How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology
—EUGENE H. MERRILL, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Old Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary
This book is for anyone who wants to learn how to observe carefully, understand accurately, evaluate fairly, feel appropriately, act rightly, and express faithfully God’s revealed Word, especially as embodied in the Old Testament.
Follow an extensively field-tested twelve-step process to deepen understanding and shape theology (biblical, systematic, and practical).
Engage with numerous illustrations from Scripture that model these interpretive steps.
Learn how to track an author’s thought-flow, grasp the text’s message, and apply the ancient Word in this modern world, all in light of Christ’s redeeming work.
Loaded with examples, practical answers, and recommended resources, the twelve chapters will empower believers to study, practice, and teach the Old Testament as Christian Scripture, understanding and applying it in ways that nurture hope in the gospel and magnify the Messiah.
“I recommend this book if you have a wanderlust for exploring ancient treasures. There are many, and they are great. DeRouchie will show you how to find them.”
—John Piper, Founder and Teacher, Desiring God
“I can’t help but think of how much less doctrinal error and how much more peace in Christ we would enjoy if we took theology as seriously and cheerfully as DeRouchie.”
—Gloria Furman, Cross-Cultural Worker
“This volume not only will become a standard course textbook, but will also serve as a lifelong resource for those called to study and faithfully proclaim the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ from the Old Testament.”
—Miles V. Van Pelt, Alan Belcher Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson
“Anyone wanting to grapple with how to interpret and apply the Old Testament will find this volume immensely helpful. It is scholarly, rich in theological and exegetical insight, and attentive to Hebrew grammar and syntax, yet the step-by-step approach to the interpretive task means that it is accessible for pastors and Bible teachers alike. You will want to have this volume in your library!”
—Carol M. Kaminski, Professor of Old Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Jason S. DeRouchie (Ph.D., The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology at Bethlehem College & Seminary in Minneapolis and an elder of Bethlehem Baptist Church.
Reviews (34)
Textbook on Hermeneutics
My favorite part of this book is its focus of its content and the layout with which it teaches. It’s very school-like, with questions and definitions for the reader. Also he actually gives you in each chapter recommended reading and TELLS you exactly which ones he thinks are the best. That’s invaluable on its own! Can’t wait to get started on its twin book made for the New Testament.
Comprehensive, Pastoral, Practical, and Exegetically Insightful
DeRouchie does a great job covering the exegetical steps and processes. He also provides three levels of learning depending on the reader's desire for how deep they wish to go into the original Hebrew language. He applies the his techniques and insights to the same passage at the end of every chapter so that you can see how he actually carries out his own exegesis. If you wish to grow and understand your knowledge of the OT and how to apply it then this is an excellent resource to utilize.
Great Book!
I bought both books. Both on the OLD and NEW testament. EXCELLENT! Also, a great resource to use as you divide God's word. Thanks!
This is a great book. DeRouchie does a great job of simply ...
This is a great book. DeRouchie does a great job of simply presenting an easy way to study the Bible the book helpfully divides into sections for advanced students and non-advanced students so that a Hebrew scholar and a layman may gain information at their own level.
Five Stars
Anyone wanting to get more out of the Hebrew Bible, read this!
Five Stars
Good!!!
Outstanding!
Jason S. DeRouchie is Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Theology at Bethlehem College and Seminary. DeRouchie received an M.Div. from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, as well as additional studies at Jerusalem University College and Harvard Divinity School. DeRouchie is the author of a number of books, including A Modern Grammar for Biblical Hebrew (coauthored with Duane A. Garrett; B&H Academic, 2009) and What the Old Testament Authors Really Cared About: A Survey if Jesus’ Bible (Kregel, 2013). Most recently, DeRouchie has written a user-friendly and comprehensive hermeneutical exploration of the Old Testament that is certain to dethrone many predecessors as a standard classroom textbook. How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology is truly a tour de force par excellence. DeRouchie not only uncovers and illuminates every corner of the hermeneutical process of the Old Testament, but he helpfully offers numerous examples for readers to reflect upon while working through the TOCMA (Text > Observation > Context > Meaning > Application) model. The book is divided into five major parts (TOCMA) comprised of twelve foundational steps: Text — [1] Genre, [2] Literary Units, [3] Text Criticism, and [4] Translation; Observation — [5] Grammar, [6] Argument-Tracing, and [7] Word and Concept Studies; Context — [8] Historical Context and [9] Literary Context; Meaning — [10] Biblical Theology and [11] Systematic Theology; and Application — [12] Practical Theology. Readers will appreciate the level of care that DeRouchie has taken throughout the volume to bring the overall implications of the TOCMA model to life and ministry. The organization and structure of How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament is also a noteworthy aspect of the volume. DeRouchie has provided a detailed analytical outline for reference and each chapter opens with an overview of the content, including a designation of the contents difficulty level (easy, moderate, or challenging). Readers are able to quickly determine how deep they wish to dive into each chapter and can skip around as desired. Another way to look at it is that DeRouchie has effectively written a three-level hermeneutical exploration that offers the beginning student room to grow and the advanced student a reliable source of review. Each chapter incudes numerous tables and charts with relevant information, and conclude with a list of keywords and concepts for review, questions for further reflection, and a resources list for further study. DeRouchie does indicate suggested resources for beginning and advanced students, but it would have been beneficial if these resource lists were annotated with comments about the usefulness of the book for the reader. It’s difficult to say anything about this volume that hasn’t been said by other reviewers. I mean, the book opens with over fifteen pages of endorsement from respected Old Testament scholars and pastors, such as William D. Barrick, C. John Collins, Lee M. Fields, Peter J. Gentry, Walter C. Kaiser Jr., Tremper Longman III, Eugene H. Merrill, Gary D. Pratico, Bruce K. Waltke, and many more. Prior to DeRouchie, I was regularly using Old Testament Exegesis: A Handbook for Students by Douglas Stuart (4th edition; WJK, 2009), which is a standard textbook used around the world and an excellent volume that remains useful. DeRouchie has functionally replaced this volume on my shelf, and I imagine others will have the same feeling. The TOCMA model that is put forth in How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament offers twelve steps worth taking if you desire to properly understand, apply, and communicate the Old Testament. How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology by Jason S. DeRouchie is unparalleled in scope and usefulness. There is simply no other book on the market better positioned to help readers understand and apply the Old Testament. It is informative, accessible, and thoroughly engaging. It is certain to become a classroom standard and should be on the bookshelf of anyone seeking to seriously understand the Old Testament as a faithful follower of Jesus. It comes highly recommended!
A wealth of information and food for thought and practice.
For many Christians, the First or Old Testament is unknown territory, even among preachers. Cutting out two-thirds of the Bible by not reading and searching for meaning and application it, would leave us with many clueless stories and phrases in the New Testament. Jason S. DeRouchie offers help in How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament. In this book, he examines twelve steps from exegesis to theology to travel through Text to Observation to Context to Meaning to Application. DeRouchie presents his findings on multiple levels, to facilitate readers without any knowledge of Hebrew and Greek as well as theology students capable of reading and understanding these biblical languages. The author highlights the importance of genre, literary units, the original wording, translation, and grammar. He explores the arguments or inner logic of the texts, word and concept studies, and historical context. Reading the Bible itself instead of relying on all kinds of external sources will help you to come to unearth the grand story of the Bible and its key concepts. As a final step, you're challenged to apply the text to yourself, the church, and the world. Jesus Christ is central in both Old and New Testament. DeRouchie spends many pages in revealing the prophecies pointing to Christ, and the way Jesus Christ actually fulfills the prophecies, the various roles of e.g. priest, prophet, shepherd, and savior. A wealth of information and food for thought and practice.
An Excellent Guide to Old Testament Hermeneutics
One of the most important tasks for any believer is to know how to understand and apply the Bible to his or her life. False interpretations and false teachings abound in our world today — as it has for all of history. How are we, as God’s people, going to stand firm for God’s truth and not waver in the midst of such false teaching. The only way is if we accurately understand, interpret, and apply God’s Word to our life. This is the primary task of the preacher, but it is not the preacher’s job alone. While God has certainly given us gifted men to teach and shepherd us, He has given each and every one of us the ability and the access to open God’s Word and read it, understand it, and apply it for ourselves. But that can be a daunting task for many of us, can’t it? Where do we start? How do we ensure that we’re doing it correctly? That’s where two incredibly helpful new books come in to play: How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology by Jason DeRouchie and How to Understand and Apply the New Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to Theology by Andrew Naselli. Neither of these books are “quick reads” or books that you would want to sit down and just leisurely read on a rainy day (thought I’m sure you would certainly benefit from doing that). Rather, these are detailed textbook-type-books, meant to help the reader systematically work through the topic of hermeneutics, or how to accurately read, understand, and apply the Bible. Though the 12 steps are similar in each volume, they do differ slightly in their specifics and in their arrangement. The Old Testament In DeRouchie’s volume on the Old Testament, his 12 steps are separated into 5 parts: Part 1: “Text — What is the makeup of the passage?” includes (1) Genre, (2) Literary Units and Text Hierarchy, (3) Text Criticism, and (4) Translation. Part 2: “Observation — How is the passage communicated?” includes (5) Clause and Text Grammar, (6) Argument-Tracing, and (7) Word and Concept Studies. Part 3: “Context — Where does the passage fit?” includes (8) Historical Context and (9) Literary Context Part 4: “Meaning — What does the passage mean?” includes (10) Biblical Theology and (11) Systematic Theology. Part 5: “Application — Why does the passage matter?” includes (12) Practical Theology. The New Testament In Naselli’s volume on the New Testament, they are not grouped into any parts, but rather listed with a brief description of each: 1. Genre — Establish guidelines for interpreting a passage’s style of literature 2. Textual Criticism — Establish the original wording 3. Translation — Compare translations 4. Greek Grammar — Understand how sentences communicate by words, phrases, and clauses 5. Argument Diagram — Trace the logical argument by arcing, bracketing, or phrasing 6. Historical-Cultural Context — Understand the situation in which the author composed the literature and any historical-cultural details that the author mentions or probably assumes 7. Literary Context — Understand the role that a passage plays in its whole book 8. Word Studies — Unpack key words, phrases, and concepts 9. Biblical Theology — Study how the whole Bible progresses, integrates, and climaxes in Christ 10. Historical Theology — Survey and evaluate how significant exegetes and theologians have understood the Bible and theology 11. Systematic Theology — Discern how a passage theologically coheres with the whole Bible 12. Practical Theology — Apply the text to yourself, the church, and the world Conclusion I remember going through Hermeneutics classes in both college and seminary. I remember the books that we used for each class being excellent and helpful. However, I do wish that we would have had these books for those classes. Each of these volumes are excellent, scholarly, thorough, practical, applicable, and readable as they help equip the reader to accurately and faithfully understand and apply the Bible. Though I’m sure they will primarily be used for college and seminary hermeneutics classes, I firmly believe that every single member of our churches would benefit greatly from taking some extended time of study to go through these books. No matter where you are in your walk with Christ, each of us can benefit from sharpening our skills in rightly understanding and applying God’s Word to our lives and the lives of those we minister to. I know that I will be turning back to these books in the months and years to come. I would recommend you buy a copy for yourself and do the same. In accordance with FTC regulations, I would like to thank P&R Publishers for providing me with a review copy of these books in exchange for a fair and honest review.
Takes the Guesswork out of Biblical Interpretation
REVIEW OF HOW TO UNDERSTAND AND APPL.Y THE OLD TESTAMENT; (12 Steps From Exegesis to Theology) by Jason DeRouchie; P & R; 2017 All conservative Bible students believe the Bible to be the very Word of God written. What does this infallible book teach? Too often in the past, professional and amateur Bible students have agreed upon the infallibility of the text without agreeing upon what the text is actually saying. That is the realm of hermeneutics—how to interpret a book of the Bible along with the rest of the Bible. Some have argued that biblical interpretation is just a matter of the “science” of hermeneutics; others have argued that biblical understanding is more a matter of the “art” of interpretation. Still others would argue that all one needs is the Spirit and your interpretation will be just fine. Dr. DeRouchie shows us the way through the maze to properly read the Bible and come away with its meaning and application. What are his twelve steps from exegesis of the text to under- standing the theology of the text? Without being boring or pedantic, DeRouchie takes us by the hand and shows us how to read, understand and apply the Word of God . What are the12 steps? PART 1: TEXT—WHAT IS THE MAKEUP OF THE PASSAGE? 1. Genre 2. Literary Units and Text Hierarchy 3. Text Criticism 4. Translation PART 2: OBSERVATION—HOW IS THE PASSAGE COMMUNICATED ? 5. Clause and Text Grammar 6. Argument Tracing 7. Word and Concept Studies PART 3: CONTEXT—WHERE DOES THE PASSAGE FIT ? 8. Historical Context 9. Literary Context PART 4: MEANING—WHAT DOES THE PASSAGE MEAN ? 10. Biblical Theology 11. Systematic Theology PART 5: APPLICATION—WHY DOES THE PASSAGE MATTER ? 12. Practical Theology With an excellent bibliography for studying the Old Testament in general and comprehensive coverage of the details of faithful, rigorous Biblical study, this book is sure to be a standard textbook for students and faithful pastors for a generation. Steve Martin (31 years a pastor in Atlanta) Dean of Students, IRBS Theological Seminary in Texas
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