Journal: Bibliotheca Sacra
Volume: BSAC 168:672 (Oct 2011)
Article: Book Reviews
Author: Matthew S. DeMoss

BSac 168:672 (October-December 2011) p. 478

Book Reviews

By The Faculty Of Dallas Theological Seminary

Matthew S. DeMoss

Editor

God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology. By James M. Hamilton Jr. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Books, 2010. 639 pp. $40.00.

Two hundred years of a dearth of confessedly conservative works on biblical theology (with the notable exceptions of J. C. K. von Hoffman [1841] and G. F. Oehler [1845]) in the nineteenth century and Geerhardus Vos [1948] in the early twentieth) came to a merciful end in the last quarter of the twentieth century with the worthy contributions of Dempster, Dumbrell, P. House, Kaiser, Martens, Routledge, Scobie, R. Smith, and Waltke, among others. Added now is the work under review by a young scholar from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary who justly deserves to be included in this list for reasons to be presently detailed.

First, his is a biblical theology as opposed to one limited to either Testament alone. That is, it incorporates the whole revelation of God in its span, an undertaking so formidable that few have dared take it on. The reason of course is that both Old and New Testament studies have become respectively so vast in their compass that even the most erudite theologian feels inadequate to break out of his or her own specialty to venture into less familiar territory, though every Christian scholar recognizes this ought to be done.

Second, the prose of the work is elegant and riveting. Hamilton surely has read good literature and knows in turn how to compose it, even in a technical work like this. Only a minimum of theological jargon is evident, the reasoning is clear and compelling, and the arguments generally well set out and ably defended. Moreover, author, editor, proofreader, and publisher are to be commended for a virtually error-free text garbed in beautifully appointed dress.

Third, Hamilton has scoured the literature pertinent to his purpose and has made use of some of the best current (and older) resources both supportive of and antagonistic to his case. His tone is firm but not belligerent, unambiguous but not unduly rigid, clearly evangelical but not close-minded to other traditions. One may fault his premises and development of supporting arguments, but certainly not his irenic spirit.

On the other hand a number of other factors and features of the book call for careful scrutiny with the objective of assisting theologians engaged in this vital biblical discipline to avoid potential presuppositional and

BSac 168:672 (October-December 2011) p. 479

methodological perils and pitfalls. First among these in the present wor...