Questions concerning biblical theology

The connection between the Testaments is best seen from the point of view of continuity of ideas, especially those we experience daily. What is "life," "salvation," "trust," "hope," "loving kindness," in the life of Israel and her relationship to the Lord? Christians can and should read these ideas on the level of meaning in the Old Testament before entering the world of the New Testament where they can be invested with more particular impact. If some Old Testament ideas were modified, if they were transmitted and enlarged, they remain keys to human experience, they tell us something about the Father of Jesus Christ. The Johannine "eternal life" is anticipated by the psalmist's concern for the gift of life from the Father (Ps 119:37, 40, 50, 77, 88, 107, 116, 149, 154, 156, 159). This kind of continuity binds both Testaments in a meaningful way. Continuity (Murphy 1999) is of prime importance for it holds up the excitement as well as the depth of Israel's ever increasing discovery of God. The Christian belief in itself can be a help, not a hindrance, in appreciating Israel's faith, provided it is not allowed to overwhelm the world of the Old Testament.

However, the discontinuities are equally important, because they tell us things about the Father that are strikingly different from the monochromatic picture that a Christian may derive from doctrinal formulas. In a postmodern mood W. Brueggemann has recently emphasized the Old Testament underscoring of the mystery of God. This is not new to Christian theology, but the disjunctions and tensions in Israel's thought provide vivid testimony to the fundamental mystery: "In its God-speech Israel does not set out everywhere to give us an attractive or appealing God, the stable god of church catechism or the winsome God of therapeutic culture.... Israel's God. speech seeks to give an account of restless holiness that decisively redefines and resituates everything else about life" (Brueggemann: 79).

The question arises: ultimately is biblical theology better attained by straight exegesis of a biblical text? One cannot divorce theology from exegesis. The subject matter can be, in a given instance, relatively remote from theology, but in some measure the thrust of the biblical text need not be detached from Theos or theology. The Old Testament text inspires a current reader just as it gave corresponding inspiration to the first readers. It is open to exegesis and the immediate insights of an interpreter. This is not yet a synthesis of biblical data, much less "systematic" theology, but this exegesis avoids the danger of abstraction or even distortion that systematization may give rise to. Much depends on the nature of the text and the capability of the reader to analyze a text; the results may be immediate or remote. But there is no reason why exegesis in the concrete should be considered apart from a theological reading.

Closely allied to theological exegesis is the "actualization" of a text. This is a highpoint in the 1993 document of the Pontifical Biblical Commission, "The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church" (Murphy 1996; 1998). The aim is to discover what the text has to say at the present time. Thus, the Old Testament is not locked away as an antiquarian or sociological notice, but interpreted in a such a mannner as to bear on one's present-day existence. Here the Old Testament emphasis on this life turns out to be an advantage for that is where modems live, whatever be the strength of their eschatology. Although the text is distant in time, it can have continuity in thought, enabling it to pulsate in the present