A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New

by G. K. Beale

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2011

Overview

In this comprehensive exposition, a leading New Testament scholar explores the unfolding theological unity of the entire Bible from the vantage point of the New Testament. G. K. Beale, coeditor of the award-winning Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, examines how the New Testament storyline relates to and develops the Old Testament storyline. Beale argues that every major concept of the New Testament is a development of a concept from the Old—and is to be understood as a facet of the inauguration of the latter-day new creation and kingdom. Offering extensive interaction between the two testaments, this volume helps readers see the unifying conceptual threads of the Old Testament and how those threads are woven together in Christ. This major work will be valued by students of the New Testament and pastors alike.

Whether you’re a student, scholar, pastor, or professor, A New Testament Biblical Theology provokes you to read the Bible honestly—to let it surprise, challenge, and correct you as you apply the many steps of interpretation. By using the tools included in A New Testament Biblical Theology, you’ll approach Bible study with more depth and understanding. Integrate the practical methods found in this with your preferred Bible, the Passage Guide, and the other Bible study tools in Logos Bible Software—then dive into Bible study with a vast knowledge base right before your eyes.

Key Features

• Provides a guide to biblical interpretation, exegesis, and hermeneutics
• Emphasizes the importance of biblical interpretation for understanding the historical and contemporary relevance of Scripture

Contents

Top Highlights

“My thesis in this respect is that Gen. 1–3 lays out the basic themes for the rest of the OT, which, as we will see, are essentially eschatological themes. These themes are then developed in the NT.” (Pages 29–30)

“My primary thesis, in general, is that in order to understand the NT in its full richness, we must have a keen acquaintance with how the biblical authors viewed the ‘end times,’ especially as it forms an essential part of the NT story.” (Page 16)

“On the other hand, my working definition of NT biblical theology is the following, in dependence on Geerhardus Vos’s definition of a whole-Bible biblical theology: ‘Biblical theology, rightly defined, is nothing else than the exhibition of the organic progress of supernatural revelation in its historic continuity and multiformity.’³¹ In this light, a biblical-theological approach to a particular text seeks to give its interpretation first with regard to its own literary context and primarily in relation to its own redemptive-historical epoch, and then to the epoch or epochs preceding and following it.” (Page 9)

“One important observation from the analysis so far in this chapter can be made: Gen. 1:28 has more intertextual connections with the rest of Genesis and the remaining OT books than any other text in Gen. 1–11, and this is an initial pointer to it being the most formal thread from that initial section of Genesis being developed elsewhere in the OT.” (Page 58)

“The Old Testament is the story of God, who progressively reestablishes his new-creational kingdom out of chaos over a sinful people by his word and Spirit through promise, covenant, and redemption, resulting in worldwide commission to the faithful to advance this kingdom and judgment (defeat or exile) for the unfaithful, unto his glory.” (Page 87)

Endorsements

Certainly Beale has written his magnum opus, in which he deftly integrates the Scriptures via the new creation theme. The use of the Old Testament in the New Testament forms the backbone of this work so that readers grasp how the storyline of Scripture coheres. We stand in debt to the author for his detailed and profound unfolding of New Testament theology.

—Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

It is tempting to confess that dogmaticians merely rummage around in the mines of biblical theologians. With this volume, the quarry has been enlarged and deepened, exposing the richest veins. I found it to be not exactly a page-turner, but rather on almost every page I discovered another spot at which to linger before moving on. Drawing on decades of exegetical research and teaching, A New Testament Biblical Theology exists at the intersection of biblical studies and theology. Carrying on the tradition of Geerhardus Vos, Professor Beale has raised the bar for biblical theology in our day. We will be digesting this volume for many years to come.

—Michael Horton, J. Gresham Machen Professor of Systematic Theology and Apologetics, Westminster Seminary California

This is like a New Testament theology but goes far beyond. It does not merely describe a part of Scripture from the outside; the view is rather interior, developing themes and movements from within the whole Bible’s own storyline. Beale does full justice to motifs often neglected. Like no other work I know, A New Testament Biblical Theology gives eschatology (and not just futurology) full due. He writes understandably and frequently engages in exegesis, which reduces generalizations and unsupported assertions. The treatment is theocentric, missional, and doxological. Reflecting 30 years of research and with some six hundred books in its bibliography, this volume is unique in our time and in fact without close parallel in a discipline (biblical theology) that split the Old Testament off from the New over two hundred years ago. Beale has brought them back together in a creative and methodical way. The results will provoke a deeper grasp of God’s redemptive aims and further research. For some readers, like this one, a major result will be not only appreciation but also awe at such a masterful treatment of so much of Scripture’s wealth.

—Robert W. Yarbrough, professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary

This New Testament biblical theology makes the Old Testament storyline the point of departure for exploring the New Testament message. Beale’s volume is far reaching, written at a high scholarly level, and conversant with a wide range of scholarship. Even where one may disagree, Beale’s treatment is always informative and at times even provocative. A very important contribution to biblical theology that deserves to be widely read.

—Andreas J. Köstenberger, senior professor of New Testament and biblical theology, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary

A magnificent achievement! Rarely does a volume in biblical studies come along with such breadth, depth, insight, and specificity. It is a brilliant reconstruction of themes that are central to Christian faith. This is a landmark accomplishment.

—David F. Wells, distinguished research professor, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

The canonical scope and focus on the biblical storyline give Beale’s New Testament Biblical Theology a unique place among the many New Testament theologies now available. The book is vintage Beale, creatively making connections between Old Testament and New Testament and pursuing a definite vision of how the Bible hangs together.

—Douglas J. Moo, Kenneth T. Wessner Professor of New Testament, Wheaton College

Some New Testament theologies emphasize the distinctiveness of each author or book; others seek a center or unifying theme. Beale’s work is decidedly in the second category as he demonstrates new creation as an umbrella category covering all of the other major motifs not only in the New Testament but also in the relevant Old Testament and Second Temple Jewish background material. Along the way, readers are treated to outstanding up-to-date discussions of most of the main topics they have come to expect and some new ones, especially in light of intracanonical connections. Throughout, Beale is thoroughly evangelical and thoroughly scholarly. This work is a true tour de force.

—Craig L. Blomberg, distinguished professor of New Testament, Denver Seminary

This volume, impressive for its massive sweep, is the matured fruit of the author’s extensive work over several decades in New Testament theology. A biblical theology concerned with showing the unity and coherence of all biblical revelation in its rich diversity, it explores the various ways the New Testament storyline transforms, as it develops and fulfills, the central elements of the Old Testament storyline with the new creation kingdom seen as the comprehensive outcome of the already-not yet eschatological fulfillment effected by the life, death, and resurrection of Christ. Especially those with interests in biblical eschatology, with some attention to the role of the church and Christian living ‘between the times,’ as well as in the New Testament use of the Old will profit from the characteristically sound and often stimulating instruction Professor Beale provides.

—Richard B. Gaffin Jr., professor emeritus of biblical and systematic theology, Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia

G. K. Beale has been harvesting the fields of biblical theology in major biblical commentaries and exegetical/theological studies for many years. Here now is his biblical theology magnum opus. A New Testament Biblical Theology draws together and generously supplements many strands of Beale’s earlier work into a comprehensive and mature expression of the whole. Beale locates the ‘organic progress of supernatural revelation’ not in a particular central doctrine or idea, but in the Bible’s grand storyline, the story of God establishing his new-creational kingdom through Christ and the Spirit. As with all of Beale’s works, this volume is brimming with rich and deeply satisfying redemptive-historical exegesis. This provides an enormous feast for anyone wishing to understand in greater detail the thrust of the Bible’s saving story, but it also results in a great contribution to scholarship—a broad, well-researched, and well-constructed foundation for future scholarly endeavors in biblical theology.

—Charles E. Hill, professor of New Testament, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando

A New Testament Biblical Theology takes Beale’s years of study, teaching, and research and presents his readers with the most thorough and mature work of New Testament biblical theology yet seen in the English language. He has structured the massive volume in a beautiful fashion, focusing nearly half of the work on the eschatological storyline of the Old Testament, then moving to the story of the already-not yet latter-day resurrection and new-creational kingdom of the New. His other major themes are sin and restoration, salvation as new creation, the work of the Spirit, and the church and Christian living. The thorough and readable volume demonstrates the contours of the grand sweep of God’s great revelation to sinful men and women through the exalted Lord Jesus Christ.

—Richard C. Gamble, professor of systematic theology, Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary

In your hands is a gold mine of biblical scholarship, a distillation of a lifetime of study by one of the most respected New Testament scholars of our day. Beale treats his subject with devotion, his opponents with charity, and his readers with respect. Beale’s arguments and conclusions are presented with such clarity and force that any interested reader, whether pastor, layperson, or professional scholar, will be able to benefit from the rich insights that appear on almost every page. Beale provides the key that unlocks the storyline of the Bible, and with the help of his patient guidance, the reader discovers in one example after another the power of that storyline to highlight the inner coherence of biblical truth across the Testaments and to open up new vistas of understanding of many of the Bible’s best-known stories, as well as some of its most obscure texts.

—Gordon P. Hugenberger, adjunct professor of Old Testament, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

Greg Beale’s New Testament Biblical Theology is a stimulating read. Beale understands well how the two testaments relate and how essential the redemptive story of the Old Testament is for understanding God’s work in Jesus Christ and his church. Readers will find the emphasis on the already-not yet end-time new creation and kingdom very enriching and insightful. What we have in this new biblical theology is an appreciation for the biblical story as a whole, an appreciation that provides a much-needed counterweight to the atomistic tendencies in much of our exegetical and theological work. Beale’s book will make an important contribution to a field of study that continues to redefine itself and move into new and interesting directions.

—Craig A. Evans, Payzant Distinguished Professor of New Testament, Acadia Divinity College

Biblical scholars and theologians, after long separation and now perhaps with a healthier sense of their own historical location, have recently found themselves engaged on a common project: what is it that binds the church’s canonical texts together? Reflecting its author’s situatedness within the evangelical Reformed tradition and firm commitment to exegetical integrity and the priority of the biblical storyline, Greg Beale’s extensive and detailed new book is a most welcome addition to the ongoing discussion.

—Rikk Watts, associate professor of New Testament, Regent College

New Testament Biblical Theology will stand with the titans of the genre. . . . Paul wrote to Titus that overseers must hold firmly to the trustworthy word as taught, give instruction in sound teaching, and be able to refute those who contradict it (Titus 1:7, 9). Beale’s scholarly work is important and courageous because he is doing precisely these things. Beale is holding firmly to the trustworthy word as he takes pains to understand the Bible. . . . I am so grateful for the stimulating work of G. K. Beale. . . . Anyone interested in biblical theology should read his work.

—Midwestern Journal of Theology

Talk to any New Testament professor in any evangelical seminary and they’ll all say the same thing: PhD programs are packed with students who want to explore the New Testament’s use of the Old Testament. But beyond PhD programs we find this interest elsewhere. Pastors everywhere are motivated today to preach through Old Testament books in order to point to Christ. Not long ago many would have felt uneasy or ill-equipped to do so. Part of this growing interest can be credited to scholars like G. K. Beale. . . . Beale’s new book, A New Testament Biblical Theology, might be the most celebrated of his distinguished career.

—The Gospel Coalition

Product Details

• Title: A New Testament Biblical Theology: The Unfolding of the Old Testament in the New
• Author: G. K. Beale
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2011
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subjects: Bible. N.T. › Relation to the Old Testament; Bible. N.T. › Theology
• ISBNs: 9781441252500, 9780801026973, 1441252509, 0801026970
• Resource ID: LLS:NTBBCLTHEOUNFOLD
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-01-16T20:09:14Z

About G. K. Beale

G. K. Beale (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is Kenneth T. Wessner Professor of New Testament at Wheaton College Graduate School, Wheaton, Illinois, and coordinator of Wheaton's M.A. in Biblical Exegesis program. His books include The Book of Revelation (New International Greek Testament Commentary), 1-2 Thessalonians (The IVP New Testament Commentary Series), The Right Doctrine from the Wrong Texts? Essays on the Use of the Old Testament in the New, and The Temple and the Church's Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God.