"How to Read the New Testament" is not an introduction to linguistics and New Testament interpretation. As the subtitle indicates, it is more broadly conceived: an introduction to linguistic and historical critical methodologies. Its emphasis on linguistics, particularly in part 3 ("Reading Synchronically"), however, cannot be understated, and it will provide a fresh approach to the text for many New Testament interpreters. Traditional methods of historical criticism are discussed in parts 4 ("Reading Diachronically") and 5 ("Reading Historically"). But Egger is not as interested in the methods themselves as he is in how their application informs a reading of the New Testament texts. Part 6, "Reading Hermeneutically," explores how the New Testament can continue to be relevant in the life of the church. This important volume integrates the fruit of historical criticism with the rewards of linguistic analysis. Egger s book does a magnificent job in introducing new approaches to the New Testament, as well as the classic approaches, and showing how they can and must be integrated for optimal understanding of the text. It should be the first choice of a textbook for introductory courses in New Testament. " Adela Yarbro Collins, Professor of New Testament in the Divinity School and Chair, Department of New Testament and Early Christian Literature, University of Chicago