The Seminary as a Textual Community: Exploring John Sailhamer’s Vision for Theological Education

John Sailhamer (1946-2017) is known for his careful scholarship on the Hebrew Bible and his focus on the compositional strategies found in the text of Scripture. Perhaps less well-known is his comprehensive vision for theological education.

In part one of this volume, editors Ched Spellman and Jason K. Lee present a previously unpublished address from Sailhamer on “The Nature, Purpose, and Tasks of a Theological Seminary” and offer a reflection on the setting, substance, and significance of this new work. Part two includes a collection of Sailhamer’s articles, essays, and reviews that are less-well known yet relate to some of the major topics he develops in his proposal for theological education. These writings focus on the use of history and hermeneutics with an eye toward the nature of biblical narratives. This section also includes some of Sailhamer’s interaction with works from several different disciplines (from biblical exegesis to systematic theology) as well as his reflections on the state of Old Testament studies. The volume ends with a comprehensive bibliography of Sailhamer’s writings and research.