History of Biblical Interpretation (4 vols.)

The interpretation of Scripture determined the development of both early Judaism and the first centuries of the Christian church. This first volume of History of Biblical Interpretation demonstrates how the earliest interpreters of the Bible made the Scriptures come alive for their times. Author Henning Graf Reventlow explores the contexts that influenced early biblical interpretation—Hellenism, Stoicism, and Platonism. He pays close attention to innerbiblical interpretation and the interpretive practices reflected in the translation of the The Septuagint and the writings of Philo, the early rabbis, the apostolic fathers, and early Christian leaders such as Justin Martyr, Marcion, Irenaeus, and Origen.

Volume two of History of Biblical Interpretation begins in Asia Minor in the late-fourth century with bishop Theodore of Mopsuestia, the founder of a school of interpretation that accentuated the literal meaning of the Bible and thereby stood out from the tradition of antiquity. It ends with another outsider, a thousand years later in England, who stood at the end of an era: John Wyclif. This volume presents the history of biblical interpretation between these two interpreters—from late antiquity until the end of the Middle Ages.

This volume of History of Biblical Interpretation explores the Reformation and Renaissance—an era characterized by major changes such as the rediscovery of ancient writings and the newly invented art of printing. These developments created the context for one of the most important periods in the history of biblical interpretation—one that combined philological insights with new theological impulses and movements. This volume examines the representative thinkers in this era, including of Johann Reuchlin, Erasmus, Martin Luther, Philipp Melanchthon, John Calvin, Thomas Müntzer, Hugo Grotius, and a host of other influential exegetes.

This volume in History of Biblical Interpretation surveys the lives and works of significant theologians, lay people, politicians, and philosophers who influenced biblical interpretation in their era. Largely concerning the development of biblical criticism, it begins with the controversy over the original Hebrew text of the Old Testament and extends into Enlightenment ethics, myth, and miracle stories.