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Biblical theology

What is biblical theology?

Biblical theology is the study that traces themes and their relations across the canon in the Bible's own terms and order, such as covenant, kingdom and temple. It differs from exegesis, which reads a passage, book or corpus in its own setting, and from systematic theology, which arranges doctrine by topic. Its definition remains disputed.

  • 136Sources
  • 11Traditions
  • 16Dated entries
  • 13Minutes

Study v1.1, 23 October 2026

Biblical theology

At a glance

Why it matters for reading Scripture

How a theme runs through the whole Bible in its own order, such as covenant, temple or kingdom. It joins single passages together.

What the study found

Biblical theology has no agreed definition or single centre; twelve themes run from Genesis to Revelation and converge in Revelation 21 to 22.

Where traditions divide

Traditions divide on framing the story as covenants or dispensations or one running principle, and on Israel and the Church; scholars divide over supersessionism.

How the traditions compare

  • Reformed covenant theology

    Frames the whole story as two covenants, of works and of grace, with Adam and Christ as the covenant heads.

    The Westminster Confession holds one covenant of grace under different administrations in the two Testaments, while 1689 federalism holds that it was revealed by steps and formally concluded only in the new covenant. The tradition is divided on a future for ethnic Israel, and it holds that the moral law binds believers as a rule of life, though not as a covenant of works.

    Sources1–5

  • Dispensationalism

    Frames the story as a succession of dispensations, stewardships that "are distinct and are not to be intermingled or confused".

    Charles Ryrie named the distinction between Israel and the Church as its essence, and the Dallas Theological Seminary statement holds that the Church began at Pentecost and is distinct from Israel. Its end is premillennial, with Israel restored to her own land; the progressive form, named in 1991, works with a complementary hermeneutic and holds that Christ already reigns as Davidic king.

    Sources6–8

  • Progressive covenantalism and new covenant theology

    Takes the biblical covenants in canonical order as the "backbone" of the story and calls itself a mediating view, more aligned with covenant theology than with dispensationalism.

    Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum hold that Jesus and the new covenant must become the hermeneutical lens, and Israel's land is read typologically. New covenant theology, related but distinct, holds that the Mosaic covenant came to an end with Christ and that believers are under the law of Christ.

    Sources9–11

  • Lutheran law and gospel

    Reads all Scripture through the distinction between law and gospel, which runs through both Testaments rather than dividing them.

    The law's chief office is to reveal sin, and the Formula of Concord names three uses of it. On Israel the churches differ: the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod calls the Church "Israel restored", while in Europe the Leuenberg Church Fellowship and the Synod of the Evangelical Church in Germany hold that the Church has not replaced Israel.

    Sources12–16

  • Catholic biblical theology

    Frames the story as the one divine plan of salvation culminating in Christ: in Augustine's formula, God arranged that the New Testament be hidden in the Old and the Old be made manifest in the New.

    Typology is the principal tool, and the four senses of Scripture rest on the literal. The Church understands itself as the new people of God, while the Catechism holds that the Old Covenant has never been revoked; the end is the Kingdom in its fullness, with new heavens and a new earth.

    Sources17–21

  • Orthodox reading of Scripture

    Reads the divine economy within the Church's Tradition, with Christ as beginning and end; for Georges Florovsky, one influential witness, fulfillment is the basic category of revelation.

    The Old Testament is prophecy and type disclosed in the New, and the liturgy is where the Testaments are joined. Florovsky calls the Church the New Israel, but that reading is contested inside Orthodoxy, where Eugen Pentiuc urges revision of anti-Jewish hymns.

    Sources22–24

  • Wesleyan and Methodist

    Frames the story as the way of salvation from sin to holiness, read by the analogy of faith that John Wesley described.

    The Methodist Articles of Religion hold that the Old Testament is not contrary to the New, since in both everlasting life is offered by Christ. United Methodist resolutions hold that God's covenant with the Jewish people continues, and the church's page summarizes its position as rejecting supersessionism in all its forms. The article on the law that Wesley kept unaltered holds that the moral commandments still bind Christians.

    Sources25–29

  • Pentecostal

    Frames the story as the Spirit poured out, read from Pentecost and the "latter rain" of Joel 2:23, with the Full Gospel of salvation, sanctification, baptism in the Spirit, divine healing and the coming kingdom at its center.

    Roger Stronstad treats Joel 2:28 as the turning point, at which the Spirit comes on the whole community rather than on certain individuals. The Assemblies of God, speaking for that denomination only, expect the salvation of national Israel during the millennium.

    Sources30–33

  • Seventh-day Adventist

    Frames the story as a great controversy between Christ and Satan over the character of God, his law and his sovereignty over the universe.

    Its "Methods of Bible Study" affirms an overarching unity in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and holds that "Israel represents the church" in New Testament application. The great principles of God's law are embodied in the Ten Commandments, the Sabbath is a memorial of creation, and the millennium is the reign of Christ with his saints in heaven.

    Sources34–38

  • Anabaptist

    Frames the story around Christ: the Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective (1995) holds that Scripture as a whole has its center and fulfillment in him, and interpretations are tested in the faith community.

    The Old Testament is read as promise to the forefathers and the New as the law of Christ that governs the Church. Mosaic provisions are read in the light of Christ, so that believers follow him in the way of peace.

    Sources39–41

  • Jewish theology of the Hebrew Bible

    Is a distinct enterprise, not a Jewish branch of Christian biblical theology.

    Jon D. Levenson argued that biblical theology as Christians built it is inherently Christian, while Isaac Kalimi and Marvin Sweeney held a Jewish biblical theology possible, Sweeney reading the Tanakh in its own tripartite structure. The Hebrew Bible functions in Judaism through Talmud and Midrash, and a Tanakh that closes with Chronicles ends on return to the land and the Temple.

    Sources42–44

How the field developed

  1. Reformation
    1629

    Wolfgang Jacob Christmann's Teutsche biblische Theologie (Kempten) is the earliest known use of the phrase. In seventeenth-century Protestant Orthodoxy such works were collections of proof texts meant to show the biblical basis of doctrine.454647

  2. Modern
    1787

    Johann Philipp Gabler's inaugural address at Altdorf, on 30 March in the dating of Hasel and WiBiLex, separates biblical theology, "of historical origin", from dogmatic theology, "of didactic origin". German reference works call it the discipline's founding charter.484950

  3. Modern
    1796

    Georg Lorenz Bauer's Theologie des alten Testaments, published anonymously, is called the first theology of the Old Testament. With his Biblische Theologie des Neuen Testaments (1800 to 1802) the single discipline becomes two Testament theologies, a division that holds for most of the following two centuries.51494547

  4. Modern
    1841 to 1844

    Johann Christian Konrad von Hofmann of Erlangen publishes Weissagung und Erfüllung, treating prophecy and history as one organic whole: "History itself is prophecy". Hasel places him at the head of the salvation-history school.5248

  5. Modern
    1894

    Geerhardus Vos gives his inaugural address as Professor of Biblical Theology at Princeton on 8 May, defining the discipline as "the exhibition of the organic progress of supernatural revelation".53

  6. Modern
    1897

    William Wrede's Über Aufgabe und Methode der sogenannten neutestamentlichen Theologie asks that New Testament theology give way to a history of the religion of earliest Christianity, purely historical and independent of dogma.5447

  7. Modern
    1933 to 1939

    Walther Eichrodt's Theologie des Alten Testaments appears in three volumes, organized systematically around the covenant, which in his scheme is the center of the Old Testament.554956

  8. Modern
    1948 to 1953

    Rudolf Bultmann's Theologie des Neuen Testaments appears, a historical outline read through an existential interpretation of the kerygma; it replaces Holtzmann's textbook in practice.455758

  9. Modern
    1957 and 1960

    Gerhard von Rad's Theologie des Alten Testaments appears in two volumes, reading the Old Testament as narrated proclamation of God's saving acts, tied to tradition history. Von Rad names no single center.554849

  10. Modern
    1961

    Langdon Gilkey's essay in the Journal of Religion and James Barr's The Semantics of Biblical Language are named as the decisive critiques of the American Biblical Theology Movement.596061

  11. Modern
    1962

    Krister Stendahl's article in the Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible distinguishes "What did it mean?" from "What does it mean?" and assigns biblical theology to the first question only.62

  12. Modern
    1970

    Brevard Childs's Biblical Theology in Crisis diagnoses the weaknesses of the Biblical Theology Movement and proposes a new biblical theology grounded in the canon.4763

  13. Modern
    1986

    The Jahrbuch für Biblische Theologie begins with its first volume at Neukirchener Verlag; the foreword to its fortieth volume names Bernd Janowski and Michael Welker as its founding fathers, together with Rudolf Weth.6465

  14. Modern
    1987

    Jon D. Levenson's essay "Why Jews Are Not Interested in Biblical Theology" is dated to this year by Filip Čapek and was reprinted in 1993. In the same year Moshe Goshen-Gottstein's essay "Tanakh Theology" appears.436667

  15. Modern
    1992

    Childs's Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testaments (London: SCM, 1992; Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993) gives each Testament its discrete witness before theological reflection across both.686970

  16. Modern
    2012

    Georg Fischer's Theologien des Alten Testaments treats the Old Testament book by book, a plural theology in which each book develops its own emphases in speaking of God.7172

How to study biblical theology

The questions it asks

  • Does biblical theology describe what the biblical writers said in their own setting, or state what the whole canon means for the church today?
  • Is there one biblical theology, or two Testament theologies?45
  • Does the Old Testament, or the whole Bible, have a single center?73
  • How do the Testaments relate: through promise and fulfillment, typology, the fuller sense, or prophecy and fulfillment?
  • How does a Christian reading of the Hebrew Bible stand beside the Jewish reading of the same books?74
  • How does a theme run from its first appearance to its last across the canon?

Its method

Start

  1. Read each text first in its own setting: Gabler held each author's ideas to "its own era, its own testament, its own place of origin, and its own genius"50.

  2. Collect and compare the ideas of the biblical authors among themselves before any of them is put to dogmatic use5075.

  3. Choose a theme and fix its key Hebrew and Greek terms and its first and last lexical markers, remembering that a theme can be present before its key word appears and continue after the word stops7677.

  4. Follow the theme as it is introduced, developed, interrupted and resolved across the Torah, the Prophets, the Writings, the Gospels, Acts, the Epistles and Revelation.

  5. State the order followed, since the order of the events narrated, of the traditions, of composition and of the books in a given canon do not coincide, and the canons differ in order and extent78.

  6. Test proposed echoes of the Old Testament in the New against criteria such as Richard B. Hays's seven: availability, volume, recurrence, thematic coherence, historical plausibility, history of interpretation and satisfaction7980.

  7. Record where the readings of the traditions divide, and give each reading in its own terms.

  8. Keep the synthesis from flattening the canon: every single theme so far proposed as a center fails to cover some books8145.

What to read

Its primary witnesses

  • The Hebrew Bible in its Jewish shape, the Tanakh of Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim, which in the Talmudic order ends with Chronicles8283.
  • The Christian Old Testament in the Jewish, Protestant, Catholic and Orthodox canons, which differ in order and extent; the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church receives 81 books, including Enoch and Jubilees7884.
  • The Septuagint, the Greek text in which the earliest church read its Scriptures85.
  • The New Testament's use of the Old: Roger Nicole counted 224 direct citations introduced by a definite formula and at least 295 separate references86.
  • The Oral Torah, through which Jewish reading of Scripture is mediated, its chain of transmission opening in Mishnah Avot 1:187.
  • The confessions, catechisms and magisterial texts through which each tradition frames the whole story, such as the Westminster Confession and Dei Verbum117.
  • The liturgy, where Orthodox reading joins the Testaments, as in the Old Testament lessons read at Vespers on major feasts88.

Standard reference works

  • The New Dictionary of Biblical Theology, edited by T. D. Alexander and B. S. Rosner (2000), with over 200 key biblical-theological themes89.
  • The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament (1977 to 2006) and the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (10 volumes, 1964 to 1976)9091.
  • The New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology and Exegesis (5 volumes, 1997) and the New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis (2014)9293.
  • The Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament, edited by G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson (2007)94.
  • The Dictionary for Theological Interpretation of the Bible (2005)95.
  • Gerhard F. Hasel's Old Testament Theology: Basic Issues in the Current Debate (1972; fourth edition 1991) and James Barr's The Concept of Biblical Theology (1999)734896.
  • Edward W. Klink III and Darian R. Lockett's Understanding Biblical Theology (2012), which compares five types of biblical theology9798.
  • The series New Studies in Biblical Theology, edited by D. A. Carson and Benjamin L. Gladd, and Overtures to Biblical Theology, from Fortress Press99100.
  • The Jahrbuch für Biblische Theologie, from 1986, and the Biblical Theology Bulletin101102.
  • The Africa Bible Commentary, the South Asia Bible Commentary (2015) and the Comentario Bíblico Contemporáneo (2019)103104105.

Scholarship referenced in this study

The works below shaped the field and are cited in this study, from the earliest to the most recent. Hover over a book, or select it, to see its author and the sources behind it.

  • 2003Dominion and DynastyStephen G. DempsterDominion and Dynasty (2003)Stephen G. DempsterSources106
  • 2003 to 2009Old Testament TheologyJohn GoldingayOld Testament Theology (2003 to 2009)John GoldingaySources45107
  • 2011A New Testament Biblical TheologyG. K. BealeA New Testament Biblical Theology (2011)G. K. BealeSources108–109
  • 2011TANAKMarvin A. SweeneyTANAK (2011)Marvin A. SweeneySources110–111
  • 2012Understanding Biblical TheologyEdward W. Klink IIIUnderstanding Biblical Theology (2012)Edward W. Klink III, with Darian R. LockettSources98
  • 2012Theologien des Alten TestamentsGeorg FischerTheologien des Alten Testaments (2012)Georg FischerSources71
  • 2013The King in His BeautyThomas R. SchreinerThe King in His Beauty (2013)Thomas R. SchreinerSources112
  • 2014The Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox TraditionEugen J. PentiucThe Old Testament in Eastern Orthodox Tradition (2014)Eugen J. PentiucSources113
  • 2015El Dios que estáPablo R. AndiñachEl Dios que está (2015)Pablo R. AndiñachSources114
  • 2019African HermeneuticsElizabeth W. MburuAfrican Hermeneutics (2019)Elizabeth W. MburuSources115
  • 2019Theologie des Alten TestamentsKonrad SchmidTheologie des Alten Testaments (2019)Konrad SchmidSources116
  • 2025In Accordance with the ScripturesJohn BehrIn Accordance with the Scriptures (2025)John BehrSources117–118

Listed because this study draws on their published work; no association with or endorsement of Numa Verse is implied. Suggest a correction.

Key terms

The words that carry the most weight in this field, each defined from the sources of this study. Turn a card over to read its definition.

German for the center of the Old Testament or of Scripture: a single theme, such as covenant, promise or kingdom, proposed as holding the whole together; many scholars now name no single center7345.

Proof texts; in seventeenth-century Protestant Orthodoxy, works of biblical theology were collections of them, meant to show the biblical basis of doctrine4746.

The view that revelation unfolds in a history of salvation running through both Testaments, carried from Hofmann and Oehler through Vos, Cullmann and Goppelt to later evangelical writers525745.

Brevard Childs's approach, which takes the final form of the canon, read in and for the church, as the context of theology6170.

A reading in which a real person, event or institution corresponds to a later one; it differs from allegory, which attaches a second meaning to the words themselves119120.

The fuller sense: in Raymond E. Brown's definition, as his publisher summarizes it, a deeper meaning intended by God but not clearly intended by the human author121.

The view that the Church takes the place of Israel as the people of God; R. Kendall Soulen distinguishes punitive, economic and structural forms, the last lying in a narrative logic that renders the Hebrew Scriptures "largely indecisive"122.

An acronym of Torah, Nevi'im and Ketuvim, used as the title and structure of the Hebrew Bible, which in the Talmudic order ends with Chronicles4482.

The covenant formula, Yahweh the God of Israel and Israel the people of Yahweh, which Rudolf Smend proposed in 1970 as the center of the Old Testament48123.

Where it sits

Builds on

Biblical theology

Questions people ask

Exegesis reads a passage, book or corpus in its own setting, biblical theology traces themes and their relations across the canon, and systematic theology arranges doctrine by topic. Geerhardus Vos put it in an image: "Systematic Theology endeavors to construct a circle, Biblical Theology seeks to reproduce a line"53. Gabler's rule, as WiBiLex summarizes it, is that dogmatics must depend on exegesis, and not exegesis on dogmatics124.

Covenant, communion with God, promise, kingdom, and God's glory in salvation through judgment each have defenders, and each has been faulted for flattening the Bible's diversity73. Gerhard von Rad, Brevard Childs and Walter Brueggemann named no center, and Gerhard Hasel named God as the center while rejecting any concept as the principle of arrangement12573126.

The claim goes back to Marcion, whose break with Rome is dated to 144, and has been answered since Irenaeus, who wrote that "one and the same householder produced both covenants"127128. The traditions affirm one God across both Testaments, though how to read the violent texts remains contested129123130131.

It contains parallel accounts that differ in detail and order, and a theological diversity that scholars across the spectrum acknowledge132133134. Catholic teaching treats this through literary form, evangelical inerrantists through harmonization with an acknowledged residue, and rabbinic practice through a third passage that reconciles two17132135.

The Christian traditions affirm the Old Testament as Scripture and reject the view that the New voids the Old, while holding that some of its provisions no longer bind Christians in the same way; they differ on where to draw the line1291136. For Judaism the Hebrew Bible is complete in itself, and the Pontifical Biblical Commission holds that the Jewish reading is a possible one8374.

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Register to contribute

  1. 1Orthodox Presbyterian Church, The Westminster Confession of Faith (OPC text), opc.orghttps://www.opc.org/wcf.html (opens in a new tab)
  2. 2Orthodox Presbyterian Church, The Westminster Larger Catechism, opc.orghttps://www.opc.org/lc.html (opens in a new tab)
  3. 3Grace and Truth Books, Pascal Denault, The Distinctiveness of Baptist Covenant Theology (product page)https://graceandtruthbooks.com/?p=85865 (opens in a new tab)
  4. 4Covenant Reformed Baptist Church (Angier, NC), Being Baptist: Baptism and the Covenantshttps://crbcangier.com/post/being-baptist (opens in a new tab)
  5. 5Ligonier Ministries, "How does Reformed theology view the future of Israel compared to dispensationalism?" (Stephen Nichols and Derek Thomas, Blessed in Christ: Detroit 2021 Conference)https://learn.ligonier.org/qas/how-does-reformed-theology-view-the-future-of-israel-compared-to-dispensationalism (opens in a new tab)
  6. 6Dallas Theological Seminary, Doctrinal Statementhttps://www.dts.edu/about/doctrinal-statement/ (opens in a new tab)
  7. 7Stephen J. Nichols, "The Dispensational View of the Davidic Kingdom: A Response to Progressive Dispensationalism", The Master's Seminary Journal 7/2 (Fall 1996) 213 to 239https://tms.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/tmsj7h.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  8. 8Thomas Ice, "What is Progressive Dispensationalism?", Pre-Trib Research Center (page stamped 18 July 2018)https://www.pre-trib.org/articles/all-articles/message/what-is-progressive-dispensationalism/read (opens in a new tab)
  9. 9Stephen J. Wellum, "Reflections on Covenant Theology from a Progressive Covenantal View", Southern Baptist Journal of Theology 26.1 (2022), PDFhttps://cf.sbts.edu/equip/uploads/2023/02/SBJT-26.1-Reflections-on-Covenant-Theology-Review-S.-Wellum.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  10. 10Peter Link Jr., review of Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum, Kingdom Through Covenant (Crossway, 2012), Journal of Biblical and Theological Studieshttps://jbtsonline.org/?p=1095 (opens in a new tab)
  11. 11Thomas R. Schreiner, review of Tom Wells and Fred G. Zaspel, New Covenant Theology (2002), PDF on the SBTS document serverhttps://cdn.sbts.edu/documents/tschreiner/review_WellsZaspel.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  12. 12thebookofconcord.org, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Article IV "Of Justification"https://thebookofconcord.org/apology-of-the-augsburg-confession/article-iv/ (opens in a new tab)
  13. 13thebookofconcord.org, Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article VI "Of the Third Use of the Law"https://thebookofconcord.org/formula-of-concord-epitome/article-vi/ (opens in a new tab)
  14. 14LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations, The "End Times": A Study on Eschatology and Millennialism (September 1989), PDF hosted by Trinity Lutheran Church, Normanhttps://tlcnorman.org/files/LSF/LCMS_onthe_End_Times.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  15. 15Leuenberg Church Fellowship, "Church and Israel", 24 June 2001, CCJR Dialogikahttps://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/documents-and-statements/protestant-churches/eur/lcf01june24 (opens in a new tab)
  16. 16Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), "A Declaration concerning Christians and Jews as Witnesses of God's Faithfulness", 9 November 2016, CCJR Dialogikahttps://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/documents-and-statements/protestant-churches/eur/ekd-2016nov9 (opens in a new tab)
  17. 17Second Vatican Council, Dei Verbum, Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation (18 November 1965), vatican.vahttps://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651118_dei-verbum_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  18. 18Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 134 to 141, vatican.vahttps://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PT.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  19. 19Catechism of the Catholic Church, Part One, Section One, Chapter Two, Article 3 "Sacred Scripture" (101 to 133), St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church texthttp://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s1c2a3.htm (opens in a new tab)
  20. 20Second Vatican Council, Nostra Aetate, 28 October 1965, vatican.vahttps://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_decl_19651028_nostra-aetate_en.html (opens in a new tab)
  21. 21Catechism of the Catholic Church, Article 12 "I Believe in Life Everlasting" (1020 to 1060), St Charles Borromeo Catholic Church texthttp://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a12.htm (opens in a new tab)
  22. 22Georges Florovsky, "Revelation and Interpretation", in Bible, Church, Tradition: An Eastern Orthodox View, Collected Works vol. 1 (Nordland, 1972), pp. 17-36 (first published 1951), PDF hosted by St Demetrios Greek Orthodox ...https://stdemetriosdaytona.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/florovsky1.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  23. 23OCA, The Orthodox Faith Vol. I, "Interpretation"https://www.oca.org/orthodoxy/the-orthodox-faith/doctrine-scripture/the-bible/interpretation (opens in a new tab)
  24. 24Leslie Baynes, review of Pentiuc, Religion 48/3 (2018), pp. 540-544, PDF at Trinity Orthodoxhttps://trinityorthodox.ca/documents/BaynesReviewPentiucOTinEasternOrthodoxTradition.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  25. 25John Wesley, Preface to Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament (Edinburgh, 25 April 1765), The Bible with Wesley's Notes, historyofmethodism.comhttps://notes.historyofmethodism.com/preface/ot (opens in a new tab)
  26. 26Troy Sims (compiler), The Articles of Religion of the Methodist Church (2009), apostles-creed.orghttps://apostles-creed.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/articles_of_religion.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  27. 27United Methodist Church General Conference, "Building New Bridges in Hope", 19 April 1996, Dialogika (CCJR)https://www.ccjr.us/dialogika-resources/documents-and-statements/protestant-churches/na/methodist/umc96apr19 (opens in a new tab)
  28. 28The United Methodist Church, Book of Resolutions #3292, United Methodist Guiding Principles for Christian-Jewish Relationshttps://www.umc.org/en/content/book-of-resolutions-united-methodist-guiding-principles-for-christian-jewish-relations (opens in a new tab)
  29. 29David Fry, "Scripture in the Methodist Tradition, Part 2: The Forgotten Articles", Holy Joys, 3 December 2021https://holyjoys.org/scripture-methodist-forgotten/ (opens in a new tab)
  30. 30Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Latter Rain revival"https://www.britannica.com/print/article/332068 (opens in a new tab)
  31. 31Wolfgang Vondey, "Pentecostal Theology", St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology (26 January 2023)https://www.saet.ac.uk/Christianity/PentecostalTheology (opens in a new tab)
  32. 32Dave Johnson, review of Roger Stronstad, The Charismatic Theology of St. Luke, Pneuma Review, 16 November 1999https://pneumareview.com/roger-stronstad-the-charismatic-theology-of-st-luke/ (opens in a new tab)
  33. 33Assemblies of God (USA), Statement of Fundamental Truthshttps://ag.org/Beliefs/Statement-of-Fundamental-Truths (opens in a new tab)
  34. 34Fundamental Belief 8, "The Great Controversy"https://adventist.org/beliefs/official/the-great-controversy (opens in a new tab)
  35. 35"Methods of Bible Study", Ministry, April 1987https://www.ministrymagazine.org/archive/1987/04/methods-of-bible-study (opens in a new tab)
  36. 36Fundamental Belief 19, "The Law of God"https://adventist.org/beliefs/official/the-law-of-god (opens in a new tab)
  37. 37Fundamental Belief 20, "The Sabbath"https://adventist.org/beliefs/official/the-sabbath (opens in a new tab)
  38. 38Fundamental Belief 27, "The Millennium and the End of Sin"https://adventist.org/beliefs/official/millennium-and-the-end-of-sin (opens in a new tab)
  39. 39Mennonite Church USA, Confession of Faith in a Mennonite Perspective, Article 4 "Scripture"https://www.mennoniteusa.org/who-are-mennonites/what-we-believe/confession-of-faith/scripture/ (opens in a new tab)
  40. 40The Dordrecht Confession of Faith (21 April 1632), The Reformed Readerhttps://www.reformedreader.org/ccc/dcf.htm (opens in a new tab)
  41. 41Mennonite Church USA, Confession of Faith, Article 22 "Peace, Justice, and Nonresistance"https://www.mennoniteusa.org/who-are-mennonites/what-we-believe/confession-of-faith/peace-justice-and-nonresistance/ (opens in a new tab)
  42. 42Lieve Teugels, "Is biblical theology inherently anti-Jewish?", PThU Bible Blog, 16 July 2025https://www.pthu.nl/en/bibleblog/2025/07/is-biblical-theology-inherently-anti-jewish/ (opens in a new tab)
  43. 43Filip Čapek, "Židovská biblická teologie: iluze nebo skutečnost?" (Jewish biblical theology: illusion or reality?), Teologická reflexe 6 (2000): 13 to 25, Charles University Protestant Theological Facultyhttps://web.etf.cuni.cz/ETFN-39-version1-02_capek.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  44. 44Fortress Press, M. A. Sweeney, TANAK: A Theological and Critical Introduction to the Jewish Bible (2011), publisher pagehttps://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9780800637439/Tanak (opens in a new tab)
  45. 45Eckhard J. Schnabel, "Biblical Theology from a New Testament Perspective", Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 62.2 (2019): 225 to 249https://etsjets.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/files_JETS-PDFs_62_62-2_JETS_62.2_225-49_Schnabel.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  46. 46Charles H. H. Scobie, "The Challenge of Biblical Theology", Tyndale Bulletin 42.1 (1991): 32 to 61https://tyndalebulletin.org/article/30495.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  47. 47Charles H. H. Scobie, "New Directions in Biblical Theology", Themelios 17.2 (1992): 4 to 8, web edition by R. I. Bradshawhttps://gospelstudies.org.uk/theologicalstudies/pdf/biblical-theology_scobie.pdf (opens in a new tab)
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  49. 49Ernst-Joachim Waschke, "Theologie des Alten Testaments", WiBiLex, Deutsche Bibelgesellschaft, December 2014https://www.die-bibel.de/stichwort/33374 (opens in a new tab)
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  59. 59Concordia Theological Seminary (Fort Wayne) media catalogue, Langdon Gilkey, "Cosmology, Ontology, and the Travail of Biblical Language", Concordia Theological Monthly 33.3 (1962), 143 to 154https://media.ctsfw.edu/Text/ViewDetails/7144 (opens in a new tab)
  60. 60Langdon Gilkey, "Cosmology, Ontology, and the Travail of Biblical Language", Concordia Theological Monthly 33.3 (March 1962), reprinted from Journal of Religion (July 1961), PDFhttp://www.ctsfw.net/media/pdfs/GilkeyCosmologyOntologyBiblicalLanguage.pdf (opens in a new tab)
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  62. 62Francisco D. Gayoba, "The Relationship Between 'What It Meant' and 'What It Means' and the Task of Theology", Asia Adventist Seminary Studies 5 (2002): 61 to 71https://journals.aiias.edu/jaas/article/download/475/423/872 (opens in a new tab)
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  65. 65Jahrbuch für Biblische Theologie 40 (2025), "Biblische Theologie – heute", Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, sample PDFhttps://www.beam-shop.de/media/pdf/56/ae/04/9783647502465_sample.pdf (opens in a new tab)
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  67. 67David G. Deboys, review of Miller, Hanson and McBride (eds.), Ancient Israelite Religion, Themelios 15/3https://thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/review/ancient-israelite-religion-essays-in-honor-of-frank-moore-cross (opens in a new tab)
  68. 68Johannelund library catalogue, Childs, Biblical Theology of the Old and New Testament (SCM 1992)https://bibliotekils.johannelund.nu/bib/121022 (opens in a new tab)
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  71. 71Universität Innsbruck, Institut für Bibelwissenschaften und Historische Theologie, "Georg Fischer"https://www.uibk.ac.at/de/bibhist/fischer/ (opens in a new tab)
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  74. 74Pontifical Biblical Commission, The Jewish People and their Sacred Scriptures in the Christian Bible, preface by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (Ascension 2001), vatican.vahttps://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/pcb_documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20020212_popolo-ebraico_en.html (opens in a new tab)
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  76. 76Bible Hub, Strong's Greek 1242, diathekehttps://biblehub.com/greek/1242.htm (opens in a new tab)
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  81. 81Stephen Dempster, review of James Hamilton, God's Glory in Salvation through Judgment, 9Marks, 23 December 2010https://www.9marks.org/review/gods-glory-salvation-through-judgment/ (opens in a new tab)
  82. 82Babylonian Talmud, Bava Batra 14b, English (Sefaria API)https://www.sefaria.org/api/v3/texts/Bava_Batra.14b?version=english (opens in a new tab)
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  85. 85Saarland University, staff page "Univ.-Prof. em. Dr. Wolfgang Kraus"https://www.uni-saarland.de/en/fachrichtung/ev-theologie/personen/professuren/professur-neues-testament-mitarbeitende/prof-dr-wolfgang-kraus.html (opens in a new tab)
  86. 86Roger Nicole, "New Testament Use of the Old Testament", in C. F. H. Henry (ed.), Revelation and the Bible (Baker, 1958), Bible Researchhttps://www.bible-researcher.com/nicole.html (opens in a new tab)
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  88. 88Orthodox Church in America, Liturgics, "Three lessons or readings"https://oca.org/liturgics/outlines/parameyas (opens in a new tab)
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  90. 90Hélène Dallaire, Knut Heim and Richard S. Hess, "Annotated Old Testament Bibliography – 2018", The Denver Journal, rev. 2 January 2018https://denverjournal.denverseminary.edu/?p=10917 (opens in a new tab)
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  93. 93Zondervan Academic, New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesishttps://zondervanacademic.com/products/new-international-dictionary-of-new-testament-theology-and-exegesis-set (opens in a new tab)
  94. 94Trinity International University, G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson (eds.), Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Baker Academic, 2007), faculty books pagehttps://www.tiu.edu/divinity/books/commentary-on-the-new-testament-use-of-the-old-testament-a-comprehensive-bible-commentary-on-old-testament-quotations-allusions-echoes-that-appear-from-matthew-through-revelation/ (opens in a new tab)
  95. 95Duke University Scholars, Jeremy S. Begbie, "Worship", in K. Vanhoozer, D. Treier, C. Bartholomew and N. T. Wright (eds), Dictionary for Theological Interpretation (Baker, 2005), 856 to 858https://scholars.duke.edu/publication/1000332 (opens in a new tab)
  96. 96Fortress Press, product page for James Barr, The Concept of Biblical Theology: An Old Testament Perspective (1999)https://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9780800631918/The-Concept-of-Biblical-Theology (opens in a new tab)
  97. 97Robert W. Yarbrough, review of Klink and Lockett, Understanding Biblical Theology, Themelios 38.2https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/review/understanding-biblical-theology-a-comparison-of-theory-and-practice/ (opens in a new tab)
  98. 98Zondervan Academic, Edward W. Klink III and Darian R. Lockett, Understanding Biblical Theologyhttps://zondervanacademic.com/products/understanding-biblical-theology (opens in a new tab)
  99. 99InterVarsity Press, New Studies in Biblical Theology series pagehttps://www.ivpress.com/new-studies-in-biblical-theology (opens in a new tab)
  100. 100CiNii Books, series record "Overtures to biblical theology"https://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA01139156 (opens in a new tab)
  101. 101Heidelberg University Library catalogue, Jahrbuch für biblische Theologie (JBTh), record 130412562https://heibib.ub.uni-heidelberg.de/search/Record/130412562 (opens in a new tab)
  102. 102SAGE Journals, Biblical Theology Bulletin, editorial boardhttps://journals.sagepub.com/editorial-board/btb (opens in a new tab)
  103. 103Zondervan Academic, Tokunboh Adeyemo (gen. ed.), Africa Bible Commentaryhttps://zondervanacademic.com/products/africa-bible-commentary (opens in a new tab)
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  105. 105Langham Literature, Comentario Bíblico Contemporáneohttps://langhamliterature.org/comentario-biblico-contemporaneo (opens in a new tab)
  106. 106IVP Academic, Stephen G. Dempster, Dominion and Dynasty: A Theology of the Hebrew Bible (NSBT 15), 2003https://www.ivpress.com/dominion-and-dynasty (opens in a new tab)
  107. 107Fuller Theological Seminary, John Goldingay, faculty pagehttps://www.fuller.edu/faculty/john-goldingay/ (opens in a new tab)
  108. 108InterVarsity Press, G. K. Beale, The Temple and the Church's Missionhttps://www.ivpress.com/the-temple-and-the-church-s-mission (opens in a new tab)
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  110. 110Fortress Press, Marvin A. Sweeney, TANAKhttps://www.fortresspress.com/store/product/9780800637439 (opens in a new tab)
  111. 111Claremont School of Theology, faculty page "Marvin A. Sweeney"https://cst.edu/faculty/marvin-a-sweeney/ (opens in a new tab)
  112. 112Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Thomas R. Schreiner, faculty pagehttps://www.sbts.edu/faculty/thomas-r-schreiner/ (opens in a new tab)
  113. 113Holy Cross Greek Orthodox School of Theology, faculty page "Rev. Fr. Eugen Pentiuc"https://www.hchc.edu/faculty/rev-fr-eugen-j-pentiuc-phd/ (opens in a new tab)
  114. 114Pontificia Universidad Católica Argentina, repository profile "Pablo R. Andiñach"https://repositorio.uca.edu.ar/cris/rp/rp04691?locale=en (opens in a new tab)
  115. 115Langham Literature, E. W. Mburu, African Hermeneutics (2019)https://langhamliterature.org/african-hermeneutics (opens in a new tab)
  116. 116University of Zurich, Konrad Schmid, profilehttps://www.theologie.uzh.ch/de/faecher/altes-testament/team-fruehjuedisch/schmid.html (opens in a new tab)
  117. 117University of Aberdeen, staff page "John Behr"https://www.abdn.ac.uk/people/john.behr (opens in a new tab)
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  120. 120Andrews University Digital Commons, R. M. Davidson, "Typological Structures in the Old and New Testaments" (dissertation, 1981)https://digitalcommons.andrews.edu/dissertations/30 (opens in a new tab)
  121. 121Logos Bible Software, R. E. Brown, The Sensus Plenior of Sacred Scripture (St Mary's University, 1955), product pagehttps://www.logos.com/product/52210/the-sensus-plenior-of-sacred-scripture (opens in a new tab)
  122. 122Michael J. Vlach, "Various Forms of Replacement Theology", The Master's Seminary Journal 20/1 (Spring 2009) 57 to 69https://tyndale.tms.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/tmsj20d.pdf (opens in a new tab)
  123. 123Mohr Siebeck, product page for Rudolf Smend, Die Mitte des Alten Testaments: Exegetische Aufsätze (2002)https://www.mohrsiebeck.com/en/book/die-mitte-des-alten-testaments-9783161477164 (opens in a new tab)
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  126. 126Daniel J. Brendsel, "Plots, Themes, and Responsibilities: The Search for a Center of Biblical Theology Reexamined", Themelios 35.3, The Gospel Coalitionhttps://www.thegospelcoalition.org/themelios/article/plots-themes-and-responsibilities-the-search-for-a-center-of-biblical-theol/ (opens in a new tab)
  127. 127Michael Ruth, "Marcionism", EBSCO Research Starters, 2022https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/religion-and-philosophy/marcionism (opens in a new tab)
  128. 128Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, Book 4, chapter 9, New Adventhttps://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103409.htm (opens in a new tab)
  129. 129Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 120 to 130, vatican.vahttps://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__PR.HTM (opens in a new tab)
  130. 130Paul Copan, "Is the Old Testament God Evil?", Enrichment Journal, Summer 2012https://enrichmentjournal.ag.org/Issues/2012/Summer-2012/Is-the-Old-Testament-God-Evil (opens in a new tab)
  131. 131ReKnew (Gregory A. Boyd), "The Crucifixion of the Warrior God", book pagehttps://reknew.org/book/crucifixion-warrior-god/ (opens in a new tab)
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Page record

Reviewed and approved by Duane Herholdt, BA (Theology), Chief Executive Officer, Numa Verse

Study version: v1.1, 23 October 2026 (theology map v1.27)

Last reviewed: 7 November 2026

How these pages are made

  • 7 November 2026: First draft from the approved assessment v1.1.