Journal: Journal of Ministry and Theology
Volume: JMAT 12:2 (Fall 2008)
Article: Book Review
Author: Mark McGinniss

JMAT 12:2 (Fall 2008) p. 141

Book Review

Mark McGinniss

Assistant Professor of Old Testament Literature, Language, and Exegesis
Baptist Bible Seminary, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania

An Old Testament Theology. Bruce K. Waltke (with Charles Yu), Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2007. 1040 pages. $44.99.

In his Reconstructing of Old Testament Theology (2005), Leo Purdue suggests that future Old Testament theologians should “engage in self-disclosure.” That is they should offer “a candid description of one’s own identity shaping values, cultural location, interacting network of influence, ideological preferences, and social roles” which precedes their work (347–48). I am not sure if Waltke has read this particular volume of Perdue’s, but he certainly has followed his suggestion.

Waltke is not shy or reticent in his self-disclosure. He states without apology that “this book is a profession of faith” (10). It is written by one who has come to faith through the “Spirit-filled preaching” of Revelation (969) and for lack of a better term, he considers himself “evangelical” (77). As an evangelical OT scholar he accepts without apology the inerrancy and infallibility of the Scripture because of its divine origin and places himself under its authority (ibid). The intended audience for his OT theology (OTTH) is “the people of God composed today of both Jews and Gentiles who believe in their hearts that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead and confess him as Lord with their mouths and who show their faith by loving God and their neighbors” (17). This book is for the church today; it is not a theology of Israel’s past: “It is nothing of the sort for the faithful. For them, what the Bible meant it means. The Bible is the normative standard for faith and practice in the church, and its ‘truth’ demands a personal commitment and actualization in every aspect of their lives” (30). His 1000+ page tome is not intended “for the academic community, many of whom do not worship Jesus Christ as revealed in the Bible” (19). The goal of his work is “to reflect theologically upon it [the Bible] on behalf of that audience” (17) so that “when serious readers have finished this theology they will understand the Old Testament and its function in the Bible” (10). However, his OTTH cannot be understood by just anyone in the pew: “Spiritual discernment is a prerequisite for doing Old Testament theology because like a parable, it is a masterpiece of indirection, yielding its wealth only to those with eyes to see and ears to hear” (36). Waltke’s ambition is not simply to provide the church with a mere historical description of what Israel thought about God and his revelation, but through a covenantal lens to provide a way for the church to know G...