Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

Counterpoints

by Kenneth Berding (Editor), Stanley N. Gundry (Editor), Walter C. Kaiser Jr. (Contributor)

Three approaches to questions about the theological connection between the Old and New Testaments. The relationship between the Testaments is not as simple and straightforward as it sometimes appears. When New Testament authors appeal to Old Testament texts to support their arguments, what is the relationship between their meanings and what was originally intended by their Old Testament forebears? Leading biblical scholars Walter Kaiser, Darrel Bock, and Peter Enns present their answers to questions about the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament, addressing elements such Each author applies his framework to specific texts so that readers can see how their methods work out in practice. Each contributor also receives a thorough critique from the other two authors. Three Views on the New Testament Use of Old Testament gives readers the tools they need to develop their own views on the meaning, contexts, and goals behind the New Testament citations of the Old. The Counterpoints series presents a comparison and critique of scholarly views on topics important to Christians that are both fair-minded and respectful of the biblical text. Each volume is a one-stop reference that allows readers to evaluate the different positions on a specific issue and form their own, educated opinion.

Genres: Theology, New Testament, Religion, Old Testament, Christian, Christianity

256 pages, Paperback

First published November 1, 2008

Reviews

[Neil Kruger · Rating 4 out of 5]

2021 reads: #33
Rating: 4 Stars

This is such a fascinating subject and this book does a good job of introducing approaches of how the NT authors make us of the OT.

What sets this book apart from other multiview books is that the contributors argue their case around 5 specific areas related to the question at hand:
1. Sensus plenior
2. Typology
3. Context - original and new
4. Jewish exegetical methods
5. Replication - have the apostles given us an approach to imitate

As this is not overly technical, and specific passages are discussed, this is a solid introductory resource for anyone looking to get a grasp of NT hermeneutics.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the format of this book. Each of the three contributors offers their theory of how the New Testament writers make use of the Old Testament scriptures. After each of the three main essays, the other two contributors respond to it. This easily allows the differences and similarities between viewpoints to be brought out and contrasted. I won't get into the viewpoints themselves (at least at this point) but this is a very helpful book for establishing the dilemma of the NT use of the OT and for getting an understanding of some of the more common solutions to this dilemma. It is by no means exhaustive but will likely whet one's appetite for future study of this important topic.

[Jeremy Y · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a lay Bible nerd, I imagine that "Three Views on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament" is as close as I'd get to witnessing 3 Bible scholars debate the minutiae of hermeneutics. In this volume, we have Walter Kaiser Jr, Darrell Bock, and Pete Enns.

Kaiser defends his view that the NT authors had a much more “Jewish” exegesis of the OT and, perhaps more controversially, that the OT writers had special revelation of the future when they wrote what they wrote. In his view, every OT author pre-Christ knew about the messianic promises (and even identity) of Jesus, so all of the Bible in OT and NT referred to Jesus specifically. It’s obvious from the way Kaiser writes that he had to defend his position for a long time because his essay reads like a well-rehearsed defense. Where Kaiser falls short is in his responses to the other 2 scholars. I felt he was too friendly with fellow evangelical Bock to highlight their disagreements and hostile towards Enns. Even a layman like myself can see how parts of Enns’ case completely flew over his head.

Aside from espousing a middle-way view on the NT use of OT, Darrell Bock advocates for what he called “progressive dispensationalism”. Admittedly, progressive dispensationalism is rather close to my eschatological views but I felt that Bock’s advocacy of his eschatology distracted from his defence on his view of the subject a little. With that said Bock’s hermeneutical framework is somewhat typical of an evangelical one, which means it requires a dose of anachronistic theological interpretations (I should really say “reading the OT in light of revelation in the NT” but perhaps my personal gripe with the evangelical interpretation is that we’re too eager to quickly find Christ in the passage, which Enns’ essay touched on). Nevertheless, I still find my position somewhat in between Bock and Enns.

Enns is more historical-critical, though at the time of publication (2008) he was still cordial with the evangelical exegesis that Kaiser and Bock espouse. I felt this is the most balanced Enns ever was. He’s willing to expose the flaws of evangelical interpretations alongside the, at a glance, “problematic” and “creative” use of OT in the NT and offer amenable solutions to the hermeneutical enigmas. I know the name Enns repulses a lot of conservative evangelicals these days, but his contention in this book is simple: let’s not be too haste to impose our “proper” hermeneutical principles onto the text, but rather try to understand why the NT authors did what they did with the OT. To Enns, the NT writers’ interpretive traditions matter as much as their interpretive methods.

My key takeaway from this book came from Enns’ essay, where he highlighted the importance of taking the biblical authors’ interpretive traditions into account. Our meticulous historical-grammatical and historical-critical exegetical methods didn’t exist 2000 years ago. We are all products of our time and culture, including the human biblical authors, and this in no way diminishes the divine authorship of the Bible. We just need to learn how the biblical authors’ hermeneutics and the expectations of their first audiences.

Overall, this was a niche but very insightful book. Majority of the Christians who go to church will never have to think about these things (until a skeptic rocks them with “why did Matthew in 2:15 take Hosea 11:1 out of context?”), but I hope to see more Christians think about bridging the OT and NT. This book will do them well.

[Ray · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm surely not the target audience for this book since I am not a Christian, but I am interested in how Christians read the Old Testament. As an exercise, I recommend going through Romans and whenever Paul quotes something, ask yourself: What would this have meant to a Jew who read this before Jesus existed? How would the original audience have read this, and would they have read it the same way Paul seems to?

The authors of this book essentially do advanced versions of these questions with more precise theological terminology. The different ways of interpreting these passages all have difficulties that require some theological work to back up. I would try and summarize it, but the summary section at the back does an excellent job summarizing all the positions in a neutral way, so if you have the book I recommend you read that first to see the layout of the structures. This is a dry academic book, reading the summary first won't spoil anything.

I felt that some of the authors spent a long time trying to motivate their positions, and only afterwards explained the consequences and details, so there was less clash of views than I would have liked. But overall the format was excellent, I will read more books from this series because it allows different ideas to interact in a serious way and have ideas be fully presented. This is much better than an oral debate, where there is little time for reflection and performance tends to dominate.

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was my second counterpoints book (the first was five views on inerrancy). I found this over easier to follow, probably due to there being fewer contributors and me being familiar with more of the authors.

The book represents two rather extreme views and one middle ground view, but has only space to barely scratch the surface of each. One of my favorite parts of these types of books is getting to read the other contributors' reactions to each other. If you've never considered the problem of how the new testament uses the old testament, I'd tell you it's worth looking into as it has ramifications about how we do hermeneutics (a side problem each of the contributors addresses).

Theologically out of the three, I find myself probably closest to Bock, though really I find his method of resolving the tension to be rather odd and unnatural. Really the best explanation of the new testament's use of the old testament I've heard to date would be Richard Hays' idea of figural meaning (something I can really relate to as a writer).

[Don Henrikson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a helpful book on the issue as described in the title. While it does not bring the discussion to a conclusion, it serves as a good starting point for those interested in further study. As to format, it is a counterpoint book, which can prove a bit repetitive. In this case, however, the authors do well at interacting with each other and not just rehashing their own points.

[Fred · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Introduction to the Subject

At times some heavy trudging through complex technical issues, but overall the text is still approachable. The contributors raise some interesting and thought provoking issues. In the end I thought that all three positions had merit.

However, I found myself agreeing more frequently with Bock than Kaiser and Enns.

Good book!

[David Clouse · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good survey of different views on how the NT authors use the OT. Once again, I find myself lost sometimes in what the authors are saying because I just have no idea what they’re talking about (very scholarly in my opinion), but this is a good starting place to see different views on using the OT in the NT and in a modern context.

[Zachary Horn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quite good. Helpful comparison of how the NT authors us the OT, with specific dialogue on the issues of context, typology, senses plenior, second temple hermeneutical practices, etc. Bock’s view is most persuasive and closest to my own.

[Caleb Rolling · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a really helpful introduction to a massive hermeneutical question - an important one, too. It reads a little like a rollercoaster, and it can only do so much within the confines of the series, but it's a solid introduction.

[Timothy Decker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great overview of the main issues at hand. Could've used a 4th view from Vanhoozer or Beale though.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just read for Kaiser and Bocks chapters.

[Craig Archer · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book provides an excellent starting point with 2 extreme views and one that meets in the middle. It never seems to come to a conclusion, but does provide good insight on the topic.

[Michael Beck · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful to understand the different view points out there regarding this issue. But most of these views do not follow a historical-grammatical hermeneutic.

[Dallas · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great introduction to some pretty complex issues. It was enjoyable and enlightening.

[Grant Van Brimmer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drug on. Skimmed a lot of it. I recommend Peter Leithart’s book Deep Exegesis for a better approach.

[Danny Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book after reading and studying Hebrews. The author of Hebrews was using old testament texts that left me very confused. This was a very helpful book in guiding me how different people have dealt with this confusion. I ended up agreeing mostly with Bock, but that might be because I sat in one of his classes and it's easier to empathize with someone you've met face to face. Hopefully, I am not so prejudiced that I am wrong in my thinking that Bock answered the questions best. It is a very confusing issue though.

[Dmcconkey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book - it is a subject that does not receive the emphasis that it deserves. All three positions were well stated & reactions were very clear. This type of studies helps one to see all sides of an issue & gives the opportunity to think through what one believes & why & how to apply & put in practice. A book that needs to be read, pondered & read again for the subject affects how we interpret & apply the Scriptures.

[Kessia Reyne · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good review of the three major positions on this issue from an evangelical persuasion. I highly recommend this book for those who are asking questions about the legitimacy of the way New Testament writers are using the Old Testament writings. But be forewarned: it does contain a little bit of technicality in the arguments.

[G Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hmmmm.... helpful but a bit self indulgent... I found Kaiser and Enns helpful, I respect both of these men and their work (and thank God Beale or Carson didn't contribute)... but overall a faddish book. Again, though like some of the earlier books in this series, it falls prey to a very Americanized version of the faith.

[Jocelyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading this book is a good way to find out what evangelical Christian scholars think about this topic. Interestingly, I disagreed with all three views (some more than others).

[Jordan J. Andlovec · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good introduction to a complex study. I recommend you pick it up before other books on the subject.

[Justin · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's plenty to think about here. Enns had the most compelling and exciting argument, but there's worthwhile material in each section, and seeing the interchange between authors is a treat.