Wonders from Your Law: Nexus Passages and the Promise of an Exegetical Intertextual Old Testament Theology

by Kevin S. Chen, Stephen G. Dempster (Foreword by)

Overview

Finding internal coherence within the Old Testament is a challenging task. Numerous scholars over the centuries have provided various, divergent frameworks to organize the content of the Hebrew Bible. Navigating both the Old Testament itself and the history of its interpretation can feel like a maze of complexity.

Biblical scholar Kevin Chen offers a way of understanding the Old Testament through the orienting lens of what he calls "nexus passages." Such passages pull the material of the Old Testament together through their high connectivity to other Scripture passages. In his thorough textual analyses, Chen shows how these nexus passages serve as lexical, thematic, and theological hubs for understanding the Old Testament. Both exegetical and intertextual, Wonders From your Law gazes deeply into the text for a constructive, evangelical approach to Old Testament theology.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781514003206
Publisher:	InterVarsity Press
Publication date:	09/10/2024
Pages:	400
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.02(d)

About the Author

Kevin S. Chen is professor of Old Testament Studies at Gateway Seminary in Ontario, CA. He previously taught at Christian Witness Theological Seminary in San Jose, CA, and Union University in Jackson, TN. He is the author of The Messianic Vision of the Pentateuch and is a contributor to the Worldview Study Bible.

Dempster is the Stuart E. Murray Professor of Religious Studies at Atlantic Baptist University in New Brunswick, Canada. He is a contributor to the New Dictionary of Biblical Theology (IVP) and Biblical Theology: Retrospect and Prospect (Apollos).

Table of Contents

Foreword by Stephen G. Dempster
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Abbreviations

1. Nexus Passages and the Story of Old Testament Theology as a Discipline
2. Genesis 1–3: Creation and Wisdom (Literature)
3. Exodus 15:1-18: The Exodus According to the Song of the Sea
4. Numbers 24: The Star from Jacob and a Deuteroevangelium
5. Deuteronomy 32: A Song for the Ages
6. 2 Samuel 7: Who Is the Son Worthy to Build the Lord's House?
7. Isaiah 52:13–53:12: The Suffering Servant
8. Jonah 2: Exodus 1.5
9. Psalm 72: A Messianic Peak in the Middle of the Psalter
10. Proverbs 8:22-31: Wisdom, the Beginning of the Lord's Way
11. Daniel 9: Daniel, Student of Scripture

Conclusion
Bibliography
General Index
Scripture Index

Editorial Reviews

"In Wonders from Your Law, Kevin Chen identifies ten key nexus passages in the Old Testament, resulting in an integrative and intertextual approach that honors the literary, textual, and theological unity of the Old Testament. Readers will discover the themes of creation, deliverance, the temple, the Messiah, and his kingdom as well as wisdom, which are all weaved together to form God's story with Israel. The book contributes creatively to Old Testament theology from an evangelical perspective. It invites us to get on the 'subway' of the Old Testament and to be awed by its 'transfer stations' and, ultimately, its destination."

Chloe T. Sun

"Kevin Chen's Wonders from Your Law establishes an exegetically grounded Old Testament theology that highlights how significant parts of the canon work together in subtle but significant conversations through connecting texts. The reader who wonders how Moses and the prophets read Scripture and understood the Messiah will find many treasures and wonders explained, clarified, and proclaimed. If you treasure the Old Testament, biblical theology, or the Old Testament's depiction of the Messiah, then you need to join Chen on this important journey through the Old Testament."

Peter Link Jr.

"Kevin Chen's Wonders from Your Law is the result of taking Jesus' hermeneutic seriously. It is an intensive study of the Scriptures, the result of a profound reflection on its content, and a conviction in their authority and claim to be divine revelation. The result is that the concept of the Messiah is not a late construction embraced toward the end of the biblical period as a means of dealing with the disenchantment and disillusion of the Jewish people. Nor is it an invention of early Christianity superimposed on the biblical texts, the result of cognitive dissonance coming to terms with the shock of the death of Jesus. No. There is a story line and a metanarrative in Israel's Scriptures. The Messiah is not just obliquely present but connects many of the details of Israel's Scriptures. He is there from the beginning and throughout the texts as a central theme."

Stephen Dempster

"What Kevin Chen offers here may be described as a stargazer of the entire heavens (the text of the Old Testament) discovering among the vast array ten particularly bright-shining, powerfully gravitational 'nexus' passages. This constellation provides the framework for seeing how all the parts of the Old Testament cohere and connect together."

Ray Lubeck

"Where many see the Old Testament as disconnected and disjointed, Kevin Chen demonstrates that its unity can be demonstrated through attention to key passages. His close reading of core passages convincingly shows the unity of the Old Testament's message and the hope that emerges through it. Chen thus provides us with a map that helps us read the Old Testament well."

David Firth

08/01/2024

The Old Testament contains 39 different biblical books written over a period of centuries, including such wide-ranging material as historical narratives, prophetic writings, songs, and proverbs. Though Bible readers might wonder if there is a shared message among these many writings, contemporary scholars have generally concluded that there isn't. But Chen (Old Testament studies, Gateway Seminary; The Messianic Vision of the Pentateuch) argues that there is such a message, which can be found by examining 10 "nexus passages" from the Old Testament that connect in significant ways to other scriptures found in the Bible. Chen describes his approach as something like deciphering intersecting lines on a subway map; it appears confusing at first, but when one notices how the different subway lines interconnect, it becomes clear how to use the map and key to reach a destination. Chen argues that by approaching these nexus passages the same way, readers will find a theological message focused, in large part, on the Messiah. The book devotes a chapter to each of the 10 nexus passages. VERDICT A valuable resource for Old Testament scholars and readers searching for Biblical coherence.—John Jaeger

Library Journal