to start. The authors (Walter Kaiser and Moises Silva) are conservative evangelical scholars and write from that perspective. Kaiser (who is a champion of multiple applications from a single text) and Silva (a traditional Reformed scholar) join together to help lay people and teachers on this important subject. Not only is this book good for seminarians who want to get a taste of hermeneutical methods, it also has a lot of practical applications for the laity who want to know how to read the Bible properly for personal devotion and life. Kaiser and Silva both avoid dry intellectualism, and write from a pastoral perspective too. Most of the chapters are good (especially Kaiser's), and most people will find this work very readable. However, I do have one concern over this book. It is a chapter written by Silva (Chapter 14: "The Case for Calvinistic Hermeneutics"). He contends that "proper exegesis should be informed by theological reflection. To put it in the most shocking way possible: my theological system should tell me how to exegete" (p. 261). True, Reformed theology's strength lies in its consistency, logic, coherence, and history. However, this can be its downful also (by the way, I am a Calvinist too). For instance, most in the Reformed tradition argue that Israel and the Church lie in continuity. Therefore, Israel as an ethnic body has no future in God's redemptive program. This leads them to reinterpret certain passages that speak of a national conversion of Israel near the Parousia (cf. Romans 11:26) to mean "spiritual Israel" (or the Church) or a "remnant" throughout history. Another example is Revelation 20. Since a literal Millennial Kingdom in the future is not compatible with Reformed/Covenant theology, they argue that we must spiritualize Revelation 20 to mean the present age (or interpret the "first resurrection" to mean a spiritual resurrection). The danger of allowing a Reformed "systematic theology" to control our exegesis of certain passages can lead to eisegesis and a meaning that is totally different from what the inspired writers meant to say. Here are the main methods of hermeneutics in Christianity:

1. Roman Catholic Hermeneutics:

Exegesis<-----Tradition

2. Reformed Hermeneutics:

Exegesis<-----Systematic Theology

3. Fundamentalism and Arminianism:

Exegesis Only

4. Critical Scholarship:

Exegesis<-----History

5. Proper Biblical Hermeneutics:

Exegesis----->Systematic Theology

Proper hermeneutics is not imposed out of a certain systematic theology; it is developed from exegesis that leads to a systematic theology. Reformed theology fails in this respect. This book should be read by all pastors, seminarians, and lay people. It is an invaluable tool that needs to be in every Christian library.