What Is Text Reception?

Text reception refers to the process by which a text is received, understood, interpreted, and used by specific readers within a particular historical, cultural, and communal context. It does not describe what a text is, but how it functions within a network of meanings. Reception includes ways a text is read, cited, taught, paraphrased, or normalized, encompassing both conscious interpretations and implicit reading habits shaped by tradition. It does not judge interpretations as correct or incorrect, but documents which elements of a text’s semantic potential are activated, emphasized, limited, or silenced. In Evidence-Based Biblical Studies (EBBS), reception is treated as a distinct class of data: it records the history of meaning without replacing linguistic or historical analysis.

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