Date

10-14-2026

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Bible Exposition (PhD)

Chair

Richard Alan Fuhr

Keywords

Bible Repetition, Intertextuality, Echoes

Disciplines

Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion

Abstract

What is a biblical echo, and what contribution do they make to biblical interpretation? In seeking meaning, does divine inspiration overtake the author, or is the modern reader permitted to apply speculative meaning outside of the original author’s intent and context? Such questions are integral and relevant to modern biblical engagements. This includes questions such as how to approach, define, interpret, and apply what can be defined as intertextuality, or what this dissertation defines as echoes. Unfortunately, biblical echoes and repeated patterns are often misunderstood and underappreciated for what they can contribute to hermeneutical practices. Therefore, this research seeks to accentuate this importance by examining biblical echoes and patterns by listening to them in their natural environment from the author.

What this dissertation investigates is how the biblical text is in itself a living continuing echo that, when rightly addressed with a literal grammatical-historical hermeneutical investigation, allows such echoes to resonate in the present day. However, such communication requires the restraint of a dedicated and sustainable hermeneutic method. Such a structure is found in the echo hermeneutic. This proposed supplemental procedure is designed to engage intertextuality to find, discern, and apply scriptural meaning. It applies a methodical system to locate and apply meaning consistently and generate reproducible results for scholars and laypeople alike. Such results are found through applying the acronym of the word ECHO for the discovery and interpretation of intertextual echoes, as the method’s conclusion of its three C’s of interpretation helps to bridge meaning to application.

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