Read Him Again and Again

In Read Him Again and Again, Andrew Zack Lewis explores the reception history of the book of Job and the hermeneutical presuppositions of its interpreters. He pays special attention to the interpretations of Søren Kierkegaard (in his "Upbuilding Discourse" on Job 1:21 and his philosophical novella Repetition), Wilhelm Vischer (in his essay "Hiob, ein Zeuge Jesu Christi"), and Karl Barth (in Church Dogmatics IV.3.1). In looking at Job in these works Lewis examines how each of the thinkers' contexts influence their writings and their understanding of Job.

Read Him Again and Again begins with a discussion on the importance of reception history in biblical studies by walking through Mikhail Bakhtin's theories on great time and the chronotope. Great texts, Bakhtin argues, continue to live and grow even after their completion and canonization, expanding in meaning as more readers participate in their interpretations. This is certainly true of the book of Job and Read Him Again and Again shows not only how Kierkegaard, Vischer, and Barth read Job, but also how they inherit the Job of their predecessors in the Christian tradition, maintaining features of earlier allegorical interpretive strategies while remaining firmly established in the critical era.

"This is a sophisticated and masterly account with exegetical insight for studying the Book of Job and for doing theology."
--Mark W. Elliott, University of St Andrews.

"The task of biblical interpretation has increasingly reached beyond the historical-critical method in an attempt to allow the Bible to become 'present' in an enriching way to modern readers. The history of the interpretation of Scripture, or reception history, has become an important element in this task. Andrew Lewis shows that the ongoing 'dialogue' with past intepreters is crucial for reading the ever-enigmatic Book of Job. In choosing the story of Job, the author tackles a book that has fascinated interpreters throughout its history because the questions it raises have remained central to both the Jewish and Christian traditions. Concentrating on Kierkegaard, Vischer, and Barth, Lewis provides us with an enlightening and significant strand of Joban interpretation, one that continues to challenge us today."
--Susan Schreiner, University of Chicago Divinity School

Andrew Zack Lewis has taught in Scotland, Canada, the United States, and Lithuania. He lives in Vancouver, Canada, with his wife and two children.