Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology

“Part biblical history, part OT and NT introduction, part genre, form, and literary analysis, part linguistic method, part biblical theology, and part contemporary application—Kostenberger and Patterson provide for the beginning evangelical student a one-stop textbook that is competent, conservative, and contextually oriented at every turn. Showing the crucial interrelationship of history, text, and theology, their work provides a solid place for the new student to stand in order to reach for the Scriptures for the first time!”

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“Between the covers of this book you’ll find impressive coverage of primary and secondary sources related to the interpretation of the Bible, competent engagement with topics relevant to the hermeneutical task, and a student-friendly package made easy for teachers to deploy. This faithful exploration of the hermeneutical triad of history, literature, and theology deserves wide reading and heavy use.”

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“Wedding clarity with grace, precision with pastoral sensitivity, Kostenberger and Patterson have provided us with an introduction to biblical interpretation that is firm in conviction without being strident in tone. The hermeneutical triad of history, text, and theology, presented in a way that moves from the big picture (canon) to the specifics (words) and thus assumes from the start a coherent, unified, and divinely governed narrative, will achieve its goal—producing workers who need not be ashamed but rightly handle the word of truth.”

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“Kostenberger and Patterson have provided us a well-rounded and sound hermeneutical method, clearly explaining the historical, literary, and theological dimensions. It is evident that this volume is the result of years of in-depth and careful study. Students and pastors alike will gain a wealth of knowledge and insight from this book. Kostenberger and Patterson have given us an invitation to study the Bible and we would do well to accept their offer.”

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“Greek and Hebrew are invaluable tools for exegesis. However, without a consistent, informed, balanced approach to interpreting Scripture, their use can become a pretext for eisegesis instead of exegesis. The text then becomes whatever the reader wants it to mean and the biblical languages can be sorely abused. Kostenberger and Patterson have crafted an extraordinary volume that takes scholarly concepts from advanced hermeneutics books and simplifies them for the striving seminary student (and even the undergraduate student) to understand. They delineate difficult concepts in tangible ways for sound and effective exegesis. This book should get widespread use in classes among seminary and undergraduate biblical interpretation courses. I highly recommend it.”

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“Hermeneutics textbooks can sometimes occlude rather than reveal the meaning of the Bible. Invitation to Biblical Interpretation brilliantly illumines the Scriptures by rightly paying attention to their historical, literary and theological horizons. It is insightful, lucidly written, and thorough. I am certain this resource will become a standard text for many universities, seminaries, and theological colleges.”

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“In Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, Andreas Kostenberger and Richard Patterson condense their many years of teaching hermeneutics into an engaging and faithful interpretive guide. Much thought has gone into designing a textbook with maximum utility for the classroom. I highly commend this fine new book.”

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“Invitation to Biblical Interpretation is a welcome addition for those who seek to move beyond the hermeneutical basics to even more serious consideration of the biblical text. Its emphasis on the hermeneutical triad of history, literature, and theology results in a comprehensive approach to biblical interpretation that leaves few, if any, stones unturned. It provides ample bibliography and guides students in developing their own personal biblical and theological libraries. Finally, Kostenberger and Patterson insist the exegete move beyond interpretation to application and proclamation—a good reminder that hermeneutics should never become an end in itself, but a tool to life change.”

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“This volume is well conceived and well written. It presents introductory and advanced concepts in a systematic way that makes it suitable for college or seminary use. Its authors are trustworthy veteran scholars and master teachers. I recommend it highly to teachers, students, pastors, and lay teachers.”

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“Hermeneutics is without a doubt a difficult course to teach. Kostenberger and Patterson have made that task a little easier now with their impressive textbook on the subject. Their clear, objective method for interpreting the Bible is built around the hermeneutical triad, studying Scripture in terms of its historical setting, literary and linguistic features, and theological message. User friendly and example rich, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation will help theological students to become better interpreters of the Bible. A fine work!”

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“The authors have provided a treasure trove of information, methods, procedures, and insights that will benefit anyone who wants to read the Bible seriously and delve deeply into its riches. Fully equipped with examples and cautions, the book will guide readers judiciously under the careful tutelage that Kostenberger and Patterson bring to the task of interpretation informed by their long years of experience.”

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“Invitation to Biblical Interpretation may easily become the new standard hermeneutics textbook for seminaries and evangelical universities. Kostenberger and Patterson faithfully guide readers across the vast and diverse terrain of the biblical canon. They expertly provide readers with all the necessary historical, literary, and theological tools for the task of exegesis as part of the interpretive journey. Along the way, they point out relevant signposts and occasionally stop to dig deeply into the text with probing insights. They begin with the broad scope of the canon and brilliantly interweave matters of general and special hermeneutics while managing to present a robust hermeneutical theory. This comprehensive hermeneutics textbook rivals, and may even surpass, the well-respected works by Fee and Stuart or Duvall and Hays.”

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“Here is a hermeneutics textbook aimed squarely at instructing students in the essentials of how to interpret the Bible. It avoids jargon-laden, philosophical discussion on the relationship between the reader and the text, but instead gives the student an objective method for finding what a text means. Yet it is not simply a how-to book; it demonstrates that each biblical text must be read as a representative of the biblical world and not just as words and sentences to be analyzed. A text should be interpreted by a kind of triangulation, seeing it from its historical, literary, and theological context. This in turn allows the student to grasp that text’s historical, literary, and theological meaning. Along the way, Kostenberger and Patterson give students a complete but concise introduction to the concepts that make up the world of biblical hermeneutics.”

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“The task of interpreting the word of the Lord is fraught with peril, and it has been since our primeval ancestors took hermeneutical direction from a demon. This book, written by two of the most significant biblical scholars in Christianity today, is a sure and steady pathfinder through the most difficult aspects of reading, interpreting, and communicating the Bible. Read this book and prepare yourself to hear afresh the Spirit speaking in the Scriptures.”

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“Kostenberger and Patterson have put together a significant volume on biblical interpretation. It covers three important areas of interpretation: the historical context of God’s revelation, the literary dimensions of the text, and the theological nature of God’s communication to us. Attention to these three dimensions opens up the world of Scripture. The authors provide ample examples and encouragements to enter the world of the text. This is a book all students of the Bible will want to read in order to meet God afresh through his written Word.”

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“Biblical interpretation is a delicately balanced and widely expansive field of study. This volume, replete with explanations, charts, diagrams, study questions, assignments, and sample texts, reflects this reality. Kostenberger and Patterson structure their approach on the belief that Scripture is meant for our instruction, and their hermeneutical triad of history, literature, and theology provides the functional structure for achieving this goal. Obviously designed out of the authors’ many years of classroom teaching, teachers and preachers and serious students of Scripture will find this volume to be indeed an Invitation to a lavish feast of biblical understanding.”

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“It is important to understand what this book is not. Despite its size, it is not a comprehensive guide to advanced hermeneutics. Rather, its size stems from the fact that it is a thorough introduction to (mostly) commonsense elements that go into faithful biblical interpretation, diligently worked out with many examples. The step-by-step approach will be too mechanical if anyone thinks that in real life such sequences guarantee an accurate and mature grasp of what the Bible says, but it will be an enormous help to those who are taking their first steps toward recognizing the many elements that go into sound interpretive judgment.”

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“Since the Scriptures are the Word of God, it is imperative that we interpret them accurately. Kostenberger and Patterson have provided a comprehensive work, full of wisdom and good sense, which will enable readers to be skilled interpreters of Scripture. The authors do not merely explain the rules of hermeneutics, but they also provide many helpful examples, so that the reader also learns a significant amount of biblical theology in this invaluable textbook.”

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“Andreas Kostenberger and Richard Patterson have produced a comprehensive yet accessible introduction to biblical hermeneutics, chock full of helpful examples of the exegetical process. Approaching the Bible through the hermeneutical triad of history, literature, and theology, the authors take into account the nature of Scripture as divine discourse delivered through human authors in diverse genres and historically-embedded cultures, contexts, and languages. The volume is well researched, well organized, and clearly written, an excellent text for seminary or college level courses on biblical interpretation.”

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“Here is the answer for the student who wants the results of sound scholarship in the field of hermeneutics without having to negotiate all the philosophical debates that have so come to dominate the subject. For the theological student (and the serious Bible reader) Kostenberger and Patterson have assembled a logically organized, comprehensive yet uncomplicated, guide to interpreting the Bible. This book not only provides an excellent basic course in hermeneutics, but it will serve students and those who preach and teach the Bible as an invaluable and practical reference handbook.”

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“Laid out as a seminary class book, this is a thoroughly researched, up-to-the-minute didactic treatise on the method and disciplines—historical and canonical, literary and linguistic, theological and applicatory—of biblically valid biblical interpretation. It is a superb resource that deserves a place on every preacher’s shelf.”

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“This book distills a wealth of wisdom from two seasoned scholars whose expertise spans both Testaments. Chapters are up to date without succumbing to the trendy. There is attention to both the theory and practice of interpreting Scripture, obligatory given the title. But the novel element of this volume is at least twofold. (1) It unabashedly privileges Scripture as recording a history that produced literature which conveys theology of eternal redemptive importance. (2) It strikes a balance between these three elements in a readable and engrossing style. No book on this subject can do everything. But this one is without peer as a classroom resource supporting the triadic reading it calls for at a level that is neither brutally rudimentary nor unrealistically advanced. It will enhance the teaching of this subject and draw students into the excitement of navigating hermeneutical frontiers.”

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“This is indeed a warm invitation to interpret the Bible responsibly, passionately, and practically. Showing readers how to explore the context, literature, and theology of the biblical books, the authors provide a guide to all phases of interpretation. The work climaxes in particularly helpful instructions on how to move from study of the text to crafting of the sermon. Novices should not be put off by the size of the volume. Although comprehensive in scope and breadth, the style of writing and the practical helps at the end of each chapter ensure that the concepts conveyed will be readily grasped even by non-professionals. If students of Scripture are seeking a single volume to which they can turn for practical assistance in interpretation, this is the book to get. Thank you, Kregel Publishers, for making their work available to us.”

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“Invitation to Biblical Interpretation offers a thorough, scholarly, Scripture-honoring approach to biblical hermeneutics that lays the foundations for genuine expository preaching. Under its hermeneutical triad of the preaching text’s historical setting, literary dimensions, and theological message, the book provides a balanced approach even as it explores most of the topics discussed in contemporary biblical hermeneutics. It is well researched and documented and clearly written and illustrated. This student-friendly book is not only an excellent text for a seminary course in biblical hermeneutics but is equally useful for independent study. I highly recommend this book for all who desire to preach and teach the Word faithfully and accurately.”

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“In this triad dance of history, literature, and theology, as they move across the floor of biblical interpretation, Kostenberger and Patterson excel at sorting through and clearly presenting massive amounts of material across a wide spectrum of cognate disciplines. Written in a down-to-earth style, the book is as accessible as it is broad, as practical as it is informed on contemporary discussions of these difficult matters. From the particulars of Greek grammar and discourse analysis to helpful introductions on canon, biblical theology, and appropriate application, here one again and again finds a welcome orientation to the bread-and-butter concepts, sound practices, and tools needed for handling the biblical text responsibly and the spiritual posture for approaching it reverently. I am impressed and looking forward to putting this book in the hands of my students, who will find here a rich, expansive resource from which to draw guidance for years to come.”

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“Kostenberger’s Invitation to Biblical Interpretation is just that, a rich invitation to engage Scripture as God’s Word, making appropriate use of all available tools. His triadic approach is fresh and helpfully non-reductive. This work is wide-ranging and in touch with contemporary scholarly trends while written and produced in a thoroughly accessible way for student, pastor, and professor. Highly recommended.”

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“Don’t be misled by the title; this is no typical hermeneutics primer. Here, in considerable detail, covering both introductory and more advanced topics, and interacting with the most current and classic scholarship, is a one-stop shopping resource for the entire exegetical process for the most capable seminary students, pastors, and teachers. Particularly distinctive and/or helpful are the discussions of Old Testament chronology, interpreting Revelation, discourse analysis, grammatical fallacies, biblical theology, and homiletical method. Warmly recommended.”

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“A major task—perhaps the major task—of hermeneutics is to clarify the meaning of texts. This work by Kostenberger and Patterson not only succeeds brilliantly in elucidating the fundamental principles and processes of biblical hermeneutics but itself is a model of how a book ought to be written. Its conception, organization, systematic development, and applications—all work together to make this the finest contribution of its kind to biblical scholarship. There is no stodginess or impenetrable academese here. Layman and scholar alike will find it to be a virtual treasure house of sane and sensible hermeneutical practice.”

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“This book on biblical interpretation combines training in exegesis with a basic knowledge of hermeneutics. It urges careful consideration of historical, literary, and theological issues. Thus, historically, it includes helpful chronological charts, and much on cultural history. Its literary focus includes canon, genre, and language. Its theological dimension includes application. Genre is crucial: thus narrative, poetry and wisdom are distinguished in the Old Testament; and parable, epistles, and apocalyptic, in the New. Why responsible interpretation requires toil and labor receives careful explanation. This book contains plenty of common sense, sanity, and love of Scripture. I commend it especially to students, teachers, and even pastors, as helping all of us to use the Bible responsibly and fruitfully.”

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“This introduction to hermeneutics is outstanding in several ways: It takes full account of the unique divine authorship of the Bible; it is clear, readable, and doctrinally sound; it attends to the spiritual state of the interpreter; it provides detailed guidance for understanding the historical background, literary and linguistic features, and theological significance of each text; it is coauthored by an Old Testament and a New Testament professor; and it insists that right interpretation must end in application to life. It is an excellent book that will be widely used as a standard textbook for years to come.”

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“I am truly impressed. This introduction to hermeneutics covers all the bases, and I mean all of them. Read this book and you will be well prepared for the task of serious interpretation.”

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“Andreas Kostenberger and Richard Patterson, two brilliant and experienced interpreters of Holy Scripture, have produced a first-rate volume on biblical hermeneutics. Distinctive in its approach, with a focus on the hermeneutical triad, this monumental publication is encyclopedic in its thoroughness, masterful in its organizational design, and skillful in its pedagogical emphasis. The clear discussions in each chapter, followed by helpful and informative bibliographies, will make this book a rich resource for students, scholars, and pastors for years to come. I am truly excited about the publication of Invitation to Biblical Interpretation.”

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“Invitation to Biblical Interpretation is destined to become the standard textbook for colleges and seminaries for the foreseeable future. It is simply the best work available in the field of biblical hermeneutics. It is comprehensive in its breadth and in depth at all the right places. And it is well written! I will be certain to make it my anchor text as I teach biblical hermeneutics.”

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“There are certain topics of must-reading for serious Bible students—hermeneutics is at the top. There are certain books of must-reading for a topic—Andreas Kostenberger’s work on hermeneutics is one of them. It is clear, concise, and yet deep, and manages to cover most of the needed areas. Thus it becomes an invaluable guide for the student working through the labyrinth of issues that make up the task of biblical interpretation. It will enable the reader to bridge the gap from understanding biblical portions in their original cultural context and from showing their relevance to a modern audience. I recommend it very highly.”

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“I am filled with admiration. I learned much from this vigorous book. It is a work of great clarity that summarizes the best principles of general hermeneutics with the best principles of biblical interpretation. Professor Kostenberger’s and Patterson’s students are lucky to have such a trenchant and learned guide—and so are the readers of this fine book.”

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“The great merit of Kostenberger’s and Patterson’s volume is its three-dimension account of biblical interpretation. The authors rightly focus on the history, literature, and theology of the Bible—what they call the hermeneutical triad. Call it hermeneutics in real 3-D. A three-stranded hermeneutical cord may not be easily broken, but it’s easy to grasp by following this introductory textbook. Another merit is the authors’ reminder that biblical interpretation is not only about method but about virtue: a heart-felt humility before the divine text is as important as any heady procedure.”

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