Description
Few matters are the subject of such impassioned and wide-ranging debate as the question of how the NT authors interpret the OT, particularly in the light of Jesus and his gospel. Questions abound: What, if at all, is the role of the OT context? How do we explain the significant variations between the OT text and its supposed quotation in the NT? How can a text that was not even considered a prophecy be "fulfilled?" Are the NT authors reliable or do they use methods that no modern Bible reader could accept? In this class we will review the modern debate, look at the interpretative approaches available to first-century authors, examine particular instances of how the NT uses the OT and conclude with a proposal as to how this all makes sense in the contexts of the first-century world and ours.
Rikk E. Watts is Professor of New Testament at Regent College. He is author of a recently published book on the use of Isaiah in the Gospel of Mark entitled Isaiah's New Exodus in Mark.
