Covenant Continuity and Fidelity: A Study of Inner-Biblical Allusion and Exegesis in Malachi (The Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament Studies)

by Jonathan Gibson

Publisher:

Bloomsbury

, 2016

Overview

The core of Malachi’s covenantal imagination is shaped by his reflection on an authoritative collection of source texts in the Hebrew Bible. The mention of people, nations and places, Deuteronomic terminology, and rare words and unique word/root combinations exclusive to Malachi and only a few other texts encourages the book to be read in the context of received biblical traditions and texts.

The diversity of methodologies used previously to analyse Malachi has resulted in confusion about the significance of the inner-biblical connections in the book of Malachi, which Gibson clarifies. His reading frees the text of Malachi from being overburdened by too many “intertexts,” and allows its central message of covenant to arise with greater clarity and force. Gibson reveals how Malachi’s connections to earlier source texts are neither random nor causal; rather, they have been strategically employed to inform and shape his central theme of covenant continuity and fidelity.

Key Features

• Investigates how Malachi’s innerbiblical interpretation informs his central theme of covenant
• Analyzes the inner-biblical allusions and exegesis used in each section
• Categorizes and assesses the types of inner-biblical interpretation that Malachi uses

Contents

• Introduction: The Core of Malachi’s Imagination
• Methodology
• "I Have Loved You": Inner-Biblical Allusion and Exegesis in Relation to the Patriarchal Covenant
• "I Will Curse Your Blessings": Inner-Biblical Allusion and Exegesis in Relation to the Levitical Covenant
• "Did He Not Make Them One?": Inner-Biblical Allusion and Exegesis in Relation to the Marriage Covenant
• “Who Can Endure the Day of His Coming?”: Inner-Biblical Allusion and Exegesis in Relation to the New Covenant
• “If I Will Not Open the Windows of Heaven”: Inner-Biblical Allusion and Exegesis in Relation to the Mosaic Covenant
• “They Will Be My Special Possession”: Inner-Biblical Allusion and Exegesis in Relation to Covenant Renewal
• “Turning Hearts”: Covenant Continuity and Fidelity (Malachi 3.22-24[4.4-6])
• Conclusion: “For I, YHWH, Do Not Change”

Praise for the Print Edition

The detailed exegetical study adds to extant scholarship a focused discussion of inner-biblical allusion. The chapters are well structured and take the reader step-by-step, following Gibson’s rationale, from an in-depth text-critical analysis through to interpretation....Gibson’s work will serve the research community well for its comprehensive and engaging investigation.

—Journal for the Study of the Old Testament

…well-grounded and multi-faceted…[Gibson] has made a significant contribution to the ongoing discussion of intertextual interpretation and the hypothesis of ‘the Twelve.’

—Journal of Hebrew Scriptures

Product Details

• Title: Covenant Continuity and Fidelity: A Study of Inner-Biblical Allusion and Exegesis in Malachi
• Author: Jonathan Gibson
• Editors: Andrew Mein, Claudia V. Camp
• Series: The Library of Hebrew Bible/Old Testament Studies (LHBOTS)
• Publisher: T&T Clark
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 272
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Topic: Malachi

About Jonathan Gibson

Jonathan Gibson, PhD, is an ordained minister in the International Presbyterian Church, UK, presently serving as the associate professor of Old Testament, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia. He is author of Isaiah: Good News for the Wayward and Wandering, Be Thou My Vision: A Liturgy for Daily Worship, and The Moon Is Always Round, as well as coeditor of Reformation Worship and From Heaven He Came and Sought Her. He is also coauthor of The Acrostic of God: A Rhyming Theology for Kids. Jonny is married to Jackie, and they have four children. 

Sample Pages from Covenant Continuity and Fidelity: A Study of Inner-Biblical Allusion and Exegesis in Malachi (The Library of Hebrew Bible / Old Testament Studies)