Emphasizing meaning as “effect” rather than merely “message,” Mark Allan Powell shows how biblical texts may legitimately take on multiple meanings in a variety of contexts. The first part of the book uses examples drawn from popular literature and culture to engage in a practical way the kinds of questions that scholars bring to their study of the Bible. The second part is devoted to approaching the Gospel of Matthew as a work of literature that readers may enter–and be affected by–as they might any other kind of text. The third part is an extended study of one passage from Matthew’s Gospel, the story of the Magi, in which Powell finds an excellent opportunity to teach readers to engage in–and to challenge!–the enterprise of biblical scholarship.
Mark Allan Powell was Professor of New Testament at Trinity Lutheran Seminary in Columbus, Ohio until his retirement in 2018. He is editor of the��HarperCollins Bible Dictionary��and author of numerous books on the Bible including the widely used textbook,��Introducing the New Testament. Powell has served as Chair of the Matthew Group and of the Historical Jesus Section for the Society of Biblical Literature.
