Literary Approaches to the Bible

by Douglas Mangum (Editor), Douglas Estes (Editor)

The study of the Bible has long included a literary aspect with great attention paid not only to what was written but also to how it was expressed. The detailed analysis of biblical books and passages as written texts has benefited from the study of literature in classical philology, ancient rhetoric, and modern literary criticism. This volume of the Lexham Methods Series introduces the various ways the study of literature has been used in biblical studies. Most literary approaches emphasize the study of the text alone-its structure, its message, and its use of literary devices-rather than its social or historical background. The methods described in Literary Approaches to the Bible are focused on different ways of analyzing the text within its literary context. Some of the techniques have been around for centuries, but the theories of literary critics from the early 20th century to today had a profound impact on biblical interpretation. In this book, you will learn about those literary approaches, how they were adapted for biblical studies, and what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Genres: Biblical Studies

344 pages, Paperback

Published March 14, 2018

Reviews

[Jacob Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charting the various new approaches to biblical interpretation that have arisen since
the latter-half of the 20th century, Mangum and Estes’ Literary Approaches to the Bible
provides an accessible introduction to the field of literary-critical biblical interpretation that is
aimed at the beginning student. As such, this book does an excellent job distilling and
simplifying a rather complex and diverse field of interpretation. The book’s opening chapter
(Estes) provides an overview of the different literary-critical approaches, how they came
about, where they focus in relation to the text (e.g., author-focused, reader-focused, etc.), and
how they all relate together. Following this introductory chapter, the remainder of the book
focuses in on seven (7) literary-critical approaches that have a particular bearing on modern
biblical interpretation:
• Chapter 2 (R. Haydon & D. Schreiner): Canonical Criticism
• Chapter 3 (S. Smith): Old Testament Rhetorical and Narrative Criticism
• Chapter 4 (J. Leonard): Inner-Biblical Interpretation and Intertextuality
• Chapter 5 (D. Brendsel): Narrative Criticism of the New Testament\
• Chapter 6 (D. Estes): Rhetorical Criticism of the New Testament
• Chapter 7 (G. Ellis): Structural Criticism
• Chapter 8 (J. Delhousaye): Poststructural Criticism
This book has a number of strengths to commend. First off, each essay follows the
same general organizational pattern: Definition & goals of the interpretive method; historical development of the method; application of the method to the interpretation of the Bible; limitations of the method; and the contemporary influence of the method. This consistency greatly enhances the book’s overall readability. Another strength of this work is the inclusion of recommended resources at the conclusion of each essay that the reader can consult if they want to read more extensively in a particular method.
The book does a very good job on the whole of explaining the different methods and describing their unique contributions to biblical interpretation. One thing, however, that

would have improved this book would have been including a section that provided specific examples of how each method is applied to the interpretation of the Bible. Although some essays were especially helpful in this regard (e.g., J. Leonard: Inner-Biblical Interpretation and Intertextuality, esp., 134–36), many other essays do not provide clear examples of how the approach is to be applied to the text. For example, the “Application” section of Smith’s essay highlights and describes some of the major texts that have utilized a rhetorical or narrative methodology to interpret the Bible in the past, instead of applying the method to a particular text and showing how it is used (see esp., 81–91). Although this information is helpful, it would appear to belong more to the category of the method’s development (or recommended resources), rather than its application. Notwithstanding this small critique, the book is certainly a very helpful resource for those looking for an accessible introduction to some of the current literary approaches to biblical interpretation.