Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period

Everyone interested in biblical studies should have a copy of this book. By the time of Second Temple Judaism, scriptures, whether written or oral, were regarded as having been divinely inspired. "Jewish exegesis of the first century can generally be clasified under four headings: literalist, midrashic, pesher, and allegorical" (p 28), with midrashic exegesis more usual than literalist. Also worth noting about Judaism around the time of Christ is the fact that the Jews were likely "bi and probably tri-lingual" (p 64) in Palestine. Although there were various kinds of Judaism, all Jews were expected to recite the Shema, which declared the monotheism of Judaism, every day. Early Christianity sought out correspondences in history. Pesher interpretation is also common. The "'Servant Song' while never accepted by Judaism to be applicable to the Messiah, could very well have been fixed quite early in Christian thought, stemming from Jesus' own reinterpretation of the passage" (p 102). Paul mentions some one hundred Old Testament passages. Although Paul usually follows the original meaning of the texts, in some instances he find new historical or eschatological fulfilments. Of course, all the gospels are drenched in Old Testament references. Notable especially is the new use of typology. A classic reference book.

If you've had enough of critics shoving the ignorant rantings of Thomas Paine, Robert Ingersoll, Jim Lippard, Dennis McKinsey, and so on in your face on the topic of the New Testament's use of the Old, then you can scramble their brains once and for all with this detailed thunderclap provided by Richard Longenecker. The aforementioned skeptics complain violently about how the NT authors supposedly misused and twisted the OT for their own purposes. Longenecker shows that such complaining is simply anachronistic -- the NT writers were interpreting and explicating within an established paradigm and methodology consistent with Jewish hermeneutics of the period, as evidenced in the works of the rabbis, Philo, and the Qumranites. This hermenuetic did not sit simply with the literal reading of the text, but assumed a fuller sense that could be unlocked by events of the day. The twin principles of corporate solidarity and typological correspondence are a key here, and while Western, wooden minds will scoff nevertheless, the charge that the NT writers manipulated the texts for their own purposes is thereby destroyed. The simple-minded literalism of the Paines will take a beating from the details provided in Biblical Exegesis in the Apostolic Period.

The use of OT in the NT is of major importance in studying the hermeneutical practice of the biblical authors. Longenecker systematically presents the foundational and relevant information necessary for all the NT students.It covers the Jewish background like Midrash, Pesher, and allegory etc. It also includes how Jesus, Paul, and the early Christians preachings uses the OT. Particluarly helpful to me is the session on Paul in which Longenecker listed Paul's quotation of the OT and then traces his exegetical techniques back to the Hebrew roots. I consider these basics for any work on NT exegesis which takes seriously the continutiy between the NT and the OT.