Abstract
A Theological Introduction to the Pentateuch is a book compiled by five former students and/or colleagues of Walter Moberly in honor of and in appreciation for his contributions to Pentateuchal scholarship. The focus, of course, is the five books of the Pentateuch, with a chapter devoted to each book. The book is not a general introduction to the Pentateuch, as one might assume from the title, but is more of an introduction to an approach for interpretation. Their approach is theological engagement from a Christian perspective, based upon Moberly's scholarship and influence (p. 2).
Briggs and Lohr include an introductory chapter at the beginning of the book that provides details concerning the approach of the book. They discuss the nature and methodology of their approach followed by a discussion of the complexities of interpretation. These sections are quite helpful in frankness of their discussion of the difficulties of interpretation. They take into consideration various approaches to interpretation, consider the historical context and discuss the problems associated with knowing exactly what that is (pp. 9–12), and also consider “literary readings” (as they call it), namely, what the reader brings to the interpretative process (pp. 13–15). However, they point out that the interpreter does well not to overemphasize historical and literary approaches at the expense of a theological approach. Briggs and Lohr define their theological approach as follows:
With regard to theological interpretation, what matters is that the interpreter engages with the issues of theological substance, drawing both from a broad range of theological concerns that the reader might bring to the text, as well as paying careful attention to the theological subject matter of the text itself (p. 15).
Unlike many books that are a collection of works by different authors, this book has a consistent theme and methodology in each chapter. This gives the book continuity. Each chapter begins with an introduction to one of the books of the Pentateuch. This section includes a brief outline, the book as canon, and major themes and issues in the book. About half of each chapter is devoted to the study of a particular passage or two. The authors do this by design. The book, as has been said, is not meant to be a general introduction to the Pentateuch. Instead, it is meant to be a model of how one would conduct a theological study of passages within a particular book (pp. 6–7, 15).
The approach and content of each chapter is similar. Therefore, for the short space of this review, I will address only one of them. Jo Bailey Wells wrote the chapter on Exodus (chapter 2). The first half of the chapter focuses on the entire book of Exodus. She points out that the theme of the book is “God” (p. 51). The central theme, she says, is God's invitation to covenant and the election of Israel (p. 52). From here, Wells discusses Exodus in the Canon, showing how its themes resonate throughout the Hebrew Bible. She follows with a brief discussion of the outline of the book, opting for the commonly held perspective that the book contains four sections. Following that is a significant section on key theological themes of the book of Exodus. She chooses four themes: “God: the Central Character,” “Liberation,” “Holiness,” and “Priesthood.” In discussing the theme of God, Wells says God is a character of action in the book (p. 55). She points out key theological passages that support and exemplify this theme, e.g. chapters 3 and 33–34 (p. 57).
Wells follows the section on themes with a short but pertinent discussion of the book of Exodus as history. She briefly discusses the issues of historicity of the stories without getting bogged down in details. Her discussion is informative and balanced.
In the second part of the chapter, Wells does a case study, a theological interpretation, of Exodus 19:1–8. She begins by discussing the complexities of the structure of text. She proposes a poetic reading based upon the literary structure of the text. She follows with a discussion of key terms, terms that are significant for understanding the passage. She ends her discussion by additional comments on the term “holiness” (pp. 78–79) and the use of “holy nation” in New Testament Thought (pp. 79–81).
Overall, the book is scholarly; yet it is quite readable for the non-scholar. Appropriately written for the student in biblical studies, it does get a bit technical in the interpretation sections. A diligent student should be able to handle them, however, without much trouble. The only issue I had with the book was the word “introduction” in the title. The book doesn't seem to be so much of a “theological introduction” as it is an introduction to theological interpretation. With that said, the book would be a great resource for a professor to use as a companion textbook for a course on the Pentateuch.