Interpreting the General Letters by Herbert W. Bateman IV

Interpreting the General Letters

An Exegetical Handbook

(Handbooks for New Testament Exegesis)

The Seminarian's best friend and the Pastor's close companion.

This book - designed as a step-by-step approach for analyzing and communicating eight letters of the New Testament: Hebrews, James, the Petrine Letters, the Johannine Letters, and Jude - was made for the person who is familiar but not expert in the epistolary books of the New Testament Bible.  The book's strength is its ability to aid the reader/student in understanding and translating the ideas of those letters into a modern/post-modern context: hence the title.  It is being reveiwed in exchange for a free copy of the book.

The authors give a letter-writing context, a bibilcal-historical context and a sense of how each of these influences but does not determine the substance and style of each of the letters written by the early church fathers.

In concluding he work, the author, Bateman provides nine steps that move from interpretation to communication: three steps for preparing to interpret the letters, three for interpreting, and finally three for communicating the letters. All explanations include examples in order to develop a student’s or pastor’s skills for accurate interpretation and convicting communication of God’s Word.

I highly recommend this book for the Seminarian, the young pastor and even the Deacon or layman who is pursuing an interest in the early foundations of the church and its leaders.