A Beginner's Guide to New Testament Exegesis - Annotated by Richard J Erickson (Paperback)

About the Book

Richard Erickson offers a thoroughly accessible and student-friendly guide to the essential methods of interpreting the Greek New Testament. He holds out manageable goals and expectations--and encouragement. Numerous aids and illustrations clarify, summarize and illuminate the principles. A weath of exercises connected to each chapter are available on the Internet.

Book Synopsis

Let's face it. Just the word exegesis puts some of us on edge. We are excited about learning to interpret the Bible, but the thought of exegetical method evokes a chill. Some textbooks on exegesis do nothing to overcome these apprehensions. The language is dense. The concepts are hard. And the expectations are way too high. However, the skills that we need to learn are ones that a minister of the gospel will use every week. Exegesis provides the process for listening, for hearing the biblical text as if you were an ordinary intelligent person listening to a letter from Paul or a Gospel of Mark in first-century Corinth or Ephesus or Antioch. This book by Richard Erickson will help you learn this skill. Thoroughly accessible to students, it clearly introduces the essential methods of interpreting the New Testament, giving students a solid grasp of basic skills while encouraging practice and holding out manageable goals and expectations. Numerous helps and illustrations clarify, summarize and illuminate the principles. And a wealth of exercises tied to each chapter are available on the web. This is a book distinguished not so much by what it covers as by how: it removes the "fear factor" of exegesis. There are many guides to New Testament exegesis, but this one is the most accessible--and fun!

Review Quotes

"At last! A truly helpful and realistic book on how to do exegesis of the Greek New Testament! Richard Erickson is a skillful and sympathetic guide who has a knack for explaining the process and encouraging beginners to persevere through the necessary steps, methods and approaches required to do responsible exegesis. This is a first-rate book."

--Dr. Larry R. Helyer, professor of biblical studies, Taylor University

"Having read Erickson's Beginner's Guide, I am excited about this book. It is clear, concise, yet covers the bases. It is up to date with the most recent scholarship but retains its character as a guide for beginners. Its many examples increase both its clarity and student interest. This work makes Greek exegesis come alive, while guiding students away from its pitfalls. I predict that this Guide will not only be useful for students but also for teachers who wish to explain exegetical concepts more clearly. My one regret is that I have taught exegesis for thirty years without being able to put this tool into the hands of my students."

--Peter Davids, Biblical Studies for the Good of the Church

"Richard Erickson entitles his book A Beginner's Guide, but he's wrong on that: anyone who absorbs this Beginner's Guide will find that he or she will not begin with it but live with it, for it will shape the home that is built upon it. Here is a book to begin with and to live with--for your entire life."

--Scot McKnight, Karl A. Olsson Professor in Religious Studies, North Park University

"Written in a conversational and witty style, A Beginner's Guide to New Testament Exegesis introduces newcomers to the whole field of biblical interpretation, from the techniques of exegesis and the resources in support of it to broader issues of genre, style and analysis of New Testament texts, including a chapter on interpreting the book of Revelation. For me, Richard Erickson's greatest achievement is shifting the emphasis away from exegesis as a mechanical task to the formation of the mind and spirit of the person doing exegesis. He helps his readers become exegetes rather than simply do exegesis!"

--Rev. James R. Edwards, Professor of Biblical Languages and Literature, and Chair, Department of Theology and Philosophy, Whitworth College

Erickson's Beginner's Guide is a fine example of substance with style. Using encouragement, humor, personal illustrations, examples, clarity, and an abundance of practical wisdom, Erickson engages readers as a demanding but compassionate guide. His contribution (including the book and the supplemental material on the web) ranks among the very best available for teaching NT exegesis.

--JETS, June 2007

Much more than a beginner's guide. It is a systematic, clear and sometimes humorous presentation of the principles of disciplined Bible study and interpretation. Pastors like me who have slipped into habits of rapid Bible study will be challenged to relearn the listening skills that helped us fall in love with God and God's Word.

--Lynne M. Baab, Leadership, Spring 2006

This is a very readable and enjoyable beginner's guide written from the perspective of an experienced teacher for his students. Erickson's interest shines throughout his engaging book, which will excite readers and help in ?taking the fear out of critical method?. Highly recommended.

--Journal for the Study of the New Testament, 2007

About the Author

Richard J. Erickson is associate professor of New Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary at Fuller Seminary Northwest in Seattle, where he has taught exegesis to students for over twenty years.