Old Testament Use of Old Testament: A Book-by-Book Guide
Overview
Old Testament Use of Old Testament, by Gary Schnittjer, surveys the thousands of Old Testament allusions within the Old Testament and provides hermeneutical guidance for interpreting these interrelated scriptures.
The handbook takes an easy to navigate book-by-book approach. Schnittjer provides a list of Scripture allusions for each book and follows with an interpretive profile of how that book uses passages from elsewhere in the Old Testament. Specific criteria are applied to each allusion, providing readers with a categorical “label” that sorts each allusion into a general type. Minor allusions caused by style, figures of speech, and other minor elements are not included.
Responsible exegesis requires careful attention to interrelated scriptures, yet there is a host of interpretive difficulties related to Scripture’s use of Scripture. Designed for ease-of-use for any serious student of the Bible, Old Testament Use of Old Testament offers a thorough, systematic tool to aid in intertextual interpretation.
This dynamic tool equips students of the Bible to:
- Understand how the Old Testament uses the Old Testament
- Easily find the most important Old Testament allusions
- Grasp the complexity of Scripture’s use of Scripture
- Categorize specific allusions into categories
- Gain exegetical insight into the study of interrelated Scriptures
- Offers a thorough, systematic tool to aid in intertextual interpretation
- Identifies the most important Old Testament allusions
- Provides exegetical insight into the study of interrelated Scriptures
Top Highlights
“Level B parallels must share at least one Hebrew root as well as syntactical and contextual indicators—though they almost always have more than one parallel term.” (Page xxiii)
“Quotation, paraphrase, and allusion are intentional. This study does not need to say ‘intentional allusion’ because if it is not author intended, it is not considered an allusion. Echoes may be accidental or, if purposeful, so subtle as to eliminate readerly certainty. The focus for the moment will remain on allusions inclusive of quotation and paraphrase.” (Page xx)
“Scriptural exegesis of Scripture is an engine of progressive revelation” (Page xvii)
“Kugel uses ‘reverse engineering’ to trace back from biblical and Second Temple interpretations to Torah contexts.” (Page xxxviii)
“This study presumes no direction of dependence unless stated otherwise.” (Page xxix)
Professor Gary Schnittjer’s Old Testament Use of Old Testament is an outstanding tool. Those who have worked with inner-biblical exegesis and intertextuality have dreamed of a work such as this. It is thorough, insightful, and beautifully arranged. This book is important not only for exegesis but for an appreciation of the development of biblical theology. Highly recommended.
—Craig A. Evans, John Bisagno Distinguished Professor of Christian Origins, Houston Baptist University
One of the most fascinating features of the Old Testament is how the various books of the Old Testament allude to and interpret other books. In Old Testament Use of Old Testament Gary Schnittjer provides an insightful and detailed guide to how this phenomenon furthers progressive revelation and the coherence of Scripture. From now on Schnittjer’s book will be the starting point for all future study on this important topic. I enthusiastically recommend that all serious students of Scripture have this significant reference book in their library
—Tremper Longman III, Distinguished Scholar and Professor Emeritus of Biblical Studies, Westmont College
In Old Testament Use of Old Testament Gary Schnittjer has made a major contribution to the study of how the Bible uses the Bible, and this massive tome will, no doubt, quickly become one of the most important works in this field. Everyone writing or teaching in this area of biblical studies will need to consult with and interact with this book. Kudos to Schnittjer for giving us such a helpful tool and for significantly advancing the scholarship in this field of study.”
—J. Daniel Hays, Professor of Biblical Studies, Ouachita Baptist University
Gary Edward Schnittjer (PhD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is professor of Old Testament at the School of Divinity, Cairn University in Langhorne, Pennsylvania.
Reviews
3 ratings
Diana Gleaton
6/7/2022
Phil Theis
9/30/2021
This is a gem-packed reference work that breaks down every OT book with charts and references to where the passages are used elsewhere in the OT as well as forward to the NT. I find the work incredibly helpful in gaining an understanding of the context of all the OT books. I highly recommend the book, it will be a solid reference to anyone for the foreseeable future.
