Israel’s Scriptures in Early Christian Writings

Israel’s Scriptures in Early Christian Writings, edited by Matthias Henze and David Lincicum. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co. (ISBN: 9780802874443) 2023.

Summary: How Jewish scriptures were used in the New Testament and in other early Christian writings.

The Jewish scriptures were the only “Bible” of the New Testament writers and important for other early Christian writers along with the coalescing collection of texts that make up our New Testament. But what constituted “Jewish scripture” particularly for first and second century CE writers? What materials were particularly important and how did writers appropriate these materials? It is with all these questions that this major reference work of essays concerns itself.

In the Introduction, the editors set up a fourfold system for classifying use of the Old Testament: marked citation, unmarked citation, verbal allusion, and conceptual allusion. Contributors use this system with a high degree of consistency throughout the volume. Then, the remainder of the book consists of five sections of essays, on each of which I will comment briefly.

Contexts

The section begins by asking “what were the “scriptures” in Jesus time?” This is important because no “canon” existed of these scriptures. The following six chapters consider the reuse of scripture in the Hebrew Bible, the Septuagint, in early Jewish literature, in the Dead Sea Scrolls, in Philo and the Alexandrian tradition, and in Josephus.

Israel’s Scriptures in the New Testament

Seventeen chapters make up this section, a major portion of the book. The writers consider every New Testament book. However, this is not in commentary form. Rather essayists note the uses of scripture under the four categories noted above. It is interesting, for example, to note the number of texts Matthew cites whereas the bulk of John’s use is allusions. Likewise, it is interesting to see how Paul’s use of scripture varies from letter to letter.

Themes and Topics From Scriptures in the New Testament

Here, eight chapters consider the use of Jewish scripture under the topics of God, Messiah, Holy Spirit, Covenant, Law, Wisdom, Liturgy and Prayer, and Eschatology. Of the essays in this section, I especially valued the one on Messiah. It demonstrated both a coherent messianism, and yet no monolithic “messianic idea.”

Tracing Israel’s Scriptures

This part of the work studies four books that make up a major part of the New Testament use of Jewish scripture: Deuteronomy, Isaiah, the Psalms, and Daniel. Each chapter explores the uses of the book throughout the New Testament. Then the final chapter considers key persons from the Jewish scriptures throughout the New Testament: Abraham, Moses, David, Jacob, Joseph, and Elijah. The essay also considers lesser known female figures including Eve, Hagar, Sarah, Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba.

Israel’s Scriptures in Early Christianity Outside the New Testament

Finally, the editors offer a helpful extension of this study beyond the horizon of the New Testament. Essays include studies of the use of Jewish scriptures in the apocryphal gospels and apocalypses, in Adversus Judaeos literature, in Marcion and the critical tradition. It was fascinating, in Adversus Judaeos, to see how Christian writers used scripture as a key source of authority as they engaged Jewish opponents to their message. The concluding essay is wonderful icing on the cake in the form of looking at the use of Israel’s scripture in early pictorial art.

Concluding Comments

I appreciated the breadth of this work not only in the consistent use of the four-fold classification but also in keeping each essay at a manageable length, important in such a long work. Yet for all that, the depth of scholarship, evident in citations and bibliography, is impressive. I suspect, unlike this reviewer, most readers won’t read this straight through. Rather, it serves as a helpful reference work, whether for addressing the Jewish scriptural background to the New Testament, for exegesis of particular books, or for biblical themes. And if you are concerned with the relationship of the two testaments, this is an absolute must read.

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