Tag: academic

New Book on a Middle Position between Dispensationalism and Covenant Theology

~ Bob Hayton ~ 7 Comments

A new book is making some serious theological waves. Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenant by Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum advocates a view termed “progressive covenantalism” as a middle position between covenant theology and dispensationalism. Regular readers of my blog know that I have argued for a more covenantal position. One of my favorite blog series was “Understanding the Land Promise“. But while I’m definitely not a classic or revised dispensationalist, I’m not entirely at home in standard covenant theology either. You can scan through some of my posts on dispensationalism, or redemptive historical interpretation if you’re interested in more of my thoughts at present on this issue.

Gentry and Wellum’s position is a Baptist, non-dispensational view with some affinities to new covenant theology and progressive dispensationalism (it seems). Yet theirs is a new position altogether. Since the book weighs in at over 800 pages, I’m not sure I’ll be able to work my way through it anytime soon, but it is definitely on my books to get list.

Here are some of the blurbs for the book, and Justin Taylor alerts us to the fact that the first two chapters are available to read online for free.

“Gentry and Wellum offer a third way, a via media, between covenant theology and dispensationalism, arguing that both of these theological systems are not informed sufficiently by biblical theology. Certainly we cannot understand the scriptures without comprehending ‘the whole counsel of God,’ and here we find incisive exegesis and biblical theology at its best. This book is a must read and will be part of the conversation for many years to come.” ~ Thomas R. Schreiner (James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary)

“What do you get when you cross a world class Bible scholar and a first rate systematic theologian? You get 800-plus pages of power-packed biblical goodness. You get the forest and quite a few of the trees. This is not the first volume that has attempted to mediate the dispensational/covenant theology divide, but it may be the culminating presentation of that discussion—just as Bach was not the first Baroque composer but its highest moment. Gentry and Wellum’s proposal of Kingdom through Covenant should be read by all parties, but I won’t be surprised to learn in 20 years that this volume provided the foundation for how a generation of anyone who advocates regenerate church membership puts their Bible together.” ~ Jonathan Leeman (Editorial Director, 9Marks; author, Church and the Surprising Offense of God’s Love)

“The relationship between the covenants of Scripture is rightly considered to be central to the interpretation of the Bible. That there is some degree of continuity is obvious for it is the same God—the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob as well as the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ—who has revealed himself and his will in the covenants. That there is, however, also significant discontinuity also seems patent since Scripture itself talks about a new covenant and the old one passing away. What has changed and what has not? Utterly vital questions to which this new book by Gentry and Wellum give satisfying and sound answers. Because of the importance of this subject and the exegetical and theological skill of the authors, their answers deserve a wide hearing. Highly recommended!” ~ Michael A. G. Haykin (Professor of Church History and Biblical Spirituality, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Director, The Andrew Fuller Center for Baptist Studies)

“Kingdom through Covenant is directly applicable to a pastor faithfully seeking understanding of God’s Word as it reveals the structure that supports the narrative of God’s message throughout time. The study of the covenants provides a framework for understanding and applying the message of the Bible to life in the new covenant community. I have found this study personally transforming, and enriching in my teaching ministry.” ~ Joseph Lumbrix (Pastor, Mount Olivet Baptist Church, Willisburg, KY)

For more on the book, see this interview at The Gospel Coalition Blog, or this two part interview at Credo Magazine: part 1, part 2.

You can pick up your own copy of this volume at any of the following online retailers: Westminster Bookstore, Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, Barnes&Noble, or direct from Crossway.

In the Box: Books from IVP, Kregel, WinePress and Crossway

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

“In the Box” posts highlight new books I’ve received in the mail.

The past few weeks I have had a few exciting titles arrive at my doorstep. I’m truly blessed to be able to read so many great books, and Christian publishers seem to never let up in their race to get high quality materials out the door. We are truly blessed with an abundance of Christian resources to help us in our walk with Christ.

The Gospel According to Isaiah 53 edited by and Richard Patterson (Kregel)

This book looks like it will be a joy to read. Mitch Glaser is the president of Chosen People Ministries, an organization dedicated to evangelizing the Jews. He recounts in the introduction how pivotal a role Isaiah chapter 53 plays in Jewish evangelism and his hopes for this book. Glaser and Bock have brought together a team of scholars who address the question of how to interpret Isaiah 53 from a variety of angles, but a practical, evangelistic fervor is promised to permeate the book. I look forward to jumping into this book and providing my review in the next couple weeks.

UPDATE: Read my review of this book here.

To learn more about this book, visit the book detail page at Kregel, or check out the preview or excerpt available at Westminster Bookstore, Amazon, Christianbook.com or Barnes&Noble.

Interpreting the Parables (2nd Edition) by Craig L. Blomberg (IVP)

This book arrived yesterday and I am excited to see it. Blomberg provides a systematic treatment of parables and the book is a comprehensive manual for how to exegete these dearly loved treasures of the New Testament. I appreciate that he takes C.H. Dodd and Joachim Jeremias to task, arguing that there is a limited allegorical sense to the parables. I’ve never been able to square Jesus’ own explanations of certain parables with what was a prevailing view in scholarship of their “single-point” nature that emphasized just one main punch to the story line. This book promises to be an education in itself, coming in at over 450 pages, but like all of IVP’s softcover reference titles – the quality and the design of the book make it a joy to peruse.

To learn more about this book, visit the book detail page at InterVarsity Press, or check out the preview available at Amazon, Christianbook.com or Barnes&Noble.

From the Cauldron to the Cross by Shari Hadley (WinePress)

This book looks fascinating. It is a personal testimony of a journey from Wicca to Christianity. The author is also a public speaker and licensed clinical social worker. Her story is of the power of God’s grace and promises to be an encouraging read. Dr. Neil Anderson has written the foreword.

To learn more about this book, visit the book detail page at WinePress, or visit CauldrontotheCross.com. Pick up a copy of the book at Amazon or Barnes&Noble.

The Kingdom by Bryan M. Litfin (Crossway)

I can’t leave out a good work of fiction. I was captured by Bryan Litfin’s well-crafted story-world as I read and reviewed book 2 of the “Chiveis Trilogy”. This book is the conclusion to the series, and I am eager to find out what happens to Teo and Ana–the main characters of this post-apocalyptic, medieval-esque story about recovering the Christian faith.

To learn more about this book, visit the book detail page at Crossway, or visit Chiveis.com. Pick up a copy of the book at Amazon, Christianbook.com or Barnes&Noble. You can get a deal on all three books in the series at Amazon, Christianbook.com, Barnes&Noble or Crossway as well.

“Invitation to Biblical Interpretation” by Andreas J. Kostenberger and Richard D. Patterson

~ Bob Hayton ~ 6 Comments

Book Details:
  • Authors: Andreas J. Köstenberger and Richard D. Patterson
  • Category: Hermeneutics / Theology
  • Publisher: Kregel (2011)
  • Format: hardcover
  • Page Count: 896
  • ISBN#: 9780825430473
  • List Price: $46.99
  • Rating: Must Read

Review:
I have handled my fair share of textbooks over the years. I’ve also used a variety of Bible commentaries, Bible dictionaries, theology resources and biblical study tools. But I have never come across a more comprehensive and accessible resource for handling the Word of God than Invitation to Biblical Interpretation: Exploring the Hermeneutical Triad of History, Literature, and Theology by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Richard D. Patterson. This new 900 page book has truly set a new standard when it comes to Christian academic resources. In its thoroughness and detail, usability and accessibility, scholarship and piety, this work is simply unmatched. And I am not alone in this assessment, the book’s opening 13 pages contain no less than 39 endorsements from a wide range of leading evangelical scholars. And the fact that this is a hermeneutics textbook makes such widespread acclaim all the more surprising.

While the book is designed for the classroom, I read through the book from the standpoint of an educated layman looking for a resource on interpreting Scripture. This book proved to be more than just a resource tool, it is a virtual stand-alone hermeneutics course in and of itself, with a limitless supply of suggested books and articles for additional reading and self-study.

The book unfolds Köstenberger and Patterson’s “hermeneutical triad” as an overarching approach to interpretation. This triad consists of history (archaeology, culture, manners and customs, and other historical matters), literature (canon, genres, linguistics), and theology (biblical theology). But before getting into the heart of the book, the authors reveal their philosophical approach to interpreting Scripture, which I find incredibly helpful:

[W]e don’t start with words; we start with the canon. For example, this is also how we would interpret, say, a play by Shakespeare. We don’t just analyze the words in a given sentence; we first try to learn more about Shakespeare, his background, the time in which he wrote, surveying his major works, and so on, before finally settling on a particular play. Even then we might read a good summary before eventually delving in and starting to read the play. When we encounter a given word with which we are unfamiliar, we would not stop reading, because we are more concerned about following the general flow than identifying individual word meanings. Thus we don’t start with analyzing the details of the biblical text (word study); we start with the whole (canon).

What is more, we also don’t start out pretending the Bible is just like any other book, because we don’t believe it is. Rather, our purpose here is not to study just any form of human communication; our purpose is to study the Bible–the inerrant, inspired Word of God…. Ultimately, this is God’s canon, conveyed in the genres intended by God, and communication of God’s discourses using God’s words (without of course denying human instrumentality , style and authorship). Thus, we don’t introduce the notion of the Bible being “special” at some point later in the interpretive process (as if it were immaterial to the early stages of general hermeneutics) but put it front and center in the organization of the book. (pg. 25-26)

I hold that both of these points are incredibly important. We have to encounter God’s Word from a big picture approach that pays attention to authorial intent, but we also have to recognize the Divine Author behind the text.

After explaining their method, the authors more right into focusing on each element of the triad. A brief overview of the history of hermeneutics is given and then the matters of history, archaeology and the historical context of the times of the Bible are discussed at a fairly high level, but with many particular examples. This is helpfully fleshed out in a “sample exegesis” section which concludes most chapters. The research into how the Canaanites viewed the god Baal (the god of storms) helps us appreciate what is at stake when Elijah announces that Yahweh has suspended all rain (and all storms).

After discussing the role that history plays, the authors then devote the lion’s share of the work to the discussion of literature. The canon, its development and current shape, is explored as to how that should shape our interpretation, and a brief theology of the OT and the NT are sketched. The minor prophets offer an example where both the message of the books themselves need to be understood as well as their particular literary arrangement as “the book of the twelve”. I really appreciated this emphasis on canonical interpretation, which the authors define as: “a faithful effort to hear the way in which God addresses his people in and through the text of Scripture as it testifies to God in Christ” but it is not so much a method as “a practice of theological reading” (pg. 157).

The discussion of Genre covers OT historical narrative, poetry and wisdom literature, prophecy, NT historical narrative, parables, epistles and apocalyptic literature. Some genres are covered more in depth than others, with epistles and prophecy perhaps getting pride of place. The discussions give numerous examples and flesh out the why and how in an extremely clear and careful manner. Wise cautions and helpful insights abound. No real theological biases are detectable except perhaps a bias against full preterism. The authors don’t rush to make judgement calls on how everyone must read prophecy or view Revelation, either. At times I felt they must be historic premil, yet they stressed the symbolic nature of Revelation, as per its genre. The discussions take care to root themselves as much as possible in analysis of the biblical text rather than forcing foreign genre considerations onto textual data. I found the discussion of parables extremely helpful and balanced, not advocating a rigid “one-point” approach to parables yet not aiming for a no-holds-barred allegorical free-for-all, either.

The discussion on analyzing the language of literature was extraordinarily helpful. The authors emphasize looking at how the larger sections of the text relate to one another (discourse analysis) rather than just doing word studies. They give a helpful overview of some technical points of Hebrew and Greek (as well as English) grammar, and even point out occasional problems with the lexical approach of even such classic works as Kittel’s TDNT, and stress the role of context and semantic range in determining meaning. They also include a helpful section covering 12 exegetical fallacies with plenty of examples to illustrate the discussion. They also discuss figurative language and how we can recognize and interpret it.

The book then shows how to put everything together. The third tier of the triad, theology actually begins this process by stressing that we make our theological connections based on the text, which is the essence of biblical theology. After discussing the nature and method of biblical theology, the book closes with an exceedingly helpful chapter that offers a method for preaching through the various genres and applying the message of the text to the lives of people today. This chapter includes a discussion of Bible software tools and commentaries and other resources, but spends the bulk of the time discussing how to preach through all the various genres that were discussed earlier in the book. Cautions, challenges, methods, and sample outlines make this section especially practical and useful in the context of a daily ministry. An appendix is also included that has a short list of the best commentaries to get on each book of the Bible as well as other important resources to have handy.

My biggest critique of the book would be that it doesn’t go on to cover in detail absolutely everything I would want it to! But that is hardly fair, and it would make for a more unmanageable and unwieldy tool. I do have one bit of criticism, however. I would have liked to see the “how to” section at the end, with the example of how to preach through the genres more clearly called out from the sections covering the genre. For example, the section covering Proverbs in the chapter on Wisdom literature doesn’t deal with some of the pastoral concerns such as whether proverbs apply universally to all situations or not. Yet this concern is addressed in the how to section in the last chapter. I think a clearer link would have served those of us who will use the book more as a reference work than a seminary text book. My only additional quibble is that the assignments and bibliography from the previous chapter blend right in with the introductory objectives and outline for the next chapter. The formatting of the book just seems a bit odd in that regard.

Mentioning the bibliographies leads me to one more positive feature of the book. Each chapter has a selected bibliography for additional reading, and then in the footnotes, specific articles or books are called out that will be pertinent to the topic at hand. The footnotes and bibliography are usually helpful and accessible, rather than merely technical and scholarly.

As the book closes, the authors warn their readers against just putting this book on the shelf and ignoring this material. Instead the reader is encouraged that this book can “serve as a point of departure for a lifetime of studying and preaching or teaching the Bible” (pg. 727). I would most heartily concur. This book deserves pride of place on the shelf of anyone studying, preaching or teaching the Bible. Even where one may have a different theological bent or a disagreement with the authors, the book still will prove useful.

Invitation to Biblical Interpretation truly is a must-read, need-to-get book. It is evangelical scholarship at its best, and cannot be ignored. If you are not employing the techniques and practices put forth in this book, you owe it to yourself, at the very least, to read it and justify why you are not. This book can’t do the hard work of faithful exegesis for you, but it can set you in the right direction and prevent you from stumbling at all the wrong places. You really need to get this book!

Author Info:
Andreas J. Köstenberger (PhD, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School) is Senior Professor of New Testament and Biblical Theology and Director of PhD Studies at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.  He is also editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Richard D. Patterson (PhD, University of California, Los Angeles) is Distinguished Professor Emeritus at Liberty University.

Where to Buy:
  • Westminster Bookstore
  • Christianbook.com
  • Amazon.com
  • Kregel Publications

Disclaimer:
This book was provided by Kregel Publications for review. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

“Old Testament Wisdom Literature: A Theological Introduction” by Craig Bartholomew and Ryan O’Dowd

~ Bob Hayton ~ 2 Comments

Few Old Testament books are more puzzling than Job and Ecclesiastes. And few books are more frequently misunderstood and misapplied than Proverbs. The Wisdom literature of the Hebrews may be challenging for Western minds to grasp, but it is very rewarding. Craig Bartholomew and Ryan O’Dowd have helped the student of the Bible’s Wisdom literature immensely with their new book Old Testament Wisdom Literature: A Theological Introduction, from IVP Academic.

The authors aim to introduce the reader to Wisdom literature and the theology behind it. This is not just a commentary, although they do offer plenty of insights and comments along the way. Rather it is an introduction and orientation after which one will be more prepared to pick up a commentary an study the Wisdom books more closely.

After the author’s preface and introduction, the book starts with an introduction to Old Testament Wisdom. They compare Egyptian and Babylonian wisdom writings with that of the Hebrews, showing the similarities and differences. The authors appreciate the insights such comparisons provide but make no apologies for the unique approach that the Bible presents. Rather than a pantheon of gods and contradictory wisdom writings, Israel is presented with the one true God, in whose fear is the only place where wisdom can be found.

Next the book gives a helpful treatment of poetry, it’s role in life and the three OT books which are the focus of this work (Job, Ecclesiastes and Proverbs), as well as a discussion of the techniques of Hebrew poetry.

After these introductory chapters, each OT book is discussed as a whole followed by a more in-depth treatment of one special passage: Prov. 31, Job 28, and Eccl. 3:1-15. Next comes a discussion of Jesus as the Wisdom of God, where the New Testament’s treatment of Wisdom and its portrayal of Jesus Christ as Wisdom incarnate.

The book ends with a discussion of the theology of OT Wisdom and then an application of how Wisdom is relevant for today.

My copy of this book is filled with dog-eared pages, scribbles and underlined sections. The authors have done a fabulous job of bringing the best research to bear and digging up the most appropriate quotes for each theme they address. They do a masterful job of discrediting the current criticism of OT Wisdom literature that Proverbs focuses strictly on act-consequence and Job and Ecclesiastes offer a counterpoint or crisis where such a simplistic view is shown to be untenable. Bartholomew and O’Dowd argue that Job and Ecclesiastes merely make what’s implicit in Proverbs, explicit. The nuances and tension in Proverbs itself finds expression in Job and Ecclesiastes. The character of the righteous life is what is blessed in Proverbs, not righteous actions by themselves. And life on earth never realizes divine justice in full.

Proverbs in all its diversity is carefully handled, and I especially appreciated the emphasis on Lady Wisdom and how the Proverbs 31 woman may be understood as Wisdom personified, in a theological way.

The discussion of Job was most illuminating. The struggle and difficulty one has in trying to read through Job is part of the genius of the book, illustrating the perplexing situation Job found himself in. The diagrams in the chapter on Job are helpful, as most of the diagrams sprinkled throughout this work are. I also appreciated the discussion of Job 28 and it’s key role in Job.

Ecclesiastes was similarly handled well. “The Preacher” (or Qohelet) is never expressly said to be Solomon, yet a comparison with Solomon is intended by the author/narrator of Ecclesiastes. The treatment of Ecclesiastes shows how the book traces the intellectual struggle of Qohelet as he struggles with employing Greek wisdom to his world yet knowing the truth that Hebrew wisdom had already taught him. Seeing Ecclesiastes as a struggle with many passages set in “contradictory juxtaposition” with one another, goes a long way in helping one make sense of the book as a whole.

I very much appreciated the discussion of Jesus as the Wisdom of God, it helps to situate OT Wisdom in the redemptive flow of Scripture. The authors resisted a simplistic equation of Jesus and Lady Wisdom, and take pains to show how the authors of the New Testament in their own unique ways appropriated the Wisdom tradition in their exposition of Jesus Christ and his uniquely Divine status and mission.

The final chapters summarizing OT Wisdom theology and it’s impact today is an outstanding example of how to apply Scripture to life and not leave the heady study of doctrine and theology on a shelf away from life in the real world.

The tenor and tack of the authors is profoundly evangelical, yet appreciative of the insights gained from all sorts of scholars. One won’t agree with all of the conclusions of this book, but the clarity and candor with which the authors present their own view is both commendable and refreshing.

Perhaps the point the authors drive home the most is that OT Wisdom literature is anything but dualistic. It is rooted in creation theology and offers us a way to live in God’s world appreciating all of life. I will close with a summary quote which encapsulates the primary message of the OT Wisdom books.

At the heart of the distinction between folly and wisdom is one’s relation to the creation: does one receive it with joy and wonder as the Lord’s gift, or does one make oneself the center around which one relates to the world? The classic term for the latter approach is idolatry. (pg. 316)

I came away from my study of OT Wisdom literature reflecting on the hold idolatry may have in my life. A study of the OT Wisdom books may be just the thing to encourage us to live all of life to God’s glory. Such a study would be greatly helped along by using this book from Bartholomew and O’Dowd as a text-book or study tool. I highly recommend it.

Disclaimer: This book was provided by InterVarsity Press. I was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.

You can purchase a copy of this book from any of these fine retailers: Christianbook.com, Amazon.com or direct from IVP Academic.

“The Meaning of the Pentateuch: Revelation, Composition and Interpretation” by John H. Sailhamer

~ Bob Hayton ~ 3 Comments

Few 600 page books on theology are intended to help the average Bible student as much as the learned theologian. Even fewer succeed in that aim. But I figured something was special about this book when John Piper encouraged everyone who cared about “meaning” to get this book, because it will “rock your world”. Rock my world, it did! And more.

I can’t claim this book is an easy read. I had to work my way through parts of it. But the effort was worth it. Sprinkled throughout the book are the kinds of takeaways that can truly change one’s life. John Sailhamer unpacks the meaning of texts and shows the relationship between various parts of the Old Testament. I came away with an enhanced understanding of OT Scripture and a greater appreciation for the unity of the testaments. In the following review, I will walk through the book, then I’ll focus on Sailhamer’s emphasis on authorial intent, the final shape of the canon, the poems of the Pentateuch and some of his conclusions about the meaning of the Pentateuch.

The book begins with a 46-page introduction setting the stage for what will be covered. The scope of what Sailhamer sets out to accomplish with this book is impressive. He is all about “meaning”, and showing us how we can go about finding the meaning of something as large as the first five books of the Bible — considered as one cohesive unit, the Pentateuch. Along the way, he offers thoughts on OT theology, and traces a history of biblical interpretation. This sets the stage for his discussions of authorial intent, verbal meaning, and the place of “historical meaning” in biblical texts. Ultimately he is pushing toward discovering the “big idea” of the Pentateuch, as expressed by the biblical author.

Once he introduces us to his stress on finding the author’s intent in the final shape of the canonical Pentateuch, he goes about doing fantastic exegesis of the Pentateuch itself. He explores how the Pentateuch was put together and composed, and shows how poetry frames the Pentateuch, offering textual clues to finding the author’s emphasis. He then goes on to trace several themes in the Pentateuch, finding corroboration in how the prophets and later authors of Scripture themselves interpreted Moses’ foundational books. That’s the book in a nutshell, but there’s so much more that could be said about it!

Sailhamer sees incredible importance in finding the author of the Pentateuch’s intent. He sees both conservative and liberal theologians as having erred in focusing too much on the questions of historicity. To this point, Sailhamer explains:

The Pentateuch may be compared to a Rembrandt painting of real persons or events. We do not understand a Rembrandt painting by taking a photography of the “thing” that Rembrandt painted and comparing it with the painting itself. That may help us understand the “thing” that Rembrandt painted, his subject matter, but it will not help us understand the painting itself. To understand Rembrandt’s painting, we must look at it and see its colors, shapes and textures. In the same way, to understand the Pentateuch, one must look at its colors, contours and textures. (pg. 19)

Sailhamer’s history of biblical interpretation focuses on the increased attention paid to the historical background to the OT text. There was an attack on the historicity of Scripture, and Sailhamer acknowledges the apologetic value of historical studies. But they have served to distract OT scholars from their real mission. “Filling in the biblical narratives with additional historical material may teach us things about the events of which the biblical writers were speaking, but the evangelical’s goal in interpretation and biblical theology is not an understanding of those events as such. The goal, as evangelicals must see it, is the biblical author’s understanding of those events in the inspired text of the Bible (OT).” (pg. 104)

Questions of authorial intent, when it comes to the Pentateuch, inevitably run into the various source theories. This is where Sailhamer parts course and advocates a “compositional approach”. Some have read Sailhamer and conclude he rejects a Mosaic authorship of the Pentateuch, my understanding is different. I’ll let Sailhamer explain at some length.

…an evangelical compositional approach to biblical authorship identifies Moses as the author of the Pentateuch and seeks to uncover his strategy in putting the book together…. As far as we know, the Mosaic Pentateuch is identical with the canonical Pentateuch with only few exceptions…. Two notable examples are the account of the death of Moses in Deuteronomy 34 and Moses’ final words in Deuteronomy 33. Such comments, though possibly spoken by Moses, were added late in Israel’s history, likely as part of a “new edition” of the Pentateuch (“Pentateuch 2.0,” in the lingo of today’s computer world). Contrary to the prevailing view of biblical authorship, both critical and evangelical, the compositional approach suggests that the Pentateuch was not the product of a long and complicated process of literary growth, but comes to us more or less as an updated edition of a single earlier Mosaic composition. The present canonical Pentateuch is thus an updated version of the Mosaic Pentateuch produced, perhaps, by the “author” of the OT as a whole (Tanak). (pg. 48)

Such a focus on the “final shape” of the canonical Pentateuch is best suited to a vigorous pursuit of the author’s intended meaning given to us through the text. To that end, Sailhamer sees an importance in the poems which frame the narrative sections of the Pentateuch. Gen. 49, Ex. 15, Numb. 23-24, and Deut. 32-33 are all large poems which function as a frame for the stage upon which the narratives of the Pentateuch are played out. These and other poems in the Pentateuch “serve a didactic purpose without being didactic.” Sailhamer explains further:

They are intended as commentary, although, being poetry, what they add to the narrative is not merely commentary, but also the opportunity of thoughtful reflection. The poems, as such, slow readers down and challenge them to reflect on the narrative through the eyes of a poet. Ultimately, the reader is left not with a narrative meaning, but with a poetic one. The reader joins the narrator in filling in the sense of the story. Although this may challenge the patience of modern readers, it adds an essential feature to the meaning of biblical narrative. (pg. 319)

When one looks at these four chief poems, an emphasis on a kingly messiah figure is apparent. Furthermore, three of the four poems are specifically said to be related to “the last days”. Sailhamer explores the intertextuality of these poems and other sections of the Pentateuch and even with the Hebrew OT as a whole. He then offers a decisive verdict: the Pentateuch is decidedly messianic in focus. The laws given on Sinai are not central, rather the new covenant Moses foretells and the coming of a kingly Messiah — they are the focal point of the books of Moses.

Following the lead of the poems, Sailhamer finds several important themes in the Pentateuch itself. Some of them sound very much like ideas we find in the New Testament. He sees a stress on a singular “seed” rather than a collective “seed” as the ultimate fulfillment of the Abrahamic promise (and Gen. 3:15), the importance of faith as opposed to a mere law-keeping perspective, and the idea of salvation coming to those who believe and hope in God. Along the way, Sailhamer also explains the Messianic structure in the arrangement of the Hebrew canon (the Tanak) and within the psalter. Three additional points from Sailhamer’s book were especially helpful to me.

First, was the discussion of Matthew’s use of Hosea 11:1. Sailhamer shows how Matthew’s use of the text in Hosea is not entirely novel, as many interpreters believe. Rather, Hosea himself is reading the Pentateuch in a messianic way. Hosea quotes Numb. 24:8, one of the messianic poems which frame the Pentateuch. So he has in mind a messianic application in his use of the text. Matthew is merely following suit. Second, was the discussion of how Gen. 49 and the surrounding chapters about Joseph’s story, actually serve to use Joseph as an example of the future kingly Messiah. In other words, the very structure of the Genesis account of Joseph is designed intentionally to see Joseph’s life as a kind of type of the future messianic kingly leader who was to come from Judah’s line.

Third, was Sailhamer’s discussion of the law as being given successively over time and in response to the sin of the Israelites. He revives the earlier teaching of John Calvin and Johann Coccejus based in large part on both Gal. 3:19 and a careful reading of the Pentateuch itself. The golden calf as well as Israelite sacrifices to goat idols (Lev. 17:1-9) are narrative sections that frame different collections of laws. Sailhamer also points out that there were laws mentioned as operative prior to the account of the giving of the 10 commandments even. This perspective merits further study especially as it doesn’t fit the mold of either covenant theology or dispensationalism’s teaching on the laws of Sinai.

Time prevents me from offering a fuller discussion of these matters. One must get the book and hear Sailhamer out. Even if one differs with some of Sailhamer’s conclusions, he must appreciate Sailhamer’s exegetical insight and the great care he has to listen to the text itself. Like John Piper implied, Sailhamer cares about “meaning” , and so should we. If you do, you will benefit from studying what John Sailhamer has to say on the Pentateuch. You may never look at the Old Testament in the same way again.

Pick up a copy of this book at Westminster Bookstore, Monergism Books, Amazon.com or through Inter-Varsity Press.

This book was provided by Inter-Varsity Press for review. The reviewer was under no obligation to offer a favorable review.