Excerpt from History of Interpretation: Eight Lectures Preached Before the University of Oxford in the Year 1885, on the Foundation of the Late Rev. John Bampton In publishing these Lectures there are two remarks which I ought at once to make, because they may serve to obviate much criticism which will have no relation to the objects which I have had in view. 1. By Exegesis I always mean the explanation of the immediate and primary sense of the sacred writings. If I were treating the subject from an entirely different point of view it would be easy to show that much of the material which has furnished forth many hundreds of commentaries remains practically unchanged from early days. But this material is mainly homiletic. It aims almost exclusively at moral and spiritual edification, hi such practical instruction the writings of the Fathers and the Schoolmen abound, and it is often of the highest intrinsic value even when it has but a slender connexion with the text 011 which it is founded. When I speak of Scriptural interpretation I am using the phrase in it narrower and more limited meaning. 2. It is obvious that within the compass of Fight Lectures an exhaustive treatment of so wide a subject would be impossible. To write, a full history of Exegesis would require a space of many volumes. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This classic history of biblical interpretation has never been surpassed in thoroughness, completeness, and penetrating insight and scholarship. It is detailed and exhaustive, full of information about the Bible as well as its interpretation throughout the ages. This book is for the teacher and student of Scripture. It will be given an honored place on the Bible student's reference shelf. Seminaries have long included this book on their list for required or recommended reading. After a long and distinguished career in teaching and preaching, Frederic W. Farrar became Dean of Canterbury in 1895. Besides contributing to many Bible commentaries, he wrote the 'Life and Work of St. Paul, Life of Christ', and 'The Witness of History to Christ'.