Introduction
This page accommodates the broad definition of the terms "historical-critical method" or "historical criticism" which includes some subdisciplines of "modern" biblical criticism such as form criticism, source criticism, and redaction criticism that "attempt to get to the world behind or in the text."* It sometimes includes literary criticism and rhetorical criticism approaches. Postmodern (feminist, postcolonial et al.) and other theories of biblical interpretation such as reader-response and reception history criticisms look to find the meaning of the text through the lens and experiences of the reader, ie "in front of" or "before the text."**
*Richard N. Soulen and R. Kendall Soulen, Handbook of Biblical Criticism, 4th ed. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press, 2011),
**paraphrased from Soulen and others.
Commentaries (Some Examples of Series Known to Employ Historical Criticism, Often Along with Other Approaches)
The Anchor Bible/The Anchor Yale Bible Commentary
From the publisher: contributions from distinguished authors around the world, representing Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, and Muslim traditions
New translations, reflecting the latest knowledge of ancient languages
Extensive annotations, including alternative translations
Objective treatment of competing theories
Commentary to explain texts and clarify difficult passages
Historical background as well as up-to-date research
Call Number: OT: Stamps Reference Floor BS1151.2.A1 v.1-v.39/NT: Stamps Reference Floor BS2341.2 . v.1-v.27. Many available as eBooks also.ISBN: 9780300206678Publication Date: 1964 - present
Hermeneia: a Critical and Historical Commentary on the Bible
Hermeneia is designed to be a critical and historical commentary to the Bible without arbitrary limits in size or scope. It utilizes the full range of philological and historical tools, including textual criticism (often slighted in modern commentaries), the methods of the history of tradition (including genre and prosodic analysis), and the history of religion.
Call Number: OT: Stamps Reference Floor BS1151.2.H4 v.7A-v.36/NT: Stamps Reference Floor BS2341.2 .H47 v,1A-v.23-25.. Several as eBooks also.ISBN: 9780800660406Publication Date: 1994-02-01
The New International Commentary on the Old Testament/on the New TestamentCall Number: OT: Stamps Reference Floor BS1151.2 .N48. v.1-v.18/NT: Stamps Reference Floor BS2341.2 .N4 v.1-v.18. Some available as eBooks and/or in the StacksISBN: 9780802825292
Word Biblical Commentary
The Word Biblical Commentary delivers the best in biblical scholarship, from the leading scholars of our day who share a commitment to Scripture as divine revelation. This series emphasizes a thorough analysis of textual, linguistic, structural, and theological evidence. The result is judicious and balanced insight into the meanings of the text in the framework of biblical theology. These widely acclaimed commentaries serve as exceptional resources for the professional theologian and instructor, the seminary or university student, the working minister, and everyone concerned with building theological understanding from a solid base of biblical scholarship. Overview of Commentary Organization Introduction--covers issues pertaining to the whole book, including context, date, authorship, composition, interpretive issues, purpose, and theology. Each section of the commentary includes: Pericope Bibliography--a helpful resource containing the most important works that pertain to each particular pericope. Translation--the author's own translation of the biblical text, reflecting the end result of exegesis and attending to Hebrew and Greek idiomatic usage of words, phrases, and tenses, yet in reasonably good English. Notes--the author's notes to the translation that address any textual variants, grammatical forms, syntactical constructions, basic meanings of words, and problems of translation. Form/Structure/Setting--a discussion of redaction, genre, sources, and tradition as they concern the origin of the pericope, its canonical form, and its relation to the biblical and extra-biblical contexts in order to illuminate the structure and character of the pericope. Rhetorical or compositional features important to understanding the passage are also introduced here. Comment--verse-by-verse interpretation of the text and dialogue with other interpreters, engaging with current opinion and scholarly research. Explanation--brings together all the results of the discussion in previous sections to expose the meaning and intention of the text at several levels: (1) within the context of the book itself; (2) its meaning in the OT or NT; (3) its place in the entire canon; (4) theological relevance to broader OT or NT issues. General Bibliography--occurring at the end of each volume, this extensive bibliography contains all sources used anywhere in the commentary.
Call Number: OT: Stamps Reference Floor BS1151.2 .W67 v,1A-v. 33-39/NT: Stamps Reference Floor BS2341.2 .W67 v.1A-v.27C. Some available as eBooks and/or in the Stacks.ISBN: 9780310588429Publication Date: 2018-04-24
Groundings for Perspective (History/Methods/Theologies)
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Handbook of Biblical Criticism, Fourth Edition by
The fourth edition of this best-selling textbook continues to be a valuable resource for the beginning student in the critical study of the Bible. Thoroughly revised to include the newest methods, recent discoveries, and developments in the field of biblical criticism over the past decade, the Handbook of Biblical Criticism is designed to be a starting point for understanding the vast array of methods, approaches and technical terms employed in this field. Updates in this edition also include an expanded dictionary of terms, phrases, names, and frequently used abbreviations, as well as a bibliography that includes the most up-to-date date publications. The Handbook of Biblical Criticism is a valuable introductory textbook and a reliable guide for pastors, laypersons, and scholars whose expertise lies in other fields.
Call Number: Stamps Reference Floor BS511.2 .S68 2001 (3rd. ed.)ISBN: 9780664235345Publication Date: 2011-11-23
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Dictionary of Major Biblical Interpreters by
ECPA 2009 Christian Book Award finalist!From Abelard to Zwingli, the history of Christian biblical interpretation has been shaped by great thinkers who delved deeply into the structure and meaning of Christianity's sacred texts. With over two hundred in-depth articles, theDictionary of Major Biblical Interpretersintroduces readers to the principal players in that history: their historical and intellectual contexts, their primary works, their interpretive principles and their broader historical significance. In addition, six major essays offer an overview of the history of biblical interpretation from the second century to the present. This one-volume reference by Donald K. McKim, a revised and vastly expanded edition of IVP Academic'sHistorical Handbook of Major Biblical Interpreters,will serve as an invaluable tool for any serious student of the Bible and the history of biblical interpretation.
Call Number: Stamps Reference Floor BS501.A1 H57 2007ISBN: 9780830829279Publication Date: 2007-11-12
Evangelical Faith and the Challenge of Historical Criticism by
Many introductions to biblical studies describe critical approaches, but they do not discuss the theological implications. This timely resource discusses the relationship between historical criticism and Christian theology to encourage evangelical engagement with historical-critical scholarship. Charting a middle course between wholesale rejection and unreflective embrace, the book introduces evangelicals to a way of understanding and using historical-critical scholarship that doesn't compromise Christian orthodoxy. The book covers eight of the most hotly contested areas of debate in biblical studies, helping readers work out how to square historical criticism with their beliefs.
Call Number: Stamps Stacks BR1640 .E8545 2013ISBN: 9780801049385Publication Date: 2013-11-19
"Behind" the Text by
Christianity believes in a God who acts in history. The Bible tells us the story of God's actions in Israel, culminating in the ministry of Jesus of Nazareth and the spreading of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome. The issue of history is thus unavoidable when it comes to reading the Bible Volume 4 of the Scripture and Hermeneutics Series looks at how history has dominated biblical studies under the guise of historical criticism. This book explores ways in which different views of history influence interpretation. It considers the implications of a theology of history for biblical exegesis, and in several case studies it relates these insights to particular texts. "Few topics are more central to the task of biblical interpretation than history, and few books open up the subject in so illuminating and thought-provoking a manner as this splendid collection of essays and responses." Hugh Williamson, Regius Professor of Hebrew, University of Oxford, England ". . . breaks new ground in its interdisciplinary examination of the methodology, presuppositions, practices and purposes of biblical hermeneutics, with a special emphasis on the relation of faith and history." Eleonore Stump, Robert J. Henle Professor of Philosophy, Saint Louis University, United States "This volume holds great promise for the full-fledged academic recovery of the Bible as Scripture. It embodies an unusual combination of world-class scholarship, historic Christian orthodoxy, bold challenges to conventional wisdom, and the launching of fresh new ideas." Al Wolters, Professor of Religion and Theology, Redeemer University College, Ontario, Canada "The essays presented here respect the need and fruitfulness of a critical historiography while beginning the much-needed process of correcting the philosophical tenets underlying much modern and postmodern biblical research. The result is a book that mediates a faith understanding, both theoretical and practical, of how to read the Bible authentically as a Christian today." Francis Martin, Chair, Catholic-Jewish Theological Studies, John Paul II Cultural Center, Washington, D.C. Not only is history central to the biblical story, but from a Christian perspective history revolves around Jesus Christ. All roads of human activity before Christ lead up to him, and all roads after Christ connect with him. A concern with history and God's action in it is a central characteristic of the Bible. The Bible furnishes us with an account of God's interactions with people and with the nation of Israel that stretches down the timeline from creation to the early church. It tells us of real men, women, and children, real circumstances and events, real cultures, places, languages, and worldviews. And it shows us God at work in human affairs, revealing his character and heart through his activities. "Behind" the Text examines the correlation between history and the Bible. For the scholar, student, and informed reader of the Bible, this volume highlights the importance of history for biblical interpretation, and looks at how history has and should influence interpretation.
Call Number: Stamps Stacks BS635.3 .B44 2003ISBN: 9780310234142Publication Date: 2003-12-01
Biblical History and Israel's Past: The Changing Study of the Bible and History by
Although scholars have for centuries primarily been interested in using the study of ancient Israel to explain, illuminate, and clarify the biblical story, Megan Bishop Moore and Brad E. Kelle describe how scholars today seek more and more to tell the story of the past on its own terms, drawing from both biblical and extrabiblical sources to illuminate ancient Israel and its neighbors without privileging the biblical perspective. Biblical History and Israel's Past provides a comprehensive survey of how study of the Old Testament and the history of Israel has changed since the middle of the twentieth century. Moore and Kelle discuss significant trends in scholarship, trace the development of ideas since the 1970s, and summarize major scholars, viewpoints, issues, and developments.
Call Number: Stamps Stacks BS1197 .M625 2011ISBN: 9780802862600Publication Date: 2011-05-17
The Old Testament Between Theology and History by
From its inception at the time of the Enlightenment until the mid-twentieth century, the historical-critical method constituted the dominant paradigm in Old Testament studies. In this magisterial overview, Niels Peter Lemche surveys the development of the historical-critical method and the way it changed the scholarly perception of the Old Testament. He describes the rise and influence of historical-critical approaches and traces their decline and fall. Then, he discusses the identity of the authors of the Old Testament, based on the content of the literature they wrote, demonstrating that the "collapse of history" does not preclude critical study. Lemche goes on to investigates the theological consequences of this "collapse" and surveys Old Testament and biblical theology in its various manifestations in the twentieth century. An appendix includes a history of Palestine from the Stone Age to modern times, constructed without recourse to the Old Testament.
Call Number: Stamps Stacks BS1171.3 .L46 2008ISBN: 9780664232450Publication Date: 2008-10-28
The Bible after Babel by
Biblical scholars today often sound as if they are caught in the aftermath of Babel -- a clamor of voices unable to reach common agreement. Yet is this confusion necessarily a bad thing? Many postmodern critics see the recent profusion of critical approaches as a welcome opportunity for the emergence of diverse new techniques. In The Bible after Babel noted biblical scholar John J. Collins considers the effect of the postmodern situation on biblical, primarily Old Testament, criticism over the last three decades. Engaging and even-handed, Collins examines the quest of historical criticism to objectively establish a text's basic meaning. Accepting that the Bible may no longer provide secure "foundations" for faith, Collins still highlights its ethical challenge to be concerned for "the other" -- a challenge central both to Old Testament ethics and to the teaching of Jesus.
Call Number: Stamps Stacks BS511.3 .C65 2005ISBN: 9780802828927Publication Date: 2005-11-15
Exegetical Method: A Student's Handbook by Call Number: Stamps Stacks BS531 .K313 1981ISBN: 9780816423033Publication Date: 1981-01-01An introduction to historical-critical exegesis.
Interpreting the New Testament: an Introduction to the Principles and Methods of N.T. Exegesis by
An exercise handbook on the historical-critical approach in NT exegesis.
Call Number: Stamps Stacks BS2330.2 .C6613 1988ISBN: 9780913573808Publication Date: 1988-12-01
