Jun 7, 2019

Theological Old Testament Theology?

I am intrigued by Kevin Vanhoozer's recent attempt to define theological Old Testament theology. Parts of the statement below, resonate with me but I have concerns with an over reliance on a redemptive-historical framework and how that fits with the last sentence.
"Theological Old Testament theology, like TIS [theological interpretation of Scripture] in general, emphasizes the theological nature, content, context, and purpose of the biblical text (i.e., what the text is, what it says about something, what it presupposes, and what it is for). As to content, it is important to look both at the text (what it says) and along the text (what it is about). What it is about—the subject matter of the text—is the divine economy: the execution in time of God’s eternal plan of salvation, namely, the project of creating a holy nation. As to context, theological Old Testament theology sets the texts in canonical framework, which is more, not less, than literary, and in a redemptive-historical framework, which is more, not less, than naturalistic history. Ultimately, we could even say that Christ is the ultimate context of history and Scripture alike inasmuch as “in him all things hold together” (Col 1:17). As to purpose, the Old Testament is less a source of information than transformation, a means of cultivating godliness—knowledge of and the communion with God.” 
Kevin J. Vanhoozer, “Toward a Theological Old Testament Theology? A Systematic Theologian’s Take on Reading the Old Testament Theologically,” in Interpreting the Old Testament Theologically: Essays in Honor of Willem A. VanGemeren, ed. Andrew C. Abernethy (Grand Rapids, 2018), 303–304

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