Why is New Testament scholar Ben Witherington III writing about Old Testament books?
A while back Witherington noticed that Isaiah and Psalms were quoted more in the New Testament than any other Old Testament writings—by a wide margin. There’s much to be said about his titles (and by the way, he wrote them in this order, and there’s a third volume on the Torah for later this year; so, I recommend reading the Isaiah volume first):
Isaiah Old and New: Exegesis, Intertextuality, and Hermeneutics
Psalms Old and New: Exegesis, Intertextuality, and Hermeneutics
In these volumes, Witherington explores how Isaiah and Psalms were understood both in their original contexts, as well as in the time of the New Testament and by the Early Church. Many will especially appreciate Witherington’s treatment of both the Hebrew Bible and the Septuagint (LXX) as a basis for understanding these texts. He not only goes to significant effort to demonstrate when a NT author is quoting one source vs. the other (though most are from the LXX, it is not the exclusive source), he also includes both the New International Version (representing the Hebrew Bible) and the New English Translation of the Septuagint side by side in his commentary sections.
Described as “reading forward and backward,” Witherington takes the issues relating to intertextuality seriously enough that these volumes can be considered neither New Testament nor Old Testament studies exclusively. Rather, they are both, with the respective Old Testament books as the central focus.
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Isaiah Old & New List Price $34.00 |
Psalms Old & New List Price $34.00 |
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