Customer Reviews

Introduction to Biblical Interpretation

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This revised and expanded version of a trusted evangelical favourite is, despite what some reviews here suggest, very good at what it does. And what it does is not really what these other reviewers want to call hermeneutics. Fair enough. I actually agree that this is not really a book about hermeneutics, and credit to the authors for keeping that word out of the book title. This is 'steps to biblical interpretation' aimed at people whose default setting is to open the Bible at random and seek 'a word from the Lord'. Compared to that, this book will do much good, and I think it deserves a welcome.
On the other hand, the reviewers who point out the lack of a clear presentation of hermeneutical thinking (esp philosophical hermeneutics) are right, and while I too agree that James Smith's 'Fall of Interpretation' is a great book I simply think that it is trying to do something completely different from this one (and it requires wrestling with Heideggerian ontotheology into the bargain, from which Klein et al mercifully spare us.)
So if you want a sophisticated hermeneutical treatment of the legitimacy and limits of an evangelical approach to scripture then you will not find it here, and I recommend going elsewhere (indeed to Kevin Vanhoozer's 'First Theology'). But if you already know that you want to interpret the Bible within a certain framework (viz the evangelical one) then this is a wonderful compendium of practically-orientated good advice, with an excellent reading list.
So, three stars for what it is good at. Two stars short because the framework and worldview questions really do require something this book does not have.

Potential readers will want to assure they look at this thoroughly revised and updated version of the book that originally appeared in 1993. This 2004 second edition responds to some of issues in reviews of the first edition and updates all the discussions, footnotes, and bibliographies. At the same time, it remains thoroughly evangelical in its approach and presuppositions--and does not seek to hide that fact. And while it acknowledges the more philosophical turn that "hermeneutics" has taken (the countours of which follow Schleiermarcher, Dilthey, Heidegger, Gadamer, and Ricoeur), it focuses attention rather on the needs of the "practitioner" who desires a reliable guide to the actual practice of interpretation from a conservative point of view--not a philosophy of understanding. To fault it for not doing more is to ask for a book longer than the already formidable 563 pages.

Klein, et al's Introduction to Bibilical Interpretation is a wonderful book that does exactly what it was designed to do - provide the best possible education experience on Biblical interpretation and hermeneutics for advanced Bible students. And when I say advanced, I am referring to students who are in seminary and studying for a Master's degree in Theological Studies, Biblical Studies, or Apologetics.

This is how I was introduced to this text. It was one of my main textbooks in a high level (700 level) graduate course at a big evangelical seminary. The book is awesome, but sometimes is it just hard to read because there is just so much information the human mind can handle and comprehend at one time. In other words, this book is written at an advanced level. Just to give you an idea of the level of scholarship that supports this text, in the second chapter about the History of Interpretation, there were 160 footnoted references pointing to external sources, more information, or information that just had to be followed up on by the reader in order to get a full understanding of what was being introduced in the book.

Don't misunderstand me, this book is the best, but it assumes it's audience is an audience composed of advanced bible readers, and advanced students of the Scriptures. That's is not to say anybody can't buy this book and read and understand it. But unless you are used to reading scholarly journals, you are not going to be reading this book like a novel and be done with it in a weekend. If you do get it, you will definitely have in your hands one of the best books on Biblical Interpretation and Hermeneutics that has ever been published.

All in all, very good. From a conservative perspective the authors discuss the major issues of biblical interpretation, including applying hisorical criticism and modern hermeneutical theories to the Scriptural text. Though conservative, it is not fundamentalistic. The authors provide a balanced treatment of most subjects and give good principles and examples of doing careful exegesis. This would be an excellent work to use in an intro. to biblical literature class. My one reservation is that not enough attention was given to Patristic and medieval exegesis and its modern day application to Scripture. Also, the Treatment of the Deutero-Canonical books and the question of the Canonicity of Scripture was superficial and inaccurate. Catholic and Orthodox readers should keep this in mind when reviewing this book. To conclude, though it has the deficiencies mentioned above and could not serve as a standard for Catholic and Orthodox exegesis, it is a refreshing work that shows that not all evangelical protestants are biblical obscurantists who are unable to engage in dialogue with modern biblical scholarship and present well-reasoned opinions.

This is an invaluable comprehensive resource for any serious student of the Bible who needs practical guidance in interpreting the Bible correctly. The three authors are Seminary professors who share their expertise on hermeneutics and affirm their position that a biblical text has one meaning that is discovered by using the historical/grammatical/semantical approach of interpretation. One must also consider the literary, cultural, and social issues of the text. Understanding a text in its context is also vitally important. The authors also explore other traditional and modern interpretative methods that reflect current biblical scholarship. Lastly, the authors discuss our role as interpreters and what we bring to a biblical text, i.e. preunderstandings, life experiences, etc. This is a great resource!

The (obviously well educated) authors state "all believers are competent to study the Bible" on page 262. They provide easy to understand rules of interpretation that we must use to ensure proper understanding yet, also assure us that the Bible is not a cryptogram whose solution is hidden from all but an elite group who know the code (page 150). Therefore, the book explains proper boundaries for interpretation without coming across as a formula list.

They contrast "I just read it and God shows me the meaning" as being potentially dangerous (page 4) with "We must ask God to assist" and "prayer puts one in the position to hear and understand" (page 141).

They assure us that the Bible is an understandable and accessible book, but caution that perfect understanding may not be possible for every sentence (page 149). While we may not always know what a verse means, good rules of interpretation provide that we can always know what it does not mean. Therefore, they do not allow heresy while encouraging Christians not to divide fellowship when multiple interpretations are possible (page 208).

The authors are not opposed to fresh interpretation, yet also point out that "the fresh interpretation must be consistent with the text's historical meaning and with the Bible's total teaching (page 199). This concept is developed further in chapter 7 when they explain the Circles of Context. The chart on page 219 makes understanding the context concept easy.

Genres of the Old Testament (chapter 9) explain that "All of the OT applies to Christians, but none of it applies apart from its fulfillment in Christ." (page 347). After reading this chapter you will avoid the extremes of ignoring the OT because "we are a New Testament church" and feeling a burden to follow all of the law that was not specifically repealed in the NT.

Very thorough and easily understood. I use this as a course textbook. Best feature is the presentation of opposing viewpoints.

Brief Overview: The book "Introduction to Biblical Interpretation" written by, William Klein, Craig Bloomberg and Robert Hubbard, Jr. seeks to introduce the reader with the task of bridging the gap of complexity that the bible accords, to understand its message and suggest helpful methods for the reader in the field of biblical interpretation. The book is divided into five parts. Part one deals with the task of defining hermeneutics, and in that process details the historical development of hermeneutics and the canonization of the bible. The next part takes a look at the interpreter's role with particular emphasis on how one can affect the message. Part three introduces the reader to the literature of the bible, issues dealing with literary, cultural and historical issues and proposing ways to getting meaning when one understands them. In part four, the authors introduce the various genres in the bible coupled with methods in reading and understanding them. The final part thus covers the area of application of the biblical text and how one can do this. The authors have also compiled and suggested important books to aid the reader in the task of biblical interpretation.

Review: Hermeneutics is a field that can be daunting at times because of its largely technical vocabulary and principles that it uses to interpret and understand the text. Unfamiliarity with the subject and the terms can erode concentration as well as wane interest in the perspective student. That is why I think "Introduction To Biblical Interpretation" written by a collaboration of three prominent scholars; William W. Klein, Craig L. Bloomberg, Robert L. Hubbard, Jr., have done a wonderful task to bridge the complexities of the subject in an understandable manner.

Another strength of the book lies in how the authors divide parts of the book systematically but also noting that each part or chapter can be studied alone with slight "overlap and repetition." This actually helps readers remember previous chapters and gives a sense of coherence when one reads it from cover to cover. The author's coverage of the historical development of interpretation over the years was vastly helpful namely to illustrate the strenuous task earlier generations of biblical interpreters took to work out methods of interpretation to understand as well as apply the text in their era and context. There is also a chapter on recent developments in hermeneutics which further enhances the scope of the book in its outlook.

There is also great stress on context, historical and cultural background as well as the mention of the varying genres in the bible. Space is also given to countless examples to how all this things work out. The reader is thus not left alone on the dark with just methods but examples in how they are used. The only negative remark that can be mentioned, all be it a minor issue, is on the last part on application where it seems like the authors hurried through the process of assembling it. But overall, "Introduction To Biblical Interpretation", does more than introduces the reader to the world of interpretation but in one book holds a wealth of resources.

This book on the genre-based hermeunetical approach is conservative, well-researched, and very informative. However, the book suffers from what seems to be lack of editing, poor organization of sub-topics, and sheer wordiness. I would use this book as a reference for an in-depth study of a particular genre and as a gateway to other scholarly resources, but not as an intro to hermeneutics. For an intro hermeneutics book that takes a similar approach as this one, I recommend Stuart and Fee's How to Read the Bible for All its Worth.

I thought I wrote a review of this book already, but I'll do it again.

This is the first book on Hermeneutics I've read and I have to agree with what looks like the majority of the reviews here. It is quite wordy. I find myself skimming for the main points and some of the definitions. It's a bit too thorough, however if you wanted to look up a certain concept in interpretation... I'm sure you could find something about it in this book.

I will say there are some good "aha" personal stories, examples, and biblical misconceptions answered, but you'd have to do A LOT of reading to really benefit from and find them.

The things that are turning me off the most to this book are 1. There is certainly a kind of postmodern feel to it. There is an effort to create balance on certain views that seem to only exist inside this book. I mean that there are conclusions about Theological views that I've never heard of. The conservative skeleton backbone seems to be intact (They say there is such a thing as absolute truth, etc.), but it's as if there is a drift away from being totally consistent. There is also some apparent leaning in support of "The 2-Source Theory" or "Q (Quelle) Document."

2. I've also noticed subtle elastic expressions of the authors' views on Covenant Theology vs. Dispensationalism. They sometimes lean one way, but then make a clear statement here or there that leans the other way.

Overall, I certainly have learned things from the textbook in certian places. We just have to read and learn critically... as with everything I suppose.