Abstract
My sceptical impulse (do we really need another book on hermeneutics?) was dented by the commendations from such luminaries as Hauerwas and Vanhoozer, dispelled by the introductory chapter, and then shown to be foolish by the remainder of this fine piece of work which has something to offer everyone for whom reading and understanding the Bible matters.
Its starting-point is the recognition that the hermeneutical maxim Scriptura sacra sui ipsius interpres is also an indication that Scripture is ‘a self-glossing book’ (Bruns), in that interpreting and being shaped by biblical texts characterizes the work of the biblical authors. Therefore the hermeneutical wisdom we all need is best found by being ‘apprenticed to the canon’ (Vanhoozer). What that means in practice is demonstrated in fourteen ‘case studies in inner-biblical hermeneutics’ (p. 20)—six in the Old Testament and eight in the New—that between them examine all the major biblical genres along with a range of important issues each of which arises from the particular biblical book under discussion. These are effectively reports on work in progress, in line with the Epilogue’s recognition that apprentices of the biblical writers never graduate because we always have more to learn.
The author’s evangelical convictions do not lead to arbitrary limits on what questions may be asked or determine in advance what answers may be given. They provide instead an incentive for the ‘assiduous endeavour’ (Luther) we rightly expect of the academy: disciplined probing of Hebrew and Greek canonical texts; careful attention to the work of interpreters past and present; reaching valid conclusions by assembling and assessing evidence. In addition, his work displays ‘habits of mind and heart’ (p. 21) that should be at home in the church: the continued reading and reflecting on Scripture that aims at being gripped and shaped by its message.
The author views the unity of Scripture as ‘weighty, complex, multilayered’ (p. 14), and also as christocentric: we are ‘to understand Christ (and all things) in the light of Scripture and Scripture (and all things) in the light of Christ’ (p. 19). His case studies give us a good idea of what he means by the first point and various pointers as to what the second involves—but a concluding summary of what this ‘gospel-centered hermeneutic’ (p. 116) is and how it works would have made a very good book even better.