Review: Heartbeat of Old Testament Theology by Mark Boda

It is in vogue these days to abandon the notion that the Old Testament has a theology. The evidence is pretty clear on that matter, given the diverse library of books found in the OT canon. Nonetheless, this hasn’t stopped the proliferation of books dedicated to the subject of Old Testament theology.

Mark Boda is aware of the tension and recognizes that another book on the topic requires justification. In The Heartbeat of Old Testament Theology: Three Creedal Expressions (Baker, 2017), Boda asks rhetorically, “Can we speak any longer of a theology that lies at the core of the OT? Are our claims of theology merely perspectival projections, or can we identify something in these ancient texts that witness to some form of unity in the biblical corpus?” (p. 6)

Boda does not argue against the reality that the Old Testament portrays a multifaceted theological framework. Rather, Boda follows the lead of Gerhard von Rad who highlighted three creedal recitations (Deut. 6, 26, and Josh. 24) as Israel’s “underlying theological expression”(p. 11). For Boda, the three creedal recitations are not three biblical passages, but three biblical ideas: the narrative rhythm, the character rhythm, and the relational rhythm. These are detailed in chapters 2–4. 

The narrative rhythm represents God’s activity in history. “In this creedal tradition in ancient Israel, theology is expressed as God’s redemptive story described through finite verbs expressing past action” (p. 15). The basic elements of the narrative creed include the following: ancestors, exodus, wilderness, conquest, land, and exile. Exod. 20:2 exemplifies this creed: “I am Yahweh your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.”

The character rhythm emphasizes God’s being versus God’s acting. Boda defines it this way: “Instead of speaking of God as One who did this or that at a particular time (e.g., in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; at the Reed Sea God delivered Israel), this tradition speaks of God as One who does this or that (e.g., participles: God is the one who creates, God is the one who delivers; or nonperfective finite verbs: God will deliver) and by extension as One who possesses these characteristics (e.g., nouns: God is the Creator, God is the Deliverer)” (p. 29). Exod. 34:6–7 typifies this creed: 

The Lord, the Lord,a God merciful and gracious,slow to anger,and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,keeping steadfast love for the thousandth generation,forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,yet by no means clearing the guilty,but visiting the iniquity of the parentsupon the childrenand the children’s children,to the third and the fourth generation.

The relational rhythm refers to how God interacts with humanity relationally, primarily with covenant or familial language, or “by utilizing copular syntactical constructions (היה as copula, verbless clauses, third-person pronoun copula), usually translated into English as ‘I am/you are,’ ‘I will be/you will be’ or ‘He is/they are,’ ‘He will be/they will be’”(p. 55). Lev. 26:12 is a fair representation of this creedal expression: “And I will walk among you, and will be your God, and you shall be my people.”

In chapter 5, Boda looks at Exod. 5:22–6:8 and Neh. 9 as case studies to show how the three rhythms are integrated into the whole of the OT theology. Chapter 6 demonstrates how the three creedal rhythms are expressed in OT creation language. Chapter 7 illustrates how the three rhythms carry over into the NT. In chapter 8, Boda argues why Christians should be concerned with these three rhythms. After a brief postscript, Boda concludes with a thirty-two page appendix, “Biblical Theology and the Old Testament.”

For Christians, especially evangelical Protestants, chapter 8 shines a bright light into some dark corners. I suspect that some will read this chapter with skepticism and some will start to read but be turned off by his sharp criticisms of the church. Hopefully, though, many will read Boda’s commentary on the evangelical church and heed his exhortations.

For example, in response to an individualistic ecclesiology inherent in evangelical Protestant churches, Boda writes:

“The narrative creed in OT theology reminds us that salvation is defined in communal rather than individual terms. God saves and transforms a community in order to bring transformation and salvation to the entire cosmos. This is intimated from the outset in God’s promises to Abraham, promises that spoke of the creation of an entire nation through whom the nations of the earth would be blessed. These same promises are communicated to the church in the NT, and through this new humanity God will transform the cultures of the world” (p. 125).

This is a much different, and more vibrant faith, than one in which salvation is about saving my own hide from the fires of hell. As I understand the gospels, this is what it means to have life and have it abundantly (Jn 10:10).

Review: The City in the Hebrew Bible

Here's a brief excerpt of my forthcoming review in the Bulletin for Biblical Research of James K. Aitken & Hilary F. Marlow (eds), The City in the Hebrew Bible: Critical, Literary and Exegetical Approaches.

Citizens of the West, and virtually all of the world’s population, have some concept of the idea of a city. It is the central hub of commerce, employment and entertainment. It is marked by densely placed housing units in relatively close proximity to said ventures. However, the word “city” carries a wide array of connotations, depending on one’s point of reference. For a rural farmer, “the city” might be the town of 500 where he buys seed and delivers grain. For the obstetrician at the county seat, “the city” might be the municipality where she delivers babies at the regional hospital. For the aspiring actor, “the city” might mean nothing other than New York City’s Broadway. In short, the term “city” is rather subjective even to the modern ear, as one’s definition of “city” is filtered through their personal experiences. 

If you are curious about what the Hebrew Bible/Old Testament has to say about cities, divorced from whatever modern conception of the idea you might have, the eleven essays (plus introduction) will give you plenty to think about. The contributors employ a variety of methodologies in their approach to the topic, providing a rich scope of perspectives.

Unfortunately, as a T&T Clark publication, this 248 page hardcover will set you back over $2.18/page, if you want your own personal copy! Or, you can check it out at your university library, which is what T&T Clark, Brill, de Gruyter, Routledge, and their ilk are counting on. But, that's another topic for another day.

Rowing Coaches and Bible Teachers

In my collegiate days I took up rowing and “walked on” the University of Cincinnati crew team. I had been an avid runner in high school, but got burned out mentally and physically. But, I hadn’t lost the desire to compete, so I took up rowing.

It’s not an easy sport to just “pick up.” Besides the physical demands on the body—virtually every muscle and organ in the body is taxed to the max—it requires precise technique that must be in complete sync with every other oarsman in the boat. There’s not a lot of room for individuality.

My local rec center has a few Concept-II ergometers, or rowing machines, which I will occasionally take for a spin for a full body workout. Not surprising, it’s not one of the more popular pieces of equipment in the gym.

Despite the instruction sheet pinned to the wall next to these machines, I’ve never seen anyone take the kind of stroke that would propel a boat of eight down the course with any measure of efficiency. Most would be fortunate not to capsize.

Yesterday, I observed an instructor teaching a group of novices. Her coaching wasn’t horrible. In fact, most of what she said was solid advice. She rightly told her students to keep their chins up and shoulders square, how to properly use the stirrups, and to avoid bending too far forward or backward. But, there was no instruction regarding leg drive, hand placement, the “catch”, or the “finish,” among many other finer details. Nonetheless, her  students were much better off than those who only read the instruction sheet, and far better off than those who were just winging it.

Watching this instruction got me thinking about teaching the Bible. People have a wide range of access to instruction on how to study the Bible: a graduate degree, a survey course at a university, classes through their local congregation, online, or none at all.

It should go without saying, that the more qualified the teacher the better off the student. A rookie rower who jumps into a boat with no training could hurt themselves or sink the boat (and everyone on board). Only after years of training under expert supervision is the student rower in the position to teach other rowers.

The same is true for teaching the Bible. Sure, anyone can read the Bible—and I suggest everyone should! But, unless you’ve studied under a qualified expert to the point where you have also mastered the material, you might want to think twice about passing on your limited skills to others.  After all, it would be tragic to capsize someone's faith or shipwreck their life due to irresponsible teaching (see James 3:1). It's true that a little knowledge can be dangerous.

* Photos courtesy of Wikipedia