John Calvin’s Historicizing Interpretation of the Bible

This chapter makes the case for viewing John Calvin’s engagement with the Bible in light of contemporary concerns with history and historical method. It outlines the contexts of his exegetical program, including premodern exegetical traditions and their understandings of scripture’s historical sense as well as the broader intellectual milieu and the social, cultural, and political contexts that shaped his work. It delineates four central aspects of Calvin’s method: his commitment to continuous exposition and lucid brevity; his focus on the mind of the biblical author and prioritizing of the literal sense; his views on the authority of Paul and the exegetical tradition; and his theological assumptions about the scopus and unity of scripture. Finally, it provides a summary of the remaining chapters in the book.