Reception History, Tradition and Biblical Interpretation

This study seeks to make a contribution to current debates about the nature of Wirkungsgeschichte or reception history and its place in contemporary Biblical Studies. The author addresses three crucial questions: the relationship between reception history and historical-critical exegesis; the form of reception history itself, with a focus on the issue of which acts of reception are selected and valorized; and the role of tradition, pre-judgements and theology in relation to reception history. Disagreements about these matters contribute to what many characterise as the fragmentation of the discipline of biblical studies.The study champions the hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer as a theoretical resource for understanding biblical interpretation, and a way of holding together with integrity the varied activities undertaken within the discipline. Each aspect of the argument is illustrated, tested and further explored with reference to the post-history of exhortations in the New Testament to ‘be subject’. These have been widely cited and applied for 2,000 years – in literature, law and politics as well as in theological traditions. In this way the study makes a contribution not just to the theory but also the practice of reception history.

A valuable, enlightening study … Many NT scholars will value this book, particularly for the study of reception of hupotassein. Those interested in hermeneutics will wish to pay special attention to Evans’ argument for the important place of historical criticism in Gadamer’s scheme., Robert Evans’ Reception History, Tradition and Biblical Interpretation is an important discussion partner in the hermeneutics of reception history and is not to be missed by anyone with an interest in hermeneutics, reception history, and methodological issues of New Testament study., Evans has provided us with an invaluable guide to the legacy of Hans-Georg Gadamer and Hans-Robert Jauss. This book will provoke anyone embarking on research in the reception of the Bible to reflect more carefully on their appropriation of the concept of Wirkungsgeschichte.

Robert Evans is Senior Lecturer in New Testament Theology at the University of Chester, UK.