Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament.Ed. G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007. Pp. xxvii + 1239.
Hekman Library ThRef 511.3 .C653 2007
In one volume Beale and Carson and sixteen other New Testament scholars have produced a unique reference tool that will be helpful for pastors, theological students, and biblical scholars. Each contributor (typically one per gospel or epistle) focuses his attention on those places where the NT writer actually cites or alludes to the OT. In their introduction, Beale and Carson outline six questions each contributor was asked to bear in mind:
- What is the NT context of the citation or allusion?
- What is the OT context from which the citation or allusion is drawn?
- How is the OT source handled in the literature of Second Temple Judaism?
- What textual factors come into play in this use of the OT (e.g., MT, LXX, Targum, etc.)?
- How is the NT writer using or appealing to the OT?
- To what theological use does the NT writer put this OT allusion or citation?
A good number of the contributors use these six questions as an outline in treating clear OT allusions or citations, with more generic discussions of less obvious allusions which do not lend themselves well to such a prescribed format. Each contribution has its own bibliography, with convenient author-date references within the text for those who wish to pursue matters more deeply.
This work succeeds in its goal of being a good comprehensive survey of specific instances of the use of the OT in the NT. While the contributors are informed by contemporary debates over the nature of the exegetical methods used by the NT writers and developments in the field of typology, the book does not attempt to address these issues comprehensively. For good, quick summaries of such issues, one might consult the relevant articles and bibliography in the recently published Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible, ed. Kevin J. VanHoozer (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2005) :
- “Relationship between the Testaments,” by R. T. France, pp. 666-672
- “Intertextuality,” by Paul E. Koptak, pp. 332-334
- “Jewish Exegesis,” by Craig A. Evans, pp. 380-384
- “Typology,” by Daniel Treier, pp. 823-827
