Book Reviews2 Dictionary of Major Biblical Interpreters

Dec 4, 2007

The first edition of this dictionary was published in 1998 entitled Historical Handbook of Major Biblical Interpreters.  This new edition has been revised and expanded to include two-hundred thirty major Christian interpreters of the Bible presented by a multi-national and inter-denominational group of biblical scholars. 

The dictionary is divided into two parts.  The first part contains six essays on different time periods in Church history:  the Early Church, the Middle Ages, the Sixteenth and Seventeenth centuries, the Eighteenth and Nineteenth centuries, Europe in the Twentieth century, and North America in the Twentieth century and was written by a different biblical scholar. 

The second part is comprised of articles on the 230 biblical interpreters or commentators.  Each article begins with his or her name and is followed by a short biography.  The articles usually include the context and significance of the person given and end with a bibliography or works.

Many of the major interpreters from the Early Church and the Middle Ages one would expect are present: St. Augustine, St. Gregory of Nyssa, St. Jerome, St. Bernard, Peter Abelard, St. Ambrose, St. Athanasius, and many others. 

After the Middle Ages, those included are Protestants and Catholics.  These include Martin Luther, John Calvin, John Knox, Raymond Brown, Rudolf Bultmann, Walter Brueggemann, Karl Barth, William Barclay, Soren Kierkegaard, Arthur Peake, and others.

Donald K. McKim is an academic and reference editor for Westminster John Knox Press.  He is the author and editor of a number of books, including the Encyclopedia of the Reformed Faith (1992), The Cambridge Companion to John Calvin (2004), Calvin and the Bible (2006), The Cambridge Companion to Martin Luther (2003), and The Westminster Dictionary of Theological Terms (1996).

This one volume dictionary is a great reference tool for seminaries, schools of theology and those interested in major biblical interpreters.

Br. Benet Exton, O.S.B., St. Gregory's University, Shawnee, Oklahoma.