Biblical Theology
- Biblical Theology
At the heart of many of the Christian church's problems is a neglect of the OT. With a few notable exceptions, the interpretive implications of the character and identity of God, creation, providence, and figural logic in the OT have been eclipsed in the name of a so-called biblical theology of the two Testaments that is little more than NT theology. The irony involved in this top-heavy view of the NT is all too evident when one considers the fact that the NT presumes the OT's doctrine of God, creation, and providence. At the same time, the decisions we make regarding the OT's character tend to shape many other decisions—theological, ecclesial, or ethical. Chap. 1 explores the logic of figural reading of the creation narratives of Genesis 1–2. In chap. 2 C. turns to a discussion of the medieval view of the quadriga—the four senses of Scripture: the literal sense, the allegorical sense, the moral sense, and the anagogical sense. The exegesis that dominated the Protestant Reformation tended to rule out metaphysical reflection on God, focusing mostly on the historical [End Page 641] sense of Scripture instead. But biblical theology is much richer than history alone. Chap. 3 treats thirteenth-century attempts to distinguish metaphor from theological allegory. Here Job 28, Proverbs 8, and Hosea's prologue are used by C. to illustrate the figural and exegetical significance of Wisdom and Prophecy. Chap. 4 assesses the fortunes of figural reading under the auspices of modernity. For more on these themes, see R. Brandt, "Reading Scripture Spiritually: Bonaventure, the Quadriga, and Spiritual Formation Today," Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care 10 (2017) 12-32.—F.W.G.
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Exod 20:1-3 prohibits the worship of other gods. We tend to forget, however, that this prohibition is quickly followed by a separate commandment that prohibits the worship of idols. The close relationship between these two laws can also be seen in Deuteronomy 4; 1 Kings 11–12; and 2 Kings 18–19. Much of J.'s book is devoted to showing how the two commandments are similar, but not identical. He discusses various historical interpretations of the relationship between the prohibitions, the worship of divine images, the prophetic critique of idols, the fall of the Northern Kingdom and the subsequent worship of Assyria's gods, and the struggle to consolidate monotheistic belief in the Southern Kingdom. Among the scholars J. interacts with are Walter Zimmerli and his influential essay on the second commandment: "Das Zweite Gebot," Festschrift, Alfred Bertholet zum 80. Geburtstag (ed. Walter Baumgartner; Tübingen: Mohr Siebeck, 1950) 550-63. Zimmerli believed that it is possible to identify the earliest layer of tradition in the Decalogue with the help of redaction criticism, but J. takes a more canonical approach to the question and is more willing to let the diversity in Scripture speak for itself. In the biblical tradition, a war against idolatry is waged on two fronts, one external, one domestic. The former is directed outwardly against the many false gods of Israel's neighbors, while the battle at home has the worship of images as its target, even when those images seek to depict Yhwh and his actions. The polemic against idolatry in Deutero-Isaiah is aimed primarily at those who fabricate idols of foreign gods. After the fall of the Northern Kingdom, however, we are told that Hezekiah and Josiah turned their attention to removing images from worship in Jerusalem and the Southern Kingdom. The extensive bibliography on pp. 149-61 helps extend the...
