Hermeneutics as Apprenticeship

How the Bible Shapes our Interpretive Habits and Practices

“Hermeneutics as Apprenticeship is a refreshing and important call to think of biblical interpretation not in terms of mastering the text but of learning the craft of interpretation from the biblical authors themselves. Such apprenticeship is ultimately less methodological mastery than spiritual formation. Starling focuses on the way the biblical authors themselves received earlier texts and composed Scripture by means of inner-biblical interpretation. In an age of pervasive interpretive pluralism, where no single interpretative practice stands out as authoritative, Starling’s case for contemporary interpreters to become apprentices to the biblical authors who know how to read the Bible, and themselves, in the light of Christ is a suggestion as timely as it is welcome.” – Kevin J. Vanhoozer, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School 

“Among Protestant interpreters, it is axiomatic that the best interpreter of Scripture is Scripture itself. Starling develops this proverb in a provocative, fertile direction – urging, first, that we attend to how Scripture itself has already interpreted Scripture and, second, that we learn from the patterns and habits of theological interpretation we find in Scripture. He insightfully demonstrates how our interpretative practices might be shaped through these exercises in practical wisdom.” – Joel B. Green, Fuller Theological  Seminary

“Hermeneutics as Apprenticeship paves a distinctive pathway into the conversation on biblical hermeneutics. Starling enlists the Reformation sensibility that Scripture interprets Scripture and sets about studying the internal hermeneutics of select biblical authors. This case study approach is as refreshing as it is insightful. He leads the reader through central motifs that emerge from his study – from a hermeneutics of virtue in Ruth to a hermeneutics of empire in 1 Peter. He suggests that we would do well to apprentice ourselves to the biblical authors and offers a model for doing just that.” – Jeannine Brown, Bethel Seminary-San Diego