Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 66:3 (Sep 2023)
Article: The Old Testament As Prophecy And The Structure Of The Canon
Author: Gregory Goswell

JETS 66:3 (September 2023) p. 495

The Old Testament As Prophecy
And The Structure Of The Canon

Gregory Goswell

^* Gregory Goswell is Academic Dean and Lecturer in Biblical Studies at Christ College, Sydney, 1 Clarence St., Burwood, NSW 2134, Australia. Christ College is an affiliated college of the Australian College of Theology.

Abstract: The ordering of the OT books in both the Hebrew and Greek canonical traditions provides a theological framework consistent with a Christian perspective that sees the OT as a prophetic corpus fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The placement of the prophetic books at the end of the Greek OT is an effective segue to the NT presentation of Jesus as the fulfillment of prophetic hopes. On the other hand, four books that are classified as histories in the Greek OT are put under the banner of prophecy in the Hebrew Bible (Joshua–Kings). As well, the third and final section of the Hebrew canon (Writings) contains several major books that either prominently feature prophetic figures or reflect prophetic teaching. Neither the Greek nor the Hebrew order of the OT books should be given absolute priority over the other, but both canons must be allowed to inform and enrich the Christian reading of the OT.

Key words: canon, Greek Old Testament, Hebrew Bible, prophecy, book order

In a recent article Gareth Lee Cockerill argued that Christian interpreters should give preference to the order of the OT books found in many early Greek and Latin canon lists, which he views as embodying a tradition “in accord with the conviction that the OT is fulfilled in Christ.”1 This is a welcome counter to the move by some Christian scholars to mandate the tripartite Hebrew ordering of the canonical books (Tanak) as the starting point for the interpretation of the OT.2 What is less adequate is that the pendulum is allowed to swing to the other extreme, and the way of ordering the books found in the Greek tradition (and the Latin tradition that depends on it) is baptized as the only foundation for Christian exegesis of the OT. Is it necessary to make such an absolute choice between these alternate ways of ordering the books? Could not both canonical orders be suitable for Christian

JETS 66:3 (September 2023) p. 496

use? Cockerill is right in saying that the ordering of the OT books has hermeneutical implications, for it provides evidence of how those responsible for the order interpreted the books and in turn influences the interpretation of those who use the canon in this form, but is it really true that one order is more Christian in intent or effect than the ...