Biblical Theology: A Canonical, Thematic, and Ethical Approach PDF

“When Neil Armstrong finally landed on the moon and famously said, ‘That’s one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind,’ on July 20th, 1969, this was the culmination of years of planning, research, and hard work at NASA which silenced, at least for a while, all the naysayers who said such a monumental task could not be accomplished—ever. In many ways, creating a helpful and detailed biblical theology that encompasses every book of the Bible is frankly almost as monumental an achievement as the moon landing, not least because biblical studies has become a discipline that has splintered into many specialized enterprises. Furthermore, Biblical Theology by Köstenberger and Goswell manages to deal not just with the themes or the storylines of the sixty- six books of the Bible, but even with the ethics of each book too, recognizing that the theology and ethics of the Bible are inherently intertwined and interdependent. Whether or not one agrees in detail with the basically Reformed approach to the themes and narrative of the Bible that one finds in this volume, this book is a giant leap in the right direction to producing a coherent and comprehensive understanding of biblical theology.” Ben Witherington III, Jean R. Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary; Emeritus Professor, St. Andrews University, Scotland “More books on biblical theology are appearing of late, but this book is a pearl of great price that does not simply probe the central themes and ethics of individual books and authors—it tracks their place in the storyline of Scripture. I wish I’d had this book for my first classes when I began studying God’s word, but it also offers a wealth of insights for those already schooled in Scripture. It is brilliantly conceived and executed, and I recommend it highly for students at all levels, pastors, and researchers.” David E. Garland, Professor of Christian Scriptures, George W. Truett Theological Seminary “This work meets a genuine and crucial need to build biblical theology inductively from the constituent works of the canon. While listening to the individual voices, the authors masterfully demonstrate the coherence of the canonical symphony highlighting God’s love for the world in Christ. The authors’ competence in addressing and synthesizing such a broad range of material with sensitivity and effectiveness is remarkable!” Craig S. Keener, F. M. and Ada Thompson Professor of Biblical Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary “Biblical theology explores the interactions of the literary, historical, and theological dimensions of the various biblical books, focusing on the Bible’s unifying storyline. It is, by definition, inter- disciplinary. Yet, two angles, intrinsic to the nature of the Bible itself, are sorely neglected in most studies of biblical theology: the significance of the order of the books in the Bible and the Bible’s moral teaching. Biblical Theology by Köstenberger and Goswell incorporates canonical and ethical approaches, resulting in a rich and rewarding exposition that is comprehensive in scope. The book is a magisterial study of immense value to students and scholars, preachers and pastors, and anyone interested in the Bible’s teaching about the will of God for his people and his world.” Brian Rosner, Principal, Ridley College “In Biblical Theology, Goswell and Köstenberger are a dynamic duo, uniting their specializations in each Testament for the good of the church. The result is a treasure trove of insights into the theology of each book of the Bible and the rich connections binding these books together. An impressive work!” Andrew Abernethy, Professor of Old Testament, Wheaton College; author, Savoring Scripture “In this wide-ranging, well-researched book, Andreas Köstenberger and Gregory Goswell make a significant and welcome contribution to the field of biblical theology. The authors carefully examine the Scriptures’ canonical structure and book order, wrestle seriously with their unity and diversity, and rightly stress the essential ethical component of biblical theology. This volume abounds with fresh insights and faithful exegetical and theological reflections, and I warmly commend it to pas- tors, scholars, and all serious students of Scripture.” Brian J. Tabb, Academic Dean and Professor of Biblical Studies, Bethlehem College & Seminary “In Biblical Theology, Köstenberger and Goswell clearly define and locate biblical theology within its canonical, thematic, and ethical setting. They cover every major section of Scripture within the overall biblical storyline while also showing the relation between the Testaments. You rarely find a work that approaches the Scriptures from an exegetical, theological, and ethical perspective. Here you have it! Their marvelous contribution is comprehensive in scope, holistic in approach, grounded in solid biblical exegesis, and attentive to the unity and diversity of the Scriptures. They are faithful to the Bible’s overarching goal by identifying the love of God in Christ as the heart of the biblical story. Students and church leaders looking for a reliable and engaging resource to guide them through the Bible’s message about God and how he relates to his people and his world, look no further. I recommend it highly!” J. Scott Duvall, Fuller Professor of Biblical Studies, Ouachita Baptist University “Köstenberger and Goswell’s Biblical Theology is a remarkably comprehensive treatment. It offers both a bird’s-eye view—giving more attention than is often done to the theological significance of the arrangement of the biblical books within the canon—and an ‘up close and personal view’ analyz- ing the theological contribution of each book of the Bible. The authors describe the ‘ethical’ signifi- cance and contribution to the storyline of Scripture of each book and each collection of books. This volume thus puts on clear display both the diversity and the unity of our single canonical volume.” Douglas Moo, Kenneth T. Wessner Professor of New Testament, Wheaton College “Evangelical biblical theologians have often been either too restrictive or too broad. In this refresh- ing volume, Köstenberger and Goswell refuse to reduce the Bible to a single concept yet refrain from multiplying endless categories. By offering a book-by-book approach that respects the Bible’s canonical ordering, they helpfully identify the major themes of each inspired work and situate them within the grand storyline of Scripture. A personal favorite is their inductive treatment of biblical ethics. I commend this volume without reservation to Christians who are serious about growing in their literacy of God’s word.” Cory M. Marsh, Professor of New Testament, Southern California Seminary; author, A Primer on Biblical Literacy “The authors break new ground by furnishing much more under ‘biblical theology’ than one normally finds. In this book, we encounter methodological considerations and history of the disci- pline, hermeneutics (implicitly), canonical placement and its implications, theological exposition leading to thematic highlights of each book of the Bible, the ethics of every book, and each book’s place in the Bible’s storyline. A lengthy and full conclusion ties everything together. The extensive scholarship of Köstenberger and Goswell combines seamlessly, resulting in a wide-ranging synthesis drawing on a wealth of bibliography. The last chapter even offers a vision for the future of biblical theology. Here, then, is a compendium of recent generations of scholarship, with fresh insights for grappling with the whole counsel of Scripture in this and the coming generation.” Robert W. Yarbrough, Professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary “Biblical theology holds in tension a variety of complexities—unity versus diversity, individual book versus corpus or canon, theme versus storyline. It indeed is a challenge to encompass all the layers of Scripture’s richness. In that way, this volume makes a major contribution to the field in that it endeavors to show how all these factors build upon each other into a cohesive whole. This work then is not only a resource to observe biblical theology in every book of Scripture, but also gives much food for thought as to how we engage in biblical theology.” Abner Chou, President and John F. MacArthur Endowed Fellow, The Master’s University “How do we hear the meaning of individual parts of the Bible in light of the larger whole or de- termine overall themes in the Bible with proper respect to its parts? In Biblical Theology, Andreas Köstenberger and Gregory Goswell offer a welcomed method for discovering the theology of the whole Bible by beginning with careful interpretation of its diverse parts. What I love most about this seeming magnum opus is that it not only teaches a method for doing biblical theology that readers can put into practice but also models it by careful treatment of each book of the Bible where rich themes are drawn out, connections made, and the resounding voice of the triune God heard. Add to this a section on the ethical message derived from the Bible’s theology, and Köstenberger and Gos- well’s Biblical Theology is something all serious readers of the Bible will want to keep close at hand.” Sam Ferguson, Rector, The Falls Church Anglican, Falls Church, Virginia “In an age when most biblical scholarship is skeptical about the unity of the Bible, Köstenberger and Goswell have coauthored an impressive biblical theology text—a text in the tradition of Adolf Schlatter, Geerhardus Vos, and Charles H. H. Scobie, which holds together admirably both the unity of the Bible and the diversity of each canonical book’s contribution to the grand storyline of redemptive history. Readers will appreciate the consistent application of Köstenberger and Goswell’s solid methodology, their sophisticated exegetical engagement of the Scriptures themselves, and their scholarly engagement of the secondary literature. This is a fine text that will serve the church well.” C. Scott Shidemantle, Professor of Biblical Studies, Geneva College “Very few scholars are brave enough to attempt to produce a biblical theology covering both Testa- ments. Köstenberger and Goswell ambitiously and innovatively seek to do so by considering the themes, ethics, and place within the storyline of Scripture of each biblical book. They pack a lot in and provide the reader with judicious exegetical decisions, insightful ethical reflection, and sound theological conclusions. Highly recommended.” Alexander E. Stewart, Vice-President for Academic Services and Professor of New Testament, Gateway Seminary “Andreas J. Köstenberger and Gregory Goswell have provided a unique and significant contribu- tion with Biblical Theology. Their work is not only comprehensive, but it also provides details into concerns not often addressed by standard texts on the subject of biblical theology. Their canonical approach takes seriously the fact that a ‘biblical theology’ depends upon the relationships between books within a book. Their thematic approach recognizes the significance of what mattered to the individual authors of Scripture, while also tracing the threads that reflect the message of the divine author. Finally, the attention given to an ethical reading comes with the understanding that bibli- cal theology, from Genesis to Revelation, is inherently applicable. The value of this work cannot be overstated!” Richard Alan Fuhr Jr., Professor, Rawlings School of Divinity, Liberty University; coauthor, Inductive Bible Study: Observation, Interpretation, and Application through the Lenses of History, Literature, and Theology Biblical Theology Biblical Theology A Canonical, Thematic, and Ethical Approach Andreas J. Köstenberger and Gregory Goswell ® W H E AT O N , I L L I N O I S Biblical Theology: A Canonical, Thematic, and Ethical Approach Copyright © 2023 by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Gregory Goswell Published by C rossway 1300 Crescent Street Wheaton, Illinois 60187 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, except as provided for by USA copyright law. Crossway® is a registered trademark in the United States of America. Cover design: Jordan Singer First printing 2023 Printed in China Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated into any other language. Scripture quotations marked NIV are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com. The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™ Scripture quotations marked NASB are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org. Scripture quotations marked NASB 1995 are taken from the New American Standard Bible®, copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org. Scripture quotations marked RSV are from the Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers. Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NRSV are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright © 1989 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations designated NET are from the NET Bible® copyright © 1996–2016 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. http://netbible.com. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked LEB are from the Lexham English Bible. Copyright 2012 Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software. All emphases within Bible quotations have been added by the authors. Bracketed words in Bible quotations indicate slight variances from the English Standard Version. The maps on pages 529, 584, and 637 are adapted with permission from The ESV Concise Study Bible, Copyright © 2021 by Crossway. Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4335-6969-2 ePub ISBN: 978-1-4335-6972-2 PDF ISBN: 978-1-4335-6970-8 Mobipocket ISBN: 978-1-4335-6971-5 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Köstenberger, Andreas J., 1957- author. | Goswell, Greg, author. Title: Biblical theology : a canonical, thematic, and ethical approach / Andreas J. Köstenberger and Gregory Goswell. Description: Wheaton, Illinois : Crossway, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2022002642 (print) | LCCN 2022002643 (ebook) | ISBN 9781433569692 (hardcover) | ISBN 9781433569708 (pdf ) | ISBN 9781433569715 (mobipocket) | ISBN 9781433569722 (epub) Subjects: LCSH: Bible--Theology. Classification: LCC BS543.K68 2023 (print) | LCC BS543 (ebook) | DDC 230/.041--dc23/eng/20220826 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022002642 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022002643 Crossway is a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. RRDS 33 32 31 30 29 28 27 26 25 24 23 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Dedications “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16) Andreas: To Marny, beloved companion and partner, precious gift from God To my daughters and sons-in-law—Lauren and John, Tahlia and Dan And to my sons David and Timothy “One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:4) Gregory: To Daniel Ahn and Sang Won Kim “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also...” (2 Timothy 2:2) Contents Detailed Outline xiii Authors’ Preface xxv Abbreviations xxvii List of Illustrations xxxi 1 Biblical Theology: A Canonical, Thematic, and Ethical Approach 1 PA RT 1: T H E O L D T E S TA M E N T 2 The Old Testament Framework 67 3 The Law 105 4 The Prophets 159 5 The Writings 277 PA RT 2: T H E N E W T E S TA M E N T 6 The Order of Books in the New Testament Canon 347 7 Relationship between the Testaments 367 8 The Gospels 407 9 The Book of Acts 495 10 The Letters of Paul 519 11 The General Epistles 619 12 The Apocalypse 675 13 Conclusion 687 Bibliography 765 Name Index 891 Subject Index 911 Scripture Index 923 Detailed Outline Chapter 1: Biblical Theology: A Canonical, Thematic, and Ethical Approach 1 1.1 The Nature of Biblical Theology 1 1.1.1 Biblical and Systematic Theology 8 1.1.2 Biblical Theology and the Theological Interpretation of Scripture (TIS) 15 1.1.3 Biblical Theology and Hermeneutics 19 1.2 The Practice of Biblical Theology 22 1.2.1 Method in Biblical Theology 24 1.2.2 Unity, Diversity, and the Quest for a Single Center 27 1.2.3 Detecting and Analyzing Themes 32 1.2.3.1 Case Study #1: Letters to Timothy and Titus 33 1.2.3.2 Case Study #2: The Holy Spirit 39 1.2.4 The Storyline of Scripture 43 1.3 The Significance of the Canonical Form(s) of Scripture for Biblical Theology 47 1.3.1 Biblical Book Order and Hermeneutics 47 1.3.2 A Missing Factor in Recent Efforts at Theological Interpretation? 50 1.3.3 How Theological Is Biblical Book Order? 55 1.4 Biblical Theology and Ethics 58 1.4.1 The Relation of Biblical Theology to Ethics 59 1.4.2 Discerning the Ethical Import of Narrative and Poetry 62 1.5 An Analogy: Biblical Theology as a Moderated Family Conversation 63 PART 1: THE OLD TESTAMENT Chapter 2: The Old Testament Framework 67 2.1 The Tripartite Structure of the Hebrew Canon 67 2.1.1 The Torah 69 2.1.2 The Prophets 70 2.1.2.1 The Former Prophets 72 2.1.2.2 The Latter Prophets 73 xiii xiv D e ta i l e d O u t l i n e 2.1.3 The Writings 76 2.1.4 Conclusions 80 2.2 The Structure of the Greek Old Testament Canon 80 2.2.1 The Pentateuch 83 2.2.2 The Historical Books 85 2.2.3 The Poetical Books 88 2.2.4 The Prophetic Books 89 2.2.5 Conclusions 90 2.3 The Alternative Ends of the Old Testament Canon 90 2.3.1 Alternative Last Books 91 2.3.2 Ending with Chronicles 94 2.3.3 Ending with Ezra-Nehemiah 95 2.3.4 Ending with Daniel 98 2.3.5 Ending with Malachi 100 2.3.6 Ending with Esther 102 2.3.7 A Bridge to the New Testament? 103 Chapter 3: The Law 105 3.1 The Pentateuch Book by Book 106 3.1.1 Genesis 107 3.1.1.1 The Themes of Genesis 108 3.1.1.2 The Ethics of Genesis 113 3.1.1.3 Genesis in the Storyline of Scripture 115 3.1.2 Exodus 118 3.1.2.1 The Themes of Exodus 119 3.1.2.2 The Ethics of Exodus 122 3.1.2.3 Exodus in the Storyline of Scripture 124 3.1.3 Leviticus 127 3.1.3.1 The Themes of Leviticus 128 3.1.3.2 The Ethics of Leviticus 131 3.1.3.3 Leviticus in the Storyline of Scripture 133 3.1.4 Numbers 134 3.1.4.1 The Themes of Numbers 135 3.1.4.2 The Ethics of Numbers 137 3.1.4.3 Numbers in the Storyline of Scripture 138 3.1.5 Deuteronomy 139 3.1.5.1 The Themes of Deuteronomy 139 3.1.5.2 The Ethics of Deuteronomy 143 3.1.5.3 Deuteronomy in the Storyline of Scripture 148 3.2 Central Themes of the Pentateuch 149 D e ta i l e d O u t l i n e xv 3.3 The Ethics of the Pentateuch 152 3.4 The Pentateuch in the Storyline of Scripture 155 Chapter 4: The Prophets 159 4.1 The Former Prophets 159 4.2 The Former Prophets Book by Book 160 4.2.1 Joshua 161 4.2.1.1 The Themes of Joshua 161 4.2.1.2 The Ethics of Joshua 164 4.2.1.3 Joshua in the Storyline of Scripture 166 4.2.2 Judges 167 4.2.2.1 The Themes of Judges 168 4.2.2.2 The Ethics of Judges 172 4.2.2.3 Judges in the Storyline of Scripture 172 4.2.3 Samuel 174 4.2.3.1 The Themes of Samuel 175 4.2.3.2 The Ethics of Samuel 178 4.2.3.3 Samuel in the Storyline of Scripture 180 4.2.4 Kings 182 4.2.4.1 The Themes of Kings 182 4.2.4.2 The Ethics of Kings 186 4.2.4.3 Kings in the Storyline of Scripture 189 4.3 Central Themes of the Former Prophets 190 4.4 The Ethics of the Former Prophets 193 4.5 The Former Prophets in the Storyline of Scripture 196 4.6 The Latter Prophets 199 4.7 The Latter Prophets Book by Book 201 4.7.1 Isaiah 201 4.7.1.1 The Themes of Isaiah 203 4.7.1.2 The Ethics of Isaiah 206 4.7.1.3 Isaiah in the Storyline of Scripture 208 4.7.2 Jeremiah 209 4.7.2.1 The Themes of Jeremiah 210 4.7.2.2 The Ethics of Jeremiah 212 4.7.2.3 Jeremiah in the Storyline of Scripture 214 4.7.3 Ezekiel 215 4.7.3.1 The Themes of Ezekiel 216 4.7.3.2 The Ethics of Ezekiel 221 4.7.3.3 Ezekiel in the Storyline of Scripture 222 4.7.4 Book of the Twelve 223 xvi D e ta i l e d O u t l i n e 4.7.4.1 Hosea 223 4.7.4.1.1 The Themes of Hosea 224 4.7.4.1.2 The Ethics of Hosea 226 4.7.4.1.3 Hosea in the Storyline of Scripture 227 4.7.4.2 Joel 227 4.7.4.2.1 The Themes of Joel 228 4.7.4.2.2 The Ethics of Joel 229 4.7.4.2.3 Joel in the Storyline of Scripture 230 4.7.4.3 Amos 231 4.7.4.3.1 The Themes of Amos 232 4.7.4.3.2 The Ethics of Amos 233 4.7.4.3.3 Amos in the Storyline of Scripture 235 4.7.4.4 Obadiah 236 4.7.4.4.1 The Themes of Obadiah 236 4.7.4.4.2 The Ethics of Obadiah 236 4.7.4.4.3 Obadiah in the Storyline of Scripture 237 4.7.4.5 Jonah 238 4.7.4.5.1 The Themes of Jonah 238 4.7.4.5.2 The Ethics of Jonah 239 4.7.4.5.3 Jonah in the Storyline of Scripture 240 4.7.4.6 Micah 242 4.7.4.6.1 The Themes of Micah 242 4.7.4.6.2 The Ethics of Micah 243 4.7.4.6.3 Micah in the Storyline of Scripture 244 4.7.4.7 Nahum 245 4.7.4.7.1 The Themes of Nahum 245 4.7.4.7.2 The Ethics of Nahum 246 4.7.4.7.3 Nahum in the Storyline of Scripture 246 4.7.4.8 Habakkuk 247 4.7.4.8.1 The Themes of Habakkuk 247 4.7.4.8.2 The Ethics of Habakkuk 248 4.7.4.8.3 Habakkuk in the Storyline of Scripture 248 4.7.4.9 Zephaniah 249 4.7.4.9.1 The Themes of Zephaniah 249 4.7.4.9.2 The Ethics of Zephaniah 251 4.7.4.9.3 Zephaniah in the Storyline of Scripture 251 4.7.4.10 Haggai 251 4.7.4.10.1 The Themes of Haggai 254 4.7.4.10.2 The Ethics of Haggai 254 4.7.4.10.3 Haggai in the Storyline of Scripture 254 D e ta i l e d O u t l i n e xvii 4.7.4.11 Zechariah 255 4.7.4.11.1 The Themes of Zechariah 256 4.7.4.11.2 The Ethics of Zechariah 259 4.7.4.11.3 Zechariah in the Storyline of Scripture 259 4.7.4.12 Malachi 260 4.7.4.12.1 The Themes of Malachi 260 4.7.4.12.2 The Ethics of Malachi 262 4.7.4.12.3 Malachi in the Storyline of Scripture 263 4.8 Central Themes of the Latter Prophets 264 4.9 The Ethics of the Latter Prophets 269 4.10 The Latter Prophets in the Storyline of Scripture 273 Chapter 5: The Writings 277 5.1 The Writings Book by Book 277 5.1.1 Psalms 278 5.1.1.1 The Themes of Psalms 278 5.1.1.2 The Ethics of Psalms 282 5.1.1.3 Psalms in the Storyline of Scripture 284 5.1.2 Job 285 5.1.2.1 The Themes of Job 286 5.1.2.2 The Ethics of Job 287 5.1.2.3 Job in the Storyline of Scripture 288 5.1.3 Proverbs 290 5.1.3.1 The Themes of Proverbs 290 5.1.3.2 The Ethics of Proverbs 292 5.1.3.3 Proverbs in the Storyline of Scripture 294 5.1.4 Megillot 294 5.1.4.1 Ruth 295 5.1.4.1.1 The Themes of Ruth 295 5.1.4.1.2 The Ethics of Ruth 296 5.1.4.1.3 Ruth in the Storyline of Scripture 297 5.1.4.2 Song of Songs 299 5.1.4.2.1 The Themes of the Song of Songs 299 5.1.4.2.2 The Ethics of the Song of Songs 301 5.1.4.2.3 The Song of Songs in the Storyline of Scripture 302 5.1.4.3 Ecclesiastes 302 5.1.4.3.1 The Themes of Ecclesiastes 302 5.1.4.3.2 The Ethics of Ecclesiastes 304 5.1.4.3.3 Ecclesiastes in the Storyline of Scripture 305 5.1.4.4 Lamentations 306 xviii D e ta i l e d O u t l i n e 5.1.4.4.1 The Themes of Lamentations 306 5.1.4.4.2 The Ethics of Lamentations 308 5.1.4.4.3 Lamentations in the Storyline of Scripture 308 5.1.4.5 Esther 311 5.1.4.5.1 The Themes of Esther 311 5.1.4.5.2 The Ethics of Esther 313 5.1.4.5.3 Esther in the Storyline of Scripture 314 5.1.5 Daniel 316 5.1.5.1 The Themes of Daniel 317 5.1.5.2 The Ethics of Daniel 320 5.1.5.3 Daniel in the Storyline of Scripture 323 5.1.6 Ezra-Nehemiah 323 5.1.6.1 The Themes of Ezra-Nehemiah 324 5.1.6.2 The Ethics of Ezra-Nehemiah 327 5.1.6.3 Ezra-Nehemiah in the Storyline of Scripture 329 5.1.7 Chronicles 330 5.1.7.1 The Themes of Chronicles 331 5.1.7.2 The Ethics of Chronicles 333 5.1.7.3 Chronicles in the Storyline of Scripture 334 5.2 Central Themes of the Writings 336 5.3 The Ethics of the Writings 338 5.4 The Writings in the Storyline of Scripture 341 PART 2: THE NEW TESTAMENT Chapter 6: The Order of Books in the New Testament Canon 347 6.1 The Order of the Books of the New Testament 347 6.1.1 The Fourfold Gospel 347 6.1.2 Acts 353 6.1.3 The Letters of Paul 356 6.1.4 Hebrews 359 6.1.5 The General Epistles 361 6.1.6 Revelation 363 6.2 Conclusions 365 Chapter 7: Relationship between the Testaments 367 7.1 Two Testaments in Parallel: The Influence of the Old Testament on the Structuring of the New Testament Canon 367 7.1.1 A Parallel Structure to the Greek Old Testament? 367 7.1.2 A Structure Parallel to the Hebrew Bible? 372 D e ta i l e d O u t l i n e xix 7.1.3 Two Readings of the New Testament 374 7.1.4 Conclusions 380 7.2 The Relationship between the Old and the New Testament 381 7.3 The New Testament Use of the Old Testament 383 7.3.1 Matthew 385 7.3.2 Mark 387 7.3.3 Luke 388 7.3.4 John 390 7.3.5 Acts 392 7.3.6 Paul 393 7.3.6.1 Romans 394 7.3.6.2 1 Corinthians 397 7.3.6.3 2 Corinthians 398 7.3.6.4 Galatians 398 7.3.6.5 Ephesians 399 7.3.6.6 1–2 Timothy and Titus 400 7.3.7 Hebrews 401 7.3.7.1 Exhortation in Hebrews 402 7.3.7.2 Exposition in Hebrews 403 7.3.8 James 404 7.3.9 Peter 404 7.3.10 Jude 405 7.3.11 Revelation 405 Chapter 8: The Gospels 407 8.1 The Foundational Nature of the Fourfold Gospel 407 8.2 Matthew 410 8.2.1 The Themes of Matthew 413 8.2.2 The Ethics of Matthew 417 8.2.3 Matthew in the Storyline of Scripture 420 8.3 Mark 429 8.3.1 The Themes of Mark 431 8.3.2 The Ethics of Mark 433 8.3.3 Mark in the Storyline of Scripture 436 8.4 Luke 440 8.4.1 The Themes of Luke 441 8.4.2 The Ethics of Luke 447 8.4.3 Luke in the Storyline of Scripture 450 8.5 John 459 8.5.1 The Themes of John 462 8.5.2 The Ethics of John 469 xx D e ta i l e d O u t l i n e 8.5.3 John in the Storyline of Scripture 472 8.6 Central Themes of the Gospels 478 8.6.1 The Synoptic Problem 478 8.6.2 Relationship between John and the Synoptics 481 8.6.3 Central Themes in the Synoptics and John 483 8.7 The Ethics of the Gospels 486 8.8 The Gospels in the Storyline of Scripture 490 Chapter 9: The Book of Acts 495 9.1 The Function of Acts in the New Testament Canon 495 9.2 The Themes of Acts 498 9.3 The Ethics of Acts 506 9.4 Acts in the Storyline of Scripture 513 Chapter 10: The Letters of Paul 519 10.1 Their Place in the New Testament Canon, Canonical versus Chronological Order 519 10.2 The Missionary Context of Paul’s Letters 523 10.3 The Lack of a Systematized Pauline Theology and Its Hermeneutical Implications 527 10.4 Individual Letters 529 10.4.1 Romans 531 10.4.1.1 The Themes of Romans 531 10.4.1.2 The Ethics of Romans 536 10.4.1.3 Romans in the Storyline of Scripture 539 10.4.2 1 Corinthians 543 10.4.2.1 The Themes of 1 Corinthians 544 10.4.2.2 The Ethics of 1 Corinthians 545 10.4.2.3 1 Corinthians in the Storyline of Scripture 551 10.4.3 2 Corinthians 553 10.4.3.1 The Themes of 2 Corinthians 554 10.4.3.2 The Ethics of 2 Corinthians 556 10.4.3.3 2 Corinthians in the Storyline of Scripture 558 10.4.4 Galatians 559 10.4.4.1 The Themes of Galatians 559 10.4.4.2 The Ethics of Galatians 563 10.4.4.3 Galatians in the Storyline of Scripture 565 10.4.5 Ephesians 567 10.4.5.1 The Themes of Ephesians 568 10.4.5.2 The Ethics of Ephesians 571 D e ta i l e d O u t l i n e xxi 10.4.5.3 Ephesians in the Storyline of Scripture 573 10.4.6 Philippians 574 10.4.6.1 The Themes of Philippians 574 10.4.6.2 The Ethics of Philippians 576 10.4.6.3 Philippians in the Storyline of Scripture 578 10.4.7 Colossians 578 10.4.7.1 The Themes of Colossians 579 10.4.7.2 The Ethics of Colossians 580 10.4.7.3 Colossians in the Storyline of Scripture 582 10.4.8 1–2 Thessalonians 583 10.4.8.1 The Themes of 1–2 Thessalonians 584 10.4.8.2 The Ethics of 1–2 Thessalonians 586 10.4.8.3 1–2 Thessalonians in the Storyline of Scripture 588 10.4.9 The Letters to Timothy and Titus 590 10.4.9.1 The Themes of the Letters to Timothy and Titus 591 10.4.9.2 The Ethics of the Letters to Timothy and Titus 598 10.4.9.3 The Letters to Timothy and Titus in the Storyline of Scripture 600 10.4.10 Philemon 602 10.4.10.1 The Themes of Philemon 603 10.4.10.2 The Ethics of Philemon 604 10.4.10.3 Philemon in the Storyline of Scripture 605 10.5 Central Themes of the Pauline Epistles 606 10.6 The Ethics of the Pauline Epistles 611 10.7 The Pauline Epistles in the Storyline of Scripture 615 Chapter 11: The General Epistles 619 11.1 The Place of the General Epistles in the New Testament Canon 619 11.2 Hebrews 620 11.2.1 The Themes of Hebrews 621 11.2.2 The Ethics of Hebrews 624 11.2.3 Hebrews in the Storyline of Scripture 625 11.3 James 627 11.3.1 The Themes of James 629 11.3.2 The Ethics of James 633 11.3.3 James in the Storyline of Scripture 634 11.4 1 Peter 636 11.4.1 The Themes of 1 Peter 637 11.4.2 The Ethics of 1 Peter 638 11.4.3 1 Peter in the Storyline of Scripture 639 11.5 2 Peter 641 xxii D e ta i l e d O u t l i n e 11.5.1 The Themes of 2 Peter 643 11.5.2 The Ethics of 2 Peter 645 11.5.3 2 Peter in the Storyline of Scripture 647 11.6 The Letters of John 649 11.6.1 1 John 651 11.6.1.1 The Themes of 1 John 653 11.6.1.2 The Ethics of 1 John 654 11.6.1.3 1 John in the Storyline of Scripture 659 11.6.2 2 John 659 11.6.2.1 The Themes of 2 John 660 11.6.2.2 The Ethics of 2 John 661 11.6.2.3 2 John in the Storyline of Scripture 661 11.6.3 3 John 662 11.6.3.1 The Themes of 3 John 662 11.6.3.2 The Ethics of 3 John 663 11.6.3.3 3 John in the Storyline of Scripture 663 11.7 Jude 664 11.7.1 The Themes of Jude 667 11.7.2 The Ethics of Jude 669 11.7.3 Jude in the Storyline of Scripture 670 11.8 Central Themes of the General Epistles 671 11.9 The Ethics of the General Epistles 672 11.10 The General Epistles in the Storyline of Scripture 673 Chapter 12: The Apocalypse 675 12.1 The Themes of the Apocalypse 676 12.2 The Ethics of the Apocalypse 681 12.3 The Apocalypse in the Storyline of Scripture 685 Chapter 13: Conclusion 687 13.1 Unity and Diversity in Biblical Theology 687 13.2 Biblical Themes 693 13.2.1 Themes in the Old Testament 693 13.2.1.1 Creation 694 13.2.1.2 Covenant 694 13.2.1.3 Kingship 696 13.2.1.4 Messiah 696 13.2.1.5 Sanctuary 698 13.2.1.6 God’s Spirit 698 13.2.1.7 Israel and the Nations 699 D e ta i l e d O u t l i n e xxiii 13.2.1.8 Prophecy 700 13.2.1.9 The Kindness of God 701 13.2.1.10 The Love of God 702 13.2.2 Themes in the New Testament and the Entire Bible 703 13.2.2.1 Love 703 13.2.2.2 Christ/Messiah 706 13.2.2.3 The King and His Kingdom 709 13.2.2.4 New Covenant/Exodus/Creation 712 13.2.2.5 The Cross 713 13.2.2.6 The Spirit 716 13.2.2.7 The Gospel 718 13.2.2.8 The Church 720 13.2.2.9 Remembrance 724 13.2.2.10 Mission 726 13.2.2.11 The Last Days 728 13.3 Biblical Ethics 729 13.3.1 The Ethics of the Old Testament 730 13.3.1.1 One People of God 731 13.3.1.2 The Ethics of Gratitude 731 13.3.1.3 A Holy People 731 13.3.1.4 An Ethic of Love and Generosity 732 13.3.1.5 Wise Living 732 13.3.1.6 A Social Conscience 733 13.3.1.7 Trusting in God 733 13.3.1.8 Repentance and Forgiveness 734 13.3.2 The Ethics of the New Testament and of the Entire Bible 734 13.3.2.1 Love 735 13.3.2.2 Faith 739 13.3.2.3 Hope 741 13.3.2.4 Transformation 743 13.3.2.5 Community 744 13.3.2.6 Reversal 745 13.3.2.7 Mission 747 13.3.2.8 Suffering 749 13.3.2.9 Virtues and Vices 750 13.4 The Biblical Storyline 752 13.4.1 The Storyline of the Old Testament 752 13.4.2 The Storyline of the New Testament and of the Entire Bible 756 13.5 Conclusion: The Future of Biblical Theology 760 Authors’ Preface Writing a biblical theology is no small endeavor. The proverbial eating of an elephant comes to mind. Who in their right mind would tackle such a daunting task? There were many times during this process when we thought we had bitten off more than we could chew. And yet, tackling such a massive undertaking, taxing though as it has been, has also been greatly rewarding. It has forced us to fill gaps in our previous research, encouraged us to look more closely at intercanonical connections, and enabled us to use some of our previous research and integrate it into a larger whole. In many ways, therefore, this is a capstone project that culminates decades of in-depth research in various fields pertaining to Old and New Testament study. Both of us have greatly enjoyed partnering with each other in this project. We wrote this book not merely with academics in mind but also pastors, seminary students, and other serious students of Scripture. We hope that you find this book helpful, logical, and clear. The layout of this volume is rather simple. We take a canonical, thematic, and ethical approach and follow the canonical order throughout (the Hebrew order for the Old Testament), as we believe students of Scripture have much to gain from such careful biblical-theological reading. For every book of the Bible, we discuss the themes, ethics, and place in the storyline of Scripture. In this way, we aim to blend a book-by-book reading with both a central-themes and a metanarrative approach. In a work of this scope, it is virtually impossible to cite the entire relevant literature. As a result, certain judgment calls are inevitable. In keeping with our understanding of the nature of biblical theology, we normally presuppose introductory matters, including historical background, as well as most matters of exegesis. For this reason, we do not always cite Old or New Testament introductions or commentaries (with regard to the New Testament, the present volume builds on Andreas’s work, coauthored with Scott Kellum and Charles Quarles, The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown). Our focus is on bib- lical theology, which involves connections between biblical books, particularly the New Testament use of the Old Testament. In this regard, we cite primarily the monograph literature, journal articles, and essays. In addition, we interact with Old and New Testa- ment theologies as well as biblical theologies. xxv xxvi A u t h o r s ’ P r e fa c e In terms of primary influences, we believe that biblical theology, properly conceived, is inductive, that is, it should start with a careful and sustained reading of both Testa- ments in the original languages. For this reason, before turning to the secondary litera- ture, or even primary literature outside the Bible, we developed our understanding of the theology of a given book, as well as its ethic and place in the storyline of Scripture, directly by reading that book repeatedly, both in its own right and in its canonical con- text. In addition, we particularly benefited from the work of Richard Hays, especially The Moral Vision of the New Testament, Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul, and Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels. There are many to thank in such a project. Andreas is grateful for the partnership of his wife, Marny. He is also grateful for the research assistance provided by Quinn Mosier, Jimmy Roh, Drake Isabel, and Mark Baker and for the careful reading of the manuscript and helpful editing suggestions by Chuck Bumgardner. Greg is thankful for the unstinting support of his wife, Mignon, and the contribution of many authors and teachers over the years, though pride of place must be given to the late William (Bill) Dumbrell, whose teaching in Greg’s undergraduate study of theology fed his interest in the Bible and in biblical theology in particular. Abbreviations GENERAL c. circa, about cf. confer, compare ch(s). chapter(s) diss. dissertation Eng. English translations esp. especially ET English title fig. figure ibid. in the same place idem the same lit. literally mg. marginal reading MT Masoretic Text n.b. nota bene, take careful note passim here and there BIBLIOGRAPHIC AB Anchor Bible ABD Anchor Bible Dictionary. Edited by D. N. Freedman. 6 vols. New York: Doubleday, 1992. ABR Australian Biblical Review AGJU Arbeiten zur Geschichte des antiken Judentums und des Urchristentums AJEC Ancient Judaism and Early Christianity ALGHJ Arbeiten zur Literatur und Geschichte des hellenistischen Judentums AnBib Analecta Biblica AOAT Alter Orient und Altes Testament xxvii xxviii A b b r e v i at i o n s ApOTC Apollos Old Testament Commentary AYBRL Anchor Yale Bible Reference Library BBB Bonner biblische Beiträge BBR Bulletin for Biblical Research BDB Brown, Francis, S. R. Driver, and Charles A. Briggs. A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament BEATAJ Beiträge zur Erforschung des Alten Testaments und des antiken Judentum BECNT Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament BETL Bibliotheca ephemeridum theologicarum lovaniensium BHS Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia. Edited by Karl Elliger and Wilhelm Rudolph. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, 1983. BibInt Biblical Interpretation BIS Biblical Interpretation Series BJRL Bulletin of the John Rylands University Library of Manchester BSac Bibliotheca Sacra BTB Biblical Theology Bulletin BTNT Biblical Theology of the New Testament BZAW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft BZNW Beihefte zur Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft CBET Contributions to Biblical Exegesis and Theology CBQ Catholic Biblical Quarterly CBQMS Catholic Biblical Quarterly Monograph Series CD Damascus Document (Dead Sea Scrolls) CTJ Calvin Theological Journal CTR Criswell Theological Review CurBR Currents in Biblical Research DJD Discoveries in the Judean Desert EBTC Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary EGGNT Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament ESBT Essential Studies in Biblical Theology EvQ Evangelical Quarterly ExpTim Expository Times FAT Forschungen zum Alten Testament FOTL Forms of the Old Testament Literature FRLANT Forschungen zur Religion und Literatur des Alten und Neuen Testaments GNT 4 The Greek New Testament. Fourth Revised Edition, edited by Barbara Aland, Kurt Aland, Johannes Karavidopoulos, Carlo M. Martini, and Bruce M. Metzger in cooperation with the Institute for New Testament Textual Research, Münster/ Westphalia. Stuttgart: Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft/United Bible Societies, 1993. HAR Hebrew Annual Review A b b r e v i at i o n s xxix HBT Horizons in Biblical Theology HSM Harvard Semitic Monographs HThKAT Herders Theologischer Kommentar zum Alten Testament HTR Harvard Theological Review HUCA Hebrew Union College Annual HUT Hermeneutische Untersuchungen zur Theologie IBC Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching ICC International Critical Commentary IDBSup Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible: Supplementary Volume. Edited by Keith Crim. Nashville: Abingdon, 1976. JAOS Journal of the American Oriental Society JBL Journal of Biblical Literature JESOT Journal for the Evangelical Study of the Old Testament JETS Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society JGRChJ Journal of Greco-Roman Christianity and Judaism JNSL Journal of Northwest Semitic Languages JSJSup Supplements to the Journal for the Study of Judaism JSNT Journal for the Study of the New Testament JSNTSup Journal for the Study of the New Testament, Supplement Series JSOT Journal for the Study of the Old Testament JSOTSup Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, Supplement Series JTI Journal for Theological Interpretation JTISup Journal for Theological Interpretation, Supplements JTS Journal of Theological Studies LHBOTS The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies LNTS The Library of New Testament Studies MAARAV MAARAV, A Journal for the Study of the Northwest Semitic Languages and Literatures MJT Midwestern Journal of Theology NAC New American Commentary NACSBT New American Commentary Studies in Bible and Theology NCB New Century Bible NICNT New International Commentary on the New Testament NICOT New International Commentary on the Old Testament NIGTC New International Greek Testament Commentary NovT Novum Testamentum NovTSup Supplements to Novum Testamentum NSBT New Studies in Biblical Theology NTL New Testament Library NTOA Novum Testamentum et Orbis Antiquus xxx A b b r e v i at i o n s NTS New Testament Studies OBT Overtures to Biblical Theology OTE Old Testament Essays OTL Old Testament Library OTS Old Testament Studies OtSt Oudtestamentische Studiën PNTC Pillar New Testament Commentary PRSt Perspectives in Religious Studies RBS Resources for Biblical Study ResQ Restoration Quarterly RTR Reformed Theological Review RTRSS Reformed Theological Review Supplement Series SBJT Southern Baptist Journal of Theology SBLDS Society of Biblical Literature Dissertation Series SBLEJL Society of Biblical Literature Early Judaism and Its Literature SBLMS Society of Biblical Literature Monograph Series SBLSS Society of Biblical Literature Supplement Series SBLSymS Society of Biblical Literature Symposium Series SBT Studies in Biblical Theology SJOT Scandinavian Journal of the Old Testament SNTSMS Society for New Testament Studies Monograph Series SSBT Short Studies in Biblical Theology SwJT Southwestern Journal of Theology TDNT Theological Dictionary of the New Testament. Edited by Gerhard Kittel. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1965. THNTC Two Horizons New Testament Commentary THOTC Two Horizons Old Testament Commentary TOTC Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries TrinJ Trinity Journal TynBul Tyndale Bulletin VT Vetus Testamentum VTSup Supplements to Vetus Testamentum WBC Word Biblical Commentary WMANT Wissenschaftliche Monographien zum Alten und Neuen Testament WTJ Westminster Theological Journal WUNT Wissenschaftliche Untersuchungen zum Neuen Testament ZAW Zeitschrift für die alttestamentliche Wissenschaft ZECNT Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament ZNW Zeitschrift für die neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der älteren Kirche ZTK Zeitschrift für Theologie und Kirche List of Illustrations TABLES 3.1 Two-Part Structure of the Ten Words 124 5.1 Reverse Order of Decree and Implementation in Ezra 324 10.1a Paul’s Letters (Canonical Order) 530 10.1b Paul’s Letters (Chronological Order) 530 10.2 Symmetry in the Pauline Letter Corpus 608 11.1 Interdependence of Jude 5–14 and 2 Peter 2:4–16 648 11.2 Possible Chiasm in the Order of the General Epistles 664 11.3 Oscillating Pattern of Quotations and Commentary in Jude 666 13.1 Old and New Testaments Unfolding in Three Acts, along Canonical Lines 752 MAPS 10.1 The Widespread Destinations of Paul’s Letters 529 10.2 The Setting of 1 Thessalonians 584 11.1 The Setting of 1 Peter 637 xxxi 1 Biblical Theology: A Canonical, Thematic, and Ethical Approach Embarking on a study of the theology of the biblical writers is like taking a journey around the world. Few are privileged to explore every part of our globe, but even partial forays into the beautiful landscapes offered by Planet Earth prove awe-inspiring and rewarding for the casual traveler. Similarly, students of the Bible often have not read the Scriptures in their entirety, but even what they have read reveals an amazing array of diverse literary genres, historical settings, and theological insights. How do you wrap your brain around a library of sixty-six books written over hundreds of years by dozens of authors? What is the story the Bible sets out to tell? And how do you know that your reading of Scripture is in keeping with its actual God-intended message? What is more, as an inspired book, the Bible does not merely aim to impart the knowledge of God and his ways; it also seeks to draw us into a deep personal engagement with God and others. One more thing: How can we, in all fairness, make sure all biblical voices are heard, as opposed to merely those who are dominant and have the potential of drowning out lesser voices? Those are the kinds of questions we’ll try to tackle in the present chapter of our book. We hope you’ll enjoy the trip around the biblical world. Fasten your seat belts! 1.1 THE NATURE OF BIBLICAL THEOLOGY What is biblical theology? One might simply say, “Biblical theology is theology that is biblical”—theology that is biblically grounded.1 The problem with this definition, how- ever, is that all Christian theology should be properly grounded in Scripture, so positing 1 The discussion in the remainder of this chapter borrows and adapts, with permission, selected portions of An- dreas J. Köstenberger, “The Sizemore Lectures 2018: The Promise of Biblical Theology: What Biblical Theology Is and What It Isn’t,” MJT 17, no. 1 (Spring 2018): 1–13; and “The Sizemore Lectures 2018: The Practice of Biblical Theology: How Is Biblical Theology Done?,” MJT 17, no. 1 (Spring 2018): 14–27. 1 2 Biblical Theology this kind of definition merely seems to be stating the obvious. A simple alternative defi- nition would be the following: “Biblical theology is the theology of the Bible.”2 In other words, biblical theology is not our own theology, or that of our church or denomination; it is the theology of the biblical writers themselves. Old Testament theology, then, is the theology of the Old Testament writers; New Testament theology the theology of the New Testament writers;3 Pauline theology the theology of Paul; Johannine theology the theology of John; and so forth.4 At the same time, there is divine continuity, since the various theologies of the biblical writers are ultimately unified and not in contradiction with one another, as they express the unitary purpose of God in biblical revelation.5 If this is the way we define biblical theology, we will not only construct our theology on a biblical foundation (though, of course, we should do that), but we will place our focus on the writers of Scripture and their beliefs and contributions as they expressed them under divine inspiration in the Old and New Testament writings.6 2 Cf. Gerhard Ebeling, “The Meaning of ‘Biblical Theology,’” in Word and Faith, trans. James W. Leitch (Phila- delphia: Fortress, 1963), 79, who defines biblical theology as “the theology contained in the Bible, the theol- ogy of the Bible itself ”; cited by Charles H. H. Scobie, The Ways of Our God: An Approach to Biblical Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003), 5, who adds that “this definition is the one that is preferred by most scholars.” 3 James Barr calls them species within the genus “biblical theology,” which he dubs “pan-biblical theology” (The Concept of Biblical Theology: An Old Testament Perspective [Philadelphia: Fortress, 1999], 1). 4 Of course, there are questions of authorship to be adjudicated. It is also true, as Ben Witherington maintains, that “Biblical theology involves more than just combining OT and NT theology” (Biblical Theology: The Convergence of Canon [Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2019], 2). While one can detect a bifurcation of biblical theology into Old and New Testament theologies over the last two centuries, there seems to be a growing trend toward the pursuit of a unified biblical theology. For a succinct survey of this phenomenon and the history of the discipline, see Charles H. H. Scobie, “History of Biblical Theology,” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology: Exploring the Unity and Diversity of Scripture, ed. T. Desmond Alexander, Brian S. Rosner, D. A. Carson, and Graeme Goldsworthy (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 11–20. See also D. A. Carson, “New Testament Theology,” in Dictionary of the Later New Testament and Its Developments: A Com- pendium of Contemporary Biblical Scholarship, ed. Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1997), 796–804; Thomas R. Schreiner, New Testament Theology: Magnifying God in Christ (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2008), 867–88; Henning Graf Reventlow, “Theology (Biblical), History of,” ABD 6:483–505; and Robert W. Yarbrough, The Salvation Historical Fallacy? Reassessing the History of New Testament Theology, History of Biblical Interpretation 2 (Leiden: Deo, 2004). 5 For a thorough exploration of revelation as a prolegomenon for biblical theology, see Hans Hübner, Biblische Theologie des Neuen Testaments, vol. 1: Prolegomena (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1990). See also Scobie, Ways of Our God, 47, who contends that necessary presuppositions for a coherent biblical theology include “belief that the Bible conveys a divine revelation, that the word of God in Scripture constitutes the norm of Christian faith and life, and that all the varied material of the OT and NT can in some way be re- lated to the plan and purpose of the one God of the whole Bible.” Contra Robert Morgan, “Theology (NT),” ABD 6:474, who contends that “actually identifying Scripture with revelation is irrational biblicism” (see the critique by Carson, “New Testament Theology,” 806, who counters that God is a talking God and points to the presence of witnesses to God’s verbal self-revelation in Scripture). 6 Of course, even biblical theologians must organize their presentation of the biblical material. Scobie, Ways of Our God, 4–5, rightly points out that biblical theology is “the ordered study of what the Bible has to say about God and his relation to the world and to humankind” (emphasis added). For efforts to canvas the scope of biblical theology, see Jeremy M. Kimble and Ched Spellman, Invitation to Biblical Theology: Exploring the B i b l i c a l T h e o l o g y : A C a n o n i c a l , T h e m at i c , a n d E t h i c a l A p p r o a c h 3 In an important sense, of course, the biblical authors themselves engaged in biblical theology, which means that we do not just get our content from Scripture, but our method as well. Later Old Testament writers referred back to earlier Old Testament books, and New Testament writers used the Old Testament in a variety of ways.7 For this reason, it may be said that the Scriptures themselves set the standard for what biblical theology is and how it ought to be done, similar to the way in which they exhibit a certain set of hermeneutical principles that provide a framework for hermeneutics, or the way in which they deal with various moral issues that sets the stage for how the church today should engage in ethical decision-making.8 In many ways, therefore, biblical theology done today represents an effort to recapture the biblical way of doing biblical theology—drawing inner-biblical connections, tracing intertextuality, and following thematic threads that are unfolding progressively along the salvation-historical metanarrative of Scripture.9 Fast-forwarding to the modern period, while the term “biblical theology” was used in several earlier works in a different sense,10 the academic discipline of biblical theology Shape, Storyline, and Themes of Scripture (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2020); and Jason S. DeRouchie, Oren R. Martin, and Andrew David Naselli, 40 Questions about Biblical Theology, 40 Questions (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2020). See also Grant R. Osborne, The Hermeneutical Spiral: A Comprehensive Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, rev. ed. (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006), ch. 15; and the theme issue “Exploring Biblical Theology,” SBJT 12, no. 4 (Winter 2008), with contributions by Stephen J. Wellum, Graeme Gold- sworthy, James M. Hamilton Jr., Robert W. Yarbrough, and Mark A. Seifrid. 7 See, e.g., D. A. Carson and H. G. M. Williamson, eds., It Is Written: Scripture Citing Scripture: Essays in Honour of Barnabas Lindars, SSF (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988); G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, eds., Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2007). 8 See esp. Abner Chou, The Hermeneutics of the Biblical Writers: Learning to Interpret Scripture from the Prophets and Apostles (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2018); Chris Bruno, Jared Compton, and Kevin McFadden, Biblical Theology according to the Apostles, NSBT 52 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2020). 9 Jean-François Lyotard, The Postmodern Condition, trans. Geoff Bennington and Brian Massumi, Theory and History of Literature 10 (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1984; orig. French ed. La condition postmoderne ), xxiv, characterized the postmodern age by its “incredulity towards grand narratives.” However, while Lyotard’s critique has some legitimacy in exposing modernity’s overconfidence in its ability to provide a comprehensive account of reality by virtue of mere human reason, it is plagued by epistemological skepticism and fails to provide a viable alternative. As Bauckham observes, the story of Scripture is an example of a non-modern metanarrative that is not a legitimate target of Lyotard’s critique. See Richard Bauckham, “Reading Scripture as a Coherent Story,” in The Art of Reading Scripture, ed. Ellen F. Davis and Richard B. Hays (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2003), 47–53. Bauckham’s critique of Lyotard on pp. 45–47, in turn, is indebted to Steven Connor, Postmodernist Culture: An Introduction to Theories of the Contemporary, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Blackwell, 1997), 23–43; and Gary K. Browning, Lyotard and the End of Grand Narratives (Cardiff: University of Wales Press, 2000). See also D. A. Carson, The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism, rev. ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2002). 10 Wolfgang Jacob Christmann, Teutsche biblische Theologie (Kempten, 1629; no longer extant); Henricus A. Diest, Theologia Biblica (Daventri, 1643); Gotthilf Traugott Zachariä, Biblische Theologie oder Untersuchung des biblischen Grundes der vornehmsten theologischen Lehren, 5 vols. (Göttingen/Kiel: Boßiegel, 1771, 1772, 1774, 1775, 1786; no longer extant). Note that the publication of the fifth volume in 1786 may have influenced Gabler’s address (see next footnote with main text; cf. John Sandys-Wunsch and Laurence Eldredge, “J. P. Gabler and the Distinction between Biblical and Dogmatic Theology: Translation, Commentary, and Discus- sion of His Originality,” Scottish Journal of Theology 33, no. 2 [April 1980]: 140–58). Cf. Gerhard Hasel, Old Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate, 4th ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991), 11–12. 4 Biblical Theology is commonly said to have begun with Johann Philipp Gabler and his 1787 inaugural address at the University of Altdorf, “On the Proper Distinction between Biblical and Systematic Theology.”11 As the title of Gabler’s address suggests, he urged that a proper distinction be made between biblical and systematic theology in keeping with the his- torical character of the former and the dogmatic nature of the latter. While advocating this distinction and emphasizing the historical nature of biblical theology is certainly appropriate, however, Gabler also urged making a distinction between what is “truly divine” (i.e., revelatory) and what is “merely human” in Scripture, in keeping with uni- versal religious rational principles, which is deeply problematic.12 For this reason, some dispute, with some justification, that Gabler can rightfully be considered the “father of biblical theology.”13 In the years that followed, historical criticism flourished under the banner of the Tübingen School, as did the history-of-religions approach, which sought to under- stand the religion of Israel and early Christianity against the backdrop of ancient On the history of biblical theology, see Gerald Bray, Biblical Interpretation: Past and Present (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1996), 193–208; Ferdinand Hahn, Theologie des Neuen Testaments, Bd. I: Die Vielfalt des Neuen Testaments, 3rd ed., UTB (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2011), 1–28; James K. Mead, Biblical Theology: Issues, Methods, and Themes (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2007), 13–59; Eckhard J. Schnabel, “Biblical Theology from a New Testament Perspective,” JETS 62 (2019): 225–49; and Scobie, Ways of Our God, 9–28; idem, “History of Biblical Theology.” See also Peter Balla, Challenges to New Testament Theology: An Attempt to Justify the Enterprise (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson, 1998); more briefly, Hendrikus Boers, What Is New Testa- ment Theology? The Rise of Criticism and the Problem of a Theology of the New Testament (Philadelphia: Fortress, 1979); and Edward W. Klink III and Darian R. Lockett, Understanding Biblical Theology: A Comparison of Theory and Practice (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2012), 13–17. 11 Altdorf is located about 25 km east of Nürnberg in eastern Bayern (Bavaria). The Latin title of Gabler’s address was Oratio de iusto discrimine theologiae biblicae et dogmaticae regundisque recte utriusque finibus. For an English translation, see Johann Philipp Gabler, “An Oration on the Proper Distinction between Biblical and Dogmatic Theology and the Specific Objectives of Each,” in Old Testament Theology: Flower- ing and Future, ed. Ben C. Ollenburger, Sources for Biblical and Theological Study 1, 2nd ed. (Winona Lake, IN: Eisenbrauns, 2004; repr. ed., 2016), 497–506. For summaries of Gabler’s work, see William Baird, History of New Testament Research, vol. 1: From Deism to Tübingen (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1992), 184–87; and Scobie, Ways of Our God, 15–16. For an English translation and critique, see Sandys-Wunsch and Eldredge, “J. P. Gabler and the Distinction between Biblical and Dogmatic Theology,” 133–58; see also Witherington, Biblical Theology, 11–18, esp. 14. For a discussion of the contemporary relevance of Gabler’s address, see Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theo- logical Understanding of the Covenants, 2nd ed. (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2018), 40–41; for a comparative assessment of J. P. Gabler and Geerhardus Vos, see Matthew Barrett, Canon, Covenant, and Christology: Rethinking Jesus and the Scriptures of Israel, NSBT 51 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2020), 17–20. 12 Sandys-Wunsch and Eldredge, “J. P. Gabler and the Distinction between Biblical and Dogmatic Theology,” 143; and the discussion in Barrett, Canon, Covenant, and Christology, 18. 13 See, e.g., Charles H. H. Scobie, “The Challenge of Biblical Theology,” TynBul 42 (1991): 34; William D. Dennison, “Reason, History, and Revelation: Biblical Theology and the Enlightenment,” in Resurrection and Eschatology: Theology in Service of the Church: Essays in Honor of Richard B. Gaffin Jr., ed. Lane G. Tipton and Jeffrey C. Waddington (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2008), 343; and the discussion in Barrett, Canon, Covenant, and Christology, 18–19. B i b l i c a l T h e o l o g y : A C a n o n i c a l , T h e m at i c , a n d E t h i c a l A p p r o a c h 5 Near Eastern religions and Hellenistic first-century religious practices.14 In the vein of Ferdinand Christian Baur, the founder of the Tübingen School, biblical theology was conceived as a merely historical enterprise conducted by scholars who largely rejected the revelatory, inspired, and authoritative character of Scripture.15 Thus, in 1897, William Wrede could write a capstone volume bearing the telling title, Concerning the Task and Method of So-Called New Testament Theology, in which he declared the demise of New Testament theology.16 One of the few bright spots against the back- drop of the Gabler-Baur-Wrede phalanx of—often critical—historical scholarship was the Swiss-German theologian Adolf Schlatter, who published a pair of editions of his two-volume New Testament theology in 1909/10 and 1921/22, in which he engaged in an integrative discussion of The History of the Christ and The Theology of the Apostles.17 The theological giants Karl Barth and Rudolf Bultmann each in their own way sought to salvage theology, whether by advocating neoorthodoxy or by engaging in demythologization, but in both cases theology no longer grew organi- cally from the historical and literary dimensions of the biblical text.18 Instead, they 14 On the Tübingen School, see Horton Harris, The Tübingen School: A Historical and Theological Investigation of the School of F. C. Baur (Oxford: Clarendon, 1975). On the history-of-religions school, see Wilhelm Bousset, Kyrios Christos: A History of the Belief in Christ from the Beginnings of Christianity to Irenaeus, trans. John Steely (Nashville: Abingdon, 1970). 15 For a comparison and contrast of the work of F. C. Baur and Johann Christian Konrad von Hofmann, see Yarbrough, Salvation-Historical Fallacy, 8–59, who notes that Baur produced “[o]ne of the first great syntheses of New Testament theology in the Gablerian sense” (8). 16 The German title was Über die Aufgabe und Methode der sogenannten neutestamentlichen Theologie (Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1897). Cf. Carson, “New Testament Theology,” 797, who adds, “Wrede argued that to treat each book of the NT separately was absurd, since each book provided too little information to enable an interpreter to reconstruct the entire ‘theology’ of its author. The only responsible way forward was to reconstruct ‘the history of early Christian religion and theology.’” 17 Adolf Schlatter, Das Wort Jesu (Stuttgart: Calwer, 1909); 2nd ed., Die Geschichte des Christus (Stuttgart: Cal- wer, 1921); idem, Die Lehre der Apostel (Stuttgart: Calwer, 1910); 2nd ed., Die Theologie der Apostel (Stuttgart: Calwer, 1922). ET, The History of the Christ: The Foundation of New Testament Theology, trans. Andreas J. Köstenberger (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1997); The Theology of the Apostles: The Development of New Testament Theology, trans. Andreas J. Köstenberger (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 1999). Schlatter, in turn, was influenced by Johann Christian Konrad von Hofmann. See, e.g., Die heilige Schrift des neuen Testaments zusammenhängend untersucht, 11 vols. (Nördlingen, Germany: C. H. Beck, 1862–1878; 2nd ed., W. Volck, ed., 1896); idem, Weissagung und Erfüllung im Alten und im Neuen Testamente, 2 vols. (Nördlingen, Germany: C. H. Beck, 1841); von Hofmann’s stance is epitomized by the following quote by Theodor Zahn, Johann Chr. K. von Hofmann: Rede zur Feier seines hundertsten Geburtstags in der Aula der Friderico-Alexandrina am 16. Dezember 1910 gehalten (Leipzig: A. Deichert, 1911), 17: “People realized soon enough that, for von Hofmann, a theo- logian who isn’t a Christian, and therefore also a theologian-in-the-making who isn’t on the way to becoming a Christian, is an equally pitiful creature as a blind person who aspires to become a painter” (our translation). For a comparison and contrast between Schlatter and Wrede, see Robert Morgan, The Nature of New Testa- ment Theology (London: SCM, 1973), who notes that it is “striking how far Schlatter is in agreement with Wrede about the necessity for historical method in theology and the way it must operate, unhampered by the historian’s own personal viewpoint” (29). See further the discussion below. 18 Cf., e.g., Karl Barth, Der Römerbrief (Zürich: EVZ, 1919; 2nd ed. 1921); ET, The Epistle to the Romans, trans. Edwin C. Hoskyns (1933; repr., London: Oxford University Press, 1976); Rudolf Bultmann, Theology of the 6 Biblical Theology contended that revelation is to be located in the kerygma—the proclaimed apostolic message—not in biblical history.19 Rather than take the Wredebahn (Wrede-train) of historical research, Barth therefore sought to engender an existential encounter with the text by looking to the “risen Christ made present through proclamation,” while Bultmann reinterpreted biblical miracles—including Jesus’s resurrection—in purely existentialist terms.20 In the 1950s and 60s, a new biblical theology movement arose—influenced, in part, by Karl Barth and to some extent also by Johann Christian Konrad von Hof- mann—which sought to revive the discipline, but did so by unduly dichotomizing between God’s redemptive acts in history and the biblical text. 21 The enterprise stalled to such an extent that Brevard Childs could write a book in 1970 with the title Biblical Theology in Crisis.22 Biblical theology, of course, was not in crisis; what was languishing was the biblical theology movement. James Barr severely criticized practitioners of that movement for inadequate methodological and linguistic pro- cedures, so much so that some thought he had killed the whole enterprise.23 Barr New Testament, trans. Kendrick Grobel, 2 vols. (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1951, 1955). See the discussion in Carson, “New Testament Theology,” 797–98. 19 See the discussion in Morgan, Nature of Biblical Theology, 34–35. 20 The quote is from Morgan, Nature of Biblical Theology, 34. We are borrowing the Wredebahn terminology from N. T. Wright, who speaks of the Wredebahn (or Wredestrasse) and the Schweitzerbahn, designating alternative options of a historical or apocalyptic approach to New Testament studies. See Wright, “The Servant and Jesus: The Relevance of the Colloquy for the Current Quest for Jesus,” in Jesus and the Suffering Servant: Isaiah 53 and Christian Origins, ed. William H. Bellinger Jr. and William R. Farmer (Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press Interna- tional, 1998), 281–97. For an important critique of Bultmann, see Peter Stuhlmacher, Biblical Theology of the New Testament, trans. and ed. Daniel P. Bailey (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2018), 19–21, who faults Bult- mann for his existentialism and demythologization program, his dichotomy between Judaism and Hellenism, and his neglect of the Old Testament. Most importantly, Stuhlmacher contends, against Bultmann, that Jesus’s own proclamation is not merely the presupposition of New Testament theology (as Bultmann famously contended) but the proper “historical foundation of the theology of the New Testament” (20). See also Peter Stuhlmacher, “Die Tübinger Biblische Theologie des Neuen Testaments: Ein Rückblick,” Theologische Beiträge 48 (2017): 76–91, where the author reminisces about his relationship with Hartmut Gese and Martin Hengel (the two scholars to whom his work is dedicated) and others and laments that the current faculty at the University of Tübingen has turned back to the Bultmannian School rather than following his lead (as noted at xvii, n. 9). 21 Carson, “New Testament Theology,” 798. An example of such an approach is G. Ernest Wright, God Who Acts: Biblical Theology as Recital, SBT 1, no. 8 (London: SCM, 1952). 22 Brevard S. Childs, Biblical Theology in Crisis (Louisville: Westminster, 1970). Cf. Scobie, Ways of Our God, 6, who speaks of “the division of BT (into OT and NT theology), the decline of BT (as it was absorbed by the history of religion), and finally the virtual demise of BT.” For a proposal to read the New Testament canonically following the demise of the biblical theology movement, see Markus Bockmuehl, Seeing the Word: Refocusing New Testament Study, Studies in Theological Interpretation (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2006), ch. 3, esp. 101, who stresses that all knowledge is perspectival and mediated, notes the selective interpretive nature of New Testament texts (13–21), and emphasizes the importance of reception history (Wirkungsgeschichte) and living memory in biblical interpretation (chs. 4 and 6). 23 James Barr, The Semantics of Biblical Language (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1961); see esp. his critique of Gerhard Kittel’s edited multivolume Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, in ch. 8. See also Barr’s own Concept of Biblical Theology. B i b l i c a l T h e o l o g y : A C a n o n i c a l , T h e m at i c , a n d E t h i c a l A p p r o a c h 7 himself viewed Scripture as a “fragmentary collection of documents” with “no inter- nal coherence” and a plethora of “contradictions.”24 Since then, however, especially within the North American conservative evangelical world, a new type of biblical theology has begun to flourish, based on a high view of Scripture and grounded in both historical research and literary study.25 It is this kind of biblical theology that we are endeavoring to practice in the present volume as we adopt a thematic, ethical, and canonical approach. Above all, biblical theology is concerned with the theology of the biblical writers themselves. Schlatter put the matter well more than a century ago: “In speaking of ‘New Testament’ theology, we are saying that it is not the interpreter’s own theology or that of his church and times that is examined but rather the theology expressed by the New Testament itself.”26 In view of this, how should we go about discerning the theology of the Bible? Again, Schlatter’s comments are helpful: “We turn away decisively from ourselves and our time to what was found in the men through whom the church came into being. Our main interest should be the thought as it was conceived by them and the truth that was valid for them. We want to see and obtain a thorough grasp of what happened historically and existed in another time.”27 Schlatter calls this “the historical task”—in distinction from historical theology, which maps later, post-canonical develop- ments in the church’s doctrinal formulations—which is followed by “the doctrinal task” of systematizing the Bible’s teachings on a given subject. 24 James Barr, “Biblical Theology,” in IDBSup (1976), 109 (see discussion in Barrett, Canon, Covenant, and Christology, 12). 25 Already in 2003, Scobie, Ways of Our God, 42–45, could see signs of “A Revival of Biblical Theology.” For rep- resentative series, see Biblical Theology of the New Testament (BTNT; Andreas J. Köstenberger, ed.; Zonder- van); Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary (EBTC; T. Desmond Alexander, Thomas R. Schreiner, and Andreas J. Köstenberger, eds.; Lexham); Essential Studies in Biblical Theology (ESBT; Benjamin L. Gladd, ed.; InterVarsity Press); New Studies in Biblical Theology (NSBT; D. A. Carson, ed.; InterVarsity Press); and Short Studies in Biblical Theology (SSBT; Dane C. Ortlund and Miles V. Van Pelt, eds.; Crossway). In addi- tion, Theology for the People of God (David Dockery, Christopher W. Morgan, and Nathan Finn, eds.; B&H Academic) features the collaborative work of biblical and systematic theologians on major Christian doctrines. 26 Foreword to Schlatter’s Das Wort Jesu (1909), reprinted (ET) in Schlatter, History of the Christ, 18 (see the positive reference to Schlatter’s work in Scobie, Ways of Our God, 19). For a discussion along similar lines, see Andreas J. Köstenberger with Richard D. Patterson, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Herme- neutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology, 2nd ed. (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel, 2021), ch. 14. See also Barr, Concept of Biblical Theology, 4, who says biblical theology is meaningful only with regard to what “was thought or believed within the time, languages and cultures of the Bible itself,” adding, “What we are look- ing for is a ‘theology’ that existed back there and then... the theology that existed in the minds of biblical persons.” In some cases, this theology may be mostly implicit; in other cases (e.g., John’s Gospel) it may be more explicit, that is, it may represent conscious reflection on, e.g., the deity of Christ, etc. (cf. the discussion in ibid., 248–49, noting that “[t]heology is a reflective activity in which the contents of religious expressions is to some extent abstracted, contemplated, subjected to reflection and discussion, and deliberately reformulated” ). 27 Schlatter, History of the Christ, 18. At the same time, it is, of course, important to remember that it is Christ who birthed his church, of which he is the head, by means of these men; they are not the originators of the church but rather the human instruments in God’s redemptive plan. 8 Biblical Theology Definitions matter.28 All this discussion of definitional matters may seem rather pe- dantic, but we believe it is exceedingly important that, before engaging in the practice of biblical theology, we have a clear understanding of what it is we are doing. Whether writing a book on biblical theology or engaging in everyday communication, it is vital that our conversation partners are on the same page as we are, and part of this process is defining one’s key terms carefully and explicitly. As we proceed, therefore, we do so on the basis of the understanding that when engaging in biblical theology, we are es- sentially seeking to discern the theological contributions of the biblical writers themselves. As we do so, we will naturally aim to present these contributions in a coherent format, asking questions as to what the distinctive emphases are in a given book of Scripture, ar- ranging these in the form of major and minor themes, and relating them to one another in such a way that our presentation reflects the thought world of the biblical writers as accurately as possible.29 1.1.1 Biblical and Systematic Theology The relationship between biblical and systematic theology is best conceived as a col- laborative enterprise between two related and adjacent disciplines.30 The image of a relay race comes to mind, where one runner—biblical theology—hands off the baton to the next—systematic theology. The two disciplines run—and win or lose—the race together, but biblical theology runs first and systematic theology second. In fact, since biblical theology is grounded in introductory matters such as authorship, date, prov- enance, audience, occasion, and purpose for writing—not to mention the exegesis of specific texts—as part of a four-person relay team, introductory matters would run first, followed by exegesis, then biblical theology—complemented by historical theology— 28 See D. A. Carson, “Current Issues in Biblical Theology: A New Testament Perspective,” BBR 5 (1995): 17–26, who, after calling for definitional clarity, identifies the following valid approaches to biblical theology: (1) the theology of the whole Bible, descriptively and historically considered; (2) the theology of the various biblical corpora or strata (e.g., Old and New Testament theologies); (3) the theology of a particular theme across the Scriptures. Cf. Kimble and Spellman, Invitation to Biblical Theology, 16–21, who posit as their working defini- tion that biblical theology is “the study of the whole Bible on its own terms” (16, 21). However, they proceed to claim that the definition of biblical theology is “A Tale of Two Senses,” in which biblical theology is defined as both “the theology presented in the Scriptures” and “theological reflection that accords with the Scriptures” (17–18). We would maintain instead that only the first sense is a proper definition of biblical theology; the second sense more accurately describes systematic theology. Collapsing these two “senses” or definitions into one only perpetuates confusion and unduly blurs the lines between the two disciplines. 29 This is not to be confused with the aforementioned approach taken by Kimble and Spellman, Invitation to Biblical Theology, 17–18, who include “theological reflection that accords with the Scriptures” as part of bibli- cal theology. Rather, our approach is primarily descriptive, which of necessity involves a certain amount of drawing connections and arrangement in one’s presentation. 30 Cf. Osborne, Hermeneutical Spiral, 353–55, who writes that systematic theology is the “intermediate step” between exegetical and biblical theology on the one hand and application and homiletics on the other. He adds, however, that “any attempt to separate the tasks too greatly is artificial,” because in the ultimate analysis these disciplines are interdependent (quotes are from 355). B i b l i c a l T h e o l o g y : A C a n o n i c a l , T h e m at i c , a n d E t h i c a l A p p r o a c h 9 and finally systematic theology (as well as pastoral theology).31 Hopefully, introductory matters would get the relay team off to a great start, exegesis would build a solid lead, biblical theology would even extend that lead, and systematic theology would get the team home across the finish line.32 So, then, when it comes to the handoff between the final two runners, biblical theol- ogy runs first and hands off the baton to systematic theology, which has the privilege and responsibility of being the final runner.33 Incidentally, this is exactly how Schlatter him- self proceeded: He first wrote a two-volume New Testament theology (The History of the Christ and The Theology of the Apostles) followed by a systematic theology (Das christliche Dogma), not to mention works on ethics, philosophy, and a variety of other subjects.34 Not only is it important to distinguish between biblical and systematic theology and to engage in biblical theology first, as Schlatter reminds us, it is also important not to unduly blur the line between these two disciplines. Otherwise, our view of the Bible’s teaching will likely become distorted and our application imprecise, if not invalid.35 For example, when Paul speaks of our earthly bodies as “tents,” as he does in 2 Corinthians 5, we should first examine the meaning of this metaphor in a first-century context (e.g., Paul was a tentmaker, etc.) rather than—as we’ve heard preachers do—use illustrations from camping trips they went on with their families. Likewise, we should seek to un- derstand the reference to God’s creation of humanity as male and female in his “image” in ancient Near Eastern rather than modern terms (e.g., as conveying representative rule rather than as reflecting a person’s physical appearance as photographs do).36 In the same 31 D. A. Carson, “The Bible and Theology,” in NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 6–11. Though see further the caution against a strictly linear construal below. 32 The analogy could be extended by picturing different runners in such a relay race as various teams comprised of biblical scholars, exegetes, biblical theologians, and systematicians who practice their craft each in their own way. If so, the question would be, Which team best advances our understanding of the thought of the biblical writers? 33 Cf. D. A. Carson, “Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology,” in New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, 89– 104; Scobie, Ways of Our God, 66: “Dogmatic theology is the final stage in the movement from the horizon of the text to the horizon of the interpreter.” For a dissenting view, see Kevin J. Vanhoozer, “Is the Theology of the New Testament One or Many? Between (the Rock of ) Systematic Theology and (the Hard Place of ) Historical Occasionalism,” in Reconsidering the Relationship between Biblical and Systematic Theology in the New Testament: Essays by Theologians and New Testament Scholars, ed. Benjamin E. Reynolds, Brian Lugioyo, and Kevin J. Vanhoozer, WUNT 2/369 (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 2014), 38, who contends, “Systematic theology is not simply a second step that follows biblical theology; rather, it is a partner in the exegetical process itself.” 34 See, e.g., Adolf Schlatter, Die Geschichte des Christus (Stuttgart: Calwer, 1909; 2nd ed. 1922); Die Theologie der Apostel (Stuttgart: Calwer, 1910; 2nd ed. 1923); Das christliche Dogma (Stuttgart: Calwer, 1911; 2nd ed. 1923); Die christliche Ethik (Stuttgart: Calwer, 1914); Die philosophische Arbeit seit Cartesius: Ihr religiöser und ethischer Ertrag (Gütersloh: C. Bertelsmann, 1906; 4th ed. Stuttgart: Calwer, 1959). For a definitive biography including an exhaustive bibliography, see Werner Neuer, Adolf Schlatter: Ein Leben für Theologie und Kirche (Stuttgart: Calwer, 1996). 35 See chs. 2 and 15 on history and application, respectively, in Köstenberger with Patterson, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation. 36 Cf. John H. Walton, The Lost World of Adam and Eve: Genesis 2–3 and the Human Origins Debate (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2015), passim. 10 B i b l i c a l T h e o l o g y vein, we should read the creation account in Genesis 1 primarily in view of its original purpose—grounding Israel’s covenantal history in God’s act of creation—rather than as addressing questions of evolution or intelligent design.37 As Schlatter observes, “The distinction between these two activities [biblical and systematic theology] thus turns out to be beneficial for both. Distortions in the perception of the subject also harm its appropriation, just as conversely improper procedures in the appropriation of the sub- ject muddy its perception.”38 In other words, before moving to address current topics (systematic theology), we need to engage in biblical theology, which Schlatter calls “the historical task.” For our present purposes, we will define biblical theology as essentially historical, inductive, and descriptive.39 In this way, the interpreter is able to “draw out”—exegete— the original meaning of the biblical text. As Geerhardus Vos rightly notes, in biblical theology, exegesis is primary; and exegesis, for its part, requires a “receptive” attitude on the interpreter’s part. Thus, engaging in biblical theology is “eminently a process in which God speaks and man listens.”40 What is more, not only do interpreters employ an “authorial-intent” hermeneutic, but they also ground their interpretation in biblical authority. On the basis of their exegetical and biblical-theological work, they can pro- ceed to organize the teaching of Scripture on various topics in order to provide a solid foundation for contemporary application. How, then, does biblical theology relate to systematic theology, and how does the latter square with the hermeneutical triad—the three-legged stool—of history, literature, and theology?41 In adjudicating these questions, D. A. Carson’s essay on the subject, with the fitting subtitle “The Possibility of Systematic Theology,” serves as a convenient starting point.42 Addressing the relationship between exegesis, biblical theology, and systematic theology, 37 Cf. John H. Walton, The Lost World of Genesis One: Ancient Cosmology and the Origins Debate (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2009), passim. 38 Schlatter, History of the Christ, 18. 39 See 1.2.1 below. Carson, “Current Issues in Biblical Theology: A New Testament Perspective,” 31, rightly points out that, “[i]deally, biblical theology will transcend mere description... and call men and women to a knowledge of the living God” (italics removed). The present section is adapted and further developed from Köstenberger with Patterson, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, ch. 14, with publisher’s permission. 40 Cf. Geerhardus Vos, Biblical Theology: Old and New Testaments (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1948), 4. Simi- larly, Schlatter, History of the Christ, 18, calls for a listening hermeneutic and a hermeneutic of perception that focuses primarily on “seeing” what is there. Vos goes on to say that exegetical theology consists in the study of the contents of Scripture, the science of introduction, the study of the canon (“canonics”), and biblical theol- ogy. He adds that biblical theology is “that branch of Exegetical Theology which deals with the process of the self-revelation of God deposited in the Bible” (Biblical Theology, 4). 41 For an explanation of what is meant by a “triadic” hermeneutical approach, see Köstenberger with Patterson, Invitation to Biblical Interpretation, ch. 1. For a summary, see Andreas Köstenberger, “Invitation to Biblical Interpretation and the Hermeneutical Triad: New Hermeneutical Lenses for a New Generation of Bible Inter- preters,” CTR n.s. 10, no. 1 (Fall 2012): 3–12. 42 See also multiple podcasts on biblical theology posted on the website for the Center for Biblical Studies at Midwestern, cbs.mbts.edu. B i b l i c a l T h e o l o g y : A C a n o n i c a l , T h e m at i c , a n d E t h i c a l A p p r o a c h 11 Carson begins by saying that “it would be convenient if we could operate exclusively along the direction of the following diagram: Exegesis → Biblical Theology → [Historical Theology] → Systematic Theology.”43 However, as Carson rightly notes, put in this straightforward, linear fashion, such a diagram would be unduly simplistic and naïve, since no one approaches exegesis with- out presuppositions. After exploring the model of a hermeneutical circle, he proposes a form of the diagram in which each of these component parts are mutually informing.44 Nevertheless, he insists that “exegesis, though affected by systematic theology, is not to be shackled by it.”45 On the one hand, we should recognize that we all approach exegesis with a kind of systematic theology already in place, whether we realize it or not and regardless of how sophisticated such a systematic theology is. On the other hand, we should make every effort to be cognizant of our own theological system and presupposi- tions and critically distance ourselves from these, so that we can approach our exegesis and biblical-theological work as inductively as possible.46 One particular danger that lurks if we are unaware of our theological presuppositions or deny that we have them is that of anachronism, that is, the fallacy of reading later de- velopments into earlier texts.47 An example of this may be treatments that acknowledge progressive revelation in Scripture yet primarily stress continuity while inadequately considering possible elements of discontinuity.48 The question that needs to be asked, 43 D. A. Carson, “Unity and Diversity in the New Testament: The Possibility of Systematic Theology,” in Scrip- ture and Truth, ed. D. A. Carson and John D. Woodbridge (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1983), 91; repr. in D. A. Carson, Collected Writings on Scripture (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2010), 145; see also idem, “Bible and Theology,” 2633–36; Benjamin B. Warfield, “The Idea of Systematic Theology,” in Studies in Theology (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth Trust, 1988), 49–87, originally in Presbyterian and Reformed Review 7 (1896): 243–71; and Richard B. Gaffin Jr., “Systematic Theology and Biblical Theology,” WTJ 38 (1976): 281–99. 44 See the chart “Feedback Loop” in Carson, “Bible and Theology,” 2635. 45 Carson, “Unity and Diversity in the New Testament,” 92. Cf. Scobie, Ways of Our God, 83, who notes “the objection that a systematic scheme tends to impose categories that are alien to biblical thought” and, as a result, tends to overlook actual biblical categories such as “the land” or “wisdom.” 46 Cf. Gabler, cited in Sandys-Wunsch and Eldredge, “J. P. Gabler and the Distinction between Biblical and Dog- matic Theology,” 135, who speaks of “the depraved custom of reading one’s own opinions and judgments into the Bible” and “that unfortunate fellow who heedlessly dared to attribute some of his own most insubstantial opinions to the sacred writers themselves,” adding that “[t]hose completely unable to interpret correctly must inevitably inflict violence upon the sacred books.” 47 See further the discussion below. 48 Unfortunately, space does not permit a full airing of this issue here. For an argument for biblical and systematic theology as parallel disciplines, see Geerhardus Vos, The Idea of Biblical Theology as a Science and as a Theological Discipline (New York: Anson D. F. Randolph, 1894); idem, Biblical Theology; and Vern Sheridan Poythress, “Kinds of Biblical Theology,” WTJ 70 (2008): 129–42. Vos prefers to speak of “the history of biblical revela tion” (Biblical Theology, 5–9). On Vos’s biblical-theological method, see Andreas J. Köstenberger, “Geerhardus Vos: His Biblical-Theological Method and His Theology of Gender,” Geerhardus Vos Lecture (Beaver Falls, PA: Geneva College, forthcoming). 12 B i b l i c a l T h e o l o g y however, is whether a given system stands in tension with the inductive nature of biblical theology. In principle, at least, we ought to be committed not to read later developments into earlier Scripture but rather to allow earlier texts to be subject to further develop- ment. To be sure, the Old Testament Scriptures speak about the coming Messiah (Luke 24:24–27; John 5:46–47) and can serve to instruct New Testament believers (1 Cor. 10:1–13; 2 Tim. 3:16–17), but biblical revelation is nonetheless progressive, and at times may involve disclosure of previously unrevealed spiritual truths.49 Restraint in this area, therefore, requires that we be open to diversity and discontinuity in Scripture if we are committed to biblical theology as being primarily and principially an inductive discipline.50 How, then, are we to conceive of systematic theology? Carson offers the follow- ing definition: Systematic theology is “Christian theology whose internal structure is... organized on atemporal principles of logic, order, and need.”51 Thus, one typical schema organizes the biblical material under the categories of prolegomena (protology or cosmology [the study of origins] and bibliology [the doctrine of Scripture]), theology proper (the doctrine of God), angelology and demonology, anthropology (the doctrine of humanity), hamartiology (the doctrine of sin), Christology, pneumatology (the doc- trine of the Spirit), soteriology (the doctrine of salvation), ecclesiology (including mis- siology), and eschatology (the doctrine of the future).52 If properly grounded in exegesis and biblical teaching on each of these topics, such an atemporal organization of material 49 See here the New Testament instances of the Greek word μυστήριον (e.g., Matt. 13:11; Mark 4:11; Luke 8:10; Rom. 11:25–27; 16:25–26; 1 Cor. 15:51; Eph. 3:2–10; 5:32; Col. 1:26–27; 2 Thess. 2:7; 1 Tim. 3:16), which is usually rendered, rather inadequately, as “mystery” in our English translations. In fact, a μυστήριον is the very opposite of a mystery: It is the disclosure of a truth that had previously remained unrevealed. See D. A. Carson, “Mystery and Fulfillment: Toward a More Comprehensive Paradigm of Paul’s Understanding of the Old and New,” in Justification and Variegated Nomism, vol. 2: The Paradoxes of Paul, WUNT 2/181, ed. D. A. Carson, Peter T. O’Brien, and Mark Seifrid (Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck; Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2004), 393–436. See also G. K. Beale and Benjamin L. Gladd, Hidden but Now Revealed: A Biblical Theology of Mystery (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2014). 50 Cf. Witherington, Biblical Theology, 3, who stresses the importance of “operating with the right hermeneutical principles, the chief of which is the notion of progressive revelation”; and George Eldon Ladd, A Theology of the New Testament, rev. ed., ed. Donald A. Hagner (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1993), 27: “Since biblical theology traces the divine acts in redemptive history, we must expect progression in the revelation”; Ladd adds that scholars should also “expect diversity within a basic unity” (28). See also Vos, Biblical Theology, 16, who affirms that the method of biblical theology is “determined by the principle of historic progression.” As a result, in general, biblical theology precedes systematic theology, though “there

Biblical Theology: A Canonical, Thematic, and Ethical Approach PDF

Document Details

Tags

Related

Summary

Full Transcript