Many readers find exegeting a passage from the Old Testament to be a
mysterious process. How should one begin? What methods should one use?
Written in a pragmatic style, Interpreting Israel's Scriptures guides
the reader by offering concrete methods for exegesis that are
illustrated by numerous examples and accompanied by well-chosen
references to secondary sources.
This English translation of the 2012 original French version of
Richelle's book has been expanded and revised and has been reorganized
to have a tripartite structure: the making of the text, the various
facets of the text, and "the reader in front of the text." The book is
designed for use in exegesis courses or for personal study, and it is
designed to be used both by students who know Hebrew and by those who do
not. The book explores a variety of themes relevant for exegesis,
including poetry literary genre, literary context, geographical context,
historical context, structure, narrative analysis, intertextuality, and
reception history. For those who know Hebrew, the book also includes
chapters on translation, textual criticism, and compositional criticism.
Finally, this English edition has two new chapters: one on feminist and
gender studies, and one on postcolonial criticism.