Problems in Biblical Theology
Essays in Honor of Rolf Knierim
Edited by Henry T. C. Sun and Keith L. Eades
Foreword by James M. Robinson
Imprint: Wipf and Stock
Trained in the German tradition, Rolf Knierim is a scholar who has made many significant contributions to the ongoing discussion of form criticism, tradition history, and theology. He is also a passionate and charismatic teacher and a widely respected author and editor who has served the scholarly world most visibly in his role as coeditor of the Forms of the Old Testament Literature commentary series.
Problems in Biblical Theology is an erudite collection of twenty four essays produced to honor Knierim's contribution to the study of biblical theology. It also stands in its own right as a vade mecum of current trends in biblical scholarship. Written by an international array of respected scholars--Knierim's colleagues, former students, and fellow commentators--this volume includes detailed exegetical studies, discussions of theological methods and approaches from a variety of standpoints, and efforts at relating Old Testament exegesis, theology, and hermeneutics to current interests in social scientific methods of interpretation or postmodern thought.
In all, the breadth of interests found in this volume reflects the intellectual vitality and passion that Knierim himself has brought to the discipline. A biographical narrative written by Hildegard Knierim and a foreword by James M. Robinson provide additional insight into the historical and social contexts within which Knierim's work has unfolded.
CONTRIBUTORS: Klaus Baltzer, Don C. Benjamin, George J. Brooke, Antony F. Campbell, Simon J. DeVries, Michael H. Floyd, Erhard S. Gerstenberger, K. C. Hanson, Robert L. Hubbard Jr., Hildegard Knierim, Klaus Koch, Thomas Kruger, Burke O. Long, Elmer A. Martsens, Roy F. Melugin, Roland E. Murphy, Wolfhart Pannenberg, Stephen A. Reed, Rolf Rendtorff, James M. Robinson, Stan Rummel, James A. Sanders, Odil Hannes Steck, Henry T. C. Sun, Yoshihide Suzuki, Marvin A. Sweeney, Gene M. Tucker, and Claus Westermann.
"This festschrift for Rolf Knierim, a leading figure in form-critical methodology and a passionate thinker on issues pertaining to biblical theology, is a thoroughly delightful volume of provocative articles. This work stands high above other festschrifts because the contributors interact either with Knierim's seminal ideas or with the dynamic methods he advocates for constructing an Old Testament theology. . . . A gold mine for teaching courses on Old Testament theology."
-- John E. Hartley
Azusa Pacific University
"A splendid collection of special studies bearing on the theology of the Hebrew Scriptures. The contents are varied, including warm personal tributes to the honoree as well as detailed studies of special themes, texts, and problems. It is good to see a festschrift that contains essays disagreeing with the honoree, agreeing but with critical reservations, agreeing without qualification, and--in a few cases--bypassing the honoree's work with interesting new lines of inquiry. This collection not only reviews and brings up to date the question of how to approach a theology of the Old Testament; it also furthers the search in several important ways. . . . A fitting tribute to a scholar who has contributed immensely to the clarifying of what we ought to mean by 'Old Testament theology' and what our best lines of pursuing this task may be."
-- Walter Harrelson
Vanderbilt Divinity School
"These essays take up Rolf Knierim's concern with some ultimate questions in Old Testament study: How do we understand texts? and What kind of significance does the Old Testament have for the world today? The contributors offer creative theological studies of particular parts of the Old Testament. No one interested in the theological significance of the Old Testament will want to ignore this book."
-- John Goldingay
St. John's Theological College