The Problem of the Old Testament: Hermeneutical, Schematic, and Theological Approaches

412 Pages·2020·5.723 MB·English

by  Duane A. Garrett

PROBLEM
THE
OLD
OF THE
TESTAMENT
HERMENEUTICAL, SCHEMATIC,
& THEOLOGICAL APPROACHES
DUANE A. GARRETT
InterVarsity Press
P.O. Box 1400, Downers Grove, IL 60515‑1426
ivpress.com
[email protected]
©2020 by Duane A. Garrett
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from
InterVarsity Press.
InterVarsity Press® is the book‑publishing division of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA®, a movement of
students and faculty active on campus at hundreds of universities, colleges, and schools of nursing in the United
States of America, and a member movement of the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students. For
information about local and regional activities, visit intervarsity.org.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are the author’s translation.
The publisher can’t verify the accuracy of website hyperlinks beyond the date of print publication.
Cover design and image composi te: Cindy Kiple
Images: splash of red: © LordRunar / E+ / Getty Images
developing tornado: © john finney photography / Moment Collection / Getty Images
ISBN 978‑0‑8308‑4377‑0 (digital)
ISBN 978‑0‑8308‑5273‑4 (print)
For Patty
No one puts new wine in an old wineskin.
.
Mark 2:22
CCOONNTTEENNTTSS
Preface ix
Abbreviations xi
PART ONE: FACING THE PROBLEM
1 Defining the Problem 3
2 The Old Testament in the Early Church 32
PART TWO: INADEQUATE SOLUTIONS
3 The Hermeneutical Solutions: Alexandria 49
4 The Hermeneutical Solutions: Antioch 90
5 The Schematic Solutions 111
6 The Conceptual Solutions 129
PART THREE: A NEW APPROACH
7 Foundations for an Old Testament Theology 161
8 Election and the Covenants 175
9 The Law 217
10 Issues in Narrative 249
PART FOUR: CASE STUDIES IN PROPHECY
11 The Prophetic Method: Hosea 293
12 The Prophetic Method: Joel 343
13 Summary and Prospect 352
Appendix: Bonus Material from
The Problem of the Old Testament: Preexilic Prophecy: Isaiah 7:14 357
Bibliography 367 Subject Index 383 Scripture Index 387
Praise for The Problem of the Old Testament 397 About the Author 399
More Titles from InterVarsity Pres s 400

PPRREEFFAACCEE
In this book, I argue that the Old Testament is fulfilled in Jesus
Christ and that it is authoritative and edifying for Christians. As a matter
of dogma, this is hardly revolutionary, but it is widely debated and fre-
quently denied. Many argue that the religion of the Old Testament has
little in common with the religion of the New and that alleged prophecies
about Jesus have been wrenched from their Old Testament contexts and
misapplied by Christians. And in fact, many Christians find much of the
Old Testament to be bewildering, inapplicable, morally troubling, or
simply unhelpful.
To the best of my ability, I have made the discussions simple and ac-
cessible. Books dealing with hermeneutics and Old Testament theology
can be dense and jargon-filled, with the learnedness of the author some-
times in inverse proportion to the clarity of the book. Given the choice,
I would rather imitate Jane Austen’s innocent heroine in Northanger
Abbey, Catherine Morland, who says, “I cannot speak well enough to be
unintelligible.” To that end, I sometimes present information with bullet
points. I believe this will make the material easier to digest, but I apol-
ogize to readers for whom this is embarrassingly déclassé. Also, this book
does not require that the reader understand Hebrew. For those who do,
arguments that appeal to the Hebrew text are in footnotes.
There are a few conventions in this book you should know about:
■ The name of Israel’s God contained four consonants, YHWH (in
Hebrew, הוהי). This is traditionally translated as “The Lord,” and it
x Preface
is commonly pronounced as “Yahweh,” although Jewish readers
typically say “The Name” or “Adonai” (“My Lord”) instead of pro-
nouncing it. In biblical studies, it is becoming more common to
simply use the four letters YHWH, and I have followed this con-
vention. When you come across YHWH, you can pronounce it as
“The Lord,” “Adonai,” “Yahweh,” or “The Name,” as you wish.
■ In citing Scripture, I give the chapter and verse according to English
Bibles followed by, if different, how they are numbered in the
Hebrew Bible (for example, Ps 3:2 [MT 3]). “MT” stands for “Maso-
retic Text,” the standard, received edition of the Hebrew Bible. The
citation points the reader to Psalm 3:2 in the English and to the
same verse in the Hebrew, where it is numbered as Psalm 3:3.
■ When citing poetry within a paragraph, I mark line breaks with the
slash, as in “YHWH is my shepherd, / I shall not want.”
■ Unless otherwise indicated, all translations are my own.
■ When citing scholars in the main text, I only give the full first name
if the person in question is a pivotal figure in the history of schol-
arship (e.g., Karl Barth). Otherwise, I give only the first initial(s)
and the last name.
I am deeply grateful to the many people who have made this project
possible. First, I owe my thanks to R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and to the trustees for their gen-
erous sabbatical policy. Special thanks also go to Greg Wills, my former
dean, and to Hershael York, my current dean, for their support of the
project. Second, I am very grateful to all who have read parts or all of the
manuscript and have made valuable corrections and suggestions, above
all Andrew King, Kim Sungjin, and my wife, Patty Garrett. I have also
received helpful comments from Tom Schreiner, Stephen Wellum, Amy
Crider, Calvin Pearson, Micah Wu, and Martin Zhang.