Journal of Theology Southwestern Present, and Future Present, Biblical Theology: Past, Biblical Theology: SWJT Biblical Theology: Past, Present, and Future Vol. 55 No. 2 • Spring 2013 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Paige Patterson, President, Professor of Theology, and L.R. Scarborough Chair of Evangelism (“Chair of Fire”) MANAGING EDITOR Terry L. Wilder, Professor and Wesley Harrison Chair of New Testament EDITORIAL BOARD Jason G. Duesing, Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Assistant Professor of Historical Theology Keith E. Eitel, Professor of Missions, Dean of the Roy Fish School of Evangelism and Missions, and Director of the World Missions Center Mark A. Howell, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church Daytona Beach Evan Lenow, Assistant Professor of Ethics and Director of the Riley Center Miles S. Mullin II, Assistant Professor of Church History, J. Dalton Havard School for Theological Studies Steven W. Smith, Professor of Communication, Dean of the College at Southwestern Jerry Vines, Jerry Vines Ministries Joshua E. Williams, Assistant Professor of Old Testament BOOK REVIEW EDITOR AND EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Ched Spellman Southwestern Journal of Theology invites English-language submissions of original research in Biblical studies, historical theology, systematic theology, ethics, philosophy of religion, homiletics, pastoral ministry, evangelism, missiology, and related fields. Articles submitted for consideration should be neither published nor under review for publication elsewhere. The recommended length of articles is between 4000 and 8000 words. For information on editorial and stylistic requirements, please contact the journal’s Editorial Assistant at journal@ swbts.edu. Articles should be sent to the Managing Editor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, P.O. Box 22608, Fort Worth, Texas 76122. Books and software for review may be sent to Book Review Editor, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, P.O. Box 22608, Fort Worth, Texas 76122. Please direct subscription correspondence and change of address notices to Editorial Assistant, P.O. Box 22608, Fort Worth, Texas 76122. Change of address notices must include both the old and new addresses. A one volume subscription in the United States is $30. An international subscription is $52. Southwestern Journal of Theology (ISSN 0038-4828) is published at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fort Worth, Texas 76122. For the contents of back issues and ordering information please see http://swbts.edu/journal. © 2013 CONTENTS Editorial . 191 Terry L. Wilder Biblical Theology and From Where it Came . .193 Gerald Bray Yahweh’s Self Revelation in Deed and Word: A Biblical Theology of 1-2 Samuel . 209 Robert B. Chisolm, Jr. The Reef of Biblical Theology: A Method for Doing Biblical Theology That Makes Sense for Wisdom Literature. .227 Douglas Kennard Review Essay (Part Two): John Calvin on the Death of Christ and the Reformation’s Forgotten Doctrine of Universal Vicarious Satisfaction: A Review and Critique of Tom Nettles’ Chapter in Whomever He Wills . .252 David W. Ponter Book Reviews. .271 Abstracts of Recent Dissertations at Southwestern . .338 Index of Book Reviews Southwestern Journal of Theology • Volume 55 • Number 2• Spring 2013 Biblical Theology: Past, Present, and Future (Vol. 1) Terry L. Wilder, Editor [email protected] When Brevard Childs wrote Biblical Theology in Crisis in 1970, he pre- maturely pronounced the discipline to be dead—kaput. He held that schol- ars had not adequately bridged the gap between exegesis and theology, were too limited in their study of biblical theology, and in their current state, were simply not benefiting anyone. To cross the chasm between exegesis and the- ology, he contended the Bible really needed to be viewed within its own canonical context. That is to say, all of Scripture’s diverse constituent parts should be considered in light of the unified whole, i.e., the canon of Scripture and its unified message. Since that time, the Biblical theology movement has grown substan- tially. Contrary to Childs’ claim, it is not dead at all. As a matter of fact, it is currently thriving—especially amongst evangelicals who are committed to Biblical inerrancy and inspiration. This development is good primarily because it can aid the church in the making and equipping of disciples, and it is timely, especially in a day when Biblical illiteracy has increased, even amongst church members. Now, all of this is not to say that Biblical theology does not have its growing pains—it does. Unsettled questions in the minds of many abound, like, “What exactly is Biblical theology?” “How is it different from the dis- ciplines of systematic theology, historical theology, practical theology, and theological interpretation?” “What precise approach should be used to do Biblical theology?” “How can we be helped in our quest by the inquiries and discussions of those who have gone before us in the church’s history?” Theo- logical conferences are held for pastors and professors to explore and discuss answers to these kinds of questions. One such conference designed to benefit students, pastors, scholars, and the church, led to the publication of papers included in the next two issues of this journal. This issue of the Southwestern Journal of Theology (SWJT) is the first of two volumes on the topic, Biblical Theology: Past, Present, and Future. The articles in these volumes were initially presented on March 9-10, 2012, at the Southwest Regional Meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society (ETS), which met in the Riley Center on the campus of the host institution, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. The plenary speakers for the EDITORIAL 192 conference were Gerald Bray from Beeson Divinity School, Samford Uni- versity, and Andreas J. Köstenberger from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Southwestern Seminary and the editorial staff ofSWJT would like to thank Herbert W. Bateman IV, formerly professor of New Testament at Southwestern, for serving as program chair for the regional ETS meeting in 2012 from which conference he helped to select the papers for these two journal issues on Biblical theology. The present volume is devoted to “Biblical Theology Past” and features three helpful articles. The lead article is presented by Gerald Bray entitled, “Biblical Theology and From Where It Came.” In this essay he looks at Bib- lical theology past and traces its roots and history from the early days of the discipline, through the Enlightenment era and the Barthian revolution, and in the English-speaking world. Robert Chisholm, professor of Old Testa- ment at Dallas Theological Seminary, also contributes a paper titled, “Yah- weh’s Self-Revelation in Deed and Word: A Biblical Theology of 1–2 Sam- uel.” In this article, he does not examine broad Biblical-theological themes in the text, but rather, looks at the text in a more restricted theocentric sense to see what it communicates about God. He also discusses the anthropologi- cal dimension of 1–2 Samuel’s theology by considering how God relates to people and what he expects from them. Further, Douglas Kennard, professor of New Testament at Houston Graduate School of Theology, provides an article called, “The Reef of Biblical Theology: A Method for Doing Biblical Theology that Makes Sense for Wisdom Literature.” In this essay, he con- tends that wisdom literature is the “reef ” onto which Biblical theology often runs aground because wisdom does not easily fit into the broad dominant frameworks of the rest of the Bible. So, Kennard places a Biblical theology of OT wisdom within what he sees as the overarching OT Biblical theol- ogy strategy. This issue also contains for your perusal several book reviews, including an extended review essay. We pray that these articles equip and assist you as you engage in and study Biblical theology. We hope you like what you read in this issue. If you would like to have one of our faculty members or students speak in your church, or lead your congregation in a study of any sort, please do not hesi- tate to contact us. We are more than happy to serve you. Further, if God has called you into his service please consider allowing us the privilege of prepar- ing you for a lifetime of ministry. These are exciting times for the study of theology! God bless you! Terry L. Wilder, Editor Professor and Wesley Harrison Chair of New Testament Southwestern Journal of Theology • Volume 55 • Number 2 • Spring 2013 Biblical Theology and From Where it Came Gerald L. Bray Research Professor of Divinity Beeson Divinity School, Samford University Birmingham, AL [email protected] What’s in a Name? In 1970, the late Brevard Childs (1923-2007) published a provocative book entitled Biblical Theology in Crisis.1 As Childs saw it, the previous gen- eration had witnessed the growth of a Biblical theology movement, mainly in the United States, that had reached its apogee sometime around 1960 but only a decade later had already fallen into disarray. The basic problem, as Childs saw it, was that the leaders of the movement could not agree on where to go next and were in serious danger of splitting it up by following different and mutually incompatible theological options. Childs’ analysis of Biblical theology’s supposed crisis did not go un- challenged. In their different ways, Bernhard Anderson (1916-2007)2 and Bruce Vawter (1921-86)3 both questioned its legitimacy, pointing out that there was no real “movement” called Biblical theology and that many, if not most of its supposed protagonists were British or European, not American as Childs seemed to think. This line was subsequently taken up by James Smart (1906-82) in a series of lectures, originally delivered at the Bangor School of Theology in Maine and eventually published as The Past, Present and Future of Biblical Theology.4 Smart took issue with Childs’ interpretation of what had been going on in twentieth-century Biblical studies and offered his own counter-analysis, which in effect led him to redefine the term “Biblical theol- ogy” in a looser, more comprehensive direction.