Advanced Exegesis
Anyone know a good book for learning advanced exegesis?
I'm looking for something that would cover the following:
Original Language
- Syntax
- Text Critisism
- Diagramming
- Grammar
- Discourse
- Word Studies
- (There may be more in there area, I'm note sure)
Historical/Cultural Contex
Theology
(Anything else? I don't know all the subjects to cover)
Thanks for your thoughts!
Comments
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I am not sure what you mean by "advanced exegesis" as the components you list are part of any good hermeneutical and exegetical process. I would recommend search your library, or creating a collection with the following:
title:exegesis OR subject:exegesis OR subject:hermeneutics OR title:hermeneutics
Your results will likely be different than mine, and there are many excellent resources to guide one in developing a process. If you have it in your library, I found R.A. Torrey's "The Importance and Value of Proper Bible Study" a good place to start.
Any process you develop should enable you to answer the following questions:
1. What did the original author say?
2. What did the original author mean?
3. What did the original author and the other biblical writers say about the same subject?
4. How did the original hearers / readers understand what was said?
5. How does the verse / passage apply in today's culture?
6. How does the verse / passage apply to me?
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The question is interesting. Fred put it in the context of teaching (I assume). I put it in the context of my denomination .... the literalists.
For the literalists, one can observe what was written. What was meant, who the author was, whether other authors have any connection, etc of course is unknown. Which is also very much true on Sunday morning ,.. what your pastor meant, assumptions relative to theology, etc ... all require direct query while your pastor remains alive. After he dies, you have to guess.
Advanced exegesis ... that is definitely an assumption. But Fred's more realistic answer is well supported in Logos. Mine is barely.
"If myth is ideology in narrative form, then scholarship is myth with footnotes." B. Lincolm 1999.
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Putting advance exegesis into the search field this is what came up - https://www.logos.com/products/search?q=Advanced+exegesis
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What you're looking for won't be covered in a single resource.
Daniel said:- Diagramming
- Discourse
There are several philosophies on how to do this. Pick one and stick with it.
- Faithlife's own Runge
- Bracketing - Beale/Haefman (They use Gordon Fee's sentence flow model rather than diagramming.)
- Arcing - Fuller/Piper
Daniel said:- Syntax
- Grammar
I guess you're looking for is an advanced grammar. Wallace and BDF are pretty standard.
Daniel said:Text Critisism
I learned this directly in the NA28 apparatus so I don't know a great text to recommend as a guide.
Daniel said:Word Studies
I'd recommend Gordon Fee's New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors (not in Logos).
Daniel said:Historical/Cultural Contex
A good commentary on the passage, the IVP Essential Reference collection, The Context of Scripture.
Daniel said:Theology
This is a can of worms.
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Dave Moser said:
I'd recommend Gordon Fee's New Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students and Pastors (not in Logos).
to be precise: no longer in Logos (God plus some people know why, but the people never explained) - some who are with Logos long enough still have it, I was forced to pay Amazon for it.
Have joy in the Lord!
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Daniel said:
Original Language
- Syntax/Grammar
https://www.logos.com/product/34167/greek-grammar-beyond-the-basics
Daniel said:Text Critisism
https://www.logos.com/product/4468/the-net-bible
Daniel said:Discourse
https://www.logos.com/product/6831/lexham-high-definition-old-testament
https://www.logos.com/product/3832/lexham-high-definition-new-testament-esv-edition
Daniel said:Word Studies
Daniel said:Historical/Cultural Contex
https://www.logos.com/product/18658/ivp-bible-background-commentary-old-testament
https://www.logos.com/product/18657/ivp-bible-background-commentary-new-testament
Making Disciples! Logos Ecosystem = LogosMax on Microsoft Surface Pro 7 (Win11), Android app on tablet, FSB on iPhone & iPad mini, Proclaim (Proclaim Remote on Fire Tablet).
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I don't personally own either of these (yet), but:
https://www.logos.com/product/18542/greek-is-great-gain-a-method-for-exegesis-and-exposition
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Dave said:
What you're looking for won't be covered in a single resource.
Yes, I was hoping for a single resource. Thanks for your suggestions though.
I wanted somthing to lay out a way to systematically work through the topics I mentioned with theology as the end goal. I know I can think through things logically and lay out my own method. But I find it's often best to learn from people who have the cridentials and experience to write books on such things as they can give valuable insight and often warnings of things that might be done wrong. I'm sure most word studys aren't well done. But if a person isn't aware there's a probelm with his method how can he fix it? Thus, I chose to ask for help from the many Logos users as I know I have limited knowledge on the resources available. And it's always helpful to get others reviews on resources they've used.
Dave said:I think this thread is a bit of a can of worms
But so go the forums. 0 -
I am familiar with most of the resources mentioned so far. But they aren't quite the take I was looking for. Perhapse my previous post will help clarify.
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Daniel said:
I wanted somthing to lay out a way to systematically work through the topics I mentioned with theology as the end goal.
That's a laudable goal. However, if you're into "advanced" stuff any linear method is going to break down depending on the specific passage or issue you're looking at. For that reason, Osborne has likened the process to a "hermeneutical spiral". You go one way, pick up your information and clues, and suddenly another angle strikes you so you come at the problem from another angle. It sounds messy, but it's richer, and I personally think that's how we grew up processing speech and literature anyway.
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Currently available in Logos:
Deppe, Dean B. All Roads Lead to the Text: Eight Methods of Inquiry into the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011.
Chisholm, Robert B. From Exegesis to Exposition: A Practical Guide to Using Biblical Hebrew. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 1998.
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I understand you are looking for a single volume. Are you looking for answers to specific texts? Or, are you looking for a book that teaches you the method(s) for working with original language, historical/cultural, and theology?
I used this book in Seminary and it was helpful: https://www.logos.com/product/2335/introduction-to-biblical-interpretation
It's labeled an introduction, but it's much more detailed than Fee's How to Read the Bible for all its Worth which is more of an introduction.
Let us know if this is the route you're thinking, if not we can adjust.
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I recommend this so you keep context straight:
It's on sale right now too.
The mind of man is the mill of God, not to grind chaff, but wheat. Thomas Manton | Study hard, for the well is deep, and our brains are shallow. Richard Baxter
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Lee said:
That's a laudable goal. However, if you're into "advanced" stuff any linear method is going to break down depending on the specific passage or issue you're looking at. For that reason, Osborne has likened the process to a "hermeneutical spiral". You go one way, pick up your information and clues, and suddenly another angle strikes you so you come at the problem from another angle. It sounds messy, but it's richer, and I personally think that's how we grew up processing speech and literature anyway.
That sounds like a very good book. Thanks for the reccomendation.
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Steve Maling said:
Currently available in Logos:
Deppe, Dean B. All Roads Lead to the Text: Eight Methods of Inquiry into the Bible. Grand Rapids, MI; Cambridge, U.K.: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2011.
Thanks so much, that looks like the closest thing so far to what I'm looking for.
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Fredc said:
I am not sure what you mean by "advanced exegesis" as the components you list are part of any good hermeneutical and exegetical process. I would recommend search your library, or creating a collection with the following:
title:exegesis OR subject:exegesis OR subject:hermeneutics OR title:hermeneutics
Your results will likely be different than mine, and there are many excellent resources to guide one in developing a process. If you have it in your library, I found R.A. Torrey's "The Importance and Value of Proper Bible Study" a good place to start.
Any process you develop should enable you to answer the following questions:
1. What did the original author say?
2. What did the original author mean?
3. What did the original author and the other biblical writers say about the same subject?
4. How did the original hearers / readers understand what was said?
5. How does the verse / passage apply in today's culture?
6. How does the verse / passage apply to me?
Thank you Fredc you have helped me to see new resources in my Library which I have never seen them.
Blessings in Christ.
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I use the following as a starting point:
CRITICAL METHODOLOGY
In hermeneutics, critical methodology refers to the interpretive approach a critic uses to examine a text. The interpretive approach influences the way in which a critic perceives and uses the data of the text. In other words, method colors the reader’s understanding of the text and the way in which one makes sense of it. This is true because methods are anchored to a set of underlying presuppositions that determine the questions to be put to the text. To interpret a text means to interpret it in one way and not another. An interesting taxonomy of methodology is supplied by Keesey as he groups critical methods into seven categories:
1. Historical criticism: Author as context
2. Formal criticism: Text as context
3. Reader-response criticism: Audience as context
4. Mimetic criticism: Reality as context
5. Intertextual criticism: Literature as context
6. Poststructural criticism: Language as context
7. Historical criticism II: Culture as context
Each critical methodology is placed under one of these categories (although there is some overlap between categories) based on the primary focus of the method. Understanding depends on the contextual focus of the method.
Bibliography
. Donald Keesey, Contexts for Criticism (4th ed.; Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2003).
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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I do not think it is currently available in Logos, but I learned a great deal from Bock and Fanning's Interpreting the New Testament Text. It is an excellent step-by-step guide to all of the processes you describe. It assumes basic competency in Greek. I hope this helps!
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Nicholas Roland said:
I do not think it is currently available in Logos, but I learned a great deal from Bock and Fanning's Interpreting the New Testament Text. It is an excellent step-by-step guide to all of the processes you describe. It assumes basic competency in Greek. I hope this helps!
It would be good if we could have it in Logos.
Blessings in Christ.
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Daniel, part of the answer resides in what your aptitudes and purposes are.
For instance, MJ's response is more of a scholarly approach. There are many out there who do not relate well to the various critical approaches. Fee's volume is, in my opinion, more geared toward pastors preparing sermons but refrains from engaging the various critical methodologies at an advanced level.
Likewise, textual criticism has its uses, but it is a more restricted crowd that will make it a part of their normal study routine and it involves developing corresponding skills with regard to the original languages, understanding of the transmission of manuscripts and of approaches used to weigh the evidence.
So, the answer to your query really is conditioned by these elements.
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At this point I'm not looking to prepair sermons, as I'm not a pastor.I just want to depen my understanding of the Word intellectually and on a heart level. I do understand that the ability to employ certain techniques requires a lot of work. So I'm not looking to be proficient at any of them tomorrow. At this point I'm focusing on becoming proficent at reading the biblical languages. And then I intend to move on to emplying many of those techniques in my study. I'm taking things one step at a time, the next step for me is a broad overview of many of the things on my first post, what they are, how they relate to one another, how to use them apart or together. And then narrowing down to the next step after reading and working through them in order.
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I'll suggest the that you give my list a closer look. The broader approach, despite Francis calling it "academic", allows you to leverage what you do know or are particularly interested in and apply it to Bible study. History, literature, farming, fishing, boat building ... ell have their application at some point in Bible interpretation. God can work with anything that you use that has you reading the text closely and listening to God.
Orthodox Bishop Alfeyev: "To be a theologian means to have experience of a personal encounter with God through prayer and worship."; Orthodox proverb: "We know where the Church is, we do not know where it is not."
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Tes said:Nicholas Roland said:
I do not think it is currently available in Logos, but I learned a great deal from Bock and Fanning's Interpreting the New Testament Text. It is an excellent step-by-step guide to all of the processes you describe. It assumes basic competency in Greek. I hope this helps!
It would be good if we could have it in Logos.
Why don't we have it already? It's a Crossway book! A great list of contributors (including the DTS faculty plus more) and a chapter on diagramming the Greek text seem to make this a very desirable resource.
Have joy in the Lord!
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You already have a number of good recommendations...I hesitate to add another, but as I read the post and especially your responses I thought this might be a resource that could be of help to you. I don't have it in Logos, but I have the 2nd edition in print and it does a nice job of laying out various aspects of the hermeneutical task. It is written as an introductory textbook and as such covers a lot of territory, but obviously can't go into any area with great depth, but if you are looking at dipping your foot into the ocean...this book does provide a great place to begin. This combined with some good commentary resources and your language study should serve you well.
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Nicholas Roland said:
I do not think it is currently available in Logos, but I learned a great deal from Bock and Fanning's Interpreting the New Testament Text. It is an excellent step-by-step guide to all of the processes you describe. It assumes basic competency in Greek. I hope this helps!
I have not read this book so I can't comment on its quality. Two quick thoughts from its Amazon listing:
- The table of contents looks really good (even if the page count for each topic looks a little sparse).
- The authors are from Dallas Theological Seminary. I don't know the degree to which that influences the book as a whole but it will have huge impacts on chapters 11 and 12.
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MJ. Smith said:
I'll suggest the that you give my list a closer look. The broader approach, despite Francis calling it "academic", allows you to leverage what you do know or are particularly interested in and apply it to Bible study. History, literature, farming, fishing, boat building ... ell have their application at some point in Bible interpretation. God can work with anything that you use that has you reading the text closely and listening to God.
Are you recomending the book you cited then?
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Paul said:
You already have a number of good recommendations...I hesitate to add another, but as I read the post and especially your responses I thought this might be a resource that could be of help to you. I don't have it in Logos, but I have the 2nd edition in print and it does a nice job of laying out various aspects of the hermeneutical task. It is written as an introductory textbook and as such covers a lot of territory, but obviously can't go into any area with great depth, but if you are looking at dipping your foot into the ocean...this book does provide a great place to begin. This combined with some good commentary resources and your language study should serve you well.
Thanks, I'll have a look at it.
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Dave Moser said:
I have not read this book so I can't comment on its quality. Two quick thoughts from its Amazon listing:
- The table of contents looks really good (even if the page count for each topic looks a little sparse).
- The authors are from Dallas Theological Seminary. I don't know the degree to which that influences the book as a whole but it will have huge impacts on chapters 11 and 12.
Hey Dave, you are wise in your observations. I am a Dallas Seminary guy, so I am obviously biased, but I think the authors wrote this book with the intention of it gaining wide use among evangelicals. It seems like they were as guarded as possible about not letting the dispensational system influence too much of what was written. Chapter 11 is definitely one where, I would imagine, people from different systems would go a different direction. Again, my own background might make me blind to many presuppositions present in the book. Thanks!
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These are great resources for advanced exegesis. Neither available in Logos however.
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