Historical Theology
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 57, No. 2 – Spring 2015
Managing Editor: Terry L. Wilder
By Herbert W. Bateman IV. Edited by John D. Harvey. Handbooks for New Testament Exegesis. Grand Rapids: Kregel Academic, 2013.315 pages. Paperback, $29.99.
Herbert W. Bateman IV, professor of New Testament and research administrator for the Cyber-Center for Biblical Studies, provides a systematic process for the analysis and communication of the General Epistles (henceforth, GE). Bateman is eminently-competent to address the relevant issues of and steps involved in interpreting these letters since he has written a monograph devoted to Hebrews (Early Jewish Hermeneutics and Hebrews 1:5-13, American University Studies, vol. 193 [New York: Peter Lang, 1997]). As his latest title suggests, Bateman intends “to shape the way people think and go about studying and communicating eight books of the New Testament: Hebrews, James, the Petrine letters, the Johannine letters, and Jude” (13).
In keeping with his apparent thesis, the volume seems to divide into two logically interrelated parts. Chapters 1-3 concern introductory matters related to genre, background, and theology while chapters 4-7 offer the specific steps involved for interpreting and conveying the GE. The final chapter is a supplementary review of sources related to each interpretive step. Chapter 1, entitled “The Genre of the General Epistles,” commences with a discussion of the component parts of a letter (e.g., an opening, a body, and a closing, 20-23). The chapter compares examples of Greco-Roman letters and those letters drawn from the Oxyrhynchus Papyri with that of the GE. Bateman, for example, elucidates various types of non-canonical correspondence and categorizes some of the GE as follows: Hebrews and James reflect mainly advisory or parenetic letters; and Jude predominantly exemplifies a vituperative or maligning letter (48).
Chapter 2 covers the background of the GE, and underscores the interrelations between Judeans and Romans, and the interactions with a pre-Christian culture markedly distinct from the present-day. His historical background chronologically spans the dynasties of Alexander the Great, the Julio-Claudians of Rome, and the Hasmonean dynasty of Judea. His historical survey draws regularly on the Jewish literature of the Second Temple period (e.g., Josephus, 1-2 Maccabees, 4Q416, etc.). For example, the letter of Jude seems best understood, according to Bateman, against the backdrop of the Jewish insurrection in AD 66 since the theological theme of divine rebellion is apparent (45-46). Thus, Bateman rejects the commonly held “presence of false teachers within the church” view of Jude (cf. Gene L. Green, Jude & 2 Peter, BECNT, [Grand Rapids: Baker, 2008], 18). Instead, he argues for Jewish Zealots who have infiltrated the church and are attempting to incite some believers to join the national revolt against Rome (84-86).
In chapter 3, “The Theology of the General Letters,” Bateman intends to present a biblical theology for the GE by examining the divine author’s predominant theologies and their contribution to the canon overall (90). He links OT unilateral covenant promises with the NT fulfilment of those promises through the person of Jesus, who inaugurates the divine kingdom-redemption program alluded to in the OT (e.g, the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants).
Chapters 4-6 each delineate three steps in the interpretive process; thus, Bateman suggests nine steps en toto for the proper biblical interpretation of the GE. Chapter 4, for example, covers the process in which to initiate a translation, to identify interpretive issues, and to isolate major textual problems. Chapters 5-6 center on the significance of the structural outline in which Bateman identifies and distinguishes mainline (independent clauses) from subordinate information (dependent clauses), and the process for communicating the central idea of the given passage.
Finally, Chapter 7 delineates the process involved in traversing from exegesis to exposition. Chapter 8 encompasses a select bibliography of key sources for each of the nine interpretive steps delineated in chapters 4-6. The volume concludes with a glossary of terms.
Bateman’s composition offers several notable fortes. First, each chapter commences with an introductory paragraph in which Bateman clearly lays out the course of the subsequent discussion, and he closes each chapter with a beneficial summary of contents chart. Second, numerous charts, and sidebars in each chapter serve as comparative, summary signposts that direct the reader. Third, Bateman’s discussion of first-century letter-writing practices such as the use of the amanuensis, his literary comparison of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri and the GE, and cognizance of the Second Temple and Greco-Roman background’s import for a proper interpretive framework sheds broad light on the interpreter’s task. Fourth, he offers a fresh reconstruction of the events in Jude in which Jewish Zealots are determined to have infiltrated the Christian community addressed, and are influencing some to join the cause against Rome in the mid-60s. Finally, he carefully delineates and underscores the central value of the structural outline, or what Clinton E. Arnold similarly labels “clausal phrasing,” for exegesis.1
On the other hand, Bateman’s handbook discloses a few minor shortcomings. Although advocates of progressive dispensationalism will likely welcome this tome, his interpretive lens may go unappreciated among non-dispensational interpreters, especially his emphasis on a divine kingdom-redemption program. Put simply, despite Bateman’s appeal to the non-dispensational scholar Vern Poythress for acknowledging how the various covenants occur within dispensations (115, note 51), others such as preterist scholar N. T. Wright may find troubling the conclusions reached through such a reading (102, note 26). After all, there seems to be a difference between recognition of the covenants as occurring within specified eras or dispensations, and Bateman’s method of progressive dispensationalism. For Bateman, the “already” aspect of the covenant promises find their inauguration and partial fulfillment in the person of Jesus and through the church age, with the “not yet” consummation of those promises occurs to Gentile believers, but especially ethnic Israel during the millennium (113-16). The question is whether a dispensational- eschatological reading is evident or even necessary to apprehend the theology of the GE as Bateman methodologically assumes.
Another shortcoming concerns whether present-day students of burgeoning online-theological-degree programs without requisite biblical languages will discover this tome beyond their capabilities, notwithstanding Bateman’s attempts to simplify the process. In other words, his composition seems intended predominantly for those readers with a good foundation in the biblical languages, not people in general (cf. preface, 13 italics for emphasis). If Kregel considers issuing a second edition, a simple change in the preface would clarify the intended audience, pastors, teachers, and theological students.Nonetheless, in reflection of the series design overall, Bateman seems more precisely to target the serious pastor and theologically-educated student with at least a rudimentary comprehension of the biblical languages (cp. the intended audience of the companion OT series volume, Interpreting the Psalms: An Exegetical Handbook).2 The beleaguered pastor in need of a refresher in exegesis will benefit from the plethora of examples for proper biblical interpretation, and in a readily accessible handbook format. This format also allows the interpreter to manageably assimilate, develop, and apply each interpretive step. Whether for quick review of the interpretative process or of the socio-historical framework, this book is a welcome guide by a competent scholar and skilled practitioner. Thus, every pastor and theological student who desires to hone his exegetical skills through regular practice should acquire this reliable sourcebook.
