In this book, James Aageson likens interpretation to a conversation and uses Paul as a model for illustrating this. In Paul's case, interpretation is a conversation between Paul and scripture. Aageson gives four case studies of Paul conversing with scripture: Paul's use of Abraham texts, his understanding of Israel, his use of the figure of Adam, and his seeing Christ as a figure by which all traditions are understood in new ways.

As a Jew, Paul learned the skills of biblical interpretation and placed them in the service of a christological and ecclesiological message. For Paul, scriptural texts had integrity and generated a message for his own time and situation.