The Hermeneutics of the Biblical Writers: Learning to Interpret Scripture from the Prophets and Apostles

I highly recommend this book. It presents the Word of God as a whole unit, assembled under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, by men who understood the hermeneutic structure and authorial intent of those who had proceeded them. Abner Chou does a great job of showing how the NT writers understood and interpreted the Scriptures that they had at their disposal, and how all of the Scriptures work together.The study of the NT writers' use and quotations form the OT, has always fascinated me, and been one of my favorite topics in study. What I had somehow missed was just how many quotations from earlier Scripture passages are found in the OT as well.Not only is this book well written, but I believe it has a bearing on how we should all view how we study the Word of God.

Phenomenal book. Chou’s tying together of the Old and New Testaments showing that the prophets and apostles knew more than we give them credit for is eye-opening. This is a must have book for any discussion on biblical hermeneutics. We need to have a hermeneutic of surrender and one that listens to the author’s intent. We need to not only defend a text of Scripture, but also love it for what it teaches us.One downside of the book however would be the lack of a Scripture index in the back to aid in looking up referenced passages because there are quite a few! Doesn’t take away from the quality of the content however.

Not only an outstanding book on hermeneutics, but even more one of the best books I've read in recent years. The reinforcement of the literal grammatical historical stance on hermeneutics is profound and the detailed examples on how the prophets and apostles use of Scripture intertextually was both encouraging and motivational to not stray from this method. There are some who would tell us that this method of hermeneutics is antiquated and inadequate for the 21st Century. Chou's book thoroughly debunks such post modern nonsense. Many thanks to Abner Chou!

Dr. Chow explains the practical implications of a proper Biblical Hermeneutics by the Christian. This is a very Scholarly work that points to the direction of how we can and should understand biblical texts. The author gives many examples from the Bible to construct his thesis and is very successful in explaining them. Great lessons for even a lay man to pursue in his biblical study. Essential work to learn how to 'connect the dots' of biblical study. Great book.

I think this book has been helpful in seeing how God inspired the theologians of Scripture who wrote it to maintain continuity. The only critique I would give is would be a bullet point and reference edition for the concepts and arguments put forth in the book.

Really well written and very thorough unfortunately you have to have college level English understanding to interpret most of what said are use a dictionary side-by-side to help

I greatly enjoy getting to read extra books for the blog. One of my favorite publishers is Kregel Academic and Ministry, because they seem to have a standard of taking the text seriously in all their publications. The authors may not always be in line with my opinions, but they are serious about the work. That is what keeps me striving to keep up with the free ones Kregel Academic sends, so they can send more. Today’s book was provided by them, and features a scholar I’ve been reading bits of for some time now.HBWChoucoverAbner Chou’s The Hermeneutics of the Biblical Writers attempts to understand how the writers of Scripture, specifically the Prophets of the Old Testament and the Apostles of the New, understood the parts of Scripture which they read. For example, how does Isaiah interpret the Pentateuch? How does Peter interpret the Psalms of David, or the author of Hebrews (Luke, per David Allen, see Lukan Authorship of Hebrews) involve the narratives of the Books of the Kings?It is important, is it not, to consider that question? We can spend hours upon hours of study and reach our own conclusions, but is it not valuable to consider this question? I know that I have, at times, read Matthew’s application of prophecy in the Gospels and wondered where it came from.Now, a simplistic response would be to say that the Apostles and Prophets were inspired, so they didn’t have a hermeneutic, or method of Bible understanding, at all. But that’s making the answer more of a spiritual problem, as if God was not working through people in the writing.Chou’s work is definitely more of an advanced studies work than an introduction to hermeneutics. He delves into debates about intertextuality and raises scholarly divisions like the difference between a “redemptive movement hermeneutic” and a “hermeneutic sensitive to redemptive history.” In all, you’ll want to have your academic mind ready.The example given of tracking “seed” from Genesis on to the Messiah is a useful tool. Chou shows how one word gets used, reused, and how the meaning gets integrated into other texts.In all, I like this work. Chou’s writing style is dense, and at times a bit of a challenge to follow, because he does tend to circle back onto points. But it’s not impenetrable. Just a bit challenging late at night!Do I recommend this for everyone? Not really. This is an academic study, not a casual read. Still, if you want to start into the debate about hermeneutics and intertextuality, both the work and the included bibliography will make a great start.

𝐓𝐋;𝐃𝐑:I recommend 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 to all people interested in theology for various reasons, Dispensational, Covenant Theologian, NCT, or even an unbeliever —but only if you have the audacity to hear what Chou is communicating. Because he is probably communicating more than you realize. Chou's locution and elocution deliver a complex message; the perlocution rests on your readiness to understand it deeply.———𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐑𝐄𝐕𝐈𝐄𝐖If you’re a Dispensationalist and think reading this book will offer lots of “gotcha!” statements to use against Covenant Theologian friends, you’re unlikely to grasp what Chou accomplishes with this work.If you’re a Covenant Theology adherent searching for a “fatal flaw” in Chou’s Dispensational camp, you’re unlikely to learn from this work. (Which is a pity as Chou even fondly quotes and affirms certain ideas from theologians on the CT side, like Beale.)As the title of this review exhorts:𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐥𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬.If you are “on Chou’s side” (to oversimplify), understand the tool he’s providing. Don’t consider 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 as a bunch of quotes to shotgun blast CT friends with on social media. If that’s your ambition, you’re unlikely (or unwilling!) to grasp the teachings presented. He’s teaching you, by example, about:— understanding how NT authors used OT texts;— proper, exegetical use of intertextuality;— understanding the logic and flow of Scripture;— that “unhitching the OT from the NT” is not just disastrous, but a wickedly criminal offense against God’s Word and believers;— how to draw biblical applications from true implications of the text;— and much more!𝐃𝐨𝐧’𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 ?If you are not “on Chou’s side” (again, oversimplification), understand the polemics 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘶𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘞𝘳𝘪𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 delivers. Don’t cherry-pick out-of-context quotes to make the author say something he doesn’t intend. Chou wants you to learn how to avoid doing precisely that with Scripture, whether accidentally or intentionally! Hear the author out on the author’s terms. Respect authorial intent and learn —even if you still ultimately disagree.And if you are not a Christian, or reckon yourself to be a critic of “evangelicalism” (whatever means these days), 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙗𝙤𝙤𝙠. If you seek to critique or charge Christian communities with errors, don’t foolishly choose only “low-hanging fruit.” Instead, read this book and seek to understand good, better, arguments and attack those. Only fools inspect fruit from the lowest branches, where small children play, and think of themselves as pomologists.

Excelente livro para os que buscam aprender a interpretar a Bíblia Sagrada. Leitura recomendada para os que amam a Deus e os estudiosos da Palavra.

This is a great book but has a higher level of reading. I am not reading nearly as fast as I normally read. I do enjoy the content and think this is a critical issue for Christians to understand. How you interpret Scripture shapes all your theological positions.

I seriously doubt if Moses and the prophets knew there was a second person of the Trinity. He is reading the creeds into them.