Table of Contents
Preface
Abbreviations
INTRODUCTION TO OLD TESTAMENT THEOLOGY
The present task
A survey of the history of the discipline
Continuing problems
A canonical approach to Old Testament theology
Canonical approach and the modern debate
The importance of Old Testament theology
THE OLD TESTAMENT AS REVELATION
The criticism of analytical philosophy
The criticism of sociological analysis
HOW GOD IS KNOWN
Introduction
God is known through creation
Revelation through wisdom
Revelation through history
Revelation through the name
Is the God of the Old Testament a male deity?
Characteristic features of God's self-disclosure
GOD'S PURPOSE IN REVELATION
The goal of self-disclosure
The obscuring of God's will
The eschatological restoration of his purpose
THE LAW OF GOD
The knowledge and will of God
The divine imperative
God's will and its realization
The canonical shape of the Sinai witness
Theological implications of the Law
KNOWING AND DOING THE WILL OF GOD
The dialectical poles
Contextual illustrations
THE THEOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE DECALOGUE
The prologue
'You shall have no other gods before me'
'You shall not make yourself an image'
'You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain'
'Remember the sabbath to keep it holy'
'Honour your father and mother that your days may be long in the land'
'You shall not kill'
'You shall not commit adultery'
'You shall not steal'/(x) 'You shall not covet...'
'You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor'
THE ROLE OF THE RITUAL AND PURITY LAWS
The scope of the subject
Problems of method
Towards a canonical interpretation
THE RECIPIENTS OF GOD'S REVELATION
Israel as God's chosen people
The individual as recipient
The individual as representative of humanity
The individual as representative of Israel
The nations as recipients of God's revelation
AGENTS OF GOD'S RULE: MOSES, JUDGES, KINGS
The role of Moses
Judges
Kings
THE OFFICE AND FUNCTION OF THE PROPHET
Methodological issues
The theological role of the prophets
The prophetic promise
TRUE AND FALSE PROPHETS
The search for biblical criteria
The case of Jeremiah and Hananiah
The effect of the canonical shaping
I Kings 13
THE THEOLOGICAL ROLE OF PRIESTHOOD
The nature of the critical problem
Towards a canonical construal of the priesthood
Smmary of the theology of priesthood
BENEFITS OF THE COVENANT: THE CULTUS
Methodologcal issues
The canonical shape of Leviticus
The sacred dimension of reality
The cult as blessing
Sacrifice and atonement
The psalms and the cult
The prophets and the cult
STRUCTURES OF THE COMMON LIFE
The modern debate
A theological interpretation of Israel's institutions
MALE AND FEMALE AS A THEOLOGICAL PROBLEM
Male and female in Genesis 1-3
Male and female in the Song of Songs
THE THEOLOGICAL DIMENSIONS OF BEING HUMAN
Introduction
Canonical indices within the tradition
Theological reflections on Old Testament anthropology
THE SHAPE OF THE OBEDIENT LIFE
A review of some theological approaches
Canonical guidelines to Israel's response
Theological reflections in a canonical context
Summary
LIFE UNDER THREAT
The primaeval threat, Genesis 1-11
Covenant and curse
Prophets
Daniel and apocalyptic
The Psalms, de profundis
Wisdom
The limits of the threat
Summary
LIFE UNDER PROMISE
The scope of the material
Methodological issues
Patterns of canonical shaping
Forms of the promise
Index of Authors
Index of Biblical References
