The History of Exegesis among Biblical Scholars seen through the Commentaries on Dan 7:13 and on Rom 2:14-15 over the Last One Hundred Years

Abstract

Summary: I. Introduction. II. Reception History and Modern Biblical Criticism. III. With the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man (Dan 7:13). 1. The Vision and Its Reception. 2. The Commentaries. IV. The Law Written in the Heart (Rom 2:14–15). 1. The Text and its Rhetorical Context. 2. The Commentaries. V. Summary and Conclusions.

The article intends to analyze the development of the relationship between theology and history in the field of biblical studies, focusing on the way in which the history of biblical exegesis has been valued and employed in the last hundred years. Since such a task is too broad for a single article, it will be necessary to address it by way of examples: the resort to the history of interpretation in a selection of academic commentaries on two texts, Dan 7 and Rom 2:14–15. Before that, a survey is offered of the place of reception history in modern biblical criticism. A final section presents a summary and conclusions.