Exegesis and Hermeneutics
Conference February 2026
Speakers
Prof. Daniel L.
Smith-Christophe
(M.Div., AMBS; DPhil, Oxon), Prof. of Old
Testament Theology
Session 1 – עשו הוא אדום // “Esau is Edom” (Gen 36:8). Problems and Prospects of “Globalized”, “Cross-Cultural”, and “Popular” Exegesis in modern Biblical Studies from a Western (US) Perspective.
Tuesday, February 3, 2026
How are we to understand this enigmatic phrase from Genesis 36? Clearly, there is a tantalizing variety of ways that these three words can be “read” and “understood” – and intentionally “cross-cultural” and/or “popular” readings can offer particular challenges. Reflecting briefly on this text, this paper then moves toward a survey of the methodological challenges of “cross-cultural” analysis of the Bible in the last 30 years. Already, however, different approaches and ‘schools of thought’ are emerging within the general categories of “cross-cultural” and/or “interested” Perspectives in Biblical analysis. Included in such a survey must also be the methods related to Liberation Theology (esp. Cardenal, Mesters) that try to suggest the possibilities of a “people’s” or “popular” analysis of Scripture. After surveying a number of various iterations within these categories, this paper proposes to discuss how these approaches may continue to be developed and encouraged, while avoiding some of the classic criticisms leveled against methodologies that clearly presume that readers are always a part of “texts”. Finally, I will propose some potential frontiers for the continued development of the concerns that gave rise to these various approaches.