ABSTRACT
The metaphor of the disciple as a 'scribe trained for the kingdom of heaven' offers a suggestive scriptural warrant for exploration of the role of biblical scholarship in preaching. The image of the 'scribe' is of a person schooled in the sacred traditions, so immersed in the disciplines of reading and interpretation, that true discernment and communication of God's ways with the world becomes possible. Against the backdrop of preaching so understood, biblical scholarship is necessarily a subordinate partner. Historically speaking, biblical scholarship was never intended to be an end in itself. By analogy, one way of appreciating the role of biblical scholarship in preaching is to think of the biblical scholar as a member of a large and ongoing interpretative community helping to sustain skilled performance of the text of Scripture. Another way to situate biblical scholarship constructively within a larger framework is to draw on metaphors of 'deepening' and to think of biblical scholarship as a deepening practice.
