Old Testament Exegesis, Fourth Edition: A Handbook for Students and Pastors

What is exegesis? A thorough analysis of a Bible passage that yields a useful interpretation. Exegesis is a learned skill, not an intuitive gift. Hence, without the proper tools and know-how, an exegete cannot go far. What does Old Testament Exegesis do? It equips you with those tools and shows you how to use them so that you will not only become more skillful in exegesis but also more proficient. In my opinion, what OT Exegesis does best is teach you an “exegetical formula” which is repeatable and easy applied to any passage of Scripture for any context. It primes your mind so that you start asking the right questions. What results are meaningful answers that enable you to expound the text with clarity and precision. Beyond the technical aspects, some examples of the “right” questions relate to historical context (e.g., “What is the date of authorship and relevant geographical significance?), literary context (e.g., “What is the literary form? How does the passage fit into the book and the OT cannon?”), theological context (e.g., “Where else is the passage quoted? How? And how does that inform proper interpretation?”) and contemporary application (e.g., “What are the life issues? What is the audience and scope of the application?”). The book roughly speaking is divided into four sections: Chapter 1 gives you a non-technical format for the process of exegesis. Chapter 2 gives examples on the steps one takes to exegete. Chapter 3 expands upon Chapter 2 but has an emphasis on sermon preparation. Chapter 4 details various other resources for consideration. I purchased this book as part of a post-graduate level seminary course, and it fit well within this context. This is a trustworthy little book that has earned a place in my pastoral library for all time. Also highly recommended for dedicated Bible teachers.

The author provides a very good summary of the procedure for performing exegesis, with respect to the Old Testament. He also gives some good examples of types of issues--textual, grammatical, and background--that the exegete may encounter. He provides his solution along with supporting evidence. Where this book really shines is the very thorough and detailed section laying out resources for further reading and research. This book is a great introduction for those wanting to get their feet wet that provides a great springboard for the student who wants to dive into the deep waters.

Like having a lively study buddy when you analyze Scripture. Helps you appreciate what your pastor must go through if you're blessed enough to have one who actually EXEGETES the Bible in Bible class, rather than give you canned garbage telling you what you already know. I just love this book: it is clearly-written, succinct, well-organized, hits all the right questions so when you're thinking over something in Scripture, the succinctness helps jog your thinking. So do get this book, even if you're not a pastor. You'll never regret it: Scripture is meant to be PONDERED over and in the original-languages text. This book helps you do that, whether you're just a student, scholar, or teacher. It's as good as Thorleif Boman's Hebrew Thought Compared with Greek, which is my all-time favorite analytical book on Bible. That's a recognized classic also, and I believe it's still here at Amazon, where I bought it years ago. BOTH of these books will help you think clearly when studying. Worth a billion dollars.

I am having trouble trying to understand the layout and instructions. The book is not written for someone who has never used an Exegesis.

I realized that I do not need to get involved in exegesis. Too complicated. I bought this book for a course.

This is a handy, easy to follow guide for exegesis for someone who has mastered the basic understanding of Hebrew. As a Level 3 Hebrew student I can comfortably say that this edition lives up to expectations. Beginning Hebrew students may find the book a bit challenging.

Very resourceful. Font size was good. The book gives valuable steps for preparing exegetical material and sermons. It also includes the names of a number of exegesis aids and resources that can be used for research... takes a lot of the guess work out for beginners.

This book has been the world standard for OT exegesis for around 30 years and this new edition has tons of new content including dozens of websites and software programs useful for exegesis. Written very simply, this Biblical scholar has the heart of a pastor. After the 12 step exegesis process chapter, the author does an entire chapter on showing how to do an abbreviated exegesis to prepare for a sermon. Very helpful. The section on hermeneutical errors was also very insightful.

SEU text book

GREAT TOOL.

What is exegesis? A thorough analysis of a Bible passage that yields a useful interpretation. Exegesis is a learned skill, not an intuitive gift. Hence, without the proper tools and know-how, an exegete cannot go far. What does Old Testament Exegesis do? It equips you with those tools and shows you how to use them so that you will not only become more skillful in exegesis but also more proficient. In my opinion, what OT Exegesis does best is teach you an “exegetical formula” which is repeatable and easy applied to any passage of Scripture for any context. It primes your mind so that you start asking the right questions. What results are meaningful answers that enable you to expound the text with clarity and precision. Beyond the technical aspects, some examples of the “right” questions relate to historical context (e.g., “What is the date of authorship and relevant geographical significance?), literary context (e.g., “What is the literary form? How does the passage fit into the book and the OT cannon?”), theological context (e.g., “Where else is the passage quoted? How? And how does that inform proper interpretation?”) and contemporary application (e.g., “What are the life issues? What is the audience and scope of the application?”). The book roughly speaking is divided into four sections: Chapter 1 gives you a non-technical format for the process of exegesis. Chapter 2 gives examples on the steps one takes to exegete. Chapter 3 expands upon Chapter 2 but has an emphasis on sermon preparation. Chapter 4 details various other resources for consideration. I purchased this book as part of a post-graduate level seminary course, and it fit well within this context. This is a trustworthy little book that has earned a place in my pastoral library for all time. Also highly recommended for dedicated Bible teachers.

The author provides a very good summary of the procedure for performing exegesis, with respect to the Old Testament. He also gives some good examples of types of issues--textual, grammatical, and background--that the exegete may encounter. He provides his solution along with supporting evidence. Where this book really shines is the very thorough and detailed section laying out resources for further reading and research. This book is a great introduction for those wanting to get their feet wet that provides a great springboard for the student who wants to dive into the deep waters.

Like having a lively study buddy when you analyze Scripture. Helps you appreciate what your pastor must go through if you're blessed enough to have one who actually EXEGETES the Bible in Bible class, rather than give you canned garbage telling you what you already know. I just love this book: it is clearly-written, succinct, well-organized, hits all the right questions so when you're thinking over something in Scripture, the succinctness helps jog your thinking. So do get this book, even if you're not a pastor. You'll never regret it: Scripture is meant to be PONDERED over and in the original-languages text. This book helps you do that, whether you're just a student, scholar, or teacher. It's as good as Thorleif Boman's Hebrew Thought Compared with Greek, which is my all-time favorite analytical book on Bible. That's a recognized classic also, and I believe it's still here at Amazon, where I bought it years ago. BOTH of these books will help you think clearly when studying. Worth a billion dollars.

I am having trouble trying to understand the layout and instructions. The book is not written for someone who has never used an Exegesis.

I realized that I do not need to get involved in exegesis. Too complicated. I bought this book for a course.

This is a handy, easy to follow guide for exegesis for someone who has mastered the basic understanding of Hebrew. As a Level 3 Hebrew student I can comfortably say that this edition lives up to expectations. Beginning Hebrew students may find the book a bit challenging.

Very resourceful. Font size was good. The book gives valuable steps for preparing exegetical material and sermons. It also includes the names of a number of exegesis aids and resources that can be used for research... takes a lot of the guess work out for beginners.

This book has been the world standard for OT exegesis for around 30 years and this new edition has tons of new content including dozens of websites and software programs useful for exegesis. Written very simply, this Biblical scholar has the heart of a pastor. After the 12 step exegesis process chapter, the author does an entire chapter on showing how to do an abbreviated exegesis to prepare for a sermon. Very helpful. The section on hermeneutical errors was also very insightful.

SEU text book

GREAT TOOL.

Helpful book.

This thorough and scholarly resource book is an invaluable guide to the process of determining the meaning of Old Testament passages. It contains examples and though it is written for scholars and pastors, it is accessible (and provides helpful guidance) to the layperson, such as myself, that desires to develop a less superficial understanding of scripture. The bibliography in the back is terrific and is probably worth the cost of the book by itself. The updated bibliography in the revised edition is worth buying it even if you already own prior editions.

Good, thanks.

Good book for Bible study.

It's a great tool.

Excellent

gives me a greater understanding

FB: Fast and best

Very good read, would recommend it to anyone who wants the truth of the scriptures. This world we live in has become a world of lies and deception so to find the truth requires more than listening you have to dig in and spend time reading and interpreting the word.

Great purchase. Happy. No complaints.

good book

came on time. very good

This is going to be brief. First off, I am merely a Christian layman who is always looking to improve my Biblical study methods and with that in mind, this book does a very good job helping me. Quite understandable and educational.

The Old Testament Exegesis is a great book when you are a serious Bible scholar.

I recommend this book to all preachers and students.

Exellent

A very good tool for Students doing OT theology comparable to the one on NT by Fee which I have been using over the past three years. It meets my present need for use for which I have made the purchase.

Exellent

It is okay but like the New Testament Exegesis, too much to learn

Great resource

i liked this book. someone recomended me, now i recomend you to buy it and read it. it has a practical format.

This resource is useful for my PhD research on tghe Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts, their theology, nature, number, uses and abuses..

I found this book, though well written, was not for the person that just wanted to learn to write an exegesis. There is so much emphasis on learning Hebrew, that it obscures the learning for amateurs.

Summary of the Book In the opening chapter of this work, Stuart makes the point of the book very clear. He wants to “present a step-by-step guide to OT exegesis that will be nontechnical and simple without being simplistic, that will explain not only the procedures but also the goals of exegesis, and that will serve as a handbook for reference as the student or pastor does the actual work of exegesis” (xi). In writing this, he knows that many students do not have a command of the Hebrew language, and need help in this regard. Having studied the ancient languages himself, and being a professor, he states “those few students and pastors who control several ancient and modern languages, read the scholarly literature regularly, and have already gained some confidence in their ability to do exegesis will certainly not need this primer,” and in writing this assumes a high level of scholarship for anyone knowledgeable enough to pass over this book (xi). Much of the work is technical in nature, but comes from a pastoral heart. Stuart believes that “the end of exegesis is preaching and teaching in the church,” and he writes this in order to equip students to better prepare messages that are centered on the text (xii). In the introduction, Stuart gives a rationale for why the biblical student should care about studying the biblical passage. He understands that much textual analysis is often uninteresting, but “exciting or not, the results should always at least be of genuine practical value to the believer; if not, something is wrong with exegesis”(1). Much of this book focuses on the correct application of the biblical text for the reader, which can only be discerned through studying the text. Throughout the work, Stuart gives a wide variety of helpful resources that can enhance and sharpen sermons, including using computer software to save a scholar the time of digging through a plethora of heavy resources. He cautions, however, that “the more of these sorts of works you have via computer software, including online access, the faster your exegesis work can go because of the time saved in searching” (3). He goes on to explain that sometimes speed is not the pastor’s friend, as searching through a book helps the pastor see different texts in their context, a beneficial part of the exegetical process. In the first chapter, Stuart gives a guide for exegesis, going through a twelve-step process of selecting and choosing a text. He argues that the pastor should first figure out the confines of the passage. For example, one does not want to split a poem in half, and must make sure to exegete the text in its entirety. After this, a translation of the text must be rendered, as the reader slowly finds the meaning of the text from the original languages. Then, the grammatical and lexical date must be found, making sure that obscure words are made clear both to the pastor and audience. Then, the form of the passage must be deciphered and the literary type must be discovered. After this, an outline for the passage must be created, preferably using a system of points and subpoints to emphasize the structural confines of the text. The historical, literary, and biblical context must then be uncovered in the text, mainly relying on commentaries and exegetical resources to help the pastor discern this from the Scriptures. Stuart emphases that the theology of the passage must be understood, because “the better one understands what life is about, what trusts and practices are essential or important,” they will better understand how the text rightly applies to their life (23). Finally, the preacher must rightly apply the text to the audience, and go back and review any potential areas that may have been overlooked. In the second chapter, Stuart puts this method into practice, exegeting various Old Testament passages from this twelve-step method. Throughout, he gives a running commentary of how one can avoid certain pitfalls in the exegetical process, one of which mentions that newer books are not necessarily the best ones. He writes, “the old can be gold, and the new is not necessarily true just because it is new, so do not despise older works as if the new ones were automatically better” (62). Much of this advice is given in the midst of the exegesis, providing a wealth of knowledge on a wide range of academic material. After reading the first two chapters, much of Stuart’s work has been meticulously crafted, yet in the third chapter he outlines how this method can be practically executed in the pastor’s study. He states that “the total time allotted is somewhat arbitrarily set at about five hours, the minimum that a pastor ought normally to be able to give to the research aspect of sermon preparation” (63). Stuart then walks the pastor through how they can create a sermon from the original languages, and reminds the reader that the five minimum hours of exegesis is not in regards to sermon crafting, but only to the exegesis of a passage. Finally, Stuart gives an extensive list of different resources for the pastor to use in their implementation of his exegetical method. He writes of the most up to date, technologically savvy methods to interpret the Bible faithfully. He suggests the pastor reference popular websites and research databases like Worldcat and ATLA to begin their sermon preparation, making use of their limited time in order to best serve the flock (160).  Significant Contributions There are quite a few things that keep pastors busy in the modern sphere, and many do not have time to read newer translations, much less understand the politics involved in creating them. However, when Stuart mentions that different Bible translations are under pressure from a wide variety of demands to conform to the status quo, it comes as a shock to this reader. He states, “in the modern business of Bible publishing, the more ‘different’ a translation is, the more risk there is that it will not sell” (39). Realizing that politics, money, and emotions are all wrapped into the process of creating a Bible translation is fascinating, and it shows Stuart’s depth of knowledge in a wide variety of areas. It comes as little surprise to many that the state of modern preaching is less than ideal. However, many scholars cannot point to a specific problem. In this work, Stuart wisely suggests that when exegesis is poor, “the sermon becomes a long string of personal illuminations, anecdotes, truisms, platitudes, and whatever general insights the commentaries may provide” (64). This strikes a cord in the problem of a lot of preaching; the serious work of exegesis is not done, and thus what is placed in its stead is not the solid food people need. Stuart rightly points out that exegesis must be done in order to preserve the text-driven nature of all sermons that rightly point toward Christ. When pastors ask why they are studying theology, they may think of quite a few answers. Stuart in this work gives a great answer, stating “the reason theology is called theology [literally, the study of God] is that the better one understands God, the better one understands what life is about, what truths and practices are essential and important, and what values best protect against disobedience to God” (23). What an excellent summary of the importance of theology. If pastors have any hope of properly applying the text, they must study God’s text, the Bible, with passion.  Suggestive Criticisms While much of this book is helpful to the pastor, some of it has room for improvement. For example, the basis for this work is a twelve-step outline for exegeting a passage in the Old Testament. This is complicated enough, but this twelve-step outline has fifty subpoints. It is hard to think that anyone would consider this simple, yet in the middle of explaining this method, Stuart states “some learning theorists suggest that the best outlines will contain three to five major units, since most people have difficulty comprehending or remembering six or more abstract elements at once” (16). It seems that Stuart did not take the advice of this theorist, but also made an outline that is so enormously complicated that most anyone will have trouble putting it into practice. To be clear, he does state elsewhere that the method will be sped up if used continually over time, and that a solid five hours will need to be committed to the method, but he may have benefitted from shortening this method to something more digestible to the reader. After reading this work, a lay pastor can easily be overwhelmed by the content that is presented in this book. However, one of the most important aspects of all walks of life, especially sermon preparation and exegesis, is prayer. The prayer of the ministry is the power behind what is preached in the pulpit, and this work is strangely absent on this subject. There are a plethora of good resources in this book that can be utilized by the pastor to exegete the passage, but none on the power of prayer to transform a message. To be clear, this is a work on Old Testament Exegesis, and a longer section on prayer may not have been appropriate. However, when the entire work fails to even mentioning laying your message before God in humble submission to his will, this work seems to lose a bit of credibility. Stuart may have improved this work by giving a preface or section on the importance of bathing a message in prayer.

Douglas Stuart’s Old Testament Exegesis teaches students, pastors, and other interested people to mine the Old Testament text to find the best meaning using a formulaic technique. Stewart covers full exegesis with examples and then gives a shortened research technique for preachers short on time. The rest of the text covers exegesis aids in resources. Overall, I at least got an understanding of the process of making a full and shortened exegesis of a passage. Doing one will probably still require some tutorial assistance but at least this I now have a general idea. The exegetical aids were mostly beyond this author’s knowledge, understanding, and ability, although a few tips regarding the ATLA database may reap lots of fruit. This author sees the need to purchase Accordance if he wants to perform exegesis efficiently and correctly. If this author only has the BHS, modern translations, the Strong’s, theological dictionaries, historical backgrounds, English dictionaries and the BDB, he should at least be able to understand and communicate a passage with academic integrity and valid applications.

Subtitled “a handbook for students and pastors”, this volume has been a standard in the field for many years. Now in its fourth edition, it is poised to continue its usefulness for many more years. Mr. Stuart is a highly-respected Bible scholar, who has written several outstanding commentaries. I’ve enjoyed using several of them myself. In this volume, he goes through his process of performing exegesis on Old Testament passages. This book is especially valuable for those new to exegesis. The structure of the book, with every section and subsection numbered, makes using it as a reference at any point of the exegetical process very efficient. After you work through the volume initially, you will find it easy to go back and check certain elements where you may be confused. There’s even a handy analytical table of contents at the beginning to help you zip to the needed location. While you might not have his exact method, you must think of everything he addresses at some point in the exegetical process. I don’t personally do everything in the exact order he says, but I found him to be engaging and suggestive. It even struck me as I read that there were some elements of the exegetical process that I could improve. Chapters 1 and 2 are aimed more at students doing exegetical papers in seminary. Not only does he explain the process well, but he also illustrates his point with scriptural passages on several occasions. Chapter 3 shortens the process for pastors creating sermons. He takes the process even through application and sermon. Chapter 4 is a fine bibliographic chapter suggesting books for each phase. The suggestions are quite extensive. The only downsides I could see in the book is that it reduced the process to such a science that the art was lost. Further, some of the language work he suggested is realistically not going to be done by pastors. Finally, if the student or pastor is just beginning, it would take years to build the library he recommends. In his defense, I’m sure he was suggesting buying one good book in each category. You might want to check out a similar volume on the New Testament from the same publisher. Don’t miss the list of common Old Testament exegesis terms and the list of frequent hermeneutical errors in the back of the book. As a guide or refresher, I recommend this book. I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255.

Not sure what the changes are from the 3rd edition, but this book is fantastic. It is readable, thorough and has a wealth of information which is helpful for finding the best resources on OT exegesis.