Interpretation A foundational handbook that will help the reader interpret and understand God’s Word is Better Bible Study (Regal) by A. Berkeley Mickelsen and Alvera Mickelsen, a husband-and-wife team. Although the book was written at an elementary level and with an eye to the person who has done very little serious Bible study, one would be hard pressed to think of a better introduction to the subject. Why are there so many translations of the Bible? How are we to interpret the use of figurative language in Scripture? What are the chief characteristics of prophecy? poetry? parables? And how should these various types be interpreted? What is “typology” and what guidelines are there for its interpretation? These are the sorts of questions with which the Mickelsens concern themselves.
Interpreting the Bible (Hawthorn) by David Stacey is a similar work that focuses upon the theological issues raised by biblical interpretation. In The Bible Makes Sense (John Knox), Walter Brueggemann offers guidelines for reading the Bible that incorporate some of the essential elements of biblical theology; he sums up the biblical position admirably. Good News for Everyone (Word) by the distinguished linguist and translator Eugene A. Nida draws back the curtain to allow the layperson to glimpse the principles and processes that went into the translation of the Good News Bible. Nida also tells how to use the GNB to full advantage. Much of what he says is of value for users of any translation.
Of interest to the pastor and the theological student are two recent translations from German in which the authors attempt to trace the interfaces of theology and biblical criticism. Both authors are associated with the University of Tübingen, which has become once again the major center for academic theology in Germany. Peter Stuhlmacher, successor to Ernst Käsemann, harks back to the work of the influential conservative scholar, Adolf Schlatter (1852–1938), in his Historical Criticism and Theological Interpretation of Scripture (Fortress). Without rejecting the so-called historical-critical method of exegesis, Stuhlmacher calls for a “hermeneutics of consent”—an approach to the Bible that is open both to the transcendence of God and to critical thinking and that takes into account the Holy Spirit’s witness to Scripture in the believing community. Thus historical-critical interpretation becomes not an end in itself but a means to an end, namely, the hearing of the Word of God.
The title of Gerhard Maier’s book might seem to suggest that he rejects criticism for an uncritical (i.e., unthinking) approach to Scripture, but this is not so. What Maier, a former student of Stuhlmacher, objects to in The End of the Historical-Critical Method (Concordia) is the anti-biblical assumptions that seem to underlie much of the work done by some biblical scholars who identify themselves with this method. Although he offers what he calls the “historical-biblical method” as an alternative to the “historical-critical method,” his suggested way of going about the task of biblical exegesis does not seem to differ greatly from that suggested by his former mentor. Both works underline the fact that there is no such thing as the historical-critical method; there are only historical-critical methods. One’s actual handling of the Bible is influenced by many factors, not the least of which is one’s willingness or unwillingness to place oneself, as Schlatter once said, “under the biblical text.”
BIBLICAL THEOLOGY Leading the way for 1977 is a large volume entitled God, Man and Salvation (Beacon Hill) by W. T. Purkiser, Richard Taylor, and Willard H. Taylor. The authors, all older Nazarene theologians, organize biblical theology under the categories God, Man, and Salvation but attempt to do justice to the historically based categories as well. About one-third of the book deals with Old Testament theology, while the other two-thirds moves to the New; all of it has a slightly Nazarene or holiness flavor. This is not to say that people outside the holiness tradition will not benefit greatly from this very substantial work.
The Land from the fertile pen of Walter Brueggemann initiated a new Fortress series, “Overtures to Biblical Theology.” Brueggemann here attempts to correct an overemphasis on existential and historical categories, claiming that in the Bible itself the problem is not merely “emancipation” and “meaning” but “rootedness” and “belonging.” The land serves as a central focus not only in Old Testament Judaism but also, according to Brueggemann, in New Testament faith. This is sure to be an influential volume and will stimulate interest in a subject too long neglected. Shorter and less technical is God B.C. (Oxford) by Anthony Phillips, the chaplain of St. John’s College, Oxford. Written as a Lenten meditation, Phillips’s book looks first at how various classes of people at various times understood God through the Old Testament. Moving into the New. Phillips affirms that Jesus’ view of God was the same as that of the Old Testament. The radical separation between God and man is seen as comforting and supportive of the human condition rather than as fear-provoking. This would make a fine gift book.
BIBLE AS LITERATURE Sacred Discontent (University of California) by Herbert N. Schneidau is a wide-ranging study of the impact of the Bible in shaping the cultural tradition of the West. As it confronted the ancient world with a totally new and critical mode of thought that did not take any human institution for granted, so the Bible has confronted our own history with a searching skepticism and habit of self-criticism that have become fundamental features of our civilization. Intended for a similar audience is the first volume of a projected two-volume history. The Bible in Early English Literature (University of Washington) by David W. Fowler. While Schneidau is stimulating and challenging to read and will be of great interest to every serious student and teacher of English literature, Fowler’s work is a more essential reference tool and should find its way into all institutional and public libraries where there are likely to be readers interested in either the Bible or early literature.
ARCHAEOLOGY, HISTORY, AND GEOGRAPHY There seems to be no end to the parade of books on archaeology and the Bible. Happily, many of them are worthwhile. First mention this year in a survey designed for the thoughtful layman must go to Archaeology in Bible Lands (Moody) by Howard Vos. In the opening chapters Vos talks in clear, non-technical language about what archaeology is and how it is done. After this he surveys ten areas: Mesopotamia, Palestine, Egypt, Phoenicia, Syria, Iran, Cyprus, Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy. Each survey begins with a general history of archaeological work in the area and then discusses specific excavations. The book has a set of maps at the beginning and would make an ideal companion volume for anyone traveling in the Middle East.
Aimed at collegians who are not convinced of an evangelical understanding of biblical archaeology but are willing to be is Clifford Wilson’s Rocks, Relics, and Biblical Reliability (Zondervan).
A number of illustrated books are impressive for both photographic excellence and a solid supporting text. The Bible: A Pictorial History (Seabury) combines a theologically astute history of Israel by Claus Westermann with some magnificent photographs by Erich Lessing. More specifically archaeological but with similar quality in text and pictures is a 1975 volume that we did not see until recently, Biblical Lands (Elsevier-Phaidon) by P.R.S. Moorey. It is chock-full of maps, sketches, pictures, and charts that illuminate not only the land of Israel but also the world of Canaan, Phoenicia, and Persia. From the same British publisher but released in the United States by Cornell University Press are two superbly illustrated introductions to Near Eastern archaeology and civilizations. The Ancient Near East by Charles Burney goes all the way back to neolithic times and traces the story of what we call Mesopotamia down to the last years of the Assyrian empire, or roughly the close of the Old Testament period. A companion volume, John Ruffle’s The Egyptians, does the same thing for ancient Egypt but carries the story well into New Testament times. These two volumes equal the quality of both text and graphics in the previous two. Surprisingly, the prices of all four are relatively low.
To round out the feast there are two books originally produced in Israel and released in the United States by Shocken. Jerusalem the Holy by the late Michael Avi-Yonah, with photographs by Werner Braun, chronicles life in Jerusalem from biblical times to the present. A companion book Archaeology in the Land of the Bible by the noted Israeli archaeologist Avraham Negev does the same thing for the archaelogical record. Each book provides a fascinating introduction to its subject.
If you want a thorough tour of the geography of Palestine, with a text much like the chatty-style of an informed guide, see The Holy Land (Baker) by G. Frederick Owen.
Finally, an important revision of a widely used book should be noted. The Macmillan Bible Atlas (Macmillan) by Yohanon Aharoni and Michael Avi-Yonah went through several printings in its 1968 edition and has now been updated. The earlier edition is not terribly outdated, but if you don’t yet have this valuable tool on your reference shelf, this is the time to add it.
D. Bruce Lockerbie is chairman of the Fine Arts department at The Stony Brook School, Stony Brook, New York. This article is taken from his 1976 lectures on Christian Life and Thought, delivered at Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary in Denver, Colorado.
