How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets—Peter J Gentry

INTRODUCTION

The Bible is evidence that God intends to make his truth known to man. Because God is outside of his creation, his divine truth had to be given through the means of human communication. Consequently, the Bible—God’s revelation—is both divine and human. God, the creator of communication and designer of intellect, understands humanity and skillfully presents His truth through various literary techniques. Therefore, biblical interpretation (i.e., the exegesis on which Expositional Preaching is built) hinges, in part, on the reader’s understanding of the literary rules of the written genres of Scripture.

Hebrew literature differs from the kind of literature that we are familiar with in the Western world

Peter J. Gentry, professor of Old Testament interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, writes to help modern Bible students recognize how “Hebrew literature differs from the kind of literature that we are familiar with in the Western world” (123). Gentry has an expansive knowledge of biblical languages, having spent decades teaching Old Testament interpretation. How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets is the culmination of his research and provides valuable warnings and insights for modern exegetical studies.

THESIS DEVELOPMENT

Gentry illustrates the premise of his book by comparing reading the varied genres of the Bible with reading a newspaper. Transitioning from reading the headlines to reading the newspaper’s comics requires the reader to read by different rules. The author states that this failure to make the transition is the central problem of the Christian church during the last one hundred years (13). He says, “we have been reading the Gospels of the New Testament, the narratives of the Old Testament and the books of Acts, and the Hebrew prophets of the Old Testament and the New Testament (e.g., Revelation), including the apocalyptic prophecies, exactly the same way we read Romans” (13). In his book, Gentry offers a “strategy” that will help Christians comprehend the text (14). He gives the strategy through seven characteristics or features of the prophetic literature of the Bible.

Chapter one addresses the first characteristic of the Bible’s prophetic writing. Namely, the prophetic writings were initially given to call the people of God back to the covenant relationship. National repentance and obedience were the writers’ goals. Proper interpretation, therefore, must acknowledge that these writings directly respond to Israel’s rebellion against the covenant requirements given in the law, particularly the book of Deuteronomy (15).

Understandably the Prophetic books written to a Hebrew audience are markedly Hebrew in literary characteristics. Chapter one explains the unique Hebrew method of argumentation by addressing the “recursive approach” of the prophetic writers (16). Modern argumentation is linear and analytical. However, ancient Hebrew writing employs recursion or the repetition of the same argument from different angles. Gentry states that “literary structure is key to correct interpretation” and gives extensive examples of recursion (28). Chapter one also introduces the Hebrew couplet form (e.g., justice-righteousness in Isaiah 5).

Gentry begins chapter two—End of the Covenant, Judgement, and Restoration—with the often overlooked question, “why were the writings of the early prophets not included in the canon of Scripture” (31)? The author explains that prophets like Elijah called the people of God to obedience. In contrast, the later prophets foretold the coming catastrophic judgment due to national rebellion and the eventual mercy of God’s restoration (32). God divinely included these prophecies in the Bible because of their contribution to the overall redemptive theme of Scripture. A large part of chapter two gives five important expositional considerations for what the presence of these prophecies means for modern audiences. Namely, the foretelling of the future (1) distinguishes the true God from false gods, (2) explains the exile event for future generations, (3) shows that deliverance takes time, and declares that Yahweh is (4) Sovereign and (5) trustworthy.

Continuing the author’s thesis development, Chapter three—the Function of Repetition in Hebrew Literature—explains how repetition functions as one of the “rules” of prophetic writing (41). Returning to Gentry’s opening illustration, reading Hebrew literature is again likened to reading the newspaper’s comic section. Different genres must be understood by their unique characteristics and rules. Repetition through recursion, poetic couplets, and chiasm is one unique literary device found throughout large sections of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and other prophetic books.

literary structure is key to correct interpretation

For example, chapters one and two develop the often-repeated couplet idea of social justice from the book of Isaiah. Social justice in the modern western context is a loaded term that the author states is different from Isaiah’s meaning. Gentry says that the term social justice is used in Scripture as “a way of summoning up all that the commands in the Mosaic covenant for the right way to relate to God and to treat other people and the earth’s resources” (49). The repetitive thought throughout Isaiah is the righteous judgment of God and his demands for Israel to live in his definition of social justice. The grounds for Isaiah’s declaration of coming judgment were based on Israel’s failure to live within God’s bound of social justice. By highlighting the repetitive use of this theme throughout Isaiah, the author shows how understanding the way Hebrew literature uses repetition to argue a concept is essential for faithful exposition.

Chapter four briefly explains the messages to the gentile nations in many prophetic books. The author states that it is easy to view these “long boring messages” as “irrelevant for us today” (59). However, as he proposes, New Testament Christians should “read these long messages concerning the nations with great interest” (69). They should be read because most New Testament believers are members of gentile nations that are accountable for worshipping the creation instead of the creator. The hope for the nations in the prophetic message is just as relevant to the gentile nations today as it was in the days of the prophets.

Chapter five explains the frequent use of typology in prophetic writing. This portion of How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets explains three ways in which descriptions of events in the future are made: literal, apocalyptic, or topological (74). One primary typology used in prophetic writing is the “model and pattern” of the Exodus (80). The new Exodus contained hope for Israel in Babylonian captivity. However, the prophetic Exodus has an additional “antitype,” or greater dual meaning that declares a “spiritual rescue from slavery to sin” in the Gospel of Jesus. The author, however, cautions readers not to force a literal hermeneutic on texts that have a plain figurative meaning. The literal meaning is always the plain meaning of the text.

Chapter six covers how the expositor should handle the apocalyptic language of prophetic writing. The author defines “apocalyptic as a type of literature” rather than a theology (97). The highly colored language of the apocalyptic form is a literary construct that carries meaning (106). For example, an impression of terror is intended in apocalyptic writing. Additionally, Gentry gives insight into how the literary structure of a prophetic book like Daniel pairs prophecies of immediate prediction and fulfillment with apocalyptic predictions that will not be fulfilled for a considerable time. For example, the first six chapters of Daniel retell narratives of now-fulfilled visions before the author shares the apocalyptic prophecies of the later chapters. Credibility is gained by pairing fulfilled prophecy with yet-unfulfilled apocalyptic prophecy. Awareness of how prophetic writers structure their books aids interpretation.

If we do not listen to the teaching of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament, our understanding of the biblical prophets is not a Christian interpretation

The final chapter—The Already and the Not Yet—argues the importance of the New Testament for understanding biblical prophetic writing. Gentry says, “If we do not listen to the teaching of Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament, our understanding of the biblical prophets is not a Christian interpretation, no matter how skilled we are in the details of exegesis” (118). The New Testament introduces a church-age gap in the chronology of prophetic events. The Old Testament prophets could not see this “valley” or church-age pause between the first and second coming of Jesus. Therefore, a good exposition of Old Testament prophetic writing requires New Testament lenses for interpretation.

CONCLUSION

Peter Gentry writes How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets in a careful, plain, and thorough manner. Books like Isaiah and many prophetic writings will always be challenging to read and preach. However, the tools given in this book are keys to unlocking meaning in complex prophetic texts.

I have little negative criticism to offer for Peter Gentry’s excellent book. How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets is written with a conviction for the authority of Scripture. It is not shaded by the unstable foundations of higher criticism which is sometimes the case for authors writing on similar subject matter. However, I would caution readers to read slowly the exegetical sections of the book, especially the more extended exposition on Isaiah 5 and thirty-three.

Western Christians struggle to read Hebrew literature because they struggle to understand the genre’s rules. Gentry helps, through How to Read and Understand the Biblical Prophets, by providing helpful interpretive insights into the rules of Hebrew literature.