Awards

• Commended for Christianity Today Book Awards - Biblical Studies Category 2016 (United States)

Overview

"The claim that the events of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection took place """"according to the Scriptures"""" stands at the heart of the New Testament's message. All four canonical Gospels declare that the Torah and the Prophets and the Psalms mysteriously prefigure Jesus. The author of the Fourth Gospel states this claim succinctly: in his narrative, Jesus declares, """"If you believed Moses, you would believe me, for he wrote about me"""" (John 5:46). Yet modern historical criticism characteristically judges that the New Testament's christological readings of Israel's Scripture misrepresent the original sense of the texts; this judgment forces fundamental questions to be asked: Why do the Gospel writers read the Scriptures in such surprising ways? Are their readings intelligible as coherent or persuasive interpretations of the Scriptures? Does Christian faith require the illegitimate theft of someone else's sacred texts? Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels answers these questions. Richard B. Hays chronicles the dramatically different ways the four Gospel writers interpreted Israel's Scripture and reveals that their readings were as complementary as they were faithful. In this long-awaited sequel to his Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul, Hays highlights the theological consequences of the Gospel writers' distinctive hermeneutical approaches and asks what it might mean for contemporary readers to attempt to read Scripture through the eyes of the Evangelists. In particular, Hays carefully describes the Evangelists' practice of figural reading - an imaginative and retrospective move that creates narrative continuity and wholeness. He shows how each Gospel artfully uses scriptural echoes to re-narrate Israel's story, to assert that Jesus is the embodiment of Israel's God, and to prod the church in its vocation to engage the pagan world. Hays shows how the Evangelists summon readers to a conversion of their imagination. The Evangelists' use of scriptural echo beckons readers to believe the extraordinary: that Jesus was Israel's Messiah, that Jesus is Israel's God, and that contemporary believers are still on mission. The Evangelists, according to Hays, are training our scriptural senses, calling readers to be better scriptural people by being better scriptural poets."

Full Product Details

Author:   Richard B. Hays
Publisher:   Baylor University Press
Imprint:   Baylor University Press
Dimensions:   Width: 15.20cm , Height: 3.30cm , Length: 22.90cm
Weight:   0.826kg
ISBN:  

9781481309479

ISBN 10:   1481309471
Pages:   524
Publication Date:   14 February 2018
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
We will order this item for you from a manufactured on demand supplier.

Table of Contents

"Preface Introduction: Figural Interpretation of Israel's Scripture The Evangelists as Readers of Israel's Scripture Part 1. The Gospel of Mark: Herald of Mystery 1. """"Take heed what you hear"""": Mark as Interpreter of Scripture 2. Apocalyptic Judgment and Expectancy: Israel's Story in Mark's Narrative 3. Jesus as the Crucified Messiah 4. Watchful Endurance: The Church's Suffering in Mark's Narrative 5. """"Hidden in order to be revealed"""": Mark's Scriptural Hermeneutics Part 2. The Gospel of Matthew: Torah Transfigured 6. The Law and the Prophets Fulfilled: Matthew as Interpreter of Scripture 7. The End of Exile: Israel's Story in Matthew's Narrative 8. Jesus as Emmanuel 9. Making Disciples of All Nations: The Church's Mission in Matthew's Narrative 10. The Transfiguration of Torah: Matthew's Scriptural Hermeneutics Part 3. The Gospel of Luke: The Liberation of Israel 11. Continuing the Scriptural Story: Luke as Interpreter of Scripture 12. The Promise of Israel's Liberation: Israel's Story in Luke's Narrative 13. Jesus as the Redeemer of Israel 14. Light to the Nations: The Church's Witness in Luke's Narrative 15. Opened Eyes and Minds: Luke's Scriptural Hermeneutics Part 4. The Gospel of John: The Temple of His Body 16. """"Come and see"""": John as Interpreter of Scripture 17. """"Salvation is from the Jews"""": Israel's Story in John's Narrative 18. Jesus as the Temple 19. The Vine and the Branches: The Church's Oneness in John's Narrative 20. The Figural Web: John's Scriptural Hermeneutics Conclusion: Did Not Our Hearts Burn within Us? Notes Bibliography Index of Scripture and Ancient Sources Index of Names"

Reviews

"A precious book that presents a learned proposal for the figural interpretation of the Synoptics and John. -- Boris Paschke -- Evangelical Review of Theology This is a book to be savored, not rushed through like fast food. At one point, Hays describes the benefit of reading John's narrative ""attentively."" This book demonstrates Hays's attentive reading of the evangelists interpreting and using Scripture... Hays's work will be useful for those studying one or more of the Gospels and for those researching the use of the Scriptures of Israel in the NT. Failure to engage with Hays would be a mistake. -- Kenneth D. Litwak -- Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society What cannot be overstated about Hays' book is the fresh way in which his methodology elucidates nuanced meaning in the Gospels as echoes of the larger story of Israel while also offering plain interpretation of standard passages. Hays' work in figural echoing is innovative, whisking a Gospel reader into other parts of scripture against standard hermeneutical practice such as grammatical-historic approaches. -- Thomas J. Savage -- European Journal of Theology Everyone should read Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels; it is a masterpiece in figural interpretation. -- Dean Deppe -- Calvin Theological Journal"

The conclusions [Hays] draws will empower contemporary believers to see the messianic threads of the Bible as an ongoing mission. This is a fine, convincing work of scholarship on a delicate theological topic.A lucid, perceptive, well-researched, and accessible book.This is a superb and important book for a truly Christian way of understanding the Scriptures.In this much anticipated project, Hays does for the Gospels what he previously and famously did for Paul. He investigates how the four evangelists, each in a distinctive way, operated as biblical interpreters, bearing witness to Jesus and his gospel in light of the Old Testament's witness.This is a book to be savored, not rushed through like fast food. At one point, Hays describes the benefit of reading John's narrative 'attentively.' This book demonstrates Hays's attentive reading of the evangelists interpreting and using Scripture... Hays's work will be useful for those studying one or more of the Gospels and for those researching the use of the Scriptures of Israel in the NT. Failure to engage with Hays would be a mistake.A precious book that presents a learned proposal for the figural interpretation of the Synoptics and John.

Combined with the detailed analysis of possible verbal correspondences in various texts, Hays offers a richly theological reading of the Gospels that will be of great benefit to preachers. --Alistair I. Wilson Scottish Bulletin of Evangelical Theology Hays promises the reader an examination of the Evangelists' hermeneutics and delivers so much more--the veritable foundation, outline and central details for a biblical theology of the Gospels. --Craig L. Blomberg Journal of Biblical and Theological Studies This is a book to be savored, not rushed through like fast food. At one point, Hays describes the benefit of reading John's narrative 'attentively.' This book demonstrates Hays's attentive reading of the evangelists interpreting and using Scripture... Hays's work will be useful for those studying one or more of the Gospels and for those researching the use of the Scriptures of Israel in the NT. Failure to engage with Hays would be a mistake. --Kenneth D. Litwak Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society A lucid, perceptive, well-researched, and accessible book --Alan Jacobs, Distinguished Professor of Humanities in the Honors Program, Baylor University Choice There is subtlety and depth here, achieved only through extensive awareness of Israel's Scriptures and the ways they can be reconfigured in the Gospels. --Micah D. Kiel Catholic Biblical Quarterly This is a remarkable book for the many fresh lines of interpretative possibilities that Hays presents. --Peter R. Rodgers Novum Testamentum What cannot be overstated about Hays' book is the fresh way in which his methodology elucidates nuanced meaning in the Gospels as echoes of the larger story of Israel while also offering plain interpretation of standard passages. Hays' work in figural echoing is innovative, whisking a Gospel reader into other parts of scripture against standard hermeneutical practice such as grammatical-historic approaches. --Thomas J. Savage European Journal of Theology Everyone should read Echoes of Scripture in the Gospels; it is a masterpiece in figural interpretation. --Dean Deppe Calvin Theological Journal A precious book that presents a learned proposal for the figural interpretation of the Synoptics and John. --Boris Paschke Evangelical Review of Theology In this much anticipated project, Hays does for the Gospels what he previously and famously did for Paul. He investigates how the four evangelists, each in a distinctive way, operated as biblical interpreters, bearing witness to Jesus and his gospel in light of the Old Testament's witness. --Alan Jacobs, Distinguished Professor of Humanities in the Honors Program, Baylor University The Christian Century This is a superb and important book for a truly Christian way of understanding the Scriptures. --Alan Jacobs, Distinguished Professor of Humanities in the Honors Program, Baylor University The Bible Today The conclusions [Hays] draws will empower contemporary believers to see the messianic threads of the Bible as an ongoing mission. This is a fine, convincing work of scholarship on a delicate theological topic. --Alan Jacobs, Distinguished Professor of Humanities in the Honors Program, Baylor University Publishers Weekly

The conclusions [Hays] draws will empower contemporary believers to see the messianic threads of the Bible as an ongoing mission. This is a fine, convincing work of scholarship on a delicate theological topic. A lucid, perceptive, well-researched, and accessible book. This is a superb and important book for a truly Christian way of understanding the Scriptures. In this much anticipated project, Hays does for the Gospels what he previously and famously did for Paul. He investigates how the four evangelists, each in a distinctive way, operated as biblical interpreters, bearing witness to Jesus and his gospel in light of the Old Testament's witness. This is a book to be savored, not rushed through like fast food. At one point, Hays describes the benefit of reading John's narrative 'attentively.' This book demonstrates Hays's attentive reading of the evangelists interpreting and using Scripture... Hays's work will be useful for those studying one or more of the Gospels and for those researching the use of the Scriptures of Israel in the NT. Failure to engage with Hays would be a mistake. A precious book that presents a learned proposal for the figural interpretation of the Synoptics and John.

Author Information

Richard B. Hays, George Washington Ivey Professor of New Testament at Duke Divinity School, is internationally recognized for his work on the letters of Paul and on New Testament ethics. His scholarship has bridged the disciplines of biblical criticism and literary studies, exploring the innovative ways in which early Christian writers interpreted Israel's Scripture. His works include Echoes of Scripture in the Letters of Paul (Yale University Press, 1989), The Conversion of the Imagination: Paul as Interpreter of Israel's Scripture (Eerdmans, 2005), and Reading Backwards: Figural Christology and the Fourfold Gospel Witness (Baylor University Press, 2014).

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