146 - Literary Forms in The New Testament: A Handbook

Literary Forms in The New Testament:
A Handbook
By James L. Bailey and Lyle D. Vander Broek
Louisville, Westminster/John Knox Press, 1992. 219 pp. $14.95 (pb).

The English speaking world has long needed an up-to-date, accessible, and practical introduction to the literary features and forms found in the books of the New Testament. With this book, which has its roots in the authors' collaborative courses in New Testament Introduction, offered over the last several years at Wartburg Theological Seminary and the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, Bailey and Vander Broek have provided us with an effective and innovative solution. This book should prove eminently useful for introductory courses in New Testament in college, university, and seminary settings, but it will also appeal to pastors and lay people in search of interpretive keys that will begin to unlock the sometimes strange and bewildering world of New Testament literature.

The book is organized into three major sections, covering over thirty different forms, focusing on "The Pauline Tradition," "The Gospels and Acts, " and "Other New Testament Writings." Each section contains articles covering the major literary forms and devices represented within each of these three categories. After a discussion of the "Pauline Letter," topics covered in the first section include, for example, diatribe, vice and virtue lists, the household code, poetry and hymns, and creeds. The section on the Gospels and Acts covers the gospel genre itself, as well as such forms as aphorism, parable, pronouncement story, miracle story, commissioning story, Johannine discourses, and genealogy, among others. Both sections include discussions of "apocalyptic language and forms," as well as chiasm and midrash. The third section of the book also takes up apocalyptic materials, this time focusing on the book of Revelation. Treatments of Hebrews ("The Sermon"), James ("Topoi and Admonitions"), and the General Letters round out the collection.

Each presentation begins with the definition and description of a particular form. Then, the book lists and discusses examples of the

148 - Literary Forms in The New Testament: A Handbook

form and, in many cases, sketches the recent history of interpretation of the form. One of the most helpful features of the book is its decidedly exegetical orientation, which comes to clearest expression in the portion of each discussion that focuses on "the value for interpretation." Here the authors address the "so what?" questions that students of the New Testament might be inclined to ask. The intention is less to provide a commentary on given forms or passages than to offer heuristic questions that will guide the reader both to a deeper understanding of the form and to a more effective appropriation of the material for contemporary proclamation and teaching. Finally, the discussions of each form close with an annotated bibliography that provides the reader with the information necessary for more detailed exploration.

There is some inevitable unevenness in the discussions, and scholars will find matters here and there about which they might quibble, but in nearly every case the authors handle the material with admirable clarity and conciseness. The inclusion in future editions of a glossary and a topical index (an index of scriptural citations is supplied) would make this work still more useful. But it is already an effective research tool that should appeal not only to pastors and teachers pursuing exegesis but to all those who are looking for accessible guides to the interpretation of the New Testament documents.

Stanley P. Saunders
Columbia Theological Seminary
Decatur, GA