The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation

The Bible was the essence of virtually every aspect of the life of the early churches.The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Biblical Interpretation explores a wide array of themes related to the reception, canonization, interpretation, uses, and legacies of the Bible in early Christianity.Each section contains overviews and cutting-edge scholarship that expands understanding of the field.Part One examines the material text transmitted, translated, and invested with authority, and the very conceptualization of sacred Scripture as God's word for the church.Part Two looks at the culture and disciplines or science of interpretation in representative exegetical traditions.Part Three addresses the diverse literary and non-literary modes of interpretation, while Part Four canvasses the communal background and foreground of early Christian interpretation, where the Bible was paramount in shaping normative Christian identity.Part Five assesses the determinative role of the Bible in major devel