CONTENTS

Abbreviations

Introduction

THE ORIGINS OF THE BIBLE

The Biblical Canon

The Formation of the Old Testament Canon

(a) The crisis of the Exile

(b) The growth of the canon

(c) Canonical and deuterocanonical books

The Formation of the New Testament Canon

(a) The Old Testament as Christian Scripture

(b) Stages in the development of a canon

Texts and Translations

(a) The transmission of the biblical text

(b) Ancient translations

(c) Modern translations

(d) Division into chapters and verses

THE INTERPRETATION OF THE BIBLE

The Task of Interpretation

Patristic and Medieval Interpretation (ca. 200–1500)

Principles of Patristic and Medieval Interpretation

(a) Old and New Testaments

(b) Bible and church

(c) Sacred and secular knowledge

Patristic and Medieval Exegesis

(a) The regula fidei (rule of faith)

(b) The spiritual sense of Scripture

(c) The four senses of Scripture

Reformation and Counter-Reformation (ca. 1500–1650)

The Bible and the Church

(a) The Bible interprets itself

(b) The Bible authenticates itself

(c) The Bible has a single meaning

The Catholic Response

The Bible in the Modern Era (ca. 1650–today)

The Development of Historical Criticism

The Reception of Historical Criticism

(a) The Protestant Churches

(b) The Catholic Church

Postmodern Biblical Interpretation

The Indeterminacy of Meaning

(a) Part and whole

(b) The historical context

(c) The “intentional fallacy”

(d) Text and reader

(e) A hermeneutics of suspicion

Conclusions

Review Aids and Discussion Topics

Maps