The Concept of Biblical Theology: An Old Testament Perspective by James Barr

Author:James Barr
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2008-09-14T01:23:00+00:00

Or, stating it on a different level, in spite of his emphasis on divine revelation in history, in practice what emerged as essential was not the narrative material in itself but the idea, the conviction or the principle, that God had revealed himself in history.

As already mentioned, von Rad had also strongly emphasized the narrative form of the Old Testament material, so much so that he insisted that the design of any Old Testament Theology must follow this pattern. Hebrew thought is thinking in historical traditions (t, 117), and we close up our access to its most characteristic core `if we do not take the world of history seriously in the sequence and inner connections which Israel has laid down for itself (1, 121). Therefore, in the key sentence, `the most legitimate form of theological talk about the Old Testament always remains the rehearsal of narrative (die Nacherzdhlung)' (ibid.). Von Rad takes this to justify his procedure of following out the historical traditions in one volume and the prophetic traditions, also in roughly historical order, in a second. But in spite of the emphasis on narrative or story-telling seen at this point, it remains true that the basic theme for von Rad is rather history (Geschichte) or Heilsgeschichte, something that produces problems on which I shall say something later.

And let us agree that the emphasis on history, as a pivotal centre for Old Testament theology, has been salutary and creative. It is, no doubt, the aspect of von Rad's work that made it for many observers the outstanding contribution of the century. It portrayed a world in which things happened, and thus created a dynamic impression contrasting with the more static aspect of the work of Eichrodt work and some others. And it is perfectly true of a large portion of the Old "Testament that it narrates a history and provides historical data, and that this feature is a striking distinguishing mark in comparison with many other cultures and peoples. In this sense `revelation in history' was a central conviction of the older Biblical Theology Movement as portrayed by Childs.

Nevertheless these certainties were severely challenged by various forces, among which we must mention especially B. Albrektson's History and the Gods, which argued that the gods of other nations had also `acted in history'. Thus `The Old Testament idea of historical events as divine revelation must be counted among the similarities, not among the distinctive traits: it is part of the common theology of the ancient Near East'.'

This judgment, along with other challenges, was something of a shock to the older biblical theology, and the consequence has been a sharp withdrawal of support from `revelation in history'. Thus Childs (OTTCC, 36) places revelation through history in third place, after knowledge of God through creation and revelation through wisdom, but before revelation through the name (of God), a marked difference as against von Rad, who would surely have given first and central place to revelation through history. Certainly divine action in history,

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