I noticed that there are two different books out by Craig L. Blomberg on the Parables. One is Preaching the Parables (https://www.logos.com/product/5360/preaching-the-parables-from-responsible-interpretation-to-powerful-proclamation) and the other is Interpreting the Parables (https://www.logos.com/product/2956/interpreting-the-parables). Can anyone tell me the difference in the two volumes? Is the methodology used the same? There is a fourteen year gap between the two volumes, is there evidence of that in the newer one?
Thanks for any input
Interestingly enough, Interpreting the Parables has a 2007 second edition. I've only ever glanced at the first edition, and never read the second.
I don't have "preaching" but I have "interpreting." I thought it may be helpful to you to at least read what he says in his intro. My guess is that both would have overlap, but that this one is slightly more (in part one) academic and "Preaching . . ." would hone more in on the proclamation of the parables whilst keeping an eye on proper hermeneutic.
From the Intro:
Contemporary expositions of the parables are often equally at sea; recent works by some of America’s most respected preachers tend to vary greatly in quality. Some lack a clear method of interpretation, while others inconsistently implement the methods they outline. The desire to preach at length on a short passage usually results in overinterpretation.4 This volume, therefore, brings a state-of-the-art report on parable scholarship in a form which is intended to be useful as an update for pastors and scholars, a basic textbook for students in colleges and seminaries, and an introduction to the field for the layperson willing to wrestle in some detail with scholarly concerns.This book, however, also defends a thesis. This is the second reason for its publication: there are good reasons to believe that in important ways the dominant approaches of the twentieth century to the interpretation of the parables are misguided and require rethinking. This is a bold claim, but it is one which I not only defend but which a growing number of studies of the parables are echoing. Yet across almost all theological traditions, these developments are virtually unknown among pastors and laypeople. Even many academics seem unaware of the new trend, unless they have kept close watch on developments within this particular arena of New Testament scholarship.Craig Blomberg, Interpreting the Parables (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990), 14–15.
And:
1.4 The Scope and Outline of This BookThis volume falls into two relatively evenly balanced parts. Part one discusses the theories of interpreting the parables and evaluates their relative merits. Part two applies the conclusions of part one to a brief discussion of each of the principal parables of the Gospels. Each part contains four chapters followed by a brief summary of results. Chapter two begins by focusing more closely on the debate about the difference between parable and allegory. What reasons have the modern consensus and “minority report” given for their conflicting views, and how well do the reasons stand up to close scrutiny? What insights do studies of literary criticism, in general, and of the large volume of rabbinic parables, in particular, disclose? Chapter two concludes that given proper definition the parables may and ought to be termed allegories, but that this in no way requires a return to the more arbitrary exegesis which often characterized past generations.Chapter three investigates the contributions of form criticism to the study of the parables. After a brief examination of the strengths and weaknesses of the discipline as a whole and of some important principles for interpretation which emerge, more detailed scrutiny is given to the so-called laws of transformation which supposedly characterized the period of oral tradition of Jesus’ teachings prior to the writing of the Gospels. This chapter determines that these laws need substantial modification, and it concludes by suggesting a quite different model for the tradition history of the parables.Chapter four turns to redaction criticism, with its emphasis on the important differences between parallel accounts of the same stories in different Gospels. Nuances of meaning do vary from one account to the next, and the interpretation of a parable in one Gospel will not necessarily be identical in every respect to its interpretation in a different Gospel. Each evangelist had distinctive themes he wanted to highlight and contemporary expositors dare not miss these. Nevertheless, those views are rejected which allege that these differences are so great that one must speak of outright contradictions or of incompatible theologies. The upshot of chapters two through four combined, then, is that one may actually view the parables of Jesus as both allegorical and authentic.Chapter five rounds out the theoretical discussion by surveying the three newest literary and hermeneutical methods and the challenges they pose to the preliminary conclusions just posited. The new hermeneutic denies that narrative writing may be interpreted in any non-narrative fashion without doing violence to the original meaning of the narrator. Therefore it is inappropriate to boil the parables down into any number of “main points.” Structuralism denies that the most important meaning of a passage may be determined from the superficial features of the text. Instead interpreters must seek a more hidden level of meaning by analyzing the passage’s deep structure. Poststructuralism denies that the meaning of a text is fixed either in the author’s original intention or in the actual meaning of the words of a text, but is limited only by the creativity of a text’s readers or hearers and the interpretive conventions of the communities to which they belong. Each of these three movements offers a few important interpretive insights which should be embraced, but in general their value has been overestimated. Neither the allegorical nor the authentic nature of the parables is impugned by any of them.Chapters six through eight form the bulk of part two. These three chapters illustrate the principles of interpretation with which the summary of part one concludes, by means of a brief analysis of each of the major parables of Jesus. No attempt is made to produce a full-fledged commentary or detailed exegesis for each passage. There are plenty of reliable sources which adequately summarize the most basic historical background of the parables’ imagery, the meaning of key Greek terms or phrases, and the function of a given passage in the overall outline of the Gospel in which it appears.25 Rather, attention is concentrated on major interpretive controversies and conclusions, along with those features of exegesis which directly result from the distinctive method espoused here. As a result, questions about the authenticity and the allegorical nature of each passage receive special attention.A division according to form or structure is adopted, by which the parables are classified into three main categories, one per chapter. Chapter six presents simple three-point parables, the most common form found in the Gospels. These are parables which contain three main characters, one who functions as a ruler or authority figure and two subordinates, one good and one bad, who illustrate contrasting patterns of responses to their master. Chapter seven surveys complex three-point parables. These are passages in which more than three characters appear, but which ultimately reflect the same structure as the simple triadic model, as well as those which have only three characters but with roles different from those of the paradigm of chapter six. Chapter eight, finally, considers two-point and one-point parables, passages with fewer key characters or elements, from which should be derived only two or one rather than three main points.Chapter nine closes the volume by examining what implications the messages of the parables have for understanding their speaker and his teaching more generally. In other words, what do the parables contribute to an understanding of the kingdom of God and to Christology? Is the kingdom present or future? Is it a reign or a realm? Does it involve social action or personal conversion? How does it relate to Israel and the church? Do the parables support the view, as might superficially seem to be the case, that Jesus was simply a great human teacher? Or are there implicit (or even explicit) indications that his parables support Christian belief in Jesus’ deity?This rather substantial agenda may seem quite imposing when one considers that Jesus apparently first taught in parables to unlettered Galilean peasants in order to make clear his understanding of the kingdom of God. Yet, as even the pages of the Gospels record, many, often including his own disciples, failed to understand him. A perusal of subsequent commentators shows that confusion has persisted ever since. Even today, when one may speak of a consensus of twentieth-century principles of interpreting the parables, there is not nearly as much agreement when those principles are applied in the exegesis of specific passages. So perhaps the issues are more complex than they first appear. It is the sincere hope and goal of this study, however, that after working through some fairly complicated questions, simple principles may re-emerge which will make the modern reader’s task easier in recovering the true meaning of these portions of God’s Word.Craig Blomberg, Interpreting the Parables (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990), 22–25.
I have and recently read the Preaching one - he supplies 15 Sermons covering different parables (for some of the brief parables more than 1 is included in a Sermon) - and then after each sermon he supplies a commentary discussing the approach taken in the sermon.
I quite enjoyed it.
I have and recently read the Preaching one - he supplies 15 Sermons covering different parables (for some of the brief parables more than 1 is included in a Sermon) - and then after each sermon he supplies a commentary discussing the approach taken in the sermon. I quite enjoyed it.
Thank you, that is helpful. Would you be able to post the table of contents, perhaps? btw, i had wanted to also post the TOC for Interpreting . . .
AbbreviationsPreface1 Introduction 1.1 The Scholarly Consensus 1.2 The Minority Report 1.3 Newest Developments 1.4 The Scope and Outline of This BookPart One: Methods & Controversies in Interpreting the Parables2 Parable & Allegory 2.1 The Current Debate: Two Main Approaches 2.1.1 Parable vs. Allegory 2.1.2 Parable as Allegory 2.2 Evaluating the Debate 2.2.1 Contemporary Literary Criticism 2.2.2 The Rabbinic Parables 2.3 Conclusions3 Form Criticism & the Parables 3.1 Classical Form Criticism 3.1.1 The Method 3.1.2 Critique 3.2 Hypotheses of the “Guarded Tradition” 3.2.1 Memorizing Jesus’ Teachings 3.2.2 New Insights into Oral Folklore 3.3 Conclusions4 Redaction Criticism of the Parables 4.1 Positive Contributions 4.1.1 The Illustration of Distinctive Themes 4.1.2 The Significance of the Larger Contexts 4.2 Invalid Allegations 4.2.1 Misleading Parallels 4.2.2 Dictional Analysis 4.2.3 The Theology-History Dichotomy 4.2.4 Prophecy after the Event 4.2.5 Characterizing the Parables in Different Synoptic Sources 4.2.6 Mistaking Stylistic for Theological Redaction 4.2.7 Misrepresenting the Theology of an Evangelist 4.3 Conclusions5 New Literary & Hermeneutical Methods 5.1 The New Hermeneutic 5.1.1 The New View of Metaphor 5.1.2 A Critique of the New View of Metaphor 5.2 Structuralism 5.2.1 The Ideology 5.2.2 The Method 5.2.3 Surface Structures 5.3 Poststructuralism 5.3.1 Deconstruction 5.3.2 Reader-Response Criticism 5.4 Other Methods 5.5 ConclusionsConclusions to Part OnePart Two: The Meaning & Significance of Individual Parables6 Simple Three-Point Parables 6.1 The Prodigal Son (Lk 15:11–32) 6.2 The Lost Sheep and Lost Coin (Lk 15:4–10; cf. Mt 18:12–14) 6.3 The Two Debtors (Lk 7:41–43) 6.4 The Two Sons (Mt 21:28–32) 6.5 Faithful and Unfaithful Servants (Lk 12:42–48; Mt 24:45–51) 6.6 The Ten Virgins (Mt 25:1–13) 6.7 The Wheat and the Tares (Mt 13:24–30, 36–43) 6.8 The Dragnet (Mt 13:47–50) 6.9 The Rich Man and Lazarus (Lk 16:19–31) 6.10 The Children in the Marketplace (Mt 11:16–19; Lk 7:31–35) 6.11 Conclusions7 Complex Three-Point Parables 7.1 The Talents (Mt 25:14–30; cf. Lk 19:12–27) 7.2 The Laborers in the Vineyard (Mt 20:1–16) 7.3 The Sower (Mk 4:3–9, 13–20 pars.) 7.4 The Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25–37) 7.5 The Great Supper (Lk 14:15–24; cf. Mt 22:1–14) 7.6 The Unforgiving Servant (Mt 18:23–35) 7.7 The Unjust Steward (Lk 16:1–13) 7.8 The Wicked Tenants (Mk 12:1–12 pars.) 7.9 Conclusions8 Two-Point & One-Point Parables 8.1 Two-Point Parables 8.1.1 The Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Lk 18:9–14) 8.1.2 The Two Builders (Mt 7:24–27; Lk 6:47–49) 8.1.3 The Unprofitable Servant (Lk 17:7–10) 8.1.4 The Seed Growing Secretly (Mk 4:26–29) 8.1.5 The Rich Fool (Lk 12:16–21) 8.1.6 The Barren Fig Tree (Lk 13:6–9) 8.1.7 The Unjust Judge (Lk 18:1–8) 8.1.8 The Friend at Midnight (Lk 11:5–8) 8.1.9 The Householder and the Thief (Mt 24:43–44; Lk 12:39–40) 8.2 One-Point Parables 8.2.1 The Hidden Treasure and Pearl of Great Price (Mt 13:44–46) 8.2.2 The Tower Builder and the Warring King (Lk 14:28–33) 8.2.3 The Mustard Seed and Leaven (Lk 13:18–21 pars.) 8.2.4 Other Passages 8.3 Conclusions9 The Theology of the Parables: The Kingdom & the Christ 9.1 Classification 9.2 Kingdom Theology 9.2.1 Present vs. Future 9.2.2 Reign vs. Realm 9.2.3 Personal Transformation vs. Social Reform 9.2.4 The Kingdom and Israel 9.3 Christology 9.3.1 Explicit Christology? 9.3.2 Implicit Christology Indirectly Expressed? 9.3.3 Implicit Christology Directly Expressed 9.4 ConclusionsConclusions to Part TwoAuthor IndexCraig Blomberg, Interpreting the Parables (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1990), 3–5.
Here is the TOC:
Abbreviations
Preface
Introduction
1 The Parable of the Prodigal Sons and Their FatherLuke 15:11–32
2 Can I Be Saved without Stewardship?Luke 16:19–31
3 Who Is My Most Important Neighbor?Luke 10:25–37
4 Can I Be Saved If I Refuse to Forgive Others?Matthew 18:23–35
5 Shrewd StewardsLuke 16:1–13
6 Let’s Play Wedding, Let’s Play FuneralMatthew 11:16–19
7 How Do You Hear?Matthew 13:1–23
8 Seeds, Weeds, and Explosive GrowthMatthew 13:24–43
9 The Kingdom of Heaven: PricelessMatthew 13:44–52
10 The Basement of the Hard Rock CaféMatthew 7:13–27
11 The Parable of the Recovering HomosexualLuke 18:9–14
12 Pray and PersevereLuke 18:1–8
13 The Cost of DiscipleshipLuke 14:25–35
14 How to Prepare for Christ’s ReturnMatthew 24:43–25:30
15 Who Really Are the Sheep and the Goats?Matthew 25:31–46
Conclusion
Subject Index
There is a fourteen year gap between the two volumes, is there evidence of that in the newer one?
Yes, Blomberg in his introduction describes the history of interpreting the parables (allegory, Jülicher's single point, his own approach) and especially includes the development of literature since the first book.
Can anyone tell me the difference in the two volumes? Is the methodology used the same?
Others already wrote about that. The methodology is different, since Blomberg focuses on preaching in the second one and there are real sermons included plus explanation.
Thanks!
Thank you everybody! So it appears that the interpretive methodology in both volumes is the same right?
Hey thanks for mentioning those Parable resources. God Bless you always forever!
James
