Interpretation and theology

604 Pages·2013·18.207 MB·English

by  Barr, James, Barr, James, Barton, John, Nicholson, Ernest Wilson

OXFORD
BIBLE AND
INTERPRETATION
THE COLLECTED ESSAYS OF
JAMES BARR
James Barr Professor James Barr
(1924-2006) was one of the most important
Hebrew and Old Testament scholars of the
twentieth century. His books included The
Semantics of Biblical Language (1961);
Fundamentalism (1977); The Typology of
Literalism (1979); The Scope and Authority
of the Bible (1981); Holy Scripture: Canon,
Authority, Criticism (1983); and History
and Ideology in the Old Testament (2000).
He held professorships at Edinburgh
University (1956-1961), Princeton Theological
Seminary (1961-1965), and Manchester
University (1965-1976), before taking up the
role of Oriel Professor of the Interpretation
of Holy Scripture at the University of Oxford
from 1976-1978, and Regius Professor of
Hebrew from 1978-1989. From 1989-1998
he was Professor of Hebrew at Vanderbilt
University, TN.
John Barton is Oriel and Laing Professor
of the Interpretation of Holy Scripture,
University of Oxford.
Ernest Nicholson is Emeritus Oriel and
Laing Professor of the Interpretation of Holy
Scripture, University of Oxford.
BIBLE AND INTERPRETATION
Bible and Interpretation:
The Collected Essays of James Barr
Volume I: Interpretation and Theology
Edited by
JOHN BARTON
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXPORD
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Introduction © John Barton, 2013
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Foreword
JOHN BARTON
When James Barr died in 2006 he had begun to collect many of his occasional
papers for publication in three volumes, and had a contract for this with Oxford
University Press. Mrs Jane Barr asked me to take over the task of preparing the
material for publication, which it has been a privilege to do. I am very grateful
to her for providing a number of offprints of articles hard to find elsewhere.
I had a lot of help also from Dr Carly Crouch in chasing up and copying jour­
nal articles, and am indebted to her for this. Not everything that James had
listed could be located, but there are only a few gaps in the intended collec­
tion. I have slightly adjusted his original division into volumes to equalize the
lengths, which is why the articles on fundamentalism are in Volume 2, rather
than in Volume 1 where they might be expected. In other respects the order is
as he intended it.
I have written a short introduction to each volume to bring out salient fea­
tures of the collection. A number of colleagues suggested that there should be
a biography, and accordingly the first volume is prefaced with a shortened ver­
sion of the Memoir written by Professor Ernest Nicholson and me for the Brit­
ish Academy. I am grateful to the Academy for permission to use it.
Thanks are due to the editors at the Oxford University Press, Tom Perridge
and Lizzie Robottom, and to the production team for their commitment to the
large task of producing these volumes: hardly any of the material was available
in electronic form, so all has had to be reset from scratch.
John Barton
Oriel College, Oxford
March 2013
Contents
Detailed Contents ix
James Barr Remembered by Ernest Nicholson & John Barton xiii
Introduction to Volume I by John Barton 1
Part I. Biblical Interpretation and Biblical Theology
1. Does Biblical Study Still Belong to Theology? 7
2. Biblical Scholarship and The Unity of the Church 17
3. Historical Reading and the Theological Interpretation
of Scripture 28
4. The Bible as a Document of Believing Communities 46
5. Some Thoughts on Narrative, Myth, and Incarnation 65
6. Reading the Bible as Literature 74
7. Divine Action and Hebrew Wisdom 92
8. Biblical Scholarship and the Theory of Truth 102
9. Literality 111
10. Exegesis as a Theological Discipline Reconsidered,
and the Shadow of the Jesus of History 127
11. Biblical Criticism as Theological Enlightenment 156
12. Jowett and the Reading of the Bible ‘Like Any Other Book’ 169
13. The Bible as a Political Document 198
14. Revelation Through History in the Old Testament and in
Modern Theology 215
15. Semantics and Biblical Theology—a Contribution
to the Discussion 226
16. Story and History in Biblical Theology 233
17. Biblical Theology 249
18. Biblical Theology and Revelation in History:
Two Dictionary Definitions 256
19. Trends and Prospects in Biblical Theology 280
20. The Theological Case against Biblical Theology 297
21. Some Problems in the Search for a Pan-Biblical Theology 311
22. Predictions and Surprises: A Response to Walter
Brueggemanns Review 323
viii Contents
Part II. Authority of Scripture
23. Has the Bible any Authority? 347
24. Biblical Hermeneutics in Ecumenical Discussion 357
25. The Authority of Scripture 363
26. Scriptural Proof 371
27. The Authority of Scripture: The Book of Genesis and
the Origin of Evil in Jewish and Christian Tradition 376
28. A Review of William J. Abraham, Divine Revelation and
the Limits of Historical Criticism 390
PartHI. Judaism
29. Judaism—Its Continuity with the Bible 397
PartIV. NaturalTheology
30. Biblical Faith and Natural Theology 411
31. Mowinckel, the Old Testament, and the Question
of Natural Theology 424
32. Biblical Law and the Question of Natural Theology 441
33. Greek Culture and the Question of Natural Theology 458
34. Ancient Biblical Laws and Modern Human Rights 470
Part V. Environing Religions
35. Philo of Byblos and his ‘Phoenician History* 483
36. The Question of Religious Influence: The Case of
Zoroastrianism, Judaism, and Christianity 515
37. The Language of Religion 546
Index 557
Detailed Contents
James Barr Remembered by Ernest Nicholson and John Barton xiii
Introduction to Volume I by John Barton 1
Part I. Biblical Interpretation and Biblical Theology
1. ‘Does Biblical Study Still Belong to Theology?’
Inaugural Lecture, Oxford, 26 May 1977, Oxford: Clarendon
Press 1978; reprinted in Explorations in Theology 7: The Scope
and Authority of the Bible, London: SCM 1980, pp. 18-29 7
2. ‘Biblical Scholarship and The Unity of the Church’
19th lecture of the R. T. Orr Visitorship; London, Ontario: Huron
College 1989 17
3. ‘Historical Reading and the Theological Interpretation of Scripture
Explorations in Theology 7: The Scope and Authority of the Bible
London: SCM 1980, pp. 30-51 28
4. ‘The Bible as a Document of Believing Communities
H. D. Betz (ed.), The Bible as a Document of the University: Three
Essays, Missoula, Montana: Scholars Press 1980; reprinted in
Explorations in Theology 7: The Scope and Authority of the Bible
London: SCM 1980, pp. 111-33 46
5. ‘Some Thoughts on Narrative, Myth, and Incarnation
A. E. Harvey (ed.), God Incarnate: Story and Belief London: SPCK
1981, pp. 14-23 65
6. ‘Reading the Bible as Literature
Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 56,1973-4, pp. 10-33 74
7. ‘Divine Action and Hebrew Wisdom’
S. Coakley and D. Pailin (eds), The Making and Remaking of
Christian Doctrine: Essays in Honour of Maurice Wilesy Oxford:
Oxford University Press, pp. 1 -12 92
8. ‘Biblical Scholarship and the Theory of Truth’
V. Collado Bertomeu (ed.), Palabray Prodigioy Poesia: In Memoriam
P Luis Alonso Schokel S./., Rome: Editrice Pontifico Istituto Biblico;
Javea (Alicante): Huerto de Ensenanzas (Alas), 2003, pp. 365-73 102
X Detailed Contents
9. ‘Literality’
Faith and Philosophy 6,1989, pp. 412-28 111
10. ‘Exegesis as a Theological Discipline Reconsidered,
and the Shadow of the Jesus of History’
Donald G. Miller (ed.), The Hermeneutical Quest: Essays in Honor
of fames Luther Mays, Allsion Park: Pickwick 1986, pp. 11-45 127
11. ‘Biblical Criticism as Theological Enlightenment’
(‘Bibelkritik als theologische Aufklarung’)
T. Rendtorff (ed.), Glaube und Toleranz: Das theologische Erbe der
Aufklarung, Giitersloh 1982, pp. 30-42 156
12. ‘Jowett and the Reading of the Bible “Like Any Other Book” ’
Horizons in Biblical Theology All-511,1983, pp. 1-44 169
13. ‘The Bible as a Political Document’
Bulletin of the John Rylands Library 62,1979-80, pp. 268-89 198
14. ‘Revelation Through History in the Old Testament and in
Modern Theology’
Interpretation 17,1963, pp. 193-205 215
15. ‘Semantics and Biblical Theology—a Contribution to the
Discussion Vetus Testamentum Supplements 22,1972, pp. 11-19 226
16. ‘Story and History in Biblical Theology’
Journal of Religion 56,1976, pp. 1-17 233
17. ‘BiblicalTheology’
E. Fahlbusch (ed.), Evangelisches Kirchenlexicon, Gottingen:
Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, vol. 1,1985, cols. 488-94; tr, The
Encyclopedia of Christianity, Grand Rapids, Michigan: Eerdmans
1999, vol. l,pp. 246-51 249
18. ‘Biblical Theology and Revelation in History: Two Dictionary Definitions’
Interpreters Dictionary of the Bible supplement volume, Nashville:
Abingdon 1976, pp. 104-11 and 746-9 256
19. ‘Trends and Prospects in Biblical Theology’
Journal of Theological Studies 25,1974, pp. 265-82 280
20. ‘The Theological Case against Biblical Theology’
G. Tucker et al. (eds), Canon, Theology and Old Testament
Interpretation, Philadelphia: Fortress 1988, pp. 3-19 297
21. ‘Some Problems in the Search for a Pan-Biblical Theology’
P. Hanson, B. Janowski, and M. Welker, Biblische Theologie,
Munster: LIT Verlag, 2005, pp. 31-42 311