"Inspiration and Incarnation" by Peter Enns, part 3

Topic #3: "The OT and Its Interpretation in the NT"

In this chapter, Enns discusses the way that NT authors handled the OT, and the way that can sometimes seem strange to us as modern readers.  He comes to three conclusions throughout the chapter:

1. NT authors weren't concerned with original context or intention
2. NT authors were commenting on the text's meaning.
3. Their hermeneutical attitude should be embraced today.

These conclusions are accompanied by the overarching conviction that:

"The Old Testament as a whole is about him...Christ - who he is and what he did - is where the Old Testament has been leading all along." (120)

In other words, Paul began with the conviction that Christ is the OT's focus and then read the OT in light of this.  This isn't the only thing that Enns argues we need to keep in mind when studying the way that the NT talks about the OT.  In this chapter, Enns introduces us to "the Second Temple world," which is the time when the Second Temple was in existence (516 BC - 70 AD)  He goes into some detail about the way that apocryphal authors wrote about the OT.  In essence, the above listed conclusions summarize the way that Second Temple hermeneutics (interpretive method) worked.  Second Temple interpreters weren't concerned with the historical context in which the OT was written.  Rather, they were concerned with its meaning for them at the time.  Enns argues that the NT authors did the same thing, reading Christ back into the theology of the OT.

Of course, this raises some issues for modern readers.  Modernity is concerned with objectivity and historical certitude.  When we read the Bible (at least for scholarly reasons), we are concerned with historical context, i.e., What did the author mean when he wrote this?  The NT authors had few such concerns.  How then should we handle the OT?  Enns argues that:

"I suggest that we distinguish between hermeneutical goal and exegetical method.  The apostles' hermeneutical goal, the centrality of the death and resurrection of Christ, must also be ours..." (158)

In other words, we need to move away from strict adherence to a method, toward "Spirit-led engagement of Scripture." (160)  Enns argues that Biblical interpretation is a work of art (162) and is a community activity that stretches back through the years.  And perhaps most significantly, biblical interpretation is a path, not a fortress.  We have never arrived; our methods are always open to debate and correction.