Journal of Theological Interpretation

Eisenbrauns has announced the publication of a new journal entitled Journal of Theological Interpretation. In the opening essay, Joel Green (one of the editors) notes:

The horizons of contemporary theological study evidence a widespread dissatisfaction with the status quo of academic biblical studies. As important as historical investigation and linguistic inquiry are for critical biblical study, they do not exhaust the subject matter of the Bible or the ways in which the biblical materials might be engaged critically or the role of Scripture among God’s people.

In light of this, Green lists a series of challenging questions for theological interpretation:

• What is the status of the theological tradition, including the tradition of biblical interpretation, in theological interpretation today?
• What is the role of history and historical criticism in theological interpretation?
• What is the status and role of the OT in the two-testament canonical Scriptures?
• What is the place of exegesis in theological method?
• What is the nature of the “unity” of Scripture?
• What is the role of the canon in theological interpretation?
• Does theological interpretation extract theological claims or principles from the Bible?

The articles in the issue are as follows:

• "Reading the Bible with Eyes of Faith: The Practice of Theological Exegesis" (Richard B. Hays)
• "Texts in Context: Scripture and the Divine Economy" (Murray Rae)
• "Mission, Hermeneutics, and the Local Church" (Michael A. Rynkiewich)
• "Trust and the Spirit: The Canon's Anticipated Unity" (Christine Helmer)
• "Christ in All the Scriptures? The Challenge of Reading the Old Testament as Christian Scripture" (R.W.L. Moberly)
• "Interpretation on the Way to Emmaus: Jesus Performs His Story" (D. Brent Laytham)
• "A 'Seamless Garment' Approach to Biblical Interpretation?" (Michael J. Gorman)

Although I have not read through the entire journal, the proposed scope of this journal, combined with its outstanding editorial board, suggests this journal will quickly become a forum for the important discussion of the relationship between historical-critical study of Scripture and theology. Particularly noteworthy are the twelve identifying marks of theological exegesis that Hays proposes in his essay. That will be the subject of a future post.

The journal will be issued twice a year, and subscriptions are $30. For more information, check out information page for the Journal of Theological Interpretation at the Eisenbrauns website.

UPDATE: I forgot to mention that you can download a pdf version of Joel Green's introduction to the journal and the article by Murray Rae; simply click on the link for information above, and on the right side of the page you will see a link for the sample issue.