Do the speakers in Acts use different hermeneutics for different OT genres?
The Book of Acts’ quotations of OT texts have been explained in myriad ways: as everything from midrash, to rhetoric, to opportunistic prooftexting. This presents a confusing and unprincipled picture of apostolic hermeneutics. But is there a principle behind this diversity? Drawing on modern Genre Theory’s observation that genres create distinct hermeneutical roles for the reader, this article tests the hypothesis that the hermeneutical structure employed by the apostles to interpret and apply the OT vary depending on the genre of the source material. If the genre of the source text is a psalm, then nine times out of ten the text will be interpreted typologically to make a Christological point.
Review of An Obituary for "Wisdom Literature" by Will Kynes
In his Obituary for “Wisdom Literature,” Will Kynes makes a provocative and persuasive case for abandoning the concept of a distinct canonical corpus centered on Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Job. His title, dramatic though it sounds, is no clickbait. Using sound historical detective-work, modern genre theory, and a compelling intertextual reading of the standard Wisdom texts, Kynes gives good reasons for concluding that the modern genre designation of “Wisdom Literature” is limiting or even distorting our reading of the Bible. Finding wisdom themes throughout the canon is not the problem; it is the rigid categorization of certain texts as one thing — Wisdom Literature — that flattens texts, slices up the canon, and cordons off scholarly sub-specialties.