Book Review: “Biblical Interpretation Then and Now” (By David Dockery)

David Dockery. Biblical Interpretation Then and Now: Contemporary Hermeneutics in the Light of the Early Church (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1992). 

In this introductory work, David Dockery offers a synthesis of the hermeneutical methods of the early church from Jesus to Augustine, from the first century to the fifth century. His concern is not so much to assess the relative accuracy of patristic interpretations in light of Scripture, nor to summarize the content of their thought, but to unearth the principles and methods that patristic exegetes utilized in order to interpret the Scriptures. 

Accordingly, although he references numerous leading lights from the early church, he focuses his attention on the representative works of Justin, Irenaeus, Origen, Chrysostom, Augustine, and Theodoret. He then seeks to relate his synthesis to contemporary hermeneutics, a feature that he considers somewhat unique to his work. 

While the synthesis is accurate, well-balanced, and helpful, Dockery’s application of it to contemporary hermeneutics is brief and therefore fairly superficial. Nevertheless, the work of scholars and pastors alike will benefit from this book and I heartily recommend it.