Bibliography of Biblical Hermeneutics

0swald T. Allis, Prophecy and the Church. Grand Rapids: Baker,

1969. "The primary aim [of the book] has been to show that
Dispensationalism has its source in a faulty and unscriptural
literalism which, in the important field of prophecy, ignores the
typical and preparatory character of the Old Testament
dispensation."
Joseph Angus, The Bible Hand-Book. An Introduction to the Study
of Sacred Scripture. London, 1853. A conservative introduction
containing much advice on interpretation, by an English Baptist.
Gleason L. Archer and G. C. Chirichigno, Old Testament Quotations
in the New Testament: A Complete Survey. Chicago: Moody
Press, 1983. An excellent resource for detailed study of how the
New Testament writers cited and interpreted the Old
Testament.
Augustine, Teaching Christianity [De Doctrina Christiana].
Translated by Edmund Hill, in The Works of Saint Augustine: A
Translation for the 21st Century. Part I, Vol. 11, edited by John
E, Rotelle. Hyde Park, New York: New City Press, 1996.
Glenn W. Barker, William L. Lane, and J. Ramsey Michaels, The
New Testament Speaks. New York: Harper & Row, 1969. A good
college-level introduction to the New Testament written by
conservative scholars. The authors focus on providing students
with an adequate framework for the understanding of the New
Testament books in their historical context.
James Barr, The Semantics of Biblical Language. London: Oxford
University Press, 1961. Barr critiques unsound linguistic
principles of the neo-orthodox "Biblical theology" school, which
during the 1950's tried to reinterpret many biblical words
according to the supposed characteristics of "Semitic thinking."
Louis Berkhof, Principles of Biblical Interpretation. Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House, 1950. A reliable and sober introduction, from
a conservative Reformed perspective.
Henri Blocher, "The Analogy of Faith in the Study of Scripture,"
in The Challenge of Evangelical Theology (Edinburgh:
Rutherford House, 1987). Commends the "presupposition of
Scriptural coherence," according to which any given passage
must be understood in the light of the whole of Scripture.

Gerald Bray, Biblical Interpretation Past and Present. Downers

Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity Press, 1996. 608 pages. A detailed
survey of the history of biblical interpretation, with some
criticism, from an evangelical perspective.
Gerald L. Bruns, Hermeneutics Ancient and Modern. Yale Studies in
Hermeneutics. New Haven and London: Yale University Press,
1992.
George Bradford Caird, The Language and Imagery of the Bible.
Philadelphia: Westminster, 1980. Reprinted Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1997. Caird, a Professor of Exegesis at Oxford
Univerity, writes from a moderately liberal perspective, but
much of his book is nevertheless worthwhile. A readable and
interesting study of the interpretation of metaphorical language
in the Bible.
Donald A. Carson, Exegetical Fallacies. Grand Rapids: Baker Book
House, 1984. Discusses many grammatical, logical, and
historical fallacies.
Donald A. Carson and H.G.M. Williamson, eds. It Is Written:
Scripture Citing Scripture. Essays in Honour of Barnabas
Lindars. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988.
Bruce Corley, Steve Lemke, and Grant Lovejoy, eds. Biblical
Hermeneutics: A Comprehensive Introduction to Interpreting
Scripture. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1996. 2nd ed.
2002. An intermediate level anthology including contributions
from 27 conservative Baptist scholars. Extensive but
unannotated bibliographies are provided for most chapters.
Peter Cotterell and Max Turner, Linguistics & Biblical
Interpretation. London: SPCK, 1989.
Mal Couch (editor), An Introduction to Classical Evangelical
Hermeneutics: A Guide to the History and Practice of Bible
Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Kregel, 2000. 371 pages. A
collection of essays, some previously published, all from a
dispensationalist perspective. Focuses on eschatology and the
church's relation to Israel.
Frederick W. Danker, Multipurpose Tools for Bible Study. Saint
Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1960. 2nd ed. 1966. 3rd ed.
1970. For seminary-level students. Includes some very helpful
chapters on the use of concordances, the marginal apparatus of
the Nestle and Kittel editions, grammars, lexicons, dictionaries,
ancient and modern versions, commentaries, etc.

R. M. Davidson, Typological Structures in the Old and New

Testaments. Berrien Springs: Andrews University, 1981.
David S. Dockery, Kenneth A. Mathews, and Robert B. Sloan,
eds. Foundations for Biblical Interpretation: A Complete
Library of Tools and Resources. Nashville: Broadman and
Holman, 1994.
Elmer Dyck (editor), The Act of Bible Reading: A Multidisciplinary
Approach to Biblical Interpretation. Downers Grove, Illinois:
InterVarsity Press, 1996. Contributions by Gordon D. Fee, Craig
M. Gay, James Houston, and J. I. Packer.
E. Earle Ellis, The Old Testament in Early Christianity: Canon and
Interpretation in the Light of Modern Research. Grand Rapids:
Baker, 1992. A good evangelical survey of the apostles' use of
the Old Testament.
E. Earle Ellis, Paul's Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids: Baker
Book House, 1957. Reprinted 1981. A detailed study of Paul's
quotations and allusions to the Old Testament. Ellis compares
and contrasts Paul's method of interpretation with the
uninspired midrash of the Rabbis.
E. Earle Ellis, Prophecy and Hermeneutic in Early Christianity.
Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1978. 2d ed., 1993.
Millard J. Erickson, Evangelical Interpretation: Perspectives on
Hermeneutical Issues. Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1993.
For advanced students, dealing with special issues and
problems. The most interesting and important chapter concerns
the principle of "authorial intent." Erickson doubts that this
principle can always be upheld in reference to the Old
Testament, in light of the typological exegesis practiced in the
New Testament.
Patrick Fairbairn, The Typology of Scripture: Viewed in Connection
with the Whole Series of the Divine Dispensations. 5th ed.
Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1870. 2 vols. Reprinted Grand Rapids:
Kregel Publications, 1989. A major treatise on typological
interpretation. "It is high time that in the midst of controversies
in which all kinds of accusations are levelled against the use of
the Old Testament by New Testament authors the painstaking
work of Patrick Fairbairn and his monumental scholarship be
once again taken into consideration" --R. Nicole, "Patrick
Fairbairn and Biblical Hermeneutics as Related to the
Quotations of the Old Testament in the New," in Hermeneutics,
Inerrancy, and the Bible, ed. Radmacher and Preus (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), p. 774.

Patrick Fairbairn, Hermeneutical Manual: or, Introduction to the

Exegetical Study of the Scriptures of the New Testament.
Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1858.
Frederic W. Farrar, History of Interpretation. London: Macmillan
Co., 1886.
Gordon D. Fee, New Testament exegesis: a handbook for students
and pastors. Louisville, Kentucky: Westminster/John Knox
Press, 1993. A guide for New Testament historical-critical
exegesis written for students who know Greek, but with much
of the guide accessible to students without knowledge of
Greek. The guide describes steps of exegesis with the goal of
writing an exegesis paper and also gives a shorter series of steps
for sermon preparation. The use of resources for the study of
the NT is included in the description of the steps, with a final
chapter giving a bibliography of resources organized according
to the exegetical step in which the resource would be used.
(Introduction)
Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart, How to Read the Bible for All
Its Worth: A Guide to Understanding the Bible. 2nd ed. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1993. 265 pages. A popular introduction to
interpretation and application. Discusses pitfalls of
interpretation, the need for use of "dynamic equivalence"
versions (such as the NIV), and the manner of interpretation
proper for various literary genres in the Bible. Some examples
given of application and misapplication are rather tendentious,
reflecting the Arminian and Pentecostal views of the authors.
Northrop Frye, The Great Code: the Bible and Literature. New York
and London: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982. A influential
literary analysis of the Bible which emphasizes the importance
of typology and typological thinking in its interpretation.
Northrop Frye, Words With Power: Being a Second Study of "The
Bible and Literature." New York: Harcourt, Brace and
Jovanovitch, 1990. Written as a sequel to his earlier book, The
Great Code (1982).
Norman L. Geisler, Explaining Hermeneutics: A Commentary on the
Chicago Statement on Biblical Hermeneutics. Oakland,
California: International Council on Biblical Inerrancy, 1983.
Leonhard Goppelt, Typos: the Typological Interpretation of the Old
Testament in the New. Translated by Donald H. Madvig;
foreword by E. Earle Ellis. Grand Rapids: W.B. Eerdmans, 1982.
ISBN: 0802835627. Originally presented as the author's doctoral

thesis, "Typos, die typologische Deutung des Alten Testaments

im Neuen" (Erlangen, 1939).
Robert M. Grant, The Bible in the Church: A Short History of
Interpretation. New York: MacMillan, 1948. Reprinted as A
Short History of the Interpretation of the Bible.London: Adam
and Charles Black, 1963.
Robert M. Grant, Heresy and Criticism: The Search for Authenticity
in Early Christian Literature. Louisville, Kentucky:
Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993.
John H. Hayes and Carl R. Holladay, Biblical Exegesis: a Beginner's
Handbook. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1987. An introduction to
the different types of historical-critical methods used in the
study of the Old and New Testaments.
E.D. Hirsch Jr., Validity in Interpretation. New Haven: Yale
University Press, 1967. An introduction to general hermeneutics
(principles that apply to the interpretation of any work of
literature) as distinguished from the "special" hermeneutics of
Biblical studies. Hirsch is a literary critic and his book does not
focus on the Bible, but it is often referred to in the literature of
biblical hermeneutics. He emphasizes the principle of authorial
intent.
Anthony A. Hoekema, The Bible and the Future. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1979. A critique of millennial views written from the
perspective of Calvinistic amillennialism.
Benjamin Jowett, "On the Interpretation of Scripture," in Essays
and Reviews (London, 1860), reprinted in Essays and Reviews:
The 1860 Text and Its Reading, edited by Victor Shea and
William Whitla. Victorian Literature and Culture Series.
Charlottesville: University Press of Virginia, 2000. ISBN 0-81391869-3. A classic statement of liberal hermeneutics.
Elliott E. Johnson, Expository Hermeneutics: An Introduction.
Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990. Johnson was for years a
professor at Dallas Theological seminary, and his introduction is
intended for seminary students. The orientation is conservative
and dispensationalist.
Ron Julian, David Crabtree and Jack Crabtree, The Language of
God: A Common Sense Approach to Understanding and Applying
the Bible. Colorado Springs: NavPress, 2001. 272 pages. A book
for beginners, from an evangelical perspective.
Walter C. Kaiser, Toward an Exegetical Theology: Biblical Exegesis
for Preaching and Teaching. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981.

Walter C. Kaiser and Moiss Silva, An Introduction to Biblical

Hermeneutics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1994. 302 pages. ISBN:
0310530903. Intended as an introductory textbook for
evangelicals. The treatment is unsystematic and sometimes
more interesting than informative. The two authors openly
disagree with one another on some important points. Especially
worthy of note is Silva's chapter 14: "The Case for Calvinistic
Hermeneutics." In opposition to the theologically "neutral"
inductive approach he contends that "proper exegesis should be
informed by theological reflection. To put it in the most
shocking way possible: my theological system should tell me
how to exegete" (p. 261).
Walter C. Kaiser, The Uses of the Old Testament in the New.
Chicago: Moody Press, 1985. ISBN: 0802490859.
Benjamin Keach and Thomas De Laune, Tropologia, or, A key to
open Scripture metaphors. The first book containing sacred
philology, or the tropes in Scripture, reduc'd under their
proper heads, with a brief explication of each; partly
translated, and partly compil'd from the works of the learned.
By T. D. The second and third books containing a practical
improvement (parallel-wise) of several of the most frequent
and useful metaphors, allegories, and express similitudes of
the Old and New Testament. By B. K.London: printed by John
Richardson and John Darby for Enoch Prosser, 1681. Reprinted
London, 1855, and in 1972 as Preaching from the Types and
Metaphors of the Bible(Grand Rapids: Kregel). A massive
treatise on rhetorical figures, metaphors and typology of the
Bible (over a thousand pages of compact type). Keach (16401704) was a notable Baptist preacher in his day, and his analysis
of metaphors and types is not only informative but also warmly
devotional.
Ernest F. Kevan, "The Principles of Interpretation," in Revelation
and the Bible: Contemporary Evangelical Thought, ed. by Carl
F.H. Henry (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1958), pp. 283-98.
William W. Klein, Craig Blomberg, and Robert L.
Hubbard, Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Dallas: Word
Publishing, 1993. A comprehensive and well-organized
introduction, intended for evangelicals. Its "evangelical"
character is however open to question, and it cannot be
described as conservative. Redaction criticism is embraced (p.
330), liberation theology receives partial approval, and several
illustrations and examples of application reveal a sympathy
with liberal political causes. The authors often seem to be more

interested in problems and possibilities of application than in

interpretation proper.
Ronald W. Leigh, Direct Bible Discovery: A Practical Guidebook for
Personal Bible Study. Nashville: Broadman, 1982. 256 pages. A
guide to "do-it-yourself" inductive interpretation.
V. Philips Long, Tremper Longman III, Moises Silva, and Vern
Sheridan Poythress. Foundations of Contemporary
Interpretation. Six volumes in one. Grand Rapids: Zondervan,
1996. 668 pages. ISBN: 0310208289. An intermediate level
discussion of the impact that several fields (linguistics, literary
studies, science, and theology) have had upon contemporary
hermeneutics.
Tremper Longman, III. Literary Approaches to Biblical
Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987. 164 pages.
Surveys the literary nature of the Bible and introduces the
reader to the research that is being carried out on the Bible by
literary scholars. Emphasizes the need to make literary
interpretation part of exegesis.
Bertrand de Margerie, An Introduction to the History of Exegesis. 3
vols. Massachusetts: St. Bede's, 1998.
Robertson McQuilkin, Understanding and Applying the Bible.
Revised ed. Chicago: Moody Press, 1992. A simple and practical
book for beginning Bible students.
Dan McCartney and Charles Clayton, Let the Reader Understand: A
Guide to Interpreting and Applying the Bible. Grand Rapids:
Baker Book House, 1994. ISBN: 0801021278. Second edition,
2002 (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed
Publishing Co.) ISBN: 0875525164. A clearly written and helpful
introduction.
A. Berkeley Mickelsen, Interpreting the Bible. Grand Rapids:
Eerdmans, 1963. 425 pages. A comprehensive presentation of
hermeneutics, widely used as a standard text in conservative
schools. After his retirement from Bethel Seminary, Mickelsen
co-authored with his wife Alvera an article which put forth an
absurd feminist interpretation of the word Kephale ("head") in
Ephesians 5 ("The 'Head' of the Epistles," Christianity
Today February 20, 1981, pp 20-23), but there seems to be no
evidence of such a desire to distort the meaning of the
Scriptures in his 1963 book. Like Bernard Ramm (also at Bethel),
he appears to have fallen into liberal views later.

Robert Morgan and John Barton, Biblical Interpretation. Oxford:

Oxford University Press, 1988. A liberal treatment.
Roger Nicole, "New Testament Use of the Old Testament,"
in Revelation and the Bible: Contemporary Evangelical
Thought, ed. by Carl F.H. Henry (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1958),
pp. 135-51.
Grant R. Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive
Introduction to Biblical Interpretation. Downers Grove, Illinois:
InterVarsity Press, 1991. 499 pages. A seminary-level treatment
of hermeneutics, sermon preparation, and current critical
issues. Proceeds from questionable (sometimes modernistic)
assumptions.
James I. Packer, "In Quest of Canonical Interpretation" in Robert K.
Johnston, ed., The Use of the Bible in Theology: Evangelical
Options. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1985.
James I. Packer, "Infallible Scripture and the Role of
Hermeneutics," in Scripture and Truth, ed. by D.A. Carson and
J.D. Woodbridge. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.
Earl D. Radmacher and Robert D. Preus, eds. Hermeneutics,
Inerrancy and the Bible. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984. 921
pages. A collection of 48 papers presented at the 1982
International Council on Biblical Inerrancy conference in
Chicago. Four appendices: the Chicago Statement on Biblical
Hermeneutics, Norman Geisler's brief "Commentary" on the
statement, J. I. Packer's "Exposition of Biblical Hermeneutics,"
and Carl Henry's "The Bible and the Conscience of Our Age."
Bernard Ramm, Protestant Biblical Interpretation: A Textbook of
Hermeneutics for Conservative Protestants. Chicago: Moody
Press, 1953. 2nd ed. 1957. 3rd ed. Grand Rapids: Baker Book
House, 1970. The first two editions served as the primary
textbook in many conservative seminaries during the 1950's and
60's. In the third edition the words for Conservative
Protestants were dropped from the title. Ramm moved
gradually away from conservative principles.
D. Brent Sandy and Ronald L. Giese, Jr., Cracking Old Testament
Codes: A Guide to Interpreting the Literary Genres of the Old
Testament. Nashville: Broadman and Holman, 1995.
Samuel J. Schultz and Morris A. Inch, eds., Interpreting the Word
of God. Chicago: Moody Press, 1976.
Moiss Silva, Biblical Words and Their Meaning: An Introduction to
Lexical Semantics. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1983.

Moiss Silva, God, Language, and Scripture: Reading the Bible in

the light of general linguistics. Foundations of Contemporary
Interpretation 4. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990.
Moiss Silva, Has the Church Misread the Bible? The history of
interpretation in the light of current issues. Foundations of
Contemporary Interpretation 1. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1987.
R. C. Sproul, Knowing Scripture. Downers Grove, Illinois:
InterVarsity Press, 1977. 125 pages. An easy-to-read and
practical guide for Bible interpretation, from a Reformed
perspective.
T. Norton Sterrett, How to Understand Your Bible. Rev. Ed. Downers
Grove, Illinois: InterVarsity, 1974. 179 pages.
Alan M. Stibbs, Understanding God's Word. Downers Grove, Illinois:
InterVarsity, 1950. 64 pages. Although very short, this book has
some valuable insights and principles for interpreting the Bible.
Douglas K. Stuart, Old Testament Exegesis: a Primer for Students
and Pastors. 2nd ed., revised and enlarged. Philadelphia:
Westminster Press, 1984. A step-by-step guide to OT exegesis
with an emphasis on the goal of preaching and teaching in the
context of the church. Chapter one presents the methods used
in exegesis, chapter two applies the steps to biblical texts,
chapter three gives a short step-by-step guide for sermon
preparation, and chapter four lists and discusses resources,
primarily works published in English. (Preface)
Merrill C. Tenney, The Bible: The Living Word of Revelation. Grand
Rapids: Zondervan, 1968.
Merrill C. Tenney, Galatians: The Charter of Christian
Liberty. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1950. "A classic example of
the study of a Bible book from many different angles. Each
chapter explains and then applies a different method. (That is,
each chapter looks at a different aspect of the book of
Galatians.) The nine aspects examined are the synthetic
(overview), critical (background), biographical, historical,
theological, rhetorical, topical, analytical, and devotional
aspects. Each chapter adds significantly both to one's
understanding of the book of Galatians and to one's
appreciation of the value of that particular 'method' of Bible
study." --Ronald W. Leigh
Milton S. Terry, Biblical hermeneutics: A Treatise on the
Interpretation of the Old and New Testaments. New York:
Phillips & Hunt, 1883. second edition, 1890. Reprinted Grand

Rapids: Zondervan, 1974. 782 pages. A valuable comprehensive

treatment by an American Methodist, typical of the careful and
detailed scholarship of the nineteenth century. Includes a
history of biblical languages, doctrine of inspiration, general
and special hermeneutics, and a history of interpretation.
Abundant examples and illustrations are given throughout.
Robert A. Traina, Methodical Bible Study - A New Approach to
Hermeneutics. Wilmore, Kentucky: Robert Traina, 1952. A
detailed guide to inductive Bible study, by a conservative
Methodist.
Nigel Turner, Christian Words. Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1980.
Reprinted 1997. 532 pages. ISBN: 0567085643.
Henry A. Virkler, Hermeneutics: Principles and Processes of Biblical
Interpretation. Grand Rapids: Baker, 1981. 263 pages.
Robert W. Wall, "Reading the Bible from within Our Traditions: The
'Rule of Faith' in Theological Hermeneutics", in Joel B. Green
and Max Turner, eds., Between Two Horizons: Spanning New
Testament Studies and Systematic Theology, Grand Rapids,
Eerdmans, 2000.
Roy B. Zuck, Basic Bible Interpretation. Wheaton, IL: Victor Books,
1991. A simple and conservative introduction, by a Professor of
Bible Exposition at Dallas Theological Seminary.
Roy B. Zuck, ed. Rightly Divided: Readings in Biblical
Hermeneutics. Grand Rapids: Kregel Publishing, 1996.