Tom Steffen - The Return of Oral Hermeneutics: As Good Today as It Was for the Hebrew Bible and First-Century Christianity

The Return of Oral Hermeneutics

As Good Today as it Was for the Hebrew Bible and First-Century Christianity

Tom Steffen and William Bjoraker

foreword by R. Daniel Shaw

The Return of Oral Hermeneutics

As Good Today as it Was for the Hebrew Bible and First-Century Christianity

Copyright 2020 Tom Steffen and William Bjoraker. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, W. th Ave., Suite , Eugene, OR 97401 .

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paperback isbn: 978-1-5326-8480-7

hardcover isbn: 978-1-5326-8481-4

ebook isbn: 978-1-5326-8482-1

Copyright 2011 by the Common English Bible. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright 1998 by the Complete Jewish Bible: David H. Stern. Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked Darby are taken from the Darby Translation Bible (Public Domain).

Copyright 2001 by the ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version): Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version of the Bible (Public Domain).

Copyright 1993 , 2002 , 2018 by The Message by Eugene H. Peterson: NavPress. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright 1960 , 1962 , 1963 , , 1971 , 1972 , 1973 , , 1977 , 1995 by the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE: The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright 1982 by the New King James Version: Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright 1973 , 1978 , 1984 , 2011 by the New International Version, NIV: Biblica, Inc.TM Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright 1996 , 2004 , 2015 by the New Living Translation: Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright , 2016 by the Tree of Life Version: Tree of Life Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Copyright 2012 by The Voice Bible: Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Manufactured in the U.S.A. 08/16/22

I welcome this provocative book. Steffen and Bjoraker rightly challenge Christians to embrace a more balanced approach to interpreting the Bible and applying it faithfully to daily life. They offer a lengthy defense of oral hermeneutics, of course, but they also show how to guide ordinary men and women to use oral hermeneutical processes to dig deeply into Gods word and open themselves to its transforming power.

Grant Lovejoy , International Mission Board, SBC

Whatever youve thought about understanding the Bible, think again. Whatever you said in Bible studies, sermons, or wrote in commentaries, think again. Most of us were schooled only in textual ways to read Scripture. But thats a serious neglect of how to listen to Gods voice, especially if we want to understand the Bible the way original hearers did. All of us need to enter into the world of oral culture, and Steffen and Bjoraker do a masterful job of showing the way. You owe it to yourself and to God to read this groundbreaking, hermeneutics-altering work.

D. Brent Sandy , co-author of The Lost World of Scripture: Ancient Literary Culture and Biblical Authority

Steffen and Bjoraker reestablish the place and power of experiencing the word in community .

Regina Manley , author of StoryFire

This book is a must-read for any Bible teacher who wants to understand how to effectively teach the Bible because all Bible teachers engage in oral communication of the Bible message at some point. Anyone interested in effective communication of the message of the Bible will benefit greatly from learning how oral hermeneutics works. This book is engaging enough for the scholar and yet accessible to the newcomer to this subject because of the handles the authors include in the book. Readers can actually see how this works. I highly recommend this book to all Bible teachers and serious students of the Bible.

Bulus Y. Galadima , Cook School of Intercultural Studies, Biola University

Steffen and Bjoraker bravely go where few have dared to venture.

Larry W. Caldwell , Sioux Falls Seminary

Nearly erased or forgotten, oral hermeneutics is rediscovered, re-robed, and renewed. Steffen and Bjoraker are passionate academicians with the heart and hands of experienced practitioners. Elegantly written through storytelling, calmly articulated with a sense of urgency, compellingly illuminating the vivid oral voices of communities, the authors propose and provide ways and means forward. A must-read for anyone who is serious about the Bible and engagement in this century.

Samuel E. Chiang , The Wycliffe Seed Company

Steffen and Bjoraker have written an important book that, used properly, can revitalize the use of the Biblebringing passion, life, and interaction. The book sets out a program for interaction and transformation that can be very powerful in so many ways. It is important to note that an ancient Hebraic way of thinking (not always the Greek influenced Rabbinic way) was based on engaging truth on a personal level. This book shows how that way of approach to the Scriptures can be made available to the modern readerJew and Gentile.... I hope that many small groups embrace the methods provided here. It will revitalize all who desire to see the success of small groups as essential to the life of congregations.

Daniel Juster , Union of Messianic Jewish Congregations; Tikkun International

Tom Steffen and William Bjoraker make a convincing case that interpreting the Bible orally has been neglected too long, both in the West and the majority world. They not only lay out the importance of oral hermeneutics, but they also illustrate it practically from their own extensive experience. I only wish I had encountered this book when I began teaching the Bible. Carefully researched and passionately argued, this book will help you see biblical narratives through a fresh and exciting lens.

Dean Flemming , MidAmerica Nazarene University

May well lead to a counterrevolution in the way we read, witness, write, and share Gods story!

John Cheong , Asian Centre for Mission

I have wanted a book like this to exist for a long time! Tom Steffen and William Bjoraker give us a glimpse into what it could look like to interpret the Bible in light of its oral background. Rather than merely identify the limitations to textual interpretation, they make a positive contribution. The book weaves together insights from multiple disciplines. It draws from their experience and the best of academic scholarship. The authors challenge readers to consider how ancient oral practices can inform contemporary ministry strategies. This book deserves a slow, careful read. I expect The Return of Oral Hermeneutics will have long-lasting influence among missionaries as it should for anyone who cares about biblical interpretation.

Jackson Wu , author of Reading Romans with Eastern Eyes

Whatever we want to call walking through Gods great book with adults with limited formal education or any adult who prefers a non-reading experience, we must find a learning approach that works for this populationthe majority of those on our planet. Like Steffen and Bjoraker, I have lived through the failure of textual hermeneutics with my own national partners. Something must change in the way Westerners attempt to do Bible study with the rest of the worldespecially with our non-reading friends. I pray and believe this resource and others sure to follow will help along those lines.