How Scripture Interprets Scripture

by Michael Graves

This book addresses a topic of vital concern to the church: How does the ancient biblical text speak to us today? Michael Graves, an expert in ancient exegesis, describes how Old Testament texts interpret earlier Old Testament traditions, explores New Testament reception, and explains how insights from this process translate into present-day biblical interpretation. Graves clearly explains and illustrates this approach with fulsome discussions of five themes that are addressed in various ways in the Bible: personal responsibility; sacrificial offerings; insiders and outsiders; marriage, polygamy, and divorce; and the afterlife. By attending to the way these topics are addressed throughout the entire biblical witness, we become better interpreters and teachers who are more adept at discerning the Bible's teaching on these topics and others for our modern world.

Genres: Theology, New Testament

240 pages, Paperback

Published November 16, 2021

Reviews

[Douglas Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book on the art and science of how to work through the narrative arc of scripture. Graves illustrates his approach with discussions of five examples from the Scriptures: personal and communal responsibility; sacrificial offerings; insiders and outsiders; marriage, polygamy, and divorce; and the afterlife. Graves tracks the detail from Creation, through the Law, Prophets and Wisdom then works through the New Testament, paying attention to the historical context. At the end of each topic, the author provides a number of principles that can be discerned in the application of the Scriptures to our times. I found the discussion on the afterlife particularly useful and informative. The great strength of this book is that the authors' method is extremely well illustrated. However, while each topic provides a useful working example of the method, I felt that one or two more current, challenging and inflammatory topics would have taken this book from good to outstanding. A chapter on sexuality/LGBTQ+ and gender would have multiplied the usefulness of this book as would a chapter on the environment. I think that this book will be useful to Pastors, Teachers, Students of Scripture and anyone wanting to understand the flow of the Bible and how it speaks to us today.