A book to keep your eye on if you are interested in theological interpretation is Hearing the Old Testament: Listening for God’s Address (Eerdmans) edited by Craig G. Bartholomew and David J.H. Beldman. In the Preface Bartholomew and Beldman lament that the Old Testament is for the most part unknown by the majority Christians and that there are far too few books to assist Christians to feast upon it as Christian Scripture. Their response to the famine is this edited volume with the goal of listening for God’s address through the Old Testament:

At the heart of the hermeneutic advocated in this book is the belief that our love for the Old Testament and our desire for God will come together only when we make the goal of our interpretation to listen for God’s address. If Scripture is God’s Word, then any other goal is inadequate.

Hearing the Old Testament boasts an impressive collection of contributors beginning with Bartholomew’s opening chapter, “Listening for God’s Address: A Mere Trinitarian Hermeneutic for the Old Testament.” Part II of the volume concerns methods in interpretation and is appropriately named, “Learning to Listen.” Essays from Part III are involve listening to the different sections of the Old Testament.  Part IV concludes the volume with, “Hearing and Preaching the Old Testament.”

What stands out about this volume is the careful editorial process. Contributors to Part II, “Learning to Listen” first read Bartholomew’s chapter on Hermeneutics and then were invited to interact either positively or negatively with his essay. Contributors to Part III were asked to write their chapters after reading Bartholomew’s chapter and the chapter’s on “Learning to Listen.” Part IV was then written in light of the Parts I-III. This type of editorial planning should bring a certain type of cohesion that normally lacks in an edited volume. I only hope that future volumes may follow suit.

The List of chapters and authors:

1. Listening for God’s Address: A Mere Trinitarian Hermeneutic for the Old Testament by Craig G. Bartholomew
2. History of Old Testament Interpretation by Al Wolters
3. Philosophy and Old Testament Interpretation by Bartholomew
4. Literary Approaches and Old Testament Interpretation by David J.H. Beldman
5. History and Old Testament Interpretation by Tremper Longman III
6. Biblical Theology and Old Testament Interpretation by Mark J. Boda
7. Canon and Old Testament Interpretation by Stephen G. Dempster
8. Mission and Old Testament Interpretation by Christopher J.H. Wright
9. Ethics and Old Testament Interpretation by M. Daniel Carroll R.
10. Hearing the Pentateuch by Gordon J. Wenham
11. Hearing the Historical Books by Iain Provan
12. Hearing the Psalter by J. Clinton McCann Jr.
13. Hearing the Old Testament Wisdom Literature by Bartholomew
14. Hearing the Major Prophets by Richard Schultz
15. Hearing the Minor Prophets by Heath Thomas
16. Hearing and Preaching the Old Testament by Aubrey Spears