The Four Senses of Scripture: Learning from Ancient Ways of Reading the Bible

by Patrick Schreiner; Jonathan T. Pennington

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2026

Overview

In the modern era, biblical hermeneutics has been dominated by the grammatical-historical method. This represents a departure from the interpretive approach commonly used during the prior 1,700 years of the church, the four senses approach (or quadriga). Those four senses are literal (grammatical-historical), allegory (Christological), tropology (moral), and anagogy (eschatological).

Patrick Schreiner doesn’t believe modern hermeneutics is wrong but believes that it is incomplete in ignoring these other aspects. Here he seeks to recover this ancient method by explaining it, defending it, and offering a coherent method for using it. With scholars, students, and pastors in view, he argues that this approach, with the senses in conversation with each other, better respects the nature, goal, and ecclesial setting of reading, interpreting, and applying the Bible.

Schreiner begins by giving a brief overview of the four senses and why early Christians used this method. He then examines each sense in detail, exploring the what, why, and how, along with providing examples. Finally, he addresses anticipated exegetical, historical, and allegorical objections to his proposal. The book includes a foreword by Jonathan T. Pennington.

Key Features

• Seeks to retrieve the ancient and medieval method of reading the Bible known as the Quadriga.
• Proposes that the four senses should be in conversation with one another, allowing the literal sense to anchor the spiritual senses.
• Reframes the Bible not just as a text to be analyzed for data, but as a space for spiritual formation - a “House to live in”.

Contents

Foreword by Jonathan T. Pennington
Part 1: The Four Senses in Preparation
1. The Need for the Four Senses
2. The Four Senses: A House to Live In
3. Recovering a Medieval Mind
Part 2: The Four Senses in Principle
4. Literal: The Grammatical-Historical Sense
5. Allegory: The Christological Sense
6. Tropology: The Moral Sense
7. Anagogy: The Eschatological Sense
Part 3: The Four Senses and Problems
8. Responding to Exegetical Objections
9. Responding to Historical Objections
10. Responding to Allegorical Objections
Conclusion: How the Quadriga Differs from a Modern Reading
Appendix 1: Theses and Controls
Appendix 2: The Quadriga for the Church
Index

Product Details

• Title: The Four Senses of Scripture: Learning from Ancient Ways of Reading the Bible
• Authors: Patrick Schreiner, Jonathan T. Pennington
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2026
• Logos Release Date: 2025
• Pages: 288
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• ISBNs: 9781493453528, 9781540968791, 1540968790, 1493453521
• Resource ID: LLS:9781493453528
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-12-07T09:36:21Z