Foundations of Contemporary Interpretation

V. Phillips Long (Ph.D., Cambridge) is professor of Old Testament, Regent College, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Tremper Longman III (PhD, Yale University) is a distinguished scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California. He is on the advisory council of the BioLogos Foundation, and is the Old Testament editor for the revised Expositor's Bible Commentary and general editor for the Story of God Bible Commentary Old Testament, and has authored many articles and books on the Psalms and other Old Testament books.Richard A. Muller (Ph.D., Duke) is professor of historical theology at Calvin Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Vern Poythress (PhD, Harvard University; DTh, University of Stellenbach, 1981) is professor of New Testament interpretation at Westminster Theological Seminary. In addition to numerous journal articles and essays, he is author of many books including Symphonic Theology, Understanding Dispensationalists, God-Centered Biblical Interpretation, The Returning King, and The Gender-Neutral Bible Controversy. Moisés Silva taught biblical studies at Westmont College, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Gordon-Conwell Seminary. He is the author or coauthor of eight books and the revising editor of the Zondervan Encyclopedia of the Bible.

• AbbreviationsHAS THE CHURCH MISREAD THE BIBLE?Moisés SilvaPreface1. Today’s Hermeneutical Challenge2. Obstacles in the Study of the History of Interpretation3. Literal or Figurative?4. Clear or Obscure?5. Relative or Absolute?EpilogueFor Further ReadingLITERARY APPROACHES TO BIBLICAL INTERPRETATIONTremper Longman IIIEditor’s PrefaceAcknowledgmentsIntroductionSECTION ONE: THEORY1. A Historical Survey2. An Appraisal of the Literary Approach3. Basic PrinciplesSECTION TWO: APPLICATION4. The Analysis of Prose Passages5. Examples of Prose Analysis6. The Analysis of Poetic Passages7. Examples of Poetic AnalysisEpilogueFor Further ReadingGOD, LANGUAGE AND SCRIPTUREMoisés SilvaPreface1. Introduction2. Biblical Perspectives on Language3. The Scientific Study of Language4. The Historical Dimension5. Describing the Biblical Languages (I)6. Describing the Biblical Languages (II)7. Epilogue---Passing It OnAppendix: The Biblical Languages in Theological EducationFor Further ReadingTHE ART OF BIBLICAL HISTORYV. Philips LongEditor’s PrefaceAuthor’s PrefaceIntroduction1. History and the Genre(s) of the Bible: Is the Bible a History Book?2. History and Fiction: What Is History?3. History and Truth: Is Historicity Important?4. History and Modern Scholarship: Why Do Scholars Disagree?5. History and Hermeneutics: How Then Should We Read the Bible “Historically”?6. An Extended Example: The Rise of SaulEpilogueFor Further ReadingSCIENCE AND HERMENEUTICSVern S. PoythressEditor’s Preface1. How Should We Interpret the Bible?2. The Influence of Natural Science on Biblical Interpretation3. Thomas Kuhn and Contemporary Discussions of Scientific Discovery4. Implications of Kuhn’s Theory for Biblical Interpretation5. Differences Between Biblical Interpretation and Science6. Disciplinary Matrices in Biblical Interpretation7. Models in Science and in Biblical Interpretation8. Analogies as Perspectives9. Lessons to Be Learned from the Contextual Character of Knowledge10. Using Perspectives11. Biblical Interpretation Reorganized Using Different Perspectives12. Prospects for Deepening Our Understanding of the BibleAppendix: Interpretive Method and Other Fields of ResearchTHE STUDY OF THEOLOGYRichard A. MullerEditor’s PrefaceIntroduction1. The Study of Theology: Issues and Problems2. The Theological Disciplines: Biblical and Historical Foundations3. The Theological Disciplines: Contemporary Statement and Practice4. The Unity of Theological DiscourseEpilogue: The Study of Theology as an Exercise in Christian CultureFor Further ReadingIndex of Biblical PassagesIndex of Modern Authors and TitlesIndex of Subjects