Paul R. Williamson - Sealed with an Oath: Covenant in Gods Unfolding Purpose

New Studies in Biblical Theology is a series of monographs that address key issues in the discipline of biblical theology. Contributions to the series focus on one or more of three areas: 1. the nature and status of biblical theology, including its relations with other disciplines (e.g. historical theology, exegesis, systematic theology, historical criticism, narrative theology); 2. the articulation and exposition of the structure of thought of a particular biblical writer or corpus; and 3. the delineation of a biblical theme across all or part of the biblical corpora.

Above all, these monographs are creative attempts to help thinking Christians understand their Bibles better. The series aims simultaneously to instruct and to edify, to interact with the current literature, and to point the way ahead. In Gods universe, mind and heart should not be divorced: in this series we will try not to separate what God has joined together. While the notes interact with the best of scholarly literature, the text is uncluttered with untransliterated Greek and Hebrew, and tries to avoid too much technical jargon. The volumes are written within the framework of confessional evangelicalism, but there is always an attempt at thoughtful engagement with the sweep of the relevant literature.

One of the major trajectories that ties the Bible together is the theme of covenant. Indeed, only because of the misadventure of doubtful translation do we say that the Bible has two Testaments rather than two Covenants. Many Christian thinkers across the centuries have made covenant the organizing principle by which they understand the Old Testament, or even the entire Bible. Dr Williamson has given us a fresh reading of the many passages that contribute to this theme. The task is enormous, of course, since the material is not only plentiful, but in many passages much disputed. Inevitably, not every reader will be persuaded by every bit of exegesis in this book. But few will be the readers who will not learn a great deal from it, and who will not appreciate the firm but respectful way Dr Williamson disagrees with his dialogue partners. And perhaps some of those who are much too indebted to atomistic exegesis, unable to see how the Bible hangs together, will glimpse something of the comprehensiveness and wholeness of Gods self-disclosure in Scripture, and find their worship of the covenant-making God enhanced.

D. A. Carson
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School

The present study was first conceived as a dictionary article for IVPs New Dictionary of Biblical Theology. Part of the original article was subsequently expanded for a more focused contribution in IVPs Dictionary of the Old Testament: Pentateuch. Over a longer than anticipated gestation period, the material has continued to grow and develop, until it has reached its present shape. In many respects, however, it remains a work in progress, and is certainly not presented as a comprehensive analysis of the subject. For the latter a much larger volume and (for this author, at least) a much longer gestation period would be necessary. It is hoped, nevertheless, that this study will provide a stimulating overview of the various divine-human covenants in Scripture, as well as offering some insights into the role that covenant has in biblical theology. The most radical departure from the traditional covenantal schema is my dual-covenant approach to Gods dealings with Abraham. This approach builds on the insights of my doctoral supervisor, Dr T. D. Alexander, and is defended in much greater detail in my earlier monograph,