Early Biblical Interpretation

In this two-part study James L. Kugel discusses "Early Interpretation: The Common Background of Late Forms of Biblical Exegesis" and Rowan A. Greer presents "The Christian Bible and Its Interpretation." The result of this collaborative effort is a clear and readable introduction to the study of biblical exegesis in late antiquity. This book will enable readers to understand the historical forces that shaped early attitudes toward Scripture within the biblical period itself, and to recognize some of the characteristic forms adopted by early exegetes. Moreover, it will provide an understanding of how Christians inherited not only earlier writings from the Jewish Bible but some of the attitudes and exegetical methods that accompanied them and that did so much to determine the place and use of Scripture in early Christianity. -- From publisher's description.