Book Review: Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament

G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, Eds. Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2007.

I have long been interested in the New Testament’s use of Old Testament texts and prophecies. I believe that each use is both legitimate and instructive, even if it is not always clear how or why a NT author alludes to or quotes the OT text. I enjoy studying Messianic references in the OT and seeing how the NT authors treat those prophecies and their related texts. This present volume, edited by Drs Beale and Carson is a virtual goldmine for those of us interested in studying this subject and especially individual passages.

This work actually claims to be exhaustive in that it goes from Matthew through Revelation and provides comments on every quotation and allusion to the Old Testament. Obviously, there is some subjectivity involved because not every allusion is universally recognized as such but the intent is to cover everything. You can think of this book as a one-volume commentary on the New Testament with the unique feature that it only comments on verses or passages that are based on OT Scripture. It turns out that there are a very large number of OT allusions in the NT and it really goes to show how critical it is to understand the OT if we are to properly understand the New.

The actual commentary for each NT book is supplied by one of seventeen or so authors, most of whom have written whole commentaries on their particular book. We have, for example, Craig Bloomberg on Matthew, Andreas Kostenberger on John, Moises Silva on Galatians and Philippians, Philip Towner on the Pastoral Epistles, George Guthrie on Hebrews, D. A. Carson on the General Epistles, and G.K. Beale on Revelation. These guys are generally conservative but not always as conservative as I would like. Bloomberg, for example, does not take Isaiah 7:14 as referring exclusively to a virgin birth (although he does note that some “very conservative” scholars do). I have not had the time to do anything but briefly skim through their comments but my familiarity with many of the individual contributors leads me to expect much helpful content.

Indexes do not normally get me very excited but in this case the index for this volume is of immense value. The index of OT verses provides a near exhaustive list of which OT passages show up in NT Scripture. You can even see at a glance which OT passages get the most “play” over in the NT. These passages would seem to be very important for understanding NT doctrine and the passage at hand. Conversely, when you get to the index of NT verses, you can tell immediately which passages depend most heavily on OT authority. I found it fascinating just browsing through the index and looking up the occasional, oft-used verse.

I look forward to using this reference book as I study and prepare lessons in the future.