Customer Reviews

40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible (40 Questions & Answers Series)

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As a college Bible professor who often struggles with finding the right textbook for introductory courses, I am so thankful that this book is finally available! The content is approachable without being simplistic. Current, judicious, stays on point, and most of all, helpful--especially with respect to each chapter's general outline, illustrations, summary, and review/discussion questions. Like many professors, I struggle with effectively teaching a large class of students whose relative Bible knowledge coming in runs the gamut. How can we help both those who know next-to-nothing and those who have a solid church background? With this in mind, this book is the best I've found. It is more user-friendly (for teacher and student) than Fee/Stuart (How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth) and Duvall/Hays (Grasping God's Word). For approaching basic hermeneutics, I plan to use Plummer's book along with Vaughan Roberts' little book on metanarrative (God's Big Picture). I look forward to other books in this series.

Who doesn't have questions about interpreting the Bible? I do. You do. Probably anybody who has ever read the Bible has questions. So I'm happy to recommend a book on the subject. 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible by Rob Plummer. It's second in the ongoing '40 Questions' series edited by Ben Merkle (40 Questions about Elders and Deacons), which has the hallmark of staying focused and practical.
Rob is truly a blessing to have at my church. I mean, as a pastor, how great is it to have a Greek scholar just a phone call away when you're sermonating? I can't count the number of times over the years I've called Rob late on a Saturday asking, `Now, what is Paul saying in verse 13?' And he always has great insight. Really, Rob is one of those men that can give you a nuanced, biblical answer to just about any question. I've been looking forward to this book from the time he told me about the project, especially since his first book, Paul's Understanding of the Church's Mission: Did the Apostle Paul Expect the Early Christian Communities to Evangelize? (Paternoster Biblical Monographs)is one of my top three all time books on missiology.
As a scholar, Rob is very careful, very thoughtful - and this book reflects that. And he has the heart of a pastor on top of the mind of an academician. It's a great combination and I'm so thankful to have Rob as a brother in Sojourn's mission, and I commend his book to you knowing the heart and mind behind it. 40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible is short by design so that it's accessible and it's written by a man who I can promise you truly loves the Bible and truly loves helping people know what it says more clearly. If you're looking to understand the Bible better, this book won't let you down.

If you are searching for a solid evangelical book on Biblical interpretation, this is it! It would work well for a church discipleship class or just personal understanding. What makes this a great read is it's written at an easily digestible level for the church, but also wide enough to provide the advanced student something to chew on.

Many interpretation books focus on a mechanical approach to every passage of scripture. I.E. use this isolated formula and you always produce the correct interpretation. Not that Plummer totally eradicates various approaches, but he teaches students how to factor in things like genres. Hint: you do not approach a parable the same way you approach an Epistle. Buy it, read it, teach from it and enjoy it!

Without a doubt, the best text I have ever read on hermeneutics. Plummer covers critical, in-depth topics needed for accurate interpretation of the Bible. It is written in layman's terms without losing the "meat" of the topic. This will be a required text for any class I teach on this topic.

Laurie Hyatt
Mason, Ohio

I teach a 9 month inductive Bible study course and this book just made it to my required reading list. It covers all the most common questions that I get every year. And it does it without being too verbose or technical. I have really enjoyed this book.

Are you looking for a book to help you understand the Bible better, but don't know where to start? Here is the book about The Book for You! Dr. Plummer has not only written an excellent book, but has helped to fill a resource gap for pastors. This book fulfills several resource gaps for me as a Pastor. Here are some of the resource gaps filled:

1. Personal Study (I always need to refresh)
2. Learning to phrase complex teaching in understandable terms.
3. An affordable understandable book to put into parishioners' hands.
4. A resource that non-specialists will read and finish with understanding.

Dr. Plummer has provided a valuable resource that although readable, goes beyond the ABC 123 of other many other books on introductory Bible Study. Many of the books I have read on hermeneutics are either too technical for most laity (and many clergy apparently) to read or to long finish. These 40 Questions are short enough to read and study one question a week - and retain. One can read a chapter quickly (one question) and review it for about a week. The knowledge gained will be more than worth the effort.

Who would benefit from reading this book?
1. Pastors who need to a quick refresher in basic Hermeneutics.
2. New Christians who are wanting to understand the Bible better.
3. Sunday School Teachers wanting to engage the Biblical text rather than the notes of a quarterly.
4. A gift for someone who recently made a profession of faith.
5. Church lending Library.

I recently started taking classes at a theological seminary and this was the book assigned by the professor. I was intimidated a little by the class, as it was a master's level hermeneutics class, and I'd never had any formal Bible training. Palmer's book, however, was clear and concise. It followed a logical pattern of looking at Scripture as both text and life-changing material. I learned quite a few "basic" things from reading just the first ten chapters!
He gets quite detailed in his analysis of scriptural study without getting bogged down in theological jargon, thus confusing readers with a background in the field. A great read for anyone simply wanting some more knowledge on the hermeneutical field.

Answering questions might be one of the primary tasks of a teacher. Robert L. Plummer sets out to ask and answer forty of them in 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible. Plummer is a New Testament professor at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and in this volume he has rendered his course on Biblical Hermeneutics into a series of "frequently asked questions." Plummer aims for his work to "serve as a textbook for an introductory Bible course," but wants it also to be "beneficial for any curious Christian." Consequently, he attempts to be "accessible without being simplistic" and "scholarly without being pedantic" (11).

Choosing the Q&A format makes the structure of the text readily accessible but also weakens the narrative flow of the book. The questions and answers are self-contained and not necessarily meant to be read in order or even in light of each other. To compensate for this disjunction, Plummer fashions the macrostructure of the "parts" and "sections" of the book in a way that eases the reader into the discussion.

Part one addresses preliminary questions on "text, canon, and translation" (chapters 1-7). Part two examines "approaching the Bible generally," with sections of questions related to interpretation (chapters 8-13) and questions related to meaning (chapters 14-20). Part three talks about "approaching specific texts" and deals with genres that are equally distributed in both Testaments (chapters 21-27), genres that primarily occur in the Old Testament (chapters 28-31), and those that occur primarily in the New Testament (chapters 32-35). Part four ends the volume with a survey of hermeneutical issues in recent scholarly discussions.

There is a movement here from very basic questions (e.g., "What is the Bible?") to more advanced matters (e.g., "What is Speech-Act theory?"). Thus, in addition to using the book as a reference tool, beginning students would benefit from moving through these larger sections sequentially.

The content of most chapters is in the form of wide-angle lens overviews. Some of the chapters are brief arguments for Plummer's position, like in chapter four where he quickly answers the question of whether the Bible contains error in the negative and lays out a positive case for biblical inerrancy. Other chapters outline the major options on an issue, and Plummer argues for the option he thinks is best. For instance, chapter fourteen answers the question, "Who determines the meaning of a text?" Plummer walks through the choices of the reader, the text, and the author (he argues for the author). Many of the chapters basically consist of bullet-points that provide a framework for thinking about an issue or a question. For instance, in chapter ten, Plummer lists five "general principles for interpreting the Bible" (95): Approach the Bible in Prayer, Read the Bible as a book that points to Jesus, Let Scripture interpret Scripture, Meditate on the Bible, and approach the Bible in faith and obedience.

As I made my way through these chapters, I occasionally thought to myself, "Who is this book for?" One of the challenges of writing for a broad audience involves maintaining a level of consistency in the terms used and the style of writing employed. Plummer attempts to write for both lay readers and beginning students of theology, and he does both in various places. However, at times this characteristic gives the flow of the book a feeling of unevenness. Plummer's writing style is deliberately informal and brings clarity to a number of complicated issues. To make the discussions accessible to a broad audience, Plummer sprinkles his chapter with illustrations, made-up conversations, personal anecdotes, and simplified definitions. He also makes use of humor. For instance, when explaining the importance of examining the literary context of a passage, Plummer recounts, "I tell my students to hold onto the biblical text like a rider in a rodeo holds onto a bull. And, I also warn them that the only persons in the rodeo ring not on bulls are clowns" (105).

Alongside this informal tone, though, there are a number of places where terms or concepts are introduced without definition or explanation (e.g., lingua franca, Codex Vaticanus, and diglot, etc). Further, because of the subject matter, the content of some of the chapters is unavoidably technical (e.g., the discussion of figures of speech in chapter 27). There is also a striking range of sources cited. Whereas on one page Plummer points readers to Wikipedia, on other pages he quotes from unpublished doctoral dissertations. Though this unevenness might simply be the byproduct of writing for students in a clear and easily understood manner, there still lingers the sensation that there are essentially two different types of books lurking within these chapters.

Any introductory textbook will need to make a myriad of exegetical and interpretive decisions in its presentation. Thus, professors looking to adopt this text for their hermeneutics courses will inevitably have a few questions of their own about Plummer's questions. To give only one example, Plummer at times seems to equate the OT with the old covenant (17, 23, 161). Many will take issue with this presentation, arguing that it is imperative to distinguish clearly that the OT is not coterminous with the Mosaic covenant. In fact, some would argue that the Pentateuch itself is not the old covenant, but rather intends to demonstrate the failure of the old covenant.

Despite the presence of these types of debatable issues (something unavoidable), Plummer's format can be easily adjusted or modified in person by professors who see various issues in a different light. Many of the chapters would function well as the starting point for interactive classroom discussion.

One feature of Plummer's book that will edify believing Bible readers is his consistent integration of comments regarding the spiritual components involved in the task of interpretation. Plummer writes from a confessional standpoint that seeks to take into account key theological realities. For instance, Plummer frequently emphasizes that the Holy Spirit inspired the biblical authors in the writing of their texts. The overarching message of these inspired texts is, in turn, all about Jesus. In other words, the Bible is "Christocentric" (15, chap 18, etc). Interpreters should also acknowledge their own sinfulness and their inability to grasp the fullness of this message without the illumination of the Spirit (145). Accordingly, Plummer holds up the practices of reading the text and praying for God's guidance as necessary elements of a sound interpretive approach. To give one example, Plummer's outline for reading the Psalms includes the exhortations to read, pray, memorize, and sing the Psalms. These elements will especially benefit readers attempting to foster a thoroughgoing hermeneutic of trust.

For what it is, this volume of hermeneutical catechesis achieves its purpose of providing helpful answers to a number of questions about interpreting the Bible. At its best, the book serves as a primer for those unfamiliar with the formal study of hermeneutics and as a refresher for advanced students on basic (and therefore sometimes neglected) theological concepts.

40 Questions About Interpreting the Bible is a tremendously helpful resource for anyone who is serious about rightly reading and understanding God's Word. From start to finish, Plummer does a masterful job engaging some of the most pressing and pivotal hermeneutical questions of our day. Plummer's greatest strength lies in his ability to communicate complex truths in a clear and compelling manner. Did I mention clear? The accessibility of this volume is simply magnificent. It is organized, readable, and altogether helpful. So whether you are a pastor desiring to teach more faithfully, a hermeneutics professor looking to use a better textbook, or just a Christian wanting to more faithfully read your Bible, 40 Questions is for you. I cannot too highly recommend it.

Hubby and I are trying to get more into studying so that we can teach on a more consistent bases. I really love the Word and this has great information. I bought it with another book that we are working on. So I will write a similar review for it.