The Return of Oral Hermeneutics: As Good Today as It Was for the Hebrew Bible and First-Century Christianity
Ebook
Have Western exegetes turned an Eastern book into a Western one? Has our fondness for a fixed printed text capable of being analyzed with precision and exactitude blinded us to other hermeneutic possibilities? Does God require all people to be able to analyze grammar to interpret Scripture? Does God assume all people can interpret Scripture through oral means? The authors recognize the effects of centuries of literacy socialization that produced a blind spot in the Western Christian world--the neglect by most in the academies, agencies, and assemblies of the foundational and forceful role orality had on the biblical text and teaching. From the inspired spoken word of the prophets, including Jesus (pre-text), to the elite literate scribes who painstakingly hand-printed the sacred text, to post-text interpretation and teaching, the footprint of orality throughout the entire process is acutely visible to those having the oral-aural influenced eyes of the Mediterranean ancients. Could oral hermeneutics be the "mother of relational theology"?
“I welcome this provocative book. Steffen and Bjoraker rightly
challenge Christians to embrace a more balanced approach to
interpreting the Bible and applying it faithfully to daily life.
They offer a lengthy defense of oral hermeneutics, of course, but
they also show how to guide ordinary men and women to use oral
hermeneutical processes to dig deeply into God’s word and open
themselves to its transforming power.”
—Grant Lovejoy, International Mission Board, SBC
“Whatever you’ve thought about understanding the Bible, think
again. Whatever you said in Bible studies, sermons, or wrote in
commentaries, think again. Most of us were schooled only in textual
ways to read Scripture. But that’s a serious neglect of how to
listen to God’s voice, especially if we want to understand the
Bible the way original hearers did. All of us need to enter into
the world of oral culture, and Steffen and Bjoraker do a masterful
job of showing the way. You owe it to yourself and to God to read
this groundbreaking, hermeneutics-altering work.”
—D. Brent Sandy, co-author of The Lost World of Scripture:
Ancient Literary Culture and Biblical Authority
“Steffen and Bjoraker reestablish the place and power of
experiencing the word in community.”
—Regina Manley, author of StoryFire
“This book is a must-read for any Bible teacher who wants to
understand how to effectively teach the Bible because all Bible
teachers engage in oral communication of the Bible message at some
point. Anyone interested in effective communication of the message
of the Bible will benefit greatly from learning how oral
hermeneutics works. This book is engaging enough for the scholar
and yet accessible to the newcomer to this subject because of the
‘handles’ the authors include in the book. Readers can actually see
how this works. I highly recommend this book to all Bible teachers
and serious students of the Bible.”
—Bulus Y. Galadima, Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola
University
“Steffen and Bjoraker bravely go where few have dared to
venture.”
—Larry W. Caldwell, Sioux Falls Seminary
“Nearly erased or forgotten, oral hermeneutics is rediscovered,
re-robed, and renewed. Steffen and Bjoraker are passionate
academicians with the heart and hands of experienced practitioners.
Elegantly written through storytelling, calmly articulated with a
sense of urgency, compellingly illuminating the vivid oral voices
of communities, the authors propose and provide ways and means
forward. A must-read for anyone who is serious about the Bible and
engagement in this century.”
—Samuel E. Chiang, The Wycliffe Seed Company
“Steffen and Bjoraker have written an important book that, used
properly, can revitalize the use of the Bible—bringing passion,
life, and interaction. The book sets out a program for interaction
and transformation that can be very powerful in so many ways. It is
important to note that an ancient Hebraic way of thinking (not
always the Greek influenced Rabbinic way) was based on engaging
truth on a personal level. This book shows how that way of approach
to the Scriptures can be made available to the modern reader—Jew
and Gentile. . . . I hope that many small groups embrace the
methods provided here. It will revitalize all who desire to see the
success of small groups as essential to the life of
congregations.”
—Daniel Juster, Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations; Tikkun
International
“Tom Steffen and William Bjoraker make a convincing case that
interpreting the Bible orally has been neglected too long, both in
the West and the majority world. They not only lay out the
importance of oral hermeneutics, but they also illustrate it
practically from their own extensive experience. I only wish I had
encountered this book when I began teaching the Bible. Carefully
researched and passionately argued, this book will help you see
biblical narratives through a fresh and exciting lens.”
—Dean Flemming, MidAmerica Nazarene University
“May well lead to a counterrevolution in the way we read, witness,
write, and share God’s story!”
—John Cheong, Asian Centre for Mission
“I have wanted a book like this to exist for a long time! Tom
Steffen and William Bjoraker give us a glimpse into what it could
look like to interpret the Bible in light of its oral background.
Rather than merely identify the limitations to textual
interpretation, they make a positive contribution. The book weaves
together insights from multiple disciplines. It draws from their
experience and the best of academic scholarship. The authors
challenge readers to consider how ancient oral practices can inform
contemporary ministry strategies. This book deserves a slow,
careful read. I expect The Return of Oral Hermeneutics will
have long-lasting influence among missionaries as it should for
anyone who cares about biblical interpretation.”
—Jackson Wu, author of Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes
“Whatever we want to call walking through God’s great
book with adults with limited formal education or any adult who
prefers a non-reading experience, we must find a learning approach
that works for this population—the majority of those on our planet.
Like Steffen and Bjoraker, I have lived through the failure of
textual hermeneutics with my own national partners. Something must
change in the way Westerners attempt to do Bible study with the
rest of the world—especially with our non-reading friends. I pray
and believe this resource and others sure to follow will help along
those lines.”
—Lynn Thigpen, IMB missionary, Southeast Asia
“The early church’s authoritative sacred text was less about
physical and material texts as it was the stories they told from
their respective memories of texts. Their disciples were hearers,
for the most part, and not readers. Passed on through worship
services were oral stories and reflections that contained memory of
that which they held to be experientially sacred. In The Return
of Oral Hermeneutics, professors Steffen and Bjoraker introduce
readers to the church’s ancient word as it sounded in the ancient
world, all the while speaking to, for, and about the essence and
substance of (re)discovering storytelling—to help us recover the
lost art for our own. I commend this book.”
—Jeffrey Seif, King’s University-Houston
“A long overdue contribution for training pastors and
teachers.”
—Chuck Madinger, International Orality Network, Manila
- Title: The Return of Oral Hermeneutics: As Good Today as It Was for the Hebrew Bible and First-Century Christianity
- Authors: Tom Steffen, R. Daniel Shaw, William Bjoraker
- Publisher: Wipf and Stock
- Print Publication Date: 2020
- Logos Release Date: 2024
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781532684821, 9781532684814, 1532684819, 9781532684807, 1532684800, 1532684827
- Resource ID: LLS:9781532684821
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-03-22T14:16:25Z
Tom Steffen is professor emeritus of intercultural studies at
the Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University. He
specializes in church multiplication, orality, honor and shame, and
business as mission. Some of his books include Passing the
Baton, Reconnecting God’s Story to Ministry, Great
Commission Companies (with Steve Rundle), Encountering
Missionary Life and Work (with Lois McKinney Douglas), and
The Facilitative Era.
Bill Bjoraker, PhD Fuller Theological Seminary, served in pastoral
and teaching roles in Israel for eight years in the 1980s. He is
ordained with the Assemblies of God and is on faculty at William
Carey International University. He is a specialist in Jewish
studies and has employed oral strategies and storytelling in
teaching the Bible in academia and in Jewish ministry since
2008.