Book Review: Interpreting Apocalyptic Literature: An Exegetical Handbook
by Richard A. Taylor
The book is part of the “Handbook for Old Testament
Exegesis” series published by Kregel. I have elsewhere given my take on a
couple others from the series. At first glance I’d venture to say that Richard
Taylor takes on the most difficult hermeneutical handbook of the whole series,
dealing with the not-so-easily-definable genre of apocalyptic literature.
The section
on comprehending figurative language was useful as it cited interesting
examples. The bibliographies that appear interspersed throughout the book are
also welcome additions and point to further research sources.
The
grandiose statements of any author attempting to teach something usually sound
so good that they may just be too good to be true; that’s when one appreciates
an author that is willing to test his own principles and show others plainly
what he does with a text and how he goes about the exegetical task. In short,
how he puts into practice his own principles. Reading his results we can assess
whether he promised more than he could deliver and whether or not his
exegetical advice works in the way one expects it to. Of course, the author
gets to choose his exemplars, and there’s nothing the reader can do about it.
It could be that the author is just choosing a passage he is most familiar
with. Nevertheless, if we can show me through his process that his methodology
renders sound exegetical conclusions, then, I just might be willing to bite.
I chose to
evaluate Taylor’s work on the basis of his exegetical treatment of Joel
2:28–34. I wanted to see how well he applies his own advice, and what sorts of
results he gets from it. No unexpected insights there, the text and its
interpretation were pretty much standard. Perhaps the author should have chosen
a more complicated pericope in order to demonstrate what his methodology can
accomplish.
The book is
useful, and no one should venture to interpret apocalyptic literature without
its assistance.
3/5 Stars
Disclosure: The book was
received for free from Kregel Academic & Ministry review program. The
program does not require a positive review, only a truthful one.
