Semeia 62: Textual Determinacy, Part One

This is the first of two volumes that will bear the title "Textual Determinacy." In choosing the term "textual determinacy," the editors wanted to raise the question of the relationship between texts and reading and the extent to which meaning is determined by texts or by the reading process. It is probably not a question of either/or but rather of an interplay between the two. If this is so, however, how should one describe that interplay? Some biblical scholars are already engaged in the discussion of these issues, and this has forced consideration of the matter in biblical studies. Behind this double question about text and reading lies a discussion of immense scope which runs through many disciplines. Clearly, our two volumes will hardly treat this vast and important topic in any way sufficient and adequate to its scope, nor have the editors set out to do this. At this stage of the game, they seek only to encourage a widening and broadening of the discussion of text and reading already underway in biblical studies. [From the Introduction]