is
its emphasis on the way the Bible down the ages has been—and
still is—used in hymns, sermons, official church statements
and the like, its role in the evolution of religious beliefs
and practices, the way it has influenced social
and political developments and its influence on literature, music
and the arts.
The series is
the first to be devoted primarily to the reception history of the
Bible, and is based on the premise that how people have interpreted,
and been influenced by, the Bible is as interesting and historically
important as what it originally meant. The series emphasizes the
influence of the Bible on literature, art, music, and film, its
role in the evolution of religious beliefs and practices, and its
impact on social and political developments. It is to be from beginning
to end an interdisciplinary project, designed in such a way as
to provide biblical scholars, historians, theologians and students
of literature and the arts, as well as the general reader, with
a convenient and scholarly means of access to material until now
hard to find, and so a much-needed resource for all those interested
in the influence of the Bible on western culture.
What people believe a sacred text
means, and how they actually use it, can be studied with the
same degree
of sensitivity and
rigour as its "original meaning". Until quite recently
this whole dimension of biblical studies has been for the most
part neglected by modern biblical scholars. The goal of the commentary
writer has been to get behind the centuries of accumulated Christian
and Jewish tradition to one single meaning, normally identified
with the author's original intention. The most important and distinctive
feature of this new type of commentary is that it will present
readers with many different interpretations of each text, in such
a way as to heighten their awareness of what a sacred text can
mean and what it can do, what it has meant and what its effects
have been, in the many contexts in which it operates.
The Blackwell Bible Commentaries will consider patristic, rabbinic,
and medieval exegesis as well as insights from various types of
modern criticism, acquainting readers with a wide variety of interpretative
techniques. As part of the history of interpretation, questions
of source, date, authorship, and other historical-critical and
archaeological issues will be discussed, but since these are covered
extensively in existing commentaries, such references will be brief,
serving to point readers in the direction of readily accessible
literature where they can be followed up. The primary aim is to
write a series of scholarly commentaries, drawing on all the insights
of modern research to encourage readers to ask how the biblical
text has been interpreted down the ages, and open their eyes to
uses of the Bible in contemporary culture.
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