Graeme Goldsworthy, Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics: Foundations and Principles of Evangelical Biblical Interpretation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2006). $19.14.

Reviewed by Rev. Wes Bredenhof

There is nothing more important than rightly understanding the Bible. In its essence, we believe that the Bible is a clear revelation from God. Yet because of the fall, what should be clear is many times clouded by human sin and weakness. For this reason, when there are difficulties in understanding the Scriptures, it is the divine Scriptures themselves that must shed light and lead the way.

One man from our own tradition who understood this was Dr. Seakle Greijdanus (1871–1948). Greijdanus was a professor of New Testament in the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands. In 1946 he published his most important work, Scripture Principles for Scripture Interpretation. In this book (a summary of which can be found at my website, www.bredenhof.ca), Greijdanus drew out in detail what it means to believe that “Scripture interprets Scripture.” We call this a presuppositional approach to hermeneutics; this approach to the science of Scripture interpretation says that we have to begin with the presupposition that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God that also speaks to this science.

In Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics, Graeme Goldsworthy (a retired lecturer from Moore Theological College in Sydney, Australia) follows the same presuppositional method of Greijdanus, develops it further, and applies it to our contemporary situation. In the first four chapters, Goldsworthy lays out the presuppositions for a Biblical way of interpreting the Bible. While not mentioning Greijdanus, he does give credit to another Reformed theologian from our tradition who promoted presuppositional methodology, Cornelius Van Til. In the following section, the author goes through the history of hermeneutics and illustrates the various ways in which the gospel has been eclipsed through different theological and philosophical developments. In the final section, using what he developed in the first section and taking the cautions of history to heart, Goldsworthy proposes a reconstruction of “evangelical hermeneutics” along biblical, gospel-centered lines. He concludes with a helpful section on “hands-on hermeneutics,” a “proposed list of some important ingredients in understanding the Bible.”

This is an important book for our age, an age (not unlike others) in which proper understanding of the Scriptures is under attack. While it is a technical book that would serve well as a text for college and seminary students, informed “laypeople” would also benefit from Goldsworthy’s gold. This is the third Goldsworthy book that I’ve read in the last year ( According to Plan & Preaching the Whole Bible as Christian Scripture being the others) and while the other two are also worth recommending, Gospel-Centered Hermeneutics is his best work I've read to date.

Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, ed. Leland Ryken, James C. Wilhoit, and Tremper Longman III (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1998). $29.70.

Reviewed by Mr. Shane Lems

Though most pastors and teachers perhaps already know about this dictionary, the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, it is worth calling attention to even almost ten years after its publication date. The DBI has received praise from a host of past and present pastors and scholars, from James Boice to Elizabeth Achtemeier to Ben Witherington III. Some contributors to this volume include Clinton Arnold, Richard Bauckham, Joyce Baldwin, Karen Jobes, Craig Keener, Iain Duguid, Kevin Vanhoozer, Richard Pratt, and Peter Enns, along with many others.

The introduction (pages xiii–xxi) to the DBI is helpful. There the authors note that the Bible is “much more a book of images and motifs than of abstractions and propositions” (xiii). The Bible, they note, is a book that “images the truth” and states the truth (ibid.). This dictionary focuses on the images of the Bible, including metaphor, hyperbole, analogy, metonymy, and simile to name a few. The authors also underscore the motifs, conventions, signs, and archetypes of Scripture. It is a dictionary for the right side of the brain, so to speak. Entries include subjects such as bronze, fountain, midnight, reversal, and storm to name only a few.

The DBI is also theological. As the authors trace images or motifs through the whole of redemptive history, they touch upon key aspects of theology. For example, under “ascension” and “ascent” the OT upwards movements are discussed. In the OT, to “go up” was a good thing, to be “high” means strength and might. The authors highlight the OT kingly sessions, describing Yahweh as the Divine Warrior-king ascending the high mount in a victory parade (cf. Ps 68). Fast forward to the NT: the ascension of Jesus is a divine regal victory and exaltation over evil principalities and powers. After reading these two articles (ascent and ascension), the reader obtains a fuller appreciation and understanding of Jesus’ ascension. Instead of just a few proof-texts, we have a robust and imaginative “proof-motif” or “proof-act” for the ascension as well.

There are a few weaknesses of the DBI. For example, the articles are unsigned; we are left guessing who wrote which article. In addition, not all of the articles have citations or bibliographies for further study. Some articles are incredibly short, leaving the reader longing for more to ponder. On the positive side, the DBI does have an exhaustive Scripture index as well as a lengthy subject index. This dictionary is a helpful tool for pastors, yet it is not too scholarly or difficult for any student of the Word. I highly recommend it!

Grant Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press) 2006. $17.82.

Reviewed by Shane Lems

In The Hermeneutical Spiral, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (T.E.D.S) professor Dr. Grant Osborne “provides seminary students and working pastors with the full set of tools they need to move from sound exegesis to the development of biblical and systematic theologies and to the preparation of sound, biblical sermons” (excerpt from back cover). This book really is a heavy and full tool box: it is 521 pages not including the endnotes.

The book is very comprehensive. Osborne takes the reader through all the steps, usually in detail, from context, to grammar, to semantics, to syntax, to historical background, to genre analysis, to biblical and systematic theology, to two chapters on homiletics. In the introduction, Osborne sets forth his “major premise:” “biblical interpretation entails a spiral from text to context, from its original meaning to its contextualization or significance for the church today” (p. 22). There are two appendices that cover the “problem” of text, author, reader, and meaning. This book is a helpful review for those of us finished with seminary: I have bookmarked a few parts that I will re-read several times as I study Scripture and prepare Bible studies. The Hermeneutical Spiral is not for your average layperson, though an “average” layperson that dug through this tool box could learn quite a bit.

The strengths of this book, in my opinion, are the introduction, discussion of genre, examination of narrative structure, and the chapter on parables just to name a few. I also enjoyed the two appendices on meaning, which interacted with more recent hermeneutical positions (i.e. Gadamer, Ricoeur, Derrida, Wolterstorf, etc). Though much of the book was good seminary review for me, there were some new things I found helpful. Where I disagreed with Osborne, he made his case quite well, which led me to note several areas of my own hermeneutics that needed strengthening, clarifying, and reevaluating. Another strong point of the book is Osborne’s use of the latest scholars in certain fields – in this regards it is very up to date. Finally, this book has excellent summaries, step-by-step hermeneutical advice, a Scripture index, and helpful charts.

There are also some weaknesses of this book. Though I cannot mention them all here, I will point out a few. First, in his brief discussion of Greek/Hebrew grammar, he did not mention several of the better grammars (i.e. Dan Wallace’s Greek Grammar Beyond the Basics). Endnotes rather than footnotes make Osborne’s citations a burden to find. I knew while reading that Grant was no fan of Calvinism, but his outright opposition to “TULIP” did not surface often. However, by way of critique, several times he did refer to the Calvinism vs. Arminianism discussion, usually somehow sweeping it under the rug while hinting that both are OK, but Arminianism is probably better. I also did not agree with Osborne’s note that sermons are “bridges” between two worlds (cf. Stott). Finally, one major weakness of this book is the lack of the covenantal aspect of Scripture and hermeneutics: though in one or two paragraphs the suzerain/vassal aspect of the ANE is discussed, Mendenhall’s name is not mentioned, for example. Osborne does not capitalize on the other covenantal themes, even to the point of totally missing any works motif in the Mosaic economy. When it comes to hermeneutics, a law/gospel distinction is key, of which Osborne did not touch.

In summary, this book is not “Hermeneutics for Everyone” to steal N.T. Wright’s commentary titles. It is for pastors, students, translators, and educated laypeople. If you are one of these and you wish to have the dust blown off of your hermeneutical tool box or are doing further studies in this area, you should purchase this book. Also, let me offer a challenge: if you have thought about seminary or any other advanced biblical studies, get this book and see where it takes you. Even though some sections of this book are very advanced, others are not. The reader who does not wish to wade through the advanced sections can read the others much easier.

Additional note: The first edition of this book appeared in 1991; this review covers the 2nd edition of 2006 (if you do purchase one, be sure to get the ’06 edition).