Reventlow (emeritus Old Testament exegesis and theology and Protestant theology, U. of the Ruhr, Germany) begins here a four-volume series tracing more than two millennia of biblical interpretation. This first volume covers biblical interpretation within the Bible, between the testaments, the Old Testament in the New, and the early centuries of the Common Era. Among specific topics are the Torah as a norm for redaction and interpretation, allegorical interpretation of scripture as exemplified by Philo of Alexandria, the sermons in the Books of Acts showing how the Old Testament is prophecy about Christ, Christ surpasses the Old Testament institutions in the Epistle to the Hebrews, early rabbinic interpretation of the Bible, the apostolic fathers, and Origen's way of the soul toward perfection. Epochen der Bibelauslegung Band I: Von Alten Testament bis Origenes was published in 1990 by Verlag C. H. Beck oHG, Munich. Society of Biblical Literature publishes the paperback edition; Brill publishes the hardback. Annotation 2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
