Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels by Richard B. Hays

Abstract

Reviewed by: Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels by Richard B. Hays Micah D. Kiel richard b. hays, Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels (Waco, TX: Baylor University Press, 2016). Pp. xix + 504. $49.95. The word "echo" hardly provides an apt summary of the variety of ways Hays wrangles the OT into the intellectus spiritualis (pp. 348-49) of the Gospel authors. H. finds shouts, mysterious whispers, images, and songs, all in service to his more pervasive phrase, "figural reading" (e.g., 2, 347). In a short introduction, H. sets for himself a historical task, one focused on the "extant texts" rather than "conjectural reconstruction" about social location or the historical Jesus (pp. 6-7). He intends an exercise in "intertextual close reading" (p. 7). Although this reading is informed by theory, H. generally relegates such discussion to the endnotes. Many of H.'s readings depend on metalepsis, in which the quotation of or allusion to a small portion of text is made intelligible through the sense of the broader context from which it came. Hays organizes the book according to each of the evangelists, followed by a conclusion. While H. will reflect at the end on points of commonality, he teases out a unique hermeneutic and emphasis for each of the four. The clarity of his prose is impressive, as is the acuity of the figural reading he attributes to the evangelists. He never yields in attempting to demonstrate that the Scripture of Israel was the key hermeneutical matrix through which the Gospel authors fused the story of Israel with what God was doing through Jesus. Hays's interpretations are an exposition of Israel's "story" (a ubiquitous word in this book) in each Gospel, told through allusion and echo in order to give each evangelist's individual emphases. In most cases, this leads to fascinating insight into one of the Gospels. For example, H. reads Mark's call of the disciples as fishers of people (Mark 1:17) metaleptically through Jer 16:16-18 and Amos 4:1-2. This connects the call with Mark's theme of eschatological judgment and turns the story into an evocative exposition of Mark's overall eschatological agenda. H. is also instructive in his treatment of the langue of blood in Matt 27:24-5. He connects this with Zech 9:11 to suggest that the blood does not need to be associated with judgment, "but rather with cleansing … and liberation" (p. 135). These examples demonstrate the book's considerable strengths: attention to the evangelists' intentions and the ways in which echoes function through metalepsis to reveal deeper meaning and resonances. There is subtlety and depth here, achieved only through extensive awareness of Israel's Scriptures and the ways they can be reconfigured in the Gospels. Not all readers will be convinced by all of H.'s readings, but the book deserves the wide readership it certainly has already gained. There are many ways in which Hays's work could be critiqued. I am sure reviewers will ask whether repeated references to "readers" (e.g., pp. 276, 360) sufficiently describe the original reception of the Gospels. H.'s claim that Jesus embodies the God of Israel in all four Gospels will certainly spark discussion. I offer here two critiques in the spirit of dialogue that a good book such as this one inspires. First, figural readings and metalepsis are not well suited to Hays's historical claims about the evangelists' intentions. Figural reading is powerful and beautiful, but it is not externally verifiable. I demonstrate this by turning to an oration by Gregory of Nazianzus (Or. 40.10), in which he interprets Jesus' temptation in the wilderness and the dialogue between the devil and Jesus (Matt 4:5-6). The devil tells Jesus to throw himself down from [End Page 142] the pinnacle of the temple and then quotes Ps 91:11-12 about how angels will protect him. Gregory points out that the devil's quotation is selective, asking, Why do you skip the verse that follows? The very next verse (Ps 91:13) discusses the trampling of a snake, which Gregory uses metaleptically to demonstrate how Christians can triumph...