Biblical Theology
The Convergence of the Canon

Provides a detailed exegetically based study of Biblical theology, showing the canonical basis for later historical, systematic, and dogmatic theologies.

Ben Witherington, III (Author)

9781108712682, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 4 July 2019

504 pages, 1 b/w illus.
25.3 x 17.7 x 2.7 cm, 0.94 kg

'In Biblical Theology, Ben Witherington, III shares with us the fruits of his many decades of deep reflection on the Bible's 'symbolic universe, its narrative thought world, and its theologizing proper'. Writing a biblical theology is a daunting task to be undertaken only by those who have been engaged in the study of the Bible both on the macro and the micro level, and Witherington fits the bill having writing many important monographs and commentaries that in-form his present work. I found myself challenged, informed and enriched by his thinking and recommend this book to all who want to grow in their knowledge of Scripture.' Tremper Longman, III, Westmont College

In Biblical Theology, Ben Witherington, III, examines the theology of the Old and New Testaments as a totality. Going beyond an account of carefully crafted Old and New Testament theologies, he demonstrates the ideas that make the Bible a sacred book with a unified theology. Witherington brings a distinctive methodology to this study. Taking a constructive approach, he first examines the foundations of the writers' symbolic universe - what they thought and presupposed about God - and how they revealed those thoughts through the narratives of the Old and New Testaments. He also shows how the historical contexts and intellectual worlds of the Old and New Testaments conditioned their narratives, and, in the process, created a large coherent Biblical world view, one that progressively reveals the character and action of God. Thus, the Yahweh of the Old Testament, the Son in the Gospels, and the Father, Son, and Spirit in the New Testament writings are viewed as persons who are part of the singular divine identity. Witherington's progressive revelation approach allows each part of the canon to be read in its original context and with its original meaning.

1. A method to the madness
2. The God of the Burning Bush
3. The God of Golgotha
4. The God of the Burning Heart
5. The stars align in constellations - the storied world of the Bible: Part One
6. The stars align in constellations - the storied world of the Bible: Part Two
7. The passion play and its sequels without equal
8. Covenanting and theologizing after the fall and before the incarnation
9. Covenanting and theologizing after the incarnation and before pentecost
10. New covenanting in the eschatological age of the spirit
11. The election results
12. Where the reformation went wrong
13. Faith in the final future - the New Creation
14. The threefold cord - theology, ethics, and praxis
15. And so? A cautionary conclusion
Appendix A: Biblical theology and New Testament theology - a dialogue with Francis Watson
Appendix B: The death of sin in the death of Jesus: atonement theology.

Subject Areas: Judaism: theology [HRJT], Christian theology [HRCM], New Testaments [HRCF2], Old Testaments [HRCF1]