Introduction

to Biblical

Interpretation

Dr. William W. Klein

Dr. Craig L. Blomberg

Dr. Robert L. Hubbard, Jr.

THOMAS NELSON PUBLISHERS

Nashville

Introduction to Biblical Interpretation (revised & expanded)

Copyright © 2004 by Dr. William W. Klein, Dr. Craig L. Blomberg, and Dr. Robert L. Hubbard, Jr.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson, Inc.

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other—except for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior permission of the publisher.

All Scripture quotations in this book, except those noted otherwise, are from the Holy Bible, New International Version, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations in the text marked by rsv are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, 1971, 1973 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission.

Those marked nrsv are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. All rights reserved.

Those marked nasb are from the New American Standard Bible, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, and 1977 by the Lockman Foundation and are used by permission.

Those marked neb are from the New English Bible, copyright © 1961, 1970 by The Delegates of the Oxford University Press and the Syndics of the Cambridge University Press. Reprinted by permission.

Those marked gnb are from the Good News Bible, Today’s English Version, copyright © American Bible Society 1966, 1971, 1976, 1992 and are used with permission.

Those marked ncv are from the New Century Version, copyright © Word, Inc. 1987, 1988, 1991.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Introduction to biblical interpretation (revised & expanded) / William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert L. Hubbard, Jr.

cm.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

Bible—Hermeneutics.  I. William W. Klein, Dr.  II. Craig L. Blomberg.  III. Robert L. Hubbard, Jr.

220.6’01—dc20 93–20099   

ISBN 0–7852-5225–8     (formerly 0–8499-0774–8) CIP     

Dedicated to our esteemed mentors:

Donald W. Burdick (†)

D. A. Carson

David A. Hubbard (†)

A. Berkeley Mickelsen (†)

Table of Contents

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

PART I—THE TASK OF INTERPRETATION

CHAPTER 1—THE NEED FOR HERMENEUTICS

Why Hermeneutics?

Hermeneutics Defined

The Art and Science of Interpretation

The Role of the Interpreter

The Meaning of the Message

The Text

The Author and the Audience

Some Challenges of Bible Interpretation

Distance of Time

Cultural Distance

Geographical Distance

Distance of Language

Eternal Relevance—The Divine Factor

The Goal of Hermeneutics

Conclusion...