Douglas Stuart
Old Testament Exegesis
"An
exegesis is a thorough, analytical study of a biblical
passage done so as to arrive at a useful interpretation of
the passage...
To do exegesis properly you have to be something of a
generalist. You will quickly become involved with the
functions and meanings of words (linguistics); the analysis
of literature and speech (philology); theology; history; the
transmission of the biblical writings (textual criticism);
stylistics, grammar, and vocabulary analysis; and the
vaguely defined yet inescapably important area of
sociology.
Natural intuitive skills are helpful but no substitution for
the hard work of careful, firsthand research. Exegesis as a
process can be quite dull. Its results, fortunately, can
often be exciting.
An exegete must work from many books...and especially should
own the ones valuable for methodological and bibliographical
guidance...
1. An introduction to the Old Testament (containing lucid,
concrete explanations of OT literary types and divisions,
scholarly approaches, book-by-book content and
criticism...)
2. Multipurpose tools for Bible study (providing
backgrounds, definitions, and explanations for all sorts of
books, methods, sources, and styles in biblical
exegesis...)
3. A handbook of biblical criticism (a collection of
definitions. Virtually all the exegetical terms and
techniques you may run across...)
4. Basic tools (an annotated bibliography of the lexicons,
texts, grammars, concordances, and other aids used by
exgetes...)
In addition...you ought to have in your library a copy of
the Hebrew OT, a Hebrew-based concordance, a Hebrew lexicon,
a Hebrew grammar, a comprehensive history of Israel, a Bible
dictionary, and a critical commentary series (if
possible)... The concordance, history, dictionary, and
commentary series are essential even if you don't know
Hebrew...
Without the proper tools, an exegesis can't go very far."
Douglas
Stuart, "Old Testament Exegesis" 1st Ed. (Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania: The Westminster Press, 1980) pp. 15-17
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