The Story of Israel: A Biblical Theology
Pages
320
Publisher
IVP Academic
Published
2004
ISBN-13
9780830827480
Among the several prominent themes in the Bible, the story of Israel is one that has attracted recent attention and study. The biblical story of Israel--in its election, sin, exile and restoration--is a finely articulated drama of the glory and the plight of the universal story of humanity and creation. And the story of Jesus, born from the womb of Israel as its Messiah and true seed of Abraham, provides the redemptive solution to Israel’s and the world's plight. This book by C. Marvin Pate, J. Scott Duvall, J. Daniel Hays, E. Randolph Richards, W. Dennis Tucker Jr. and Preben Vang explores the unitive theme of the story of Israel from Genesis to Revelation. Probing each section of Scripture--from Pentateuch, Psalms and Prophets to Gospels, Epistles and Apocalypse--the authors bring the contours of this story to light. From close-up examinations of key texts to panoramic shots of the biblical terrain, The Story of Israel unfolds an intriguing and compelling perspective on biblical theology. And with its features of recommended readings and study questions, it is a textbook suitable for classroom and individual study.
Reviews
Review of Biblical Literature (RBL) (Brian Jones)
June 1, 2005
June 1, 2005
Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity Press, 2004. Pp. 304. Paper. $24.00. ISBN 083082748X. Brian C. Jones Wartburg College Waverly, IA 50677 This 2004 title from Intervarsity Press proposes to unify the Bible (for the authors, this designates the Protestant canon of scripture) under one grand theme, the story of Israel. This story is marked by the central and repeated pattern of sin-exile-restoration, the Deuteronomistic understanding of Israel s history. The author s conceive this theme as overarching rather than as cen tral, that is, as unifying the Bible primarily at the level of plot rather than at the level of theme or idea: the story of Israel, conceived in a particular way, is a prevailing pattern in Scripture (12) . Sin, exile, and restoration are not so much themes as they are thematic moments related to one another by a repetitive narrative structure that flows through the whole Bible and unifies it. Leaving aside the introduction and conclusion, the book consists of eleven chapters, each demonstrating how the story of Israel informs a particular part of scripture. All but one of the authors teach at Ouachita (Wash’-uh-taw) Baptist University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas; the odd man out, W. Dennis Tucker Jr., teaches at Truett Theological Seminary of Baylor University. The perspective is clearly and self-consciously evangelical, as is most of the scholarship it draws upon. The first thing one notes upon opening the volume is that two-thirds of the book is devoted to the New Testament.
[Full Review]