In the last half of the twentieth century, biblical hermeneutics was influenced by a number of changes. In the 1960's, through the work of James Barr, came the awareness of how important a knowledge of how language works is for biblical interpretation, implying that traditional word studies could not continue as usual. In the 1970s, the emphasis on literary form alerted scholars to the radical implications of the nature of the Bible as literature. In the 80s and 90s, the predominance of language in the heart of postmodern posed biblical interpretation with a new range of challenges. Consequently, the Scripture and Hermeneutics Seminar was aware from the outset that any renewal of biblical interpretation would have to attend to the issue of language. In this rich and creative volume, the importance of linguistic issues for biblical interpretation would have to attend to the issue of language. In this rich and creative volume, the importance, the importance of linguistic issues for biblical interpretation is analyzed, the challenge of post-modernism is explored, and some of the most creative recent developments, such as speak-act theory, are assessed and updated.
