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W. Dow Edgerton reviews narratives from the Bible, Talmud, Greek mythology, and modern fiction in order to provide a better understanding of the nature and work of interpretation. He demonstrates that interpretation is a passionate act, using such stories as the binding of Isaac in Genesis 22 and the story of the road to Emmaus in Luke 24. Weaving a vivid and surprising tapestry with thread spun of hermeneutics, poetry, exegesis, reverie, poetics, memory, narrative, ritual, and literary criticism, the author invites the reader to examine the foundations of interpretation. He considers the interpretive situation of the religious leader, bringing new insight into the role and purpose of interpretation in our chaotic times. Disclosed are rich, complex, and compelling possibilities for imagining the work of interpretation and what it means to do that work in a time when so much is needed and so much is possible.
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