Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Exegesis and Interpretation

by G. K. Beale

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2012

Overview

This concise guide by a leading New Testament scholar helps readers understand how to better study the multitude of Old Testament references in the New Testament. G. K. Beale, coeditor of the bestselling Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, focuses on the “how to” of interpreting the New Testament use of the Old Testament, providing students and pastors with many of the insights and categories necessary for them to do their own exegesis. Brief enough to be accessible yet thorough enough to be useful, this handbook will be a trusted guide for all students of the Bible.

Whether you’re a student, scholar, pastor, or professor, the Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament provokes you to read the Bible honestly—to let it surprise, challenge, and correct you as you apply the many steps of interpretation. By using the tools included in the Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, you’ll approach Bible study with more depth and understanding.

Key Features

• Provides readers a guide to biblical interpretation, exegesis, and hermeneutics
• Emphasizes the importance of biblical interpretation for understanding the historical and contemporary relevance of Scripture

Contents

Top Highlights

“A definition of typology that includes both analogy and a prophetic element is the following: the study of analogical correspondences among revealed truths about persons, events, institutions, and other things within the historical framework of God’s special revelation, which, from a retrospective view, are of a prophetic nature and are escalated in their meaning.³⁷ According to this definition, the essential characteristics of a type are (1) analogical correspondence, (2) historicity, (3) a pointing-forwardness (i.e., an aspect of foreshadowing or presignification), (4) escalation, and (5) retrospection.” (Page 14)

“In this regard, typology can be called contextual exegesis within the framework of the canon since it primarily involves the interpretation and elucidation of the meaning of earlier parts of Scripture by later parts.” (Page 25)

“A quotation is a direct citation of an OT passage that is easily recognizable by its clear and unique verbal parallelism.” (Page 29)

“The main difference between direct fulfillment of prophecy and indirect typological fulfillment is that the direct fulfills what was explicitly predicted by the words of a prophet, while the indirect fulfills what was implicitly foreshadowed by historical events, which have been narrated.” (Page 58)

“He concludes that this phenomenon indicates that the NT authors were aware of broad OT contexts and did not focus merely on single verses independent of the segment from which they were drawn. Single verses and phrases are merely signposts to the overall OT context from which they are cited. Furthermore, he concludes that this was a unique hermeneutical phenomenon of the day, in contrast to Jewish exegesis. He goes on to assert that since this hermeneutical phenomenon can be found in the very earliest strata of the NT traditions, and since such innovations are not characteristic of committees, then Christ was the most likely source of this original, creative hermeneutic, and from him the NT writers learned their interpretative approach.” (Page 5)

Endorsements

This handbook provides readers with a wonderful overview of key issues in and tools for the study of the use of the Old Testament in the New. It is written at an accessible level without sacrificing depth. I expect it to become a standard textbook for courses on the subject (as it will be for mine) and the first book to which newcomers will be directed to help them navigate through these sometimes complex waters.

—Roy E. Ciampa, professor of New Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

In this book Greg Beale combines a beginner’s guide to the study of the use of the Old Testament in the New Testament with a detailed catalog of resource material, an illustrated exposition of the methods to be applied, and some discussion of the hermeneutical issues that arise. He himself has made notable forays into this field of study and draws on these to enrich the content of the book, making it not simply a survey of contemporary approaches but also a real personal contribution to the further development of our understanding of this crucial area of biblical studies. The volume thus compensates generously for the lack of a detailed introduction to the massive Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament edited by Beale and Don Carson.

—I. Howard Marshall, professor emeritus of New Testament, University of Aberdeen

This volume fills a gap by providing serious students of Scripture with a helpful tool for interpreting Old Testament citations and allusions in the New Testament. Beale’s magisterial grasp of the subject enables him to present a complex and technical yet intriguing subject in such a way that mere mortals are equipped to engage in the study of the New Testament use of the Old Testament on their own.

—Andreas J. Köstenberger, senior professor of New Testament and biblical theology, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

We have long needed a good book on the use of the Old Testament in the New. This is it. One might not agree with everything said here, but all readers will be challenged to think carefully about the issues raised. A solid work.

—Darrell Bock, research professor of New Testament studies, Dallas Theological Seminary

Greg Beale is well known for his contributions to the New Testament use of the Old Testament and the development of biblical theology. In this extremely useful handbook, we see how Beale goes about his task in terms of presuppositions, method, and the necessary reference tools for the task. The result is essential reading for anyone contemplating research in this area.

—Steve Moyise, professor of New Testament, University of Chichester

Greg Beale has distinguished himself throughout an illustrious teaching and writing career with his work on the relationships between the testaments. Fresh from producing his magnum opus, a New Testament biblical theology that was thoroughly informed by such uses, Beale here provides a much more manageably sized distillation of the main issues involved in understanding the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament. Strangely, it is the first such volume by an evangelical in some time. Fortunately, it is superbly done.

—Craig L. Blomberg, distinguished professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary

During the last four decades, not a little serious work has been undertaken to understand better how the New Testament cites the Old. Quite a lot of it was written by Greg Beale. Here, however, he keeps the student in mind and provides an introduction to the subject, complete with helpful bibliographies, useful illustrations, and step-by-step demonstrations of how to think through these issues. Not only seminary students but also pastors committed to expository preaching will be hugely thankful for this important handbook.

—D. A. Carson, research professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

No subject is more important to the interpretation of the New Testament and biblical theology than the study of the Old Testament in the New Testament. It is also one of the most technical and difficult subjects. Written by a veteran and pioneer in the field, Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament is a reliable guide through challenging terrain. Highly recommended to anyone who wants to work hard at appreciating the profound connections between the testaments.

—Brian S. Rosner, principal, Ridley Melbourne

In his Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, Professor Beale has provided readers with a guide that complements his magisterial New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New as well as the Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, which he and several colleagues produced. What we now have is a complete package: commentary, theology, and a very concise handbook that shows us step by step how this important work is to be done. Beginning students and veteran scholars alike will benefit from this useful book.

—Craig A. Evans, Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College, Nova Scotia, Canada

Product Details

• Title: Handbook on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament: Exegesis and Interpretation
• Author: G. K. Beale
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2012
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. › Relation to the Old Testament; Bible. O.T. › Quotations in the New Testament; Bible › Hermeneutics
• ISBNs: 9781441252487, 9780801038969, 1441252487, 0801038960
• Resource ID: LLS:HDBKNTUSEOTBEALE
• Resource Type: text.monograph.handbook
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-01-16T20:11:46Z

About G. K. Beale

G. K. Beale (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is Kenneth T. Wessner Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, Illinois, and coordinator of Wheaton's M.A. in Biblical Exegesis program. His books include The Book of Revelation (New International Greek Testament Commentary), 1-2 Thessalonians (The IVP New Testament Commentary Series), The Right Doctrine from the Wrong Texts? Essays on the Use of the Old Testament in the New, and The Temple and the Church's Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God.