David I. Starling

A Fresh Approach to the Art of Biblical InterpretationThis book offers a fresh approach to the art of biblical interpretation, focusing on the ways Scripture itself forms its readers as wise and faithful interpreters. David Starling shows that apprenticing ourselves to the interpretive practices of the biblical writers and engaging closely with texts from all parts of the Bible help us to develop the habits and practices required to be good readers of Scripture. After introducing the principles, Starling works through the canon, providing inductive case studies in interpretive method and drawing out implications for contemporary readers. Offering a fresh contribution to hermeneutical discussions, this book will be an ideal supplement to traditional hermeneutics textbooks for seminarians. It includes a foreword by Peter O'Brien.

1 Corinthians reveals Paul's pastoral wisdom is rooted in the Old TestamentTrace 1 Corinthians' biblical-theological themesGrasp the biblical logic underlying Paul's letterUnderstand Paul's redemptive-historical argumentDavid I. Starling situates Paul's first letter to the Corinthians within his larger theological vision. Paul uses the storyline of Scripture to address the Corinthians' questions and problems. And the Bible's story helps us bridge the Corinthians' circumstances and our own, so that we might faithfully inhabit our own context in redemptive history. The Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (EBTC) series locates each biblical book within redemptive history and illuminates its unique theological contributions. All EBTC volumes feature informed exegetical treatment of the biblical book and thorough discussion of its most important theological themes in relation to the canon--all in a style that is useful and accessible to students of Scripture.

In Reading Ephesians & Colossians, David Starling offers a close reading of both books, attending to both the theological ideas of the two letters and the literary and rhetorical forms in which they are communicated. This commentary is intended to be useful for students of Ephesians and Colossians, within the academy and the church, who desire to listen closely to the text, discerning the original communicative intentions of the author and the significance of the text for Christian readers today. David L. Starling teaches New Testament at Morling College in Sydney, Australia, where he also serves as Chief Academic Officer. He was formerly a Baptist pastor in inner-suburban Sydney and is a member of the Baptist World Alliance's Commission on Doctrine and Christian Unity. His published books include Hermeneutics as Apprenticeship: How the Bible Shapes our Interpretive Habits and Practices, UnCorinthian Leadership: Thematic Reflections on 1 Corinthians and Not My People: Gentiles as Exiles in Pauline Hermeneutics. Edited by Todd D. Still, Charles J. and Elanor McLerran DeLancey Dean & William M. Hinson Professor of Christian Scriptures at Baylor University's George W. Truett Theological Seminary, the Reading the New Testament commentary series presents cutting-edge biblical research in accessible language. Praise for Reading Ephesians and Colossians: "David Starling has produced a concise, sure-footed commentary on Ephesians and Colossians that is marked by careful research, balanced judgments, and clear prose. He helpfully illumines both the Greco-Roman context in which Paul produced these letters and their deep indebtedness to the Jewish Scriptures. Serious students of the Bible will find in this commentary a competent guide to Paul's argument in Ephesians and Colossians and an invitation into their rich theological truths." -Frank Thielman, Presbyterian Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School

After a survey of recent approaches to the study of Paul’s use of Scripture, the four main chapters explore the use of Isa. 54:1 in Gal. 4:27, the catena of scriptural texts in 2 Cor. 6:16–18, Hos. 1:10 and 2:23 in Rom. 9:25–26 and Isa. 57:19 in Eph. 2:17. In each case, the ancienwriter seeks to place the letter in its historical context and rhetorical situation, identify the significance of any conflations or modifications that have taken place in the citation process, analyse the citation’s function within its immediate context, compare its use by Paul with the various ways in which the text is interpreted and appropriated by other Second Temple writers, and evaluate the main proposals offered as explanations for the riddle posed by the citation. That done, he offers his own account of the hermeneutic at work, based on an analysis of the explicit and implicit hermeneutical pointers through which the letter guides its readers in their appropriation of Scripture. This book compares the hermeneutical approaches of the four letters and draws conclusionsconcerning the interplay of continuity and discontinuity between Scripture and gospel in Paul's letters and the relationship between grace and Gentile inclusion in his theology.