Reading the Good Book Well: A Guide to Biblical Interpretation

254 Pages·2007·6.641 MB·English

by  Jerry Camery-Hoggatt

reading the
good book well
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reading the
good book well
a guide to biblical
interpretation
jerry
camery-hoggatt
Abingdon Press
Nashville
READING THE GOOD BOOK WELL
A GUIDE TO BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION
Copyright © 2007 by Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.
No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechan­
ical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, except as may
be expressly permitted by the 1976 Copyright Act or in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission
should be addressed to Abingdon Press, P.O. Box 801, 201 Eighth Avenue South, Nashville, TN 37202-
0801 or [email protected].
This book is printed on acid-free paper.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Camery-Hoggatt, Jerry.
Reading the ood Book well : a guide to biblical interpretation / Jerry Camery-Hoggatt.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0687-64275-5 (binding: pbk., lay flat: alk. paper)
1. Bible. N.T.—Hermeneutics. I. Title.
BS2331.C36 2007
220.601—dc22
2007004703
All Scripture quotations unless otherwise noted are taken from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible,
copyright 1946, 1952, 1971 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches
of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture marked (KJV) is taken from the King James or Authorized Version of the Bible.
Scripture marked (The Message) is taken from THE MESSAGE. Copyright © Eugene H. Peterson, 1993,
1994, 1995. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.
Scripture marked (NASB) is taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, ©Copyright 1960,
1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
(www.Lockman.org)
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VER­
SION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of
Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NRSV) are taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copy­
right 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the
United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16—10 9 8 7 6 5 43 2 1
MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
For the students, faculty and staff
of Vanguard University,
whom I have dearly loved
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C o n t e n t s
Preface................................................................................................................................xi
PART I
The Why of Exegesis
AKA Prolegomena (AKA Preliminary Stuff)
Chapter 1 .............................................................................................3
Reading the Bible and Aching for God
Chapter 2 ..........................................................................................15
It Isn’t Just about God; It’s also about Garry
The Problem of Hermeneutics
Chapter 3 ..............................................................................................23
The Bible Says It; I Believe It; That Settles It—Oh, Really?
Introducing Paradigms
Chapter 4 ..........................................................................................37
Reconstructing the Original Wording
The Discipline of Textual Criticism
Chapter 5 ..........................................................................................59
Your Version, My Version
Thinking about Translation Theory
PART II
The How of Exegesis
Chapter 6 ...........................................................................................71
The Master Paradigm
An Introduction to Exegesis
vii
Contents
Chapter 7 ............................................................................................83
How We Fill in Gaps
An Introduction to Schemas
Chapter 8 ............................................................................................99
How We Find Out about Schemas
The Discipline of Lexicography
Chapter 9 ........................................................................................107
How We Find Out about Cultural Knowledge and Practices
The Discipline of Backgrounds
Chapter 1 0 ......................................................................................115
How We Find Out about Cultural Norms
The Discipline of Social Science
Chapter 1 1 ..............................................................................................127
How We Find Out about Genre
The Discipline of Form Criticism
Chapter 1 2 .............................................................................................139
How We Find Out about Historical Contexts
The Discipline of Introduction
Chapter 1 3 ..................................................................................................153
How We Disambiguate
Getting to the Gist
Chapter 1 4 ....................................................................................165
How We Recognize Polyvalence
Dealing with Double Exposures
Chapter 1 5 .............................................................................................177
How We Deal with Intertextuality
Dialogues between Texts
Chapter 1 6 .......................................... 187
How We Deal with Sequence and Pace
Aspects of Literary Criticism
Contents
Chapter 1 7 ....................................................................................205
Pulling It All Together
Chapter 1 8 ....................................................................................219
Looking Ahead, Looking Beyond
A Concluding Unacademic Postscript
N o tes ....................................................................................................227
In d e x e s ..............................................................................................233
IX