Appearing in English for the first time, this classic introduction to the field of hermeneutics covers a wide range of approaches to biblical interpretation. Presenting a brief history of philosophical hermeneutics, Manfred Oeming uses a clear structure to emphasize why there are, and why there must be, different and differing approaches to the interpretation of a text, in this case particularly the biblical text. Incorporating discussion of the German hermeneutical tradition, this book helps to bridge Anglo-American and German scholarly traditions. This book will be of great assistance to students, teachers and preachers.

Manfred Oeming is Professor of Old Testament Theology at the Ruprecht-Karls-Universitÿt, Heidelberg, Germany.

Contents: Preface; Introduction: The topic and procedure of this book. Part I The Philosophical Foundations of Biblical Hermeneutics: The phenomenology of understanding: the theory of the hermeneutical square; A foray into the history of philosophical hermeneutics with a focus on biblical hermeneutics. Part II The Plurality of Current Approaches to the Bible: Methods focused on authors and their worlds; Methods focused on texts and their worlds; Methods focused on readers and their worlds; Methods focused on the reality behind the text. Part III Summary: Fullness of Flood of Meaning?: The Bible and the current plethora of methods. Bibliography; Indexes.