Reception History Tradition and Biblical Interpretation

This study seeks to make a contribution to current debates about the nature of <i>Wirkungsgeschichte</i> or reception history and its place in contemporary Biblical Studies. The author addresses three crucial questions: the relationship between reception history and historical-critical exegesis; the form of reception history itself with a focus on the issue of which acts of reception are selected and valorized; and the role of tradition pre-judgements and theology in relation to reception history. Disagreements about these matters contribute to what many characterise as the fragmentation of the discipline of biblical studies.<br/><br/>The study champions the hermeneutics of Hans-Georg Gadamer as a theoretical resource for understanding biblical interpretation and a way of holding together with integrity the varied activities undertaken within the discipline. Each aspect of the argument is illustrated tested and further explored with reference to the post-history of exhortations in the New Testament to 'be subject'. These have been widely cited and applied for 2000 years - in literature law and politics as well as in theological traditions. In this way the study makes a contribution not just to the theory but also the practice of reception history.