In Text and Paratext, Gregory Goswell brings attention to oft-forgotten paratextual features of the Bible, namely (as indicated in the title), book order, title, and various forms of textual division, and asks what clues these features might provide “as to how early readers responded to sacred texts” (p. 6). These paratextual features provide such clues by “fossilizing and preserving for posterity alternative ways in which previous generations of readers have understood the text, and so it can also help to generate new and improved ways of reading” (p. 7). The book explores these clues and offers examples of new readings.
The book is divided into three parts: (1) Canonical Structure, (2) Book Titles, and (3) Textual Divisions. After each chapter, the author gives a list of guidelines for interpreting the paratextual feature in question along with examples of interpretations. The end matter of the book includes a glossary, appendixes of...
