Cracking Old Testament Codes (review)

Hebrew Studies 37 (1996) 145 Reviews workings of the stories themselves" (p. 5); the case of Genesis 38 proves that careful attention to the construction and meaning of Hebrew words is prerequisite to the grand quest for the meaning of the story. not to mention its deconstruction. Mention must be made of the extensive bibliography (45 pages). classified by topic and subdivided according to the biblical book being discussed. For Genesis. the articles and books are listed by the biblical chapters they treat. Some of the subject headings are: Introducing Literary Theory; Literature. Culture. Ideology; Biblical Interpretation; Bible. Culture. Ideology; Literary Criticism in the Hebrew Bible; Narrative in the Hebrew Bible. Isaac B. Gottlieb Bar-llan University Ramat Gan 52900 Israel CRACKING OLD TESTAMENT CODES. D. Brent Sandy and Ronald L. Giese. Jr.• eds. pp. 323. Nashville: Broadman. 1995. Paper. This is an excellent introduction and guide to interpreting the literary genres of the Old Testament. Not only does it address the need for such a work (it claims to be the first book to be devoted specifically to the literary forms of the Hebrew Scriptures). but it also does this in a very helpful and practical fashion. It is the intention and goal of the authors of this collection of fourteen essays to demonstrate how essential genre criticism is for interpreting the biblical text and to give practical guidelines and principles for the interpretive task. "Though this book is written by scholars. it is not written for scholars" (p. 2). Instead. the work is intended for a wider audience . to be an introduction and guide to pastors, students, and people in general. Consequently, the essays are written in a more popular. clear and simple style. for the most part avoiding or clarifying technical language (a glossary is provided) and giving many practical illustrations from the Bible and contemporary life. All the contributors to this volume are evangelical biblical scholars. and consequently the subject is approached from an evangelical Christian perspective . At the same time. the authors are not "narrow" in their approach. but fully interact with the mainstream of critical scholarship. Since it is written from this perspective. issues such as biblical authority, inspiration, Hebrew Studies 37 (1996) 146 Reviews inerrancy and truth are raised, and the importance of correct interpretation is stressed. However, the book is very useful and worthwhile for anyone interested in understanding the genres of the Old Testament, no matter what religious persuasion they mayor may not have. The book begins with three introductory essays about literary forms and their importance for interpretation, followed by ten essays elaborating on each type of genre, and then concluding with a final essay on how genre criticism can facilitate preaching and teaching. Generally, each essay on a specific genre is structured in the following way: first, defining the genre, demonstrating its function and how it can be identified, showing where it is found in the Bible and then comparing it with parallel literature in the Ancient Near East. This is followed by a list of guidelines of how to interpret the genre correctly, and then a demonstration of their application by an extended example from a biblical text. In conclusion, a list of recommended reading on the topic is given. The basic argument of the book is that understanding genre is essential for correct interpretation of the Bible. The authors emphasize that we use different genres every day in our communication with one another. "Everyone engages in genre criticism or classification, at some level. Audiences simply cannot help but classify communication" (p. 24). For example , when reading a newspaper, we distinguish between a news report, an advertisement or a comic strip. Since the Bible is written in many different genres, we must attempt to identify and understand them in order to interpret and apply the text appropriately. In the interpretive process, the exegete must be sensitive to three levels of written context: the immediate context of the word/verse, the middle level of context which is the literary form and finally the distant context of the whole biblical canon. It is argued that this middle level of context, the literary genre of a given passage, is often ignored...