Biblical Theology

Abstract

Biblical Theology Christopher T. Begg and Thomas Hieke 1373. Michael Allen, "Into the Family of God: Covenant and the Genesis of Life with God," TJ 39 (NS, 2018) 181-98. A.'s essay addresses the modern shaking of our theological foundations. Drawing on dogmatic specifics and biblical theological reflection, he directs our attention back to the vital connection between creation and covenant, in which covenant is less a textual lexeme and more a comprehensive category of life before God. More than a redemptive and soteriological category, covenant points toward the givenness of life, the fittingness and order of the world that precedes us, as well as the centrality of fellowship—above all with God. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 1374. James S. Anderson, "El, Yahweh, and Elohim: The Evolution of God in Israel and Its Theological Implications," Expository Times 128 (2017) 261-67. It is often taken for granted today that the differing terms for God in the Hebrew Bible function synonymously, although, originally, not all the terminology used for God referred to the same deity. This article provides an overview of the terms El, Yhwh, and [End Page 438] Elohim, which are all equated today, and proposes a hypothetical reconstruction of when these terms came to prominence in ancient Israel. After tracing the trajectory of each term and considering its contribution to the development of monotheism in Israel, in a process that ultimately laid the foundation for Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, A. concludes by considering the implications of his analysis for faith communities today in their efforts to relate to each other. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 1375. Bogdan G. Bucer, "A Blind Spot in the Study of Fourth-Century Christian Theology: The Christological Exegesis of Theophanies," JTS 69 (NS, 2018) 588-601. The notion that Christian christophanic exegesis of OT theophanies is, essentially, a pre-Nicene tradition with little or no relevance for the study of later Christian literature is woefully inadequate. That notion minimizes the continued appeal to such a reading of the OT theophanies across much of the fourth-century theological spectrum, and likewise fails to account for the pervasive and insistent references to those theophanies in Byzantine hymnography. Against this background, B.'s article seeks to demonstrate that the christological exegesis of OT theophanies was widely recognized as an element of shared tradition and continued to function as a polemical "adjuvant" in fourth-century anti-Jewish, anti-Arian, anti-modalistic, and anti-Apollinarian argumentation. See also #1350. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 1376. Stephen B. Chapman, "The Old Testament and the Church after Christendom," Journal of Theological Interpretation 9 (2015) 159-83. The situation of today's "post-Constantinian" church invites new approaches to biblical theology, particularly with regard to the OT and its political witness. John Howard Yoder's "Jeremianic turn" provides a compelling model for a contemporary "exilic" hermeneutic, even as it requires reframing as a canonical, rather than a history-of-religions, proposal. Also needed is a more appreciative engagement with the OT's Mosaic and Davidic traditions, which remain foundational for any biblically based political theology. The church "after Christendom" will not only be "landless," but also "placed," not only tradition-observant, but also eschatologically oriented, and not only a NT community, but also (part) heir to the OT's vision of a people of God. [Adapted from published abstract—C.T.B.] 1377. Steven J. Duby, "'For I Am God, Not a Man': Divine Repentance and the Creator-Creature Distinction," Journal of Theological Interpretation 12 (2018) 140-69. The OT reveals a God of passionate involvement in the life of his people, a God prepared to repent of threatened judgment when sinful human beings turn back to him in faith. It also reveals the constancy and transcendence of God and emphasizes that God does not repent. Recent efforts to integrate these components of OT teaching are sometimes critical of older metaphorical or anthropathic readings of the OT's repentance passages and sometimes argue that God changes his mind with regard to some elements of his salvific plan but not with regard to others. Often...