Bruce Waltke’s Old Testament Theology
I have been working through Bruce Waltke’s Old Testament Theology. I have been an admirer of Dr. Waltke since I read his book An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax with M. O’Connor. I just finished Part One which covers the basis, task and method of biblical theology. Chapter 6, the last chapter in this section, talks about the center of the bible giving us an overview of Old Testament theology.
I have enjoyed the book so far. Although Dr. Waltke is a conservative scholar, he is very unpredictable and it is a mistake to presuppose where he will stand on a given issue. One thing is quite clear though, he takes the bible seriously and wants his readers to know God personally. I will not be reviewing this book since Art Boulet has been doing a great job reviewing each chapter of the book in his “Wednesdays with Waltke” (Dr. Waltke himself is interacting with his reviews). But I will probably be sharing some thoughts on aspects of the book that I find particularly helpful. Right now I am curious to see how Dr. Waltke will develop his idea of the center of the Old Testament which he says is the message “that Israel’s sublime God, whose attributes hold in tension his holiness and mercy, glorifies himself by establishing his universal rule over his volitional creatures on earth through Jesus Christ and his covenant people” (144).
