Echoes of scripture in the Gospels

Abstract

The New Testament Gospel writers are steeped in the Jewish Bible and use it in intriguing and perplexing ways.

54-0167 BS2555 2015-41443 CIP Hays, Richard B. Echoes of scripture in the Gospels. Baylor, 2016. 504p bibl indexes afp ISBN 9781481304917 cloth, $49.95; ISBN 9781481305129 ebook, contact publisher for price

The New Testament Gospel writers are steeped in the Jewish Bible and use it in intriguing and perplexing ways. Hays (Duke Divinity School) contends that their use of the Jewish Bible relies on a practice of "figurai reading"-i.e., as he writes in the conclusion, "the discernment of unexpected patterns of correspondence between earlier and later events or persons within a continuous temporal stream." Such figurai reading allows for a Christ-centered reading of the Jewish Bible retrospectively, in the wake of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Hays examines how Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John offer distinctive figurai readings of the Jewish Bible in their messages about Jesus as the unique representative of the God of Israel. Hays proposes that "the four-fold Gospel witness ... protects the [Christian] community against the dangers of rigid monologic discourse and offers a range of theological resources for diverse circumstances." Even so, he finds significant unity in the Gospel portraits, particularly in their understanding of the exalted status of Jesus in relation to the God of Israel and the need of readers to respond to this status. This is a lucid, perceptive, well-researched, and accessible book. Summing Up: *** Highly recommended. All readers.-P K Moser, Loyola University Chicago