Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 62:2 (Jun 2019)
Article: Biblical Theology From A New Testament Perspective
Author: Eckhard J. Schnabel

JETS 62:2 (June 2019) p. 225

Biblical Theology
From A New Testament Perspective

Eckhard J. Schnabel*

* Eckhard Schnabel is Mary F. Rockefeller Distinguished Professor of NT at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, 130 Essex St., South Hamilton, MA 01982. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: The history of writing comprehensive treatments of Old Testament theology, New Testament theology, and biblical theology shows that some authors pursue a historical reconstruction of theological traditions and proclamation, some authors present a systematic interpretation of content and themes, and some authors offer a combination of both. The outline and content of an Old Testament theology, a New Testament theology, or a biblical theology will be influenced by the personal interests of the author, by the intended readers, and, more mundanely, by word counts stipulated by publishers. At the same time, it can be argued that the character of God’s revelation as well as the character of the biblical writings themselves demand that the unity of the biblical message is explained in the context of the diversity and contingency of the biblical writings. The variegated theological truth of Scripture is best explained in the context of the historical realities of its authors and writings, taking into account relevant literary features, and paradigmatically spelling out the significance of the biblical texts for modern readers.

Key words: Old Testament theology, New Testament theology, biblical theology, history of research, historical reconstruction, theological interpretation, unity, diversity

I. Definitions

The phrase “biblical theology” deserves clarification. As is well known, the term “theology” is not a biblical term: it is never used by the LXX translators nor is it used in the NT.1 The term θεολόγος was used by Greek philosophers to describe the poets whose texts (λόγος) describe the acts and behavior of a particular god (θεός) or multiple gods, his or her genealogical and dynastic evolution, “and the causal traits which they give to the world.” The earliest examples are references in Plato (Resp. 2.379a). Aristotle calls poets such as Hesiod and Homer θεολόγοι (Metaph. 983b29; 1000a9), but then describes the highest of the three disciplines of philosophy, which was later called metaphysics, as θεολογική: ὥστε τρεῖς ἂν εἶεν φιλοσοφίαι θεωρητικαί, μαθηματική, φυσική, θεολογική (Metaph. 1026a19; cf. 1064b3). The Stoics...