INTERPRETING THE BIBLE: A Handbook of Terms and Methods

Confused about the difference between exegesis and eisegesis? Unclear about the "hermeneutical spiral"? This A to Z reference book will be a handy guide for those students of biblical interpretation who long for clear, succinct definitions of terms and the various approaches. Tate models this after the classic Handbook to Literature , which has coached thousands of students in the difference between literary criticism, narrative criticism, reader-response criticism and other techniques. His book, however, deals solely with methods of biblical interpretation, applying the various schools of thought to biblical hermeneutics. Particularly helpful are his explanations of contemporary approaches like mujerista theology (which merits a full six pages) and deconstructionism. No seminarian or biblical scholar should be without this easy-to-use reference work. (Jan.)