B.H. Carroll’s Pastoral Theology
Southwestern Journal of Theology
Volume 58, No. 2 – Spring 2016
Managing Editor: W. Madison Grace II
By James M. Hamilton Jr., Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2013. 128 pages, Paperback, $12.99.
In What is Biblical Theology?, James Hamilton offers a simple introduction to the purpose and methods of Biblical Theology. The book contains some introductory material that defines the task Biblical Theology and three subsequent sections that address the Bible’s story, symbolism, and patterns as they relate to Biblical Theology.
Hamilton begins with an appeal to read the Bible as a single narrative of redemption and argues that, “to do Biblical Theology is to think about the whole story of the Bible” (12). This also implies that the practice of Biblical Theology must take into account the interpretive perspective of the Biblical authors or “the way the biblical authors have presented their understanding of earlier Scriptures, redemptive history, and the events they are describing” (16).
As a result, Hamilton’s first section explains the “Bible’s big story” and how the Bible as a whole conforms to the genre of a narrative. The setting of the Bible is the present created world, the characters include God, humankind, and Satan, and the plot comprises the grand episodes of creation, fall, redemption, and restoration. While there are many important themes in Scripture, Hamilton argues that the intervening plot structures focus on the theme of exile and return as God displays his glory by saving his people through judgment. Throughout the narrative of the Bible, God has also given specific promises that describe a future redeemer who will ultimately set things right. These promises are called typesand together they form embedded patterns that thread together the Biblical narrative as a whole. The progressive unity of these patterns are ultimately realized when God finally defeats evil and reopens the way to salvation through the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15). In addition to biblical types, Hamilton also shows how symbols and imagery knit together the biblical narrative theologically. Biblical authors utilize key symbols, such as a tree, a flood and even the temple, to communicate God’s message to his people.
In the final section, he brings all these features together by emphasizing the practical aspect of Biblical Theology saying, “The Bible’s story and symbolism teach us as the church to understand who we are, what we face, and how we should live as we wait for the coming of our King and Lord” (97) All baptized believers and members of Christ’s Church are all part of the story of God and God’s plan of redemption.
What is Biblical Theology? is a highly accessible entryway into the field of Biblical Theology. Those who feel like the Bible is a random collection of books will find Hamilton’s treatment of Biblical Theology a helpful map guiding them through the essential features of God’s unified plan of redemption throughout scripture. As Hamilton argues succinctly good Biblical interpretation must take into account the broader textures of the Biblical narrative in order to appreciate the fullness of God’s revelation.
The brevity of the book might leave some readers wanting more developed treatments of certain topics, such as the grand narrative of the Bible in part one, or the application for the church in part three. But readers can consult the list of works in the epilogue including the author’s more developed treatment of Biblical Theology: God’s Glory in Salvation through Judgment: A Biblical Theology. This volume will work well in a church setting as a lay-level introduction to Biblical Theology or even as a brief introduction for a first-year course on Biblical Theology or hermeneutics.
