Annotated Biblical Hermeneutics Bibliography

Glenn Giles 2007

Brown, Jeannine K. Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics.

Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007.

Dr. Brown’s advanced level book approaches Scriptural interpretation and meaning as a “communicative act.” She proposes a balanced communication model for interpreting the Bible. Her proposal is written as the following: “Scripture’s meaning can be understood as the communicative act of the author that has been inscribed in the text and addressed to the intended audience for purposes of engagement”. Dr. Brown critiques the tendency of the history of hermeneutical discussions to focus on only one of the three domains of interpretation, i.e., author, text, or reader. She proposes to incorporate all three aspects in a more balanced way to affect what she believes to be (and what seems to be her thesis) a better and more full understanding of the text, a model in which “communication is inherently interpersonal” and dialogical in nature. She seems to have supported her thesis well.

In developing her proposal and thesis she discusses both (1) theoretical perspectives on Scripture as communication and (2) practical guidance for interpretation of Scripture as communication. With respect to theoretical perspectives Dr. Brown traces the recent (last 300 years or so) history of Scriptural interpretation as having individual foci of understanding the mind of the author, then understanding the text itself, and then a focus on “reader-centered view points.” She then draws “affirmations” (i.e. the best aspects) about meaning from each of these three foci in forming her proposed communication model. With respect to her section on practical guidance for interpretation, Dr. Brown discusses each of the following also from the perspective of communication: Genre, biblical language, biblical social world analysis, literary context, intertextuality and canon, and incarnational contextualization. Dr. Brown is to be commended for documenting the need for biblical interpretation to involve whole persons in interpersonal communication (i.e., that of the Biblical writer, God, and that of the reader) through the written text in a balanced manner.

Corley, Bruce; Lemke, Steve W.; and Lovejoy, Grant I. Biblical Hermeneutics: A Comprehensive Introduction to Interpreting Scripture. Second Edition. Nashville: Broadman & Holman, 2002.

Corley, Lemke, and Lovejoy, with the help of twenty-four other scholars have in this book created a hermeneutics textbook which they feel covers “all the bases” for beginning seminary students. The four basic areas of hermeneutics to be covered are: (1) philosophical presuppositions, (2) the history of biblical interpretation, (3) the actual practice of interpretation, and (4) the use of the resulting insights in the ministries of preaching and missions. The authors have indeed created a text that does cover these bases. This anthology the textbook is divided into five parts. Part One discusses the proper approach to Scripture in the Grammatical-Historical method tradition as well as inductive Bible study methods. Part Two discusses biblical hermeneutics in history. Part Three discusses the authority, inspiration and language of Scripture, including textual criticism and different translations. Part Four discusses genres of Scripture, including law, OT narrative, lyrics of wisdom and poetic literature, prophecy, gospel narrative, Acts narrative, epistles, and apocalyptic. Part Five discusses the proper application of exegetical results in developing Sermons.

Fee, Gordon D.; and Stuart, Douglas. How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth. Third Edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2003.

In writing this supurb intermediate level book on understanding and applying the Bible, Fee and Stuart determined that it would not be “just another book.” They tailored it to be unique in (1) its basic concern and focus on the understanding and application of genre, (2) striking a balance between “studying each genre of Scripture” and “intelligent reading of Scripture”, (3) upholding the concept that seminary education and seminary professors need not be seen as a “hindrance to understanding the Bible,” but that the Bible can be understood and is intended to be obeyed by both scholars and non-scholars, (4) and in its wrestling with “questions of application” by taking what is discovered as a biblical text’s original meaning toward determining what it means in today’s world.

In accomplishing their goals, Fee and Stuart divide their study into two tasks: (1) exegesis (i.e., determining the original meaning of the text) and (2) hermeneutics (using the narrow sense of the term, i.e., what the text means today). In keeping with the text’s main focus (i.e., genre studies), the following types of literature in the Bible are discussed extensively: Epistles, OT narratives, Acts, gospel, parable, law, prophecy, Psalms, wisdom, and Revelation. Guidelines for both the tasks of exegesis and hermeneutics are presented for each genre type.

_________, How to Read the Bible Book by Book. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2002. A companion volume to Fee and Stuart’s How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth, this text for the intermediate level student attempts to apply the genre study principles of the former book to each individual book of the Bible. Its goal is “to help people become better readers of Scripture” and to see how each book fits in with the others to form “the great narrative of Scripture.” That narrative of Scripture, God’s story, can be divided into four great chapters: Creation, Fall, Redemption, and Consummation. Fee and Stuart successfully accomplish their task by discussing each book of the Bible in three major sections: (1) an overview section of the entire book helping the student get the big picture, (2) a specific exegetical and hermeneutical advice section for reading the book, and (3) a “walk through” the book section showing not only its content but also how each part fits in with the others and how the book as a whole fits in with the great narrative of Scripture.

Klein, William W.; Bomberg, Craig L.; and Hubbard, Robert L., Jr.; Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1993.

In this excellent comprehensive advanced level book, Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard incorporate insights from “philosophy, linguistics, the social sciences, and literary criticism” to “advance the practice of biblical interpretation . . . in this generation” with a special emphasis on how to interpret Scripture. The authors’ goal is to help answer such questions as “How are we to learn what the Bible says?”, “How do we mine its resources?”, What are we to learn and how are we to respond?”, and “Can we know if we have understood the message correctly?” The authors firmly believe that Christians must not only know what God’s Word says but also be able to be obedient to it by putting it into practice in today’s world.

In accomplishing the goal set forth, Klein, Blomberg, and Hubbard successfully tackle the issues in five parts. Part I, “The Need for Hermeneutics,” defines hermeneutics (as both a science and an art for interpretation), deal with the role of the interpreter, the meaning of the message, and some of the challenges to Bible interpretation. Part I also presents a brief history of interpretation, and a discussion of the canon and different Bible translations. Part II addresses the role of the interpreter and the goal of interpretation. Part III expounds on understanding literature, looking at general rules of hermeneutics for both prose as well as poetry. Part IV discusses different genres in the OT (narrative, law, poetry, prophecy, and wisdom) and the NT (gospel, Acts, epistle, and revelation). Part V contains a study on the “Fruits of Interpretation” including the use of the Bible today in the corporate church body life in worship, teaching, preaching, pastoral care, and spiritual formation. Perhaps the book’s greatest strengths lie in its discussion of the general rules of hermeneutics for prose writing and its excellent chapter on hermeneutical rules for application in its discussion of four steps for legitimate application. Osborne, Grant R. The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Second Edition. Downers Grove: IVP, 2006.

In this comprehensive advanced level textbook on biblical hermeneutics, Dr. Osborne advances and supports his thesis that hermeneutics should be understood and as a spiral from the text to the context, i.e., a spiral “from its original meaning to its contextualization or significance for the church today.” This is to be seen in contradistinction to the concept of the “hermeneutical circle” which has been proposed by others in the past. Dr. Osborn’s thesis advances that concept of a “spiral” (in the form of a “cone”) which allows for an open-ended movement “from the horizon of the text to the horizon of the reader.” This allows the student of the Word to spiral upward nearer and nearer and narrower and narrower to a full understanding of the intended meaning of the text and its intended application in today’s world.

Dr. Osborne develops his thesis by discussing ten stages in the process of interpretation: (1) charting the book and paragraphs under consideration, (2) making a line diagram of the passage, (3) studying the grammar, (4) doing a semantical study, (5) doing a syntactical study, (6) looking at backgrounds of the passage, (7) considering Biblical theology, (8) considering historical theology, (9) considering systematic theology, (10) and contextualizing the text to today’s world. Methodologically Osborne discusses these ten stages in three parts: (1) general hermeneutics (including context, grammar, semantics, syntax, and historical and cultural backgrounds), (2) genre analysis (including OT law, narrative, poetry, wisdom, prophecy, apocalyptic, parable, epistle, the Old Testament in the New Testament), and (3) applied hermeneutics (including biblical and systematic theologies and homiletics). In applying all of these principles in one’s continuing study of the biblical text, the student of the Scripture spirals from text to meaning to fuller understanding and more appropriate application.

Ryken, Leland. How to Read the Bible as Literature and Get More Out of It. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984.

In this intermediate level book, Dr. Ryken expounds and develops support for his thesis that “the literary approach is one necessary way to read and interpret the Bible, an approach that has been unjustifiably neglected.” Ryken defines “literature” as that writing within the Bible that is “imaginative” or “creative.” In this respect he sees the Bible as consisting of both non-literary (texts that are explanatory or expository) as well as literary (texts that contain imaginative or creative writings) elements. The literature (literary) elements are to be experienced by the reader and not simply understood in abstract form as has been the emphasis in Biblical hermeneutics of the past. Reading the Bible as literature does not dismiss traditional hermeneutics but is to be an extension of the Grammatico-Historical method which “incarnates” the meaning of Scripture as concretely and experientially as possible. The reader is to “experience” as well as cognitively understand Biblical truth “intellectually, emotionally, and imaginatively,” i.e. experience the whole of reality. To this end, Ryken writes his book. He intends “to make the methods of literary criticism more accessible to anyone who reads and studies the Bible.”

In successfully accomplishing his goal, Ryken discusses (1) the nature and types of Biblical stories and 13 literary rules for experiencing those Biblical stories, (2) the nature and types of biblical poetry and several rules for experiencing this type of literature, (3) the nature and experience of proverbs (4) the nature and experience of the and parables, (5) how to understand epistles, (6) understanding and experiencing visionary literature, and finally (7) affectively experiencing the literary unity of the Bible as a whole. This is a very important book addressing the need and giving tools for an experiential, as opposed to a merely abstract, purely intellectual, understanding of the Bible.

Sterrett, T. Norton. How to Understand Your Bible. Downers Grove: IVP, 1974. In this work, Sterrett has prepared an excellent beginners level handbook for correctly understanding the Bible. While many handbooks overlook the necessary heart to approach the Bible, Sterrett begins his discussion with some excellent prerequisites of the interpreter in understanding the Bible. These include having a heart that is new, hungry, obedient, disciplined, and teachable. He then grounds his discussion on the Bible as God’s Word, the unified Bible as its own best interpreter, and the assumption that its language is “mainly normal human language” capable of being understood by normal human beings with the help of the Holy Spirit and one’s “honest, intelligent and obedient response.” Hence his thesis is that “you can understand God’s truth” if you follow what he outlines in this book.

Sterret develops this thesis by discussing the use of the right tools (i.e., study Bibles, Bible dictionaries, notebooks, concordances, and commentaries), study of grammatical and syntactical elements, literary forms, and principles of interpretation. He divides the discussion of the principles of interpretation into general and special principles. General principles include discussions of context, definitions of words, grammar, authorial intent, backgrounds (historical, geographical, and cultural), and the principle of allowing Scripture to interpret Scripture. Special principles include discussions of figures of speech (such as metaphor, simile, metonymy, synecdoche, apostrophe, personification, hyperbole, interrogation, and irony), symbols, types, parables and allegories, Hebrew idioms, characteristics of Hebrew poetry (parallelism, imagery, and hyperbolic language), the nature of prophecy, the concept and formation of doctrine, and the relationship between the Old and New Testaments. Sterrett concludes his discussion with a chapter on appropriate personal application correctly insisting that “true understanding comes only when a person responds to the claims God makes upon him through the Word.” Human response is necessary to a true understanding of God’s word. He insists that “we must beware of treating the Bible as just another branch of human knowledge to be studied in the same way others are studied.”

Stibbs, Alan. How To Understand Your Bible. Revised Edition. Wheaton: Harold Shaw,

In this small yet fairly comprehensive handbook Alan Stibbs presents a well articulated beginners guide for understanding the Scriptures. Stibbs approaches the goal of understanding of God’s word from the perspective that it takes prayer, hard work, and persistence. Understanding is not something that comes through osmosis but growth through diligent hard work and an active seeking on the part of the student. The purpose of his book based on II Tim. 2:15 is: “to give some basic guidance and practical suggestions to those who are prepared to join the school of biblical understanding.” Stibbs accomplishes his goal and purpose using six succinct chapters: (1) using the Bible properly, (2) getting at the true text, (3) understanding its context, (4) understanding the passage in detail, (5) understanding the passage in relation to the whole Bible, and (6) a practical chapter on the Bible and Christian living. Stibbs’ chapter 5 on understanding the passage in relation to the whole Bible is particularly helpful. In that chapter he outlines 12 important guidelines:

1. Recognize the divine inspiration of Scripture.
2. Recognize the unity of the biblical revelation, and aim to keep in harmony with its general tenor.
3. Compare one scripture with another and allow one scripture to check the interpretation of the other.
4. Interpret the obscure by the clear, and the partial reference by the more complete one
5. Interpret the OT in relation to the New and its fulfillment in Christ, especially in gaining understanding of the nature of prophecy and typology.
6. Regard Christ in his two comings as the main subject of Scripture.
7. Recognize that the main purpose of all Scripture is to reveal God’s ways with men
8. Recognize that truth is many-sided and we need to accept the inevitable paradoxes that are involved in understanding infinite truth.
9. Recognize the limits of what God has revealed: He has not revealed everything.
10. Recognize that our understanding is limited. Our understanding is finite
11. Respect the judgement of other Christians, particularly the consensus of the church
12. Remember to seek the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit.

Virkler, Henry A. Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981. Reprint Edition, 2002.

In this helpful intermediate level textbook, Virkler states his goal to give “the reader not only an understanding of the principles of proper biblical interpretation, but also the ability to apply those principles in sermon preparation or personal Bible study.” More specifically, Virkler had designed this book to make a contribution specifically in the area of translating hermeneutical theory into practical exegetical steps for the

interpretation of the Bible. In accomplishing his goal, the author has provided specific helpful “life-like” exegetical exercises (which he calls “brain teasers”) for students to hone their skills in the application of the hermeneutical theories they are learning. The hermeneutical topics discussed include (1) historical, cultural, and contextual analysis, (2) lexical and syntactical analysis, (3) theological analysis, (4) analysis of special literary types (including similes, metaphors, proverbs, parables, allegories, types, prophecy, and apocalyptic literature), (5) and application of the biblical message, especially with respect to the concept of principlization in transcultural application.