Reception History and Biblical Studies Theory and Practice [Paperback]

How do we begin to carry out such a vast task-the examination of three millennia of diverse uses and influences of the biblical texts? Where can the interested scholar find information on methods and techniques applicable to the many and varied ways in which these have happened?

Through a series of examples of reception history practitioners at work and of their reflections this volume sets the agenda for biblical reception, as it begins to chart the near-infinite series of complex interpretive 'events' that have been generated by the journey of the biblical texts down through the centuries. The chapters consider aspects as diverse as political and economic factors, cultural location, the discipline of Biblical Studies, and the impact of scholarly preconceptions, upon reception history. Topics covered include biblical figures and concepts, contemporary music, paintings, children's Bibles, and interpreters as diverse as Calvin, Lenin, and Nick Cave.

Emma Englandis Guest Researcher at the University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Her publications include work in children's Bibles and comics.

William John Lyonsis Lecturer in New Testament in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Bristol, UK.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Explorations in the Reception of the Bible
Emma England and John Lyons
Reception History, Historical-Criticism, and Biblical Studies
Ch. 1. Biblical Studies on Holiday? A Personal View of Reception History.
Susan Gillingham, University of Oxford, UK
Ch. 2 What is reception history, and what happens to you if you do it?
James E. Harding,University of Otago, New Zealand
Ch. 3 The End of Reception History, a Grand Narrative for Biblical Studies andlĦ