The concept of biblical theology : an Old Testament perspective.

In this tour de force, a premier Old Testament Scholar provides the reader with a grand overview of biblical theology: tracing the developments, critiquing the major contributions (e.g., Gese, Childs, Brueggemann), and providing his own provocative theological implications of the various constructions. In his usual bold manner, he examines the Christian, Jewish, and Islamic contexts of biblical theology and their implications for our reading of both testaments in the modern world. Some of the key issues Bar addresses are typologies for doing biblical theology and Old Testament theology, the Apocryhpha and Pseudepigrapha, the relationship between the Old Testament and the New Testament, the history of religions versus theological approaches, and the Biblical Theology Movement. Preface 12 i. Definitions: The Many Faces of Biblical Theology 16 2. The Origins of Modern Old Testament Theology 30 3. A Typology of Old Testament Theologies 37 i. Kohler's type 38 2. Eichrodt's type 39 3. Vriezen's type 42 .}. Von Rad's type 43 Childs' type 48 6. Kohler again 50 7. Eichrodt again 52 8. Vriezen again 53 9. Von Rad again 55 to. Childs again 58 4. A Wider Spectrum 61 5. Difference from Doctrinal Theology 69 6. Difference from Non-Theological Study 81 7. Evolution and Anti-Evolutionism 87 8. Difference from History of Religion 99 2. Religious similarities with neighbouring peoples 100 3. An historical account of Israelite religion itself 103 4. Relations to the New Testament 105 5. Religion and dialectical theology 106 6. A mixture of elements? 110 7. Triumph for theology? 114 8. Albertz 117 9. Discussion following Albertz 122 io. Where does the difference lie? 127 11. Conclusion 133 q. Difference in the Size of Complexes 135 io. Difference in the Way of Thinking: Philosophy and Natural Theology 140 2. The influence of dialectical theology 141 3. The character of biblical thought 149 4. Natural theology: first stage 158 5. The place of psychology 161 i 1 . Connections with the New Testament 162 12. Evaluation, Commitment, Objectivity 175 13. Historical Theology -A Possible Analogy? 191 14. Opposition to Biblical Theology 201 15. `Real' Theology and Biblical Theology 215 16. `Christianizing' of the Old Testament? 225 17. Judaism after Biblical Times 235 18. Jewish Biblical Theology? 250 2. Tsevat 253 3. Levenson 255 4. Goshen-Gottstein 264 5. Japhet 267 6. Sweeney 268 7. Conclusion 270 1 9. Some Theologies of the t 970s 272 Definitions : the many faces of biblical theology The origins of modern Old Testament theology A typology of Old Testament theologies A wider spectrum Difference from doctrinal theology Difference from non-theological study Evolution and anti-evolutionism Difference from history of religion Difference in the size of complexes Difference in the way of thinking : philosophy and natural theology Connections with the New Testament Evaluation, commitment, objectivity Historical theology : a possible analogy? Opposition to biblical theology 'Real' theology and biblical theology 'Christianizing' of the Old Testament? Judaism after biblical times Jewish biblical theology? Some theologies of the 1970s An overview of the older tradition Story and biblical theology Gese and the unity of biblical theology The canonical approach : first stage Childs' theologies Other canonical possibilities Some recent theologies Natural theology within biblical theology Oeming Mildenberger Räisänen Brueggemann Apocryphal and other non-canonical books The distribution of resources and pan-biblical theology David Brown Conclusion This book is descended from the Cadbury Lectures, delivered in the University of Birmingham as long ago as 1968. My early volume Old and New in Interpretation (1966) remains the basis of the vision now presented. The work in its present form is written as a sort of textbook, though the book has been expanded to contain much more material than one could cover in a single course of the normal kind. The work is a discussion of the whole idea of biblical theology, its possibilities and its prospects. It is neither a survey nor a history, though it includes some elements of both of these. If there is any one theme that runs through this work, it is the contested character of biblical theology, as it has been in this century. - Preface. A major overview and provocative analysis from a premier Old Testament scholar.