Innovation

doi:10.1628/978-3-16-170571-7

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Innovation

Erkundungen zu einer exegesegeschichtlichen Kategorie

Edited by Wolfgang Grünstäudl

[Innovation. Explorations of an Exegetical-Historical Category.]

2026. 350 pages.

forthcoming in September 2026

History of Biblical Exegesis (HBE)

DOI 10.1628/978-3-16-170571-7

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Summary

How do »innovation« and »progress« emerge in biblical studies? Drawing on previously unexplored sources on the history of exegesis in the 20th century and engaging in interdisciplinary dialogue with fields such as the sociology of knowledge, church history, and ancient Near Eastern studies, the contributors offer diverse insights on this topic.

This volume explores how scholarly progress in 20th-century New Testament exegesis can be described. It is based on an academic conference held at the University of Münster from May 11 to 13, 2023, marking the 80th anniversary of the papal encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu, published on September 30, 1943. The goal was not to present yet another detailed exegesis and commentary on Pius XII's circular letter. Instead, the anniversary of a text often seen as groundbreaking-opening new perspectives in exegetical research, especially given the sometimes intense conflict between the ecclesiastical magisterium and academic exegesis in the 20th century - served as an opportunity to reflect more deeply on what »the new« means in New Testament exegesis.
Despite their varied topics and analytical approaches, the individual contributions-mainly focused on the German-speaking context and largely situated within New Testament studies, but also including perspectives from ancient Near Eastern studies, moral theology, church history, and especially sociology-are interconnected through numerous thematic and methodological links. These can be categorized into three main themes. The first focus concerns novelty and innovation. Drawing on organizational sociology, the volume argues for a distinction between the two: innovation ise analysis of what counts as »new« or as progress in exegetical research.
Second, the volume considers both individual scholars and scholarly networks. While analyzing individual biographies is a common method in the history of exegesis, research on networks within biblical studies is still in its early stages. Herefers to »successful novelty.« This distinction allows for a more precre, the volume innovates by combining sociological network analysis with the study of large-scale and long-term exegetical projects. Equally central is the integration of Protestant and Catholic perspectives. In the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Catholic theologians' efforts to align with the standards of their Protestant counterparts significantly shaped the field. At the same time, Protestant and Catholic scholarship developed within markedly different ecclesial, political, and social contexts - factors that must be duly considered in historical analysis.
A third and final focus addresses the epoch-making impact of the papal biblical encyclical Divino afflante Spiritu (1943). Often interpreted as a decisive breakthrough or rupture, the contributors to this volume show that, although the novelty of the document was recognized by contemporary authors, many lines of development continued to connect scholarly contexts before and after this papal publication. Overall, the volume aims to provide a foundation for a stronger focus on interdisciplinary research within the recent study of history of exegesis.

Table of contents:

Vorwort/Einführung
Wolfgang Grünstäudl: Innovation als Thema der Exegesegeschichte

I Grundlegung
Thomas Heinze: Innovation und Transformation. Konzeptuelle und empirische Befunde aus soziologischer sowie historisch-institutionalistischer Perspektive - Wolfgang Grünstäudl und Markus Gamper: Netzwerktheorie und Exegesegeschichte. Ein interdisziplinärer Einblick

II Biographien & Projekte
Eve-Marie Becker: Innovationen in der (Evangelischen) Philipperbriefexegese in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jhs. - eine Skizze - Thomas J. Kraus: Innovative Apokalypse-Forschung und Bekenntnis zu Adolf Hitler: Einblicke in den Nachlass Josef Schmids - Horst Simonsen: »Er hörte ihnen allen kritisch zu«. [GW1] Leonhard Goppelt und Innovation im Umgang mit neutestamentlichen Texten - Markus Thurau: »Keine Protestantophilie, sondern strammste katholische Theologie«. [GW2] Karl Hermann Schelkle und die formgeschichtliche Methode - Adrian Wypadlo: Aufbruch ins Ungewisse. Der Münsteraner Neutestamentler Max Meinertz als Ausleger des Jakobusbriefes

III Vernetzungen & Konflikte
Hannah Kreß und Lukas Bormann: Die Redaktion des Reallexikons für Antike und Christentum (RAC) unter den Bedingungen des Nationalsozialismus: Netzwerke, Wissenstransfer, Innovation - Rudolf B. Hein: Haustafeln - Innovative Rezeptionen exegetischer Forschung in moraltheologischen Diskursen der Nachkriegszeit - Ingo Broer: Zwischen Erkenntnis und Gehorsam. Neuere exegetische Einsichten und die kirchliche Aufsicht am Beispiel von Franz Joseph Schierse - Brandon M. Massey: The International Reception of Rudolf Schnackenburg's Johannine Scholarship - Ludger Hiepel: Zwischen »Providentissimus Deus« [GW3] (1893) und »Divino afflante spiritu« (1943): Panorama katholischer Alttestamentlicher und Altorientalistischer Forschung - Michael Pfister: »... die Exegeten vor aller Ungeduld bewahren«. Wege der Rezeption der Enzyklika »Divino afflante Spiritu« (1943)