A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised

A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised

A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised

A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament: The Gospel Promised

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Overview

Written from a Reformed, covenantal, and redemptive-historical perspective, this introduction to the Old Testament invites readers to see the cohesive story of the Bible through the lens of the gospel promised from the beginning.


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781433533464
Publisher: Crossway
Publication date: 05/31/2016
Pages: 608
Sales rank: 839,749
Product dimensions: 7.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 1.60(d)

About the Author

Miles V. Van Pelt (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the Alan Belcher Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, academic dean, and director of the Summer Institute for Biblical Languages at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson. He also serves on the pastoral staff of Grace Reformed Church in Madison, Mississippi. He and his wife, Laurie, have four children.

Ligon Duncan (PhD, University of Edinburgh) is  chancellor, CEO, and John E. Richards Professor of Systematic and Historical Theology at Reformed Theological Seminary. He previously served as the senior minister of the historic First Presbyterian Church in Jackson, Mississippi, for seventeen years. He is a cofounder of Together for the Gospel, a senior fellow of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, and was the president of the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals from 2004–2012. Duncan has edited, written, or contributed to numerous books. He and his wife, Anne, have two children and live in Jackson, Mississippi.

John D. Currid (PhD, University of Chicago) is the Carl W. McMurray Professor of Old Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at the Jerusalem Center for Biblical Studies in Jerusalem, Israel, and serves as project director of the Bethsaida Excavations Project in Israel (1995-present). He lectures and preaches worldwide.

Michael J. Glodo (ThM, Westminster Theological Seminary) is associate professor of pastoral theology and former dean of the chapel at Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando. He is a contributor to A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament and the ESV Gospel Transformation Study Bible, as well as numerous articles, including many at Reformed Faith & Practice. You can find him at mikeglodo.com.

Willem A. VanGemeren is director of the Doctor of Philosophy in Theological Studies program and professor of Old Testament and Semitic languages at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois.

Miles V. Van Pelt (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is the Alan Belcher Professor of Old Testament and Biblical Languages, academic dean, and director of the Summer Institute for Biblical Languages at Reformed Theological Seminary, Jackson. He also serves on the pastoral staff of Grace Reformed Church in Madison, Mississippi. He and his wife, Laurie, have four children.

Read an Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

Genesis

John D. Currid

INTRODUCTION

The name of the first book of the Hebrew Bible derives from the opening word of the Hebrew text, [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]. This word means "in the beginning," and it is an appropriate designation because the book is about beginnings: the beginning of the universe; the beginning of time, matter, and space; the beginning of humanity; the beginning of sin; the beginning of redemption; and the beginning of Israel. By deliberating over Genesis, then, we are essentially engaging in protology, the study of first things. That the cosmos has a beginning implies that it also has an end and that everything is moving toward a consummation (the study of these last things is called eschatology). The Scriptures, therefore, present a linear history, a movement from inception to completion.

Scholars have commonly tried to distinguish between this Hebraic view of history and that of other ancient Near Eastern cultures. Many have argued that the pagan cultures of the time believed in a cyclical history, teaching that nature is locked in an unending sequence of birth, life, death, and rebirth. And therefore, the world is heading nowhere; it is merely in a ceaseless, natural cycle. In reality, that contrast is too simplistic. The ancients were actually quite aware of history, which the great volume of historical records these peoples kept confirms. The ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, and Babylonians were skilled and proficient in preserving historical documents, annals, and chronologies. The contrast between the two conceptions of the universe really boils down to the question of what is the foundation of history. The Hebrews had a worldview that centered on God as the Lord and overseer of history. Everything that happens in the cosmos unfolds according to God's plan; he is the One who moves history from a beginning toward a final climax (Isa. 41:4; 43:1–15; 44:6; 48:12). He is sovereign and sits on the throne of history. The other cultures of the ancient Near East had no such theological conception.

BACKGROUND ISSUES

Authorship

For the past 150 years, the question of the formation and development of the book of Genesis, and the rest of the Pentateuch for that matter, has dominated Old Testament studies. Inquiries into authorship, date of writing, and place of writing have stood at the very forefront of Old Testament scholarship. Although people have asked such questions throughout the history of Judaism and Christianity, perhaps the first to struggle seriously with the issues was Jean Astruc (AD 1684–1766), a professor of medicine at the University of Paris. Astruc determined that someone brought together four original documents to make up the Pentateuch. He noticed that certain names for God dominated different parts of the literature, and this became one factor in determining what belonged to which source. He also believed that doublets — that is, a second telling of the same incident — demonstrated different sources. Although Astruc likely believed that Moses was the author of each of the four sources, his studies laid the foundation for the biblical criticism that would soon follow.

So what started the belief that Genesis was the writing of not one person but rather various authors whose sources redactors (i.e., editors) stitched together over time? Perhaps the most important impetus for this notion was the thinking not of a biblical scholar but of a philosopher. Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) formed an influential worldview that argued that all things in reality are changing or in process. Everything is developing from lower to higher degrees of perfection. This process occurs by means of the dialectic that moves things from one state (thesis) to its opposite (antithesis) and finally achieves a higher synthesis between the two. It repeats itself so that higher states of existence come into being. This is a natural process that affects all areas of life: culture, social systems, political systems, biology, economics, and religion. It is an evolutionary view of existence.

One of Hegel's colleagues, a biblical scholar named Wilhelm Vatke (1806–1882), took and applied Hegel's philosophy to the study of the Old Testament and, in particular, to the formation of the Pentateuch. This marked a major turning point because "the application of Hegelian philosophy to the study of the Old Testament led to [Julius] Wellhausen's [1844–1918] establishment of the modern Documentary Hypothesis of the Pentateuch and eventually to the death of Old Testament theology." Building upon these foundational presuppositions of Astruc, Hegel, and others, subsequent biblical scholars theorized that the Pentateuch was indeed a collation of numerous sources brought together by later editors. However, they did not agree on the sources and how they were collated. For example, those who adhere to the Supplementary Hypothesis argue that there was one core document of the Pentateuch to which redactors added numerous fragments over the centuries. On the other hand, others argue that the Pentateuch lacks a core document altogether and consists merely of a mass of fragments from numerous sources that have been collated and edited (this is called the Fragmentary Hypothesis).

The major source theory developed in the nineteenth century was the Graf-Wellhausen Theory, otherwise known as the Documentary Hypothesis. This theory proposed four basic sources for the Pentateuch, referred to as J, E, D, and P:

1. J is the Jahwist (or Yahwist) source. This is a source that primarily uses the name Jehovah (that is, Yahweh) to refer to God. The J source is considered the oldest source, and it can be viewed in Genesis 2:4–4:26, and in portions of Exodus and Numbers. The originators of the hypothesis thought that it had been derived from the period of the united monarchy during the reigns of David and Solomon.

2. E is the Elohist source. It employs the name Elohim for God, and it comes from a later period than the J source. A later redactor, referred to as R, put the two sources together.

3. D refers to the Deuteronomist. This material was written even later than the first two, and it was commonly seen as coming from the time of King Josiah in the second half of the seventh century BC. Another redactor, called R, brought together this material with J and E to create one document.

4. P is the Priestly and final source. It includes much of the cultic, sacred, and sacrificial material and matters related to the priesthood. Scholars who adopt the Documentary Hypothesis believe the P source was written late and should be placed during the exilic and postexilic periods.

While these are the four main sources for the Pentateuch, this position also argues that numerous smaller fragments, such as Genesis 14, were inserted into these primary documents.

Very few scholars today accept the Documentary Hypothesis as originally formulated; the issue of authorship has become much more complex. There is, in reality, little consensus among scholars regarding who wrote what and when, even though they continue to use the acronym JEDP. Additionally, many scholars argue that each of those four major sources resulted from various editors and redactors bringing together many other sources. What is clear is that much Old Testament scholarship denies the historicity of the material of the Pentateuch and claims that the material we do have is a result of centuries of literary evolution.

Literary Analysis

In the last three decades, scholars from a variety of perspectives have called for a focus on the final form of the text as a literary whole. Standing at the forefront of this attention, Brevard Childs argued that exegesis should be based upon the final, canonical form of the biblical text. This perspective has led many scholars to shift their focus away from merely working in source criticism to discovering the various levels of how the Pentateuch reached its final form. Leading this charge is Robert Alter, who wrote a truly groundbreaking work titled The Art of Biblical Narrative. In this work, Alter defines a field of biblical study called literary analysis.

Literary analysis deals with what Alter calls "the artful use of language" in a particular literary genre. This includes such conventions in Hebrew writing as structure, wordplay, imagery, sound, syntax, and many other devices that appear in the final form of the text. In Alter's own words, he defines it as follows:

By literary analysis I mean the manifold varieties of minutely discriminating attention to the artful use of language, to the shifting play of ideas, conventions, tone, sound, imagery, syntax, narrative viewpoint, compositional units, and much else; the kind of disciplined attention, in other words, which through a whole spectrum of critical approaches has illuminated, for example, the poetry of Dante, the plays of Shakespeare, the novels of Tolstoy.

This literary approach has yielded much fruit in biblical studies, and it has allowed scholars once again to see the literary qualities of the final form of a text.

For example, when source critics engage a text like Genesis 38, the account of Judah and Tamar, they understand it as a mixture of source documents dominated especially by J and E, and many see no connection between this story and the surrounding account of Joseph's life. For example, von Rad argues in his Genesis commentary that "every attentive reader can see the story of Judah and Tamar has no connection at all with the strictly organized Joseph story at whose beginning it is now inserted." Speiser agrees when he says, "The narrative is a completely independent unit. It has no connection with the drama of Joseph, which it interrupts." Genesis 38 is, therefore, a mere interpolation, probably inserted by the J or Yahwist author.

Literary analysis, however, demonstrates something different. It asks, why has the story been placed here? And it concludes, in this case, that the text of Genesis 38 has been masterfully and artistically woven into the context of the Joseph story. For example, Sprinkle, summarizing Alter, observes that the same motifs occur in chapter 38 as in chapter 37:

As Joseph is separated from his brothers by "going down" to Egypt, so Judah separates from his brothers by "going down" to marry a Canaanite woman. Jacob is forced to mourn for a supposed death of his son, Judah is forced to mourn for the actual death of two of his sons. ... Judah tricked Jacob, so Tamar (in poetic justice) tricks Judah. ... Judah used a goat (its blood) in his deception of Jacob, so the promised harlot's price of a kid plays a role in his own deception.

The story of Genesis 38 also has thematic ties to the subsequent account, serving as a foil to the story of Potiphar's wife. Judah marries a Canaanite, and after his wife's death, he has sexual relations with a woman he thinks is a prostitute. Joseph, on the contrary, does not fall victim to sexual temptation. Thus, whereas Judah succumbs to the allurements of the Canaanites, Joseph refuses to give in to the wiles of the Egyptian female.

Literary analysis is essential in studying the book of Genesis, for although Genesis includes numerous genres, such as genealogy, poetry, prayer, and so forth, the predominant genre is narrative. Yet because Hebrew narrative can exhibit the "artful" use of language in various stages, the literary analysis of Genesis can become quite complex. For the purpose of this introduction, we will consider three basic stages of analysis, moving from the simplest to the more complex, which will serve as a starting point for the reader.

Stage 1: Leitwort ("Lead or Guide Word")

Definition: "The German term Leitwort refers to a word or root-word that appears repeatedly throughout a pericope, and it is one of the most common components of narrative art in the OT. The role of a Leitwort is to highlight and to develop the principal theme of a narrative."

Genesis example: In the account of Jacob's stealing the blessing from Esau in Genesis 27, two Leitworter (the German plural of Leitwort) define the narrative's thematic purpose. The words that occur repeatedly are [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] ("game," seven times as a noun and four times as its cognate verb, "hunt") and [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] ("delicious food," six times). Waltke observes that "Isaac is said to 'love tasty food' by Rebekah, Isaac himself, and the narrator. This repetition makes clear the story's message: Isaac's cupidity has distorted his spiritual taste. He has given himself over to an indulgent sensuality."

Stage 2: Leitphrase ("Lead or Guide Phrase")

Definition: The German word Leitphrase refers to the repetition of a phrase or clause, rather than a single word, that dominates a text.

Genesis example: In Genesis 1, the phrase "And there was evening and there was morning, the [numbered] day" appears six times (1:5, 8, 13, 19, 23, 31). That Leitphrase provides the temporal framework for the entire creation account.

Sometimes a pericope can be more complicated by including both stages of Leitwort and Leitphrase. Genesis 39:1–6, for instance, gives the account of Joseph's servitude to Potiphar, his Egyptian master, and contains a number of Leitworter: [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] ("all," five times), [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] ("house," five times), [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] ("hand," four times), and [TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII] ("success," two times). It also includes a Leitphrase: "the LORD was with Joseph" (two times). The complexity of these literary forms becomes apparent when one considers a story later in the chapter that describes Joseph's service to an Egyptian jailer (39:19–23). This account features the same leading words used in the earlier one: "all" (three times), "house" (four times), "hand" (two times), and "success" (one time). As well, the leading phrase "the LORD was with Joseph" appears twice. These repetitions highlight an echo (which reminds me of a great Mark Twain quote: "History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme"); the recurring pattern demonstrates that Joseph is successful no matter what his earthly master places in his hands because the Lord is with him. This paradigm essentially repeats itself when Pharaoh later places all the house of Egypt into Joseph's hands (Gen. 41:37–45).

Stage 3: Leitmotif ("Leading Theme or Motif")

Definition: The German term Leitmotif identifies an account (which Alter also calls a type-scene) that is repeated, more or less, in different contexts.

Genesis example: In Genesis, the motif "she is my sister" appears three times (12:10–20; 20:1–18; 26:6–11). On the first two occasions, Abraham tells a foreign ruler that his wife, Sarah, is really his sister, and in the third instance, Isaac says the same thing about his wife, Rebekah. All three instances are examples of the patriarchs attempting to save themselves from possible danger posed by foreign rulers. Scholars commonly attribute this repetition of narrative to the duplication of sources. In other words, different authors employed the same story for different episodes and purposes. In reality, that reasoning is wanting because the Leitmotif is the very essence of biblical narrative. It is one of the primary ways the biblical writer relates his material. The recurrent stammer or echo of the "she is my sister" theme connects these narratives in a meaningful way through the use of similar deceptive tactics — it worked twice for Abraham and once for his son.

Another example of the Leitmotif in Genesis is one that begins there and echoes throughout the rest of the Bible. The "barren wife" scene pictures an Israelite woman unable to bear children, and then, by some extraordinary means, she conceives and bears a son. The male descendant then grows up to be a leader or deliverer of God's people. The motif first appears in Genesis 11:27–30, where Sarah, the wife of Abraham, is barren. Isaac, of course, is born supernaturally to the aged couple. This scene is repeated in Genesis 25:20–21 (Rebekah and Isaac) and in 29:31 (Rachel and Jacob). The "barren wife" motif continues throughout the Old Testament with the stories of other barren women, such as Samson's mother (Judg. 13:2) and Hannah, the mother of Samuel (1 Sam. 1:2). This type-scene reaches its climax in the virgin birth of Jesus to Mary in the New Testament: he, of course, is the climactic deliverer of God's people.

STRUCTURE AND OUTLINE

Literary Structure of Genesis

Genesis can be divided into three major sections: (1) the creation of the world (1:1–2:3); (2) the primeval history of the world from Adam to Abraham (2:4–11:26); and (3) the history of the patriarchs (11:27–50:26). After narrating the creation episode, the author provides a highly structured account that covers the history from Adam to Joseph, signaling new and significant sections of material with the recurring toledoth formula. This formula in Hebrew ([TEXT NOT REPRODUCIBLE IN ASCII]) literally means "the generations of," and it stands behind the common heading "These are the generations of ...," which appears eleven times in Genesis (2:4; 5:1; 6:9; 10:1; 11:10, 27; 25:12, 19; 36:1, 9; 37:2).

(Continues…)


Excerpted from "A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament"
by .
Copyright © 2016 Miles V. Van Pelt.
Excerpted by permission of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

Table of Contents

Cover Page,
Title Page,
Copyright,
Contents,
Foreword J. Ligon Duncan III,
Preface,
Acknowledgments,
Abbreviations,
Introduction Miles V. Van Pelt,
1 Genesis John D. Currid,
2 Exodus John D. Currid,
3 Leviticus Michael G. McKelvey,
4 Numbers Michael J. Glodo,
5 Deuteronomy John Scott Redd,
6 Joshua Daniel C. Timmer,
7 Judges Michael J. Glodo,
8 1–2 Samuel Michael G. McKelvey,
9 1–2 Kings William B. Fullilove,
10 Isaiah Willem A. VanGemeren,
11 Jeremiah Peter Y. Lee,
12 Ezekiel Michael G. McKelvey,
13 The Twelve Daniel C. Timmer,
14 Psalms Mark D. Futato,
15 Job Richard P. Belcher Jr.,
16 Proverbs Willem A. VanGemeren,
17 Ruth John J. Yeo,
18 Song of Songs Miles V. Van Pelt,
19 Ecclesiastes Richard P. Belcher Jr.,
20 Lamentations Peter Y. Lee,
21 Esther Peter Y. Lee,
22 Daniel Richard P. Belcher Jr.,
23 Ezra–Nehemiah Mark D. Futato,
24 1–2 Chronicles Richard L. Pratt Jr.,
Appendix A: The Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9 Richard P. Belcher Jr.,
Appendix B: The Role of Heavenly Beings in Daniel Richard P. Belcher Jr.,
Contributors,
General Index,
Scripture Index,

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“For expository preachers and teachers of the Bible, this is truly a gold mine. Present and past members of the Reformed Theological Seminary faculty have produced a volume that is long overdue. Sound biblical-theological treatments of each book of the Old Testament, linked with good historical and literary comments, all conclude by pointing to the fulfillment of the texts in the person and work of Jesus. With this volume, no preacher should ever feel that preaching Christ from the Old Testament is too hard or too speculative.”
Graeme Goldsworthy, former lecturer in Old Testament, biblical theology, and hermeneutics, Moore Theological College

“For many Christians, the Old Testament is like a thousand pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. Where do you start? It helps to look at the box top and see how it all fits together. That’s what these superb teachers of the church do in this insightful book.”
Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California; author, Core Christianity: Finding Yourself in God's Story

“In this volume, a number of capable biblical scholars faithfully explore the Old Testament writings with sensitivity and sensibility. They do an admirable job not simply in describing the main themes and theology of each book but also in artfully showing that the Old Testament has a covenantal framework, a kingdom perspective, and Christ at its center. In brief, this is a superb volume, which provides an understandable and informative overview of the Old Testament. A great antidote to an embarrassing ignorance of the Old Testament by Christians.”
Michael F. Bird, Lecturer in Theology, Ridley College, Melbourne, Australia; author, Evangelical Theology

“The purpose of this work, ‘to show how the vast, eclectic diversity of the Scriptures has been woven together by a single, divine Author over the course of a millennium as the covenantal testimony to the person and work of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit according to the eternal decree of God the Father,’ is grand in itself. Yet more noble still is the pursuit of that goal through the combined efforts of a great faculty who are honoring the fifty-year legacy of a blessed institution steadfastly committed to the inerrancy of God’s Word and the historic distinctives of the Christian faith.”
Bryan Chapell, President Emeritus, Covenant Theological Seminary; Senior Pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church, Peoria, Illinois

“A high regard for Scripture as the authoritative Word of God percolates through every chapter of this collection. Moreover, it repeatedly displays flashes of insight into the redemptive-historical outworking of God’s salvation plan for his people. You may not agree with the position of every author, but you will be challenged to seriously consider each carefully crafted essay, all of which are written at a very accessible level. The book achieves an excellent tone in its awareness of the many difficult questions that an honest reading of the Old Testament introduces. These contributors are also sensitive to canonical and literary concerns. Finally, this volume even includes teaching on the ‘prophetic idiom,’ and if you don’t know what that is, then take up and read! I’m so glad that Van Pelt has gathered such an able band of brothers to produce this fine book.”
Bryan D. Estelle, Professor of Old Testament, Westminster Seminary California; author, Salvation Through Judgment and Mercy: The Gospel According to Jonah

“Van Pelt and his colleagues offer every worshiper of Christ a means of drawing out the one story of the King and his kingdom as it runs through the Law and the Prophets. Their analyses of the individual books of the Old Testament reveal the beauty of the whole canon. A Biblical-Theological Introduction to the Old Testament is intellectually enriching and pastorally faithful, helping the church to grow in love for the Savior through reading the Hebrew Bible. Congregants and Bible students will find great joy in reading their Scriptures with the aid of this work!”
Eric C. Redmond, Assistant Professor of Bible, Moody Bible Institute; Pastor of Adult Ministries, Calvary Memorial Church, Oak Park, Illinois

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