Building a Community of Interpreters: Readers and Hearers as

In this review of Building a Community of Interpreters Walter Dickhaut presents a thoughtful argument for treating reading and listening as creative acts equal to writing and speaking. The book is for pastors, seminary students, and serious Bible readers who want a communal, reader-centered approach to interpretation; its single biggest reason to buy is the sustained focus on the reader or hearer as an active producer of meaning rather than a passive recipient. This review explains how the book reframes familiar hermeneutical questions and why that matters for congregational and academic interpretation.

Key Features

• Reader-focused argument: Frames biblical interpretation around the experience of the reader or hearer, encouraging interpreters to consider how meaning emerges in reception.
• Community emphasis: Presents interpretation as the calling of a community, which helps readers apply insights to congregational and classroom settings.
• Practical questions: Raises concrete interpretive prompts such as what happens when the author disappears or when a reader changes spectacles, guiding reflective reading practice.
• Interdisciplinary awareness: Draws on reading and listening practices to bridge literary, historical, and pastoral approaches to scripture interpretation.
• Accessible prose: Offers careful argumentation that is readable for both academic and church audiences without dense technical jargon.
• Focus on experience: Explores topics like reader expectations and angle of vision to deepen awareness of how texts open and close in reading events.

Who It's For

The primary audience includes seminary students, Bible study leaders, pastors, and informed lay readers who want to rethink interpretation as a communal, reader-centered practice. Those teaching hermeneutics will find useful discussion prompts and a fresh angle for classroom conversation.

Readers seeking a highly technical, method-driven manual of exegetical techniques or a verse-by-verse commentary should look elsewhere; this book is stronger as a reflective, conceptual treatment of how readers and hearers produce meaning within communities.

Pros & Cons

Pros

• Emphasizes the active role of readers and hearers, making interpretation practical for communities.
• Encourages communal responsibility for meaning, a useful corrective to strictly author-centered models.
• Raises concrete, repeatable questions that guide reflective reading and listening practice.

Cons

• Less useful as a technical exegetical handbook for those needing detailed methodological steps.

Specifications

Title	Building a Community of Interpreters: Readers and Hearers as Interpreters
Author(s)	Walter R Dickhaut, Fahy G Mullhaney
Subject	Biblical interpretation, hermeneutics, exegesis
Focus	Reader and hearer experience; community interpretation
Intended audience	Pastors, students, Bible study leaders
Approach	Conceptual and reflective rather than technical commentary

Our Verdict

Building a Community of Interpreters is a thoughtful, accessible book for anyone who wants to reconceive biblical interpretation as a communal act of meaning-making. It is especially valuable for church leaders and teachers who need practical questions and a reader-focused framework; while not a step-by-step exegetical manual, it offers strong value by reshaping how communities approach texts.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the book focus on authorship or readers?
The book prioritizes the experience of readers and hearers, exploring how meaning is produced in reception rather than only in authorial intent.

Is this suitable for classroom use?
Yes; its discussion prompts and communal emphasis make it well suited for seminary classes and Bible study groups.

Will I get technical exegetical methods here?
Not in depth; the work is conceptual and reflective, offering interpretive questions rather than step-by-step technical procedures.