Participatory Biblical Exegesis

A Theology of Biblical Interpretation

Matthew Levering

• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Year: 2008
• Print ISBN: 9780268034085, 9780268034061
• eBook ISBN: 9780268085711
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Biblical Criticism & Interpretation

The interpretation of Scripture has depended largely on the view of history held by theologians and exegetes. In Participatory Biblical Exegesis, Matthew Levering examines the changing views of history that distinguish patristic and medieval biblical exegesis from modern historical-critical exegesis.

Levering argues for a delicate interpretive balance, in which history is understood both as a process that participates in God's creative and redemptive presence and as a set of linear moments. He identifies a split between theological and historical interpretations of scripture beginning in the high Middle Ages, considerably earlier than the emergence of historical-critical methods in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Instead, he offers a vision of Scripture that is rooted in the exegetical practice of St. Thomas Aquinas and his sources but embraces historical-critical research as well.

Participatory Biblical Exegesis provides an original theological basis for critical exegesis. It integrates the work of contemporary exegetes, philosophers, theologians, and historians to provide a compelling vision of biblical interpretation.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half title
• Series page
• Title page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• One: Late-Medieval Nominalism and Participatory Biblical Exegesis
• Two: From Aquinas to Raymond Brown
• Three: Participatory Biblical Exegesis and God the Teacher
• Four: Participatory Biblical Exegesis and Human Teachers
• Five: Participatory Biblical Exegesis and Ecclesial Authority
• Conclusion
• Notes
• Works Cited
• Index