Lost Worlds Series Archives

Cover image of "New Explorations in the Lost World of Genesis" by John Walton

New Explorations in the Lost Worl d of Genesis (The Lost World Series) John H. Walton with J. Harvey Walton. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514004913) 2025

Summary: Reviews his work, adds new insights and clarifications, and answers frequently asked questions.

Fifteen years ago, John H. Walton made a significant contribution to discussions of the early chapters of Genesis and the origins debate. In The Lost World of Genesis One and succeeding works he contended that God accommodates Israel’s language and culture and that the Bible was written for ancient Israel. To understand its meaning for us, we must understand its meaning for them. While he was hardly the first to make such an assertion, he offered a clarity for thoughtful readers through books organized around clear theses that he carefully elaborated.

As a result of the notice he received, he had many opportunities to engage questions, both from those who would challenge his views and from those seeking elaboration of them. In addition, he continued to study ancient near east culture, refining his understanding of the thought and cultural world of ancient Israel. In recent years, that research has been aided by his son, J. Harvey Walton, a contributor to this work.

In this work, the Waltons revisit the previous “Lost World” books in light of both recent scholarship and public engagement. This is reflected in the organization of each of the chapters. Firstly, they summarize previous material. Secondly, they elaborate new explorations since the earlier works, offering new insights and clarifications. Finally, the Waltons answer frequently asked questions.

The book opens with a lengthy discussion of methodology, focusing around his idea of “cultural rivers.” He answers questions about why ancient near east culture is so important and the assumption that Israelites thought in similar ways to their neighbors. He explores questions about cosmology and the historicity of the early chapters of Genesis.

Succeeding chapters follow the same organization, discussing:

Genesis 1: What kind of creation account (functional ontology)
Genesis 1: The seventh day and its significance (temple and rest)
Genesis 2: The garden and the trees (sacred space and priestly roles)
Genesis 2: Adam and Eve (archetypes, dust and rib)
Genesis 3: The serpent and fall
Genesis 3: The pronouncement and aftermath
Genesis and Science

Perhaps the most significant change in Walton’s thinking is his shift from the idea of functional ontology to creation as God bringing order. He traces this idea through ancient near east literature and how this ordering is effective in the six days of creation. He contrasts this to material accounts with the difference between building a house and making a home.

This idea of order frames his thinking in successive chapters. The seventh day rest reflects the completion of ordering, God’s sovereignty over chaos. Instead of seeing the garden as a sacred space where God dwells in a human realm, he shifts to seeing the garden as a divine realm ordered by God in which humans dwell as wardens, allowing Walton to see Adam and Eve as archetypes of us all. The Fall then is about seeking wisdom apart from God for their ordering task in the world. It is not a story of how sin came into the world but how humans seek order apart from God. The curse, thus, is the consequence or removing themselves from God’s ordered realm.

I’ve summarized a much lengthier discussion over a number of chapters. But most noteworthy through it all is the shift to the idea of order, which reflects the scholarship of J. Harvey Walton. Particularly, one sees this reflected in the excurses he contributes, which elaborate these ideas. My question as I wrestled with this is whether this represented a refinement or a scholarly rabbit trail. Some of the shifts from orthodox theology in terms of understanding of the Fall are the most noteworthy. While I have doubts about the direction the Waltons are moving, I also appreciate the scholarly engagement, the willingness to change one’s mind in the light of evidence, and the irenic spirit of this book.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.

Cover image for "The Lost World of the Prophets" by John H. Walton

The Lost World of the Prophets (Lost World Series), John H. Walton. IVP Academic (ISBN: 9781514004890) 2024.

Summary: How understanding the ancient Near East context of the prophets can shed light on their message for us.

There is good reason to take prophecy seriously and seek to understand it. Prophets often prefaced their words with “thus saith the Lord” or “this is the word of the Lord.” We wonder, is there a message for us to heed, trust, and obey? Unfortunately, this instinct can go awry when we fail to understand the primary role of the prophet, the nature of prophetic literature, and its theological significance then and now. In The Lost World of the Prophets, John H. Walton, as he has done with other “Lost World” books, takes us back to the ancient Near East backgrounds of prophetic and apocalyptic literature. Building on this background, he helps us understand the message of the prophets and its relevance to us.

As in other works in this series, Walton unpacks the lost world of the prophets through a series of propositions. Perhaps the simplest way to summarize the content of this work is to list these propositions as Walton outlines them in the book:

Part 1: Ancient Near East
1: Prophecy Is a Subset of Divination
2: Prophets and Prophecy in the ANE Manifest Similarities and Differences When Compared to Israel

Part 2: Institution
3: A Prophet Is a Spokesperson for God, Not a Predictor of the Future
4: Prophecy in the OT Is Not Monolithic but Developing
5: The Classical Prophets Are Champions of the Covenant in Times of Crisis
6: Prophecy Takes a Variety of Different Shapes After the Old Testament

Part 3: Literature
7: Recognition of the Categories of Prophetic Message Help Us Be More Informed Readers
8: Prophets Were Typically Not Authors
9: The Implied Audience of the Prophetic Books Is Not Necessarily the Audience of the Prophet

Part 4: Methodological and Interpretive Issues
10: Distinction Between Message and Fulfillment Provides Clear Understanding of Prophetic Literature
11: Fulfillment Follows Oblique Trajectories
12: The NT Use of OT Prophecy Focuses on Fulfillment, Not Message
13: Prophecy Carries Important Implications for Understanding God and the Future, but Our Ability to Forge a Detailed Eschatology with Confidence Is Limited

Part 5: Apocalyptic
14: Apocalyptic Prophecy Should Be Differentiated from Classical Prophecy
15: In Apocalyptic Literature, Visions Are Not the Message but the Occasion for the Message
16: New Testament Apocalyptic Operates by the Same Principles as Old Testament Apocalyptic

There were several aspects of Walton’s treatment that I felt were of great importance. Firstly, he focuses on prophets as spokespersons for God rather than predictors of the future. When we focus on the latter, we miss the strong focus on the warnings the prophets brought as God’s people violated his commands.

Secondly, the focus of their condemnations was how they breached God’s covenant relationship with them. The primary message of the prophets was to warn of God’s impending judgment because the people had not kept faith with God.

Thirdly, Walton emphasizes that the prophetic books as we have them reflect a process from initial message to transcription to compilation that may have involved more than one person over a period of time. Likewise, the original audience of the prophet may not be the audience of the prophetic book.

Fourthly, Walton’s distinction between message and fulfillment is so valuable when considering New Testament “fulfillments” that seem at variance with the plain meaning of the original message. Specifically, he pleads the authority of the New Testament interpreters and the fact that the fulfillments are things that have occurred. On the same basis, he argues against attempts to predict particular fulfillments of eschatological passages that have not occurred. We, unlike the apostolic witnesses, are not inspired. Instead, we should focus on the broad message of God’s purposes and promises to those who persevere through suffering.

Fifthly, I will just note the very helpful distinction Walton draws between prophetic and apocalyptic writings, summarized in the table on p. 130. I found particularly intriguing the distinction of prophecy originating as spoken word whereas apocalyptic is literature-based.

Finally, and perhaps most significant for our reading, Walton provides a rubric of four types of messages we will encounter in prophecy: indictment, judgement, instruction, and aftermath. In his conclusion, he offers guidance about how we might appropriate each in our present day.

As in other contributions to this series, Walton offers clear and concise explanations that summarizes a vast amount of recent scholarship for the serious lay student of scripture. in notes and recommended further reading, he points the interested reader to more in-depth scholarship. Finally, he gently corrects our misreading of prophetic and apocalyptic literature, encouraging us to keep the main thing the main thing, and not to lose ourselves in speculative schemes.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher for review.