465 - Biblical Interpretation

Biblical Interpretation
By Robert Morgan with John Barton
New York, Oxford University Press, 1988. 342 pp. $55.00 ($14.95 pb.).

In this book, the ninth to appear in the Oxford Bible Series, the authors try to explain just what interpretation is and what the peculiar issues are that arise in connection with the interpretation of the Bible. The book traces the development of historical and literary criticism and the impact that critical study of the Bible has had on believers. We are given a summary of various approaches to reading Scripture, from Reimarus and Strauss, through F.C. Baur, Wellhausen, Gunkel, and Wrede, to von Rad, Bultmann, and the more recent influences of sociology and anthropology on biblical studies. A key concern throughout the book is the relationship between biblical scholarship and religious belief and practice-a very pressing issue at the present time.

Burton H. Throckmorton, Jr.
Bangor Theological Seminary
Bangor, Me.