The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies 9, 1 (2024)

The latest issue of the Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies is available online, with the below articles and their abstracts (where available). Individual essays are available from here, and the journal is available in its entirety as a pdf here.

David R. Bauer

From the Editors

Robert A. Traina

Method in Bible Training

This seminal article is re-published material of Dr. Traina’s that had only recently been published postmusously in 2019.1 When preparing to teach the Bible, one ought to consider general and specific aims, how best to structure the lessons, what are the sources and types of questions asked and discussed, as well as consider the how to introduce and illustrate materials. Traina methodically discusses such matters in addition to how to design student exercises with a variety of general and specific aims of the Bible teaching.

Benjamin J. Aich

Learning from D: Reading Pentateuchal Law with a View Toward Moral Instruction or Catechesis

This paper investigates Deuteronomy’s (‘D’) reading of Exodus (‘C’) in order to hear from the Mosaic voice through D, so that today’s interpreters would apprentice themselves to this author of pentateuchal law. The result of this apprenticeship might be the church’s growth in the Lord through moral instruction and catechesis, for D read C intending to promote obedience for the life of Israel. A second but equally important result of this apprenticeship might be a more profound understanding/reading of pentateuchal law rightly and sufficiently among God’s people.

Dorothy Jean Weaver

The Last and the First (Matt 21:16; 19:30): Women and Empire in Mathew’s Narrative

To reflect on the role of empire within Matthew’s narrative is to ask a question which spans the Gospel from beginning to end. And the language of imperial power within Matthew’s narrative functions above all to depict a male-oriented world and the actions of men vis-à-vis men. Accordingly, the interface between empire and women has been a question largely overlooked within Matthean scholarship. This article will highlight and assess the rhetorical interface between the powers of empire depicted by Matthew and numerous women within Matthew’s narrative, both women of empire and women identifiably subject to empire. And I will demonstrate not only the extraordinary presence of women vis-à-vis the powers of empire within Matthew’s narrative but also the heavily ironic character of most of these encounters between empire and women.

Suzanne Nicholson

An Exegetical Charcuterie Board: My Journey with Inductive Bible Study

Ruth Anne Reese

Preparation for Preaching: “Who is this King of Glory?”

The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies 7, 2 (2020)

The latest issue of the Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies is now available online, with the below articles and their abstracts (where available). Individual essays are available from here, and the journal is available in its entirety as a pdf here.

Frederick J. Long

From the Editors

Drew Holland

An Alternative Approach to the Dilemma of 2 Kgs 3:27

King Mesha’s sacrifice of his son and the subsequent retreat of the Israelite army from Moab in 2 Kgs 3:27 has proven to be a puzzling text for interpreters from rabbinic Judaism to the present. Modern historical analysis has fallen short in providing a coherent explanation for the events of this verse. This article attempts to seek a new and cogent interpretation for this passage based upon support from other texts and lexemes within the Old Testament. In keeping with the theme of Omride disobedience found throughout the Old Testament, this article deduces from intertextual evidence that Israel participated in Mesha’s burnt offering after securing victory over Moab. This cultic impropriety led YHWH to drive the Israelite army from its newly regained territory.

Matthew R. Peterson and Dain Alexander Smith

Ancient Literary Criticism and Major Structural Relationships: A Comparative Analysis

The texts of the New Testament (NT) emerged during an era that produced robust literary and rhetorical criticism. This article draws from works produced during that period to investigate similarities and differences between the figures discussed by ancient literary theorists and the Major Structural Relationships (MSRs) identified by David R. Bauer and Robert A. Traina. Ultimately, this article reveals that the MSRs proposed in their Inductive Bible Study (IBS) handbook are not merely an invention of modern literary critical reading strategies but reflect devices incorporated into ancient literature and identified and discussed by ancient literary theorists.

Wilbert Webster White

The Resurrection Body “According to the Scriptures,” Chapter Three

If we suppose Intelligence, with an organism answering in its characteristics merely to the properties of the ether, we have a being conforming very nearly, if not quite, to the notion the mystics had of the indwellers of the supersensual world. With bodies more dense than steel, though unamenable to earthly sight or touch, these creatures would see the fleshly forms as a shadowy garment, and a matter at large but as a film thinner than air which offered no bar to their passage. And, exempt from the laws of gravitation which hold prison bound the frame of clay, they might levitate at will, and with the swiftness of light transport themselves from planet to planet. From the sun’s flame they could take no harm and even the chill of absolute zero would leave their bodies unscathed.

Fredrick J. Long

“Arise ‘n’ Shine, Daughter Zion of the Messiah Jesus!”: A Sermon at Asbury Theological Seminary, Aug 19, 2020

Joseph R. Dongell

My Journey with Inductive Bible Study

Asbury Journal 75, 2 (2020)

The latest issue of Asbury Journal is now available, containing the below articles. The entire issue is available as a pdf here.

From the Editor

Esther D. Jadhav

The Place of Theology in Diversity Efforts in Christian Higher Education: A Wesleyan Perspective

Theology is essential to diversity efforts in Christian Higher Education. In current culture there are at least two ways in which theology emerges in this work, as an afterthought and as foundational in some instances. In this article the author provides a discussion around the question: Does theology have a place in the work of diversity efforts in Christian higher education? This paper asserts that theology is a critical and significant contributor in diversity as it relates to these efforts taking place across Christian Higher Education in North America. A Wesleyan theological perspective is utilized to demonstrate how Wesleyan theology can speak into diversity efforts in Christian higher education.

Shawn P. Behan

Exegeting Scripture, Exegeting Culture: Combining Exegesis to Fulfill God’s Calling

Seminary has separated biblical exegesis from cultural exegesis, teaching them in different programs and seldom requiring them for those outside of those programs. Yet, to fulfill either of those exegetical processes we need both – they are mutually building and supporting entities that only make sense when combined with the other. As teachers, preachers, and leaders of God’s Church, it is essential that we learn how to combine these two exegetical processes in order to faithfully live out our calling in God’s kingdom. Thus, we must study both biblical and cultural exegesis and learn how to combine the two; for one without the other is knowledge, but combined they form knowledge with the wisdom of how to apply that knowledge. While this seems like a Herculean task, it has been accomplished by many in the history of the Church, often when they did not even know they were doing so. One such previous leader and teacher in the Church is Bishop J. E. Lesslie Newbigin, who’s [sic] exegetical life made him a renowned name in his own day and continues to challenge us to “do likewise” in our lives.

Abbie F. Mantor

Caring for the Sufferers Among Us: Job 3 Through the Lens of Classical Rhetorical Theory and Modern Psychological Trauma Studies

A lack of engagement with the theology of evil and suffering leads to immature responses when tragedy strikes our congregations and alienates the sufferers among us. I believe the best path forward is an interdisciplinary approach that is both intellectually honest and spiritually whole. In this article, I explore the first speech of Job through the lens of classical rhetorical studies and modern psychological trauma theories in order to demonstrate how Job’s deep lament offers the Church an example of how to give sufferers the space to work through their grief as they walk their path towards healing and hope.

Dain Alexander Smith

Prophetic Peace in the Epistle to the Romans: Intertextuality, Isaianic Discourse and Romans 14:17

Interpreters of Romans have not recognized the Isaianic character of Paul’s description of the kingdom in Rom 14:17. Therefore, in this paper I demonstrate that there is an intertextual relationship between multiple Isaianic texts and Rom 14:17. First, I identify key texts in Isaiah that depict kings or kingdoms and share terms found in Romans: righteousness, peace, joy, good, and spirit. Second, I conclude by rereading Romans 14:17 in dialogue with Isaianic kingdom texts. This reading reveals that Romans presents the kingdom of God – and the church community – as the fulfillment of Isaiah’s eschatological hope for peace.

Kelly J. Godoy de Danielson

Women on the Outside Looking In: Rahab and Ruth as Foreign Converts to the People of God

How does an outsider become an insider? This is a question that emerges from considering both the modern immigrant situation and the unique situation of non-Israelite women becoming part of the people of God in the Old Testament. The usual pattern in the Old Testament is to be born into the people of Israel, but for men there is the possibility to become part of the covenantal people through the physical act of circumcision. In this patriarchal society, women usually had no choice but to follow the decisions of their husbands. But what if there was no husband? The Bible tends to take a particularly harsh view on Israelite men marrying non-Israelite women, so even marriage does not seem to be an acceptable pathway for unmarried or widowed women. But two significant women in the Old Testament do successfully navigate the transition from outsider to insider, Rahab and Ruth. This article explores what this means for understanding conversion within the Old Testament context as well as its potential theological implication for the immigrant community in today’s world. Understanding the importance of a person’s allegiance to YHWH as well as following up this allegiance through actions of loving-kindness (hesed) are the key similarities which bind these two women together and help create a theological bridge for immigrants in our modern context.

Kelly J. Godoy de Danielson

Mujeres desde Afuera Mirando hacia Adentro: Rahab y Rut como Conversas Extranjeras al Pueblo de Dios

Features

From the Archives: Ichthus Music Festival – The World of Christian Music Comes to Wilmore

Book Reviews

The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies 7, 1 (2020)

The latest issue of the Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies is now available online, with the below articles and their abstracts (where available). Individual essays are available from here, and the journal is available in its entirety as a pdf here.

David R. Bauer

From the Editors

David Schreiner

“Now Rehoboam, Son of Solomon, Reigned in Judah”: Considering the Structural Divisions of Kings and the Significance of 1 Kgs 14:21

This essay discusses the main divisional breakdown of the Book of Kings. After detailing a disconnect in scholarly discourse over the main units of Kings, I argue that the first major literary unit spans from 1 Kgs 1:1–14:20. Moreover, I argue that any chiastic arrangement of the material within the first literary unit is eventually found wanting. As an alternative, I argue that the sub-divisions within the first unit are best determined by grammatical and comparative considerations. With this established, this essay concludes with commentary on the three major literary units that organize the presentation of Kings.

Lindy D. Backues

Construing Culture as Composition—Part 3: Traina’s Methodology Culturally Applied

We come now, in Part 3 of the series, to employ Traina’s inductive Bible study method, as discussed in the earlier articles in the series, to the sociological issue of slums. If, then, we are to discuss slums, we need to remind ourselves, at the outset, that we are not talking about overcrowding, lack of amenity, poverty or want as such; but about the relationship of such conditions to a context of meaning that changes with your point of view. Unless we remember this constantly, any proposal in terms of slums becomes unconscious ideological imposition.

Wilbert Webster White

The Resurrection Body “According to the Scriptures”—First Installment: Foreword and Chapters One and Two

William J. Abraham

Robert A. Traina: Teacher, Scholar, Saint

Crucible 11, 1 (March 2020)

The latest issue of Crucible, published by the Australian Evangelical Alliance, is now available online here, with the below articles (abstracts included, where available).

The Cauldron: peer reviewed articles

Peter A. Frith

Hitting the wall: Clergy Encountering the Emotional System in their First Parish

This paper summarises a research project which explored the lived experiences of Anglican clergy as they encountered their church’s emotional system in their first incumbency. Eleven vicars from three Australian dioceses were asked, in a phenomenological study, to describe the main challenges they faced as they led a congregation for the first time. All the participants identified the uncooperative and uncivil behaviour of influential church members as their chief concern. They also disclosed their own stress responses to the behaviour they encountered. These were distilled into five core themes: shock, inadequacy, alienation, relinquishment and hopelessness. Insights from Murray Bowen’s Family Systems Theory were introduced in the analysis phase in order to extract the emotional and systemic dimensions of the data. The study concluded that more highly differentiated clergy achieved lasting, systemic change even though they encountered the most intense conflict. Moderately differentiated clergy achieved temporary change while lower differentiated clergy, who faced the least intense conflict, were changed by the system. The findings in this study are applicable to church authorities, theological training institutions, clergy formation curricula, and aspirants to the pastorate in that they confirm that the emotional system constitutes a major challenge faced by modern church leaders.

Abraham Wu

Eating out in the Open: The Centrifugal, Missional Significance of the Eucharist

Throughout Scripture, and in the history of the Church, the Eucharist has been strongly associated with the Kingdom of God and the Missio Dei. This seems to be in stark contrast to how the Eucharist is often, in modern, Western Christianity, associated with rigid institutionalism, ecclesial division, and theological question – such as those around the nature of Christ’s presence. While these are important questions and issues for the Church, this paper argues that they fail to capture the inherent meaning of the Eucharist, which acts as the sign and sacrament of the Kingdom. Indeed, this paper explores how the Eucharist is not merely centripetal but also a centrifugal force that holds the key to the Church’s missional renewal. By exploring how the Eucharist reveals the Church’s identity as a missional community, how it initiates and challenges the Church’s mission of hospitality, and how it catalyses a sacramental approach to creation care and stewardship, this paper seeks to offer an integrative, sacramental approach to the Church’s mission that reclaims the Eucharist’s central place in ecclesiology and missiology.

Paul Kolawole Oladotun

God Will Supply All Your Needs According to His Glorious Riches: The Problem of Extreme Materialism among Nigerian Pastors

Over the years, the church in Nigeria has been God’s agent, turning the heart of a people to God. But recent activities in the church today betray the expected role of this agency in different parts of the world; to the point that many see Christianity as the root cause of major problems in society. In the past, churches in Nigeria stood up against immorality, corruption in moral defiance of societal norms. The reverse is the case today. Contemporary pastors in Nigeria are aids for committing modern-day fraud because of extreme materialism. Some ministers of God in Nigeria today have turned the church to money making venture. It is disheartening that in the recent time, many pastors’ measure success in the ministry by the size of congregations, numbers of houses as well as cars owned, and many more. The Nigerian pastorate has replaced the goal of faithfulness in the work of God with material, temporal things. In Nigeria, the church is seen as a means of filling one’s own pockets using various illegal and unbiblical means. As a result, this paper engages the vice ravaging Nigeria pastorate via the biblical lens of I Corinthians 9:13. In view of this, material things are not bad in themselves but ‘extreme materialism’ and the ‘lust’ attitude which has enslaved the contemporary Nigeria pastorate must be addressed through a correct re-definition of Call to ministry as well as a deeper level of faith on the path of the so called ‘pastors’.

The Test-tube: ministry resources

Barbara Kathleen Welch

Existential Shame: A Liturgical Approach to Soul Care of the Victims of Child abuse

This article offers suggested ways to help create safer worship environments for those who have been wounded in mind, body and spirit from child abuse. Most often Existential Shame distorts his/her faith; and his/her basic trust has been distorted or even aborted through child abuse. Pastors may offer safer worship opportunities through safer liturgies and rituals. Sensory liturgies may contribute to the healing process of the Limbic System/the emotional brain through the process of neuroplasticity because positive worship experiences help to create new neural pathways and connections in the Limbic System.

Ben Chenoweth

Doing Biblical Exegesis by Distance Well

This article suggests how theological educators may improve student learning in the area of biblical exegesis in on-line mode. It suggests a way forward would be to encourage student-to-student interaction on the biblical text itself, utilising exegetical worksheets to focus the discussion, while at the same time providing students with sample exegesis material. In that way the educator would be modelling what is expected. Assessment, too, should be focused on the real-world uses of biblical exegesis.

The Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies 6, 2 (2019)

The latest issue of the Journal of Inductive Biblical Studies is now available online, with the below articles and their abstracts (where available). Individual essays are available from here, and the journal is available in its entirety as a pdf here.

Frederick J. Long

From the Editors

David R. Bauer

Streeter Versus Farmer: The Present State of the Synoptic Problem as Argument for a Synchronic Emphasis in Gospel Interpretation

The dominant method for Gospel interpretation over the past several decades has been redaction criticism, which depends upon the adoption of a certain understanding of synoptic relationships in order to identify sources that lie behind our Gospels. Yet an examination of the major proposals regarding the Synoptic problem reveals that none of these offers the level of reliability necessary for the reconstruction of sources that is the presupposition for redaction criticism. This consideration leads to the conclusion that approaches to Gospel interpretation that require no reliance upon specific source theories are called for.

Lindy D. Backues

Construing Culture as Composition—Part 2: Robert Traina’s Methodology

The present essay is the second of three articles that re-purposes Robert A. Traina’s exegetical/hermeneutical methodology, designed primarily for the study of the biblical text, to illustrate how methods in theological hermeneutics can cast light on the growing field of cultural hermeneutics and symbolic anthropology. This article summarizes Traina’s hermeneutical methodology, especially how it allows the exegete to uncover the embedded, fundamental structure of a given biblical text. Traina’s methodology also helpfully isolates exploratory interpretive questions tied to the now uncovered structure of the passage and subsequently leads the exegete to engage in a deeper and more accurate meaning of the text in question.

Biographical Sketch

James (Jim) C. Miller

My Journey with Inductive Bible Study

NIV Cultural Backgrounds Commentary

I wrote the following mini review for EG, the quarterly magazine produced by the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity.

John H. Walton and Craig S. Keener (eds.), NIV Cultural Backgrounds Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2016).

In God’s good design, the Bible comes to us via the settings in which it was originally written – whether to sixth-century bc exiles in Babylon or first-century ad Christians in Ephesus. God’s gracious mode of speaking to ordinary people in everyday places encourages us to discern how he still speaks to us today. Indeed, understanding the world in which the Bible was first addressed might help us see more easily parallels with our own time.

While this wouldn’t be the only study Bible to use, its distinct focus sheds helpful light on the cultural, historical, and literary context of the Old and New Testaments. Brought together by reputable scholars, its visuals, charts, maps, short essays and notes provide an excellent source of information that can be consulted with profit again and again.

Exegetical Tools Quarterly 1.2 (October 2015)

The second volume of Exegetical Tools Quarterly is now available online, available as a pdf here.

Exegetical Tools Quarterly 1.1 (July 2015)

The inaugural volume of Exegetical Tools Quarterly has just been made available online.

It’s described as a ‘resource-driven publication to help keep you up to date on the latest and greatest resources for you, your ministry, and your research’. Each issue will contain all posts from the Exegetical Tools’ blog for the three months previous to publication, including ‘book reviews, featured resources, new books, research resources, and... posts on current issues’.

The first volume is available as a pdf here.

Robert Plummer on the Etymological Fallacy

For his weekend editions of Daily Dose of Greek, Robert Plummer has promised a short series on common word study fallacies, beginning with the etymological fallacy, the view that the origin and history provides deeper insight into its meaning.

Clinton E. Arnold on Ephesians (2)

Clinton E. Arnold, Ephesians, Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2010), 538pp., ISBN 9780310243731.

• See here for the first post on Clinton Arnold on Ephesians

• See here for a review of the commentary by Nijay Gupta

Arnold introduces the ZECNT series, noting that its features were ‘refined over time by an editorial board who listened to pastors and teachers express what they wanted to see in a commentary series based on the Greek text’ (9).

The resulting format contains seven components:

1. Literary Context – how the passage functions in the broader literary context of the book.

2. Main Idea – a one- or two-sentence summary of the main idea of the book. [I think Arnold’s summary sentences are excellent, and certainly very helpful for understanding his overall perspective on a section. A few times I would have put the emphasis elsewhere, but I would trust Arnold over me.]

3. Translation and Graphical Layout – a presentation of the commentator’s own English translation of the Greek text in a graphical layout, showing the relationship between clauses. [This is enormously helpful, perhaps especially for those with little or no knowledge of the original language; but it will be interesting to see what happens when it comes to longer chunks of text in the gospels and Acts, for instance.]

4. Structure – on the flow of thought in the passage.

5. Exegetical Outline – a set of headings and sub-headings which show the overall flow of the passage. [This is likely to be handy for preachers and teachers looking for the natural divisions in the text.]

6. Explanation of the Text – the biggest section of all, examining the text verse by verse. [The Greek text and words are cited, but always with a translation into English, making this a user-friendly commentary for a wider range of readers.]

7. Theology in Application – some reflections on the theological message of the passage and suggestions on its significance for the church today. [Arnold makes great use of this, in my judgment, highlighting themes which arise from the text and offering suggestive comments for application which could be picked up by preachers and teachers in different contexts.]

In addition, throughout the commentary are occasional ‘In Depth’ sections, grayed-out areas of text looking at an interpretive issue in more detail (e.g., on Ephesians 4:7-16, there is a four-page section on ‘Psalm 68 as a Prayer That God Would Defeat His Enemies’).

Kevin J. Vanhoozer on Exegesis and Hermeneutics

Kevin J. Vanhoozer, ‘Exegesis and Hermeneutics’, in T. Desmond Alexander and Brian S. Rosner (eds.), New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (Leicester: IVP, 2000), 52-64.

This is just one essay from the collection of extremely helpful lead articles in the first part of IVP’s New Dictionary of Biblical Theology.

This post is less a summary of the article itself and more a reflection on it; the headings (and, I think, the shepherd example, are mine).

1. Defining exegesis, hermeneutics, and biblical theology
Vanhoozer is one of an increasing number of scholars who – far from setting aside their theological convictions when they come to Scripture, and far from ignoring the fact that they believe in God, Christ, sin, salvation, church, and Spirit, and far from reading the Bible like any other book – are self-consciously reading Scripture from the perspective of faith, theology, and church tradition.

Thus, in terms of defining exegesis, hermeneutics, and biblical theology, Vanhoozer is concerned to include a theological agenda where it’s not always been included. As he says at one point, ‘biblical theology is nothing less than a theological hermeneutic: an interpretive approach to the Bible informed by Christian doctrine’ (63). Hence, part of his problem with the popular distinction between ‘what it meant’ and ‘what it means’ is that it was a distinction that only really came to prominence in the enlightenment, and particularly in the hands of those who wanted to separate biblical studies from theology – which Vanhoozer wants to bring together again.

2. Doing exegesis, hermeneutics, and biblical theology
In terms of doing exegesis, hermeneutics, and biblical theology, Vanhoozer writes about different ‘levels of biblical theological description’ (56-62). This long section is the real heart of the article, where Vanhoozer discusses four levels of describing biblical texts: (a) words, (b) events, (c) literary genres, and (d) the canon as a whole. It becomes clear that the last two are particularly important for Vanhoozer.

What’s needed, he says, is a ‘thick description’ of the text which embraces…

(a) Words
The sub-section on ‘biblical words’ (56-57) makes the fairly well-worn point that biblical theology must do more than load whole structures of thought into individual words. A theology at the level of words only (what does ‘shepherd’ mean?) would be a thin description.

(b) Events
Equally thin would be a theology at the level of events only (how does what is depicted in Psalm 23 relate to what is known historically about shepherds and shepherding, or what might have been going on in the historical context which brought about the composition of Psalm 23?). Hence, the sub-section on ‘biblical events’ (57) encourages us to move beyond a restricted focus on what’s going on ‘behind the text’.

Words and events are important, but a thick description takes many different levels into account, including genre (what kind of literature is Psalm 23 and how does it function?) and the canon as a whole (how does Psalm 23 relate to the rest of Scripture, and to Jesus in particular?). Hence…

(c) Literary genres
The sub-section on literary genres (57-60) is probably the most innovative part of the article. The ‘literary’ aspect of the Bible has not figured much in discussions of biblical theology. The main point being made in this section, as Vanhoozer himself says, ‘is that the Bible is made up of a variety of texts that need to be described not only at the linguistic but also at the literary level’ (59).

(d) The canon as a whole
The final sub-section (60-62) considers what is often understood to be the most distinctive facet of biblical theology: looking at Scripture as a whole, particularly in its collective witness to Christ.

Richard C. Gamble on The Whole Counsel of God

I read the following essay by Richard Gamble when it first came out…

Richard C. Gamble, ‘The Relationship Between Biblical Theology and Systematic Theology’, in Andrew T.B. McGowan (ed.), Always Reforming: Explorations in Systematic Theology (Leicester: Apollos, 2006), 211-39.

It’s slap bang in the middle of an issue, possibly the issue, that interests and excites me most – the relationship between biblical theology and systematic theology.

In it, Gamble refers several times to his forthcoming multi-volume work – The Whole Counsel of God – and my appetite was whetted for a full-scale treatment of the theme.

That was 2006.

At last, in June 2009, the first volume of a projected trilogy is now out:

Richard C. Gamble, The Whole Counsel of God, Volume 1: God’s Mighty Acts in the Old Testament (Phillipsburg: P&R Publishing, 2009), 864pp., ISBN 9780875521916.

Some sample pages are available here.

Gamble devotes a few introductory pages to outlining what he sees as the ‘exegetical foundation’ and ‘historical background’ to the whole project.

The ‘exegetical foundation’ is found in the scene from Acts 20:25-28, where Paul says to the Ephesian elders that he has not hesitated ‘to proclaim to you the whole counsel [or will] of God’ (20:27). Gamble holds that the elders are to do as Paul had done, and that the same task continues today.

Under ‘historical background’, he situates himself squarely in the Reformed tradition, particularly Calvin and developments of Reformed theology, notably John Owen’s Biblical Theology (1661), Herman Witsius’ The Economy of the Covenants Between God and Man (1685), and (more recently) Geerhardus Vos’ Biblical Theology (1948).

The first volume in the trilogy focuses on God’s self-revelation in the Old Testament, the second volume will deal with the New Testament, and the third promises to trace the theological development in the church’s understanding of Scripture through the centuries.

Gamble summarises:

‘The Whole Counsel of God is written to continue discussions of the relationship between exegesis and hermeneutics, and the interrelationships of biblical, systematic, and historical theology. The Whole Counsel of God will attempt to meet the need for a comprehensive theology that is attuned to the methodological advantages of biblical theology, but will also combine that advantage with the strengths of historical and systematic theology’ (xxxiii).

I look forward to seeing how the project plays out.