Toward an Exegetical Theology
Biblical Exegesis for Preaching and Teaching
About
"I recommend this book as a helpful aid to ministers in their preparation of sermons which will communicate to today's congregations the timeless truth of God's inerrant Word."--Robert L. Reymond, Covenant Seminary Review
Toward an Exegetical Theology has been used for nearly twenty years as a standard textbook in evangelical colleges and seminaries. A paperback edition of this important volume is now available.
According to Walter Kaiser, a gap exists in the academic preparation of ministers. It is the gap between the study of the biblical text (most frequently in the original languages) and the actual delivery of messages to God's people. Very few centers of biblical and homiletical training have ever taken the time or effort to show the student how one moves from analyzing the text to constructing a sermon that reflects and is dependent on that analysis.
The author intends to bridge this gap with Toward an Exegetical Theology. He proposes a syntactical-theological method of exegesis consisting of the following steps: (1) contextual analysis, (2) syntactical analysis, (3) verbal analysis, (4) theological analysis, and (5) homiletical analysis.
Kaiser finds no fault with the time-honored grammatical-historical method except that it failed to go far enough in describing the main job of exegesis. In the syntactical-theological method the accent falls on syntactical analysis of the text and on biblical theology.
Syntactical analysis systematically operates from three basic building blocks: (1) the concept, (2) the proposition, and (3) the paragraph. It is the precise way in which these three units are organized and arranged that provides the exegete all the data necessary to begin the journey of moving from the text to the destination of using that text in a teaching and preaching situation.
Theological analysis involves the use of biblical theology in a distinctive diachronic pattern where the accumulating theology is studied and grouped according to each period in which it occurs. Thus the exegete brings to bear on the text an informing theology, or an analogy of antecedent Scripture.
The Author
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Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
Walter C. Kaiser Jr. (PhD, Brandeis University) is president emeritus of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. He previously taught at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and at Wheaton College. Kaiser is active as a preacher,...
Continue reading about Walter C. Kaiser Jr.
Reviews
"Will prove valuable reading to anyone who is charged with teaching and preaching the Word of God. It will provide a sound basis for reflection on how one should move from the study of the biblical text to a contemporary presentation of its message."--Carl G. Kromminga, Calvin Theological Journal
"[Recommended] to every student of God's Word regardless of his/her theological persuasion, academic preparation, or ministerial experience. To attempt any exegetical work without the application of 'Kaiser's method' or a comparable approach is to hinder oneself in the quest for the original and abiding meaning of the text."--Richard Schultz, Westminster Theological Journal
"I recommend this book as a helpful aid to ministers in their preparation of sermons which will communicate to today's congregations the timeless truth of God's inerrant Word."--Robert L. Reymond, Covenant Seminary Review
"A thorough and painstaking introduction to a form of preaching which is directly based on careful interpretation of the text. Kaiser's proposed method is especially useful in training the preacher to trace out in the text and use in the sermon the grammatical and theological syntax of the text."--Robert E. Van Voorst, Reformed Review
"Kaiser seeks to close the 'gap' that exists between academic exegesis and faithful, clear preaching of a sermon. A rich and clear text."--Reformation and Revival