Stein argues in this paper that in a communication process, meaning is determined by the author. He acknowledges his debt to E. D. Hirsch Jr. and his book Validity in Interpretation. Stein provides an extended argument for author-determined meaning.

The author sees a crisis in exegesis. He laments the lack of distinction between meaning and significance in interpretation theory. He examines Paul’s use of the Mosaic civil law from Deuteronomy 25:4 in 1 Corinthians 9:8–10 to determine how Paul used the OT.