Old Testament Theology

A Thematic Approach

Robin Routledge

• Publisher: Apollos
• Year: 2020
• Print ISBN: 9781844742868
• eBook ISBN: 9781789740097
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Christian Theology

Numerous useful books on Old Testament theology are now available. However, they often give too much information - or too little. Some can seem large, and daunting to the ordinary student or pastor, and because of their layout, information may be hard to access. Others take a more introductory approach and do not deal with many of the theological issues and questions that the Old Testament raises.
Robin Routledge's aim is to bridge this gap.
He provides a substantial overview of the central issues and themes in Old Testament theology in the main body of the text, with more detailed discussion and references for further reading in the footnotes.
His purpose is to examine the theological significance of the various texts in their wider canonical context, noting unity and coherence within the Old Testament (and to some extent between the Old and New Testaments), whilst also being aware of diversity. A brief outline of the relationship between exegesis and biblical theology within the overall task of interpreting and applying biblical material is given in the first chapter.
His hope as a Christian minister is that, while this volume has grown out of a teaching context, and is intended for students, it will also be of benefit to others who want to take the theological content of the Old Testament seriously, and to apply its message to the life and ministry of the church today.

1. APPROACHES TO OLD TESTAMENT THEOLOGY¹

The Old Testament as Christian Scripture

The Christian Bible comprises the Old and New Testaments and, from earliest times, Christians have accepted the OT alongside the NT as canonical and normative for faith. It is impossible, here, to trace the growth and development of the OT canon. Its make-up was essentially as we know it by the NT period, though there was still debate about the acceptability of some books up to the so-called Council of Jamnia in AD 90, when some kind of a consensus about the contents of the canon appears to have been reached.²

‘Old Testament’ or ‘Hebrew Bible’?

‘Old Testament’ is a Christian designation.³ It is common in some circles to refer, instead, to the ‘Hebrew Bible’ or ‘Hebrew Scriptures’. Though not strictly accurate, since some parts are in Aramaic (Ezra 4:8 – 6:18; 7:12–26; Jer. 10:11; Dan. 2:4 – 7:28),⁴ this designation recognizes that before it became part of the Christian Bible, the OT was (and continues to be) Jewish Scripture, and emphasizes both the Jewish roots of the Christian faith and the fact that Christianity has not replaced Judaism.⁵ Nevertheless, though certain texts are held in common by Christians and Jews, the way they are interpreted and the use made of them is different. This can be seen, for example, in the order of the books. In the (Jewish) Hebrew Bible the last book is Chronicles, which has as a key emphasis the building of the Jerusalem temple. After describing its destruction by the Babylonians, the book closes with the edict of Cyrus, which opens the way for the Jews to return and rebuild the temple (2 Chr. 36:22–23). Thus the book points to a new beginning for God’s people after the exile, a new beginning linked, particularly, with the restoration of their religious life, including the birth of Judaism. The (Christian) OT ends with the prophecy of Malachi, which points to the coming of the day of the Lord that will be preceded by the return of Elijah. This opens the way for the NT focus on John the Baptist and his announcement that the kingdom of God has come in the person of Jesus Christ. With a different canonical ordering, the same Scriptures prepare their respective readers for different fulfilments.⁶

This is linked with biblical theology, which has as one of its goals an appropriate relating of the Old and New Testaments.⁷ How that may be achieved, and how the OT may function as an authoritative document of the Christian church is a subject of debate, and aspects of that debate are considered below. However, because it includes discussion about the relationship between the testaments, biblical theology is a Christian, rather than a Jewish, task. Jews are interested in the Tanak, but not in its function in relation to the NT. In fact theology of the first testament has also, so far, been a predominantly Christian task, with much Jewish scholarship expressing opposition to (or at least a suspicion of) doing theology.⁸ Barr notes the view of Tsevat that a true Jewish theology would need to include the Talmud and the Mishnah, which are as inseparable from the Tanak for Jewish readers as the NT is from the OT for Christian readers.⁹

Jon D. Levenson sets out his objections in the essay ‘Why Jews Are not Interested in Biblical Theology’,¹⁰ and he too notes the importance of Jewish tradition, including Midrash and Talmud. Another issue is the centrality of the quest for unity in biblical theology. Levenson maintains that Judaism recognizes, and is happy to live with, tension and inner argument within the text. A third issue raised by Levenson is the emphasis in theology on belief over practice.

By contrast, Goshen-Gottstein does point to the need for Tanak theology within Jewish scholarship, analogous to (Christian) biblical theology. Perdue gives a lengthy list of Jewish scholars working in this area (including Goshen-Gottstein, Marvin Sweeney and Michael Fishbane).¹¹

Another factor in the Christian view of the OT was the relationship between Christianity and Judaism in the early Christian centuries. The first Christians were Jews, and their only sacred text was the OT, which was interpreted as being fulfilled in Christ. As the church spread beyond its Jewish roots, we see a growing tension between Gentile converts and those who saw Christianity as an extension of Judaism. Opposition to Judaizing tendencies led to the OT being given a spiritual interpretation; viewing it, in effect, as a Christian book that had been misunderstood by the Jews.¹² As the gospel continued to spread among Gentiles, and the number of Jews coming into the church reduced,¹³ a total separation of Christianity and Judaism became inevitable. That reduced the problem of Judaizing, but raised the question of what to do with the OT Scriptures that were not part of the religious heritage of those now coming into the church. Some, such as Marcion, wanted to devalue the OT in relation to the NT. Opposition to Marcion by the mainstream church resulted in the affirmation of the value of the OT for the church, though still as an essentially Christian document.

Christians see themselves as both the people of the new covenant, which was announced by the prophets and inaugurated by Jesus, and also the heirs of the promises of the Old Covenant, which find their ultimate fulfilment in Christ. Thus the OT is not simply a Jewish text that has been taken over by the church; it is part of a divine revelation that reaches completion in Jesus (e.g. Heb. 1:1–2; 2 Pet. 1:19–21). As such it is both appropriate and necessary for us to approach its study as Christians, and to recognize that the OT Scriptures have an important place in our religious heritage.¹⁴ Implicit within this view is the conviction that the OT writers look more widely than the relationship between God and Israel. It is possible, within the OT, to discern the working out of the divine purpose to reveal God’s holiness and glory throughout the whole of creation.¹⁵ This has two aspects. It is seen in judgment on those whose proud rebellion seeks to usurp the glory that belongs to God alone. It is seen too in the salvation of those from all nations who respond to God in faith and obedience, and their acceptance alongside Israel in the coming kingdom, which includes too the redemption of the created order, and the creation of new heavens and a new earth. For Christians this purpose reaches its fulfilment in Christ. It begins, though, within the OT, and a proper understanding of God’s purpose for the world and of the divine perspective on history is impossible without the OT. The universal nature of God’s purpose implies, further, that the OT has a crucial relevance for our understanding of mission.¹⁶

The challenge of the Old Testament

For Christians, to accept the OT as part of the canon of Scripture is to recognize its divine authority. It is God’s Word, and as such is authoritative and normative for the life and faith of God’s people. Thus the study of the OT continues to be important for Christians. But it raises difficulties. The OT is, on the one hand, part of the Christian Bible, but, on the other, it is also a document of the history and religion of Israel.¹⁷ Its historical, cultural and religious background is different from ours; its practices and beliefs are unfamiliar, and in some cases may even be offensive. So how are we to read the OT in a way that takes it as authoritative for our faith and conduct?

Some scholars between the first and second world wars (particularly in Germany) wanted to remove the OT from the canon, and so take away its authoritative status.¹⁸ Later liberal Protestantism does not go that far, but there is a tendency to downgrade the importance of the OT, and especially of passages that do not fit with ethical norms derived from the NT and from social conventions and what are sometimes seen as human rights issues. The OT reflects the historical development of Israel’s faith, which means that some parts have more direct significance for the church than others. However, if we attach value and significance to the OT only when it agrees with the NT, or only when it fits in with modern social values, then we are denying it any real authority of its own. We need a way of viewing the OT that recognizes different levels of direct relevance to the life of the church, but also acknowledges the authoritative status of the OT as a whole.

For some, the key to unlocking the OT is found in the conversation between the risen Christ and the disciples on the road to Emmaus when, beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself (Luke 24:27). The aim, then, is to find Christian, and more particularly Christological, significance in the OT.¹⁹ In one sense, of course, all Christian theology, including OT theology, must be Christological.²⁰ As Christians we recognize that the OT is a witness to Christ: it contains the promise of which Christ is the fulfilment, the shadow that points to Christ as its reality. And some texts may be related directly to Christ (though opinion is divided about which ones). However, it is impossible to treat the whole of the OT in that way without resorting to imaginative spiritualizing and allegorizing of some of its parts, and neglecting other parts altogether.²¹ Bright notes the way some OT passages were allegorized by the Church Fathers:

Moses seated in prayer, his arms outstretched . . . makes the sign of the cross of Christ, and it was by this sign that Amalek was overcome by Jesus (Joshua) through Moses (so Ep. Barnabas, Tertullian, Cyprian, Justin, et al.). So too the scarlet cord which the harl...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Abbreviations
• Acknowledgments
• 1. Approaches to Old Testament theology
• 2. God and the ‘gods’
• 3. God and creation
• 4. God and his people (1): election and covenant
• 5. God and his people (2): worship and sacrifice
• 6. God and his people (3): receiving instruction
• 7. God and his people (4): kingship in Israel
• 8. God and his people (5): ethics and ethical questions
• 9. God and the future
• 10. God and the nations
• Select bibliography
• Supplementary bibliography
• Index of Scripture references
• Index of names
• Index of subjects