THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS A CHRISTIAN HISTORY OF INTERPRETATION OF TRUE AND FALSE PROPHECY IN THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH Seth B. Tarrer A Thesis Submitted for the Degree of PhD at the University of St. Andrews 2009 Full metadata for this item is available in the St Andrews Digital Research Repository at: https://research-repository.st-andrews.ac.uk/ Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/10023/776 This item is protected by original copyright THE LAW AND THE PROPHETS A CHRISTIAN HISTORY OF INTERPRETATION OF TRUE AND FALSE PROPHECY IN THE BOOK OF JEREMIAH By Seth B. Tarrer A thesis submitted in completion of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Divinity St Mary’s College, University of St Andrews 1 June 2009 Acknowledgments Thanks are in order first to my supervisor, Dr Mark Elliott, who has made his knowledge and expertise available not only to me, but also to the local church in St Andrews. His example of theology engaged in the tangible service of the church is humbling and encouraging. Thanks are also due to Dr Steven Holmes and Prof. Christopher Seitz for their guidance in the early stages of this project. I am grateful for those friends and colleagues with whom I’ve spent many lunches discussing politics and (more fruitfully) The Simpsons: Patrick Egan, Daniel Driver, Drew Lewis, Christopher Hays, Dave Lincicum, and Jake Andrews. While all of these fellows have had a greater hand in shaping my thoughts than they know, I alone bear full responsibility for any and all shortcomings within this work. My parents, Ray and Merry Tarrer, have supported me unwaveringly from the beginning. I owe them an immense debt of gratitude. My in-laws, Jim and Laura Pickens, deserve heartfelt thanks as well. I would also like to thank Dr Gerald Bray, without whose support and direction I perhaps would have never considered such an undertaking. Mark Gignilliat has graciously allowed me to pilfer from his library. To my boys, Sam, Owen, and JP, thanks for giving me a quiet place to write now and then. Finally, being married to a doctoral candidate must be exhausting, but Mary has shown me nothing but unconditional love, grace, and patience. That I may spend my life returning the favor: All measure, and all language, I should pass, Should I tell what a miracle she was. (John Donne, The Relic, 32–33, 1633) This is dedicated to her. Table of Contents DECLARATIONS.......................................................................................................................................................................................2 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.......................................................................................................................................................................3 TABLE OF CONTENTS...........................................................................................................................................................................4 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................................................................6 CHAPTER 1 FROM ST JEROME TO ST THOMAS ...........................................................................................................10 ST JEROME (C. 345–420).....................................................................................................................................................................10 THEODORET OF CYRUS (C. 393–C. 460)........................................................................................................................................22 GLOSSA ORDINARIA............................................................................................................................................................................39 ST THOMAS AQUINAS (C. 1225–1274).........................................................................................................................................42 CHAPTER 2 JOHN CALVIN AMIDST THE REFORMERS...........................................................................................50 JOHN CALVIN (1509–1564)..............................................................................................................................................................50 CHAPTER 3 SEVENTEENTH– & EIGHTEENTH–CENTURIES.............................................................................72 INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................................................................................72 THOMAS HOBBES (1588-1679)........................................................................................................................................................73 BENEDICT DE SPINOZA (1632-1677).............................................................................................................................................76 CAMPEGIUS VITRINGA (1659-1722).............................................................................................................................................87 AUGUSTIN CALMET (1672-1757)...................................................................................................................................................91 THOMAS NEWTON (1704-1782).....................................................................................................................................................94 CHAPTER 4 NINETEENTH–CENTURY..............................................................................................................................98 INTRODUCTION TO THE NINETEENTH–CENTURY...................................................................................................................98 CONSERVATIVE, OR “CONFESSIONAL”..........................................................................................................................................99 GEORG FREDERICK SEILER (1753–1807).....................................................................................................................................99 ERNST WILHELM HENGSTENBERG (1802–1869)..................................................................................................................101 KARL FRIEDRICK KEIL (1807–1888)..........................................................................................................................................104 HANS CONRAD VON ORELLI (1846-1912)...............................................................................................................................109 MEDIATING AND HISTORICAL–CRITICAL POSITIONS.........................................................................................................111 GEORGE ADAM SMITH (1856-1942)..........................................................................................................................................111 GEORG HEINRICH AUGUST EWALD (1803-1875).................................................................................................................113 BERNHARD DUHM (1847-1928)..................................................................................................................................................119 ABRAHAM KUENEN (1828-1891)................................................................................................................................................125 CHAPTER 5 TWENTIETH–CENTURY (1910-1986).................................................................................................... 134 OLD TESTAMENT THEOLOGY AND TRUE AND FALSE PROPHECY..................................................................................134 GERHARD VON RAD (1901-1971)................................................................................................................................................135 JAMES A. SANDERS.............................................................................................................................................................................146 BREVARD S. CHILDS (1923-2007)................................................................................................................................................154 CHAPTER 6 1986-2006................................................................................................................................................................164 INTRODUCTION...................................................................................................................................................................................164 JAMES E. BRENNEMAN..................................................................................................................................................................... 165 ARMIN LANGE.....................................................................................................................................................................................171 R. W. L. MOBERLY..............................................................................................................................................................................176 CONCLUSIONS....................................................................................................................................................................................182 BIBLIOGRAPHY....................................................................................................................................................................................188