Foundations

of Contemporary

Interpretation

Six Volumes In One

Foundations of Contemporary Interpretation

Copyright © 1996 by Zondervan

Has the Church Misread the Bible?

Copyright © 1987 by Moisés Silva

Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation

Copyright © 1987 by Tremper Longman III

God, Language and Scripture

Copyright © 1990 by Moisés Silva

The Art of Biblical History

Copyright © 1994 by V. Philips Long

Science and Hermeneutics

Copyright © 1988 by Vern S. Poythress

The Study of Theology

Copyright © 1991 by Richard A. Muller

Requests for information should be addressed to:

Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Silva, Moisés.

Foundations of contemporary interpretation / Moisés Silva … [et. al.]

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and indexes.

ISBN-10: 0-310-20828-9

ISBN-13: 978-0-310-20828-0

Contents: Has the church misread the Bible? / Moisés Silva—Literary approaches to biblical interpretation / Tremper Longman III—God, language and Scripture / Moisés Silva—The art of biblical history / V. Philips Long—Science and hermeneutics / Vern S. Poythress—The study of theology / Richard A. Muller—Indexes.

1. Bible—Hermeneutics. 2. Hermeneutics—Religious aspects—Christianity. I. Silva, Moisés.

BS476.F675 1996

220.6′01—dc20 96-13830

All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible: New International Version®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Internations Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication 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 printed reviews, without the prior permission of the publisher.

Contents

Abbreviations

Has the Church Misread the Bible?

Moisés Silva

Preface

1. Today’s Hermeneutical Challenge

2. Obstacles in the Study of the History of Interpretation

3. Literal or Figurative?

4. Clear or Obscure?

5. Relative or Absolute?

Epilogue

For Further Reading

Literary Approaches to Biblical Interpretation

Tremper Longman III

Editor’s Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

SECTION ONE: THEORY

1. A Historical Survey

2. An Appraisal of the Literary Approach

3. Basic Principles

SECTION TWO: APPLICATION

4. The Analysis of Prose Passages

5. Examples of Prose Analysis

6. The Analysis of Poetic Passages

7. Examples of Poetic Analysis

Epilogue

For Further Reading

God, Language and Scripture

Moisés Silva

Preface

1. Introduction

2. Biblical Perspectives on Language

3. The Scientific Study of Language

4. The Historical Dimension

5. Describing the Biblical Languages (I)

6. Describing the Biblical Languages (II)

7. Epilogue—Passing It On

Appendix: The Biblical Languages in Theological Education

For Further Reading

The Art of Biblical History

V. Philips Long

Editor’s Preface

Author’s Preface

Introduction

1. History and the ...