causes, and disputes the value of such information even if it were obtainable. According to this view, what we have is the text, and that is what we must interpret, in its artistry and play of meanings. Here the counterpart to the historical-critical exegete is the interpreter, who must move with great care since the social location and cultural conditionedness of the interpreter—the reader—must be scrutinized as much as the text itself. I know of no comprehensive ethical project along these lines