finitum non capax infiniti

Bruce Waltke is a brilliant Old Testament scholar. I have enjoyed his work on Hebrew Syntax (although it has been critiqued of reading English syntax back onto the Hebrew language, but that’s for another post), Proverbs [both of them], and Genesis. Dr. Waltke is a unique Old Testament scholar in that he has earned a doctorate in New Testament (a Th.D. from Dallas Theological Seminary) and in Near Eastern Languages and Literature (a Ph.D. from Harvard University). He has spent his scholarly career holding Old Testament professorships at Dallas Theological Seminary, Regent University, Westminster Theological Seminary, and Reformed Theological Seminary. In other words, when he talks, I listen.

His magum opus on Old Testament theology was recently published by Zondervan. It is entitled An Old Testament Theology: An Exegetical, Canonical, and Thematic Approach. I recently purchased it and am ready to dive in head first, but I am also in the midst of an extremely hectic semester. In order to both read through Waltke’s work and also not fail out of seminary, I have decided to read and review one chapter a week (which will take 35 weeks, give or take). Hence “Wednesdays with Waltke.” This week I’ll be looking at the preface, which sets the groundwork and trajectory for his book.

Waltke first explains the book’s title and subtitle. It is “an” theology of the Old Testament because “there is more than one way of writing any biblical theology” (9) depending on both the author’s objective and understanding as well as the audience to whom the book is focused. His theology will be exegetical because thinking critically about the Old Testament’s theology involves understanding the text in its own language according to its own historical horizons (9). It is canonical and thematic because a Christian interpreter must interact with how the OT functions in relationship to the NT and how the themes developed in the OT are treated in the NT.

He then lays out six objectives of his work:

First, it aims towards getting the reader to know God personally because “the ultimate aim of biblical theology is to bring us to our knees in worship and prayer” (11). Waltke also mentions that he will render the name of God as “I AM” throughout his work (as opposed to Jehovah, which is a made up word, YHWH, Yahweh, or the LORD) in order to stress this personal nature of God (11-12).

Secondly, it aims towards getting the reader to understand the nature of God’s revelation by focusing on both the continuities and discontinuities in between the two testaments. Because of his academic background (earning doctorates from a dispensational institution, Dallas Theological Seminary, and a Reformed institution, Westminster Theological Seminary) I feel that Waltke is definitely qualified to accomplish this task fairly.

Thirdly, it aims towards getting the reader to know themselves by focusing on our shared history (the OT and NT) and our shared destiny (the eschaton). As John McKay, a past president of Princeton University, states, “The road to tomorrow leads through yesterday” (13).

Fourthly, it aims towards getting the reader to understand the Old Testament. Sadly, the OT is not very popular in the church. It tends to be seen as an archaic story book of heroes instead of a rich treasure chest that serves as the basis of the NT.

Fifthly it aims towards getting the reader to understand the New Testament by stressing the fact that “only those who have journeyed through the Old Testament can appreciate the full splendor and glory of the New Testament and fully digest its fruit, and those who have not cannot” (16).

Sixthly, and lastly, it aims towards contributing to spiritual formation by not losing focus of the truth that Scripture was written not only for doctrine, but for “rebuke, correction, and instruction in righteousness that the people of God will be prepared for every good work” (17).

The audience of the book is the covenant people of God, i.e. the church. It is written for the lay person, the pastor, and the scholar. The book will be organized by including an Introduction (chapters 1-6 which establishes the basis, task, and method of the book), Primary History (chapters 7-28 which includes the Decateuch and develops into the NT), and Other Writings (chapters 29-35 which includes the Prophets, Ruth, Psalms, Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes).

Lastly, Waltke mentions that the history of the book grew out of him teaching a course on biblical theology in the late 1960s when he knew very little concerning biblical theology. This book is a testament to the fact that he has learned quite a bit since that time.