Journal: Conspectus
Volume: CONSPECTUS 38:1 (Oct 2024)
Article: Book Review: "The Restoration Of God’s Dwelling And Kingdom: A Biblical Theology"
Author: Anonymous

Conspectus 38:1 (October 2024) p. 79

Book Review: The Restoration Of God’s Dwelling And Kingdom: A Biblical Theology

Nyende, Peter. 2023. The Restoration of God’s Dwelling and Kingdom: A Biblical Theology. Carlisle: Langham Publishing. xvi, 272 pp. ISBN: 978–1- 839–73735–0. Approx. 425.58 ZAR (23.58 USD). Paperback.

Peter Nyende is an Associate Professor in Biblical Studies at the School of Divinity at Uganda Christian University. In The Restoration of God’s Dwelling and Kingdom, he presents an intriguing and comprehensive biblical theology. In the preface, Nyende recounts the genesis of this work, delayed by about 15 years. It originated in his inaugural biblical theology lecture in 2006 at the Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology (NEGST) (pp. xiii–xiv). The positive reception and encouragement from students to make the course’s content accessible to a wider audience culminated in Nyende’s promise of a corresponding publication, which became a reality after many years.

In the introductory section, Nyende elucidates important methodological and hermeneutical foundations of his argumentation. According to Nyende, since the introduction of academic Bible studies, those working in biblical-theological studies have operated under the assumption “that biblical literature constitutes a single cohesive book” (p. 1), and they have formulated their message based on this fundamental conviction. Nyende’s primary concern is to trace the intertextual and theological connections between various books, as well as between the Old and New Testaments, under the overarching motif of “Restoration of God’s Dwelling and Kingdom” (p. 2), and to construct a coherent biblical narrative. This biblical theology aims to promote knowledge and understanding of the entire Bible by providing an overview of its content as a whole, rather than just a part of it. This is done by establishing a consistent hermeneutical framework and standpoint through which individual parts of the Bible can be illuminated. In contrast to the regular practice of specializing in small, disconnected portions of the Bible, Nyende emphasizes the importance of grasping a comprehensive view of the Bible’s content (pp. 3–4).

His methodological approach can be characterized as canonical, symbolic, literary, and typological (pp. 5–11). Canonical, as Nyende reads the canon of the Bible in its current form as a uniquely cohesive book. Symbolic, due to the assumption that the content of biblical texts communicates deeper meaning indirectly. Literary, because the primary focus is on the immediate literary context of the Bible, with secondary scholarly literature sparingly used in a minimalist approach. Finally, typological, meaning that all significant elements of biblical history in the Old Testam...