Biblical Interpretation: Past & Present

by Gerald L. Bray

Publisher:

IVP Academic

, 1996

Overview

Never before has there been so much scholarly effort devoted to the study of the Bible. And yet, ironically, the church is in perilous danger of forgetting its rich inheritance of biblical interpretation. With this textbook, Gerald Bray sounds the call to draw biblical interpretation back to the heart of the church. Evangelical in perspective but ecumenical in both its historical breadth and its vision of the future, Bray’s work is a comprehensive guide to biblical interpretation, past and present.

Bray begins by introducing basic concepts in biblical interpretation that have remained constant through the ages: divine revelation, the nature of the canon, the relation of the biblical text to the life of Christian churches, and the tensions inherent in the act of biblical interpretation. He follows this introduction with three main sections, each covering an epoch of development within the history of biblical interpretation. The first surveys the period from the ancient church to the beginnings of modern historical-critical interpretation in the Renaissance and Reformation. The second engages the rise of modern historical-critical interpretation from the late seventeenth century through the twentieth century. The third investigates current trends in biblical interpretation that seek to offer alternatives to the dominant school of historical criticism.

Each section is divided into chapters focusing on periods or schools of interpretation. And, as a further aid to readers, each chapter is divided into standard subsections:

an introduction to the period or school of interpretation

a brief who's who of major interpreters and their works

an introduction to key critical, doctrinal or hermeneutical issues

discussion and illustration of principal interpretive methods

an examination of an particular book or passage that played a crucial role in biblical interpretation for the period or school under discussion

Bray’s organizational scheme allows readers to quickly grasp the issues, methods and interpreters of each period or school and to observe how classic issues and pivotal questions have shaped the church’s use of the Bible in various historical contexts. Seminarians, pastors, teachers and lay leaders will welcome Biblical Interpretation: Past and Present as an instructive guide to both the high points and the impasses of biblical interpretation. Here is history with a clear message, written out of the conviction that biblical interpretation and Christian doctrine go hand in hand.

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Key Features

• Introduces basic concepts in biblical interpretation that have remained constant through the ages.
• Engages the rise of modern historical-critical interpretation.
• Investigates current trends in biblical interpretation.

Contents

• Introduction: The Purpose and Method of This Book
• Part One: Before Historical Criticism
• Part Two: The Historical-Critical Method
• Part Three: The Contemporary Scene

Product Details

• Title: Biblical Interpretation: Past & Present
• Author: Gerald L. Bray
• Publisher: IVP Academic
• Print Publication Date: 1996
• Logos Release Date: 2025
• Pages: 608
• Era: era:contemporary
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible › Hermeneutics; Bible › Criticism, interpretation, etc
• ISBNs: 9780830815654, 9780851114750, 0830815651, 085111475X
• Resource ID: LLS:BBLCLNTRPRPRSNT
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2025-03-19T15:58:50Z

About Gerald L. Bray

Dr. Gerald Bray is Research Professor of Divinity at Beeson Divinity School in Birmingham, AL, and Distinguished Professor of Theology at Knox Theological Seminary, Fort Lauderdale, FL.

He was born and raised in Montreal, Canada, where he did his undergraduate work at McGill University. He completed his doctoral studies at the Sorbonne in Paris and went on to study theology in Cambridge. In 1978 he was ordained in the Church of England and served a parish in London for two years before going on to teach at Oak Hill College in London. He has been at Beeson since 1993.

Dr. Bray is the editor of the Anglican journal Churchman and has published a number of books, including the award-winning Biblical Interpretation: Past and Present (InterVarsity Press, 1996), Yours Is the Kingdom: A Systematic Theology of the Lord's Prayer(InterVarsity Press, 2007), God Is Love (Crossway, 2012), and his most recent work, God Has Spoken: A History of Christian Theology (Crossway, 2014).

Dr. Bray speaks several languages fluently. He has lived in Germany, Greece, and Russia, and he has taught in several European countries and Australia. He can often be found in one of the archives of the Church of England, researching parts of its history, on which he has also published a number of important works. He is also an avid swimmer and cyclist.