Exegetical Fallacies

Carson's *Exegetical Fallacies* emerged from his classroom experience teaching New Testament Greek and exegesis, where he repeatedly encountered the same interpretive mistakes across student papers and published commentaries. Written as both warning and remedy, this handbook catalogs the most common errors that plague biblical interpretation, from amateur Bible studies to scholarly publications.

The work systematically exposes fallacies across four domains: word-study errors, grammatical mistakes, logical missteps, and presuppositional blindness. Carson demonstrates how interpreters mishandle semantic range, commit the root fallacy, and confuse etymology with meaning. He shows how grammatical constructions get oversimplified or overloaded with theological weight they cannot bear. The book reveals how interpreters illegitimately transfer meanings from one context to another, build arguments on unwarranted assumptions, and allow theological agendas to predetermine exegetical conclusions. Throughout, Carson provides concrete examples from actual commentaries and theological works, naming specific instances where respected scholars have stumbled into these traps.

Though originally written for seminary students, *Exegetical Fallacies* has become essential reading across evangelical scholarship and beyond. Its influence extends to how biblical commentaries are written and evaluated, making exegetes more self-conscious about their methodology. The work serves anyone serious about biblical interpretation who wants to avoid the pitfalls that regularly ensnare both beginners and experts.

Who should read this: Seminary students beginning exegetical work will find it indispensable, as will pastors who preach regularly from the biblical text. Serious lay Bible teachers and anyone writing Bible study materials should work through Carson's warnings carefully. This is not recreational reading for casual Bible students, but essential training for those who teach others what Scripture means.