Rhodes College professors John Kaltner and Steven McKenzie have co-edited a new book titled What Then Does This Text Mean? Approaches to Critical Biblical Interpretation (Westminster John Knox Press, 2026). The book offers a comprehensive survey of both classic and new approaches used in biblical interpretation.
According to the publisher, “Organized into five sections, this textbook brings together twenty-two essays by accomplished Bible scholars, each written in an accessible style and including detailed explanations of a particular approach along with an example of its application to a specific biblical passage. Each chapter defines key concepts, traces the approach’s origins, demonstrates its application to Scripture, considers its limits, and offers resources for further reading.”
Kaltner is the Virginia Ballou McGehee Professor of Muslim-Christian Relations at Rhodes and an internationally recognized biblical scholar, specializing in the connections between the stories and ideas found in the Bible and the Qur’an. His first monograph, The Use of Arabic in Biblical Hebrew Lexicography, has become a key resource in the academic community. In 2023, Kaltner co-authored Jonah: A New Translation with Introduction and Commentary by Steve McKenzie and Rhiannon Graybill.
Professor of Religious Studies and the Spence L. Wilson Senior Research Fellow, McKenzie is author, editor, or coeditor of many books, including New Meanings for Ancient Texts: Recent Approaches to Biblical Criticisms and Their Applications; To Each Its Own Meaning: An Introduction to Biblical Criticisms and Their Application, and The Oxford Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretation. His research and teaching interests include the history of ancient Israel, the literature of the Hebrew Bible, Hebrew language and grammar, the Dead Sea Scrolls, methods of biblical interpretation, and archaeology.