Methods for Matthew: (Methods in Biblical Interpretation)

Today's biblical scholars study the Gospel of Matthew with a wide variety of methods that yield diverse and exciting insights. Methods for Matthew offers a primer on six exegetical approaches that have proved to be especially useful and popular. In each case, a prominent scholar describes the principles and procedures of a particular approach and then demonstrates how that approach works in practice, applying it to a well-known text from Matthew's Gospel. As an added bonus, each of the chosen texts is treated to three different interpretations so that the reader can easily compare the results obtained through one approach to those obtained through other approaches. The reader will learn a great deal about two stories from Matthew ('the healing of a centurion's servant' and 'the resurrection of Jesus') and the reader will also learn enough about each of these six approaches to understand their function in biblical studies today.

Table of Contents:
Introduction Mark Allan Powell; 1. The historical critical method and the Gospel of Matthew Donald A. Hagner and Stephen E. Young; 2. Literary approaches and the Gospel of Matthew Mark Allan Powell; 3. Feminist criticism and the Gospel of Matthew Elaine M. Wainwright; 4. Historical Jesus studies and the Gospel of Matthew Craig Evans; 5. Social-scientific approaches and the Gospel of Matthew Bruce Malina; 6. Postcolonial criticism and the Gospel of Matthew Fernando F. Segovia.

About the Author :
Mark Allan Powell is a Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary and an internationally recognized theologian and Bible scholar. The author of more than 25 books and 100 articles, Dr Powell has served as a Visiting Professor at universities such as the University of California, Berkeley, Vanderbilt University, and the University of Chicago, as well as at schools in Estonia, Tanzania, and Russia. He is best known for his work in literary criticism, Matthean studies, and historical Jesus studies.

Review :
'Given the proliferation of new approaches to the Bible in recent years, this survey of critical methods for studying Matthew, by an impressive roster of scholars, is welcome assistance. The succinct essays, taken together, constitute a sure guide, one that helps restore order to a field that can seem chaotic. The chapters should in every case inform experts as well as amateurs.' Dale C. Allison, Jr, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary 'Methods for Matthew offers a working knowledge of the state of the art in biblical exegesis. In a judicious presentation of six approaches by leading scholars, the volume avoids both partisan bias and the superficiality of many surveys. Each essay provides a thorough introduction of the method concerned and an illuminating exegesis of Matthew.' Bruce Chilton, Bernard Iddings Bell Professor of Religion, Bard College 'Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how modern critical methods work with biblical texts, this volume covers the issue in a comprehensive and compulsively readable way, from the traditional historical-critical method through to the recent entrant, postcolonial criticism. It is written by scholars who are internationally acknowledged as leading practitioners, who have given new shape, style, and direction to the enterprise. What is unique about this volume is that it not only provides the history and the theoretical presuppositions that undergird these critical methods but – more pertinently – supplies suitable practical examples of how they actually illuminate the text, in this case Matthew's gospel. This is a thorough, balanced, persuasive, and engaging work.' R. S. Sugirtharajah, Professor of Biblical Hermeneutics, University of Birmingham