Biblical Theology

A Proposal

Brevard S. Childs

Fortress Press

Minneapolis

BIBLICAL THEOLOGY

A PROPOSAL

Facets edition 2002

Adapted from Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments: Theological Reflections on the Christian Bible, copyright © Brevard S. Childs, 1992; Fortress Press edition 1993.

All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Augsburg Fortress, Box 1209, Minneapolis, MN 55440.

Cover and book design: Joseph Bonyata

Cover graphic: copyright © nonstøck inc. Used by permission.

0-8006-3481-0

Contents

1. The History of Biblical Theology as a Discipline

2. The Problem of the Christian Bible

3. A Canonical Approach to Biblical Theology

4. From Witness to Subject Matter

5. Canonical Categories for Structuring a Biblical Theology

Abbreviations

Bibliography

1

The History of Biblical Theology as a Discipline

The Development of the Discipline

It has long been recognized that the term “Biblical Theology” is ambiguous. It can either denote a theology contained within the Bible or a theology that accords with the Bible (Ebeling 1963:79). The first definition understands the task of Biblical Theology to be a descriptive, historical one that seeks to determine what was the theology of the biblical authors themselves. The second understands the task of Biblical Theology to be a constructive, theological one that attempts to formulate a modern theology compatible in some sense with the Bible. From one perspective, the entire modern history of the discipline of Biblical Theology can be interpreted as the effort to distinguish between these two definitions and to explore the important implications of the distinction.

The history of the discipline began to be first outlined in the nineteenth century in monographs and in essays (Diestel 1869; Kähler 1896; Holtzmann 1911). Within the last few decades, however, several detailed and highly informative studies have broken fresh ground in tracing the rise of this modern biblical discipline (see Kraus 1970; Merk 1972; Zimmerli 1980; Frei 1973; Stuhlmacher 1979; Gunneweg 1978). In addition, important books and articles have pursued the individual contributions of key figures (for example, Hornig on Semler; Smend on de Wette and Gabler; Morgan on Wrede and Schlatter). Finally, several comprehensive bibliographies of the modern debate over Biblical Theology have recently appeared which serve as valuable guides into the present status of the discussion (for example, Reventlow 1986; Janowski 1986). For these reasons it does not seem necessary once again to review in detail this history of scholarship, but rather to summarize the consensus and to focus on the hermeneutical and theological implications which derive from the history.

There is general agreement that Biblical Theology as a discrete discipline within the field of biblical studies is a post-Reformation ...