"Wisdom for Faithful Reading" (John H. Walton)

TITLE: Wisdom for Faithful Reading: Principles and Practices for Old Testament Interpretation
AUTHOR: John H. Walton
PUBLISHER: Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2023, (248 pages).
 

The Bible is not simply a book of good advice. Neither is it just a book of archaeology, cultural, or historical discourse. It is the Word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirit, recorded for the world through many human authors, and fully revealed to us in the person of Jesus Christ. Written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, the Bible has consistently been a bestseller. With modern electronic Bibles, the Word of God has also gone digital. Whatever the medium or the language used, we need wisdom in order to read, interpret, and understand the Word. With genres ranging from apologetics to history; narratives to proverbs; genealogies to parables; prose to poetry; etc, the Old Testament alone can prove challenging to interpret. We need not mere techniques or methods of interpretation. We need wisdom even to read the Old Testament properly. What better way than to learn from one whose life's work is all about learning from the Old Testament, and teaching us from the fruit of his labor. Professor Walton begins with a general overview of the interpretive process, giving us one quest, two caveats, three essential commitments, four fundamental concepts, and five principles for faithful interpretation. The "quest" is about "faithful" interpretation. The caveat explains the need for faithful rather than "absolutely right" interpretation, simply because imperfect persons cannot claim to be absolutely right. The commitment is toward basic accountability, consistency, and controls. The four concepts are about the need to recognize the four basic contexts (linguistic, literary, cultural, and theological); the need for interpretation; the awareness of gaps; and while acknowledging the complicated nature of interpretation, one also needs to see the clear big picture of the Bible. The five principles revolve around the authors' audience, background, contexts, intent, and how to find our place in God's story.

Part One is a crucial read as Walton presents 11 general tips to help us manage our interpretive tasks. Some of these include the need to avoid "instinctive reading" which places subjectivity before objectivity; meaning behind literal interpretation; the relationship between authority and genre discussion; hearing-dominant culture vs reading-dominant culture; and so on. Part Two is about Genre Guidelines. Moving both chronologically and by genre, Walton guides us through the Pentateuch, the Narratives, the Wisdom books, the prophetic books, and finally in Part Three, we learn of some helpful tips about the way forward. 

My Thoughts

Many people find reading the Old Testament difficult. Compared to the New Testament, there are passages about ancient laws, strange rituals, and portrayals of God that seem so unlike the God of love as modern people would prefer to see. While this book does not necessarily make it easier to understand the Old Testament, it equips us with useful paradigms on how to approach the texts. Let me give three thoughts about this book. 

First, the book is a valuable guide to help us with reading the Old Testament. I am not talking about interpretation. I am talking strictly about "reading" per se. This is important because we often jump the gun to interpret the texts before actually reading it. This guide gives us the reading tools to read properly before interpretation. This is similar to the first step behind the popular Inductive Bible Studies: Observe the text. For a largely reading audience today, this is an even more important reminder. Of course, it is best to do both hearing the text followed by reading the text. In hearing the texts, we put ourselves into the shoes of the original hearers where the Word was read to them. In subsequent reading, we will observe the texts as best as we can. That way, we can gain the best of the hearing as well as the reading benefits. Learninng how to read well is crucial as far as genre understanding is concerned. If we could be patient to read before any premature intepretation, we will be better interpreters. Part One essentially gives us these reading tips, and I recommend that if pressed for time, readers should put Part One as their priority for reading this book.

Second, Part Two gives us not only tools for reading but also interpretation tips. For each genre, Walton gives us many good overviews to help us appreciate the big picture. It is also the most challenging part of the book as it can get quite technical and difficult for the lay reader. If we have not properly read the texts, interpretation would prove difficult, if not impossible. For instance, when Walton talks about the Torah being more about instruction rather than legislation, if we have read the texts properly, we will not be easily swayed by popular opinion in modern culture. In fact, many erroneous interpretation of the Bible stems from erroneous assumptions that the surrounding culture have placed upon us. These easily results in heresy. One such heresy is when people assume that the Old Testament is all about law while the New Testament all about grace. Walton's approach debunks such heresies and reminds us that the Old Testament is more instruction rather than law. Throughout the book, Walton compares and contrasts what is modern and what is biblical.

Finally, I like the way Walton maps out a way forward. Like the Inductive Bible Study's three-step process, if Part One is about Reading and Part Two is about Intepretation, then Part Three is about Application. In other words, he poses to us the basic question: What do we do with what we have learned? He reiterates the need for faithful reading amid an impatient culture that insists on absolute right from wrong. Humanly speaking, it is impossible to even claim to have absolute truth. Only God has absolute Truth. We can only understand as much as the Spirit reveals. Practice makes perfect. Mere reading of this book also requires us to practice the concepts taught in this book.

How do we read and understand the Old Testament? Let this book lead the way to remove the fear of the Old Testament toward faithful reading. This is a book for all readers. I highly recommend this for anyone desiring to improve their reading and interpretation of the Old Testament. Every page is filled with important tips to read the Old Testament well. For a modern culture filled with enlightenment paradigms, this book challenges our modern culture that blurs our faith. We need books like this to take us back to good-old down to earth appreciation of the ancient texts, without modernistic preconceptions that builds on doubts and suspicions. May this book be a necessary corrective against such negative mindsets.

John H. Walton (PhD, Hebrew Union College) is professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College and Graduate School. Previously he was professor of Old Testament at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago for twenty years. 

Rating: 5 stars out of 5.

conrade

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This book has been provided courtesy of InterVarsity Press via NetGalley without requiring a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.