The Hermeneia commentary series seeks to offer authoritative interpretation of the earliest texts of the biblical books and other literature closely related to the Bible.
The series is designed to be a critical and historical commentary to the Bible without arbitrary limits in size or scope. It will utilize the full range of philological and historical tools, including textual criticism (often slighted in modern commentaries), the methods of the history of tradition (including genre and prosodic analysis), and the history of religion.
Great for the serious student of the Bible, it will make full use of ancient Semitic and classical languages; at the same time, English translations of all comparative materials—Greek, Latin, Canaanite, or Akkadian—will be supplied alongside the citation of the source in its original language. Insofar as possible, the aim is to provide the student or scholar with full critical discussion of each problem of interpretation and with the primary data upon which the discussion is based.
The name Hermeneia, from the Greek, has a rich background in the history of biblical interpretation as a term for the detailed, systematic exposition of a scriptural work. The series, like its name, carries forward this old and venerable tradition. The name also avoids a long descriptive title and the inevitable acronym, or worse, an unpronounceable abbreviation.
Hermeneia is by design international and interconfessional in the selection of authors; its editorial boards were formed with this end in view. Occasionally the series has offered translations of distinguished commentaries which originally appeared in languages other than English. In time, new commentaries will replace older works in order to preserve the currency of the series. Commentaries are also assigned for important literary works in the categories of apocryphal and pseudepigraphical works relating to the Old and New Testaments, including some from the discoveries at Qumran and Nag Hammadi.
The editors of Hermeneia impose no systematic-theological perspective upon the series (directly, or indirectly by selection of authors). It is expected that authors will struggle to lay bare the ancient meaning of a biblical work or pericope. In this way the text’s human relevance should become transparent, as is always the case in competent historical discourse. However, the series eschews for itself homiletical translation of the Bible.
Hermeneia will be the benchmark and reference point for all future work.
—Walter Brueggemann, Columbia Theological Seminary
Taken together, Hermeneia represents some of the best recent biblical scholarship . . . I have no hesitation in recommending them for students.
—Morna D. Hooker, Lady Margaret’s Professor of Divinity Emerita, University of Cambridge
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