Old Testament Theology

This republication of a classic work contains a new introduction by Walter Brueggemann that places Gerhard von Rad's work within the context of German theology, Old Testament theology, and the history of interpretation of the Old Testament. In Old Testament Theology, von Rad applies the most advanced results of form criticism to develop a new understanding of the Bible. His original approach is now available once again in English. The Old Testament Library provides fresh and authoritative treatments of important aspects of Old Testament study through commentaries and general surveys. The contributors are scholars of international standing.

The Old Testament is more than a religious history of the nation of Israel. It is more than a portrait gallery of heroes of the faith. It is even more than a theological and prophetic backdrop to the New Testament. Beyond these, the Old Testament is inspired revelation of the very nature, character, and works of God. As renowned Old Testament scholar Bruce Waltke writes in the preface of this book, the Old Testament’s every sentence is “fraught with theology, worthy of reflection.” This book is the result of decades of reflection informed by an extensive knowledge of the Hebrew language, the best of critical scholarship, a deep understanding of both the content and spirit of the Old Testament, and a thoroughly evangelical conviction. Taking a narrative, chronological approach to the text, Waltke employs rhetorical criticism to illuminate the theologies of the biblical narrators. Through careful study, he shows that the unifying theme of the Old Testament is the “breaking in of the kingdom of God.” This theme helps the reader better understand not only the Old Testament, but also the New Testament, the continuity of the entire Bible, and ultimately, God himself.

The discipline of Old Testament theology continues to be in flux as diverse approaches vie for dominance. Paul House serves as our guide—without being partisan or uninformed—exploring each Old Testament book, summarizing its content and showing its theological significance within the whole of the Old Testament canon. Readers with little prior background will find House’s thematic surveys particularly helpful for coming to grips with basic biblical content as well as for probing the theological nuances of individual parts of the canon. The book concludes by forging a set of summary statements concerning God and his character, the people of God, and links between the Old and New Testaments that suggest avenues for the exploration of a full biblical theology. Old Testament Theology offers an overview of the discipline and a fair treatment of differing views while remaining unabashedly evangelical. Readers will welcome the obvious passion of its author for the subject matter. Student friendly and useful to a wide audience, this impressive work has proved a profitable read for many.

In this powerful book, Walter Brueggemann moves the discussion of Old Testament theology beyond the dominant models of previous generations. Brueggemann focuses on the metaphor and imagery of the courtroom trial in order to regard the theological substance of the Old Testament as a series of claims asserted for Yahweh, the God of Israel. This provides a context that attends to pluralism in every dimension of the interpretive process and suggests links to the plurality of voices of our time.

Modern readers of the Bible often find the Old Testament difficult and even disturbing. What are we to do with obscure prophecies of long expired nations? Why should we read and study ancient laws that even the New Testament says are eclipsed by Christ? How can we reconcile Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount with the Old Testament’s graphic narratives of sex and violence? What does the Old Testament offer that is not surpassed and even made irrelevant by the New Testament? John Walton has spent a career engaging deeply with the Old Testament’s text and ancient context. He has studied, taught, and written about the issues. His signature approach can be introduced in one sentence: The Old Testament was written for us but not to us. We must not conform it to our own understanding. We will fully grasp the Old Testament and its theology only when we are immersed in the ancient cultural current of Israel within its broader cultural river of the ancient Near East. In Old Testament Theology for Christians, John Walton invites us to leave our modern—and even inherited Christian—preconceptions at the threshold as we enter the world of the Old Testament. He challenges us to see it anew—as if for the first time—as guests in a strange and fascinating foreign land. Then we will rediscover its testimony to God’s great enterprise. In this capstone to a career of studying and teaching the Old Testament, Walton unfolds a grand panorama of Yahweh and the gods, of cosmos and humanity, of covenant and kingdom, of temple and torah, of sin and evil, and of salvation and afterlife. Viewed within its ancient Near Eastern cognitive environment, the text takes unexpected turns and blossoms into fresh and challenging insights. No matter how you are accustomed to viewing the first testament of the Bible, Old Testament Theology for Christians will challenge and sharpen your perceptions.

Old Testament Theology provides a foundational tool for a theological reading of the Old Testament. In the book's central chapters, John Kessler delineates six differing representations of the divine-human relationship, with special emphasis on the kind of response each one evokes from the people of God. He traces these representations through the Old Testament, into the New Testament, and reflects on their significance for the values and character formation of the people of God today. Old Testament Theology combines elements of Old Testament history, exegesis, hermeneutics, and theology, and situates them within the social, cultural, and intellectual world of ancient Israel and Israelite religious institutions. The result is a comprehensive and readable introduction to Old Testament theology for students in seminaries and colleges.

The discipline of Old Testament theology seeks to provide us with a picture of YHWH and his relationship to the world as described in the Old Testament. But within this discipline, there are many disagreements about the key issues and methodologies: Is the Old Testament unified in some way? Should the context of the theologian play a role in interpretation? Should Old Testament theology merely describe what ancient Israel believed, or should it offer guidance for the church today? What is the relationship between history and theology? All these considerations and more result in so many different kinds of Old Testament theologies (and so many publications), that it's difficult for students, pastors, and laity to productively study this already complex field. In Understanding Old Testament Theology, professors Brittany Kim and Charlie Trimm provide an overview of the contemporary approaches to Old Testament theology. In three main sections, they explore various approaches: Part I examines approaches that ground Old Testament theology in history. Part II surveys approaches that foreground Old Testament theme(s). Part III considers approaches that highlight different contexts for doing Old Testament theology. Each main chapter describes both common features of the approach and points of tension and then offers a test case illuminating how it has been applied to the book of Exodus. Through reading this book, you’ll hopefully come to see the Old Testament in a fresh light—as something that’s alive and active, continually drawing us into deeper encounters with the living God.

In this comprehensive exposition, a leading New Testament scholar explores the unfolding theological unity of the entire Bible from the vantage point of the New Testament. G. K. Beale, coeditor of the award-winning Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, examines how the New Testament storyline relates to and develops the Old Testament storyline. Beale argues that every major concept of the New Testament is a development of a concept from the Old and is to be understood as a facet of the inauguration of the latter-day new creation and kingdom. Offering extensive interaction between the two testaments, this volume helps readers see the unifying conceptual threads of the Old Testament and how those threads are woven together in Christ. This major work will be valued by students of the New Testament and pastors alike.