Philosophical Engagement with the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: Some Methodological Reflections

Arthur Keefer

Abstract

A raft of recent “philosophical” interpretations have emerged within biblical studies. They have in common the expectation that ideas from the discipline of philosophy will be helpful for understanding the biblical texts. However, the way in which they engage the two varies, and it is their methods that are teased out in this article. I offer a simple trajectory of approaches for works in this area, marked by two ends of characteristic disciplinary habits: using the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament for philosophical reflection and using philosophy for biblical interpretation. In this, the article sketches a much-needed research profile for a lively subdiscipline.¹

Footnotes

1
Arthur Keefer, “Philosophical Engagement With the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament: Some Methodological Reflections,” Currents in Biblical Research, 2022.

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Arthur Keefer
Arthur Keefer is a schoolmaster and chaplain at Eton College, where he teaches theology, philosophy, and religion. His research focuses on the interpretation of the Hebrew Bible within its ancient Near Eastern context, as well as its relation to ancient and contemporary philosophy. He has two books under contract: Proverbs 1-9 as an Introduction to the Book of Proverbs (The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies), to be released June 25, 2020, and The Book of Proverbs and Virtue Ethics (Cambridge University Press), to be released October 2020. His forthcoming work considers the meaning of life in Ecclesiastes.