Old Testament Theology for Christians: From Ancient Context to Enduring Belief
Overview
Modern readers of the Bible often find the Old Testament difficult and even disturbing. What are we to do with obscure prophecies of long expired nations? Why should we read and study ancient laws that even the New Testament says are eclipsed by Christ? How can we reconcile Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount with the Old Testament’s graphic narratives of sex and violence? What does the Old Testament offer that is not surpassed and even made irrelevant by the New Testament?
John Walton has spent a career engaging deeply with the Old Testament’s text and ancient context. He has studied, taught, and written about the issues. His signature approach can be introduced in one sentence: The Old Testament was written for us but not to us. We must not conform it to our own understanding. We will fully grasp the Old Testament and its theology only when we are immersed in the ancient cultural current of Israel within its broader cultural river of the ancient Near East.
In Old Testament Theology for Christians, John Walton invites us to leave our modern—and even inherited Christian—preconceptions at the threshold as we enter the world of the Old Testament. He challenges us to see it anew—as if for the first time—as guests in a strange and fascinating foreign land. Then we will rediscover its testimony to God’s great enterprise.
In this capstone to a career of studying and teaching the Old Testament, Walton unfolds a grand panorama of Yahweh and the gods, of cosmos and humanity, of covenant and kingdom, of temple and Torah, of sin and evil, and of salvation and afterlife. Viewed within its ancient Near Eastern cognitive environment, the text takes unexpected turns and blossoms into fresh and challenging insights. No matter how you are accustomed to viewing the first testament of the Bible, Old Testament Theology for Christians will challenge and sharpen your perceptions.
- Reexamines the Old Testament through a cultural context
- Discusses how the Old Testament was written for us but not to us
- Challenges preconceived ideas about the Old Testament and its derived theology
- Introduction and Foundation
- Yahweh and the Gods
- Cosmos and Humanity
- Covenant and Kingdom
- Temple and Torah
- Sin and Evil
- Salvation and Afterlife
- Conclusions
Top Highlights
“theology is possible or viable (J. Barr). But by the continuing activity” (Page 24)
“The main issue was not the number(s) of god(s) but how God was understood” (Page 30)
“Henotheism represents another type of theistic belief. This way of thinking still does not claim that only one god exists, but it insists that only one god is truly worthy of worship. Other gods are considered pretenders to deity, imposters, charlatans, incompetents, or simply inferior beings incapable of exercising divine authority. And henotheism is the view that permeates most of the Old Testament as it talks about the powerlessness of the other gods, prohibits their worship, and pronounces them frauds.” (Page 31)
“we also have to resist only reading the Old Testament text in light of the New Testament” (Page 5)
“But we are not in the implied audience of the human author. Another way to say this, and one I use all the time, is that the Bible is therefore for us but was not written to us. To fully comprehend the way that it is for us, we have to do whatever it takes to join the author’s implied audience.” (Page 5)
John Walton is one of the leading Old Testament scholars of our generation. I am always informed and stimulated in my own thinking whenever I read his work. He is rightly sensitive to the ancient context of the Old Testament as he pursues its continuing significance for our lives as Christians. Old Testament Theology for Christians presents his most wide-ranging analysis yet. I recommend this book enthusiastically to all who want to think seriously about the Old Testament.
—Tremper Longman III, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College
John Walton, a longtime leader in Old Testament and ancient Near East studies, sets himself to a large task in his latest book: to use historical inquiry to discover the Bible’s enduring theological revelation for the church today. He does this by what he calls ‘cognitive environment criticism,’ which allows him to integrate history and theology within a confessional context so as to read the Old Testament ‘from an Israelite perspective’ with a focus on God’s plans and purposes. Walton’s weighty goal, coupled with his capacious approach, means that readers of all stripes will find much here to both agree and disagree with. What cannot be debated in the least, however, is that Walton has covered immense ground, categorized a vast range of data, and offered us a treasure trove of information and reflections that will repay reading and rereading.
—Brent A. Strawn, professor of Old Testament, Emory University
- Title: Old Testament Theology for Christians: From Ancient Context to Enduring Belief
- Author: John H. Walton
- Publisher: IVP Academic
- Print Publication Date: 2017
- Logos Release Date: 2018
- Pages: 320
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. O.T. › Theology
- ISBNs: 9780830889044, 9780830851928, 0830889043, 0830851925
- Resource ID: LLS:LDTSTMNCHRSTNS
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T01:08:11Z
Dr. John H. Walton, professor of Old Testament at Wheaton College, spent 20 years teaching at Moody Bible Institute.
In his college years, he developed a passion for archaeology and Bible history. Instead of training to be an archaeologist, though, he focused his attention on studies comparing the culture and literature of the Bible and the ancient Near East. He has never lost his fascination with this subject, but comparative studies only provide one of the means by which he tries to get people excited about the Old Testament. He’s saddened by how little exposure to and understanding of the Old Testament many Christians have, but he’s passionate in doing whatever he can to remedy this spiritual and theological loss.
For 25 years, Dr. Walton was active at South Park Church in Park Ridge, Illinois—teaching at every level, from adults through preschool. He’s driven by the desire to offer people a greater familiarity with God’s Word and a greater confidence in understanding God’s revelation of himself in its pages. Since moving to Wheaton, he has gotten involved in the same areas of ministry at Glen Ellyn Bible Church.
Whether in teaching or writing, he’s constantly challenged in his own life because the material he’s presenting stretches him as much as it stretches his students and readers. Whatever he’s writing or teaching also has a way of infiltrating his family. His wife, Kim, was trained as a biochemist, which made for interesting dinner conversations—especially when he was working on his Genesis commentary. His three kids have often gotten involved in the discussions, and he’s had fun responding to them and seeing his family grow together.