Reflections on the History of Exegesis

This book can be used to evaluate and better understand the multitude of opinions, comments, and approaches that the Bible student encounters along the way. It is not an exegetical manual, but rather a reflection on the different ways exegesis has been done throughout church history. The history of biblical interpretation is a laboratory of experiments already conducted, which remains very active today with a great variety of new initiatives, debates, and approaches that have emerged since the mid-20th century. A historical study allows for a more focused look at what has been done in the field of biblical interpretation in the past and a better understanding of the background of current debates.

Reflections on the History of Exegesis develops topics such as:

Jewish exegesis as the background to Christian exegesis in the first century.

The use of the Old Testament in the New Testament.

Developments in biblical exegesis by the Church Fathers.

Biblical interpretation in the Middle Ages.

Biblical interpretation during the Reformation.

An introduction to the birth and development of Biblical Criticism.

The Documentary Hypothesis and its relationship to exegesis.

The quest for the Historical Jesus as an example of critical study in the New Testament.

The tension between faith and criticism in biblical studies.