What is the literal sense?
Subtitle: considering the hermeneutic of John Lightfoot
By: Jace R. Broadhurst
Publisher: Pickwick Publications
Published: 2012
Place of publication: Eugene, Or
Language: eng
Number of pages: 225
ISBN-13: 9781610974066
Subjects: Bible; Hermeneutics
Description: Invariably, people who read Scripture are forced to answer the question, "What is the 'literal sense'?" This question is not new. In the seventeenth century, John Lightfoot--signer of the Westminster Confession of Faith and a master of Hebrew and of rabbinic writings--wrestled with the same question, and his conclusions had a profound impact in the world of hermeneutics. In an age of much animosity towards the Jews, Lightfoot embraced the insights found in the Jewish writings while staying grounded in his reformational dogmatic theology. In so doing, his exegesis could properly be considered a via media between Reformed Scholasticism and Judaism. Lightfoot's hermeneutical principles and presuppositions outlined in this book not only provide valuable insight into his thinking but also reject the previously normative notion that Reformed Scholasticism has little to offer dogmatically or exegetically. The current tensions between systematic and biblical theology, the rise of interest in Second Temple and medieval Judaica, and the never-ending question of biblical authority make this book an important read.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. 201-212) and indexes.
Table of contents: title: Foreword / Carl R. Trueman; title: Who cares about pre-critical exegesis and John Lightfoot?; title: Lightfoot's presuppositions of dual authorship and its implications for sensus literalis; title: Lightfoot's use of logic, reason, and the scholastic method; title: Lightfoot's critical and linguistic approach; title: Lightfoot's use of chronology and a historical approach; title: Lightfoot's understanding of community and authority; title: Lightfoot's figurative and christological approach; title: Suy of findings.