This is a valuable resource book for historical studies on biblical interpretation, comprising a variety of detailed essays, including documented examples of important stages in the history of biblical exegesis. It also contains a general introduction to the history of reading the Bible.

Falling into three parts, from the New Testament to the Reformation, from the Reformation to the modern period, and readings of the Bible today and in the future, the book is designed to challenge some present-day assumptions of the uniformity of approaches to the Bible and of modes of exegesis. It illustrates that basic continuities do exist, and informs the student and non-specialist of the long tradition of reading the Bible to which we are heirs, with the aim of making us more competent interpreters ourselves.