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Book Review: I. Biblical Studies: How to Understand the Bible

argues that exegesis is not done until the text addresses the life of the reader. Gorman describes five hermeneutical postures exegetes may take toward the text, including postures of consent that ministers and believers adopt and postures of antipathy or suspicion that secular advocates and activists might assume. The final element is "Expansion and Refinement of the Exegesis," indicating that exegesis is an ongoing conversation with strong, but provisional, conclusions. Gorman's handbook is the best introductory guide that I have seen. It strikes a laudable balance between technical and practical, academic and confessional, orientations. Gorman's expertise in New Testament interpretation does not diminish the book's value for Old Testament courses. To the contrary, students would benefit from the repetition of using the approach in course work in both testaments. Chapter eleven on "Resources for Exegesis" is worth the price of the book alone; the appendices on the process of writing an exegesis, sample exegeses, and Internet resources are icing on the cake. In sum, Gorman's book gives students the means to follow Karl Barth's advice as quoted on page 7, "Exegesis, exegesis, and yet more exegesis!" Barry A. Jones Campbell University Divinity School Buies Creek, NC