Interpretation articles from January 2006

Interpretation archives from January 2006

Editorial.
January 1, 2006... With these lines, James L. Mays began his inaugural address, "Exegesis as a Theological Discipline," delivered April 20, 1960 in Schauffler Hall, as Professor of Biblical Interpretation at Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia. (1)...

The source critic and the religious interpreter.
January 1, 2006... Many religious readers of scripture, of late joined by post-modernist interpreters, have leveled two charges against biblical criticism. We are told that biblical criticism, especially when it attempts to reconstruct earlier documents from...

"Am I able to say just anything?" Learning faithful exegesis from Balaam.
January 1, 2006... In a recent address, the general secretary of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, Setri Nyomi, recounted the visit of church leaders, during a WARC meeting, to a historic Reformed church in Ghana. The visitors were aghast to learn that for...

"Is this not why you are wrong?" Exegetical reflections on Mark 12:18-27.
January 1, 2006... Should "ministry" or "exegesis" be the organizing context for a discussion of "the ministry of exegesis"? (1) The assumption implicit in the subject, especially as explored in this journal, is that exegesis and ministry go together. In their...

Interpreting and preaching the Gospel of John.
January 1, 2006... Since the middle of the twentieth century, the variety of strategies for interpreting the Bible has grown apace. (1) The confidence with which Krister Stendahl could write that the purpose of biblical theology was to say "what a text meant" and...

Psalm 70.(Between Text & Sermon)
January 1, 2006... SEVERAL YEARS AGO I VISITED THE CHAPEL of the Hadassah hospital in Jerusalem with a group on a study tour of the Middle East. The attraction was a set of stained-glass windows located in the chapel's domed ceiling that were created by Marc...

2 Kings 23:1-20.(Between Text & Sermon)
January 1, 2006... SOMETIMES THE MORE FAMILIAR A TEXT becomes, the less preachable it seems to be. Such may be the case with 2 Kgs 23:1-20, the story of King Josiah's reform of the nation's religious life after the discovery of a scroll (presumably a portion of...

Matthew 4:1-11.(Between Text & Sermon)
January 1, 2006... THE JUXTAPOSITION OF JESUS' TRANSFIGURATION on the last Sunday after Epiphany and his Temptation on the first Sunday in Lent creates tension that impels reflection. We claim in song the promise that Tabor's light is "glory that the church shall...

Matthew 27:57-66.(Between Text & Sermon)
January 1, 2006... THE STORY OF JESUS' BURIAL, ALTHOUGH ATTESTED by all four gospels, has scant representation in the Revised Common Lectionary. The synoptic accounts are only given as part of the "Liturgy of the Passion" on the Sunday before Easter, and in each...

The Struggle to Understand Isaiah as Christian Scripture.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... The Struggle to Understand Isaiah as Christian Scripture by Brevard S. Childs Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 332 pp. $35.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8028-2661-6. IN THE PREFACE TO HIS COMMENTARY on the entire book of Isaiah (Old Testament...

New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... New Testament Theology: Many Witnesses, One Gospel by I. Howard Marshall InterVarsity, Downers Grove, 2004. 765 pp. $40.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8308-2795-1. THE GENRE OF NEW TESTAMENT THEOLOGY has been dominated by, and has lived under...

Jesus, a Jewish Galilean: A New Reading of the Jesus Story.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Jesus, A Jewish Galilean: A New Reading of the Jesus Story by Sean Freyne T & T Clark, London, 2004. 212 pp. $31.95. ISBN 0-567-08467-1. WITH THIS VOLUME, SEAN FREYNE enters the fray of historical Jesus studies. He seeks to...

A History of Preaching.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... A History of Preaching by O. C. Edwards, Jr. Abingdon, Nashville, 2004. 879 pp. $65.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-687-03864-2. THE COMPILATION OF A HISTORY of preaching from its pre-Christian roots to the present day is hard to imagine, but...

Wondrous Depth: Preaching the Old Testament.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Wondrous Depth: Preaching the Old Testament by Ellen F. Davis Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2005. 162 pp. $19.95. ISBN 0-664-22859-3. IN THIS VOLUME, ELLEN DAVIS is trying to teach the church how never to be bored with...

Judges and Ruth (New Cambridge Bible Commentary).(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Judges and Ruth (New Cambridge Bible Commentary) by Victor H. Matthews Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2004, 270 pp. $55.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-521-80606-2. Also available: $19.00. ISBN 0-521-80606-2-1. VICTOR MATTHEWS'...

Jeremiah.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Jeremiah by Louis Stulman Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries, Nashville, 2005. 400 pp. $39.00. ISBN 0-687-05796-5. FOLLOWING AN INTRODUCTION dealing with key issues in the study of Jeremiah, its overall genre and situation,...

Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah.(Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi)(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah by Daniel J. Simundson Abingdon Old Testament Commentaries, Nashville, 2005. 350 pp. $39.00. ISBN 0-687-34244-9. Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi by Julia M....

From Joshua to Caiaphas: High Priests after the Exile.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... From Joshua to Caiaphas: High Priests after the Exile by James C. VanderKam Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004. 548 pp. $35.00. ISBN 0-8006-2617-6. THE HISTORY OF THE high priests of the post-exilic temple presents a particularly...

There Shall Be No Poor Among You: Poverty in the Bible.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... There Shall Be No Poor Among You: Poverty in the Bible by Leslie J. Hoppe Abingdon, Nashville, 2004. 197 pp. $22.00. ISBN 0-687-00059-9. ALTHOUGH THIS CAPABLE overview of the biblical understanding of poverty is inspired by "a...

An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods and Ministry Formation.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation by David A. deSilva InterVarsity, Downers Grove, 2004. 996 pp. $40.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-8308-2746-3. THIS VOLUME CLAIMS A distinctive place among New...

Reading the Sermon on the Mount: Character Formation and Decision Making in Matthew 5-7.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Reading the Sermon on the Mount: Character Formation and Decision Making in Matthew 5-7 by Charles H. Talbert University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, 2004. 181 pp. $29.95 (cloth). ISBN 0-8308-2746-3. DESPITE ITS BROAD...

Dialogue and Drama: Elements of Greek Tragedy in the Fourth Gospel.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Dialogue and Drama: Elements of Greek Tragedy in the Fourth Gospel by Jo-Ann A. Brant Hendrickson, Peabody, Mass., 2004. 304 pp. $19.95. ISBN 1-56563-907-3. JO-ANN BRANT FOLLOWS A LONG tradition of studying the dramatic elements...

Many Things in Parables: Jesus and His Modern Critics.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Many Things in Parables: Jesus and His Modern Critics by Charles W. Hedrick Westminister John Knox, Louisville, Ky., 2004. 142 pp. $19.95. ISBN 0-664-22427-X. THE PARABLES OF JESUS do not offer paradigms for theological truth or...

Jesus Now and Then.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Jesus Now and Then by Richard A. Burridge and Graham Gould Eerdmans, Grand Rapids. 2004. 215 pp. $16.00. ISBN 0-8028-0977-4. BURRIDGE AND GOULD look at the Jesus of history, whose impact on people "then" gave rise to the early...

The Mary Magdalene Tradition: Witness and Counter-Witness in Early Christian Communities.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... The Mary Magdalene Tradition: Witness and Counter-Witness in Early Christian Communities by Holly E. Hearon Michael Glazier/Liturgical, Collegeville, 2004. 236 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-8146-5120-8. THIS VOLUME EXAMINES the three...

A Feminist Introduction to Paul.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... A Feminist Introduction to Paul by Sandra Hack Polaski Chalice Press, St. Louis, 2005. 159 pp. $19.99. ISBN 0-827210-37-X. SANDRA HACK POLASKI has given us an introduction to Paul that will be of considerable interest to a...

Paul and the Gentile Women: Reframing Galatians.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Paul and the Gentile Women: Reframing Galatians by Tatha Wiley Continuum, New York, 2005. 168 pp. $24.95. ISBN 08264-1707-8. TATHA WILEY OF UNITED Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities has written a concise, insightful, and...

Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Colossians Remixed: Subverting the Empire by Brian J. Walsh and Sylvia C. Keesmaat InterVarsity, Downers Grove, 2004. 256 pp. $22.00. ISBN 0-8308-2738-2. HOW ARE TWENTY-FIRST century readers to understand the message of the...

Blackening of the Bible: The Aims of African American Biblical Scholarship.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Blackening of the Bible: The Aims of African American Biblical Scholarship by Michael Joseph Brown Trinity Press International, Harrisburg, 2004. 226 pp. $20.00. ISBN 1-56338-363-2. THIS BOOK IS THE FIRST of its kind in that it...

Crossing the Divide: Luther, Feminism, and the Cross.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Crossing the Divide: Luther, Feminism, and the Cross by Deanna A. Thompson Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004. 184 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-8006-3638-4. IN THIS MUCH NEEDED reconstructive work, Thompson confesses "allegiance to both Luther's...

Loving Jesus.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Loving Jesus by Mark Allan Powell Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004. 200 pp. $16.00. ISBN 0-8006-3676-7. MARK ALLAN POWELL describes Christians as "people who love Jesus," and in this book he explores what it means to live out the...

Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Moral Courage: Motives and Designs for Ministry in a Troubled World.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Forgiveness, Reconciliation, and Moral Courage: Motives and Designs for Ministry in a Troubled World by Robert L. Browning and Roy A. Reed Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2004. 259 pp. $24.00. ISBN 0-8028-2774-8. AT LEAST UNTIL THE FALL of...

Facing Terrorism: Responding as Christians.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Facing Terrorism: Responding as Christians by Edward LeRoy Long Jr. Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2004. 112 pp. $12.95. ISBN 0-664-22760-0. FEW ASPECTS OF CONTEMPORARY life affect us more profoundly than terrorism. Yet there...

The American Church Experience: A Concise History.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... The American Church Experience: A Concise History by Thomas A. Askew and Richard V. Pierard Baker Academic, Grand Rapids, 2004. 288 pp. $21.99. ISBN 0-8010-2722-5. IN RELATIVELY few pages, this book covers the history of...

The Moral Theology of Roger Williams: Christian Conviction and Public Ethics.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... The Moral Theology of Roger Williams: Christian Conviction and Public Ethics by James Calvin Davis Columbia Series in Reformed Theology. Westminster John Kncx, Louisville, 2004. 178 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-664-22770-8. ROGER WILLIAMS...

The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portraits of a Protestant Saint.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... The Bonhoeffer Phenomenon: Portraits of a Protestant Saint by Stephen R. Haynes Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004. 280 pp. $22.00. ISBN 0-8006-3652-X. FEBRUARY 4, 2006 MARKS the hundredth anniversary of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's birth, and...

Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Constants in Context: A Theology of Mission for Today By Stephen B. Bevans and Roger P. Schroeder Orbis, Maryknoll, 2004. 504 pp. $30.00. ISBN 1-57075-517-5. AT ONCE A KIND of introduction to missiology, a history of mission, and a...

Being Religious Interreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Being Religious Interreligiously: Asian Perspectives on Interfaith Dialogue by Peter C. Phan Orbis, Maryknoll, 2004. 283 pp. $35.00. ISBN 1-57075-565-5. PETER "CHO" (meaning: "to give") Phan, is a first-generation Vietnamese Roman...

Broken Word: Reflections on the Craft of Preaching.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Broken Word: Reflections on the Craft of Preaching by Paul Scott Wilson Abingdon, Nashville, 2004. 168 pp. $18.00. ISBN 0-687-35243-6. PAUL SCOTT WILSON, WHO teaches homiletics at Emmanuel College of the University of Toronto, is...

Hear and Be Wise: Becoming a Preacher and Teacher of Wisdom.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Hear and Be Wise: Becoming a Preacher and Teacher of Wisdom By Alyce M. McKenzie Abingdon, Nashville, 2004, 208 pp. $20.00. ISBN 0-687-05391-9. THIS EXCELLENT book analyzes the biblical and extra-biblical wisdom literatures in...

An Examined Faith: The Grace of Self-Doubt.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... An Examined Faith: The Grace of Self-Doubt by James M. Gustafson Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004. 119 pp. $15.00. ISBN 0-8006-3628-7. THE IMPACT of secular descriptions, interpretations, and explanations of worldly events upon religion...

Short-Term Spiritual Guidance.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Short-Term Spiritual Guidance by Duane R. Bidwell Fortress, Minneapolis, 2004. 129 pp. $16.00. ISBN 0-8006-3658-9. THIS BOOK IS PARTICULARLY relevant for pastors and chaplains, who usually provide spiritual guidance for others in...

The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage.(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... The Life You Save May Be Your Own: An American Pilgrimage by Paul Elie Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 2003. 555 pp. $15.00. ISBN 0-374-52921-3. PAUL ELIE OFFERS US a brilliant "group biography"--an intricate braiding of four...

What Have They Done to the Bible? A History of Modern Biblical Interpretation.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... What Have They Done to the Bible? A History of Modern Biblical Interpretation by John Sandys-Wunsch Michael Glazier/Liturgical, Collegeville, 2005. 378 pp. $39.95. ISBN 0-8146-5028-7. Biblical exegesis from 1500 through the...

The Conversion of the Imagination: Paul as Interpreter of Israel's Scripture.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2006... The Conversion of the Imagination: Paul as Interpreter of Israel's Scripture by Richard B. Hays Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 2005. 233 pp. $20.00. ISBN 0-8028-1262-7. These essays by Richard Hays span the breadth of his work on Paul's...

Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible: A Guide to the Background Literature.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2006... Ancient Texts for the Study of the Hebrew Bible: A Guide to the Background Literature by Kenton L. Sparks Hendrickson, Peabody, 2005. 514 pp. $39.95 (cloth). ISBN 1-56563-407-1. This volume offers an introduction and survey of...

Chalice Introduction to the New Testament.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2006... Chalice Introduction to the New Testament edited by Dennis Smith Chalice Press, St. Louis, 2004. 336 pp. $. ISBN 0-8272-0485-X. Scholars who specialize in particular fields of New Testament study collaborate in this Introduction....

This is My Story: Testimonies and Sermons of Black Women in Ministry.(Book Review)(Brief Review)
January 1, 2006... This Is My Story: Testimonies and Sermons of Black Women in Ministry edited by Cleophus J. LaRue Westminster John Knox, Louisville, 2005. 203 pp. $24.95. ISBN 0-664-22776-7. Cleophus LaRue, who once strongly opposed the ordination...

Blow the Trumpet in Zion: Global Vision and Action for the 21st-century Black Church.(Brief Article)(Book Review)
January 1, 2006... Blow the Trumpet in Zion: Global Vision and Action for the 21st-century Black Church edited by Iva E. Carruthers. Frederick D. Haynes III Jeremiah A. Wright, Jr. Fortress, Minneapolis, 2005. 180 pp. $15.00. ISBN 0-8006-3712-7. ...