New Testament Exegesis (3rd Edition) (Print)

Required textbook for the Biblical Interpretation course at www.sunsetonline.org

A favorite among ministers and Bible students, Dr. Gordon Fee's trusted handbook offers a clear, step-by-step process for interpreting the Greek text even if you only know English. This revised, indispensable manual provides seasoned guidance for accurate reading and practical help for sermon preparation. This work includes an extensive annotated bibliography explaining the best resources and an appendix directly addressing reader-response criticism. A must have for any scholarly library.

From the Author's Chapter One:
"The key to good exegesis is the ability to ask the right questions of the text in order to get at the author's intended meaning. Good exegetical questions fall into two basic categories: questions of content (what is said) and of context (why it is said).

"The contextual questions are of two kinds: historical and literary. Historical context has to do both with the general historical-sociological-cultural setting of a document (e.g., the city of Corinth, its geography, people, religions, social environment, economy) and with the specific occasion of the document (i.e., why it was written). Literary context has to do with why a given thing was said at a given point in the argument or narrative.

"The questions of content are basically of four kinds: textual criticism (the determination of the actual wording of the author), lexical data (the meaning of words), grammatical data (the relationship of words to one another), and historical-cultural background (the relationship of words and ideas to the background and culture of the author and his readers).

"Good exegesis, therefore, is the happy combination – or careful integration – of al these data into a readable presentation."

Table of Contents:

I. Guide for Full Exegesis

II. Exegesis and the Original Text

1. The Structural Analysis
2. Establishing the Text
3. The Analysis of Grammar
4. The Analysis of Words
5. Historical-Cultural Background
6. The Analysis of a Pericope

III. Short Guide for Sermon Exegesis

IV. Aids and Resources for the Steps in Exegesis