Figural Reading and the Old Testament

I appreciated the author’s experience and knowledge about the Old Testament. This text was logical, organized, and ideal for a course exploring Old Testament theology course.

A thinking pastor’s ideal resource.

Wow! This book is straight up legit on so many levels. Seriously, this is a fantastic read.

From a literary standpoint, Collett's prose is exactly what I'm looking for in a book of this genre (i.e., Biblical Studies). The tempo and overall rhythm are favorable as well. He makes his claims, and then takes his time when unraveling potential arguments and/or oppositions--yet, not too much time! It is not monotonous.

From a theological and religious studies standpoint, I appreciate Collett's voice. I'll admit, much of this is due to my natural bent toward his general premise, or at least in how he presents it. He seeks to recover, or perhaps discover, the 'Old Testament consciousness' that is often lost in theologies that possess what he calls a 'top-heavy view of the New Testament.' In essence, he argues for a reading of the Old Testament that allows for the the text's own vernacular and logic to take center stage. Collett isn't outright 'bashing' Biblical Theology, which he identifies as being essentially New Testament Theology. Rather, he seems to be urging individuals to read the OT text with, at the very least, a somewhat informed understanding of both the contextual and literary devices used in the text.

Here are some of Collett's thoughts that jumped out at me.
"By this I do not mean that modern historical methods have no place in figural exegesis. When properly utilized as servants rather than masters, historical tools of various kinds are helpful for illuminating the figural shape of Scripture. The point to be stressed is that such tools find their proper function and purpose within a figural imagination shaped by the Old Testament's witness to creation and providence, rather than outside that witness."

"Allegory is the term chosen by the early church to describe Scripture's capacity for other-speaking. The term comes from the conjunction of two terms: allos, meaning 'other,' and agoreuein, meaning 'to speak in public,' in the marketplace (agora), as opposed to speaking in private venues. With roots in both the Greco-Roman rhetorical tradition and Scripture itself, the early church chose the term allegory to capture how biblical language makes public (agoreuein) something other that itself (allos)."

"Sharply distinguishing Scripture's literal-metaphorical sense from its allegorical sense threatens to evacuate the metaphors and figures of biblical poetry of theological significance."

Again, this is a great read. If you're interested in expanding your knowledge of figural readings concerning the Old Testament, this might be a great start!

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and unbiased review. I don't know how to be purely unbiased, but I do know how to be honest. Well, I think I do. This was my best attempt.

DM

For those who are fans of Christopher Seitz's work (and you should be), Collett is a fantastic contributor to canonical and interpretive studies. Having studied under Seitz himself, the organic flow of thought from one to the other is excellent. This is a great book from a great theologian.